Tag: Venice

Are ‘not hot to visit’ lists accurate and fair?

Hot or not? Angkor Wat. (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)

I’ve written before that people have to make up their own minds about whether, for ethical or other reasons, they are prepared to visit certain destinations. 

And I note that some governments have acted responsibly to close off areas to tourists to allow rehabilitation. Maya Bay in Thailand, famous location of the film The Beach, is one such spot. Boracay in the Philippines, is another.

But what about a a travel company issuing a “not hot list” that steers people away from certain sites and countries? 

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Is it ever OK for a restaurant to charge over the odds?

We all know that any product is worth whatever somebody is prepared to pay for it. But sometimes, especially as a traveller in a strange place, the customer doesn’t have a choice.

Social media and the web are full of stories about people who believe they have been ripped off  when it comes to paying for food and beverages..

Recent examples include a man who was charged €43 (US$50 or nearly A$70) for two coffees and two bottles of water at a cafe in St Mark’s Square, Venice.

Continue reading Is it ever OK for a restaurant to charge over the odds?

Travel’s golden rule: respect the place and the people

In places across the world, there’s a growing movement to ban or limit tourism.

Barcelona

It took on an extreme manifestation in Barcelona, when local residents spray-painted an anti-tourism slogan on a hop-on-hop-off bus outside FC Barcelona’s Nou Camp Stadium, and slashed its tyres.

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Would banning cruise ships stop Venice from sinking?

Updated: October 30, 2018

A Quora user asked: “Should Venice limit the amount of big cruise ships coming to the city centre?”

Flooding is an ongoing threat to Venice, and as I write this update, three-quarters of the canal city has been inundated. 

Continue reading Would banning cruise ships stop Venice from sinking?

Where’s the romance?

Followers of this site will know that I have a love-hate relationship with lists. As a journalist, I know such offering as “the 10 best …” or “20 most exciting…” or “12 cheapest..,” are popular with readers.

Barcelona

But, as an educated and rational person, I know that nobody is in the position to offer the best of anything, unless they’ve tried everything — and nobody has.

Continue reading Where’s the romance?