Australia Reopens to Chinese Group Tourism

Seattle will receive $5 million in funding next year to bring in more conventions to boost downtown tourism.

There was a travel boom this summer in Europe. Famous destinations and attractions were more crowded than ever with tourists. Destinations, tour operators and communities have been trying to adapt to the tourism surge.

VisitCanberra have entered a partnership with Ecotourism Australia, the peak body for sustainable and ecotourism in Australia, to grow and strengthen the nation capital’s sustainable tourism products and experiences. “We are pleased to be working with VisitCanberra to kickstart operators’ sustainability journey with the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard and to strengthen sustainable tourism as a priority for the region,” said Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive, Ms Elissa Keenan.

Hospitality technology solutions providers WorldVue® and Infrateq have announced they have signed an agreement that will mark the entry of WorldVue’s full tech stack into the EMEA region powered by Infrateq.

Multiple historic sites in Marrakech were reopened to tourists on Sunday, a month after a devastating earthquake hit Morocco and took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The reopened sites include Bahia Palace, Badi Palace, and the Saadian Tombs, reported Morocco World News.

Bain Capital-owned Virgin Australia said on Tuesday that the airline returned to a profit for the first time in 11 years for fiscal 2023, buoyed by a strong recovery in travel demand following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yesterday on October 8th, exactly two months after a wildfire destroyed the town of Lahaina, visitors were officially welcomed back to parts of Maui’s west coast.

Just a few weeks ago, tourism was said to be the olive branch that was going to improve relations between Israel and the rest of the Middle East. Saturday’s surprise Hamas attack on the country has a confirmed death toll of more than 1,000 so far, completely halting its tourism sector, and further delaying any hopes of stability in the area.

In the Barossa Valley, Seppeltsfield has several significant updates in the pipeline, most notably the property’s new six-star hotel: Oscar Seppeltsfield. Developers are planning to break ground in late 2023/early 2024; the new A$50m luxury hotel will boast 71 rooms across 12 storeys, creating what’s been referred to as ‘a Sydney Opera House for the Barossa’. In the meantime, the winery is busy transforming its historic cellars beneath the cellar door into a new tasting room, with works due for completion by end of October 2023.

Hawaiians have delivered a petition asking to delay tourism reopening following the summer wildfires.

New Zealand is launching a new tourism campaign with Kiwi director and actor Taika Waititi to attract visitors after the sector was hammered by Covid-19 and border closures.

Saudi Arabia has become a “must-see destination”, Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, said in Riyadh during the opening ceremony of World Tourism Day this weekend. “This is a country that always looks forward, and in big ways,” he continued. “Saudi Arabia is now the second-biggest place for foreign direct investment projects in all the Middle East and Africa. I’m proud to say we count on the support of Saudi Arabia.”