Travel and tourism professionals can never forget that their profession is not only one that evokes high levels of emotions, but is often open to all sorts of liability cases that range from the frivolous to the extremely serious.  To add to the confusion, what may be legal in one place may be illegal or liable in another location and often visitors may not only sue in the location in which an incident occurred but also once they have returned home.  This month's Tourism Tidbits might be read in

If you've ever eaten Anatolian, you know what a Turkish delight it is, and Istanbul (not Constantinople) is certainly jam-packed with places to shovel it in. But on Akbiyik Caddesi, a popular restaurant row in Sultanahmet near the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, Dutch-born Cordon Bleu alumna Eveline Zoutendijk set out her shingle with a slightly more focused purpose than merely getting tourists fed.

Sure, at Cooking Alaturka you can certainly pull up a chair and feast on goodies

        I stop. “Wha’dya’ got?  Is it good?”

        “Is it good?  Hell, yes, it’s good.  D’you think I’m gonna’ get you some Mexican carnicero to snake the drain that’s gotta’ process all those hamburguesas, man?  It’s the real thing, hombre…

        “Cuanto cuesta?”

        “Are you a gringo?

        “Claro que no, soy chilango, nada mas vivo al otro lado para ganarme plata.”

        “Entonces, I can get you a special price, only seiscientos dolares, mas o menos.  You got any complications?”

Recently in Puerto Rico I attended the Saborea (savor), a “culinary extravaganza.” The event is a series of tastings and parties that culminates at Escambron Beach, ocean side under enormous tents. One tent showcased tastings from island chefs and Puerto Rican rum. Yum! The other tent was set up as a food theatre where two chefs had 45 minutes to create their own signature dish that was then judged side by side by a panel. The chefs were either Food Network or Bravo TV stars, or stellar local ta

by Hardie Karges and Kaleel Sakakeeny

Travelers probably already know that hostels can save  a bunch of bucks in super-expensive Europe.  But they can save a lot of money in Asia, too.  Or Mexico, And  some now rival boutique hotels for style and atmosphere.  They aren’t just for youth anymore, either.  They are not your parents' hostels!
Though still in their infancy in the US, hostels in fact are the hottest thing happening in budget travel and lodging.

These hostels are not the same as the t

(TTBS) I like to think of myself as a good person and responsible traveler but here's a confession, I'm not.

Sure, I've chastised litterbugs and those molesting animals in national parks and even gave my food to a homeless man last year but my irresponsible tourism blunder happened during my 2006 trip to Kabul. For those not in the know, I missed my flight to Kabul and ended up spending the night in Dubai before meeting up with the rest

El Bonnier Marine Corporation Group ha decidido albergar el Campeonato Mundial de Pesca Mar Adentro 2013 en Quepos, Costa Rica. Con el patrocinio del Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT), la justa deportiva se llevará a cabo del 14 al 19 de abril de este año. Dicho evento es la final de la serie internacional más grande de la pesca de altura en el mundo. Luego de una trayectoria de más de 13 años, este concurso atrae a miles de pescadores. La competición se compone de más de 130 torneos clas

As I flip through my passport with almost two hundred stamps, and look back on my 185 posts in my WordPress blog, numerous posts on Tripatani or Travel Bloggers Unite, and my 75 reviews on Trip Advisor, I realized that I am living a dream come true. Due to a myriad of converging circumstances, not the least of which is marrying the right woman, I get to travel to exotic locations, luxury locations and mundane locations and write about them. Someday, maybe, someone will pay me to write about thei

Tourism is big business in Costa Rica. Over the past 25 years, tourism has been the fastest growing economic sector in the country. Keeping tourists safe and informed while visiting Costa Rica is a vital commitment by the country’s government and national tourism organizations.

Costa Rican authorities have recently agreed to invest 350 million colones (approximately $700,000 USD) to strengthen the country’s tourist police force. The Ministry of Public Security and the Costa Rican Tourism Board (I

This high, rugged area is nature's ever changing canvas. Known as the Land of Lamas, Lahaul and Spiti are the passes stretching straight into the cold desert of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. Closed for more than six months during the year due to heavy snow, the land sheds its colours and goes for a complete turnover in spring and summers. Brown barren slopes with icy rivers and cold winds are the common feature of Lahaul and Spiti. The sole access to the this land is the Rohatang pass near Manali

There are a lot of parks to see ample wildlife in India, but some parks definitely have an edge over the others as far as tiger sighting is concerned. Here are the top few national parks in India where the chances of spotting the big cat are higher, but then, at the same time one should remember that the animal is quite elusive.

1.    Corbett National park: This was established by the legendary hunter Jim Corbett in 1936 and was the first national park to be established in India. The park covers

“Beware of pick-pockets” we were warned, “and guard your things – especially your passport”. Armed with all kinds of travel lore, we were in for a big surprise when we arrived in Hong Kong on our week-long summer vacation. Well, Hong Kong has surprises galore – especially if you are visiting after more than a decade. But the biggest surprise of them all is – Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world and is nothing like what folks back home warned you about!

The Hong Kong International Ai

In essence, travelers will create and share their own travel experience. They, not tourism officials or travel writers, will shape and determine the nature and quality of travel.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis , Director of the eTourism Lab at Bounemouth University (UK) , tells us what we already intuit: the world "is going to be totally interactive, using personalization, context information and inter-connected devices" that will change the face of travel, already a dynamic, fragmented industry.

Here is an absolutely delicious recipe from Chef Bryan Dame of The Edge Restaurant at the The Inn at Ocean's Edge in Maine. While it is incredibly delicious it is also easy to make and can be served in your own home!

Lobster Fried Rice
Chef Bryan Dame
The Edge

3 eggs, scrambled
12 oz cooked lobster, chopped & tossed to coat with corn starch
6 cups cooked rice (cold)
½ cup thinly sliced celery, bit size pieces
½ cup thinly sliced leek, bit sized pieces
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons

To fully appreciate a wine is to be intimately familiar with its geographical origins and vinicultural heritage. Wines from France's Roussillon region certainly exemplify this truism. Vineyards are surrounded by 3 mountain ranges yielding wide topographical variety and soils with the Corbières to the North, the Pyrenees with Mont Canigou to the West, and the Albères to the South while to the east ocean and mountains meet below on the Pyrénées-Orientales…widely referred to as an amphitheater to t

On one very special eve in July, the 'La Notte Rosa' or 'Pink Night' sees the entire Italian Riviera di Rimini transform into a pink party paradise. The dawn to dusk celebrations are coined as Italy's summer New Years Eve party. It is among Italy's top 5 festivals.

On the first or second weekend in July, the entire 40 km coast line turns pink. The town's shop windows, trees, ancient buildings, fountains and even the river glow pink.The moonlit sky does not escape the ‘tickled pink' treatment. The

Visiting Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast is almost like going to another country. Very different from the rest of Costa Rica, the Caribbean coastal towns of Limon, Cahuita and Puerto Viejo highlight their Jamaican-African ancestry with reggae music, Creole patois spoken alongside Spanish, a very laid-back attitude, and cultural cuisine like Jamaican spice cake, rice-and-beans, coconut shrimp, and papaya juice.

A main draw to the area is, of course, the Caribbean Sea – known for its crystal clear aqu