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Archive for March, 2018

26 Mar, 2018

Why the Facebook scandal makes travel technobabblers look like idiots

Travel technology forums, aka technobabblers, have experienced a shock-and-awe reality check in the wake of the Facebook scandal. I stopped attending technobabble forums many years ago. I just got bored of the starry-eyed delegates listening with open mouths to the usual gang of suspects spewing out the latest techno-toy wizardry and how it was going […]

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24 Mar, 2018

Making the Caribbean’s airports and seaports more resistant to stronger hurricanes

23 March 2018, UNCTAD media release — This year’s World Meteorological Day on 23 March highlights the importance of being “weather-ready, climate-smart” – a timely theme with hurricane season right around the corner. Experts predict the 2018 season will be as busy as the last, when three major storms – Harvey, Irma and Maria – […]

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24 Mar, 2018

ADB, China Water Affairs Sign Deal to Improve Urban Water Management in PRC

BEIJING, 2 March 2018, (ADB News) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a loan equivalent of up to $200 million to help China Water Affairs Group Limited (CWA) improve wastewater management and increase people’s access to clean and reliable water supply in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The agreement was signed by […]

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24 Mar, 2018

Japan Hosts 30 Influencers from 20 Countries/Regions to Receive 40m Tourists by 2020

TOKYO, 22 March 2018, (PRNewswire) — The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) carried out a project to showcase the charms of tourism resources in each region of Japan, inviting 30 powerful influencers (bloggers) from 20 foreign countries and regions to visit various parts of the country in March 2018 with the aim of introducing abroad […]

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24 Mar, 2018

Joaquín Roy: It’s the War, Stupid

MIAMI, 14 Mar 2018, (IPS) – It is revealing that a ruler who did not serve in the military, nor enjoys any experience in war affairs, has a special inclination to use a vocabulary more typical of bloody clashes between states than in diplomatic relations. Donald Trump, both in his electronic messages and in his […]

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24 Mar, 2018

Siam Society lecture on Preserving the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Bangkok — One of Thailand’s leading cultural institutions, the Siam Society, will host a lecture on “Preserving the Underwater Cultural Heritage” by Etienne Clément, former Deputy Director Regional Asia Pacific Bureau of UNESCO on Thursday, 5 April 2018 at 7:30 p.m. The underwater cultural heritage is represented by ancient shipwrecks, submerged archaeological sites and other […]

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24 Mar, 2018

Global labour unions accuse UN of violating its own rules on the “rule of law”

Brussels, 22 March 2018 (ITUC OnLine) – Staff at the International Labour Organisation are taking strike action today in the latest of a series of walkouts by United Nations employees in protest at the unilateral imposition of significant pay cuts by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), which sets terms and conditions for employees in […]

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20 Mar, 2018

Three millennials win first essay competition on tourism’s contribution to UN SDGs

Bangkok, 13 March 2018 – Three young people under 30, a Filipino, Mexican and Pakistani, have won top honours in the first global essay competition organised by a travel trade publication to underscore the contribution of Travel & Tourism to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The co-winners of The Olive Tree awards competition are: Michael […]

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16 Mar, 2018

UN spent US$4 billion on travel in 2012-15, to cutback on first-class trips

United Nations, March 15, (UN media release) – The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the air travel policies of the United Nations on day two of its resumed seventy‑second session today, with delegates voicing support for the Secretary‑General’s proposal that high‑ranking officials fly business class — rather than first class — to help […]

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13 Mar, 2018

In spite of occupation, Palestine abounds with cultural centers, museums and theaters

RAMALLAH, March 13, 2018 (WAFA) – Cultural Centers, museums and theaters have flourished in Palestinian in 2017 in spite of the 50-year long Israeli occupation. A report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on the status of cultural institutions in Palestine on the occasion of Palestinian National Culture Day, which coincides on Tuesday, […]

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13 Mar, 2018

UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution to Combat Illicit Diamond Trade

United Nations, March 7, 2018, UN media release — The UN General Assembly, welcoming progress made by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to break links between the diamond trade and conflict, today adopted a consensus resolution aimed at intensifying that work and aligning it with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign […]

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13 Mar, 2018

Millennials’ essays highlight need to disrupt the global tourism agenda

Bangkok – Perhaps the most important thing that struck me upon perusing the great essays sent in by young people for my competition was the yawning disconnect between their very perceptive views on the global status quo and the topics that figure on the agendas and programmes of global travel & tourism forums. Embedded within […]

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5 Mar, 2018

Investigative reports expose corruption risks of Golden Visa schemes in Europe

Berlin, 5 March 2018, Transparency International Secretariat – Today, a series of investigations published by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have detailed how citizenship- and residence-by-investment schemes, commonly referred to as ‘Golden Visa’ programmes, are vulnerable to abuse and undermine the fight against corruption in the European Union and neighbouring countries.   […]

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3 Mar, 2018

“The Next Big Thing”: Outbound Travel from Thailand Set to Hit 10 million in 2018

Bangkok – Outbound travel from Thailand is set to hit 10 million this year, according to the first comprehensive market research report on what is expected to be the “The Next Big Thing” in Asia-Pacific tourism. Designed to help destinations worldwide better understand the dynamics and drivers of this promising source of business, the report […]

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