Tourism to Japan breaks all records

THE Japan National Tourism Organization announced that more than 30 million overseas travelers visited Japan in 2018, an all-time record and an 8.7% increase over 2017 (the previous record year).

"Tourism to Japan from the United States – about 5% of the total – soared 11%," says Naohito Ise, Executive Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization in New York.

In 2018, America's two most influential travel magazines gave #travel to #Japan a major thumbs-up, with Travel+Leisure pronouncing Japan the "Destination of the Year" for 2018 and the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards citing Tokyo and Kyoto as the top two big cities in the world.

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Americans seek unique and novel experiences

EXPEDIA.COM analyzed thousands of data points this year to identify the top trends in travel for 2018, and the results show that American travelers are increasingly interested in unique and novel experiences.

Activities and experiences are increasingly popular as travelers look to personalize and customize their vacations. These are the fastest-growing activity categories in 2018 for the U.S.:

Fastest-growing category: Attractions. Observation decks and architectural landmarks are leading the pack, with the Eiffel Tower, Rome's Colosseum, the 360 Chicago Observation Deck and the High Roller Observation Wheel in Las Vegas among the top trending attractions.

Runner-up: Tours & Sightseeing. Walking and hop-on-hop-off bus tours remain popular among travelers visiting big cities.

Third place: Shopping & Culinary Experiences round out the top categories, as travelers look to get the most out of their destinations and sample local flavors.


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Solo Travel: not for us

DESPITE much buzz around the solo travel trend, 30.4 percent of Americans say they have never traveled alone. And those who have are more than five times as likely to travel domestically than internationally, according to a new survey conducted by Allianz Global Assistance.

Women are ten percent less likely to travel alone than men, with 35.2 percent noting they have never traveled alone, compared to 25.2 percent of men.

Gender also appears to impact solo travelers' perception of safety, with 76.6 percent of men saying they have never felt unsafe while traveling alone, while 60.3 percent of women say the same.

Solo male travelers seem more susceptible to theft, with almost ten percent (9.7 percent) reporting having been mugged or pickpocketed (versus 6.1 percent of women).

The next most pressing concerns for male travelers include: violence/terrorism (17.8 percent), a natural disaster (17.8 percent), being out after dark (14.8 percent), riding public transportation (10 percent), security/safety of drivers (6.9 percent) and visiting a restaurant/bar (also 6.9 percent).

Being out after dark is the second most concern for women (26.3 percent), followed by violence/terrorism (15.7 percent), natural disaster (9.6 percent percent) riding public transportation (9.4 percent), security/safety of drivers (7.8 percent) and visiting a restaurant/bar (3.7 percent).


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Up in the air . . .

HAWAIIAN Airlines and JetBlue today announced an expanded codeshare agreement that allows travelers from dozens of cities, most of them in the eastern U.S., to easily connect to the Hawaiian Islands via Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS) starting in April. 

A large number of Americans are using unsanctioned IDs to pass through airport security and board flights, according to survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by Wakefield Research for Acuant, a global provider of identity verification solutions.

Despite current security measures, 60 percent of Americans who have ever been to an airport report they have boarded a plane without proper identification. More than half (51 percent) passed through security using some form of ID that doesn't include a picture at all.

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Thanksgiving Destinations For Americans

MORE Americans are traveling for Thanksgiving than ever, according to Allianz Global Assistance's Top 10 Thanksgiving Destination Index, which saw an eight percent increase in travelers from 2017. For the fourth year running, New York City and Cancun are Americans' preferred domestic and international Thanksgiving destinations, respectively.

While travel to Cancun is down from last year (8.7 percent), it still tops the international destinations list, and Mexico as a country claims four spots total: San Jose Del Cabo at number five, Puerto Vallarta at nine and Mexico City at ten. The other Top 10 destinations in order of popularity are: London, Paris, San Juan, Montego Bay, Nassau and Punta Cana.

The day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 21) is the busiest departure day according to Allianz's index, and Sunday, November 25 is the busiest return date.


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Dundee campaign targeting Americans

TOURISM Australia has launched the next phase of its A$36 million Dundee campaign with a series of videos inviting Americans to book a trip Down Under and visit the ‘set’ of the movie. 

Starring Aussie actor Luke Hemsworth, the videos will take US travellers on an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the Dundee movie backlot, showcasing the breadth of spectacular and unique experiences on offer across #Australia. 

The second phase of activity, Visit the Set of Dundee: Son of a Legend, builds on the momentum of the Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home campaign, which was unveiled at the Super Bowl in February to over 100 million American TV viewers.

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Most popular European destinations for American travellers

LONDON and Paris continue to be the most popular European destinations for American travelers this summer, but the remaining spots on the Top 20 list saw significant movement from 2017, according to an analysis by Allianz Global Assistance. This year, Reykjavik, Iceland jumped from 17th to third, Barcelona, Spain slipped from fifth to seventh and Nice, France cracked the Top 20 for the first time to come in at 11th.

American travellers visiting Reykjavik has grown significantly in the last few years. Ranked 28th in 2015, the destination cracked the top 20 in 2016 and 2017.Thanks in part to increased direct airlift from the U.S. to the island nation, Iceland's otherworldly landscapes and colorful city homes have been trending on social media in recent years. Despite talk of over-tourism and discussion to potentially limit the number of annual visitors to the country, Reykjavik's popularity continues to rise this summer.

Barcelona's fall in rankings from fifth in 2016 and 2017 to seventh in 2018, may have been caused by several recent incidents. In the last year, Barcelona experienced a terrorist attack in the popular Las Ramblas area; political turmoil as Catalonia attempted to cede from Spain; and organized street protests in Barcelona.

Nice lands on the list for the first time, this suggests that American perception of the city's safety has recovered from the 2016 terrorist truck attack during the city's Bastille Day celebration.

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The Royal Wedding: Inspiring Americans to visit Great Britain

BIG BEN, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the River Thames have all lured Americans to Great Britain through the years, but now there's a renewed interest as England's Prince Harry is set to wed American actress Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018. According to a quick poll of travel agents in Travel Leaders Network – one of America's largest retail travel agency organizations – some are seeing an increase in clients wanting to travel to Great Britain as a result of the Royal wedding.

The #royalwedding is expected to be one of the largest events for #Windsor Castle and thousands are planning to flock to the area hoping to get a glimpse of the lovebirds as they travel in procession after their wedding ceremony. Whether you're traveling to #GreatBritain this spring or later in the year, here are some things to see and do while you're there.

Ride in Royal Footsteps - Horse-drawn tours are available to the public from Windsor Castle, with private guided tours on the Long Walk.

Art and Architecture in Windsor - Windsor Castle, about 45 minutes from London by train, has been home to 39 monarchs.

Buckingham Palace - The queen's official London residence, is open for tours from July 21 to Sept. 30. 

Diana's Fashion Sense - The memory of Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, lives on around Kensington Palace, home to many of today's British royals. On display here is "Diana: Her Fashion Story," featuring outfits worn by the late Princess of Wales. 

Warwick Castle - A medieval fortress built in 1068 and located on the River Avon, is about 90 minutes from London by train. Take an intriguing tour of the medieval vaults and climb to the top of the castle's towers and ramparts.

Southwest England - A visit to Southwest England is gorgeous, even from a train window, but it is not complete without a stop at Tintagel Castle's legendary ruins.

Trooping the Colour - The annual parade, which for nearly 300 years has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign, will be June 9th this year.

Feast Like a King -  A train ride would allow one to stop for mouth-watering experiences in many different cities, from avant-garde haute cuisine to renowned ethnic and regional dishes.

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From Greece to Africa

GLOBAL luxury travel network Virtuoso, has analyzed its data warehouse of transactions sourced from Virtuoso's U.S. and Canadian travel agencies to reveal the top destinations for upscale travelers this summer, as well as the fastest-growing places of interest. While European countries continue to attract the most visitors, the ranking of the hottest locales displays surprising diversity, showcasing comeback destinations as well as others that may be starting an upward trajectory.

The Virtuoso Top 10:The most popular destinations for summer vacations based on future bookings.

1.   United Kingdom
2.   Italy
3.   Canada
4.   France
5.   South Africa

6.   Greece

7.   Germany

8.   Netherlands

9.   Ireland

10. Spain

The Virtuoso Hot 10: The countries that have seen the largest percentage of growth in year-over-year bookings.

1.   Greece
2.   Poland
3.   Dominican Republic
4.   New Zealand
5.   Zambia

6.   Morocco

7.   Turks and Caicos Islands

8.   St. Lucia 

9.   Vietnam

10. Egypt

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US visitor numbers to Portugal rise in record year

PORTUGAL started 2017 with Travel + Leisure naming it the Editors Pick Destination of the Year. Tourism growth is a huge boost to the Portuguese economy, with economic growth near the top of the European Union and unemployment at a 9 year low. 

According to data from the Bank of #Portugal, in September 2017, revenues generated by tourism jumped 21.3 percent in September, reaching 1.6 billion euros. Revenue from US visitors was up 34 percent or the month over 2016.

The numbers are impressive so far. If in 2016 the total number of American visitors in Portugal was 391,125 with overnights of 910,751, by October 1, 2017 they had already hit 522,653 visitors with 1,196,923 of overnights, which is 34 percent higher than last year’s results and four times higher than just 10 years ago. The number of US travelers for October 2017 was up 44.2 percent over the same month in 2016.   


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Sweden continues to grow in popularity

SWEDEN continues to be a popular #destination for foreign tourists. With 351,000 more international overnight stays through July this year, the strong growth for international tourism in #Sweden continues. In July, US and Indian travelers increased fastest.

Between January and July this year, more than 10 million international overnight stays were made in Sweden. With 3.6 percent or 351,000 more overnight stays so far this year, interest in Sweden is growing as a destination.

There is a great interest in Swedes' balanced lifestyle, active experiences in nature, modern and trendy cities, shopping and family attractions. A strong Swedish brand, new routes and a sigh for new destinations are some of the opportunities that Visit Sweden makes use of in marketing. 

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US issues travel warnings for Egypt & Jordan

The US has issued travel warnings for Egypt and Jordan over the risk of terror attacks against American interests, tourists and personnel.  The US State Department warned US citizens to consider the risk of travelling to these countries and to avoid certain areas where the threat is greater.

"The Egyptian Government maintains a heavy security presence at major tourist sites, such as Sharm el-Sheikh... and at many of the temples and archaeological sites located in and around greater Cairo and in the Nile Valley," the travel warning read.

"US Mission personnel are allowed to travel to these areas. However, terrorist attacks can occur anywhere in the country," the alert added, explaining that several extremist organisations are operating in Egypt, including the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The US has also warned its citizens and staff against travelling to Jordan, where terror organisations, including the IS, are active.

"Jordan's prominent role in the counter-IS Coalition and its shared borders with Iraq and Syria increase the potential for future terrorist incidents," the State Department said.

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