MetaFilter posts tagged with Tourism

CityCenter, Las Vegas

Joe Beese — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:26:08 -0800

Tomorrow in Las Vegas, a mixed hotel/condominium called Vdara will open for business on the spot once occupied by the unlamented Boardwalk Hotel and Casino. It is the first stage of the CityCenter complex, the largest privately financed development in the United States, which has already cost $8.5 billion and six lives. Even before the recent debt-restructuring woes of 50% stakeholder Dubai World, there was concern over CityCenter's impact on the struggling local economy. (previously) Vdara's opening is sure to be the top story on the Five Hundy by Midnight podcast - an affectionate but candid weekly review of Sin City news hosted by Tim and Michele Dressen.

Adult Education: a useless lecture series

anotherpanacea — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:25:30 -0800

You Are Not Going to be Famous. On Metatourism. How NOT to Raise a Chimp in Your Home: the Legacy of W. N. Kellogg. Exploring the Audiovisual Phenomenon of Beatles-Lookalike Long Playing Album & A Short List of the Worst Toys in the World.

Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video

dhammond — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:43:52 -0800

"The Cleveland Tourism Board gave me 14 million dollars about 8 months ago to make a promotional video to bring people to Cleveland. As usual, I waited till the last minute and I ended up having to shoot and edit it in about an hour yesterday afternoon. I probably should have invested more time."

So here's my trip to Chernobyl in pictures.

milquetoast — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:44:38 -0800

So here's my trip to Chernobyl in pictures.

On the Road, On a Postcard.

sarabeth — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:18:48 -0800

The Motel in America. In a different America, where the novelty of driving cross-country and the charm of the highway strip drew droves of tourists--and their automobiles--from coast to coast in the name of exploration and recreation, motels provided a home away from home for weary travelers. While many of the great motels of the mid-twentieth century have disappeared from the national landscape, the linen postcards left behind in the Motel Morgue can give us a glimpse into what this era of American tourism and leisure looked like.

Swimming pools, movie stars. Cha-ching!

mudpuppie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:57:06 -0800

"The multi-million dollar casino will feature unique applications of The Beverly Hillbillies theme. Granny’s Shot Gun Weddin’ Chapel, Jethro’s All-You-Ken-Et Buffet, the Cement Pond, Granny’s White Lightnin’ Bar complete with rain & lightning ["The waitresses are dressed like Elly May but padded like Dolly Parton"], Elly May’s Buns (Bakery) [Link possibly NSFW], gourmet meals from Drysdales’ Fancy Eatin’ Fo Da Richins, Granny’s Vittles & Hog Jowls Coffee Shop, and an oil derrick are just a few of the many attractions … a project of Las Vegas standards will be created!" Max Baer, Jr. -- that's Jethro to you -- "has the rights from CBS to use The Beverly Hillbillies theme for casinos, hotels, theme parks, restaurants, cosmetics and consumables." And by god, he's going to exercise that right. Good news: The final hurdle for the casino has been overcome. Over the objections of the church across the street, County Commissioners gave the go-ahead yesterday for the 9-story oil derrick that will serve as the casino's welcome beacon. (Sadly, the original plans for a 200-foot-tall derrick were quashed.)

Puntland

JVA — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:38:03 -0800

Visit beautiful Puntland! "You can find more or less everything in Puntland: mountains, wide beaches, clean lakes, deep forests, world-class historic monuments, and friendly people." Enjoy a traditional Somali breakfast over the daily paper. If you plan on an extended visit, consider taking a course at good ol' PSU.

WORKING. HAMMERS. SWEATING. POWER. CIRCUITS.

cobra_high_tigers — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:39:57 -0800

This is my Milwaukee (SLYTP-esque) No, I have no clue what it is either.

Civl War Dinosaurs

marxchivist — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:03:53 -0800

"It's 1863 and Union soldiers have discovered a hidden valley filled with dinosaurs. Now the Yankees plan to use the dinosaurs as weapons of mass destruction against the South." Presenting Professor Cline's Dinosaur Kingdom at Natural Bridge VA. Providing fun for the whole family, this is "not your father's dinosaur park." [via] If you can't imagine the ensuing mayhem, there's always a flickr group to document it. Brought to you by the mind of Mark Cline, who is also responsible for Foamhenge.

Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this 'satiable Elephant's Child had never seen a Crocodile

KokuRyu — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:22:22 -0800

Thrill-seekers swim with crocodiles in Australia Tourists who want to get cozy with a crocodile climb into a clear acrylic cage, dubbed "the cage of death," which is about 145 mm (5.7 inches) thick and 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) high, wearing just a pair of swimming goggles and a swimsuit. [Pictures] [YouTubery] "I can understand how this might be attractive to tourists but has anyone considered the welfare of the crocodile?" [More about saltwater crocodiles] The attraction is located at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, in Australia's Northern Territory. The cage has no bars, unlike cages used in shark dives, which prevents the reptiles from gripping on but deep teeth scratches are visible on the sides, deterring some hesitant participants. The cage is then slid along runners over four crocodile pens, carrying a maximum of two divers at a time, and partly immersed in the water so swimmers can see the crocodiles under the water but also come up to the surface for air. Via Meanwhile, freshwater crocodiles are encountering a "wave of death".

My New York

shivohum — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:32:20 -0800

My New York : artists, writers, professionals, and New Yorkers of all stripes talk about what they look forward to seeing in the city this fall.

The last resort

MrMerlot — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:33:32 -0800

Martin Parr is a celebrated English photographer who has a reputation for being both preoccupied and inspired with notions of consumerism, foreign travel and tourism. Now you can actually go on holiday with him. The School of Life, a maverick cultural institution in London, is offering a weekend away with the sardonic snapper in the Isle of Wight. Parr has described the Isle of Wight as like "a living theme park, like stepping back into an England of 20 or 30 years ago". For the princely sum of £500, you get to stay in Parr’s favourite seaside hotel, and join him for visits to the Brighstone holiday centre, the Needles, Ventnor beach and "other landmarks of the Isle of Wight tourism scene". According to the website, Parr will discuss his photography as well as his collections of souvenirs and postcards, and train your eye to see the "ugliness in beauty and the horror in leisure". Future holidays with cultural figures are planned by the School of Life, including a tour of the "overlooked delights of Heathrow airport" with philosopher Alain de Botton and an exploration of the M1 motorway. To my mind, this reminds of the sports tours where past greats are paid to guide you around famous stadiums and then sit with you at dinner trading old anecdotes. But does this cultural-history-as-holiday have other antecedents, I wonder?

Tourist Planning

netbros — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:19:20 -0800

A View of America ― Aquariums, beaches, gardens, monuments, parks, zoos, etc. This site aims to describe American attractions that tourists may find interesting. Listings are sorted by state and by category. Also includes recipes, jokes, and puzzles. The site has been around for ten years and continues to grow with age.

Tar-ism

gman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:53:24 -0800

Vacations in Alberta's Oil Sands. Courtesy of Greenpeace.

I Have Seen the Elephant

Miko — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:01:09 -0800

It's 1881. You're real estate speculator James Lafferty, and you've just bought a large parcel of empty, scrubby shoreside land just south of Atlantic City. Problem is, it's cut off from the AC streetcar line by a deep tidal creek. How do you entice potential buyers to make the trek over the inlet and look at your property? Build a giant elephant, of course. Capitalizing on the celebrity of P. T. Barnum's famous Jumbo, Lafferty built 65-foot tall Lucy the Elephant, the first of three giant elephants Lafferty built (followed by Cape May's Light of Asia and Coney Island's Elephantine Colossus). He even took out a patent on the very idea of buildings shaped like animals. Though threatened by decades of neglect and rot, the Save Lucy Committee began preservation efforts in 1970, moving her to her present site and giving her a complete restoration. Photo of the Elephantine Colossus Lucy the Elephant jingle [warning: earworm] Great collection of antique Lucy postcards, many incorrectly identifying her as a hotel (she never was, but the Turkish Pavilion from the Philadelphia Centennial was moved to a site behind her and operated as a hotel)

Top Tourist Spots Americans Can’t Visit

LarryC — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:56:25 -0800

Top Tourist Spots Americans Can’t Visit. Some will take this as a challenge.

The right to do wrong

asok — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:17:37 -0800

Auroville Funded by Governments all over the world, the city of Auroville is an ongoing experiment 'whose stated purpose is to realize human unity in diversity' through yoga. Unfortunately, it seems the 'rule free' society has attracted some of the least welcome of humanity's outliers, namely child sex tourists. Auroville is the biggest employer for the impoverished local Tamil population, which some would argue makes it likely that the local police might not be inclined to investigate abuse claims very thoroughly. Aurovillians pay no tax and benefit from 2/3 of the profit from any commercial enterprise, as well as receiving a maintenance grant from the government which is more than the locals earn by working a full day. Is Auroville simply an extension of the usual colonial european behaviour in Asia, or a bold experiment? It was quite difficult to find any online information about Auroville that was not directly attributable to an Auroville resident. Subsequently, the links are not un-biased. Thanks to hadjiboy for the 'Bizarre Childhood' link.

Thailand life..,

konolia — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:19:22 -0800

A Thailand teen who has had an online presence for ten years... is now doing three yearsin a Thai prison...and with the help of his former teacher is able to tell us about it.

Monstrous Scuplture Garden In Italy

jonson — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:46:10 -0800

In the town of Bomarzo in central Italy you will find Monster's Grove, a vast sculpture garden created in 1552 by Pier Orisini to be a unique & astonishing place. The scupltures are quite large, and some are carved directly into the bedrock; as the name might indicate, the subjects are mainly mythical creatures. For centuries, the stone was uncared for, and nature began to reclaim the art, until the 1970s when efforts began to preserve the pieces, and today it is a major tourist attraction, though still privately owned nearly five centuries in.

...And Ruby Falls

Miko — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:29:55 -0800

See Rock City. See Seven States.

Heal the World

hadjiboy — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:18:01 -0800

Medical Tourism in India (inspired by this post from miss lynnster)

Visit Beautiful Norilsk!

MarshallPoe — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:34:56 -0800

Norilsk is a big city in northern Siberia. On the permafrost. It was built by slave labor in the 1930s. Norilsk Nickle, a very profitable company, wants you to invest there. Some think it's a hell hole. Others think it was the downfall of the Soviet economy.

Japanese historical photographs ca. 1910

Rumple — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:43:16 -0800

A nice set of photographic glass-plate transparencies depicting life in Japan ca. 1910. These "Yokohama photographs" were sold to foreign tourists between about 1868 and 1912. I found the Crafts and Trades section most interesting.

Embarrasment of Riches

telstar — Fri, 11 May 2007 19:29:14 -0800

Poorism or Poverty Tourism is a growing trend among otherwise thrill-jaded first world tourists and is engendering a lively debate as to whether "poorists" are helping the impoverished areas they are guided through, or are merely gawking voyeurs.

Date with a Transvestite Spirit Medium

homunculus — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:49:08 -0800

Burmese Daze: In which the author submits to the pleasures of a transgender spirit possession festival in Burma. [Via Disinformation.]