Have you read any travel/holiday/tourism news lately?  Well, if you enjoying travelling may I suggest that you leave the newspaper firmly closed and turn off the TV!

Reading my daily dose of travel news was rather off-putting today, and just as we are all thinking about those much wanted (and needed!) summer holidays, it seems that there are ‘crises’ happening all over the world.

Just yesterday I blogged about stunning Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and today I read that the pollution levels are so high in this pretty little city, that “some tour operators are telling visitors to steer clear until air quality improves”.  Well, we have pollution all over the world and unless we start travelling responsibly and cutting carbon emissions, it is a circumstance that is likely to remain unchanged.

Next up, the Canary Islands, my home for almost 10 years is in the news due to the fact that Repsol, a Spanish oil giant, has started drilling for oil a mere 40 kilometres from the coast.  As one of Britons most popular travel destinations, Las Islas Canarias rely on tourism and the thought of an oil spill is sending the locals, the tour operators, and the tourists into frenzy!  Oil, carbon emissions… do I need to say more?

Story number three (this one is a classic!); Garden Tourism is on the increase! Garden Tourism – what on earth is that! After reading the first paragraph I found that “gardens throughout England and Wales are opening up for a day or two for charity” so actually this is a positive story, and not a story about us holidaying in our gardens – phew!

Last story (I couldn’t possibly manage more bad news today) is that 2012 is going to be a “tricky” year for British tourism due to the London Olympics. Inflated hotel prices and a propaganda war are to blame, it seems.

So there you have a round-up of today’s travel news, it doesn’t make good reading does it?

Well, I’m not buying any of it, the world is big, beautiful and ready for discovery, so let’s turn off the TV, use the newspaper for our fish and chips, and book that summer holiday somewhere exotic!