Tag: Tourism
Iowa’s New Tourism Campaign: ‘Arrest a Traveler’
by Eva Holland | 11.12.09 | 9:47 AM ET
Promotional campaigns just keep getting weirder. The latest: A small town in Iowa that had its sheriffs “arrest” a pair of motorists with out-of-state plates and offer them a free night’s stay. Predictably, accusations of abuse of police power have been flying—though not from the “arrested” couple, who noted that the town is “darling.” Mission accomplished? (Via @BudTravel)
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzLooking East: 20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall
by Rick Steves | 11.11.09 | 5:08 PM ET
On the delights of the former Eastern Bloc
Travel Writer as Curator
by Rick Steves | 11.03.09 | 9:51 AM ET
On the state of newspapers and the role of tour guides and guidebook writers
Escape From Thamel
by Eric Weiner | 11.02.09 | 10:19 AM ET
On hawkers, banana pancakes and tourist ghettos from Kathmandu to Bangkok
More Fun With Bad Tourism Slogans
by Eva Holland | 10.16.09 | 10:12 AM ET
There’s never any shortage of laughs to be had at the expense of bad tourism slogans, is there? This Just In has been collecting readers’ suggestions for the very worst, and they’ve got some great ones. My favorite? The reader who submitted Santa Fe’s slogan, “The City Different,” and wrote: “‘The City Different’ is the slogan lousy.”
A Beach Holiday in The Gambia?
by Eva Holland | 10.13.09 | 10:49 AM ET
I’ve always admired the Brits for their more adventurous winter sun-seeking. Every winter, it seems they’re as likely to be found lounging in Kenya or the Seychelles as in the usual Caribbean hot spots—and, once again, the U.K. travel media is going way beyond Cancun with this Times Online profile of a little-known (to North Americans, anyway) West African beach destination. Writer Alex Spence notes: “There are only six sets of traffic lights and a couple of ATMs in the entire country.” Take that, Puerto Plata.
This Week in Tourism Slogan Mishaps
by Eva Holland | 10.02.09 | 12:45 PM ET
It’s been a rough week for a couple of local U.S. tourism boards. First up, the Wisconsin Tourism Federation changed its name—to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin—after catching on that the federation’s acronym, WTF, means something different when the kids say it. And then Reno’s mayor vetoed a proposed slogan that, as far as I can tell, doesn’t mean anything at all. The short-lived idea? “A Little West of Center”—which, said Mayor Bob Cashell, “doesn’t do a thing for me.”
Indeed. As the kids might say: WTF?
Dan Brown Tourism Hits D.C.
by Eva Holland | 09.30.09 | 12:06 PM ET
That was quick. Two weeks after the release of his latest, “The Lost Symbol,” and the Dan Brown-themed travel stories about the city where it’s set—Washington, D.C.—are already piling up.
Alaska and the Cruise Industry Go to Court
by Eva Holland | 09.29.09 | 2:12 PM ET
With several major cruise lines headed into the courtroom to challenge Alaska’s $50-per-cruise-passenger “head tax,” Rob Lovitt takes a broader look at the uneasy relationship between the cruise industry and the state. Here’s his take on a return visit to Skagway after a 20-year absence:
I was gobsmacked by the changes. Instead of one ship, there were three, each of which probably carried 2,000-2,500 passengers. With 6,000-plus cruisers unloading simultaneously, Broadway was more or less impassable, and while the Sweet Tooth and Red Onion were still there, they were joined by the likes of Del Sol, Tanzanite International and other absurdly out-of-place outposts of Caribbean kitsch.
And it’s not just Skagway. A recent editorial in the Juneau Empire bemoaned the “yuck factor” created by the dozens of jewelry stores and trinket shops along the city’s main tourist drag. Written, surprisingly enough, by a local economic development booster, the piece didn’t single out the cruise industry, but it doesn’t take an advanced degree in tourism management to realize that cruise ships and curio shops go together like buffet lines and bulging waistlines.
It’s Been a Great Year for America’s Parks
by Eva Holland | 09.23.09 | 12:15 PM ET
The travel industry as a whole may have struggled through 2009, but the country’s national parks are on track for record attendance numbers this year. The AP offers some thoughts on what’s driving the increase.
Visit Denmark! Knock Somebody Up!
by Eva Holland | 09.16.09 | 5:03 PM ET
Forget about Australia’s “Where the bloody hell are you?” campaign. There’s a new winner in the controversial tourism campaign sweepstakes, and it comes from, of all places, Denmark.
The Danish ad plays like a homemade webcam clip, featuring a young woman who claims to be looking for her baby’s father—a foreign tourist whose name she can’t remember. I’m not totally sure how it’s intended to entice visitors to the country—I don’t think accidental parenthood is on most folks’ dream itineraries—but, predictably, the spot was greeted with indignation and has been removed from VisitDenmark’s YouTube channel. The AP quotes a VisitDenmark representative as saying that it was meant to be “a nice and sweet story about a grown-up woman who lives in a free society and accepts the consequences of her actions.”
Of course, the ad didn’t get yanked before copies, parodies and responses started popping up. Here’s a re-posting of the original:
New Orleans: The Tourists are Back
by Eva Holland | 08.28.09 | 11:43 AM ET
With the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina being marked this weekend, and the re-building still ongoing, there’s some hopeful news for New Orleans: Tourism in the city is creeping steadily back towards pre-disaster levels. USA Today crunches the numbers.
Beirut: It’s Hot Again!
by Eva Holland | 08.25.09 | 4:16 PM ET
What do Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton and the members of Keane have in common? According to Global Post, they’re among the celebrities who’ve popped up in Beirut this summer, part of the city’s resurgence as “the party and cultural headquarters of the Middle East” after three years of violence and turmoil. And, happily for the Lebanese economy, the tourists are following in Snoop Dogg’s footsteps—in record numbers.
The Plight of the ‘Long-Neck Women,’ Continued
by Michael Yessis | 08.24.09 | 10:21 AM ET
The Washington Post’s Amit R. Paley is the latest to visit the long-neck women of the Padaung tribe in Thialand and ask: “Were tourists really being taken to see virtual prisoners? And if so, would my visit encourage slavery by paying money to human traffickers? Or would I be able to sound the alarm if I saw real human rights violations?”
Last year we blogged about several other stories about the women.
‘Central Perk’ Lands in London
by Eva Holland | 08.21.09 | 9:56 AM ET
OK, let’s see if I’ve got this right: A fake New York City coffee shop—you remember Central Perk, from “Friends,” right?—that never actually existed outside of a Los Angeles soundstage now has its very own functioning replica, in London? I’m guessing this is one tourist attraction they won’t even attempt to bill as “authentic.”
NPR on Cuba’s Tourism ‘Allure’
by Eva Holland | 08.20.09 | 2:14 PM ET
With a possible end to the travel ban in the works, Jason Beaubien takes a look at Cuba from the potential American tourist’s perspective. One tour guide he spoke to acknowledged that, infrastructure-wise, Cuba may not be ready for an American influx. “But,” he added, “if you ask me about the will of the Cuban people, I would say, yes, we are ready. We would like to have more exchange with the American people coming from the U.S. to Cuba.”
20 Reasons for Tourist Gratitude
by Eva Holland | 08.17.09 | 11:14 AM ET
Fed up with flight delays? Hotel wi-fi cutting out? Take a deep breath and check out the Telegraph’s list of 20 reasons why Victorian travelers had it worse. Among the highlights: rickety stagecoaches, damp sheets, and the “Inodorous Standard Pail” offered in lieu of a toilet. There. Feel better now?
Interview with Nick Bonner: Touring North Korea
by Cullen Thomas | 08.13.09 | 10:30 AM ET
Cullen Thomas talks to the founder of Koryo Tours about his fascination with North Korea and providing tours to the land of Kim Jong Il
A Reporter Explores New York’s Crowded Skies
by Eva Holland | 08.12.09 | 4:40 PM ET
In the wake of the weekend collision between a small plane and a helicopter over the Hudson, some tough questions are being asked about the volume of sightseeing flights in New York City’s airspace. The New York Times’ Russ Buettner went for a ride with a veteran pilot to see just how crowded the skies—and how great the views—can be.
‘The Cove’ Takes Aim at Dolphin Encounters
by Eva Holland | 08.10.09 | 2:00 PM ET
A new documentary hopes to dampen the demand for “dolphin encounters,” the ever-popular swim-with-dolphins attractions found worldwide. “The Cove,” which won the Audience Award at Sundance before opening in theaters this past weekend, examines the killing and capture of dolphins in coastal Japan—and its star, Ric O’Barry, says explicitly that one of the filmmakers’ goals is to make tourists “think twice before buying a ticket.”
Picturing a staid moralizing tale? Think again. The movie is being billed as part “Flipper” and part “Bourne Identity”—here’s the surprisingly dramatic trailer:
- « Prev Page
- Next Page »
