Tourism

Malta: Tourism license fees cancelled for 2021 in government bid to prop up industry

Operators in the tourism industry have been excempt from paying any licenses and fees due to the Malta Tourism Authroity for all of 2021, tourism minister Clayton Bartolo announced today.…

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Spanish tourism minister receives red-stained knife, follows death threats to others

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on Monday she had received a knife covered in red stains by post, days after senior security officials and a left-wing party leader were sent death threats. The ministry released a photo…

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Greece, looking to tourist season, makes islands vaccination priority

Greece, which will open its tourist season on May 15, is prioritizing the COVID-19 vaccination of residents of its islands, authorities said. The country has hundreds of inhabited islands and…

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Maltese Editorials’ Perspectives

Times of Malta says that an increase in taxation will be inevitable if we do not have high economic growth The Independent reacts to the Super League proposed by 12…

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Greece opens to tourists, anxious to move on from crisis season

RHODES, Greece (Reuters) - Greece began opening to tourists on Monday with few bookings but hopes for a better season to help make up for a 2020 devastated by the…

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Hopes rise for Britain’s summer getaway season

Hopes that the great British getaway would be possible this summer grew on Wednesday, with easyJet predicting that most of Europe would be open for travel and British Airways confident…

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Portugal seeks to avoid summer visitor quarantines “at all costs”

Portugal will do its best to avoid visitors having to quarantine on arrival this summer, its secretary of state for tourism said, as Europe moves towards adopting a COVID-19 passport…

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Turkey could lose 500,000 tourists due to Russia flight restrictions

Turkish Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said flight restrictions imposed by Russia until June could cost Turkey 500,000 tourists, broadcaster NTV reported on Wednesday. Russia said it will restrict flights…

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Malta: ‘No blessing for mass activities’, tourism minister says amid party adverts

Tourism authorities have not given the go-ahead to any mass events, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has said after a series of large-scale festivals set dates for late summer. At least three…

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Summer holiday abroad? Too soon to guarantee that, says French minister

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - France said on Sunday it was too soon to say whether holidays abroad would be possible this summer as a third wave of coronavirus infections…

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Malta to pay tourists who visit this summer

VALLETTA, April 9 (Reuters) - Aiming to revive its tourism industry and get ahead of rival destinations, Malta plans to offer foreign visitors a handout of up to 200 euros ($238.10) each…

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Airlines blast Britain’s travel restart plan, Jet2 cancels holidays until June

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Major British travel company Jet2 said it was cancelling holidays until late June, blaming uncertainty from UK government plans for restarting international travel that were…

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Singapore becomes a global cruise leader, for now

Singapore currently accounts for a third of the world's cruises its tourism body said on Wednesday, owing to the roaring success of its "cruises to nowhere" at a time of…

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Britain’s Saga says travel, cruise operations will not resume until late-2021

Britain's over-50s holidays group Saga on Wednesday pushed the resumption of its cruises to later this year after the government hinted that pandemic-led travel curbs could continue beyond May. The…

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Malta’s tourism set to re-start in June

Malta's tourism is set to re-start in June. The tourism minister Clayton Bartolo announced that the island will be welcoming tourists to the island by the beginning of June and…

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EU’s Breton sees similar summer tourist season to last year

European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on Sunday that he hopes Europe will have a summer tourist season "comparable to last year", supported by mass vaccination against COVID-19. Breton,…

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Vaccinated people should be able to meet up and go on holidays, says British scientist

A scientist has called for vaccinated people to be allowed to meet up with each other and to travel freely, saying there is no scientific reason why this should be…

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Thailand approves quarantine waiver for tourists

Thai authorities on Friday agreed to allow foreigners inoculated against the coronavirus to travel to its biggest holiday island without undergoing quarantine, and announced a new order for five million…

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Central Bank review shows Maltese economy starts year in stuttering mode

Malta's economic performances continued to stutter in the first months of the year according to a review carried out by the Central Bank of Malta. While the Covid-19 pandemic continues…

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Morgan Stanley says Europe’s summer holiday is in peril

Europe could be looking at another lost summer tourist season as COVID-19 cases are rising and the vaccine rollout has been so slow, threatening a major hit to the economies…

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Boss of UK travel chain Hays says signs for summer are encouraging

The head of Britain's largest independent travel agent, Hays, said on Thursday that there were encouraging signs that international travel would be able to resume for people to go on…

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EU Commission announces plans for Green Pass for freedom of travel within bloc

The European Commission proposed to create a Digital Green Certificate to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the meeting of European leaders on…

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Greece to welcome vaccinated and COVID-negative tourists from May

ATHENS, March 9 (Reuters) - People who are vaccinated against COVID-19, have antibodies or test negative can travel to Greece this summer, Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis said on Tuesday. Tourism…

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2021 started with 91% drop in tourist arrivals

Tourist arrivals in January dropped by more than 90 per cent compared to the same month last year, before COVID-19 hit Europe. Data from the National Statistics Office shows that…

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Tunisia hopes to save its tourism season, as it will ease COVID-19 measures

TUNIS, March 5 (Reuters) - Tunisia said on Friday it hoped to save its economically vital summer tourism season as it announced an easing of COVID-19 restrictions including quarantine measures,…

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FOCUS-Travel industry bets on vaccine passports to draw Brits to Med

LONDON/MADRID/PARIS, March 5 (Reuters) - The race to roll out vaccination passports is spurring competition among travel companies and tourist destinations for the large number of Britons set to receive…

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Cyprus to let in Brits with COVID vaccine from May 1

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus will allow British tourists who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 into the country without restrictions from May 1, its tourism minister said on Thursday. British…

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Portugal’s tourism sector slumps back to 1980s levels amid pandemic

LISBON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Portugal's once-booming tourism sector suffered its worst results since the mid-1980s last year as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns worldwide grounded flights and kept visitors…

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Investors eye shares of hotels, cruise lines as U.S. vaccinations pick up

Investors are watching next week’s earnings reports from hotels, cruise lines and other businesses that have been hard hit by COVID-19 for indications of which companies could be the first…

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Ryanair’s O’Leary optimistic on international travel from May

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said he was optimistic that people in Britain would be able to travel internationally from May, but warned if that…

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Not yet clear whether Britons can take holidays this year – minister

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - British transport minister Grant Shapps said he couldn't say whether people would be able to take holidays at home or abroad this year, as it…

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Europe’s summer abroad cancelled as staycation bookings soar

CONNEMARA, Ireland, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Up until late January Terry O'Toole was fielding a trickle of enquiries from Irish holidaymakers happy to settle for another summer at home in…

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Malta: January is worst month for Malta International Airport since reopening in summer

Passenger traffic through Malta International Airport dropped by 90.7% in January, with 38,938 passengers travelling through the airport. The company said January was its worst month since reopening in July…

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Greece, Israel sign agreement on tourism during PM’s visit

ATHENS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Greece and Israel signed an accord on Monday to ease travel restrictions to Greece for Israelis with proof of COVID-19 vaccination, a move Athens hopes…

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EU flags concern over Austrian minimum airfare plan

BRUSSELS, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The EU has raised concerns over Austrian plans to set a minimum airfare, a spokesman said, weighing in on an environmental policy debate that pits…

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Foreign tourists in Spain fell to 51-year low in 2020

MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists who visited Spain in 2020 fell by more than 80% to 19 million, a level not seen since 1969, official…

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Malta: NGOs object new plans for db Pembroke project

The db Group have submitted new plans for their project on the ex-Institue for Tourism Studies (ITS) site in Pembroke. In a Facebook post Birdlife Malta said that although the…

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Malta: Bars to receive €2,700 as part of Covid-19 support scheme

Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary for Recreation Clifton Grima launched the Bars and Clubs COVID-19 Support Scheme, which will grant €2,700 to each bar. This grant covers…

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More trips to Gozo in 2020 but less cars, passengers

Trips to Gozo increased during the past year, as many locals opted in favour of travelling between the islands during the coronavirus pandemic particularly during the Summer months. Data released…

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Amsterdam wants to ban tourists from coffee shops

(dpa) - Amsterdam is planning to cut tourists off from one of the city's biggest draws: drugs. Officials in the Dutch capital announced plans on Friday to ban foreign visitors from entering its…

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Canary Islands beaches deserted as COVID decimates Spanish tourism

International tourist arrivals in Spain fell 90% year-on-year in November, official data showed on Tuesday, after authorities imposed new travel restrictions to curb an increase in coronavirus infections. Over the…

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Mausoleum of Rome’s first emperor restored and ready to reopen

After decades of neglect, one of ancient Rome’s most important monuments, the mausoleum of the first emperor Augustus, has been restored and will reopen early next year, city officials announced…

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Malta: 83% Decrease in tourism during October

Statistics for October 2020 published by the National Statistics Office show a decrease of 83.7% or 46.914 tourists when compared to the same month last year. The data shows that…

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Air connections crucial factor in recovery of tourism

If Malta is to benefit from the eventual post-COVID-19 recovery, it will be crucial for the island to restore or replace the significant number of direct air connections lost during…

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Singapore launches its first ‘cruise to nowhere’

Hit by cabin fever, hundreds of Singapore residents itching to get out of the tiny country boarded a "cruise to nowhere" on Friday, a rare chance to sail the seas…

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Domestic tourism recovers faster than foreign tourism – Eurostat

During the early part of 2020, the tourism industry suffered as a result of travel restrictions implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tourist numbers dropped sharply during March and…

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Maltese Editors’ Perspectives

The Times of Malta looks at the tourism sector and says that the industry is facing its worst crisis in fifty years. Industry leaders should re-think how the industry will…

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Nine EU Member states, including Malta push for better coordination on travel

Malta and eight other EU member states put forward a declaration to the European Commission for better coordination between member states, in order to reduce uncertainties during travel and to…

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Saudi Arabia to resume tourist visas by early 2021

Saudi Arabia plans to resume tourist visas by early 2021 after months of suspension amid strict government measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the kingdom's tourism minister told Reuters.…

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EU court rules cities can restrict short-term rentals dealing blow to AirBnb

Europe's top court on Tuesday gave its backing to European cities cracking down on short-term rentals of private homes to solve a housing crunch, dealing a setback to homesharing site Airbnb.…

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German hospitality industry still far below pre-crisis revenues

The German hotel and restaurant industry in July further recovered from its slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but sales were still down more than a quarter when compared to…

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Malta: Inbound tourism for July 2020 decreased by 84.0%

During the month under review, a total of 44,557 inbound tourist trips were undertaken for holiday purposes, while a further 2,965 were made for business purposes according to the latest…

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Malta: Sacked Air Malta pilots offered public sector job at same pay till 2022

The ministry for the economy will give former Air Malta pilots whose jobs were terminated by the airline, a job inside the public sector at their same take-home pay as…

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Malta: MIA registers 69% drop in passengers during August

The Malta International Airport has registered a drop of 69.4% in passengers in August 2020 when compared to the same month in 2019. A total of 252,022 passengers arrived at…

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Spain hopes easing of UK quarantine will save Canary Islands winter tourism

After a disastrous summer tourism season, Spain is hoping a more flexible British quarantine police will make it possible to save some of the winter season in the Canary Islands,…

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Foreign tourism to Spain drops 75% in July

The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain fell 75% in July from a year earlier, data showed, as the coronavirus outbreak shaved tens of billions of euros off the nation's…

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British flock to Portugal’s Algarve as quarantine rules lifted, airport struggles

Portugal is sending border control reinforcements to an airport in the sunny Algarve as authorities struggle to cope with a surge in arrivals of British tourists after quarantine rules were…

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