Political updates

Portugal: Potential Lisbon Tourist Tax Won’t Break the Bank

Date: October 6th, 2010 |

A modest proposal from Lisbon’s mayor could raise $18 million annually to promote the city’s tourism and cost visitors an amount they would never notice, but it is being fought by hoteliers. The plan calls for a tariff of 1 euro ($1.38) on arrival for all foreign tourists and an additional hotel tax of up [read more]

India: Commonwealth Games Threatened by Construction Delays, Security Issues

Date: September 22nd, 2010 |

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With the Commonwealth Games set for Oct. 3-13 in New Delhi, concerns are growing that the venue will not be ready and the events will be affected, possibly canceled. Many buildings remain unfinished and a footbridge built to connect the main stadium to a parking lot collapsed Sept. 21, injuring 23 workers, five of them [read more]

Spain: ETA Calls Cease-fire, Political Parties Skeptical

Date: September 8th, 2010 |

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The Basque separatist group ETA declared a cease-fire Sept. 5, but the Basque regional government and others were skeptical that the announcement would mean the end of the group’s violence. Other cease-fires have come and gone, but this one may be different because ETA’s political allies have called for the group to renounce violence, allow [read more]

Thailand: Don’t Feed the Elephants, or Else; Emergency Lifted in the North

Date: July 21st, 2010 |

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Authorities warned tourists in Bangkok not to buy food for street elephants or they’d face a 10,000 baht ($310) fine. The move is the latest attempt to control begging by elephant owners who bring their animals in from the countryside to eke out a living in the city. The mahouts (handlers) face the same $310 [read more]

India: Tourist Police Forces at Work in Goa, Madurai

Date: May 19th, 2010 |

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Goa continues to work to increase security for tourists on its beaches after several high-profile incidents in recent years. Security patrols were extended to midnight on ten popular beaches in both north and south Goa, and the World Travel and Tourism Council donated a fleet of 22 vehicles equipped with communications devices to a new [read more]

Bhutan: Restrictions on Tourist Numbers Easing

Date: September 22nd, 2010 |

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The Himalayan kingdom plans to more than triple the number of foreign tourists it allows to visit by 2012, permitting up to 100,000 visitors compared to the current limit of 30,000. Bhutan only began opening up to tourists in the 1970s and strictly limits tourist numbers to minimize erosion of its culture and traditions. The [read more]

Kuwait: Public Gatherings Banned to Prevent Sectarian Strife

Date: September 22nd, 2010 |

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Authorities banned all public gatherings in an effort to head off sectarian strife between its majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites as tensions flared over an exiled Kuwaiti Shiite’s comments allegedly disparaging the Prophet Mohammed’s wife, Aisha. Violators of the ban could face two years in prison. Several Sunni groups had planned demonstrations to demand [read more]

Thailand: State of Emergency Lifted in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ubon Ratchathani

Date: August 25th, 2010 |

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Thai authorities lifted the state of emergency in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Ubon Ratchathani that had been in place since “Red Shirt” demonstrations paralyzed the center of Bangkok for several weeks beginning in March. The Red Shirts remain active throughout the region and have called for demonstrations to protest what they [read more]

Suriname: Blue Wing Airlines’ Antonovs Grounded After Crash, US Embassy Prohibits Employees from Using Airline Domestically

Date: June 9th, 2010 |

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After three crashes of Blue Wing Airlines’ flights since 2008, with the most recent occurring May 15, the U.S. Embassy in Paramaribo has prohibited its employees from flying with the airline on domestic flights. All three crashes involved Antonov 28 planes, which Blue Wing uses only domestically. The government has grounded all Antonov planes and [read more]

Honduras: Army to Patrol Streets, Clamp Down on Drug Violence

Date: April 14th, 2010 |

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The army will begin patrolling streets in Tegucigalpa and other areas to clamp down on drug cartel violence. The country of fewer than 8 million people has had an average of more than 4,000 homicides the past five years, with more than 5,300 in 2009. Soldiers have been told to search vehicles and pedestrians and [read more]

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