Tourism leaders from across Africa have come together to rethink the sector and its central role in driving growth and opportunity across the continent. The 65th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa brought together around 25 Ministers of Tourism and high-level representatives from 35 countries as well as leaders from the private sector. Taking place in Tanzania just days after UNWTO celebrated World Tourism Day, the Commission meeting embraced that day’s theme of ‘Rethinking Tourism’, with a focus on innovation, branding, jobs and education and partnerships. FILE PHOTO: Flamingoes feed in the popular Berg River estuary in Velddrif, South Africa, Monday Sept. 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht) Welcoming delegates, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili...
Read MoreTag: tourism recovery
When 23-year-old Norwegian Anastasia Johansen and her boyfriend were planning their first vacation in two years, they considered going to Thailand but chose nearby Vietnam instead, for its simpler entry rules on the coronavirus. “The regulations to enter Thailand ... were complicated to me and we had to pay for the hefty PCR test,” Johansen said. Thailand, one of the world’s tourism destinations before the pandemic, was among the first nations in Asia to reopen its borders to vaccinated visitors last year with limited quarantine norms, hailed at the time as a model for re-opening. FILE PHOTO: A tourist poses at Maya Bay as Thailand reopens its world-famous beach after closing it for more than three years to allow its ecosystem to recover from the impact of overtourism, at Krabi p...
Read MoreGlobal tourism to recover from pandemic by 2023, post 10-year growth spurt
Expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade, says WTTC report The global travel and tourism sectors are projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and grow at a rate that will outpace global gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said on Thursday. The industry is expected to post an annual average growth rate of 5.8% from 2022 to 2032 versus the 2.7% increase in global GDP, and create 126 million new jobs, WTTC said in a report released during the industry group's conference in Manila. Report reveals the Travel & Tourism sector is expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade. FILE PHOTO: A partially underwater shot shows the waters at the beach of Maya Bay as Thailand reopens ...
Read MoreInternational tourism continued its recovery in January 2022, with a much better performance compared to the weak start to 2021. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine adds pressure to existing economic uncertainties, coupled with many Covid-related travel restrictions still in place. Overall confidence could be affected and hamper the recovery of tourism. Based on the latest available data, global international tourist arrivals more than doubled (+130%) in January 2022 compared to 2021 - the 18 million more visitors recorded worldwide in the first month of this year equals the total increase for the whole of 2021. FILE PHOTO: A tourist wears a face mask to prevent spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during sunset near the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, January 7, 202...
Read MoreTourists in the European Union more than tripled the nights they spent in short-stay accommodation in December compared with a year earlier, the EU’s statistics office said on Monday, though levels remained well below pre-pandemic norms. The nights spent in EU short-stay tourist accommodation surged 237% to 102.2 million nights in December compared to a year earlier, Eurostat said, though this remained 27% below the 2019 figure. FILE PHOTO: People visit the ancient Parthenon Temple atop the Acropolis hill archaeological site in Athens, Greece, February 26, 2022. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Easing coronavirus restrictions and widespread vaccination campaigns helped tourism recover from the early summer, though the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant and fresh travel curbs ...
Read MoreWhen planeloads of Russian tourists left Cuba this week, their vacations interrupted by war in Ukraine, it marked a sad day in the resort town of Varadero, a visible sign the conflict will rattle the island nation's fragile economy. Varadero, a finger of white sand extending out into the blue Caribbean sea, has long been a magnet for Russians fleeing the northern winter. In 2021, with much of the world hunkered down amid the coronavirus pandemic, visitors from Russia soared to 40% of total arrivals in Cuba, according to government figures. Tourists sunbathe at the beach in Varadero, Cuba, March 7, 2022. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli Varadero's beaches, usually teeming with tourists at this time of year, are suddenly quiet, said Yanet Costafreda, who sells trinkets to tourists along...
Read MoreGlobalData says, it is due to increase in high-networth individuals The pandemic has transformed many travelers into high-networth individuals and made the super-wealthy even wealthier, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that 29% of respondents in one of its live polls state that their budgets are ‘a lot’ or ‘slightly’ higher than pre-pandemic. The luxury leisure market experienced a strong start to recovery as wealthy consumers, now with higher levels of disposable income, began to travel once again in 2021. FILE PHOTO: A horse-drawn carriage is pictured in Central Park during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri When looking at the US spe...
Read MoreKenya's tourism industry has started to pull out of its deep COVID-19-induced slump as local travellers take advantage of lower prices, the government said on Wednesday, but foreign visitor numbers are still well below pre-pandemic levels. The East African nation expects the sector, typically one of its top sources of foreign exchange, to earn 173 billion shillings ($1.5 billion) this year, up 18.5% from last year, the government said. "The recovery seems to have begun," George Gitonga, the acting chief executive of the state-run Tourism Research Institute, told Reuters after the figures were released. FILE PHOTO: Tourists drive past a giraffe, amid the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Tsavo West National Park in Tsavo region, Kenya, September 21, 2021. R...
Read MoreThe important role that tourism will play in the recovery of national economies and global trade has been highlighted in the 2022 edition of the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report by the United Nations. Drawing on data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), WESP underlines the sector’s importance for the world economy and particularly for developing economies, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS). After a global contraction of 3.4% in 2020 and a rebound of 5.5% in 2021, the world economy is projected to grow by 4% in 2022 and then 3.5% in 2023. Given its importance as a major export category (prior to the pandemic tourism was the third largest in the world, after fuels and chemicals), and recognizing its role as a source of employment and economic dev...
Read MoreUNWTO and the Asian Development Bank have launched a joint report on the use of big data for better tourism planning and management. The report features examples from across the Asia and the Pacific region while also showcasing the main trends in the use of big data in tourism at the forefront of technology and innovation. The report also makes clear the the role that big data can play in recovery and the measurement of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of tourism. Data to empower decision makers Tourism suffered the greatest crisis on record in 2020. International arrivals plunged by 73% in 2020. This is likely to followed by a 70% and 75% fall on 2019 levels for 2021. As the sector looks to recover, data and market intelligence are critical to e...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.