Tourism is the act of travel for the purpose of recreation and business, and the provision of services for this act. Tourists are people who are "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited" (official UNWTO definition). The distance between these two places is of no significance.
A more comprehensive definition would be that tourism is a service industry, comprising a number of tangible and intangible components. The tangible elements include transport systems — air, rail, road, water and now, space; hospitality services — accommodation, foods and beverages, tours, souvenirs; and related services such as banking, insurance and safety and security. The intangible elements include: rest and relaxation, culture, escape, adventure, new and different experiences.
EU chiefs confront markets crisis Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:20:06 -0000 European heads of state meet in Paris to try to establish a common approach to the global financial crisis. Russia in fresh missile launches Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:17:23 -0000 Russia test-fires three intercontinental ballistic missiles, after claiming a distance record for one fired from a submarine. Haider 'was double speed limit' Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:48:36 -0000 Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider was driving at twice the speed limit when he died in a car crash, officials say.
NYT > Europe
European Leaders Meet as More Measures Extended Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:32:04 -0000 Government leaders from the major European Union members gathered in Paris on Sunday to discuss their collective response to the financial crisis.
A U.N. Charm Offensive Topped Off by Dessert Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:25:01 -0000 Iceland, locked in a tight race against Austria and Turkey, campaigns for two rotating seats on the Security Council that are reserved for the mostly European bloc.
Strong Earthquake in Caucasus Kills 5 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:23:31 -0000 The earthquake killed at least five people and disrupted power supplies in the Chechnya region of Russia, local news reports said.
L.A. Times - Europe
Austrian right leader Joerg Haider killed in car crash Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:27:00 -0700 Austrian politician Joerg Haider, whose far-right rhetoric at times sounded sympathetic to the Nazis and contemptuous of Jews and led to months of international isolation for the Alpine republic, died today in a car accident. He was 58.
Italy: Art springs to life in gardens near Rome Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Renaissance artistry blooms at Villa Lante, Bomarzo, Ninfa and other elaborate landscapes just a drive away from the Vatican.
Bagnaia, Italy
World championship match will be short, rich Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Position No. 6024: White to play and win. From the game Atila Figura-Roeland Pruijssers, Germany 2008.
UN News Centre - Europe
UN, Dutch university partner to reach development goals Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has joined forces with a Dutch university to promote education and research in developing countries to build momentum towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight ambitious anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders agree on weekly meetings - UN Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met today to continue talks on the reunification of the Mediterranean island nation, and agreed to meet on a weekly basis to keep up the momentum of the negotiations, according to a senior United Nations envoy. UN urges European Union to end violence against women in conflict zones Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) today urged European Union (EU) Member States to take practical steps in preventing sexual violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Europe - International Herald Tribune
A specter's shadow returns to haunt Moscow By ELLEN BARRY Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:15 -0000 Fifteen years after Communists failed to reverse history, can a credit crunch succeed? Global leaders meet to stop financial rout By DAVID JOLLY Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:15 -0000 Financial and political leaders were holding crisis meetings Sunday in Paris and Washington, seeking agreement on measures to restore confidence to the teetering financial system before markets open Monday in Asia. A bit of 'I told you so' outside World Bank talks By Helene Cooper and Charlie Savage Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:47:23 -0000 Protesters gathered to express their sadness — and in some cases, glee — over the global economic catastrophe that some said had proved them right. A power that may not stay so super By DAVID LEONHARDT Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:15 -0000 While Britain lumbered under the weight of imperial overreach, as the historian Niall Ferguson has written, the United States will be shackled primarily by its financial overreach. Iceland turns on charm for UN voters By NEIL MACFARQUHAR Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:15 -0000 Iceland is locked in a tight race with Austria and Turkey for two rotating seats on the Security Council that are reserved for the mostly European bloc, and the luncheon spread last week was part of its charm offensive. Russia test-fires ballistic missiles Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:21:15 -0000 The firing Sunday of a long-range ballistic missile came as President Dmitri Medvedev pledged to build up the country's armed capabilities.
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