General info

Marshall Islands: Bikini Atoll May Close to Divers Because of Bankrupt Airline

Date: December 19th, 2007 |

The top tourist attraction in the islands may be forced to close because there may no longer be an efficient way to get there. Bikini Atoll, home to a sunken World War II navy fleet, site of 23 atmospheric atomic bomb tests from 1946 through 1958 and a popular dive site, may have to shut [read more]

Venezuela: New Time Zone

Date: December 13th, 2007 |

No Comments

President Hugo Chavez moved Venezuela into a new time zone all its own Dec. 10 when he set back the official clock 30 minutes, making Venezuela unique in Latin America as the only country not setting its time in increments of one hour from Greenwich Mean Time. The country is now four and a half [read more]

Portugal: Signs in English to Appear on Algarve Beaches

Date: October 31st, 2007 |

No Comments

The tragic deaths of three of four parents who drowned saving their children from an unseen whirlpool in the Algarve have prompted officials to order signs in English posted on every dangerous beach in the region by next June. Signs warned of dangerous currents but all were in Portuguese, which the British visitors could not [read more]

Hawaii: Superferry Awaits Judges’ Decisions on Sailing

Date: September 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

The Hawaii Superferry, which voluntarily shut down operations Aug. 28 in the face of demonstrations shortly after launching its service, needs to be able to operate while an environmental review is made or it will go out of business, say its owners. Judges on Maui and Kauai are holding hearings to determine if the ship [read more]

Japan: Travelers To Be Fingerprinted, Photographed on Arrival

Date: September 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

Beginning in November, new immigration regulations will require all foreign visitors above the age of 16 except diplomats to be digitally fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival. The procedure should be quick and easy but it could cause delays in the initial days or weeks as officials and arriving passengers grow accustomed to the process. Authorities [read more]

Tibet: Funding Planned to Upgrade Lhasa Toilets

Date: December 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

Tourism to Tibet has increased dramatically since the opening of the rail link to Lhasa in 2006, with more than a million visitors this year to the Potala Palace, the former residence of the Dalai Lama, and some 4 million tourists overall. With that influx comes pressure on facilities of all sorts, so Chinese tourism [read more]

China: Tourist Restrictions on Great Wall, Ming Tombs

Date: November 29th, 2007 |

No Comments

Tourist activities at the Great Wall may be restricted in the coming months as officials implement a general plan for China’s top tourist sites. The plan calls for no more than 53,300 daily tourist visitors and a limit of 16 million annually to Badaling Great Wall and Ming Tombs. Other attractions such as Juyongguan Great [read more]

Haiti: U.S. Embassy Prohibits Personnel from Flying Caribintair Airlines

Date: September 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince now prohibits all U.S. government personnel from flying on Haiti’s Caribintair Airlines, and warns travelers to avoid the carrier. The airline has had two forced emergency landings in the past month and Haiti’s civil aviation authority has grounded its domestic flights while continuing to allow flights to Santo Domingo, Dominican [read more]

India: Disputed Siachen Glacier Now Open for Trekkers, Climbers

Date: September 19th, 2007 |

No Comments

The Siachen Glacier on the disputed border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir has one ignoble distinction: it is the world’s highest battlefield. At an altitude ranging from 16,400 to 24,000 feet, the glacier has been in dispute since 1984 when India occupied it. But now India has opened it up to tourists—mostly climbers and [read more]

Australia: Alcohol Ban on Aboriginal-Owned Land Lifted for Visitors on Organized Tours

Date: September 12th, 2007 |

No Comments

Travelers on organized tours will be spared a ban on alcohol on Aboriginal-owned land. The strict ban was scheduled to go into effect Sept. 14, and after protests from the tourism industry, the government decided to soften the law so tourists visiting places like Uluru (Ayers Rock) can still sip an alcoholic beverage while enjoying [read more]