Foreign Tourists

Rice on the ropes: As Japan faces a supply crunch, govt appeals for calm

The shortage of rice in Japan has become so severe that several stores are limiting consumers to one bag per person

Pilot shortage in Japan threatens its goal for 60 million tourists by 2030

Japan currently has about 7,100 pilots and the government projects another 1,000 will be needed by 2030 to help meet its target of attracting some 60 million tourists that same year.

N Korea to launch major tourism site in 2025 despite blocking tourists

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a major tourism site being constructed on the country's eastern coast and discussed steps to open the zone by next year, state media reported Thursday, though the country still blocks visits by most foreign tourists. The Wonsan-Kalma zone is one of Kim's most talked-about tourism projects. For years North Korea has been building luxury hotels and recreational facilities there to create a key attraction for international visitors. But the project reportedly suffered setbacks due to shortages of construction materials as a result of toughened UN sanctions and COVID-19 restrictions. Kim toured the Wonsan-Kalma zone with top deputies on Tuesday and discussed preparations for its opening by May 2025 as decided by a ruling party meeting in January, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. A coastal wonderland to be known to the world as the best tourist resort of (North Korea) would be successfully built, Kim was quoted as saying by KCN

Why has Japan blocked the iconic view of Mount Fuji? All you need to know

The plan garnered headlines in April when officials, frustrated by the constant influx of mainly foreign visitors littering, trespassing, and breaking traffic rules, announced it

China expands visa-free initiatives to lure tourists amid economic woes

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed optimism about the mutual visa exemptions, stating that it "serves the fundamental interests of both peoples," as per reports

Free tourist visas to 10-yr investor visas: How Thailand is luring Indians

From November 10, 2023, to May 10, 2024, Thailand is granting a temporary visa exemption for Indian tourists, allowing a 30-day stay for tourism purposes

Delhi zoo soon to start accepting int'l ATM cards for foreign tourists

The National Zoological Park in Delhi soon will have the facility to accept international Master and Visa cards for the foreign tourists, officials said on Thursday. Akanksha Mahajan, director of National Zoological Park, said this facility will attract more foreigners to come to the zoo. "We have seen that the foreign nationals, who visit zoo without tourist guide, faced difficulty while doing payment at the ticket counters and later turn back. Most of the foreign tourists come to the national capital during winter season and we want them to visit the zoo as well. For that we have asked the bank officials concerned to update the facility so that tourists having international Visa or Master cards can use it to buy the tickets," Mahajan said. Apart from this, the zoo will also provide unified payments interface (UPI) facility since the digitisation is underway and the society is rapidly moving towards the cashless transactions, she said. "People also requested us to provide them the

India ends Covid-19 testing requirements for international travellers

Health ministry guidelines say travellers should be fully vaccinated and follow preventive measures

China issues 60,000 visas to Indian nationals since Jan 2023 after 3 yrs

Earlier in March 2023, China announced that it will be allowing the entry of foreign tourists into the country, including from India for the first time in three years

South Korea to allow online permit-free entry for tourists from 22 nations

South Korea will temporarily exempt people from 22 visa-waiver nations from mandatory online travel permits and transit visa requirements as part of efforts to attract more foreign tourists

International tourists bring over $630 mn into New Zealand economy in Q3

International tourists spent 200 mn NZ dollars more than international visitors coming to see friends or relatives, despite making up a similar volume of arrivals, statistics show

Telangana eyes 20% increase in foreign, 30% in domestic tourist arrivals

Telangana Tourism expects increase of 20 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals and 30 per cent growth in domestic tourist footfall to the state by end of 2023 as compared to pre-COVID level, a senior government official said. Telangana witnessed domestic tourist arrivals of 3,20,00,620 while international tourists numbered 5,917 in 2021. For this year, domestic arrivals increased to 3,95,53,865 and international arrivals rose to 35,945 up to July. During 2019 when the pandemic had not yet set in, the domestic arrivals in the state was 8,30,35,894 while the number of foreign travellers was 3,23,326. Already, there is increase in the count of foreign travellers visiting Telangana and there has been growth in domestic tourists arriving this year, the official said. "Our target is to increase international tourist arrivals by 20 per cent, and also domestic tourist arrivals by 30 per cent by 2023-end," Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) Managing Director B Manohar

1.52 mn foreigners visited India in 2021, highest from US: Officials

Over 15 lakh foreigners, including 4.29 lakh US nationals and 2.4 lakh Bangladeshis, had visited India last year when the country was on an extended period of coronavirus restrictions and visa regulations, officials said. Ten countries accounted for 74.39 per cent of the total arrival of foreigners during 2021, while 25.61 per cent of the incoming foreigners were from the rest of the nations, a home ministry official said. A total of 15,24,469 foreigners visited India between January 1 and December 31, 2021. The maximum number of foreigners who visited India during this period were from the United States (4,29,860), followed by those from Bangladesh (2,40,554), United Kingdom (1,64,143), Canada (80,437) and Nepal (52,544). As many as 36,451 citizens from Afghanistan, 33,864 nationals from Australia, 33,772 from Germany, 32,064 from Portugal and 30,374 citizens of France visited India during 2021, the official said. All international flights were suspended during the nationwide ...

India's outbound tourism to surpass $42 billion by 2024, says report

Outbound trips from India will surpass USD 42 billion by 2024 and the government could bring about certain policy changes to boost this growing market, a report said. The report' titled 'Outbound Travel and Tourism - An Opportunity Untapped' by Nangia Andersen LLP in association with FICCI, highlights the up-and-coming Indian travel market and outline a framework for creating a more value for money experience for Indian tourists and travellers. To facilitate ease of doing business and promote the interests of Indian firms dealing in outbound travel the government could look at steps like increasing direct connections to popular and upcoming destinations, allowing foreign cruise vessels to operate on Indian waters, besides taking concerted and coordinated efforts on multiple fronts to propel the outbound tourism market, the report said. Nangia Andersen LLP Head - Government and Public Sector Advisory Suraj Nangia said Indian outbound tourism is going to surpass USD 42 billion by ...

India focusing on confidence-building strategies to woo tourists: Official

India is focusing to ease the difficulties that were created for the tourists due to the spread of the coronavirus which impacted the world economy severely

Bulgaria lifts Covid restrictions for all foreign tourists from May 1

According to the ministry, as for now all arriving foreign citizens must have an EU certificate of vaccination or a document proving that they had been earlier infected with Covid-19

Regular international flights likely to resume from March 15: Report

The ban on scheduled international passenger flights in India is in effect till February 28. Such flights have been suspended in India since March 23, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

No more 7-day home quarantine for foreign travellers as govt eases rules

Countries 'at-risk' tag goes, along with it the mandatory sample testing

Maharajas' Express back on track, signals return of foreign tourists

The last trip for Maharajas' Express was in February 2021, and two more trips scheduled for March 2021 were cancelled to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic

Russian, UK airlines plan Goa flights as India opens up to foreign tourists

Tourists will be allowed on normal flights from November 15. Only single entry 30-day tourist visas will be issued