Tourism

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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Southeast Asia’s tourism industry begins uneven recovery

Two years after tourism in Southeast Asia ground to a halt, travellers are getting back on planes as entry and COVID-19 quarantine rules are lifted in the region, but a…

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Greece lifts COVID restrictions for summer tourism season

ATHENS, April 13 (Reuters) - Greece said on Wednesday that pandemic restrictions such as mask-wearing indoors and COVID certificates will be lifted throughout the summer tourism period and authorities will…

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EU tourism surges back in December, Malta and Hungary were the most impacted by the pandemic – Eurostat

Tourists 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…

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Impact of Ukraine invasion on Spanish tourism will be small, minister says

MADRID, March 4 (Reuters) - The negative impact the Russian invasion in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia will have on the Spanish tourism industry is likely to be small,…

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Foreign tourism to Spain surges in January

MADRID, March 3 (Reuters) - Spain received almost 2.5 million foreign tourists in January, a fivefold jump from the same month a year ago and roughly 60% of the total that came before the pandemic hit in January…

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High hopes that tourism will steady Turkey’s economy

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Tourism in Turkey is set to return to near pre-pandemic levels this year, boosting the crisis-hit economy with the help of a recent currency crash that has…

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UK’s Heathrow airport hopeful of summer tours after weak start to 2022

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest airport Heathrow had a slow start to 2022 after Omicron fears ruined travel plans of more than 1.3 million passengers, it said on Friday,…

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UK summer flight bookings edging towards 2019 levels

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Demand for flights in Britain is edging back towards pre-pandemic levels for the key summer holiday period, according to market data that suggests consumers are…

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Foreign tourism to Spain soars in 2021, but far below pre-pandemic level

MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Foreign tourism to Spain rebounded 64% last year from 2020's historic coronavirus crash but failed to reach half its pre-pandemic levels, data showed on Wednesday,…

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World tourism inched back in 2021, still a fraction of pre-pandemic levels

The world tourism industry barely improved last year compared to 2020, with all indicators staying way below pre-pandemic levels and industry professionals not expecting a full recovery before 2024, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)…

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Spain’s tourist sector seen reaching 88% of pre-pandemic size in 2022

Spain's huge tourism sector will come close to reaching its pre-pandemic size in 2022, an industry association said, although the surge in the Omicron variant and supply issues will prevent…

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Thailand plans to impose tourist fee from April

BANGKOK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Thailand is planning to collect a 300 baht ($9) fee from foreign tourist from April to develop attractions and cover accident insurance for foreigners unable…

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Morocco’s tough COVID restrictions hammer tourism sector

RABAT, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Businesses working in Morocco's key tourism sector say the country's tough COVID-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival…

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Spain’s November hotel bookings jumped five-fold from November 2020

MADRID, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The number of nights booked by tourists in Spanish hotels surged five-fold in November from the same month a year earlier, but was still 20%…

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Dubai says it welcomed 4.88 million visitors in Jan-Oct period

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Dubai welcomed 4.88 million visitors in the period January- October 2021, its Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) said on Saturday, adding that international visitors in…

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Croatia’s tourism sector short of one-third of workforce for next year

ZAGREB, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Croatia's tourist facilities face a shortage of up to one-third of their workforce next year, head of the national association of biggest tourist firms Veljko…

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Foreign tourism to Spain soars in October, still much lower than 2019

MADRID, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists coming to Spain jumped fivefold in October from the same month a year ago to 5.13 million as an easing…

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Ryanair optimistic about summer despite Omicron

Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson said on Thursday the airline was still optimistic about summer demand despite COVID-19 and the emergence of the Omicron virus variant making for a challenging…

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Foreign tourists back in New York, long business recovery seen ahead

New York has launched its largest tourism advertising campaign in history. John F. Kennedy International Airport bustles again with foreign passengers. The holiday season promises peak travel cheer, with more…

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Cuba reopens doors to tourism as threat of protests looms

Cuba reopened schools and its borders to international tourism on Monday as opposition groups urged supporters to protest for greater political freedoms, setting up a tense showdown between the government and…

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The Malta Chamber launches Rediscover – A New Vision for the Tourism Industry in Malta

Tourism Operators Business Section calls for industry renewal as it puts forth 125 recommendations. Today the Tourism Operators Business Section at The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry with…

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Foreign tourism to Spain surges in September

MADRID, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain more than quadrupled in September from a year ago to nearly 4.7 million, official data showed on Wednesday,…

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Egypt’s hotels back to full capacity, tourism official says

CAIRO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Egypt has allowed hotels to run at full capacity while observing strict coronavirus precautionary measures, an official at the Ministry of Tourism said on Sunday.…

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Hotel owner IHG says business travel returning after busy summer season

IHG said it was seeing encouraging signs of recovery in business and international travel, with strong corporate bookings in the United States as the Holiday Inn owner's room revenue inches…

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Foreign tourism to Spain soars in August from a year ago, still below 2019 levels

The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain more than doubled in August from the same month a year ago to 5.2 million as eased travel restrictions encouraged visitors, official statistics…

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Panama to hand out AstraZeneca vaccines to visitors in tourism push

Panama approved a plan to vaccinate visitors in a bid to boost a tourism industry badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the first Central American nation to offer vaccine…

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Caribbean tourism recovery punctured by new coronavirus spike

Just as tourism was beginning to show signs of recovery, the Caribbean has been hit by a new wave of coronavirus infections that is causing lockdowns and flight cancellations and…

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Record number of tourists stayed in Italy this summer

A record number of Italian tourists stayed in Italy this summer, a survey revealed on Thursday.Between July and August some 23 million Italians opted for a domestic holiday, compared to…

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Foreign tourism to Spain surges in July from a year ago, still below 2019 levels

The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain jumped to 4.4 million in July, 78.3% more than a year earlier when global travel restrictions slowed international tourism to a near halt,…

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42% of all EU tourism nights in 2020 were spent in July and August

In 2020, the tourism industry suffered from the COVID-19 outbreak: the number of nights spent at EU tourist accommodation establishments dropped by 52% in 2020 compared with 2019, Eurostat data…

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Muscat defends record, does not shut door on politics / Malta News Briefing – Friday 20 August 2021

Afternoon Briefing MaltaToday quotes PL MEP Alfred Sant denouncing a “media game” between critics and backers of the prison administration. The former Prime Minister called for the establishment of a…

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Malta: Gozo tourism during Santa Maria similar to last year’s figures

Tourism in Gozo over the weekend was very similar to last year. During Santa Maria weekend, tvm.com.mt asked Gozo Channel and the Gozo Tourism Authority about the tourism figures over…

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A new model for EU tourism emerges from the pandemic

If tourism is Europe's oil, the pandemic has stopped it pumping.Europe, which accounts for 51% of the world tourism market, has suffered a collapse in demand that threatens 6.6 million…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

Times of Malta says many people are still afraid to travel and that the government needs to think of new ideas to support the tourism industry. The Independent reacts to…

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Greek tourism faces tense ‘summer of patience’

For two balmy weeks in July, hotel manager George Tselios dared to hope his pandemic nightmare was behind him. He was getting 100 bookings a day for his Rhodes seaside…

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Quarter of people in hospital for Covid-19 show no symptoms / Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 27 July 2021

A 21-year-old man was found injured on Locker street in Sliema, after an argument occurred in flats close by. The incident occurred at 4.45pm, when the police close by saw…

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Spanish holiday rental bookings in August exceed pre-pandemic levels

Spanish holiday rentals for August are more heavily booked than before the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to domestic tourism and a perception that rented properties are safer than hotels, Spain's leading…

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Malta: Bartolo defends tourism restart plan amid COVID-19 surge: ‘We will adjust if necessary’

Clayton Bartolo says the most recent measure to impose quarantine on unvaccinated incoming travellers could not have been introduced earlier because of EU commitments. He defended government’s tourism reopening strategy…

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Exclusive – Italy bans cruise liners from Venice, after years of hesitation

ROME (Reuters) - Italy on Tuesday banned cruise liners from Venice lagoon to defend its ecosystem and heritage, moving to end years of hesitation and putting the demands of residents…

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Jordan sees hopes of tourism revival after 2020 collapse

Hoping for customers, Ahmad Nassar is dusting and polishing the trinkets and souvenirs in his tourist shop in Madaba, an ancient town in central Jordan known for its early Christian…

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Spanish tourist hotspots seek return to curfews as youth infections rage

Spain's Canary Islands have joined the Mediterranean region of Valencia in petitioning the central government to bring back a mandatory night curfew to counter soaring COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated youngsters.…

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Malta: Artists’ union says new measures a step in the right direction

The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) welcomed the new measures announced today and the €2 million scheme aimed at reviving the entertainment industry, saying they are a step…

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Malta: Clerks to be increased to reduce queues at airport – Minister Bartolo

The Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection, Clayton Bartolo told TVM that the number of clerks will be increased who are verifying and collecting the details of airport passengers as…

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Egypt eases guest limits in hospitality sector as infections fall

Egypt's cabinet eased guest limits for hotels, restaurants, cinemas and theatres to 70% of their capacity from 50 percent at present as coronavirus infections slow, a cabinet statement said. Egypt…

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Rising Delta virus, absent Brits dampen Europe’s tourism hopes

While not a complete wash-out, the summer tourism season vital to southern Europe's economies will be less than sizzling as the Delta coronavirus spreads and travel hurdles keep British and…

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