Paolo's air deals today: Venice

Paolo digs up some great air deals!

Venice Airfare

$756

Return From Toronto

Airline: Alitalia

Air Taxes: $457.75

Travel Period:

Aug. 11- Nov. 10, 2011
Ticketing until: Aug. 16, 2011
Call: 1.866.929.6688

Good boy Paolo!

British tourism is now under seige

The biggest victim of the rioting that has gripped London the past few days appears to be British tourism.

Thouands of people have canceled their holidays in the British capital in the last 48 hours and the long-term effects of this public disorder may actually cause some people to change their plans of attending next summer's London Olympics.

The riots could not have come at a worse time for British Tourism, which just a few weeks ago launched their "one year out from the 2012 London Summer Olympics campaign" and boasted that London is one of the "safest" places to travel.

As British Prime Minister David Cameron calls out more police to deal with the growing disturbances, British tourism officials are fanning out around the world to reassure people that London will have everything under control by the time the first athletes start arriving next July. To make matters worse, overnight the riots spread to other British cities and now there is fear the government may have to call out troops to deal with the disturbances.

The image of Britain as a safe tourist destination may take longer than a year to repair.

Mary Rance, CEO of UKInbound, was quoted today as saying:  "The riots of the past few days, particularly in London, are most unfortunate for the global image of the U.K. – and not just ahead of the Olympics but for the country's short term and long term inbound tourism industry.

"With scenes of looting, violence and lawlessness flashing across TV screens across the globe it is absolutely vital that the government and its agencies, as well as the U.K. tourism industry, work hard to put things in context."

With unemployment rising in the U.K. and the government introducing harsh economic measures to deal with the country's growing debt problems, the situation may only get worse over the next while. That's not good for British tourism in the short or long term.

Cunard's Queen gets passing marks

Good news for anyone planning to book a cruise on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 - she's clean as a whistle again and has passed her sanitation test with flying colours after failing to make the grade earlier this year.

In a July 27 inspection done under the renowned Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program, the Queen got a score of 92 - 86 is considered a passing score.

Just six weeks ago, Cunard's flag ship vessel made world headlines when it was rated 84 by the Centers for Disease Control, which found  human hair in the ice machine, dirty water in the pools and chemicals stored near napkins.

"The company has corrected all issues highlighted by the original inspection, and has subsequently successfully addressed the small number of issues raised by the re-inspection," said Cunard in a statement. The full CDC report, which lists infractions, is not yet live on the government Web site.

Failing grades for ships, particular the larger mega-vessels trawling the seas, are exceedingly rare. In May, Norwegian Epic came close, scoring a lowly 89, while Carnival Glory squeaked by with an 87 after a January inspection.

Amsterdan airport offers hookers



A few months ago I wrote a blog rating Amsterdam's Schipol Airport as my favourite in Europe - and that was before they decided to set up a "Red Light District" right on the premises.

Now I'm really "hooked: on Schipol.

The old airline phrase "would you like coffee, tea or me, sir?" certainly takes on a whole new meaning now that Amsterdam police have confirmed a report in the Irish Times which said the Dutch airport, one of the busiest in Europe and by far the best, has set up a brothel so passengers don't have to dash downtown, where it's legal.

Police say they don't intend to take action against the airport red light district which is apparently being manned by foreign prostitutes using cheap flights to commute to the Netherlands from other parts of Europe to do business. Using the term "Business Class" at Schipol may have to be reexamined.

And, if you're paging someone at Schipol, don;t tell them to meet you under the red light.

Paolo's Air Deal Today: Brussels



Paolo digs up some great air deals!

 Brussels Airfare

$665

Return from Toronto

Airline: Jet Airways

Air Taxes: $430.75 (approx.)

Travel Period:

Aug. 10 - Oct. 10, 2011

Ticketing until:
Aug. 31, 2011

Call: 1.866.929.6688

Good Boy Paolo!

JetBlue red faced after pantie incident

Came across a couple of stories today I thought you might find amusing.

First: A JetBlue airline worker kicked a female passenger off one of its New York flights because - wait for it - the male airline employee accused the woman of not wearing panties.

So what's the problem - the woman obviously had nothing to hide.

Not surprisingly, the passenger, identified as Malinda Knowles, is suing the airline, accusing the JetBlue employee of "slapping his walkie talkie in between my legs."

Oh, my!

Okay, if that story isn't strange enough for you, how about this one:

Two Chinese travel writers were ordered to leave the Philippines after allegedly trying to choke the president's brother-in-law.

How come I never get invited in fun travel trips like that?

Anyway, it appears the Chinese writers, who were touring the resort island of Cebu, got involved in a brawl with President Benigno Aquino’s brother-in-law, Eldon Cruz, after the latter told them to pipe down.

Witnesses say the two writers lunged at Cruz and started to choke him.

A Chinese embassy spokesman in Manila downplayed the incident, saying it was a ‘‘misunderstanding’’ and that both sides had settled the matter.

 

The Filipinos have told the Chinese writers never to return.
 
I can't wait to see the writers' reviews of the Philippines.

Paolo's Deal Today - Hong Kong

Paolo digs up some great air deals!

Hong Kong Airfare

$800

Return from Toronto

Air Taxes: $388 (approx.)

Travel Period:

July 26 - Dec. 8, 2011
Ticketing until: 2 Aug, 2011

Call: 1.866.929.6688

Good Boy Paolo!