Disney's theme parks were launched 50 years ago this year. It is believed that 4% of all amateur photographs in the US are taken in a Disney park. Walt Disney was not impressed by American amusement parks, finding them “awful, smelly, dirty, and not particularly safe” so he decided to open his own. The Disneyworld resort in Florida opened in 1971, five years after Walt Disney died. The first Japanese park opened in 1983 and Hong Kong's park opens in September 205 and there are rumours, though denied by the company, that India could be next.

If you are planning to go to Bhutan, mentioning the Globetrotters Club when booking with www.golays.com will earn you a discount of $35 per person per night in the high season and $15 per person per night in the low season.

Dubai has always been the jewel in the United Arab Emirates crown, and Abu Dhabi considered a little quieter, more traditional and more conservative. Well, plans are afoot that may change all this. The United Arab Emirates is planning a 21 billion dirham (USD$5.7 billion) expansion of Abu Dhabi Airport in an effort to revamp the city's profile and attract millions of tourists. The new Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority said the emirate wants to attract over 3 million tourists a year by 2015, compared to 830,000 in 2003. Abu Dhabi has even tried to match Dubai's famed Burj al-Arab hotel, with its distinctive sail shape with its own Emirates Palace, where some suites cost USD$16,000 per night.

South Island Guides, www.southislandguides.com is a collective of professionally trained NZ guides, specializing in creating exceptional guided experiences. Based in Queenstown New Zealand, our guides have extensive experience and qualifications in all areas of the hospitality and adventure tourism industries. All our activities are tried and true, ensuring a high level of professionalism and client satisfaction. A unique and safe adventure is assured for you, your partner, friends and family.

If you would like more information on our 2005 winter products/services or our summer products/services 2005/06 please get in contact with us at info@southislandguides.com

A grey 10m long whale swam into an industrial part of Tokyo Bay in early May, causing much surprise. Only 12 sightings of the mammal have been confirmed around Japan since the 1960s. It is rare for grey whales to be sighted in Japan, much less in the capital's congested waterways a spokesman said. Grey whales travel about 20,000 km during their annual migrations between the sea off the coast of Vietnam to Russia's far eastern Sakhalin Island.

Spanish airline Iberia is considering buying or setting up its own low cost airline. More than 50 million foreign tourists visit Spain every year, increasingly arriving on budget airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet or Lufthansa's Germanwings. Watch this space!

India Tourist! Is a CD guide to India – see www.india-tourist.com The cd covers over 150 destinations and over 500 sub-destinations of India. It includes a hotel directory with over 1200 hotels across India affiliated to Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India, a listing of major travel agents across the country, details of the 4 Luxury trains with routes, itineraries etc.

Volunteer in Africa is an organization dedicated to disseminating information on voluntary work programs in Africa. We also organize volunteer programs and other programs including group tours in Ghana.

We place volunteers from worldwide on our own projects and on the projects of other organizations in Ghana for a period of 1 to 12 weeks. The volunteers stay with carefully selected, respectable, well screened, dedicated host families.

Our work is aimed at promoting environmental preservation, sustainable social and economic development, literacy, health care, international friendship and cultural exchange. For more information, see: http://www.volunteeringinafrica.org

The Peruvian government is to sue a unit of the Chilean airliner LAN over an in-flight video it showed allegedly depicting Lima as not a very nice place to go. The in-flight video is said to include old images of a man urinating in the street and gutters filled with litter. Peruvian officials say that the material misrepresents the capital Lima. The airline has apologised and withdrawn the film and three of its senior executives have resigned.

Lighters and matches are now banned in airline cabins, but passengers on British aircraft will be able to eat a meal with metal cutlery and to take knitting needles and scissors with blades less than 3 centimetres, or 1.2 inches, long in hand baggage. Longer blades, corkscrews, and penknives will still not be allowed, according to the British Department of Transport. “Airline security is an issue under constant review,” a spokesman says. “There are now enough security measures in place to allow passengers to bring these items back on to planes.”

The Ukraine has announced the temporary implementation of the visa-free entrance regime for EU and Swiss citizens.

This means that from 1st May 2005 till the 1st September 2005 EU and Swiss passport holders will be able to enter the Ukraine without visas for the period up to 90 days. For more information, see:Ukraine Visa

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Flying into Iran? Iran opened its new international airport, the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at the end of April 2005, despite warnings from Britain and Canada who fear that the runway may be unsafe. Neither Britain nor Canada said exactly why they were concerned about the safety of the runway. “We are aware of reports that the runway at the new Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran may not yet be suitable for use,” the British Foreign Office said in a travel advisory. We are in contact with the Iranian authorities about this. Until the situation has been clarified, we advise British travellers to travel by flights using the existing airport.”