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<keyword id="23188764" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Tourism-Day-2024" source="Orion">World Tourism Day 2024</keyword> is celebrated every year on September 27 to show how important tourism is for the world. It focuses on how tourism helps bring people together, supports the economy, and shares cultures. This year <keyword id="22517201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Tourism-Day" source="keywords">World Tourism Day</keyword> is focusing on the connection between tourism and world peace. The United Nations is highlighting the importance of understanding different cultures and promoting sustainable tourism. <h2>History of World Tourism Day</h2>World Tourism Day has been celebrated on September 27 since 1980. This date marks the anniversary of when the Statutes of the UN's tourism organisation were adopted in 1970, an important step for global tourism. The timing of the day is perfect as it falls at the end of the busy travel season in the northern hemisphere and the start of the season in the southern hemisphere. In October 1997, the <keyword id="19949373" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UNWTO" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="UNWTO" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="UNWTO">UNWTO</keyword> decided to have a different host country each year to partner in celebrating World Tourism Day. This day is important for raising awareness of how tourism affects social, cultural, political, and economic values around the world. <h2>Host country for this year</h2>In 2024, Georgia, a country known for its rich history, culture, and beautiful landscapes, will host World Tourism Day. Located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, Georgia offers a unique mix of cultures. It is famous for its ancient churches, wine regions, and stunning mountains. Tourism in Georgia has been growing quickly, drawing millions of visitors from around the world. With its scenic beauty, Georgia is the ideal place to showcase how tourism promotes peace and cultural exchange. <h2>Theme for this year</h2>The theme for World Tourism Day 2024 is "<keyword id="23301034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tourism-and-Peace" source="keywords">Tourism and Peace</keyword>." Tourism plays an important role in promoting peace by bringing people from different cultures together and helping the economies of host countries. As people travel and experience new cultures, it leads to more understanding and tolerance. Tourism can break down barriers and build strong connections between nations. It also helps local communities by creating jobs and encouraging sustainable practices, which supports peace and prosperity in the long run. <h2>Indian Government initiatives to promote tourism</h2>The Indian government is working to improve tourism with several initiatives and schemes. Some key efforts include: E-Visa Facility: Nationals from 167 countries can now apply for e-visas online under seven categories, like e-Tourist and e-Business visas. The fees have been lowered to make travel more affordable. Swadesh Darshan Scheme: Started in 2014-15, this scheme creates theme-based tourist circuits across India. By 2023-24, 73 projects have been completed, with a total investment of ₹5,294.11 crore. Swadesh Darshan 2.0: This updated scheme focuses on developing 57 destinations across 32 states and Union Territories for integrated tourism development. PRASHAD Scheme: Aimed at improving infrastructure at pilgrimage sites, 46 projects have been approved so far, with ₹1,621.13 crore set aside for their development. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/international/webstories/world-tourism-day-2024-exploring-the-10-most-peaceful-countries-on-earth/slidelist/113590691.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">World Tourism Day 2024: Exploring the 10 most peaceful countries on Earth</a>

World Tourism Day 2024: All about the theme, host country, and tourism-boosting initiatives

International <keyword id="20048" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism" source="Orion">tourism</keyword> numbers are set to recover to pre-Covid pandemic levels in 2024, according to data published by the Madrid-based <keyword id="20265143" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="un-world-tourism-organization" source="keywords">UN World Tourism Organization</keyword> (<keyword id="19949373" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unwto" source="keywords">UNWTO</keyword>). The first <keyword id="20265142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unwto-world-tourism-barometer" source="keywords">UNWTO World Tourism Barometer</keyword> of the year shows there were an estimated 1.3 billion international travelers in 2023, representing 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, reports Xinhua news agency. The report explains that a "stronger recovery of Asian markets" and a corresponding rise in the number of airline connections are "expected to underpin a full recovery by the end of 2024". "The latest UNWTO data underscores tourism's resilience and rapid recovery, with pre-pandemic numbers expected by the end of 2024," said UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili. "The rebound is already having a significant impact on economies, jobs, growth and opportunities for communities everywhere. These numbers also recall the critical task of progressing sustainability and inclusion in tourism development," he said. The Madrid-based Organization explained that "Chinese outbound and inbound tourism is expected to accelerate in 2024, due to visa facilitation and improved air capacity". It also reported that international tourism receipts reached $1.4 trillion in 2023, which is 93 per cent of the $1.5 trillion from 2019. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-12-with-the-snapdragon-8-gen-3-launch-in-india-on-jan-23-everything-we-know-so-far/articleshow/106691383.cms">OnePlus 12 with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 launch in India on Jan 23 – everything we know so far</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/global-pc-shipments-decline-for-the-eighth-straight-quarter-hopes-pinned-on-ai-to-drive-sales/articleshow/106981182.cms">Global PC shipments decline for the eighth straight quarter; hopes pinned on AI to drive sales</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-incognito-mode-has-a-new-disclaimer-you-are-being-tracked/articleshow/106978305.cms">Google Incognito mode has a new disclaimer – You are being tracked</a>

International tourism to reach pre-Covid levels in 2024: UNWTO

By Yoshita Singh(Eds: Adding more details) United Nations, May 11 () International tourism could shrink by a whopping 60-80 per cent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the revenue loss of USD 910 billion to USD 1.2 trillion and placing millions of livelihoods at risk, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).The pandemic, spread across every country on the planet, has so far infected 4.1 million people and killed 282,719 people. The US has been the worst-affected country with 1.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 80,000 deaths.The global international agency said the pandemic has already caused a 22 per cent fall in international tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2020.According to the UN's specialised agency, the global health crisis could lead to an annual tourism decline between 60 per cent and 80 per cent when compared with the 2019 figures."This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," it said."The world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Tourism has been hit hard, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy," UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said.Available data reported by destinations point to a 22 per cent decline in arrivals in the first three months of the year, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.Arrivals in March dropped sharply by 57 per cent following the start of a lockdown in many countries, as well as the widespread introduction of travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders. This translates into a loss of 67 million international arrivals and about USD 80 billion in receipts (exports from tourism).Although Asia and the Pacific shows the highest impact in relative and absolute terms (a decline of 33 million arrivals), the impact in Europe, though lower in percentage, is quite high in volume (-22 million), the agency said.Prospects for the year have been downgraded several times since the outbreak and uncertainty continues to dominate.Current scenarios point to possible declines in arrivals of 58 per cent to 78 per cent for the year. These depend on the speed of containment and the duration of travel restrictions and shutdown of borders.The agency has given three scenarios for 2020 based on possible dates for the gradual opening up of international borders. According to scenario 1, there could be a decline of 58 per cent in arrivals based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions in early July.Scenario 2 could see a 70 per cent decline if international borders are gradually opened and travel restrictions are eased in early September.Scenario 3 states that there could be a 78 per cent decline in arrivals based on the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions only in early December.Under these scenarios, the impact of the loss of demand in international travel could translate into loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourists, loss of USD 910 billion to USD 1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism and 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk."This is by far the worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began (1950). The impact will be felt to varying degrees in the different global regions and at overlapping times, with Asia and the Pacific expected to rebound first," the agency said.Domestic demand is expected to recover faster than international demand, according to the UNWTO Panel of Experts survey. The majority expects to see signs of recovery by the final quarter of 2020 but mostly in 2021.Based on previous crises, leisure travel is expected to recover quicker, particularly travel for visiting friends and relatives, than business travel.The estimates regarding the recovery of international travel is more positive in Africa and the Middle East with most experts foreseeing recovery still in 2020.Experts in the Americas are the least optimistic and least likely to believe in recovery in 2020, while in Europe and Asia, the outlook is mixed, with half of the experts expecting to see recovery within this year. YAS RS AKJ RS

International tourism could decline by 60-80 per cent in 2020 due to COVID-19: UNWTO

<ul><li>The company began operations in 2013 facilitating airport lounge access services and has now become an end-to-end technology solutions provider.</li><li>The ₹500 crore public offering is a complete offer for sale by promoters at a price band of ₹308-₹326 per share.</li><li>Covid-19 has adversely impacted the air travel industry and as a result the airport service provider is still recovering from the pandemic slowdown.</li></ul>Airport services aggregator platform DreamFolks Services is all set to open its initial public offering (IPO) on August 24 and will close on August 26. The IPO is a complete offer for sale by promoters and will raise ₹560 crore with a price band of ₹308-₹326 per share. The airport service aggregator began operations in 2013 facilitating airport lounge access services and has now become an end-to-end technology solutions provider. Covid restrictions have severely impacted the airport service provider’s financials however it is now recovering from the lows as the travel industry has picked up and is busy as pre covid. “The air travel industry has, in the recent past, been buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic which has adversely impacted our operations. Further, the travel industry is also generally affected by various factors such as increase in the fuel price, government policies applicable, in particular, to the airline industry, failure of airlines etc. Accordingly, any downturn in the travel industry, in general, and in the air travel industry, in particular, could adversely impact our results of operations and our financial condition,” said the company in its red herring prospectus. According to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), prior to covid in the last five years between 2015-2019 the CAGR for the domestic air travel industry was noted to be 12%. However, due to the onset of covid-19, the Indian aviation market is expected to experience a linear recovery. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Particulars </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Revenue </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Profit </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY22 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹283 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹31 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY21 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹108 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-₹1.45 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹367 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹16.25 crore </td></tr></tbody></table>Further, the company believes that if the impact of Covid-19 is prolonged or more severe than anticipated it may face a deleterious impact on its business. The company provides access to various other services such as food and beverage offerings, spa services, ‘meet and assist’, airport transfer services, transit hotels / nap rooms access and baggage transfer. The global aviation sector that had taken a hit due to the lockdowns is now in the revival phase. ”The Global airlines are planning to resume their long-haul routes, specially driven. This holds good for the Indian domestic market also; it is interesting to note that a few Indian Tier-2 and Tier-3 airports have surpassed the Pre-COVID traffic numbers,” said the company in its RHP. Currently, it has tie-ups with Visa, Master Card, Diners/Discover and RuPay card networks operating in India. Other key clients include ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank (in respect of debit card lounge program), and SBI Cards and Payment Services. DreamFolks is heavily dependent on the cards that are in circulation and on issuance of new credit cards and debit cards. Out of an estimated 5.2 million passengers using lounges in India, more than 80% passengers use credit cards or debit cards to access domestic lounges. Further, there are expectations of strong economic recovery resulting in more travel through air routes and airport services. The latest panel of UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) suggests that the tourism sector is expected to see an increasing growth and make a strong recovery as the economic and COVID situation improves. Here are some of the important details of the IPO: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Issue details </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Price band </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹308-₹326 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IPO open date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">August 24 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IPO close date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">August 26 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Allotment date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 1 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Initiation of refunds </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 2 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Credit of shares to demat account </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 5 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IPO listing date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">September 6 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Minimum lot </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.8333325pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">46 </td></tr></tbody></table>Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors Ltd and Equirus Capital Private Ltd are lead managers handling the IPO. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-indias-real-gully-boy-vidit-aatrey-of-meesho-is-taking-the-entrepreneurial-dream-deep-inside-bharat/articleshow/93702491.cms">Meet India’s Real Gully Boy: Vidit Aatrey of Meesho is taking the entrepreneurial dream deep inside Bharat</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/not-just-ev-makers-there-are-many-more-stocks-that-can-gain-from-ev-play/articleshow/93696654.cms">Not just EV makers, there are many more stocks that can gain from EV play</a>

Airport services aggregator DreamFolks Services IPO to open on August 24, price band at ₹308-₹326 apiece

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tourist spending across Europe fell by 68.4% in March versus the year before, according to new data cited in a UBS note.</li><li>Chinese spend in Europe was down -84.6% y/y, with all other nationalities also declining in March</li><li>The note also said that March spending on <keyword id="161513" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="luxury-goods">luxury goods</keyword> and services in Europe – from the likes of Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton – has nosedived by 78% year-on-year.</li><li>The stats corroborate a recent warning from the UN's World <keyword id="20048" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="tourism">Tourism</keyword> Organization (UNWTO), which described tourism as "one of the hardest-hit by the outbreak of <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Unsurprisingly, yet soberingly, the European tourism sector is reeling.According to a recent UBS analysts' note – which cited data from Planet, the VAT refund provider – tourist spending across Europe in March fell 68.4% year-on-year."Chinese spend in Europe was down -84.6% y/y, with all other nationalities also declining in March. Italy understandably saw the biggest drop, down -96% y/y, and it is reasonable to expect similar trends for other countries in April," the report said.UBS said that March spending on luxury goods and services in Europe – from the likes of Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton – has nosedived by 78% year-on-year.UBS analysts add that as <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases start to rise in Europe, governments will be looking to lift lockdowns. But the timing on this remains uncertain. " The timing and pace of recovery remains uncertain; in our forecasting we assume that luxury stores remain closed throughout April and May, reopening in June. As a result, luxury spend is likely to be heavily impacted for at least two months in Q2, with the impact from a tourist perspective expected to last for longer."The stats corroborate a recent warning from the UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which described tourism as "one of the hardest-hit by the outbreak of COVID-19."In <a href="https://www.unwto.org/tourism-covid-19">a statement updated Tuesday</a>, UNWTO said it had "revised its 2020 forecast for international arrivals and receipts," while emphasizing that this forecast is "likely to be further revised.""Against a backdrop of travel restrictions being introduced, UNWTO underscores the importance of international dialogue and cooperation and emphasizes the COVID-19 challenge also represents an opportunity to show how solidarity can go beyond borders," the statement added.At the time of writing, five different European countries have <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">reported over 100,000 cases of COVID-19</a>: the UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. The overwhelming majority of European countries remain under some form of nationwide lockdown.Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tourist-spending-across-europe-sees-68-percent-fall-ubs-says-2020-4">Business Insider</a>

Tourist spending across Europe fell by 68%, with Italy seeing a massive 96% fall, UBS says

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) just <a href="http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2015-04-15/exports-international-tourism-rise-us-15-trillion-2014">released new data on tourist spending in 2014. </a>Last year international tourism generated over $1,245 billion around the world. Tourism is obviously a huge moneymaker for countries that are top <keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> destinations, but some tourists spend more than others. Unsurprisingly, Chinese people spent the most when traveling abroad, spending a total of $165 billion in 2014. The luxury market has become increasingly dependent on Chinese shoppers, who s<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/30-percent-of-shoppers-at-londons-luxury-retailors-are-chinese-tourists-2010-12">pend the most at designer stores in top destinations like London</a>. High-end retailers like Tiffany &amp; Co. and Louis Vuitton employ Chinese translators at their stores to stay competitive.Meanwhile, other emerging markets that used to be big spenders, like Russia and Brazil, spent significantly less last year. Americans spent $112 billion while traveling abroad last year - that's 7% more than the previous year, perhaps due to a stronger dollar. Germans were also big spenders, spending $92 billion. Other countries that increased spending on travel last year include the UK (4% more), France (11% more), and Italy (6% more).See the top five tourism spenders in the chart below.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="UNWTO" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552e7efc69bedd343f5d3548-960/unwto-tourism-spending-chart-2014.png"></a><a href="http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/top_spenders_en_15_april_0.pdf">UNWTO</a></div></div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stunning-south-america-drone-footage-2015-3">Beautiful drone video of epic trip across South America</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="JjaTI2dDqPC7ZMRFfmO1gOW0TkNozsMB" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Tourists from these countries spend the most when traveling abroad

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Phuong D. Nguyen / ShutterstockA man wearing Ninja costume and teaching at the Ninja School in Iga City, Japan.</div></div></div><ul><li>Iga city in Japan is suffering from a ninja shortage.</li><li>The city, which is about 280 miles from Tokyo in central Japan, claims to be the birthplace of the ninja.</li><li>The mayor is hoping to bolster tourism by drawing on the city's ninja heritage.</li><li>There's just one problem - there aren't enough ninjas.</li></ul> You may have heard about <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-fertility-crisis-2017-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japan's demographic crisis</a> - but the country is facing another, lesser-known crisis as well.Japan does not have enough Ninjas.In an episode of <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/07/16/629586025/japan-s-ninja-shortage">NPR's "Planet Money"</a> podcast, Sally Herships visited Iga, a small city in central Japan that claims to be the birthplace of the ninja.Each year the city of around 100,000 <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-ninja-festival/japan-village-exposes-secret-world-of-ninja-fighters-idUKT11889720080408">swells by around 30,000</a> as tourists come to experience the annual ninja festival.Unfortunately, Iga is suffering from depopulation. "It's facing a shortage of those two key things you need to keep an economy humming: stuff to sell and people to buy the stuff," Hership's cohost Stacey Vanek Smith says.Iga is also losing its young people, who don't want to live in the rural countryside: "They want life in the big city like Tokyo or Yokohama."In order to revive the local economy, the mayor of Iga, Sakae Okamoto, is promoting its ninja heritage with the aim of drawing more tourists.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS / Kim Kyung-HoonWomen dressed as ninjas throw "shuriken" during a ninja festival in Iga.</div></div></div>"Right now in Iga, we are working very hard to promote ninja tourism and get the most economic outcome. For example, we hold this ninja festival between late April to around the beginning of May. During this period visitors and also local people come here. Everybody will be dressed like a ninja and walks around and enjoys themselves - but recently I feel that it's not enough," Okamoto tells Hership.Japan is currently experiencing a major tourist boom - the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that almost 29 million tourists <a href="https://www.e-unwto.org/toc/wtobarometereng/16/2">visited Japan in 2017</a>. That's an increase of almost 20% from the year before.While some cities are benefitting economically from the influx of tourists, rural ones like Iga are apparently not.With the hope of encouraging tourists to stay longer than a day in Iga, Mayor Okamoto is relocating city hall and building a second ninja museum in its place. While the budget is not disclosed, Okamoto has received funding from the central government from the public - "Japan's government is funding ninjas," Herships says.The project faces some hurdles, though. Iga needs to attract labour forces to work and live in the rural city as the ninja tourism scheme is extended.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">AP Photo / Junji Kurokawa</div></div></div>This means not just builders and planners - but also ninjas themselves. "There's a ninja shortage," Herships says, "or - to be accurate - a ninja performer shortage."This issue is especially difficult given Japan's extremely low unemployment rate, which is just <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/276787/monthly-unemployment-rate-in-japan/">2.5%</a>.It is therefore hard to find workers in Japan, let alone highly-specialised ninja performers."Ninja is not an inheritable class. Without severe training, nobody could become a ninja. That's why they have silently disappeared in history," Sugako Nakagawa, curator of the local Ninja museum, told <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-ninja-festival/japan-village-exposes-secret-world-of-ninja-fighters-idUKT11889720080408">Reuters</a> in 2008."But this job does have a lot to offer," Herships says. "First of all, the pay is quite competitive, today, ninjas can earn anything from $23,000 to about $85,000 - which is a really solid salary, and in fact, a lot more than real ninjas used to earn in medieval Japan."Herships quotes the International Ninja Research Centre, which states that in Iga, the typical ninja earned between $8,000 and $17,000 a year - salaries adjusted for inflation.Mayor Okamoto faces an uphill battle, though. The Mie Prefecture (the prefecture where Iga is located) as a whole attracted just 43 new young residents last year, meanwhile, Iga alone lost 1,000 residents.If ninjas are going to save Japan's depopulation crisis, they'd better act fast. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/construction-equipment-playground-las-vegas-caterpillar-excavator-bulldozer-2018-6">You can drive monster machines at this construction equipment playground</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

A small Japanese city is facing a ninja shortage - even though the salary is $85,000

<div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image">Shutterstock<keyword id="41570" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</keyword>'s Victoria Falls</div></div>There's no Disneyland in Africa, but if comments from Zimbabwe's tourism and hospitality minister are any indication, a big-time theme park along those lines may be in the works for an area near the iconic Victoria Falls.
Zambia and Zimbabwe are co-hosting <a href="http://www.unwto.org/">this year's UN World Tourism Organization</a>summit at a venue near the falls — an event prompting a big announcement from Zimbabwe's tourism top brass.
Read more from <keyword id="1744361" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="GlobalPost">GlobalPost</keyword>:<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CDkQFjAB&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalpost.com%2Fdispatch%2Fnews%2Fregions%2Famericas%2F120120%2Fsouth-america-rises-top-tourism-destination&amp;ei=l98cUo3HIOK5igLhj4CgCA&amp;usg=AFQjCNFeb-HcVdYN2eCi54eUWQjg-ZjzbA&amp;sig2=bwBUSp_u4seSp7frUOh0cA"> South America rises as top world tourism destination</a> 
Walter Mzembi disclosed plans for a $300 million theme park near Victoria Falls, which he described as a "Disneyland in Africa," complete with entertainment facilities, banks, casinos, and other amenities, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/26/zimbabwe-disneyland-africa-tourism">the Guardian wrote. </a>
"We have reserved 1,200 hectares of land closer to Victoria Falls international airport to do hotels and convention centers," Mzembi told state-run New Ziana, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10269108/Zimbabwes-Disneyland-plans-inappropriate.html">according to the Telegraph. </a>
"We want to create a free zone with a banking center where even people who do not necessarily live in Zimbabwe can open bank accounts," he added.
Others were less gung-ho about the ambitious idea to bring Western-style theme park entertainment to the politically unstable region. 
“Zimbabwe is a country that often struggles to do the basic things it needs to do and this cannot be a sensible suggestion,” Chris McIntyre, managing director of specialist tour operator Expert Africa, told the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10269108/Zimbabwes-Disneyland-plans-inappropriate.html">Telegraph about the scheme</a>, adding that tourists prefer authenticity to a canned theme park experience. 
The six-day UNWTO summit is being attended by 155 nations — mostly developing countries attempting to beef up their tourism sectors. 
During opening dinner celebrations, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe extolled his nation as "a safe and secure destination for world tourists," <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/zimbabwe-head-african-tourism-commission-20065406">according to the Associated Press, </a>while at the same time bemoaning Western nations "demonic tendencies" towards him and his oft-controversial leadership. This story was originally published by <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/" target="_blank">GlobalPost.</a>

Zimbabwe Announces Plans For A $300 Million 'Disneyland In Africa'

Increasingly the world is becoming more and more interconnected. Cross-border capital flows as well as people flows have become quite common. It is in light of these developments that the <keyword id="69007" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Economic-Forum">World Economic Forum</keyword>'s latest biennial iteration of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Travel+%26+Tourism">Travel &amp; Tourism</a> Competitiveness Report becomes relevant. The 2015 report brings to the fore some very crucial issues. These include: 
 First, the importance of <keyword id="2173225" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel-and-tourism">travel and tourism</keyword> sector in the world economy. Last year according to the <keyword id="962364" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="United-Nations-World-Tourism-Organization">United Nations World Tourism Organization</keyword> (UNWTO) international <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=tourist+arrivals">tourist arrivals</a> reached a record 1.14 billion. Similarly, the contribution of the sector to the global GDP is estimated to be 7 trillion U.S. dollars that are roughly 9.5 percent of the world economy by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=World+Travel+%26+Tourism+Council">World Travel &amp; Tourism Council</a> (WTTC). Also, the sector provides employment estimated to be 266 million people that simply put means one in every eleven people in the world is employed in the travel and tourism sector. This number is expected to rise to one in ten people till 2022. These statistics make it amply clear as to how important the sector is in the world economy. 
 
Second, with respect to measurement of the travel and tourism landscape of the economies considered for the study this year’s report seems to be more robust. The report assesses the 141 economies considered for the study on the four pillars of enabling environment, T&amp;T policy and Enabling Conditions, Infrastructure and Natural and Cultural Resources. These are again subdivided into 14 pillars that have quantitative as well as qualitative data. The methodology is updated this year and includes 90 indicators instead of 79 that were used in the previous edition of the report. Some indicators are also omitted from the report and replaced by other indicators. 
 
Third, European economies continue to be the frontrunners in the T&amp;T space. Spain tops the rankings this year because of a variety of factors including the fact that it was the third most visited country. It is followed by France with the most number of visitors pegged at 84 million people. Apart from the European countries other countries in the top 10 include the U.S. (Ranked 4), Australia (Ranked 7), Japan (Ranked 9) and Canada (Ranked 10). The bottom 10 countries are mostly dominated by African nations with the exception of Yemen (Ranked 138) and Myanmar (Ranked 134). 
 
Finally, India's has surprisingly seen a marked improvement in the index rankings. The report this year has ranked India at 53 up from 65 in 2013. The ranking of India in the index has been hovering in the 60's since 2007. Either the change could be because of real improvements in performance or either due to methodological changes. India performs well on the natural and cultural resources pillar but much remains to be done on the infrastructure and environmental front. Safety and security is another area that needs to be bettered over time. The report clearly mentions that the changed policy on the 'Visa on arrival' front is not taken into account in the report. Also worth pointing out is India's 7 million foreign arrivals compared to 55 million for China. It is expected to go up in the coming years with Visa on Arrival announcements. India's rank among the BRICS economies is the lowest below Brazil (Ranked 28), Russian Federation (Ranked 45), China (Ranked 17) and South Africa (Ranked 48). 
 
Policymakers, especially in the Union Ministry of Tourism, should look to leverage the insights from the report for gaining competitiveness in the critical sector. Also important is to look for improvements along the pillars where India does poorly. Over the next decade, the focus should be improvements in safety, infrastructure, ease of travel and cleanliness to make India competitive in the travel and tourism space. The states should also do their bit in bettering <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=infrastructure+">infrastructure </a>facilities including staying facilities and exploring various avenues for tourism development. 
 
(The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness &amp; Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. Amit can be reached at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya) 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

#IndependenceDaySpl: Making India Competitive in
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Nationalistic angst over the apparently poor reputation of Chinese tourists abroad is leading to official action.
Xinhua News Agency <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-08/19/c_132644470.htm">reports that for five consecutive days</a> since last Wednesday, Xinwen Lianbo, a flagship news program on the state-run <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> Central Television (CCTV), has aired videos aimed at making Chinese tourists more polite.
It's a pretty bold move — as Xinhua notes, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-08/19/c_132644470.htm">Xinwen Lianbo is usually a political news and major events</a> — but it shows just how concerned the Chinese establishment is about the reputation of its tourists abroad.
Things are so serious that on October 1, a new <keyword id="20048" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="tourism">tourism</keyword> law will come into place that will make it legally binding for Chinese tourists to respect local customs and traditions, and unruly holiday makers will risk penalties, according to Xinhua.
Are Chinese tourists really so bad? Well, within recent memory there have been a few unsavory incidents that have gone viral online.
For example, a Chinese <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-embarrassed-by-its-tourists-2013-5">teenager scrawled his name on the 3,500-years-ago old Luxor Temple in Egypt</a>:
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image"><a href="http://imgur.com/pyb4w0x">Imgur</a></div></div>
The beach-goers who posed <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130619-dolphin-death-tourist-handling-animals-ocean-science/">with a dying dolphin in the Hainin, China</a>:
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Stringer </div></div>
Or the Chinese tourists photographed <a href="http://www.chinanews.com/shipin/2013/07-30/news263214.shtml">with their feet in the water at a fountain by the Lourve in Paris</a>:
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">via Weibo</div></div>
While these incidents are all quite embarrassing (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-is-annoyed-by-chinese-tourists-2013-8">and some even worse</a>), it's noteworthy that many went viral on Chinese social media first before gaining international attention, indicating that perhaps the Chinese are more concerned with how they are perceived abroad than others are.
And sometimes the controversy seems a little unfair: After photographs of people dipping their feet in the Lourve's fountain created condemnation, a number of bloggers were forced to point out that a lot of <a href="http://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1293287/has-chinese-tourist-bashing-gone-too-far?page=all">non-Chinese looking people have been photographed doing the same</a>.
Part of the problem, if there is one, might be that an unprecedented rise in living standards in China has resulted in a generation of tourists who have never really learned how to "be tourists." International trips by Chinese tourists grew from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012, <a href="http://media.unwto.org/en/press-release/2013-04-04/china-new-number-one-tourism-source-market-world">according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer</a>, and Chinese tourists recently overtook Americans to become the biggest spenders in the world.
The clear hope is that a little education will go a long way to informing these inexperienced tourists. From one Global Times <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/802570.shtml#.UhJNB2T71rc">editorial last month</a>:
It is understandable that China desires to improve its image in the international community. Many hope that it can recover its traditional reputation as a courteous country.
But for a country that has just escaped from poverty and backwaters, patience and education of civic virtues are what really matter.<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; display: inline !important; float: none;"> 
There may be more hope too. One recent poll said that the Chinese <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-behaved-tourists-2013-5">are only the third "worst" tourists in the world</a>.
In this category at least, Americans still rule the roost.

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