Nepal's Travel Industry Hopes For Gains As China Pledges to Send More Tourists

ITB Berlin’s new Travel & Tourism Radar, set up in partnership with Ostfalia Hochschule, analyses the business outlook in the travel industry and reveals external factors as the main forces driving digitalisation and sustainability efforts. The actions of global travel companies are driven more by external influences than economics where important aspects of the transition are concerned. The Travel & Tourism Radar survey shows that the approximately 330 travel companies interviewed worldwide offer a generally positive economic outlook. It also gives an insight into their investment plans and how they see their ability to compete.

Solo female travellers are a growing and very attractive market; in fact, 14% of women travel without the company of family, friends or a partner, which translates into habits, needs and expectations, as well as specific tourist services and products. Mabrian and The Data Appeal Company-Almawave Group, analysed the female solo traveller demand worldwide* to identify five key factors that outline the profile of this segment.

A fierce diurnal wind is gusting up the Kali Gandaki valley in Mustang, an isolated region in central Nepal, suffusing the austere terrain with drama and motion. It whips the thousands of prayer flags into a frenzy and relieves unsuspecting visitors of their hats. The powerful wind is the breath of this land; its heart is the Kali Gandaki, the river that originates in the north, near the Tibetan border, and empties into the Ganges. Over centuries the wind and the river have carved this gorge out of the Annapurna range, part of a 500-mile band that contains some of the Himalayas’ proudest peaks. But all are dwarfed by a single form looming 23,000 feet above, somehow both near and far: the triple-peaked, snowcapped Nilgiri Himal, which keeps watch over its dominion below.

Japan is bracing for a tourism boom like never before. With a record 35 million foreign visitors expected this year and tourism spending projected to hit an unprecedented JPY 8 trillion ($51 billion), the country is seeing a surge driven by a weak yen.

With the 2024 Republican presidential ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance solidified last week in Milwaukee, Democrats have a lot of work to do before their convention in less than a month – now without an official candidate or a vice presidential nominee.

North Korea plans to open its much-talked about Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone within the next 12 months. The tourist site is set for an inauguration on May 2025, state media reported on Thursday.

Are airport lounges the next culinary frontier? If you are an American Express cardholder passing through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), the answer is a resounding yes. Today, the credit card issuer opens its 29th Centurion Lounge right outside the nation’s capital, and it comes with some serious foodie perks.

The vacation rentals market represents a relatively small segment of India’s hospitality industry. However, despite its small size, the short-term rental market has significant potential. Catch Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in conversation with Skift Research’s Varsha Arora as they discuss what’s driving the growth of this sector in India, in the latest episode of the Skift India Travel Podcast, presented by Amadeus.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is aiming to increase tourism revenue in the country by 7.5% next year.

South Korea has announced the K-pop girl group NewJeans as its tourism ambassador.

A passenger opened an emergency exit after mistaking it for the bathroom door, according to Chinese media reports, which cited local officials.

Till a little over a century ago, river cruising was quite prevalent in India until railways took over as a faster means of transport. Cut to now, the activity is back and growing in the country, only now it’s more for leisure, said Raj Singh, chairman of Heritage River Journeys, which operates Antara River Cruises in India.