The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday will unveil a new strategy aimed at boosting international tourism hit hard by COVID-19 and government travel restrictions by streamlining the entry process and promoting more diverse destinations. The “National Travel and Tourism Strategy” sets a goal of 90 million international visitors by 2027 who will spend an estimated $279 billion annually, topping pre-pandemic levels, the department told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People take the ferry to visit the Liberty State Island in New York, U.S., August 17, 2017. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz “There are a lot of industries that are well past COVID - travel and tourism is not,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in an interview. The federal government must do more to support the resurgence of trav...
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Japan will open its borders to foreign tourists in June for the first time since imposing tight pandemic travel restrictions about two years ago, but only for package tours for now, the prime minister said Thursday. Beginning June 10, Japan will allow the entry of people on tours with fixed schedules and guides, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. Tourists from areas with low COVID-19 infection rates who have received three vaccine doses will be exempt from testing and quarantine after entry. FILE - People walk along a pedestrian crossing in the tourist district of Asakusa, near the landmark Tokyo Skytree tower in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Kantaro Komiya, File) Japan this week is hosting small experimental package tours from four countries, Australia, S...
Read MoreEmployment in the sector could also exceed 2019 levels next yearTravel & Tourism growth expected to outstrip France’s GDP The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed the Travel & Tourism sector in France will propel the national economic recovery and could even surpass pre-pandemic levels next year, when it is projected to rise 2.2% above 2019 levels. The forecast from WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Report (EIR) shows the sector’s contribution to GDP could reach more than €216 billion by next year. Employment within the sector could also exceed 2019 levels, creating almost 90,000 additional jobs, representing nearly 2.8 million by the end of next year. FILE PHOTO: People walk past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel next to the Louvre museum on a sunny day i...
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 MoreIt took one electricity bill to crush Dimitris Diavatis' hopes that his Greek summer resort could bounce back to its pre-pandemic health this year, even with bookings pouring in. The amount was more than double what he paid this time last year when the hotel was not even open. After two sluggish summers, the irony was not lost on him: "We won't make a profit in a good year," he said. "It'll be eaten up by inflation." Greece - like the other tourism-dependent economies on the euro zone's Mediterranean fringe – is seeing signs of a much-needed recovery in visitor numbers in 2022 after two largely lost years. As in Spain, Portugal and Italy, the sector is a huge employer and contributor to state revenues. General view of the schist village of Fajao, Pampilhosa da Serra , Portugal, F...
Read MoreThe Philippines welcomed back more than 200 foreign tourists on Thursday, becoming the latest Southeast Asian nation to reopen in a bid to revive a battered tourism sector after its borders shut to visitors nearly two years ago due to the pandemic. Popular for its white sand beaches and rich marine life, the Philippines has seen a sharp drop in coronavirus cases. Tourism officials at Manila's airport greeted passengers flying in from countries including the United States and China to visit beaches or reunite with family and friends. FILE PHOTO: A couple enjoys a view of White Beach amid the coranavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Boracay Island, Aklan province, Philippines, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez "I think it will be a good boost for tourism and the Filipin...
Read MoreMalaysia's coronavirus recovery council on Tuesday said it has recommended a full reopening of borders as early as March 1 without mandatory quarantine for travellers, as part of plans to accelerate economic recovery. The Southeast Asian nation has shut its borders since March 2020 and froze the entry of foreign workers to try to contain novel coronavirus outbreaks. The recommendation comes as neighbours waive quarantine requirements to attract vaccinated tourists, including Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. FFILE PHOTO: Esther Lee, Hidden Langkawi restaurant owner, cleans a table at her restaurant, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Malaysia September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng Thailand on Monday said it was eyeing travel bubbles with Malaysia and C...
Read MoreVaccinated travellers from every country allowed from February 21 Australia said on Monday it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers this month, ending two years of misery for the tourism sector, reviving migration and injecting billions of dollars into the world No. 13 economy. The move effectively calls time on the last main component of Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which it has attributed to relatively low death and infection rates. The other core strategy, stop-start lockdowns, was shelved for good in December. FILE PHOTO: Travelers sit in the international terminal of Kingsford Smith International Airport the morning after Australia implemented an entry ban on non-citizens and non-residents intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (C...
Read MoreMajor new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed the global Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to the global economy could reach $8.6 trillion this year, just 6.4% behind pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, the Travel & Tourism sector generated nearly $9.2 trillion to the global economy. However, in 2020, the pandemic brought the sector to an almost complete standstill, causing a massive 49.1% drop, representing a severe loss of nearly $4.5 trillion. Latest research from WTTC shows that as the world finally begins to recover from pandemic, the sector’s contribution to both the global economy and employment could reach almost pre-pandemic levels this year. Research by the global touris...
Read MoreIn the words of Ibn Battuta, travelling leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller. His wisdom teaches us that it is travelling that keeps our innate desires alive, waking up a world of words and images within us. It's when we traverse the boundaries of our hometowns, our states and our country, that we touch the lives of people we have never met. We then realise how small the world was for us before. Mankind's wanderlust that began many centuries ago was perhaps triggered by this realisation. Today, as we celebrate the National Tourism Day in the midst of the pandemic's third wave, it's time to reflect on how our ways of travel has changed. Tourists now travel not for leisure alone and are keen to explore the history, culture and the food diversity of places they ...
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