Beat the Crowds to Ghana

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.

Nope. Bo didn't go to Hawaii with Michelle...

(NEWSER) - Oh-oh. The star of the Obamas' holiday card is in trouble again. After the first family got a shellacking from Sarah Palin for featuring their dog, Bo, alone, on their White House greetings, they're now under fire for transporting the dog all the way back from Hawaii just to appear in a photo op with the president during a shopping trip in Virginia. It must have been expensive to ship Bo from Hawaii, where a neighbor reported seeing the Portuguese water dog and the first daughters, reports Politico . Not so, according to the White House: Bo didn't actually travel to Hawaii with Michelle and the girls. The family who reported spotting Bo in the Aloha state said: "We would like to apologize to Bo and the Obama family for any inconvenience this may have caused them." More»

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»

Minimal tax on overnight visitors could raise millions

(NEWSER) - Vacationing in Venice is about to get a wee bit pricier. In a bid to save the slowly sinking city, Venice will next month start levying a tourist tax. Those lucky enough to stay in a five-star hotel will see a nightly per-person charge of nearly $6.50 added to their bills, the Telegraph reports. Those slumbering in not-so-posh accommodations will pay a lesser amount. The city of about 60,000 sees an influx of the same number of tourists each day, and hopes the move will bring in millions of dollars that would be dedicated to anti-sinking maintenance. More»