Tourism

Japan says swarms of tourists defiling sacred Mt Fuji

By Mariko Katsumura FUJIYOSHIDA, Japan (Reuters) - On a grey, rainy Saturday a steady stream of tour buses arrive at a base station of Japan's Mount Fuji depositing dozens of…

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Venice to start charging visitors €5 entry fee next year

VENICE, Italy, (Reuters) - Venice plans to experiment with an admission fee of 5 euros($5.35) for day trippers next year to try to manage the flow of tourists drawn to…

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P&O Cruise passengers injured after ‘weather-related’ incident in Mallorca

A small number of people were injured on Sunday during a "weather-related incident" involving P&O Cruises Britannia ship moored in the Spanish island of Mallorca, a spokesperson for the company said.…

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Italian tourists flock to Albania in key boost for economy

By Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga SARANDA, Albania (Reuters) - A waiter in an Albanian restaurant in the coastal resort town of Saranda apologised to newly arriving customers that little…

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Tourist boom fuels inflation – FT

The holiday boom across the EU’s hotspots this summer — with hotel room rates surging nearly 20 per cent and air flights up more than 30 per cent — is…

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Sunak dampens hopes of reversal over axed UK tourist tax break

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said nearly all of the benefit of a now-abolished tax break for tourists went to a small area of central…

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Greece offers free holiday to tourists who fled Rhodes fires

ATHENS, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Greece said on Wednesday it will offer a week-long free stay on Rhodes in 2024 to tourists whose vacation was cut short by wildfires that…

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Call to restrict public access to Trevi Fountain

Access to the Trevi Fountain should be limited and controlled, Rome's tourism pointman said in the wake of a social media video showing a man climbing onto the iconic monument…

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Tourists flock to the Mediterranean as if the climate crisis isn’t happening. This year’s heat and fire will force change

Thousands of people on the beach. Children reportedly falling off evacuation boats. Panic. People fleeing with the clothes on their backs. It felt like “the end of the world”, according…

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Instagram is making you a worse tourist – here’s how to travel respectfully

by Lauren A. Siegel Lecturer, University of Greenwich (The Conversation) Travel is back in full swing this summer, and so is bad behaviour by tourists.Popular destinations have seen an uptick…

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Amsterdam bans cruise ships to limit tourists and curb pollution

Amsterdam's council has banned cruise ships from the city centre as the Dutch capital tries to limit visitor numbers and curb pollution. Politicians said the vessels were not in line…

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Italy’s antitrust investigates inflated prices for Colosseum tickets

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authorities are going into combat over Rome's Colosseum, opening an investigation into ticketing operations that have seen tourists paying inflated prices to visit the ancient…

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Ancient Roman Pantheon to start charging entry from Monday

ROME, (Reuters) - Visitors to Rome's Pantheon, one of the ancient world's best preserved monuments, will have to pay a 5 euro ($5.45) entrance fee from Monday, Italy's tourism ministry…

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Madrid joins race for high-spending tourists with bet on five-star hotels

MADRID (Reuters) - As pandemic travel restrictions began to ease in the spring of 2021 foreign tourists returning to Madrid discovered the city's downtown had undergone a makeover. An area…

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Dubrovnik Bans Wheeled Suitcases in a Bid to Tackle Tourism Noise

The mayor of the city of Dubrovnik, Mato Franković, has decided to ban wheeled suitcases due to the noise they make in the streets of this old city. This means…

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Italian police blame couple from England for Colosseum graffiti

ROME, (Reuters) - Italian police have identified a couple from England as the likely culprits after graffiti was scribbled on a wall at the Colosseum in Rome last week, prompting…

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Police in Italy searching for tourist who defaced Colosseum wall

ROME, (Reuters) - Italian authorities are looking for a tourist who scribbled graffiti on a wall of the Colosseum, with Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano calling for exemplary punishment for the…

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Croatia eying record tourist season after joining Schengen area

By Antonio Bronic ZADAR, Croatia (Reuters) - Croatian tourism officials are anticipating a record year for the sector after the country joined Europe's free-movement Schengen zone in January, which has…

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Tunisia tourist revival a rare bright spot for crisis-hit economy

Government official forecasts strong summer Arrivals seen at 90% of pre-pandemic levels Small boost for economy in crisis By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia is set for a strong…

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US, European hotel rates may keep rising, industry executives say

By Doyinsola Oladipo NEW YORK, (Reuters) - Hotel room rates in the U.S. and Europe are rising and may get even more expensive as supply has failed to keep up…

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Spain expects more summer tourists than before pandemic

MADRID, (Reuters) - Spain expects to receive more tourists in the summer of 2023 than before the COVID-19 pandemic, after international tourist arrivals for April were 1.2% higher than in…

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Around 15 million Italians expected to travel over June 2 holiday weekend

Around 15 million Italian people will be taking trips over the upcoming long weekend created by the Republic Day national holiday on Friday, hoteliers' association Federalberghi said on Monday. It…

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Spain’s mass tourism in candidates’ crosshairs in election year

By Joan Faus Spain was second most-visited country in 2019 Tourism accounts for 12% of economy Local and regional elections scheduled on Sunday 30 million people visited Barcelona in 2019…

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Pent-up demand promises record tourist season for southern Europe

Strong early arrivals in Italy, Iberia, Greece Airlines, tour operators see robust summer bookings Tourism boom to provide economic boost to southern Europe By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - After…

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How much water does tourism in the Balearic Islands use?

One of the most frequent comments among the population residing in the Spanish Balearic Archipelago – a renowned tourist destination for Europeans – used to be: “Tourists consume a lot…

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Albania’s burgeoning tourism industry could prevent youth exile and boost economy

It has been more than 30 years since Albania opened its doors to tourists, but telling a friend that you’re off to Tirana or Dhërmi for a long weekend might…

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European airlines see bumper summer bookings

By Sarah Young and Federica Mileo May 5 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG and Air France-KLM on Friday reported bumper summer bookings as travellers pressed ahead with holiday plans despite…

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Europe’s hopes for busy post-COVID summer dim as Chinese tourists stay away

ZURICH/BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Urs Kessler, who runs Jungfrau Railways, a train that takes tourists up the highest mountain in Switzerland, was excited for the return of Chinese tourists after COVID-19…

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Morocco to spend $580 mln to attract more tourists

RABAT, March 17 (Reuters) - Morocco plans to spend 6.1 billion dirhams ($580 mln) up to 2026 to develop its tourism sector in order to attract more visitors and bring…

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German travel industry sees 2023 rebound to pre-pandemic highs

BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living crisis are not spoiling German consumers' appetite for a holiday, travel industry body DRV said on Monday, forecasting…

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Wedding tourism booms in Italy

dding tourism is booming in Italy with over 11,000 overseas couples tying the knot in Italy last year, according to the Destination Weddings in Italy Observatory, complied by the Centro…

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EU tourist stays neared pre-pandemic levels in 2022 – Eurostat

Jan 18 (Reuters) - The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the European Union in 2022 approached pre-pandemic levels, the bloc's statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday, confirming…

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Greece’s 2022 tourism revenues seen at 18 bln euros, PM says

ATHENS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Greece's Prime Minister said on Tuesday that revenues from its all-important tourism industry are seen reaching at least18 billion euros ($19.13 billion) this year, beating the government's…

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Spain tourism soars in October, approaches pre-pandemic levels

MADRID, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain in October soared 39% from the same month last year to 7.18 million, but remained a tad below…

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Germans’ winter tourism bookings rise, but still below pre-COVID levels

BERLIN, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Germans' tourism bookings for the 2022/23 winter were down 33% as of the end of August compared with the pre-COVID winter of 2018/19, but sales…

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Thailand may receive more than 10 mln foreign tourists this year – minister

BANGKOK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Thailand may record slightly more than 10 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, the tourism minister said on Friday, as a vital industry has recovered…

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Thailand expects $64.5 billion in 2023 tourism revenue

BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Thailand expects to earn 2.38 trillion baht ($64.50 billion) in tourism revenue in 2023, a government official said on Monday. The government wants tourism next…

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China eases some border entry rules for foreign tourists

BEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - China's government on Monday issued draft rules aimed at making it easier for some foreigners to enter China for visits to tourism sites along the…

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Nine million foreigners visited Spain in July, near pre-pandemic levels

MADRID, Sept 1 (Reuters) - More than twice as many tourists visited Spain in July than in the same month last year, a number only slightly below pre-pandemic levels, National…

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Foreign business travel missing ingredient for Irish hotel recovery – Dalata

DUBLIN, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Executives at Ireland's large hub of multinational companies are still only going on a small fraction of the foreign business trips they made before the…

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Lithuania warns Baltic states, Poland and Finland could ban Russian tourists

European Union members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which all share a border with Russia, may stop Russian tourists from entering their countries if the EU does not enact…

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Thailand saw 3.78 million tourists from January to mid-August

BANGKOK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Thailand saw 3.78 million tourist arrivals from January to Aug 17, a government official said on Friday. The arrivals, mainly from Malaysia, India and Singapore,…

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Swiss hotel sector shows signs of post-pandemic recovery

A total of 16.9 million overnight stays were made in Swiss hotels between January and June, an increase of 47.3% on the same period in 2021, when Covid health measures…

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Greece says tourism rebound will help ease cost of energy crisis

Greece is having a better-than-expected summer tourism season and this year's revenues will help alleviate the impact of soaring energy prices on society, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said this week.…

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Spain edges closer to pre-pandemic tourism levels with 7.5 million visitors in June

More than twice as many tourists visited Spain in June than in the same month last year and they spent almost three times as much during their stay, National Statistics…

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Foreign tourism to Portugal soars in May, still below pre-pandemic levels

LISBON, (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal in May jumped almost six times from the same month last year but still fell about 9% short of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels,…

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‘Sell premium’ – Thailand discourages discounts, wants high value tourists

BANGKOK, July 4 (Reuters) - Thailand's hotels, businesses and private hospitals should refrain from offering big discounts to lure tourists and focus instead on raising the country's value as a premium travel…

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Venice to charge tourists €10 to enter the city; Crackdown on ‘out-of-control’ holiday rentals

Venice is to become the first city in the world to introduce a booking system whereby tourists will have to pay up to 10 euros each to enter. The controversial…

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Thai tourism group sees 12-16 mln foreign visitors this year

BANGKOK, June 30 (Reuters) - Foreign visitors to Thailand are expected to number between 12 million and 16 million this year following the country's full reopening, a private tourism group said on…

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Spain sees summer tourism at 90% of pre-COVID levels despite inflation

MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Spain expects tourist arrivals to reach 90% of pre-pandemic volumes during the summer season, as northern Europeans shrug off concerns over inflation pressures and book even more…

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COVID mistakes can’t be repeated this winter, says German hotel industry

German hotels are still limping towards recovery after the pandemic, and lawmakers need to prepare now to be ready for the coming winter, said the head of the DEHOGA hospitality…

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Tourism in Italy up 33% in May on 2019, Federalberghi says

A recovery of the tourism sector in Italy over the first few months of 2022 has been confirmed by data regarding the month of May, according to a survey released…

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Cyprus says tourism year ‘won’t be brilliant, but good’.

NICOSIA, June 15 (Reuters) - Cyprus's tourism sector is starting to recover its losses from the pandemic, with arrivals approaching 2019's record levels despite fewer visitors from Russia, Deputy Minister of Tourism…

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Long lines at Madrid airport prompt hiring spree to deal with tourist surge

MADRID, June 7 (Reuters) - Long lines at the Madrid Barajas Airport in recent weeks should ease as the Spanish police work on hiring more staff to deal with the surge in…

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Spain tourism jumps in April, approaches pre-pandemic levels

MADRID, June 1 (Reuters) - Almost ten times as many tourists visited Spain in April compared to the same month last year, spending close to the amount that foreign visitors did before…

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Spain’s tourist arrivals jump 8-fold in March, edge toward pre-COVID levels

MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) - Spain received 4 million tourists in March, more than eight times as many as in the same month last year, after most pandemic-related restrictions were lifted, data…

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Turkey’s tourism revenues surge 122% in Q1

ISTANBUL, April 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's tourism revenues jumped 122.4% from a year earlier to $5.45 billion in the first quarter, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Friday. It said…

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