Backpacking And Travel News This Week (28.03.08)

March 28th, 2008 by The Backpackers Team

Time for this week’s bite-sized weekly summary of what’s going on in the travel and backpacking world out there (just in case you missed it) – so you can check it all out in the space of a few moments.

‘Hundreds stuck in mid-air on London Eye’ (Guardian UK). A malfunction of London’s revolving tourist attraction caused engineers to shut it down to perform emergency repairs, leaving four hundred people trapped in their pods for over an hour.

‘Australia to build fake Stonehenge for wine tourists’ (Reuters India). An Australian brewer plans to construct a complete replica of England’s famous Stonehenge to attract wine tourists. (Another Falconcity of Wonders in the making?)

‘Tourist in jail for stealing statue’s ear‘ (IOLTravel). “Santiago, Chile – A Finnish tourist is facing prison and a fine for allegedly breaking a piece of volcanic rock from one of the massive Moai statues on Easter Island.”

‘Hedging hell for Ryanair‘ (TravelWeekly.co.uk). “Ryanair’s fuel costs are about to soar as their hedged fuel price of $68 a barrel comes to an end next week…Could this mean the end for some of of the carrier’s less profitable routes?”

‘Mass tourism swamps Asia’s once unique, remote places‘ (USAToday). “Destinations once deemed too dangerous or remote, such as Luang Prabang in Laos, are now being overrun with tourists” (and they’re headed for ruin).

Posted in Travel News