Feb 10, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – China and Indonesia reported fatal human cases of H5N1 avian influenza today, while Azerbaijan joined the list of countries with outbreaks in wild birds.In addition, there were reports that the virus was spreading to more farms in Nigeria, which was revealed this week as the first African country hit by the pathogen.In Indonesia, a 23-year-old woman from Bekasi, east of Jakarta, died of what local tests showed was avian flu, according to an Associated Press (AP) report published today. Ilham Patu, an official at Sulianti Saroso Hostial in Jakarta, said she had been sick for 5 days.The case was the second one reported in Indonesia in the past 2 days. Yesterday Patu said a 27-year-old woman from Cikarang, another town east of Jakarta, had tested positive for avian flu, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP). She too was being treated at Sulianti Saroso Hospital.Samples from both women were being sent to a World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory in Hong Kong for confirmatory testing, according to the reports.In China, a 20-year-old female farmer from the southern province of Hunan died of avian flu, according to an AP report based on information from the Chinese Health Ministry.The ministry said the woman, surnamed Long, had become ill Jan 27 and died Feb 4. The report said she had handled poultry and that lab tests had confirmed she had the H5N1 virus.The WHO currently lists a total of 166 human cases, including 88 deaths. It does not yet include the Indonesian and Chinese cases mentioned here.In Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic on the west side of the Caspian Sea, north of Iran, officials said tests in Britain had confirmed H5N1 in wild birds. The birds were found dead on the Absheron peninsula, which juts into the Caspian and includes the capital, Baku, according to an AP report.No human cases or outbreaks in domestic poultry had been reported, according to an AFP story. A veterinary official said the Abserhon region would be quarantined.Azerbaijan is at high risk for avian flu because it is a stopover and wintering site for thousands of migratory birds, the AFP story said.In Nigeria, an official from the northern state of Kano, speaking anonymously, said 16 farms in his area were thought to be affected by avian flu and that 100,000 chickens had died, according to another AFP report today.Also, Auwalu Haruna, head of the Kano Poultry Farmers Association, told AFP he knew of 30 affected farms.But Agriculture Minister Adamu Bello said the number of farms confirmed as affected remained at four, according to the story.Meanwhile, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said tests had confirmed that the H5N1 strain in Nigeria matches a strain found in humans in Turkey and China, AFP reported.”It has come from these countries and it is very, very unlikely that it has come through trade, and very likely that it has been through migratory birds,” Alex Thermann, special advisor to the head of the OIE, was quoted as saying.The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the OIE called on Nigeria today to immediately close all poultry markets in Kaduna and Kano states and neighboring regions to contain the disease.In Bulgaria, officials said an H5 virus found in a dead swan is not the same type that has killed people, according to still another AFP report. The Bulgarian veterinary service said a British lab had determined that the virus was “a lethal virus for birds but not for people.”However, the report didn’t specify the neuraminidase (N) number of the virus. The dead bird was found in the Danube River Jan 30.See also:FAO/OIE statement on the situation in Nigeriahttp://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000230/index.html read more

Recognizing the fact that the existing contracts with cruising companies expire only in 2019, Mayor Franković wrote a letter expressing the need to ensure the most appropriate allocation of ship arrivals in the 2018 season through joint efforts and coordination of state and local levels of government, in order to achieve the highest quality overall tourist offer, which only in the past year brought Dubrovnik several prestigious titles of the best destination on the Adriatic. “The current situation is unsustainable in the true sense of the word, and the pressure on the historic core during peak traffic loads, especially at the end of the week, when over 7.000 people enter the city during the few hours in the morning, does not bring anything good in terms of preservation of monumental heritage. and by no means in the quality of the visitor experience. The long-term goal of the City of Dubrovnik is to ensure that at one time there are no more than 4.000 guests from cruise ships inside the walls. We believe that this is the optimal number that ensures a quality life for the citizens of Dubrovnik, and our guests the best possible experience of traveling and enjoying the beauty and all the offer of Dubrovnik. I am convinced that this goal can be achieved by better planning and dispersion of ship arrival dates, which requires joint action.. ”Franković points out.Source: Dubrovnik Port AuthorityAccording to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in the period from January to May 2017, 150 cruises of foreign ships were made in Croatian seaports. There were 177.709 passengers on these ships, who stayed in Croatia for a total of 347 days, which is an average of 2 days. Most foreign ships recorded their first entry in Dubrovnik-Neretva (66,0%), as foreign ships for cruises in the first five months of 2017 had the port of Dubrovnik (113 visits).”The city of Dubrovnik does not divide guests on any grounds, including the manner of arrival at the destination. However, we are firmly committed to ensuring a pleasant stay for all our guests regardless of the way they arrive. At the same time, the management of tourism in the destination aims at a comfortable life of our citizens, reducing traffic jams and, in particular, the pressure on the historic core of Dubrovnik, which has been under UNESCO protection since 1979.”, Concluded Mayor Franković.Related news: GAME OF THE THRONE IN DUBROVNIK INCREASES TOURIST SPENDING BY 126 MILLION EUROS IN FOUR YEARS The Mayor of the City of Dubrovnik Mato Franković sent an official letter to the Director of the Dubrovnik Port Authority Blaž Pez on the arrival of cruise ships in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, as well as the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia Oleg Butković and the Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli. read more

Travel is not organized or paid for as it used to be because intermediaries are no longer physical agencies, which actually offer what they think is best. They have been replaced in recent years by competitors in the Internet world, and the revenues they generate are pushing the boundaries from year to year, writes the portal ICT Business.This is because e-travel does not only mean tourism, but travel of all kinds. That is why the list published by Statista is divided into online reservations and mobile services. While reservations include hotels, tourist packages and everything you already need to stay somewhere, mobile services are related to the purchase of tickets for various means of transport.In 2016, online bookings earned a total of $ 187,8 billion worldwide, and mobile services as much as $ 388,3 billion. This year, it is projected to be at 212,7 billion and 443 billion, and in 2022, bookings will reach 323,5 billion and mobile services 701,5 billion.The future as well as the present is clear. Travel agencies have long had to adapt to this, as have all those involved in transportation services.Source: ICT BusinessRelated news:Croatian travel agencies urgently need technological progress read more

Istra Inspirit, one of the best tourist stories in Croatia, is entering its seventh season this year, and this year it will be richer for another tourist story and a new experience – the Legend of the Trnoplesars that takes visitors back to Pićan from late antiquity.Istra Inspirit will on Sunday, June 3.06.2018, 6. as part of the event Petivina and the Day of the People of Pićan in Pićan, revive a unique legend from the time of late antiquity through an interactive experience called ‘The Legend of the Trnoplesars’. Thus, the Municipality of Pićan goes back to the XNUMXth century when the Diocese of Pićan was founded under the leadership of St. Nicephorus, and the revival of the old town will show the rich intangible cultural heritage of that time – customs, clothing, food that was characteristic of that historical period.The central event, as part of which Istra Inspirit will stage a legend about thorns dancers and the miraculous journey of St. Nicephorus to Rome, will begin at 20.30 pm at the entrance to the old town of Pićan. From 19 pm, visitors will be able to enjoy a unique gastronomic program and will be able to taste the traditional food of this area – peony rafioli and late antique dish, while the youngest visitors will enjoy a fun themed corner.And the locals are becoming part of the story     The majority of the inhabitants of the Municipality of Pićan, the Association of Pićans ‘Trnoplesari’, O.Š. are involved in creating an experience inspired by the legend of the Trnoplesars and Saint Nicephorus. ‘Vladimir Nazor’ – Podpićan and local craftsmen and family farms.In addition to numerous Istra Inspirit performers (Denis Brižić, Luka Barešić, Šandor Slacki, Ivona Bulešić, Dejan Gotal, Sedina Cerovac, Zoja Poropat, Jasna Petković) who will stage the legend under the direction of Petra B. Blašković, the program will include 50 extras, representatives of the local community who participated in creating the concept of this event from the very beginning and gave their selfless contribution to the revival of this legend. Also, in cooperation with a local manufacturer of olive wood items, a local souvenir was designed, thematically related to the legend of the thorn dancers.Photo: Istra Inspirit / Mateo GoboThe legend of the thorns             In this story, St. Nicephorus appears in the role of an elderly bishop, who lived in poverty with his nieces, with whom he shared a bed on cold days. His opponents slandered him before the Pope for living in sin with his nieces, and invited him to Rome to justify himself before the supreme head of the church. On his way, he cursed his opponents with the words: “Let them dance barefoot on the thorns until they repent”, from which the expression trnoplesari. In any case, St. Nicephorus set out on a journey with his donkey, which was slaughtered by a wolf after the kilometers traveled, which Nicephorus forced to carry instead of the slaughtered animal. In several places where the kings were arid, the saint struck the ground with a stick and living springs of water were created, and when he reached Koper, he put his coat on the surface of the sea, and thus came to the western side of the Adriatic. When he stood before the Pope in Rome, he hung his wet coat in the sun to dry, and the coat remained hanging in the air. Seeing this, the pope removed all curses and restored all honors to Nicephorus.      “To dance barefoot on thorns!” Is a sentence uttered by St. Nicephorus before his miraculous trip to Rome, and what exactly it means for the history of Pićanci and why the nickname ‘trnoplesari’ is still used today, will be found out by all who trips to Pićan and together with Istra Inspirit and Pićanci will be part of an interactive theatrical walk through the narrow streets of the old town as part of which they will have the opportunity to learn about the old crafts of this area and try the ‘Nicephorus snack’. The message that can be drawn from the creation of the whole project is that the strong influence of the legend from the 6th century has lasted until today and the desire of the locals to revive the unique story and Pićan intangible cultural heritage resulted in a new Istra Inspirit experience. The actors will perform in the Istrian dialect with a touch of the Pico dialect.Istra Inspirit is a multi-award winning experience tourism project that enriches the cultural and tourist offer of the peninsula by reviving historical events in authentic locations, through staged Istrian legends and myths. Istra Inspirit has been telling its stories since 2012, and today they tell their stories all over Istria through 13 experiences. Definitely storytelling in the right sense. read more