MINNEAPOLIS – Boeing and a space tourism company announced a deal on Wednesday to sell tickets on rocket rides to the International Space Station. Now Boeing just has to build a spaceship. Space Adventures Ltd. has already been selling seats aboard the Russian-built Soyuz spaceship. Its last passenger was Cirque ...

O'Carroll v Ryanair, Sheriff Court, 2008 R appealed against a decision of the Sheriff Court to award damages against it for "stress, inconvenience, frustration and disruption" to their holiday as a result of delayed baggage. The appeal was to the Sheriff Principal of Grampian, Highland and Islands at Aberdeen. The ...

Plaintiff, during the process of embarkation for a Jetstar flight from Brisbane to Adelaide, was directed to descend a flight of stairs within the terminal to access the tarmac for boarding. Having descended the stairs, he was unable to find an open door giving access to the tarmac and therefore ...

Russia stopped sending tourists to space last year because of lack of space in the International Space Station (ISS) after the crew has increased from three to six. RIA Novosti now reports that Russian Federal Space Agency plans to send Soyuz spacecraft with two space tourists to the International Space ...

The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) released a statement warning that dreams of Olympic tourism could turn to nightmares. ETOA's research and analysis shows that the vast numbers of foreign visitors anticipated to arrive at previous Olympics did not materialise. No host city has predicted demand for an Olympics correctly.ETOA ...

Demographic change will have major implications for the tourism sector over the coming decades, but also presents important opportunities. This is among the central findings of the recently published UNWTO/European Travel Commission (ETC) report on ‘Demographic Change and Tourism'. The report sets out the main demographic trends worldwide and in ...

The German Hotel and Restuarant Assocoation (DEHOGA) had classified the cruise ship "MS Deutschland" as "5 star superior" under its hotel classification system. The competing shipping company Hapag Llloyd sued for revocation of this classification. Landgericht Berlin dismissed the claim in first instance judgement but, however, held that DEHOGA will ...

After months of lobbying from a discount website, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has started an investigation on whether some hotels have put pressure on third parties to raise their rates. Hotel rooms are often sold through websites at rates far lower than those offered by travel agents ...

Italian firm Aviointeriors has developed a saddle shaped SkyRider seat which would allow airlines a way to squeeze in more passengers by reducing the space between rows of seatbacks to just 23 inches.The company compares the forward seating position to that of a motor-scooter rider or horseback rider.Source: CNN; find ...

On 16 September 2010, EU Consumer Commissioner John Dalli announced the initial results of the 2010 Sweep, targeting websites selling tickets to cultural and sporting events. This sector was chosen following the large number of complaints received by the European Consumer Centres (ECCs) for this product category in 2009 (close ...

The UK High Court suspended U.K. courts from hearing any more compensation cases for delays against airlines. It has ordered the suspension while it asks the European Court of Justice to review the November 2009 ruling (joint cases C-402/07 - Sturgeon v. Condor and C-432/07 Böck, Lepuschitz v. Air France) ...

KwikChex, a U.K. reputation-management company is soliciting plaintiffs and financial support within the travel industry for a class action against TripAdvisor, alleging that the travel-review site's unverified reviews can be false, defamatory and libelous. KwikChex claims "tens of thousands" of businesses have been negatively affected by TripAdvisor's user-generated reviews. It ...

Ving Sverige AB, a Swedish travel company advertised New York trips in newspaper ads, indicating an entry level price only. The Swedish consumer ombudsman (Konsumentombudsmannen) sued for unfair competition as he regarded it necessary to indicate a specific price whereas advertising an enty-level price only was misleading.The Swedish court (Marknadsdomstolen) ...

Focusing on the 2012 Olympics in the context of similar mega-events such as this year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and the next one in Brazil, this debate which will be modelled on the highly interactive Questiontime format will examine the critical issue of tourism, mega sporting events and ...

Two youngsters booked a holiday package to Greece, mainly for the purpose of "having party". They therefore chose a beach hotel close to several bars, discos and other entertainment places. The tour operator, however, accomodated them in a different hotel, about 12 km away. They therefore had to take a ...

The High Court of Australia has dismissed an application by Qantas to challenge a Federal Court ruling in May that it owes commissions to travel agents because of failing to include fuel surcharges when calculating the commission paid to agents on international ticket sales.As a result of the High Court ...

From next year, the rules in the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code) will apply in full to marketing communications online, including the rules relating to misleading advertising, social responsibility and the protection of children. The remit will apply to all sectors and ...

Various posters at Stansted airport included an image of a train, the text "35 MINUTES" or "TRAIN TO LONDON 35 MINUTES" and various images of iconic central London landmarks including Big Ben, the London Eye and Nelson's Column. Trains stopped at Tottenham Hale in North London in 35 minutes whereas ...

The Supreme Court of California has ruled in Lu v. Hawaiian Gardens Casino, Inc., No. S171442 (Aug. 9, 2010) that the California law prohibiting employers from taking or sharing in tips left for employees by customers does not give private litigants a right to sue their employers directly for an ...

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the New York Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) policy permitting border agents to search, copy and detain travelers' electronic devices at the border without reasonable suspicion. DHS ...

The New South Wales Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by East-West Airlines against a flight attendant who inhaled smoke in an aircraft cabin 18 years ago and had developed a persistent cough. The New South Wales Dust Diseases Tribunal had previously found that due to the smoke from ...

The first six months of 2010 saw international tourist arrivals grow by 7% according to the August Interim Update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This result confirms the recovery trend beginning in the last quarter of 2009 and is expected to continue in the second half of the year ...

A German court (Amtsgericht Köln) has recently filed a reference for preliminary ruling with regard to the follwoing question:Does Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event ...

A couple booked a package holiday arrangement for their honeymoon in Egypt at EUR 1.448. Back home they complained about improper performance and assigned their claims to a consumer protection association (Verein für Konsumenteninformation - VKI) which sued for a price reduction of EUR 1.320,90 and compensation for loss of ...

The UK Air Transport Users Council (AUC), set up and funded by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to help protect the interests of air travellers, says that airlines are repeatedly failing to meet their obligations under European Union law to aid passengers affected by delays and cancellations. Between April and ...

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij announced that Thailand is willing to review regulations in the tourism sector to give more access to foreign investors and professionals in a move to attract more visitors.Find full article here>>.

On Sep. 2, 2010, the European Commission has updated the list of airlines banned in the European Union to impose an operating ban on one air carrier from Ghana and to place operating restrictions on another air carrier from that country.Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for mobility and transport, said: ...

The Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR) applauded Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia for introducing the “Baggage Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010” (S.3691), and announced its strong support for his legislation. The legislation would end potentially “unfair or deceptive practices” by commercial airlines by requiring them to provide clear ...

Sydney Airport Corporation Limited has confirmed that it will not increase charges for aircraft parking for regional airlines unless the charges are notified to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). "The ACCC has reminded Sydney Airport that the Trade Practices Act requires it to notify the ACCC of any ...

The July/August 2010 issue of ISO Focus+, the magazine of the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO), features some of the key standards that facilitate travel covering issues such as safety and security of travellers (machine readable passports, visas and travel documents , biometrics); travel and tourism signboards ; the proposed ...