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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Taiwan began welcoming back visitors on Thursday after finally ending mandatory quarantines to control the spread of COVID-19, with gifts of cuddly toy black bears for the first tour group that stepped off the plane shortly after midnight. Taiwan had kept some of its entry and quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia relaxed or lifted them completely, although in June it cut the number of days required in isolation for arrivals to three from seven previously. Travellers from Thailand on the first quarantine-free flight to Taiwan, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, receive a welcome by officials and the media at the airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang While Taiwan has reported almost seven million domestic cases since t...
Read MoreInternational tourism continued to show strong signs of recovery, with arrivals reaching 57% of pre-pandemic levels in the first seven months of 2022. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals almost tripled in January to July 2022 (+172%) compared to the same period of 2021. This means the sector recovered almost 60% of pre-pandemic levels. The steady recovery reflects strong pent-up demand for international travel as well as the easing or lifting of travel restrictions to date (86 countries had no COVID-19 related restrictions as of 19 September 2022). UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism continues to recover steadily, yet several challenges remain, from geopolitical to economic. The sector is bringing back h...
Read MoreDespite cost-of-living fears, heatwaves and wildfires, France's tourism industry rebounded in a big way this summeras local and foreign holidaymakers poured in after a two-year slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism Minister Olivia Gregoire told a news conference that preliminary data showed the summer of 2022 had been "exceptional", with 35 million French people going on holidays, or seven out of 10 compared with about 60% last year. FILE PHOTO: Tourists walk in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, July 3, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier In 2019 France was the most visited country in the world, attracting nearly 90 million foreign tourists. "We want to remain the number one destination in the world," Gregoire said. Credit card spending during the summer rose 10...
Read MoreAustralia on Monday fully reopened its international borders to travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus after nearly two years of pandemic-related closings as tourists returned and hundreds of people were reunited with family and friends. Vaccinated travellers were greeted at Sydney's airport by jubilant well-wishers waving toy koalas and favourite Australian foods including Tim Tams chocolate cookies and jars of Vegemite spread. Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan was on hand to welcome the first arrivals on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles which landed at 6.20 a.m. local time. More than 50 international flights will reach the country through the day, including 27 touching down in Sydney, its largest city, as the tourism and hospitality sectors look to rebuild after get...
Read MoreGreece's tourism minister on Thursday said the visitor season would officially start in March, earlier than previous years, and there were "positive signs" of a bumper summer ahead. After COVID-19 brought global travel to a standstill in 2020, Greek tourism suffered its worst year on record with just 7 million visitors bringing in revenues of 4 billion euros ($4.55 billion). The industry, which accounts for a fifth of the economy and one in five jobs, began to recover last year when a season that officially began in May delivered about 10.5 billion euros in revenues, far less than an all-time record in 2019. Tourists walk past the ancient Parthenon temple atop Acropolis hill in Athens, Greece, February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas "There is great demand and great dynamic fo...
Read MoreAfter a weak first half of 2021, international tourism rebounded during the Northern Hemisphere summer season, boosting results for the third quarter of the year, especially in Europe. According to the newest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 58% in July-September 2021 compared to the same period of 2020. However, they remained 64% below 2019 levels. Europe recorded the best relative performance in the third quarter, with international arrivals 53% down on the same three-month period of 2019. In August and September arrivals were at -63% compared to 2019, the best monthly results since the start of the pandemic. Visitors queue to check the COVID-19 health certificates, amid the spread of the coronavirus dis...
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 MoreQuiet and birdsong have replaced the sounds of thumping music and fun-loving tourists in the popular Mallorca resort of Magaluf, and the prospect of another potentially lost season is weighing heavily on locals. Along the deserted main drag, bars that usually throng with mainly British tourists to the Spanish island are shuttered. Some have put up hand-made paper signs saying “we love tourists” and “we will be back in 2021”. “It’s very strange, it’s like a ghost city,” said a 35-year-old Italian tourist from Florence, who gave only her first name, Virginia. She and her friend Helena were among the few tourists to make it to Magaluf for a spring holiday as much of Europe grapples to get coronavirus under control. FILE PHOTO: A closed hotel at Magaluf beach, in the Spanish island o...
Read MoreMany high-end stores closed down in top malls The number of foreign visitors to Japan plunged 87% in 2020 to a 22-year low as the country mostly closed its borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan National Tourism Organization data showed on Wednesday. The number of foreign arrivals, which include tourism and business arrivals, fell to about 4.1 million last year from 31.9 million in 2019. It was the lowest annual figure since 1998. FILE PHOTO: The entrance gate to the normally crowded Kiyomizu temple, a favourite location among tourists, is pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kyoto, Japan. REUTERS/Leika Kihara Meanwhile, more than a dozen stores closed in Tokyo’s high-end Ginza Six mall this week as the coronavirus pandemic kept big...
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