Tourism

German airline Condor gets financial help

The immediate future of Condor, the German airline and subsidiary of the now insolvent Thomas Cook travel agency, was secured on Tuesday night following the German state's assurances of a…

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Planes put on standby to rescue travellers as talks continue for last-minute bailout of Thomas Cook

An emergency fleet of airlines is on standby to rescue 150,000 UK holidaymakers as talks continue between Thomas Cook and the government over a last-minute bailout. Sources described the negotiations…

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Haarlem in the Netherlands to tackle over-tourism

Haarlem is taking action to stop the city becoming a victim of its own success as a tourist destination, by focusing on ‘quality visitors’ and making sure the wishes of…

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Ten European cities seek EU help in battle between tourists’ impact on short-stay lettings and residents needs

Ten European cities have demanded more help from the EU in their battle against Airbnb and other holiday rental websites, which they argue are locking locals out of housing and…

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2019 a difficult year for tourism in Cyprus

Deputy Minister for Tourism Savvas Perdios said that 2019 is a difficult year for tourism, but stressed that there is no need for panic, pointing out that positive developments…

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Portugal’s fuel-tanker drivers to strike

Portugal's fuel-tanker drivers voted to strike from Monday for an indefinite period, raising fears about the impact on the country's tourism-dependent economy during the busy summer season. The vote means…

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Sand stolen by tourists visiting Sardinia returned to beaches, fines of between €500 to €3,000 for culprits

Italian authorities and environmental experts have teamed up with Olbia Airport in Sardinia to return sand, pebbles and shells confiscated from tourists’ luggage to beaches on Sardinia's famed 'Emerald Coast'.…

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Barcelona to act against catering establishments that put tables in public spaces

Barcelona city council is to start taking decisive action against catering establishments that put tables on public spaces. The city council claims many are illegal and take up too much…

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Malta: Authorities set to clamp down on unlicensed holiday apartments rent

Malta Today reveals that authorities are set to clamp down on unlicensed holiday apartments rented out to tourists. Industry sources told the paper that an initial estimate of 3,000 of…

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British holiday firms LateRooms and Superbreak close down

Booking website LateRooms.com and York-based holiday agent Superbreak - both owned by the Malvern Group - folded on Thursday. Between them, they had some 53,000 customers. In a statement, Malvern…

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Rome continues to enforce zero tolerance towards rowdy tourists

Rome's is enforcing it’s new 'zero tolerance' policy meaning among other things that anyone caught taking a dip in the fountains may be fined up to €450. After a string…

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Midday Dispatch – Corporate and Financial News

Inbound tourist trips in Malta, for the first five months of 2019 amounted to 929,979, an increase of 2.8 per cent over the same period in 2018. Total tourism expenditure…

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Airbnb gives in to EU demands and brings operations in line with EU consumer law

The global shared economy online accommodation platform Airbnb has given in to pressure from the European Commission pressure and will change the way it advertises the fees for its popular…

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France to introduce eco-tax on airlines flying out of France

France will introduce an eco-tax on airlines flying out of France, which is expected to raise around €180 million from 2020, transport minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday. "We have…

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Labour shortage a burning issue in Croatia

The President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) Luka Burilović said that Croatia had benefited from its membership of the European Union, however, the labour shortage was becoming…

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Global Tourism Under Review – Part 2

Hotspots around the world are struggling under the weight of “over-tourism”, which threatens massive destruction of local environments and communities. Tourists are responsible for large quantities of single-use plastics that…

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First drop in five years in tourist arrivals in Greece

Tourist arrivals this summer in Greece are slightly slower than last year, according to surveys, air arrival data and hoteliers. The drop observed in May appears to have continued into…

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Paris wants to ban tourist buses from city centre

Authorities in the French capital Paris are seriously considering banning tourist buses from the city centre after complaints about nuisances caused by mass tourism Paris authorities said this will also…

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Entry fee for Venice postponed

The planned new tourist entry fee for Venice has been put off from September 1st to January 1st next year. The delay came following months of discussions between city hall…

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Paris aims to ban tourist buses from city centre to address mass tourism nuisances

Paris aims to ban tourist buses from the city centre to spur visitors to walk, cycle or take public transport, tackling complaints about nuisances caused by mass tourism, the French…

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Global Tourism in Review – From 25 million in 1950 to 1.4 billion in 2018 – The growing role of tourism in the world’s economy (Part 1)

Tourism is on the rise. In 2018 there were a record 1.4bn international tourist arrivals, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO), a rise of 6% over 2017. That doesn’t…

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Amsterdam having second thoughts about various festivals in the city

Amsterdam city council is taking a critical look at the effect of festivals on the city and plans to set up a special commission to vet which events can…

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10 European cities appeal to the EU for support against Airbnb

Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna want more support from the European Union in their fight against tourist rental through online platforms like Airbnb. They…

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Corporate Dispatch Be Informed Evening Roundup

Good evening, These are the headlines of the stories reviewed and worked on by our editorial team. Iran executes former Defence ministry employee suspected with spying for US…

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Bruges takes steps to stem mass tourism

After similar steps in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands and Barcelona, in Spain, the Belgian city of Bruges announced that the municipality would no longer advertise or promote day trips…

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Tourists fined for cycling bare-chested in Venice

Two British tourists were fined a total of 350 euros for cycling bare-chested around Venice Friday. The incident happened in the busy square outside the church of San Simeon Piccolo.…

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The changing climate threatening Spain’s tourism industry

Though one might assume that hotter weather favours the tourism industry in certain countries, experts warned that such a situation is causing more harm than good to the Spanish tourism…

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More tourist deaths reported at Dominican Republic resorts

Dominican authorities have asked the FBI for assistance investigating the mysterious deaths of three Americans-Miranda Schaup-Werner, 41, and of a couple, Nathaniel Edward Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day -…

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Jun

Hyatt Hotels Corporation enters into franchise agreement with Bay Street to develop first Hyatt-branded hotel in Malta

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into a franchise agreement with Bay Street Holdings Limited to develop the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Malta. Located on…

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Tourism industry in Croatia appeals for more foreign workers

Croatia’s association of tourist firms (HUT) and the national association of employers (HUP) said in a joint appeal to the Government in Zagreb to allow more foreign workers into the…

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Tourist bookings in Italy drop for 1st time in 5 years

Tourist bookings to Italy this summer have dropped for the first time in five years, the Cst-Assoturismo Confesercenti business group said Thursday. Some 205 million tourists are expected to come…

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Chinese Club Med owner in talks to buy Thomas Cook tour operating business

The Chinese owner of Club Med is in secret talks to buy Thomas Cook's‎ tour operating business, paving the way for the potential break-up of the 178 year-old British travel…

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British holidaymakers hit as pound slides

The pound has fallen to its lowest level for five months just as many British holidaymakers start to get ready to head off for the late-May half-term break. Sterling had…

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Greece expects more than five million cruise passengers this summer

Greece’s Union of Cruise Shipowners and Associated Members estimated that Greek ports are expected to welcome more than five million cruise passengers this summer, breaking last year’s record. The experts…

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Anglo-German tour operator TUI reiterates its outlook for lower profits

Anglo-German tour operator TUI said its first-half losses deepened due to airline overcapacity for Spain and the grounding of its 15 Boeing 737 MAX planes, two issues that could…

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Amsterdam continues drive to curb nuisance from mass tourism…steps against guided tours in Red Light District

The Amsterdam city council approved a ban on guided tours in the Red Light District. The ban will be implemented on January 1st. From January 1st all tour guides…

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Photo Story: Peru restricts access in the historic Inca city of Machu Picchu

A view of the citadel of Machu Picchu, South-Andean region of Cusco, Peru. Peru has announced that it will be restricting access to three major attractions in the historic Inca…

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British shunning holidays in EU amid Brexit uncertainty

Travel company Thomas Cook said that more people in UK are opting for destinations outside the European Union for their holidays compared to previous years in the face of a…

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Marriott International launches its own ‘home rental service’ targeting Airbnb

Marriott International has become the first major hotel company to launch its own home rental service, taking aim at the business at the heart of Airbnb’s success. The world’s largest…

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Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka start to leave impact on tourism

Sri Lankan Airlines' chief executive Visual Gunatilleka said on Monday that the carrier had a 10 percent increase in cancellations last week and expects that number to go up. He…

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Madrid adopts rules to shut down over 10,000 holiday apartments and curtail mass tourism

The Madrid city council approved a plan regulating holiday rentals that will lead to the shutting down over 10,000 apartments currently used for short-term tourist stays and is aimed…

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Express Trailers helps Revive Round Valletta Race… Sponsors 1st Edition of Mellieħa Athletic Club’s Round Valletta 5K

The Mellieha Athletic Club is announcing a new race in Valletta on Easter Saturday, 20th April. The Valletta Express 5K Challenge, which has found the support of Express Trailers as…

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Exclusive: Operators in Malta’s tourism sector looking at the business scenario with trepidation and concern

Operators in the tourism sectors are looking at the business scenario in the sector with ‘great trepidation and concern’. Significantly, the operators are concerned for the sustainability of the tourism…

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Corporate Dispatch Morning Briefing and Newspaper Review

Good morning, Malta's tourism sector, the Commons' taking control of the Brexit process, cease-fire after escalation of violence in Gaza Strip are the main news in this morning's briefing. These…

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Thomas Cook to close 21 stores across UK

Travel operator Thomas Cook has announced plans to close 21 stores, resulting in 320 job losses, in an effort to address changing customer behaviour as more people book holidays…

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‘The Beach’, made famous by the movie starring DiCaprio to be closed indefinitely

One of the world’s most popular beaches, made famous by the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is to be closed indefinitely to allow it to recover from the damage caused by…

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Over €1,000 fine for stealing sand in Sardegna

ANSA: 40 year old British National from Naples was arrested and fined over € 1,000 after being caught stealing sand from a beach in Sardegna. The person was caught with…

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Malta News Evening Round Up

Good evening, The Maltese portals lead with the follow up on the murder of Shannon Mak. Today, a 22 year-old Dutch national Jelle Rijmpa was charged with the murder of Dutch woman…

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Hotel chain fined $2.2 million for manipulating TripAdvisor reviews

CNN reports that one of Australia's largest hotel chains has been fined $2.2 million ($3 million AUD) for trying to prevent negative reviews on the popular TripAdvisor website. Australia's federal court said…

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Summer tourism results in a 40% increase in marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea

Summer tourism is leading to a sharp increase in the amount of plastic ending up in the Mediterranean Sea, new research shows. Analysis for the WWF to mark United Nations World…

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Venice issues three-year ban on new takeaways and restrictions for existing ones

In an attempt to remove the “blots on the Venice copybook” noted by UNESCO, which had threatened to include Venice in its “black list” of World Heritage Sites at risk, and…

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Valencia closes in on rooms with a view

Authorities in Valencia are proposing a law to restrain holiday rentals around the city. If the regional government votes in favour of the bill, the Spanish city will be empowered…

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GG Hospitality appoints Winston J Zahra as CEO – The Caterer

The Caterer: GG Hospitality, the hotel and restaurant firm backed by former Manchester United footballers Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, has appointed Winston J Zahra as its new chief executive. Zahra…

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