The Morning Briefing: Travel and tourism

"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about travel and tourism.

1.) Tourism lacks marketing cash. More than 15 years ago, top civic boosters described Philadelphia's travel and tourism attractions as "gold that we simply can't afford not to mine."

2.) Tourism industry suffers cancellations after Gaza op. Israel’s tourism industry suffered cancellations of between 10 percent and 20% during the eight days of Operation Pillar of Defense and a drop in future reservations, the Tourism Ministry reported on Sunday.

3.) Health Authority: Dubai hospitals can sponsor medical tourist visas. Overseas patients who wish to seek treatment in Dubai will be able to avail of a three-month medical tourist visa, extendible twice -- up to nine consecutive months -- according to the first phase of an initiative by the Dubai Health Authority and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

4.) Tourism can touch people. With its resplendent beaches and laid back appeal, Tobago beckons. But, tourism, the lifeblood of the island, has, within the last decade, also been its bane.

5.) MSPs dismiss Donald Trump green tourism claims. There is no "robust" evidence that renewable energy developments are hurting Scotland's tourism industry, a parliamentary inquiry has said. The finding came despite claims from U.S. tycoon Donald Trump that Scotland was committing "financial suicide" by building wind farms.

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com