Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area Is Expecting Big Changes

BY  Abdul Aziz Nov 30, 2023

Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel signed a memorandum on Wednesday designating 2024 as a year to promoting tourism between the two countries. During this year the two parties will work together to boost tourism exchange using joint efforts from the public and private sectors in a bid to heighten the recovery of the demand for travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing that 464 cities share sister relationships between the two countries, Saito called for taking advantage of the tourism year to resume and boost the exchanges at the local levels. After the two countries agreed to the plan to apply on Japanese tourists, which will help expedite immigration procedures in the U.S. held at the residence in Tokyo of the ambassador, it was also attended by Japanese Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono and Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi. Under the supervision of the Tourism Year initiative, both the countries will hold travel campaigns for the general public and it will host events for travel agencies from the two countries. The number of visitors from the U.S. to Japan has been steadily going up with the help of the fall of the value of the yen against the dollar. The monthly number amounted to some 210,000 in October, with an increase of 40% from the same month in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of Japanese visitors to the United States in October came up at about 140,000, less than half of the pre-pandemic numbers. Read Also: Ghana Is Ready To Host The Rest Of The World: Ghana Tourism Authority On Christmas Concerts Play Airlines Is Celebrating Black Friday And Cyber Monday Deals On Flights To Europe Travel Tuesday Is Here To Get You Cheap Flights And Hotel Deals: Upto 50% Off

BY  Abdul Aziz Dec 19, 2023

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is looking to grow its tourism arrivals into the country to  5.5 million within the next 5 years as it is about to reach out to private sector players for collaborative efforts to take the country to the global stage. KTB chairperson Francis Gichaba has disclosed that the tourism sector is back on full recovery pointing out that the arrivals by the end of this financial year will be closing at slightly over 1.9 million visitors that was recorded in 2019. Gichaba has revealed, “We are very optimistic that with the support from the private sector and other key players in the industry, our performance will even surpass the 2019 arrivals to over 2 million and progressively beyond." He was delivering a speech at Bomas of Kenya during a tourism stakeholders meeting that brought under the same roof tour operators, hoteliers, government agencies and tourism associations. The session sought to validate KTB's 5-year strategic plan for 2023-2028. In the strategy, KTB is targeting to achieve 5.5 million international tourist arrivals and grow the tourism industry's contribution to the economy of Kenya to KES 1 trillion each year by June 2028. Gichaba said destination marketing has been a collaborative exercise noting that the involvement of the private sectors in the development of strategy which was one of the ways of incorporating invaluable ideas that would shape the sector's performance within the review period. Kenya Hotel Keepers Association and Caterers (KAHC) CEO Mike Macharia suggested to the private players to curate their products and travel experiences to the needs of the market. He said, “We talk of Africa as the low-hanging fruit in terms of numbers and market share in the country and therefore the product owners should package their products and experience and sell to Africa. This move would also open opportunities for Africans to invest in the hospitality sector in Kenya... We have to go where the market is, and this is what our competitors such as South Africa have beaten us on. They have invested heavily in market presence not only to build brand awareness but to sign marketing deals." Read Also: Manila Wins Big At World Travel Awards 2023, Crowned World’s Top City Destination Celebrations Have Begun At Oaga, Art Resort, Maldives: Report Burger King Is Giving Away Free Food All Month

BY  sagnika Nov 20, 2023

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit organized in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed improving the air connectivity between the two countries and streamlining the visa process. The discussion continued at a dinner hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the US-China Business Council. At this dinner, Chinese President Xi confirmed that the tourism ties between the two countries will improve. There have been claims made by President Chris Thompson, the president and CEO of the Brand USA. These claims inform that the U.S. cannot completely recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic without Chinese tourism. Complete Chinese tourism has not resumed! Factors such as weak air connectivity and long visa wait times impact the overall tourism sector worldwide, including the U.S. and China. According to reports, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Chinese tourists contributed heavily to the U.S. economy. The Chinese tourists spent about $15 million when visiting the U.S.! In a year, the average number of Chinese who visited the U.S. was about 2.5 million people, and the way they boosted the U.S. economy was nowhere near any other market. It is due to this reason that the U.S. is improving its tourism ties with the Chinese government! According to President Geoff Freeman of the U.S., the international side of tourism is also impacted by the irregular and disturbed tourism ties between China and the U.S. This change will affect the Travel Association, the company's CEO, worldwide. He spoke at the Skift Global Forum that the market Chinese tourists support in the U.S. will only be available here. Let's look forward to a developed relationship between China and the U.S., starting from tourism. Read Also: Zanzibar Or Oman: Which Do The Hungarian Tourists Like? Record-Breaking Holiday Travel Anticipated As TSA Prepares For Busy Season! Wheeling’s Holiday Celebrations Bring In Millions Of Dollars For The Local Economy From Tourists