Late breaking travel news

Here’s some travel tidbits I came across today while scanning the Internet:

LONDON: The final piece of turf has been laid on the field of play in the Olympic Stadium, marking completion of construction of the venue. Construction started on the Stadium just under three years ago in May 2008 and has been completed on time, under budget and with an exemplary safety record.

THAILAND: Hundreds of tourists are stranded on the popular Thai resort island of Koh Samui following a torrential downpour. Flights from the island have been suspended indefinitely, with a number of British tourists among those affected.

LONDON: EasyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has formed a partnership with VisitBritain, the UK’s national tourism agency, to jointly market Britain as a tourist destination over the next four years. The deal between the two parties is worth over about $25 million in cash and marketing in kind, and will help boost visitor numbers to the country and capitalize on the unique opportunities provided by the impending Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 London Games.

WASHINGTON: Despite the lingering effects of the recession, the hotel business actually started coming back to life last year. According to a Hotels.com report released last week, the average cost of a hotel room rose 2 per cent in 2010, the first time it’s risen, year over year, since 2007.

TOKYO: Business travel to Japan has largely dried up in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor crisis there, and industry experts do not expect it to bounce back until the nuclear problems have been solved. Corporate-related travel to Japan has plummeted 80 per cent since the earthquake, estimates Andrew W. Menkes, chief executive of Partnership Travel Consulting, a Princeton, N.J.-based firm that helps companies manage their travel and entertainment expenses. Business travellers have canceled their trips, he said, “because of potential exposure to radiation, challenges with the transportation and ground infrastructure, and lack of hotel space.”

Tourism favourites in “no fly zone”

Tourism is always a victim of global events.

No one is going to Japan on holidays right now – and probably won’t for a long time to come.

Events in the Middle East – an uprising in Egypt; civil war in Libya; riots in Bahrain; car bombs in Jerusalem – have all but stopped tourism to that part of the world.

Security concerns caused by the ongoing drug war in Mexico have drastically reduced tourism to that nation.

So many tourism favourites seem to be caught in a no-fly zone right now.

However, there are still save havens and let’s face it, Canadians aren’t going to stop travelling.

So here’s the five destinations I’m recommending you consider this summer – and let’s hope “events” don’t disrupt life in these places:

1- Canada: There’s no safer place in the world right now – and there lots to see and do on home turf.

2- The U.S.: States like Florida and Arizona are great summer values – if you can stand the heat.

3- Asia: China and Indochina are the greatest travel bargains on the planet right now.

4- Europe: Just stay out of the big cities like London and Paris –rural Europe has a lot to offer and it’s much cheaper.

5- The Caribbean: Warm sunny days are guaranteed and summer is the off-season there, meaning really cheap flights and hotels.