E-zine: Travel and Tourism Online Magazine

In many regions of the province’s nearly one million square kilometers (366,000 square mile), British Columbia hosts the greatest diversity of indigenous peoples in North America offering a wide range of authentic opportunities for independent travellers or small tour groups to learn about and connect with distinctive native cultures.

Western Australia has a rich and diverse range of Aboriginal cultural tourism experiences on offer which provides the unique opportunity for Indigenous operators to share their knowledge and culture with the rest of the world. Tourism, through song-lines, outback tracks and traditional practices and ceremonies going back many thousands of years, brings visitors to Western Australia the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Australia’s Aboriginal culture.

Bedouins have traditionally occupied the Sinai Peninsula. Their culture has been founded on strict tribal laws and traditions. Tribal law for example prohibits the cutting of "green trees" – the penalty could be up to three 2-year old camels or their equivalent value. Bedouins say that "killing a tree is like killing a soul”.

How to Book the IP Trail? Visitors can make inquires and book an IP Trail package through the many government registered trekking agencies in Kathmandu. There is no fixed packaged cost for IP Trail. It can vary from agency to agency and based on the services and facilities provided for the client’s enjoyment.

Herbal medicines and family history combine to provide one of the great tourist ventures in Kaikoura. Maori Tours takes guests on a tour, which traces local and family history and then on for a bush walk to explore the medicinal properties of our native trees and bush.

Euromonitor International is pleased to release its latest Top City Destinations Ranking, covering 100 of the world's leading and most dynamic cities in terms of international tourist arrivals. As the global economic crisis worsened in Q4 2008, international arrivals declined worldwide as travellers felt financially constrained and decided to stay close to home. However, the top 100 cities managed to end the year with 5.2% growth.

San Francisco refuses to fit a mold. It climbed hills while other cities spread out. It encouraged immigrants to guard their ethnic distinctions while other cities assimilated them. It rejects urban freeways because they’re unsightly and renovates dusty keepsakes (an archaic cable car system, an abandoned factory, an antiquated cannery) with felicitous results.

The cosmopolitan capital of the state of Victoria, Melbourne is well known for its friendly locals, cultural creativity, fine wine and dining and world-class facilities for leisure and business tourists, who pump AUD$15.8 billion into the Victorian economy.

Located on high plains at the base of the snowcapped Rocky Mountains, Denver is a booming metropolis, surrounded by spectacular natural beauty. A combination of great recreation opportunities and a mild, year-round climate with 300 days of sunshine (more annual hours of sun than San Diego or Miami Beach) have caused Denver’s population to soar.

London is a city of diversity and choice, whether it’s hotels, venues or activities – there is so much to choose from. London’s offers so much to see and do that you really can see the world in just one city.

Frankfurt am Main, the metropolis in the heart of Europe, is defined by the stimulating contrasts of tradition and modernity, commerce and culture, business and tranquility. Frankfurt is a city of finance, a city of culture featuring a truly unique theatre and museum landscape and it is and has always been Germany’s most modern city.

Spas can be seen everywhere. They come in many different shapes and sizes and range from day spas, destination spas to medi-spas. Although they may seem to have sprung overnight this is certainly not the case. History would tell us that the origins of spas can be traced to early civilizations.

Even back in mythical primeval times, water was doubtless the very basis of life for everyone. Of the four classical elements revered since ancient times – earth, fire, air and water – mankind’s relationship with water above all has always been a principal part of human culture in Germany. Water, particularly clear, flowing water, was extolled for its cleansing, healing and atoning traits.

According to Euromonitor International, the impact of the global economic crisis, along with hectic lifestyles and increasing urbanisation are just some of the factors behind the trend towards increased spa demand and the personal wellness lifestyle trend.

While SpaFinder has been forecasting annual spa trends for many years, 2010 represents the first time the company has spotlighted the top 10 spa trends for an entire decade. …And what a decade it’s been! From ‘organic’ to ‘indigenous,’ from ‘social spa-ing’ to the ‘online spa scene,’ the spa category was radically transformed and expanded from 2000 to 2010, as the industry met global challenges with unprecedented innovations that will positively impact us all for years to come.

While spas have been around for thousands of years, their popularity in the last twenty years has exploded as people seek havens from the stresses of everyday life. But times of rapid change carry risks for losing the ancient traditions that explain the attraction of spas and massage. Here in Thailand the government has taken strong steps to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Thai massage by offering cheap, accessible but rigorous training courses, with re-examination every two years. But all around, we witness a dilution of the core of Thai massage into diversification and gimmickry.

Like everywhere in the world, the “wellness” phenomenon has taken over the island of Zanzibar. Spas are popping up across the island in the hotels often run by Thai therapists, offering a dizzying choice of treatments. However, on the Archipelago of Unguja and Pemba (Zanzibar) both women and men have been using the indigenous flowers, herbs and spices in their traditional treatments for centuries. If you want to try something different, head over to Mrembo in Stone Town for a Zanzibari experience.

For the fourth year in November 2009, Rocky Mountaineer was honoured with a World Travel Award in the category of “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train”. The winners in 919 different categories were determined by thousands of travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries.

Every year close to 520.000 passengers travel on the Flam Railway making it one of Norway’s major and most spectacular tourist attractions. The Flåm Railway is one of the world’s steepest railway lines on normal gauge. The gradient is 55/1000 on almost 80% of the line, i.e. a gradient of one in eighteen. The twisting tunnels that spiral in and out of the mountain are manifestation of the most daring and skilful engineering in Norwegian railway history.

If Europe is all hearts for the Orient Express and South Africa has the Blue Train, Maharashtra echoes majestically with the Deccan Odyssey, the latest addition to the legacy of India’s luxury trains.

Since its establishment more than twenty years ago, Rovos Rail has earned an international reputation for its truly world class travel experiences. Unique train safaris through and over some of the most spectacular scenery in Africa combine magnificent scenery with the glamour and excitement of the golden age of train and air travel.

Sit back and enjoy what is sure to be an unforgettable journey on the Glacier Express from St.Moritz/Davos right across the Swiss Alps to Zermatt.

Over the past decade visitors to Spain have started to explore some of the country’s more northerly regions, the largest and most popular of which is Galicia.

The discovery of Saint James’ remains around the year 820 constitutes the beginning of the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela – initially only a simple sanctuary it developed into a city due to the influx of pilgrims who came to pay homage. Gradually the city has become one of the three major cities of Roman Catholicism along with Jerusalem and Rome.

The first edition of the tourism fair Turexpo Galicia 2009 last November closed its three days with a turnout of 6.000 visitors. For a few days, the exhibition became a business centre and a meeting point for the professionals of the sector. The first edition of Turexpo Galicia was dedicated specifically to the Jacobean Year 2010, a very appealing international event that will be essential for tourism not only in Galicia, but also in all the regions crossed by Saint James Way this year.

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has long been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of the Spanish tourism industry and within that undiscovered jewel in particular we are going to take a look at Lugo.

Starting our journey in the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela, we began the wine portion of our tour of Spain's Hidden Celtic Paradise by traveling south and then eastward along river valleys and over high sierras.