French tourism bosses tell Macron to scrap his travel ban on UK holidaymakers as they accuse him of punishing the industry over worsening ties with Britain

• Tourism bosses have told French President Emmanuel Macron to scrap the travel ban on UK tourists, which was put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus 
• Industry figures claim French resorts face economic catastrophe this month
• The Omicron variant of coronavirus is now the most dominant in France  

French tourism bosses last night told Emmanuel Macron to scrap his travel ban on UK holidaymakers, accusing him of punishing the industry over worsening ties with Britain.

The French president slapped the tough measures on UK tourists shortly before Christmas, claiming it was to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.

Senior industry figures across the Channel said several holiday and ski resorts face economic ‘catastrophe’ this month unless the ban is lifted. 

It comes as the country’s own public health agency yesterday admitted Omicron is now the most dominant variant in France. Omicron helped drive infection numbers to a record 232,000 new cases yesterday, piling more pressure on Mr Macron to back down.

Francois Badjily, head of the Alpe d’Huez tourist office, suggested France was playing politics with the pandemic. ‘We have the impression that our industry is being made to pay the price for the poor relations between both countries right now, whether it’s about Brexit or fishing or whatever,’ he said.

Mr Badjily said the current rules were incoherent because fully vaccinated tourists from other countries where the Omicron strain is already present are able to visit.

Vaccine passports are needed to enter French holiday hotspots such as ski resorts, as well as restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.

Alpe d’Huez draws a quarter of its visitors from the UK every year, and Mr Badjily added: ‘Why should a Briton who meets these criteria not be allowed to come, but the French and Belgians can?’

Christophe Lavaut, director of the Val d’Isere ski resort, also called on officials in Paris to axe the ‘compelling reason to travel’ directive that has stopped holidaymakers coming to France. ‘This restriction should simply be lifted as it is no longer necessary,’ he added.

At least 42 per cent of Val d’Isere’s customers are British, said Mr Lavaut, who urged his government to act ‘at the beginning of January’. Mr Macron’s travel measures have created chaos and sowed confusion throughout the entire Christmas break.

Earlier this week, border police even prevented Britons who were legal residents in the EU from returning to their homes – French officials at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone said they were not allowed to cross through France on health grounds.

But the EU’s top disease agency said in a report last month that Omicron travel restrictions only ‘help buy valuable time during the first days of detection’, adding that in countries already experiencing community transmission ‘such measures will probably not be relevant for much longer’.

The French government failed to reply to the Mail’s request for comment. Germany will remove Britain from its travel red list on Tuesday after its government admitted Omicron was already widely present in the country.

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10359911/French-tourism-bosses-tell-Macron-scrap-travel-ban-UK-holidaymakers.html

Digital tourism in the lockdown era

Tourism was one of the sectors that suffered the most from the COVID-19 pandemic. As early as April 2020, the International Air Transport Association has reported that over twenty million jobs were at risk.

You’ve been dreaming about traveling throughout your college years, but you never could afford it. You rarely had any free time. Half of your time was devoted to studies, and all the free time you could’ve had was spent on odd jobs to support your living and pay your tuition. 

Yes, you could’ve gone for a weekend to another town or another state, but never to a different country. Despite digitalization providing you with many possibilities, you simply didn’t have enough time or money to do that. 

And then, suddenly, the whole idea of traveling was stolen from you by the novel coronavirus. If you haven’t been working remotely, you lost your job. All your college life has gone online. And you are watching the news and finding out that yet another country goes on lockdown. 

Previously, you thought that you could’ve saved enough money and used one of 24/7 homework help services to spend a weekend, at least, in another country. And the only reason to get homework help from online services is that you are too depressed to do it on your own. 

Tourism was one of the sectors that suffered the most from the COVID-19 pandemic. As early as April 2020, the International Air Transport Association has reported that over twenty million jobs were at risk. Countries and regions that were dependent on tourism were hit the hardest. 

Fatalists were quick to claim that nothing was going to be the same and that the world would never go back to the norm. And it, indeed, seems like mass tourism is unlikely to bounce back to an insane number of over a billion international tourists. But that doesn’t mean that the sector is dead beyond resurrection. 

Rebuilding tourism: Key priorities
Since the novel coronavirus had enveloped the world, things were looking pretty grim for tourism. The predicted drop was 80%, and the actual drop wasn’t far from that number. And governments from around the world have made impressive steps, enabling tourism to survive in the short and medium-term:

• restoring traveler confidence;
• helping tourism businesses to adjust;
• supporting local tourism and facilitating international tourism recovery;
• providing exhaustive information to travelers and businesses;
• maintaining capacity in the sector and solving arising issues;
• improving cooperation locally and internationally;
• building more resilient, sustainable tourism.

But taking measures for short-term or medium-term survival wasn’t enough to help tourism continue. The pandemic is a lesson to learn from. And there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of changes expected in the post-pandemic world. 

Main changes in traveling during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world of tourism. The question of whether those changes will persist in the future or not is still debatable. But there are several things that you should know if you are planning to travel within the next several years. Let’s check them out. 

The popularity of travel agents is on the rise again
Previously, all you had to do was find the proper flight and accommodation. But nowadays, almost every destination has its own rules and regulations in terms of vaccine and testing requirements. Somewhere, you are allowed to cross the border if you were vaccinated with Pfizer. Certain destinations require tests done as recently as 72 hours before the flight; others don’t.

This led to the rise in the popularity of travel agents. They will provide you with all the information about the vaccine rules and regulations in your tourist destination. But it’s not only their knowledge of health and safety guidelines that attracts the tourists but the ability to change tickets or cancel flights if needed. 

More money is spent on flexibility and insurance
The COVID-19 continues to mutate and change. The Delta variant arrived in late 2020, and Omicron was discovered in November 2021. And it affected tourists’ habits, especially in terms of flexibility and insurance. And people are willing to pay more to be safe. 

Previously, people opted for lower prices for airfare tickets and hotel rooms rent because they were sure that once they booked everything, they were going to make the trip. Nowadays, people are willing to pay more to have flexibility. You might want to go somewhere else or cancel your flight if the outbreak of the new variant of COVID-19 occurs in your destination point. 

The same goes for insurance. Previously, a lot of people opted against tourist insurance. Now, realizing that you may not get home if you catch COVID-19, tourists started getting insurance. Thus, you do need to cover your staying costs while recovering from the disease in another country. 

The rise of the workation popularity
Remember how you couldn’t travel because of your work? Remember hard decisions between working and traveling? Well, you don’t have to decide anymore. Remote employment opportunities allow you to work from any corner of the world. Even on the go, if you have a strong Internet connection. 

This led to a thing known as workcations. You can’t be present in the office because all of you are working remotely. So, why not log in your workday while on the beach? You can easily work from Lombok or wherever you want to go. Based on Booking.com research, the idea to combine work and leisure during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the rise of workcations. 

Final thoughts
No one can say for sure how long the pandemic will last. The chances that it will come to an end within several years increase with the advances of vaccines. At the same time, the pandemic’s impact on tourism will remain. And not all of the effects are negative. 

Surprisingly, the pandemic had quite a positive effect on ethical tourism. Nowadays, tourists feel the actual need to help the local communities of the destination point. And instead of staying at large multinational hotels and eating at the international restaurant chains, they stay at local hotels and dine out in local cafes. 

Source: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/digital-tourism-in-the-lockdown-era

Bookings cancelled and plans changed as ‘chilling talk of Plan B’ hits hospitality sector

Restaurants and bars desperately need to have a good festive period after a “lost” Christmas last year – but now there are fears that mixed messaging and nervousness among customers could have a catastrophic impact.

Business owners across the hospitality industry say COVID rule changes are already having a “chilling” impact on bookings.

Many who have survived 20 months of lockdowns and restrictions as well as a “lost” Christmas last year, say a strong festive period this year is essential to their survival.

Data from reservations website OpenTable also suggests that diners became more cautious over the weekend after news of the Omicron variant came to light.

New restrictions came into place at 4am on Tuesday morning, including mandatory mask wearing on public transport, in shops, museums and other locations. Advertisement

While the hospitality sector is, thus far, exempt from these rules, many fear a nervousness setting in amongst customers.

Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, is one voice already sounding the alarm.

“Every restaurant I’ve spoken to today, is now experiencing Xmas party cancellations.” he said on Twitter.

“Most of these businesses desperately needed a good December.

“The knock on effect will be catastrophic. Businesses, jobs, supply chain. A blow to a devastating year.”

OpenTable’s figures suggest that the level of people opting to eat out did fall in relative terms this weekend compared to the previous weekend.

On Saturday 20 November the number of seated diners was up 31% on the level seen two years ago – but by Saturday 27 November this had fallen to 20%.

There is concern that a lack of clarity from the government and those who advise it is not helping.

On Tuesday Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK’s Health Security Agency, said that “not socialising when we don’t particularly need to” would “help keep the virus at bay”.

The inference seemed to be that people should reduce contacts over the festive period and potentially cancel Christmas parties.

This was rejected by Prime Minister Boris Johnson who insisted he has implemented a package of “balanced and proportionate measures”.

The health secretary Sajid Javid reiterated that stance by suggesting people do not need to cancel parties but should consider taking a test before attending.

But many in hospitality fear the damage is already done.

“The chilling talk of Plan B is already being felt across hospitality as bookings are cancelled and plans changed,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality.

“There is no doubt that this will have a damaging effect on businesses, just as they head into their key trading period.

“This all comes at a critical time for the sector, as costs are rising across the board, supply chain issues continue, chronic labour shortages show no sign of easing and next year will see a return of 20% VAT rate.”

The importance of this period and customer confidence is being echoed by those in retail.

Many are very aware that real disposable income is falling due to the steep rises in petrol and energy costs as well as inflation more generally.

Footfall has also struggled to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

While it has improved in recent months, last week it was still 17% lower than during the same week in 2019.

Shop owners such as Sam Haq, who owns SWAG in Reading, say they need customers to remain confident.

“I believe the most important thing is not to lose customers now,” he said.

“This is where a lot of the shopkeepers and owners are going to have a problem.

“Do they worry about customers wearing masks or do they say nothing and welcome the trade? And I think 90% of them will just welcome the trade because they need the sales.

“To be honest if we have another lockdown it could put a lot of businesses down to the bottom and close.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/bookings-cancelled-and-plans-changed-as-chilling-talk-of-plan-b-hits-hospitality-sector-12483797

When the Biggest Spenders Aren’t Coming Back Any Time Soon

Even before Omicron’s arrival, China was discouraging its citizens from traveling abroad. That has had a huge impact on global tourism.

On Jeju Island in South Korea, the markets have gone dark. In Bangkok, bored hawkers wait around for customers who never come. In Bali, tour guides have been laid off. In Paris and Rome, the long lines of people with selfie sticks and sun hats are a distant memory.

This was supposed to be the year travel came back. In Europe and Asia, many countries reopened their airports and welcomed tourists. But they are confronting a new reality: Variants such as Omicron are causing global panic, leading governments to shut borders again, and their biggest spenders — Chinese tourists — aren’t returning any time soon.

As part of its effort to maintain a zero-Covid approach, China has announced that international flights would be kept at 2.2 percent of pre-Covid levels during the winter. Since August, it has almost entirely stopped issuing new passports, and it has imposed a 14-day quarantine for all arrivals. Returning to China also requires mountains of paperwork and multiple Covid-19 tests.

No country has been more crucial to global travel in the past decade than China. Chinese tourists spent roughly $260 billion in 2019, exceeding all other nationalities. Their prolonged absence would mean travel revenues are unlikely to return to prepandemic levels soon. Analysts say it could take up to two years before China fully reopens.

Shopping malls have emptied out. Restaurants have shut down. Hotels are deserted.

The downturn is particularly affecting North and Southeast Asia. China is the No. 1 source of tourism in Asia for several large cities, according to Nihat Ercan, the head of investment sales for the Asia Pacific at JLL Hotels & Hospitality, an adviser to the hospitality industry.

The recent discovery of Omicron has prompted countries to reimpose travel restrictions or bar travelers altogether. It’s another blow to an industry that, though still reeling from the lack of Chinese tourists, was just starting to recover.

In Bangkok’s Or Tor Kor fruit market, where masses of Chinese tourists would once gather around tables eating durian, business has ground to a halt. Phakamon Thadawatthanachok, a durian seller, said she used to keep 300 to 400 kilograms of the spiky fruit in stock and had to resupply them three to four times a week to keep up with the demand. Now, she had to take a loan just to make ends meet.

“The loss of income is immeasurable,” she said. “At the moment, we are only holding onto the hope that it will get better someday.”

In Vietnam, the pandemic has caused over 95 percent of tourism businesses to close or suspend operations, according to the government.

Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors flocked to the beach towns of Da Nang and Nha Trang, accounting for around 32 percent of the foreign tourists into the country.

“The service industry in this city has died,” said Truong Thiet Vu, director of a travel company in Nha Trang that is now shut down.

On the Indonesian island of Bali, many tourist agencies have either sold their vehicles or have had them confiscated by their leasing companies, according to Franky Budidarman, the owner of one of two major travel agencies on the island that caters to Chinese tourists.

Mr. Budidarman said he had to cut the salaries of his office workers by half and pivoted to running a food delivery service and a cafe. “I’m grateful that I have survived for two years now,” he said. “I sometimes wonder how I could have done this.”

For the places that catered to Chinese tourists who traveled in group packages, the loss has been especially stark. On Jeju Island, popular among Chinese visitors because they could enter without visas, the number of tourists arriving from China dropped more than 90 percent to 103,000 in 2020 from more than 1 million in 2019. From January to September of this year, that number was only about 5,000.

As many as half of the duty-free shops catering to Chinese tourists in Jeju have closed, according to Hong Sukkyoun, a spokesman for the Jeju Tourism Association. At the Big Market Shopping Center, which used to sell island specialties like chocolate and crafts, all but three of 12 employees have been laid off, said An Younghoon, 33, who was among those who became jobless in July.

“When the virus began spreading, we all started counting our days down,” he said. “We knew there wasn’t going to be any business soon.”

Chinese visitors are less common in Europe, but they had emerged as an increasingly important market in recent years. At the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London, for example, about 1,000 people visited per day in its peak, and at least half of them were from China, said Paul Leharne, the museum’s supervisor.

Since its reopening on May 17, the museum has attracted only 10 percent of its usual numbers. This year, it opened an online store to sell merchandise and souvenirs, about a third of which is being shipped to China, he said.

“We really feel their absence,” said Alfonsina Russo, the director of the Colosseum in Rome, referring to Chinese tourists.

Asian tourists, “especially from China,” made up around 40 percent of international visitors to the Colosseum in 2019, according to Ms. Russo. That year, the site had adjusted its panels and guides to include the Chinese language, along with English and Italian.

The number of international tourists arriving in Italy remains down 55 percent, compared with a Europe-wide drop of 48 percent, according to statistics issued in June by ENIT, the national tourism agency. In 2019, two million Chinese tourists visited Italy.

Their disappearance has dealt “a devastating blow” to some businesses that had invested in this particular group, said Fausto Palombelli, head of the tourism section of Unindustria, a business association in the Lazio region, which includes Rome.

Like so many other places, Rome had taken steps to cater to visitors from China. It taught its taxi drivers to thank its Chinese customers with a “xie xie,” or thank you in Mandarin. Its main airport, Fiumicino, offered a personal shopping service with no value-added tax to attract Chinese travelers, according to Raffaele Pasquini, head of marketing and business development at Aeroporti di Roma, the company that manages Fiumicino.

In France, knowing that it may be months — possibly years — before Chinese tourists return, some are trying to keep a connection with potential customers.

Catherine Oden, who works for Atout France, the national institute in charge of promoting France as a tourist destination, said she had to familiarize herself with Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin to live-stream virtual activities like French cooking lessons and tours of the Château de Chantilly.

“We want to be present in their minds,” she said. “So that once everything gets back to normal, they choose France as their first destination.”

In Paris, long lines of Chinese tourists snaking around the boutiques of the Champs-Élysées used to be a common sight. “Before the pandemic, we had four Chinese-speaking salespeople,” said Khaled Yesli, 28, the retail manager of a luxury boutique on the Champs-Élysées. “We only have one left, and no intention to recruit any more.”

Mr. Yesli said the store’s best-selling product was once a red and gold metal box containing macarons and hand creams that was designed purposely for Chinese tourists. But with sales lackluster in the pandemic, those boxes are now on the bottom shelf.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/world/asia/china-tourism-omicron-covid.html

Austria in lockdown: Hotels set to open just 12 days before Christmas

Austria’s tourism sector was plunged back into lockdown this week – for the fourth time since the pandemic began.

It’s the first country to take the drastic measure, despite spiralling COVID-19 infection rates across Europe. The hotels, restaurants, bars and cultural attractions forced to shut on Monday are unlikely to be able to reopen until 13 December – leaving just 12 days until Christmas.

From the traditional Christmas markets of Vienna, to the ski slopes of the Alps, there’s plenty of reasons why tourists flock to Austria over the festive season. Businesses were no doubt hoping the Yuletide spirit would work some magic on their finances, after a tough two years. So how are they faring now?

The luxury hotel still open for a lucky few

Inside Vienna’s historic Sacher Hotel, Christmas has already arrived. The lobby is decked out in its finery, though only a few fortunate business travellers are there to see it.

One told owner and managing director Matthias Winkler that “he feels like a king, because he has the whole building to himself”, which is quite something, given the hotel’s 152 luxury rooms.

Though he remains sanguine, Winkler says it was emotional to see an increase of guests coming to Austria – with visits approaching 70 per cent of 2019 levels – before his growing confidence was cut short by the lockdown announcement.

Practice makes perfect, however, and one thing Sacher Hotel has learnt over previous lockdowns is how to keep bringing its world-famous chocolate cake to the world.

Having observed that McDonald’s drive-thu was one of the few places open in the city last year, the concierge began selling ‘Sacher Torte’ on a little stand outside the hotel.

“We expected this to make a nice Instagram story but probably not more,” says Winkler.

“Completely wrong, people were loving it.”

This time they’re even doing home deliveries, with other Viennese specialities such as Wiener Schnitzel on the take-away menu. Some of the 16 to 18-year-old staff also had the idea to make Christmas sweets in the kitchens and sell them for charity.

“You would be surprised how much Christmas you would find,” Winkler says of the hotel’s interior.

With New Year also around the corner, they’re hoping to host a large number of guests for the renowned New Year’s Day Concert, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic just down the road. No one yet knows if it will go ahead.

A clear signal is needed from the government in the next few days, says Winkler, to stem the tide of cancellations in the city.

‘Another catastrophe’ for some businesses

Not all businesses are feeling so optimistic. One leading Viennese restaurant, whose owners did not want to be named, said “there is not much to say other than it is a catastrophe for our industry for the fourth time now.”

There’s an acknowledgement among others that while the lockdown is a blow to business, it shows that health is an important issue in Austria.

“This lockdown is epidemiologically necessary,” the Vienna Tourist Board tells Euronews Travel.

“At the same time, it means a frustrating situation for Vienna as a tourist destination, where efforts were made throughout the year to prepare for the important winter business by also taking all necessary measures according to scientific standards.

“The booking situation before Christmas this year was promising, the recovery tendencies were clearly visible.

“However, the increasing demand of the last months has proven that Vienna’s international attractiveness is unbroken. We hope that international travel will be possible again from 13 December.”

Source: https://www.euronews.com/travel/2021/11/25/austria-in-lockdown-hotels-set-to-open-just-12-days-before-christmas

India opens to fully vaccinated foreign tourists

Restriction rollback marks the first time since March 2020 that India has allowed foreign tourists on commercial flights to enter the country.

India began allowing fully vaccinated foreign tourists to enter the country on regular commercial flights, in the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions as infections fall and vaccinations rise.

Tourists entering India, starting on Monday, must be fully vaccinated, follow all COVID-19 protocols and test negative for the virus within 72 hours of their flight, according to the health ministry. Many will also need to undergo a post-arrival COVID-19 test at the airport.

However, travellers from countries that have agreements with India for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, such as the United States, United Kingdom and many European nations, can leave the airport without undergoing a COVID-19 test.

This is the first time India has allowed foreign tourists on commercial flights to enter the country since March 2020, when it imposed one of the toughest lockdowns in the world in an attempt to contain the pandemic. Fully vaccinated tourists on chartered flights were allowed to enter starting last month.

It came as coronavirus infections had fallen significantly, with daily new cases hovering at just above 10,000 for more than a month.

To encourage travellers to visit India, the government planned to issue 500,000 free visas through next March. The moves were expected to boost the tourism and hospitality sector which has been battered by the pandemic.

“The pandemic devastated the industry but things will return to normal once foreign tourists start to arrive,” said Jyoti Mayal, President of the Travel Agents Association of India.

Mayal said coastal states like Kerala and Goa in the country’s south and Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayan north are already witnessing a surge in domestic tourists. All four states are heavily dependent on earnings from tourism, and Mayal said foreign travellers scheduling their visits there would also help lift the local economy.

“Tourism is a very resilient industry and the upcoming season looks very promising. We are hopeful of generating more jobs than we lost during the pandemic,” she said.

With more than 35 million reported coronavirus infections, India is the second-worst-hit country after the US. Active coronavirus cases stand at 134,096, the lowest in 17 months, according to the health ministry.

Nearly 79 percent of India’s adult population has received at least one vaccine dose while 38 percent is fully vaccinated. The federal government has asked state administrations to conduct door-to-door campaigns to accelerate the vaccine campaign.

Fewer than three million foreign tourists visited India in 2020, a drop of more than 75 percent from 2019, when tourism brought nearly $30bn in earnings.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/15/india-opens-to-fully-vaccinated-foreign-tourists

Retailers hail lifting of travel ban, return of international tourists with hopes of sales rebound

As the holiday shopping season picks up, retailers across the country hope to get a lift from another wave of spenders: international tourists who can visit the U.S. once again

Starting Monday, the Biden administration will allow visitors from abroad into the country again. Most foreign travelers from more than 30 countries, including the U.K. and Brazil, have been restricted since early 2020, as Covid-19 cases rose globally. Visitors must be fully vaccinated against Covid and have a negative Covid test within three days before departure. Exemptions apply to travelers under the age of 18, if they have medical reasons preventing them from getting a vaccine, or are traveling from one of 50 countries with low vaccine availability.

For retailers, the policy is a much-awaited change that may help them fill up stores and ring up bigger sales again. At stake are billions of dollars that tourists spend on not only souvenirs, but luxury handbags, high-end makeup, top-shelf liquor and other items they often can’t find at home. Global visitors fueled more than $43.4 billion of shopping in 2019 — or 27% of the total shopping driven by travel and tourism, according to the International Trade Administration.

Yet retail experts and companies say it will take time for tourists to return to the U.S. and spend at post-pandemic levels. Airlines still have fewer flights. Other countries, including China, tightly restrict outbound travel. And pandemic-related logistics, from long lines at the airport to show proof at vaccination to Covid test when returning home, could delay travelers from booking a trip.

“Airlines will tell you that they are seeing a surge in booking. What they don’t quantify is when. Hotels will tell you is they’re seeing an uptick in bookings. What they won’t tell you is when,” said Daniel Binder, a partner for Columbus Consulting who focuses on travel retail. “The ban will lift, and it will take time.”

Binder saw the spending power of international tourists — especially Chinese tourists — up close as a longtime executive at DFS, a luxury goods travel retailer that’s owned by LVMH. He said he also saw the many months it took for global tourists to flock back and spend freely after other challenging periods, including the 9/11 terrorism attacks and the SARS outbreak.

Still, National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said there is a feeling of optimism as the ban lifts. He said that as Americans feel comfortable booking trips, dining out and having more active lives, they are also shopping. As international tourists visit, that will “give a jolt to the retail side,” too, he said.

“The return to the service and the experience economy is going to be positive and beneficial for retail and it’s going to be enhanced furthermore by these international visitors returning to the U.S.,” he said Wednesday on a call with reporters.

‘Shot in the arm’ for New York City

International shoppers will be a key ingredient needed for New York City’s recovery. During a typical year, visitors from other countries spend an estimated $4.75 billion on shopping, according to NYC & Company, the city’s tourism board.

Shopping is the most popular activity for people visiting the city from other countries — with 88% of international visitors saying they participate, according to a 2018 survey by the Department of Commerce. That’s compared to 86% who participate in sightseeing, 54% who go to art galleries and museums and 29% who experience fine dining.

In contrast, less than 30% of tourists from other parts of the U.S. shop when they are in New York City.

“It’s a pivotal milestone in our recovery, for sure,” said Chris Heywood, executive vice president of global communications at NYC & Company. “Welcoming back the international traveler is exactly the shot in the arm that New York City needs right now.”

In the coming days, Heywood said the tourism group will unveil a project with Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and other retailers to incentivize visitors to return to their stores. Over the next few months, he said the group plans to spend $6 million across the globe on advertising about New York City. He said that money will be concentrated in countries that have loosened their policies in a way that makes it easier for their citizens to leave and return home. These include South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France and Italy. Places where restrictions are till very tight, such as China, will not be part of the advertising campaign.

Heywood said New York City benefits from having many shopping districts that are themselves tourist destinations — such as Fifth Avenue, Times Square and Hudson Yards — along with attractions like Broadway shows and art museums.

“This is a chance to actually get back to this notion of that shopping experience and having the bragging rights to say ‘I bought that on Fifth Avenue’ or ‘I bought that in New York,’” he said. “That’s something people have not been able to have.”

Still, he said it will take years to build back up the city’s tourism and shopping revenue. The group expects about 2.8 million international visitors to come to New York City this year, compared with 13.5 million international visitors in 2019. Next year, it expects international visitors to triple to about 8.5 million and by 2024, it expects international tourism to roughly match pre-pandemic levels.

“We’re hoping to accelerate that timeline as much as possible,” he said.

‘We don’t see tremendous movement’

Some retailers said they don’t expect the lifted travel restrictions to result in an immediate jump in sales. For many companies, especially those outside of the luxury space, the market doesn’t make up a significant chunk of their businesses. Department store chain Macy’s, for example, said that international tourists accounted for just about 4% of sales in 2019.

Capri Holdings, which owns Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, believes that some international tourists will book trips to the U.S. in the coming weeks. But CEO John Idol noted on an earnings conference call on Wednesday that there was only a minor return among international tourists into Europe, after travel restrictions were lifted. And there has been no return into Japan nor Korea, he said.

“In our forecast, we don’t see tremendous movement changing our trajectory at least in next fiscal year,” Idol said.

For a company like Tiffany, however, it could be worth the extra effort to try to court international visitors back to its U.S. stores. The jewelry chain, now owned by LVMH, typically sees about 12% of sales domestically coming from foreign tourists.

This holiday season, Tiffany has opened a pop-up shop in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, which pays homage to the legendary Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger. The space, which features a number of Instagram friendly backdrops and activities for visitors such as painting, is open to the public from Monday until Jan. 8.

It’s the mall operators — some of the most challenged by stay-at-home trends in 2020 and consumers shifting into e-commerce — that say they expect to see a boon to traffic as foreigners return.

“We still think that there’s another leg up if we get the international tourist that we haven’t seen for a couple — two, three — years,” Simon Property Group CEO David Simon told analysts on an earnings conference call held Monday.

Simon’s malls include The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, The Galleria mall in Houston, as well as a number of premium outlet centers.

Over in New Jersey, the American Dream megamall is antsy for foreigners to visit. A portion of the 3 million-square-foot development first opened to the public in October 2019. But it was shut down shortly after due to pandemic restrictions. When it had first kicked open American Dream’s doors in the fall of 2019, operator Triple Five Group told CNBC the megamall would draw 40 million visitors annually, many of them foreigners. It has likely only since seen a sliver of that.

American Dream is ramping up its efforts to court tourists to New Jersey’s Meadowlands in preparation for Monday. The megamall has a team entirely dedicated to tourism that is corresponding with travel agencies and helping visitors book trips to the development.

“American Dream was always designed to be a top global tourism destination,” said Jill Renslow, executive vice president of marketing at Triple Five. “We’re also working with New Jersey … making sure we’re showcasing all the things that New Jersey has to offer.”

The fact that sales of clothing and footwear in New Jersey are generally tax exempt should be another appealing factor for foreign visitors to head to the state, she said.

Just last month, the first round of luxury retailers — including Saks Fifth Avenue, Hermes and Dolce & Gabbana — opened up at American Dream. These high-end shops also have their own wing within the megamall, which includes a separate escalator entrance for buses that are there to transport tourists and their shopping bags.

Jeweler David Yurman has laid the groundwork during the pandemic to grow its international sales. It has 45 stores in the U.S. and a handful in Canada, but has partnerships with jewelry and department stores in other parts of the globe.

Over the past year and a half, it has launched dedicated websites in other countries and kickstarted initiatives to woo more Chinese customers, David Yurman head of marketing Lee Tucker said. It started to sell a limited collection through social media and messaging app, WeChat, he said.

Tucker said that salespeople at the jewelers’ stores know how to speak numerous languages, including Mandarin, Arabic and Farsi, so they can welcome tourists and make them feel at home.

Starting this month, a double-decker bus wrapped in the company’s advertisement is driving to destinations like Rodeo Drive and Newport Beach, where international tourists may see it and get inspired to shop.

“We’re holding our breath to understand how international tourists are going to come back to our cities and which groups are going to travel here first,” he said.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/07/retailers-hail-lifting-of-travel-ban-return-of-international-tourists-with-hopes-of-sales-rebound.html

Hoteliers doubt eased tourist rules will make a difference

Operators say new government plan to open borders to foreigners sets too-tight limits on vaccination requirements

A move by the government to open Israel’s borders to visitors has been met with skepticism by some in the tourism industry, who point out that the scheme’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements greatly limit the list of those who would be granted entry, Reuters reported Sunday.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times throughout the year, as COVID infections waxed and waned.

Last week the Prime Minister’s Office said ministers agreed to open Israel’s borders from November 1 to tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease.

Guests at the reception desk in a Tel Aviv hotel, April 27, 2021. (Miriam Alster/ FLASH90)

A move by the government to open Israel’s borders to visitors has been met with skepticism by some in the tourism industry, who point out that the scheme’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements greatly limit the list of those who would be granted entry, Reuters reported Sunday.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times throughout the year, as COVID infections waxed and waned.

However, there were a number of conditions, such as having received at least one booster shot within the previous six months and that the tourists do not arrive from so-called “red countries,” those with high virus infection rates.

Hotel owners in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, and Bethlehem in the West Bank have not seen a marked increase in bookings, according to the report.

Israel Hotel Association CEO Yael Danieli pointed out that many countries have yet to begin administering booster shots to their populations. Whereas Israel pioneered giving third shots to its population in a campaign that began in August, other countries only followed a two-dose vaccination regime.

“How many tourists out in the world have actually gotten boosters or are sitting in that six-month period following their second dose?” she said to Reuters.

Guests at the reception desk in a Tel Aviv hotel, April 27, 2021. (Miriam Alster/ FLASH90)

A move by the government to open Israel’s borders to visitors has been met with skepticism by some in the tourism industry, who point out that the scheme’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements greatly limit the list of those who would be granted entry, Reuters reported Sunday.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times throughout the year, as COVID infections waxed and waned.

Last week the Prime Minister’s Office said ministers agreed to open Israel’s borders from November 1 to tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease.

However, there were a number of conditions, such as having received at least one booster shot within the previous six months and that the tourists do not arrive from so-called “red countries,” those with high virus infection rates.

The timeframe means that any would-be tourist whose most recent booster shot was before May 1 would not be able to travel to Israel. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address By signing up, you agree to the terms

Hotel owners in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, and Bethlehem in the West Bank have not seen a marked increase in bookings, according to the report.

Israel Hotel Association CEO Yael Danieli pointed out that many countries have yet to begin administering booster shots to their populations. Whereas Israel pioneered giving third shots to its population in a campaign that began in August, other countries only followed a two-dose vaccination regime.

“How many tourists out in the world have actually gotten boosters or are sitting in that six-month period following their second dose?” she said to Reuters. Advertisement

A further constraint is that children under the age of 12 are not eligible for vaccination and therefore would not be permitted to enter Israel, even if their parents are, she noted.

Danieli said the government should allow individual tourists to enjoy the same rules that are already in place for small tour groups, which are exempt from the six-month rule, on condition that group members take virus tests every 72 hours during the first two weeks they are in the country.

“We just want to make it easier for tourists, so they come back,” she said. “We can’t say how many will be able to come with these rules.”

Israel’s entry rules also impact the West Bank, as visitors to the area must pass through Israeli border controls.

Joey Canavati, manager of Bethlehem’s Alexander Hotel, told Reuters that although the plans for November are a “great step,” he is not expecting any big change in tourist numbers until next year.

“At the moment, we just want to stop the bleeding, stop digging into our savings,” he said.

Guests at the reception desk in a Tel Aviv hotel, April 27, 2021. (Miriam Alster/ FLASH90)

A move by the government to open Israel’s borders to visitors has been met with skepticism by some in the tourism industry, who point out that the scheme’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements greatly limit the list of those who would be granted entry, Reuters reported Sunday.

The vast majority of tourists have effectively been banned from entering Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020. The reopening of borders has been delayed numerous times throughout the year, as COVID infections waxed and waned.

Last week the Prime Minister’s Office said ministers agreed to open Israel’s borders from November 1 to tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease.

However, there were a number of conditions, such as having received at least one booster shot within the previous six months and that the tourists do not arrive from so-called “red countries,” those with high virus infection rates.

The timeframe means that any would-be tourist whose most recent booster shot was before May 1 would not be able to travel to Israel. Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address By signing up, you agree to the terms

Hotel owners in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, and Bethlehem in the West Bank have not seen a marked increase in bookings, according to the report.

Israel Hotel Association CEO Yael Danieli pointed out that many countries have yet to begin administering booster shots to their populations. Whereas Israel pioneered giving third shots to its population in a campaign that began in August, other countries only followed a two-dose vaccination regime.

“How many tourists out in the world have actually gotten boosters or are sitting in that six-month period following their second dose?” she said to Reuters. Advertisement

A further constraint is that children under the age of 12 are not eligible for vaccination and therefore would not be permitted to enter Israel, even if their parents are, she noted.

Danieli said the government should allow individual tourists to enjoy the same rules that are already in place for small tour groups, which are exempt from the six-month rule, on condition that group members take virus tests every 72 hours during the first two weeks they are in the country.

“We just want to make it easier for tourists, so they come back,” she said. “We can’t say how many will be able to come with these rules.”

Israel’s entry rules also impact the West Bank, as visitors to the area must pass through Israeli border controls.

Joey Canavati, manager of Bethlehem’s Alexander Hotel, told Reuters that although the plans for November are a “great step,” he is not expecting any big change in tourist numbers until next year.

“At the moment, we just want to stop the bleeding, stop digging into our savings,” he said. Advertisement

Under the new regulations, only tourists who have been vaccinated during the 180 days before they boarded the plane will be allowed to enter Israel. In the case of the Pfizer vaccine, seven days must elapse between the traveler’s second or third shot and entry to Israel. In the case of Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson (one dose, not two), Sinovac, and Sinopharm, 14 days must elapse.

After announcing the plan last week, the Prime Minister’s Office said the scheme, which must still be approved by the high-level coronavirus cabinet, may be updated to take into consideration any threat posed by fresh variants of the coronavirus. Several cases of the new AY4.2 variant have already been diagnosed in Israel.

Current regulations allowed tourists to begin arriving in organized groups in May, though in a very limited capacity. Additionally, first-degree relatives of Israeli citizens or residents were able to apply for permits to travel to the country.

Under both the current and the new regulations, all travelers to Israel must take a PCR test within 72 hours of their departure and must take a second test when they land at Ben Gurion Airport. Vaccinated travelers must remain in quarantine either for 24 hours or until they receive a negative test result. Those who are not vaccinated must remain in quarantine for 14 days, which can be shortened to seven days with two negative tests, on days 1 and 7.

Israel appears to be at the tail end of its fourth coronavirus wave, as new infections and serious cases have ticked down over the past few weeks.

Tourism numbers dropped 80 percent in 2020, a plunge from record numbers in 2019 that were worth $7.2 billion to the economy.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/hoteliers-doubt-eased-tourist-rules-will-make-a-difference/

Tourism industry is still on the ropes

Latest tourist accommodation statistics show revenue in the sector is still 60% lower than normal.

While the latest survey of tourism accommodation suggests that tourism and business travel in SA continue to recover strongly, the occupancy rate of hotel and tourism accommodation and revenue earned from accommodation are still way below normal pre-Covid-19 levels.

The latest Statistics SA report on tourism accommodation shows that the number of nights sold in different accommodation types (from hotels and guest houses to caravan parks and campsites, as well as breakaways on farms and other types of accommodation) increased by some 134% in August 2021 compared with August 2020.

This big recovery in bed nights sold follows even larger increases in the preceding months. Compared with a year ago, July clocked up an increase of 225% and June more than 580%.

The increases of over 2 100% in April and 1 750% in May show that the figures are actually irrelevant – travel was banned during April and May 2020.

Likewise, the strong recovery in income earned by hotels and guest houses over the last few months is welcome, but also still only a fraction of normal levels.

“Measured in nominal terms [at current prices], total income for the tourist accommodation industry increased by 88.3% in August 2021 compared with August 2020,” according to the report. “In August 2021, all accommodation types recorded large positive year-on-year growth in income from accommodation.

“The largest year-on-year increases in income from accommodation were reported by caravan parks and camping sites (263,2%) and guest houses and guest farms (257,9%),” says the Stats SA report.

However, a closer look at the figures themselves show that things are not as good as the huge recovery in percentage terms suggests.

Income from accommodation

Total income from accommodation (excluding restaurant and other income, which is still reliant on room occupancy) increased to just less than R890 million in August from R406 million in August 2020.

Total income is still a fraction of what it was in “normal” times. In August 2019, the industry reported income of approximately R2.4 billion.

Annual figures confirm the devastation of the industry during 2020. Total income from accommodation increased steadily year after year, from R27 billion in 2016 to R29 billion in 2019. It fell to only R11 billion in 2020, as hotels, guest houses and nature reserves earned very close to nothing for four months, and very little in the other months of 2020.

National chair of the Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) Rosemary Anderson also points out that while total income for the tourist accommodation industry increased significantly, we know that in August 2020 tourism and hospitality had not been opened up after the pandemic first hit to the same extent as it opened up in August 2021.

Anderson notes that when more travel was allowed there was a good uptake of caravan, camping, self-catering and guest house type accommodation, because “tourists gravitated towards accommodation settings which did not involve many other people and where they could stay within their own bubble”.

“The UK experienced very similar trends in accommodation when it opened up – where self-catering was up significantly on other accommodation sectors. This has been good for some sectors, but damaging for the larger hotel groups,” says Anderson.

Government assurance needed

While Fedhasa acknowledged the big recovery in income in the hospitality industry, it added: “What we really need now, is to be able to have government assurances that any increase in Covid-19 cases or a so-called fourth wave will be controlled through a big vaccination push, as they have done successfully in the UK, and not by any more shutdowns – or restrictions on the very basics of what tourists enjoy while being on holiday, like their favourite wine, beer or malt, and being able to enjoy the night life and freedom to travel inter-provincially.

“As Fedhasa we urge government to put a tremendous push on the vaccination programme as the way to either prevent or control the fourth wave and not even contemplate introducing restrictions again, which will make tourism and hospitality simply financially unviable.

“We simply can’t take any more knocks than we have had,” says Anderson.

“There needs to be some form of guarantee and assurance from government that they will allow hospitality and tourism to continue to recover, without setting us back again.”

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA), also finds the possibility of restrictions during the upcoming holiday worrying.

TBCSA, describing itself as the umbrella organisation representing the unified voice of business in the travel and tourism sector, says the figures in the Stats SA report illustrate the effect of the lockdowns during 2020 clearly.

International tourists

“There has been recovery, but the tourism industry is still suffering due to the absence of international tourists. An increase in local travel during the holiday period will definitely help, but the industry is still reliant on foreign travellers spending dollars.

“The truth is that establishments need to make money to survive and pay their staff and other costs. Most employees in the sector are still working only a few days per week, and temporary seasonal workers not at all,” says Tshivhengwa.

He hints that hotels and guest houses are currently offering discounts to local travellers, just to earn a bit of income. “We need overseas travellers. We must be mindful of what people pay,” he says.

The difficulties of the tourism industry can be seen in any town that is dependent on tourism such as Cape Town, and it even affects Johannesburg, he adds.

It is noticeable to the casual observer. Restaurants aren’t full, it’s easy to get a room (for a good price) in a guest house, and shops in tourism hot spots are standing empty.

Meanwhile, potential holidaymakers are holding off booking a holiday this year – after they were forced to pack up halfway through their break last year and head home.

Source: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/tourism-industry-is-still-on-the-ropes/

African regional bloc loses 92 per cent tourism earnings due to Covid

Six member states of the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc, lost 92 per cent revenues in the tourism sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a top official said here.

Peter Mathuki, the EAC Secretary General, said that tourist arrivals to the region fell from 6.98 million before the pandemic to 2.25 million at present, causing the losses, adding that the tourism sector was the worst hit by the health criris, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The region is now open again for business,” said Mathuki, urging EAC member states governments and other stakeholders to work together to market the region’s tourist attractions and products as part of efforts to ensure speedy recovery for the sector.

The EAC member nations are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda.

“Despite the fact that the pandemic has reversed the gains that we had made in the tourism sector, we are quite confident that through collective and collaborative efforts, we should be able to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels of performance and even do better within a span of less than five years,” Mathuki told the first East African regional tourism expo in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha, also the headquarters of the EAC.

He said that the region had drawn a number of important lessons from the pandemic especially in relation to the economic sectors that were hard hit.

“One lesson that stands out and resonates with most destinations around the world is the need to entrench resilience in the tourism sector,” said Mathuki, adding that the EAC will take a number of steps to enhance recovery in the sector.

Tourism is one of the most significant sectors in all the economies of the EAC region.

The sector contributes an average of about 17 per cent to export earnings and its contribution to GDP is quite substantial averaging at around 10 per cent.

It generates about 7 per cent of employment in the region. Moreover, tourism has important linkages with other sectors of the economy including agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, and finance among others.

Source: https://www.ehospitalitytimes.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=91026&action=edit