The Morning Briefing: Struggling tourism, mass cancellations, global hotspots
"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about the tourism industry.
1.) U.S. space tourism set for takeoff by 2014. The Obama administration is expecting a boom within the space tourism industry that is expected to be worth $1 billion in 10 years, according to the head of the Federal Aviation Administration's commercial space office.
2.) U.S. surged 8.1 percent last year to $1.2 trillion. A record number of foreign visitors helped boost overall tourism spending in the U.S. last year -- rising 8.1 percent to $1.2 trillion, the Commerce Department said.
3.) Myanmar struggling to handle new surge in visitors. As the country sheds its past image as an isolated military dictatorship and taboo travel destination, it is becoming a new global hotspot -- topping tourism lists as the must-see place to visit in 2012. However, is it coping?
4.) State Tourism Office expects economic boost from 'Hunger Games' fans. North Carolina is poised to reap major dividends from tourism with the March 23 opening of 'The Hunger Games,' the highest-profile movie ever made in the state.
5.) Italian hostage crisis sparks mass tourist cancellations in Odisha. Odisha's infant tourism industry is in turmoil following a rush of mass cancellations in the aftermath of the Italian hostage crisis. In particular, package tours are being cancelled, most of which were scheduled for the last week of March and next month.
Bonus: Mauritius tourism earnings up 12.1 pct in year to Jan.
Image credit: Rui Ornelas
Related:
- Space tourism company to plumb the ocean's depths
- The Morning Briefing: Shunning Sri Lanka, media kills Bahrain tourism, Dubai's future
- Despite drug violence, Mexico sees uptick in tourism
- In Mexico, Mayan Apocalypse prophesy causes tourism boom
- Despite economy, Spanish tourism prospers
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com