January 2022

The beach at Maya Bay, a famous swimming spot in Thailand’s Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park, is scheduled to reopen on Jan. 1, 2022, after having been closed since June 1, 2018, to allow the cove’s sea life to regenerate (May ’18, pg. 4 & Oct. ’21, pg. 29). The environment had been damaged by a combination of overcrowding and bathers’ toxic sunscreen.

Boats are banned from the bay.

In southwest England’s Devon County, the Dartmoor Line (dartmoorline.com), the first line to be reinstated in the country’s “Restoring your Railway” initiative, reopened on Nov. 20, 2021, after having ceased regular passenger service back in 1972.

In the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway, the Rost Reef, discovered in 2002, is the world’s largest deepwater coral reef, formed by Lophelia corals. — Bryan Henry, Contributing Editor, Hollywood, FL

Marriott International (marriott.com) announced on Nov. 24 that it would begin disclosing any and all resort fees, as part of the nightly rate quoted, before a room is booked. It is the first major hotel chain to decide to reveal these fees up front.