Tourism created 200 million jobs
The tourism industry last year created more than 200 million jobs worldwide and produced over 10% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, reports Interfax. He noted that tourism has a strong impact on the economies of many countries and on their populations, contributing to positive social changes and sustainable development.
Recall that from April 10 to 12, a conference of the World Travel and Tourism Council will be held in Washington.
America plans to simplify visa issuance procedures
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a number of measures designed to simplify the visa issuance process for people intending to arrive in the United States, reports the Financial Times.
In particular, students will be able to obtain U.S. visas 120 days in advance and arrive in the United States 45 days before the start of classes (currently 90 and 30 days, respectively). For residents of Mexico and Canada, a biometric identification card will be developed that will replace a passport on U.S. territory.
Soon a pilot project will be launched to conduct interviews with U.S. visa applicants via videoconference, to spare them the need to visit a U.S. consulate. In addition, a compensation service will be established in the United States to handle complaints from individuals about improper treatment at the border or at U.S. consular offices around the world.
Rice stressed that the goal of all these innovations is to create "a faster, more reliable and more dignified process for receiving foreign guests in the United States." According to her, the U.S. State Department has made significant progress in speeding up visa issuance. Thus, 97% of people who are issued visas receive them within two days. The time for screening candidates for U.S. visas has also been shortened. Now it usually does not exceed two weeks.
Journalists note that the number of tourists visiting the United States has reached a minimum level, having declined by 35% in 2004 compared to 1992. As a result, the U.S. economy has lost potential revenue reaching $286 billion.
Germany's visa requirements for foreign workers declared illegal
The European Court of Justice has ruled illegal Germany's visa requirements for non-EU citizens sent to work by European companies, reports Reuters.
Under a law introduced last year, to obtain a visa for such people, the company had to provide evidence that the employee in question had worked there for at least a year. The court rejected the arguments of the German side, which argued that the new rules were introduced to counteract "social dumping" and to protect local workers.
Asia will have its own single currency
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to introduce an "Asian currency unit" (ACU) that will reflect the exchange rates of the currencies of 13 countries in the region. It may later become the Asian equivalent of the euro.
As reported by ITAR-TASS, the ACU will officially appear in March 2006 and will be used as an indicator of fluctuations in regional currencies against the dollar, the euro and other freely convertible currencies.
The ACU will represent the average value of the currencies of China, South Korea, Japan and the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A number of factors will be taken into account when compiling the ACU, including the size of each country's gross domestic product, the volume of foreign trade, and the degree to which its currency is used in international settlements.
The introduction of the euro was also preceded by the introduction of the "European currency unit" (ECU) in 1979. It took 20 years for it to become a full-fledged currency.
Latvia's non-citizens to be tested for EU resident status
The Latvian Saeima refused Russian-speaking non-citizens a simplified procedure for obtaining EU permanent resident status. According to a special law adopted days ago, to obtain EU permanent resident status, non-citizens will need not only to present proof of income and health insurance, but also to pass a paid Latvian language exam.
"EU permanent resident status is needed in order to move around Europe more freely. Why should a Russian-speaking non-citizen have to pass a Latvian language exam before going to the UK?" said Janis Urbanovich, chairman of the parliamentary faction of the opposition alliance "Harmony Centre". The deputy stressed that EU directives do not require the mandatory introduction of such checks. The opposition in parliament today tried to submit its own draft law "On the status of permanent resident of the EU in the Republic of Latvia", which would allow non-citizens to obtain permanent resident status free of charge and without excessive bureaucratic delays. But the right-wing majority of the Saeima voted for a stricter government version.
For 400,000 Russian-speaking non-citizens, Latvia's entry into the European Union has further widened their gap in rights compared with the country's citizens. Today, Latvian citizens can move freely throughout the EU, receive free medical care there, study at universities, and work without restrictions in a number of EU countries. But Russian-speaking non-citizens still need to obtain an entry visa even for an ordinary tourist trip to, say, Poland.
You can apply for asylum at Prague airport
In the new terminal of Prague's Ruzyne airport, the Czech Ministry of the Interior has opened a new center for receiving asylum seekers. According to Radio Prague, the center is designed to accommodate 45 foreigners awaiting decisions by Czech authorities on their applications for political asylum.
After the Czech Republic's accession to the Schengen Zone, the international airport will become the only place where a foreigner from a non-EU state can enter without passing through controls in neighboring countries. The new asylum seeker reception center has a medical post, all rooms are equipped with televisions, and the canteen will prepare food for foreigners taking into account their habits and religious beliefs. Currently, there are 23 foreigners at the asylum seeker reception center of Ruzyne Airport.
France introduces train patrolling
French Foreign Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced the introduction of patrolling in passenger trains by specially created railway police units. This measure is intended to help curb a wave of hooliganism that has engulfed this mode of transport.
On New Year's Eve, a crowd of about forty young people rioted and robbed passengers on the Nice-Lyon train. Similar incidents were recorded in the first days of 2006. The situation escalated to demonstrations by outraged passengers of French express trains, who demanded that the authorities ensure safety.
According to Sarkozy, who announced his order during a trip on the same express, from now on 250 patrols will go on duty daily in French trains. The minister's decision recalled the dramatic events of last autumn, when a wave of mass unrest swept across France. Crowds of young hooligans, mostly from immigrant backgrounds, set fire to cars, vandalized shops and institutions, and clashed with police, accusing the authorities of oppressing "foreigners."
Hotel prices in Dubai inflated unjustifiably
Dubai's travel companies are challenging hotel owners who are unjustifiably inflating room rates. For this purpose, a special committee of managers from major travel firms has been created, which will use legal methods to stop the rise in hotel prices, reports Travel.ru.
According to the head of the company "Alfa-Tour" Ghassan al-Aridi, the unjustified 100 percent increase in prices at hotels of all categories has led to instability in the tourism market and numerous booking cancellations. "Such a hotel policy will not allow achieving the goal set by the emirate of Dubai - to bring the number of tourists to 15 million per year by 2010," he emphasized. He also noted that reports of allegedly nearly 100 percent hotel occupancy are not confirmed by anything. In reality, only 50 percent of rooms are occupied.
Currently, the cost of a room in an ordinary five-star hotel ranges from $250 to $350 per night, and this is not the limit, local media report. Even last summer's rates shocked many tourists: the bar did not fall below $175. According to experts, by focusing on wealthy tourists, Dubai is losing the opportunity to attract visitors with average incomes, who, when traveling to the UAE, prefer other emirates. For example, Sharjah has been experiencing a real tourism boom in recent years. As experts state, of the 60,000 hotel units needed to serve the planned flow of 15 million tourists, half should be budget-class.