Americans to spend less travel more over July 4th
Reuters
Americans plan to spend less, travel more and have plenty of cookouts over the Independence Day holiday this week, according to surveys.
Spending for the July 4 holiday is expected to be down 12 percent, according to a Visa poll released on Sunday, dropping to an average of $191 per person.
Two-thirds of all Americans plan on a simple cookout, according to a National Retail Federation survey released in June.
But both surveys showed a significant minority of people will not celebrate at all — Visa survey said 21 percent and the retail group said 10.6 percent.
New UNESCO World Heritage Sites added to list of tourism hot spots
Boston.com
The birthplace of Jesus, a ninth-century mosque, and the site of Xanadu are part of the latest tourism hot spots, thanks to a new list out from UNESCO that highlights 26 far away, nostalgic, somewhat magical and very endangered around the world.
These locations are the latest entrants on the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage designation today protects nearly 1,000 of the world’s most stunning cultural and natural sites. The addition of these 26 will hopefully lead to better funding, and thus better preservation, of these sites. Of course, all this is done through the help of tourism, so UNESCO is highlighting these places at “hot spots” for travelers, and why not? What better way to really see the world than by traveling far and away to some of the most remote places on Earth all in the name of history and fascination.
Iconic cruise liner to become Dubai’s new tourist attraction
Zee News
Adding an iconic tourist destination to the Emirate’s list, Dubai will relaunch the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner as a 300-room luxury floating hotel with quality lifestyle and facilities.
The vessel will be moored next to the original cruise terminal at Port Rashid and converted into a 300-room luxury hotel while the terminal itself will be developed into a maritime museum.
After being converted, the QE2 will display the ship’s collection of art works and other historical assets acquired during its journey of nearly four decades from 1969 to 2008 as one of the world’s leading ocean-going cruise liners.
Southwest Airlines to sell live TV on some flights
USA TODAY
Southwest Airlines plans to sell live television service on five planes and expand it to more aircraft by mid-July.
The airline said Thursday that it would offer seven sports and news channels for passengers to watch on their own devices.
Southwest said it will test prices from $3 to $8 during a trial period. Passengers will need a Wi-Fi-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer.
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