Travel & Tourism Insights

​Washington, Dec 23 (IANS) The US government began asking select foreign visitors to provide their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts upon arriving in the country, a move designed to spot potential terrorist threats, a media report said.

Since Tuesday, foreign travellers arriving in the country on the visa waiver programme have been presented with an "optional" request to "enter information associated with your online presence", a government official confirmed on Thursday. 

The prompt includes a drop-down menu that lists platforms including Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, as well as a space for users to input their account names on those sites, Politico reported.

According to the official, the new policy comes as Washington tries to improve its ability to spot and deny entry to individuals who have ties to terrorist groups like the Islamic State. 

But the government has faced a barrage of criticism since it first floated the idea last year.

The Internet Association, which represents companies including Facebook, Google and Twitter, argued that the draft policy threatened free expression and posed new privacy and security risks to foreigners.

A spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, who said the government approved the change on December 19, told Politico on Thursday that the new policy is meant to "identify potential threats". 

Previously, the agency had said it would not prohibit entry to foreigners who did not provide their social media account information.

The question itself is included in what is known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), a process that certain foreign travellers must complete to come to the US. 

ESTA and a related paper form specifically apply to those arriving here through the visa-waiver programme, which allows citizens of 38 countries to travel and stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa.

​Abu Dhabi, Dec 18 (IANS/WAM) The UAE has signed an open skies agreement with Sweden to boost investment and tourism in the country.

The agreement was signed by Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the General Civil Aviation Authority, and Jan Thesleff, Sweden Ambassador to the UAE, at a ceremony here.

"Conducting air transport agreements with other countries helps boost investment and tourism and strengthens business ties with countries across the globe," Al Suwaidi said.

The agreement enables both parties full flexibility on routes, capacity, frequency and types of aircraft.

​Paris, Dec 17 (IANS) The Grand Musee de Parfum, Paris' first perfume museum, opened its doors here, inviting visitors to discover perfume history through a quite innovative sensory and olfactory exhibition.

The Grand Musee du Parfum, which opened for public on Friday, is created after noting the absence of an emblematic place of French perfumery in Paris despite the sector's flourishing influence abroad, Xinhua news agency quoted Guillaume de Maussion, the museum president, as saying.

The museum gathered major players in French and international perfume industry, including the Federation of Beauty Enterprises, the French Syndicate of Perfumery and the International Flavours and Fragrances, de Maussion said.

The Grand Musee du Parfum intends to create three spaces with one area dedicated to the history of perfumes.

France has world's leading cosmetics-perfumes sector and its turnover totalled 25 billion euros ($26 billion) in 2014. (1 euro=$1.04)

​Jakarta, Dec 16 (IANS) Indonesia's famous tour destination, the resort island of Bali, has been picked by prominent US travelling reviewer website TripAdvisor as the most popular year-end destination.

The latest international recognition for Bali has made Indonesia's Tourism Minister Arief Yahya upbeat about meeting the target for number of foreign visitors this year -- initially set at 12 million, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

The Indonesian government is now developing 10 new tour destinations across the nation, dubbed as New Bali, which are expected to compare with Bali in terms of attracting tourists.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has previously pledged to improve budget allocation up to five times higher to further boost tourism sector which has been declared as the nation's core business.

Bali offers diverse tourism attractions comprising adventure, underwater activities, tourism sports, cultural and traditional events and beautiful beaches.

​Colombo, Dec 14 (IANS) The Maldives tourism industry has seen a remarkable growth this year, contributing to strengthening the archipelago nation's economy, the country's embassy in Colombo said on Wednesday.

"The growth has been achieved with the dynamic economic policies introduced by President Abdullah Yameen to transform the economy of Maldives," Xinhua news agency cited an embassy statement as saying.

Maldives this year unveiled seven new resorts, including Huravalhi Island Resort, featuring the world's largest underwater restaurant.

The government said 20 new resorts would be unveiled next year.

"With the opening of the new resorts and influx of tourism investments, the industry has become a catalyst for the governments key pledge of youth employment," the embassy statement said.

In addition to the new resorts in April, the government also launched the expansion of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport with a 3,400 metre long and 65 metre wide new runway to cater to the expanding tourism industry.

Upon completion of the expansion, 7.5 million passengers would be catered annually, creating thousands of job opportunities for the youth of the country.

​Dubai, Dec 4 (IANS/WAM) The Dubai Crocodile Park project is 43 per cent complete and will open at the end of next year, said Juma Al Fuqae, Director of Property Management Department and Vice Chairman of the Investment Committee at Dubai Municipality.

Al Fuqae said the opening has been extended to allow more time for preparations at the venue which is being set up on the lines of Crocodile Parks in France, and is considered to be the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Once open, the park will enable hundreds of crocodiles to grow and reproduce naturally, and will house many types of Nile crocodiles, the largest fresh-water species in the world.

Talking on the environmental aspect of the project, Al Fuqae said the engineering and construction materials used in the project are environment-friendly and depend on renewable energy and waste treatment.

​Sydney, Nov 30 (IANS) Dreamworld, the popular theme park in Australia's Gold Coast in Queensland, is set to reopen on December 10, six weeks after four people died when a ride crashed.

The park was closed after two women and two men, between the ages of 32 and 42, were killed when its Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned on October 25.

Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson said in a statement on Wednesday that Dreamworld and WhiteWater World would reopen following an "unprecedented multi-level safety review", Xinhua news reported.

An inspection in November resulted in 10 improvement and prohibition notices issued for the theme parks.

However, the Thunder River Rapids ride involved in the fatal accident would be demolished.

​Beijing, Nov 28 (IANS) Archaeologists have found ruins of a pentagonal structure in China's Shanxi province which is believed to have been a tribal meeting hall or a leader's office 6,000 years ago, authorities said on Monday.

The semi-subterranean house, discovered at the neolithic ruins in Taoyuan, a village in the province, covered a total area of 90 square metres, with surviving walls reaching a maximum of 50 cm, Xinhua news agency quoted Xue Xinming, a researcher with Shanxi provincial Institute of Archaeology, as saying.

The walls were painted with a mixture of grass and mud inside, and several holes were also found where wooden pillars were located to support the house and walls, said Xue.

A cylinder-shaped fireplace was also found underground in the house, which ancient people used for heating, cooking and lighting.

According to Xue, the pentagonal building was rare for that period as the prehistoric people only built structures larger than 80 square metres in the shape.

"Such a big building perhaps was an office of a tribe leader or a public venue for meetings or worship ceremonies of a major tribe," he said, adding it was the first of its kind found in Shanxi province.

Previously, a dozen prehistoric pentagonal buildings had been found in China, mainly located in Lingbao city in Henan province.

The discovery is part of findings from an excavation that began in August in Taoyuan to prepare for highway construction in the area, said Zheng Yuan, excavation team leader of the project.

Zheng said the total excavation area is 2,500 square metres, and aside from four house ruins, they have also discovered ruins of a pottery kiln and unearthed a variety of pottery pieces.

She said the excavation is important for researching society and life in the Miaodigou Culture, the most powerful period in prehistoric China, which was centred around the provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan.

​Tokyo, Nov 27 (IANS) Japan's Beppu city has figured out how to create a place that will calm your senses while driving your heartbeat through the roof, media reported on Sunday.

The mayor of Beppu, a city known for its hot springs, issued a posting on social media last week: "If this YouTube video hits a million views, I'll build a 'spamusement park' in the city." 

The hot-spring themed amusement park would be where you can soak in a tub while zooming down a rollercoaster, wearing only a towel, the Mashable reported.

In seven days, the video hit 1.8 milliion views and the mayor's office released a statement to the press celebrating the project's commencement.

It hasn't said when the park will be completed, but the city is now seeking creative types to submit ideas for rides and attractions at tghe proposed "spamusement" park.

​Victoria (Seychelles), Nov 21 (IANS) It was raining heavily when the inaugural SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo touched down on the Indian Ocean archipelago nation of Seychelles and one could hardly make out the water cannon salute from inside the aircraft.

As the passengers deboarded at the Seychelles International Airport on Mahe island, each of them were handed out umbrellas by ground staff waiting at the end of the stepladder to get to the small arrival terminal a few steps away.

The sheer exoticness of the country will never fail to hit a first-time visitor, as this IANS correspondent was as he was transported from the airport to the resort on an island connected by a small bridge. A neat, well maintained two-lane road flanked by tropical trees -- greenery in all its grandeur -- connected the airport with the resort.

The quaint houses on the way mostly reflected the French architectural style. One learnt later that though the Seychelles was colonised by France and later by Britain until independence in 1976, the people of the country mostly retained the French culture.

Of the 115 islands that comprise the country that is around 1,500 km east of the African mainland, only the three largest ones are inhabited in a big way -- Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. Mahe, the largest of them all, is home to most of the country's 93,000-odd population.

A visit to the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens on Mount Fleuri on the outskirts of the capital Victoria starts with an interesting bit of trivia -- a popular myth in the country is that the coconut tree has male and female forms. And that popular myth has been given official recognition as shown by the immigration stamp on the passport, the contours of which represent the female form of the tree.

The wood of the Takamaka coconut tree is considered to be the most expensive in the Seychelles, according to Sandra, the guide assigned to our group of journalists.

"The French extract oil from the roots of this tree and 50 ml of this is sold for 300 euros," she said, adding that the oil is mostly used for skincare products.

Landscaped and beautifully maintained , the five acres of the gardens are also home to exotic and endemic tropical plants and a variety of spice and fruit trees. Fruit bats can also be seen hanging from the trees.

And then came the most anticipated event -- a visit to the giant tortoises enclosure. One look and you will surely do a double take. Tortoises. Huge ones!

Distributed across the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, giant tortoises are herbivores that feed on leaves, fruits and low hanging tree branches.

"The world's longest lived animals with a lifespan of nearly 250 years, Aldabran giant tortoises are one of the two last existing species of giant tortoises," a board at the enclosure reads.

"Their ability to survive nearly three months without food or water contributed to their vulnerable status providing live meat for ships travelling the Indian Ocean during the 16th to 18th century," it stated.

Sandra, the guide, explained that it took three days by boat to reach the Aldabra Atoll, a Unesco World Heritage Site comprising four coral islands, and only seven visitors are allowed on the atoll on any given day.

After the botanical gardens, time for a tour of Victoria. Covering an area a little over 20 sq km, it must be one of the smallest and quaintest national capitals in the world.

Neatly maintained two-lane streets crisscross the town which is dotted with pretty, brightly-coloured houses with slanted roofs given the tropical rain forest climate of the place, and modern commercial buildings.

The Victoria Clock Tower at one of the street squares is a focal point of the town. Erected in 1903 as a memorial to Queen Victoria who died in 1901, the clock is a replica of the one erected in London in 1897.

With the Seychelles as a high-end tourist destination, world's top hotel brands are all here.

Beach time and Sandra immediately informed her guests that all beaches in the Seychelles were public. "That is the law," she said.

North East Point Beach is one such. Stretching over 1.5 km, the windswept beach is popular with tourists, especially surfers. Beach rocks -- masses of sand that have turned into rocks under pressure -- are indicative of how old the beach is.

Farther ahead is the Beau Vallon beach, once considered the best beach in the world and even now among the top 10.

A visit to the Seychelles is incomplete without a trip to Morne Blanc, the highest peak in the country, from where one can get spectacular panoramic views of the Indian Ocean and see tropical birds flying around.

A local meal at a Creole homestead that comprised steamed sea fish, chicken curry and lentils, or dhal as they call it, completed the experience.