 Brussels with its pralines and chocolates, the jazz venues and nightclubs, the beer and moules et frites, has gained the reputation s a place for adults to play. But it offers a lot of entertainment for children too. After all Brussels is the home of the cartoon strip and whimsical artists like René... | | |  The scenery around the Olympic city of Innsbruck is quite breathtaking and almost everywhere you look you will see distant, snowcapped mountains and a true Alpine landscape. However, when you are strolling around the medieval Old Town (Altstadt) of Innsbruck, the mountains begin to vanish from view ... |
 Sri Lanka Tourism, under the guidance of the Minister of Economic Development, Hon.Basil Rajapaksa, launched a five year strategic development plan for the sector, from 2011-2016, based on the Mahinda Chintana -Vision for the Future - Development Policy Framework. This strategic development plan of ... | | |  The travel industry follows its own rules, something that many startups and established companies new to this sector discover. Despite this, the level of interest shown by investors and startups is high. This is the audience that Travel Traction by OpenTravel, supported by the world’s leading travel... |
 ‘Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions’ announced the 2013 Calendar of ‘India International Travel Mart’ events to be conducted in eight major markets of India. With organizations and tourism boards from over 25 Indian states and over 30 countries, ‘India International Travel Mart’ will showcase a variet... | | |  From the state’s initial initiative to set up an international tourist beach resort in Kovalam in 1976 to declaring tourism as an industry in 1986, Tourism in Kerala has come a long way and is one of the crucial engines of growth. The tourist department’s efforts were quite effective in enhancing th... |
 It may be monotonous to hear about what tourism industry could do to the comprehensive and sustainable growth of a region, time and again. However, as long as the industry achieves milestones after milestones and performs beyond the expectations, contributing to the prosperity of a region, it would ... | | |  After the gap of a year, Kerala is again back into business, as usual. If the first leg of preparations are anything to go by, this time with added vigour, to make the event a huge success. The name it enjoys in the global market today is just an indication of how popular Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), a... |
 The South Indian state of Kerala is known for taking innovative initiatives to promote its tourist spots as 365-day destinations. When it comes to virgin locations, which hold immense tourism potential, the amount of effort put into turn them as sought-after tourist spots is just enormous. What is w... | | |  As part of the efforts to increase the share of international tourist arrivals to one per cent by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan, India has taken a slew of measures, keeping in mind the comprehensive growth of its tourism industry. At present, the country’s share of international tourist a... |
With 940 million tourists crossing international borders in 2010, never have the world’s people and cultures been drawn together, as now. Through tourism, millions of people are brought closer every day.World Tourism Day, 2011 is taking place under the theme ‘Tourism – link... | | |  International tourist arrivals grew by 4.5 per cent in the first four months of 2011, despite new challenges emerging since the beginning of the year. According to the latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, growth was positive in all regions with the exception of the Middle East. Between... |
To maximize tourism’s role in helping countries reach their development goals, UNWTO has come together with seven UN agencies and programmes to boost tourism as an instrument for developmentTourism is increasingly a major, if not the main, source of growth, employment... | | |  UNWTO, a key partner of the recently established Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism, will work closely with tourism stakeholders worldwide to firmly position tourism along a more sustainable path. The recently launched Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism (GPST), made up of five UN or... |
 The United Nations General Assembly has adopted by consensus at its 65th session three separate resolutions emphasizing the role on tourism in sustainable development. The three resolutions, on the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, on the promotion of ecotourism and on the imp... | | | 
This year’s World Tourism Day celebrations will be officially hosted by China and will take place under the theme “Tourism and Bio Diversity” at Guangdong Province in China on September 27.The theme provides a unique opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of biod... |
The 2011 outlook for Asian outbound travel is very positive, in particular, India appears set for strong growth since 43 per cent of Indians are planning more outbound travel next year, according to the newly-published ITB World Travel Trends Report from Messe Berlin. The booming outbound Asian markets this year are China, South Korea and Malaysia, which are all increasing at more than 20 per cent, while Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and India are also growing at double-digit ratesAsia ... | | | 
While growth is returning to international tourism, led to a large extent by Asia and the Pacific, public and private bodies in the region must continue to work together on responses to the crisis to ensure a sustained recovery. This was the main conclusion that emerged from the 22nd Joint Meeting... |
International tourism is steadily gaining momentum following an extremely challenging 2009. International tourist arrivals grew by seven per cent in the first two months of 2010 worldwide, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Growth was particularly strong in Asia, Africa and the... | | | 
Arabian Travel Market 2010, Middle East’s premier four-day travel and tourism event closed on May 7 on a high note. It clearly reflected the industry’s built-up momentum for growth. With significantly increased numberof participants and visitors maximising every opportunity at further ... |
Third annual meeting between the tourism authorities of Hong Kong and Macau SARs has been held in Macau. Commissioner for Tourism of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Philip Yung led the Hong Kong delegation Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U hosted a luncheon for the delegationThe 9-me... | | | 
Messe Berlin has announced details of its enhanced hosted buyers' programme for ITB Asia 2010. New filtering techniques are being introduced. The aim is to ensure that only high quality buyers will enter the pre-scheduled appointment system to meet exhibitors. ITB Asia takes place in Singapore dur... |
As part of the efforts of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) continues its aggressive marketing and promotional drive in 2010 and will be highlighting the strengths and attraction of the emirate’s vibrant tourism industry in 36 overseas travel exhibitions and hosti... | | |
The Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), João Manuel Costa Antunes has been elected as Vice Chairman of PATA for the year 2010-2012. He is also Chairman-Elect for the next termIn 2005, the 54th PATA Annual Conference was held in Macau. Antunes was awarded PATA Life Membership the same year. Previous to the appointment as the Chairman-Elect, he played a role as the member of Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Audi & Finance Committee, Honours Committee, as we... |
Dubai is all set for the Arabian Travel Market 2010. The 17th edition of Middle East’s premier travel and tourism show will begin on May 4 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and conclude four days later on May 7.
Arab... | | | 
Tourism sector should work together to ensure that global policies are supportive of the sustainable growth of tourism and position travel and tourism as one industry speaking with one voice, said Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General. He was speaking on the occasion of the opening of ITB 2010 in B... |
ITB Berlin has emphatically confirmed its status as the leading travel trade show in the world. A slight rise in exhibitor attendance and stable trade visitor numbers from both Germany and abroad ensured the trade fair was a success. The recently concluded 44th edition of ITB Berlin had 180, 000 v... | | |
Representatives from more than 50 countries and regions, who attended the 2010 Boao International Tourism Forum in Sanya, southern China’s Hainan Province have vowed to promote cooperation to deal with incidents with negative impacts on tourism. Given the industry’s sensitive characteristics, the world’s tourism industry should establish cooperation and development mechanisms to jointly respond to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, as well as economic crises and other sudd... |
As per the preliminary figures available from Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the numbers of international visitors to the Asia Pacific region grew by three per cent year-on-year in November 2009. According to the report, all the sub-regions, with exception of the Americas, recorded growth... | | | 
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the 12 finalists for the 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.The 12 finalists were selected by an international team of independent judges in each of the four award categories for having successfully demonstrated Sustainable Tourism practices,... |
Asian travel demand will close five per cent down for 2009 in part due to sharp declines in travellers from South Korea. Longhaul destinations such as Europe are being hit hardest as Japanese, Chinese, Indians and Thais also choose to stay home or travel within Asia.
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The global tourist industry should recover strongly in 2010 after the economic crisis and the swine flu pandemic produced “one of the most difficult years" for the sector, said UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai in a press conference in World Tourism Organisation.Growth returned to international tourism in the last quarter of 2009 contributing to better than expected full-year results, according to the latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. According to annual W... |
New York City was the most popular tourist destination in the United States in 2009 for the first time since 1990. The 45.25 million tourists exceeded projections, declining just 3.9 percent from 2008 versus the 10 percent expected. A 3.2 percent increase in tourism, with an estimated 46.7 million... | | |
New South Wales Government, Australia has announced a new week-long Indian Festival in Parramatta called ‘Parramasala’ - The Australian Festival of South Asian Arts in Western Sydney. Parramasala – the Australian Festival of South Asian Arts is an exciting international festival to be held annually in the centre of Parramatta City. This inaugural festival in 2010 will begin development of the concept, with the festival expanding to reach its full scale by 2012. This fe... |
