Latest news with #inboundtourism
Skift
09-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Tourist Arrivals to U.S. Drop Again – Now Just 80% of 2019 Levels
The U.S. inbound tourism recovery is stalling, not strengthening. June's roughly 3% year-over-year decline masks the real story: overseas arrivals remain stuck at just 80% of 2019 levels, six years after the pandemic. U.S. government data for June shows continued weakness in the number of international visitors to the U.S. amid broader economic and geopolitical turbulence. Visits to the U.S. from overseas fell 3.4% year-over-year, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the National Travel and Tourism Office. Roughly half of the top 20 countries generating tourists from overseas saw year-over-year declines in visitation. The UK, the top generator (besides Canada and Mexico), saw a 1.1% decl
Associated Press
04-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Shanghai summer kicks off with 'Easy Go'
SHANGHAI, July 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Shanghai has officially launched 'Easy Go', a comprehensive digital platform integrating diverse services, aiming to better serve international visitors and further boost inbound consumption in the city, officials announced at a news conference on July 2. Operating on popular Chinese online payment tool Alipay, the English-language platform supports real-time translation in 14 languages to serve visitors from across the globe. It features all-sided services for international visitors during their stay in Shanghai. With one registration and authorization on the platform, they will have access to services including efficient food delivery, public transport and ride hailing across the city, attraction information and ticket booking, as well as shopping and instant tax refunds. A first batch of 30 mini-programs from 24 companies have plugged into the platform for service. As a critical digital move in the 2025 'Shanghai Summer' International Consumption Season, it aims to offer international visitors a smoother and more enjoyable experience in the city. Focusing on boosting inbound tourism and consumption during the summer vacation period, the first 'Shanghai Summer' initiative last year has seen fruitful results, with the number of overseas visitors growing 42.2 percent year-on-year and total foreign currency consumption rising by 68.2 percent year-on-year. This year, the growth momentum of inbound tourists and inbound consumption in Shanghai remains strong. In the first half of this year, the city welcomed over 4.24 million inbound tourists, up by 38.5 percent year-on-year. The sales of goods with departure tax refund grew 85 percent year-on-year during the period, with the sales of goods with tax refund-upon-purchase surging by 28.1 times. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
CSO figures for May show 10% drop in tourist numbers
Inbound tourism to the State was down 10 per cent last month compared to the same period in 2024, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show. Some 560,500 foreign visitors made a trip to the Republic in May, spending €477 million, down 21 per cent compared with the same month last year. The largest contingent of visitors came from Britain (35 per cent) and the United States (25 per cent). The most frequent reason for travelling was for holiday and leisure (43 per cent), followed by visiting friends or relatives (31 per cent). The figures are included in the CSO's Inbound Tourism release, published monthly. READ MORE The average length of stay for visitors was 7.3 nights, up from an average of 7.2 nights in May 2024, and down from 7.8 nights in May 2023. Visitors stayed a total of 4.1 million nights in the State, a drop of 8 per cent when compared with May 2024, and down 9 per cent when compared with May 2023. Gregg Patrick, statistician in the CSO's tourism and travel division, said the number of foreign visitors who departed the State on overseas routes last month was down by 10 per cent compared with May 2024 and by 2 per cent compared with May 2023. He said that compared with May 2024, visitor numbers from Britain fell by 9 per cent, from continental Europe by 21 per cent, and from the rest of the world, outside of North America, by 38 per cent. 'In contrast, visitors from North America were up 11 per cent,' he added. 'Compared with May 2023, visitors from Great Britain were down by 1 per cent, continental Europe by 22 per cent, and the rest of the world by 9 per cent, whilst visitors from North America were up 33 per cent.' The CSO has held a series of meetings with tourism bodies over concerns that declining inbound tourist data is out of kilter with industry experience. [ CSO meets tourism industry over 'confusing' visitor data Opens in new window ] Fáilte Ireland was the latest organisation to seek a briefing from statisticians last month. Inbound tourist numbers have declined consistently since last September, raising eyebrows among tourism operators who have not noticed a corresponding effect on business.
Globe and Mail
05-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
2025 Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference Grandly Opens
The 2025 Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference, jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was held in Beijing from May 31 to June 3, 2025. This year's conference featured a series of activities, including policy announcements, trade negotiations, cooperation signings, resource promotions, exhibitions, and route inspections. It aimed to build an international tourism cooperation platform to support Beijing's development as a global tourism destination and China's premier choice for inbound tourism. Inbound tourism in Beijing accelerates as visitor numbers and spending power surge. On the morning of June 3, the 2025 Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference officially opened at Phase II of the China National Convention Center. Gao Zheng, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism; Sima Hong, Vice Mayor of Beijing Municipal Government; and Mr. Naquib Hamdan, Director of the Department of Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Malaysia attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. The event brought together over 270 inbound travel professionals from more than 40 countries and regions—including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea—as well as representatives from international organizations such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), and the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF). Representatives from the member organizations of Beijing's inbound tourism coordination mechanism, the culture and tourism bureaus of the city's 16 districts, the Publicity and Culture Department of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, as well as key stakeholders from international airports, airlines, financial and payment institutions, travel agencies, hotels, and both domestic and international media, attended the conference. In his speech, Vice Minister Gao Zheng emphasized that tourism is a bridge for sharing civilizations, fostering cultural exchange, and strengthening friendship. China is committed to deepening tourism cooperation with other countries, promoting people-to-people exchanges, and enhancing the facilitation of international travel. He extended a warm welcome to tourists from all nations to visit China, enjoy its 'poetry and distant lands,' and experience the country's rich and diverse charm. Vice Mayor Sima Hong noted in her speech that inbound tourism in Beijing is gaining strong momentum, with significant growth in both visitor numbers and spending power. From January to April, the city welcomed 1.46 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 57.1%, and generated USD 1.9 billion in tourism revenue, up 55.0%. Beijing looks forward to working with global partners to fuel the 'Beijing Travel' wave and offer visitors from around the world a more open, convenient, and exciting travel experience. The Action Plan for Optimizing Inbound Tourism Services in Beijing is released to upgrade the entire service chain for inbound tourism. At the conference, Liu Meiying, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Government, unveiled the Action Plan for Optimizing Inbound Tourism Services in Beijing. Building on the capital's unique strengths, the Plan introduces 22 pragmatic measures across four key areas—product development, promotion, service enhancement, and support systems—to foster a new inbound tourism ecosystem that 'delights nearby visitors and attracts travelers from afar.' In terms of product supply, Beijing will continue to strengthen the appeal of the 'Beijing Central Axis' and enrich its offerings of distinctive, immersive tourism experiences—ranging from World Heritage tours and hutong explorations to Central Axis cycling routes, nighttime city tours, and countryside getaways in the suburbs. These efforts aim to bring the authentic charm of local life to visitors and further enhance the 'Stroll Beijing' route brand. Additionally, the city will foster a series of branded events that deeply integrate culture, commerce, tourism, and sports, creating engaging consumption scenarios with monthly themes and diverse local highlights. In terms of promotion, Beijing will leverage new media platforms to boost the reach and influence of its international portals and overseas social media accounts such as Discover Beijing, Visit Beijing, and Beijing Tourism. The city will promote the nation's first English-language city map, dynamically integrating resources related to culture and tourism, shopping, dining, events, communications, foreign currency exchange, real-time public transit, and tax refund locations. For service enhancement, Beijing will strengthen the multifaceted gateway functions of its international aviation hubs and further expand and optimize international route networks at the two major airports. Entry clearance efficiency will be improved by streamlining registration procedures and establishing dedicated service areas for the issuance of 'Temporary Entry Permits' with one-stop processing. Group visa facilitation will be enhanced through measures such as 'online submission of application materials and immediate issuance upon arrival.' More foreign bank cards will be supported for contactless access to the metro system. The 24/7 'Beijing Service' centers at the Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport will continue to be upgraded, offering high-frequency services in finance, telecommunications, transportation, and cultural tourism. Additionally, centralized in-city tax refund points will be set up, pioneering a new nationwide model of 'citywide tax refund, one-stop processing.' During the conference, a series of major initiatives were unveiled to further boost the development of inbound tourism in Beijing. Following the successful implementation of contactless metro access using UnionPay, Visa, and Mastercard, American Express (EC) and Japan's JCB cards will also support direct tap-and-go metro rides in Beijing by the end of June. Visa, in collaboration with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), will launch digital and business skills training in June for small and micro-sized enterprises in Beijing's culture and tourism sectors, aiming to enhance the financial literacy and operational capabilities of private businesses. Mastercard introduced a metro fare cashback program for international tourists to promote green travel. During the conference, it also showcased a range of innovative payment solutions, including integrated terminals supporting both QR code and contactless payments, NFC tap-and-pay, camera-based payment technology, virtual credit cards, and cross-border payment solutions such as 'Wan Huida'. These initiatives are designed to empower the high-quality development of the tourism industry. Ctrip Group has upgraded its original free half-day BEIJING EXPRESS tour at Beijing Capital International Airport into a one-stop comprehensive inbound tourism service center. The center offers a full range of inbound travel services, including airport facility guidance, itinerary planning for Beijing and surrounding attractions, transportation recommendations, communication and data service purchases, currency exchange guidance, payment method assistance, and accommodation booking advice. It also features the TripGenie intelligent AI travel assistant, acting like a 'personal inbound travel secretary' for travelers, providing real-time translation, intelligent itinerary customization, and attraction recommendations. The 'Beijing's New Discoveries' Top Ten Themed Routes are launched, and Beijing's inbound tourism products are comprehensively upgraded. In response to the current trends in inbound tourism, such as the rise of independent travelers, personalized preferences, and deeper cultural experiences, the conference unveiled the 'Beijing's New Discoveries' collection, featuring ten themed inbound tourism routes. For visitors seeking deep cultural immersion, the routes include 'New Rhythms of the Central Axis: Urban Flavor Exploration' and 'Ancient Pathways: Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience.' For those interested in exploring local urban life, there are 'Future Tradition: Urban Renewal Tour' and 'Hidden Alleys: Hutong Exploration.' For fans of technology, art, and trendy entertainment, the options include 'Leisurely Art Experience by the Grand Canal' and 'Trendy Waterfront Night Tour.' Travelers looking for ecological leisure and vacation experiences can choose '22°C Summer: Cool Forest Oxygen Tour' and 'Ancient Town and Great Wall: Hot Spring Retreat.' For outdoor adventure enthusiasts, the routes feature 'Mountain Wilderness: Hiking and Stargazing' and 'Blue Waves: Lake and Island Exploration.' Additionally, a customized 'Airport Vicinity Tours' package has been designed for short-term and visa-exempt transit visitors, offering a variety of half-day and full-day tours covering cultural heritage, theme parks, wildlife attractions, gourmet food and shopping, as well as arts and trendy entertainment. These tours and products are also available for booking on the China International Travel Service (CITS) English website and the Beijing Service cultural tourism section at Daxing Airport. New products and fresh experiences attract attention and draw crowds, with the inbound tourism trade fair witnessing booming supply and demand. Focusing on eight key areas—visa and travel booking, transportation, payment, accommodation, shopping, entertainment, intangible cultural heritage, and technology—the conference invited representatives from Beijing immigration authorities, tax authorities, airlines, airports, travel agencies, hotels, event organizers, intangible cultural heritage custodians, and technology firms to showcase integrated inbound tourism facilitation services and innovative products for overseas travel agents. In the payment section, Beijing introduced two dual-function card products, 'Changyoutong' and 'Mifang Card,' providing integrated communication and payment solutions for inbound tourists. Many travel agents attending the conference started trial services on the day they arrived and personally experienced the convenience of 'one device and one card for seamless travel around Beijing.' In the technology-powered cultural tourism area, innovative products such as Huawei smart earphones, iFlytek's multilingual AI transparent screen, BOE's flexible display, Migu Culture's Changdian Temple Fair in the Metaverse, OrionStar's coffee robot, and the Bao Xiao Mi 2 robot drew overseas travel agents to experience firsthand the innovative fusion of technology and culture in tourism. On the afternoon of June 3, the 2025 Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference held the trade negotiation session at Phase II of the China National Convention Center. Based on the source market, scale of cooperation, and ease of group organization, the event featured ten dedicated trade zones: Australia, Japan & Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Central and Eastern Europe, the UAE, Europe, Canada, Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. A 'buyers-seated, sellers-rotating' model was adopted to facilitate orderly, batch-based matchmaking. The venue also included a free negotiation area and an on-site signing zone to ensure targeted connections between buyers and sellers and to promote pragmatic project cooperation. Over 270 overseas travel agents and nearly 200 domestic cultural and tourism enterprises participated in one-on-one discussions, reaching multiple cooperation agreements and preliminary partnerships. Many travel agents expressed their intention to launch more inbound tourism products for Beijing and showed strong confidence in the city's inbound tourism market. A global strategic cooperation and marketing network is being built to help Beijing tourism expand its global 'circle of friends.' The Visit Malaysia Year is set to take place in 2026. To deepen international exchanges and cooperation, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism has signed a memorandum of intent with the Department of Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Malaysia. Going forward, the two sides will strengthen collaboration in promotion, cultural activities, and other areas. At the conference, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism presented Beijing Tourism Global Strategic Partner certificates to key stakeholders including Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, Air China, China Southern Airlines, CTG Travel, Ctrip Group, Bank of China Beijing Branch, Deloitte China, Mastercard, Visa, ITB China, as well as travel agents and media representatives from major source markets such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Finland, Russia, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. Under the partnership framework, both parties will actively promote and sell Beijing tourism products overseas, gather timely and accurate market feedback, and develop more targeted overseas marketing strategies. Meanwhile, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism will facilitate deep cooperation between partners and high-quality tourism enterprises in China and Beijing. Travel agents visit the 'Capital One-Stop Cultural and Tourism Shopping Center,' as 'Travel in China' fuels the rise of 'Shopping in China.' On the evening of June 3, the closing ceremony of the 2025 Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference took place at Xiushui Street. Within the dazzling seven-story multifunctional space, the 'Beijing Fashion Week Chinese Costume Show' unfolded in three themed chapters—'Splendor of the Central Axis,' 'Dreams Along the Canal,' and 'Elegance of Intangible Heritage'—blending traditional Chinese culture with modern fashion trends. Outside the glass windows, the brilliantly illuminated CBD skyline and the themed light show reading 'Beijing Welcomes You' offered a stunning visual backdrop. Leveraging Chaoyang District's improving business environment and international flair, Xiushui Street is actively exploring innovative models for the integration of culture, commerce, and tourism, aiming to become the 'One-Stop Cultural and Tourism Shopping Hub in Beijing.' It offers a seamless shopping experience with multilingual support, full acceptance of international payment cards, and global shipping services. That evening, Xiushui Street introduced an exclusive 'Boarding Pass Privilege' coupon, allowing overseas travel agents to enjoy special shopping benefits simply by presenting their boarding passes. Purchases made at duty-free stores could be processed for early tax refunds at designated downtown refund points. Travel agents embarked on a whirlwind shopping tour, experiencing the convenience of buying both 'Beijing gifts' and 'Made-in-China treasures' within just one hour, as well as receiving custom-tailored garments in as little as 18 hours. Many excitedly exclaimed that it was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding shopping spree! The Beijing Inbound Tourism Development Conference is recognized for its industry-wide representation, professionalism, and leadership. Its successful convening will further unify industry consensus, enhance international tourism exchange and cooperation, and support the development of Beijing as China's premier destination for inbound tourism. Media Contact Company Name: NAKESHIJIA Contact Person: Email: Send Email City: BEIJING Country: China Website:
Skift
20-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Trip.com Group Rides AI, Inbound Boom, and Older Travelers to Strong Quarter
inbound bookings soared 100% as China's visa-free policies lured more tourists. With AI and senior travelers fueling growth, the company's global comeback looks sharp and well-targeted. Inbound tourism to China has become Group's fastest-growing segment, thanks to favorable policy changes and increased international interest. Visa-free access for travelers from over 40 countries, along with China's new 240-hour visa-free transit policy, is making it easier for tourists to visit the country. 'In the first quarter, our inbound travel bookings surged by approximately 100% year-over-year with South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia emerging as some of the fastest-growing source markets,' said Group Co-Founder and Executive Chairman James Liang at an earnings call on Tuesday. Inbound hotel bookings from key visa-free countries surged more than 240%, driven in part by new initiatives such as free city tours for transit travelers and upgrades to multilingual offline service centers. The inbound segment also outperformed others on conversion rates and cross-selling metrics, according to Jane Sun, CEO and director of Group. AI as a Core Strategic Asset Artificial intelligence is also playing a key role in Group's growth strategy. From planni
