Luxury travel on slow rebound
The Desert Sun
Luxury travel, even for business, continues its comeback from the depths of the recession, the industry is finding. But an erratic economy is making for a slow and spotty return that remains below the highflying days before the financial collapse of 2008. The investment bankers, Wall Street lawyers and other elite business travelers served by high-end travel service Ovation Travel, for instance, are buying just 3 percent more first-class airline tickets this year than they were last year, according to Ovation senior executive Michael Steiner.
Tourists heading for UAE fleeced in immigration scam
The National
Filipinos coming to the UAE on tourist visas are being hit for cash by corrupt immigration officers in return for permission to leave the country.
Since August 2010, the officers have been ordered to be on the lookout for suspected victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking and to stop them from leaving – a process known as “offloading”.
But some corrupt officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport are abusing the system by denying travel to legitimate tourists unless they pay a bribe.
Global tourist visits on track to pass 1-billion mark
Summit County Citizens Voice
Travelers from some of the world’s biggest countries helped spur global tourism to a new record level during the first half of 2012, keeping the industry on track to pass the 1-billion mark for the first time this year.
Through the end of June, the World Tourism Organization tallied 467 million tourist visits worldwide, a 5 percent increase from the same period last year. Economic uncertainties may slow growth the rest of the year, but international arrivals are still forecast to exceed 1 billion by the end of 2012.
Fake airline pilot traveled in cockpit, Italian authorities say
NBCNews.com
A man who posed as an airline pilot and traveled in the cockpit of at least one plane was arrested in the Turin airport using forged identity cards and wearing a pilot’s uniform, Italian police said on Saturday.
The 32-year-old, whose real name was not released, allegedly created a fake identity as a Lufthansa pilot named “Andrea Sirlo,” complete with a Facebook page that included fake flight attendant friends.
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