The number of foreign tourists who visited Spain in October increased by 9.5% year-on-year to 8.96 million people, according to the national statistics office INE.
This is a record figure for October in the entire history of observations, that is, since 1995.
Most of the tourists came from the UK last month – 1.79 million (+4.8% compared to October 2023), followed by Germany (1.3 million, +14% yoy), and France (1.16 million, +16.7% yoy).
The number of visitors from other European countries increased by 14.7% to 817.28 thousand people.
In October, 7.49 million tourists arrived in Spain by air (+7.8% yoy), 1.19 million by road (+17.7%), 265.48 thousand by water (+30.7%), and 27.18 thousand by rail (-2.5%).
Catalonia received the largest number of tourists (20.4% of the total), followed by the Balearic Islands (17.8%) and Andalusia (15.3%).
Total expenditures by visitors to the country increased by 15.5% year-on-year to 11.9 billion euros, or an average of 1,327 thousand euros per person. Tourism accounts for 12-13% of Spanish GDP.
In January-October, tourist arrivals to Spain increased by 10.8% to approximately 82.9 million people.
The tourist fee of Ivano-Frankivsk region for January-July 2023 amounted to 10.4 million UAH, which is 6% lower than in the same period of 2022.
“So far, minus 6% (seven months of 2022/2023) and minus 21% (month to month 2022/2023). These figures demonstrate the decline in tourist traffic,” – wrote in Facebook the head of the tourism department of the Department of international cooperation, European integration, tourism and investment Ivano-Frankivsk OVA Vitaly Perederko.
According to him, the largest receipts for the period were received by Polanytsia (UAH 5.99 million), Yaremchany (UAH 1.953 million), Ivano-Frankivsk (UAH 1.081 million), Vorokhtyanska (UAH 529.71 thousand) and Verkhovyna (UAH 138.84 thousand) territorial communities.
Bali authorities have decided to levy a tourist tax on foreigners from 2024, with the funds to be used to preserve cultural heritage, The Jakarta Post reported.
“Bali attracts millions of foreign visitors every year, and the island is trying to capitalize on its popularity to replenish the treasury and protect cultural heritage. From 2024, foreign tourists traveling to Bali from abroad or other parts of Indonesia will be charged a one-time tax of $10,” the Post writes.
As the newspaper notes, payment of the tax will be made through an electronic payment, which will have to be made before arrival on the island.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster believes that the new levy will not lead to a decrease in tourist traffic.
“I don’t think the numbers will be lower. We plan to use the revenue from the tourist tax to preserve the environment and culture, build better infrastructure to make traveling to Bali more comfortable and safe,” he explained.
In 2022, more than 2 million foreign tourists visited Bali, but since the beginning of 2023, the island has seen an increase in violations of cultural norms and migration laws by foreign tourists, so the authorities no longer want to develop mass tourism.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Tinh has instructed to prepare amendments to the law on entry, exit and transit of foreigners and to extend visa-free stay for them from 15 to 45 days, according to Vietnam Net.
“The majority of cabinet members agreed with the proposal to increase the visa-free stay in Vietnam for tourists from a number of countries from 15 to 45 days, and the period of stay on an online visa from 30 to 90 days,” the publication writes.
Currently, Vietnam offers a single-entry electronic visa for a month for tourists from 80 countries.
Vietnam has become one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to fully open to international tourism after the pandemic coronavirus. Last year, only 3.6 million tourists visited the country, 20% of the pre-pandemic level.
In 2023, Vietnam plans to welcome 8 million foreign travelers.
China resumes issuing tourist visas to foreign nationals from March 15, the consular service of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“Chinese consulates abroad will resume issuing all categories of visas to foreigners starting Wednesday, March 15. The decision was made to further facilitate border crossings,” said a message posted Tuesday on WeChat.
In addition to resuming new visas, entry will be allowed for visas issued before March 28, 2020, that have not expired.
“The new visa policy will also allow the resumption of visa-free travel for tourists to Hainan Island, passengers arriving on cruise ships to Shanghai, and tourist groups from Hong Kong, Macau and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries to the country’s southern regions,” the statement said.
On the sites of Chinese embassies of some countries, including the U.S. and France, there were reports on the resumption of visas for foreign nationals.
China lifted entry and exit restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic as of Feb. 6.
China welcomed 65.7 million foreign tourists in 2019.
Bali authorities in Indonesia want to restrict tourists’ access to the sacred Mount Batur due to their inappropriate behavior, which was complained about by religious leaders of the province, the Express newspaper reported.
“People should no longer be free to visit Bali’s sacred mountains, including Mount Batur. Many travelers go up there on motorcycles. I think this is too much,” the newspaper quoted Bali Governor Wayan Koster as saying.
According to him, religious leaders felt that the mountains should remain sacred and focused only on pilgrimage and religious rituals, so they recommend banning access for tourists there.
Balinese Hindus believe that any negative actions by tourists could damage the sacredness of the mountains.
Mount Batur is an active volcano and a popular tourist destination in Bali. It is one of the most sacred mountains on the island and is considered the home of the god Brahma.
It takes about two hours to climb Mount Batur and there are several restaurants and viewing platforms. After indecent visitors to the mountain, locals perform a ritual to cleanse the place of bad spirits every time.
