2011-07-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

HOLIDAYS

NOVELTY TRIPS

· Tourists will flock to watch

the end of the world

As the millennium approaches, the biblical site of Armageddon is set to attract millions of pilgrims to the Holy Land. An ‘intellectual theme park’ is being built at Israel’s Mount Megiddo, which is Hebrew for Armageddon, the place where many believe the final battle between Good and Evil will take place. In co-operation with computer giant IBM, Israel will invest millions of pounds in 14 new visitor centres.

· The world’s first underwater

hotel opens in Florida

The Jules Undersea Lodge, off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, USA, is the world’s first underwater hotel. At present, guests have to scuba dive to it, but in future subsea hotels could cruise the deep, surfacing to pick up guests, or be linked to land by covered walkways. By 2000, tourists could be checking in to the U-Sea Marine Habitat, Hawaii, which has 80 rooms on four underwater levels, parking for 150cars, visitors, observatory, restaurants and a sundeck. The underwater tourist industry is already estimated to be worth more than $144 million per year.

TECHNOLOGY

TOURISM

· Smart cards set to take

off in a big way

American Express and Continental Airlines have issued several thousand business fliers with ‘smart cards’ embedded with the user’s personal preferences and other information. The test cards are inserted into a Continental smart card reader, which has a touch screen and prompts that allow passengers to switch flights, upgrade to first class, change seats, confirm One Pass numbers for mileage credits and obtain boarding passes and receipts.

· Internet takes on role

of travel agents

You can now book your holiday on the Net or via interactive video. Thomas Cook has been testing a 24-hour telephone /TV interactive travel service in Ipswich, UK, which shows flights, maps and video clips. Travel Wise is an Internet search engine for travel programs, such as Passport Online, that enables users to look for Net-based holiday deals updated on a daily basis.

HOLIDAYS

IN SPACE

· Tour operators are

offering a space cruise

Zegrahm Space Voyages was set up in 1997 to offer space travel packages. Their space tour will involve a week-long astronaut training experience, culminating in a 90-minute flight to 100 km (62 miles) above sea level to experience a short period of weightlessness. Selected tour operators around the world are already taking bookings for the first commercial departure on 1 Dec 2001 at a cost of $88, 000 a seat.

· Space-flavored theme

park cleared for lift off

The Future Port Experience being built in Long Beach, California, USA, will be an entire theme park devoted to space. More than just an entertainment complex, it will consist of rides and exhibits designed to excite the public’s interest in space while educating them about new space projects. The first phase opens in 1999 at cost of $ 169 million ,and hopes to attract 2 million visitors in the first year.

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