Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 26 January 2009. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• Azerbaijan's Carbon Neutral Seven Peaks Resort Island

   

  The Seven Peaks will each house a residential development and public space, and there will also be 300 private villas near a golf course in the central valley. Zira’s new skyline of organic buildings will resemble a mountain range that merges with the natural topography of the island. Many carbon neutral communities are currently being developed around the world, ... Zira Island is less of a city and more or a resort, but it still holds the same promises of sustainability and will use the sun, wind and water to heat and power the island.

• Britain braced for French tourist invasion

   

  Expedia.com says it has seen an 80 per cent increase in French tourists booking trips to the UK in January, while Skyscanner.net says searches for flights to the UK from France have gone up 70 per cent this month. The pound dropped 37 per cent against the euro in December to almost parity, at €0.98 to £1, its lowest point since the euro launched in 2002.

• Hawaii got 10.6% fewer tourists in 2008 - Hawaii

   

  The drop was the steepest since the state began keeping statistics in 1927 and was the first time since 2004 that arrivals by air dropped below 7 million. But perhaps the most painful statistic released yesterday was the $1.2 billion decline in visitor spending between 2007 and 2008.

• China tourism revenue hits US$170 bln in 2008

   

  The revenue includes 874.9 billion yuan earned from local travelers and 283.9 billion yuan from overseas tourists. The two figures for 2007 were 777.1 billion yuan and 312.9 billion yuan, respectively.

• Disneyland railroad chugs along on used cooking oil

   

  The resort has begun using recycled cooking oil to power its Disneyland Railroad steam trains and Mark Twain riverboat, as well as compressed natural gas to fuel its guest trams. "These initiatives demonstrate Disneyland Resort's ongoing commitment to balancing environmental stewardship throughout our operations,"

• Global hotspots join the race for tourists

   

  Rogue states better known for their repressive regimes, political unrest and weapons programmes are increasingly competing for visitors with well established tourist destinations ... Among the other global hotspots represented at the event, one of Europe's largest and most important travel fairs, is the Palestinian territories, Libya, Zimbabwe and Iran ...