Travelography #150: PATA Numbers, Hawaiian MICE, Antarctic Tours, & More Nudes

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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.

Travel Geography #148: Tourism and Political Bedfellows

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 15 to 22 March 2009. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

Tourism Concern Calls For Halt On Construction Of Mega-Resorts

The global trend in developing luxury, large-scale resorts is leading to widespread alienation and displacement of people from their land, and is wreaking havoc with fragile ecosystems. Poor communities in developing countries, which depend heavily upon their natural resources for their livelihoods, are the hardest hit.

Anti-illegal immigrant groups launch Mexico tourism boycott

Americans United to Halt Tourism in Mexico – formed by Minutemen groups across the country ... – is urging Americans bound for sun and fun south of the border to instead visit the U.S. Southwest. "Do not give your tourist dollars to Mexico!" the fliers say.

Forget the lederhosen: Nude hiking alarms a Swiss farm town

Last summer, the number of nude hikers increased to such an extent that the hills often seemed alive with the sound of everything but the swish of trousers.

Croatia courts old enemy and its tourism spending

... for the first time since Serbian and Montenegrin forces besieged this historic port city in 1991, businesspeople [in Dubrovnik, Croatia] are publicly appealing to Serbian tourists to help rescue the economy.

Air travel showing signs of stability

...the drops in new booking revenue that US Airways saw in January and the first half of February had stopped, and in March even rose a little. ... the overall number of leisure passengers has held up — it's just that they're paying less to fly than they used to.

The art of passport fakery is alive and well

One investigator used the Social Security number of a man who died in 1965, a fake New York birth certificate and a fake Florida driver's license. He received a passport four days later. A second attempt had the investigator using a 5-year-old boy's information but identifying himself as 53 years old on the passport application. He received that passport seven days later.