Europe Ban For Airport   
                 Scan

UK airports using the latest body scan security technology have been given the go-ahead to continue operating the machines while the European Commission investigates further any safety issues.

Europe has banned the x-ray scanners until more testing is carried out and results should be known by March 2010 so for the time being, only security scanners which do not use X-ray technology are approved for use.

Experts have found the body scanners emit low doses of radiation and the EU has told member states not to install them until the risks are assessed.

The British Health Protection Agency said: 'The radiation dose from an examination of two or three scans is less than that received from two minutes flying at cruising altitude

The machines were scrapped at Heathrow after complaints about invasion of privacy but Manchester Airport has installed 16 of them at a cost of £80.000 each and they are now widely used in the U.S

    UK Gov Accused of 
    Grounding Air Travel

Four leading airline chief executives
are calling on the British Chancellor, George Osborne to axe Air Passenger Duty arguing that its negative impact on the UK economy is outweighing any benefit from the revenue raised.

In a letter to the Chancellor, Carolyn McCall from easyJet, Willie Walsh from IAG, Michael O'Leary from Ryanair and Steve Ridgway from Virgin Atlantic say that what is happening in the UK mirrors what occurred in the Netherlands in 2008/09 when a similar air tax was imposed.

After a year, the levy was abandoned after a study showed that its harmful effects on the Dutch economy were nearly four times greater than the revenue it produced.

The letter highlights that passenger numbers at UK airports have fallen consecutively for the last three years to a level lower than 2004. In 2010, there were 7.4 million fewer passengers in the UK while numbers using European airports grew by 66.3 million.

APD was doubled in 2007 and hiked again in each of the last two years. 
The UK has the highest aviation taxes in the world.

    Maldives & Seychelles  
      Patrol For  Pirates

India is providing patrol aircraft around the Maldives to protect tourists from pirates. 

Indian Navy officials have confirmed the jet will monitor the Indian Ocean where Somali pirates have become more active.

Earlier this year US Admiral Robert Willard, head of the United States Pacific Command, said that pirates are posing particular problems for the Maldives and pushed for international anti-piracy efforts.

India has also donated a network of coastal radars and has trained local personnel in how to operate the equipment to spot rogue vessels.

India also assists Mauritius and the Seychelles in the fight against piracy, donating speedboats to the areas.

  USA Scales The Fat Map

America's been named to holiday destination where visitors pile on the pounds, according to a study.

Research  found the enormous food portions dished up in the USA and those all-you-can-eat buffets is making travellers gain an average of 8lb in two weeks

The Caribbean is the second worst offender thanks to the popular all-inclusive hotel resorts where tourists bring home around 7.4lb from their trip.

Researchers questioned 2,000 Brits and found six in ten regularly gain weight and for one in 20 it's often more a stone. Many only notice when they see the holiday snaps

France is third on the 'Fat Map' thanks to its wine and cheese followed by Italy then Greece.

Nearly 49 million tourists visited New York during 2010 making it the Big Apple's biggest and best year for tourism ever,  according to the city's mayor.

The surge in visitor numbers is a 7 per cent increase on the previous year and puts New York on track to reach a goal set by Mayor Bloomberg of attracting 50 million visitors annually in 2012.

Several tourist attractions and museums reported an increase in visitors and it's calculated that 6,000 extra jobs were created by New York's tourism boom last year - adding to the 320,000 workers already employed by the sector.

 USA's Top Tourist Traps

The official chart is below:

   Surprise Surprise Brits
  Are the Booziest Abroad

British tourists are Europe's heaviest drinkers abroad, while Italians are the soberest, according to a survey.

65% of Brits admit they like more booze while away on holiday and around 29% claim they swallow 5 or more drinks compared with around 41% for other Europeans.

Only 28% of Italians say they drink more while away than at home.

The survey based on responses from holidaymakers from the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain also revealed: 

UK holidaymakers are least likely to smoke more when away, while Italian holidaymakers are the heaviest smokers.

      Foreign Roads To
        Steer Clear Of

A warning has been issued to  tourists to take care when driving abroad following a report which claimed 25,000 tourists are killed on the roads each year.

The Association of British Travel Agents insist only 'a very small proportion' of the 60 million UK tourists who travel abroad are caught up in fatal road accidents, it urged holidaymakers to make themselves aware of local driving laws.

ABTA spokeswoman Nikki White said: "Many ABTA tour operators work closely with local companies providing transfers and car hire arrangements to operate appropriate safety standards"

However with 55% of UK holidaymakers travelling independently rather than with tour operators, action clearly needs to be taken by individual governments where required and customers research relevant local rules of the road before travelling.

    Is The Caribbean
     Cruising Into A  
       Bleak Winter
    

Fifty percent on British tourists heading abroad are ignorant to the benefits of carrying a European Health Insurance Card, according to a recent study.

The credit card-sized more piece of plastic DOES NOT replace travel insurance but it does  entitle the holder to have their medical costs covered or discounted incase of an accident of illness in another European country.

Research for moneysupermarket.com reveals many Brits didn't realise the EHIC needs to be renewed every five years. 

Website spokesman, Bob Atkinson said; "The cost for many serious accidents, extensive treatment and the need for air ambulance repatriation will not be covered by the EHIC and the costs for this can run into tens of thousands of pounds if proper travel insurance isn't bought."

     Is Your Holiday   
  Protected Atol At All?

Many UK travellers booking individual flights and accommodation are to get the same protection as those on package holidays in future, but not all!

The British Government's overhaul of the ATOL holiday protection programme will include online bookings of so-called ‘dynamic packages’ due to the number of independent travel company collapses.

The high volume of  insolvencies in recent years has resulted in many holidaymakers being stranded overseas and losing the money they paid for the trip.

An estimated six million Brits prefer to book independent holidays and the new rules should mean they are properly protected financially.

However there has been criticism that the changes exclude those customers who book each component of their holiday from a separate web-based company, however supporters of the scheme say it does at least offer some guarantees.  

 Australia's Phantom Of
        The Oprah?

Industry experts are questioning the publicity stunt and some say the money should have been spent attracting Chinese visitors.

  Hotspots For Tummy
        Travel Bugs

Egypt has been named the most likely destination for holidaymakers to pick up sickness and diarrhoea, closely followed by Morocco, according to a report. 

The study by the Health Protection Agency also listed Portugal as one of the hot spots for tummy bugs and on further examination researchers discovered the most like cause of ill-health abroad was salmonella.

Travellers are advised to wash their hands regularly, carry alcohol gel, be cautious about drinking water and ensure their food is properly cooked.

      Shady Goings-on  
  Beneath Beach Brolly

Beach umbrellas may not protect people from the harmful rays of the sun, experts have warned.

A study in Spain using an ultraviolet ray sensor on the base of a blue and white canvas umbrella found that a third of ultra-violet light still gets through even though the parasol provided shade.

The umbrella intercepted the direct radiation that comes from the sun, but part of the diffused radiation, which makes up approximately 60 percent of the total, reached the sensor from the sky not covered by the umbrella.

Malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, affects more than 10,000 Britons a year and kills more than 2,000.

In addition to the use of umbrellas, doctors recommend people use sun creams, hats and clothing when at the beach to guard against ultraviolet radiation, and avoid hours when the sun is at its highest.

      Airlines Suitcase
              Chaos 

British Airways has rubbished claims it has lost around one in three items of baggage. 

According to a figures from more than 2000 flyers from the UK, the survey showed 29 per cent of passengers had endured lost, damaged or delayed luggage during the last five years

One in 3.8 BA passengers has had lost, delayed or damaged luggage in the last five years, the survey by insurance company LV= claimed.

But BA said the figures were "complete rubbish" and that there was no evidence to suggest that a quarter of its passengers had had luggage problems over the last five years.