This week’s top stories examine the demise of the famed ‘hippy trail’, an embarrassing tourism slogan in Croatia, travelling to sites from TV favourites like Game of Thrones and Vikings, and a bit of the inspiration behind Anthony Bourdain’s upcoming food market in New York.

Hippy trail in danger of vanishing.

Hippy trail in danger of vanishing. Image by Garry Knight / CC BY 2.0

Academics say South East Asia’s famous ‘hippy trail’ may be a thing of the past as low-cost airlines, natural disasters, tightening visa laws and terrorism have all impacted backpacking in areas like Thailand and Cambodia. Areas along the trail have become increasingly commercialised and trips have become formulaic, the researchers argue.

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Police chase naked tourists through the cobbled streets of Dubrovnik. Image by Mario Fajt / CC BY 2.0

Dubrovnik, Croatia. Image by Mario Fajt / CC BY 2.0 Image by Mario Fajt / CC BY 2.0

The Croatian National Tourism board was mocked online after advertising their country with the slogan “Croatia will waste your time!” The translation error led online commenters to mock the tourism board, which quickly took down the posts.

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A Game of Thrones sign at Ballintoy Harbour in Northern Ireland.

A Game of Thrones sign at Ballintoy Harbour in Northern Ireland. Image by helterskelter_ Instagram

With Game of Thrones set to come back in April, a county in Northern Ireland is going to add more signs to help travellers find the spots from the filming of the show. The Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has approved plans for two new Game of Thrones signs in Knockdhu and Shilnavogy Valley, which have been featured in the show.

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Ragnar and crew go for a jaunty stroll while on holidays.

Ragnar and crew go for a jaunty stroll while on holidays. Image by History Channel.

Another TV show returning to air has travellers thinking about where they can see the dramatic locations featured. Vikings, a TV show on the History Channel is heading into its fourth season. The series shows the Vikings travelling to a variety of amazing locations, which are found in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and more.

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Caption: scouting: bak chor mee #singapore | photo by @pikachieww | #bourdainmarket

Caption: scouting: bak chor mee #singapore | photo by @pikachieww | #bourdainmarket Image by bourdainmarket Instagram

As interest builds for celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain’s New York food market, an Instagram account for the project shows off the inspiration and plans for the large-scale market. Bourdain has been assembling a “dream list” of chefs, operators and street food from around the world to bring them together in one place. The market will open in 2017.

Read more here.