Travelers entering New York City after a cross-country flight were met by border agents who insisted everyone show them official identification. On Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alerted Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City that an undocumented immigrant was suspected to be arriving on Delta flight 1583 from San Francisco. CBP officers were at the gate to check every deplaning passenger’s ID, until they...
A son of boxing legend Muhammad Ali and his mother were detained at a Florida airport upon returning from Jamaica because of their Arabic-sounding names, US media reported late Friday. Muhammad Ali Jr, 44, who was born in Philadelphia and has a US passport, was traveling with his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the late sports icon’s second wife, friend and lawyer Chris Mancini told the Louisville Courier-Journal. Mancini told the newspaper that both were held for questioning on the Fort...
The upcoming ITB trade show in Berlin, Germany is not only the largest travel and tourism event in the world, but also the place to show support in the fight against exploitation of children through tourism. The United Nations World Tourism Organization will recognize the importance of this issue for world tourism on March 9, 2017 15.00-16.30- at a public event at Room M1, City Cube, Berlin Congress Centre. eTN Publisher Juergen T Steinmetz has been a member of the UNWTO task group for almost...
Promoting travel and tourism and sharing benefits between the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia is very much part of the Visegrad Group (also known as the “Visegrad Four” or simply “V4”) They reflect the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration. Member countries had always been part of a single civilization sharing cultural and intellectual values and...
British Members of Parliament are debating US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit later to the UK as protests are set to take place across the country over the controversial trip. MPs will spend up to three hours discussing a petition calling for the visit planned for later this year to be downgraded because of Trump’s “well-documented misogyny and vulgarity.” The petition against Trump’s state visit attracted more than 1.8 million signatures, easily crossing...
A new partnership between the City of San José, Mineta San José International Airport and New American Workforce will make citizenship services available onsite for city and airport employees. Mayor Sam Liccardo announced the initiative during a press conference today. Other speakers discussed immigrants’ economic contributions to the region and workforce and highlighted how this partnership will bolster local immigrant integration efforts. San José was a founding municipal partner of New...
With close to 1000 key tourism stakeholders and destinations in 153 countries, the International Coalition of Tourism Partners has been a force for Green Growth PLUS Quality EQUALS Business. ICTP is active in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife, much of it within parks, reserves and safari areas. On the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls make a thundering 108m drop into narrow Batoka Gorge, where there’s white-water...
Even though they don’t vote, the involvement of the physically handicapped are an important group, and in France, they just threw their support behind Alain St.Ange for the election of a new Secretary General for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). A lot has been said about discrimination in the world of tourism for a long time, but hearing Gilbert Lamory, the Vice President responsible for Development for GIHP (Groupement pour l’insertion des personnes Handicapees...
The Islamabad High Court on Monday imposed a ban on Valentine’s Day celebrations across Pakistan. The order came during the hearing of a petition arguing that the day was not part of Islamic tradition and should be banned, the Dawn reported. According to the court order, Valentine’s Day related festivities have been banned in public places. The electronic and print media have also been told not to give coverage to any promotion of the day. Last year, President Mamnoon Hussain urged Pakistanis...
In Liberia, women are yet to take their rightful and equal place in society, and Johnson Sirleaf’s presence has not translated into Liberian women rising from the grassroots to be equally represented in decision-making forums. In October 2017, a new government will be elected and Johnson Sirleaf’s term will come to an end. The extent of gender inequalities varies throughout Liberia in regard to status, region, rural/urban areas, and traditional cultures. In general, women in Liberia...
Human trafficking in Hawaii remains big business. How could this include the Trump Hotel Waikiki, WalMart, Sam’s Club and Costco? Benefiting from trafficking or inhuman conditions bordering human trafficking are not only drug dealers, pimps. Make America Great again are the words by US President Donald Trump. Here is a situation the president may want to take a close look at. It involves crime, illegal immigrantion and outsourcing of US labor – all right on our homeland. Pier 17...
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it will not block a lower-court ruling that suspended the Trump Travel Ban. The court said the U.S. government hasn’t shown a likelihood it will succeed in appealing to reinstate the ban. It also hasn’t shown that failure to reinstate the ban would cause irreparable injury. The three-judge panel said Washington state proved it had the legal right to bring the lawsuit over the ban by alleging its universities would suffer harm. That was one...
Arab states welcomed the US appeals court ruling against a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump. “It is a move in the right direction to solve the problems that it caused,” Iraqi government spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, said. Arab airlines including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways said on Saturday they will allow passengers barred by President Donald Trump’s executive order to board US-bound flights after a federal judge blocked the move. US Customs & Border Protection...
Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and other airlines are now accepting passengers for travel to the USA from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. 60,000 cancelled U,S, visas are now re-instated – for the time being. However, it’s not over, but at this time the executive order issued by US President Trump to ban travel to the United States of America remains invalid. US President Trump has been overruled by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the State of...
The United States Justice Department filed a notice on Saturday evening that it will formally appeal a federal judge’s ruling halting President Trump’s immigration order. It reads: “At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this order and defend the executive order of the President, which we believe is lawful and appropriate.” Justice Department Attorney Michelle Bennett’s filing was made in response to a temporary 90...
It’s part of the travel and tourism industry, but not many like to talk about it. It’s legal in many parts of the world, illegal in many other parts of the world. It’s the oldest job in the world. In Europe it’s business like usually in the red light district, in the United States exceptions to make prostitution a recognized and legal profession is only the case in some counties in the State of Nevada today. This may change in the Aloha State Hawaii. For many seen as a...
The White House said it has issued updated guidance on President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration clarifying that legal permanent residents, or green card holders, do not require a waiver to enter the United States. “They no longer need a waiver because if they are a legal permanent resident they won’t need it anymore,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said at a news briefing. The restriction on green card holders was among the most confusing element in the executive order signed...
The Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC) is proud to be one of the Official Sponsors of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (IY2017). On January 18th, IY2017 was officially launched at the International Tourism Fair of Spain (FITUR) in Madrid. In his Opening Remark, Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said: “2017 is a unique opportunity for us to promote the contribution of tourism to achieving the future we want...
The European Union and the Vatican have voiced their disagreement with a controversial travel ban recently issued by US President Donald Trump against seven Muslim-majority countries. “We disagree with the executive order Trump issued on January 27, as many do in the US”, said European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini while addressing a European Parliament debate on the restrictions on Wednesday. Trump issued the executive order to impose a 90-day entry ban on citizens from Iran...
“People all over the world want to visit the U.S., and the U.S. travel community strongly supports efforts to ensure that visitors to this country are unimpeachably legitimate. In doing so, it is imperative we find the right balance between security and facilitation, and we stand ready to support the administration and Congress to achieve this goal,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow on the issue of the executive orders signed by President Trump. Trump signed...
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reiterates its commitment to the right to travel as stated in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Association recognises that each country has the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. However, PATA is fundamentally opposed to any form of blanket travel ban based upon nationality, gender, race or religion. PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy said, “Safety is the number one priority for the travel and tourism...
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Specialized Agency for Tourism, expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation over the recently announced travel ban by the United States of America (USA) to nationals of seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen). The travel ban, based on nationality, is contrary to the principles of freedom of travel and travel facilitation promoted by the international tourism community and will hinder the immense...
A four-day training and assessment programme involving airport authorities, military and humanitarian partners is being held to develop a customized disaster response action plan for Tribhuvan International Airport and Nepalgunj Airport. Within 48 hours after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, the country’s main airport was flooded with humanitarian aid supplies and rescue and relief teams coming in from all around the world. However, about a week later, large...
After ICTP also WTTC commented on US President Trump’s travel ban to the United States on citizens of 7 countries. On Monday night, David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), said: “The Executive Order issued by US President Trump on 27 January 2017 banning travel to the US from seven countries for 90 days goes directly against the fundamental right of Freedom to Travel. It has created immense confusion among travellers and travel companies worldwide...
The world’s largest long-haul carrier has changed pilot and flight attendant rosters on flights to the United States following the sudden US travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the challenges facing airlines to deal with the new rules. Emirates airline, which flies daily to 11 US cities, has made “the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements,” an Emirates spokeswoman said via email. She added US flights continue to...
On its twitter account, US Mission to UAE officials tweeted on Sunday that it is suspending the issuing of visas for travel to the US from any of the seven Muslim-majority countries identified by President Donald Trump in his temporary travel ban. “US visa issuance to citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been suspended until further notification,” the embassy tweeted. Mission staff further tweeted, “If you are a national or dual national of one of the listed...
U.S. residents with roots from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen AND visitors from those countries are in for uncertain and unwelcoming times in the United States of America. Any Green Card holder living in the United States of America visiting any of the seven countries listed will be in for an unpleasant experience when arriving back in the U.S. Those from any of the seven countries with valid U.S. Visas may just want to stamp them invalid. Americans planning to visit Iran...
A newly published report has highlighted the damaging impact of conflicts on the word’s finances, saying violence cost the global economy $13.6 trillion in 2015. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a think tank dedicated to developing metrics to analyze peace and to quantify its economic value, released the figure on Thursday in its report, dubbed the Economic Value of Peace 2016. The 2015 total cost of violence was equivalent to 13.3 percent of the world gross domestic product (GDP)...
Ultra-right European leaders from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands were meeting in the German city of Koblenz to discuss their visions of “a free Europe” aimed at dismantling the EU. Among the politicians addressing the meeting on Saturday were Marine Le Pen, who is anticipated to make it to the second-round run-off for the French presidency on May 7, along with Frauke Petry of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD). Controversial, anti-Muslim leader of the far-right Dutch...
The recent announcement by the central government of China to ban all domestic ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017 offers a glimmer of real optimism in the fight against elephant poaching. The decision is set to disrupt the global’s major marketplace for the product, as it will compel legal ivory processing industries to close down—thereby eliminating the cover under which the illicit ivory trade had flourished. Similarly, the ban will put in place strict mechanisms of ivory...
