The World's Most Expensive Ski Chalets

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Interest in North Korean Holidays On the Rise

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – TRAVEL: Tour companies have reported a sharp rise in interest for tours of North Korea, after scenes from the funeral of Kim Jong Il, the country's "supreme leader", were broadcast around the world last month.

Korea Konsult, a company that specialises in tours to North Korea, said a planned visit to coincide with Kim Jong il's 70th birthday celebrations in February is still taking place despite the dictator's death on December 19 – and that the number of inquiries is up.

"This tour will definitely take place and we have had a lot of more interest for it than usual," said Julia Dalard, who works for the Sweden-based tour operator. "We have only a few places left." Read on and comment » | Jolyon Attwooll | Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Google Moves into Travel Business with ITA Purchase
THE TELEGRAPH: Google has agreed to acquire ITA, a flight information software company for $700 million in cash, in a bid to enter the lucrative digital travel market.

Image: The Telegraph
The search giant is hoping that the cash acquisition, the fourth largest in its history, will allow it to create bespoke search tools focused on travel. ITA, which has been in existence for 14 years, aggregates and organises information it gathers from travel agents and airlines, including flight times, ticket prices and availability.

However, the deal needs approval by the US competition authorities, as the acquisition would bring together the world’s largest search engine with one of the biggest pieces of travel search software. >>> Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent | Friday, July 02, 2010

Granada: The Magic of the Moors
THE TELEGRAPH: Now's the time to enjoy the stunning sights of Granada, says Anthony Jefferies.

The Alhambra is Spain's most visited tourist attraction but will be relatively quiet in February Photo: The Telegraph
The Alhambra is heart-flutteringly beautiful at any time but with southern Spain warming up in the early spring sunshine and the crowds yet to arrive, this is the perfect season to visit the great Moorish palace complex and the lovely city fanning out from its flanks. Old Moorish and gipsy quarters, vast cathedrals and churches, tree-lined plazas and great restaurants will provide an antidote to the cold British winter. >>> | Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The World's Most Surreal Landscapes
Salt flat near the crest of the Andes – Salar de Uyuni. Photograph: The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: Blindingly white and dizzyingly high, this vast salt flat near the crest of the Andes could easily be mistaken for a Salvador Dali painting. Eerie and otherworldly, Salar de Uyuni holds intensely blue skies, red and green lagoons, pink flamingos, smoking volcanoes, giant cacti, hot springs and spitting geysers. Salar de Uyuni >>> | Thursday, January 28, 2010

End to Travel and Money Ban as Barack Obama Opens Up to Cuba
Mr Obama indicated that he was willing to engage with the Communist regime. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: President Obama yesterday loosened the American embargo against Cuba by lifting curbs on family travel and money transfers, as well as allowing US telecommunications companies to operate on the island for the first time in almost half a century.

The announcement, made only days before Mr Obama travels to Trinidad for a Summit of the Americas, represents a significant crack in the hardline policy adopted by Washington since the Communist revolution in Cuba in 1959.

Although the US trade embargo has been left largely intact, the White House indicated that it would consider further measures including the introduction of direct commercial flights if Havana responded by expanding democratic rights.

“President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country’s future,” Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for the White House said. >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Government Wants personal Details of Every Passenger
THE GUARDIAN: Passengers travelling between EU countries or taking domestic flights would have to hand over a mass of personal information, including their mobile phone numbers and credit card details, as part of a new package of security measures being demanded by the British government. The data would be stored for 13 years and used to "profile" suspects.

Brussels officials are already considering controversial anti-terror plans that would collect up to 19 pieces of information on every air passenger entering or leaving the EU. Under a controversial agreement reached last summer with the US department of homeland security, the EU already supplies the same information [19 pieces] to Washington for all passengers flying between Europe and the US.

But Britain wants the system extended to sea and rail travel, to be applied to domestic flights and those between EU countries. According to a questionnaire circulated to all EU capitals by the European commission, the UK is the only country of 27 EU member states that wants the system used for "more general public policy purposes" besides fighting terrorism and organised crime.

The so-called passenger name record system, proposed by the commission and supported by most EU governments, has been denounced by civil libertarians and data protection officials as draconian and probably ineffective.

The scheme would work through national agencies collecting and processing the passenger data and then sharing it with other EU states. Britain also wants to be able to exchange the information with third parties outside the EU.

Officials in Brussels and in European capitals admit the proposed system represents a massive intrusion into European civil liberties, but insist it is a necessary part of a battery of new electronic surveillance measures being mooted in the interests of European security. These include proposals unveiled in Brussels last week for fingerprinting and collecting biometric information of all non-EU nationals entering or leaving the union. Government wants personal details of every traveler: Phone numbers and credit card data to be collected under expanded EU plan >>> By Ian Traynor

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