1 Hotels, known for wellness and sustainability, is continuing to celebrate the new year, and maybe those resolutions, with a new sale.
03.01.2024 - 12:36 / skift.com / Greg Ohara / Rashaad Jorden / Srettha Thavisin / Peden Doma Bhutia
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, January 3. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
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Officials in Venice have recently approved a measure to cap tour group sizes to help the city better manage tourist arrivals, writes Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam.
Tour groups of more than 25 people will be banned from the city center and three of its islands starting June 1. A local tourism official said that limiting large group tours would help preserve Venice’s infrastructure and reduce overcrowding. Habtemariam notes the city is also banning portable loudspeakers used by tour guides.
Travel investor Greg O’Hara said at last year’s Skift Global Forum that Italians have been deterred from visiting Venice in part because of the huge crowds it attracts.
Next, Tripnotes got a lot of buzz in 2023 as one of the first ChatGPT-powered AI trip planners. But by December, it sold itself and shut down the site, writes Travel Technology Reporter Justin Dawes.
Dawes notes that Tripnotes was one of the first travel companies to commit to building a generative AI-powered trip planner. Tripnotes co-founder Matthew Rosenberg said he was looking to use personalized recommendations and in-app travel booking to reinvent city guides. However, Dawes reports that while Tripnotes had buzz, it needed money – which wasn’t easy to raise in 2023, especially after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March. Restaurant reservation startup Dorsia ultimately bought the company.
Next, China and Thailand have reached a reciprocal agreement that will permanently waive visa requirements for citizens of the two countries starting in March, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday that the agreement would help strengthen the relationship between Thailand and China. Thailand currently allows Chinese visitors to stay in the country visa free for 30 days. However, Beijing hadn’t granted Thai travelers a similar treatment until now.
China was Thailand’s second-largest tourism market in 2023, with 3.5 million Chinese travelers visiting the kingdom.
1 Hotels, known for wellness and sustainability, is continuing to celebrate the new year, and maybe those resolutions, with a new sale.
Following the announcement of new tourist rules for Venice launching this year, the platform for visitors to purchase the €5 fee to enter the city for day-trippers launched today, allowing visitors to make their payment before visiting the city. The fee does not apply for visitors that stay overnight in the city. The authorities in Venice have officially enforced the entry fee, also known as the Venice Access Fee, for day visitors sightseeing in the ancient City of Canals during 29 designated dates in the year. The initiative aims to strike a balance between preserving the daily life of Venice residents and providing an exceptional experience for visitors.
Venice has started selling tickets for day visitors to access the canal city in a long-planned effort to charge day travelers and limit tourism.
Japan ended 2023 with a record number of visitors in December, capping off a year in which its tourism industry made a significant recovery from the pandemic.
Cyprus, Malta, Albania, and other underrated destinations had some of the highest tourism growth rates in Europe last year, according to Eurostat’s latest data.
The selfie craze is now more lethal than shark attacks. A study published in the Journal of Travel Medicine in 2022 uncovered 379 selfie-related deaths over the previous 13 years.
Last November, Venice authorities unveiled a pilot program for their long-mooted plan to charge day-trippers to visit the city.
Rémy Martin’s Baptiste Loiseau has outdone himself yet again.
Welcome aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a luxurious, overnight Belmond train.
TTC Tour Brands’ various tour operators are offering up to 25 percent savings on a variety of trips around the world with its annual 2024 Big Tour Sale, going on now through February 15, 2024, and available on each tour operator's website.
At the end of last year, Venice authorities finally confirmed the introduction of a long-mooted entrance fee for visitors to the canal city.
Among the last countries to resume tourism activities post-pandemic, North Korea is set to welcome its first international tourists in February, marking the end of its border closure since January 22, 2020. And tourists, especially in Russia, are taking note.