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The United States is No. 1 in only one sense: the amount we shell out for health care. We have the most expensive system in the world per capita, but we lag behind many developed countries on virtually every health statistic you can name.

Tuesday proved to be a remarkable day as International Peace through Tourism brought together leaders from key tourism organizations including SKAL International, America Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Pacific Travel Association, United Nations World Tourism Organization, Travel Industry Association of America, Canada Tourism Commission, World Youth Student & Educational Travel Confederation, and Reed Travel Exhibitions who each shared their vision for peace in the next 20 years of travel and tourism.

Last week, Southwest Airlines announced a deal to sell travel to Mexico in 2010 with partner Volaris, a well-financed Mexican carrier that is 2 years old. Southwest has already said it would team with WestJet to offer U.S.-Canada travel by late 2009.

The looming recession may have got you rethinking your career break plans. But never fear, because the Career Break Website (www.thecareerbreaksite.com) founder Rachel Morgan-Trimmer is here to share some tips on how to live your dreams on a limited budget.The areas where you shouldn’t skimp are insurance, your backpack, medicine and shoes.

More than a million patients worldwide visit hospitals and clinics each year in countries other than their own. Here are 13 questions frequently asked by medical travelers—and the answers you need to know before you decide whether to journey abroad for medical care.

As backpackers hit the trail, they risk invalidating their travel insurance by taking on voluntary or casual work, warns online insurance specialist Essential Travel.

Hurricane Ike, which blasted the densely populated Texas coast and swept through Houston on Saturday, could trigger insurance claims between $8 billion and $18 billion, according to early estimates of the damage.

People who chafe at the cost of a passport or worry about carrying one to the beach at Rocky Point will soon have a cheaper, easier option.

More and more tourists are getting away for the sun, sand and surgery.

It may happen more than you think. People arrive with their luggage at a port of embarkation, ready for the "cruise of a lifetime" vacation they have been planning for a year -- only to be told at the very last minute that their right to board the ship is being denied.

With gas prices and airfare on the rise, you probably want to save money on every aspect of your trip. Cheap hotels are one idea, but vacation rentals, furnished apartments and even youth hostels can be lower cost alternatives.

For business travelers headed overseas, getting a visa, when required, can be the worst part of the trip. It requires filling out forms, surrendering your passport for a few days or a week and paying a fee that can seem exorbitant, sometimes only with cash or a money order. For a multicountry itinerary, it can take a month to get all the visas approved.

Because of upcoming new rules for international travel, the Department of State is urging Americans to apply for passports now, regardless of whether they are planning any international travel in the near future.

Almost a third of all travelers venture abroad without any insurance at all, but as the tragic story of one family shows, a little forethought could save you and your family a fortune if the worst happens while you are away.

A passport is still necessary for those traveling by air or outside of Canada, Mexico or Bermuda. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and enhanced ...

“With the rising costs of healthcare in the U.S., international hospitals and clinics report a 15-40 percent increase in the number of Americans seeking treatment,” reports Laura Carabello, publisher and managing editor of Your Medical Travel. “Many people simply cannot afford U.S. price tags and are discovering more cost effective options as close by as Mexico and as far away as Singapore, Israel, New Zealand and India. This newsletter serves the interests of those who choose to travel overseas for quality care at a fraction of the cost.”

Overseas treatments sometimes carry extra risks, but can come at fraction of the expense
Lupo's hip surgery and hospital stay cost $8,880 at Wockhardt Hospital in Bangalore. Even with the $1,300 airfare, the procedure totaled about a third of what it would have cost Lupo at a local hospital.

"People are increasingly seeking the authentic, unique experiences that stretch the imagination and create potent memories that last a lifetime," said Chris Doyle, vice president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). According to the organization, adventure travel is the fastest growing segment of the leisure travel industry.

Backpack travel — living completely out of a bag, traveling by crowded trains or buses, staying in hostels, doing it all frugally — doesn't have to be daunting. There's even a certain freedom in forcing yourself to live with bare essentials and prepare for Spartan accommodations.

Many diseases that once killed children in infancy have been virtually wiped out by modern medicine in the United States, but doctors want to remind parents that many diseases still live in foreign countries.