Category: America

Hawaii tourism badly affected by volcano eruption

Tourism industry of Hawaii islands has been gloomy, due to the recent eruption of Kilauea volcano. The cumulative expenditure loss to the tourism of Hawaii’s Big Island inflicted by the eruption may turn out to be as high as approximately 200 million U.S. dollars, a study found. According to the latest study, the Big Island may have already lost 38,000 potential visitors and around 50 million dollars in potential tourism expenditure in May and June. The Big Island of Hawaii may have lost 17,000 potential visitors and 22.7 million dollars in potential tourism expenditure in May and 21,000 potential visitors ... Read more

Travel restrictions in Easter Island of Chile

Moai – stone statues at Easter Island Chilean authorities have imposed new restrictions for visitors of the prominent tourist spot of the country, the Easter Island. The restrictions were endorsed by the President, Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday, 1st August 2018 “It is a magical island, we all want to visit it, but it is also a sensitive island and therefore we have to take care of it,” said Pinera while speaking on the country’s 24-hour news channel. The remote island is famous for its giant stone statues called Moai, built by the indigenous Rapa Nui people. It is told that ... Read more

Couple stroll the world on their tiny home on wheels

Alexis Stephens and Christian Parson, a North Carolina couple has been on an adventure trip, hauling their miniature house nearly 80,000 kilo meters across 36 states in US and one province in Canada. The couple has spent nine months building the miniature home on wheels before commencing their three years of travel. They’re documenting their trip on a YouTube channel focused on disseminating the nomadic tiny home lifestyle. “We own the world’s most travelled tiny house,” claimed the couple Setting up the home for the journey meant using every bit of available space. “Every single inch matters in a tiny ... Read more

‘Hotel motel Patel wallas’ in US should promote ‘Incredible India’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed the Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to contribute for the growth of the country when it is on the ‘rapid path of progress.’ He was addressing Saurashtra Patel Cultural Samaj of the US via video-conference. PM urged each NRI to inspire five foreign families to visit India to give a boost to tourism.  He said the Gujarati Patel community in the US, popular as “hotel motel Patel wallas” can contribute much for the promotion of India’s tourism among their guests by putting slides about the our country on their hotel TVs. “Whenever you get a guest in ... Read more

US tourism industry in revival mode

US Tourism industry was in a downfall followed by President Trump’s initial executive order banning travel to the US from seven countries: North Korea, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Venezuela. Now, after the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ban, the travel and tourist industry is in a revival mode. Supreme Court decision upholding the travel ban on five Muslim-majority nations as well as North Korea and some travellers from Venezuela will stimulate restoration of the tourism industry Roger Dow, the president and chief executive officer of the U S Travel Association, said, “The most important thing is the administration has got to change its rhetoric to welcoming ... Read more

Las Vegas Tourism to spend $101.5 million for advertising

In a move to promote Las Vegas as tourist destination, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will spend $101.5 million from the operation budget for advertising in the next fiscal year. The authority’s board of directors approved $359.8 million as operating budget on Thursday and decided to spend more than a quarter of this amount to advertise the destination. The authority mainly aims at filling around 1,50,000 rooms daily by advertising, special events and through domestic and international public relations. The plan comes on a time when Las Vegas has experienced a decline in the number of tourists ... Read more

San Diego Tourism peaks in first quarter of the year

Marking a new record of visits, San Diego County had 7.6 million visitors for the first three months of 2018. The recent statistics by San Diego Tourism Authority confirms that the number of tourists visiting the county has increased considerably and so is the spending spree. The hotel bookings, museum visits, theme parks business have also gone higher and there were tourists who even visited the county just for a day. The rise in number of tourists went up by 8.4 percent during the first quarter and their spending amounted to a total of $2.5 billion, which records a 5 ... Read more

Airbnb offers helping hand to Puerto Rico tourism

Airbnb is planning new ways to get back Puerto Rico on tourist map after hurricanes shattered the island and its tourism. The plan was revealed by Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky in an event on Wednesday. Airbnb will be introducing 50 new ‘experiences’ and activities hosted by people of Puerto Rico where the travellers can book these through app and participate. Brian Chesky said that Airbnb has used its platform previously in relief efforts, like providing housing for those in need during 100 disasters around the world. For the next three months, Airbnb will be also donating the entire booking fees ... Read more

TripAdvisor announces 2018 Travelers’ Choice awards for Vacation Rentals

Awarded Luxury Beach Villa – Pinilla, Costa Rica TripAdvisor has announced the winners of the second annual Travelers’ Choice awards for Rentals. 30 best holiday homes across the globe are awarded across three categories i.e. Luxury ($300+ USD per night), Mid-Range ($100-150 USD per night) and Affordable ($99 USD per night and below). A Cozy Designer Minerva Apartment located in downtown Rome was declared the winner in Affordable category with the rates starting as low as $66 per night. An oceanfront condo in Kauai, Hawaii tops the list in Mid-Range category. A Luxury category was topped by a Costa Rican beach ... Read more

US and Canada storms into list of World’s busiest air routes

Asia is known as the powerhouse of aviation market. However, according to new research by flight data provider OAG, three of world’s busiest routes are North American airports. Two of those routes shuttle passengers between United States and Canada. One reason for this high demand maybe Canada is drawing record numbers of international travellers, including those from USA. Or it might be the resurgence of interest in international travel by Canadians after a setback by a weak economy and unfavourable currency exchange rates. The airline carried a record 48 million passengers last year after inclusion of 30 new routes last year ... Read more

American Airlines touchdown in Czech Republic for the first time

By launching direct service between Václav Havel Airport, Prague and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), American Airlines has brought USA and Czech Republic closer. The daily flights will be operating throughout the summer season, providing more than 2,800 seats per week between the two cities. The flights are operated using Boeing 767-300 aircraft and is the first airline to connect the Czech Republic and the state of Pennsylvania with a direct flight. The business class offers 28 fully lie-flat, aisle accessible seats arranged in one-two-one configuration. The class is equipped with personal Samsung Galaxy tablets loaded with the latest movies, TV ... Read more

Los Angeles Tourism launches online training for ME

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board launches ‘L.A. Insider,’ a online training tool for travel trade professionals in the Middle East. The mobile and tablet-friendly programme is the first of its kind for L.A. Tourism. The programme, developed by TravPRO, has been designed to help travel trade better sell the city and stay up-to-date with its latest offerings. A record 48.3 million tourists visited L.A. in 2017, and is expected to reach 50 million by 2020. “We’re proud to launch such an advanced training programme, one that will help our clients discover L.A. like an insider and sell L.A. like an expert. ... Read more

Trump bans transgenders from serving in military

In a presidential memorandum, US President Donald Trump has banned some transgender service members from serving in the US military, saying transgender individuals “with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria” are unable to serve except under limited circumstances. “Among other things, the policies set forth by the Secretary of Defense state that transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances,” said a White House release. Trump tweeted last July that he ... Read more

Trump signs Taiwan Travel Act, drawing China’s ire

US President Donald Trump’s new legislation that encourages US officials to travel to Taiwan to meet their counterparts and vice versa, has angered China. Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act late Friday. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Saturday that the self-ruled island’s government would “continue to uphold the principles of mutual trust and mutual benefit to maintain close contact and communication with US.” US and Taiwan officials travel back and forth between the two countries. The visits are kept low profile to avoid offending China as it considers Taiwan a wayward province and seeks reunification with China. After Trump signed the legislation, the ... Read more

UAE warns Emiratis in US

The UAE’s consulates in Boston and New York have issued an advisory on the UAE Embassy twitter page saying Emirati residents need to be cautious and contact the embassy for emergencies. The winter storm in the United States is poised to re-intensify, prompting weather warnings to residents. The notification read that Emirati residents in Boston need to take precautions. The winter storm, set to descend on Monday 11pm up until Tuesday 8pm, is moving in. Blizzard warnings have been issued along the coast of Massachusetts too. For UAE residents living or visiting Boston, the emergency contact is +97180044444.