Extensive work to protect a tourist hot spot in the Mackenzie District is well underway. Work on the Church of the Good Shepherd, on the edge of Lake Tekapo, began almost a year ago due to the increasing number of tourists to the district – with many coming to see the church. Continue reading
Posts Tagged ‘tourism’
Solomons church leaders promote wedding tourism
Friday, July 15th, 2016A gathering of several of the Solomon Islands’ most eminent church elders has given ‘in principle’ support to a Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau strategy designed to grow the destination’s appeal to international travelers looking to have their wedding overseas. Representatives at the meeting included the South Seas Evangelical Church, the Solomon Islands’ United Church, the Read more
Evangelisation challenge as Camino more secular
Friday, August 14th, 2015Bishops whose dioceses are along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route have tried to counter moves to make it just a cultural or tourist experience. French and Spanish bishops released a pastoral letter setting out the possibilities of evangelisation of those travelling the route. The bishops admit that 70 per cent of those walking the Read more
Outrage at plan to charge tourists fees at French churches
Tuesday, October 28th, 2014A plan by the French state to charge admission fees for tourists at famous churches has been denounced. The culture ministry and national heritage officials discussed the proposal without telling the Church. The rector-archpriest of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris said having a fee would make free access by believers almost impossible. Msgr Partick Jacquin Read more
Pope tours
Friday, March 21st, 2014
Pope Francis used to pick up La Nacion newspaper every day at a kiosk across from the city’s cathedral. Each edition was bound by a rubber band. But then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, being frugal, would save the rubber bands and return them in a ball at the end of every month. Guide Javier Cortese offered the anecdote Read more
Suva’s Archbishop condemns tourists’ ‘beach weddings’
Friday, February 14th, 2014
Suva’s Archbishop Peter Chong has condemned the practice of tourists celebrating their weddings in Fiji on beaches boats and in hotels. He says weddings should be celebrated in a sacred space like of a church or a chapel. Chong said that the problem was not caused by local people, but by tourists. “For our local people, Read more
Tourism NZ runs competition for first gay Aussies to be married here
Tuesday, August 20th, 2013
Paul McCarthy and Trent Kandler from Speers Point, near Newcastle, were married in front of 20 family members and friends in Wellington on Monday after winning a competition run by Tourism New Zealand to be the first Australian gay couple to be wed under New Zealand’s same-sex marriage laws. The competition aimed to capitalise on the Read more
Vatican may eventually limit Sistine Chapel visits
Friday, November 2nd, 2012
The Vatican may eventually limit the number of visitors to the Sistine chapel to protect Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes, Reuters reported. The Sistine Chapel ceiling celebrated its 500th anniversary on Wednesday. Pope Benedict XVI marked the anniversary of what he dubbed as the “liturgical classroom” with vespers. He said “the works of art which decorate [the Read more
2nd casino licence granted in Fiji
Sunday, June 10th, 2012
One Hundred Sands has been granted a licence to operate a second casino, with Suva being hinted at as the likely location. In December 2011 One Hundred Sands Limited, which is a subsidiary of a US company, was given permission by the Fijian Government to operate the country’s first casino. The 290 million Fiji dollars (114.29 Read more
Pope affirms beauty and goodness in tourism
Friday, April 27th, 2012
In a message to the 7th world congress on pastoral care of tourists, Pope Benedict has affirmed the value of tourism and supported the horizons it opens. Benedict said that admiring the beauty of other people, cultures and nature, can lead to God and be the occasion of an experience of faith. “Tourism, together with Read more