Spain has passed a new law forcing people to wear face masks everywhere outside and even while swimming in the sea. Yes, really. The legislation, which came into effect on Wednesday, mandates face coverings for children as young as six, with refusniks facing fines of €100 euros. The only exemption to the rule is adults playing sports outside, but people tanning outside or swimming in a pool or the... 

Spain and Greece are to follow the example set by the Seychelles and implement a ‘vaccine passport’ system to allow those who have taken the COVID shot to enter the countries for holidays. Greece has been lobbying the EU to introduce a bloc-wide standardised COVID passport, while Spain has announced that it fully supports the idea. Speaking at at the meeting of the Executive Council of the World... 

The picturesque city of Eilat finds itself plunged into a dire crisis, grappling with the harsh aftermath of a conflict that has forced the closure of hundreds of businesses, sending shockwaves through its economic landscape. The unemployment rate has soared precipitously, reaching alarming levels, with a staggering 80% of businesses reeling from the devastating impact of the ongoing turmoil. Eilat,... 

Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Piotr Wawrzyk, told the country’s PAP news agency on Sunday that Warsaw is now working on a draft proposal that would empower the EU to deny visas to passengers from Russia. Within the upcoming weeks, a choice should be made, he stressed. The idea, which is still in the works, has a purpose, according to the deputy minister, who did not go into further... 

Australia is expected to face up to AU$5 billion (US$3.5 billion) in losses as fires continue to rage across the continent, according to an Australian Westpac bank forecast. The natural disaster could also cut 0.2 to 0.5 percent of the country’s GDP, the bank said in its preliminary analysis released on Monday. The tourism and agricultural sectors have been hit hardest, while the most severely affected... 

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a charity largely funded by evangelical Christian Zionists in America, has canceled its plans to build a $60 million outreach center in Jerusalem for visiting evangelical Christians: Work on the planned seven-story building in the Talpiot neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy and with a view from its roof of the Temple Mount, already was underway... 

Let’s face it, not everyone is a massive “Know everything” nerd when it comes to tourism yet almost every one of us enjoys a good vacation at some beautiful place every once in a while. It often happens that we want a break from everyday routine, we have the money and the time to go somewhere beautiful yet we often delay or dismiss our plans because sometimes we aren’t really sure where to... 

As part of a diversification strategy, Saudi Arabia is to broaden pilgrimage services to reduce its dependence on falling oil revenue, reported the Saudi Gazette newspaper. The pilgrimage industry is the country’s second most important after oil and gas. Nearly two million foreign pilgrims visit the holy city of Mecca annually during Hajj. The figure is expected to reach 2.7 million by 2020. National... 

Moscow’s sanctions against Ankara over the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey are now affecting various sectors of the Turkish economy, including tourism, construction companies and food exports, a new report says. Russia’s relations with Turkey soured after the Turkish military shot down a Russian Sukhoi bomber plane on November 24, 2015. Ankara claimed that the warplane violated the Turkish... 

Russia will stop cooperation with Turkey in the field of tourism, the head of the Federal Tourism Agency Oleg Safonov told reporters on Thursday, November 26. “It is clear that cooperation with Turkey in the tourist industry will be stopped,” said Safonov. According to the official, the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism, Rosturizm, will impose sanctions on tour operators if they continue... 

British firms have signed financial agreements with Cuban companies for UK investments of $400 million, including in the energy, agriculture and tourism sectors, the Havana Times reports. The signing of the investment agreement took place within the framework of a business seminar sponsored by Cuba Initiative in Havana. The three-day meeting started on Tuesday and was attended by Cuban authorities... 

A Russian tourist has been fined €20,000 ($25,000) after he carved a giant letter ‘K’ onto the wall of the best-known structure in all of Italy, the ancient Colosseum in Rome. The 42-year old was handed a hefty fine and a suspended four year jail term on Saturday. Given the fact that the Russian rouble has been reaching historic lows against the euro, the man has to pay more than a million rubles,... 

Today the number of outgoing tourists from Russia is much higher than the number of incoming ones. Citizens of other countries are unenthusiastic about the idea of ​​vacationing in Russia. This is caused not only by long distances, but also the difficulties in obtaining a Russian visa. The Russian government is planning to soften the harsh rules for issuing visas. While foreign countries that... 

The Nizhny Novgorod region has a huge tourist potential. Today, the main task of the city and the region is to form its own recognizable tourist brand and substantially expand its presence in the domestic and in international tourist medium, which is one of the most important conditions for success in any business. The city of Nizhny Novgorod is known to many Russians as one of the cruise cities on... 

A diplomatic scandal broke out between the Republic of Singapore and Malaysia after Singapore newspaper New Paper published an article entitled “Welcome to Malaysia, where it is easy to die and expensive to stay alive.” The Malaysian Government decided that the article may have inflicted a severe material damage on its tourism industry. The author of the article listed recent high-profile...