Alan A. Lew

With the exception of Africa, all regions recorded a decrease in arrivals for the first four months of 2009. The positive results in Africa (+3 percent) reflect the strength of North African destinations around the Mediterranean and the recovery of Kenya as one of leading sub-Saharan destinations, said the organization. - Alan A. Lew

Until now, Chinese tourists had to travel in groups escorted by tour guides from both countries, a rule meant to prevent illegal immigration. But in response to growing demand, Tokyo started issuing visas to individual Chinese tourists this month. At Tokyo's Narita Airport, Japan Airlines arranged a warm welcome for the 19 tourists from Beijing and Shanghai. They were greeted by a person dressed as Hello Kitty wearing a traditional Japanese kimono. - Alan A. Lew

Florida officials fret that the state's tourism economy is losing millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. International travelers, including Canadians, comprise only about a tenth of Florida visitors, but they stay longer and spend more money than domestic tourists. - Alan A. Lew

Ironically, the Islamic hardliner’s stance comes to fore – a “culture” imported from ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia (where couples/ lovers innocently strolling on the beach or streets risk getting arrested by the religious police or Mutawa), while Gaza’s beaches are promoted to boost local tourism. - Alan A. Lew

Naked alert! In case you missed it, Nude Recreation Week ends Saturday. But there's still time to observe the occasion — and even participate, if you're game. Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, nudists across the land will set a new Guinness World Record for mass skinny dipping. - Alan A. Lew

The hottest hotspot is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, explained Halpern, with the other top 10 in Asia and the Mediterranean. "These are areas where conservation efforts will almost certainly fail if they don't directly address what people are doing on land upstream from these locations." Nutrient runoff from upstream farms has caused a persistent "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi runs into this body of water. The dead zone is caused by an overgrowth of algae that feeds on the nutrients and takes up most of the oxygen in the water. - Alan A. Lew

More than 4,000 years old and already considered one of the world's Seven Wonders during antiquity, Babylon lies 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. Soon after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the site became military "Camp Alpha." The UNESCO report presented Thursday says American troops and contractors dug trenches several hundred yards long through the vestiges, leveled hilltops and drove heavy vehicles over the fragile paving of once-sacred procession pathways. - Alan A. Lew

With the UK standing outside the Schengen Agreement on a common visa for travel to Europe, the country is looking increasingly like an optional add-on than a key element of a visit to Europe for many in-bound long-haul travelers. “What Dutch have done [abolishing departure taxes] is sensible and this will boost inbound tourism. They have realized that inbound market has a choice and this move will attract inbound traffic,” - Alan A. Lew

Climbing the 1,135-foot high red sandstone monolith has long been opposed by the Nguraritja, the Aboriginal tribe who regained title to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in 1985 and consider it sacred territory. The tribe and federal parks service jointly manage the site, which is also a Unesco World Heritage site. The ten-year management plan suggests an eventual closing of the climb, after the tourism industry has had time to come up with alternative activities. - Alan A. Lew

Though the increase in visitors from the US visitation was slight, it comes at a time when almost every other major European tourism destination is seeing declines in the numbers of US travelers. Turkey welcomed 106,903 in January-April 2009 versus 104,374 in January-April 2009, an increase of 2.4 percent. “We are very satisfied with the increase in US travelers,” - Alan A. Lew

hese hot peppers, found in everything from hot chocolate to salsa, have long played an important role in the diets of Mesoamerican people, possibly since as early as ~8000 B.C. Capsicum annuum is one of five domesticated species of chiles and is notable as one of the primary components, along with maize, of the diet of Mesoamerican peoples. - Alan A. Lew

Last year alone, some 5,000 migrants – 50 times the population – were detained on Agathonisi, said local municipal councilor Stelios Kamitsis. An EU summit in Brussels last month pledged to address repeated calls from Greece and the other “front-line” states of Cyprus, Malta and Italy for help in securing maritime borders against the daily influx. - Alan A. Lew

"We have several times proposed to our superior agencies to grant money for us to preserve this herd of elephants, but it has been so long and the money has not come yet," said Nguyen Van Minh, head of the park's Forest Warden Division. ... Asian elephants are listed as an endangered species. - Alan A. Lew

National parks officials said the move was put forward on cultural and safety grounds as there have been about 30 deaths among tourists making the arduous climb, which has reluctantly been allowed by Aboriginal elders. ... The authority's report added that Uluru was already closed on summer days and the Aboriginal community wanted it permanently off-limits to climbers. - Alan A. Lew

It's all about common sense. When you reduce the usage of bottled water you are not just saving the environment, you are also saving your wallet at the same time. We have amongst the best tap water in the world," ... The "Bundy on Tap" campaign, inspired by concerns of adverse environmental impact from packaging, transporting and disposing of bottled water, will see the sale of prepackaged bottled water banned in local shops by the year end. Instead, reusable plastic bottles will be available for purchase, to be filled from free water fountains to be installed across the scenic hamlet. - Alan A. Lew

San Pedro in La Paz, Bolivia, was a prison like no other. Foreign tourists would pay bribes to enter, gawk, shop, dine and even do drugs. Many deemed it better value than the Inca citadel Machu Picchu. Not any more. A sweeping crackdown has barred tourists from the complex, replaced corrupt guards and challenged bizarre practices which had become the stuff of lore. - Alan A. Lew

Plastic bag use in Hong Kong has dropped by 85 per cent in the first two days since the introduction of a 6-US-cents tax on every bag, a survey released Thursday showed. The number of plastic bags handed out in 18 supermarkets during a peak shopping hour before and after the introduction of the ban fell from 2,742 to 403, the environmental group Greeners Action said. At the same time, the group said, the number of people who used their own bags or did not ask for plastic bags at checkout stands at the surveyed supermarkets grew by 56 per cent. - Alan A. Lew

"Some of the litter, like thin film single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased-out rapidly everywhere-there is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere. Other waste can be cut by boosting public awareness, and proposing an array of economic incentives and smart market mechanisms that tip the balance in favor of recycling, reducing or re-use rather than dumping into the sea," he said. The report's findings indicate that despite several international, regional and national efforts to reverse marine pollution, alarming quantities of rubbish thrown out to sea continue to endanger people's safety and health, entrap wildlife, damage nautical equipment and deface coastal areas around the world. - Alan A. Lew

Rioters on Sunday overturned barricades, attacking vehicles and houses, and clashed violently with police in Urumqi, according to media and witness accounts. State television aired footage showing protesters attacking and kicking people on the ground. Other people, who appeared to be Han Chinese, sat dazed with blood pouring down their faces. - Alan A. Lew

The Saudi kingdom invited experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and others to a four-day meeting in the western seaport city of Jiddah to examine Saudi measures to prevent the spread of swine flu during the Muslim pilgrimage. - Alan A. Lew

Some county and airport officials believe the machines could help solve the airport's financial woes. Owners and managers at pari-mutuels say it would take revenue away from their facilities. The county's proposal calls for slot machines beyond security checkpoints at the airport. Under the permit, the county would also have to agree to run quarter-horse races off site. - Alan A. Lew

Despite being called 'ground zero' for sea-level rise in the United States, the Florida Keys have lagged behind the rest of South Florida in planning for the potentially massive problem. - Alan A. Lew

... aimed at making passengers pay attention ... aboard the plane before takeoff, male and female flight attendants and a first officer cheerfully give the safety instructions — where to stow baggage, turn off cellphones, how to use seat belts and life jackets — clad in body paint that mimics their airline uniforms. ... Careful camera angles keep breasts and genitals hidden behind seat backs, life jackets or strategically-crossed legs. - Alan A. Lew

A global study of seagrass, which can absorb large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide, found that 29 percent of the world's known seagrass had disappeared since 1879 and the losses were accelerating. ... seagrass meadows were "among the most threatened ecosystems on earth" due to population growth, development, climate change and ecological degradation. ... The study said the loss of seagrass was comparable to losses in coral reefs, tropical rainforests and mangroves. - Alan A. Lew

The rain band near the equator [the ITCZ] that determines the supply of freshwater to nearly a billion people throughout the tropics and subtropics has been creeping north for more than 300 years, probably because of a warmer world, - Alan A. Lew

The crux of this issue is the “birth tourism.” The state currently pays $400 million per year in ‘normal childbirth’ [by undocumented aliens] according to the state of California Department Health’s latest records. “This doesn’t include the cost of premature births which the Center for Disease Control estimates as 12 percent of all births. The costs to taxpayers for these births and those born with disabilities are over $1 billion more annually,” - Alan A. Lew