Rising Fuel Costs Cause No Reason To Kill Vacation Plans

As travelers make plans for summer, rising fuel costs are coming into play more than ever. Still, a recent survey indicates that vacation loyalists continue to plan summer travel by land or air, despite rising fuel costs.

“Many Americans consider travel a mainstay to our way of life and are loyal vacationers,” said Bill Sutherland, vice president, AAA Travel Services in a statement. “While some Americans may modify their travel due to rising fuel costs, those who can are still choosing to travel and they are traversing the world.”

According to a recent AAA survey, many seasoned vacationers are expanding their travel horizons to exotic faraway lands too. While many Americans head to their computers when planning a summer getaway, AAA has seen a continuation of the number of vacationers seeking expert advice from a travel counselor to help guide their decisions, save time researching and get information on popular destinations.

The top 10 destinations asked about?

By land

  1. Orlando, Florida
  2. Honolulu, Hawaii
  3. Rome, Italy
  4. London, England
  5. Anaheim, California

By air

  1. China
  2. Peru
  3. The Galapagos
  4. The Amazon
  5. India

AAA has more than 54 million members, is a not-for-profit, fully tax-paying leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.


[Flickr photo via david drexler]

Belarus internet ban targets foreign websites

A new internet ban in the former Soviet country Belarus will make the usage or browsing of many foreign websites illegal and punishable by a fine of up to $125. The Library of Congress reports that all Belarusian companies and entrepreneurs will be required to use only locally-hosted websites for conducting business, sales, or exchanging emails. Additionally, e-commerce websites without a local presence will be banned from providing goods or services to anyone in Belarus, meaning that websites like Amazon will not be allowed to sell to Belarusians. Internet cafe owners are required to report any illegal browsing to the authorities for prosecution. Additionally, websites deemed “extremist” or “pornographic” will be banned, bringing to mind a scene from the TV series Scrubs when Dr. Cox says “I’m fairly sure if they took porn off the Internet, there’d only be one website left, and it’d be called ‘Bring Back the Porn’.”

What’s unclear about the law is how it would apply to non-commerce sites like blogs or news sites, or any other website without the .by extension. How about travel booking engines or content for citizens to travel abroad? It’s also unclear how it would affect non-Belarusians doing business in the country, such as Gadling’s blogger Alex Robertson Textor, who recently reported from Minsk. Will this very website become illegal to read in Belarus? We hope not, for any Belarusian readers, and for the sake of internet freedom for all.

Photo courtesy Flickr user decafeined from a protest earlier this year in Istanbul against pending internet censorship in Turkey.