MedicalTourism-Guide

Bogota to construct massive medical tourism center

Kiwi — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:09:40 +0000

Bogota will construct a medical tourism center at a cost of $19 million, reported economic paper Portfolio Monday.

The construction of the Bosque Beauty Garden Hotel & Medical Center in Bogota aims to boost the country’s health and beauty tourism, the builder told Portafolio.

Cosmetic surgery will be a major part of services on offer, with five-star accommodation for visitors alongside shops, green space and conference rooms.

Source: Latest News on Medical Tourism

USA as Vienna’s most important overseas market

Kiwi — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:41:34 +0000

With some 561,000 bednights, the USA was still Vienna’s most important overseas market in 2011. Canada ranked in 19th place amongst Vienna’s top markets with 117,000 overnights.

“Last year Vienna reported eight months with over a million bednights. Besides the already traditional months of May, July, August and September, 2011 saw the addition of four new ones – April, June, October and December. An increase in bednights was reported for no fewer than 46 of the 52 markets for which statistics are collected. The fact that our overall result so significantly exceeded 2010’s record confirms once again our strategy of diversification and continual expansion into new markets.” - Director of Tourism Norbert Kettner

Source: Travel Daily News

Philippines with its New7wonders

Kiwi — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:26:32 +0000

The astonishing Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) in Palawan is officially one of the New7wonders of nature, authorities said Saturday.

Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, announced that the 8.2-kilometer navigable river made it to the list, according to the New7Wonders site.

The underground river is an excellent scenic spot to visit. The resembling religious-like images of stalactites and stalagmites are all breathtaking views. Cove dwelling faunas also dwell in the underground rivers and are eye catchers as well.

This news might boost Philippine tourism and comes just weeks after the Department of Tourism unveiled its new tourism slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” to attract more foreign travelers.

Source: Yahoo News!

Tourism funding down in Ocean City

Kiwi — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:29:51 +0000

Gearing up for the 2012 campaign, tourism officials will have to absorb a $130,000 loss as revenue from funding sources, including mercantile licenses for businesses, mercantile fees for landlords and fees from contractors, is down.

The tourism commission will work within a $750,000 budget to fund a wide variety of initiatives.

“This affects us greatly,” said Nick Marotta, chairman of the city’s tourism commission. “The city has done a fantastic job. They are doing the best they can to collect the fees, but we do have to look into this.”

At a Jan. 12 City Council meeting, Council President Michael Allegretto said he was surprised.

“The number of rental units isn’t down,” he said at the meeting. “If anything, the number of units should be up.”

Source: Shore News Today

UNWTO urges continued tourism investment in Africa

Kiwi — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:44:53 +0000

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, speaking at the Tourism Investment Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR), encouraged companies to continue investing in Africa and its growing tourism markets.

“Africa has been one of the fastest growing tourism regions of the last decade,” said Mr. Rifai addressing Spanish investors and African tourism stakeholders at INVESTOUR.“With the right investment, tourist arrivals will continue to grow, investors will see excellent returns, jobs will be created and the entire economy will benefit.”

Source: Travel Daily News

Turkey tightens the visa rules for residence

Kiwi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:44:44 +0000

Turkey has strictly enforced new law and visa violations for visitors of the country. They will be allowed to stay for up to 90 days at a time, within a 180-day periodand those applying for a resident permit must both apply and interview for it within the 90-day period.

Previously, expats were able to apply for their residence visa and overstay the tourist visa until their interview date. Foreign residents could also go on “visa runs,” in which they exit enter neighboring countries in order to return to Turkey to purchase a new visa.

Under the new Turkish Law No.5683, concerning the Law on Residence and Travel of Foreigners in Turkey, visa runs and visa overstays will result in penalties.

Source: Tour Expi

Islamists Threaten to Radicalize Egyptian Tourism

Kiwi — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:08:11 +0000

Despite the economy reeling and political turmoil very much a feature of recent Egyptian history, Islamic parties want to make tourism stricter by reducing the rights of visitors to behave as they wish.

Claiming that the situation is about to get worse, the interim Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri has recently shed tears on national television as he was describing the state of the Egyptian economy. Political unrest surrounding the adventures of Mr. Mubarak has put Egypt on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.

One could easily make a case for the promotion of tourism to get the economy back on track as the industry accounts for 10% of the Egyptian GDP and employs 3 million people. Egypt boasts an array of ancient monuments, is a hub for divers and has weather on its side as well.

Source: Tourism Review

Philippines Tourism Caught in Copycat Ad Row Second Time

peter — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:00:06 +0000

Philippine tourism suffered a setback Friday over claims of its new slogan copied an old Swiss one. This is the second time in a row after having already ditched an earlier campaign that allegedly plagiarized Poland’s.

Hours after the government rolled out its “It’s more Fun in the Philippines” campaign, Internet pundits pointed to a 1951 Swiss National Tourist Office ad which proclaimed “It’s more fun in Switzerland!”

Dennis Gorecho, who described himself as a Manila lawyer, criticized …
Source: Latest Medical Tourism News

Agent Says N. Korea Tourism to Reopen After Kim Death

peter — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:00:07 +0000

A tour organizer has said that North Korea will reopen to tourists on January 10, less than a month after strongman Kim Jong-Il died.

Kim died on December 17 from a heart attack at the age of 69, prompting a 13-day mourning period in the communist country that culminated Thursday in a huge memorial service for the late leader.

“We have just been informed by our Korean partners that the DPRK (North Korea) will open to tourists from January 10th,” Koryo Group, a Beijing-based travel agency …
Source: Latest Medical Tourism News

Tourism in Japan Affected by Atomic Fears

peter — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:00:05 +0000

Fears of radiation have caused a dip in tourism in Japan.

But despite an appearance of normality, business is far from booming in Matsushima, where serene pine-covered islands have attacted generations of tourists to an area classed as one of Japan’s three most beautiful spots.

The guesthouses and hotels — in a district the Michelin Blue guide gives its maximum three stars — owe most of their business to workers helping to rebuild coastal communities shattered by the March 11 tsunami. …
Source: Latest Medical Tourism News