Top Destination Travel News From February

Destinations have had a lot to celebrate and announce during the shortest month of the year. Click through this slideshow to stay up-to-date on which countries posted record arrival numbers in 2023 (there are a lot of them!), which destinations will be adding a new tourist tax or entry fee to encourage more responsible and sustainable travel, and other key news about some of your favorite places to visit. Curious to read the full stories? Click the links provided to get the deep dive!

The Peruvian government has scrapped privatizing the ticketing system for its most iconic attraction, Machu Picchu, following a week-long protest that blocked access to the UNESCO site. The government will now shift to an online ticketing platform, but officials had originally wanted the switch due to financial irregularities in the state offices in control of the ticketing process.

Discover Puerto Rico announced in early February that the island broke tourism records in 2023, welcoming over 6.1 million air passengers, an over 18.6 percent increase from 2022. Tourism revenue also reached record highs: it grew 13 percent from 2022, generating $9.8 billion.

Another Caribbean island is celebrating record tourism numbers in 2023: Anguilla. The small island hosted over 95,000 overnight travelers, breaking its 2019 pre-pandemic record, though its overall 2023 visitor totals were still 6 percent lower than in 2019.

Remote workers who aren't employed by Japanese businesses will soon be able to enjoy the digital nomad life in Japan for up to six months with a new visa made just for them. Expected to be implemented by the end of March, U.S. citizens and citizens of 48 other countries and territories who make at least US$68,300 a year (or ¥10 million) will be eligible. Those who run their own businesses are also eligible for the visa. A worker must have their own health insurance plan, but their family will also be allowed to stay in Japan with them.

Following the January 26 U.S. State Department warning travelers to "exercise increased caution" in The Bahamas due to crime, TravelPulse sat down with Chester Cooper, the Bahamian Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation to learn more.

It's not just the Caribbean destinations posting record arrival numbers. Spain broke its pre-pandemic visitor total record this year, welcoming 85.1 million travelers. The majority of these travelers came from the U.K., Germany and France.

The National Travel and Tourism Office of the U.S. predicts that 2024 will be a banner year for international travelers heading to the U.S. It predicts 77.7 million travelers from around the world will visit the country, a 15.4 percent increase from 2023. It also predicts that 2025 will be the year when the U.S. breaks its pre-pandemic international visitor total record.

Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, sits down with TravelPulse following the recent U.S. State Department travel advisory increase for Jamaica, which urged travelers to "reconsider travel" due to recent violent crimes and numerous accounts of sexual assaults on the island.

Take a look into how European cities across the continent have been implementing new taxes or other regulations designed to help with overtourism. Some of these cities include Paris, Florence, Venice, Athens, Amsterdam, Lisbon and more.

The World Travel & Tourism Council published a report on tourism investment projections for G20 members in early February, predicting that investment will grow the industry to become a $15.5-trillion global industry by 2033. Check out some of the country-specific projections in the full story.

Mexico announced in February that it broke its international tourism revenue record in 2023. The popular country saw a 10 percent increase from 2022 and a 25.4 percent increase from 2019. International travelers generated $30.8 billion in spending.

Bali began implementing a new tourism tax in February, requiring travelers to pay less than US$10, which is paid online via the official Bali tourism website. It was implemented to protect its natural and cultural resources.

Croatia is receiving worldwide acclaim for the passing of its Tourist Act, a first-of-its-kind legislation that ensures data-based tourism development with local communities and sustainability in mind. Learn more about how the small Adriatic country is making waves in the full story.

The Bahamas is looking to become a new space tourism destination with a partnership created with SpaceX. One of its Falcon 9 spacecraft will land off The Exumas, giving travelers a new reason to travel to the region.

Travel demand for Paris is surging ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics, and Americans are leading this surge. Flight bookings on Sojern are up 125 percent from last year. They're also the biggest travelers visiting Paris during the Olympics, with Americans comprising some 23.8 percent of bookings to Paris over the competition period.

A new report by WTTC found that Saudi Arabia welcomed 100 million international and domestic travelers in 2023, a goal the kingdom had hoped to reach in 2030. Inbound tourism spending reached $37 billion.