Time Slows on Easter Island

How tourists damage eight of the wonders they love most

(NEWSER) - From the litter strewn around Machu Picchu to the noisy highway junction next to Stonehenge, mass tourism and misguided development have many of the world's most famous travel destinations looking worse for the wear. Wanderlust magazine reports on the top eight threatened wonders, what can be done to help them, and three places that could use more tourists. A few of them: More»

Flight, hotel promise to offset vacation's carbon footprint

(NEWSER) - If carbon-footprint guilt is keeping you from taking a vacation, one company has your sun-soaked answer, TreeHugger reports. From the domestic flight to the hotel stay—and even airport transfers in biodiesel vans—NatureVacations' eco-friendly package to Costa Rica promises to offset every ounce of carbon you produce on your island adventure. More»

Panama, Finland, and Myanmar top the list

(NEWSER) - If you like cool design, upscale safaris, or a forbidden communist island, the New York Times can recommend 45 locales to visit in 2012. Among them:

• Panama. See the world-famous canal before its expansion, then stay for Panama City's economic boom and Frank Gehry's first design in Latin America—a natural history museum called BioMuseo.

Officials reassure foreign travelers that country is safe to visit

(NEWSER) - How to cope with the unpleasant reality of a major drop in tourism following March's earthquake and tsunami? Free stuff for tourists! Japan will attempt to woo back wary travelers by doling out 10,000 free airline tickets next year, the Japan Tourism Agency announced this week. Officials are reassuring would-be travelers that, with the exception of the area right around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan is safe to visit. The country is expected to start dishing out the tickets in April, the Telegraph reports. More»

Medellin travel agency offers controversial tours on late drug lord

(NEWSER) - Pablo Escobar has made the transition in death from feared drug lord to Disney-esque tourist attraction. Visitors to Medellin, Colombia, can now shell out $40 for a three-hour tour of Escobar's favorite haunts when he ruled the city in the 1980s, reports the Guardian . The tour includes a stop at the building where police fatally gunned him down in 1993—"You can go inside to see for yourself how he attempted to escape," reads the brochure —and a meeting with his brother, who encourages photos, questions, and donations. More»