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Disney Cruise Line and Captain Minnie Mouse inspire future female ship captains

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With a collection of new initiatives, Disney Cruise Line is aiming to inspire the next generation of female leaders in the maritime industry. The debut of Captain Minnie Mouse, new youth programs and the funding of scholarships are designed to empower girls and young women to pursue careers in the cruise industry and chart a course for success.

Inspiring Youth through the Magic of Captain Minnie Mouse

Disney characters delight and inspire children around the globe, and Disney Cruise Line is counting on the power of the mouse – Minnie Mouse – to spread the message of exploring new horizons, both by land and by sea.

Captain Minnie Mouse, in her crisp new uniform with smart white trousers or skirt and a bold red jacket emblazoned with captain’s insignia, will make the rounds on all Disney ships starting in April.

Empowering Women through Maritime Scholarships

In 2019, Disney Cruise Line will sponsor four scholarships at the LJM Maritime Academy in The Bahamas for female cadets who aspire to be ship captains and shipboard leaders. The scholarships, one for each of the ships in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, will include tuition to the three-year program. The scholarships will include two years of study at the academy and one year of service aboard a Disney ship.

“Our Disney characters have a unique ability to inspire and connect with children, and we know Captain Minnie will encourage young girls around the world to consider a career in the maritime industry,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Disney Cruise Line. “We are excited to work with LJM Maritime Academy to offer scholarships for young women who are pursuing their passions and following their dreams in our industry.”

Nautical Fun for Children at Sea

Onboard Disney Cruise Line ships later this year, Captain Minnie Mouse will appear in an all-new youth activity where young captain hopefuls practice STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills in a fun maritime-themed activity. Children will hone their STEM and problem-solving abilities – skills that play an important role in the maritime industry – in a series of engaging, hands-on activities.

The interactive experience will be a journey of discovery, exploration and imagination that will be offered in Disney’s Oceaneer Lab aboard all Disney ships.

Why Knot – Taking Nautical Fun Ashore

As part of a commitment to encourage future generations to pursue careers in the maritime industry, Captain Minnie Mouse will visit children in some of Disney Cruise Line’s homeports and ports of call.

Children will have an opportunity to meet Captain Minnie Mouse and be inspired by her “can do” qualities and ability to tackle any goal she sets her mind to.

As part of these local community visits, Captain Minnie Mouse will be accompanied by a female Disney Cruise Line officer or crew member to showcase their roles in the maritime industry and raise awareness about career choices for women aboard a cruise ship.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Treatment and rest in one place: Resorts that help overcome addiction

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There are millions of people that need treatment for drugs addiction across the world. Many resources are currently available for people that need help to beat their addiction and mental health disorders. For most people, recovering from drug addiction is generally intimidating.

When a person is not sure whether they can overcome addiction, they find the idea of entering an ordinary rehab downright unappealing. As such, they may opt to enter a resort that helps people overcome addiction. This facility is different from a low-end clinic where people might share bathrooms or have small beds. It’s a resort-style rehab center that features luxurious amenities.

Many celebrities with addiction problems as well as stress, fear, and worry of visibility go to these facilities. Even executives that have trouble beating addiction go to these centers.

What is Resort-Style Rehab?

A drug rehab resort is a facility at provides treatment for drugs addiction in a luxurious surrounding and a vacation-like ambiance. The goal of establishing such a facility is to make recovering from drug abuse and alcoholism as easy and enjoyable as possible.

In addition to offering behavioral therapies and detoxification, residents in these centers participate in fun activities with an aim of promoting healthy living. A resort-style rehab can combine high medical care level with luxury amenities, a welcoming setting, and extracurricular activities that enhance addiction recovery

What are the Benefits of Rehabilitation Resorts?

When battling addiction, some individuals, like celebrities and executives, are concerned about their social status. Research indicates that social factors play a crucial role in recovery from addiction. The social status of some individuals is one of the reasons why they opt to go to resort-style rehabs.

What’s more, resort-style rehabs are situated in beautiful places like at the beach, desert, or mountains. This makes them hospitable and welcoming. Essentially, the focus is on the overall experience and comfort of the individuals undergoing treatment.

When a person has been struggling with addiction every day, going to a rehab in an idyllic, scenic location is more welcoming. It also offers a glimpse into the sobriety life’s beauty. Confidentiality and privacy are also protected in a rehab resort.

What Facilities Do They Offer?

Resorts that help individuals overcome addiction offer more than the amenities of the ordinary rehab centers. They go beyond creating the therapeutic atmosphere required to relax individuals into a recovery mode. Some of the facilities offered at these resorts include swimming pools, spas, gourmet restaurants, and first-class fitness centers.

Swimming pools provide a refreshing and revitalizing midday dip or downtime lounging. Spas provide aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture, hair and nail styling which help with personal hygiene and tension prevention. Gourmet restaurants provide chef-curated menus, health-conscious cuisine, seasonal and local ingredients, while catering for special dietary needs of patients. First-class fitness centers have different equipment, enough space, group classes, beautiful views, and personal trainers.

These facilities are important because they make undergoing treatment for addiction enjoyable. Individuals also get a chance to rest while undergoing treatment in one place. Things like nutrition and exercise are also important for addiction recovery. They give patients something to look forward to every day.

How Resort-Style Rehab Improves Treatment

Resort rehabilitation centers put the body and mind at ease. Inpatient treatment for drug addiction is generally a challenging process. It involves intensive schedule that needs the best efforts of the patients. Many people face withdrawal insomnia in the early sobriety stages. Getting sleep hygiene back on tract is therefore important.

Resort-style addiction centers provide treatment and rest in one place. This is very important for the overall recovery process. Intensive therapy work and fitness training are both important.

Resort-style facilities provide accommodation that is stylish and comfortable. This contributes to the recovery of patients by making the rehab a restful sanctuary. At the end of the day, patients have a place to relax and recharge.

Popular Destinations for Resort-Style Rehabs

Research shows that residential rehabilitation is considered the last resort for individuals with serious substance abuse problem. But, with so many resources for addressing and even overcoming addiction available, this should not be the case. Today, there are many locations with resorts that help with addiction treatment.

Popular destinations for these rehabs include Wickenburg in Arizona, Malibu in California, Crossroads in Antigua, and London in England. If you or a loved one wants to recover from addiction at a resort-style facility, visit one of these places.

About the Author

Frederick Moore is a columnist who focuses on drug use/abuse in the sport. His works aim to prevent athletes from improper drug use showing the consequences of abuse.

Travel News | eTurboNews

No-show clients at Paris restaurants now must pay cancellation cash penalties

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Cafes and restaurants in the French capital have opted to follow the lead of hotels and guest-houses, and start charging their customers with cash penalties for late cancellation of reservations or failing to appear in time.

Hundreds of Paris eateries are currently adopting the system that is widely used in the hotel industry, the Times reports. Restaurants oblige clientele to leave details of their credit cards while making reservations, with big-name places warning customers over a potential charge in case of a no-show.

The measure is reportedly connected to losses the restaurants have to suffer, when people make several reservations for the same day and then cancel at least one of them without warning.

“Even in great restaurants customers cancel without having the slightest idea of the economic impact of their action,” the managing director of Les Grandes Tables du Monde, an association of top restaurants Nicolas Chatenier told the media.

Restaurants reportedly have to follow the trend due to French gastronomical habits, in particular fondness for lengthy meals. French cafes cannot allow two bookings for the same table, like restaurants in Britain and the US, as they cannot be sure that the first group will leave before the second one appears.

The financial losses due to no-shows are really significant, accounting for up to 30 percent of the restaurants entire revenue, according to Xavier Zeitoun, founder of a restaurant booking site Zenchef, as cited by the media. The businessman noted that 245 restaurants have adopted the new system so far.

Chatenier said that annual losses of an average Michelin-starred restaurant may total up to €150,000, stressing that one canceled table may wipe out the profits it could make in the evening.

To tackle the problem the Tour d’Argent restaurant has reportedly imposed a cancellation fee of €100 per head at lunchtime and €200 for the dinner service, while the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant obliges clients who book a table and cancel less than ten days before the meal, to pay €86 per head.

Travel News | eTurboNews

National child safety advocate calls for ban on Airbnb hidden cameras

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National child safety advocacy group, Stop Child Predators, called on state and local government leaders in the U.S. today to ban hidden cameras in Airbnbs and other short-term rentals, and enact regulations and criminal penalties for violators. The group says enough is enough after a string of recent news stories regarding hidden cameras found in Airbnbs, including a story last week of a mother and young daughter potentially being filmed undressing.

“Week after week Airbnb finds themselves the subject of yet another hidden camera nightmare. These horrific accounts from Airbnb guests demonstrate how unsettling it is for guests that find themselves being filmed without their knowledge or consent – a scenario especially frightening for those traveling with children,” said Stacie Rumenap, President of Stop Child Predators. “Airbnb is allowing families to become sitting ducks for potentially predatory hosts who exploit guests by filming them and their children for personal viewing, or even wider audiences on the web.”

Rumenap points to a series of recent news stories involving hidden cameras discovered in Airbnbs and says the occurrence of incidents is on the rise.

• “Airbnb Has A Hidden-Camera Problem” (The Atlantic, 3/26/19)
• “They Were Settling Into Their Airbnb. Then They Found A Hidden Camera” (The Washington Post, 4/6/2019)
• “California Couple Finds Hidden Camera Above Bed At Airbnb Rental” (ABC News Channel 7, 3/29/19)
• “Man Discovers Hidden Cameras Inside Of Miami Airbnb” (WTNH News, 1/21/19)
• “At An Airbnb? You Might Be On Camera, Whether You Like It Or Not” (NBC News, 3/7/19)

“Airbnb already poses a problem for parents by allowing strangers, and even potential sex-offenders, into short-term rentals in residential family neighborhoods. With a revolving door of strangers coming and going from short-term rental properties, tools like sex offender lists are becoming obsolete as there is no safeguard in place to stop a child predator from renting an Airbnb property next door. Now, parents need to consider the added stress of worrying that their children may be filmed and exploited while staying inside an Airbnb on vacation,” stated Rumenap.

Stop Child Predators urges government leaders, especially in states and localities with major tourism destinations, to step in and protect traveling families whose privacy and safety should be safeguarded while vacationing in their jurisdiction.”

“Airbnb’s inability to manage the users, and abusers, of their platform is unacceptable. It’s time for government leaders to step in to protect our children,” stated Rumenap.

Travel News | eTurboNews

American Airlines to keep its Boeing 737 MAX jets grounded until August

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American Airlines has chosen to keep its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX grounded until at least August 19, even if it means canceling 115 flights a day in summer season, as probes into the troubled jet continue and new sales have frozen.

The company, which owns 24 of the embattled jets that were involved in two recent deadly crashes, announced the decision in a letter to employees and customers. AA wants to ensure reliability “for the peak travel season and provide confidence to our customers and team members when it comes to their travel plans,” Chief Executive Doug Parker and President Robert Isom wrote.

The 737 MAX 8 airliners were grounded worldwide after a fatal crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight, which killed 157 people on board. The incident came months after a crash of the same model operated by Lion Air was apparently linked to the same faulty flight control system.

Parker and Isom have at the same time expressed confidence in Boeing’s ability to fix the problem through software updates and changes to pilot training procedures. The US airline has 24 MAX planes in its fleet and is expected to get 16 more delivered this year. The grounding has already resulted in the cancelation of about 90 flights per day through early June, and the extension may put a strain on American’s ability to meet demand for seats during upcoming peak travel season. As many as 115 daily flights will have to be canceled in August, according to the letter.

The crashes have left Boeing open to criticism over the way it certified the fast-selling model, conducting some of the tests in-house with the permission of the Federal Aviation Authority. Critics say the producer cut corners to fast-track the new model to the market, compromising flight safety as a result.

Travel News | eTurboNews

The perplexing search for purplicious luggage and the perils of windmills

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April is Stress Awareness Month, but it is also National Humor Month, so I thought I’d go out on a limb and talk about something that stresses a travel bargain’s aficionado. I have Scandinavian blood, so just like the Vikings, I have a natural inclination to go out and explore the world. But I’m part Scottish, so I don’t want to pay for it.

I watch google flights like a hawk – I grab dirt-cheap first-class tickets when I see the price drop to the $500 range from Honolulu to anywhere in the Great Lakes region. First class comes with 2 bags per person, up to 70 pounds per suitcase. I have 400 Aloha-themed Christmas cards I bought for 75 to 90 percent off in January, plus all kinds of other Hawaiiana treasures to take back to the mainland.

My perplexing search for Parisian goods at Scottish prices yielded over 100 possibilities on Facebook Marketplace; however, every single seller I encountered was a scam artist. Everything I looked at was counterfeit Louis Vuitton brought over from Shanghai where the seller probably paid $20 for each piece. The Facebook ads read “Authentic Louis Vuitton,” but upon inspection, it only took 30 seconds to see these were illegal knockoffs. Realistically, what real person buys 10 Louis Vuitton suitcases for $2,700 each, then turns around and sells them for $1,000 each on Marketplace before even using them once? Nobody does that. But people do buy $20 counterfeit Louis Vuitton items in China, then illegally sell them to unsuspecting Facebook buyers in Hawaii – at an obscene mark up.

So I turned to a reputable store, one which is very popular in the American South, called Belk. They specialize in products that Baptist women with really big hair love to purchase. At least that’s what my Baptist aunts with 3-feet tall hair told me. You know, the taller the hair, the closer to God.

I found a great bargain: purple luggage set of 3, regularly $160, on clearance for $19.99. The description says the luggage “is featured in a vibrant purple hue so you never have to worry about your belongings or loosing [sic] your luggage on the baggage claim belt.” What exactly does that imply? Is it such a hideous shade of purple that nobody would caught dead with it? I don’t mind purple – the symbol of Scotland is the purple thistle, so with a few decals and gaudy embellishments they would make the perfect accessory for a red hat lady or a gay Scot.

I know a lot of women who love purple. The last time I bought a suitcase from the Aloha Swap Meet, it was purple, with hibiscus, and had the words “Aloha” and “Hawaii” printed on it. After using it to fly to Detroit, I placed an ad to sell it online – and it sold in under one minute.  So maybe purple suitcases would be something I should carefully reconsider, especially if they are prone to getting brodied by big-haired women.

When I read Belk’s small print for this item I noticed the warning: “This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause Cancer and Reproductive Harm.” Are they referring to pregnant women, or are they referring to my little soldiers under the category of “reproductive harm”?  I have to keep my little soldiers unharmed just in case Dolly Parton asks me to marry her. I know she’s 73 and probably has no plan to reproduce with me, but she’s got big hair and she would really appreciate my Pride of Dixie Belk luggage. And she’s the only woman on the planet who could turn me straight. Well, maybe Jane Seymour could, but I’d need to consult my shrink first. The $64,000 question, or the $19.99 question: are the purple suitcases worth getting cancer?

There has been much buzz about Mr. President’s announcement that windmills cause cancer. I guess that’s why all the people in Holland are dead. He said it had something to do with the spinning motion.  Now, these suitcases are “spinners” meaning you can spin them 360 degrees.

I’m Scottish by culture, but my DNA is Scandinavian. Scandinavians always place a high value on safety, which is why I bought a Volvo C70 convertible. Being both Scandinavian and Scottish led me to a great existential crisis – who am I – a cheap Scot or a safety-conscious Scandinavian? Is the bargain worth the stress of possibly getting cancer?

For a few minutes I pondered the issue. Maybe the cancer was caused by the spinning action. I thought, well, if I spin them backwards, would it cure cancer?

Having lost both grandmothers to cerebral tumors, I have a lot of emotional baggage when it comes to that topic. Except for basal cell carcinoma (a common problem for blue-eyed blond Scandinavians living in Hawaii) I have lived pretty much unscathed by cancer’s evil.

In the end, the Scandinavian “safety first” side of me won out. As much as I love bargains, I might have gotten more than I bargained for from this luggage set. There is always the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet to top off my 280 pound (4 suitcases) first-class checked-baggage allowance.  Any excuse to go to the Swap Meet is a Scot’s delight.

Travel News | eTurboNews

WTTC launches global taskforce on human trafficking

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has today announced the formation of a global taskforce to help prevent and combat human trafficking – an illicit activity that affects 30 million victims worldwide and relies on travel networks to operate.

The taskforce comprises WTTC members and sector associations to become the first global industry-wide initiative to assert zero tolerance and share best practice.

As an industry, human trafficking is worth $150 billion annually and contributes heavily to modern slavery in which 40 million people worldwide are entrapped. One-quarter of trafficking victims worldwide are children (or 5.5 million). Meanwhile, 19% of victims are trafficked for sexual purposes, which makes up 66% of the illicit income generated.

Human trafficking is present virtually everywhere, yet not all criminalize it in all its forms.

The WTTC taskforce has thus been established for the purposes of:

  1. PREVENTION: to increase industry and consumer awareness of human trafficking. It is proven the more we know the more can be prevented.
  2. PROTECTION: to train employees and travelers on how to identify and report suspected cases.
  3. ACTION: to encourage governments to enact legislation which recognizes human trafficking as a crime throughout the entire chain and develop resources and support needs such as national hotlines.
  4. SUPPORT: to provide assistance, employability training, and employment opportunities to survivors.

The founding members of the taskforce are Airbnb, Amex GBT, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, Ctrip.com International, CWT, Emirates, Expedia Group, Hilton, JTB Corp., Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority, Marriott International, Silversea, Thomas Cook, and TUI.

On the formation of the taskforce, Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of WTTC, commented: “Human trafficking is a devastating widespread and critical issue that unfortunately relies on Travel & Tourism networks to operate. As a sector, we must do everything in our power to help eradicate the problem so that people may move freely and safely across the globe, but never coerced.

“I am proud to today launch this vital taskforce comprised of the world’s most powerful travel leaders from across hotels, retails, airlines, cruise, technology, finance, and destination management, and are wholly committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims, supporting survivors, and engaging with governments so that this pandemic ends once and for all.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Developing safety and security for children during travel

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Safety and security are always a concern of the travel industry, no matter who the traveler might be. A major issue when dealing with children is their safety and security. In the case of young travelers, the situation becomes even more difficult and emotional. There are many reasons for this heightened need for safety and security.  Among these are:

1)   Children are perceived to be more vulnerable

2)    Most people tend to be highly protective of children

3)    The legal ramifications of injury to a child may be even more severe

4)    Children evoke emotional reactions, and these emotions may crowd out rational thinking

Child safety and security tends to become the responsibility of three groupings:

1)   The child or young adult

2)   The parent of guardian of the child

3)   The host institution

The following is a partial list of precautions that all of us need to take when dealing with the child segment of the travel market. To help provide a safer ambiance for family vacations, consider some of the following.

Just as in the case of marketing efforts, tourism security efforts need to segment the market into at least four age brackets. Some suggested brackets might be: (1) new borns-2 years, (2) 3-7 years, (3) 7-12 years, and (4) teenagers until the legal age of 18. The essential issue is to realize that while both a 17 year old and a 2 year old are legally both minors, from a safety, security, and sociological standard, they operate in a very different ways and require very different guidelines. To help maintain these various groups safe and sound Tourism Tidbits offers the following suggestions. It should be noted that these are only a few suggestions of the many that are needed, and final decisions should be made by an onsite professional.

– Keep video cameras going. In case a child is lost (or Heaven forbid kidnapped), a video camera may be an excellent tool in locating the child.

– In places where adults and children mix, consider the use of ID bracelets being offered at the time of ticket purchase. You can use the ID bracelet either as a check-in/check-out device or give them away as a souvenir. In either case, should the child be lost, the security agent will have a name and phone number to call.  It is a good idea to place both the local and home number on the bracelet.

– In areas that have special young people’s sections, make sure that it is only children who enter. Adults should not be allowed into a children’s section. If an adult is needed there in case of an emergency, he/she should only be allowed to enter accompanied by a trained security agent.

– Develop policies on older children or unaccompanied minors. Younger children may be less of a problem than older children (12-17 years of age). These are guests who are legally still minors but can often do a great deal of damage or may demand that they be treated as adults even though such treatment is against the law. Make sure that all personnel are familiar with your business regarding minors’ safety and behavior of and with minors. Employees need to know:

–      policies and laws that specifically deal with people under the legal age of maturity

–      how to handle an angry or non-compliant minor

–      how to handle someone who may be making a scene

–      -when to actively intervene or call for additional help

–      how to check IDs without offense – a person’s ID is checked and questioned as to the whereabouts of his/her parents

In the hour before closing, it is very important to make sure that unsupervised young people are accounted for. In cases where the young person falsely believes that he/she is grown-up, ask for both a driver’s license and a social security number.

– Be aware of child abandonment/abuse. A form of child abuse is abandonment of a child. Train personnel to be on the lookout for all forms of child abuse. For example, if an adult is hanging around other people’s children asking for that person’s ID, turn security cameras on the person and attempt to get the license number of the vehicle being driven. The more information you have, the easier it will be for the police to act should there be a problem. Do not assume that a child abuser will return the next day. It may be weeks or months, or never, until that person returns.

– Develop cooperative information centers. Work with local police departments, hotel associations, and other attractions so that information can be passed between security departments rapidly and easily.  Remember people judge a locale on just one negative incident. When something goes wrong in one place, it can affect the entire local tourism community.

– Be careful of safety concerns.  Do a safety analysis; look for and correct such things as: glass doors against which inadvertently a child may run into, issues of food safety, or balconies over which a child may climb and jump.

Dr. Peter Tarlow is part of the Safer Travel Program by eTN. More information
www.safertravel.com 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Brunei Travel: Ready to be stoned to death? How will WTTC and UNWTO respond?

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Brunei is becoming a deadly place to visit starting April 3, specially if you are member of the LGBT Community.

Next week the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) will have their annual summit in Seville, Spain. Tourism leaders from around the globe will meet and listen to keynote speaker U.S. President Obama. Will President Obama, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, or WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara say something on what is developing in Brunei?

No country in the world so far issued travel warnings against Brunei. U.S. authorities have a level 2 travel advisories against Germany or the Bahamas but find travel for Americans perfectly safe when a new law threatens citizens and visitors, including children to be subject to death by stoning for same-sex sexual acts and amputation for robbery. Such a law will come into effect in Brunei Darussalam on April 3.

Brunei is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. It’s known for its beaches and biodiverse rainforest, much of it protected within reserves. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is home to the opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital’s massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan

“Pending provisions in Brunei’s Penal Code would allow stoning and amputation as punishments – including for children, to name only their most heinous aspects,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei Researcher at Amnesty International.

“Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice.”

These punishments are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam Syariah Penal Code that are due to come into force on 3 April 2019, according to a discreet notice on the Attorney General’s website.

“To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential ‘offences’ should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard. “These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when plans were first discussed five years ago.”

Amnesty expressed grave concerns over the Penal Code when the code’s first phase was implemented in April 2014.

“Brunei’s Penal Code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard. “As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.”

Stoning and a hunt to kill members of the LGBT community is not an isolated problem in Brunei alone. Brunei is joining countries like Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Tanzania.

Background

Brunei Darussalam has signed but not yet ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and has rejected all recommendations to this effect in its human rights review at the UN in 2014.

Under international human rights law, corporal punishment in all its forms, such as stoning, amputation or whipping, constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, which is prohibited in all circumstances.

Acts of torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely proscribed in the main international human rights instruments, most of which Brunei has not signed or ratified. In addition, this prohibition is also recognized as a peremptory rule of customary international law, meaning that every state is bound by it even if they are not a party to a relevant human rights treaty. All acts of torture constitute crimes under international law.

While Brunei retains the death penalty in law, it is abolitionist in practice. One new death sentence was imposed in 2017, for a drug-related offense.

Just a few years ago the Sultan of Brunei told UNWTO Secretary-General and WTTC CEO: “We will do our best to support tourism. Tourism is of strategic importance for Brunei and based on two principal resources: the country’s pristine rainforest in the heart of Borneo, and its spiritual and cultural heritage. Environmental protection and conservation must, therefore, lie at the heart of any tourism development, the Sultan had stressed.

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Crime is out of control and rampant in Waikiki: Let’s make it unwelcoming for homeless

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The perception is that crime is out of control and rampant in Waikiki. We want to make Waikiki unwelcome and uncomfortable for homeless people.

Crime is not out of control, according to Susan Ballard, Chief Honolulu Police Department.”Waikiki is a safe location for visitors and residents.”

However, the police chief together with Jerry Dolak, president of the Hawaii Hotel Visitors Industry Security Association wants to make sure Waikiki is an unwelcoming and uncomfortable place for the homeless to hang out.

Today the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association Security Conference at the Hawaii Prince Hotel in Honolulu brought security experts and leaders of the Waikiki hotel business together.

“Our Competitive edge is safety and security. One incident can change this,” said Mufi Hannemann, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, President & CEO.

The Honolulu Police Department is training officers in communication, conflict resolution, and re-de-escalation. Crisis intervention training (CIT) of the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) officers is to identify individuals in crisis or living with mental disabilities, like many within the homeless community.

The HPD emphasizes building relationships with the community and businesses. They encourage officers to get out of their cars and talk to the community and businesses to facilitate open communication and relationships, this can reduce crimes.

There are groups, not gangs in Waikiki. There is no organized crime, however, there are delinquent juvenile groups from other parts of Oahu.

Most of the discussion this morning was about the homeless problem. Lack of mental health care, the attractiveness to receive handouts the State of Hawaii doesn’t have but most homeless people on the Island of Oahu love is in Waikiki. Tourists do not want to see them, but many feel sorry, but businesses see them as a pest.

Bob Finley, chair of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board felt the hotels are trespassing  “them” and now “they” are on our doorstep at residential condominiums buildings.

Police officers explained how a homeless person could effectively have trespassed, so HPT could arrest such a violator. A member of the audience suggested for the courts to trespass any homeless convicted of such a crime to be no longer allowed in Waikiki altogether. This would slowly clean and isolate the 2-mile long tourist center from those that have no home to go home to.

Justin Philipps, the Homeless Outreach Manager of the Institute for Human Services explained the success of a program to provide transportation for homeless people to leave the State. He explained the homeless person has to pay half of the airline ticket, and we provide the other half.

Jessica Lani Rich, president, Visitor Aloha Society documented two cases where homeless with mental conditions attack tourists, in one case almost killed a visitor who came to attend a wedding and instead ended up in a hospital and is now disabled for the rest of her life.

“Tourism is everyone’s business in this State, even if you don’t live in Waikiki or work directly in this business.”, said Juergen Steinmetz, a long time resident of Hawaii and CEO of the eTN Corporation. “Chasing homeless people from one street to another, not forcing seriously mentally ill people to get treatment is putting our economy and our visitors at risk.

“The State has to find the money needed to help a homeless person and provide a chance to enter society. Tourism stakeholders must push legislators to provide the money and methods to help resolve this issue once and for all. The tourist industry should use its power and profits to push the State to act effectively. Someone has to take ownership of the problem, and it cannot be only well-meaning charities, churches, and other nonprofit organizations.”

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