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Tourism Returns To Pre-Pandemic Highs With More Than 1.4 Billion People Traveling Last Year 

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The UN’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has released its annual year-in-review data for 2024, revealing that the tourism industry around the world has returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

The report stated that around 1.4 billion traveled internationally last year. The exact number of individuals makes up 99% of the amount of travelers from 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the world and isolated everyone. 

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For 2024, that amount of traveling led to $1.9 trillion being spent within the tourism industry. On average, that means each traveler spent more than $1,000 during their trips. 

More specifically, Europe was the most-visited continent with 747 million people traveling there in 2024, according to the UNWTO. 

France ended up being the world’s most-visited nation in 2024 with about 100 million visitors, according to France’s own figures from their tourism board. Spain was close behind them with about 98 million tourists last year. 

“2024 was an exceptional year for French tourism, promising prospects for 2025!” Atout France, the country’s national tourism marketing department, said in a statement.

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The 2024 Summer Olympics was a major reason for these high numbers, as well as the re-opening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, and the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. 

The UNWTO reports that around 316 million people traveled to Asia and the Pacific last year, 213 million went to the Americas, 95 million to the Middle East, and 74 million to Africa. 

In the Middle East, Qatar saw a 137% increase in tourism, which many are crediting to the nation’s investments in infrastructure. Additionally, Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline in 2024.

Based on this report, global tourism isn’t just returning to previous pre-pandemic levels, it’s actually exceeding them.

The UNWTO’s panel of experts cautioned that “balancing growth and sustainability will be critical in 2025 [and advised] the discovery of lesser-known destinations.”

books

US Public Schools Banned Over 10,000 Books Within The Past Academic Year 

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From the 2023 to 2024 academic year, the US banned more than 10,000 books in public schools, according to a survey report from PEN America, an organization that “stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world.” 

As Republican-led states pass new censorship laws, more book bans in public schools have been taking place. PEN America’s survey reported that this year three times the amount of books were banned, from 3,362 books in the previous academic year.

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Reports state that of the books banned, at least 13 titles have been banned for the first time in history. PEN America stated that around 8,000 of the book bans took place in Florida and Iowa. Both states have enforced laws that target classroom materials in general. 

PEN America stated:

“State legislation was also particularly critical in accelerating book bans, making it easier to remove books from schools without due process, or in some cases, without any formal process whatsoever.”

In 2023, Iowa signed a law that banned any material in schools regarding sexual orientation and gender identity before seventh grade. The specific legislation also explicitly banned all books that depict sexual acts for all grade school (K-12) libraries and classrooms. 

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PEN America reported that in Florida, any book that potentially includes sexual conduct has been pulled from schools while they go under review. Both Florida and Iowa have faced lawsuits over their controversial book banning laws. 

LGBTQ+ identifying teachers, students, parents, and major publishers are suing for the law in Iowa to be overturned. 

Six prominent book publishers are also suing Florida over their book bans, calling it “unconstitutional,” as hundreds of books under those publishers were pulled from school libraries. 

Other states that enacted book bans this year include Utah, South Carolina, and Tennessee. PEN America stated that Utah specifically has enacted some of the “most extreme” bills. Utah passed law HB 29, which stated that books must be pulled from schools if at least three districts have found the content to be “objectively sensitive material,” according to reports.

“In part due to the targeting of sexual content, the stark increase includes books featuring romance, books about women’s sexual experiences, and books about rape or sexual abuse as well as continued attacks on books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes, or books about race or racism and featuring characters of color,” PEN America said.

paris

2024 Olympic Games Brought Tourism To Paris, But Some Business Owners Reported Their Worst Summer Yet 

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Businesses and hotels in Paris were expecting a major rise in profits this summer with the 2024 Olympic Games and influx of tourists, athletes, journalists, and more in the city. 

However, now that both the Olympics and Paralympic Games are over, many individuals throughout the Paris service industry stating they’ve had their worst summers ever due to security restrictions throughout the city during the Games, according to the Associated Press.

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Tom Denaive is a Paris resident who runs a jewelry store between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde where many Olympic events were hosted. For him, this was a great hindrance to his business as the city closed multiple metro trains around the area, and many pedestrian and commercial routes were also blocked. 

“It was a dead street, I felt like we were back to the COVID days,” Denaive said to AP. 

The Louvre Museum also reported a 22% drop in visits during the Olympic Games, as well as a 45% drop during the two weeks prior to the Games starting. 

“I have all the records from last year and we didn’t match a single one,’’ said Marina Orlando, store manager at French luxury candle brand Diptyque. 

“We were given a whole serenade about the Olympics, that it was going to be incredible. … Some of us didn’t go on vacation, it was a huge logistical effort so that we could all be present on D-Day. In the end, the store was largely empty of customers,” she said. 

The Paris government released data that showed there were around 1.7 million international visitors to the city during the Olympic Game period. Those numbers are up 13% when compared to tourist rates from last year. 

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“I think that our country’s bet has paid off,” said. Olivia Grégoire, who leads the ministry charged with companies, tourism and consumption. 

Grégoire said “France as a whole was on track to maintain — and potentially surpass — last year’s record-breaking tourism numbers.”

Denaive said tourists “spent so much on hotels, flights, tickets … they didn’t have much of a budget left for shopping.”

Instead of building an Olympic park outside of the center of the city, Paris chose to host the Games in the heart of the capital, which made it difficult for visitors to get to various shops or restaurants. 

An increase in police and security presence and checkpoints also added another layer of difficulty. Only individuals with a specific QR code could pass certain police checkpoints, making it essentially impossible for regular people to commute throughout the city unless they took the metro. 

In June, the Parisian government announced that it would be creating a commission for businesses that were negatively affected by the Games. The commission will handle, and ideally fulfill, compensation requests from businesses located in areas where security measures were put in place. The commission will begin assessing those requests in January.

Olympics

Simone Biles Overcome With Emotion After Finishing Competing At The 2024 Paris Olympics 

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Simone Biles finished off competing at the summer Olympics in tears after her and her teammates dominated the games once again as they represented the United States of America. The 27-year-old sports icon secured four medals during this year’s Games; three gold and one silver. 

Biles had been calling this year’s Summer Olympic Games her “Redemption Tour,” after she took a break from the sport when experiencing the “twisties” and struggles with her mental health. Her “tour” truly did not disappoint as she led the US Women’s Gymnastic team to a team gold medal after they took silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

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Biles ended her stint at this year’s Olympic games on Monday after she won silver in the women’s floor exercise final. 

The 11-time Olympic medalist told NBC’s Today Show that the reality of this past Olympics hasn’t really sunk in yet. 

“I don’t think I will until one day I decide to retire. But yesterday once we got back to the village I looked at Jordan [Chiles] and just started bawling my eyes out, and she was like ‘I knew it was gonna happen I just didn’t know when,’” she said. 

“I think I was just so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, bittersweet that the journey’s over. It’s so crazy, it happened too quickly. My third Olympics!”

When it comes to her future in the sport, and her career overall, Biles takes the “never say never” approach. 

“You know, you never say never. The next Olympics is on home turf. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me,” she said, referring to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games set to take place in Los Angeles, California. 

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Biles then took a moment to reflect on her momentous career and how her upbringing shaped the strong individual we know and love today: “If not for my parents and adoption I wouldn’t be here today.” Biles’ parents, Ronald and Nellie, adopted both Biles and her younger sister Adria when she was 6-years-old. 

While speaking with NBC, Biles was wearing a boot on her leg, noting that she experienced a calf injury during the Games that has been acting up recently. 

“Right now it’s [the boot] just precautionary. We’re resting up as much as possible, we have a tour in a couple of weeks. I’m just going to rest and heal,” she said. 

In the future, Biles is looking forward to leading a life of normalcy, and potentially starting a family. She discussed her husband Jonathan Owens who was seen during the Olympics cheering for his wife:

“He was so excited. He was more excited to pin trade. Obviously, he loved seeing me complete. He was still keeping score. For him, it meant the world to him because he’s seen the amount of hours that I’ve put in. So to actually see in person he was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing’ and he was just so excited to be there.”

 

olympics

US Taekwondo Champion CJ Nickolas Fulfilling Life-Long Dream And Heading To The Olympics 

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At just 22-years-old, CJ Nickolas is fulfilling a dream he’s been working towards for his entire life, competing in the Olympics. After overcoming multiple health issues and other hurdles, Nickolas has become the highest ranked US athlete in taekwondo, and is heading to the 2024 Summer Games.

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dance

Break Dancers Ready To Bring The Culture Of The Sport To The Paris Olympics This Year

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Break dancing is making its Olympic debut this summer in Paris. Break dancers everywhere are excited to bring the community and culture of the sport to the biggest sports stage in the world.

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paris

You’ll Need A QR Code To Access Certain Parts Of Paris During The Summer Olympics 

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During this year’s Summer Olympic Games, the French capital of Paris will be split into zones for security and safety reasons. If individuals want to enter certain areas, it will be required that they have a pass on their phone in the form of a QR code. 

Special measures will be implemented throughout the entire city starting in July with the Games. Residents themselves will need to apply for a special game pass, “Pass Jeux,” on a platform run by police in order to enter certain zones of the city. 

This system will mainly apply to people who are driving, however, pedestrians will also be required to show a QR code in any areas labeled “gray zones,” which will mainly be around the River Seine around where the opening ceremony will be taking place.

According to Metro UK, the codes will be checked at various access points along the entrances of each zone, which will be guarded by officers. 

Applications for the passes have been opened to the public, and requires individuals to upload various documents in order to be authorized. 

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The opening ceremony gray zone requirements will be in place 24 hours a day for an eight-day period from July 18th to the 26th. 

Once the games officially begin the gray zone will be lifted but drivers will still need their passes at the perimeters of the “red” and “blue” zones which also cover significant areas around the city. The gray zones cover areas where events are taking place. 

“To be granted a pass, people must show proof of identity, an identity photo, their address, and potentially other documents including vehicle registration documents or proof of their employer,” according to Metro UK.

Safety is a huge concern for authorities during this year’s summer olympics. The UK government has warned that terrorists are likely to carry out attacks in France. 

“Zones prohibiting road traffic once the games begin are designed to protect the flow of spectators from the Olympic and Paralympic venues,” organizers said.

“They will be activated each day of the event on the site, 2.5 hours before the first competition and 1 hour after the last.”

red carpet

Women Dominated The Grammys This Year 

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Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, SZA, Billie Eilish, and Victoria Monet dominated the major categories at this year’s Grammy Awards, which many are praising as a ‘night for women’ in the industry.

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olympics

Paris Olympic Organizers Being Investigated On Suspected Corruption Case 

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According to officials, French investigators searched the Paris Olympic organizers’ headquarters on Tuesday as a part of corruption investigations into contracts linked to the Games.

The Paris organizing committee released a short statement confirming that the search at their headquarters was underway in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and did not comment further. 

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The Tuesday search is also linked to two preliminary investigations related to the Olympics, that before this point have not been made public. According to an official with the financial prosecutor’s office, one previous probe was opened in 2017, and the other began last year. 

The Olympic Games have dealt with a multitude of corruption allegations throughout the past decades. 

For Paris 2024, the Games are being seen as a celebration of openness after two Olympics were closed off by the pandemic. 

Organizers and Paris officials have stressed their commitment to transparency and social justice initiatives. The opening ceremony will be outdoors along the Seine which will be free for up to half a million people. The Games are currently scheduled to occur from July 26th to August 11th 2024. 

The anti-Olympics group Saccage 2024, argues that the Games cause ecological and social damage, and have claimed that they are “very pleased” hearing the news of the recent raids in Paris, according to ESPN.

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“For us, an event of Olympic proportions cannot be held without corruption. It’s the size of the event that makes it necessary, whatever the country.”

The prosecutor’s office has stated, according to ESPN, “the probe opened in 2017 is looking into suspected embezzlement of public funds and favoritism, and concerns about an unspecified contract reached by Paris organizers.”

The 2022 probe followed an audit made by the French Anti-corruption Agency. The prosecutor’s office has also stated that this case targets a suspected conflict of interest and favoritism involving contracts reached by the organizing committee and the public body in charge of Olympic infrastructure.

The IOC said in a statement it was “informed by the organizers that they are cooperating with authorities.”

IOC president Thomas Bach told reporters early Monday the meeting “of course will be about Paris, where we have some good news after the visit of the coordination mission and after my visit to France, to President Macron, and also the organizing committee.”

olympics

2024 Paris Olympics Planning On Keeping Athletes Cool Without Air Conditioning 

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According to reports, the Paris Olympics is currently trying to plan a way to keep the athletes of the 2024 Games cool without the use of air conditioning. 

According to organizers, as reported by AP, the current plan is to use a water-cooling system under the Athletes Village. They compared it to the current system used for the Louvre Museum, which helped keep the space cool during record-breaking heat waves last year. 

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Organizers are working to make an air conditioner-less cooling system work as a means of cutting the carbon footprint of the Paris Games overall. The current goal is to cut the carbon footprint by half and put on the most sustainable Olympic Games in history. 

By installing special technology that utilizes natural resources to keep everyone cool, even if a heat wave occurs, is how organizers plan to accomplish this goal. 

“I want the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental point of view,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Outside of the Olympics, Mayor Hidalgo has had the plan to tackle climate change through multiple action plans that will, ideally, reduce Paris’ greenhouse gas emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050.

“Compared to a conventional project, the carbon impact will be reduced by 45% for the Athletes Village during the construction phase and over the entire Olympic cycle,” she said.

Between July to September 2024, the Athletes Village in Paris will host around 15,600 athletes and sports officials, as well as 9,000 athletes and teams during the Paralympics. 

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Organizers have been studying heatwave patterns block by block in the Athletes Village to prepare for next years Games. Their methods include simulations where heatwave conditions are recreated to see how successful their cooling system will be at combating high levels of heat. 

“The geothermal energy system will ensure that the temperature in the athlete apartments in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb does not rise above 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit) at night, including during a potential a heat wave,” said Laurent Michaud, the director of the Olympic and Paralympic Villages.

He continued to explain that “organizers have conducted tests in rooms that are located on the highest floors of the residences and are facing south and exposed to direct sun on two sides. [We’ve] also considered directions of winds in the region and the water temperature in the Seine. [We also] have worked closely with France’s national weather agency to develop temperature forecasts.”

“Despite outdoor temperatures reaching 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit), we had temperatures at 28 degrees (82 degrees Fahrenheit) in most of these rooms. In other rooms, we clearly had lower temperatures,” Michaud told The Associated Press. 

“In addition to the underfloor cooling, the insulation built into the buildings will enable residents to keep the cold obtained during the night throughout the day,” Michaud said.