Alan A. Lew

The Alaska Supreme Court has previously held that zoning by initiative is invalid because the power of zoning would exceed the power to legislate. Under Alaskan law, boroughs must establish a planning commission that prepares a land use plan. This initiative would bypass the need for a commission and is therefore it is beyond the power of a referendum. Further, the initiative would subject all land use enactments of the borough to a popular vote, which would divest the borough’s board of its delegated powers. - Alan A. Lew

Postmodern theming going to extremes... - Alan A. Lew

Asia will show the strongest rebound, while Europe and the Americas will probably take longer to recover. Africa is forecast to continue in the positive territory as in 2009, with an extra boost from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Growth is also expected to return to the Middle East. - Alan A. Lew

A popular tourist attraction, it boasts famous imagines such as a boxy East German Trabant car that appears to burst through the wall; and a fraternal communist kiss between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart, Erich Honecker. The painted wall "is a document that allows future generations to picture for themselves ... what the wall meant," ... - Alan A. Lew

“… tourism is a goose that not only lays a golden egg but also fouls its own nest.” For us in Kenya, we do not mind the fouling as long as we get the golden egg. It is for this reason that tourism is listed as No 1 on our economic pillars in the Vision 2030. But for us to get the golden egg, we have to build the nest first. - Alan A. Lew

Leisure travel is expected to rise 2.0 percent, business travel is projected to increase by 2.5 percent and international inbound travel will increase by nearly 3.0 percent. These job gains come on the heels of 400,000 combined travel industry job losses in 2008 and 2009. - Alan A. Lew

But Ms Napolitano warned the EU legislature to "be careful what it asks for," as there are numerous voices in Congress that want to scrap the visa waiver scheme altogether, citing security concerns. ... Another area of disagreement between EU lawmakers and the American official was the upcoming 'ten-dollar tax' to be levied on every tourist travelling to the US starting next year. The tax is necessary to fund a non-profit company aimed at promoting tourism, she said. - Alan A. Lew

Jakarta is the world’s sixth most populous metropolitan area. At 18.9 million people, the Indonesian capital’s total population falls just short of metropolitan Mumbai and New York and its built environment covers some 5,100 square kilometers. Experts expect its population to surpass Mumbai 2015. The city is not only a center of government, but also finance, commerce, and education. - Alan A. Lew

MYTH 1 - Maya Predicted End of the World in 2012: The Maya calendar doesn't end in 2012, as some have said, and the ancients never viewed that year as the time of the end of the world, archaeologists say. But December 21, 2012, (give or take a day) was nonetheless momentous to the Maya. "It's the time when the largest grand cycle in the Mayan calendar—1,872,000 days or 5,125.37 years—overturns and a new cycle begins," - Alan A. Lew

taxi² enables you to recognise other travellers who are interested in saving half the cost of their taxi ride from the airport to their final destination. The clever taxi² ticket provides you with everything you need to share a taxi: an easy way to find someone to share with, maps to compare your destinations, instructions to your driver, and easy ways to fairly split the cost. - Alan A. Lew

Homestays are becoming an increasingly popular activity in Malaysia, both with foreigners and locals. Life in a Malay village is sometimes as alien to the country’s urbanites as it is to the international visitors. - Alan A. Lew

The study found that using the Internet is associated with having more, not fewer, intimate friends. And Internet users are generally no less likely than nonusers to maintain face-to-face ties with their neighbors. Bloggers, for example, are 72 percent more likely than the general population to belong to a local voluntary organization. - Alan A. Lew

The future of the resort will emphasize social and environmental responsibility. ... the "resort development model of the past is dead." ... The old method of stamping out traditional-style resorts will not work in the future. He presented a "Triple Bottom-Line Thinking," which weaves the need to make profit with a wider balance of social and environmental responsibilities for the local community. - Alan A. Lew

Technical professionals - those who specialize in analysis and technology tools like GIS -- should be especially concerned. In order to expand their markets, technology companies over time make their products easier to use. A decade ago, there were many trained web designers building sites that can now be done by technophobes with templates. How many people still work exclusively as typists? - Alan A. Lew

We’ve tried inclusive zoning and promoting more public spaces as a way to bring people together. Culturally competent urban designers work to make disadvantaged communities more visible by developing streetscapes that reflect the art and voices of their culture. But we need to go beyond land use solutions. - Alan A. Lew

"A piece of luggage here, a piece of luggage there, I would imagine gets stolen out of airports all the time," Phoenix police said today. "This is a livelihood. There's a lot of luggage and there's a lot of victims." - Alan A. Lew

With this blog I venture into the world of travel writing, sometimes with a rather humorous slant (fair warning). - Alan A. Lew