Latest news with #TheWorldTravel&TourismCouncil
Ya Libnan
24-05-2025
- Ya Libnan
US is projected to lose over $12 billion in travel spending this year, WTTCI
The US is projected to lose over $12 billion in traveling spending this year, according to a new report from the The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released this week , citing a 22.5% decrease from peak spending, falling to $169 billion from $181 billion last year as many countries issue travel advisories for the US New Hampshire resident Fabian Schmidt was returning home from visiting his family in Europe when he was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) by United States Customs and Border Protection after showing his recently renewed green card. Originally from Germany, he had been living in the US for 18 years, but the 34-year-old was detained for nearly two months after being told he was a flight risk. Finally released last week, he detailed the 'dehumanizing' experience, which included being strip-searched and locked in a secluded cell, to GBH News this week . 'I love this country and the people in it so much—but I'll tell you, the system is broken,' he told the public media outlet. Schmidt is just one of several American visa holders and permanent legal residents who have been stopped at the border returning from international travel, including a Brown University kidney transplant doctor, who has a work visa, but was deported to Lebanon. Foreign nationals have also recently run into roadblocks trying to visit the country legally, including a researcher who French officials say was denied entry after his phone was searched and immigration officers found messages that were critical of the Trump administration. Following these incidents, Canada and several European countries have issued travel advisories for the US. While most of the government warnings don't specify why they were added, the timing points to the the Trump administration's executive orders regarding immigration and the tightening of border policies. 'The whole purpose is to stop illegal immigration,' Larry Yu , professor of hospitality management at The George Washington University's School of Business tells Condé Nast Traveler . 'But then the executive orders are also tied to other issues like transgender identification, so it actually adds quite a bit of confusion, uncertainty, and concern for the US travel industry.' Many of the European countries that have issued US travel warnings have flagged the White House's executive order that states 'it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,' potentially causing issues for transgender travelers with self-identified or 'X' gender markers on their passports . The recent uptick in travel warnings is already having a major impact on US tourism, according to Yu, as several of the advisories were issued by countries that are top drivers of inbound travel to the US, including Canada, the UK, and Germany . 'The image the US has always projected is that we're welcoming and diverse,' Yu says, adding that recent events are making people think about how they see the US. WTTC warns 'This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government. The world's biggest Travel & Tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act,' WTTC's president and CEO Julia Simpson said in a statement . 'While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the 'closed' sign.' In fact new international arrivals data for the month of March already show a sharp decline. Visitation from the UK is down 15% compared to last year, whereas Germany has dipped 22% and South Korea 15%. But the most significant impact is being seen from Canada, as more Canadians are boycotting travel to America since March when then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told citizens to prioritize domestic travel ahead of peak summer travel season. The US Travel Association has warned that US states visited by Canadians—Florida, California, Nevada, New York, and Texas—could see declines in retail and hospitality revenue as a result. The latest data from Statistics Canada for April shows that the number of Canadians returning from US trips decreased by plane (-19.9%) and car (-35.2%) arrivals, compared to the same month last year, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year dips. Airlines have even started cutting flight capacity to the US, with Canadian carriers Air Canada and WestJet cutting routes and using smaller aircrafts. US-based airlines have also been hesitant to release this year's projections , with flight cuts being a major factor. International travel advisories for the US are not entirely new; however, most posted in recent years have been in regard to gun violence. Uruguay and Japan both issued alerts to its citizens in wake of the Dayton, Ohio, shooting in 2019 . Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently lists gun crime as a 'major public safety concern in the US,' including safety advice and statistics on the most common locations and timings of shootings. Japan also warns about the high number of hate crimes in the US based on race, sexual orientation, and religion. Australia-based small-group adventure travel company Intrepid Travel has seen a 'clear decline in demand for travel to the US,' according to its CEO James Thornton , who says they've seen a 40% drop in year-to-year numbers. Yahoo news
AsiaOne
18-05-2025
- AsiaOne
Too many tourists? Crowds offer an opportunity for Italy's south, Lifestyle News
PALERMO, Italy - In a rundown neighbourhood of Sicily's capital Palermo, a whitewashed old farmhouse that accommodates pilgrims now offers two rooms to tourists for bed and breakfast after a renovation. As foreign visitors flock to Sicily, last year Brother Mauro Billetta, head of the parish in the Danisinni neighbourhood, decided that revenue from B&B guests could help lift the area out of decades of neglect. Two months ago he also opened a cafe at the farmhouse, overlooking the vegetable garden. "That was our main goal from the start: To open up this part of the city, and also to tourists," said Mauro, sitting in his brown robes in his office at the parish church. While residents in Rome, Florence and Venice have staged protests, complaining of overcrowded streets and housing shortages due to rising holiday rentals, it's a different story in poorer southern Italy. In Sicily and other parts the tourism boom is helping make some neighbourhoods safer and bringing much needed cash to deprived areas, although residents see risks ahead if it is not controlled. Danisinni is walking distance from Palermo Cathedral and the Norman Palace, two of the Unesco World Heritage sites in the Sicilian capital, which welcomed over 800,000 visitors in 2023, up 16 per cent from 2022. "Our houses became more valuable and some of the businesses that opened in recent years, like the restaurants, are good for the residents as well," said Aurelio Cagnina, while walking his dog near his home by Palermo's ancient port of La Cala. However, some city residents are starting to complain that local authorities are failing to regulate the tourist boom. Short-term rentals are on the rise - more than 180,000 of Palermo's visitors in 2023 stayed in non-hotel accommodation, up 44 per cent from 2019, official data shows - and residents say the growing night life has brought an increase in drug dealing. "The lack of intervention is setting the stage for irreversible transformations. The so-called 'showcase' historic centre is what is happening," Palermo resident Massimo Castiglia said. He reflects fears voiced by residents in Florence and Venice that their city centres will become amusement parks as locals are priced out by visitors. Preservation strategy A rebound in air travel after the pandemic and more low-cost direct flights have led to a surge in visitor numbers to Europe's tourism hot spots, causing friction in parts of Spain and elsewhere, not just Italy - where tourism accounts for more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product. Spending by foreign visitors in Italy rose 19 per cent in 2023 to a record 51.4 billion euros (S$74.6 billion), according to The World Travel & Tourism Council's latest data. Sicily drew 5.5 million tourists in 2023, up 14.5 per cent on 2022, according to local government data, and more than the island's resident population of 4.8 million. "There is no risk of overtourism. The idea that the historical areas will become a desert, sold out to short-term rentals does not exist in Palermo at present," said Alessandro Anello, councillor responsible for tourism in Palermo. Yet he acknowledged a strategy was needed to preserve the city's character. The municipality was considering building student quarters in the city centre, he said, and last month it passed rules to prevent the opening of more mini food markets for the next 18 months. "Otherwise, there would be a risk that it becomes an open-air street food market," Anello said. Revamped image Tourism has helped Palermo to revamp its image after difficult decades that long overshadowed its beauty. Memorial plaques in honour of the victims of the Cosa Nostra Mafia wars of the 1980s and 1990s are scattered across the city, sometimes hidden among shiny shop windows or restaurants serving typical Sicilian food. A car bomb exploded in 1983 in a residential street near the elegant Viale della Liberta boulevard, killing anti-mafia magistrate Rocco Chinnici, two police officers escorting him and the doorman of the building where he lived. Claudia Lombardo, who rents apartments to tourists with her daughter a few metres from the site, believes much has changed since then. "There is a different air, a more open mentality, and I believe the opportunity to interact with tourists has helped a lot," she said. ALSO READ: Florence bans check-in keyboxes as Italy acts against overtourism
Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Straits Times
Too many tourists? Crowds offer an opportunity for Italy's south
PALERMO, Italy - In a rundown neighbourhood of Sicily's capital Palermo, a whitewashed old farmhouse that accommodates pilgrims now offers two rooms to tourists for bed and breakfast after a renovation. As foreign visitors flock to Sicily, last year Brother Mauro Billetta, head of the parish in the Danisinni neighbourhood, decided that revenue from B&B guests could help lift the area out of decades of neglect. Two months ago he also opened a cafe at the farmhouse, overlooking the vegetable garden. "That was our main goal from the start: to open up this part of the city, and also to tourists," said Mauro, sitting in his brown robes in his office at the parish church. While residents in Rome, Florence and Venice have staged protests, complaining of overcrowded streets and housing shortages due to rising holiday rentals, it's a different story in poorer southern Italy. In Sicily and other parts the tourism boom is helping make some neighbourhoods safer and bringing much needed cash to deprived areas, although residents see risks ahead if it is not controlled. Danisinni is walking distance from Palermo Cathedral and the Norman Palace, two of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Sicilian capital, which welcomed over 800,000 visitors in 2023, up 16% from 2022. "Our houses became more valuable and some of the businesses that opened in recent years, like the restaurants, are good for the residents as well," said Aurelio Cagnina, while walking his dog near his home by Palermo's ancient port of La Cala. However, some city residents are starting to complain that local authorities are failing to regulate the tourist boom. Short-term rentals are on the rise - more than 180,000 of Palermo's visitors in 2023 stayed in non-hotel accommodation, up 44% from 2019, official data shows - and residents say the growing night life has brought an increase in drug dealing. "The lack of intervention is setting the stage for irreversible transformations. The so-called 'showcase' historic centre is what is happening," Palermo resident Massimo Castiglia said. He reflects fears voiced by residents in Florence and Venice that their city centres will become amusement parks as locals are priced out by visitors. PRESERVATION STRATEGY A rebound in air travel after the pandemic and more low-cost direct flights have led to a surge in visitor numbers to Europe's tourism hot spots, causing friction in parts of Spain and elsewhere, not just Italy - where tourism accounts for more than 10% of gross domestic product. Spending by foreign visitors in Italy rose 19% in 2023 to a record 51.4 billion euros ($57.56 billion), according to The World Travel & Tourism Council's latest data. Sicily drew 5.5 million tourists in 2023, up 14.5% on 2022, according to local government data, and more than the island's resident population of 4.8 million. "There is no risk of overtourism. The idea that the historical areas will become a desert, sold out to short-term rentals does not exist in Palermo at present," said Alessandro Anello, councillor responsible for tourism in Palermo. Yet he acknowledged a strategy was needed to preserve the city's character. The municipality was considering building student quarters in the city centre, he said, and last month it passed rules to prevent the opening of more mini food markets for the next 18 months. "Otherwise, there would be a risk that it becomes an open-air street food market," Anello said. REVAMPED IMAGE Tourism has helped Palermo to revamp its image after difficult decades that long overshadowed its beauty. Memorial plaques in honour of the victims of the Cosa Nostra Mafia wars of the 1980s and 1990s are scattered across the city, sometimes hidden among shiny shop windows or restaurants serving typical Sicilian food. A car bomb exploded in 1983 in a residential street near the elegant Viale della Liberta boulevard, killing anti-mafia magistrate Rocco Chinnici, two police officers escorting him and the doorman of the building where he lived. Claudia Lombardo, who rents apartments to tourists with her daughter a few metres from the site, believes much has changed since then. "There is a different air, a more open mentality, and I believe the opportunity to interact with tourists has helped a lot," she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
