The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that the provisional visitor arrivals for May were 3.4 million, showing a 20% year-on-year increase. Mainland visitors accounted for 2.63 million, about 15% increase from the same period last year.
29.05.2024 - 14:09 / euronews.com / Rebecca Ann Hughes
Lauterbrunnen is a bucolic mountain village set in the natural scenic splendour of the Alps.
With velvet green valleys, towering cliffs and the sublime 300m-high Staubbach Falls, the area is an Intagrammable idyll.
Visitors now come in their droves, and the 2,400-resident-strong hamlet is struggling to cope.
This week, local authorities announced they were considering introducing a Venice-style tax on daytrippers in an effort to curb overtourism.
There’s no doubt Lauterbrunnen makes for an arresting photo on social media - the thundering Staubbach Falls have been snapped thousands of times.
But the rush to get Instagrammable content of the sensational scenery is becoming a headache for residents.
A post shared by Tutay Romero Alcantara (@ta_doki)
Car parks and public transport are overwhelmed with visitors while the roads are strewn with rubbish. Rent prices are also rising as landlords take advantage of higher-paying tourists.
“We feel like employees in an amusement park,” village priest Markus Tschanz told Swiss public radio SRF last year.
Local authorities have set up a working group to establish ways of managing the influx of tourists.
One proposal is to follow Venice and charge daytrippers a CHF5 (€5) to CHF10 (€10) entry fee, the Swiss news site Berner Zeitung reported last week.
Like in the canal city, visitors spending the day in Lauterbrunnen would have to pay using a smartphone app. However, the fee would only apply to those who arrive by car - if you arrive by public transport you won’t have to pay.
Guests who have booked overnight accommodation would also be exempt.
Should the measure get the green light, it won’t come into force this summer. There are several details to iron out first including how to introduce a fee for a natural area and how to carry out checks.
Critics have warned that entry fees do little to address problems with visitor numbers. This week, newly released data showed that Venice’s daytripper tax, currently in force under a trial period, has not reduced the flow of tourists.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that the provisional visitor arrivals for May were 3.4 million, showing a 20% year-on-year increase. Mainland visitors accounted for 2.63 million, about 15% increase from the same period last year.
A woman who was duct-taped to her seat on an American Airlines flight is facing a lawsuit from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, June 13, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The world’s largest cruise operators are expected to disclose upfront port and other manadatory fees, as well as taxes, to consumers in the U.S. starting July 1 to comply with California’s junk fee law.
Before I took my first cruise in April 2022, I had never even seen a cruise ship.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 7, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
If you’ve been stuck on the tarmac or stranded at the gate for what seems like an eternity, you’re not alone. A new study by travel website Places to Travel reveals which U.S. airports are the biggest culprits when it comes to lengthy flight delays. Places to Travel analyzed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for nearly 2 million delayed domestic flights from January 2023 through February 2024 to find the airports with the longest average delay times.
Venice considers its entry fee for tourists an early success. A top official told Skift that in the next year the city could double the fee and charge it more often.
Engineers at Delta Air Lines' product development arm think they've found a solution that could make air travel a safer, more seamless and more dignified experience for passengers who use wheelchairs for mobility. It involves a spot in the front row of the aircraft.
I traveled from New York to North Carolina to try out the local food scene and explore some real estate.
Southwest Airlines has just become the latest carrier to increase its ancillary fees.
The best of California is not its famous cities or coastline. The most authentic version of the state is its freshwater, in its many wild forms. At least, for my family.