Travel news this week was dominated by bad puns about Dreamliners and Nightmares, as a nasty little habit of batteries catching fire grounded Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner jets. This is more of a business story than a travel story, but it bears watching for travelers. There was a lot of anticipation about the lightweight aircraft but this latest setback is threatening to make the planes a punchline. If regulators around the world finally give the Dreamliner the thumbs up, will you be comfortable flying on one?
The other big story that continues to dominate the media is the flu – it’s everywhere this season, and it packs a wallop that doctors say is more severe than the flu in recent years. Americans have been strongly encouraged to get flu shots, but travelers should know that the rest of the world isn’t quite so vehement in pushing the flu vaccine. At CNN, Jen Christiansen reports that not a single European country is encouraging the general populace to get flu shots. As Christiansen reports, it seems European governments aren’t completely sold on the efficacy of the vaccine.
Here’s a related story – according to Expat Health’s Bill Cariker, the apparent overprescribing of antibiotics in the EU is causing a major health issue. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports that “antimicrobial resistance” in the EU results in about 25,000 deaths a year. So if you’re headed to Europe this year, wash your hands. A lot.
There’s a fine line between being paranoid and properly vigilant. Smart travelers know they need to be careful with their money when they’re in the midst of heavily trafficked tourist areas. So how do you do that when you also need your money to be easily accessible? USA Today’s Christine Sarkis offers ten tips for carrying your money while traveling.
There are plenty of road warriors whose office is… everywhere. To be truly efficient in getting work done as they travel the world, you need to have the right gadgets – gadgets like the ones highlighted here by Mashable’s Andrea Smith.
It’s a great big world, and at the New York Times they intend to get busy exploring it this year. The Times’ staff offers 46 must-see places for 2013.
Beijing is not on the Times’ list; maybe because it’s been five years since the Olympics were there and they’re assuming that a lot of people have already visited. Or maybe because of the world-class level of pollution – Beijing just had to shut down 100 industrial plants to try to reduce the outlandish smog levels.
And, finally some exhilaration in the United Kingdom. The Daily Post reports that a town in Wales has just approved a new attraction that will feature three mile-long zip lines. That’s a long ride, and they’ll be some of the longest zip lines in the world when they’re up and running.
