TURKEY: Turkey Tourism In Doubt After Attack In Istanbul

BLUE MOSQUE

In the wake of last month’s deadly suicide attack in the heart of Istanbul, tour operators and the country’s tourism representatives remained hopeful for a quick recovery despite the impact from several cruise lines pulling back their Turkey port calls.

“Turkey is a very important and popular destination for us,” said Leigh Barnes, vice president, North America for Intrepid Travel. “We did cancel our scheduled day tour departures in Istanbul immediately following the attack. We are planning to resume day tours on Feb. 1 if travelers are keen to book.”

Intrepid operates 16 multiday tour itineraries in Turkey and offers an additional six day tours of Istanbul under its city and day tour brand, Urban Adventures. Intrepid said it is currently off-season in Turkey, so the longer, multiday tour departures are not scheduled to begin again until March. And despite the attack, the company is still expecting to take a few thousand customers on Turkey trips in 2016, similar to the number of people it brought to the destination in 2015.

“To be honest, the attack in Istanbul is an incomparable tragedy,” said Canan Karaarslan, marketing and product manager for Istanbul-based ground operator Fez Travel. “But if such a cowardly attack convinces people not to visit Istanbul, that will be another tragedy.”

Karaarslan said that there’s “no doubt” that the incident will impact the number of travelers visiting the country. With over 40 million annual visitors, Turkey ranks among the top 10 most visited countries in the world.

But, she added, “We feel that Istanbul is no less safe than Paris or any of the other European capitals.”

On Jan. 12, a suicide bomber believed to be linked to the Islamic State killed 10 people, predominantly German tourists, and injured several others in an attack near the Blue Mosque, a popular tourist attraction.

Gorkem Karakus, director of the Turkish Tourist Office in Washington said that Turkey is working with its allies “to fight against the terror” and is confident the country’s once-thriving tourism industry will rebound this year.

But that rebound was made less certain when several cruise lines canceled calls in Turkey following the attack, including Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which said it was canceling calls in Turkey for the remainder of 2016 for all three of its brands.

Crystal canceled Turkish calls on two cruises this spring in favor of Greece, and MSC Cruises said its MSC Magnifica wouldn’t call in Turkey until further notice.

While the Turkey cruise cancellations are significant, cruise passengers only represent about 1% of Turkey’s total visitors, according to numbers provided by the Turkish Tourist Office. Karakus said that in 2015 Turkey welcomed just slightly less than 41 million travelers and that of those travelers, approximately 400,000 were cruise passengers.

VIETNAM: Asian Elephant Tourism Trends Are Moving Into Africa

A new report has slammed the use of elephants in the tourism industry, accusing operators of “appalling cruelty”.

World Animal Protection said that the trends seen in the Asian tour industry, whereby elephants used for tourist rides and shows, are now spreading to southern Africa. According to the report, elephants calves are being are taken away from their mothers to endure “cruel and stressful training” to make them tolerate being ridden.

“If not addressed urgently, hundreds more… elephants could face a lifetime of cruel confinement, beatings and other harsh treatment, all for tourist entertainment,” the report asserts.

While elephant tourism is well established in Asia, World Animal Protection warned that the practice is now spreading throughout southern Africa.

There are now reported to be 144 captive elephants in at least 28 different South African venues, plus 47 elephants in seven parks in Zimbabwe, 13 in two venues in Zambia, and 11 in two venues in Botswana.

The report also states that 24 young elephants were recently sold and exported by the Zimbabwean government to Chimelong Safari Park in China, where they will “suffer a life of abuse performing in shows and giving rides”.

“You’re taking the wild out of Africa by breaking the spirit of their elephants so they can be ridden and perform for tourists,” said Kate Nustedt, director of Wildlife at World Animal Protection. “People who love animals will be shocked about the cruelty behind the scenes of elephant rides, and they will no longer want to take part.

“There are many places in southern Africa for tourists to see elephants in the wild, and we’re encouraging people to see them there, not in cruel tourist entertainment.”

More than 20 travel companies around the world, including TUI Netherlands, Intrepid Travel, Asian Oasis and World Expeditions, have stopped offering elephant rides or shows to their customers.

“We’re calling on all operators to do the same, and to show their commitment to this by signing the World Animal Protection Elephant-friendly Tourism Pledge,” Ms Nustedt added.

MONGOLIA: Beautiful Mongolia

With an area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, Mongolia is about four times as big as California and more than six times bigger than the entire United Kingdom.

Getting from one province to another involves days of driving over some of the roughest terrain on the planet, often across vast stretches of empty space.

Sometimes the only company for miles is the herds of horses, yaks and sheep found grazing on the plains.

Other times its the vultures seen circling above.

While the landlocked country is mostly covered by steppes, you also get to see marvels such as lakes, canyons, sand dunes and cliffs along the way.

Mongolia's weather conditions are just as varied.

From the near arctic weather in the northwest where reindeer still run wild to the green larch forest in the northeast to the bone-dry conditions of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia has got every climate covered.

Sometimes, all four seasons can be experienced in one day.

Mongolians often leave their gers open for passersby who may need a rest.

With more than one third of its three million inhabitants living as nomads, Mongolia is one of the few countries where visitors can still experience a genuine nomadic lifestyle.

Family stays offer a glimpse on what it's like to live an itinerant lifestyle and a chance to experience the famous Mongolian hospitality.

"You can simply turn up unannounced and the Mongolian household will gladly offer you food, a bed and even tend to your horse," says Timur Yadamsuren, local guide and country manager for Intrepid Travel in Mongolia.

In fact, they don't believe in locking their gers -- the felt homes they dwell in.

They simply leave its door open to allow access to any passersby in need food or a rest.

Lucky visitors may be invited to a private shamanic ceremony in which a traditional healer is said to travel to an alternate reality to communicate with spirits and other beings.

Many Mongolians still observe such ancient beliefs to this day and often approach a shaman to receive blessings, cures or hints about their future.

Mongolia's also the place where American adventurer Roy Chapman Andrews discovered unhatched dinosaur eggs among other significant finds in the 1920s.

The epicenter of this discovery is South Gobi's Flaming Cliffs -- considered one of the world's greatest dinosaur fossil sites.

In other parts of the world, such a location might've been kept off-limits to the public.

Standing on the ground where dinosaurs once roamed, it's hard not to be thrilled by the prospect of finding even a small bone fragment on the sandstones.

During our visit our guide lets slip that she knows where to see one.

We find it concealed under a small rock at the base of a cliff.

After carefully moving the topsoil using her bare hands, she unearths a fully formed backbone.

Although she admits that it hasn't been verified yet, she's convinced it belongs to a dinosaur.

Whether it's the genuine article or not, Mongolia may offer one of the closest experiences uncovering dinosaur fossils in the wild.

As the sun starts to dip lower on the horizon, its rays cast brilliantly against the rugged sandstones, turning them a vibrant orange.

The brilliant sunset is just one of many awe-inspiring moments this country has to offer.