Dreamworld and Whitewater World, Australia, have launched a new educational programme to help raise awareness of healthy habits among school children. The Half-day Dreamkids – Healthy Habit Attack! Programme encourages school children to analyse 3 key areas of health, including fitness, sun safety and healthy food habits.

We understand that a sustainable tourism development plan, costing at least £1.5 billion, has been put forward in Libya to preserve the country’s rich archeological heritage and create a leading environmental destination.

The ethos is on sustainable development and the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area could incorporate a national park and eco-hotels.  The development will also help to open up the rich archeological heritage to tourists. UNESCO and the UN Environment Programme are partners in the project.

The former home of the Von Trapp family, made famous by The Sound of Music, is being redesigned as a hotel. There are no plans to make alterations to the building itself, only essentials such as painting and re-wiring. The Villa Trapp, on the outskirts of Salzburg, as well as the park surrounding the villa will be open to the public in July. Visitors will be able to sleep in the family’s former bedrooms and even get married in the chapel. It will cost around £80 a night to stay in the hotel.

The Tehran Times reported that during the Noruz Holiday period over 6 million tickets to museums were sold over the 13 day break.  This represents a significant increase over previous sales.

With the changing demographics in Japan, namely a declining birth rate and increasing ‘senior’ demographic bracket Disneyland Tokyo has decided to target this demographic by reducing the price of a season ticket and naming the over 60s as a ‘core target market.’ Source: The Times.

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office reports that visitors from the UK continue to increase.

To generate use during the off season Nepal is proposing to cut the climbing fees to Mount Everest.  It is hoped that this will help to stimulate use outside of the main climbing season which runs from March to May.

New Zealand – http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/

Australia -  http://www.tourism.australia.com/Research.asp

The blog for the Canadian E Tourism Strategy Conference has been launched.

The tourist authority of New Year revealed that Britons make up the largest proportion of overseas visitors to New York – increasing by some 4% during 2006.