foreign tourists – आवारा मुसाफिर

Philippines to offer tax refund to foreign tourists by 2024

January 29, 2023916 Views

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos has approved a value-added tax refund programme for foreign tourists by 2024 to attract more visitors, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Sunday. The government collects a 12% VAT on goods consumed within the Southeast Asian country. The plan is to allow foreigners to get a VAT refund on items they are taking out of the Philippines, similar to what many other countries offer. The measure is among the proposals a private sector advisory council presented to Marcos recently to boost the tourism industry, including improving airport infrastructure and operations and promoting tourism investment, the PCO said in a statement. Passengers queue at airline counters in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in Pasay City, Metro Man...

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6.6 lakh Indians have visited Thailand this year so far

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 29, 2022565 Views

Thailand recorded 7.35 million foreign tourist arrivals from Jan. 1 to Oct. 26, as the vital sector picks up following an easing of coronavirus restrictions, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said. The top five source markets were Malaysia with 1.25 million arrivals, India with 661,751, Laos with 538,789, Cambodia with 373,811, and Singapore with 365,593, the TAT said in a statement dated Friday. A revival of tourism is a key driver of growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, and the finance ministry on Friday predicted 10.3 million foreign tourist arrivals this year and 21.5 million in 2023. That compared with only 428,000 foreign visitors last year, and nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019. (Reuters) ...

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China plans easier border entry rules for some foreign tourists

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 19, 2022672 Views

China's government on Monday issued draft rules aimed at making it easier for some foreigners to enter China for visits to tourism sites along the Chinese border. Travel groups organised by tour agencies in border areas in China can choose their port of entry and exit "flexibly", the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement, without giving specifics on locations and dates. FILE PHOTO: Women wearing masks are reflected at a bus-stop, Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) China has shut its borders to foreign tourists since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in 2020, with only specific groups of foreign nationals allowed to enter the country, such as those holding certain work visas. In recent months, rules have gradually been relaxed, from resum...

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Taiwan to resume visa free entry for some countries

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 5, 2022858 Views

Taiwan will resume visa free entry for visitors from countries including the United States and Canada from next week, the government said on Monday, as it continues to ease controls put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. Taiwan had kept its entry and quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia have relaxed or lifted them completely, though in June it cut the number of days spent in isolation for arrivals to three from seven previously. FILE PHOTO: Travelers arrive at the Taoyuan International airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan. REUTERS/Ann Wang Taiwan has reported more than 5.3 million domestic cases since the beginning of the year, driven by the more infectious Omicron variant. But with more than 99% of those exhibiting no or mild symptoms, the government has r...

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Nine million foreigners visited Spain in July, near pre-pandemic levels

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 1, 2022689 Views

More than twice as many tourists visited Spain in July than in the same month last year, a number only slightly below pre-pandemic levels, National Statistics Institute data showed on Thursday. The 9.1 million visitors in July spent close to 12 billion euros ($12 billion), more than twice as much as in 2021. Tourism earnings are a significant component of Spain's gross domestic product. Before COVID-19 put a halt to international travel in 2020, Spain received a record number of foreign tourists in 2019, with 9.9 million visiting in July of that year. FILE PHOTO: Passengers queue at check-in desks at Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, in Malaga, Spain June 4, 2022. REUTERS/Jon Nazca Asian visitors were the only group who have not returned to the country in the same numbers, secreta...

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Japan cautious of ‘bad manners’ of foreign tourists

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May 30, 2022730 Views

Japan's easing of a two-year ban on foreign tourists seeks to balance the enormous economic importance of tourism with concerns that travellers would trigger a COVID outbreak, insiders say. Under the decision, Japan will allow in a limited number of foreign tourists on package tours starting June 10. Last week a few "test tours", mainly of overseas travel agents, started to arrive. Relaxing some of the world's strictest pandemic border measures required months of pressure from travel and tourism executives, three insiders told Reuters, describing both the government's fears of public backlash if infections spiked and the industry's concerns of an economic wipeout. FILE - Tourists in traditional Japanese kimonos walk in Asakusa district in Tokyo, July 27, 2020 (AP Photo/Eugene Hos...

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Saudi Arabia aims for 70 million tourism visits this year

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

May 9, 2022374 Views

Saudi Arabia aims to exceed 70 million tourist visits this year after drawing 62 million last year, a tourism official said on Monday, underlining the conservative kingdom concerted push to boost its travel industry. Saudi Arabia is a major religious destination with millions visiting Islam's two holy cities of Mecca and Medina annually to perform the hajj and umrah pilgrimages. The kingdom has in recent years started to promote leisure travel as part of a strategy aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil, spearheaded by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. FILE PHOTO: Guests swim on a cruise ship during a leasure trip to the Red Sea, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 20, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour Visits were up 130% in the first quarter of 2022 com...

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Malaysia to reopen borders from April with quarantine waiver

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

March 8, 2022994 Views

Malaysia will reopen its borders fully from April 1 and allow entry without quarantine for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday. Malaysia has since March 2020 maintained some of the tightest entry curbs in Asia to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks, with most foreign nationals barred from entry and returning Malaysians required to undergo quarantine. The Southeast Asian country will begin a transition to the endemic phase of COVID-19 from next month, Ismail Sabri said in a televised address. FILE PHOTO: People dine-in at a restaurant following social distancing measures, as Langkawi gets ready to open to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Malaysia. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng The reopening follow...

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Bali welcomes first foreign tourists after COVID quarantine rule lifted

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March 7, 2022461 Views

Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Monday welcomed its first foreign tourists under relaxed coronavirus rules that no longer require arrivals to quarantine, part of a broader easing of curbs in the Southeast Asian country after infections declined. Known for its surfing, temples, waterfalls and nightlife, Bali drew 6.2 million foreign visitors in 2019, the year before COVID-19 struck. But only a trickle of visitors have returned since Bali started opening up to foreign tourists last October, discouraged by the need to quarantine and other rules. Foreign tourists carrying their luggage walk as they arrive at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, as the local government kicks off the first day of the 'quarantine free' trial, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, ...

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Indonesia, Malaysia to further ease COVID curbs on foreign visitors further

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

March 5, 2022314 Views

Indonesia is considering a quarantine waiver for foreign visitors to its holiday island of Bali from next week, officials said on Saturday, while neighbour Malaysia announced the removal of curbs on travellers from Thailand and Cambodia. Indonesia and Malaysia have imposed some of the strictest entry procedures in Asia to try to contain COVID-19 outbreaks and keep new variants at bay, but the restrictions have battered their tourism sectors. FILE PHOTO: An officer stands at Ngurah Rai International Airport as Indonesia's resort island of Bali reopens for international flights following border closures brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Badung, Bali, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/via REUTERS The Indonesian waiver for visitors vaccinated against th...