Vacations
Overtourism: It’s not the tourists — it’s local ‘lack of management,’ says sustainability expert
Crowded beaches. Expensive rent. Tourist sites with wall-to-wall people. When it comes to overtourism, don’t blame the travelers, said Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Rather, it’s “lack of management,” he told “Squawk Box Asia” Monday. “I’ve been in travel and tourism for 40 years, working on committees and trade associations […]
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Protesters in Spain told tourists to ‘go home.’ Instead more arrived.
On July 6, thousands of anti-tourism protesters marched through the streets of Barcelona, shouting: “Tourists go home!” A little more than a month later, Spain’s tourism board sent a mass email with a different message: “Spain: the summer you’ll want to repeat every year … We can’t wait to see you!” Tourists caught in the […]
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He flies business and first class multiple times a year — all on credit card points
For most travelers, flying in business and first class, especially on international flights, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A business class ticket can cost up to five times more than an economy ticket on Singapore Airlines — and a whopping 13 times more for a first-class one. As a result, these cabins are often booked by […]
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‘She doesn’t stop talking’: How extroverts unknowingly irritate fellow travelers
My husband — a brooding New Yorker, polite and tolerant of much — broke on the seventh day of our family vacation. “She doesn’t stop talking,” he said. The “she“ is my mother — a bubbly Midwesterner — who can hold court in a room of strangers with the deftness of a small-town politician at […]
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Chinese travelers trickle back to a Taiwanese island, mere miles from the mainland
Remnants of military conflict surround Zhang Zhong Jie’s cafe. The coffee shop sits within an abandoned military fortification, its entrance surrounded by rusting tanks. It’s a scene the citizens of Taiwan’s remote Kinmen Island know well. All that separates the cafe from mainland China are 6 miles of choppy water and a row of anti-invasion […]
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From guns to Trump: See which factors are deterring travelers from visiting the U.S.
More than 90% of travelers from Southeast Asia say that gun prevalence in the United States influences whether they will visit, according to a new survey. The study — which surveyed 6,000 international travelers from the six countries — showed that respondents perceived Hawaii to be the safest state in terms of gun violence, while […]
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A private island for $1,000 per night — for those who are willing to get there
When Richard Kvech first set foot on Pinang four years ago, a dilapidated bungalow used by passing fishermen was the only sign of human life on the island. Kvech and three friends, all from the Czech Republic, slept in hammocks and cooked on the beach, while dreaming of creating an eco-retreat on the 50-hectare Indonesian […]
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‘Golden Week’ bookings show Chinese travel preferences are evolving
Outbound travel from China is set to receive a much-anticipated jolt as “Golden Week” bookings show changes in where and why Chinese people are traveling. Buoyed by falling airfares, Chinese travelers are booking more overseas trips for the National Day holiday period, which extends from Oct. 1 to 7, according to Fliggy, a major travel […]
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‘Coolcations’ had another big summer. Here are the places travelers went
Extreme temperatures are driving travelers to seek cooler destinations. And there’s a term for the trend: “coolcations.” Heat waves — which are increasing in frequency, duration and intensity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — are affecting where people are choosing to vacation, especially during the hot summer months. “Often, when we think of vacation, […]
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The unspoken rules of celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich
Oktoberfest is a worldwide phenomenon, a Bavarian beer festival celebrated in countries around the globe. But many say nowhere is it more fun than in its original home of Munich. The festival attracts some six million celebrants every year, according to a festival website operated by Munich’s Department of Labor and Economics. As a non-Bavarian […]
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