Blown out of proportion

The last thing the travel industry needs in a recession are borders closed due to the swine flu disease. I am not suggesting that it is not important to make people aware of the symptoms of swine flu but some of the stories on the news and in the papers have been blown out of proportion.

Earlier today I read an interesting blog post about traveller’s experiences in countries like China, where people were kept in quarantine for days or have been put off travelling to because the authorities are panicking and going well over the top.

Flight crew wear flight masks

One blogger asked the question, should flight crew wear masks after he flew with Cathay Pacific and all of the crew members were wearing anti–swine flu face masks. I would have taken offense to this. Has anyone had a similar experience lately?

Stopped the flight from disembarking

My friend Kirsty managed to come down with the flu on the way from Dubai and lo and behold due to the whole swine flu business she managed to singlehandedly stop the whole flight from disembarking when she arrived at Melbourne airport.

Everyone stood there for 30 minutes waiting to get off the flight and three quarantine officers came on board with their facemasks on to interview her. They then had to wait for the chief medical officer to give clearance for the other passengers to disembark.

She was then escorted off the plane and taken to the quarantine department where she was seen by the swine flu doctor. What a frightening experience. In this case I can understand their concern; it was in the height of the swine flu outbreak, but even so, scary experience.

Your experiences and thoughts

I am interested to hear of any swine flu experiences that you’ve come up against or heard.

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Airline passenger experiences with the swine flu pandemic

Reduction in beaches awarded blue flag status

For those that are not aware, the Blue Flag status is awarded to beaches that have clean water, are litter free and have good facilities. The good beach guide has a map of British beaches and while I have no idea how many beaches we have it seems very poor that only 71 are awarded the Blue Flag.

Funding needed to clean up

My nearest seaside town is Scarborough and thankfully the beaches are good. That’s not the case for a lot of beaches though. I am not convinced that the government takes tourism seriously and it needs to start by putting money into improving our beaches before it is too late.

Keep our beaches tidy

It is our responsibility to make sure that we leave the beach litter free. Interestingly, at least 520 of our beaches have one storm overflow pipe which can cause pollution and increase the chances of sewage related diseases. You can report pollution online to the Marine Conservation Society.

Now the comments are open to you; what is the worst beach you have seen, and where.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Money needs spending to tidy up our British beaches

You only have to look around online to find some great travel blog content so, this month’s blog carnival I have chosen five of my favourite posts bookmarked on my StumbleUpon page. If you want to be featured on future carnivals, add me as a friend.

Six indie places to soak up the sunshine this summer

Summer is here and most of us will be heading off on holiday, either in Britain or abroad. I am not the type of person who likes to lie around on the beach but this is a well written guide that highlights six great places to have some fun this summer.

Find out which destinations are featured

In defence of British Food

It’s good to read someone defending our great British food. I have to say that I do not think British food is particularly healthy and quite stodgy, but, you cannot beat a nice roast dinner with Yorkshire puddings on a Sunday.

Join in the debate about British food

Four great scenic coastal drives in Bali

I have never been to Bali, but after reading this in-depth guide and looking at the photos I now want to go. It features tons of great advice about the coast drives and the types of tourist attractions that you will find on your drive.

Learn more about Bali

Ten tips for planning a round the world trip

Another really in-depth blog post providing great trips on planning your next round the world trip, the guide covers everything from places to visit to budget planning and advice on how to find accommodation. A great read.

Get planning for your RTW trip

Top cities for partying

I envy Matt, not only is he travelling around the world, but he’s also partying too! I have heard of the Full Moon party in Ko Phangan, but never realised that over 20,000 people attended it. Very useful post if you’re looking to find a destination where you can party till’ the early hours.

Find out where the parties are

Feel free to add comments on your favourite post featured this month.

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Perfect summer beaches, parties and road trips