Afaranwide
NEWSLETTER 37: Jan. 18, 2020
Hi, and thanks you for your interest in the Afaranwide travel blog!
Lots of Temples, Lots of Tourists
Japan will welcome the world in the summer when it hosts the Olympics. But what will this mean for cities such as Kyoto, home to 1,600 temples, which are already overwhelmed by tourists? Overtourism has become a big issue there, with residents complaining that the hordes of visitors are making life a misery for them. It’s a difficult one, as it is a special, beautiful city, so you can understand why people want to go there. One questionable effect of the Olympics is that some of those temples are being demolished to make way for hotels and other facilities for the Games. READ MORE
Tokyo Wins Gold for Affordability
There’s some good news if you are planning a trip to Japan for the Olympics – Tokyo has been named the best value long-haul destination for visitors. Each year the UK Post Office’s travel money division compiles a “worldwide holiday costs barometer”, which tracks the cost of meals, drinks and other tourist staples. Tokyo is third overall in the list of cheapest holiday destinations. Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach is top, and Marmaris in Turkey is in second place. Hoi An in Vietnam, ranked seventh, is a new entrant in the top ten. The other countries in the list are Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Cyprus.
Where You Stay, What You Eat
A study on tourism and carbon emissions has found that on some holidays the food we choose to eat and the accommodation we choose to stay in has as big – or even bigger – an impact on the environment as our flight. The message is: Eat local and eat plant-based, and ask questions about the sustainability policy of the hotel or guesthouse you plan to stay in. Some menus and some hotels account for higher carbon emissions than a flight, and train, taxi or rental car travel. You can find details of the study, commissioned by Responsible Travel and carried out by Lund and Queensland Universities here.
Australia Comes Out Fighting
The devastating fires that have been burning in Australia for months have cost at least 28 lives, affected 17 million acres of land and killed around a third of the koala population. People continue to be evacuated from their homes in their thousands. Our hearts go out to those impacted, but Tourism Australia has come out fighting. Managing director Philippa Harrison said this week: “The best thing we can do at a time like this is to back our tourism industry and communities, and continue to market all the wonderful things about Australia and our people to the world.” However, living in Hong Kong through the current protests, Afaranwide has witnessed how fragile tourism can be. For up-to-date information on Australia, go here.
New Showcase for Afaranwide
A couple of weeks ago we reported that we were working with The Travel Pad, an exciting new platform that enables readers to view the work of many bloggers in a single place. Several of our posts are being showcased there, and more will be added going forward. Check out The Travel Pad here.
Easier to Visit Land of Camels
The month-long King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, featuring racing and big-money beauty pageants for the animals, ends today in Saudi Arabia. It’s been held amid moves to make it easier for tourists to enter the kingdom, with some visitors now able to obtain visas on arrival. Camels are a big deal in the Arab world – READ MORE.
Don't Forget to Vote!
Please remember to vote for Afaranwide in the contest for travel bloggers run by the Terra Incognita ecotourism company. Entrants had to submit a story on the subject “my favourite place on Earth”. Sue has taken a very individual approach to this topic, and her piece can be read on Terra Incognita’s website – click here to see it. We’re in the running for two prizes – one awarded by a panel of expert judges, and one that readers vote for. It would be great if you could support us in the latter– just click the link to view the story, then vote for it in the box at the foot of the page. Thanks!
We’d love to know what you think of Afaranwide – please email us.
Afaranwide content is available for syndication.
RECOMMENDED
HONG KONG STAYCATION: Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been battered by months of protests. We took a week-long staycation to see what’s happening on the ground. READ MORE
TRIPS HOME: What happens when your home country, the place where you grew up and you know best, turns into somewhere that you go to on holiday? READ MORE
ENDEAVOUR ENCOUNTER: Lifelong space enthusiast Colin Simpson visits the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, and reflects on the state of human space travel. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
Afaranwide
NEWSLETTER 37: Jan. 18, 2020
Hi, and thanks you for your interest in the Afaranwide travel blog!
Lots of Temples, Lots of Tourists
Japan will welcome the world in the summer when it hosts the Olympics. But what will this mean for cities such as Kyoto, home to 1,600 temples, which are already overwhelmed by tourists? Overtourism has become a big issue there, with residents complaining that the hordes of visitors are making life a misery for them. It’s a difficult one, as it is a special, beautiful city, so you can understand why people want to go there. One questionable effect of the Olympics is that some of those temples are being demolished to make way for hotels and other facilities for the Games. READ MORE
Tokyo Wins Gold for Affordability
There’s some good news if you are planning a trip to Japan for the Olympics – Tokyo has been named the best value long-haul destination for visitors. Each year the UK Post Office’s travel money division compiles a “worldwide holiday costs barometer”, which tracks the cost of meals, drinks and other tourist staples. Tokyo is third overall in the list of cheapest holiday destinations. Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach is top, and Marmaris in Turkey is in second place. Hoi An in Vietnam, ranked seventh, is a new entrant in the top ten. The other countries in the list are Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Cyprus.
Where You Stay, What You Eat
A study on tourism and carbon emissions has found that on some holidays the food we choose to eat and the accommodation we choose to stay in has as big – or even bigger – an impact on the environment as our flight. The message is: Eat local and eat plant-based, and ask questions about the sustainability policy of the hotel or guesthouse you plan to stay in. Some menus and some hotels account for higher carbon emissions than a flight, and train, taxi or rental car travel. You can find details of the study, commissioned by Responsible Travel and carried out by Lund and Queensland Universities here.
Australia Comes Out Fighting
The devastating fires that have been burning in Australia for months have cost at least 28 lives, affected 17 million acres of land and killed around a third of the koala population. People continue to be evacuated from their homes in their thousands. Our hearts go out to those impacted, but Tourism Australia has come out fighting. Managing director Philippa Harrison said this week: “The best thing we can do at a time like this is to back our tourism industry and communities, and continue to market all the wonderful things about Australia and our people to the world.” However, living in Hong Kong through the current protests, Afaranwide has witnessed how fragile tourism can be. For up-to-date information on Australia, go here.
New Showcase for Afaranwide
A couple of weeks ago we reported that we were working with The Travel Pad, an exciting new platform that enables readers to view the work of many bloggers in a single place. Several of our posts are being showcased there, and more will be added going forward. Check out The Travel Pad here.
Easier to Visit Land of Camels
The month-long King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, featuring racing and big-money beauty pageants for the animals, ends today in Saudi Arabia. It’s been held amid moves to make it easier for tourists to enter the kingdom, with some visitors now able to obtain visas on arrival. Camels are a big deal in the Arab world – READ MORE.
Don't Forget to Vote!
Please remember to vote for Afaranwide in the contest for travel bloggers run by the Terra Incognita ecotourism company. Entrants had to submit a story on the subject “my favourite place on Earth”. Sue has taken a very individual approach to this topic, and her piece can be read on Terra Incognita’s website – click here to see it. We’re in the running for two prizes – one awarded by a panel of expert judges, and one that readers vote for. It would be great if you could support us in the latter– just click the link to view the story, then vote for it in the box at the foot of the page. Thanks!
We’d love to know what you think of Afaranwide – please email us.
Afaranwide content is available for syndication.
RECOMMENDED
HONG KONG STAYCATION: Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been battered by months of protests. We took a week-long staycation to see what’s happening on the ground. READ MORE
TRIPS HOME: What happens when your home country, the place where you grew up and you know best, turns into somewhere that you go to on holiday? READ MORE
ENDEAVOUR ENCOUNTER: Lifelong space enthusiast Colin Simpson visits the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, and reflects on the state of human space travel. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE