Travel briefs | Sea-Tac explores airport shuttle bus and more

Washington

Sea-Tac explores airport shuttle bus

Anyone who has waited for a hotel or rental car shuttle at Sea-Tac Airport has seen dozens of vans and buses crowding through the airport garage.

Now the airport has hired a consultant to look into the idea of a shared shuttle service that would carry travelers to hotels and parking lots.

If the idea is approved, a service run by a consortium of hotels could be phased in over the next two years.

A Sea-Tac environmental program manager, Russ Simonson, says 61 hotels generate 480,000 shuttle trips each year to the airport. He says a shared service could cut shuttle traffic by more than a third.

The airport also is planning to start a bus shuttle when it completes a new rental car terminal.

Netherlands

Tobacco goes up in smoke — but not pot

Starting July 1, the Netherlands will banish tobacco smoke from restaurants and all other public places. But patrons of certain coffee shops where marijuana is sold over the counter can still light up their cannabis joints.

Possessing the weed is actually illegal in the Netherlands, but smoking it is tolerated.

Owners say the tobacco ban — a trend that is becoming increasingly widespread in Europe — could be a threat to the specially licensed coffee houses, because patrons traditionally prefer their cannabis joints mixed with tobacco.

Some of Amsterdam's 226 coffee shops have invested in new kinds of pipes and vaporizers to encourage pure cannabis use.

But she said other coffee house owners have no intention of stopping customers from smoking mixed joints.

China

Despite Olympics, Beijing hotels vacant

The Beijing Olympics are looking like a bust for the city's hotels.

The 17-day Games were supposed to generate a buzz throughout the summer, leading to a tourism windfall with fully booked hotels, flush customers and a jubilant atmosphere.

Instead Beijing's summer tourism season is slow, with hotels and travel agencies saying potential travelers are being put off by tightening visa rules, polluted Beijing air and officials who seem more concerned with keeping out foreigners than welcoming them.

China has spent a reported U.S. $40 billion on new infrastructure and stunning venues, hoping to impress visitors with a modern city. But this may not play out, which could shake an industry that has more than doubled its five- and four-star hotels offerings to 160 since Beijing was awarded the Olympics seven years ago.

According to the Beijing Tourism Bureau, the number of foreign visitors to Beijing in May dropped by 12.5 percent from a year ago. Among the biggest drops were Japanese visitors, down 45 percent. American arrivals shrunk by 17.15 percent.

The earthquake on May 12 that killed almost 70,000 in Sichuan province may account for some of the decrease. So may a slumping world economy, and off-putting images of deadly rioting on March 14 in Tibet, followed by chaotic pro-Tibet protests on international legs of the torch relay.

But the tourist no-shows also coincide with new stringent visa regulations, making it tough for tourists and business executives to come in.

United States

American to begin in-flight Web access

American Airlines customers can expect in-flight Internet access in the next couple of weeks.

Facing record high fuel prices, airlines are looking at entertainment and information services as ways to make a few more bucks per passenger. American plans to charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length.

The airline will begin charging for Internet service soon on its Boeing 767-200 jets that fly from New York to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami.

Passengers will be able to use e-mail and instant messaging and to download video and connect to secure networks on notebook computers or other wireless devices such as smart phones through three wireless access points on the plane.

Compiled from The Associated Press and Cox News Service