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If you believe that 'strangers are simply friends you haven't met yet', you could be making a lot more if you stay at some Marriott hotels in the near future. The largest hotel chain in the world is planning to make communal rooms in some of its hotels that will be shared by between six and 16 guests. The idea, which is still in the design stage, would be rolled out in 23 Element hotels which is the chain's eco-conscious, extended stay brand....

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — The tiny European nation of Slovenia is undergoing a tourism boom partly because it is the native country of U.S. first lady Melania Trump. The national Statistics Bureau said Tuesday that the number of overnight stays in Slovenia by American tourists has jumped by 10 percent in 2016 when compared to 2015. Nearly 4 million foreign tourists visited the country of 2 million in 2016, up by about 10 percent....

In order to better inform Americans about the impact illegal aliens are having on crime rates in sanctuary cities, President Donald Trump today ordered the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by illegals. In an executive order titled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” Trump directed Secretary John Kelly to be transparent with citizens. “To better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions, the Secretary shall utilize the Declined Detainer Outcome Report or its equivalent and, on a weekly basis, make public...

Tourists from China are avoiding France amid surging violence and crime, a Chinese tourism expert has said, reporting that customers are turning to Russia as a safer destination. President of the Chinese Association of Travel Agencies in France, Jean-François Zhou, said “increasingly violent” thefts and assaults are turning France into “one of the worst destinations for foreign tourists”.

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/florida/universal-hiring-1700-workers-for-volcano-bay/384779760

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — From a perch on Main Street, the hometown of actor Andy Griffith looks this day like it was plucked right out of the television show that bears his name. And it was. Residents and tourists from farflung states mill along the thoroughfare, past the quaint low-slung shops made of Mount Airy's famous white granite and named, like Floyd's City Barber Shop, for references in "The Andy Griffith Show," the folksy comedy set in the idyllic fictional small town of Mayberry that first aired in 1960. And yet even as this city of about 10,000 nestled in...

November 1, 2016 Mr. David Lorenz Michigan Economic Development Corporation 300 North Washington Square Lansing, MI 48913 Ms. Deanna Richeson President/CEO Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association 2175 Commons Parkway Okemos, MI 48864 Dear Mr. Lorenz and Ms. Richeson: I am writing to extend to you both an invitation to publicly debate Michael Hicks and myself in Lansing on the question of the efficacy of the state’s Pure Michigan tourism advertising program. The Mackinac Center will host the event at a luncheon or dinner and live-stream it on the internet. If this is agreeable I’m sure we can find a mutually...

Pitbull went public with the contract he signed with Florida -- revealing the state paid him a ton of money to be its ambassador -- but he only did it after a politician pushed him into a corner. ....Florida state's Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran had filed a lawsuit asking a judge to allow Pitbull's deal to be made public. As we reported ...Pitbull's company had threatened to sue if representatives leaked the "trade secrets" in his contract.

In fact, 2016 tax receipts were up in mountain towns now that the bicycle race is gone. Aspen, Steamboat, and Breckenridge all saw increased tax collections in August, a year after the race shut down their towns for a few hours. So it turns out it was all spin by PR hacks and the the state’s tourism office, who bragged about how “amped” that Coloradans were to have this bike race – so “amped” that the race went out of business and failed to deliver any tax boost to the communities it impacted.

Dozens of Venetians waved maroon and yellow flags and carried empty suitcases on Saturday during a symbolic demonstration to highlight an exodus of residents from the lagoon city, where tourist hordes can make everyday life challenging. Images of narrow Venetian alleys clogged with visitors during the All Saints holiday weekend filled Italian papers last week, rekindling a debate about limiting access to the city through a booking system. Venetians have long complained that food shopping and other daily errands have become increasingly tricky as the city focuses on meeting the needs of the more than 20 million tourists who are...

A new study examines the economic impact of government tourism advertising programs. We are the authors of that work, called “An Analysis of State-Funded Tourism Promotion,” which offers empirical support for the hypothesis that these programs are ineffective. Our conclusion is based on examining 39 years of state tourism promotion data with a statistical model that incorporates lessons learned by previous scholars, obtained through a thorough academic literature review. The statistical model we built, its rationale and output are completely transparent, and have been peer reviewed by economists not known to us. Replicating its results will be simple for a...

Since 2006 this state has spent $295 million on an advertising campaign called Pure Michigan that is intended to draw tourism dollars here from other states. But a new study shows that state-funded efforts to promote tourism are mostly a blunder. The marketing scheme is widely recognized thanks to its homey TV commercials showing picturesque Michigan locations and narrated by film and television star Tim Allen. Michigan’s Legislature appropriated $34 million to the program for the current year, $1 million more than last year. Pure Michigan is managed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which is the state’s economic development...

JAKARTA – At least 389 climbers, including 333 foreigners, might be still on a volcano near the Indonesian resort island of Bali that had erupted Tuesday afternoon, government officials said. Mount Barujari on Lombok Island, which is located east of Bali, erupted at 3 p.m. local time Tuesday, spewing volcanic ash as high as 2 km into the air. The eruption forced the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation to raise the status of the volcano, which is located inside the caldera of bigger Mount Rinjani, to Level 2. Level 4 is the highest alert. The volcanology agency also...

Full Title: "Fukushima nuclear zone 'to become world's next macabre tourist hotspot' as visitors get set to don radioactive suits" "The site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster is set to become a bizarre new tourist attraction, as people flock to visit the radioactive exclusion zone."

The Brits are coming for our po' boys, our music, and our swamp tours. A deep-seated curiosity about America's cultural and political history brings international travelers south, in droves. It will probably come as no surprise that for the more than 3.8 million Brits who travel to the United States each year, their most-visited regions stateside are California and the Northeast. But over the past 18 months, travel agents in the U.K. have noticed a surprising surge in inquiries around trips to the Deep South—making it the third most-requested destination at travel agencies such as Audley, who curate individual itineraries...

Mexican authorities are scrambling to rescue at between 12 and 16 victims who were taken at gunpoint from an upscale restaurant in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. On Monday afternoon, the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Breitbart Texas through a prepared statement the ongoing investigation into a large kidnapping.

Tourists are turning their backs on France due to fears of terrorist attacks, with the wealthiest being the most likely not to come, a government minister has said. It is perhaps inevitable that many of the millions of visitors to France would change their travel plans after repeated terror attacks. But certain groups of tourists are have been put off more than others Overall since the start of 2016 the number of nights spent in France by foreign visitors has dropped by 10 percent. And things are not looking too bright for the months to come with travel data company...

France feared the repeated terrorist attacks and constant threat would put some of the 85 million annual visitors off coming. Now the evidence is emerging. August 15th is one of the biggest weekends for tourism in France. It’s the height of the summer holidays and a long weekend which pretty much guarantees everyone who can get away will do. It’s a date that those who work in the tourist industry look forward to, but far less so this year as hotel owners, museum managers and restaurant workers all know that many of the usual visitors will stay away. …

As the number of migrants requesting asylum in Germany rises on last year’s figure, the country’s tourism industry is suffering. July saw 74,545 people make applications for asylum in Germany, according to the Ministry of the Interior, almost double last year’s figure for the month.

The shocks have come one after another: Islamic State killings of civilians in Brussels and Nice. A deadly outburst of terrorism in Germany. A fresh terror-linked atrocity in a small French town. Warnings abound that more may be on the way. The surge of attacks in Europe has raised questions over whether a potentially durable new threat to stability is settling in. The political challenges for Europe’s leaders are stark, and the impact on the region’s economy may be just as profound.