Travel News Round-Up 26th August

New airport for Machu Picchu

This week the Peruvian President, Ollanta Humala, has announced plans to boost tourism to Peru by the opening of a new airport nearer to Machu Picchu, Chincero. He cited that the current airport in Cuzco is unable to accept international flights, meaning that many tourists fly into Lima, the capital, then straight out to Cuzco. However, this is seemingly at odds with the new restrictions imposed of a maximum of 2,500 visitors to Machu Picchu a day to conserve the site. UNESCO has also warned in the past about possible deterioration of the ruins caused by a large number of visitors. So it could be a mixed blessing for the locals, who depend on tourism for their livelihood. Read more on the BBC »

Qantas cancels Dreamliner order

The Australian airline Qantas’ new results show that they are in trouble, with losses of A$200million. The airline’s losses are blamed on being at the ‘end of the line’, meaning that their fuel costs are much greater for Asian routes than rivals. As part of their turnaround strategy, Qantas has cancelled its order of 35 Boeing Dreamliner planes in the hope that this will dramatically decrease their losses. However, what that does mean for passengers is older, less comfortable planes - let’s see if this will affect Qantas in the long-term. Read more at Reuters »

Couchsurfing raises $15 million in funds

Couchsurfing, the online network which puts travellers looking for a place in to stay in touch with locals with a spare room, has raised $15 million in funds. The network claims that these funds are needed to develop the site further and help their engineering teams to innovate. Be that as it may, most couchsurfers are at a bit of a loss as to how the funds will improve their travelling experience. Read more at Breaking Travel News »

and finally... animals keep cool in European heatwave

Zoo keepers at one of Europe’s oldest zoos, the BioParco in Rome, Italy, have found a novel way for their animals to endure the ongoing heatwave - give them ice lollies. Animals of all species have been enjoying the cool treat, from fruit flavoured lollies for the lemurs to meat flavoured ones for the tigers. And we’re guessing the human visitors are staying cool with gelato... Read more at The Metro »