Thousands protest in Spain’s Canary Islands over mass tourism
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain Reuters Thousands of people protested in Tenerife on Saturday, calling for the Spanish island to temporarily limit tourist arrivals to stem a boom in short-term holiday rentals and hotel construction that is driving up housing costs for locals. Holding placards reading “People live here” and “We don’t want to see […]
Taiwan earthquake rescuers face threat of landslides, rockfalls as death toll at 12
Hualien, Taiwan Reuters Rescuers in Taiwan faced the threat of further landslides and rockfalls in their search on Friday for a dozen people still missing from this week’s earthquake, as the death toll rose to 12 and some of the stranded were brought to safety. Searchers discovered two more bodies after Wednesday’s quake of magnitude […]
Ahead of Easter rush, officials say drought must not put off Barcelona tourists
Barcelona, Spain Reuters Tourists arriving at Barcelona’s airport or gazing at its iconic Sagrada Familia basilica will this Easter holiday be met with large signs in English that read: “Drought alert. During your stay, save water”. As the impact of climate change intensifies across southern Europe, Spain’s Mediterranean region of Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, is […]
What happens to the coins tossed into Rome’s Trevi Fountain?
Rome, Italy Reuters As visitors’ coins splash into Rome’s majestic Trevi Fountain carrying wishes for love, good health or a return to the Eternal City, they provide practical help to people the tourists will never meet. For hundreds of years, when in Rome, visitors have flocked to the fountain to make a wish, following a […]
North Korea poised to admit first known tourists since 2020
Seoul, South KoreaReuters A group from Russia is poised to be the first known tourists allowed into North Korea since anti-pandemic border lockdowns began in early 2020, according to a post from Russian provincial authorities and a Western tour guide. North Korea imposed some of the strictest border controls in the world during the spread […]
Cancelled tours, empty hotels: Israeli, Palestinian tourism reels as conflict escalates
Bethlehem/JerusalemReuters Early this month, the main square and streets around Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity were bustling with tourists. Now they are empty after a devastating attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel on 7th October. “Business is at a standstill since the war started,” said Essa Abu Dawoud, a tour guide in the […]
Moroccans in earthquake-hit tourist area grieve losses, fret about future
Ouirgane Valley, Morocco Reuters The Kasbah La Dame Bija guesthouse in Morocco’s picturesque Ouirgane Valley escaped unscathed from an earthquake that devastated the area, but the owner’s bookings collapsed and he worries about whether the region can revive its tourist appeal. “The earthquake killed people and destroyed villages on which our tourism activity depends,” said […]
Tourist tax: Bhutan seeks to balance economy and environment
Bhutan’s Sustainable Development Fee highlights challenge of trying to revive tourism post-pandemic while avoiding harm to nature. ROLI SRIVASTAVA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Maui tourism, an economic mainstay, sparks anger amid fire ruin
Reuters The incongruous sight of tourists enjoying Maui’s tropical beaches while search-and-rescue teams trawl building ruins and waters for victims of the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century has outraged some residents. They have vented on social media, posting video of tourists enjoying holiday activities like snorkeling while the death toll in the […]
Into the jungle: For migrants, the Darien Gap is hell; for adventure tourists, it’s a magnet
LAURA GOTTESDIENER and DAINA BETH SOLOMON, of Reuters, report…