Author: News Team

Five years ago, one of the United States’ most prominent tourism destinations suffered a major PR meltdown. Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, destroying a significant portion of city property and forever associating the large town with – you guessed it – disaster. New Orleans had previously been a major centre of tourism within the country, particularly in its Gulf Coast region. But today, New Orleans is on the way back. The city is welcoming President Obama for his first tourism-based visit, aiming to raise awareness about the city’s current state and welcome visitors from other regions. The South’s party…

Over the last decade, the medical tourism industry has grown at double-digit rates. Spurred by the rising costs of adequate healthcare in the West, a series of high-quality international hospitals have seen their bookings more than double as residents of the United Kingdom, the United States, and other major population centres such as Australia search for safe, reliable, and affordable care. But it’s not just medical tourism that’s moving overseas – it’s ‘fertility tourism’. The latest boom in international medicine has seen a growing number of UK and US-based couples travel overseas in search of reliable fertility treatment. It’s set…

While the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has come to an end, the large amount of environmental damage is likely to affect the region for decades, local environmentalists have claimed. BP has pledged to assist local communities and regional cities in cleaning up from the disaster, with a series of funds and private grants issued to cities that have seen their environment and economy hurt by the spill. Mississippi, one of the states most heavily affected by the spill, has been given a $3 million grant from BP to encourage tourism-based advertising and promotion within the state. While the state’s…

As more Britons arrange their holidays independently, holiday rental homes are becoming sought after in greater numbers than before. Properties throughout Mediterranean Europe have seen their bookings and enquiries increase significantly over the past three months, as higher room rates and occupancy targets in the hotel industry have pushed traditional lodging out of peoples’ price range. It’s not the first time the holiday rentals industry has seen such a surge. With the rise in property marketing outlets throughout the last five years, a significant sector of the industry has seen levels of interest increase due to online exposure. Some of…

Asia’s tourism giants appear to be on the rebound, but not because of the tourists we’re used to. An impressive twenty-eight percent increase in the amount of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia has the country’s tourism board ecstatic at its marketing efforts. Malaysia is one of several East Asian states to have invested heavily in tourism advertising over the past five years, particularly in China. The country is also home to a large domestic Chinese population. While Malaysia remains under the control of its native Malay government, the country’s large Chinese population and consistent culture make it a simple holiday destination…

Residents of Central London have noticed an unusual trend hitting the streets each summer. It’s not a more relaxed approach to clothing or a heat wave, but the incredible amount of supercars hitting inner city streets. The cars have become a fairly standard sight around the city, with a collection of ultra-expensive supercars appearing every summer, and disappearing just as fast as the weather. The cars in question are owned by a group of mega-rich Middle Eastern businessmen, who fly the vehicles in each year to escape the aggressive summer throughout the Gulf. It’s not unusual to see registration plates…

Britain’s travel industry certainly isn’t enjoying the warmth of summer. Since the beginning of 2009, over fifty of the nation’s leading travel companies have been forced to close their doors due to weak revenue and dwindling profits, leaving thousands of holidayers stranded overseas and an even larger number out of pocket. The latest failure is Kiss Flights – a large flight and holiday sales group. The failure of Britain’s travel industry could continue to spread, warns accountancy firm PwC. With many Britons angered by the failure of Kiss and other holiday providers, spending in the industry is likely to decrease…

Australia and Japan claimed a shared first place in Visa’s international travel survey. The countries were consistently ranked as top Asia-Pacific travel destinations, with one-fifth of respondents keen to holiday in either country. The survey polled frequent travellers from the United States and other international destinations, featuring people aged over 18 years who had booked a trip recently. Residents of Thailand, Hong Kong, and Mainland China favoured Japan for international travel, claiming that its combination of high-tech cities and natural beauty makes it one of Asia’s leading holiday destinations. Australia ranked highly for similar reasons, albeit with a different audience…

When Australian low-cost carrier Virgin Blue announced its plans to withdraw from New Zealand service, travel industry experts predicted that the move was aimed at cutting costs. But the airline has reported a steady profit throughout 2010, cutting down on conjecture that it was failing to hit revenue targets and fuelling industry discussion that it may expand further into other markets. Given the airline’s recent partnership with UAE-based Etihad Airways, it appears the speculators were right. Virgin Blue plans to expand its travel fleet over the next twelve months to compete in markets formerly dominated by Australian national carrier Qantas.…

Most holidayers dream of a tropical beach or cosmopolitan city. But for customers of French travel firm Ultime Réalité, an ideal holiday could involve helicopter chases, kidnappings, and a simulated abduction and kidnapping. The firm is a one-of-a-kind ‘extreme’ holiday provider operating in east France, and it’s rapidly gaining attention throughout the world for its bizarre holiday packages. One such package from Ultime Réalité’s website combined a harsh, unexpected kidnapping with a four-hour confinement and isolation package in one of France’s historic cellars. Customers have an obligation to purchase the packages during an extended period of holiday or work inactivity,…