All-you-can-fly airline revives unlimited-travel model
msnbc.com
You can stuff yourself silly at all-you-can-eat buffets and drink yourself stupid at an all-inclusive resort, but is the world ready for all-you-can-fly air travel?
Wade and Dave Eyerly, a pair of brothers from Southern California, believe it is and they’ve got the plan — and $4 million in venture capital — to back them up. Using a subscription-based model that offers unlimited flights starting at $790 per month, the two hope to launch Surf Air later this year and shake up the industry in the process.
Turkmenistan’s Tourism Dream Stands Empty For Now
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Just five years ago, Awaza stood as a tiny dacha retreat along the Caspian coast where Turkmen could take refuge from the daily hustle and bustle.
But the rustic mud-brick cottages that once dotted the seaside have been swept away and replaced with gleaming, high-rise luxury hotels.
Dusty dirt roads have given way to smooth asphalt highways and marble sidewalks. Natural beach surroundings have been sculpted into carefully manicured parks.
Behold the transformed Awaza, a luxurious resort town that looms as the centerpiece of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov’s dreams of building world-class tourism infrastructure in Turkmenistan.
Since taking office in 2006, Berdymukhammedov has channeled a reported $1.4 billion into the project, with Awaza accounting for a major slice of the pie.
But if Awaza was constructed on the adage of, “if you build it they will come,” one thing is still missing from the equation — visitors.
Olympic Tourists Warned About London Cash Squeeze
ABC News
Tourists be warned: The Olympics crush has begun in London — and so has the scramble for cold, hard cash in the pricey British capital.
Lines are getting longer at ATMs, visitors are in sticker shock over British prices and some befuddled tourists are wondering what currency to use. Stores in the Olympic Park only accept certain credit cards and a British financial authority is even recommending that tourists make sure to bring British pounds with them.
“I’ve had people asking me whether they should pay in British pounds or euros,” said Alex Singer, a 27-year-old London cab driver. “I’ve also had Americans thinking that they can pay me in dollars.”
Advocates for disabled to boycott hotels over pool access
Los Angeles Times
A coalition of disability rights groups has called for a boycott of just more than 100 hotels across the country to protest the resistance by industry leaders to install equipment to make hotel pools accessible to handicapped guests.
The Americans With Disabilities Act calls on owners of public pools, such as hotels and recreation centers, to install permanent lifts or ramps to give easier access to disabled guests. The equipment costs between $2,500 and $6,500 per pool.
But the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. and the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. have asked the federal government to ease the rules to allow hotels owners to meet the requirement with temporary lifts.
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