The southern US city of Miami has developed a conscious move towards environmental sustainability in all forms. This is particularly reflected in its desire to maintain the cleanliness in order to attract tourism. Miami is home to two national parks- Everglades and Biscayne. The city is completely plastic-free and there are heavy-duty fines for littering. In addition, Miami also needs to be concerned about Hurricanes as it lies in the prone area which is why solar panels cannot be installed. The Palms hotel in particular exemplifies the spirit of Miami in this regard. The hotel uses clean tech instruments such as motion detectors and energy-saving lamps, as well as reducing the use of air-conditioning or linen washing. Its restaurant Essenzia runs its own kitchen garden to source raw fruits and vegetables.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/miami-tourism-offer-includes-eco-friendly-experience-news10433

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018

The Mexican and United States authorities have penned in an agreement to develop a joint medical tourism cluster along a part of their international border. The province of Baja California in Mexico is a hub for several medical treatments of US patients especially in the town of Tijuana. This move is part of the regeneration of the NAFTA. As per business intelligence provided by the president of the Baja Health Cluster, most US medical travelers visit Mexico for bariatric surgeries. The quality of academic training in the healthcare sector is very strong in Mexico, so this move will allow patients from USA and Canada to avail the services. The US city of Tucson could soon be the link city for this project.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/medical-tourism-across-the-border-news10429

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018

The numbers of inbound travelers to China have not increased as much as was expected a few years back. It is pegged at only 14 million in sharp contrast to the 62 million Chinese outbound travelers. Thus, the Chinese authorities few years back took the step of easing visa regulations for some countries to certain parts of the country such as at Shanghai. Now, a six-day Visa on Arrival system has been approved for the capital Beijing for visitors from 53 countries. These countries are mainly from the European Union or other developed ones like USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. The authorities hope this move will boost travel jobs in an otherwise stagnating segment of the economy.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/chinese-capital-to-facilitate-the-visa-system-news10432

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018

Iceland is one of the boom markets in inbound tourism. Tourism numbers are up by around five times since the figures from 2010. Numbers are expected to reach 2.5 million this year in a country of less than four-hundred thousand people. This is in spite of growing costs for American and European travellers. Due to the fall in Iceland’s currency post the 2009 crisis, travellers are now receiving much lesser value for their Dollars, Euros or Pounds than they would have earlier. Tourism is also responsible for a tenth of the country’s GDP and nearly half of its foreign exchange incomes. The corresponding figure for foreign exchange contribution was only 19% back in 2010. This dependence on tourism however has created some unexpected problems such as overcrowding as a result of mass tourism. The tourism market is as of now concentrated on Europeans and Americans, but once it also starts catering to the Asian market, the numbers may grow even more, creating more space issues. In fact, already trends have begun among the local populace irritated by the numbers, to limit the activities. This can be a troublesome trend as travel jobs are the major source of employment and revenues for large sections of the country.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/tourism-in-iceland-is-a-rising-star-news10397

Uploaded Date:18 January 2018

In a meeting based on the theme of river tourism called upon by the French General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE), the country’s relatively poor infrastructure in this regard was highlighted. It was noted that in spite of France possessing the maximum length of navigable waterways in all of Europe, its revenues from river tourism paled in comparison to others such as countries along the Danube river. Countries along this belt have maximized tourism windfalls using digital marketing techniques such as an app for locating lodgings and conventional schemes such as bike paths and stations along the river. Another example cited was that of the Mekong river which crosses China and 5 South-East Asian countries. There is substantial collaboration between them and there is even an annually held Mekong Forum every year. A creation of river tourism clusters was further announced at this meeting by the French authorities.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/river-tourism-in-france-needs-more-organization-news10400

Uploaded Date:09 January 2018

Travel and tourism now accounts for a whopping tenth of the global GDP and there exist more than two-hundred and ninety million tourism jobs at present. This scenario will only expand thanks to a rising middle class and improved physical and digital connectivity. Ideally for the planet, if all such travelers spread out evenly across the globe, it would be easier to absorb. However, that is unlikely to ever be the case as a study conducted jointly by McKinsey and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) states that, traffic to the top twenty countries will rise to more than that of the rest of the world combined. The list of the top twenty includes the likes of France, Spain, USA, UK and UAE. Sports such as Koh Samui in Thailand, Machu Picchu in Peru and the city of Venice in Italy are suffering immensely due to over-crowding. The report suggests four broad policies to bring long-term environmental balance combined with economic prosperity. For a start, a fact base needs to be prepared and updated regularly. With this, a sustainable growth strategy needs to be devised with involvement from all sections of society and constant search for new sources of funding. Places already facing these issues, have been suggested to spread visitors across sites, encourage visitors to also visit during off-peak season and adjust pricing to balance demand and supply. In addition, the regulations on lodges and rooms must be enforced strictly and access must be limited to preserve cultural and natural capital.

Sourcehttps://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-transport-and-logistics/our-insights/coping-with-success-managing-overcrowding-in-tourism-destinations?cid=other-soc-twi-mip-mck-oth-1712&kui=9a_CRnj7bhVxhl9bfbgljA

Uploaded Date:09 January 2018

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already here and ready to stay in the tourism industry. While AI has already disrupted several industries, gradually through algorithms and chatbots it has carved out a niche in the travel industry. This has led to fears about the loss of tourism jobs. A survey conducted by Opinion Way shows that about two-thirds of French citizens are fearful about the leak of personal data due to this. A smaller figure for similar reasons are reluctant to use self-driving cars. Consulting firm McKinsey states that about three-fifths of the industry will be affected an a third of industrial activities wiped out by AI, leading to loss of nearly sixty million jobs globally. Some countries will be affected more than others with China leading the way. Conversely, an increase in demand for recreation could lead to more than three-hundred million jobs getting created as well. Companies must thus rework their talent management strategies so as to retain the top personnel and recruit according to present needs.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/artificial-intelligence-will-help-tourism-in-the-long-run-news10403

Uploaded Date:14 December 2017