This week in travel news: An ancient Italian site, a hefty European tourist tax and a bunch of bears in Alaska all got bigger.
Amsterdam vs. overtourism
Amsterdam is about to beat its own record for having the highest “tourist tax” in Europe – and possibly the world – next year, according to a budget released by the city government.
“The tourist tax will be further increased to fund the extra spending so that visitors make a bigger contribution to the city,” reads the document.
The daily fee charged to cruise ship day visitors will go from 8 to 11 euros, or $8.50 to $11.60, and the nightly fee built into hotel room prices will jump to 12.5% of the room rate.
Amsterdam has been striving to combat overtourism in recent years, with measures including telling undesirable visitors to stay away and restricting cruise arrivals. It’s also been trying to discourage those who come to the city in search of sex and drugs.
Grin and bear it
The popular annual Fat Bear Week has crowned its winner, a mama bear called 128 Grazer.
The contest, which is a way for Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve to engage the public ahead of bear hibernation season, ended on October 10 with Grazer well ahead of the runner-up bear, 32 Chunk.
According to the park, Grazer “often preemptively confronts and attacks much larger bears — even large and dominant adult males.” She’ll be back next year to defend her salmon crown.
La dolce vita
What’s better than owning a house in Italy? Owning two houses in Italy.
British-American couple Jeffrey Pfefferle and Leon McNaught decided to buy a one-euro house in the Sicilian town of Mussomeli after reading about them right here on CNN Travel.
Now, four years later, they’re the owners of two homes – and featured in a CNN Travel profile of their own.
However, Pfefferle says, they’ve acquired more than just a place to live. “That’s the people, the community: If somebody needs help, they’re there. I can’t believe it,” he says. “In Mussomeli there’s a different way to look out for others – like it used to be in the past.”
Train times
China’s infrastructure projects just keep coming. The latest addition to the portfolio is a 277-kilometer (172-mile) high-speed train line along the southeastern coast, connecting the cities of Zhangzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou, all three of which are in Fujian province.
The country’s state-owned rail system says that intelligent robots were part of the building process. This is China’s first overwater bullet train.
Pink palace
The Hawa Mahal isn’t just one of India’s most beautiful buildings – it was also way ahead of its time in terms of sustainability.
Completed in 1799, the Hawa Mahal – which means Palace of the Winds – clocks in at 87 feet tall and has 953 ornate louvered windows. The design was inspired by Krishna’s crown.
The Jaipur palace, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was designed to let air flow through naturally to stay cool.
If you’re planning to visit, make sure you bring a hat to wear in India’s sunny weather. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews website owned by CNN, have compiled a list of the best packable sun hats that won’t get smushed in your suitcase.
In case you missed it
The ancient Roman site of Pompeii is about to get bigger – sort of.
It will become a “parco diffuso” to better spread out the tourist crowds.
A woman flying from Kenya to the US tried to bring giraffe poop in her luggage.
She said she wanted to make a necklace out of it.
A Swedish company has started making flat-pack cars.
Despite what you may think, it isn’t IKEA.
Disneyland isn’t Mickey Mousing around with prices.
They’re going up again – find out why.
