http://www.easydestination.net/blog/ Travel, food, and drink, destination tips, family travel suggestions and recommendations from around the world on EasyDestination. en-us Nucleus CMS v3.64 ??? Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.easydestination.net/blog//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://www.easydestination.net/blog/ http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2629

Apparently these 2 tourists posted couple of jokes on twitter saying "we are gonna destroy America" and "dig up grave of Marilyn Monroe". The word destroy is a slang for "party hard" in England while Marilyn Monroe tweet was a quote from US sitcom Family Guy.

Bryan and Emily Bunting were questioned for their tweets. Bryan told Daily Mail that he was treated by Homeland Security as a terrorist. Security agents searched their luggage for spades and questioned both tourists about the tweets and their plans.

These tourists were detained by the Customs and Border Protection and questioned for 5 hours. Both tourists tried their best to convince authorities that they are not terrorists. They were forced to spend entire night in prison along with illegal immigrants. Next morning they were put in the first flight back home.

At time when United States is easing its visa policy to attract more foreign tourists such incident is nothing short of a big blow. A large number of Asian tourists avoid traveling to United States because of misbehave at the airport security checks. Now add twitter users to this list as well. Beware what are you tweeting before traveling to United States.

tags: UK Tourists, Twitter Jokes, Marilyn Monroe, Customs and Border Protection]]> UK TouristsTwitter JokesMarilyn MonroeCustoms and Border Protection Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2629 Wed, 1 Feb 2012 12:29:53 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2628

Beijing already offers free wireless internet at six central business districts. Now in bid to woo more foreign tourists, city officials have decided to offer free internet at several popular tourist attractions in the city.

The decision was take in a meeting of Beijing Travel Committee. The committee also announced guideline to improve tourism environment and public service over next 3 years. This modern tourism and public service system will be implicated by 2014.

The committee did not mention the list of tourist attractions where free internet will be offered for the tourists. Since 2008 Olympics, Beijing has seen strong growth in tourism sector despite concerns over air quality.

Last year more than 214 million foreign and domestic tourists visited Chinese capital, up by 16 per cent over 2010. Tourism revenue for the city has also soared to $50.95 billion.

tags: Beijing Tourism, Free Internet, Foreign Tourists]]> Beijing TourismFree InternetForeign Tourists Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2628 Wed, 1 Feb 2012 11:55:35 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2627

For the first time exhibitors from seven countries are allowed to participate in the event. Haryana tourism corporation has decided to take the Mela global in bid to attract more tourists. All the SAARC nations are participating in the Surajkund Crafts Mela this year.

This year's theme would be Assam. Alone 100 exhibitors from Assam will participate this year. This team from Assam includes folk artists, Handicrafts as well Assam tourism department. The Assam pavilion will have over 40 stalls displaying the art and crafts from the state.

There will be several new events this year like fashion shows, theatre, folk music performances especially on the Valentine’s Day. The security has been beefed up at the event.

Surajkund Crafts Mela is one of the prominent art and crafts festival in India that takes place in Surajkund village in the outskirts of Delhi. Surajkund is just 8km from South Delhi. The 15 days event will showcase handicrafts and culture of different Indian states. Enjoy the dance performances, folk music and traditional Indian cuisine at the event. The festival will be open to visitors from 9.30 AM to 7PM.

tags: Surajkund Crafts Mela, Travel Event, Haryana Tourism, Folk Music, Handicrafts]]> Surajkund Crafts MelaTravel EventHaryana TourismFolk MusicHandicrafts Travel Events http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2627 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:02:23 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2626

Thai PM talked about the government plans for the tourism industry. She said that tourism is very vital for the economy of Thailand. Last year 19.1 million foreign tourists visited Thailand bringing Bt730 billion in revenues.

Yingluck Shinawatra pledge government support for the "Miracle Thailand" tourism campaign and urged all associated parties to cooperate and help build the confidence among tourists.

Recently Yingluck Shinawatra was in India for the Republic Day celebrations. India is one of the most important market for Thailand going forward. She did extremely well to improve relations with the Indian government and people.

Thai PM also talked about the recent terror alert by the United States and several other countries. Tour Operators in Thailand have been demanding from US Embassy to revoke travel advisory as it threatens their business.

Ms Yingluck said that foreign ministry is in talks with the US Embassy regarding the issue. The matter will take some time but will be resolved. Already several countries have removed travel advisories. Meanwhile Foreign Minister of Thailand has decided to hold talks with ambassador of 16 nations over the terrorist attack terror alert.

tags: Thailand Tourism, Terror Alert, Yingluck Shinawatra]]> Thailand TourismTerror AlertYingluck Shinawatra Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2626 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:31:38 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2625

Several figures by tourism organizations around Europe have already warned of tourism slump during the London Olympics. Although British PM and VisitBritain are confident of strong arrivals during the Olympics.

London Organizing committee Locog, came under heavy fire after revealing yesterday that it has over-estimated the required number of rooms for officials, media personals etc. Locog is going to hand back 120,000 of the 600,000 hotel rooms booked for the London Olympics.

According to tour operators, reservation by the Locog increased room rates for the London Hotels that turned away thousands of tourists. Some operators also accused hoteliers for keeping the rates high despite being warned about slump in business. Several tour agencies reports mentioned high hotel rates as one of the main reason for tourism slump. Despite that several hotels remained defied.

Tour Operators also ruled out the possibility of 120,000 extra rooms to help visitors number. According to the Independent over 1 million beds will go unsold during the Olympics that is going to hurt tourism related businesses pretty badly. European Tour Operators Association has estimated loss of £3.5 billion due to decline in summer tourism.

VisitBritain has rejected the claims of drop in arrivals this year. According to tourism agency, this year 30.7 million foreign tourists will visit UK which would be similar number as last year.

There are imminent signs that tourists are turning their back towards London amid hike in prices of almost everything. Some officials have also started to sense downward trend for tourism during Olympics which is why efforts are being made to lure tourists.

Some tour operators are more optimistic following the latest events. They have welcomed additional 120,000 rooms released by the Olympics organizing committee. There will be some great last minute deals available for the tourists which may help tourism industry.

tags: UK Tourism, London Olympics, Foreign Tourists, Tour Operators]]> UK TourismLondon OlympicsForeign TouristsTour Operators Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2625 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:57:22 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2624

The sudden shutdown by the airline without any prior warning has sparked anger among the passengers and the Spanish government. Spain has decided to take strict action against Spanair for violating aviation rules by suddenly halting the operations.

So far 220 flights have been cancelled. The number is expected to reach 268 later today. Spain has created a special committee to handle the Spanair situation. This committee is going to help all the passengers of backrupt airline Spanair.

Spanair has reached an agreement with 3 European airlines Iberia, Vueling and Air Europa which will offer low rates to the stranded passengers of Spanair airline. All three airlines will offer flights to stranded passengers at at reduced prices of between 60 and 100 euros starting February 3.

European Low Fares Airline Association has also come to rescue passengers of Spanair airline. The association has announced that all member airlines like Ryanair and Eastjet will offer special discount on the fares to the stranded passengers of Spanair.

This is second big collapse last week that has affected thousands of travelers. One of the biggest tour operators in Russia “Lanta-Tour Voyage” also halted operations last week that stranded over 8000 Russian tourists.

tags: Travelers Stranded, Spanair Airline, Ryanair, Easyjet]]> Travelers StrandedSpanair AirlineRyanairEasyjet Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2624 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:17:25 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2623

While some believe that surge in Chinese tourists is temporary because of the Lunar New Year, official stats from Japanese tourism suggests otherwise. During December Chinese tourists to Japan increased by 32 per cent to 800,000. Similar was the growth in November and early estimates suggests that the trend has continued in January 2012.

Tourism from China was largely affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Plant crisis caused by the earthquake and tsunami last year. The fear of radiation leak scared tourists away from Japan. While other traditionally strong markets like United States and South Korea still remains well below the pre March level, tourism from China started strong recovery from September last year.

China is very important market for Japan going forward. Japan expects 20 million foreign tourists by 2020 despite the recent disaster. Out of 20 million around 6 million are expected to be tourists from China. Japan faces trouble attracting tourists from United States due to weak economy and rising value of yen against US Dollar. Traveling to Japan has become quite expensive. However this does not seems to worry Chinese tourists as for now. This is why tour operators are focusing more towards China for recovery.

tags: Japan Tourism, Japan Earthquake, Chinese Tourists, Fukushima Nuclear Plant]]> Japan TourismJapan EarthquakeChinese TouristsFukushima Nuclear Plant Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2623 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:43:16 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2622

Lanta-Tur Voyage, which is one of the largest tour operators in Russia has suddenly halted operations citing financial collapse. The operator does not have funds to pay for the services it has booked. This has stranded hundreds of Russian tourists at Goa who were scheduled to fly back home.

Due to the collapse of Lanta-Tur Voyage, some tourists have decided to wait at the airport while some had to extend their stays at the hotel. Lanta-Tur Voyage had chartered several flights for these tourists, but because of the collapse these flights have refused to carry Russian tourists hence left them stranded.

The situation has been notified to the Russian consulate's representative in Goa, Vikram Varma who has notified the Russian consulate in Mumbai about the situation. Vikram Varma told the media that all necessary help will be offered to the stranded tourists by the consulate.

The sudden collapse of Lanta-Tur Voyage is expected to affect more than 8000 Russian tourists.

tags: Russian Tourists, Tour , Operator, Goa Airport, Lanta Tur Voyage]]> Russian TouristsTour OperatorGoa AirportLanta Tur Voyage Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2622 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:40:44 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2621

Tourists are cutting their trip short because of extreme weather conditions. Temperature in several parts of Kashmir is well below zero degree creating havoc for the tourists. Regular closure of Jammu & Srinagar highway is adding to the woes of tourists.

They do not want to be stranded in Srinagar, told hotel owner. Tourists are consistently asking for updates on the highway and if weather tends to deteriorate, they cut short their trips to Kashmir fearing sudden closure of the highway.

Hoteliers in Kashmir was hoping that this year winter tourism will manage to take off in the state. They really had very high hopes however lack of basic facilities like water, electricity etc at the prominent tourist spots has ruined the winter season. After the first snowfall of the season, several parts of Kashmir was without electricity for several days.

Tour Operators are blaming state government for not being fully prepared for winter season. The lack of basic facilities have forced tourists to cut short their trip. While tourists scheduled to visit the valley have either cancelled or delayed their trip. Overall its been a disappointing winter season for the tourism industry so far.

tags: Kashmir Tourism, Cold Weather, Srinagar Highway, Winter Tourism]]> Kashmir TourismCold WeatherSrinagar HighwayWinter Tourism Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2621 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:18:45 +0530 http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2620

For the September event, ICC will grant $9.4 million to the Sri Lanka. Apart from that ICC will also spend another $30 million for the event in Sri Lanka. Top 12 Cricket playing nations including India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England will participate in the T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka is planning to use the event to boost tourism and attract more investment in the country. Tourism Ministry is planning a strategy to promote tourist attractions and promote image of Sri Lanka as tourist friendly nation.

A total of 52 matches will be played at the venues like Colombo, Kandy, Hambantota and Galle. Sri Lanka tourism will look to collaborate with broadcasting channels especially in India to help spread awareness about tourism in Sri Lanka.

For Sri Lanka, India will be the most important market during the World Cup. If Indian team starts off well in the event, thousands of Indian tourists could travel to Sri Lanka to watch the World Cup. Apart from that large tv audience from India will also help Sri Lank promote tourism to larger audience.

tags: Sri Lanka Tourism, Indian Tourists, T20 World Cup]]> Sri Lanka TourismIndian TouristsT20 World Cup Travel News http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2620 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:20:57 +0530