Lack of room for space tourists will make use of Russian vessels and ISS rather problematic.

Space tourists may have to seek alternative transport after 2009 due to a lack of room on the Russian capsule serving the International Space Station (ISS), Russia’s space agency chief said.
“It has to do with international agreements that stipulate that from 2009 the (ISS) crew must be made up of six people if Japanese and European scientific modules are launched,“ said Roskosmos chief Anatoly Perminov, reported AFP.
“In this case there will be no room for space tourists,“ Perminov told a news conference, adding that space tourism making use of Russian vessels and the ISS would therefore be “rather problematic“.
“I’m afraid that from 2009, tourism as we see it today may be discontinued,“ he said.
Perminov said demand for space travel, even at the astronomical prices currently charged, was already overwhelming Roskosmos’s ability to provide seats.
“When there is a possibility we agree to flights by space tourists. There are so many people who want to make such a trip that we cannot satisfy all requests,“ he added.
US national Dennis Tito was the first space tourist on the ISS in 2001, followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, American Greg Olsen in 2005, and Anousheh Ansari, an American of Iranian origin, in 2006.
Hungarian-born American Charles Simonyi became the world’s fifth space tourist in April in 2007 , describing his 25-million-dollar trip as “terrific“.
Simonyi, the former Microsoft whizz kid who made his fortune helping develop the company’s Word and Excel software, broke the record for space tourists by spending 14 days in space.

Adrian Hayes

A British explorer has broken the speed record for reaching the North and South Poles and the summit of Mount Everest.
Adrian Hayes, who lives in Dubai, slashed five months off the “Three Poles“ record, completing the feat in just over 19 months.
He reached the South Pole on Friday, unassisted and unsupported, 47 days after setting off across Antarctica from Hercules Inlet.
Former British Army Gurkha officer Hayes, 45, is only the 15th person to have achieved the feat, according to AFP.
“I’m super-fit, and that really helps,“ he told The Daily Telegraph by satellite phone.
He said the failure rate was high for attempts to reach each of the three extreme points on the Earth.
“Most explorers take several years to complete the challenge, but I am very lucky to have done it within 19 months,“ Hayes said from the Amundsen-Scott base at the South Pole.
“It’s really difficult to do it any faster due to the sheer amount of physical and mental effort it requires, let alone preparation time and all the other resources.
“However, I must say that although it was an arduous trek it was fractionally easier than doing the North Pole.“
He reached the Everest summit on May 25, 2006, and the North Pole on April 25, 2007.
Hayes is one of only 117 people to have walked the entire way to the South Pole in 96 years and one of only 57 people to reach the South Pole unassisted.
His achievements have raised awareness and funding for the Children’s Hope Foundation and Friends of Cancer Patients charities.

Yazd Grand Mosque (Friday Mosque) is located in Iran’s central Yazd province.
The 12th century mosque is still in use today. It was first built under Ala’oddoleh Garshasb of the Al-e Bouyeh dynasty.
The mosque was largely rebuilt between 1324CE and 1365CE, and is one of the outstanding 14th century buildings of Iran.
The mosque is a fine specimen of the Azari style of Persian architecture, according to Wikipedia.
The mosque is crowned by a pair of minarets, the highest in Persia, and the portal’s facade is decorated from top to bottom in dazzling tile work, predominantly blue in color. Within is a long arcaded courtyard where, behind a deep-set southeast iwan, is a sanctuary chamber (shabestan). This chamber, under a squat tiled dome, is exquisitely decorated with faience mosaic: its tall faience Mihrab, dated 1365CE, is one of the finest of its kind in
existence.

Barbados, which earned a record $1 billion from tourism in 2007, beat out several top destinations including Dubai.

Barbados has won the world’s number one celebrity destination hot spot for 2007 as listed by the website www.Expedia.co.uk--an internationally recognized travel website.
Barbados, which earned a record $1 billion from tourism in 2007, beat out several top destinations including Dubai which came in second place; French Riviera third place; Las Vegas, fourth; and Los Angeles, fifth, said Nationnews.com.
Other destinations beaten by Barbados include Madrid, sixth place; Miami, seventh place; New York, eighth place; Paris, ninth place and Rio de Janeiro tenth place.
The website described Barbados as a resort where “celebrity spotting is probably the hottest sport on this Caribbean island“.
Chay Davis, consultant corporate communications officer at the Barbados Tourism Authority, said Barbados had long been a signature iconic destination for the rich and famous.
“Celebrities flock to the island not only because of its tropical year round weather and breathtaking vistas, but also due to its reputation as a very friendly, safe and secure destination,“ added Davis, who said celebrities can enjoy a high degree of anonymity in Barbados.
Barbados also ranked as the world’s second best honeymoon destination--behind the Bahamas, while beating out Paris, France--and the world’s third best beach holiday, after Antigua and Phuket, an island off the Andaman Sea.

The traditional ÒGreat Arak BazaarÓ, dates back to the Qajar era (1781-1925 AD), in IranÕs Markazi province.

Tibet is forecasting to receive at least five million tourists in 2008, an official with the region’s development and reform commission said.
Jin Shixun, director with the Commission, said Tibet expected a 25 percent increase in tourists in 2008.
They would push tourism revenue in the autonomous region to six billion yuan (about US $800 million), Xinhua said.
The commission estimated earlier that the region, with a total population of 2.8 million, would receive a record-high 4.02 million tourists in 2007, a 64 percent increase year-on-year. Tourism revenues were forecast at 4.8 billion yuan.
Tibet’s architectural icon, the Potala Palace, has received more than one million tourists alone so far in 2007.
Tourism is Tibet’s main industry. The region received 2.5 million tourists in 2006, earning 2.77 billion yuan in total tourism revenue. This accounted for 9.6 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.
Jin attributed the surge in tourists mainly to the operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway that was completed in July 2006.
Statistics show that in the first full year of operation of the railway to this past June, more than 1.5 million visitors, accounting for over half of the total tourists, took the train to the region. Another 1.4 million arrived by air.
The 1,956-kilometer railway, built at a cost of 33 billion yuan, was the first railway to connect Tibet with the outside world.

Global warming has led to a new travel boom as holidaymakers embrace what tour operators are calling doomsday tourism--the urge to see some of the world’s most endangered sites before they disappear for ever.
Newly awakened to the perils facing the planet, American tourists are leading the charge to the melting glaciers of Alaska, Patagonia, the Arctic and Antarctic, the sinking islands of the Pacific and the fading glories of the Great Barrier Reef--and their British counterparts are not far behind, Telegraph.co.uk reported.
Ken Shapiro, the editor of TravelAge West, a magazine for travel agents, said the phenomenon was one of the most significant trends in travel in 2007. He added: “I called it the tourism of doom and I got a lot of responses from people in the travel industry.
“Many people are picking a holiday destination because it is threatened or endangered by environmental circumstances. We’re hearing it from tour operators and travel agents.“
So far even the more aggressive US travel industry has not marketed sights explicitly as “doomsday“ must-sees. But Shapiro said it was different behind the scenes. “They may not put it in the brochure, but they say, ’See it before it’s gone’ when talking to customers.“
Some 10,000 tourists now climb the Tanzanian mountain every year.
Quark Expeditions, a company that runs Arctic and Antarctic tours, is doubling its capacity and opening up new routes, including one to the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitsbergen.
Prisca Campbell, Quark’s spokesman, said: “There’s not enough capacity to satisfy demand. We always get the question about global warming. There are many folks who are really concerned. Most of our American travelers look at the world and say, ’What’s left?’“
Critics say the rush to “see it before it’s gone“ is hastening damage to the environment, encouraging tourists to take flights and other means of travel that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

South Korea ranked 10th in the world for shopping, according to a recent global survey. It is the first time for the nation to be included in the top 10 as a shopping destination.
According to the Country Brand Index (CBI) on 2,600 international travelers by FutureBrand, a brand consultancy, South Korea was the 10th best country in accessible, diverse and abundant retail choices.
FutureBrand has conducted the survey since 2005 and provides tourism authorities around the world with tourism-related CBI, including natural beauty, nightlife, art and culture, beaches, and fine dining, wrote Koreatimes.co.kr.
South Korea was not listed in the top 10 in 2006 when the shopping category was started.
According to another survey by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) on 5,832 inbound travelers during the first six months of 2007, 40.9 percent of them said they visited South Korea due to shopping. Some 48 percent said they came to South Korea as the country was close to theirs, while 43.9 percent cited food.
Shopping was the main reason of visit to South Korea for travelers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. As travelers spend more money on shopping than sightseeing or other tourist activities, South Korea’s growing popularity as a shopping destination is likely to help the nation make up the tourism deficit.
In the meantime, the United States topped the shopping category, followed by United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Japan, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, and South Korea.
As rising stars that are likely to become major destinations, Croatia ranked first, followed by China, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and South Africa.
Egypt was the most popular for history; Italy, for art and culture; Australia for outdoor activities and friendly locals; Maldives for beaches; New Zealand for safety and natural beauty; and Spain for nightlife.
Canada was the country where most people would choose to live, while the United States was the country easiest to do business in.