Goodbye to one of New York's great tourism traditions?

It is the end of an era for one of New York City's most popular tourism traditions. 

New York City Council voted this week to ban horse-drawn carriages from Central Park by 2028, ending a tradition as old as the park itself, The New York Times reported.

A passenger’s death after a horse bolted in June was the impetus for the ban. 

The Council vote on the bill imposing the ban was a definitive, if not final, step toward ending a politically contentious debate over the future of the carriage industry, which some people criticise as a form of animal cruelty with no place in a crowded park and others embrace as a vestige of old-world charm, the newspaper reported.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office helped craft the bill, which passed by 40 votes to seven, a veto-proof margin.

“The mayor will sign this bill, and the Mamdani administration is working every day to ensure we can do so while providing the strongest possible protections for the owners and workers in this industry,” said Sneha Choudhary, a spokesperson for Mamdani.

The legislation dictates that horse carriages will not be allowed to operate in the city as of June 2028. 

There are 200 owners, drivers and stable hands and an estimated 180 carriage horses.

The Transport Workers Union Local 100 has vowed to challenge the legislation in court. 

Image: https://www.centralparkcarriagetours.com/

Animal welfare concerns over travel attractions

Many tourists feel queasy when confronted with trained monkeys, dancing bears and other dubious travel attractions. 

Online holiday company Thomas Cook has addressed those issues by cancelling all sales for attractions with captive dolphins and whales.

It is it part a new animal welfare policy, Travel Mole reports.

In 2018, the former Thomas Cook business removed attractions with captive orcas from its sales platform.

The re-established online business has now gone further by removing all attractions where dolphins and whales are held in captivity.

Thomas Cook said customer feedback had shown that consumers had concerns over dolphins in captivity.

The company said It will instead focus on wild watching experiences for whales and dolphins in their own habitats.

"We only want to offer experiences when we’re confident they abide by the highest welfare standards and are not built on animal suffering,” said CEO Alan French. 

“We have been seeing a strong return to bookings but also a decline in activities that harm the environment or animals.”