B2B Travel Weekly News Channel. World Travel News in Tourism Industry

The capital of the Philippines is sometimes considered as a transitory spot for traveling tourists. They simply pass through without getting to know Manila. However, according to official figures of the Department of Tourism, this tendency is changing. More tourists are heading for Manila as their final destination. Truly, that this charming city has much to offer.

Whale watching sounds like a quite thrilling experience; however, probably the most terrifying yet awesomely tempting activity an adventure tourist may go for these days is shark-diving.

Even though traveling is getting more and more expensive, there is a growth in business travel. According to a survey conducted by Barclaycard, 78% of business people traveled the same or more in 2006 than in 2005. Some 50% of business travelers reported that they had taken more journeys covering more miles in the last year. The majority of business trips are still confined within the UK or Western Europe. Only 10% of participants said that Eastern Europe was a frequent destination and 6% had traveled regularly to China.

Asia is becoming more importante for hospitality industry players worldwide. These days even the major hotel brands consider Asia as a big market. According to Andrew Cosslett, chief executive of InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's largest hotelier which also operates Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels, InterContinental is the top hotel company in China as well as in Japan. Mr. Cosslett claims that: "They want to be, and will be, the dominant economic force on this planet for the next 50 years"

The Grand Canyon National Park has been one of the most frequently visited tourist locations within The United States. Naturally, hiking is the most popular way of getting familiar with the park. However, there are other options.

Say the word Persia to Europeans or North Americans and the conversation is likely to move to fine art, ceramics, tiles, carpets or poets. Say the word Iran and the topic of terrorism or religious fundamentalism are most likely to arise. This is quite odd, as Persia and modern-day Iran are indeed the same land. Iranian tourist organisations intend to change this situation and promote local tourist attractions.

Venice is one of the world’s unique cities. With a plethora of canals, bridges, and gondolas it has always been considered to be the Europe’s romantic destination No 1. However, tourism has a drastic impact on the Adriatic city. The population has sunk from 140.000 to a mere 60.000 in the last 20 years. Indeed, the missing 80.000 is now accounted for by tourists.

The number of tourists who visited Cuba last year plummeted by 3.6%. Tourists tend to arrive from North America, with Canadians heading the list. However, the amount of Canadians in Cuba dipped for the first time in many years in 2006. The island welcomed 2.2 million people from overseas, compared to 2.3 million in 2005. Reports from tour operators and tourists suggest that the main problems were tourists’ fears of having items of luggage stolen; mosquito epidemic and the increase in prices in Cuba are the main culprits.

Cruises are generally associated with laziness. The travelers simply lie down on the deck and occasionally dive, then sunbathe or read a bit. Active tourists used to despise this kind of travel. Luckily, many smaller cruise liners offer amazing deals to those, who need to ‘let the steam out’ once in a while.

Medical tourism is booming in Singapore, a city-state with a population of 4.4 million. Ministry of Health claims that there were some 374,000 medical tourists in 2005 and some 50,000 more last year. The government wants to attract some 1 million international patients a year by 2012. Singapore Tourism Board expects the medical tourism industry to earn some 3 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.95 billion U.S. dollars) and provide 13,000 jobs by 2012.