Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell April 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende


International News

Tibet reopens to tourism after protests

Tibet will be reopened to tourists on May 1, a decision announced Thursday even as authorities showed no sign of lifting restrictions preventing foreign journalists from freely visiting Tibet and other Tibetan regions in western China to report on episodes of ethnic unrest.

Tibet has been closed to domestic and foreign tourists since March 16, two days after violent riots erupted in Lhasa. Communist Party officials in Tibet plan trials this month for more than 1,200 people arrested in the violence. 

The deputy director of Tibet’s tourism bureau said organized tours and independent travelers could return to Tibet beginning in May, according to China Daily, the official English-language newspaper.



Airlines

ATA files for bankruptcy, cancels all flights

ATA Airlines shut operations and stranded thousands of travelers April 3 when an unexpected loss of charter flights and soaring fuel costs forced the carrier into bankruptcy.

Once the nation’s 10th-largest air carrier, ATA entered bankruptcy for the second time in just over three years. The company had more than 2,200 employees and “virtually all” were told that their jobs were gone, company spokesman Michael Freitag said.

Many passengers learned of the airline’s collapse at ticket counters, where advisories were posted in the handful of cities ATA still served. The airline said it flew about 10,000 passengers a day.

ATA, based in Indianapolis, was the second carrier to seek bankruptcy protection in two weeks. Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 protection last month, a little more than two years after emerging from bankruptcy.


ATA said that the cancellation of a critical agreement with FedEx for most of its charter business left it unable to offset fuel prices. That agreement gave ATA a significant share of the airlift contracts to fly military members and their families overseas, ATA said. 



News from Mexico

New luxury hotel in Punta Mita

The up-and-coming Riviera Nayarit region, along Mexico’s Pacific coast north of Puerto Vallarta, has a new luxury resort. The Hotel des Artistes in the Punta de Mita Beach Club and Spa features two- and three-bedroom oceanfront suites with original Mexican art (available for purchase) and kitchens outfitted with Viking appliances.

The property has a beachside pool plus a rooftop deck with an infinity pool and hot tub, a fitness club and spa, three treatment rooms and steam, sauna and whirlpools in each locker room. The resort’s restaurant—Café des Artistes del Mar—has a piano bar and an outdoor terrace. 

Guests may visit the Marietas Islands National Park, a 15-minute boat ride from the property, where they can snorkel or scuba dive. Starting nightly rates range between US$325 and $850, depending on the season. 



Sustainable Tourism

Responding to the growing interest in sustainable travel, the publisher Fordor’s has released a new book, Green Travel, that reviews 120 eco-lodges and environmentally friendly hotels around the world and advises people how to be more socially conscious on vacation. The guide describes the steps that each hotel has taken to be green: The Fairmont Chicago, for instance, has installed wind-powered computers and donates used bars of soap to homeless shelters.


Sources: Travel Agent, Travel Weekly, The New York Times, Budget Travel.


Judy Newell, a writer and travel industry executive, heads the custom tour company Perfect Journeys that specializes in luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at JudyNewell_03@msn.com or go to her website www.PerfectJourneys.net.