Israel tourism has been in an upward spiral over the last few years. Every year brings a new crop of travelers to the Jewish State—reflected in now-routine "this was the best tourism year ever" headlines—and they go home and tell their friends. That's how you end up with niche surveys about the popularity of Israel travel, like Israel being the number two destination for Russians.

Obviously part of Israel's tourism revolves around the country being a destination for religion travel. Jerusalem is and will remain by far Israel's most-visited destination (see our insidery tips for making the most of a Jerusalem visit here and here). But other parts of Israel are becoming famous for appealing to other demographics.

Forest-filled Haifa recently got the nod of being Israel's cleanest tourism city, part of a campaign to bolster green travel to and around Israel (El Al passengers flying from LHR to TLV can even purchase carbon off-sets).

And then there's Tel Aviv, which has just been voted the world's single best gay travel destination.]]> Omri 2012-02-01T13:39:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/1/29/84513/2442

Donald Trump is in the business of making money. Let's get that straight first and foremost. Therefore, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Trump is now calling a proposed green energy windfarm a "disastrous and environmentally irresponsible" development...all because it's nearby his picturesque Menie estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The lengthy details of the fight against the building of the offshore windfarm—read more here from Deadline News—of course don't directly name the Trump golf course as the reason for Trump's opposition. For him, says Sorial of the Trump Organization, it's all about the greater effect on local tourism: "People come from all over the world to play courses that are unique to Scotland. They don’t want to look down on electrical turbines." Um. Need we refresh his memory that when the Earth faces a serious energy crisis, nobody's going to give a gosh-darn about the view from his precious golf course? ]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-30T09:25:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/22/65148/035

Have you got a spare three or four hours? If you were in Costa Rica right now, those could be spent hiking around a volcano and petting frogs. Sure, everyone knows the giant Arenal volcano towards the center of the Central American country, but Costa Rica has six other active volcanoes, one of which is Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, located in the Guanacaste province and within its own National Park.

Rincón de la Vieja is serious business as far as volcanoes go. Heading up to its top rim and caldera is no longer allowed (too risky!) but local, experienced guides can easily lead you on a several-hour hike to spot fumaroles (steam vents), bubbly muddy water cauldrons, cute froggies and waterfalls so clear and cool you'd think it was Norway instead.]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-22T15:55:47-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/20/6403/1939

We knew that the City of Lights didn’t enjoy chewing gum, and now it sounds like the Eternal City feels the same way. Rome would love it if you’d dispose of your gum properly, but if you just need to toss it on the sidewalk—c’mon people—they’re planning a new initiative to clean it up.

Recently the cleanup started in and around Largo Argentina—that’s one of the spots with plenty of historic ruins (and feral cats)—as crews and volunteers hit the pavement prepared to scrape and scrub the sidewalks. According to some city officials responsible for garbage collection each gum removal costs like one euro—um, really—so it sounds like a pretty expensive undertaking. ]]> kjb 2011-12-20T09:20:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/19/64521/895

You better revise your list and ask Santa for one of those stainless steel water bottles, as there’s one place your plastic bottle is no longer welcome.

Initially the head honcho over at the National Park Service wasn’t totally cool with banning plastic bottles at the parks across the land, but now it sounds like things might move forward at places including the Grand Canyon. Parks considering getting ready of plastic need to do a few things first, however, including making a checklist to report how much waste they’ll eliminate, as well as the effect on businesses and other groups that benefit from selling stuff at the park. ]]> kjb 2011-12-19T09:44:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/12/667/80959

Back in October we heard that bike-sharing was turning into car-sharing thanks to the Velib spin-off—Autolib. Initially the rental cars were part of a test run, but the program has been pretty popular and now it’s time to go all-in.

The plan is to eventually add more than 3,000 emission-free cars to the streets of Paris, but for now new cars will be added each and every week. The system works just like the bikes—with a slight increase in cost—and you can pick your car up in one location and drop it off in another. The cars are all battery powered, but the Bluecar electric vehicles should be able to spin around for at least 150 miles before requiring another fill up of electricity. ]]> kjb 2011-12-12T10:39:46-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/7/125848/824

If you've ever thought about taking a volunteer vacation but haven't been sure if it's for you, next year you'll have a chance to get your feet wet in the world of voluntourism, without traveling too far from home.

Biosphere Expeditions, an international volunteer organization that runs conservation expeditions around the world, is giving potential volunteers a chance to see what it’s like to be in the field, without making a huge commitment. ]]> cmb 2011-12-07T12:58:48-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/