World Briefs
It may be seen as one of the last bastions of adventure travel, but the recent boom in tourists travelling to the Arctic Circle is having a devastating effect on its environment, being damaging to both the local landscape and its inhabitants.
Women’s rights have long been a huge issue in Saudi Arabia due to the strict application of sharia law within the country, with women only gaining the right to drive last year. However, a landmark ruling change will now give Saudi women over the age of 21 the right to obtain their own passports without the need for permission from a male guardian.
A Russian family was recently cautioned by police in Cambodia after being caught begging in the town of Battambang, raising the issue of the growing trend of begpacking and the effect it has on the countries where people practice it.
In recent years, Venice has introduced a number of laws and regulations in order to crack down on the large number of tourists that flock to the city every year, including a tourist tax of up to €10 for day trippers which caused controversy at the beginning of this year. The Italian government has now gone a step further by announcing plans for large cruise ships to no longer be allowed to dock in the city’s historic center, instead being rerouted to the Fusina and Lombardia terminals outside of the city center.
Since 1972, and under the designation of UNESCO World Heritage sites, the United Nations has been tirelessly working to protect many beautiful spots across the globe. Now, the list gets even bigger with new sites in Canada, India and Japan, in which the UNESCO dubs them as belonging to the people of Earth no matter where they are located.
If you ever saw an Aldabra Giant Tortoise, you’d think it was a dinosaur, as they look as if they came from another time period. And, it’s possible that’s true. After all, they can live to be more than 100 years old and weigh up to 300 pounds. Of course, seeing the actual Aldabra is difficult due to the excessive number of restrictions put on visitors.
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau is promising a crackdown on the number of cruise ships that can dock in the popular Mediterranean city. According to Colau, the city doesn’t have a lot of capacity. However, she also promised citizens that they would have better air quality. Barcelona’s air quality levels often go beyond the regulations set forth by the World Health Organization. Colau said she wants the city to work on every front. Barcelona will also be declaring a climate emergency, and putting forth ideas such as banning highly-pollutive vehicles from coming into the city and boosting low-emission zones. She also wants to decrease plastic use, improve the recycling efforts, reduce speed limits and boost the number of car-free zones. The city of Barcelona is a hot spot cruise destination spot in Europe with over 2.5 million visitors coming here in just 2018. However, cruise ships are also the biggest cause [...]
If your goal is to enjoy Vienna, it’s time you stop following online review advice – that’s the message the city’s new tourism campaign.
Hawaii recently passed one of the island’s most strictest vacation rental laws in over 40 years. A bill signed by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, aims at limiting the number of bed and breakfast rentals to 1,715. The Honolulu City Council suspects there are close to 10,000 vacation rentals on Oahu with only 770 of them being legally licensed to provide short-term rentals.
Outpost, a luxury pop-up camp, has been set up in Aysen, which is a remote area of northern Patagonia, to help people reach some of Chile’s less traveled tourist locations.
American Airlines has decided to remove even more of its Boeing 737 Max aircraft fleet from its flight schedule through Sept. 3. The move may be a suggestion that recertifying the grounded fleet is going much more slowly than the company was hoping for.
The Grand Canyon is well-known for all its amazing rock formations, but Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park is about to claim the title of the most recent International Dark Sky Park. This is where the land possesses a unique quality of starry nights and night-time environment that has been protected for scientific, educational, natural and cultural or public enjoyment.
