Tourism

• Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 06:54 UTC

  Small commercial plane crashes in Patagonia killing all 22 on board

  

  A small commercial plane crashed in an isolated part of Patagonia in southern Argentina late on Wednesday, killing all 22 people on board, officials said.

• Wednesday, May 18th 2011 - 06:48 UTC

  Global operators anticipate “tourism explosion” from China, India and Brazil

  

  China, India and Brazil are poised to fuel an explosion in international tourism in the coming years helping to create jobs in countries ready for it, and trouble for those that lag, industry leaders say.

• Saturday, May 14th 2011 - 05:03 UTC

  US tourism industry calls for reforming the “antiquated visa process”

  

  The U.S. Travel Association unveiled a plan to create 1.3 million U.S. jobs and add 859 billion dollars to the U.S. economy by 2020 by reforming an antiquated visa process that often drives international travelers to other countries. The heart of U.S. Travel's plan is to increase staffing, reduce visa interview wait times and expand the Visa Waiver Program.

• Thursday, May 12th 2011 - 06:44 UTC

  International tourists visiting Rio do Janeiro increased 8% to 1.49 million in 2010

  

  The number of international tourists visiting Rio de Janeiro increased by 8% in 2010 compared with the previous year, according to a study conducted by Embratur, the Brazilian Tourism Board.

• Thursday, May 12th 2011 - 06:04 UTC

  South America experienced a 15% jump in tourist arrivals in 2010

  

  South America and South Asia saw the greatest jump, 15%, in international tourist arrivals during the first months of 2011 in an overall positive global scenario according to the April interim update of the UN World Tourism Organization, World Tourism Barometer.

• Thursday, May 12th 2011 - 00:58 UTC

  China tourist group buys 20% stake in Spain’s NH Hotels chain

  

  China's fourth-biggest airline group, HNA Group, has bought a 20% stake in leading Spanish hotel chain NH Hoteles for 431.6 million Euros, NH Hoteles said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, May 11th 2011 - 07:52 UTC

  Torres del Paine Park must double protected area to meet UNESCO latest criteria

  

  Torres Del Paine National Park, in southern Chile’s Patagonia, is easily among the country’s most iconic natural attractions, hosting 170,000 tourists a year. Yet to maintain the park’s UNESCO classification as a biosphere reserve, Chile must greatly expand the protected areas to more than double the current boundaries.

• Monday, May 9th 2011 - 18:52 UTC

  Cuban government plans to allow residents to travel abroad as tourists

  

  The Cuban government said Monday that it plans to study ways to allow residents of the island to travel abroad as tourists, suggesting it will ease the bureaucratic hurdles and outright restrictions that prevent many residents from leaving.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 06:20 UTC

  Chile launches campaign to promote domestic tourism

  

  Sernatur, Chile’s National Tourism Office, has officially launched the second part of its “Chile es Tuyo” (Chile is Yours) campaign to encourage domestic tourism. The project, which is overseen by Secretary of Tourism Jacqueline Plass, and Sernatur’s National Director Alvaro Castilla, is especially hoped to encourage tourism during the country’s off-season, which runs from March until November.

• Friday, May 6th 2011 - 02:42 UTC

  First body recovered from Air France wreckage in seabed four kilometres deep

  

  An undersea recovery team has retrieved a first body from the wreck of an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 with the loss of all 228 on board, French police said on Thursday.