Tourism

• Monday, June 6th 2011 - 06:42 UTC

  Easter Island opens Visitor Centre as part of intensive conservation program

  

  Chile’s Easter Island opened the doors to its new sustainable visitor centre on May 13. The centre is located at the entrance to the Orongo Ceremonial Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site in a Rapa Nui National Park.

• Saturday, June 4th 2011 - 06:23 UTC

  Punta Arenas included in Chile’s 285 million USD program to improve air travel

  

  In response to increased air traffic this past decade, the Ministry of Public Works has formed a plan to improve and expand the airports of Chile including Punta Arenas.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 17:26 UTC

  Australia whale-watching season takes off as thousands head north during winter

  

  Australia marked the start of its whale-watching season Wednesday with predictions that some 4,000 of the giant animals will be spotted as they make their way along the coast during winter.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 09:33 UTC

  Gibraltar: Major disaster in port

  

  An oil storage tank exploded in the port of Gibraltar Tuesday afternoon around 3.30pm, just metres from where a cruise ship Independence of the Seas was berthed. Two people who were carrying out welding work on the tank were injured in the blast. One of them, a 40-year old Spanish national from La Linea, suffered serious, extensive and life threatening burns.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 09:02 UTC

  LAN will seek another partner to expand globally if merger with Brazil’s TAM falls

  

  Chile's LAN Airlines will seek another partner or explore other options to expand internationally if a local antitrust tribunal rules against a planned merger with Brazil's TAM, according to an interview published by leading daily El Mercurio.

• Tuesday, May 31st 2011 - 22:49 UTC

  Gibraltar takes self determination case to Spain’s toughest audience

  

  Gibraltar Government has taken the argument for Gibraltar and its finance centre to the toughest audience in Spain - the ABC newspaper readers.

• Tuesday, May 31st 2011 - 22:44 UTC

  Falklands stamp release features the unique but endangered Southern sea lion

  

  The Southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens) features in the latest Falkland Islands stamp release, which became available for sale this week.

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 08:02 UTC

  Mercosur tourism ministers address ‘border crossings” and overseas promotion

  

  Mercosur tourism ministers agreed to facilitate border crossings for citizens from country members and to draft a homogeneous system for keeping the industry’s statistics, during their XI meeting held in Asuncion, Paraguay.

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 07:48 UTC

  Weak sterling more significant than VAT for UK inbound tourists, says WTM Vision

  

  Overseas visitors to the UK will not be deterred by high VAT, providing sterling remains weak against key inbound currencies, reveals a report released this week at the World Travel Market (WTM) Vision Conference-London.

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 07:35 UTC

  Cooperation agreement to develop sustainable tourism in the Americas

  

  The United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO and the Organization of American States, OAS, have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at developing sustainable tourism policies and enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of the tourism sector in the Americas.