TravelPulse Podcast: False Reporting on Mexico, Sex on a Plane, Donkey Drama and More

Travel expert Mark Murphy is back just in time for the long Labor Day Weekend with a brand new episode of the TravelPulse Podcast.

This week, Murphy sets the record straight in wake of an avalanche of false reporting on Mexico's popular tourist destinations before diving into some head-scratching news stories from around the world.

"The good news is, I guess, the folks have written a correction. The bad news is that story has been out there 361 times in different outlets now and it created this massive domino effect," said Murphy, referring to incorrect reports that the U.S. State Department had changed its travel advisory for Mexico after police in Cancun discovered eight bodies outside of the city's popular hotel zone.

Listen to episode five of "TravelPulse: The Intersection of Travel—Where Politics, Finance, and Travel Meet" in its entirety:

Later, Murphy muses on a recent survey from Jetcost revealing how Americans keep themselves entertained on flights.

"More than 25 percent of these folks basically had sex in the air. That's a pretty big percentage," said Murphy. "What's interesting is that 788 of them did it in the airplane bathroom but 400 of them did it in their freaking seats."

"Do you want to be the guy getting on the plane after that crew?"

Murphy also fights back against claims that obese tourists are to blame for the battered donkeys of Santorini.

"If that is indeed the case, donkeys shouldn't be doing anything because I don't see a lot of unaccompanied minors going on vacation in Santorini and riding donkeys. And you have to be a pretty small kid to weigh less than 112 pounds. So why don't you stop doing donkey rides?"

The travel expert also chimes in on this week's LAX runway invader and the novelty grenade bottle openers that sparked security delays at a New Jersey airport.

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"One of the places you might think about is Hawaii. If you have been watching the news, it looks like Hawaii is under water and the volcano and everything else. In reality, the hotels in Hawaii are looking pretty damn good right now," says Murphy. "You'll find great airfares because the planes are committed to fly there and demand is dropping. The hotels are feeling it too so they're dropping prices."

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