Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 30 March to 6 April 2009. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.
Hawaii asks Obama to bring back business travelers
Gov.
Linda Lingle, 90 business leaders and Hawaii's four mayors wrote Obama
last week urging him to oppose any measure restricting companies that
receive federal funds from using business meetings "as a legitimate
business tool."
Obama Calls for Limits on Tourism to Antarctica
The
new U.S. proposal contains no specific enforcement mechanism or
penalties for limiting tourist operations. But it would require
signatories to the pact to ensure that Antarctic tour operators bar
ships with more than 500 passengers from landing sites, restrict
landings to one vessel at a time per site and limit passengers on shore
to 100 at a time. It would mandate a minimum of one guide for every 20
tourists while ashore, according to the documents.
Thailand shuts down tourist spots after fatal clashes
Thai
authorities have indefinitely closed tourist spots near the Preah
Vihear temple as Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed twice in the
vicinity today (Friday), leaving two Thai and two Cambodian soldiers
dead and several injured.
Atlantic City casino brings back real-coin slot machines
It
used to be the signature sound of gambling: the clacking of coins
spilling into metal trays on slot machines. But newer electronic
machines that spit paper vouchers or credit winnings to cards now emit
only canned noise.
Report: Hawaii's tourism industry in 'crisis mode'
The
report urges the tourism industry should receive the highest priority
in receiving stimulus funding. "Until tourism gets well, the rest of
the economy cannot," ... "And the Hawaii tourism industry is in a
crisis mode now."
Check In at Germany's First Naked Hotel
Investors
plan to set up a hotel catering exclusively to nudists in the
picturesque Black Forest town of Freudenstadt, which incidentally
translates as Town of Joys. Guests will be required to remove their
clothes at the entrance and must be naked at all times while on the
premises
Some cause for industry hope in new PATA Tourism Forecasts
The
PATA (Pacific Asia Tourism Assn) Tourism Forecasts 2009-2011, to be
published this month, suggest growth in international arrivals for many
destinations across the region - despite the global economic downturn.
The Forecasts indicate a very mixed bag of results with significant
variations across Asia Pacific.
