Tourism leaders gather for WTTC’s annual Global Summit 2021 at Cancun, Mexico The world’s leading Tourism Ministers joined together to urge the public and private sectors to work together in partnership to save Travel & Tourism at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The plea came at the Global Leaders Dialogue session at WTTC’s annual Global Summit 2021, which is being held in Cancun Mexico this week. The Global Summit is the most important Travel & Tourism event for the private sector and is the world’s first major gathering of world tourism leaders since the outbreak of the pandemic. Hundreds of CEOs, business leaders and tourism ministers gathered in Cancun for the first time in nearly a year – with thousands more participating virtually – in the hybr...
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A year after one of Southeast Asia's most popular fun-and-sun destinations became an eerily quiet shell of empty resorts, shops and nightclubs, residents of the Thai island of Phuket are hoping to save their economy with an inoculation programme. For now, beach umbrellas rest rolled up on vacant hotel verandas, overlooking empty stretches of sand, while mannequins languish in dust-covered windows of shuttered shops. The entrance of a closed hotel is seen at Kata beach in Karon, Phuket Island, Thailand March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva "We are taking the opportunity to put our system to a test", said vice governor of Phuket province, Piyapong Choowong, adding that more than 70% of Phuket's population of about 650,000 would be vaccinated by July 1, when foreign vaccinated visitor...
Read MoreUNWTO and IATA collaborate on destination tracker to restore confidence in travel
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announce a Destination Tracker in preparation for the restart of international travel. It is the result of both organizations joining efforts to boost confidence and accelerate recovery of the tourism sector when borders reopen. The UNWTO-IATA Destination Tracker is a new free online tool for governments to provide information on COVID-19 requirements for travel and the measures in place at the destination. The tool is available through the websites of both organizations and will provide information on: -COVID-19 Indicators including infection rates, positivity rates, and vaccination roll out by destination/country.-Air Travel Regulations, including test and quarantine requirements, pro...
Read MoreTravel industry has reacted with caution upon a report from the UK Government’s Global Travel Taskforce. The report shows how international travel could resume from 17 May 2021 at the earliest, in an accessible and affordable way. This includes the removal of the permission to travel form - meaning passengers would no longer need to prove they have a valid reason to leave the country. Its recommendations also include the launch of a new traffic light system and 'green watchlist', and the introduction of travel certification. A traffic light system, which will categorise countries based on risk alongside the restrictions required for travel, will be set up to protect the public and the vaccine rollout from international COVID-19 variants. Key factors in the assessment will includ...
Read MoreGlobal airline industry body IATA said on Wednesday a digital travel pass for COVID-19 test results and vaccine certificates would be launched on the Apple platform in mid-April. The digital travel pass, currently in the testing phase, had been planned to be launched by the end of March. IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Kamil Alawadhi said it was expected to launch on the Apple platform around April 15, and later for the Android platform. “But the application will only achieve its success once airlines, different countries, airports adopt it,” Alawadhi said. UK-based carrier Virgin Atlantic said on Friday it would trial the IATA app on its London to Barbados route from April 16. Barbados has said it will accept the pass at its border, one of the ...
Read MoreUNWTO calls for stronger coordination and urges Europe to lead the way in tourism’s restart The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global tourism has carried on into 2021, with new data showing an 87% fall in international tourist arrivals in January as compared to 2020. The outlook for the rest of the year remain cautious as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) continues to call for stronger coordination on travel protocols between countries to ensure the safe restart of tourism and avoid another year of massive losses for the sector. Following a difficult end to 2020, global tourism suffered further setbacks in the beginning of the year as countries tightened travel restrictions in response to new virus outbreaks. According to the latest edition of the UNWTO Worl...
Read MoreBritons rushed to book foreign holidays after the government laid out plans to gradually relax coronavirus restrictions, giving battered airlines and tour operators hope that a bumper summer could come to their rescue. Bookings flooded in on Monday evening and Tuesday following the government’s announcement on Monday that travel could restart from mid-May, with Spain and Greece the most popular destinations, airlines and holiday companies said. However, travel industry is yet not happy with the announced plans, as it feels that delaying the return of international travel until at least mid-May, could mean the Travel & Tourism sector simply won’t survive and struggling SMEs will just disappear. EasyJet said that bookings on its flights from Britain for this summer had jumped b...
Read MoreA second wave of coronavirus infections threatens to upend a tourism boom in Dubai that provided salve to its battered economy, although with so few places open globally its hospitality sector hopes tourists will keep coming. Dubai, one of the few destinations open to international travellers since July, has yet to impose the toughest restrictions after record daily infections in the UAE, in the hope that vaccinations will spare a repeat of last year’s lockdown. People are seen at the Cove beach Caesars Palace, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates January 31, 2021. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana But after a rush of visitors during December, hotel chain RIU saw a “significant slowdown” in January bookings in Dubai after some countries tightene...
Read MoreWider test acceptance welcomed as major step towards return of international travel
While it is still going to take months, if not years before COVID vaccination effect is noticed in larger part of the world, travel industry by large has been advocating pre-departure tests as a safer means to resumption of international travel. Now recent announcements in UK and US have been largely welcomed as a positive step in this direction. Travel without quarantine is deemed to be a major push towards recovery of brutally bruised travel industry and recent announcements pave the way for it. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the announcement by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it will require all travelers to the US to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test undertaken within three days prior to their departure to th...
Read MoreSingapore is at the top of the list of travel destinations for most Asian travellers, particularly for those living in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines when it comes post-lockdown travel, according to a survey by Blackbox Research, Dynata and Language Connect. These countries also have considerable pent-up demand for travel. Out of the five, Indians are the most eager to travel internationally in the next 12 months (77%), followed by Thais (70%), Indonesians (60%), Hong Kongers (47%), and Filipinos (46%). Singapore is the top post-lockdown choice for Indian travellers On the other hand, the study also found that Singaporeans are keen for the local travel industry to find its footing again. About 93% of locals recognise that tourism is a major industry a...
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