tourist arrivals – Page 3 – आवारा मुसाफिर

Foreign visitors to Japan at 22-year low in 2020

January 20, 2021490 Views

Many 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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Tourism back to 1990 levels as arrivals fall by more than 70%

UPENDRA SWAMI

December 17, 2020584 Views

International arrivals fell by 72% over the first ten months of 2020, with restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the COVID-19 virus, all contributing to the worst year on record in the history of tourism. According to the latest tourism data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), destinations welcomed 900 million fewer international tourists between January and October when compared with the same period of 2019. This translates into a loss of US$ 935 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than 10 times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Since the start of this crisis, UNWTO has provided governments and businesses with trusted dat...

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Sri Lanka to welcome tourists in the new year

UPENDRA SWAMI

December 11, 20201302 Views

Sri Lanka is ready to receive foreign tourists from January 2021. But all travelers will have to be in quarantine for 14 days. The Sri Lankan government has also proposed to issue six-month visas for tourists instead of the current one-month visas when the country re-opens its international airports for travelers next year. A proposed travel bubble to reopen Sri Lanka for foreign tourists has received the green-light from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. However, actual date for allowing international tourists is yet to be fixed. Sri Lankan authorities are currently considering introducing new rules in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said. A new set of guidelines had been prepared by the COVID-19 Clinical Management Expert Committee of the Ministry o...

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Thailand sees first trickle of tourists in October as curbs ease

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 26, 2020429 Views

Thailand recorded its first 1,201 foreign tourists in October since a ban in April aimed at averting coronavirus outbreaks, as the country gradually opens up to a select number of visitors to help its struggling, tourism-reliant economy. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy contracted 6.4% in the third quarter from a year earlier after the second quarter’s 12.1% slump as most virus restrictions were eased, but an absence of tourists is limiting the recovery. The 1,201 foreign visitors in October is a fraction of the 3.07 million arrivals in the same month last year. Tourism ministry data showed the latest visitors included 471 from China, 231 from neighbouring Cambodia, 178 from Middle East countries and 116 from Europe, all travelling on special 90-day visas that require two...

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Tourism in top Asian destinations will take time to recover

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 3, 20201090 Views

Even though major economies across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) started negotiating travel bubble pacts with their key source countries to revive the tourism sector, recovery to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels may take time even after all restrictions are withdrawn, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. International tourist arrivals in the APAC region declined by more than 75% in the first eight months of 2020. Hong Kong reported a loss of more than 90% international visitors in the same period, followed by Japan, South Korea, Macau with more than 80%, and Singapore and Thailand by 79% and 75%, respectively. China, where the COVID-19 was first reported, reported the highest reduction in inbound visitors of 87% in Q1 2020. Aditi Dutta Chowdhury, Economic Research Analys...

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International tourist numbers down 65% in first half of 2020

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 15, 20201160 Views

International tourist arrivals plunged 93% in June when compared to 2019, with the latest data from the World Tourism Organization showing the severe impact COVID-19 has had on the sector. According to the new issue of the World Tourism Barometer from the United Nations specialized agency, international tourist arrivals dropped by 65% during the first half of the year. This represents an unprecedented decrease, as countries around the world closed their borders and introduced travel restrictions in response to the pandemic. Over recent weeks, a growing number of destinations have started to open up again to international tourists. UNWTO reports that, as of early September, 53% of destinations had eased travel restrictions. Nevertheless, many governments remain cautious, and this latest...