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1. More Countries Added to Europe's Schengen Area
The European Commission has officially added Croatia to its border-free Schengen Area, according to a news release. The Schengen Area guarantees free movement to more than 400 million European Union citizens as well as non-EU nationals living in or visiting the EU and foreign exchange students.
Additional non-EU countries that have also joined the Schengen Area include Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Non-EU countries that are in the process of joining the Schengen Area are Bulgaria and Romania.
Criteria for countries to join the border-free zone include applying a set of Schengen rules, taking responsibility for controlling the external borders on behalf of other Schengen countries, issuing visas and cooperating with law enforcement agencies in the area.
2. Thailand, China To Waive Visa Requirements for Each Other
Beginning in March, Thailand and China will permanently waive visa requirements for each other's citizens, following success in September with Thailand waiving its visas for Chinese citizens, according to the BBC.
When Thailand made that move in September, more than 22,000 Chinese nationals traveled to Thailand in the first two days of the waiver.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in a news conference that the new move coming this spring is an upgrade to the relations between Thailand and China.
"Right now we're ready to open the country and to take good care of tourists in both countries mutually. This is welcoming news," he said Tuesday.
3. Lending Conditions Improve for Hoteliers
Experts believe the hotel lending environment will come with more predictability and consistency for hoteliers in 2024, though it won't be nearly as favorable to borrowers as it was in 2019, Hotel News Now's Sean McCracken reports.
Much of the optimism comes from the view that hotels have increasingly become a favorable asset class across the commercial real estate industry.
"When lenders have to put out money and they look at their plate of real estate assets that they can possibly lend to, there's office, which is troubled, there's retail, which is certainly better than it was but still has a big question market around it ... then there's hospitality, which has bounced back strong since COVID," said Peter Berk, co-CEO and president of PMZ Realty Capital.
4. Travel Inflation Moderates
The prices of travel-related services, including hotel room rates and airfare, spiked significantly in 2022, but grew at a slower pace by mid-2023, indicating that travel inflation is cooling down, the New York Times reports.
Forecasters say the recent slowdown in the economy has largely been driven by moderating costs for goods and services, including travel.
"What’s happening in America right now is what economists call 'disinflation': When you compare prices today with prices a year ago, the pace of increase has slowed notably. At their peak in the summer of 2022, consumer prices were increasing at a 9.1% yearly pace. As of November, it was just 3.1%," the news outlet reports.
5. Venice To Limit Tour Group Sizes
Venice, Italy, will limit the size of tour groups beginning June 1 to better manage tourism in the community and improve the needs of locals, NPR reports.
The new measure will limit tour groups at 25 people, which is roughly half the passengers on a standard tour bus. Venice will also ban loudspeakers that "may cause confusion and disturbance," according to a statement by the city.
"UNESCO, which has named Venice a World Heritage site, says "tourism pressure" is one of the factors transforming the city and its lagoon. In recent years, Venice has taken other steps to keep a handle on tourism, including announcing a plan to require day-trippers to make a reservation and pay a fee and outlawing large cruise ships," the news outlet reports.