tourism

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Sin City Seethes Over 2nd Obama Diss

Vegas defenders: This time sorry isn't good enough

(Newser) - When President Obama said yesterday that families saving for college shouldn't blow money in Vegas, it was the second time he'd singled out Sin City as an example of excessive spending—and his words came as salt in the wounds of a tourism-dependent city hit hard by the recession. "...

Stonehenge, Machu Picchu Among 'Threatened Wonders'

How tourists damage eight of the wonders they love most

(Newser) - From the litter strewn around Machu Picchu to the noisy highway junction next to Stonehenge, mass tourism and misguided development have many of the world's most famous travel destinations looking worse for the wear. Wanderlust magazine reports on the top eight threatened wonders, what can be done to help them,...

Tourism Curses King Tut's Tomb

Mysterious mold attacks boy pharaoh's burial chamber

(Newser) - Mass tourism seems to have cursed King Tut's tomb with a problem as mysterious as the untimely deaths of many members of the 1922 expedition team that discovered the boy pharaoh: The 3,000-year-old tomb is rotting before visitors' eyes. Egypt has called in a team of "bookish versions...

Climb the Golden Gate Bridge? Maybe Soon

Officials seek revenue streams beyond ever-rising tolls

(Newser) - Facing giant budget holes and tired of constantly jacking up tolls in futile efforts to fill them, officials may offer tourists the chance to scale San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The model is Sydney’s Harbour Bridge, where $200 gets you a guided climb to the top. What San...

Makeout Movie Heats Up City of Light

Kisses from Paris targets young lovers

(Newser) - A short film by a well-known director of a couple making out in parks, under bridges and on the streets of Paris is the city's latest attempt to seduce tourists. The 3-minute movie, Kisses From Paris, debuts on YouTube today. The quickie film features a smooching woman lamenting to her...

Green Joyride Sours for Paris' Rental Bikes

Vandalism, theft hurt pioneering program

(Newser) - A public bicycle-rental program launched in Paris in 2007 amid green good feeling has found reality to be a rough ride. Locals and tourists alike get unlimited access to Vélib’s fleet for about $1.50 a day, but some 80% of the $3,500 bikes have been stolen...

Tourists Seek Mythical Lesbian City in Sweden

Men looking for city of 25,000 women badger Swedish tourist authorities

(Newser) - Rumors of a city of 25,000 lesbians have led hordes of men to contact Swedish tourist authorities and swamp the nation's Internet providers. Chinese media especially have spread the tale of “Chako Paul City,” supposedly founded in 1820 in northern Sweden by a man-hating widow who banned...

Wash. Town Milks Twilight Connection for Tourist Bucks

(Newser) - Author Stephenie Meyer had never even been to Forks, Wash., when she chose it, with a little help from Google, as the setting for her wildly popular Twilight books. But that hasn’t stopped fans of the series and the movies it has spawned from flocking to the town, population...

Melting Ice Opens Arctic to Trade, But US Lags

Climate change opens north to shipping, tourism, resource development

(Newser) - Climate change is melting away the main barrier to business in the Arctic—ice—but the US lags behind other countries seeking to exploit the region, the Anchorage Daily News reports. As receding ice opens the area to shipping, resource exploitation, and tourism, it's Russia and Canada who have established...

2010 Winter Olympics Feel a Chill in One Host Town

Construction hassles, dim future depress Whistler residents

(Newser) - Whistler Village, Canada, celebrated when it learned it would host many events as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics in nearby Vancouver. But the honeymoon is pretty much over, the Seattle Times reports. Clogged roads, endless construction, and soon-to-be-closed schools have residents ruing the decision. And their ire doesn’t...

'Mob Sewage' Closes Capri's Blue Grotto

(Newser) - The famous Blue Grotto of the Italian island of Capri has been closed after its striking cerulean waters were fouled by raw sewage believed to be dumped by the Mafia, reports the Independent. La Grotta Azzurra, a favorite haunt of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, is celebrated for its striking waters...

Writer Wrestles With Visit to Long-Necked Thai Tribe

Overcomes angry tour guides, conscience

(Newser) - Most travel companies refuse to take tourists to Thailand’s Burmese Padaung tribe—whose women wear neck coils that artificially elongate their necks—arguing that the practice is exploitative. But Amit R. Paley, writing for the Washington Post, ultimately found a guide and wrestled down his conscience. "My ability...

US-Canada Border Crossings Plummet

(Newser) - Fewer Americans visited Canada last month than at any time since record-keeping began in 1972, as new passport controls and a weak US dollar kept tourists away. One-day car trips dropped 26% from May to June, and US tourists in Canada fell to half their number 5 years ago. The...

N. Korea to Reopen Border With South

Tourism and reunions with relatives in SK now possible

(Newser) - North Korea pledged today to reopen its borders with the south for tourism and family visits after reclusive leader Kim Jong-il met with the head of the South Korean Hyundai Group in Pyongyang, reports Reuters. Hyundai's Hyon Jong Un met the ailing Kim to secure the release of a detained...

Israeli Town Will Pay $1M for Mermaid Pic

Tourists swarm town after mythical(?) creature siting

(Newser) - Mermaid fever has hit the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam: Several eyewitnesses recently reported spotting the mythical creature—described as a cross between a girl and a dolphin—frolicking off the coast at sunset. Whether that’s true or not, tourists have been flocking to Kiryat Yam in hopes of...

What Tourists Can Do to Protect Coral Reefs

(Newser) - Snorkelers and scuba divers aren’t the worst threat to the embattled coral reefs of the world—climate change, commercial fishing, and pollution take top honors—but the casual tourist can lessen, and even mitigate, the damage he or she causes, Slate reports. Of course, snorkelers shouldn’t purposefully snap...

Greek Woman Torches Randy Tourist's Genitals

26-year-old claims Briton removed pants, forcibly fondled her

(Newser) - A Greek woman is being hailed as a hero after torching a lecherous British tourist’s genitals, the Telegraph reports. A 23-year-old Briton had allegedly taken off his pants and flashed his privates at women in a nightclub in the resort town of Mallia on the island of Crete. When...

You, Too, Can Visit North Korea

Prepare to be followed by officials everywhere you turn

(Newser) - You don’t have to be an ex-president to visit North Korea: In fact, your average “private citizen” can make the trip, if he or she doesn't mind a few inconveniences, writes Christopher Beam for Slate. To head to Pyongyang, apply for a visa via North Korea’s UN...

Spanish Village Hopes to Profit From H-Bomb Infamy

(Newser) - Being the site of one of the world's worst nuclear accidents is an unlikely thing to build a tourist trade on, but the people of Palomares plan to give it a shot, the Wall Street Journal reports. Four hydrogen bombs fell on the tiny Spanish village after a US bomber...

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty
 Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty 
Aug 1, 2009 6:45 AM CDT

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty

(Newser) - Nepal's once-pristine natural beauty has been ravaged by years of civil war, neglect, and corruption, the Washington Post reports. Dangerous levels of pollution now cloud Kathmandu, forcing many residents to wear masks. Even the top of Mount Everest is marred by litter left behind by generations of climbers, and many...

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