Travelography #140: Inaugural Tourism

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the first two weeks of January 2009. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• Disney hopes to build 1st park on Chinese mainland

  The Walt Disney Company and the Shanghai municipal government have signed a project proposal to build the first Disney park on the Chinese mainland. Under the proposal, the entertainment giant will take a 43 percent stake in Shanghai Disneyland.

• Security Net Wraps Capital for Inaugural

  Though intelligence agencies have detected no credible threat to any inaugural event or to Mr. Obama, law enforcement agencies, operating from a network of centers, will command ground, air and waterborne forces numbering in excess of 20,000 police officers, National Guard troops and plainclothes agents from more than 50 agencies, according to security planners.

• Bathroom Break: Will Inauguration Have Enough?

  "This is the largest temporary restroom event in the history of the United States," ... Don's Johns is providing many of the 5,000 port-a-potties for the inauguration, but other suppliers are at work as well,

• Industry submits travel and tourism stimulus plan to Obama

  ASTA's stimulus proposals include the restoration of a 2001 program of direct low-interest-rate loans to small businesses through the Small Business Administration and the creation of an investment tax credit program for small business investments in information-related technologies, which will be crucial for travel agencies to compete effectively in the years ahead.

• Net usage spikes after U.S. Airways plane crash

  The crash now ranks as the seventh biggest Internet news event since Akamai started tracking spikes in traffic in 2005. The plane crash, which miraculously resulted in no fatalities or serious injuries, ranks just ahead of the post-Election Day 2008 coverage.

• Legoland swears in mini-Barack Obama in mock inauguration

  A 4-inch-tall Barack Obama rendered in Lego bricks will be sworn in as plastic president before more than 1,000 miniature-molded dignitaries at Legoland California’s inaugural pre-enactment

• Cruise industry: 2009 shaping up as another record year

  Helping to prop up the industry is the rapid growth of cruising among Europeans, Latin Americans and Asians. ... The industry's biggest players also have been rolling out significant discounts to keep ships full this winter and for the coming spring and summer.

Travelography #127: Honey, I Shrunk the Airlines!

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 15 September 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

Airline Stocks Fly Through the Downturn

Looking for a safe haven in today's jittery stock market? ... Try the airlines. falling fuel prices may have masked what's really going on in the airline industry, which is that demand has remained strong, despite a slowing economy, and widespread capacity discipline shows no sign of diminishing.

TSA tests scanner for car bombs

TheTSA is running a test at a North Carolina ferry terminal of a 21-foot-high arch-like machine that shoots low-intensity X-rays at cars as they pass through. The photos show whether explosives or drugs might be in the car.

Five ways airline capacity cuts will affect you

1. Flight options dwindle, 2. Packed planes, 3. Schedule changes, 4. Kiss standby seats goodbye, 5. A scarcity of frequent flier tickets

Air fares nosedive amid falling travel demand

Hotel rates in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have also fallen over the second quarter compared with the first. Average daily rates in 41 out of 48 cities in the region rose 6.9 per cent year on year in January to March, but by June, average falls of 3.6 per cent were being recorded in 30 cities.

Netherlands man charged with NY `graffiti tourism'

a Dutch man who came to New York as a "graffiti tourist" has been indicted on charges of spray-painting a subway car and leading police on a dangerous chase along the tracks.

Travelography #124: Crime and Mayhem Against, and By, Tourist

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 25 August 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• Macau, the fastest-growing destination in 2008

More than 1.5 million international visitors have come to Macau in the first six months of this year, a 46.5 % jump over the same period last year. This does not include the 8.8 million Mainland residents who visited in the same period, according to the Macau Government Tourist Office.

• European countries warn tourists against violence in Mexico

The German Foreign Ministry advised its citizens not to resist if they fell victim to any crime in Mexico, because that might threaten their lives. Criminal acts in Mexico have surged considerably recently and "unfortunately," police forces are involved in the violence, said the German government.

• Italy Mulls Tougher Crackdown as Tourists Attacked

The Italian government was considering ordering more troops on to the streets Tuesday after two brutal attacks on tourists within three days during an already tough crackdown against crime, according to a newspaper report.

• Crete mayor asks British government to act on drunken tourists

"They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit," ... "It's only the British people - not the Germans or the French." His anger echoed the frustration felt by the residents of many Mediterranean resorts, who have watched helplessly while their town centres are invaded by hordes of carousing British teenagers.

• Iraq plans giant Ferris wheel, hopes to lure tourists to Baghdad

It would be 650 feet high - even taller than the wheel that overlooks London's River Thames. "We hope to attract a great number of customers who will be able to see the whole city and enjoy the restaurants and pools on the ground below,"...

• Eight million people at risk of ID fraud after credit card details are stolen by hotel chain hackers

An Indian hacker broke into the IT system of Best Western Hotel Group and stole personal details of everyone who has stayed there in the past 12 months. The details, which included home addresses, phone numbers, place of employment and credit card details, were sold on through an underground network controlled by the Russian Mafia.

• Best Western Responds to Sunday Herald Story Claiming Security Breach

We have found no evidence to support the sensational claims ultimately made by the reporter and newspaper. Most importantly, whereas the reporter asserted the recent compromise of data for past guests from as far back as 2007, Best Western purges all online reservations promptly upon guest departure.

Travelography #99: T-Day Travel, HI Superferry, and Japan Whales and Fingers

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Today's Stories:

- Weather, among other factors, help make for smooth traveling during the Thanksgiving weekend in the US.
- Hawaii's Superferry to re-start on December 1st between Honolulu and Maui.
- Travel boycott called against Japan as it dramatically increases its whale catch.
- Japan starts fingerprinting all foreign visitors to prevent terrorist attacks.

Story Links:

Fearing worst, U.S. air travelers find smooth going

Hawaii Superferry Employees Heading Back to Work

Boycott Japan - Save the Whales

Tourists given the finger

Geography for Travelers

Travelography News on Ning

Travelography News on Twitter

Travelography 2.0 on Utterz.com

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