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Selfie-taking tourists launched from Venice gondola after refusing to sit down

<p>A group of rowdy tourists have ended up in the waters of a Venice canal after causing a ruckus onboard the boat. </p> <p>Six passengers were travelling on a canal in the Italian hotspot when the boat was heading towards a low bridge that they needed to pass under. </p> <p>The gondolier explained to the tourists that they needed to sit down and be still as the boat passed under the bridge, explaining that a change in weight would cause an issue. </p> <p>Despite the gondolier's warning, the tourists continued to stand up and move around the narrow vessel to take selfies of their journey. </p> <p>Predictably, ignoring the requests of the gondolier caused the vessel to capsize, sending the tourists into the freezing water as the gondolier jumped to safety. </p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSkyNewsAustralia%2Fvideos%2F854034223389998%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>No one was injured in the mishap, as the tourists swam to safety at the bank of the canal, before seeking refuge at La Fenice theatre, according to Venice police.</p> <p>According to a spokesman for the city’s gondola association, the gondola was not damaged, although the upholstered furniture in the vessel was ruined by the water. </p> <p>The spokesperson went on to confirm that the gondolier had instructed the tourists not to move around or stand up to take selfies during the manoeuvre, but due to a language barrier, the tourists did not comply.</p> <p><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">A video of the incident was posted to an Instagram page called Venezia Non è Disneyland (Venice Is Not Disneyland), an account run by young locals to chronicle tourism in the city, with the video being flooded with comments about the misbehaved tourists. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">Many Italian locals were quick to point out how rowdy the tourists must've been to cause the incident, with many pointing out they "didn't know it was possible to capsize a gondola". </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: abcsans, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;">Image credits: Facebook</span></em></p>

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Gondola to link Queenstown to ski fields NZ

<p>Plans are afoot for a $50 million, 9.8km gondola from Queenstown's Remarkables Park Town Centre to the Remarkables Ski Area.</p> <p>The gondola would operate from a Gondola Events Plaza, adjacent to the centre in Frankton, and link to NZSki's base building at the ski field. The ride would take about 27 minutes. </p> <p>Queenstown investment and development company Porter Group chairman Alastair Porter said the project, the longest gondola in Australasia, would be a "significant" investment in regional and national tourism infrastructure and the resort played a key role in attracting tourists to the country.</p> <p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/11179/gondola-planned_497x280.jpg" alt="Gondola Planned" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p><em>Image credit: Stuff.co.nz</em></p> <p>"However, we live in a world where tourism is highly competitive, and it's extremely important for New Zealand to continue to invest in major tourist infrastructure to keep refreshing and enhancing our international appeal," he said.</p> <p>The gondola would enhance Queenstown as an international four-season destination by enabling sightseers, hikers, climbers, mountain bikers and wedding couples or conference and incentive groups looking for an unforgettable venue to visit the Remarkables in spring, summer and autumn, Porter said.</p> <p>The gondola was based on a design by Leitner Poma, one of the world's most experienced gondola and chairlift companies.</p> <p>"The gondola will also integrate well with the proposed Convention Centre at Remarkables Park Town Centre," Porter said.</p> <p>Porter said that determining the gondola location and building had delayed development of a Queenstown Convention Centre at Remarkables Park Town Centre.</p> <p>"Importantly the Convention Centre and the new Remarkables mountain facilities building can work together to host conferences," he said.</p> <p>New Zealand tourism consultant Stephen Hamilton said he was "very supportive" of the vision to connect hotels and urban areas of Queenstown to The Remarkables.</p> <p>"In winter the proposed gondola will give skiers, boarders and sightseers easy access to NZSki's facilities. It will further boost Queenstown's world-class visitor experience, and has the potential to deliver immeasurable economic benefits to the resort town's many businesses," he said.</p> <p>Porter said there was a widely-recognised need for Queenstown to develop more hotels to cope with visitor growth.</p> <p>The gondola and convention centre would act as "significant catalysts" for new hotels and retail in the wider region and at Remarkables Park, Queenstown's largest zoned area for high-rise hotel and retail expansion, he said.</p> <p>Submissions have been lodged with the Queenstown Lakes District Council for the project, and a resource consent application would be lodged in early 2016.</p> <p>Porter said it could be built and operational within three years, subject to further consultation and the resource consent process.</p> <p>First appeared on <a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stuff.co.nz</strong></span></a>.</p> <p> </p>

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