travel
Tourists banned from cannabis cafés
Non-Dutch residents will be banned from cannabis-selling coffee shops in southern Netherlands from January 1 to spare locals from the nuisance of drug tourism, the justice ministry said last Tuesday. The centre-right government of Prime Minister Mark...
Over a million tourists visit Iraqi Kurdistan
More than one million people have visited the autonomous Kurdistan region in north Iraq – a haven of relative stability – in the past nine months, a tourism official said. “The number of tourists who visited Kurdistan during the past nine months...
‘Passport, shoes, clothes – all else is extra’
Name: Nick MoralesAge: 30Occupation: NoSnow/NoAlps guitarist and vocalist My best holiday ever… I have two, and they both took place this year. The first one was a trip to Thailand and Cambodia in March with my dad to visit my brother and my friend...
Dubai holiday for two winner is announced
The winner of The Sunday Times-Emirates Airline Dubai competition is Maria Victoria Attard of Mosta. Ms Attard was delighted to be informed last Thursday that she had won a fabulous holiday for two people in Dubai. The prize includes two return economy...
Life’s a beach for the young, survey finds
Life really is a beach for many young holidaymakers, according to a survey. A third of 18 to 29-year-olds have chosen beach destinations for all their breaks away, the poll by travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk found. The average number of holidays taken...
Rebranding America
‘A hip new land of diversity and possibilities’
Happy to steal stuff from hotel rooms
Nearly half of guests are happy to steal items from hotel rooms, according to a survey. As many as 59 per cent reckon it is fine to pinch shampoo and 29 per cent make off with stationery, the poll by travel website Hotwire.com found. As many as seven...
Lufthansa still set to fly high
Lufthansa has responded to economic slowdown by reducing growth in passenger traffic for 2012 from nine to three per cent Deutsche Lufthansa AG generated a stable operating profit of €578m in the first nine months of the current year, a drop of 5.6 per...
Walking the Camino trail: Not a walk in the park!
Pilgrimages on foot may seem a thing of the past, but the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, to visit the tomb of St James, still attracts thousands every year. In its heyday centuries ago, a million people would visit Santiago annually. This...
Emirates adds flights to African destinations
Emirates’ is boosting its extensive African network with the launch of two new destinations – Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Zambia and Zimbabwe, which share a border with Victoria Falls, will be linked with five...
‘Air Australia’ to fly as low-cost airline after Qantas chaos
An Australian air-charter company last Wednesday said it will launch a new budget carrier flying passengers both domestically and to regional tourist hotspots in the wake of Qantas’s grounding crisis. Stategic Airlines said it will add more routes to...
Etihad flies to Maldives, Seychelles
Etihad Airways’ inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to the Maldives touched down to a colourful welcome in the capital Malé last Tuesday. EY flight 278 was honoured with a traditional water cannon salute, and its 146 passengers were greeted by local bodu...
Liverpool named best UK destination for nightlife
Liverpool has been crowned Britain’s best party destination by users of Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel website. Liverpool outclassed runner-up and north-west arch rival Manchester in the party stakes to be crowned Britain’s best nightlife...
Football brings hotels to Poland, Ukraine
Twenty-eight new upscale hotels for the Uefa European Football Championship 2012 are currently under construction in Poland and Ukraine. In Poland an additional 21 first class and luxury hotels with nearly 4,000 guest rooms are being developed. The...
‘Get in synch with a nation’s rhythm’
Name: Ivan Borg Age: 24Occupation: Red Electrick bassist, musician, teacher My best holiday ever… If I don’t take into consideration my music-related offshore experiences, I guess it would have to be a trip to the south of Spain, mostly spent in Seville.
MSC Lirica arrives ‘home’ to Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi has reached a new milestone in its cruise tourism development with the arrival at Mina Zayed’s new temporary cruise terminal of the luxury MSC Lirica cruise ship – the first to home port in the UAE capital. The 59,000 ton MSC Lirica, arrived...
Cyprus tourism income up despite struggling economy
Cyprus’s tourism income climbed in the first nine months of the year despite an economic downturn on the island, official figures showed. The jump in revenues suggests Cyprus is benefiting from turmoil in Arab states around the Mediterranean as...