IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
IFC Advisory Services in Vietnam helps Vietnamese firms make their operations more efficient and client-friendly, and raise their international competitiveness by improving social, environmental, and corporate governance practices. We support Vietnam’s sustainable development by helping to attract international investment to vital sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy, and microfinance. Our Advisory Services are structured into four business lines: Access to Finance, Investment Climate, Sustainable Business Advisory, and Public-Private Partnerships. In the Mekong region covering Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, our advisory services are delivered in partnership with the European Union, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Their operations in Vietnam will be expanding in 2012, and we are looking for qualified applicants for the following three positions. All positions will be expected to lead existing and potential assistance projects in their Business Line and the IFC portfolio, including developing excellent client relations, designing and implementing projects for meaningful development impact, and ensuring IFC procedures are respected. In addition, all positions are expected to contribute to the development of IFC’s Vietnam Program by actively identifying new opportunities for IFC, providing input to IFC’s strategy for their Business Lines and building relationships with industry stakeholders.
1. Microfinance Operations Officer, Access to Finance – A2F (position no.120038)
IFC intends to support the development of Vietnam’s nascent commercial microfinance sector and increase access to microfinance services to urban and rural poor by creating an enabling environment and a financial sector that can create and manage sustainable private sector institutions to serve a large number of low-income households.
The Microfinance Operations Officer is a local 2 year term appointment based in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. S/he will work closely with and under the supervision of the A2F Vietnam Program Manager. S/he will be primarily responsible for the implementation of A2F Microfinance (MF) projects in Vietnam. S/he must be an experienced professional whose knowledge and skills enable him/her to undertake project design, project implementation, and knowledge management initiatives with limited direct supervision.
Specific duties and accountabilities:
- Lead the MF project development by addressing all key aspects (scope of work, terms, deliverables, etc.), monitoring results, benchmarking against best practice, and consulting with the relevant stakeholders.
- Prepare project work plans, budgets and project operational documents, consistent with overall IFC objectives, plans and budgets. Ensure project(s) compliance with IFC’s overall financial market strategy and IFC procedures.
- Prepare terms-of-reference and help identify, select, and schedule consultant assignments; guide consultants in the effective delivery of their services, including monitoring their work to ensure that agreed deliverables are met and that they are captured in appropriate reports.
- Analyze developmental impact of the project(s). Document progress, resolve issues, and initiate improvements when needed.
- Pro-actively and effectively develop and nurture working relationship with government partners and private sector partners including, but not limited to, banks and MFIs.
- Communicate the progress of the project(s) and overall program to IFC and related partners, and proactively engage with IFC communications to ensure external and internal communications issues are well addressed.
- Liaise and work closely with the IFC investment in joint appraisal teams working on existing or new advisory and investment projects.
- Identify key lessons learned to be shared with the wider IFC A2F team, and develop IFC Smart Lessons and other internal knowledge management documents in Microfinance.
- Contribute to raising external funding and donor relations.
- Contribute to A2F strategy for Vietnam to maximize IFC’s financial and social returns in both investment and advisory services.
- Travel as necessary to support project design and development, and implementation.
Selection criteria:
- Master’s degree in Finance/Economics/Business Administration/Law or equivalent degree from a recognized institution.
- At least 5 years of relevant working experience in financial sector, preferably with hands on experience in Microfinance.
- Proven experience in managing a project, preferably donor-funded, including project design, implementation and completion.
- Ability to work independently, multi-task, deal with conflicting priorities and deliver high quality work on schedule.
- Excellent analytical skills, including ability to evaluate projects and business operations on technical, commercial, managerial, and financial grounds.
- Proven Relationship Management experience: ability to establish strong credibility among senior clients including government and private sector clients.
- Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to build cooperative networks.
·- Ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend practical solutions.
- Strong oral and written English skills, including ability to write and edit project/program documents.
- Ability and willingness to travel in Vietnam.
2. Associate Operations Officer/Operations Officer, Investment Climate (position no.120040)
IFC’s Investment Climate (IC) work focuses on improving the policies, laws, and regulations that affect domestic and foreign investors and influence their decisions to invest. Our East Asia and the Pacific portfolio consists of more than 20 projects with a total volume of more than $20 million, and more than 30 staff working in 9 offices throughout the region.
The Associate Operations Officer/Operations Officer position is a local 2 year term appointment based in Hanoi, with possible renewable extension subject to business need and satisfactory performance. S/he will support the Regional Business Line Leader in building and managing IFC’s regional portfolio of the business line’s respective advisory initiatives in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region and the program in Vietnam. S/he will work in close collaboration with regional colleagues and global experts, and regional departments. S/he is expected to participate in and contribute to IFC strategy discussions, new project development, and donor relations.
Specific duties and accountabilities:
- Maintain IC pipeline activities in line with regional and business line strategies
- Prepare portfolio or topical reviews or analyses and financial projections and present results.
- Manage project reporting cycles, ensuring high quality and on-time (i) Project Supervision Reports (PSRs), (ii) Donor Reports and Presentations, and (iii) Project Completion Reports (PCRs).
- Maintain deadlines for submission and completion of initial review of all reports and ensure project compliance with all IFC and donor requirements.
- Oversee updates to project/pipeline activities in line with management/business line network/portfolio review discussions.
- Serve as proxy to the Regional Business Line Leader in project processing activities.
- Support PMs as necessary with program and administrative needs.
- Prepare documents such as donor/partner concept papers and proposals; monitor program/project funding gaps/needs.
- Coordinate recruitment of business line staff; assist and coordinate selection and monitoring of consultants including the preparation of Terms of Reference, negotiation of fees, processing of contracts; work alongside consultants in technical assistance assignments.
- Coordinate and deliver on (ad-hoc) IFC regional management or head office requests for data or information on IC projects in the region.
- Lead coordination and preparation of business line specific meetings, conferences, study tours and other events.
- Proactively seek out international best practice, national/corporate compliance requirements and internal advice, share information, and work in teams with other colleagues.
- Travel as necessary in the region.
Selection criteria:
- Masters in Business Administration, Law, Economics, Finance or Development or equivalent professional qualification.
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience, preferably including overseas study/work.
- Experience with international and/or bilateral/multilateral development institutions, as well as prior work in advisory/consulting in private sector development.
- Knowledge of the institutional, legal, regulatory framework and business practices in Vietnam.
- Strong administrative and organizational skills.
- Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office software, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
Interested candidates please review the complete job description and apply on-line at http://www.ifc.org/careers and choose the relevant vacancy number. Please note that you need to register before submitting your application. The closing date is 20th February 2012. Only applicants selected for interview will be contacted.
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2012年1月3日星期二
Air travel safer than ever: industry report
Air travel has never been safer despite the steadily rising number of passengers worldwide, with one lethal accident per some 1.5 million flights in 2011, a new report released Tuesday revealed.
More than 2.8 billion people took to the skies last year in some 38 million flights, according to an analysis by Ascend, a leading consultancy that monitors the aviation industry.
But out of those 38 million flights, there were only 25 deadly accidents — about one accident per 1.52 million flights, it said.
A total of just 497 people were killed in the incidents.
“2011 is the safest year yet,” Paul Hayes, director of air safety at the consultancy, told AFP. “Most of accidents involve small local carriers, local operators which are probably not known outside the communities they serve.”
The safest regions are Australia, the United States and Western Europe, followed by Latin America, Africa and ex-Soviet countries, he said.
According to Ascend, there were some 28 lethal air accidents worldwide in 2010 that killed 828 people.
http://tourism9.com/
More than 2.8 billion people took to the skies last year in some 38 million flights, according to an analysis by Ascend, a leading consultancy that monitors the aviation industry.
But out of those 38 million flights, there were only 25 deadly accidents — about one accident per 1.52 million flights, it said.
A total of just 497 people were killed in the incidents.
“2011 is the safest year yet,” Paul Hayes, director of air safety at the consultancy, told AFP. “Most of accidents involve small local carriers, local operators which are probably not known outside the communities they serve.”
The safest regions are Australia, the United States and Western Europe, followed by Latin America, Africa and ex-Soviet countries, he said.
According to Ascend, there were some 28 lethal air accidents worldwide in 2010 that killed 828 people.
http://tourism9.com/
Travel smarter this year
Electronic communication, such as disposable mobile phones, cheap and easy Wi-Fi, and social networking, is revolutionizing the way we communicate when we travel. But the digital development I am most enthused about is the smartphone. My iPhone has quickly become my favourite travel companion, whether it’s keeping me on top of my work, keeping me in touch with my kids, or simply keeping me entertained.
I’m not alone. It was predicted that by the end of 2011, 40% of all Canadian mobile phone users will have a smartphone –iPhone, Android, Windows or BlackBerry — compared to just 10% in 2008. And as smartphones get more capable, they are becoming essential tools for travellers.
For instance, if I’m in a cafe in Paris that has free Wi-Fi, I can pop onto the Internet and check sports scores back home. If an impromptu soccer game breaks out on a piazza in Naples, I can record a video of it, then use the Dropbox application to send it to my assistant, who can post it to my Facebook page. Using Skype on my phone, I can connect to Wi-Fi and call my daughter in the U.S. for free.
About the only thing I don’t do with my smartphone when travelling is use it as an actual cellphone. When roaming in Europe with a North American phone, calls are expensive (often $1.50 per minute or higher). To save money, I use a phone I bought years ago in Europe and buy a new SIM card in each country I visit (a SIM card is a removable chip that stores your information).
A phone must be “unlocked” to swap out SIM cards (but be aware smartphones can be complicated to unlock). I make a lot of calls when I’m in Europe, but if you don’t, you might find it easier to roam with your own phone.
With smartphones, it’s important to watch dataroaming charges. A three-minute video from YouTube can cost about $40. While casual browsing and e-mailing costs less (around 20¢ to send or receive a basic message), charges can pile up quickly.
To avoid these costs, it’s easiest to cut off this feature by calling your carrier to disable it and turning off data roaming using your phone’s menu (before you get on your transatlantic flight). You can still use the Internet, but you’ll have to wait until you reach a Wi-Fi hotspot. Otherwise, for better rates, talk to your carrier about international dataroaming plans.
Even if you don’t use your smartphone for calls or data roaming, it can still come in handy thanks to the many travel-oriented applications that are available. Although I still prefer flipping through a paper guidebook, many publishers also offer travel guides in e-book format.
Apps for TripAdvisor and Yelp give you access to millions of user reviews of restaurants, hotels, and sights. And my Rick Steves Audio Europe app has radio interviews and audio walking tours of Europe’s top sights, such as the Acropolis and Versailles.
If you need to search for flights, hotels or rental cars, try Orbitz, Priceline, Booking.com,Expedia’s TripAssist and Travelocity. Skyscanner searches a variety of European budget airlines to find the cheapest connection.
TripIt is a clever app that stores all of your trip details in one place. Note that many apps (such as e-books) work on their own once you download them, but others (such as flight-search apps) need to access content online. You’ll either have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot or spring for data roaming to make them work.
To figure out train schedules, DB Navigator, German Rail’s comprehensive train timetables, includes connections for all of continental Europe. For the U.K., try thetrainline. Big cities, such as London and Paris, offer subway apps that save you from having to unfold an unwieldy map on a crowded platform.
If you don’t parlez-vous the local language, download Google Translate, which lets you type or speak foreign words for a translation. You can also say or type a sentence in English to hear a translation or see it written out. With Lonely Planet’s audio phrase-books, simply press a button to hear the phrase you’re struggling to pronounce.
Other useful travel apps include Measures, which converts various European units (such as clothing sizes and currency) to North American ones; the Weather Channel and AccuWeather, which help you figure out how to dress for the day; and mPassport, city-specific apps that direct you to English-speaking doctors and hospitals, as well as local names for prescription medications.
As more people travel with smartphones, I expect that more creative apps will become available. I am something of a tech holdout but if technology can make travel smoother and smarter, I’m all for it.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.
http://tourism9.com/
I’m not alone. It was predicted that by the end of 2011, 40% of all Canadian mobile phone users will have a smartphone –iPhone, Android, Windows or BlackBerry — compared to just 10% in 2008. And as smartphones get more capable, they are becoming essential tools for travellers.
For instance, if I’m in a cafe in Paris that has free Wi-Fi, I can pop onto the Internet and check sports scores back home. If an impromptu soccer game breaks out on a piazza in Naples, I can record a video of it, then use the Dropbox application to send it to my assistant, who can post it to my Facebook page. Using Skype on my phone, I can connect to Wi-Fi and call my daughter in the U.S. for free.
About the only thing I don’t do with my smartphone when travelling is use it as an actual cellphone. When roaming in Europe with a North American phone, calls are expensive (often $1.50 per minute or higher). To save money, I use a phone I bought years ago in Europe and buy a new SIM card in each country I visit (a SIM card is a removable chip that stores your information).
A phone must be “unlocked” to swap out SIM cards (but be aware smartphones can be complicated to unlock). I make a lot of calls when I’m in Europe, but if you don’t, you might find it easier to roam with your own phone.
With smartphones, it’s important to watch dataroaming charges. A three-minute video from YouTube can cost about $40. While casual browsing and e-mailing costs less (around 20¢ to send or receive a basic message), charges can pile up quickly.
To avoid these costs, it’s easiest to cut off this feature by calling your carrier to disable it and turning off data roaming using your phone’s menu (before you get on your transatlantic flight). You can still use the Internet, but you’ll have to wait until you reach a Wi-Fi hotspot. Otherwise, for better rates, talk to your carrier about international dataroaming plans.
Even if you don’t use your smartphone for calls or data roaming, it can still come in handy thanks to the many travel-oriented applications that are available. Although I still prefer flipping through a paper guidebook, many publishers also offer travel guides in e-book format.
Apps for TripAdvisor and Yelp give you access to millions of user reviews of restaurants, hotels, and sights. And my Rick Steves Audio Europe app has radio interviews and audio walking tours of Europe’s top sights, such as the Acropolis and Versailles.
If you need to search for flights, hotels or rental cars, try Orbitz, Priceline, Booking.com,Expedia’s TripAssist and Travelocity. Skyscanner searches a variety of European budget airlines to find the cheapest connection.
TripIt is a clever app that stores all of your trip details in one place. Note that many apps (such as e-books) work on their own once you download them, but others (such as flight-search apps) need to access content online. You’ll either have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot or spring for data roaming to make them work.
To figure out train schedules, DB Navigator, German Rail’s comprehensive train timetables, includes connections for all of continental Europe. For the U.K., try thetrainline. Big cities, such as London and Paris, offer subway apps that save you from having to unfold an unwieldy map on a crowded platform.
If you don’t parlez-vous the local language, download Google Translate, which lets you type or speak foreign words for a translation. You can also say or type a sentence in English to hear a translation or see it written out. With Lonely Planet’s audio phrase-books, simply press a button to hear the phrase you’re struggling to pronounce.
Other useful travel apps include Measures, which converts various European units (such as clothing sizes and currency) to North American ones; the Weather Channel and AccuWeather, which help you figure out how to dress for the day; and mPassport, city-specific apps that direct you to English-speaking doctors and hospitals, as well as local names for prescription medications.
As more people travel with smartphones, I expect that more creative apps will become available. I am something of a tech holdout but if technology can make travel smoother and smarter, I’m all for it.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.
http://tourism9.com/
Priceline To Run Overstock’s New Travel Site, O.co Travel
But can they use William Shatner?The site will include Priceline’s Name Your Own Price travel services, as well as typical hotel, airline, car rental and vacation booking services.
“Our partnership with priceline.com allows us to offer customers an in-depth travel site,” Overstock.com President Jonathan Johnson said in statement.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
PCLN is up $15.01, or 3.2%, to $482.72.
http://tourism9.com/
Overstock.com Selects Priceline Partner Network to Power O.co Travel Website
SALT LAKE CITY , Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK – News), today announced that it has selected the Priceline Partner Network, which is a business unit of priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN – News), to power Overstock’s new travel website, called O.co Travel.
O.co Travel customers will have access to a robust collection of travel services from the Priceline Partner Network, including:
“Overstock.com has built a brand that’s known for saving consumers money across a broad spectrum of products,” said Randy Schartner , President of the Priceline Partner Network. ”We believe that Priceline’s broad array of travel services, which are also focused on delivering savings, will fit well with Overstock.com’s products and mission. We look forward to working with them.”
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com is Your Savings Engine offering brand-name products. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City , is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com and http://www.o.co. Overstock.com regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on its website under the heading “Investor Relations.”
About The Priceline Partner Network
The Priceline Partner Network (PPN) http://www.pricelinepartnernetwork.com is the private-label distribution channel for priceline.com travel services. Working behind the scenes, PPN powers travel websites for a spectrum of affinity groups, airlines and hotel management firms and chains. PPN believes that it offers the most customizable private-label travel affiliate program on the market today. PPN’s private-label services include hotels, flights, rental cars, flight & hotel packages, and priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price travel services for hotels, airline tickets and rental cars.
About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN – News) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 200,000 participating hotels worldwide. The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 140 countries in Europe , North America , South America , the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa .
Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 170,000 hotels (as of November 7, 2011 ), and is available in 41 languages. More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available. Agoda.com is an Asia -based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages. TravelJigsaw is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 4,000 locations. Customer support is provided in 29 languages.
Overstock.com® and O.co® and Club O Rewards® are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Club O ™ , and Club O Rewards Dollars ™ and Your Savings Engine ™ are trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding number and type of travel services offered and the quality and price of the services. Our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 , our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or any amendments thereto, and our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections, estimates or forward-looking statements
http://tourism9.com/
O.co Travel customers will have access to a robust collection of travel services from the Priceline Partner Network, including:
- Priceline’s Name Your Own Price® travel services that can deliver savings of up to 60% off hotel rooms, up to 40% off flights and up to 40% off rental cars;
- The ability to book published-price hotel rooms through thousands of quality chain and independent hotels around the world. O.co Travel customers also will have access to Priceline’s extensive database of hotel freebies, including instant discounts, free breakfast, free Internet access, and more;
- The ability to book rental car reservations worldwide. O.co Travel will also support rental car company discount codes;
- Airline ticketing with almost all major airlines through priceline.com. This service includes seat mapping, the ability to book different classes of seats, and it supports airline frequent flier numbers,
- A broad lineup of money-saving air & hotel vacation packages. When air and hotel are booked together, customers can save up to $500 compared to booking separately.
“Overstock.com has built a brand that’s known for saving consumers money across a broad spectrum of products,” said Randy Schartner , President of the Priceline Partner Network. ”We believe that Priceline’s broad array of travel services, which are also focused on delivering savings, will fit well with Overstock.com’s products and mission. We look forward to working with them.”
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com is Your Savings Engine offering brand-name products. The company offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City , is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System and can be found online at http://www.overstock.com and http://www.o.co. Overstock.com regularly posts information about the company and other related matters on its website under the heading “Investor Relations.”
About The Priceline Partner Network
The Priceline Partner Network (PPN) http://www.pricelinepartnernetwork.com is the private-label distribution channel for priceline.com travel services. Working behind the scenes, PPN powers travel websites for a spectrum of affinity groups, airlines and hotel management firms and chains. PPN believes that it offers the most customizable private-label travel affiliate program on the market today. PPN’s private-label services include hotels, flights, rental cars, flight & hotel packages, and priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price travel services for hotels, airline tickets and rental cars.
About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN – News) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 200,000 participating hotels worldwide. The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 140 countries in Europe , North America , South America , the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa .
Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 170,000 hotels (as of November 7, 2011 ), and is available in 41 languages. More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available. Agoda.com is an Asia -based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages. TravelJigsaw is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 4,000 locations. Customer support is provided in 29 languages.
Overstock.com® and O.co® and Club O Rewards® are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Club O ™ , and Club O Rewards Dollars ™ and Your Savings Engine ™ are trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding number and type of travel services offered and the quality and price of the services. Our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 , our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or any amendments thereto, and our other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections, estimates or forward-looking statements
http://tourism9.com/
Travel chaos as storms lash Britain
Fierce storms have battered Britain with heavy rain and winds gusting over 100mph.
The latest round of unsettled weather added more misery to the January blues as people returned to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Around the country trees fell onto railway tracks and power lines, lorries toppled over on busy roads and local authorities issued flood warnings after rivers swelled.
High seas caused the Port of Dover to close, gusts of wind damaged the roof to a stand at Epsom Downs Racecourse and a power surge led to a washing machine catching fire in Wales.
Commuters faced travel chaos as the bad weather meant some East Coast main line trains between London and Scotland had to start and terminate at Newcastle upon Tyne.
Gemma Plumb, a forecaster from Meteogroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “Everywhere has seen strong winds today. So far we’ve seen gusts across central and southern parts of Scotland of 85 to 97mph. That’s an hourly figure, so there’s a chance there may have been stronger gusts of more than 100mph.”
Figures published by the Met Office reported wind speeds of 106mph at Great Dun Fell in the north Pennines and 102mph in Edinburgh.
A bus driver had to be freed after a large tree fell on his vehicle, trapping him inside in Witley, Surrey. The single-decker Stagecoach bus was in Petworth Road when the oak tree, measuring 6ft across, fell on to it at about 8.25am.
A Surrey Police spokesman said: “It is believed that the driver, who was freed by fire crews, has suffered serious injuries and he is being taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting. There was only one passenger on board the bus at the time of the incident, who escaped uninjured.”
In the South West, the Environment Agency has “yellow” flood alerts active on 21 rivers from Cornwall to Wiltshire. The Tamar Bridge, which spans the river between Devon and Cornwall, has been closed to high-sided vehicles because of strong winds.
http://tourism9.com/
The latest round of unsettled weather added more misery to the January blues as people returned to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Around the country trees fell onto railway tracks and power lines, lorries toppled over on busy roads and local authorities issued flood warnings after rivers swelled.
High seas caused the Port of Dover to close, gusts of wind damaged the roof to a stand at Epsom Downs Racecourse and a power surge led to a washing machine catching fire in Wales.
Commuters faced travel chaos as the bad weather meant some East Coast main line trains between London and Scotland had to start and terminate at Newcastle upon Tyne.
Gemma Plumb, a forecaster from Meteogroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “Everywhere has seen strong winds today. So far we’ve seen gusts across central and southern parts of Scotland of 85 to 97mph. That’s an hourly figure, so there’s a chance there may have been stronger gusts of more than 100mph.”
Figures published by the Met Office reported wind speeds of 106mph at Great Dun Fell in the north Pennines and 102mph in Edinburgh.
A bus driver had to be freed after a large tree fell on his vehicle, trapping him inside in Witley, Surrey. The single-decker Stagecoach bus was in Petworth Road when the oak tree, measuring 6ft across, fell on to it at about 8.25am.
A Surrey Police spokesman said: “It is believed that the driver, who was freed by fire crews, has suffered serious injuries and he is being taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting. There was only one passenger on board the bus at the time of the incident, who escaped uninjured.”
In the South West, the Environment Agency has “yellow” flood alerts active on 21 rivers from Cornwall to Wiltshire. The Tamar Bridge, which spans the river between Devon and Cornwall, has been closed to high-sided vehicles because of strong winds.
http://tourism9.com/
Research and Markets: Travel and Tourism in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2015
DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/15c238/travel_and_tourism) has announced the addition of the “Travel and Tourism in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2015″ report to their offering.
In terms of global inbound tourist volume, China is the world’s third-most attractive travel and tourism destination, behind the US and France. Over the review period, China hosted major international events such as the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Asian Games and the Shanghai Expo that resulted in increased volumes of inbound tourists. The industry has also benefited from China’s strong economic growth, which resulted in generally higher levels of disposable income and increased expenditure on leisure and business tourism.
Over the forecast period, the Chinese Government is planning to invest a total of CNY7.3 trillion in an attempt to upgrade the country’s transportation infrastructure. This infrastructure investment is also expected to drive growth in the Chinese tourism industry. Over the forecast period, BRICdata expects China’s total tourist volume to record a CAGR of 9.25%, increasing from a total of 2,429.3 million in 2011 to a total of 3,461.4 million in 2015.
About This Report:
The report titled “Travel and Tourism in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2015″ provides top-level market analysis, information and insights, including:
This report provides an extensive analysis of the travel and tourism market in China. The information provided will allow you to:
http://tourism9.com/
In terms of global inbound tourist volume, China is the world’s third-most attractive travel and tourism destination, behind the US and France. Over the review period, China hosted major international events such as the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Asian Games and the Shanghai Expo that resulted in increased volumes of inbound tourists. The industry has also benefited from China’s strong economic growth, which resulted in generally higher levels of disposable income and increased expenditure on leisure and business tourism.
Over the forecast period, the Chinese Government is planning to invest a total of CNY7.3 trillion in an attempt to upgrade the country’s transportation infrastructure. This infrastructure investment is also expected to drive growth in the Chinese tourism industry. Over the forecast period, BRICdata expects China’s total tourist volume to record a CAGR of 9.25%, increasing from a total of 2,429.3 million in 2011 to a total of 3,461.4 million in 2015.
About This Report:
The report titled “Travel and Tourism in China, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2015″ provides top-level market analysis, information and insights, including:
- Historic and forecast market sizes covering the entire Chinese travel industry
- Detailed analysis of tourist spending patterns in China
- Descriptions and market outlooks for various sectors in the Chinese tourist industry, such as transportation, accommodation and travel intermediaries
- Detailed market classification across each sector with analysis using similar metrics
- Profiles of top travel and tourism companies in China
- China Auto Rental Inc.
- eHi Auto Services Co. Ltd
- HK CTS Hotels Co. Ltd.
- Marriott China
- China Odyssey Tours
- China Connection Tours
- WildChina
- Travel China Guide
- Royal Caribbean China
- China Railways
This report provides an extensive analysis of the travel and tourism market in China. The information provided will allow you to:
- Take strategic business decisions using top-level historic and forecast market data related to the Chinese travel and tourism industry and each sector within it
- Understand the demand and supply-side dynamics within the Chinese travel and tourism industry, along with key market trends and growth opportunities
- Assess the competitive landscape in the travel and tourism market in China, and formulate effective market-entry strategies
- Identify the growth opportunities and industry dynamics within the tourism industry’s key categories, including transportation, accommodation and travel intermediaries
http://tourism9.com/
Breaking into travel journalism: advice from the experts
Jill Starley-Grainger is a freelance journalist specialising in ethical and luxury travel
Use your blog to showcase to editors what you can do: They would want to see that you can write well-crafted, engaging copy, that you can sniff out good angles and that you are dedicated enough to have stuck with the blog for more than a few posts. Once you start getting commissions chances are your blog will slide. If you are getting paid travel writing gigs, then your time for unpaid work will rapidly diminish. But until you get those paid commissions, a blog is a good, easy starting point. As for getting followers, don’t worry about that. Focus on well-crafted, insightful travel journalism, perhaps with a niche angle, such as ‘travelling with a baby’ or ‘all about Germany’, and if your writing is up to scratch, people will follow you. Trying to SEO the heck out of your copy will only make it seem stilted.
You need to be able to dig out the angles the travel guides don’t cover: So many people think that because they are passionate about travel and can string a sentence together, that qualifies them to be a travel journalist. It doesn’t. You need to understand how to dig out facts – and to determine that they are facts – and how to find hidden gems and insider info. If it’s already in a guidebook, what are you adding to it? And you need to know how to write. I really can’t stress that enough. It’s a skill and not everyone has it, but so many people think they do. But you can learn it.
Travel journalism is hard work and the pay isn’t always great either: Forget fantasies of being sent round the world on an assignment with a huge commission, all expenses paid, and having endless days lolling on the beach or people-watching in cafes. Very few publications pay freelancers’ travel expenses (and getting a full-time writing or editing job on a major travel publication is just not going to happen until you have years of experience, and even then, chances are slim). Take a sample 1,000 word feature. If you are lucky and have years of experience, you might be commissioned to write a 1,000-word travel feature for a major publication. You will need to spend around a day crafting the pitch that wins the commission in the first place, three to five days working out your itinerary and arranging accommodation and so on. Another three to five days on the trip. Then at least two to four days writing the article to a standard high enough for this type of publication. If you are lucky, for this, you will be paid £400.
If you are pitching unusual destinations, make sure you’ve got a good angle: Breaking in by going to less popular locations – this is a tricky one. On the one hand, going somewhere unusual definitely gives you an edge. On the other hand, it’s hard to commission those features. The fact is, most people want to read about destinations they actually want to go to or are interested in. Hence the huge number of articles on France, Italy and so on. This is because it is these types of articles that sell papers and magazines.
On the other hand, people do like reading about unusual destinations, so while editors might not have as much scope to commission those places, if you pitch a good angle for one of them, then when they do come to commission a quirky one, your pitch might just be in the back of their mind. But do not pitch just a general ‘guide’ to an unusual destination. You still need an angle, whether it’s Baku’s beach scene or skiing in Iraq.
Emily Mathieson is Word of Mouth editor at Condé Nast Traveller
Demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of the magazine will endear you to an editor: The simple best way to get your writing published (and get paid for it) is to actually read the publication you’re pitching to. I am constantly surprised by how many people send me ideas that are clearly not relevant to the section I edit, or to Condé Nast Traveller in general (no, we don’t review youth hostels). If someone begins a pitch by clearly demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of the magazine, I am always more likely to read on.
Pitches which paraphrase press releases won’t be welcome. Keep it short, sweet and to the point. But PLEASE don’t just paraphrase a press release. It’s likely I’ll already have seen it, and why would I pay someone to do something I could do myself?
Include a signature at the bottom of your e-mail with your specialisms. I find it really helpful if writers have a signature at the bottom of their e-mail telling me about them, the specialisms and where they live (and it’s also often helpful if you can remind me at the beginning of an email who you are too). This will often jog my memory, or help me decide why a particular person is suitable for a certain piece.
Amanda Statham is travel editor of Cosmopolitan and You & Your Wedding magazines
A potted guide to pitching:
- Keep it short – no travel editor has half an hour to wade through 10 pages of pitch.
- Know the publication – I’m always being offered pieces for my Cosmopolitan travel news page. There isn’t a Cosmo travel news page…
- Check to see what the publication has covered recently; if it has covered your story or specific place, don’t pitch.
- If you refer the travel editor to your personal website, make sure it works and is up-to-date.
- Have an original hook; amazingly, backpacking around Thailand has been covered before.
Pat Riddell is the editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
Twitter can help your industry knowledge and give you ideas for pitches: Follow journalists, editors, newspapers and magazines but also follow travel blogs, tourist boards, airlines, tour operators, attractions, museums, hotel groups and so on. The more you know about travel and how it ‘works’, the better. Which destinations will be talked about in 2013, where are the new air routes, what are the new attractions… these are the pitches for the future. And by establishing a Twitter presence you can make a name for yourself as well as boosting traffic to your blog – or indeed titles you’ve written for.
Glen Mutel is the editor of ABTA Magazine and a regular columnist and contributor for National Geographic Traveller
Different approaches suit different titles: For trade titles such as ABTA Magazine, we’ve already got a fair idea of the destinations we want to cover over the next six to 12 months. So, unlike other titles, we don’t necessarily want budding writers to pitch us specific angles. Instead, I’d much sooner be sent a short email, detailing where a writer has been and where they know, with links to previous examples of their work. This last bit is absolutely crucial. Many travel editors will already have a list of writers that they rely on and it can be hard to get them to try new people. I’ve learned to turn a deaf ear when writers tell me they’ve written for the nationals, because it’s so seldom a guarantee they can write. I’d much sooner they show me specific examples of their work – proof they can put words in a readable order. If they can do that, there’s a good chance I’ll try them out with a general destination feature. Then, a few pieces down the line, I’ll start accepting ideas from them.
Postgraduate courses can equip you with everything you need: I don’t think the type of degree is necessarily that important. Earlier this year we were looking to fill the deputy editor position, and I don’t think we looked to hard at the type of degree. What mattered more was whether there was some type of postgraduate qualification – it needn’t be an MA. There are several shorter postgraduate schemes that can equip you with everything you need (I did a three-month course with PMA).
Peter Grunert is the editor of Lonely Planet Magazine
A particular specialism might give you an advantage: I definitely believe it’s a good idea to build a rapport with a commissioning editor before sending them a pitch. They will need to know that you share a wavelength and will also want to see evidence of the quality of your writing – ideally, writing that would suit their publication. I also feel that anyone with a specialism has an advantage. Are you based in a particularly interesting location? Can you bring fascinating travel insights from the point of view of someone who has great knowledge of art, motoring, history, sports and so on?
Check out all the advice from the live Q&A here.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more content and advice like this direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Careers update.
http://tourism9.com/
Use your blog to showcase to editors what you can do: They would want to see that you can write well-crafted, engaging copy, that you can sniff out good angles and that you are dedicated enough to have stuck with the blog for more than a few posts. Once you start getting commissions chances are your blog will slide. If you are getting paid travel writing gigs, then your time for unpaid work will rapidly diminish. But until you get those paid commissions, a blog is a good, easy starting point. As for getting followers, don’t worry about that. Focus on well-crafted, insightful travel journalism, perhaps with a niche angle, such as ‘travelling with a baby’ or ‘all about Germany’, and if your writing is up to scratch, people will follow you. Trying to SEO the heck out of your copy will only make it seem stilted.
You need to be able to dig out the angles the travel guides don’t cover: So many people think that because they are passionate about travel and can string a sentence together, that qualifies them to be a travel journalist. It doesn’t. You need to understand how to dig out facts – and to determine that they are facts – and how to find hidden gems and insider info. If it’s already in a guidebook, what are you adding to it? And you need to know how to write. I really can’t stress that enough. It’s a skill and not everyone has it, but so many people think they do. But you can learn it.
Travel journalism is hard work and the pay isn’t always great either: Forget fantasies of being sent round the world on an assignment with a huge commission, all expenses paid, and having endless days lolling on the beach or people-watching in cafes. Very few publications pay freelancers’ travel expenses (and getting a full-time writing or editing job on a major travel publication is just not going to happen until you have years of experience, and even then, chances are slim). Take a sample 1,000 word feature. If you are lucky and have years of experience, you might be commissioned to write a 1,000-word travel feature for a major publication. You will need to spend around a day crafting the pitch that wins the commission in the first place, three to five days working out your itinerary and arranging accommodation and so on. Another three to five days on the trip. Then at least two to four days writing the article to a standard high enough for this type of publication. If you are lucky, for this, you will be paid £400.
If you are pitching unusual destinations, make sure you’ve got a good angle: Breaking in by going to less popular locations – this is a tricky one. On the one hand, going somewhere unusual definitely gives you an edge. On the other hand, it’s hard to commission those features. The fact is, most people want to read about destinations they actually want to go to or are interested in. Hence the huge number of articles on France, Italy and so on. This is because it is these types of articles that sell papers and magazines.
On the other hand, people do like reading about unusual destinations, so while editors might not have as much scope to commission those places, if you pitch a good angle for one of them, then when they do come to commission a quirky one, your pitch might just be in the back of their mind. But do not pitch just a general ‘guide’ to an unusual destination. You still need an angle, whether it’s Baku’s beach scene or skiing in Iraq.
Emily Mathieson is Word of Mouth editor at Condé Nast Traveller
Demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of the magazine will endear you to an editor: The simple best way to get your writing published (and get paid for it) is to actually read the publication you’re pitching to. I am constantly surprised by how many people send me ideas that are clearly not relevant to the section I edit, or to Condé Nast Traveller in general (no, we don’t review youth hostels). If someone begins a pitch by clearly demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of the magazine, I am always more likely to read on.
Pitches which paraphrase press releases won’t be welcome. Keep it short, sweet and to the point. But PLEASE don’t just paraphrase a press release. It’s likely I’ll already have seen it, and why would I pay someone to do something I could do myself?
Include a signature at the bottom of your e-mail with your specialisms. I find it really helpful if writers have a signature at the bottom of their e-mail telling me about them, the specialisms and where they live (and it’s also often helpful if you can remind me at the beginning of an email who you are too). This will often jog my memory, or help me decide why a particular person is suitable for a certain piece.
Amanda Statham is travel editor of Cosmopolitan and You & Your Wedding magazines
A potted guide to pitching:
- Keep it short – no travel editor has half an hour to wade through 10 pages of pitch.
- Know the publication – I’m always being offered pieces for my Cosmopolitan travel news page. There isn’t a Cosmo travel news page…
- Check to see what the publication has covered recently; if it has covered your story or specific place, don’t pitch.
- If you refer the travel editor to your personal website, make sure it works and is up-to-date.
- Have an original hook; amazingly, backpacking around Thailand has been covered before.
Pat Riddell is the editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
Twitter can help your industry knowledge and give you ideas for pitches: Follow journalists, editors, newspapers and magazines but also follow travel blogs, tourist boards, airlines, tour operators, attractions, museums, hotel groups and so on. The more you know about travel and how it ‘works’, the better. Which destinations will be talked about in 2013, where are the new air routes, what are the new attractions… these are the pitches for the future. And by establishing a Twitter presence you can make a name for yourself as well as boosting traffic to your blog – or indeed titles you’ve written for.
Glen Mutel is the editor of ABTA Magazine and a regular columnist and contributor for National Geographic Traveller
Different approaches suit different titles: For trade titles such as ABTA Magazine, we’ve already got a fair idea of the destinations we want to cover over the next six to 12 months. So, unlike other titles, we don’t necessarily want budding writers to pitch us specific angles. Instead, I’d much sooner be sent a short email, detailing where a writer has been and where they know, with links to previous examples of their work. This last bit is absolutely crucial. Many travel editors will already have a list of writers that they rely on and it can be hard to get them to try new people. I’ve learned to turn a deaf ear when writers tell me they’ve written for the nationals, because it’s so seldom a guarantee they can write. I’d much sooner they show me specific examples of their work – proof they can put words in a readable order. If they can do that, there’s a good chance I’ll try them out with a general destination feature. Then, a few pieces down the line, I’ll start accepting ideas from them.
Postgraduate courses can equip you with everything you need: I don’t think the type of degree is necessarily that important. Earlier this year we were looking to fill the deputy editor position, and I don’t think we looked to hard at the type of degree. What mattered more was whether there was some type of postgraduate qualification – it needn’t be an MA. There are several shorter postgraduate schemes that can equip you with everything you need (I did a three-month course with PMA).
Peter Grunert is the editor of Lonely Planet Magazine
A particular specialism might give you an advantage: I definitely believe it’s a good idea to build a rapport with a commissioning editor before sending them a pitch. They will need to know that you share a wavelength and will also want to see evidence of the quality of your writing – ideally, writing that would suit their publication. I also feel that anyone with a specialism has an advantage. Are you based in a particularly interesting location? Can you bring fascinating travel insights from the point of view of someone who has great knowledge of art, motoring, history, sports and so on?
Check out all the advice from the live Q&A here.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To get more content and advice like this direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly Careers update.
http://tourism9.com/
2012年1月1日星期日
Travel the nontraditional way
“If you regret the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”
- Historical novelist James Michener
A few years ago, we found an easy way to dodge the mistake so many travelers make of isolating themselves from the curious dishes, strange habits, mysterious beliefs, and assorted lifestyles of people in other countries.
We joined a nontraditional travel club, staying in members’ homes instead of hotels. Over time, we figure we’ve saved a ton of money, made new friends, and added some zing to our travels.
As travel budgets shrink, particularly for those of us trying to make it on IRAs, pensions, and Social Security, nontraditional travel looks better and better.
Inns and B&Bs have been around forever, apartments can be rented by the week or month, and the Internet is full of opportunities to trade houses all over the world – all part of a growing nontraditional travel-stay world.
We found the Affordable Travel Club a bit different.
It’s a simple concept:
For $65 a year, members get a list of other members who have agreed to host them for a few nights and give them breakfast and local travel tips. In return, each member agrees to host occasionally when other ATC members come to town.
Hosts are usually paid $20 a night for a double ($30 for housing outside the United States) – although we have found the price can vary, especially during peak travel times in hot tourist spots. But it’s always a bargain.
ATC was started in 1992 by John and Suzanne Miller, who had done home exchanges but who wanted, in Suzanne Miller’s words, “to start something where there was no expectation of reciprocity – where you had to host them and then they hosted you. We wanted something where you paid your fee and stayed and you didn’t have to have the same people in an exchange.”
ATC now lists 2,400 homes in 49 states and 50 countries and caters to people over 40. Over the years, it has added home exchanges and house-sitting opportunities to the mix.
We learned about the group through a friend we met in Puerto Vallarta. She calls herself “an adventuress” and can usually be found globe-trotting, crewing on oceangoing yachts, or visiting friends she’s met through ATC.
Our ATC lodgings have included a two-bedroom apartment in Prague whose owner stocked the fridge with yogurt and orange juice for our breakfast; a comfy, flower-bedecked guest room in Cardiff whose owners introduced us to Welsh food at a local pub; a room near London whose landlady took us to her favorite tourist sites and cooked dishes from her native Bangladesh; and, in July, a city lodging in Rome whose owners were chock full of valuable advice on seeing the sites.
Along the way, the Prague couple told us stories of their bland, gray life under the thumb of the Soviets; the Welsh gentleman talked of his career with the country’s sports federation and regaled us with stories of local soccer greats; and our London hostess has become a friend we look forward to staying with whenever we’re in town.
All said they particularly liked getting to know Americans outside of the images on movies and TV.
Most of our ATC experiences have been foreign. And we haven’t had many members in our home because our place is small and guests have had to share our one bath, a deal-breaker for some travelers. But we’d love to have more guests in our house.
Our longtime friends Dot and Dick Salogga recently returned from a 38-day trip to Australia and New Zealand during which they stayed in 10 ATC homes for a total of 22 nights.
It wasn’t perfect. After all, these are people’s homes, not the Ritz.
One place the Saloggas stayed had a “quirky outside stairway,” Dot said. “You had to walk through the house to get to the bathroom. It was a little funky.”
And Dick ended up being a handyman for an older woman in Sydney who asked him to change a light fixture that had gone on the blink. “But we thoroughly enjoyed every one of our stays,” Dot said.
You might be asked to end an exhausting day of nonstop sightseeing with a cup of cocoa in the living room with hosts who want to know what you think of their hometown and about your life much further into the evening than you might like.
Or, particularly in Europe, you might have limited heat in the bedroom at night and not as much hot water as you’re used to for a morning shower.
Hosts have their complaints too: Guests don’t always ask before using the computer or washing machine, or they leave the bedroom littered with snack wrappers and soft-drink bottles.
But for the most part, traveling the nontraditional route is an enlightening and worthwhile experience – one our friends and we will do often. After all, the hosts and guests of ATC travel this way because they want to know more about one another and the wider world we live in.
As that other writer, Mark Twain, famously said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
We like to think Twain would have loved to occasionally ditch the hotels and resorts on his foreign travels for a cup of cocoa and a long talk about current events in the living room of everyday hosts like us before drifting off to the guest room for the night.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
- Historical novelist James Michener
A few years ago, we found an easy way to dodge the mistake so many travelers make of isolating themselves from the curious dishes, strange habits, mysterious beliefs, and assorted lifestyles of people in other countries.
We joined a nontraditional travel club, staying in members’ homes instead of hotels. Over time, we figure we’ve saved a ton of money, made new friends, and added some zing to our travels.
As travel budgets shrink, particularly for those of us trying to make it on IRAs, pensions, and Social Security, nontraditional travel looks better and better.
Inns and B&Bs have been around forever, apartments can be rented by the week or month, and the Internet is full of opportunities to trade houses all over the world – all part of a growing nontraditional travel-stay world.
We found the Affordable Travel Club a bit different.
It’s a simple concept:
For $65 a year, members get a list of other members who have agreed to host them for a few nights and give them breakfast and local travel tips. In return, each member agrees to host occasionally when other ATC members come to town.
Hosts are usually paid $20 a night for a double ($30 for housing outside the United States) – although we have found the price can vary, especially during peak travel times in hot tourist spots. But it’s always a bargain.
ATC was started in 1992 by John and Suzanne Miller, who had done home exchanges but who wanted, in Suzanne Miller’s words, “to start something where there was no expectation of reciprocity – where you had to host them and then they hosted you. We wanted something where you paid your fee and stayed and you didn’t have to have the same people in an exchange.”
ATC now lists 2,400 homes in 49 states and 50 countries and caters to people over 40. Over the years, it has added home exchanges and house-sitting opportunities to the mix.
We learned about the group through a friend we met in Puerto Vallarta. She calls herself “an adventuress” and can usually be found globe-trotting, crewing on oceangoing yachts, or visiting friends she’s met through ATC.
Our ATC lodgings have included a two-bedroom apartment in Prague whose owner stocked the fridge with yogurt and orange juice for our breakfast; a comfy, flower-bedecked guest room in Cardiff whose owners introduced us to Welsh food at a local pub; a room near London whose landlady took us to her favorite tourist sites and cooked dishes from her native Bangladesh; and, in July, a city lodging in Rome whose owners were chock full of valuable advice on seeing the sites.
Along the way, the Prague couple told us stories of their bland, gray life under the thumb of the Soviets; the Welsh gentleman talked of his career with the country’s sports federation and regaled us with stories of local soccer greats; and our London hostess has become a friend we look forward to staying with whenever we’re in town.
All said they particularly liked getting to know Americans outside of the images on movies and TV.
Most of our ATC experiences have been foreign. And we haven’t had many members in our home because our place is small and guests have had to share our one bath, a deal-breaker for some travelers. But we’d love to have more guests in our house.
Our longtime friends Dot and Dick Salogga recently returned from a 38-day trip to Australia and New Zealand during which they stayed in 10 ATC homes for a total of 22 nights.
It wasn’t perfect. After all, these are people’s homes, not the Ritz.
One place the Saloggas stayed had a “quirky outside stairway,” Dot said. “You had to walk through the house to get to the bathroom. It was a little funky.”
And Dick ended up being a handyman for an older woman in Sydney who asked him to change a light fixture that had gone on the blink. “But we thoroughly enjoyed every one of our stays,” Dot said.
You might be asked to end an exhausting day of nonstop sightseeing with a cup of cocoa in the living room with hosts who want to know what you think of their hometown and about your life much further into the evening than you might like.
Or, particularly in Europe, you might have limited heat in the bedroom at night and not as much hot water as you’re used to for a morning shower.
Hosts have their complaints too: Guests don’t always ask before using the computer or washing machine, or they leave the bedroom littered with snack wrappers and soft-drink bottles.
But for the most part, traveling the nontraditional route is an enlightening and worthwhile experience – one our friends and we will do often. After all, the hosts and guests of ATC travel this way because they want to know more about one another and the wider world we live in.
As that other writer, Mark Twain, famously said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
We like to think Twain would have loved to occasionally ditch the hotels and resorts on his foreign travels for a cup of cocoa and a long talk about current events in the living room of everyday hosts like us before drifting off to the guest room for the night.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
2011年12月31日星期六
Skyscanner Travel Trends Report 2012 Now Available
EDINBURGH, Scotland–(BUSINESS WIRE)– In its new 2012 Travel Trends Report, Skyscanner has revealed that Estonia, Russia, Iraq and Cape Verde are all emerging destinations likely to see a significant rise in interest from UK tourists over the coming year.
The flight comparison website, which has over 15 million users a month, analysed its vast data on user flight searches to produce the report on global travel trends. Overall, Spain remains the most popular choice for British holidaymakers for a fourth consecutive year, however in the ‘Destinations of The Future’ section of the report, Skyscanner highlights a number of more exotic locations.
Where are we going?
Estonia is the highest climbing destination with a search increase of 90% year on year. This is largely attributed to the increased publicity the country has received following Tallinn’s stint as a European Capital of Culture in 2011, however other Eastern European destinations have also seen a significant rise in popularity. A 32% increase in interest for Russia suggests that the world’s biggest country will get a bigger share of tourists over the coming year. With major sporting events looming (Winter Olympics in 2014, and the World Cup Football in 2018), Russia’s profile as a tourist destination is set to rise substantially.
While Estonia, which adopted the Euro in 2011, and also Greece and Italy appear to be performing well in the global battle for tourists, other Euro destinations have not fared so well; Portugal, Ireland, Germany and Slovakia all saw minimal rises in searches, well below the Skyscanner site average.
Following years of conflict, Iraq looks to be gaining more visitors from the UK in 2012. Whilst search volumes remain low, the country saw an increase of 75% in interest, likely to be mainly Iraqi nationals visiting. However, the country has also been stepping up its marketing efforts as a destination for cultural and religious tourism with its second appearance at London’s World Travel Market. A number of travel companies are now also offering adventure tours to Iraq for trekking, biking and backcountry skiing.
With a rise of 51% year on year, The Cape Verde Islands, which lie off the west coast of Africa, are becoming an increasingly attractive winter sun alternative to other mid haul destinations such as The Canaries and Egypt, the latter of which has seen a 12% drop in searches from the UK .
Who’s coming?
It’s the Russian market which has grown the most in the last 12 months, with over 100% rise in searches to UK. However with London set to take the world stage for the Olympics in 2012 it is actually the Australians who top the table in terms of the number of visitors while it is the Japanese who are seeing the biggest increase in searches over the Olympic period with a 300% rise. Visitors from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland follow closely behind.
The full report is now available at: http://www.skyscanner.net/news/Skyscanner%20Travel%20Trends%202012.pdf
Ends
About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is Europe’s leading travel search site providing instant online comparisons for millions of flights on over a thousand airlines, as well as car hire and hotels
Follow Skyscanner on Twitter and Facebook
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
The flight comparison website, which has over 15 million users a month, analysed its vast data on user flight searches to produce the report on global travel trends. Overall, Spain remains the most popular choice for British holidaymakers for a fourth consecutive year, however in the ‘Destinations of The Future’ section of the report, Skyscanner highlights a number of more exotic locations.
Where are we going?
Estonia is the highest climbing destination with a search increase of 90% year on year. This is largely attributed to the increased publicity the country has received following Tallinn’s stint as a European Capital of Culture in 2011, however other Eastern European destinations have also seen a significant rise in popularity. A 32% increase in interest for Russia suggests that the world’s biggest country will get a bigger share of tourists over the coming year. With major sporting events looming (Winter Olympics in 2014, and the World Cup Football in 2018), Russia’s profile as a tourist destination is set to rise substantially.
While Estonia, which adopted the Euro in 2011, and also Greece and Italy appear to be performing well in the global battle for tourists, other Euro destinations have not fared so well; Portugal, Ireland, Germany and Slovakia all saw minimal rises in searches, well below the Skyscanner site average.
Following years of conflict, Iraq looks to be gaining more visitors from the UK in 2012. Whilst search volumes remain low, the country saw an increase of 75% in interest, likely to be mainly Iraqi nationals visiting. However, the country has also been stepping up its marketing efforts as a destination for cultural and religious tourism with its second appearance at London’s World Travel Market. A number of travel companies are now also offering adventure tours to Iraq for trekking, biking and backcountry skiing.
With a rise of 51% year on year, The Cape Verde Islands, which lie off the west coast of Africa, are becoming an increasingly attractive winter sun alternative to other mid haul destinations such as The Canaries and Egypt, the latter of which has seen a 12% drop in searches from the UK .
Who’s coming?
It’s the Russian market which has grown the most in the last 12 months, with over 100% rise in searches to UK. However with London set to take the world stage for the Olympics in 2012 it is actually the Australians who top the table in terms of the number of visitors while it is the Japanese who are seeing the biggest increase in searches over the Olympic period with a 300% rise. Visitors from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland follow closely behind.
The full report is now available at: http://www.skyscanner.net/news/Skyscanner%20Travel%20Trends%202012.pdf
Ends
About Skyscanner
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This article is from http://tourism9.com/
2011年12月30日星期五
Americans to travel farther, spend more in 2012
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shaky economy notwithstanding, Americans intend to travel farther and spend more in 2012, according to a nationwide poll.
Long-haul bookings to Europe, Asia and Australia are up in 2012, comprising 11 of the top 20 destinations for U.S. travelers, compared to nine in 2011, the survey of 640 travel agents showed.
Over 90 percent said their clients will spend the same or more on travel in 2012. The top two international destinations for 2012, based on actual bookings, remain Caribbean cruises and Cancun, Mexico, as they were in the 2011 survey.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong, China, missing from the top 20 in 2011, made the list in 2012, and Sydney, Australia, ranked 19th last year just missed making the top 15.
“We are very encouraged to see the rise in popularity of such a diverse group of international destinations,” said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, which conducted the poll.
He said along with the expected list-toppers, such as London and Rome, it was nice to see Americans’ interests are diversifying and in large enough numbers to ‘bump up’ destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing in Asia, and Amsterdam and Barcelona in Europe.
Asked to pick the top up-and-coming international destinations, over a third of the agents chose Croatia for Europe, and one-half said Vietnam led in Asia. Panama edged out Ecuador and Brazil among destinations within Central/South America.
The luxury travel segment continues to thrive. More than half the leisure travel specialists polled reported upticks in small ship cruising, off-the-beaten path travel and international family travel.
Las Vegas, Nevada, heads up the domestic destinations for 2012 for U.S. travelers, as it did in 2011. Agents cite the lure of gaming and the ease of the getaway for its continued vitality; Orlando, Florida, the home of Disney World, ranked second.
Last-minute leisure travel is down. Eager to lock-in optimum pricing and driven by reduced airline capacity, leisure travelers continue to book further in advance of their travel date.
Domestically, more than 63 percent of leisure travelers booked their flights eight weeks or more in advance of the travel date; internationally, it was 89.5 percent.
Almost 40 percent of the agents reported higher bookings in 2012; 40.8 percent said bookings were even; and 19.7 percent reported lower bookings than in 2011.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Long-haul bookings to Europe, Asia and Australia are up in 2012, comprising 11 of the top 20 destinations for U.S. travelers, compared to nine in 2011, the survey of 640 travel agents showed.
Over 90 percent said their clients will spend the same or more on travel in 2012. The top two international destinations for 2012, based on actual bookings, remain Caribbean cruises and Cancun, Mexico, as they were in the 2011 survey.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong, China, missing from the top 20 in 2011, made the list in 2012, and Sydney, Australia, ranked 19th last year just missed making the top 15.
“We are very encouraged to see the rise in popularity of such a diverse group of international destinations,” said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, which conducted the poll.
He said along with the expected list-toppers, such as London and Rome, it was nice to see Americans’ interests are diversifying and in large enough numbers to ‘bump up’ destinations such as Hong Kong and Beijing in Asia, and Amsterdam and Barcelona in Europe.
Asked to pick the top up-and-coming international destinations, over a third of the agents chose Croatia for Europe, and one-half said Vietnam led in Asia. Panama edged out Ecuador and Brazil among destinations within Central/South America.
The luxury travel segment continues to thrive. More than half the leisure travel specialists polled reported upticks in small ship cruising, off-the-beaten path travel and international family travel.
Las Vegas, Nevada, heads up the domestic destinations for 2012 for U.S. travelers, as it did in 2011. Agents cite the lure of gaming and the ease of the getaway for its continued vitality; Orlando, Florida, the home of Disney World, ranked second.
Last-minute leisure travel is down. Eager to lock-in optimum pricing and driven by reduced airline capacity, leisure travelers continue to book further in advance of their travel date.
Domestically, more than 63 percent of leisure travelers booked their flights eight weeks or more in advance of the travel date; internationally, it was 89.5 percent.
Almost 40 percent of the agents reported higher bookings in 2012; 40.8 percent said bookings were even; and 19.7 percent reported lower bookings than in 2011.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Travel mag targets the ‘young, sexy and broke’
A popular DUMBO-based travel website for young globe-trotters on a tight budget is veering offline and onto the magazine rack.
Offtrackplanet.com – an online travel magazine geared toward the “young, sexy and broke,” – will sell copies of their magazine for the first time in more than 300 stores nationwide – including Barnes and Noble.
It’s an unususal step at a time when print publications are slashing budgets and even folding to go digital.
“Print still establishes some credibility. Anyone can slap together a website,” said company CEO and cofounder Freddie Pikovsky, 28.
The quarterly magazine – which will retail for $4.95 and hit newsstands on January 4th – is just as edgy as the site. The latest issue features stories on Paris’ finest sex shops; how to haggle with street vendors abroad and the best places to get tanked with locals in Madrid.
Pikovsky – who was born to Russian immigrants in Bensonhurst – said his life changed on a European backpacking trip in 2008 and hopes the website and magazine’s party atmosphere will inspire people to travel.
“I had all these misconceptions that traveling was reserved for people who were wealthy and that it was a waste of time,” said Pikovsky. “I want to inspire other people to experience something that could change their world.”
The site first launched in 2009 from Pikovsky’s Sunset Park apartment after he met his partner Anna Starostinetskaya, 28, in a Bedford-Stuyvesant hostel. Starostinetskaya – an immigrant from the Ukraine who grew up in Los Angeles – said studying abroad in Spain for six months in 2004 changed her life.
“We talk a lot about the partying and the sex culture but it’s not our job to give people a motive,” said Starostinetskaya. “It’s our job to inspire them.”
Officials for book giant Barnes and Noble said 200 of their stores will sell Off Track Planet magazine and will feature it in their top travel markets.
“We believe it’s a great quality magazine that meets our standards for sale in our store,” said newsstand vice president, Theresa Thompson. “We think it’s edgy and will appeal to a young traveler.”
Despite the foray into print, the tech-first company is working on a sophisticated mobile app that will allow backpackers to connect with experienced travelers and access content from the website. Pikovsky said the company is short about $800,000 to make the app work and is looking for donations from investors.
“We want to reinvent travel guides” said Pikovsky. “We like to say we’re creating movement around the world.”
for more information, visit www.offtrackplanet.com
mmorales@nydailynews.com
Twitter.com/NYDNMarkMorales
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Offtrackplanet.com – an online travel magazine geared toward the “young, sexy and broke,” – will sell copies of their magazine for the first time in more than 300 stores nationwide – including Barnes and Noble.
It’s an unususal step at a time when print publications are slashing budgets and even folding to go digital.
“Print still establishes some credibility. Anyone can slap together a website,” said company CEO and cofounder Freddie Pikovsky, 28.
The quarterly magazine – which will retail for $4.95 and hit newsstands on January 4th – is just as edgy as the site. The latest issue features stories on Paris’ finest sex shops; how to haggle with street vendors abroad and the best places to get tanked with locals in Madrid.
Pikovsky – who was born to Russian immigrants in Bensonhurst – said his life changed on a European backpacking trip in 2008 and hopes the website and magazine’s party atmosphere will inspire people to travel.
“I had all these misconceptions that traveling was reserved for people who were wealthy and that it was a waste of time,” said Pikovsky. “I want to inspire other people to experience something that could change their world.”
The site first launched in 2009 from Pikovsky’s Sunset Park apartment after he met his partner Anna Starostinetskaya, 28, in a Bedford-Stuyvesant hostel. Starostinetskaya – an immigrant from the Ukraine who grew up in Los Angeles – said studying abroad in Spain for six months in 2004 changed her life.
“We talk a lot about the partying and the sex culture but it’s not our job to give people a motive,” said Starostinetskaya. “It’s our job to inspire them.”
Officials for book giant Barnes and Noble said 200 of their stores will sell Off Track Planet magazine and will feature it in their top travel markets.
“We believe it’s a great quality magazine that meets our standards for sale in our store,” said newsstand vice president, Theresa Thompson. “We think it’s edgy and will appeal to a young traveler.”
Despite the foray into print, the tech-first company is working on a sophisticated mobile app that will allow backpackers to connect with experienced travelers and access content from the website. Pikovsky said the company is short about $800,000 to make the app work and is looking for donations from investors.
“We want to reinvent travel guides” said Pikovsky. “We like to say we’re creating movement around the world.”
for more information, visit www.offtrackplanet.com
mmorales@nydailynews.com
Twitter.com/NYDNMarkMorales
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Update: Travel & Adventure Show Explores New Territory for 2012
ROSEMONT, IL–(Marketwire -12/29/11)- The nation’s largest travel and adventure show returns to Chicago January 28-29 for its eighth consecutive year with new additions and returning favorites. Between well-known travel experts, adventurous activities, more than 120 world-class destinations on exhibit and non-stop cultural music and dance performances, guests will uncover unlimited inspiration and information to plan their next vacation.
New additions this year include appearances by travel insiders like Samantha Brown (host of multiple shows on The Travel Channel), Patricia Schultz (author of 1,000 Places To See Before You Die) and Marc Peyser (editor at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine.) Travel Agency Partner AAA Chicago will be featuring seminars on personalized African safari tours, guided European vacations and cruising at the AAA Travel Theater. Also debuting is an audience “cook-off” hosted by Chicago native and Travel Channel star Mark DeCarlo, with the winner receiving a vacation to the Mexican Yucatan. Crowd favorites return, such as free scuba diving and rock wall climbing, along with non-stop music and dance and more than 120 exhibits of amazing destinations from every continent.
“Whether it’s a short weekend getaway to Wisconsin or traveling to Tanzania next summer, the Travel & Adventure Show brings together an amazing array of travel ideas and expert advice,” said John Golicz, CEO for Unicomm, which produces the event in five cities nationally. “Chicago is always one of our largest events, and we’re looking forward to bringing great information and entertainment to our guests.”
Must-see stops on your itinerary at the show include:
The Travel and Adventure Show is the longest-running series of consumer travel events in the U.S., with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas and Washington D.C. The national magazine sponsor is Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel. For more information on attending or exhibiting in the event, please visit www.adventureexpo.com/Chicago or call 203-878-2577 x100.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
New additions this year include appearances by travel insiders like Samantha Brown (host of multiple shows on The Travel Channel), Patricia Schultz (author of 1,000 Places To See Before You Die) and Marc Peyser (editor at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine.) Travel Agency Partner AAA Chicago will be featuring seminars on personalized African safari tours, guided European vacations and cruising at the AAA Travel Theater. Also debuting is an audience “cook-off” hosted by Chicago native and Travel Channel star Mark DeCarlo, with the winner receiving a vacation to the Mexican Yucatan. Crowd favorites return, such as free scuba diving and rock wall climbing, along with non-stop music and dance and more than 120 exhibits of amazing destinations from every continent.
“Whether it’s a short weekend getaway to Wisconsin or traveling to Tanzania next summer, the Travel & Adventure Show brings together an amazing array of travel ideas and expert advice,” said John Golicz, CEO for Unicomm, which produces the event in five cities nationally. “Chicago is always one of our largest events, and we’re looking forward to bringing great information and entertainment to our guests.”
Must-see stops on your itinerary at the show include:
- Domestic and International Exhibitors — Representatives from Africa, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey and the South Pacific join domestic destinations from Alaska to West Virginia. Tour operators who can give you expert advice on countless other locales will also be on-hand. “Computer research is one thing, but there’s nothing like talking to someone face-to-face who has been where you want to go,” said Golicz.
- Fiery Foods Challenge — Local chefs representing some of the destinations you’ll find at the show will be on hand to cook traditional “hot” dishes. Audience members will sample these spicy creations and vote for their favorites, as well as take home the recipes to try them at home.
- Mark DeCarlo Interactive Cooking Class and Competition — The host of the Travel Channel show “Taste of America” and author of “A Fork In The Road” will select three lucky audience members at random to recreate a dish of Mark’s choosing — right on the spot. The winner (chosen by the audience) will win an all-inclusive Yucatan vacation!
- Scuba Do! — Scuba diving in the world’s largest mobile scuba diving pool (no matter HOW cold it is outside, this pool — all 15,000 gallons of it! — is a toasty 72 degrees, mimicking the temperatures of Bonaire in the Caribbean.) All equipment is provided, even hair dryers.
- Global Beats Stage — musical and dance performances will transport you to an exotic destination, running non-stop throughout the show
The Travel and Adventure Show is the longest-running series of consumer travel events in the U.S., with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas and Washington D.C. The national magazine sponsor is Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel. For more information on attending or exhibiting in the event, please visit www.adventureexpo.com/Chicago or call 203-878-2577 x100.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Travel & Adventure Show Explores New Territory for 2012
ROSEMONT, IL–(Marketwire -12/29/11)- The nation’s largest travel and adventure show returns to Chicago January 28-29 for its eighth consecutive year with new additions and returning favorites. Between well-known travel experts, adventurous activities, more than 120 world-class destinations on exhibit and non-stop cultural music and dance performances, guests will uncover unlimited inspiration and information to plan their next vacation.
New additions this year include appearances by travel insiders like Samantha Brown (host of multiple shows on The Travel Channel), Patricia Schultz (author of 1,000 Places To See Before You Die) and Marc Peyser (editor at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine.) Also debuting is an audience “cook-off” hosted by Chicago native and Travel Channel star Mark DeCarlo, with the winner receiving a vacation to the Mexican Yucatan. Crowd favorites return, such as free scuba diving and rock wall climbing, along with non-stop music and dance and more than 120 exhibits of amazing destinations from every continent.
“Whether it’s a short weekend getaway to Wisconsin or traveling to Tanzania next summer, the Travel & Adventure Show brings together an amazing array of travel ideas and expert advice,” said John Golicz, CEO for Unicomm, which produces the event in five cities nationally. “Chicago is always one of our largest events, and we’re looking forward to bringing great information and entertainment to our guests.”
Must-see stops on your itinerary at the show include:
The Travel and Adventure Show is the longest-running series of consumer travel events in the U.S., with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas and Washington D.C. The national magazine sponsor is Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel. For more information on attending or exhibiting in the event, please visit www.adventureexpo.com/Chicago or call 203-878-2577 x100.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1842618
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
New additions this year include appearances by travel insiders like Samantha Brown (host of multiple shows on The Travel Channel), Patricia Schultz (author of 1,000 Places To See Before You Die) and Marc Peyser (editor at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine.) Also debuting is an audience “cook-off” hosted by Chicago native and Travel Channel star Mark DeCarlo, with the winner receiving a vacation to the Mexican Yucatan. Crowd favorites return, such as free scuba diving and rock wall climbing, along with non-stop music and dance and more than 120 exhibits of amazing destinations from every continent.
“Whether it’s a short weekend getaway to Wisconsin or traveling to Tanzania next summer, the Travel & Adventure Show brings together an amazing array of travel ideas and expert advice,” said John Golicz, CEO for Unicomm, which produces the event in five cities nationally. “Chicago is always one of our largest events, and we’re looking forward to bringing great information and entertainment to our guests.”
Must-see stops on your itinerary at the show include:
- Domestic and International Exhibitors – Representatives from Africa, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey and the South Pacific join domestic destinations from Alaska to West Virginia. Tour operators who can give you expert advice on countless other locales will also be on-hand. “Computer research is one thing, but there’s nothing like talking to someone face-to-face who has been where you want to go,” said Golicz.
- Fiery Foods Challenge – Local chefs representing some of the destinations you’ll find at the show will be on hand to cook traditional “hot” dishes. Audience members will sample these spicy creations and vote for their favorites, as well as take home the recipes to try them at home.
- Mark DeCarlo Interactive Cooking Class and Competition – The host of the Travel Channel show “Taste of America” and author of “A Fork In The Road” will select three lucky audience members at random to recreate a dish of Mark’s choosing – right on the spot. The winner (chosen by the audience) will win an all-inclusive Yucatan vacation!
- Scuba Do! – Scuba diving in the world’s largest mobile scuba diving pool (no matter HOW cold it is outside, this pool – all 15,000 gallons of it! — is a toasty 72 degrees, mimicking the temperatures of Bonaire in the Caribbean.) All equipment is provided, even hair dryers.
- Global Beats Stage – musical and dance performances will transport you to an exotic destination, running non-stop throughout the show
The Travel and Adventure Show is the longest-running series of consumer travel events in the U.S., with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Dallas and Washington D.C. The national magazine sponsor is Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel. For more information on attending or exhibiting in the event, please visit www.adventureexpo.com/Chicago or call 203-878-2577 x100.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1842618
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
The 7th Annual Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show(TM) Packs Heat With an International Fiery Foods Challenge
LONG BEACH, CA–(Marketwire -12/28/11)- Any travel experience would be far from complete without exploring the destination’s cuisine. Accordingly, the Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show ™, taking place at the Long Beach Convention Center on January 14-15, will feature delicious, interactive demonstrations at the Culinary Stage. The International Fiery Foods Challenge invites guests to take their taste buds to the limit, sampling mouth-watering recipes from around the world. Guests can also participate in a high-stakes cooking competition and learn travel tips for foodies.
The International Fiery Foods Challenge brings together local chefs representing destinations found at the show. From familiar cuisine to the exotic, all dishes will have a delightful kick. The demonstrated foods are Frikadelle (a sort of German meatball), Spicy Tequila Marinated Prawns, Rendang Padang (Indonesian Caramelized Beef Curry), and Medjool Dates with chorizo, mascarpone and Tunisian harissa (a chili sauce). Participating chefs are Kai Loebach of CurryWurst, Amir Thomas of Duo Dishes, SriAdriani ‘Jenny’ Martono of Indonesia Tourism, and Tracey Augustine of Cashmere Bites. After tasting, guests can vote for their favorites and take home the recipes to recreate them.
The Mark DeCarlo Interactive Cooking Class and Competition will follow the Fiery Foods Challenge. Three lucky audience members will be picked from a drawing to prove their kitchen skills right on the spot, recreating a dish of Mark’s choosing. The audience will vote for the best cook, who will win an all-inclusive Yucatan vacation.
The Culinary Stage has good eats for Sunday’s show-goers as well. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau will hold a “Taiwan Popcorn Chicken” demonstration with Chef Frances Lee of the Mighty Boba Truck. Then, Ventura based Chef Jason Collis will host “Farm to Table – Luscious Lemon and Avocado Taste Sensations from 120-year-old, Sustainable Limoneira Ranch.” And, see a top Herradura Tequila ambassador demonstrate Tequila pairing tips. Following this demo, attendees can meet the brand ambassador and taste samples at the Herradura Tequila bar next to the Los Angeles magazine booth. Also not to be missed is “Travel for Foodies – Tips, Trends, and Tools for the Culinary Traveler,” with food and travel experts Michael Cervin, Linda Kissam, Dr. Kathy Gruver, and Chef Allan Cragg.
In addition, the Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show will feature talks by some of the world’s most beloved travel personalities, including Samantha Brown, Andrew Zimmern, Peter Greenberg, Pauline Frommer, Mark DeCarlo, and Patricia Schultz. Attendees can enjoy cultural performances and participate in a variety of activities including scuba lessons from Beadiver.com, a 25′ rock climbing wall, zip line, and children’s activities area. The five-acre show floor will be packed with more than 400 destinations, tour operators and travel professionals providing one-on-one consultations on visiting destinations as near as Catalina Island and as far as Indonesia.
The 2012 Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show’s™ Presenting Sponsor is the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. Supporting Sponsors include Air Berlin/Visit Berlin, Guam Visitors Bureau, Indonesia Tourism, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office. Los Angeles Magazine, NBC4 LA, Los Angeles Consortium of Online Travel (LACOT), Press-Telegram, KABC-AM and KLOS-FM are the flagship Media Sponsors. The event, produced by Unicomm, LLC, will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; travel trade may enter the show on Saturday, January 14th at 9:30am for an advance preview or attend during regular show hours. Tickets are $12 at the door or $9 online in advance with Promo Code: LAPR; children age 16 and below admitted free with paid adult. Ticket purchase information, a current schedule of speakers and more details are available at www.latravelshow.com.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
The International Fiery Foods Challenge brings together local chefs representing destinations found at the show. From familiar cuisine to the exotic, all dishes will have a delightful kick. The demonstrated foods are Frikadelle (a sort of German meatball), Spicy Tequila Marinated Prawns, Rendang Padang (Indonesian Caramelized Beef Curry), and Medjool Dates with chorizo, mascarpone and Tunisian harissa (a chili sauce). Participating chefs are Kai Loebach of CurryWurst, Amir Thomas of Duo Dishes, SriAdriani ‘Jenny’ Martono of Indonesia Tourism, and Tracey Augustine of Cashmere Bites. After tasting, guests can vote for their favorites and take home the recipes to recreate them.
The Mark DeCarlo Interactive Cooking Class and Competition will follow the Fiery Foods Challenge. Three lucky audience members will be picked from a drawing to prove their kitchen skills right on the spot, recreating a dish of Mark’s choosing. The audience will vote for the best cook, who will win an all-inclusive Yucatan vacation.
The Culinary Stage has good eats for Sunday’s show-goers as well. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau will hold a “Taiwan Popcorn Chicken” demonstration with Chef Frances Lee of the Mighty Boba Truck. Then, Ventura based Chef Jason Collis will host “Farm to Table – Luscious Lemon and Avocado Taste Sensations from 120-year-old, Sustainable Limoneira Ranch.” And, see a top Herradura Tequila ambassador demonstrate Tequila pairing tips. Following this demo, attendees can meet the brand ambassador and taste samples at the Herradura Tequila bar next to the Los Angeles magazine booth. Also not to be missed is “Travel for Foodies – Tips, Trends, and Tools for the Culinary Traveler,” with food and travel experts Michael Cervin, Linda Kissam, Dr. Kathy Gruver, and Chef Allan Cragg.
In addition, the Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show will feature talks by some of the world’s most beloved travel personalities, including Samantha Brown, Andrew Zimmern, Peter Greenberg, Pauline Frommer, Mark DeCarlo, and Patricia Schultz. Attendees can enjoy cultural performances and participate in a variety of activities including scuba lessons from Beadiver.com, a 25′ rock climbing wall, zip line, and children’s activities area. The five-acre show floor will be packed with more than 400 destinations, tour operators and travel professionals providing one-on-one consultations on visiting destinations as near as Catalina Island and as far as Indonesia.
The 2012 Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show’s™ Presenting Sponsor is the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. Supporting Sponsors include Air Berlin/Visit Berlin, Guam Visitors Bureau, Indonesia Tourism, Turkish Culture and Tourism Office. Los Angeles Magazine, NBC4 LA, Los Angeles Consortium of Online Travel (LACOT), Press-Telegram, KABC-AM and KLOS-FM are the flagship Media Sponsors. The event, produced by Unicomm, LLC, will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; travel trade may enter the show on Saturday, January 14th at 9:30am for an advance preview or attend during regular show hours. Tickets are $12 at the door or $9 online in advance with Promo Code: LAPR; children age 16 and below admitted free with paid adult. Ticket purchase information, a current schedule of speakers and more details are available at www.latravelshow.com.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Google under fire for travel search placement
Searching for flights on Google.(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)
The Wall Street Journal today points to a practice begun by the search giant earlier this month, which provides results for travel-related searches–such as domestic flights–from right within Google, as opposed to pointing searchers towards places like Priceline, Expedia, and Orbitz.
The move poses a serious threat, the Journal says, for these competing travel sites, which can depend on Google for 10 percent to 20 percent of their incoming traffic. With the newer technique of putting links to airline sites right up top, there’s a chance visitors won’t scroll down to try their search from one of these other sites, the Journal argues.
Google made serious moves to get into the travel business in the middle of last year, announcing plans to buy travel software company ITA as part of a $700 million deal. ITA’s core business is curating and indexing prices, flight schedules, and open seats, and offering the data to partners. When Google first announced plans to buy the company, it said it intended to use ITA’s technology to let users buy tickets directly from its search pages.
The 500-person company has relationships with airlines and travel agencies and can be found powering sites like Kayak, Hotwire, and Orbitz–many of which opposed the deal.
In April, Google and the Justice Department announced that a deal had been struck, granting Google the right to acquire ITA. But that deal came with strings attached, including that Google continue to license ITA’s technology to competitors for five years, and pass along any complaints from competitors about their listings not receiving fair placement on Google’s results pages.
In October, a federal judge approved the consent decree between Google and the Justice Department.
The Journal points to a statement made by Google vice president, and ITA founder, Jeremy Wertheimer last month, in which he said that airlines refused to give the company data about flights if that information was linked up to travel agencies as opposed to the airliners’ own sales sites. Google declined further elaboration on that point, the Journal said.
Worth pointing out is that Microsoft has a similar practice of putting travel results on the top of its Bing search pages, as it’s done since March of this year. However that technology is a partnership with Kayak, as opposed to Microsoft’s own travel tools. The Journal notes that Bing brings in “less than a quarter of Google’s audience,” giving the practice less of an impact.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
2011年12月29日星期四
Here’s Why Internet Travel Site Stocks are Facing Major Losses
Google is out with huge changes to their travel search algorithm, and internet travel sites may lose significant market share. Google will now place its own flight-search service at the top of search results for flight information.
The move will immediately hurt online travel websites such as Expedia , Orbitz , Travelzoo , and Priceline which receive ten to twenty percent of their leads from Google searches. That’s a lot of money to lose in the $110 billion online travel market.
Don’t Miss: Will Computers Read Our Minds In Five Years?
This morning you can expect lots of high priced lawyers to call the Department of Justice claiming Google is violating guidelines established for their entry into the online travel market. We will wait to see whether legal fees are the only loss taken by Expedia , Orbitz , Travelzoo , and Priceline , or whether it will be billions in lost flight bookings.
Here’s how these travel stocks are reacting to the industry shaking news:
Google Inc. : GOOG shares recently traded at $633.76, up $0.62, or 0.1%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $473.02 to $642.96. Volume today was 57,266 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 3,109,540 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 21.60, while trailing earnings are $29.34 per share.
Expedia Inc. : EXPE shares recently traded at $29.61, down $0.43, or 1.43%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $27.28 to $65.78. Volume today was 88,372 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 2,346,560 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 8.79, while trailing earnings are $3.37 per share.
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. : OWW shares recently traded at $3.79. They have traded in a 52-week range of $2.76 to $7.01. Volume today was 7,373 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 330,987 shares. The company’s trailing earnings are $-0.66 per share.
Travelzoo Inc. : TZOO shares recently traded at $26.04, down $0.07, or 0.27%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $20.68 to $103.80. Volume today was 7,308 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 649,216 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 651.00, while trailing earnings are $0.04 per share.
priceline.com Incorporated : PCLN shares recently traded at $480.58, down $1.15, or 0.24%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $399.18 to $561.88. Volume today was 26,948 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 1,274,540 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 25.46, while trailing earnings are $18.88 per share.
Investing Insights: Apple and Google Working Together on These Wearable Computers.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
The move will immediately hurt online travel websites such as Expedia , Orbitz , Travelzoo , and Priceline which receive ten to twenty percent of their leads from Google searches. That’s a lot of money to lose in the $110 billion online travel market.
Don’t Miss: Will Computers Read Our Minds In Five Years?
This morning you can expect lots of high priced lawyers to call the Department of Justice claiming Google is violating guidelines established for their entry into the online travel market. We will wait to see whether legal fees are the only loss taken by Expedia , Orbitz , Travelzoo , and Priceline , or whether it will be billions in lost flight bookings.
Here’s how these travel stocks are reacting to the industry shaking news:
Google Inc. : GOOG shares recently traded at $633.76, up $0.62, or 0.1%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $473.02 to $642.96. Volume today was 57,266 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 3,109,540 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 21.60, while trailing earnings are $29.34 per share.
Expedia Inc. : EXPE shares recently traded at $29.61, down $0.43, or 1.43%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $27.28 to $65.78. Volume today was 88,372 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 2,346,560 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 8.79, while trailing earnings are $3.37 per share.
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. : OWW shares recently traded at $3.79. They have traded in a 52-week range of $2.76 to $7.01. Volume today was 7,373 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 330,987 shares. The company’s trailing earnings are $-0.66 per share.
Travelzoo Inc. : TZOO shares recently traded at $26.04, down $0.07, or 0.27%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $20.68 to $103.80. Volume today was 7,308 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 649,216 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 651.00, while trailing earnings are $0.04 per share.
priceline.com Incorporated : PCLN shares recently traded at $480.58, down $1.15, or 0.24%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $399.18 to $561.88. Volume today was 26,948 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 1,274,540 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 25.46, while trailing earnings are $18.88 per share.
Investing Insights: Apple and Google Working Together on These Wearable Computers.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Air Travel Predictions for 2012
The burning air travel questions of the coming year: Will fees rise? Will our tickets cost more? Will Alec Baldwin disrupt our flight?
And what about finding true love or lust on a plane? See number four. Now, normally, my prognostication skills don’t extend to all areas of modern life – for instance, I did not see the Kardashian divorce coming – but I do know air travel and have examined trends and data over the past several years so I have some answers. Now let’s get started.
For more travel news and insights view Rick’s blog at farecompare.com
Here are the top five air travel predictions of 2012.
And what about finding true love or lust on a plane? See number four. Now, normally, my prognostication skills don’t extend to all areas of modern life – for instance, I did not see the Kardashian divorce coming – but I do know air travel and have examined trends and data over the past several years so I have some answers. Now let’s get started.
For more travel news and insights view Rick’s blog at farecompare.com
Here are the top five air travel predictions of 2012.
Folks holding tickets for American Airlines, not to mention those holding thousands of frequent flyer miles, got a scare back in November when the airline abruptly announced its bankruptcy. A scare is all it was, though.
In fact, bankruptcy is a well-worn path for large U.S. carriers. As Southwest CEO Gary Kelly recently noted, many legacy airlines effectively emerged from bankruptcy in great shape as “giant, lower-cost airlines [that are] much more formidable competition than their predecessors.”
American has 18 months to emerge from Chapter 11 and by all accounts it probably should merge with another airline. Yet most of the musical chairs are already accounted for – think Delta/Northwest, United/Continental – so there are not many choices. US Airways might be a willing partner for AA but culture clash could spell doom. I’m on the fence on this one.
In fact, bankruptcy is a well-worn path for large U.S. carriers. As Southwest CEO Gary Kelly recently noted, many legacy airlines effectively emerged from bankruptcy in great shape as “giant, lower-cost airlines [that are] much more formidable competition than their predecessors.”
American has 18 months to emerge from Chapter 11 and by all accounts it probably should merge with another airline. Yet most of the musical chairs are already accounted for – think Delta/Northwest, United/Continental – so there are not many choices. US Airways might be a willing partner for AA but culture clash could spell doom. I’m on the fence on this one.
A recent online survey by travel website Travel Ticker confirmed what I’ve seen from my vast storehouse of data: An increasing number of people say they’ll do more leisure traveling in the coming year, and even more say they’ll fly if they can find good deals in 2012 (note: we’ve been seeing an awful lot of airfare sales in the past couple of weeks).
Empty middle seats are so last decade. Today the airlines are all about “contract, merge, and survive” as opposed to the old model of “expand at any cost.” Sure, we can dream of the good old days when an arm rest didn’t have a body leaning on it, but that’s all it is, a dream.
Empty middle seats are so last decade. Today the airlines are all about “contract, merge, and survive” as opposed to the old model of “expand at any cost.” Sure, we can dream of the good old days when an arm rest didn’t have a body leaning on it, but that’s all it is, a dream.
You may be excused for thinking flying is only for the rich. After all, the airlines attempted to raise prices 22 times in 2011 (and nine of those attempts were successful). However, there is a bronze lining in that the airlines still have to fill those middle seats, so they will keep tossing out occasional discounts though they may be fewer and farther between.
If you shop smart – if you buy your tickets on Tuesday and are willing to flying midweek instead of Friday or Sunday – you can still game the airfare pricing system and come out a winner. At least, most of the time.
If you shop smart – if you buy your tickets on Tuesday and are willing to flying midweek instead of Friday or Sunday – you can still game the airfare pricing system and come out a winner. At least, most of the time.
2012 will be the year of ‘Fees 4.0′ but to review: Fees 1.0 began in 2008 when we began paying for bags in the first place. As one airline exec explained, “You pay $12 for a hot dog at Wrigley, so why not a fee for a bag?” Trouble is, hotdogs at Wrigley weren’t free five years ago. Plus, they taste good. Bag fees, as we all know, are nearly indigestible.
And forget all those reports about proposed legislation to do away with bag fees. Every time a senator is charged a bag fee, they make a ruckus (especially during an election cycle). The legislation won’t go anywhere because those billions of dollars in fee revenue are often the only thing keeping airlines above water what with those sometimes stratospheric fuel prices.
Fees 2.0 saw airlines slapping on a sushi menu-worth of charges for all sorts of frills such as food and early boarding. For consumers, it got harder and harder to compare the total cost of a ticket from one airline to another. Fees 3.0 was the bundling of fees we see now, such as early boarding plus checked-bag plus preferred seat.
Fees 4.0 will mean higher fees (especially if oil takes another precipitous hike), plus more bundling of extras we might not have wanted to purchase separately but may succumb to after seeing them continuously discounted from pay-point to pay-point via email, on our smartphones, at the airport kiosk or even on our airplane seat back screens.
What’s love got to do with it? We may find out once KLM gets its “choose your seatmate via Facebook” plan underway. Perhaps flyers will use it to choose neighbors based on looks or hotness quotient or simply to find a quiet, easygoing seatmate (perhaps the anti-Alec Baldwin). Would you pay for this? I’m betting many will; take another look at that Seinfeld episode where Elaine is stuck in a middle seat whispering, “Help me”).
And forget all those reports about proposed legislation to do away with bag fees. Every time a senator is charged a bag fee, they make a ruckus (especially during an election cycle). The legislation won’t go anywhere because those billions of dollars in fee revenue are often the only thing keeping airlines above water what with those sometimes stratospheric fuel prices.
Fees 2.0 saw airlines slapping on a sushi menu-worth of charges for all sorts of frills such as food and early boarding. For consumers, it got harder and harder to compare the total cost of a ticket from one airline to another. Fees 3.0 was the bundling of fees we see now, such as early boarding plus checked-bag plus preferred seat.
Fees 4.0 will mean higher fees (especially if oil takes another precipitous hike), plus more bundling of extras we might not have wanted to purchase separately but may succumb to after seeing them continuously discounted from pay-point to pay-point via email, on our smartphones, at the airport kiosk or even on our airplane seat back screens.
What’s love got to do with it? We may find out once KLM gets its “choose your seatmate via Facebook” plan underway. Perhaps flyers will use it to choose neighbors based on looks or hotness quotient or simply to find a quiet, easygoing seatmate (perhaps the anti-Alec Baldwin). Would you pay for this? I’m betting many will; take another look at that Seinfeld episode where Elaine is stuck in a middle seat whispering, “Help me”).
With apologies to Greyhound, we are coming to accept that flying today is like traveling by bus with few frills and even fewer fun times. Complaints about airport security are down, and I’m getting fewer angry emails about unfair bag fees. We may not like it but we’re getting used to it, and face it – air travel is still the best way of getting from Point A to Point B.
Hope all your flights in 2012 are smooth and hassle-free.
Related links:
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Warns Cost Too High
Great, Recent Deals
Poll: Consumers Will Travel More In 2012
22nd Domestic Airfare Hike Attempt of 2011 Fails
When to Buy Airline Tickets and Other Advice
This work is the opinion of the columnist and does not reflect the opinion of ABC News.
Rick Seaney is one of the country’s leading experts on airfare, giving interviews and analysis to news organizations that include ABC News, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and Bloomberg. His website, FareCompare.com, offers consumers free, new-generation software, combined with expert insider tips to find the best airline ticket deals.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Hope all your flights in 2012 are smooth and hassle-free.
Related links:
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Warns Cost Too High
Great, Recent Deals
Poll: Consumers Will Travel More In 2012
22nd Domestic Airfare Hike Attempt of 2011 Fails
When to Buy Airline Tickets and Other Advice
This work is the opinion of the columnist and does not reflect the opinion of ABC News.
Rick Seaney is one of the country’s leading experts on airfare, giving interviews and analysis to news organizations that include ABC News, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and Bloomberg. His website, FareCompare.com, offers consumers free, new-generation software, combined with expert insider tips to find the best airline ticket deals.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Air Travel Predictions for 2012
The burning air travel questions of the coming year: Will fees rise? Will our tickets cost more? Will Alec Baldwin disrupt our flight?
And what about finding true love or lust on a plane? See number four. Now, normally, my prognostication skills don’t extend to all areas of modern life – for instance, I did not see the Kardashian divorce coming – but I do know air travel and have examined trends and data over the past several years so I have some answers. Now let’s get started.
For more travel news and insights view Rick’s blog at farecompare.com
Here are the top five air travel predictions of 2012.
And what about finding true love or lust on a plane? See number four. Now, normally, my prognostication skills don’t extend to all areas of modern life – for instance, I did not see the Kardashian divorce coming – but I do know air travel and have examined trends and data over the past several years so I have some answers. Now let’s get started.
For more travel news and insights view Rick’s blog at farecompare.com
Here are the top five air travel predictions of 2012.
Folks holding tickets for American Airlines, not to mention those holding thousands of frequent flyer miles, got a scare back in November when the airline abruptly announced its bankruptcy. A scare is all it was, though.
In fact, bankruptcy is a well-worn path for large U.S. carriers. As Southwest CEO Gary Kelly recently noted, many legacy airlines effectively emerged from bankruptcy in great shape as “giant, lower-cost airlines [that are] much more formidable competition than their predecessors.”
American has 18 months to emerge from Chapter 11 and by all accounts it probably should merge with another airline. Yet most of the musical chairs are already accounted for – think Delta/Northwest, United/Continental – so there are not many choices. US Airways might be a willing partner for AA but culture clash could spell doom. I’m on the fence on this one.
In fact, bankruptcy is a well-worn path for large U.S. carriers. As Southwest CEO Gary Kelly recently noted, many legacy airlines effectively emerged from bankruptcy in great shape as “giant, lower-cost airlines [that are] much more formidable competition than their predecessors.”
American has 18 months to emerge from Chapter 11 and by all accounts it probably should merge with another airline. Yet most of the musical chairs are already accounted for – think Delta/Northwest, United/Continental – so there are not many choices. US Airways might be a willing partner for AA but culture clash could spell doom. I’m on the fence on this one.
A recent online survey by travel website Travel Ticker confirmed what I’ve seen from my vast storehouse of data: An increasing number of people say they’ll do more leisure traveling in the coming year, and even more say they’ll fly if they can find good deals in 2012 (note: we’ve been seeing an awful lot of airfare sales in the past couple of weeks).
Empty middle seats are so last decade. Today the airlines are all about “contract, merge, and survive” as opposed to the old model of “expand at any cost.” Sure, we can dream of the good old days when an arm rest didn’t have a body leaning on it, but that’s all it is, a dream.
Empty middle seats are so last decade. Today the airlines are all about “contract, merge, and survive” as opposed to the old model of “expand at any cost.” Sure, we can dream of the good old days when an arm rest didn’t have a body leaning on it, but that’s all it is, a dream.
You may be excused for thinking flying is only for the rich. After all, the airlines attempted to raise prices 22 times in 2011 (and nine of those attempts were successful). However, there is a bronze lining in that the airlines still have to fill those middle seats, so they will keep tossing out occasional discounts though they may be fewer and farther between.
If you shop smart – if you buy your tickets on Tuesday and are willing to flying midweek instead of Friday or Sunday – you can still game the airfare pricing system and come out a winner. At least, most of the time.
If you shop smart – if you buy your tickets on Tuesday and are willing to flying midweek instead of Friday or Sunday – you can still game the airfare pricing system and come out a winner. At least, most of the time.
2012 will be the year of ‘Fees 4.0′ but to review: Fees 1.0 began in 2008 when we began paying for bags in the first place. As one airline exec explained, “You pay $12 for a hot dog at Wrigley, so why not a fee for a bag?” Trouble is, hotdogs at Wrigley weren’t free five years ago. Plus, they taste good. Bag fees, as we all know, are nearly indigestible.
And forget all those reports about proposed legislation to do away with bag fees. Every time a senator is charged a bag fee, they make a ruckus (especially during an election cycle). The legislation won’t go anywhere because those billions of dollars in fee revenue are often the only thing keeping airlines above water what with those sometimes stratospheric fuel prices.
Fees 2.0 saw airlines slapping on a sushi menu-worth of charges for all sorts of frills such as food and early boarding. For consumers, it got harder and harder to compare the total cost of a ticket from one airline to another. Fees 3.0 was the bundling of fees we see now, such as early boarding plus checked-bag plus preferred seat.
Fees 4.0 will mean higher fees (especially if oil takes another precipitous hike), plus more bundling of extras we might not have wanted to purchase separately but may succumb to after seeing them continuously discounted from pay-point to pay-point via email, on our smartphones, at the airport kiosk or even on our airplane seat back screens.
What’s love got to do with it? We may find out once KLM gets its “choose your seatmate via Facebook” plan underway. Perhaps flyers will use it to choose neighbors based on looks or hotness quotient or simply to find a quiet, easygoing seatmate (perhaps the anti-Alec Baldwin). Would you pay for this? I’m betting many will; take another look at that Seinfeld episode where Elaine is stuck in a middle seat whispering, “Help me”).
And forget all those reports about proposed legislation to do away with bag fees. Every time a senator is charged a bag fee, they make a ruckus (especially during an election cycle). The legislation won’t go anywhere because those billions of dollars in fee revenue are often the only thing keeping airlines above water what with those sometimes stratospheric fuel prices.
Fees 2.0 saw airlines slapping on a sushi menu-worth of charges for all sorts of frills such as food and early boarding. For consumers, it got harder and harder to compare the total cost of a ticket from one airline to another. Fees 3.0 was the bundling of fees we see now, such as early boarding plus checked-bag plus preferred seat.
Fees 4.0 will mean higher fees (especially if oil takes another precipitous hike), plus more bundling of extras we might not have wanted to purchase separately but may succumb to after seeing them continuously discounted from pay-point to pay-point via email, on our smartphones, at the airport kiosk or even on our airplane seat back screens.
What’s love got to do with it? We may find out once KLM gets its “choose your seatmate via Facebook” plan underway. Perhaps flyers will use it to choose neighbors based on looks or hotness quotient or simply to find a quiet, easygoing seatmate (perhaps the anti-Alec Baldwin). Would you pay for this? I’m betting many will; take another look at that Seinfeld episode where Elaine is stuck in a middle seat whispering, “Help me”).
With apologies to Greyhound, we are coming to accept that flying today is like traveling by bus with few frills and even fewer fun times. Complaints about airport security are down, and I’m getting fewer angry emails about unfair bag fees. We may not like it but we’re getting used to it, and face it – air travel is still the best way of getting from Point A to Point B.
Hope all your flights in 2012 are smooth and hassle-free.
Related links:
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Warns Cost Too High
Great, Recent Deals
Poll: Consumers Will Travel More In 2012
22nd Domestic Airfare Hike Attempt of 2011 Fails
When to Buy Airline Tickets and Other Advice
This work is the opinion of the columnist and does not reflect the opinion of ABC News.
Rick Seaney is one of the country’s leading experts on airfare, giving interviews and analysis to news organizations that include ABC News, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and Bloomberg. His website, FareCompare.com, offers consumers free, new-generation software, combined with expert insider tips to find the best airline ticket deals.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Hope all your flights in 2012 are smooth and hassle-free.
Related links:
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly Warns Cost Too High
Great, Recent Deals
Poll: Consumers Will Travel More In 2012
22nd Domestic Airfare Hike Attempt of 2011 Fails
When to Buy Airline Tickets and Other Advice
This work is the opinion of the columnist and does not reflect the opinion of ABC News.
Rick Seaney is one of the country’s leading experts on airfare, giving interviews and analysis to news organizations that include ABC News, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and Bloomberg. His website, FareCompare.com, offers consumers free, new-generation software, combined with expert insider tips to find the best airline ticket deals.
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
U.S. considering travel request from Yemen’s Saleh
HONOLULU (Reuters) – The U.S. government is trying to decide whether to let Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh travel to the United States for medical treatment, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.
Saleh was injured in a June assassination attempt that forced him into a hospital in Saudi Arabia, and transferred power to his vice president last month after months of protests that brought the Gulf country to the brink of civil war.
Earnest declined to say when a decision on whether to allow Saleh into the United States would be made, and denied a New York Times report that the embattled Yemeni president’s petition was accepted and he could arrive at New York-Presbyterian Hospital as soon as the end of this week.
“U.S. officials are continuing to consider President Saleh‘s request to enter the country for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment, but initial reports that permission has already been granted are not true,” Earnest said in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is vacationing.
Earlier on Monday, an Obama administration official said Saleh’s office had contacted the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa to say the Yemeni leader wanted to get specialized care in the United States to treat injuries sustained in the assassination attempt.
The attempt on Saleh’s life came after he tried to duck the power-transfer accord brokered by Gulf Arab nations, sparking street battles that devastated parts of the capital.
HUNDREDS KILLED
Hundreds of people were killed during months of protests seeking Saleh’s ouster. The political deadlock reignited simmering conflicts with separatists and militants, raising fears that Yemen‘s al Qaeda wing could take a foothold on the borders of Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.
Allowing Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, to get treatment in the United States could undercut Obama’s message of supporting pro-democracy movements across the Arab world and condemning crackdowns on protests like those seen recently in Syria.
Embattled world leaders often travel to politically neutral Switzerland for medical care.
On Saturday, just hours after his forces killed nine people who had demanded he be tried for the killings of demonstrators over the past year, Saleh said he would leave Yemen and give way to a successor. He did not say when he would go.
Saleh suggested he would undergo medical tests in the United States but characterized the trip as one of temporary exile.
“I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections,” Saleh said. “I’ll be there for several days, but I’ll return because I won’t leave my people and comrades who have been steadfast for 11 months.”
Obama’s top counterterrorism official, John Brennan, called Yemen’s acting leader on Sunday to stress the need for Yemeni forces “to show maximum restraint” with protests, Earnest said.
In his phone conversation with Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Brennan also appealed for all sides of Yemen’s political transition to avoid “provocative acts that could spur further violence.”
Hadi told Brennan he would do his utmost to prevent further bloodshed, Earnest said, adding both officials agreed it was important to stick to the transition path leading to Yemen’s February 21, 2012, presidential election.
“Mr. Brennan told Vice President Hadi that the United States remains a strong and fervent supporter of the Yemeni people in their quest to realize their richly deserved aspirations for security, political stability, representative government, and economic prosperity,” Earnest said.
Hadi has urged Saleh’s foes and loyalists to commit to a truce.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu)
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
Saleh was injured in a June assassination attempt that forced him into a hospital in Saudi Arabia, and transferred power to his vice president last month after months of protests that brought the Gulf country to the brink of civil war.
Earnest declined to say when a decision on whether to allow Saleh into the United States would be made, and denied a New York Times report that the embattled Yemeni president’s petition was accepted and he could arrive at New York-Presbyterian Hospital as soon as the end of this week.
“U.S. officials are continuing to consider President Saleh‘s request to enter the country for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment, but initial reports that permission has already been granted are not true,” Earnest said in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is vacationing.
Earlier on Monday, an Obama administration official said Saleh’s office had contacted the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa to say the Yemeni leader wanted to get specialized care in the United States to treat injuries sustained in the assassination attempt.
The attempt on Saleh’s life came after he tried to duck the power-transfer accord brokered by Gulf Arab nations, sparking street battles that devastated parts of the capital.
HUNDREDS KILLED
Hundreds of people were killed during months of protests seeking Saleh’s ouster. The political deadlock reignited simmering conflicts with separatists and militants, raising fears that Yemen‘s al Qaeda wing could take a foothold on the borders of Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.
Allowing Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, to get treatment in the United States could undercut Obama’s message of supporting pro-democracy movements across the Arab world and condemning crackdowns on protests like those seen recently in Syria.
Embattled world leaders often travel to politically neutral Switzerland for medical care.
On Saturday, just hours after his forces killed nine people who had demanded he be tried for the killings of demonstrators over the past year, Saleh said he would leave Yemen and give way to a successor. He did not say when he would go.
Saleh suggested he would undergo medical tests in the United States but characterized the trip as one of temporary exile.
“I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections,” Saleh said. “I’ll be there for several days, but I’ll return because I won’t leave my people and comrades who have been steadfast for 11 months.”
Obama’s top counterterrorism official, John Brennan, called Yemen’s acting leader on Sunday to stress the need for Yemeni forces “to show maximum restraint” with protests, Earnest said.
In his phone conversation with Yemeni Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Brennan also appealed for all sides of Yemen’s political transition to avoid “provocative acts that could spur further violence.”
Hadi told Brennan he would do his utmost to prevent further bloodshed, Earnest said, adding both officials agreed it was important to stick to the transition path leading to Yemen’s February 21, 2012, presidential election.
“Mr. Brennan told Vice President Hadi that the United States remains a strong and fervent supporter of the Yemeni people in their quest to realize their richly deserved aspirations for security, political stability, representative government, and economic prosperity,” Earnest said.
Hadi has urged Saleh’s foes and loyalists to commit to a truce.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu)
This article is from http://tourism9.com/
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