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☆ Shibuya City: Tokyo neighborhood to ban drinking in public places
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The measure, which is expected to take effect in October, will see drinking alcohol forbidden on streets or public places in Shibuya from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. Shibuya City, which is a self-governed district within Tokyo, can make its own local regulations. Last fall, Shibuya banned Halloween-related activities in the district, with alcohol cited as a main reason behind the prohibition. That included a ban on drinking alcohol outside of bars and restaurants. Local Gion residents have also taken some measures themselves, such as blocking off private alleys.

Persons: Ken Hasebe, Hasebe, overtourism, ” Organizations: CNN, Shibuya, overtourism, Local Locations: Shibuya, Japan, Shibuya City, Tokyo, Meiji, Kyoto

☆ Mount Everest climber sets record for fastest ascent by a woman
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Twenty-four hours and 26 minutes, without stopping to sleep: Nepal’s Phunjo Lama has just broken the world record for the fastest ascent of Mount Everest by a woman. Her journey from Everest Base Camp to the top took 14 hours and 31 minutes, then the descent from Everest was another nine hours and 18 minutes. Due to the limited climbing season and challenging conditions on Mount Everest, the window to reach the top of the mountain is small. That record was broken in 2021 by Hong Kong native Ada Tsang in 25 hours and 50 minutes. Currently, the record for fastest ascent by a male climber is 10 hours and 56 minutes, set by Nepali Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003.

Persons: CNN —, Lama, Samantha McMahon, Ada Tsang, she’s, “, Kim Lal Gautam, Niranjan Shrestha Organizations: CNN, Everest Base, Base, Guinness World Records, Lhakpa, Guinness Locations: Everest, Base, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, “, North America, Pakistan

☆ The world’s best countries for tourism, according to the World Economic Forum
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The United States has just won a significant honor – being named the world’s best country for travel and tourism in 2024 by the World Economic Forum. Europe in the leadSix of the top 10 countries on the list are in Europe, with Spain the highest overall. The country knows it has the world’s eyes looking its way ahead of the Summer Olympics in Paris this year. For 2024, six countries share the number one ranking – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain. leonovo/iStock Editorial/Getty ImagesThe top 10 countries for tourism, according to the World Economic Forum1.

Persons: –, It’s, Yongyuan Dai, ” Organizations: CNN, World Economic, Economic, Henley Index, –, Asia “, United Locations: United States, Europe, Spain, France, Paris, – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai, China, Asia, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, American, Canada, Australia, Bondi, Barcelona, Venice, Bolzano, Tyrol

☆ What it’s really like to live in Antarctica
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The Minnesota native first went to the White Continent in 2007 to work as a janitor at McMurdo Base, one of the three US outposts there. She was one of half-a-dozen people staffing the world’s southernmost post office, UK-administered Port Lockroy. Counting penguins is one of the roles Port Lockroy staff have during their time in Antarctica. Once you get the Antarctica bug, Long and Nelson say, it’s pretty hard to get rid of. In a fast-paced globalized world where everyone is on their phones all the time, Antarctica offers a rare opportunity to live a different kind of life.

Persons: United States –, Keri Nelson, Amundsen, ” Nelson, “, McMurdo, Palmer, Evan Townsend, ” Keri Nelson, ”, Nelson, Scott Base, –, Scott, Keri Nelson “, Chris Long, Long, Laura Bullesbach, Bridie Martin, Laura Bullesbach doesn’t, you’re, You’re, Port Lockroy, Bullesbach, Clare Ballantyne, ” Long, Keri Nelson Long, he’s, vacationer, ” Klaus Dodds Organizations: CNN, United, Antarctic, Minnesota, Base, Scott, Palmer, grownups, McMurdo Base, McMurdo, US, Geographic, Pole, Ocean, Scott Base, Port, Lockroy, Port Lockroy, Electronics, University of London Locations: Antarctica, Chile, Japan, Australia, United States, McMurdo, New, Ross, Amundsen, New Zealand, Russian, South America, Port Lockroy, Lockroy, Port, Denver, China

☆ Corporate America is going through a middle-management meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Middle managers are becoming an endangered species in Corporate America, with some companies viewing the role as obsolete , writes Business Insider's Lindsay Dodgson. Remote work, tech efficiencies, and a general push to cut costs have contributed to middle managers' demise. It's a strategy Corporate America, particularly Big Tech, deployed in 2023. The "year of efficiency," as Mark Zuckerberg dubbed it, was all about flattening organizations, and middle managers were the ones getting squished . The death of middle managers could also fuel the current dismantling of another cohort: the middle class .

Persons: —, Brooks Kraft, Insider's Lindsay Dodgson, millennials, Gen Zers haven't, Robyn Phelps, they're, Mark Zuckerberg, Gen, Jeffrey Gundlach, we're, Blackstone, Abanti Chowdhury, Jensen Huang, Hopper, Blackwell, Lilit, Tyler Le, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Brooks Kraft LLC, Getty, America, Big Tech, Citi, Street Journal, KKR, Meta, Google, Nvidia, Paragon Intel, National Association of Realtors, FAA Locations: Corporate America, millennials, New York, London

☆ Japanese town overrun with tourists puts up view-blocking barrier near Mount Fuji
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko has erected a giant black net to block views of Mount Fuji, a reaction to the town’s huge popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms. The small town in Yamanashi prefecture has become the center of an international controversy in recent weeks. Japan’s overtourism problemsThis photo was taken on May 20 in front of Mount Fuji in Fujikawaguchiko -- a day before the black net went up. In this case, it’s not a specific attraction bringing hordes of visitors – it’s a viewpoint where people like to take pictures of Mount Fuji. There have been many accidents involving foreign tourists recently,” Haruhito Tsuchiya, a 49-year-old local who works in the tourism industry, told Reuters.

Persons: ”, Fujikawaguchiko, Kazuhiro Nogi, it’s, “ I’ve, ” Haruhito Tsuchiya, Lawson, Lawson’s Organizations: CNN, Mount, Fuji, Dental Clinic, Clinic, Mount Fuji, Getty, Tokyo –, Reuters, Lawson’s Locations: Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi prefecture, Mount Fuji, AFP, Japan, Paris, Hawaii, Tokyo, –, Fuji

☆ EVA Airlines flight attendants praised for breaking up a fistfight in the sky
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Three flight attendants are winning praise for successfully defusing a physical fight between two passengers on board an EVA Air flight. That’s when three female flight attendants stepped in to handle the situation, says EVA. “The company has always adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards incidents of passenger nuisance,” EVA told CNN in the statement. Following the incident, EVA publicly expressed its “sincere gratitude” to its employees and vowed to look into the incident further. That same year, EVA reversed its policy of only hiring women as flight attendants and said it would hire men as cabin crew members too.

Persons: BR08 Organizations: CNN, Wednesday, San Locations: Taipei, San Francisco, Taiwan

☆ Japanese store near Mount Fuji issues apology in response to overtourism
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Lawson’s, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains, has an outpost in the small town of Fujikawaguchiko. Tourists have flooded into Fujikawaguchiko to take one specific picture – a shot of Mount Fuji behind a Lawson’s store, where the mountain’s classic elegance contrasts with the store’s modern neon signage. Although Lawson’s has not encouraged visitors to take pictures of their store, the company nevertheless issued a statement addressing the issue on May 5. Many of them headed to the same destinations, crowding Kyoto’s narrow streets and the walking trails of Mount Fuji. And Lawson’s is not the only Japanese tourist destination that has resorted to putting up signs warning visitors of bad behaviors.

Persons: Fuji –, Lawson’s, Lawson, –, overtourism, Fujikawaguchiko, Semans Organizations: CNN, Fuji, Mount Fuji, ”, Mount, UNESCO Locations: Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi prefecture, –, Japan, Mount, Yamanashi

☆ Chinese climbers stuck on cliff for more than an hour due to overcrowding
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Earlier this week, groups of travelers climbing Yandang Mountain in eastern China were stuck partway up a cliff, clinging to a rope along a fixed climbing route, for more than an hour. Someone like me afraid of heights might just wet myself up there!” wrote one Chinese online commenter. Wenzhou Dingcheng Sports Development Co., Ltd, which manages the via ferrata, said it had underestimated the number of people interested in climbing the mountain. Yandang Mountain is about 410 km (255 miles) south of Shanghai, in Zhejiang province, and is 1150 meters (3,773 feet) high. A popular site for holidaymakers in China, Yandang Mountain was submitted for UNESCO World Heritage site designation in 2001 and remains on the tentative list.

Persons: Everest, rungs, ”, I’m Organizations: CNN, Sports Development Co, Labor, UNESCO Locations: China, Wenzhou, Shanghai, Zhejiang province

☆ ‘China’s Cape Canaveral’ is booming, fueled by moon mission and space program
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Marc Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The city of Wenchang is home to a rocket launch center – and a tourist industry that caters to a growing interest in space-related tourism. China has made no secret of its desire to develop tourism here, drawing inspiration from Florida’s Cape Canaveral – the launchpad for many famous NASA space missions. From celestial scenes in the corridors to a rocket on the breakfast buffet, the sprawling property is inspired by the nearby Wenchang Launch Center. The growth of China’s space program has fueled more interest in all things aeronautic. “Although it’s my 24th time, maybe, to see the rocket launch, I’m still excited about this,” he told CNN.

Persons: Hilton, Justin Robertson, That’s, Yan Zehua, I’m, ”, Liu Guoxing Organizations: CNN, NASA, Hilton, Getty Locations: Hainan, Hanoi, Beijing, Hawaii, China, Wenchang, Florida’s Cape Canaveral, Hainan’s, United States, Canada, France, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan

☆ Japan’s Kansai International Airport says it hasn’t lost a single piece of baggage in 30 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —While Singapore and Doha’s airports compete against each other for the title of “world’s best,” another aviation hub is focusing on a different achievement. Japan’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) is marking 30 years without losing a single piece of luggage. In a press statement, Japan’s seventh busiest airport said that it had not lost any passenger bags since opening in September 1994. It’s worth noting that according to the airport, their baggage handlers and ground staff have never lost a bag. Timely baggage arrival is just one of the factors looked at when naming a “world’s best” airport.

Persons: “, ” Kenji Takanishi, ”, CNN’s Mai Nishiyama Organizations: CNN, International, Haneda Locations: Singapore, Kansai, KIX, Osaka Bay, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Tokyo, Narita

☆ Bonza Airlines cancels all flights and leaves Australian travelers stranded
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Around Australia, travelers are stranded and trying to get home after low-cost airline Bonza unexpectedly announced it has “temporarily suspended services.”The airline, Australia’s newest, had a fleet of six planes, all painted a bright purple color and given Aussie-inspired names like Sheila and Matilda. Catherine King, Australia’s transportation minister, told reporters Tuesday that she had spoken with representatives from Bonza and urged them to keep passengers fully informed. Qantas, Australia’s largest air carrier, services only six of the 36 routes that Bonza has been flying. “We will immediately support any passengers stranded mid-journey by offering complimentary seats on Virgin Australia-operated flights to the airport nearest to their final planned Bonza destination,” the airline wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Currently, the company’s website is still online, but it’s not possible to book flights and all travel dates appear blacked out.

Persons: Bonza, Sheila, Matilda, Tim Jordan, ”, Catherine King, “, ” King, ” Bonza Organizations: CNN, Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia Locations: Australia, Bonza, Launceston, Tasmania, Gladstone, Queensland

☆ Tourists continue to visit Hawaii’s Haiku Stairs even as it gets removed for overtourism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The staircase, which was built during World War II by the US Navy, has remained a tourist site despite being officially closed to visitors since 1987. On April 23, five people were arrested and charged with first-degree trespassing, according to CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now. “On top of (access) being illegal, it’s an active worksite,” Honolulu PD District Maj. Randall Platt told Hawaii News Now. It has not yet been decided where the stairs will go after being removed. One local tourist attraction, Kualoa Ranch, has expressed interest in buying and housing them.

Persons: –, Randall Platt Organizations: CNN, US Navy, Hawaii, YouTube, Hawaii News Locations: Oahu, Honolulu’s, Honolulu, It’s, harm’s, ”

☆ Mount Fuji: Japanese town putting up eight-foot barrier to block tourist photos
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A picturesque Japanese town is putting up a giant mesh barrier to block a popular selfie spot near Mount Fuji. Fujikawaguchiko, at the foot of the Yoshida Trail to Mount Fuji, has become overrun with foreign tourists trying to get the perfect photo of Japan’s most famous mountain. And now the town has had enough and is putting up the mesh barrier to block the view, a local official told CNN. The town of Fujikawaguchiko is in Yamanashi prefecture, to the north of Fuji and about 62 miles (100 kilometers) west of Tokyo. Many of them head straight to Mount Fuji, an icon of Japan and a UNESCO World Heritage site, leaving garbage and causing erosion along the way.

Persons: Philip Fong, “ Overtourism, Masatake Izumi, – Organizations: CNN, Mount, Getty, UNESCO, CNN Travel, Disney Locations: Mount Fuji, Fujikawaguchiko, AFP, Yamanashi prefecture, Fuji, Tokyo, Japan, Yamanashi, Austrian, Halstatt

☆ What it’s really like to live in Macao
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Macao, the Chinese special administrative region (SAR) often twinned with Hong Kong, is known as the Las Vegas of Asia. But travelers who are willing to dig in a little deeper can explore Macanese culture, which mixes Portuguese, Chinese and Southeast Asian heritages. Macao is comprised of two islands – the north one, Macao itself, and its southern neighbor Taipa. “In Asia, [people] think that Macao is full of casinos, and I think they do not understand the other parts of Macao,” says Lai. That means that they can live in Macao without a work visa and do not need a company sponsoring them.

Persons: CNN — “, ”, Vivian Lai, Taipa, Lai, ” Marina Fernandes, Michael Maslan, “, it’s, Uber, Fernandes, Eduardo Leal, Ricardo Balocas, Balocas, Don’t Organizations: CNN, Las, Macanese Association, Bloomberg, Macao International Airport, Joseph’s University, Macao, Henley Locations: Macao, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Asia, China, Taipa, “, ”, Europe, Portuguese, Zhuhai, Macao’s, Singapore, Jakarta, Hanoi, Bangkok, Beijing, North America, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Bay Area, Portugal, Macao's, Lisbon, St, Philippines, ‘ Little Lisbon, it’s

☆ Private rooms coming to some of Japan’s bullet trains
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Japan’s beloved Shinkansen trains are getting another upgrade. This photo illustration shows what the private rooms will look like. Japan RailwaysThey will be located in the green cars, which are the first-class, more expensive cars on Shinkansen trains. Travelers who have purchased a JR Rail pass will still need to pay extra to use the private rooms. The Tokaido line was Japan’s first-ever high speed rail line, making its debut in 1964.

Persons: CNN —, CNN’s Junko Ogura Organizations: CNN, Japan Rail, Japan Railways, Travelers Locations: Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka

☆ The world’s best airports for 2024, according to Skytrax
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For the last decade, Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Doha’s Hamad International Airport have been going back and forth, battling over the title of ‘world’s best’. European airports dominateNine of the top 20 best airports are in Europe, including Vienna, Madrid and Istanbul. Kansai International Airport (KIX), which serves the Osaka area, scored the award for the world’s best airport baggage delivery. El Dorado International Airport (BOG), which serves Bogota, Colombia, was voted the best airport in South America, while Panama Tocumen Airport (PTY) won the honor of best airport for Latin America and the Caribbean. The world’s best airports for 20241.

Persons: CNN — Ali, Frazier, ‘, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, It’s, Charles de Gaulle, ORY, Indira, Skytrax, Paris Charles de Gaulle Organizations: CNN, The Red Sox, Yankees, Doha, Singapore, Singapore’s, Singapore’s Changi International Airport, Doha’s Hamad International, Hamad International, Airport, ” Qatar Airways Group’s, Oryx, Paris, Paris ’, Rome Fiumicino Airport, Zurich, Vantaa, Haneda, New, Chubu Centrair International, Kansai International, Vancouver International, Melbourne Airport, MEL, Australia, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Cape Town Airport, King Shaka International, El Dorado International, Panama Tocumen, TWA, New York JFK, Hyatt Regency Shenzhen, Hilton Munich Airport, Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Doha Hamad, Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Dubai, Munich, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Rome Fiumicino, Vienna, Madrid, Barajas, Vancouver, Kansai, Melbourne, Copenhagen Locations: Singapore’s Changi, Doha’s, Qatar’s, Singapore, Doha, “, Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, Vienna, Madrid, Istanbul, Paris, Skytrax, Rome, Helsinki, HEL, Japan, Asia, Haneda, Narita, New Chitose, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, North America, Down, Pacific, India, Cape, Africa, Durban, Bogota, Colombia, South America, Panama, America, Caribbean, New York, China, Tokyo, Vantaa

☆ Amsterdam bans construction of new hotels as a way to fight overtourism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

This means: no overtourism, no new hotels, and no more than 20 million hotel overnight stays by tourists per year,” it said in a statement. This is the latest in a series of measures the Dutch capital has taken to mitigate the issue of overtourism in the city. Last year, the Amsterdam City Council voted to ban cruise ships and close its cruise terminal. The city also banned the use of marijuana on public streets in the red light district and ended guided tours that passed by sex workers’ windows. Under a 2021 ordinance called “Amsterdam Tourism in Balance,” the city council is “obliged to intervene” when tourism numbers reach 18 million people.

Organizations: CNN, Amsterdam City Locations: Netherlands, Amsterdam, Balance

☆ Mount Everest: Nepal to remove trash and dead bodies from world’s tallest mountain
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —As the 2024 Himalayan mountaineering season gets underway, another high-altitude project is in the works: removing tons of trash from Mount Everest. According to the Nepali army, the Mountain Cleanup Campaign collected 110 tons of waste between 2019, when the program started, and 2023. These bodies are of climbers who perished while attempting to summit the world’s highest peak. As a result, overcrowding and trash have been two of the biggest problems plaguing Everest in recent years. In addition, 2024 will be the first time that all Everest climbers are issued tracking chips, which can aid in search and rescue missions.

Persons: Sherpas, Diwas Pokhrel, CNN’s Esha Mitra, Amy Woodyatt Organizations: CNN, Unilever, Everest Base, Everest, Everest Summiteers Association Locations: Everest, Nepal

☆ China reopens Mount Everest access to foreigners
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —For the first time since the pandemic, China is allowing foreign climbers to access Mount Everest via Tibet. Rather than a tourism official or council in Beijing, all passes to use the Chinese route up the mountain, which is known in China as Qomolangma, are distributed by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA). There is also no official announcement released by the Chinese government notifying the public that passes will be given out. Foreigners who obtain tourist visas to China must get an additional, separate visa for Tibet, which is a semi-autonomous region. Ballinger’s team will arrive in China on April 25 after pre-acclimatizing at home to save time.

Persons: Adrian Ballinger, Ballinger, Ballinger’s, ” Organizations: CNN, Alpenglow Expeditions, China Tibet Mountaineering Association, Everest Base, Foreigners Locations: China, Everest, Tibet, Nepal, Beijing, Lhasa

☆ Everest climbers will have to take their poop away with them, as Nepal tries to address growing waste problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Poop bags?… Check. Most people who attempt to climb the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) Mount Everest do so via Nepal, paying $11,000 apiece just for the climbing permit. But the world’s highest peak has a poop problem, driven by the number of visitors, and the harsh conditions on the mountain, which interfere with the degradation process. Twelve climbers were confirmed to have died on the mountain, while another five remain officially missing. Jinesh Sindurakar of the Nepal Mountaineering Association told CNN that an estimated 1,200 people will be on Everest this season.

Persons: Pemba Dorje, Diwas Pokhrel, Jinesh, ” Sindurakar, Sindurakar, CNN’s Lilit Marcus Organizations: CNN, Mountaineers, Getty, Everest Summiteers Association, Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepali Army, Himalayan Times Locations: Everest, Nepal, Pemba, Pemba Dorje Sherpa, AFP, Rural, Annapurna

☆ Bali Nyepi: Why one of the world’s most popular islands falls completely silent for a day
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This is Nyepi, Balinese New Year. Amanda Syrowatka, owner of the Viceroy Bali, helps manage expectations for hotel guests during Nyepi. The day before Nyepi is Ngrupuk, when giant monster effigies called ogoh ogoh, representing evil spirits, are paraded around by local children. While some tourists plan to come to Bali for Nyepi specifically to witness or take part in the holiday, some find themselves there unexpectedly. “While I might not plan a trip around Nyepi,” says Bigg, “I certainly wouldn’t mind being in Bali for it again.

Persons: CNN —, Amanda Syrowatka, Viceroy Bali, Nyepi, ”, Wayan Ari, Putu Sayoga, Agung Parameswara, Margot Biggs, “ Organizations: CNN, Local, School for International Training, Viceroy Locations: CNN — Bali, Indonesia, Bali, Putu, India, Viceroy Bali ., Nyepi, American

☆ Mount Fuji introducing visitor cap and entry fee to prevent overcrowding
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an icon of Japan, is putting new regulations in place for climbers amid concerns about overcrowding. “By strongly promoting comprehensive safety measures for climbing Mount Fuji, we will ensure that Mount Fuji, a treasure of the world, is passed on to future generations,” said Koutaro Nagasaki, governor of Yamanashi Prefecture. “In order to revive traditional mountain climbing from the foot of Mount Fuji, we will gain a detailed understanding of the Fuji-ko and Oshi culture that supported Mount Fuji worship. This 2023 photo shows a crowd of visitors beginning their Mount Fuji ascents. Mathiad Cena/AFP/Getty ImagesAccording to prefectural data, five million people hiked Mount Fuji in 2019, a rise of three million from 2012.

Persons: ”, Koutaro Nagasaki, Mathiad Cena, “ Overtourism, Masatake Izumi, Tomoyo Takahashi, Takahashi, Hanako Montgomery Organizations: CNN, Mount, UNESCO, Fuji, Mount Fuji, Heritage Fuji Division, CNN Travel Locations: Japan, Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kasai, Kyoto, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima

☆ Singapore InterContinental Hotel will pay you if it rains on your vacation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But one hotel in the Lion City is taking a gamble to ensure that rain doesn’t spoil its guests’ holidays. The InterContinental Singapore’s “Rain Resist Bliss” package will reimburse one night of a guest’s stay if one of their planned activities ends up getting rained out. The money comes in the form of a voucher, which must be spent at the InterContinental Singapore within one week, and the amount you get is equivalent to one night’s stay in your room category. Special packages like these can be a way for an established hotel to stand out from the pack. In Bali, one hotel banned smartphones and other electronics by the pool as a way to encourage guests to unplug and relax.

Persons: “ , what’s, Andreas Kraemer, Organizations: CNN, InterContinental, Asian Civilizations Museum, Tiger Brewery, Hyatt Locations: Singapore, Lion, InterContinental Singapore, Bali, Hyatt New York

☆ Nepal to require all Mount Everest climbers to use a tracking chip
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ahead of the 2024 Mount Everest season, Nepal has announced a new requirement that all climbers must rent and use tracking chips on their journey. “Reputed companies were already using them but now it’s been mandatory for all climbers,” Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal’s department of tourism, told CNN. Once the climber returns, the chip will be removed, given back to the government, and saved for the next person. The majority of people who try to climb the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) Mount Everest do so via Nepal, paying $11,000 apiece just for the climbing permit. It can take as long as two months to complete the Mount Everest climb.

Persons: ” Rakesh Gurung, Gurung, Bigyan Koirala, Manveena Suri Organizations: CNN, Mount Everest, Sherpa, ” Department of Tourism, Reuters Locations: Nepal, “, Everest, Malaysian

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