For Immediate Release

Where press releases are breaking news

Jamaica earns to date US$3.1 billion with 3.4 million in arrivals

by

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has announced that preliminary figures from the Jamaica Tourist Board indicate that the island has earned US$3.1 billion to date. The data also indicates that from January to October 2019, Jamaica welcomed 3.4 million visitors to the island.

“We are very proud to announce, that we have hit the US$3.1 billion mark for earnings. We had already broken the 3 million mark for arrivals, so we are on track to surpass our target,” said the Minister. 

He added that,” December is usually a strong month for us [Jamaica] and it begins the high season when the rates are higher. In all probability we will more than likely make our US$3.7 billion projection for this year and with a little luck we might be on the edge for US$4billion.”

The Minister notes that this puts the island on track to surpass the Tourism Ministry’s five-pillar growth strategy, which when proposed in 2016 was projected to result in visitor arrivals increasing to five million in five years and earning US$5 billion.

The strategy, which targets securing five million visitors by 2021, is utilising the five tourism pillars, which includes tapping into new markets; developing new products; promoting investments and building new partnerships.

Minister Bartlett has referred to this strategy as the Ministry of Tourism 5x5x5 growth plan for the sector.

“The market diversification programme that the Ministry has embarked on over the last three years, based on our 5x5x5 strategy is going apace. We targeted South America as one of the major new frontiers that we are going to spend some time on and get some good returns.

“Already the returns are coming because we are up 23% in South America which is really strong. We have also been able to get 11 flights a week from COPA coming out of Panama for Kingston and Montego Bay,” said the Minister.

He added that he would be leading a small team over the weekend in Lima, to inaugurate the first direct flight from the destination to Montego Bay, Jamaica by LATAM Airlines. The flight, which arrives on Monday, will begin a three-rotation programme by LATAM into Montego Bay.

The Minister made these announcements earlier today during a Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting hosted at his New Kingston Office.

The TWG was developed to assess various issues in Jamaica’s rapidly growing tourism sector and is headed by Prominent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) partner, Wilfred Baghaloo.

For more news about Jamaica, please click here.

Media Contact:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Telephone: 920-4924,

Fax: 906-019

Fraport: Growth momentum slows in October 2019

by

Some 6.4 million passengers traveled through Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in October 2019, up 1.0 percent compared to the same month last year.

In the first ten months of 2019, passenger traffic at FRA grew by 2.2 percent. In the reporting month, aircraft movements decreased by 1.3 percent to 45,938 takeoffs and landings, while accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) contracted slightly by 0.3 percent to about 2.8 million metric tons. Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) dropped by 7.3 percent to 179,273 metric tons. Overall, FRA’s traffic development in October was impacted by the global economic slowdown, reductions in flight offerings, and a number of airline bankruptcies.

These dampening factors also affected some of Fraport’s Group airports worldwide. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia served 99,231 passengers in the reporting month, down 38.5 percent. Fraport’s two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) saw combined traffic decline by 2.5 percent to some 1.3 million passengers. Growing by 2.6 percent, Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) recorded nearly 2.0 million travelers.

Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports posted combined traffic growth of 1.6 percent to around 2.5 million passengers. In Bulgaria, traffic at the Fraport Twin Star airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) decreased by 5.7 percent overall to 145,772 passengers. In contrast, Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey saw traffic rise by 10.7 percent to about 4.1 million passengers. Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, also achieved a 10.6 percent increase, serving some 1.7 million passengers. At Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China, traffic advanced by 3.4 percent to over 4.1 million passengers.

MEDIA CONTACT: Torben Beckmann, Fraport AG, Corporate Communications, Media Relations, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany, E-mail:  t.beckmann@fraport.de , Facebook:  www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport

Bartlett calls for Investment beyond Hotel Rooms

by

Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has made a call for investment in the tourism industry to go beyond the development of hotel rooms and other infrastructure. Minister Bartlett made the call during his presentation on the opportunities for investment in travel and tourism development projects, Infrastructure and Services at the International Tourism and Investment Conference (ITIC) in London.

The ITIC is a global platform for policymakers, tourism ministers, investors and the tourism business community. It addresses the concerns and challenges facing destinations worldwide in areas such as capacity building, infrastructure, human capital, resources, safety and security.

“The tourism industry is rapidly changing with the onset of new technologies which are changing the way we do business. To keep apace of these changes to be able to meet the growing demands of the industry, our investment focus should be on building the capacity of the suppliers in the industry who are the main drivers of tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Latin America and the Caribbean rose 8% to reach $151 billion, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2018. For Jamaica, FDI flows accounted for USD 888 million.

“Small tourism players, which I refer to as Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) are the backbone of the industry. It is through their creativity we have been able to tap into the passion points of our visitors whether through food or entertainment, to give authentic experiences to our visitors.

“Building their capacity will build their ability to be even more creative to enhance our tourism offerings,” added Minister Bartlett.

Through the Tourism Enhancement Fund, SMTEs in Jamaica have access to a J$1 billion revolving loan program that is administered through the EXIM Bank. In total, since its inception, as at last month, September 2019, TEF has disbursed more than $868 million in loan funds to 367 borrowers.

Over the 2-day period, Minister Bartlett participated in two panel discussions titled, ‘Opportunities for Investment in Travel and Tourism Development Projects, Infrastructure and Services,’ and ‘Climate Change and Tourism Resilience Management.’

Other panelists include senior officials such as Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Najib Balala EGH; Malta’s Minister of Tourism, Hon. Konrad Mizzi; and Chairman of ITIC/ former United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General, Dr. Taleb Rifai.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Jamaica welcomes 700,000 more visitors over 3 years: Earnings to reach US3.7 billion

by

Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that Jamaica has welcomed an unprecedented seven hundred thousand (700,000) visitors over the last three years. The tourism minister also highlighted that the island is set to earn US3.7Billion by the end of the year, which represents an almost doubling of foreign exchange over the same period.

Speaking at the 15th-anniversary celebration of Sunset at the Palms Resort in Negril yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “The growth in our arrivals and earnings is underpinned by strategic targets set in my 5x5x5 plan. In 2016, our target was to bring 5Million visitors and earn US5Billion by 2021, now we are already at 4.5Million visitors of the 5Million and US3.7Billion of that 5Billion in earnings.”

Current data from the Jamaica Tourist Board, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, has forecasted growth in stopover arrivals for September to December of 7% or 807,796, which would end the calendar year 2019 with 2.68M arrivals or an 8.4% increase over 2018. The earnings from the full year of stopover arrivals is estimated at US$3.49Billion or a 12% increase over 2018.

Data also shows that overall, Jamaica’s winter season is trending strongly with the Canadian market up by 29,000 new seats; the United States showing double-digit growth and South America and the Caribbean doing well.

With stopover and cruise arrivals combined, the island is expected to welcome 4.303 million visitors by the end of the year.

“Based on these figures, tourism has become the leading contributor to the growth in GDP in Jamaica. We recognize also that with this growth, comes an even greater responsibility to ensure safety, security, and seamlessness in the destination and we remain committed to keeping our enviable record of visitor safety.” added Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also highlighted that the unprecedented growth in arrivals and earnings could not be done without the sector’s dedicated workers who remain the key ingredient in the continued success of the sector.

Sunset at the Palms Resort, which marked its 15ths anniversary, was the first in the world to receive certification for Environmentally Sustainable Tourism by the U.K.’s Green Globe. The resort has also won the prestigious Governor General’s Award for overall architectural design among many others. The management of the hotel, led by Mr. Ian Kerr, recognized several members of staff for their years of service to the hotel.

More tourism news about Jamaica.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Events crucial for Middle East to realize tourism market value of US$133.6 billion by 2028, says Arabian Travel Market

by

Events for Tourism Growth will be adopted as the official show theme for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2020, taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre from Sunday 19 – Wednesday 22 April 2020.

According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the Middle East’s GDP is predicted to rise by 4.2% per annum to US $133.6 billion by 2028 – driven in part by additional tourists to the region as a result of mega-events, major sporting and political events, cultural festivals, concerts and MICE events. 

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “Events of all kinds have become increasingly important drivers for international arrivals to the UAE, GCC and wider MENA region over recent years.

“With this in mind, ATM 2020’s spotlight theme will be launched as a platform to explore the impact events have on tourism growth in the region and to inspire the travel and hospitality industry about the next generation of events, while bringing together senior travel executives to meet and conduct business under one roof over four days.”

In the UAE alone, the major exhibition centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi experienced a 14% growth in footfall between 2016 and 2018, with Dubai World Trade Centre welcoming 3.4 million visitors in 2018 and Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, combined with Al Ain Exhibition Centre – welcoming over two million during the same period.

Expo 2020 will be the largest event ever staged in the Arab World. Taking place from October 2020 to April 2021, 192 pavilions from countries around the world will be showcased, with over 25 million visitors – 145,000 visits for every one of the 173 days the site is open, expected.

Organisers of the event are predicting 11 million visits by people living in the UAE and 14 million from overseas visitors – most of whom are expected to be tourists. According to consultancy firm EY, this will provide a US$33.4 billion (AED122.6 billion) boost to the local economy – supporting the equivalent of 49,700 full-time jobs a year.

In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 has set aside $64 billion to invest in culture, leisure and entertainment projects over the next decade, according to a recent report from real estate firm Savills.

This investment combined with more relaxed access to visas are predicted to significantly add to the attractiveness of the country with entertainment activities in the kingdom predicted to attract 25 million visitors by 2021.

Curtis said: “Looking at 2018 alone, exhibitions across Saudi Arabia witnessed a 103% increase in visitation with a total of 61 major events taking place over 349 days.  Last year was also a milestone in terms of sporting events for the country, with events such as the King Salman Tennis Championship, WWE Crown Jewel and Formula E taking place in the Kingdom.”

ATM, considered by industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector, welcomed almost 40,000 people to its 2019 event with representation from 150 countries. With over 100 exhibitors making their debut, ATM 2019 showcased the largest ever exhibition from Asia.

eTN is a media partner for ATM.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East – introducing both inbound and outbound tourism professionals to over 2,500 of the most breathtaking destinations, attractions and brands as well as the very latest cutting-edge technologies. Attracting almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 150 countries, ATM prides itself on being the hub of all travel and tourism ideas – providing a platform to discuss insights on the ever-changing industry, share innovations and unlock endless business opportunities over the four days. 

ATM 2020 will take place from Sunday 19th April – Wednesday 22nd April 2020 #IdeasArriveHere

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than seven million participants.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises four leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. In addition to ATM, the events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next event: Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November 2019 – London #IdeasArriveHere

WTM Latin America attracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 8,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news.

Next event: Tuesday 31 March to Thursday 2 April 2020 – Sao Paulo.

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors.

Next event: Monday 6 to Wednesday 8 April 2020 – Cape Town.

Media Contact: Nathalie Visele, Directorm Arjaan Office Tower, Dubai Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tel: +971 4 365 2711, Mobile: +971 50 457 6525, E-mail: nathalie.visele@shamalcomms.com Website: www.shamalcomms.com

Fraport Traffic Figures: Frankfurt Airport Reports Ongoing Growth

by

Most of Fraport’s Group airports worldwide show a positive trend Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed more than 6.9 million passengers inAugust 2019, an increase of 1.7 percent year-on-year. With 46,395 takeoffs and landings, FRA’s aircraft movements remained at the same level as in August 2018. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) slightly expanded by 0.5 percent to nearly 2.9 million metric tons. Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail), in contrast, shrank by 5.2 percent to 173,122 metric tons – reflecting the decline in global trade.

The majority of airports in Fraport’s international portfolio showed a positive trend in the reporting month. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia grew by 4.5 percent to 211,431 passengers. Fraport’s two Brazilian airports in Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA), combined, registered a 3.8 percent dip in traffic to nearly 1.3 million passengers. This decrease can still be attributed to the bankruptcy of domestic carrier Avianca Brasil and to the country’s ongoing economic slowdown.

At Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM), traffic advanced by 6.6 percent to some 2.2 million passengers. Overall traffic at Fraport’s 14 Greek airports increased slightly by 1.1 percent to around 5.5 million passengers. The Bulgarian airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) continued to be affected by the consolidation of flight offerings, which resulted in traffic dropping by 9.0 percent to about 1.3  million passengers, overall.

Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera maintained its growth path, with traffic soaring by 13.7 percent to nearly 5.6 million passengers. Traffic also advanced in St. Petersburg (LED), Russia, rising by 5.8 percent to over 2.2 million passengers. Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China posted a 5.9 percent gain to about 4.4 million passengers.

MEDIA CONTACT: Fraport AG, Dana Selin Kröll, Corporate Communications, Media Relations, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany, E-mail: d.kroell@fraport.de  

Italian Exhibition Group: Board of Directors approves half-yearly financial report

by

The Board of Directors of Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A (IEG), a company listed last June on the Milan Stock Exchange organized and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A., approved, on today’s date, the half-yearly financial report as at June 30, 2019.

Main consolidated results in the first half of 2019

The total revenues of the IEG Group amounted to € 99,932 thousand, growth of 29.3% over the € 77,309 thousand in the same period of the previous year. This result augments the significant growth already recorded at the end of 2018 (+ 22% over the previous year) and confirms IEG’s ability in development and integration projects.

EBITDA1 , following the application of IFRS 16, which generated a positive effect of approximately € 1.9 million, and EBIT reached € 26,575 thousand and € 17,691 thousand respectively, growth compared to the 2018 values, which did not reflect the effects of IFRS 16, which stood at € 17,039 and € 11,801 thousand respectively.

Without taking account of the effects of the aforementioned accounting standard, EBITDA1 and EBIT therefore recorded increases of + 44.8% and + 49.6% compared to the same period in the previous year, also confirming the further strengthening in the ability to manage operating costs and stabilise the efficiencies already achieved in the second part of the previous year.

The Group’s net result, albeit feeling the effects of the higher financial management expenses due to the application of IFRS 16 amounting to € 330 thousand and other expenses connected to the figurative payables from put options, stood at € 10,679 thousand, growth of 40.2% compared to € 7,618 thousand in the first half of 2018.

As at June 30th, 2019, the net cash financial situation, therefore without taking into account the higher payables of roughly € 32 million as a result of IFRS 16, financial payables for any future put options of € 15.8 million and derivative financial instruments for € 5.9 million, totalled € 66.5 million compared to € 66.9 million as at June 30th, 2018 and € 49.2 million as at December 31st, 2018. The latter increase is due primarily to the changes in Net Working Capital resulting from the seasonal cycle (around € 4.6 million), investments (€ 5.7 million) and the distribution of ordinary dividends which took place in May (€ 5.6 million).

The consolidated shareholders’ equity as at June 30th, 2019 came to approximately € 105.2 million, compared to € 102.5 million as at December 31st, 2018.

Results by business segment in the first half of 2019

The significant growth in revenues in the period derives from the positive results achieved by each business line and the increase of roughly € 22.6 million compared to the same period of the previous year is due to both the purely organic growth (up € 7.4 million equal to + 9.6%) and the change in the scope of consolidation. The latter takes account, for an amount of around € 15.2 million, of the revenues resulting from the acquisitions of stand fitting activities carried out last year (FB international in the US in March and Prostand – Colorcom in Italy in September 2018) and the arithmetic sum (with balance close to zero) of multiyear events or held in a different half from that of the previous year.

In particular, the Group’s “core business”, comprised of the direct organisation of trade show events, accounted for 53.7% of total revenues during the half, and recorded an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous year. This increase is attributable to the main leading products in the “Food & Beverage” and “Jewellery & Fashion” categories. The seasonal nature of the trade show calendar has a negligible impact and relates, in particular, to the Koinè event (biennial event in odd years) in February 2019.

The Convention Events business line, which accounts for 7.6% of total Group revenues, recorded an increase of 26% (up € 1.6 million) compared to the first half of 2018, thanks to the holding of larger conventions in terms of the number of participants, convention areas used and additional services required.

Revenues from related services, such as stand fitting activities, catering and cleaning, account for 35.2% of the Group’s total revenues and essentially doubled compared to the first half of the previous year (+97.8%). The growth in the revenues from catering services, driven by the development of trade show events organised and the management of new activities, was augmented by the higher revenues recorded in the event preparation services segment as a result of the already mentioned acquisitions.

Business outlook

The results achieved by IEG in the first half, although it should be noted that trade show and convention event activities are highly seasonal in nature, with the subsequent difficulty in comparing the various quarters of the year with one another, confirm the success of the organisational and management decisions made by the Company and allow the management to confirm the planned consolidation and growth objectives.

The Corporate Officer responsible for drafting the company’s accounting documents, Roberto Bondioli, hereby declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of art. 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the documentary results, the books and the accounting records.

The Half-yearly Financial Report as at June 30th, 2019, approved on today’s date by the Board of Directors of Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A., will be made available, together with the Independent Auditors’ Report, on the Company’s website www.iegexpo.it in the Investor Relations Section, as well as in the company’s registered office and on the authorised storage system 1INFO Storage available at the address www.1info.it managed by 1INFO – Computershare S.p.A. – Via Lorenzo Mascheroni 19, 20145 Milan.

The results of the first half of 2019 will be illustrated in a conference call with the Financial Community set for today at 17.30 (CET). The presentation will be available in the Investor Relations section of the website www.iegexpo.it from 17.15.

FOCUS ON ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP SPA

Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), listed on the Milan Stock Exchange organized and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A., is the Italian leader in the organization of trade expos and one of the main players in Europe in the expo and conference sector, with its venues in Rimini and Vicenza. The IEG Group stands out for the organization of events in five categories: Food & Beverage; Jewellery & Fashion; Tourism, Hospitality & Lifestyle; Wellness, Sports and Leisure; Green & Technology. In recent years, IEG has launched an important process of foreign expansion, also by means of joint ventures inked with local players (e.g. in the United States, Arab Emirates and China). IEG ended the 2018 financial year with a total consolidated turnover of 159.7 million euros, an EBITDA of 30.8 million and a net consolidated profit of 10.8 million euros. In 2018, IEG held an overall total of 53 exhibitions organized or hosted and 181 conferences events in its Rimini and Vicenza expo and conference venues.

MEDIA CONTACT: ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP S.P.A. Investor Relator Roberto Bondioli |roberto.bondioli@iegexpo.it | +39 0541 744642 Press Contact Elisabetta Vitali |Head of media relations & corporate communication | elisabetta.vitali@iegexpo.it | +39 0541 744228

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett

by

The unprecedented levels of sargassum seaweed that washed up on Caribbean beaches in 2018 resulted in estimated clean-up costs of US$120 million, according to Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

In addition to costly removal, tourism stakeholders have become increasingly concerned about the seaweed’s unsightly appearance, visitor complaints and the possibility of reputational damage, the Tourism Minister noted.

“As active stakeholders in the sector we understand the inestimable value of tourism to stable and prosperous Caribbean economies.  Tourism remains the single most important catalyst of sustained economic livelihoods in the region,” Minister Bartlett said in opening remarks at the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum today (July 26) at the University of the West Indies’ Region Headquarters, Mona.

The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region of the world, where it is the main economic sector in 16 out of 18 Caribbean states and supports close to 3 million jobs.

Noting forecasts of a 12% growth in tourist arrivals to the region for 2019, Minister Bartlett said, “Despite these promising indicators and its (tourism’s) historical resilience, we remain well aware that the tourism sector is very fragile and prone to disruptive elements.  The last ten years have witnessed an evolution of the threats facing the sector.  These threats have become more unpredictable and more devastating in their impact and certainly more difficult to manage.”

Sargassum is one such threat.  Accordingly, the GTRCM saw an urgent need to facilitate the coming together of regional tourism and environmental stakeholders to share ideas, best practices and possible solutions to the adverse effects sargassum in having on national and regional economies.

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett
Professor Lloyd Waller (left), Executive Director, Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM); Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Minister of Tourism and GTRCM Co-Chair, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right) discuss the sargassum threat to Caribbean tourism during the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum at the University of the West Indies Region Headquarters, Mona.

Since 2011, thick mats of seaweed have increased in density to generate an 8850-kilometer-long belt (weighing 20 million metric tons) known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that extends from West Africa to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Scientists believe this algal explosion in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea could signify a new normal. 

The sargassum phenomenon is believed to be driven by a combination of man-made and natural factors, including climate change and increased sea surface temperature; change in regional winds and ocean current patterns; and an increased supply of nutrients from rivers, sewage and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

In the open seas, sargassum provides critical habitats for marine and bird life.  However, when it inundates beaches it rots and smells, becoming an environmental and economic nuisance.  Tourism on Mexico’s Caribbean Coast dropped an estimated 35% in 2018 due to sargassum washing up on the 480-kilometer-long stretch of otherwise pristine beaches.

Minister Bartlett told local and overseas participants at the GTRCM Roundtable that a strong regional response at both the political and technical level is urgently required to address this rapidly evolving sargassum problem.

“The effective countering of this threat will require the different nations’ governments coming together to conduct research, mitigate contributing factors, identify global best practices in adaptation strategies and develop a comprehensive scientific initiative to establish the most efficient ways to collect the sargassum in the open sea without harming the ecosystem,” said the Tourism Minister.

Presentations were made by Andres Bisono Leon and Luke Grey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Precision Engineering Research Group; Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Marion Sutton, Oceanographer and Project Manager, Collecte Localisation Satellites, France.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30

Asia Pacific Tourism: 700 million international arrivals in 2018 and growing

by

Asia Pacific destinations collectively received almost 700 million international visitor arrivals (IVAs) in 2018, an increase of 7.7% over the 2017 figure, according to PATA’s Annual Tourism Monitor 2019 Early Edition released today.

This report is the latest in a series that dates back to 1951 and, in this edition, covers 47 destinations across the Asia Pacific region. The data contained within this publication provides useful, practical data on traveller structure and movements and is an essential input into strategic, development and marketing plans for all suppliers to this significant contributor to the tourism economies of the Asia Pacific region.

Rising from an arrivals volume of just almost 562 million in 2014, the annual growth of visitors into and across the Asia Pacific region has increased consistently each year, peaking in 2018 at 699.6 million international arrivals.

The distribution of these arrivals has been relatively constant over the past five years, although marginally favoring Asia, largely at the expense of the Americas.

Within each of those destination regions there are differences across both individual destinations and at the sub-regional level. Between 2014 and 2018 for example, Southeast Asia gained 1.34 points of share in terms of IVAs into and across Asia Pacific, while North America lost 1.55 points of share.

There are several main indicators of particular interest at this level, particularly the top five destinations by volume of visitor arrivals in 2018. Clearly China was the number one destination for visitor arrivals, with close to 161 million in 2018. That alone represents 22.6% of the total visitor volume into and across Asia Pacific, in that year.

The remaining four destinations in this top five list cover North and Central America as well as Northeast and West Asia. Collectively, these top five destinations accounted for 54.8% of the total visitor arrivals into and across Asia Pacific in 2018.

A second destination indicator considers the top five destinations that received the most additional volume added to their respective inbound counts between 2017 and 2018.

This particular list is remarkably similar to the previous one, except that Mexico has been replaced by Macao, China. In total, 12 destinations of the 47 covered in this report had annual increases in excess of one million IVAs apiece between 2017 and 2018.

This top five group received a total of over 30 million additional arrivals between 2017 and 2018, which was just over 59% of the total net arrivals for Asia Pacific over this period.

A third indicator looks at the longer-term growth of Asia Pacific destinations, in particular, the top five destinations that showed the strongest percentage growth in arrivals between 2017 and 2018.

While the volume of arrivals varies greatly for most of these destinations, they are of particular interest given that annual growth is often a precursor to some significant tourism opportunities presenting themselves. Turkey in this regard, shows clearly how it is rebounding from the recent contractions in visitor arrivals, appearing in the top five lists by volume and annual growth rate.

So too with Nepal, which has been on a strong growth track for a number of consecutive years now and which received more than one million foreign arrivals in a single year for the first time ever, in 2018. Similarly, with Papua New Guinea which has rebounded strongly since 2016, growing its annual growth rate strongly since then.

Over the longer term – between 2014 and 2018 – it is interesting to see the top five destinations that received the most additional IVA volume added to their inbound counts over that period. China tops the list with over 34.2 million additional arrivals added to its inbound count, followed by Japan with a gain of close to 17.8 million IVAs over that period and then Thailand with almost 13.5 million additional IVAs.

Mexico and Vietnam close out that top five list with period increases of 12.1 million IVAs and more than 7.6 million.

In similar fashion, it is interesting to see which Asia Pacific destinations had the strongest average annual growth rates (AAGRs) between 2014 and 2018, as this metric can often (but not always) indicate a more continuous growth rate over time. It is obvious that Japan and Vietnam in particular have been expanding their foreign arrivals counts with some strength, given the AAGRS of almost 24% and 18% respectively. This is supported by the fact that both of those destinations also appear in the top five list of the increase in absolute numbers of arrivals between 2014 and 2018.

Interestingly, Nicaragua appears to have been performing well against this metric between 2014 and 2018, however that now seems to be all but unraveling, given the political issues being faced there at the moment.

In addition, and based on these top five AAGR results, Indonesia is certainly a destination to keep watching, as is Cyprus in West Asia.

PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy pointed out that, “across Asia Pacific, calendar year 2018 continued to demonstrate volatility in markets and destinations, some caused by external factors, including politics, but others by changes in consumer wants, needs and basic preferences.”

“While growth out of many traditional markets begins to waver or stagnate, at least into some destinations, newly emerging markets appear and offer opportunities for those agile enough to not only recognize them but also to be able to change their marketing and promotional efforts at a moment’s notice and capture those fleeting”, he added.

Dr Hardy concluded that, “everything continues to change, morph and evolve, but now it is happening at speeds unthought of just a decade ago. As an important global industry sector, we need to change even faster and get ahead of that curve, if we are to remain viable and significant into the future. To do that efficiently, like all industry sectors, we need faster and better information upon which to act, leveraged by technology. It is no longer ‘business as usual”.

Media Contact:

PATA Paul Pruangkarn
Director – Communications & External Affairs
+66 (02) 658-2000 | communications@PATA.org | Bangkok, Thailand

Passenger volume climbs at Frankfurt and most of the Group airports

by

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed more than six million passengers in
April 2019, a gain of 5.1 percent year-on-year. This noticeable
increase can also be attributed to the Easter traffic, which occurred
completely in April 2019 due to the later Easter holidays this year
(compared to 2018). FRA posted a 3.3 percent increase in total
passenger during the first four months of 2019.

Aircraft movements in April 2019 climbed slightly by 1.8 percent to
43,683 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights
(MTOWs) rose by 1.6 percent to about 2.7 million metric tons. In
contrast, cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) fell by 6.0 percent
to 178,342 metric tons – due to weaker global trade and the later
occurrence of the Easter holidays.

Most of the Group airports in Fraport’s international portfolio
recorded growth in April 2019. Traffic at Slovenia’s Ljubljana
Airport (LJU) remained almost unchanged, increasing by 0.1 percent to
157,992 passengers. With combined traffic of about 1.2 million
passengers, Fraport’s Brazilian airports in Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto
Alegre (POA) saw traffic climb by 12.1 percent.

The 14 Greek regional airports achieved a 7.2 percent jump in traffic
to a total of 1.4 million passengers. The busiest airports included:
Thessaloniki (SKG) with 523,498 passengers (up 0.3 percent), Rhodes
(RHO) with 228,921 passengers (up 16.3 percent); and Chania (CHQ)
with 168,911 passengers (down 12.9 percent).

Serving 1.8 million passengers, Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) advanced by
7.3 percent in the reporting month. Bulgaria’s Burgas (BOJ) and Varna
(VAR) airports reported a 14.6 percent drop in traffic to 106,205
passengers. At the gateway to the Turkish Riviera, Antalya Airport
(AYT) received 2.2 million passengers, representing growth of 16.0
percent. Russia’s Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg’s (LED) grew by
6.0 percent to about 1.4 million passengers. Traffic at Xi’an
Airport (XIY) in central China reached 3.8 million passengers, up 4.0
percent.

MEDIA CONTACT: Torben Beckmann, Fraport AG, Corporate Communications, Media Relations, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany, E-mail:  t.beckmann@fraport.de , Facebook:  www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport