Tourism

New research ranks U.S. nearly last in competition for global travelers 

The U.S. Travel Association on Jan. 11 released a study that found the United States ranks 17th out of 18 top travel markets in terms of global competitiveness, according to Euromonitor International. The travel association says that decades of underinvestment and a lack of focus and coordination from federal policymakers caused the U.S. to fall behind, while other countries actively apply […]

U.S. Virgin Islands tourism booms as government sets ambitious goals for 2024

Touting its “remarkable achievements” and offering a vision for “an even brighter future,” the U.S. Virgin Islands celebrated the end of 2023 with international arrivals projected to increase 39% above 2019 levels in the fourth quarter of 2023, plus extended stay visitors up by 25%. With these figures, the USVI played a prominent role in the […]

Canadian tourism revenue recovers one year earlier than predicted 

Although one of the last countries to re-open its borders to tourism, Canada’s tourism revenue is set to exceed 2019 levels, generating $109.5 billion by the end of 2023, according to Destination Canada’s latest Tourism Outlook report. This represents the recovery of the tourism sector from the COVID-19 pandemic one year earlier than projected.  Despite […]

Hawaii visitor recovery gains strength

Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) reports that visitor numbers in January reached 96.8% of January arrivals in 2019, the benchmark year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to preliminary statistics. A total of 791,781 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in January 2023, up 37.9% from January 2022. Importantly, visitors are […]

U.S. will not lift inbound travel restrictions at this time due to spread of COVID-19 Delta variant

The United States announced on Monday (July 26) that it will not lift any existing travel restrictions at this time due to concerns over the COVID-19 Delta variant and the rising number of U.S. coronavirus cases. The decision means that the travel restrictions that have prevented thousands of people from visiting the United States since early 2020 […]

ACI reports on the impact of COVID-19 on the airport business: Faltering traffic recovery, deepening revenue shortfall, but strong hopes for a vaccine

Airports Council International (ACI) World has published its fifth COVID-19 economic impact analysis, which reveals the devastating effect on the airport industry and the prospects for recovery. The study developed several scenarios exploring the potential recovery trajectory and, under the baseline scenario, domestic passenger traffic is expected to recover to 2019 levels by 2023 with international […]

UNWTO: International tourism plunges 70% as travel restrictions impact all regions

Restrictions on travel introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to hit global tourism hard, with the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) showing a 70% fall in international arrivals for the first eight months of 2020. According to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international arrivals plunged 81% in July and […]

Hawaii reopens to tourism using new pre-travel testing protocols

Tourism dependent Hawaii reopened to trans-pacific visitors on October 15, allowing travelers who pre-test for COVID-19 to bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine that has been in effect since March 26. The pre-travel testing for trans-pacific travel program states that those who do not want to be subject to the state’s 14-day mandatory travelers quarantine must take […]

Urgent appeal from IATA: re-open borders and continue relief to sustain aviation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling on governments to work together to urgently find ways to re-establish global connectivity by re-opening borders and to continue with relief measures to sustain airlines during the COVID-19 crisis. IATA’s call reflects deep frustration with government policies such as closed borders, travel restrictions and quarantines that continue […]

UNWTO: 100% of global destinations now have COVID-19 travel restrictions

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) today reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted all destinations worldwide to introduce restrictions on travel, which represents the most severe restriction on international travel in history. No country has so far lifted restrictions introduced in response to the crisis. Following up on previous research, the latest data from the […]