Paperwork is one aspect that travelers worldwide get embroiled in, especially when at international airports, in spite of often, their best of efforts to the contrary. In order to ease up such processes, the World Travel & Tourism Association (WTTA) is planning to set up the use of biometrics at all such airports. Business intelligence supplied by the International Air Transport Association, states that over less than two decades on from now, the air passenger number will increase by 80%. Insights provided by Forbes magazine too claims that the USA has already been experimenting with such biometrics from 2017 itself. The biometrics would mainly involve facial recognition tools. There are some lobbies that are perhaps rightly opposing this move, due to their privacy concerns. But supporters of this initiative say that the benefits will far outweigh any compromises in privacy.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/travel-growth-may-be-helped-by-biometrics-news11280

Uploaded Date:21 December 2019

The advantages of Instagram to travel and photography is self- evident. Brands of all kinds are using this social media app to proliferate their digital marketing capabilities. However, there are also several challenges that are now getting increasingly more hostile. One such is the addiction now getting associated among several travelers. Even at some of the most iconic spots, all such Instagram users can think of is their perfect shot on social media. Tourism authorities are also feeling let down, with allegations of a lack of respect towards the local culture being hurled at this breed of tourists. A lot of these addicts are also being exposed to dangerous situations, especially when dealing with wild animals.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/travel-addicts-on-instagram-news11265

Uploaded Date: 16th December 2019

5G technology is not just the future, but indeed the present. It is opening up a lot of doors to the work mechanisms, especially for the hotel industry. It is providing improved connectivity and thus greater reliability concerning the work at various hotels. Among the aspects that 5G can push quicker includes Virtual Reality, the Internet of Things, automation and Big Data, all of which is highly reliable for this sector. New business models are also slowly emerging using this. The dependence on Wi Fi connections will also reduce with time. Right now, this technology is only available in a few countries, but the day is not far when it will be much more scalable.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/5g-technology-to-help-the-hotel-industry-news11264

Uploaded Date: 16th December 2019

A report has been released recently titled the Global Report on Women in Tourism. This was jointly produced by Amadeus, the World Bank Group, GIZ, and UN Women in collaboration with the tourism consulting body UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The findings clearly reveal the intent of the sector to be more gender compliant. Interestingly the report confirmed that a staggering 54% of all tourism jobs are presently held by women, as opposed to the 39% figure for the rest of the sectors. The wage parity is also greater with women earning only 14.7% less than men while the corresponding figure stands at 16.8% for the overall economy. Leadership positions are also less of a male monopoly than in the other sectors, with 23% of all tourism ministers being female, though women account for only a fifth of all ministries put together. Countries as diverse as the UK, Morocco and Uganda have come up with recent legislations to ensure even greater parity across the genders.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/gender-equality-gets-good-marks-in-the-tourism-industry-news11258

Uploaded Date: 16th December 2019

The Barcelona City Council has requested the Parliament of Catalonia for an increase in the tourist taxes within the city. Tourism taxes may be popular across Europe, but not so in Spain, where any attempts end up getting even more unpopular than before. Within Europe, it is lowest in the Czech Republic, but highest in Sweden. Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin and Venice all charge higher rates. In Spain, it is only Catalonia and the Balearic Islands that charge some rate. Hoteliers do not want these taxes to be levied, as the relatively lower rates have allowed Barcelona’s industry to remain afloat even at times of a general downturn. Experts believe that a significant portion of the travel jobs may get lost in case of these taxes being further increased. Others believe that inbound travel numbers and subsequent jobs creation depends on several macro factors as well, such as the political climate.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/barcelona-plans-to-increase-the-tourist-taxes-news11261

Uploaded Date: 16th December 2019

Hong Kong has been burning for the past few months, with protests taking place all over the autonomous territory. This is already causing much economic distress, and likely to spill over to the tourism sector as well. As per business intelligence shared by the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, the former British colony has now slipped in to a recession. This is in sharp contrast to the three percent growth achieved last year. Inbound tourist numbers fell down from nearly seven million back in January this year, to a low of less than three million in August. The authorities have pledged tens of millions of dollars to support airlines, hotels and tour operators, yet the downfall is not abetting.

Source:https://www.tourism-review.com/hong-kong-feels-the-economic-impact-of-the-protests-news11249

Uploaded Date: 14th December 2019

Switzerland has always been particularly famous as a summer tourism destination, and so tries to maximize its earnings potential during the peak summer months. Now, the country’s tourism board- Switzerland Tourism- plans to go heavy on health and medical tourism. Keeping in mind the big economies of Russia, China and the Gulf States, traditional and digital marketing plans are being made. In these countries, there lies a latent demand for medical treatments. The tourism board has entered in to agreements with twenty Swiss hospitals, so they will lead this entire promotion. Foreign patients already account for two percent of the total beds being occupied in hospitals and clinics, as per a 2017 report. Revenues worth in excess of two- hundred million euros as being envisaged from this sector by the year 2022.

Source: https://www.tourism-review.com/switzerland-to-promote-its-health-tourism-news11251

Uploaded Date: 14th December 2019