Tanzania Tanzania is finally stepping up to tackle bogus tour operators that are siphoning millions of dollars from the wallets of unsuspecting tourists. The state now says unscrupulous tour operators are not only damaging the country’s reputation overseas, but also creating unfair competition to complying players. The Permanent Secretary of Natural Resources and Tourism Ministry, Major General Gaudence Milanzi, said in a statement that the state had launched a thorough investigation to...
Fukushima – photo courtesy of Taro Kotegawa Tourists are beginning to get out of their cars to take pictures at this now infamous destination in Japan known as Fukushima. The Fukushima nuclear power plant gained notoriety when it experienced a catastrophic nuclear accident after Japan’s huge earthquake. It is now reopened but in a “no go” area. According to a police official, tourists were not aware they were entering a “no go” zone, so the government has...
US domestic business travel projected to outpace leisure segment Leisure and business travel to and within the U.S. grew 3.4 percent year-over-year in May, according to the U.S. Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index (TTI)—marking the industry’s 101st straight month of overall expansion. However, mounting trade tensions work against America’s pursuit of an increased share in the global travel market. Most notable in the TTI is the effect near-historic highs in...
Tourists usually love it. Sharing bikes. The third bike share company in Singapore is closing down. Sharing bikes are big business in many tourist cities around the world, but Singapore known for strict regulations of almost anything makes it impossible for this industry to expand in the super clean and over-regulated city-state, where chewing gum remains villegal. ShareBikeSG is giving it up half a year after it began operations ahead of a strict new licensing regime. GBikes and oBike...
Bahamas tour boat An American tourist died when a tour boat in the Bahamas exploded on Saturday morning. There were 10 tourists – all Americans – and 2 Bahamian crew members onboard the 40-foot chartered boat when an engine exploded. Witnesses say those onboard were leaping from the boat. Of the 12 people onboard, 10 were injured after the boat quickly was consumed by flames. The US Coast Guard airlifted 4 American tourists to a nearby Florida hospital, while other passengers were...
If you are a tourist or Turkish and happen to be gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual planning to visit Istanbul Turkey you may think twice. Istanbul used to be a great city for any visitor to have a great time and a cultural and culinary experience. Next time you may get beaten or shot with rubber bullets. The power and the voice of tourism as reported by eTN yesterday doesn’t seem to make a difference anymore when dealing with a government run by a...
rime Minister Narendra Modi meets Seychelles President Danny Faure. File Photo Seychelles celebrated its Independence Day anniversary on June 29th. This was also the anniversary of the return of its three islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches, which had been transferred from Seychelles in November 1965 to form part of the new British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). During this same week of June 2018, news broke from India that Seychelles could now lose its Assumption Island, in what...
One of Seychelles’ smallest islands has launched what might be the country’s largest private renewable energy project. Denis Private Island has embarked on the first of a four-phase photovoltaic solar power system in collaboration with DHYBRID from Germany, initially reducing the island’s diesel consumption by 100 litres per day. While most photo-voltaic projects feed power back into a public energy grid, the challenges on Denis are considerably different, primarily because...
At its very essence tourism is a business and to be a successful business there needs to be a balance between the needs provider’s (merchant’s) needs and those of the receiver (the customer). If the product is too expensive then people will find alternatives, and if it is too inexpensive than it loses prestige or there is no profit to be made. -Find ways to spend the least but give the most value. For example...
LGBTI Pride Tourism in Turkey is a sensitive and important.ssue. Reminding authorities in Turkey about the consequences for tourism when promoting discrimination may send a strong message, a source from Istanbul told eTurboNews. Why is there a concern? It’s gay pride in Istanbul, Turkey. This Asian, European City on the Bosporus has always been a little more open than the rest of Turkey. Turkey is a dominantly Islamic country with a leader many say is conservative and has the power of a...
Jefferson Hotel History Some years ago, I served as the hotel consultant to the Sybedon Corporation, a New York-based real estate firm that specialized in restoration of historic hotels. The major hotel projects were: • Jefferson Hotel, Richmond, Virginia • U.S. Grant Hotel, San Diego, California • Montauk Manor, Montauk, Long Island • Jung Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana Jefferson Hotel (1895), Richmond, Virginia (140 rooms) Tobacco baron Lewis Ginter began building the...
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) strongly urged Governments in the region to consider carefully the impact of leveling high air travel-related taxes and fees on travel demand as they wrestle with balancing budgets. “We recognize the challenges facing countries, but it is our duty to point out that taxing for additional revenue may have a reverse effect as tourists may choose not to travel to or within the Caribbean and instead select other destinations because of the...
academia in tourism The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has invited IE Business School to provide its support in the framework of UNWTO´s new strategy on innovation and digital transformation in support of academia in tourism. UNWTO and IE Business School, an executive education center, have agreed to join forces to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the tourism sector. Both will promote the role of academia in tourism innovation. IE Business School will give UNWTO strategic...
Travel or sex Today, survey findings that debunk many myths about travel are bringing interesting information to light. Would you choose travel over sex? How popular are RV road trips these days? What is more important than material possessions? Read on and find out. This survey is demystifying recreational vehicle (RV) myths, while uncovering surprising insights into American and millennial travel trends ahead of an anticipated record-breaking number of road trips this July 4. In a historical...
India India has mounted a multi-pronged strategy to boost tourism and it is seeing great results. Senior officials at a Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter and Ministry meeting held on June 27 said that this year, like last year, tourism is looking good for the country. Rashmi Verma, Tourism Secretary, admitted, however, that there are still some challenges, such as infrastructure, which were being addressed by a top-level panel led by Cabinet Secretary. Verma also spoke of...
The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) board voted unanimously to fire its current President and CEO George Szigeti. The board voted today to fire him without cause. Szigeti’s last day as chief of the HTA will be October 31, 2018. The following day, he will be paid 6 months of pay as a lump sum as part of his severance package. The CEO’s annual salary is $297,675 plus a protocol fund in the amount of $15,000 plus use of a car for state business. His current contract was scheduled to run...
felt like stepping into Nepal for a few hours Nepal Tourism was in Los Angeles Wednesday night. “This feels like stepping into Nepal for a few hours”, Rico, a Los Angeles based travel agent told eTurboNews. He was not only talking about the exciting video presentation he just saw about Nepal. The decoration, the food, and the atmosphere and of course. This evening, the 2018 US Summit/Sales Mission for the Nepal Tourism Board concluded in Los Angeles at Tara’s Himalayan...
Nigeria holds its pole position for hotel development in West Africa despite a slight reduction on last year, according to a regional influential annual hotel pipeline survey. Details of the survey cover the whole of Africa, will be one of the key discussions at an upcoming conference in Kenya. Nigeria, the giant of Africa, has the largest pipeline in West Africa (and the 2nd largest on the continent), with the concentration being in Lagos and Abuja, the commercial and political capitals...
Mekong Tourism Forum Thailand’s Vice Minister of Tourism HE Ittipol Khunpluem officially declared the 21st Mekong Tourism Forum 2018 open to an estimated record 370 attendees in the northeastern riverside town of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. No stranger to tourism HE Ittipol Khunpluem was the former mayor of Pattaya and was appointed Vice Minister of Tourism in April 2018. This annual event draws tourism decision makers from the six countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region and is being held...
Big Island vog The Kilauea eruptions on the Island of Hawaii are slowly subsiding, but are still ongoing, and many tourists have questions about the air quality, also known as Big Island vog (volcanic smog). To address the issue of air quality, the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) will install 10 additional permanent air quality monitoring stations to measure fine particles (PM2.5) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) on Hawaii Island to enhance data collection efforts for vog conditions around the island...
Israel is treading a fine line between balancing the needs of Gazans with its own need to contain Hamas- and trading dead soldiers at the same time. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman reportedly has advanced a proposal to establish a port in Cyprus that would be used to supply the Gaza Strip with humanitarian assistance. The plan is believed to entail the construction of a new dock for cargo ships carrying goods, which, when unloaded, would be monitored through some undefined mechanism...
US travel ban Today, the US Supreme Court decided to uphold the travel ban designed by the Trump administration. The ban restricts nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and even America’s “newest ally” North Korea, from entering the United States. This is the third version of the travel ban since its inception and after having run through various courts. Initially, critics called previous versions an anti-Muslim travel ban, however, now they are having to...
Costa Venezia by Costa Crociere Costa Crociere celebrated the launch of Costa Venezia, the company’s first ship designed and built specifically for Chinese tourists at Fincantieri, Monfalcone, shipyard plant based in North Italy. “As the first ship created specifically for the Chinese market, Costa Venezia marks a new era not only for Costa and Fincantieri, but for the Chinese cruise industry as a whole,” said Mario Zanetti, General Manager of Costa Group Asia. “From its...
International tourism “International tourism continues to show significant growth worldwide, and this translates into job creation in many economies. This growth reminds us of the need to increase our capacity to develop and manage tourism in a sustainable way, building smart destinations and making the most of technology and innovation,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili. International tourist arrivals grew 6% in the first four months of 2018, compared to the same...
A giant Trump Baby blimp full of hot air may just fly over London during the president’s upcoming trip. As POTUS’ arrival looms, the blimp has hit a snag: Don’s nemesis Mayor Sadiq Khan.Full of hot air A crowdfunding page devoted to bringing the six meter high yellow and orange blimp to life has garnered widespread support, nearly doubling the targeted £5000 in funds it aimed to raise to make their hot-air filled dream possible. “Donald Trump is a big, angry baby...
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban in a decision. The U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Jonathan Grella issued the following statement on the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court Trump vs. State of Hawaii. The Supreme court decision Tuesday was decided by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that Trump’s decision to ban or restrict travel and immigration from seven countries, most of them majority-Muslim, was...
Mr. Teck Hui Wong, Singapore Airlines On the eve of the Summer Solstice, Singapore Airlines (SIA) called the Roman travel trade and representatives of the press for an unusual open-air press conference in Rome. At the roof-top garden of Hotel Savoy Teck Hui Wong, SIA general manager for Italy expressed the airlines’ satisfaction for the new features introduced in the last 12 months that have improved the offer of the carrier on connections from Rome and Milan. “In April last year...
Kanazawa A roadshow aimed at the trade, has been organized by the Japan National Tourist Office (JNTO) and the Kanazawa Hotel Association. With only two stops in Europe – Milan and Paris – Kanazawa is on a mission to promote this small jewel of authentic Japan located between Tokyo and Kyoto, and equidistant both by the deluxe high-speed train Shinkannsen (2 1/2 hours) or by plane (about 1 hour). The numerous delegations, greeted by the Consul General of Japan, consisted of...
Space Center Houston Space Center Houston is the first space center in the world to become a Certified Autism Center (CAC). The designation, given by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), is awarded to organizations who have completed a professional training and review process with the goal to better serve individuals with autism and other sensory needs. “Science, technology, engineering and mathematics education is for everyone,” said...
ETC, IGLTA and VISITFLANDERS explore LGBTQ travel potential in Europe The European Travel Commission (ETC) united with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) and the Flemish tourist board VISITFLANDERS to present the Educational Forum on LGBTQ Tourism at the Hilton Brussels Grand Place on 21 June. The event provided a preview of key findings from The Handbook on LGBTQ Tourism in Europe, scheduled for release next month as a joint research project from ETC and the IGLTA...
