Global tourism is already feeling the effects of the financial crisis, slowing down over the northern summer this year, the United Nations tourism agency reports.

Warning that the industry could suffer a sharper downturn in the months ahead, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) says consumer demand is falling in both the business and leisure tourism sectors.

The agency expects that tourism could be hit even harder over the remaining months of this year and the first half of 2009 as the slowdown filters through the global economy.

UNWTO’s executive council has agreed to set up a “resilience committee” to support public and private sector members with accurate economic analysis and response mechanisms.

The World Tourism Barometer, compiled by a UNWTO panel of experts, “now shows a perceptible loss of confidence regarding the short-term outlook,” the agency said in a press release. Read the entire story on The East African

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PRESS RELEASE

Travel Club to Bring Discounts to Domestic Tourists

Kenyan and East African residents have long been annoyed by the fact they at times pay considerably more than foreign tourists for their holidays in Kenya. In fact, the Kenya Tourism Board has reported that UK tourists visiting Mombasa may pay as much as 50% less than locals for the same hotel. Though conspiracy theorists may believe otherwise, the reason for this is that foreign tourists usually buy through travel aggregators who deliver numbers to the hotels and in turn are able to negotiate substantial discounts. Read the rest of this entry »

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