Tourism in tatters: Flood swamps Russia’s Black Sea resorts
RT
The flooding in Russia’s south has brought not only devastation, but disrupted vacations for thousands of tourists. The Krasnodar region, is now striving to restore its paralyzed travel network to salvage the holiday season.
The tragedy is affecting thousands of people throughout Russia. There have been scores of cancellations for trains heading into the Krasnodar region, a primary summer resort destination in the country as its southern border is formed by the Black Sea coast.
There have been may accounts of families with children that went on holiday but could not reach their destination because the flood cut off the railway near Novorossiysk, Russia’s primary Black Sea port.
Western Australia Bans Shark Tourism After Four Fatal Attacks
Bloomberg
Western Australia state said it would introduce rules to ban most shark tourism after four fatal attacks on bathers in the region over the past year.
The lack of traditional shark gathering sites off the state’s coast may encourage operators to feed the animals to attract them to cage dives, changing their behavior in a way that could pose risks to the public, Norman Moore, fisheries minister said in an e-mailed statement today. Such operations will be banned under rules now being drafted.
Western Australia had four fatal shark attacks in a six- month period from last September to last March, according to website sharkattackfile. The state is spending A$14 million ($14.3 million) over the next four years to reduce the risk of attacks, Moore said.
Hotels offer amnesty program for pilfered amenities
msnbc.com
There are, it seems, two types of hotel guests in the world: those who pack up hotels’ proprietary items and those who don’t. If you’re among the former and feeling guilty, a reprieve may be in your future.
Hotels, especially high-end ones, are offering amnesty programs, inviting guests who may have slipped a silver spoon or brass room key into their pocket the opportunity to return it, no questions asked.
Among them, you can add the historic Waldorf-Astoria in New York, which launched an amnesty program for purloined property earlier this week.
The next airline fee: Paying more to get off a plane faster?
USA TODAY
Some fliers will pay if it can get them off the plane faster.
That’s according to a survey by Airfarewatchdog.com, a fare-tracking site that found 16% of respondents were willing to pay to be at the front of the line when their flight lands. Of that group, 10% would pay $10 and 3% would pay as much as $20.
Many fliers in coach class already pay airlines from $9 to $39 extra to get on flights ahead of others in the boarding process.
“They’re willing to pay to board early and sit in those uncomfortable seats, so why wouldn’t they pay for the reverse, to get out of those uncomfortable seats?’ says George Hobica, Airfarewatchdog’s founder. “That would make the whole experience less tortuous.”
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