The Shrinking Dead Sea The Travel Show

And that is it from me and the

practised in will be here at six

o'clock. Now on BBC News, it is The

Travel Show.

This week on the show... The

sinkholes left behind by The

Shrinking Dead Sea.

It is

devastation, but it is also quite

beautiful, isn't it?

Travel tack you

can talk to...

I have packed it. Can

you say it again?

Dan Damon Mexico

to see one of the wealth of that

most impressive migrations. -- and I

am in Mexico. First up this week, we

are in the resort of Ein Gedi in

Israel, on the banks of the dead

Sea. This vast, salty lake is one of

the region's top tourist

attractions, but it is one that is

slowly disappearing, leaving behind

a scarred landscape, which we set

Joe to explore. -- sent. This is the

lowest point on Earth, and people

come here from all over the world to

experience the surreal sensation of

floating about in the hyper salty

waters. But in recent years, the

dead Sea has been shrinking back at

a rate of more than a metre a year.

The phenomenon is being caused by a

sharp decrease in the amount of

water flowing into it as the country

's long be river Jordan, the late's

main source, harvest the waters for

agriculture and industry. 30 years

ago, the dead Sea came all the way

up here, right up to this beach

umbrellas. But now the sea has

receded so much that tourists need

to be passed by tractor to the

waters' age, a distance more than a

mile. -- edge. The tractor rides

might be a fun novelty for tourists,

but they are expensive to run. And

the shrinking sea has caused an even

bigger problem. As the waters

received, a huge underground salt

deposits are left behind, and when

the salt dissolves, the ground above

it can collapse without warning,

causing sinkholes. This man has seen

the impact first hand.

This is the

main road, the Main Beach, and he to

risk it place.

-- touristic place.

You can see how the road has given

away.

Yes, everything completely

collapsing, falling apart.

Two years

ago, this road was closed and

rerouted after the surface started

to sink. It is now an enormous hole.

When did the first hole happen?

The

beginning of it was the late 1980s.

It was a phenomenon, a nice one,

interesting phenomenon on. But it

escalated very much and very fast.

And once you bring people next to

it, people who live, people who work

out, and tourist places, then you

just have two leave the place and

you get the biggest damage that you

can get.

This tourist resort used to

be one of the dead Sea's few public

beaches, two years ago it had to be

evacuated when the ground became too

unstable. Wow. The whole building

had to be abandoned.

Yes. Very short

notice. We had to just take

everything, pack our bags, staff,

equipment, and just leave. It looks

like a war.

There is a plan to

reverse the fortunes of the dead Sea

by pumping water into it from the

Red Sea over 100 miles away, but

that could take many years and no

one knows for sure if it will work.

In the meantime, the people here are

determined to rebuild, using

satellite mapping to assess where

new holes might open up.

I'm actually, what you see there,

the big Lagoon, is a chain of

sinkholes.

This man helped develop

the satellite system. He has been

studying the singles for the past 17

years is it safe to explore this

area?

-- sinkholes. It is quite safe

to somebody who knows where to go,

somebody who knows the issue of the

sinkholes. For somebody who doesn't

know, it could be dangerous.

He has

started taking groups out to safely

view the sinkholes. He wants

something positive to come out of

the problem.

First of all for the

awareness of people to the Dead Sea

crisis, on the other hand, to give

explanations. People want to know

what's happening. And then we have

also the other side of the problem.

People are amazed by the scenery. It

is beautiful. That is why it is very

important to let the people access

the sea, a safe one. Nowadays there

is no safe access. I think that we

are losing something.

The idea is

for people to be able to see the

geological wonders that have

appeared as the Dead Sea has

receded.

I just want to show you my

diamonds.

Wow. Oh my gosh.

They are

actually crystals, crystals of salt.

Can I keep this?

Yes, of course.

Thank you very much.

A gift from me.

A gift from the Dead Sea. That's

incredible. And it isn't just sold

diamonds that are formed along the

shore. Oh wow.

They form just on the

slope. And the waves roll them up

and down.

Diamonds and pearls.

Diamonds and pearls yes.

You are

spoiling me. It is amazing to grab

handfuls of these polls. They are so

beautiful. -- pearls. Is there a

sinkhole me here?

There are

sinkholes, of course, along the

coastal plain.

Can we go and look at

one?

Yes.

Is that it? All of that?

Yes. This

is one of the biggest sinkholes.

It

is absolutely enormous.

This is

about 40 metres, 50 metres in

diameter.

Wow. It's filled with

water as well.

This is the

groundwater.

I am a bit scared here.

Not exactly sweet water. With the

ability to dissolve salt.

Yes. It's

like a Lagoon, isn't it?

It's like a

Lagoon.

Such a lot to take in,

because there is devastation but it

is also quite beautiful.

Always look

at the bright and of the problem,

yes.

It's the eerie beauty of this place

that is hoped will attract the

tourist to the area and repair some

of the economic damage that has been

caused by the singles. If you're

planning a trip to the Dead Sea, you

don't have to worry about a sinkhole

opening up under the beach. The

affected areas are clearly

signposted and should not be entered

without guidance from an expert.

Still to come on The Travel Show...

I am in central Mexico to see one of

the world's greatest wildlife

migrations. Wow. Normally we are not

allowed to get this close. So don't

go away.

The Travel Show, your essential

guide were ever you're heading. --

wherever.

Where's the closest train station?

Where's the closest pizza

restaurant? What's beware the going

to be like later? Voice-activated

Dech has exploded in popularity in

recent years, with gadgets and apps

that use speech commands becoming a

big part of our lives. But now,

sparked as next month because want

to change the way you travel before

you have even pack your bags as Max

but speakers will stop Google has

launched a packing baht. I am really

intrigued to give this a go. OK,

Google, talk to KLM?

Where are you

going?

Tokyo.

I have made it as a

packing list that is perfect. We

started travel essentials such as

your passport and bank cards.

I have

packed it.

Make sure to pack enough

underwear for seven days.

Underwear,

very important. I have packed it.

Make sure to pack enough underwear

for seven days.

I have packed it.

I've missed what you've said.

Underpants for seven days.

I packed

it.

I didn't get that. Can you say

it again? Sorry for asking, are you

a man or a woman? Takken Oscars were

seven days.

I have packed them.

Sunglasses are in the bag. Have a

good flight.

Right! I'm all packed

and good to go. So, overall, I'd say

Bebe is pretty helpful in making

sure you pack the essentials and

don't forget anything. But the

entire process felt longwinded, you

couldn't interrupt her when

speaking, and after joke four or

five, it got a little bit annoying.

It's very cool that it uses

artificial intelligence, it all

feels very futuristic, but for now,

I don't think I'm ready to give up a

fashion list. Other smart speakers

are getting in on the travel act,

too. Matt's popped around to show me

how Amazon's Alexa can help with

flight and hotel searches.

Welcome

back. What would you like to do?

Alexa, search for flights to Paris.

Please tell me when you want to fly

out.

In one week.

When do you want

to fly back to London?

Return in two

weeks.

Off we go. The least

expensive flight from London to

Paris is a nonstop flight on easyJet

for £75.

It's a great way to get a

kind of rough ballpark on the kind

of figures you'll be paying to go on

holiday, which is quite handy.

Delivering that through voice rather

than having to type it out and play

with calendars and all of that stuff

Yeah..

, makes it effortless as

well, it?

Absolutely. In the US

right now, you can actually book

your hotel.

I don't know how I feel

about that! I need to see what I'm

going to stay in. Don't people want

to look at what they're investing

in...?

I guess if you've been

somewhere before, or feeling

adventurous...

..if you like taking

a few risks!

If you've ever done a

bit of travelling, you just turn up

to a random hotel or hostel and go

on a local's word, maybe...

So would

you book your hotel through Alexa?

I'm definitely going to try it.

And

here's a speech-activated gadget you

can try out anywhere - the GoPro

Hero 6 Black. When

can try out anywhere - the GoPro

Hero 6 Black. When you're using your

hands to

Hero 6 Black. When you're using your

hands to cycle or drive, or can't

reach to touch the buttons on your

camera, being able to bark commands

at it in order to control it is an

absolute godsend. All I have to say

is "GoPro, start recording."

There are loads of commands at your

disposal. You can get it to take

photos, you can set it to shoot, and

you can even record a time-lapse. If

you think you've filmed something

that's particularly standout, you

can get it to mark the clip at that

exact moment by saying "GoPro

highlight" or, if you're down with

the kids, "That was sick!" When you

want to stop filming, all you have

to say is: "GoPro, stop recording."

You wouldn't know it to look at it,

but these hills are just a couple of

hours' drives from Mexico City.

This is the transatlantic volcanic

belt, but it's not the volcanoes

we've come to see... I'm almost at a

peak, and you can tell - I'm quite

out of breath. We are about 3,000m

above sea level. The air's thin,

it's quite cold, but we are

beginning to see monarch

butterflies.

Every winter, millions of

butterflies fly for around two

months from Canada and the US to a

few patches of high-altitude forest

here in Mexico. Most

few patches of high-altitude forest

here in Mexico. Most are located in

the state of Michwaqan, but this is

the least touristy site, and

somewhere you can truly be alone

with these creatures.

Wow...! Normally we're not allowed

to get this

Wow...! Normally we're not allowed

to get this close but, from this

distance, I hope you can see there

are millions of monarchs clustered

in black clumps on these fur trees.

What I find absolutely amazing about

this insect is they travel 4,000km

from Canada, the United States, down

to this particular forest.

Ir trees. What I find absolutely

amazing

It's the longest migration

undertaken by any insect. Scientists

only recently discovered that they

use the sun to navigate to the same

reserves every year, where they

rest, feed, and then find a mate. In

recent years, the populations have

dwindled thanks to the destruction

of habitats in the US and Canada,

and deforestation here in Mexico.

One study says the numbers have gone

down by 84% in the last 20 years.

The fear is this - one more bad

winter, and the entire colony could

be gone.

It's been really bad. Two years ago,

we had a snowstorm that killed a lot

of butterflies, you know? It was

really, really sad to see, like,

these clusters - the way we saw they

are...

Mm-hmm.

..but those

butterflies were dead. And they

still looked like they were

hibernating, but they weren't

hibernating anymore. They were just

dead.

Frozen?

Yeah, frozen, 'cause

of the weather.

And what happens if

there's another terrible winter like

that?

Well, I hope they will not be

there, the butterflies. The

population went down a lot.

The village at the foot of the hill

depends largely on the butterflies

for its existence. It's tiny, though

the people are instantly welcoming.

There is just one B&B, run by Quell

and his American wife Helen, which

they set up in an effort to make

American day stay for a bit longer

-- day-trippers stay for a bit

longer.

And wouldn't you know it - the one

local restaurant is run by Huel's

mum, Rosea.

And why do you guys love the

butterflies? Why are you here?

Well,

you know, that's how I met her.

That's how we met. We met in a storm

of butterflies.

Anyway, my dad - he

retired from being in those

mountains for over 30 years.

When we

met, there was nothing here. People

came on day trips, people came from

far away, they paid outside

operators to come in here, and none

of the money stayed in the

community. We wanted to have

multiple people stay here, stay in

the community, stay longer.

And the

numbers are much lower than they

used to be in the area, with the

butterflies?

Sometimes we see that

in some places, but not as often as

I think older people talk about

seeing that. I've only been here for

four seasons, so in four seasons,

it's kind of... ..it's actually

gotten better, the numbers have

gotten slightly in the last four

seasons, but it's still dramatically

lower than what it was.

..than it

used to be.

Yeah.

This is lusher and greener than you

might expect from Mexico - a

peaceful place to see the migration.

And here's a glimmer of hope for the

people of Marchellos. While numbers

are still critically low, the signs

from this year and the last is that

the worrying decline appears to be

stabilising.

That's all for now. Join us next

time, when...

The sports festival in Abu Dhabi -

trying to get to the top of one of

the world's highest sand dunes - the

Morrie Dune - which means

"terrifying mountain".

You know

what? I've been looking at one of

the world's highest and steepest

sand dunes for a while now. Trying

to reach the top. Luckily, I've got

myself a lift.

In the meantime, make sure you too

join our adventures on the road by

following us on social media. From

myself, and the Travel team here in

Mexico, it's adios.