[TRAVEL] Resort island closure angers tourists

[TRAVEL] Resort island closure angers tourists

via The Galaxy Weekly

Veiled Ridges Dome City, Kahje - An island known as Clasp of the Enkindlers is perhaps one of the best known resorts on the hanar homeworld, known for its many and varied services offered for tourists both in and outside the domed environment. However that was changed with the recent decree from the regional governor of the Illuminated Primacy who closed off the island from foreigners.

The Clasp of the Enkindlers also hosts ancient Prothean ruins in vicinity of its beaches which act also as places of worship for the believers. Said beaches have also attracted a lot of attention from amorous couples who seek secluded locations and don't necessarily bother to clean after themselves, leaving the high tide to wash their trash onto the ruins.

"The most deplorable activities that take place within sight of our sacred sites is blasphemy and insult to the memory of the Enkindlers. The filth that the Encompassing brings down from the Clasp of the Enkindlers on the faithful is even worse. To restore the respect to the marks of those who elevated us, This one has elected to bar entry from the offending aliens to the island and its facilities until further notice." Governor Aqiln declared in its statement over the decision.

This sudden closure has affected tens of arranged package tours and thousands of tourists, who stand to lose the hefty fees they paid for the package they can't experience now.

This one is pleased to learn that efforts are being undertaken to prevent the pollution of these ones' sacred sites. It must however admit to being saddened that such a drastic measure was deemed necessary. It knows that hanar systems of etiquette are difficult for outsiders to penetrate, but it is reasonably certain that leaving discarded litter is considered in breach of correct standards almost anywhere in the galaxy. Such behaviour is very shocking! However, it is also not comfortable with the speed at which such a decision has been made and implemented. It is most hesitant to criticize, but it cannot help but be alarmed at the lack of consideration shown to these ones' alien partners.

It believes that this incident is symptomatic of the dry expanse that still exists between the Primacy and these ones' respectable neighbours. It cannot help but feel that greater sensitivity and more effective communication would be beneficial, though it is uncertain how such a dialogue can be initiated.

There exists relatively little exchange between these ones and the greater community of Citadel space. This one fears that disruption to those channels of exchange that do exist may jeopardise the capacity for the Primacy and its partners to learn from one another and achieve spiritual growth.

Absolutely - it needn't even be a sacred site, just tarnishing a lovely stretch of beach is rude by itself. And it's not like it's difficult to clean up. Render down anything gel-compatible, pick up what's left, smooth the sand out a bit to get rid of any butt-prints, how difficult is that?

Hopefully it'll just be a temporary measure - a sharp wake-up call to the tourists and the people organising their trips, so they'll behave themselves better when it reopens.

Oh, great, how I hate those that can't pick up their own trash. Nevos can sing songs about them in certain areas! Funny enough, they managed the problem in most places (not all sadly) by imitating planetwide what the resorts have been doing long since, charging a general 'public beach preservation fee' (but if you get caught you still pay up). No matter what you do, you can't educate some, there will always be litterers. Public clean up drones are out on most public beaches anyway. Funny enough, it has not affected the frequenting of the well (and not so well) known romantic spots as this had been a concern.

Isn't this a case for a refund? No service - no charge. An angency can't withhold an entry fee for a site that's not open and therefore not charging.

In one Erzsbat beach they put on a very simple system : a few drone patrolled the beach and lightly shocked people who left leaving rubbish.
Now the drone couldn't really differentiate whether or not it was YOUR rubbish, but at worst it encouraged people to be good citizens and help keep the beach clean.
Or, you know, avoid walking near detritus when a drone was around.

Mr. Ranak, I must commend the authorities on Erzsbat for once using drones instead of slaves, which I expected to be the usual approach to a menial labour need.

Actually, drones were just here to zap the offenders and encourage better behavior. Slaves were used to clean the beach afterward.

...oh dear.

Anyway.

You'd be amazed at the clauses some travel agencies get into their contracts - they can make Nos Astra legal jousting look like it's still in its infancy. Where a site is suddenly unavailable like this, it's far from rare for the agency to be able to nominate a 'reasonable' alternative without consultation, and on virtually any terms they please.

I once had a client who booked a two-week trip to Viridian Sands just before the local transport firm the agency had booked there filed for bankruptcy; instead of postponing until a replacement could be worked out, they decided that the Kalta Coast was "a similar experience", based solely on how the cliffs look. Never mind you can only see the cliffs at Kalta on the random one-in-fifty days when the latitude fog belt lifts, and if you want to go for a swim you'd better have a liquid cooled bodysuit, it was still technically the holiday package he'd booked. He didn't lose the entire cost by cancelling, but 'late cancellation fees' ate up about two-thirds of what he rightly should have gotten back. I want to say it was some small-time agency being unusually shifty, but without naming names, they were still in business right up until the war, and I'd wager you probably had heard of them.

It sucks to be ripped like that. But it also sucks to be wading through litter on a beach, I can understand if measures are taken.

I fail to imagine that! Don't get me wrong but I always imagined the place like... dunno... grey and dusty and lots of fog and shit. I have no real idea how it looks and don't plan a vacation there, so yeah.

A reasonable decision.