Travel

29 June 2007 -- The World Health Organization warns the risk of developing potentially life-threatening deep-vein thrombosis doubles after plane and other forms of travel lasting four hours or more. But, it says the risks remain relatively low. WHO has just released a study based on extensive examinations of tens of thousands of travelers.

The World Health Organization says travelers who remain immobile for four or more hours are at greater risk of developing blood clots in their veins, which could lead to death.    » read more »

21 June 2007 -- Government and industry officials say America's crowded airways are becoming more so. The technology exists to make air travel safer, and energy efficient, but so far efforts to improve the situation are moving slowly.

Airline industry analysts say that, on average, air traffic controllers track 5500 aircraft over the United States at any given moment, and that number will triple by the year 2025.    » read more »

WHTI Land and Sea Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Published

June 20, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced today the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a core 9/11 Commission recommendation. Proposed rules require a passport or other secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States.    » read more »

Call on Department of State to Outline Steps Being Taken to Fix Broken System

June 19, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined several of her Senate colleagues in expressing concern about extensive delays in processing and delivering passports. The delays are the result of a sharp increase in demand for passports as a result of implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).    » read more »

Call on Department of State to outline steps being taken to fix broken system

June 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined several of her Senate colleagues in expressing concern about extensive delays in processing and delivering passports. The delays are the result of a sharp increase in demand for passports as a result of implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).    » read more »

06/15/2007 -- Adults who have applied for but not yet received a passport should present government-issued photo identification and an official proof of application from the U.S. Department of State. Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child's proof of application. Travelers who have not applied for a passport should not expect to be accommodated. U.S. citizens with pending passport applications can obtain proof of application at U.S. Department of State web site.    » read more »

ARGONNE, Ill. (May 31, 2007) — With the summer travel season beginning, many travelers are beating jet lag with the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

A study published in 2002 in the medical journal Military Medicine found that travelers who use the Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag Diet are seven times less likely to experience jet lag when traveling west and 16 times less likely when traveling east. A copy of the study (16 MB PDF file) is online at AntiJetLagDiet.com.    » read more »

Map it. Plan it. Go - Find local fuel prices, hotels, restaurants & more

AURORA, Ill., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- North America's favorite auto club, now 50 million members strong, has rolled out its proprietary, best-in-class mapping tool to everybody. AAA's expanded online travel agency is designed to meet the specific needs of auto travelers, who account for 88 percent of all leisure travel in the United States.

Once reserved strictly for members, AAA's Internet TripTik(R) travel planner links AAA's highly-rated mapping tool with AAA Chicago's vast storehouse of travel knowledge and information to create the nation's first online travel agency for motorists.

Motorists will find the new AAA.com preferable to other travel Web sites whether they need quick maps and local driving directions or complete planning tools and destination information for cross-country road trips and fly/drive vacations.    » read more »

- Lower Giant Steps run at Vail to be renamed '38'
- Pitchfork trail at Beaver Creek to be renamed 'President Ford's'

VAIL and BEAVER CREEK, Colo., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- President's Day takes on special significance at Vail and Beaver Creek Resorts as the ski areas announced today that a trail at each resort will be renamed in honor of President Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th President.

Vail Mountain has designated the last pitch of the black diamond trail Giant Steps to "38." The designation 38 represents Gerald R. Ford's presidential lineage among the great men who have led our country. The trail location on the front side of Vail Mountain overlooks President Ford's former home and is a tribute to his contribution to the nation as well as the community.    » read more »

February 15, 2007, WASHINGTON – The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved two amendments supported by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to further analyze the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) before its implementation. The WHTI will require individuals from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to present a passport or other document proving citizenship before entering the United States. The amendments were included in S.4, the Improving America's Security by Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.

“We all share the goals of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: to make our borders as secure as they can be,” said Levin. “We need to make sure, however, that we are achieving that goal in a pragmatic, cost-effective manner. I’m glad the committee approved my amendments today that ask the Department to conduct further economic analysis of the initiative and to test an alternate solution that would enable citizens to use dual-purpose driver’s licenses at the border rather than obtaining an additional piece of ID.”    » read more »

Legislation would help ensure air travelers are not unnecessarily held on planes

Thursday, February 15, 2007, Washington, D.C. - Following incidents at JFK and Austin airports where passengers were forced to remain on planes for as long as 11 hours, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today announced that she is planning to introduce a "Passengers' Bill of Rights" in the Senate to ensure that air travelers are not unnecessarily held on planes or deprived access to basic food, water, and hygiene.    » read more »

AAA Adds 10 Hotels, Six Restaurants To Coveted 2007 AAA Five Diamond List

Washington, D.C. - 10/30/2006 -- Ten hotels and six restaurants attained the hospitality industry’s highest rating for 2007: the AAA Five Diamond Award. The total 151 AAA Five Diamond Award winners for 2007, which includes 93 hotels and 58 restaurants, comprises just 0.25 percent of the nearly 60,000 AAA Rated® properties across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.    » read more »

Six Flags 45th Anniversary Promotion Sees Overwhelming Response

NEW YORK, March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In anticipation of its season-long 45th Anniversary celebration, Six Flags (NYSE:PKS) this morning announced a promotion offering 45,000 free tickets for the opening weekend at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.    » read more »

Walt Disney World Resort Moves Mountains to Celebrate New Expedition Everest Attraction

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City's famed Times Square was transformed into the legendary Mount Everest on Feb. 15 by Walt Disney World Resort. A 57-story spectacular brought the Himalayas to life, with dazzling special effects and the ferocious roar of the yeti, plus world-renowned aerialist acrobats performing a never-seen-before display of vertical acrobatics.    » read more »

Six Flags Adds More Family-Friendly Entertainment to Theme Parks Nationwide

Featuring DC Comics' JUSTICE LEAGUE(TM) and Warner Bros. Entertainment's Beloved Looney Tunes(TM) Characters at All Six Flags Theme Parks

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Six Flags (NYSE:PKS) announced today that as part of its commitment to a family-friendly atmosphere and enhancing the overall guest experience in its parks, it will be adding 1,200 new costumed characters to Six Flags parks across North America. Visitors to the parks will be able to participate in meet and greet sessions, photo and autograph opportunities, daily parades, fireworks shows and other showcase events in the parks with their favorite Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, as well as their favorite DC Comics' Super-Heroes from the JUSTICE LEAGUE, including BATMAN, ROBIN, THE FLASH, GREEN LANTERN and WONDER WOMAN. Six Flags will introduce character breakfasts and lunches, afternoon storybook readings and daily Happy 45th Anniversary cake celebrations for kids. And at the new Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Water Park in Lake George, NY there will be nightly bedtime stories with Bugs Bunny.    » read more »