tourism

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>

Grumpy Berliners Learn to Smile

Friendliness campaign gives city an image makeover

(Newser) - Berlin may not be a city of churlish insults and bad manners much longer. Long known for the rudeness of its residents, the German capital is on a “friendliness offensive,” Der Spiegel reports. Pegged to its annual tourism convention, Berlin’s campaign aims to boost the number of...

Thais Woo Tourists With New Cocktail

Authorities hope concoction will cure hangover from airport protests

(Newser) - Thailand's tourism authority is hoping the Siam Sunray will wash away the lingering aftertaste of airport anarchy, the Guardian reports. The newly invented cocktail—made with vodka and traditional Thai ingredients like Kaffir lime and lemongrass—was unveiled yesterday as part of a campaign to bolster a tourism industry battered...

Western Tourists Return to Iraq (With Armed Guards)

(Newser) - A group of tourists is heading to Iraq next month for a whirlwind tour of a dozen sites including Baghdad, Babylon, and Basra, the Daily Telegraph reports. It’s the first time Westerners have dared vacation in the country since 2003, and the Surrey-based Hinterland Travel organizing the tour isn’...

The World's Worst Vacation: Zimbabwe
The World's Worst Vacation: Zimbabwe
travel

The World's Worst Vacation: Zimbabwe

Amid disease and starvation, a tourism industry clings on

(Newser) - Zimbabwe's currency is worthless, its population is almost entirely unemployed, and a thuggish government uses intimidation, censorship, and torture to maintain an iron grip on power. Why would any tourist want to go there? For Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, writing in Gourmet, a trip to Robert Mugabe's ruined nation is eye-opening—...

Strip Clubs Look to Score at Super Bowl

Super Bowl venue is lap dance capital

(Newser) - The road to Super Bowl XLIII is paved with Tampa's 43 strip clubs, and their owners are expecting a bonanza, the AP reports. Some are going the extra mile to attract free-spending Super Bowl tourists, spiffing up their interiors, hiring extra dancers, and keeping doors open around the clock. Although...

Heady Times for DC Hookers, Coke Dealers

Both are booming as tourists flock to inauguration

(Newser) - Barack Obama has already done his part to boost the economy—for Washington’s prostitutes and drug dealers, who tell New York they’re experiencing quite the boom in business thanks to inauguration travelers. Some prostitutes came into town specifically for the event and are already “pretty booked up;...

Amid Recession, Visitors Flock to National Parks

Every dollar spent on parks generates $4 in spending

(Newser) - Local economies enjoyed a federal bailout of sorts from National Parks visitors, who spent $11.8 billion in businesses surrounding parks and monuments last year. For every government dollar dispensed on upkeep and some 200,000 workers, $4 were generated in local spending, reports the Washington Times. Sales were up...

Calm Is a Tourist Boon for Bethlehem

West Bank sees record influx, boost to Palestinian economy

(Newser) - More than 1.3 million visitors took advantage of the relative peace between Israel and Palestine to visit Jesus Christ’s birthplace this year, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The streets around Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity—abandoned except for Israeli military jeeps just 6 years ago amid an...

Hawaii Tries in Vain to Cash In on Obama Fame

Obama tour operators say business is slow

(Newser) - The Hawaii tourist trade is doing its best to spin some dollars out of Obamania, Politico reports. Tour companies are hyping visits to the president-elect's old Honolulu neighborhood, and the Baskin-Robbins where Obama worked as a teen is selling a new "Swirl of Change" flavor: chocolate, caramel, and nuts...

Bus Tour Too Much Sex , Too Little City
 Bus Tour Too Much 
 Sex, Too Little City 
GLOSSIES

Bus Tour Too Much Sex, Too Little City

Trip down memory lane is one Vanity Fair scribe would like to forget

(Newser) - Carrie & Co. wouldn’t be caught dead on a bus tour of Manhattan, but the half-day trek to various locations used for Sex and the City—a sex shop, the Meatpacking District, the Magnolia Bakery—has become the guilty secret of misguided fans looking to relive scenes from the...

China to Lop Off Tall Buildings in Hangzhou

Hangzhou aims to become World Heritage site

(Newser) - Hoping to turn the city into a World Heritage site, China is lopping top floors off tall buildings in Hangzhou, the BBC reports. Two hotels, a TV tower, and other buildings will get the shrinking treatment in a $5.8 million effort; the city’s government has said that all...

Hang 10, Blokes: UK Beach to Make Waves

Artificial reef expected to generate 13-footers, draw surfers

(Newser) - A British beach town hopes to become the UK’s Surf City after the completion of an artificial reef that will boost local waves, Der Spiegel reports. Bournemouth has long attracted vacationers to its shore, but the gently lapping waves haven’t been enough of a draw for surfers. Projected...

Town Bans Lights to Save Milky Way

(Newser) - Stargazing is more than an idle pleasure on Mount Desert Island, Maine. It's also a tourist attraction protected by law. Voters on the island recently banned new outdoor lights that aim upwards and contribute to obstructing the island's rare view of the naked Milky Way. The goal is to draw...

Alaskans Weigh Impact of New High Profile

Palin's southern exposure may drive increased tourism

(Newser) - Will America’s favorite moose-field-dressing expert draw more visitors to her wintry home state? Alaska’s sudden burst of Palin-centric publicity has some travel agents salivating, the Anchorage Daily News reports; every misty mountain vista that shows up on CNN is a win. But others worry that the increasingly controversial...

Ecuador Chases Citizens Off Galapagos to Save Islands

UN says too many people on islands is destroying animal habitats

(Newser) - Ecuador is forcing those without permission to live in the Galapagos to leave, over fears that a growing human population threatens the species that make the islands unique. Even Ecuadorean citizens need special visas to visit the Galapagos, but thousands of mainland migrants have been staying illegally, drawn by high...

Father, Son Killed in Paris Tourist Boat Accident

Other 10 passengers survive after bridge crash

(Newser) - A father and his 6-year-old son were killed yesterday when a small Paris tourist boat stuck a bridge near Notre Dame Cathedral in the Seine, the BBC reports. The boat sank, trapping the two French passengers under water. They were declared dead at a local hospital. The other 10 passengers...

Cleveland Rocks, But NY Rocks More
Cleveland Rocks, But NY Rocks More

Cleveland Rocks, But NY Rocks More

Struggling Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to open annex in Soho

(Newser) - Cleveland lobbied to be the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to bring tourists to town, but a dip in visitors has led the museum's worried organizers to turn to New York for help. Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined singer Billy Joel yesterday to announce the opening of...

Gay Tourism 'Tricky' for Israel
 Gay Tourism 'Tricky' for Israel

Gay Tourism 'Tricky' for Israel

Nation welcomes economic boost, but not liberal culture

(Newser) - Two men kissing near the Mount of Olives isn’t what religious pilgrims expect in Jerusalem, and the boom in gay tourism is making some uneasy, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Thousands of gay travelers—drawn to the beaches, nightlife, and trendy Tel Aviv—have visited Israel this year, spending...

Saddam's Palace Is Tourist Hotspot for US Troops

Ruins are all the sightseeing most get to do

(Newser) - It’s impractical—not to mention dangerous—for US troops to do much sightseeing in Baghdad, but Saddam Hussein’s ruined presidential complex is one exception. As one of the few places off-duty service members can go, the palace has become a magnet for military tourists, the Wall Street Journal...

America Tops Wish List for Foreign Tourists

Falling dollar helps US edge Australia as most likely destination

(Newser) - The plummeting dollar has tourists punching their tickets for the US, according to Lonely Planet’s latest rankings. America came out ahead in voting for the country travelers were most likely to visit next, Reuters reports, knocking Australia—tops since 2004—from its perch.

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>