Tourism

Repairs to the aging Sagamore Bridge during the spring have slowed traffic leaving Cape Cod to a crawl most nights and backed it up for miles on Sundays, culminating in a Mother's Day morass when the stalled line of cars stretched past multiple exits on Route 6 and triggered all-day gridlock on nearby Route 6A. "Whoever conceived of this plan should be fired," said Anne Kilguss, a Boston social worker and psychotherapist with a second home in...

Gas prices in Massachusetts have dropped more than 20 cents in the past month and are expected to keep falling, raising hoteliers' and restaurateurs' hopes for a successful kickoff to summer on what is forecast nationally to be the most heavily traveled Memorial Day weekend since 2008. Local drivers are paying an average of $3.65 a gallon, down from $3.89 a gallon in mid-April and $3.88 a gallon at this time last year, according to AAA Southern New England. And they have noticed the difference.

The residents of Joplin, Missouri suffered unspeakable tragedy when the May, 2011, tornado left the small city in ruins and 161 people dead. Today, Joplin is in the midst of a new crisis as city leaders, under fire, backed down from proposals to market the devastation and recovery as "tornado tourism. " While every effort should be made to respect the solemn nature of Joplin's history, the city should reconsider: Disaster tourism is a natural part of any tragedy that engages, and sometimes enrages, a nation.

There's sun, sand and sex in Cannes Film Festival entry "Paradise: Love" — and they add up to a grim and unsettling holiday movie. Austrian director Ulrich Seidl's film depicts middle-aged European women at a Kenyan holiday resort seeking romance with young local men. It had its gala premiere Friday in Cannes, where it is one of 22 films competing for the Palme d'Or. The movie stars Margarethe Tiesel as a 50-year-old Austrian whose search for love turns increasingly predatory.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tourists love Utah's ski resorts, red rock formations, and fine restaurants. It's finding something to do once the sun sets that's giving the state an image problem. Restrictive state liquor laws, city ordinances, and a historic association with the Mormon church are causing headaches for those trying to get tourists to spend more money here and change the perception that Utah is anything but hip. Tourism is a growing $5.45 billion industry in Utah, but its domestic market share has steadily shrunk in the past decade, even after the 2002 Winter Olympics.

MICHAEL CRONIN’s job as a college admissions officer took him to India two or three times a year, so he had already seen the usual sites — temples, monuments, markets — when one day he happened across a flier advertising “slum tours.” “It just resonated with me immediately,” said Mr. Cronin, who was staying at a posh Taj Hotel in Mumbai where, he noted, a bottle of Champagne cost the equivalent of...

A Shrewsbury man faces charges of sex tourism after he traveled several times to the Dominican Republic, allegedly to have sex with minors. Conrad Gallant, 61, was arrested Sunday in that country after a 15-year-old girl told Dominican National Tourist Police that she had been having a yearlong sexual relationship with an American man. The US attorney's office in Boston said Gallant traveled to Bavaro, on the country's east coast, at least four times...

Somerville ad agency Fuseideas said Friday that the government of Bermuda has awarded it the business of the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Fuseideas won the account following a competitive bid process. The department has an estimated marketing budget of $13 million. Fuseideas has experience in the tourism industry. Fuseideas has done work for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism as well as the Maine Office of Tourism, among others. According to Fuseideas, 65 percent of Bermuda's tourists come from either Greater Boston or the New York City...

CHITWAN, Nepal - Soccer-playing elephants used all four feet and even their trunks trying to score goals. Racing pachyderm thundered to the finish line to the cheers of the crowds. And in the elephant beauty pageant, contestants sported nail polish on their not-so-dainty toes. It was all part of an elephant-themed festival in Nepal that wrapped up yesterday. The three-day event was held to promote conservation awareness and lure visitors to Nepal. The elephants were trained for weeks for the games, taking time off their normal jobs carrying tourists through...

The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism welcomed the official start to summer yesterday by launching a new, interactive summer guide where residents and tourists can discover events, activities, and attractions in the state based on various interests. The new site allows users to navigate state activities based on what they are looking for in terms of relaxation or adventure, and family fun or romance. It also allows users to filter activities by region. Users are able to share events with others through Facebook and Twitter . "The...

HARTFORD — Connecticut is using a new marketing strategy to boost tourism that draws attention to the state's role in the Revolutionary War. Governor Dannel P. Malloy unveiled on Monday a ‘‘Still Revolutionary" Connecticut brand, part of a two-year, $27 million state marketing initiative. The ads will run on TV to take advantage of ‘‘sweeps week" when programs reach for top ratings and on radio, print, and digital platforms. Malloy said in an interview that Connecticut's history is worth telling and that the marketing campaign is well thought-out.

Some numbers illustrating the demand for accommodation during the 2012 London Olympics, which run from July 27 to Aug. 12. — Typical number of tourists visiting London in August: 1.5 million — Estimated additional 2012 Olympic visitors from abroad: 294,000 — Estimated additional Olympic visitors from elsewhere in the UK: 587,000 — Total London hotel rooms: About 110,000 — Hotel rooms allocated to Olympic staff,...

More than a century after waves of Europe's working class left for jobs in New England mills and other prospects in the U.S., their homes, communities and traditions are providing fresh opportunities to promote tourism in Connecticut. Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, French Canadian, Polish and other immigrants labored in factories that made silk in Manchester, thread in Willimantic, hats in Danbury and numerous other Connecticut mill towns in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Economic development officials now want to tell the immigrants' stories to draw tourists.

A Florida Panhandle county's former tourism director died of an apparent drug overdose Friday, a day after being accused of misusing public money sent by BP after the 2010 oil spill to buy a $747,000 home, authorities said. Mark Bellinger, 52, also had admitted just days earlier to using tax dollars to buy a $710,000 yacht. He said the yacht was to be used for county tourism promotions, though county commissioners said they did not know about those plans. He went missing Thursday and was found late Friday morning in his car in Alabama and later...

NEW YORK - Residents of Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom got a taste Tuesday of the United States' first marketing campaign aimed at boosting American tourism to people in other countries. The print, Web, and video ads were created by Brand USA, a partnership of government agencies and private companies. The consortium was developed to act like the tourism ministries of countries such as Ireland, Italy, or Israel. While tourism has increased globally over the last decade, the US share of those travelers has fallen, due in large part to...

AMSTERDAM - A Dutch court Friday upheld a new law that will prevent foreigners from buying marijuana in coffee shops across the Netherlands, potentially ending decades of "pot tourism" for which this city and others became universally known. A group of coffee shops had challenged the government plan, launched after southern cities in the Netherlands complained of increased levels of drug-related crime. The decision means that coffee shops in the south must stop selling marijuana to foreigners by May 1. They would be allowed to introduce a so-called "weed pass" for Dutch citizens, who would...

DUBLIN - Like so many fine ideas, Trevor White’s inspiration to transform Irish tourism was born in a pub. One evening last year, he was having a drink with a friend and the pair struck up a conversation with an Australian who had just arrived from Egypt, where he had been working as a gold miner. Curious, White asked why the man had chosen to visit Ireland. His answer was simple: “Because I heard the people are really friendly.’’ White, 38, bought the guy a drink and gave him some advice about things to do in town.

First you were forced to reach for an umbrella instead of the sunscreen. Then blight blasted your tomatoes, and the daisies drowned. In June and July, when the recession dampened travel plans to exotic destinations, Mother Nature offered you little more than indoor board game weather and mud. But New Englanders, a blazing crimson, gold, and orange reward is about to be yours: That miserable soggy start of summer and the crisp, clear conditions now...

The New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism is holding a "Reach the Summit" video contest for fourth-graders to explain and demonstrate why visitors should come to the state. Students will work together as a class to create 60-second videos showcasing New Hampshire. The videos will be posted on the division's website. The deadline for submissions is May 1. A panel will judge them in mid-May, selecting winners for categories such as best history, literary, overall acting, humor, and creativity.

Somerville ad agency Fuseideas said Friday that the government of Bermuda has awarded it the business of the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Fuseideas won the account following a competitive bid process. The department has an estimated marketing budget of $13 million. Fuseideas has experience in the tourism industry. Fuseideas has done work for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism as well as the Maine Office of Tourism, among others. According to Fuseideas, 65 percent of Bermuda's tourists come from either Greater Boston or the New York City...