Tourist

Deep Ocean Expeditions offers the ultimate Titanic tour this summer: See the shipwreck firsthand from a tiny submersible during the 100th anniversary of its sinking. Despite the stiff $60,000 price tag, the Titanic dives became so popular among tourists that the company added a third trip. Now expedition coordinator Rob McCallum tells National Geographic News that Titanic dives planned for July and August will be the company's last. Deep Ocean holds the exclusive charter for Titanic dives.

DELHI, INDIA - Delhi, India, is closed today. My guide, a solemn man named C.K. Gupta, is deeply apologetic. It is, he informs me, not a holiday, but a peaceful protest. "Too high prices in the shops. " It is 2010, and I am in Delhi on vacation. It is my first time here. Receiving this piece of early-morning information, I am all set for empty sidewalks. The occasional whining ambulance. Maybe a bus. But when we leave my rented car near the Defence Colony, it is impossible to move.

Smart Destinations , which offers sightseeing passes in several destinations, this week launched its "Go Select" pass in Los Angeles . Both visitors and locals can save money with the pass when they visit two or more attractions in the Southern California area. The deal:  Go Select lets you choose your own attraction itinerary or opt for  preselected themed packages with titles such as "Kid Friendly" and "Hollywood Stars. " After purchase, you receive an email with a QR code (similar to a bar code but it also works with smart phones)

LAS VEGAS - It sits along a stretch of median on the less-glamorous south end of this city's glitzy gambling Strip, a stubborn holdover from another era. Yet, as the days turn to night and back into day, it beckons as many tourists, human tumbleweeds and adventure-seekers as any newfangled casino. They come to see, touch and photograph the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign, a 1959 scramble of colors, typefaces and flashing light bulbs. They come in droves, as if on some obligatory Vegas pilgrimage, arriving in taxis, rental cars, stretch limos, golf carts, pickup trucks, motorcycles, double-decker tour buses.

Japanese millionaire Daisuke Enomoto spent $21 million to become a space tourist but accuses the company that was supposed make it happen of brushing him aside with little more than "sorry, no refunds." A federal judge in Alexandria heard arguments in Enomoto's lawsuit against Space Adventures, which made its name brokering deals with the Russian space agency to put half a dozen "space tourists" in orbit for $20 million or more. Space Adventures wants the lawsuit thrown out, saying Enomoto was disqualified in 2006 because of a chronic kidney-stone condition.

I find it very sad that the letter about visiting Mexico [Letters, Nov. 23] was so angry. Although I would love to see Mexico solve its problems in fighting the drug war (fueled, sadly, by the U.S. demand for illegal drugs), I don't see how punishing the average Mexican citizen would benefit the cause. Tourism is an important part of the economy of Mexico. I have never felt unsafe there. As the Travel section always recommends, tourists must use common sense everywhere they go. Even in the U.S. Deborah Searle Chino

Thousands of curious well-wishers braved driving rain and hecklers Thursday to see the new Underground Atlanta tourist complex, a $142-million attempt to bring night life back to the downtown business district. "We thought the rain would keep everyone away, but look who's here," said art gallery manager Charmain Guzman as customers streamed into the three-tiered, 12-acre complex of restaurants and stores that is built partly under the city's downtown streets. Mayor Andrew Young was heckled by advocates for the homeless when he took the stage to officially open the project.

A tourist yacht with a crew of seven has been hijacked by Somali pirates near the Seychelles islands off Africa's east coast, officials said. The Indian Ocean Explorer had dropped off its contingent of tourists before it was seized, said Kirk Green, director of Aquatours, the London-based operator that books diving tours on the yacht. Green said he was told of the hijacking Wednesday by the British Navy and thought the boat had been taken then. But the U.S. Navy says the ship was taken either Friday or Saturday.

Laguna Beach, home to the Festival of Arts, Art-A-Fair and the Sawdust Festival, will add another art event, this one after the tourist season has ended. The Laguna Beach Autumn Festival on Sept. 13 and 14 will feature aquatic art, a jazz concert and magic shows, according to Dean Berko, the producer. The event, he said, "is geared for the Southern California coastal community, not the tourist." Forty artists will exhibit about 200 works that are aquatic in theme, Berko said.

At 3 a.m. on Oct. 19, guerrillas seeking independence from the Ethiopian government poured out of the hills and, after a fierce firefight with army troops, captured this mountaintop town. Long ago, Lalibela was Ethiopia's capital and more recently,its top tourist attraction, with its 11 hand-hewn rock churches. The guerrillas from the Tigre People's Liberation Front held it for 13 days. Then, apparently feeling that they had caused the government sufficient embarrassment, they withdrew.

The U.N.'s World Trade Organization says 1 billion people will cross international borders as tourists this year for the first time . That's about 4% higher than last year. The top three destinations? The U.S., France and China . . . . United has moved its John Wayne Airport ticket counter operations to Terminal C. The temporary move (eight weeks) is necessary to allow the TSA to make security upgrades to the baggage-handling system in Terminal B . . . . Grand Canyon National Park celebrates endangered species and wildlife May 18-19, a Friday and Saturday.

The Catalina Island Conservancy has accomplished the rare feat of encouraging tourism and, at the same time, preserving wildlands on the most visited of the Channel Islands archipelago off the coast of Southern California. The conservancy, endowed 40 years ago, handles a million visitors a year while protecting animals and plants and bringing back from the brink of extinction a unique island fox. Now it is considering ambitious proposals that would enhance the tourist experience, partly to generate increased revenue for preservation but, more important, to pique people's interest in becoming ongoing members of the conservancy.

On two separate occasions over the last nine years, Olen Steinhauer has brought a thriller series to a close. The first was the end of a five-novel series set in an unnamed Eastern European bloc nation. Focusing on a People's Militia homicide unit and stretching over a 40-year period, the historical sweep and breadth of those novels catapulted Steinhauer's work from the mystery to spy genre in a spectacular and satisfying manner - and created high expectations for the series that followed.

Tourism is already a booming industry in Los Angeles and may soon be even bigger. The city is gearing up to host one of the nation's largest trade shows for the travel industry, an April 21-25 gathering at the Los Angeles Convention Center that is expected to attract more than 1,500 travel business operators and generate at least $10 million in spending during the event. Known as the 2012 International Pow Wow, the trade show expects dozens of tour operators from China, Mexico, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands and other countries who specialize in bringing tourists to the United States.

The appetite for celebrity gossip and video clips seems to show no bounds. And apparently celebrities are happy to oblige those who collect and distribute this stuff. Consider the TMZ Hollywood Tour, a special celebrity tour that was launched last year by Starline Tours, Los Angeles' largest tour bus company, with the help of the celebrity-stalking website and television show TMZ. Starline launched the special tour with one bus and four daily tours. The response has been so strong that Starline added a second bus last September and plans to add two more by July.

Deep Ocean Expeditions offers the ultimate Titanic tour this summer: See the shipwreck firsthand from a tiny submersible during the 100th anniversary of its sinking. Despite the stiff $60,000 price tag, the Titanic dives became so popular among tourists that the company added a third trip. Now expedition coordinator Rob McCallum tells National Geographic News that Titanic dives planned for July and August will be the company's last. Deep Ocean holds the exclusive charter for Titanic dives.

Dining alfresco on the famed River Walk has its risks. Trust me. I know. One pleasantly temperate afternoon not long ago, while gearing up to ravage a plate of chicken enchiladas slathered in verde sauce, I unrolled my cloth napkin to fetch the utensils within — and inadvertently rolled my fork into the San Antonio River. Not to worry. Given the apparent robust economic health of the River Walk, with its bustling hotels, saloons and open-air restaurants, I suspect the fork will not be missed.

The Catalina Island Conservancy has accomplished the rare feat of encouraging tourism and, at the same time, preserving wildlands on the most visited of the Channel Islands archipelago off the coast of Southern California. The conservancy, endowed 40 years ago, handles a million visitors a year while protecting animals and plants and bringing back from the brink of extinction a unique island fox. Now it is considering ambitious proposals that would enhance the tourist experience, partly to generate increased revenue for preservation but, more important, to pique people's interest in becoming ongoing members of the conservancy.

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. Michael Jackson and Simon Cowell are hot. Elvis Presley, Larry King and Christina Aguilera -- not so much. At least those are the sentiments of tourists who requested views of celebrity homes from StarLine Tours, the largest tour bus company in Los Angeles. Based on such requests, the tour company Friday released its top 10 list of most requested celebrity homes for 2011 and the Holmby Hills mansion where the King of Pop died in 2009 was the most requested stop, followed by the Beverly Hills estate of former"American Idol"judge Cowell.

Gamin French film star Audrey Tatou, 35, who became known to American audiences in the whimsical rom-com "Amelie," crosses the Atlantic again with her latest movie, "Delicacy," about a young widow who finds love again with an unexpected suitor. The film, directed by David and Stephane Foenkinos, opens Friday in Los Angeles. -- You've said that you look for enriching experiences in the roles you choose. How did you find that in "Delicacy"? I was interested in the joy of the character.