Global Tourism Slows: Europe Takes Most Pronounced Dip

Travelers flying to Europe on Air Canada can now seamlessly book trains to their onward destinations thanks to the carrier’s new air-to-rail program.

The first night train between Berlin and Paris will depart on Monday evening after a nine-year hiatus, plugging a significant gap in Europe’s increasingly comprehensive overnight rail timetable and giving a boost to travellers looking for a realistic alternative to flying.

The aroma of a tapas bar is an incongruous sensation when dressed in ski kit, but it’s the end of a long day on the slopes, and plates of grilled squid, spicy patatas bravas and plump green olives are on offer, along with a bargain glass of Rioja (€3.50/£2). It’s 6pm and the lifts have only just shut in Sierra Nevada, Europe’s most southerly ski resort. The mountain town in Andalusia enjoys lots more sunshine than most ski areas in the Alps. This, admittedly, is accompanied by a fairly functional assortment of accommodation spread along a steeply winding road. Unless you’re staying right in town, walking home while carrying your kit takes quite an effort at this altitude. The resort’s hub, Pradollano, sits at 2,100 metres, while the ski area’s 65 miles of pistes extend up to 3,398 metres: the chilly summit of Veleta, Spain’s third-highest mountain. 

Sri Lanka has finally announced its plans to roll out its global tourism marketing campaign urging tourists “You’ll Come Back For More,” marking the first such campaign since 2007.  

The Canary Islands offer vibrant skies and untouched landscape akin to a movie. With four UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserves, the archipelago is considered one of the best places on the planet to witness celestial events given its distinction for possessing the clearest skies in Europe. This year’s most intense meteor shower, the Geminids shower, will be visible to the naked eye on the night of December 13th, with an average of over 100 shooting stars to be observed per hour.

The European Commission reveals the 2024 European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism, recognising their outstanding achievements in accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, and cultural heritage & creativity as exceptional tourism destinations.

SAS intends to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company’s shareholders, to be held in January 2024, to approve the contemplated step-up mechanism within short order.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, on the weekend received two major awards for Jamaica from the prestigious World Travel Awards, which is in its 30th year, at the landmark Burj Al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Minister Bartlett also as Founder and Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), a thinktank based in Jamaica, handed out five Global Tourism Resilience Awards to two major Middle East corporations and three countries.

Minister of Tourism, Jamaica, Hon. Edmund Bartlett will be in Dubai, UAE, on the occasion of COP 28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023, with global leaders and governments discussing how to limit and prepare for future climate change. The 28th edition of the summit is being held from 30 November to 12 December 2023.

What are the world’s most expensive cities to live? Singapore and Zurich, Switzerland have tied to secure the top spot, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey.

Dreaming of moving to Europe? This could be the perfect time as more and more countries launch digital nomad visas and workplaces continue to offer remote contacts.

The European cities with the largest pipelines at the close of the quarter are led by London with 79 projects/14,078 rooms and Istanbul, up 20% by projects YOY with a record 48 projects, accounting for 7,936 rooms. Next is Lisbon, with 37 projects/4,070 rooms, then Dublin with 34 projects and a record 6,492 rooms, and Dusseldorf with 30 projects/5,465 rooms.