A partnership between Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and VisitBritain, Britain’s national tourism agency, has seen a 25% boost in bookings to Great Britain.
27.08.2023 - 18:13 / skift.com / Joe Biden
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing late on Sunday for a four-day visit aimed at boosting business ties between the world’s two largest economies while declaring American national security trade measures off-limits for debate.
Raimondo wants to boost travel and tourism between the two countries.
China and the United States agreed this month to double the number of flights permitted between them – still a fraction of the number before the pandemic.
If China returned to 2019 U.S. tourism levels, it would add $30 billion to the U.S. economy and 50,000 U.S. jobs, Raimondo said.
Raimondo is considering a visit to Shanghai Disneyland, a joint venture of Walt Disney and Chinese state-owned Shendi Group, a source told Reuters.
Another looming question is when Chinese airlines might resume taking deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX jets after a four-year hiatus. Raimondo said in 2021 that the Chinese government was preventing its airlines from buying “tens of billions of dollars” in Boeing aircraft.
Boeing says it is ready to deliver airplanes to Chinese airlines “when that time comes.”
“If you wanted to put a tagline to the trip and the mission, it’s protect what we must and promote where we can,” Raimondo told reporters on Friday before departing for China. “I’m not going to pull my punches next week when I am there but I intend to be practical.”
Relations are tense as the United States works with allies to block China’s access to advanced semiconductors, while Beijing is restricting shipments from prominent chip company Micron Technology and raided and fined U.S. firm Mintz Group $1.5 million for doing “unapproved statistical work.”
Raimondo, who was greeted upon arrival by Chinese Commerce Ministry official Lin Feng, will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese officials on Monday and Tuesday in Beijing before she heads to Shanghai. She will be joined by U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
Raimondo spoke to President Joe Biden on Thursday about her visit and his message was enhanced dialogue with China can ease tensions.
“We want to have a stable commercial relationship, and core to that is regular communication,” Raimondo said. “We need to communicate to avoid conflict.”
Republicans in Congress have criticized the possibility Raimondo will establish a working group with China during the visit to discuss U.S. semiconductor export controls.
Raimondo did not confirm plans for any working group but emphasized she would tell Chinese officials “when it comes to national security we don’t negotiate. We don’t give concessions. We don’t compromise.”
The United States is using government incentives and tax policy to wean American businesses off Chinese supply chains and ramp up U.S. semiconductor
A partnership between Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and VisitBritain, Britain’s national tourism agency, has seen a 25% boost in bookings to Great Britain.
The discussions focused on plans to spur the investment climate in the various tourist destinations across Egypt.
The U.S. travel industry is cheering on the Biden Administration’s new push to get more federal employees back into the office.
Can airlines reduce the total hydrocarbons they burn? Aviation plays a role in the climate emergency, contributing an estimated 3 percent of the world’s carbon emissions a year.
Looking to position itself as a leading tourism destination in the Middle East, Dubai has scrapped the 30 percent municipality tax on alcohol for what has been called a trial period of one year, till December 31. Also, tourists and expats will no longer need to pay a fee to secure a personal liquor license to purchase alcoholic beverages. However, an Emirates ID, or passport for tourists, will still be required. The change that came into effect from Sunday, was confirmed by Maritime and Mercantile International, one of the biggest alcohol retailers in the United Arab Emirates and a subsidiary of the state-owned Emirates Group.
Sicily is turning to out to be every bit as seductive as the hit HBO satire series White Lotus makes it out to be.
The Justice Department on Tuesday asked an appeals court panel to reverse an April 2021 ruling that declared unlawful a government order requiring masks on airplanes, buses, trains, ridesharing services and at airports and other transportation hubs.
At various junctures during the pandemic, Booking Holdings faced difficulties because of the weakness of the euro and China’s shuttered borders but now stands to make strides because of favorable foreign exchange trends and China’s travel reopening.
Multiple state tourism agencies ended their growing participation on the short-form video sharing platform TikTok to comply with their state executive orders. As they exit, they plan to move the resources allocated for TikTok into their other social media channels.
China, grappling with a new wave of COVID-19 infections, took another step towards loosening its pandemic-related restrictions on Saturday when Hong Kong‘s leader announced it would aim to re-open its borders with the mainland by mid-January.
Hong Kong leader John Lee unveiled on Thursday a promotion campaign that will include 500,000 free flights to lure visitors, businesses and investors back to the financial hub after more than three years of tough Covid-19 curbs.
So-called junk fees that drain American travelers’ pockets need to end, said President Joe Biden on Wednesday who again called out companies building business models on “frustrating charges” that are often not disclosed.