Travel's Reopening and Coronavirus Recovery

The latest news about coronavirus recovery around the world and the reopening of travel and tourism in destinations around the world.

Skift Research subscribers can view the latest data about country-by-country recovery at the Skift Recovery Index. Data about public companies can be viewed at the Skift Health Score.

Tourism

Bhutan Offers Duty-Free Gold to Offset Tourism Fee Impact

Bhutan is looking for the Midas touch for its tourism, quite literally. But will that make price-sensitive tourists disregard the otherwise high tourism fees?

Peden Doma Bhutia | 3 days ago

Tourism

Cambodia Relocates Angkor Wat Communities in Controversial Tourism Touch-Up

Cultural sites like Angkor Wat must be preserved, but that shouldn't come at the cost of local livelihoods. Destinations shouldn't treat the two as if they are in conflict.

Dawit Habtemariam | 1 week ago

Tourism

Why Sri Lanka Needs to Tell the World It’s Open for Tourism

Sure, you may have the best tourism products, but what good is a destination if it doesn’t engage with its audience to communicate that?

Peden Doma Bhutia | 1 week ago

News Blog

U.S. Traveler Spending Abroad Reached Nearly $16 Billion in January, a New High

Americans traveling abroad spent over $15.8 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, other countries in January, more than any single month prior to the pandemic, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. International visitors spent over $14.7 billion in January on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the U.S., causing the U.S.…

Dawit Habtemariam | 1 week ago

Tourism

The Emergence of a New Chinese Traveler: A Skift Deep Dive

Sure, the world has missed Chinese tourists for far too long, but if you are a destination looking for that one elusive answer to what the new Chinese traveler will look like, we recommend you stop now.

Peden Doma Bhutia | 1 week ago

News Blog

International Travel Volume to the U.S. in 2022 Reached 64 Percent of Pre-Pandemic Level

The U.S. hosted 51 million international visitors in 2022, amounting to 64 percent of its 2019 volume, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data. Outbound travel from the U.S. totaled 80.8 million, down 19 percent from its pre-pandemic volume. About 24 million traveled from overseas, i.e. not Canada and Mexico, up 161…

Dawit Habtemariam | 1 week ago

News Blog

AirAsia Announces New CEO for Superapp Business

AirAsia on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mohamad Hafidz, who is currently the chief fintech officer, as the acting CEO of AirAsia superapp from April 1 onwards. With nearly 30 years in the payments industry, Hafidz, populary known as Mo, will be succeeding Amanda Woo in his new role. Woo was appointed CEO of the…

Peden Doma Bhutia | 2 weeks ago

Tourism

China Welcomes Back Foreigners as It Resumes Visa Applications for All

With news of the removal of the last Covid-induced border restriction, the travel industry in China would now be waiting for restoration of flight capacity to make the most of the pent-up demand.

Bernard Orr, Ryan Woo, Wang Jing, Joe Cash and Sophie Yu, Reuters | 2 weeks ago

Tourism

Global Tourism Industry Woefully Unprepared for Return of Chinese Travelers

While China rushes to travel internationally again, the global tourism industry hasn't been keeping up with its demand and new tastes.

Dawit Habtemariam | 2 weeks ago

Hotels

The Case for Luxury Hotels Coming Out on Top in 2023 Recession: New Skift Research

A potential recession is on the horizon in the U.S., but we expect hotel performance to stay resilient in the face of economic uncertainty, buoyed by continued strength in the luxury segment - unlike what has been seen in prior downturns.

Pranavi Agarwal | 2 weeks ago