Feb 27th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Earlier this year, I told you about several destinations you should see before they disappear. Climate change, environmental destruction and a number of other issues were all threatening to ruin these travel sites, and in some cases (such as The Maldives) wipe them right off the map.
A lot of you responded with feelings of sadness and helplessness about the travel treasures we face losing. ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Maldives posts
How You Can Help Save Endangered Destinations
Feb 27th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
Earlier this year, I told you about several destinations you should see before they disappear. Climate change, environmental destruction and a number of other issues were all threatening to ruin these travel sites, and in some cases (such as The Maldives) wipe them right off the map.
A lot of you responded with feelings of sadness and helplessness about the travel treasures we face losing. ...5 Places To See In 2013 Before They Disappear
Jan 11th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
If you've been thinking about where you might want to spend your vacation this year, don't make any plans until you've read this list.
There are a lot of places and sights in the world that might not be around very much longer. Climate change, rising sea levels, human destruction and even shoddy artistry are to blame for the deterioration of some of the world's treasures. Want to see them ...Roman Coppola And W Hotels Release Four Travel-Inspired Films
Dec 6th, 2012 at 9:00AM:
With the help of filmmaker Roman Coppola, son of director Francis Ford Coppola, W Hotels and Intel recently held a travel-inspired screenplay competition. Out of more than 1,000 online entries, four scripts were chosen by Coppola, who then used his production company, The Directors Bureau, to match the winning scripts with emerging directors and actors.
The result are the short films ...Video Of The Day: Maldives Panettone Reef
Jul 25th, 2012 at 8:00PM:
"Panettone Reef" from Jon Kreider on Vimeo.
Swim through the Panettone Reef in Maldives with schooling bannerfish in this video. These bannerfish are native to areas near Africa and although they are strikingly similar to the Moorish idols, the bannerfish and Moorish idols are only distantly related. The Panettone Reef in Ari Atoll is a popular spot for diving. Not only is Maldives the ...
Maldives Social Media Campaign Backfires
Jul 13th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
When the Maldives Tourism Board urged fans of the islands to help make their tourism slogan, "The Sunny Side of Life," a global trend on Thursday, the campaign backfired. Instead of spreading positive words about the tropical paradise, tweets about police brutality and political illegitimacy spread like wildfire.
The social media campaign, which aimed to make the hashtag #SunnySideofLife a ...Hotel News We Noted: July 6, 2012
Jul 6th, 2012 at 4:00PM:
Greetings, friends. Here's to hoping that everyone in a hotel tonight is there because they are enjoying an extended Fourth of July vacation, and not because they're still without power from last weekend's storms or Colorado's devastating wildfires. It seems like the end of the world might be nigh after all – so this week, in addition to your standard Hotel News We Noted on openings, ...Photo Of The Day: Maldives Fishmonger
May 17th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Not sure who is scarier in this photo: the enormous fish or the intimidating fishmonger. The deep saturated colors and sparse backdrop add to the intense scene. Remove the fish and it could be a set from a "Hostel" horror movie. Today's Photo Of The Day was taken by Flickr user Mark Fischer in Male, Maldives. Although it may not be thought of as a major urban center, Male is one of the most ...The Best Island Photos From Instagram
May 14th, 2012 at 11:00AM: Instagram frequently leaves me with a serious case of travel envy, particularly when my dashboard is filled with photos of islands. There they are: fringed with palms, festooned with colorful fishing fleets and bathed in the gold-pink light of sunset. Then come the rocky, overgrown and uninhabited islands, which poke out of the sea just for a photo op. Do they go back to sleep underwater when no ...10 Extraordinary Islands To Visit On Your Next Vacation
May 10th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Summer is the time of island vacations. It is time to put as much distance between you and the real world as possible. It is time to stand outside of your everyday life and to see how it all looks from a paradise perspective. Here is a collection of islands for escape – places to recharge, gain perspective and explore. From an island in the land of the gods to a tropical Amsterdam at ...Video: The Beauty And Science Of Bioluminescent Waves
Apr 10th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
There's nothing as bewitching as seeing bioluminescent waves crashing onto a night shore. I first saw these as a kid and the memory has always stuck with me. The stars above, the glimmering lights of distant freighters far out to sea and the weird blue surf rushing at me. It's one of the most vivid memories of my childhood.
How couldn't it be? This glowing surf is beautiful and mysterious. ...
'Guam: The New Maldives' and other Chinese tourism trends
Mar 27th, 2012 at 9:00AM: In 2012, trips originating from China will comprise an estimated 8 percent of total world travel. The China Tourism Academy estimates that 80 million Chinese residents will travel overseas, spending an estimated US$80 billion. That's a significant chunk of the market.
In a recent article, CNNGo's Shanghai editor Tracy You set out to demystify the Chinese traveler and predict the future of ...Maldives to get first full-sized golf course
Mar 21st, 2012 at 5:00PM: Shangri-La's Villingili Resort and Spa in Addu Atoll will open the Maldives' first full-sized golf course later this month.
Don't get too excited - it's only nine holes. Designed for recreational golfers, most of the holes are par three and average 123 yards.
Don't complain too much, people. You're in the Maldives. The course will also feature a clubhouse, bar and pro shop. Don't want to ...Bowermasters Adventures: Update from the coup in the Maldives
Feb 13th, 2012 at 9:00AM: In a move surprising those not living in the Maldives -- where most of the recent press has focused on its green-thinking on climate change and carbon use -- the island nation's president, Mohamed Nasheed, has apparently been forced out in a coup d'etat.
Fingers are being pointed at allies of the previous president, Maumoon Gayoom, for orchestrating Nasheed's resignation. It was the Gayoom ...The 10 smallest countries in the world
Feb 1st, 2012 at 11:00AM:
The world's ten smallest countries in terms of area fall into two general categories: European microstates (Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) and small island nations of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and Caribbean (Maldives, Marshall Islands, Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Tuvalu.) Some of these countries are quite new as independent nations: Tuvalu gained independence ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Running out of water in the Maldives
Jan 9th, 2012 at 12:00PM: Kunahadhoo Island-- On a very hot, very typical, mid-morning in the Maldives I walk the streets of this tiny island just north of the equator.
Most of its 800 residents had gathered at the shoreline to greet visitors from a nearby island. While they focused on a first-of-a-kind beach clean-up along the rocky coast, accompanied by a drum band and dancing, I took a small walking tour looking for ...Maldives reverses spa ban
Jan 8th, 2012 at 2:00PM: Just days after a blanket ban on spa services in the Maldives was announced, the country's President announced that services will be made available to tourists.
Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said he expects the court to rule that the law is unconstitutional. "We have lifted the ban and all the services will be available for tourists," President Nasheed told Reuters today.
The ban, ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Protecting the Maldives
Dec 30th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
Laamu, Maldives-- The recent four-day, ocean-focused conference -- dubbed WaterWoMen by its sponsors, Six Senses Resortsand +H2O-- was a first-of-a-kind blend of water sport activities and intellectual athleticism.
Equal part coming out party for the resort on this remote Maldivian atoll just a100 miles north of the equator included were not just some of the world's top water athletes ...Waldorf Astoria Maldives launches coral reef regeneration project
Dec 21st, 2011 at 1:00PM: The Maldives coral reefs comprise the eighth largest reef system in the world. But active tourism and fishing industries, as well as global phenomena like climate change and El Nino, are taking its toll. And because the islands of the Maldives are low-lying, the coral reefs are even more important as a barrier against sea-level rise and storms.
To do its part, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives is ...Bowermaster's Adventures: Learning how to breathe in the Maldives
Dec 21st, 2011 at 9:00AM: LAAMU, Maldives -- A fast-moving rainstorm blew over the small atoll late in the afternoon, briefly cooling a humid day just 100 miles north of the equator. But within twenty minutes the sun was back hot and bright, the air even thicker with dampness. Aaaaaah paradise!
I was desperate for some cooling off, having spent the morning learning something I thought I'd mastered long ago: How to ...Maldives in Peril: Exploring the island of Maalhos
Nov 21st, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Late on a Sunday afternoon, hardly a day of rest in this part of the world, the small island of Maalhos is quiet. The men, most of who go to sea each day to fish or work at one of six nearby tourist resorts, are absent. School is out for a week's holiday so kids of various ages scamper up and down the short, dusty streets. The women of the island of 600 are mostly in doorways or small ...
