Middle Eastern Respiratory Virus Syndrome strikes the UK
The UK has become the latest country to suffer suspected MERS cases: 2 cases in a Manchester hospital forced it to shut its emergency department [July 2015]. In May, similar events in South Korea [Republic of Korea], mishandled through ignorance and poor infection control within several hospitals, caused multiple outbreaks of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. This article discusses current research, the Korean outbreak, how it is spread via global travel and within hospitals, and asks where else could MERS strike? What would happen should MERS ever reach a country with a poor health system?
Tourism growth threatens global resources
Tourism has proved itself one of the most resilient global industries, shrugging off the recent financial crisis to resume healthy growth and hit new record levels. As the rise in living standards in countries such as China translates into growing appetites for international travel, tourism levels look set to continue growing. But this growth…
World Wildlife Day 2015
Last year saw the first World Wildlife Day, to be held annually on 3 March as the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). (See this blog article by Stephanie Cole from a year ago). As is appropriate for a day commemorating CITES,…
Why walking in groups is good for you
Despite all the government campaigns, targets and media stories about the importance of regular exercise, a high proportion of the populations of Western countries still leads a very sedentary lifestyle. Cost and availability of facilities such as gyms and sports centres shouldn’t be a factor, given the benefit that can be obtained from simply walking…
Is orphanage tourism fuelling child trafficking?
Of all the forms of ‘volunteer tourism’, orphanage visits or volunteering have raised the most concern. A number of charities have warned about the emotional harm that could be caused by a constant stream of volunteers who shower orphans with affection for a few hours or days, and then disappear for ever. Concerns have…
CABI author, Stroma Cole, wins tourism award
Last week, one of CABI’s book authors, Stroma Cole, was awarded the ‘Making the Case’ ATHE Award, which is the award for Tourism in Globalisation: Understanding global complexity through tourism. The award was presented at the Association of Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE) annual conference held in Edinburgh on 4 December. The award was for…
World Tourism Day: Tourism and Community Development
World Tourism Day (WTD), celebrated every year on 27 September, is a global observance to highlight tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value. WTD 2014 is being held under the theme Tourism and Community Development – focusing on the ability of tourism to empower people and provide them with skills to achieve change in their…
Indigenous peoples and tourism
Using social media as the primary means of communication, Planeta.com and partners have designated the week from 4 August 2014 as Indigenous Peoples Week: an "annual celebration of social web storytelling about indigenous peoples and tourism around the world." Indigenous peoples are widely used by national tourism boards in marketing, and many tours sell…
Alcohol and sport: “drinking culture” affects youth health
Witnessing "beer towers" at the recent test match between England and Sri Lanka [Lords cricket ground} and thus the drinking culture amongst young sports fans, prompted my investigation of the health facts behind binge drinking and the misuse of alcohol by youing adults. Binge drinking is linked to increased injuries & accidents, violence, and now research evidence is accumulating for long-term effects : detrimental brain changes, and increased risk of depression and diabetes.
Working out how to work out: do we understand physical activity levels?
The World Health Organization and many national governments issue guidelines as to how much exercise we should all do to stay healthy. Current exercise recommendations from the WHO for 18- to 64-year-olds include "at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity…