Japan has a glut of 8.5 million akiya, empty 'ghost houses' left to rot. Now Airbnb wants to fill them with tourists.

Tech Insider
Old Japanese house and garden in Genemongama factory, Kyushu region, Arita, Japan on August 23, 2023 in Arita, Japan.
Old Japanese house and garden in Genemongama factory, Kyushu region, Arita, Japan on August 23, 2023 in Arita, Japan.

Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images

The verdict is in on how much Texas' heat wave clobbered its economy this summer

Tech Insider : Economy
A fire fighter in Texas drinks water in the heat.
A fire fighter in Texas drinks water in the heat.

BRANDON BELL/Getty Images

You can now book an Uber hot-air balloon in Turkey for $159

Tech Insider : Travel, Technology
Uber Balloon
Uber Balloon.

Uber

Tourists are still not returning to China and that's not good for anybody

Tech Insider : Economy, Travel, Economy
Great Wall of China.
Fewer people are visiting the Great Wall of China.

Suphanat Wongsanuphat/Getty Images

Maui business owners need tourism to survive, but say visitors should rethink how they use resources: 'It's not Disneyland'

Tech Insider : Economy, Travel
Maui business owners Kyle Kawakami and Garrett Marrero
Maui business owners Kyle Kawakami and Garrett Marrero are helping out with the wildfire recovery while also trying to run businesses that rely on tourism.

Courtesy Kyle Kawakami and Garrett Marrero

A Maui restaurant owner is 'praying visitors will start to come back soon'

Tech Insider
An aerial view of buildings and cars exposed to fire.
The Maui wildfires killed more than 100 people.

Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources/Handout via Reuters

The PR manager for Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the downsides of the job, why backpackers are the bane of his existence, and how 'The White Lotus' changed his workday

Tech Insider
Dan Schacter, regional director of public relations for the Four Seasons Thailand
Dan Schacter.

Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

A Virgin Galactic passenger joked that he will have to wear diapers on Thursday's mission because the spaceship doesn't have toilets

Tech Insider
Virgin Galactic's Galactic 01
A shot of the outside of Galactic 01 during its first commercial spaceflight.

Virgin Galactic

UFOs are going mainstream. Here are 5 spots to visit if you're looking for aliens.

Tech Insider
A sign outside an alien-themed restaurant
A sign outside alien-themed restaurant Little A'Le'Inn. It's one of the many tourist attractions surrounding the famous Area 51.

David Becker/Getty Images

Tourists aren't going back to China – and that's another problem for its stuttering economy

Tech Insider : Economy
Tourists enjoy the scenery at Qingzhou Ancient City scenic spot in East China's Shandong province, July 14, 2023. Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released domestic tourism data for the first half of 2023.
Tourists at Qingzhou Ancient City in Shandong province.

Getty Images

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