Travel And Leisure Blog

Caravan Tours

2010-05-29T19:17:00.001-07:00

Caravan Tours is one of the oldest guided tour companies in the United States, having begun selling escorted travel tours in 1952. The company has been under the same family management and ownership since then. The company's tours are popular, and they frequently sell-out, especially in the summertime and fall.

In 1966, the television journalist Roger Mudd hosted a two-hour travel special on CBS, utilizing Caravan Tours for the production. The success of that show inspired the 1969 romantic comedy film If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.

Caravan Tours is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents, the National Tour Association, Cruise Lines International Association, and an allied member of the Alliance of Canadian Travel Agencies.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Budva Riviera (company)

2010-04-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

Budva Riviera (NEX: BUDR) is a tourist company that owns hotels within the Municipality of Budva in Montenegro.

History

Budva Riviera was established in 1990 as a shareholding company.

Hotels

* Hotel Aleksandar - Budva
* Slovenska Plaža Tourist Complex - Budva
* Hotel Mogren - Budva
* Hotel Miločer - Sveti Stefan
* Hotel Sveti Stefan - Sveti Stefan
* Hotel Palas - Petrovac
* Hotel Vila Oliva - Petrovac
* Hotel Castellastva - Petrovac

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Big Apple Oriental Tours

2010-04-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Big Apple Oriental Tours is a travel agency based in New York that is at the center of a campaign against sex tourism operators in the United States.

The company was founded in 1993 and offers all-inclusive trips to Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia "for the single male.” Their advertising brochures highlight the erotic atmosphere and easy availability of women in these regions. Tour guides would meet the men upon arrival, explain everything, and transport them to the local bars and brothels.

Since 1996, the New York based human rights and feminist group Equality Now has lobbied the local District Attorney to take action against the company, complaining about promotion of prostitution and possible exploitation of minors. The District Attorney declined to prosecute in 2000, stating that the alleged acts did not occur in New York and were thus beyond the reach of state law. Supported by Gloria Steinem and Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Equality Now then contacted State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in 2002.

In response to lobbying by these groups, the first legal action in the U.S. against a business of this type was initiated: Spitzer filed a civil suit against Big Apple Oriental Tours and obtained a restraining order in July 2003, in effect preventing the company from advertising.

Spitzer then made two unsuccessful attempts to charge owners Norman Barabash and Douglas Allen with promoting prostitution. (New York state penal code 230.25(1) defines promotion of prostitution, in part, as running a business that involves prostitution activity by two or more prostitutes.) The Attorney General's office obtained the first indictment of Barabash and Allen in February 2004. The case was dismissed in August 2004, because the grand jury had been presented with hearsay evidence and because the judge did not find the law applicable. The dismissal was upheld on appeal based on the hearsay argument. The case was returned to the grand jury and Barabash and Allen were indicted for the same crime again in October 2005. These charges were dismissed in January, 2006. The court held that according to the evidence, "What the tour customer did when he arrived at the location is not part of the Big Apple Oriental Tours enterprise."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Balkantourist

2010-04-20T20:17:00.001-07:00

Balkantourist (Bulgarian: Балкантурист) is the oldest existing Bulgarian tour operator, established on 6 January 1948 as a state-owned government monopoly in what was then the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Privatized in 1995, it has continued to exist in the post-1989 conditions of market economy.

Balkantourist was founded as a self-supporting enterprise, part of the Ministry of Railways, during the government of Georgi Dimitrov. With a starting capital of 300 million leva, its initial service was to compensate Czechoslovakia's enterprises in Bulgaria that were nationalized after the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 by offering holidays on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast to Czechoslovakian citizens. As the war reparations imposed on Bulgaria after World War II made the country unable to compensate Czechoslovakia financially, Czechoslovakian leader Klement Gottwald suggested the idea.

In the following decades, Balkantourist gradually expanded its business to include mountain and cultural tourism in Bulgaria, as well as service tourists from other countries of the Eastern Bloc besides Czechoslovakia: the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania. Balkantourist played a major role in the establishment of planned seaside resorts such as Golden Sands and Sunny Beach, and Bulgaria's policy of international tourism as a profitable branch inspired other socialist countries such as Yugoslavia and Romania to develop their own seaside resorts.

After the democratic changes in 1989, Balkantourist was privatized in 1995 by the Bulgarian Tourist Holding. As of 2008, it offers holidays in Bulgaria and in more than 35 destinations abroad. The company owns Grand Hotel Varna, the Lebed, Rubin, Delfin, Delfin Marina, Paradise Beach and International hotels on the Black Sea coast, Hotel Rila in Borovets, Arbanasi Palace and Grand Hotel Bulgaria in Sofia.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Alternative Tourism Group

2010-04-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

ATG

ATG Alternative Tourism Group and Study Center (http://www.atg.ps/) is a Palestinian NGO based in Beit Sahour specializing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land. The organization focuses on Fair Trade in Tourism to support the local community and to offer fact-finding tourists (Academics, Journalists, Church Delegations, Individuals, etc.) an intensive humanitarian tour through Palestine and the Region.

Established in 1995 by late Jamal Salameh, Majed Nassar, Rifat Odeh Kassis, Ghassan Andoni and Elias Rishmawi, ATG operates according to the tenets of justice tourism, that is, tourism that holds as its central goals the creation of economic opportunities for the local community, positive cultural exchange between guest and host through one-on-one interaction, the protection of the environment, and political/historical education.

ATG works to encourage all tourism operators to abandon exploitative mass tourism and to adopt practices that positively affect the host population. Through these methods, ATG seeks to promote a positive image of Palestine and its people and to contribute to establishment of a just peace in the area.

Programs

- One of the ATG's Programs is the annual Olive Picking Campaign in October, in which Internationals help local farmers during the olive harvest to reach their olive trees which are located near the Israeli separation barrier and the Israeli Jewish settlements.

- Another program is the Tree Planting Campaign which takes place in GFebruary of each year. This Program aims at planting trees (mainly olive trees) in the lands which are threatened to be confiscated by the Israeli authorities.

- The Alternative Tourism Group offers Bed & Breakfast program at local houses around Bethlehem, where visitors get direct contact with Palestinians at their homes.

- The Nativity Trail Program which is a walking tour from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Participants can enjoy the nature of Palestine, visit Palestinian villages, refugee camps, meet farmers, villagers, enjoy the Palestinian hospitality and follow the steps of Joseph and Mary in their journey to Bethlehem.

AWARDS

ATG won the TO DO AWARD 2006 (http://www.todo-contest.org/) at the ITB (International Tourism Boerse) in Berlin for social responsible tourism.

Publications

ATG published the first Palestinian comprehensive guidebook to Palestine, including the occupied territories, Jerusalem, the 48 territories and the Syrian Golan Heights. “Palestine & Palestinians” provides an in-depth, updated journey through the entire range of Palestinian culture: ancient and modern history, archaeology, religion, architecture and politics, including the daily realities of Israeli Occupation.

Networking

ATG initiated a network called the Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism (http://www.pirt.ps/) which published the Code of Conduct in the Holy Land.

ATG is Member of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) (http://www.pngo.net/)

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

WorldHotel-Link

2010-04-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Worldhotel-link.com Limited (trading as WHL or whl.travel) is an online travel-services (accommodation and tour) booking network. The company is incorporated in Hong Kong and has offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Prague, Cape Town, Belo Horizonte, Sydney and Miami.

Background

WHL started in 2002 as a project of the Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF) which is the technical advisory services arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group) in the region covering Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Given the skills gaps, language difficulties and Internet access problems facing travel service providers in destinations in the developing world, a new online accommodation booking model was needed which bridged the last mile and allowed locally owned travel product to be connected and sold to the global market.

The approach adopted by the WHL project team was to separate all those things that needed to be done locally (i.e. identifying and negotiating contracts with the local travel service providers or processing the booking) from those best done centrally and which the WHL team managed. Local partners, called e-marketplace operators (MPOs), became responsible for collecting and loading local digital content onto the web and keeping it up to date, as well as acting as the interface between travellers and accommodation providers when questions were asked, bookings made etc. The WHL team focused on the technology platform for content management and booking management, as well as global Internet marketing, provision of payment gateways, and management and technical support.

The first pilot site was established in 2002 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, site of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex. The pilot was done with the cooperation of the Siem Reap Angkor Hotel & Guesthouse Association and early success in Siem Reap led to requests for replication from hotel associations, first in Phnom Penh and then in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Sites were also established in Vietnam and, in 2005, WHL started adding destinations outside the Mekong, in Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji to test the model in other environments. After successful pilots in these countries it was decided to spin the project off from the IFC to allow the model to be moved to the global market. On March 31st, 2006, Worldhotel-link.com Limited was officially made a private company.

The interesting point of departure for WHL from more traditional online tourism bookings businesses is the unique online/offline franchise business model that has been developed out of necessity in order to service the business. The MPO not only owns and operates that actual online booking business in their country, but also has the opportunity to network with other like-minded tourism professionals in other destinations around the world. This local connection network creates a space where an interesting confluence of social networking and business development come together to share best business practices with previously disparate colleagues.

Current Status

After spinning off from the IFC, WHL added tour bookings to the accommodation booking functionality, as well as instant bookings (booking from allotment), last-minute bookings and packaged accommodations and tours. At the end of 2008 WHL had 150 destination sites live in 60 countries. Projections are that by end March 2009 there will be 200 destinations live in 83 countries. WHL continues to work closely with development agencies such as the IFC, World Bank, IADB and USAID in launching destinations sites in many poor and conflict-affected countries/regions around the world.

To undertake consulting and training work associated with tourism development in developing countries WHL launched a consulting business, WHL Consulting, in July 2008 in a joint venture with Geosavvy Development LLC in the USA. WHL has also developed a program called Caring for the Destination as a means to encourage the adoption of sustainable tourism by accommodation and tour providers.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

World Plus

2010-04-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

World Plus was an airline ticket brokerage operated by one RaeJean S. Bonham and based in Fairbanks, Alaska. The World Plus business model has been described as a Ponzi scheme, and as the largest investment scam in Alaska history.

History

Born RaeJean Franklin in 1950, she moved with her husband Steve Bonham to rural Alaska in the early 1970s. RaeJean served as the postmaster of Chatanika, a small town north of Fairbanks, until 1977 when she was convicted of embezzlement and postal money order fraud.

She moved to Fairbanks and founded World Plus, Inc. in 1983. The travel agency engaged in the black market purchase and sale of frequent flyer miles. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bonham's World Plus became a Ponzi scheme in 1989, when she began soliciting larger investments in order to repay previous smaller investments. Over the next six years, the number of investors grew to roughly 1,200. Total contributions have been estimated between $15.3 million and $50 million.

In December 1995, World Plus was shut down by United States bankruptcy court, which appointed trustee Larry D. Compton to investigate Bonham's transactions. Compton subpoenaed bank records to determine the extent of the rather secretive pyramid scheme, which had spread primarily by word of mouth. Upon arrival in Fairbanks, Compton claimed to have received death threats from some of the more successful investors.

In United States v. Bonham (1998), Bonham pled guilty to federal charges of mail fraud and money laundering. For these, she was sentenced in 1999 to two concurrent sentences of five years (two suspended) plus ten years of probation.

During Bonham's Federal sentence, the State of Alaska filed additional charges of perjury and securities fraud. Bonham successfully argued that these should be dismissed on the basis that they constituted double jeopardy, but this decision was appealed by the State and overturned in 2001.

Recovery

As of early 2008, Compton had filed 618 lawsuits against investors who had profited from their transactions with World Plus, recovering a total $18.2 million. From this sum he redistributed partial reimbursements to 697 known investors on whom Bonham had defaulted.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

WhiteTie

2010-04-04T03:58:00.000-07:00

WhiteTie is a concierge services, private membership club, online marketing company and travel agency based in Seattle, WA, USA and Hong Kong, China that provides extremely high end concierge services for customers world wide. The company provides premiere access to accommodations, shows, restaurants, entertainment and attractions throughout the world.

The company officially began selling services in April 2004. In January 2007 WhiteTie launched as the official concierge provider of Northwest Airlines.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

WEXAS

2010-03-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

WEXAS is a travel company in the form of a multinational travel club. It was founded in 1970 as a travel club for student and expeditionary travel, the acronym WEXAS standing for World Expeditionary Association. WEXAS specializes in business and individual tailor-made travel and holidays worldwide.

WEXAS sells many travel publications, offers travel advice on the strength of their industry experience, significant discounts on airfares, holidays, cruises as well as other travel services and further benefits including a VIP airport lounge service. The Traveller’s Handbook is an all purpose directory for travelers of all ages, including advice on many aspects of travel, such as airfare discounts, off-road driving, traveling in a Muslim country and receiving tropical disease.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Viagens Abreu

2010-03-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Viagens Abreu is the world’s oldest travel agency, as well as the largest travel organization in Portugal. The current headquarters are in Porto, with the main office in Linda–a–Velha, a suburb of Lisbon, in a spacious office building. Abreu has offices throughout Portugal, with over 120 retail locations in the mainland, and the islands of Madeira and the Azores.

History

The Abreu Agency was established in Porto in 1840 by Bernardo Abreu. At the time, emigration from northern Portugal and Galicia to Brazil and Venezuela was significant, and Abreu, a noted businessman in Porto, opened his agency to offer passport and visa services, as well as sales of train tickets to Lisbon and ship passages to and from South America.

Thus the oldest travel agency in the world was created from the close ties Portugal and Brazil still enjoy. After World War II, as the growth of commercial aviation shortened the distances between continents and international tourism expanded, Abreu developed into its current organization.

Five generations later, the company is still owned by the same family and their direct descendants.

Viagens Abreu today

Viagens Abreu offers an integrated service, with specialized departments covering all the major areas of the business (B2C and B2B, inbound and outbound): Leisure Travel, Corporate Travel, Youth Travel, Senior Travel, Tour Operation, Destination Management, congresses, groups and incentives, fairs, and exhibitions.

A steady growth in the Portuguese market lead to the expansion of the company to international locations, with the opening of companies in Brazil, Spain, England, and the United States.

The company owns one of the main tour operator companies in Portugal, Club 1840, which operates Long Haul and Medium Haul charter operations, Scheduled flights operations, Escorted Tours in Europe, and all around the world, Cruises, Theme Parks, Winter holidays, etc.

Viagens Abreu also owns Abreu Carga, a cargo company that operates air, land, and ocean freight from, to, and within Portugal.

Viagens Abreu has a stake in Pousadas de Portugal.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Vayama

2010-03-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

Vayama is an online travel agency that specializes in the sale of international air travel. Launched on June 6, 2007 and founded by travel experts Andre Hesselink, Wim Butte and William Niejadlik

, vayama is operated by Airtrade International Inc.

, based in Mountain View, California, and is a fully owned subsidiary of BCD Holdings N.V.

. Vayama is a sister company of BCD Travel.

the third largest corporate travel management company in the United States behind Carlson Wagonlit and American Express Travel.

Vayama offers an inventory of available international air travel options including regular published fares, its own negotiated fares, and consolidator inventory. Airfares are offered on 100-plus airlines flying between the USA and over 190 countries.

The site uses Web 2.0 technologies to display the routing for the search being conducted on an interactive world map, 3-D seat maps, and other features.

Vayama has completed all the required certifications and holds all required licenses to operate as a travel agency in the state of California.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Traveleyes

2010-03-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Traveleyes is the world’s first commercial international air tour operator (as distinct from a charity) to specialise in serving blind as well as sighted travellers. Established in 2005, the company is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Traveleyes Holidays

Each holiday group includes an equal number of blind/partially-sighted and sighted individuals. Blind travellers pair daily with different sighted ones, and the sighted traveller describes the sights to their blind partner. The role of the sighted individual is to be a fellow traveller and not to act as a carer. Sighted travellers receive a discount on the price of their holiday in return for this ‘use of their eyes’.

Although based in the UK, Traveleyes now takes bookings from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and indeed all parts of the world.

Lonely Planet Guides

As well as acting as a holiday operator, Traveleyes works in conjunction with Lonely Planet travel guides to produce specially formatted travel guides for blind and visually impaired travellers. The specially formatted guides are produced on CD, and run on PCs and PDAs, through speech programmes and magnification software. Guides are currently available for Malta, Morocco, California, Italy, Cuba, Crete, Canada, and Andalucía.

Amar Latif

Traveleyes was founded by blind entrepreneur, television actor, director and world traveller Amar Latif. Amar inherited the incurable eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa, which led, by the age of 20, to 95% sight loss. As well as founding and directing Traveleyes, Amar often acts as tour guide for the holiday groups. He was awarded the inaugural Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Award in 2007 for his work with Traveleyes. This award is presented by EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in partnership with the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability. He was also declared the ‘Outstanding Young Business Entrepreneur of the World’ in 2005 by the Chamber of Commerce International (JCI).

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Travel CUTS

2010-03-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

Travel CUTS (French: Voyages Campus) is the trade name of Canadian Universities Travel Service Limited, a travel agency catering to students in Canada and, to a lesser extent, the United States.

It is similar to STA Travel, which competes with Travel CUTS in the U.S. and has additional operations worldwide. However, whereas STA is privately owned, Travel CUTS is wholly owned by student organizations, and is the largest travel agency in the world with that status.

The Canadian Federation of Students-Services (an entity legally separate from, but affiliated with, the main CFS organization), previously the sole owner, currently owns 76% of the agency. Four non-CFS student associations, namely the UWO University Students' Council, the UBC Alma Mater Society, the University of Alberta Students' Union, and the Queen's Alma Mater Society, together own 24%. This was the result of a settlement to a lengthy legal dispute between the CFS and these student unions, which had been members of the Association of Student Councils, an earlier group of student unions which operated a travel agency business which was transferred to Travel CUTS. The plaintiffs had alleged that this transfer was illegal.

In addition to operating over 70 locations throughout Canada and the US, Travel CUTS is also affiliated with over 600 student travel offices worldwide (including STA) through membership in the International Student Travel Confederation.

Travel CUTS also owns and operates several specialty travel divisions: The Adventure Travel Company, Volunteer Abroad, Student Work Abroad, and Innovative Group Travel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Tour operator

2010-02-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Niche tour operators may specialise in destinations e.g. Italy, activities and experiences e.g. skiing, or a combination thereof. The original raison d'etre of tour operating was the difficulty of making arrangements in far-flung places, with problems of language, currency and communication. The advent of the internet has led to a rapid increase in self-packaging of holidays. However, tour operators still have their competence in arranging tours for those who do not have time to do DIY holidays, and specialize in large group events and meetings such as conferences or seminars. Also, tour operators still exercise contracting power with suppliers (airlines, hotels, other land arrangements, cruises, etc.) and influence over other entities (tourism boards and other government authorities) in order to create packages and special departures for destinations otherwise difficult and expensive to visit.

The two major tour operator associations in the US are the National Tour Association (NTA) and the United States Tour Operator's Association (USTOA), in Europe it is the European Tour Operators Association - ETOA and in the UK it is ABTA and AITO . The primary association for receptive North American inbound tour operators is the Receptive Services Association of America (RSAA).

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

StudentUniverse

2010-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

StudentUniverse is one of the two largest discount student travel sellers in the world. It was founded in 2000, and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company's value proposition is to offer student, faculty, and youth discounts, and flexibility, with an average discount over published rates, based on a sample survey, of 14%. The company has proprietary verification technology that allows it to verify student status. StudentUniverse sells exclusive airfare deals for its verified members from its airline partners. The company offers 24/7 customer service.

Website

StudentUniverse.com

is a travel website that is dedicated to college student, faculty, and youth travel. The site offers airfare tickets, hotel and hostel bookings, travel insurance, and other travel products.

The website also features a non-conventional search engine called FarePlay

which allows users to search for airfare by airport, region, or theme.

StudentUniverse also offers group travel services

for groups of 12 or more people.

Business Model

StudentUniverse sells travel products to college students, faculty, and 18-25 year-olds. By verifying their members' enrollment at an accredited, degree-granting college, the company is able to offer discounted airfares from their airline partners. Such airfares are not guaranteed to be cheaper than the retail airfares (what is available in the market). The company does not charge for membership. However, it does charge a $6 (USD) service fee.

History

Founded in 1992 as a student travel agency, StudentUniverse launched its online presence in 2000. The company was founded by Fredrik Carl Størmer and Espen Ødegård.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010, leading online student and faculty travel provider StudentUniverse.com announced in January 2010 it extended its discounted travel services to a broader range of young travelers. The new StudentUniverse.com Youth Travel Discounts enables travelers ages 18-25 – high school students right through recent college grads – to save money on airfares across the US and around the world.

Partners

StudentUniverse has over 30 major airline partners

and is the official student airfare partner of Orbitz.com.

StudentUniverse has also partnered with Edhance. Edhance allows college students to register up to five existing Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit or debit cards and automatically receive discounts when shopping with participating merchants.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Royal Swazi National Airways

2010-02-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation was the national airline of the Kingdom of Swaziland. Headquartered in Mbabane with its operational base at Matsapha Airport near Manzini, the airline was founded in 1978.

History

In March 1978, the government of Swaziland announced that it was setting up a national airline to be known as Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation, and informed privately-owned airline Swazi Air that it would be required to close down operations by 1 August 1978. In mid-1978 it was announced that Royal Swazi had purchased a 63-seat Fokker F.28 Mk.3000 from Fokker with which it would begin its services. Fokker-VFW F28 pilots, among other technical assistance. The airline also acquired a low-cycle Vickers Viscount 839 which had previously been operated by the Iranian government and the Sultan of Oman's Air Force. On 1 August 1978, the airline inaugurated its services with the F28 on a flight from Manzini to Johannesburg via Durban, whilst the airlines' Viscount was on standby at Matsapha Airport. Services to Lusaka, Mauritius and Blantyre were expected to be added to the fledgling airline's route network.

The airline made headlines when on 25 November 1981 a group of 51 mercenaries led by Mike Hoare boarded a scheduled Royal Swazi National Airways flight in Manzini to Mahé in the Seychelles in an attempt to overthrow Seychellois President France-Albert René. The mercenaries disguised themselves as Ancient Order of Froth Blowers rugby players and fans, but were exposed as they passed through customs and an alert official discovered a dismantled AK-47 in one of the mercenaries' luggage. The Royal Swazi National Airways F28 was damaged in the ensuing firefight between Seychellois officials and the mercenaries at Seychelles International Airport. After the incident, the airline ceased flights to the Seychelles.

By 1993 the airline served a route network that included Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Maseru, Lusaka, Maputo and Nairobi, of which the Manzini–Johannesburg route was the airlines' busiest. On 4 July 1993, the scheduled flight between Maputo and Manzini was hijacked by a Mozambiquean passenger armed with an AK-47. Not long after the aircraft departed Maputo, the hijacker stormed the cockpit with his gun, and demanded to be flown to Australia. When told that Australia was too far for the aircraft to fly, he insisted on being flown to Maseru in Lesotho. With Maseru Airport being closed, and the aircraft being low on fuel, the crew flew to Johannesburg. Three hours after arriving in Johannesburg, South African Police stormed the aircraft and killed the hijacker with a shot to the head. In 1994, the airline leased a Fokker 100 in a 12 business class and 85 economy class layou, but it was returned to its lessor in 1996 and onward leased to Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, the same airline Royal Swazi leased a Boeing 737-200 from several years earlier.

Royal Swazi National Airways, which at the time was owned by the Swazi government and Tibiye Taka Ngwane, a trust managed by King Mswati III, ceased operations to Harare, Lusaka, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi on 12 April 1999 and the Swazi government signed an agreement with SA Airlink on 25 April for the South African airline to take a 40% stake in a new venture, with the government holding the remaining 60%, to be known as Airlink Swaziland. Airlink Swaziland began operations in July 1999 with a Fokker F28 leased from the company.

The company still exists, although it does not own an airline, but rather operates as an air ticket sales agent. Still wholly-owned by the government, Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation operates independently under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, with a board appointed by the Minister. In August 2009 it was revealed that the government owed the company some E13.1 million for air travel accumulated by 16 government ministries and departments.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

RADIUS travel

2010-02-04T11:44:00.000-08:00

RADIUS (travel) is a privately-held corporate travel management company with headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. It is comprised of 90 independent travel agencies operating in 80 countries and over 3,300 locations.

The company has 30 years of experience, existing in its present form since 1992 as a result of a merger between two independent North American travel management companies. RADIUS manages $19 billion in annual sales in 2009.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Pars Tourist Agency

2010-01-22T04:04:00.001-08:00

Pars Tourist Agency (PTA) is a private-owned incoming tour operator being managed by a board of educated Iranian youths. The guideline and doctrine of this company is that “correlating the world and developing tourism is the best way of helping the nations to reach felicity and dispel war and belligerence.”

Being divided into English, French and German departments, PTA started accepting tours from 2000 AD. PTA’s expertise in operating cultural, historical, ecological and mountaineering tours all around Iran is a big plus of this company. The address of its main office in the city center of Shiraz, which is widespread as a tourist information center offering assistance to the tourists who encounter unpredicted hassles, is cited in all the guide books.

Pars Tourist Agency is one of the first companies in Iran starting e-commerce activities in the field of tourism. Having established www.key2persia.com, this agency is active in the cyberspace from 2001 offering tourist-liaison services.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

North South Travel

2010-01-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

North South Travel was established in the late 1970s as a travel business selling air tickets whose profits are used to fund development work. The company is owned by the NST Development Trust, a registered charitable trust (no. 1040656) and all available profits are distributed to grassroots projects, mostly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The travel agency which is ATOL-bonded (no. 5401) and specialises in low-cost, long-haul flights, is based in Chelmsford, Essex. The directors of North South Travel, who are also trustees of the NST Development Trust are, with the exception of the travel agency manager, unpaid volunteers.

North South Travel's declaration that it believes "flying brings huge benefits, to travellers and host countries" has been balanced by the company's realisation of the environmental damage done by flying. It requests that flights purchased are made the subject of carbon offsetting with a climate offset company like Climate Care.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Mid-Office Travel Automation

2010-01-14T16:38:00.001-08:00

Mid-office automation captures PNR data from a variety of GDS (Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, and Worldspan) sources and lets travel agencies create custom business rules to validate reservation accuracy, monitor travel policies, perform file finishing, prepare itineraries/invoices and process ticketing.

Quality control software is used for such functions as ensuring reservations are formatted properly, checking for lower fares and watching for seat availability, upgrades or waitlist clearance. When customized, such tools allow agencies and corporate accounts to monitor virtually any information in global distribution system passenger name records. Accelerating such tools also creates opportunities for customer relationship management.

Mid-office automation is key to increasing the touchless rate of online adoption.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Macau.com

2010-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:00

Macau.com is a destination marketing and travel company based in Macau, China that focuses on information and trip planning tools for visitors coming to Macau. The company markets accommodation, shows, restaurants, entertainment and attractions in Macau and the Pearl River Delta region. It concentrates its business on the inbound market, primarily coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia and southeast Asia, as well as on air routes serviced by low-cost carriers, like Tiger Airways, Air Asia, and Viva Macau.

The company was established in 2006 with GoMacau.com as its brand. In June 2007, GoMacau.com acquired Macau's Number 1 Website, and relaunched as Macau.com. This acquisition significantly extends GoMacau.com's consumer reach and helps complement two brands together. Macau.com is the premier web portal and online travel agency for hotel accommodation, shows tickets and packaged tour products. The company is owned by MKW Capital Management, a private equity firm with investments in several Macau-based businesses including Viva Macau, MacauHR.

Macau.com is officially registered as Macau 24 Hours Travel Agency Limited.

Events

Macau.com signed a strategic partnership with Viva Macau airlines in December 2006 whereby the two companies committed to jointly promote Macau as a travel destination. In addition, Macau.com and Macau Fisherman's Wharf launched partnership for future co-operation in Macau's event market in November 2007.

As the preeminent online destination marketing company dedicated to Macau, Macau.com frequently offers many pioneering promotional activities and events, such as HKD1 for particular 5-star Macau hotel rooms, unbeatable packages headlined by Macau Grand Prix and Sampras versus Federer Tennis Showdown, and the most recent “Best Rate Guarantee” program that offers the lowest online rate assurance for hotel room bookings.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Kaleva Travel

2010-01-03T06:36:00.001-08:00

Kaleva Travel is Finland’s largest privately owned and independent business travel agency. Kaleva Travel’s main owner is privately owned Juuranto-Group, established in 1921. Other owners of Kaleva Travel is the management of the company. Kaleva Travel is 100 % owner of Travel Agency Kaleva Travel AS in Estonia, Kaleva Travel SIA in Latvia, Kaleva Travel UAB in Lithuania and Kaleva Travel SRL in Romania. Kaleva Travel's international co-operation partner is Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Issta

2010-01-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Issta Lines Group (established 1956) is one of Israel's oldest and leading travel companies. Issta Lines markets flights, hotels, organized tours, car rental, ski holidays, cruises and a large selection of various travel products. Issta is also a wholesale provider and operates charter flights and package holidays to European and Mediterranean destinations. Issta Lines Group is constructed of a number of travel companies, the main company is Issta, Israel's largest travel brand that holds 49 branches in the country. Issta Lines Group also operates travel agencies in England, Paris and Amsterdam as well as sub-groups and daughter companies. Issta employs 1,100 workers and its 2006 revenue was 1.5 billion nis. (~$350,000,000).

History

Issta is an acronym which stands for Israeli Student Travel Association, a name which reveals its initial purpose: a student exchange organization which began operating at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1956. Issta's preliminary aim was providing discounts and benefits specifically crafted for Student Travel. Issta's first commercial step was marketing discounted seats for students in Zim Integrated Shipping Services passenger ships (formerly ZIM Israel Navigation Company). In 1958 Issta began operating as an independent company owned by the Technion Student Body. At the same year Issta leased airplanes for the first time and began marketing remarkably cheaper flights to Athens, Greece. Issta continued functioning as a charter operator and cruise retailer and during the 1960s turned Athens Airport into its hub.

Following the increase of incoming Student Travel and Volunteering in Israel during the 1960s, Issta began providing services for Incoming Tourism: Bus Tours around Israel, hostels, hotels and printed matter. Following a model outlined by the International Student Travel Confederation, Issta signed long-term contracts with various airlines and began marketing specially-priced seats for youth and students in regular flights.

During the 1970s Issta experienced the vicissitudes implied by political and economical upheavals. Yom Kippur War that took place in October 1973 led to a severe crisis in the Israeli travel industry. The war resulted in a complete discontinuation of outgoing tourism which one of its peaks is during the Jewish High Holidays. On the other hand tourists and volunteers stopped arriving in Israel. The 1973 oil crisis led to a steep increase in gas - and therefore in flight tickets - prices. As a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that took place in the summer of 1974 all the air carriers besides El Al Israel Airlines suspended their flights to and from Israel for several weeks.

In the summer of 1978 Issta leased an aircraft from El Al for an entire season and operated student charter flights from Tel Aviv to European destinations. In the summer of 1979 Issta leased a 260-seat aircraft from Capitol Airlines and operated its first trans-Atlantic flight to New York. Later that summer Issta operated 2 weekly flights to New York in an aircraft leased from 'El Al Charter Services Ltd.' (later Sun d'Or International Airlines). Thanks to the Trans-Atlantic flights 1979 was the most profitable year in the history of Issta so far.

In 1985 Issta joined the Israeli Travel Agent Association. Highly profitable winter and summer seasons led the company to a broad expansion. Issta committed to additional flights, extended its branches and hired more employees. In 1987 Issta owned eight branches and employed 120 workers. Its annual revenue reached $9 million and for the first time it granted scholarships for students. In 1989 Issta began launching branches in Israel's suburban and peripheral towns. Computerization of the company began in the late 1980s, a process which was a stepping stone in Issta's radical growth in the following years. Issta Direct Call Centre began operating as an informational telephone line in the beginning of the 1990s and later transformed into a reservation and marketing centre.

In 1995 Issta's gross revenue reached $90 million. The company employed 300 workers in 20 branches. In May 1996 the company was issued in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 1999 Nofesh Yashir call center, that specializes in last minute deals and holiday packages began operating. The Issta Internet travel website was launched in 2000, the year Issta became Israel's largest travel group. In 2006 600,000 travelers used Issta's services and Issta group's revenue reached 1.5 billion nis.

Issta Group

Besides Issta Lines Issta Group includes the following partners:

* American Express Travel: the Israeli branch of American Express Travel specializes in business tourism. It operates a call center, an internet-based reservation center, 6 offices and 16 corporate branches.

* Nofy: An internet and phone-based reservation center that specializes in packaged deals and last minute products.

* Last Call: An internet-based reservation centre for Isracard Credit Card company customers

* Wallatours: internet tourism collaboration with Walla!shops

* Mabat Platinum: an incoming tourism provider

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Intrepid Travel

2009-12-26T01:34:00.000-08:00

Intrepid Travel is a small group adventure travel company. Intrepid offers over 500 trips to around 100 destinations in Asia, Latin America, North America, Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Australasia and The Pacific.

Intrepid trips are designed to let travelers experience the world at the grassroots level: traveling largely on public transport, trying local food and staying in locally owned accommodation or even with Overland, Special Groups, OUT Adventures, Urban Adventures and Volunteering.

Their focus is on environmentally, culturally and socially responsible tourism (ecotourism).Most Intrepid trips have a maximum of 12 travelers and the average group size is 10 people. This reduces the impacts of their trips and enhances the experience of their travelers. Intrepid has also stated that it will become a carbon neutral company by the end of 2009, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their offices and trips where possible and offsetting the rest.

History

In 1988, Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester traveled with a group of friends across the Sahara in a converted tipper truck. It was during this trip that the two university friends developed the idea for a style of travel that would take small groups of people to travel at the grassroots level, meeting local people, trying local food, staying anywhere and everywhere and traveling predominantly by local transport. These trips would expose travelers to the real world as they travelled among the locals rather than just as tourists looking in.

In 1989 Wade and Manchester returned to Melbourne, Victoria, bought a second-hand typewriter, borrowed a dining room table, and Intrepid Travel was born. Geoff led the first trips in their only destination, Thailand, while Darrell looked after the 'head office'. In its first year of operations the company had 47 passengers.

Since its small beginnings, Intrepid Travel has grown into a major, multi-national company. Employing 800 people in 96 countries, the company has grown to have a turnover of $130 million. Much of the growth occurring in the last ten years, the company had to come up with new strategies to deal with the problems of the decade - September 11, the 2002 Bali bombings and SARS. Expanding to Europe, Africa and South America, to give the company a broader and thus more stable base than relying solely on Asia as their destination, the company grew rapidly. Acquiring and partnering with other companies also lead to Intrepid's increased stability, 23 companies now being a part of the extended Intrepid Travel network.

Recent events

Between 2005 and 2007 Intrepid opened offshore operating companies in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Kenya, Ecuador and Peru. The role of these offshore companies is to provide local employment opportunities, make greater use of local knowledge and help Intrepid better identify community and environmental impacts of their trips. In February 2008 a representative office was set up in Beijing to run operations in and out of China.

2005 saw the introduction of "Family Adventures", trips specifically targeted at parents and their children. This style of trip allows one or numerous families to be lead through one of a number of countries, with an experienced tour leader to ensure safety and security. In 2006 Comfort and Active trip styles were introduced in the official brochure. The comfort trip, marketed as "real like experiences" with a "softer landing", includes transport and accommodation of a generally higher standard than "Original" Intrepid adventures. Active trips are, unsurprisingly, targeted at Intrepid's more active clientele; focusing on bike rides and hikes through unfamiliar, amazing terrain.

In 2005 Intrepid opened its first retail store on Bourke Street, Melbourne. Since then they have opened stores in London, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Brisbane and Perth.

Intrepid Travel embarked on its first major acquisition in mid-2006, buying the UK based adventure travel company, Guerba. This gain allowed Intrepid to make further in roads into the UK outbound market, as well as inbound tourism in Africa - a continent previously untouched by Intrepid operations. While Guerba still runs operations, it is 100% owned and controlled by Intrepid Travel.

Responsible Tourism

The Environment

In an effort to publicize the effects of global warming, Intrepid actively encouraged the community to view the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth, when it was released in late 2006. To do this, Intrepid Travel offered to reimburse up to 10,000 tickets, a gesture which could potentially have cost up to $150,000. The CEO, Darrell Wade, was quoted in saying that "it was an emotional commitment more than anything else."

As part of their plan to become a carbon neutral company by the end of 2009, On January 1, 2007 Intrepid introduced compulsory carbon offset payments to all flights sold from Australia.

The Intrepid Foundation

In 2002 Intrepid established The Intrepid Foundation to increase the financial support given by Intrepid and their travellers to not-for-profit community projects around the world. Intrepid matches public donations dollar for dollar, encouraging its passengers to give generously. Since its inception The Intrepid Foundation has disbursed AU$1.1 million. Currently it supports 20 grassroots projects and 10 international non-government organizations working with communities in Intrepid destinations around the world.

Plan (aid organisation) is one of the Intrepid Foundation's major partners. As Plan's longest corporate partner, Intrepid has shown continuing support over the years, particularly in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. First on the phone to Plan, Intrepid Travel initiated an appeal in 24 hours, leading to $200,000 of relief money being raised. Also donating several trips for fundraising appeals, Intrepid Travel has helped Plan to continue to operate around the world.

In April 2007, Intrepid launched an African tree planting campaign, aiming to plant 12,000 trees by the end of the month. For each person who registered on www.intrepidtravel.com/africatrees, Intrepid pledged to plant one tree. To further encourage travellers to register on the site, the company also offered 10% off trips to Africa for those who did so.

Awards

* 2007 Winner Environmentally Responsible Tourism Small Tour Operator category, British Travel Awards
* 2007 Winner of the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Gold Award for Corporate Environmental Programme
* 2007 Best Green Specialist Tour Operator, Tourism Authority of Thailand Green Awards
* 2007 Highly Commended, Conservation and Cultural Heritage, Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards
* 2006 Overall Joint Winner, Best Tour Operator, First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards
* 2006 Runner up, Tourism for Tomorrow Awards
* 2002 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award (Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester)

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

H.I.S.

2009-12-24T01:13:00.001-08:00

H.I.S. Co., Ltd. (株式会社エイチ・アイ・エス?, TYO: 9603) is a travel agency based in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in low-cost package tours to various countries. The company was founded as International Tours Co., Ltd. in 1980 by Hideo Sawada, born in 1951, and renamed "H.I.S." in 1990.

Within Japan H.I.S. has 227 branches located throughout the country plus a global network of 68 branches in 57 countries. H.I.S. holds a majority stake in Orion Tour and a minority stake in Skymark Airlines. It also owns two hotels in Australia, one called Watermark Hotel and Spa on the Gold Coast QLD and one in Brisbane Named Watermark Hotel Brisbane and a cruise company called Cruise Planet.

Hideo Sawada recently bought an interest in a Mongolian agricultural bank called XAAN and believes Japanese tourism to Mongolia will increase.

The H.I.S. head office is located in the Shinjuku section of Tokyo.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

General Sales Agent

2009-12-23T01:28:00.001-08:00

A General Sales Agent (GSA) is a sales representative for an airline in a specific country or region. Typically, the GSA is responsible for selling all products of the airline in its region which includes flight tickets and cargo space.

When an airline selects a GSA as its sales representative for a region, as opposed to opening its own branch, it generally does so for economic reasons or because the GSA has historical ties with travel and cargo agents which will be too time-consuming for the airline to build itself.

The GSA receives a commission of around 3% to 5% on all tickets and unit of cargo space sold in the region that it represents.

All costs related to running the GSA's business are the responsibility of the GSA including but not limited to insurance , rent , general office expenses and any travel within the country or region needed to promote /sell the product .

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Flight Centre

2009-12-21T15:39:00.001-08:00

Flight Centre Limited is Australia's largest travel agent. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $1.145 billion as at March 2006. It has over 1500 stores in nine different countries with over 8000 staff.

History

Flight Centre was founded by Graham Turner in 1981. Turner had previously run a successful budget bus trip company in Europe called Topdeck. Turner retains 18% of Flight Centre. By 1990, Flight Centre had opened stores in New Zealand, the UK and US. The UK and US offices were closed in 1991 in the face of the Gulf War. Expansion began again with a move to South Africa in 1994, Canada in early 1995, and the UK later that year. US operations recommenced in late 1999 It has been claimed that

"Flight Centre revolutionised the retailing of international air-travel in Australia by shifting to a model where profitability was driven by volume rather than margins. Initially they built a price advantage by bypassing ticketing wholesalers, seeking out less well-known airlines, and also by arbitraging price differentials across markets."

The company grew rapidly, establishing different brands to cater for different parts of the travel market. It owns FCm Travel Solutions for the corporate market,Student Flights, Overseas Working Holidays for the student market and also runs related businesses in the discount holiday organiser Escape Travel, travelthere.com, quickbeds.com, luxury holiday company Travel Associates, retail cruise specialist Cruiseabout and Campus Travel aimed at the academic and university markets. Its website flightcentre.com has been the most popular Australian travel agency website for several years. It has operations in Australia ($4.4 billion 2004/5 sales), New Zealand ($639 million 2004/5 total transactions), South Africa ($365 million 2004/5 total transactions), United Kingdom ($909 million 2004/5 total transactions), United States ($65 million 2004/5 total transactions) and Canada ($415 million 2004/5 total transactions).

After decades of rapid and consistent growth in revenues and profits, Flight Centre flew into trouble in 2005 with its first ever decline in annual profit. For the year ending June 30 2005, on a total revenue of $6.9 billion, its net profit was $67.9 million. Profit announcements for the half year ending December 31 2005, showed a continuing fall in net profits to $33.6 million, a decline of 7.7% on the previous year.

It followed Graham Turner's departure from day-to-day operations when he stood aside from being Chief Executive Officer in 2002, allowing a senior manager Shane Flynn to replace him. He corrected this in July 2005, resuming his previous role as a hands-on manager as Executive Chairman.

The one time darling of the stock market, normally showing strong profit growth, was punished severely with it being the second worst performing stock in the Australian Stock Exchange's Top 200 companies. Its share price is down 57% from its peak in 2002. This reflected not only concerns about the company's management but also its long-term prospects.

The company faces serious challenges, with disintermediation occurring in the travel industry. In 2006, Qantas announced that it would no longer pay base commissions to travel agents for domestic and New Zealand flights and that it would reduce international commissions from 7% to 5%. An increasing number of customers are following the lead of many of Flight Centre's suppliers and dealing with them directly through their own websites rather than going through travel agents. Some financial analysts are very concerned about this, with one issuing a sell recommendation on the stock in a report titled Flightless Centre.

In November 2006 a company associated with the founders and a private equity firm is offering $17.20 a share (and somewhat less to current "controlling" shareholders) to take Flight Centre back into private hands. In February 2007 the privatisation of Flight Centre failed when investment bank Lazard rejected the deal even though the majority of minority shareholders agreed with the privatisation bid. Flight Centre shares tumbled soon after the trading halt was lifted to around $15. The company's share price continued to fall during the 08/09 financial crisis and in March 2009 is trading below $3.

Australian representative athlete Troy de Haas has been employed by Flight Centre Ltd since 2007. In 2008, Flight Centre acquired GOGO Worldwide Vacations, a travel wholesaler with more than 40 locations in the U.S. and in Canada.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Fareportal

2009-12-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Fareportal, Inc. is an online travel agency that provides travel technology, travel business process outsourcing, ticket fulfillment, and call center solutions to the online travel industry. It offers self booking tools, such as web fares, consolidator, contracts database, profile management system, travel reports, private negotiated fares, and hotel and car information.

The Fareportal proprietary technology was developed in-house, with net-fare databases that are unique to the travel industry. It has multiple reporting features and a sophisticated online tracking system that assists in targeted online marketing. Fareportal technology is built on the .NET Framework portal. The technology also includes features that allow complex markups, discounts, opaque fares and auto ticketing, and enhances fulfillment of air, car and hotel reservations.

A key element of the Fareportal Technology is the ability to integrate with each of the leading Global Distribution Systems, Sabre, Galileo CRS and Amadeus CRS, for airline, car rental, and hotel reservations.

Brands operated by Fareportal:
CheapOair
CheapOstay

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Corporate travel management

2009-12-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Travel management or corporate travel management (CTM) is the function of managing a company’s strategic approach to travel (travel policy), the negotiations with all vendors, day-today operation of the corporate travel program, traveller safety & security, credit-card management and T&E data management. CTM should not be confused with the work of a traditional Travel Agency. While agencies provide the day-to-day travel services to corporate clients, they are the implementing arm of what the corporation has negotiated and put forth in policy. In other words CTM decides on the class of service that employees are allowed to fly, negotiate corporate fares/rates with airlines and hotels as well as set forth the use of the corporate credit card. The agency on the other hand makes the actual reservation within the parameters given by the corporation.

For most companies “travel & entertainment” (T&E) costs represent the second highest controllable annual expense, exceeded only by salary & benefits, and is commonly higher than IT and/or real estate costs. T&E costs are not only limited to travel (airline, rail, hotel, car rental, ferry/boat, etc.) but include all costs incurred during travel such as staff & client meals, taxi fares, gratuities, client gifts, supplies (office supplies and/or services), etc. Furthermore this area often included meeting management, traveller safety & security as well as credit card and overall travel data management.

The management of these costs are usually handled by the Corporate Travel Manager, a function that can be part of the Finance, HR, Procurement or Administrative Services Department. As this function touches on all of these areas in some form and represents such a major corporate expense, it stand to reason that this function should have equal ranking within a corporation as any other major division and not be seen as a sub-set of existing departments.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Christopherson Business Travel

2009-12-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate Travel Management Company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and founded in 1953.

Christopherson is the largest Utah travel agency with US$257 million in annual sales and employs approximately 220 people.

Christopherson Business Travel is the largest national travel affiliate of BCD Travel.

The State of Utah currently lists Christopherson as its Contracted Travel Agency.

Christopherson Business Travel has developed AirPortal, a tool that permits customers to build, maintain their profiles, book travel, review past and present travel, track unused ticket credits, provides contact information for support from a live agent, as well as allowing the customer to utilize other software that Christopherson Business Travel has developed to help it's clients better manage their travel.

History

Christopherson Business Travel was originally founded by Merrill and Lucille Christopherson in 1953. In 1981, Michael A. Cameron and his wife, Camille, purchased a part-ownership position from the original founders and owners. By March 1990 the Cameron’s had purchased 100 percent of the company.

In January 2008, the company merged with Andavo Travel, creating one of the top 20 U.S. travel management companies.

Christopherson has been #14, out of the top 43 travel management agencies in the United States by Business Travel News, a top publication of the corporate travel industry. BTN’s annual Business Travel Survey measures the performance of suppliers in all corporate travel segments.

Honors

* MountainWest Capital Network named Christopherson Business Travel one of Utah’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies in 2001, 2002 & 2003.
* In 1996, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce named Christopherson Business Travel the Small Business of the Year.
* Utah Business Fast 50 Award ranks Christopherson Business Travel 21st fastest growing company in Utah for 2008.
* In 2009, Christopherson Business Travel was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility

Locations

Christopherson Business Travel has corporate offices in three locations:

* Salt Lake City, Utah
* Denver, Colorado
* San Francisco, California

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

China Travel Service

2009-12-13T08:18:00.001-08:00

The China Travel Service (CTS) is the tourism and travel agency of the government of the People's Republic of China. Its task is to market China to the rest of the world and to promote and develop its visitor economy. It is a sub-ministerial authority which is responsible to the China National Tourism Administration.

CTS was established on November 19, 1949 and growing out of Overseas Chinese Service founded in Xiamen, Fujian Province, is one of the first tour operators of China. In 1974, Overseas Chinese Service Head Office changed its name to China Travel Service Head Office. As the head enterprise of China Travel Service in the whole country, China Travel Service Head Office gradually developed from a travel agency whose main business focused on overseas Chinese, Chinese with foreign nationalities, Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to a travel agency whose business consists of inbound tourism, outbound tourism, and domestic tourism.

Today it serves hundred of thousands tourists from home and abroad. It has joined the China Travel Association, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and became a full member of these associations. It has established close cooperative relations with hundreds of travel service providers of main tourism countries in the world.

CTS Head Office has become one of the largest travel agencies in China and its business scope covers the fields of travel service, hotel management, car rental, domestic and international trade, international cargo transportation and publication and others. It has established a comprehensive network centering on Beijing and covering other areas through Hong Kong and Macao China Travel Services.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Cheapfareguru.com

2009-12-10T09:44:00.001-08:00

CheapFareGuru.com is a travel portal and an Online Travel Agency. Established in 1990, cheapfareguru is a unit of Eros Tours and Travel Inc. The company is based in Los Angeles,USA. CheapFareGuru.com provides wholesale and contracted cheap airfare for India, North America, Europe, Asia and other destinations worldwide. Cheapfareguru is a member of ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation) and IATAN (International Airlines Travel Agent Network). The site uses multiple Global Distribution Systems like Worldspan, Amadeus, or the Sabre Reservation Systems.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Carlson Wagonlit Travel

2009-12-09T01:50:00.001-08:00

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) is a large corporate travel management company.

It operates in 157 countries and territories, with 22,000 employees. According to Business Travel News Online.com, in 2007, CWT surpassed American Express Business Travel and became the world's largest business travel management company. The company has $27.8 billion in annual sales (including joint ventures) in 2008, from 55 million transactions.

History

The group has existed in its present form since 1994, the result of a 50%/50% merger from two large travel agency ventures. The Carlson side was originally from the Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency chain, which had been rebranded to Carlson Travel Network a decade earlier. The Wagonlit part came from the travel shop business of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. After the merger, Accor maintained its 50% interest up until 2006. Accor sold its shares for in a transaction worth €500m, thereby placing a value of €1bn on CWT at the time)

The company is jointly owned by Carlson, a privately held corporation in the hotel, marketing, restaurant, and travel industries; and by One Equity Partners, a private equity affiliate of JPMorgan Chase.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

CV Travel

2009-12-07T16:04:00.001-08:00

CV Travel (Corfu Villas Travel) is a travel agency for villas in the Corfu island of Greece. The agency was founded in 1972 by Patricia and Richard Cookson. In the early days, individually-produced, hand-finished brochures were sent out with a note asking for them to be returned.

During its first decade, the company added to its collection of Corfiot houses. In the 1980s, the company expanded its portfolio to offer villas on other Greek islands as well as in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balearics. The company has over 800 lodgings in the world.

By the 1990s, Morocco was added as a new destination. The Cooksons sold their interest in the company in 2004 to travel entrepreneur John Boyle and in 2007. CV Travel was acquired by specialist tour operator Kuoni Travel. Debbie Marshall was appointed Managing Director in 2004 and, under her management, CV Travel acquired the ski chalet operator, Ski Verbier, in 2005. Richard Cookson continues to work for CV in Corfu. In 2007, the company added the Caribbean as a destination, and in 2009, included properties in Great Britain and added villas in other new destinations such as South Africa, Thailand, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

CV Travel won a Condé Nast Traveler awards in 2007 and was a runner-up in 2009. Today, it is a specialist tour operator, selling villa and hotel holidays directly to clients and through independent travel agents.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

BCD Travel

2009-12-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

BCD Travel is a provider of global corporate travel management. The company, based in Utrecht, operates in 90 countries, with US$14 billion in total sales and a combined worldwide workforce of 13,000. BCD Travel is a BCD Holdings N.V. company.

History

BCD Travel was founded on January 3, 2006, when BCD Holdings N.V. announced its decision to purchase TQ3 Travel Solutions Management Holding GmbH and a majority interest in The Travel Company. These two companies were combined with WorldTravel BTI under one ownership to form BCD Travel. The company formally began trading under its new brand on March 31, 2006.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Association of Independent Tour Operators

2009-12-03T22:18:00.001-08:00

The Association of Independent Tour Operators is a British based travel trade organisation that represents around 150 specialist and independent tour operators. The organisation is typically composed of outbound tour operators but recently allowed domestic tour operators to join. Members operate to over 140 countries with activities spanning a range of interests including adventure, city break, culture, fly drive, luxury, safaris and sports. AITO was established in 1976 and its headquarters are based in Twickenham, south-west London.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency

2009-12-01T06:13:00.001-08:00

Mr. Foster Travel Agency is a Jupiter, Florida travel agency that caters to the rich and famous. Customers of the company have included Burt Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg and Cyndi Lauper.

Company history

In 1888, the Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency was founded in St. Augustine, Florida, making it one of the oldest travel agencies in the United States. Its unusual name is the result of one local resident, Ward G. Foster, who was the unofficial keeper of the train timetables. When tourists inquired about the time of train arrivals or departures, they were told to “Ask Mr. Foster.”

In 1957, the agency changed hands when two shareholders, Donald Fischer and Thomas Orr, paid $157,000 for controlling interest in the company, which had seen hard times during and in the wake of World War II.

In 1980, Carlson Companies of Minneapolis, Minnesota purchased Ask Mr. Foster, with more than 100 branches and annual revenue in excess of $100 million.

In 1985 An Ask Mr. Foster building was featured in the town square of the movie "Back to the Future".

In 1991, Ask Mr. Foster changed its name to Carlson Travel Network to capitalize on the professionalism, strength, and synergy of the Carlson Companies.

In 1994, Carlson Companies and the Paris-based Accor Group combined the business travel interests of their respective companies, Carlson Travel Network and Wagonlit Travel, under the name Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Area (travel agency)

2009-11-29T02:40:00.000-08:00

Area Travel Agency Ltd is a major travel agency in Finland. Area is a part of Finnair Group and owned by Finnair, the national carrier of Finland. The company was founded in 1935. Area is a full-service travel agency and an American Express Representative in Finland. Area's 24-hour-service is open daily at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Area provides a comprehensive range of travel services. Leisure travelIn addition to Area's own City Breaks and Longhaul Travel Programme Area offers individual tailored tours, for example Area Golf product.

Scope of office network

Area has business travel centres in Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Oulu, Tampere and Turku, leisure travel agencies in Helsinki's Lasipalatsi ("Glass Palace") and Tampere, Leisure Call Centre in Helsinki and the website area.fi.

Vision and values

Area's vision is to be a multi-channelled leader of e-travel in Finland. Area's values are Partnership, Expert knowledge, Pioneering and Profitability.

Total company sales

The company's total sales during fiscal year 2006 were 208 million €. Business travel represents 80% of company's total sales, leisure travel 20%.

Affiliations

Area is a member of IATA, AFTA (The Association of Finnish Travel Agents) and IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators).

Special travel

Area's special travel services include Groups and Events, Incoming, CIS and Baltic countries and Government Section.

Information and communications solutions

Effective ICT solutions are the basis of Area's high-quality customer service process. Virtual and multi-channel services are met with Elisa Orange Contact Center solution. Together with Amadeus Area has tailored Amadeus Selling Platform and Agency Manager solutions to meet Area's customers' demands.

The most recent joint-development with Amadeus and Finnair Group is the Leisure Engine Solution. With its pricing model and dynamic inventory, which together ensure the best price with availability for a given time, this technology takes Area to a new era in producing package holidays.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Adventure Life

2009-11-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Adventure Life is an adventure travel company that provides private and small-group tours in Latin America and small-ship cruises throughout the world. They offer over a 100 different itineraries in South America & Central America, and hundreds of small ship cruises to less conventional destinations such as Africa, the Arctic, Antarctica and Alaska.

Their focus is nature, cultural, and active travel and they apply ecotourism principles to their tour and cruise programs. Most trips have a maximum group size of 12, and the average size is 8. Since their founding in 1999, over 16,000 clients have traveled with the company.

Adventure Life is registered in the State of Montana as ALJ, Inc., and they do business as Adventure Life Journeys and Adventure Life VOYAGES.

History

Adventure Life was founded by Brian Morgan in 1999. Morgan was working as a consultant in Quito for CARE in the late 1990s, but decided to return home to Montana. While applying for jobs in Montana, Morgan planned a group tour back to Ecuador and promoted it locally. This experience made him recognize that guided tours were a service in demand, and a niche industry that his own travel experiences and Ecuadorian connections had prepared him to explore further.

Adventure Life launched in February of 1999 with Spanish language study-trips, internships, and tours to Peru and Ecuador. Office is initially located in Havre, Montana. Morgan hired first staff member. First year of business, Adventure Life has fewer than 100 travelers.

Starting in 2000, The Company decided to focus on offering tours only, and no longer provides Spanish language study-trips, or internships. Office moves from Havre, and settles in Missoula, Montana. By the end of 2000, company hires 4 full-time staff members. Establishes a partner office in Lima, Peru.

Between 2001-2003, Adventure Life added tours to Bolivia, Costa Rica and Belize, Chile, Argentina, Patagonia and Guatemala. They also Establishes a second partner office in Quito, Ecuador. The company moves from Morgan's home into its first office.In 2005, tours started sending travelers to Antarctica. The next year they added Panama to the list of destinations.

Adventure Life also launched Adventure Life VOYAGES, which provide small-ship cruises throughout the world. During 2007, Adventure Life provides trips for over 3500 travelers. In 2008 they added the Falkland Islands. Company launches an online community forum offering client Trip Journals - system utilizes the services of Google Maps.

Responsible travel

Galapagos Conservation Fundraising
Adventure Life is an active member of the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association, (IGTOA). The president of Adventure Life, Brian Morgan, is also currently the president of IGTOA. In Nov. 2006, IGTOA they launched a Galapagos traveler-funding program for island conservation, and Adventure Life was one of the first members to adopt this initiative. A voluntary donation is added to all of Adventure Life's Galapagos travelers’ invoices. 40% of this donation goes to IGTOA and 60% goes to the Charles Darwin Foundation. Dollar for dollar, Adventure Life matches these donations with travel vouchers for future trips with their company. As of June 2008, Adventure Life’s travelers have raised nearly $40,000 for island conservation.

IGTOA supports program in the Galapagos that include both Conservation and Professional Standards. Conservation funding is for projects that directly impact issues like introduced species, patrol of the park, and scientific research. Professional Standards relates to boat safety; passenger care; training and treatment of captains and crew members; guide training; educating travelers on conservation issues; and other issues relating to health, safety, and the rights and responsibilities of both travelers and tourist industry personnel.

The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) has carried out research for the conservation of the Galapagos ecosystem for almost 50 years. They have been a leader in conservation science and the practical application of information gained and lessons learned in Galapagos, and are one the most respected non-profit research organization currently in operation.

Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC)
The CTTC is a non-profit organization established in 1996 to aid in the survival of Incan textile traditions and to provide support to weaving communities. Working with the Center, Quechua weavers and their families in the region of the former Incan capitol are engaged in skills-building, community networking and market development. By researching and documenting complex styles and techniques of the ancestors, the Center helps to ensure that 2,000 year-old textiles traditions will not be lost to future generations. Adventure Life provides an annual donation to the CTTC, and incorporates visits to the center for all of its Peru itineraries that spend time in the Cusco region.

Awards

* 2008 Employer of Choice winner, Missoula Job Service Employer's Council
* 2007 Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth, National Geographic Adventure
* 2007 Best in Travel Class, Transitions Abroad
* 2007 Trip of the Year, Outside Magazine
* 2006 Green List Honoree, Conde Nast Traveler
* 2006 Best Trips, Outside Magazine

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Abercrombie & Kent

2009-11-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) is a luxury travel company, founded in 1962.

History

Abercrombie & Kent began in East Africa, where Geoffrey Kent was born while his parents, Valerie and Colonel John Kent, were on safari. Though British by birth, the Kents were drawn to the freedom and beauty of life in Africa, qualities that made a powerful impression on Geoffrey, who lived on the continent for most of his childhood. In 1962, he and his parents founded Abercrombie & Kent to allow visitors to experience Africa without compromise to either comfort or authenticity. The company's beginnings were modest; as Geoffrey Kent fondly remembers; their first safaris were conducted with little more than "a Bedford truck and my mother's sterling silver ice bucket."

In 1967, Colonel and Mrs. John Kent retired from active participation in the company, leaving their son to become Managing Director. Recognizing the tremendous business opportunity in international travel, Geoffrey Kent decided to expand A&K's signature style of travel. In 1969, he began opening additional companies in Africa; in 1971 he met Jorie Ford Butler of Oak Brook, Illinois. She became a partner in the business and together they expanded A&K beyond the African continent. Abercrombie & Kent became a worldwide group of companies, first opening an office in London, then in Oak Brook, Illinois, followed by Melbourne, Australia.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Travel agency

2009-11-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

A travel agency is a retail business, that sells travel related products and services to customers, on behalf of suppliers, such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products. In addition to dealing with ordinary tourists, most travel agencies have a separate department devoted to making travel arrangements for business travelers and some travel agencies specialize in commercial and business travel only. There are also travel agencies that serve as general sales agents for foreign travel companies, allowing them to have offices in countries other than where their headquarters are located.

Origins

The British company Cox & Kings is sometimes said to be the oldest travel agency in the world, but this rests upon the services that the original bank, established in 1758, supplied to its wealthy clients. The modern travel agency first appeared in the second half of the 19th century. Thomas Cook, in addition to developing the package tour, established a chain of agencies in the last quarter of the 19th century, in association with the Midland Railway. They not only sold their own tours to the public, but in addition, represented other tour companies. Other British pioneer travel agencies were Dean and Dawson, the Polytechnic Touring Association and the Co-operative Wholesale Society. The oldest travel agency in North America is Brownell Travel; on July 4, 1887, Walter T. Brownell led ten travelers on a European tour, setting sail from New York on the SS Devonia.

Travel agencies became more commonplace with the development of commercial aviation, starting in the 1920s. Originally, travel agencies largely catered to middle and upper class customers, but the post-war boom in mass-market package holidays resulted in travel agencies on the main streets of most British towns, catering to a working class clientèle, looking for a convenient way to book overseas beach holidays.

Operations

As the name implies, a travel agency's main function is to act as an agent, that is to say, selling travel products and services on behalf of a supplier. Consequently, unlike other retail businesses, they do not keep a stock in hand. A package holiday or a ticket is not purchased from a supplier unless a customer requests that purchase. The holiday or ticket is supplied to them at a discount. The profit is therefore the difference between the advertised price which the customer pays and the discounted price at which it is supplied to the agent. This is known as the commission. A British travel agent would consider a 10-12% commission as a good arrangement. In Australia, all individuals or companies that sell tickets are required to be licensed as a travel agent.

In some countries, airlines have stopped giving commission to travel agencies. Therefore, travel agencies are now forced to charge a percentage premium or a standard flat fee, per sale. However, some companies still give them a set percentage for selling their product. Major tour companies can afford to do this, because if they were to sell a thousand trips at a cheaper rate, they still come out better than if they sell a hundred trips at a higher rate. This process benefits both parties.

Other commercial operations are undertaken, especially by the larger chains. These can include the sale of in-house insurance, travel guide books and timetables, car rentals, and the services of an on-site Bureau de change, dealing in the most popular holiday currencies.

The majority of travel agents have felt the need to protect themselves and their clients against the possibilities of commercial failure, either their own or a supplier's. They will advertise the fact that they are surety bonded, meaning in the case of a failure, the customers are guaranteed either an equivalent holiday to that which they have lost or if they prefer, a refund. Many British and American agencies and tour operators are bonded with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), for those who issue air tickets, Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) for those who order tickets in, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) or the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), for those who sell package holidays on behalf of a tour company.

A travel agent is supposed to offer impartial travel advice to the customer. However, this function almost disappeared with the mass-market package holiday and some agency chains seemed to develop a 'holiday supermarket' concept, in which customers choose their holiday from brochures on racks and then book it from a counter. Again, a variety of social and economic changes have now contrived to bring this aspect to the fore once more, particularly with the advent of multiple, no-frills, low-cost airlines.

Commissions

Most travel agencies operate on a commission-basis, meaning that the compensation from the airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and tour operators, etc., is expected in form of a commission from their bookings. Most often, the commission consists of a set percentage of the sale.

In the United States, most airlines pay no commission at all to travel agencies. In this case, an agency usually adds a service fee to the net price.

Types of agencies

There are three different types of agencies in the UK: Multiples, Miniples and Independent Agencies. The former comprises a number of national chains, often owned by international conglomerates, like Thomson Holidays, now a subsidiary of TUI AG, the German multinational. It is now quite common for the large mass-market tour companies to purchase a controlling interest in a chain of travel agencies, in order to control the distribution of their product. (This is an example of vertical integration.) The smaller chains are often based in particular regions or districts.

In the United States, there are four different types of agencies: Mega, Regional, Consortium and Independent Agencies. American Express and the American Automobile Association (AAA) are examples of mega travel agencies.

Independent Agencies usually cater to a special or niche market, such as the needs of residents in an upmarket commuter town or suburb or a particular group interested in a similar activity, such as sporting events, like football, golf or tennis.

There are two approaches of travel agencies. One is the traditional, multi-destination, out-bound travel agency, based in the originating location of the traveler and the other is the destination focused, in-bound travel agency, that is based in the destination and delivers an expertise on that location. At present, the former is usually a larger operator like Thomas Cook, while the latter is often a smaller, independent operator.

Consolidators

Travel consolidators or wholesalers are high volume sales companies that specialize in selling to niche markets. They may or may not offer various types of services, at a single point of access. These can be hotel reservations, flights or car-rentals, for example. Sometimes the services are combined into vacation packages, that include transfers to the location and lodging. These companies do not usually sell directly to the public, but act as wholesalers to retail travel agencies. Commonly, the sole purpose of consolidators is to sell to ethnic niches in the travel industry. Usually, no consolidator offers everything, they may only have contracted rates to specific destinations. Today, there are no domestic consolidators, with some exceptions for business class contracts.

Criticism and controversy

"Racking"

Travel agencies have been accused of employing a number of restrictive practices, the chief of which is known as 'racking'. This is the practice of displaying only the brochures of those travel companies whose holidays they wish to sell, the ones that pay them the most commission. Of course, the average customer tends to think that these are the only holidays on offer and is unaware of the possible alternatives.

Conversely, by limiting the number of companies that a travel agency represents, this can bring a better and more profitable, working relationship between the agency and its suppliers. Travel agencies can then obtain special benefits for their customers, from a supplier, by concentrating their bookings with that supplier. Some examples of these special benefits would be room upgrades or the waiver of change and cancellation fees.

("Racking" is a British expression, not used in the United States.)

The Internet threat

With general public access to the Internet, many airlines and other travel companies began to sell directly to passengers. As a consequence, airlines no longer needed to pay the commissions to travel agents on each ticket sold. Since 1997, travel agencies have gradually been disintermediated, by the reduction in costs caused by removing layers from the package holiday distribution network. However, travel agents remain dominant in some areas such as cruise vacations where they represent 77% of bookings and 73% of packaged travel.

In response, travel agencies have developed an internet presence of their own by creating travel websites, with detailed information and online booking capabilities. Several major online travel agencies include: Expedia, Voyages-sncf.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, CheapTickets, Priceline, CheapOair and Hotwire.com. Travel agencies also use the services of the major computer reservations systems companies, also known as Global Distribution Systems (GDS), including: SABRE, Amadeus CRS, Galileo CRS and Worldspan, which is a subsidiary of Travelport, allowing them to book and sell airline tickets, hotels, car rentals and other travel related services. Some online travel websites allow visitors to compare hotel and flight rates with multiple companies for free. They often allow visitors to sort the travel packages by amenities, price, and proximity to a city or landmark.

Travel agents have applied dynamic packaging tools to provide fully bonded (full financial protection) travel at prices equal to or lower than a member of the public can book online. As such, the agencies' financial assets are protected in addition to professional travel agency advice.

All travel sites that sell hotels online work together with GDS, suppliers and hotels directly to search for room inventory. Once the travel site sells a hotel, the site will try to get a confirmation for this hotel. Once confirmed or not, the customer is contacted with the result. This means that booking a hotel on a travel website will not necessarily result in an instant answer. Only some hotels on a travel website can be confirmed instantly (which is normally marked as such on each site). As different travel websites work with different suppliers together, each site has different hotels that it can confirm instantly. Some examples of such online travel websites that sell hotel rooms are Expedia, Orbitz and WorldHotel-Link.

The comparison sites, such as Kayak.com, TripAdvisor and SideStep search the resellers site all at once to save time searching. None of these sites actually sell hotel rooms.

Often tour operators have hotel contracts, allotments and free sell agreements which allow for the immediate confirmation of hotel rooms for vacation bookings.

Mainline service providers are those that actually produce the direct service, like various hotels chains or airlines that have a website for online bookings. Portals will serve a consolidator of various airlines and hotels on the internet. They work on a commission from these hotels and airlines. Often, they provide cheaper rates than the mainline service providers as these sites get bulk deals from the service providers. A meta search engine on the other hand, simply culls data from the internet on real time rates for various search queries and diverts traffic to the mainline service providers for an online booking. These websites usually do not have their own booking engine.

Careers

With the many people switching to self-service internet websites, the number of available jobs as travel agents is decreasing. Most jobs that become available are from older travel agents retiring. Counteracting the decrease in jobs due to internet services is the increase in the number of people travelling. Since 1995, many travel agents have exited the industry, and relatively few young people have entered the field due to less competitive salaries. However, others have abandoned the 'brick and mortar' agency for a home-based business to reduce overheads and those who remain have managed to survive by promoting other travel products such as cruise lines and train excursions or by promoting their ability to aggressively research and assemble complex travel packages on a moment's notice, essentially acting as a very advanced concierge.

Cargo

A small number of companies work with cargo airlines and cargo ships.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Safari holidays

2009-11-11T17:19:00.001-08:00

Safari holidays are an increasingly popular holiday activity. They involve the primary goal of watching wild animals in their natural habitat. Kenya claims to have had the first commercial safari holidays, a form of recreation that grew out of big game hunting at the turn of the century. As animal stocks diminished and hunting became less fashionable, people turned to viewing the animals instead.

Safari now generates an important amount of revenue for several African countries. These include Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia.

Types of safari vary, from small tented camps that are seasonal and removed during the rainy seasons, to large permanent structures with over 100 rooms. The game-viewing can be done on foot, horseback, in vehicles or indeed by elephant back or boat, depending on the type of terrain and the animals being viewed.

The goal of safari is to see the Big Five, a term that has been borrowed from the days of hunting and refers to: Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard, Lion and Rhino.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Sabre Travel Network

2009-11-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

Sabre Travel Network (STN) is the line of technology developed by Sabre Inc. that services travel agencies directly. Sabre Travel Network began when the Sabre Computer reservations system was installed in Briarcliff Manor, New York in 1960. It began as the reservations system for American Airlines. Its parent company, Sabre Holdings, spun off from American as The Sabre Group on March 15, 2000.

Sabre Travel Network has three brands associated with it:

* GetThere is a corporate travel reservation system.
* Jurni Network purports to allow travel agents to predict which travel products will appeal to customers.
* Nexion is a host agency that provides support to independent travel agencies.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Round-the-world ticket

2009-11-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

A round-the-world ticket (also known as round-the-world fare or RTW ticket in short) is a product that enables travelers and tourists to fly and travel around the world for a relatively low price. RTW tickets have existed for some time and in the past were generally offered through marketing agreements between airlines on several continents. Now, they are almost universally offered by airline alliances such as SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld, or else by specialist travel agencies that will spend time helping customize a trip to the consumer's needs.

They are priced according to class of service, origin of travel, number of continents, mileage (usually between 20,000 and 40,000 miles), and sometimes season of travel. The traveler benefits from the large and optimised network of the airline alliance and can participate in the alliance's frequent flyer programs. However, these tickets are usually subject to restrictions. The start and end of the journey almost always have to be located in the same country and exactly one crossing each of the Atlantic and Pacific must be included in the itinerary. The number of stops is usually restricted to 5-16, and backtracking between continents (especially Europe/Asia) is often restricted. The dates and journey do not have to be pre-planned as travelers can change dates and destinations en route at a local office of any airline in the alliance (although a change of destinations often results in an additional fee, and if the next flight is left open-dated the booking can be dropped by the airlines' computers). Prices vary but are generally in the range of $3000-5000 USD for an economy class ticket.

An alternative for a round-the-world ticket is a continent pass.

Specialist Travel Agencies

It is possible to put together a round-the-world route by combining one-way tickets on various airlines. This is more flexible than restricting yourself to what an alliance offers and, because they discounts on certain long- and short-haul legs, pricing can be competitive. The only practical way to do this — since it requires both knowledge and contacts — is to go to a travel agent who specializes in round-the-world itineraries. These can be found in major cities that are transit hubs — San Francisco, London, New York, Bangkok, etc. — and many of them also provide services online.

The booking process can take a few days or weeks depending on how fast you wish to expedite the process. These agents will get parts of your ticket issued by their contacts in other countries or in-house contracts. This can save a lot of money over the airlines.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Roadkill bingo

2009-11-01T16:07:00.001-08:00

Roadkill bingo is a game in which the pictures of 24 different animals are placed randomly in a grid, printed on paper or cardboard. The game is traditionally played in vehicles during long distance travel.

When a dead specimen of one of these animals is spotted by a player, that square in the grid is marked off with either a bingo blotter or some other writing instrument. Small poker like chips may be used to designate spotted dead animals, however the cajoling due to bumps in the road make this a less viable option.

Traditionally, only the first person to spot the roadkill is entitled to mark off the corresponding picture. As in regular bingo, the object of the game is to spot a sequence of five dead animals which are in the same row or column on the bingo card. At the instant that five in a row is achieved, that player is obligated to yell "bingo", loudly and clearly, and the player is said to have "got a bingo." Prizes for bingos are typically decided upon before the commencement of play. Spotting five dead animals in a row whose pictures are along a diagonal of a card also counts as a bingo. Four corners may also count as a bingo. The center square is often free, meaning that no dead animal need be spotted to mark it. Controversy may arise when a dead animal is spotted which may not technically be classified as roadkill, and when two players simultaneously spot the roadkill. Players in the front seat have a clear advantage, however, the driver must have someone else mark his or her card.

To promote brevity of games, regional variations include animals more likely to be found dead in the particular locale. The West Coast version was played by soldiers in Saudi Arabia during operation Desert Storm.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Road trip

2009-10-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

A road trip is a journey via automobile, sometimes unplanned or impromptu, or a journey involving sporting game(s) away from home, thus encompassing any journey by automobile, regardless of stops en route.

Origins of the road trip

The first recorded road trip was attested in stele in the court of Ramses II. He was said to "come down on the Medeans in his chariot after driving allnight from Memphis." Road trips were important throughout antiquity. Alexander's march into India was described by the historian Nearchus. During the Roman Republic, it was not uncommon for young patrician men to gather together to tour the Roman world. Jung even identified the Road trip as a persistent element of human culture.

Although the modern road trip can trace its roots to post-WWII America, road tripping in general began long before The Great War.

The first successful North American transcontinental trip by automobile took place in 1903, and was piloted by H. Nelson Jackson, Sewall Crocker, and a canine by the name of Bud. The trip was completed using a 1903 Winton Touring Car, dubbed “Vermont” by Jackson. The trip took a total of 63 days between San Francisco and New York, and cost US$8,000. The total cost included items such as food, gasoline, lodging, tires, parts, other supplies, and the cost of the Winton.

Although many would make the trip after 1903, the first woman to cross the American landscape by car was Alice Ramsey and 3 women passengers in 1909. Ramsey left from Hell's Gate in Manhattan, New York and traveled 59 days to San Francisco, California. Ramsey was followed in 1910 by Blanche Stuart Scott, who is often mistakenly cited as the first woman to make the cross-country journey by automobile East-to-West (but was a true pioneer in aviation).

Expansion of highways

New highways in the early 1900’s helped propel automobile travel, primarily cross-country travel. Commissioned in 1926, and completely paved near the end of the 1930’s, U.S. Route 66 is a living icon of early modern road tripping.

Motorists ventured cross-country for holiday as well as migrating to California and other locations. The modern road trip began to take shape in the late 1930’s and into the 1940’s, ushering in an era of a nation on the move. roadtrips consist of a trip lasting three hours or more

The modern road trip in North America

The 1950’s saw rapid growth of ownership of automobiles by American families. The automobile, now a trusted mode of transportation, was being widely used for not only commuting, but leisure trips as well.

As a result of this new vacation-by-road style, many businesses began to cater to road-weary travelers. More reliable vehicles and services made long distance road trips easier for families, as the length of time required to cross the continent was reduced from months to days. Within one week, the average family can travel to destinations across North America.

The greatest change to the American road trip was the start, and subsequent expansion, of the Interstate Highway System. The higher speeds and controlled access nature of the Interstate allowed for greater distances to be traveled in less time and with improved safety as highways became divided.

Road tripping today

Today, modern road tripping is a fast growing hobby, and not just a means of vacationing. Groups dedicated to the art of the road trip, known either as professional road trippers or road enthusiasts, are becoming prevalent online.

Road tripping, to some, has indeed become an art. Road enthusiasts frequently debate on proper gear, attire, and electronics. Other frequent debates include type of road trip (a ‘moseying’ road trip vs. a set schedule), use of in-vehicle DVD players to pacify young passengers, and, to a lesser extent, destinations.

Professional road tripping has spawned other activities, including dashboarding, caravanning (multi-vehicle road trips), RV-ing, county collecting, welcome sign photography, and other facets of the road tripping hobby.

The Road Enthusiast

Those who look upon road trips not as a method of travel but rather a hobby frequently describe themselves as Road Enthusiasts or Professional Road Trippers. These motorists take the concept of road trips very seriously, some have devoted time and resources to the pursuit of the hobby. Although there are many personalities in the Road Tripping Community, many road enthusiasts advocate sharing the roadways, preservation of historic places and natural spaces, and safe driving. Much like backpacking, many road enthusiasts also subscribe to the ideas of Leave No Trace.

The goal of road trip enthusiasts is to experience the culture, nature and history of the route, and to celebrate the open road. Road trippers often study roadology, the connection between of roads and culture.

As a rite of passage

Today many teens and young adults see a road trip as a rite of passage, their first solo journey from home, frequently across state boundaries. The idea of shedding authoritative boundaries (such as parents and teachers) and taking that great leap out on one’s own attracts many young men and women to saddle up and head out on the open road. This is due in part to the feeling of freedom some people get when traveling the open roads.

Road trip technology

One topic of frequent discussion amongst professional road enthusiasts is the latest road tripping technology. This includes new technology, as well as some old familiars. Items of frequent discussion include mobile internet, cellular phones, laptops, GPS units, Digital Mapping Programs, CB/Wireless Radios, and of course, vehicles.

International road trips

Road tripping, or motoring, is not only an American hobby, it is enjoyed the world over. Although the history of road trips may be different in each country, the idea, concept, and methods remain relatively unchanged worldwide. For this reason, it can be fairly easy to conduct a road trip on foreign soils. Some travelers from European countries, and Australia, go to the United States to take part in the American idea of a road trip, although generally Europeans will explore the wealth of culture offered within Europe. Frequently Americans travel abroad to travel foreign motorways and experience the distinct mix of cultures that can be seen driving around (often in a circular direction) Europe. Unlike some other methods of travel, the automobile allows travelers to customize their trip and set their own pace.

Impact of automobile associations

In many countries Automobile Associations play a major part in facilitating long distance road trips. Automobile Associations, such as AAA and CAA in North America, AA in the United Kingdom, among just a few, provide their members with services and materials to make road trips more enjoyable. Many of these groups offer some sort of Roadside Assistance, coming to the aid stranded motorists, as well as travel materials, such as guide books, maps, destination guides, and even road trip gear. Such associations allow a motorist to venture further from their home, and as long as they are in an area serviced by the association or an affiliate, can use the local association for booking lodging or entertainment tickets, roadside assistance, or get new travel guides and maps. This allows travelers to have a sense of comfort that they will have access to these services when they travel.

Sample road trip routes

The major piece of a road trip is the route. Different routes offer not only different views and attractions, but also different highway conditions. These are a sample of major road trip routes in North America that offer great historic and scenic value and are also well documented. Many of these routes have more than one travel guide published strictly regarding the topic route.

* US 101, The Pacific Coast Highway.
* The Pan-American Highway, Interstate 5
* The Great Ocean Road (Victoria, Australia)
* Mexico to Canada Route- Arizona to Montana
* Mexico to Canada Route- Texas to North Dakota
* In a legendary VW Westfalia- Road trip from Canada to Mexico
* The Great River Road
* The Trans Canada Highway
* Interstate 10, Jacksonville to Los Angeles
* Appalachian Trail
* Atlantic Coast route
* US 2, The Great Northern
* Oregon Coast to Cape Cod, Massachusetts
* San Francisco to Chesapeake Bay
* The Southern Pacific Route
* U.S. Route 66
* The Michigan to Florida Spring Break Drive via I-75

This list is only a sample of some well-known routes.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Revenue passenger mile

2009-10-17T20:43:00.001-07:00

Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) is a measure of a passenger traffic for an airline flight, bus, or train calculated by multiplying the total number of revenue-paying passengers aboard the vehicle by the distance traveled measured in miles. The calculation can be more complex for long-distance buses and trains (and some planes) where passengers may board and disembark at intermediate stops. Non-revenue-paying passengers (e.g., airline employees flying on free or nearly-free passes, passengers using free tickets, etc.) are excluded when measuring RPMs. Passengers who paid for their trip with a frequent-flyer program mileage award are usually included.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Revelex Corporation

2009-10-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

Revelex Corporation is an Internet-based travel aggregator and distribution system for complex travel planning. The company was founded in 1999 by President and Chief Executive Officer David Goodis and is based in Boca Raton, Florida. Revelex provides travel technology solutions that enable travel agencies and travel suppliers to market and sell travel products online and offline.

Revelex Power Agent

Power Agent is an Internet-based agent desktop application which allows agents to access all Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and non-GDS travel products. Power Agent provides travel agents with travel options for air travel, cars, hotels, cruises, tours, insurance, shore excursions, and client profiles. Highlights of this application include a lead-management system with built-in lead distribution, a customer relationship management (CRM) database with exporting features, and the ability to mark up or discount fares for travel leisure products.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Red-eye flight

2009-09-10T01:46:00.000-07:00

A red-eye flight is any flight operated by an airline departing late at night. The term red-eye derives from the fatigue symptom of having red eyes, which can be caused or aggravated by overnight travel.

A red-eye flight typically moves from west to east during the overnight hours. It departs late at night, lasts only about three to five hours, an insufficient period to get fully rested inflight, and due to rapid forward time zone changes the aircraft lands around dawn. As a result, many travellers are unable to get sufficiently rested before a new day of activity. From a marketing standpoint, the flights allow business travellers an opportunity to migrate eastward without having an impact on a full business day.

Most eastward transatlantic crossings from North America to Europe are operated overnight, but are generally not viewed as red-eye flights since they depart early in the evening and last at least seven hours. A full night's rest is theoretically possible as this is close to the seven to nine hours of nightly sleep recommended by the US National Sleep Foundation.

Examples

* United States and Canada. Red-eye flights connect West Coast cities to Central and East Coast cities. These typically depart the west coast around 10pm to 12am local, have a flight time of 3-5 hours but lose two to three hours due to time zone changes, and arrive around 5 am- 7am. Red-eye flights also connect Hawaiian cities with West Coast mainland cities.
* Russia. Russian airlines operate similar to U.S. airlines by connecting Moscow to Yakutsk, Irkutsk, and Vladivostok with overnight red-eye flights. Russian transcontinental flights only last 5 to 8 hours but due to the northerly latitude the flights can cross as many as 8 time zones during this interval, drastically shortening the overnight experience. The flights depart Moscow around 6 pm and arrive at the eastern cities around 6 am the next day.
* Australia. The majority of transcontinental flights are operated during the day, but as of 2009 Qantas was operating one red-eye flight each from Perth to Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and Melbourne.
* Europe. A few overnight flights from Europe to the Middle East and to Russia were being operated in 2009, all of which had a flight time of three to six hours and departed in mid-evening, arriving around dawn the next day. A good example are Malév Hungarian Airlines' Beirut, Damascus and Larnaca flights, which all leave around 23.10-23.35 from Budapest local time, arrive in the Middle East around 3:30 local time, then turn around, and finally arrive back to Budapest around 6:00 in the morning
* Brazil. TAM Airlines and Gol Transportes Aéreos both offer red-eye flights, called Big Owl (Portuguese: Corujão) flights in Brazil, with over fifty different routes throughout Brazil, all departing between 10 pm and 6 am.
* Asia. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines operate red-eye flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo's Haneda. Asiana, Korean Air as well as Cathay Pacific operates red-eye flights from Hong Kong to Incheon near Seoul. Cathay Pacific also operates such flights from Hong Kong to Sydney, and many flights from Southeast Asia to Japan and Korea. All depart during evenings or around midnights, and lands at the destinations in the early morning. Flights that leave India and Southwest Asia at night between 11 P.M. and 1 A.M. arrive in Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur between 5 A.M. and 8:30 A.M.

Other meanings

The term can refer to any overnight flight which travels in the same direction of the Earth's rotation, i.e., west to east. The term may also be used to refer to many long-distance international flights which are long, even though the aircraft may never travel through a time zone that is in darkness.

Purpose

In addition to allowing passengers to have a full day at both the departure and destination city and travel by night, red-eye flights operate for the following reasons:

* Repositioning aircraft and flight crew for the following day's schedule
* Increasing the utilization of aircraft in a company's fleet
* Providing additional service to lower cost markets
* Allowing the airline to advertise lower fares to some destinations
* Allowing passengers to connect to morning flights

In the 1930s and 1940s, red-eye flights were not possible, as most airports did not have the equipment necessary to work at night. There are still airports that do not function after certain hours, so red-eye flights can take off only from those airports that are operational after midnight.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Qualiflyer

2009-09-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Qualiflyer was a frequent flyer program, created in April 1992 by Austrian Airlines, Crossair and Swissair. When Swissair began acquiring stakes in other European airlines in 1998, Qualiflyer was extended to become their frequent flyer programs as well. This spawned the alliance known as The Qualiflyer Group. With the failure of Swissair in 2002, the group dissolved along with the program and a company was formed to give each former member airline an individual frequent-flyer program.

Currently Swiss International Air Lines, the successor company of Swissair, is participating in the Miles & More frequent flyer program with Lufthansa.

Beginnings

Qualiflyer was formed in April 1992 as Europe's first frequent-flyer program for Swissair, Crossair and Austrian Airlines. Originally, Swissair's partner airline Crossair and its high-end hotel chain Swissôtel also participated in the program. As one would expect, Qualiflyer's affiliation to one of the world-class airlines caused membership to grow quickly to 2 million members in the first eight years. After that, other airlines joined in the program, and the program received even larger amounts of membership.

Logo and livery

The Qualiflyer Group logo resembled a blue globe surrounded by to swooping arms. The entire globe was encircled by ten stars symbolizing the ten member airlines. Airlines participating in the group were required to fly airplanes with a rather large Qualiflyer logo sticker applied. Swissair and Sabena principally had several airplanes painted with a blue underbelly with "The Qualiflyer Group" titles applied near the nose.

The Qualiflyer Group

In 1998, Swissair, one of the more conservative European airlines, decided to have a hand at expansion. Instead of doing this by joining one of the new airlines alliances Star Alliance, SkyTeam and oneworld having just formed it decided to this by acquiring minority stakes in several airlines. Among these were Sabena, TAP Air Portugal, Air Europe, and LOT Polish Airlines. These airlines all came to participate in the Qualiflyer program. The Qualiflyer Group would ultimately be a contributing factor in Swissair's demise.

Club levels

The Qualiflyer program always made a distinction between genuine frequent flyers and other traveling members. That is why, when Qualiflyer launched in 1992, two account types were introduced: the Qualiflyer basic level, for everyone wishing to collect miles, and the Qualiflyer Travelclub, for more frequent travelers. To meet the needs of particular target groups better, further club levels were added. The Travelclub Gold, for very frequent travelers and Qualiflyer Circle for an exclusive group of selected members. The existence of the "Circle" was not actively communicated, to ensure optimum exclusivity. The Circle was introduced in 1994 and the Travelclub Gold membership only many years later in 2001. For every level, further benefits were offered to make the travel as smooth and pleasant as possible.

Awards

Qualiflyer regularly won industry awards in a wide range of categories.

Freddie Awards

he Freddie Awards offer frequent travelers a chance to voice their opinions about their favorite frequent traveler programs.

1997

* Gold for best flight reward
* Gold for best accrual bonus

2000

* 3rd best newsletter
* 3rd best program for spending miles

2001

* 2nd best award redemption
* 2nd best program for spending miles
* 3rd best frequent flyer program of the year
* 3rd best accrual bonus
* 3rd best credit card partnership

2002

* 2nd best frequent flyer program of the year
* 2nd best award redemption
* 3rd best newsletter
* 3rd best website

Swiss Dialogue Marketing Awards

This award honors the best dialogue marketing campaigns and is selected by a jury of dialogue marketing experts.

2002

* Gold award for relaunch of the Qualiflyer Circle welcome kit
* Silver award for launch of Travelclub Gold

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Pure Michigan

2009-09-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Pure Michigan is an advertising campaign which was launched in 2006 by the state of Michigan featuring the voice of actor & comedian Tim Allen, resident and native of Michigan. The Pure Michigan campaign, which aims to market the state of Michigan as a travel and tourism destination, received state and national attention beginning in 2008 when Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm approved $45 million in additional funding for the Pure Michigan campaign - an unprecedented tourism budget for the state, allowing the Pure Michigan campaign to be broadcast on a national level beginning in March 2009

Pure Michigan also refers to the brand created by Travel Michigan and embodied by the organization's website. The site was relaunched in March of 2008 to support the Pure Michigan brand. Travel Michigan is itself a division of The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (The MEDC), a state-funded organization founded in 1999 to support the economic development of Michigan.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Premium economy

2009-09-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Premium Economy is a travel class offered on some airlines, taking one of two forms:

* a simple upgrade to the Economy class provided as a free upgrade to premium members of frequent flyer program and passengers flying full-fare economy, normally as a section of the economy/coach cabin, which generally provides more legroom (36-38" seat pitch) by removing a few rows of seats, along with some form of leg rest, possibly enhanced In-flight entertainment and dedicated cabin crew
* a more comprehensive upgrade, in return for higher fare, which will normally be in the form of a separate cabin section, combining the enhanced legroom of the simple upgrade with better seats (often with fewer seats per row, to improve shoulder/elbow room), at–seat laptop power, in-seat telephone, possibly a lounge service, priority boarding, improved entertainment features, improved meals and drinks and more luggage allowance.

Some airlines may designate an entire economy class as premium, such as United p.s. on its trans-continental Boeing 757-200 premium service aircraft.

Premium Economy tickets also normally earn more mileage in an airline's frequent flyer program, attracting a bonus between Economy and Business.

Class of service codes used by airlines vary—for example, Virgin Atlantic denotes Premium Economy as W.

Airlines offering this service include:

* Air Austral: Classe Confort
* Air France: Premium Voyageur (Economy Plus Class), Premium Economy recently announced to be offered in their non-COI long haul fleet (except for their Boeing 747-400), beginning with CDG-JFK, NRT and KIX.
* Air New Zealand: Pacific Premium Economy (only available during long-haul flights on Boeing 747's and Boeing 777's. For short-haul flights, this cabin is turned into a Space+ zone exclusively for premium members of Air NZ frequent flyers (Gold Elite, Gold, Koru) and Star Alliance Gold members, as well as passengers flying full-fare economy on space available basis.
* All Nippon Airways: Premium Economy
* BMI: Premium Economy
* British Airways: World Traveller Plus
* EVA Air: Elite Class
* Icelandair: Economy comfort
* Japan Airlines: Premium Economy (Only International Boeing 777 fleet serving London, Frankfurt, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Moscow to/from Tokyo Narita)
* KLM: Europe Select (Only on inter-Europe itineraries)
* Midwest Airlines: Signature Service (Only found on Boeing 717s, which will be retired later this year)
* Pakistan International Airlines - "Economy Plus+"
* Qantas: Premium Economy (Available on Boeing 747's and Airbus A380's from April 2008)
* SAS Scandinavian Airlines: Economy Extra
* Singapore Airlines: Executive Economy used to run on non-stop flights from Singapore to Newark and Los Angeles. This was discontinued in favor of all-Business Class flights.
* Spirit Airlines: Big Front Seat
* Thai Airways International: Premium Economy (Will be discontinued with elimination of the Airbus A340-500)
* United Airlines - Economy Plus (Only offers extra legroom)
* V Australia: Premium Economy
* Vietnam Airlines: Deluxe Economy
* Virgin America: Main Cabin Select
* Virgin Atlantic: Premium Economy
* Virgin Blue: Premium Economy

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Post vacation blues

2009-09-01T05:35:00.001-07:00

Post vacation blues (or just vacation blues) or less commonly, post travel depression (PTD) is a type of mood that persons returning home from a long trip (usually a vacation) may experience.

Background

A person may suffer from post vacation blues after returning home or to a normal routine from a long vacation, especially if it was a pleasurable one. The longer a trip lasts, the more intense the post vacation blues may be. This is because the person would be longing for their travel experiences. Post vacation blues may result in tiredness, loss of appetite, strong feelings of nostalgia, and in some cases, depression. Jet lag may intensify the post vacation blues.

Treatment

In general, post vacation blues wear off after time. It usually takes a few days for the mood to wear off, although in some cases, it can take up to 1.5 times the length of the trip. Other ways of treating post vacation blues are for the person to share their experiences with family and friends, or to look at photo and souvenirs.

Similar moods

* Monday blues - may be experienced by persons after weekends.
* Post holiday blues - sometimes experienced by persons after long breaks.
* Post party blues - may be experienced by persons after an enjoyable party or nightlife experience.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Pet passport

2009-09-01T05:32:00.000-07:00

The Pet Travel Scheme ("PETS") is a scheme which allows animals to travel easily between member countries without undergoing quarantine. A Pet Passport is a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of that procedure. The effect is to drastically speed up and simplify travel with animals, and transport of animals, between member countries, compared to previous procedures, if the regulations are followed.

PETS was originally introduced for the benefit of animals entering or returning to the United Kingdom from other European Union countries, since historically the UK had very strong controls to safeguard against rabies including a compulsory 6 month quarantine period on imports of many animals. On October 1, 2001, several European Union countries introduced the PETS scheme, under which animals from any member country may freely travel (with the correct procedure) to any other member country on approved carriers. Over time the scheme has rolled out to other countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The pet passport was originally suggested by the UK's Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Appearance

The pet passport itself comes in multiple forms, sometimes a pink A4 sheet, sometimes a small blue booklet. It contains the microchip or tattoo number of the animal, the certification that it has had a rabies vaccination, and needs to be signed by an officially approved veterinary surgeon.

The passport is not to be confused with a much smaller folder (sometimes purple coloured), routinely issued by vets, which records the complete vaccination history of the pet.

Details of procedure

Every country has different requirements, both for export and import of animals, although some features are common to all.

Common features

All countries:

* Subcutaneous (below the skin) microchip implant that meets ISOP specification.
* Certified rabies vaccination, with some kind of prior period of time or evidence the vaccination is working (commonly blood serology tests to confirm the vaccination has "taken" and a delay of some months to confirm the animal is rabies free initially)

Some countries:

* Animal treated for ticks, fleas and tapeworms between 24 and 48 hours before boarding the outbound transport. The time limit is usually enforced strictly (ie no less than 24 hours and no more than 48 hours before check-in)
* Vet's letter or certificate confirming fitness to travel and/or no obvious signs of disease.
* Government certification that the vet's export documentation and certificates are in order for travel.
* Sometimes certain carriers or import/export points only, will allow animals.

In some countries the formal passport is needed. Others will accept documentation in any form, so long as it is clearly evidential of the procedure being followed. Usually the animal and its papers are checked thoroughly both on boarding or export, and again upon arrival.

The Pet passport alone can be used to enter some countries if it records all relevant information (eg the UK), but it will not suffice to enter many countries. For instance Guatemala, in common with almost every country operating such a scheme, demands that all imported pets have a rabies vaccination, but will not accept the Pet Passport as proof of said vaccination. They need to see the proof of the rabies in the animal's vaccination records.

Travel from outside Europe to a European country

Tick and tapeworm treatment is needed between 24 and 48 hours prior to departure.

Specific country regulations

United Kingdom

* Tick and tapeworm between 24 and 48 hours prior to arrival (strict).
* Animals cannot be flown into the country as 'checked baggage', on airlines, but only as cargo.

USA

Animals being exported must have a vet examination and certificate, which must also be certified valid by the USDA.

Other useful information

The PETS scheme is not yet standardised. This leads to much confusion. Every journey between any two countries should be researched separately to ensure that the animal will be accepted for travel upon arrival at the departure point.

* The major delay in obtaining a pet passport is the time requirement for the rabies vaccination. The implications are:
1. An animal may get a valid rabies vaccination and serology check, and then apply for a passport on the spot, at a later date.
2. An animal whose rabies vaccination is allowed to go out of date (typically 1-2 years) by even one day, without a booster, must start with a new vaccination and delay.
* Because PETS is European wide, the regulations may differ for travel within, and outside, Europe. Pet owners should take care since the requirements for travel to a destination may be quite different from the requirements upon returning.
* A suitable and carrier-approved travel crate may be required, which must have the correct food and water containers as set out by the relevant bodies.
* Animals should not be sedated for air travel, since altitude can affect medications. Most airlines will not accept tranquilised animals nowadays. Instead, they are kept in a dark, heated, pressurised hold, which encourages them to sleep for the duration of travel.
* Larger animals may be restricted to airline routes which can accommodate their crates. Not all airlines will carry animals, and charges vary widely - check with each airline before travel.
* Some routes will not fly animals if the temperature is adverse, or in certain months, due to health risks.
* Many airlines are unable to provide details of formal procedures, you may need to check with a vet or the consulate of the relevant countries to confirm details.
* Since airline staff are often (at present) poorly trained or uncertain, and conflicting information may be provided, at present it is sensible to double check and document all information supplied.
* In airlines, animals may travel as excess baggage or cargo. "Excess baggage" (in effect treating the crate and animal as another suitcase) ensures they travel on the same flight and is often much cheaper.
* The UK restricts incoming flights to only ship animals as cargo. A cheaper alternative around this aberration in the rules is to fly to some other European city, such as Paris or Amsterdam, and then travel to the UK by rail or ferry instead, which do not have this restriction.

List of countries exempt from rabies quarantines

A correctly prepared cat or dog may be imported without quarantine into the United Kingdom from the following countries under the Pet passport scheme, but only by an authorised transport company: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France*, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Vatican, Antigua and Barbuda, Ascension Island, Australia, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia*, Guadeloupe, Jamaica*, Japan, Réunion*, Malta, Martinique*, Mauritius, Mayotte*, Montserrat, New Caledonia*, New Zealand, St. Helena, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, United States of America, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.
Note: *=France or French DOM (Départements d’Outre-Mer)*Although Jamaica is a qualifying country under the EU Regulation, Jamaican law currently prevents the involvement of that country in PETS. PETS-prepared animals may not enter Jamaica and animals may not be prepared for PETS in Jamaica(Source:Defra).

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Package holiday

2009-08-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.

Package holidays are organised by a tour operator and sold to a consumer by a travel agent. Some travel agents are employees of tour operators, others are independent.

Package tours

An early form of package holiday was organised by Thomas Cook in 1841, offering customers a return trip between Leicester and Loughborough. The first package tour of Europe was organised by Cook in 1855, and by 1872 he was undertaking world-wide tours, albeit with small groups.

Vladimir Raitz, the co-founder of the Horizon Holiday Group, pioneered the first mass package holidays abroad with charter flights between Gatwick airport and Corsica in 1950, and organised the first package holiday to Palma in 1952, Lourdes in 1953, and the Costa Brava and Sardinia in 1954. In addition, the amendments made in Montreal to the Convention on International Civil Aviation on June 14, 1954 was very liberal to Spain, allowing impetus for mass tourism using charter planes.

By the late 1950s and 1960s, these cheap package holidays — which combined flight, transfers and accommodation — provided the first chance for most people in the United Kingdom to have affordable travel abroad. One of the first charter airlines was Euravia, which commenced flights from Manchester Airport in 1961 and Luton Airport in 1962. Despite opening up mass tourism to Crete and the Algarve in 1970, the package tour industry declined during the 1970s. On 15 August 1974, the industry was shaken when the second-largest tour operator, Court Line which operated under the brand names of Horizon and Clarksons, collapsed. Nearly 50,000 tourists were stranded overseas and a further 100,000 faced the loss of booking deposits.

In 2005 a growing number of consumers were avoiding package holidays and were instead travelling with budget airlines and booking their own accommodation. In the UK, the downturn in the package holiday market led to the consolidation of the tour operator market, which is now dominated by a few large tour operators. The major operators are Thomson Holidays, part of TUI AG, Thomas Cook AG and First Choice. Under these umbrella brands there exists a whole range of different holiday operators catering to different markets, such as Club 18-30 or Simply Travel. Budget airlines have also created their own package holiday divisions such as Jet2 Holidays.

The trend for package holiday bookings saw a comeback in 2009, as customers sought greater financial security in the wake of a number of holiday and flight companies going bust, and as the hidden costs of 'no-frills' flights increased. Coupled with the search for late holidays as holidaymakers left booking to the last moment, this led to a rise in consumers booking package holidays.

Dynamic packaging

Dynamic packaging is a method that is becoming increasingly used in package holiday booking procedures that enables consumers to build their own package of flights, accommodation and hire car instead of a pre-defined package.

Free Independent Traveler

Free Independent Traveler (or Tourist) refers to both a way of traveling and, from an industry viewpoint, a sector within the tourism market. FITs practise a form of dynamic packaging but the emphasis is from the end-user point of view and includes the wider economic effects that FITs "spread" in their destination country as opposed to more traditional, consolidated forms of travel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Overseas experience

2009-08-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Overseas experience (OE) is a New Zealand term for an extended overseas working holiday. Sometimes referred to as "The big OE" in reference to the extended duration of the travel - typically at least one year, and often extending far longer. It is believed to have been coined by New Zealand cartoonist and columnist Tom Scott.

It is common specify for young New Zealanders to spend a number of years overseas, during their late teens to early thirties. This period of overseas travel plays an important part in the lives of many by broadening their experience in life - especially important for relatively isolated countries such as New Zealand

Destinations

A typical OE is mostly or entirely self-funded, occurs within a few years of university graduation, and centres on London. As this implies, the typical OE traveller is in his or her early to mid 20s, middle class and often Pakeha. However variations on this are not unusual: many travellers have no university education, and are thus able to have their OE in their late teens or early 20s following a few years in the workforce; an increasingly popular alternative to London is to spend a year teaching English overseas, especially in Japan or South Korea; and enough Māori take OEs for there to be a permanent Māori culture group (Ngati Ranana) in London. The European OE usually includes travel within Europe and, recently, a pilgrimage to the Gallipoli battle site.

London's position as the default OE destination is probably a result of what historian James Belich calls 'recolonisation'. He describes how New Zealand developed very strong cultural ties to the United Kingdom, and London in particular, and as a result tended to see London as the centre of the universe and pay little attention to other places. In addition, British immigration law until the 1970s allowed New Zealanders to live and work in Britain as British citizens. The continuation of the trend may be residual recolonialism but in addition most New Zealanders have friends and often relatives in London, and its favourable working holiday scheme, proximity to the rest of Europe, and the fact that it is English-speaking also make Britain a desirable destination. In 2003 former Prime Minister Helen Clark described the OE to Britain as "an important tradition for many New Zealanders".

The abbreviation OE is sometimes spoken as if it is a formal qualification - as in "do you have your OE?" - because before 2004 the top secondary school qualification was UE - "University Entrance". The phrase also indicates that the trip is considered to be an important milestone rather than something frivolous. Large numbers of New Zealanders live and work in Australia but this generally not considered to be an OE.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Overland travel

2009-08-28T07:43:00.002-07:00

Overland travel or overlanding refers to an "overland journey" - perhaps originating with Marco Polo's first overland expedition in the 13th century from Venice to the Chinese court of Kublai Khan. Today overlanding is a form of extended adventure holiday, embarking on a long journey, often in a group. Overland companies provide a converted truck or a bus plus a tour leader, and the group travels together overland for a period of weeks or months.

Since the 1960s overlanding has been a popular means of travel between destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia (particularly India), the Americas and Australia. The "Hippie trail" of the 60s and 70s saw thousands of young westerners travelling through the Middle East to India and Nepal.

Rail

At 9,288km the Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the longest overland journeys in existence today, taking 7 days to reach Vladivostok from Moscow, and providing an alternative to air travel for journeys between Europe and Asia.

The Indian Pacific railway, completed in 1970, links Sydney and Perth in Australia. Covering 4,343km over 4 days, the railway includes the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world.

The introduction of Japan's high speed railway Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964 changed the face of rail travel. The railway has carried more than 4 billion passengers and its new N700 series trains are capable of 300 km/h. France's TGV holds the record for the fastest train, with a top speed of more than 500 km/h, making it faster than air travel for many journeys within the country.

The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable is the first choice for detailed international rail information. Resources can also be found at the excellent seat 61 website.

Road

The Silk Route or Silk Road historically connects the Mediterranean with Persia and China.Today the route refers to overland journeys between Europe and China, taking either the northern route - through Russia and Kazakhstan - or the southern route - through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and North India - to Urumqi or Xian in China. These routes are still popular today, with companies such as Oasis Overland and Odyssey Overland offering tours on the southern route.

Trans Africa Overland routes

Some of the longest and more traditional overland routes are in Africa. The Cairo to Cape Town and v.v. route covers more than 10,000km and currently usually follows the Nile River through Egypt and Sudan, continuing to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia along the way. In 1959 the pioneering American trailer manufacturer Wally Byam and a caravan of trailers travelled the route from Cape Town to Cairo via Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia), Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Uganda and north from Kenya.

From the mid 1980s, the non-operation of the Aswan to Wadi Halfa ferry between Egypt and Sudan as well instability in Sudan, northern Uganda and Ethiopia, made the journey impossible. In recent years however, the Cape to Cairo and Cairo to Cape Town route has again become possible and increasingly popular both with commercial overland trucks carrying groups of 20 or so paying passengers as well as independent travellers on motorbikes or with 4WD vehicles.

The traditional Trans Africa route is from London to Nairobi, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa. The route started in the 1970s and became very popular with small companies using old Bedford four wheel drive trucks carrying about 24 people each, plus lots of independents, normally run by groups of friends in 4x4 Land Rovers heading out of London from November to March every year. The usual route was from Morocco to Algeria with a Sahara desert crossing into Niger in West Africa, continuing to Nigeria. This was followed by a month long journey likened to Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” through the forests of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), surfacing into the relatively modern world in Kenya via Uganda. From Kenya the last leg was south through Tanzania to either Zimbabwe or South Africa.

This route has changed dramatically due to border closures and political instability creating no-go zones. The route has reversed itself somewhat over the last few years, with trucks now crossing from the north to the south of Africa, closely following the west coast all the way from Morocco to Cape Town with the biggest change in the route being made possible by the opening of Angola to tourism. The journey then continues through Southern and East Africa from Cape Town to Nairobi and on to Cairo.

Other overland routes

In Africa, commercial overland travel began with the Trans Africa and Cape to Cairo described above. From the mid 1980s East and Southern Africa became more sought after by tourists and Nairobi to Cape Town is now the most travelled overland route in Africa. As more tourists look for adventure trips that fit in to their annual holiday, shorter sections of overland routes have become available such as two to three week round trip from Nairobi taking in Kenya and Uganda.

Istanbul to Cairo, via Syria and Jordan, is a classic overland route. It is a route that has been travelled for centuries, particularly during the Ottoman empire. Historically it overlapped with the Hajj, with many people covering all or part of the route as part of their pilgrimage to Mecca. Backpackers discovered it in the '70s and '80s, with hippies searching for spiritual peace who departed to Jerusalem from Istanbul instead of going to India via Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, onward travel from Jerusalem to Cairo became a possibility. It is now well travelled by backpackers and overland companies alike although the amount of travellers journeying the route can be affected by any unrest in neighbouring countries.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Orlicar

2009-08-28T07:43:00.001-07:00

Orlicar, also known as (Orlicar Low Cost Car Rentals), is a United States privately owned car rental company based in Miami, Florida emphasizing personal service and pickups from Miami International Airport and car deliveries to customers in the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale areas. The company's services includes underage rentals, cash rentals, insurance replacement to drivers whose cars are being repaired after an accident, long term rentals and luxury and sport vehicles.

Orlicar has offices in Brickell, Downtown Miami and Midtown Miami.

The company's fleet includes Hyundai Accents, Elantras and Sonatas; Audi Q7s, A4's, A6's and A8's; Ford Mustang convertibles, Expeditions and 8-, 12- and 15-passenger vans; and Sports Utility Vehicles.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Open-jaw ticket

2009-08-23T03:38:00.002-07:00

An open-jaw ticket is an airline ticket in which the traveler returns from a city other than the one he or she arrived, or in which the final destination is not the same as the original departure city. The trip between these two cities is then made over land, sea or with a separately booked flight. The path-lines between the airports form an open angle, rather than a closed loop, and the angle resembles an open jawline. This is also sometimes called an ARUNK (Arrival Unknown).

In some cases, this type of arrangement is needed for boat cruises that do not return to the departure city. In other cases, the traveler wishes to explore between two points and not have to worry about using time to return to the arrival city. For example, a traveller might fly from London to Bangkok, travel around Thailand by public transport and fly back home to London from Phuket. Another example would be a traveler flying from New York City to San Francisco but then returning to Washington, D.C. Open-jaw tickets are a flexible and relatively inexpensive way of flying, as such tickets are almost always less expensive than purchasing two round-trip flights between the destinations visited.

Another market commonly traveled, under an open-jaw itinerary, is the one of local one-way tours. Take, for example, a tour of Florida, where a traveler flying into Jacksonville, Orlando, or Miami rents a car or joins a bus tour at their arrival airport, and returns the car or ends the tour in the town from which they'll be flying home.

An alternative for an open jaw ticket is a continent pass.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Online hotel reservations

2009-08-23T03:38:00.001-07:00

Online hotel reservations are becoming a very popular method for booking hotel rooms. Travelers can book rooms from home by using online security to protect their privacy and financial information and by using several online travel agents to compare prices and facilities at different hotels.

Prior to the Internet, travelers could write, telephone the hotel directly, or use a travel agent to make a reservation. Nowadays, online travel agents have pictures of hotels and rooms, information on prices and deals, and even information on local resorts. Many also allow reviews of the traveler to be recorded with the online travel agent.

Online hotel reservations are also helpful for making last minute travel arrangements. Hotels may drop the price of a room if some rooms are still available. There are several websites that specialize in searches for deals on rooms.

Large hotel chains typically have direct connections to the airline national distribution systems (GDS) (Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, and Worldspan). These in turn provide hotel information directly to the hundreds of thousands of travel agents that align themselves with one of these systems. Individual hotels and small hotel chains often cannot afford the expense of these direct connections and turn to other companies to provide the connections.

Several large online travel sites are, in effect, travel agencies. These sites send the hotels' information and rates downstream to literally thousands of online travel sites, most of which act as travel agents. They can then receive commission payments from the hotels for any business booked on their websites.

Lastly, people can book directly on an individual hotel's website. An increasing number of hotels are building their own websites to allow them to market their hotels directly to consumers. Non-franchise chain hotels require a "booking engine" application to be attached to their website to permit people to book rooms in real time. One advantage of booking with the hotel directly is the use of the hotel's full cancellation policy as well as not needing a deposit in most situations.

To improve the likelihood of filling rooms, hotels tend to use several of the above systems. The content on many hotel reservation systems is becoming increasingly similar as more hotels sign up to all the sites. Companies thus have to either rely on specially negotiated rates with the hotels and hotel chains or trust in the influence of search engine rankings to draw in customers.

The ultimate service provided by these companies to the hotels and the online consumer is that they provide a single database from which all reservation sources draw immediate room availability and rates. It is very important that hotels integrate with all the supply channels so that their guests are able to make accurate online bookings.

There are many ways of making the online reservation,most of the online reservation systems use the centralized GDS system for making the reservation with the hotel directly.Examples of the GDS are Sabre, WorldSpan, Travelport,

The online hotel reservation through GDS is just the tentative reservation, means that you do not need to pay at the time of reservation, instead pay at the time of check in or check out.

Hotel Reservation Systems

OTRAMS

OTRAMS (Online Travel Reservation and Management System) is an online hotel reservation system developed by Qtech Software in 2007. OTRAMS is built on Open Source technology and was introduced in the market in 2007.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Multivia

2009-08-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Tarjeta Bip! is the name of the contactless card designed for paying the travel fares in the new mass transport system Transantiago in Santiago, Chile. Tarjeta Bip! or Bip! Card is a plastic card equipped with a chip, that automatically discounts the cost of a travel when passing the card near a contactless card reader.

Users can buy a new card for $1100 pesos (about 2 US dollars) and add money to the card in the ticket boxes located in the subways stations, bip! points, bip! centers, and inside a lot of shops in Santiago.

No personal data register is needed (unlike the cards used in London or other cities) with the exception of the personalized Bip! Cards, and other discount-fare Bip! Card for students and senior citizens (these cards feature a picture of the holder and the name printed on it).

Currently, the system operates fully functional in the whole Public Transport system of Santiago. Bip! Card is similar to other pre-paid cards and pay-as-you-go systems (like the Oyster card in London's Underground, the MetroCard in New York, and the Octopus card in Hong Kong). If you use the card in any bus, or in the Metro, you will get 4 free trips inside the next 2 hours after you pay the fist time.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Motel

2009-08-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

A motel is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having direct access to an open parking area.

Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, a portmanteau of motor and hotel or motorists' hotel, referred initially to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and, in some circumstances, a common area; or a series of small cabins with common parking. As the United States highway system began to develop in the 1920s, long distance road journeys became more common and the need for inexpensive, easily accessible overnight accommodation sited close to the main routes, led to the growth of the motel concept.

Motor Courts were typically one story, while motels are considered to be two story. Hotels consist of three stories or more.

History

Auto camps predated motels by a few years. Unlike motels, auto camps and tourist courts typically provided bed and breakfast or hotel style service, usually with stand-alone cabins. After the invention of the motel, auto camps continued in popularity through the Depression years and after World War II, their popularity finally starting to diminish with the construction of freeways and changes in consumer demands. Examples include the Rising Sun Auto Camp in Glacier National Park and Blue Bonnet Court in Texas. Such facilities were "mom-and-pop" facilities on the outskirts of a town that were as quirky as their owners. They attracted the first "road warriors" as they crossed North America in their new automobiles.

In contrast, though they remained "Mom and Pop" operations, motels quickly adopted a homogenized appearance and were designed from the start to cater purely for motorists. The motel concept originated with the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, constructed in 1925 by Arthur Heineman. In conceiving of a name for his hotel Heineman abbreviated motor hotel to mo-tel.

Motels are typically constructed in an 'I'- or 'L'- or 'U'-shaped layout that includes guest rooms, an attached manager's office, a small reception and, in some cases, a small diner. Post-war motels sought more visual distinction, often featuring eye-catching neon signs which employed themes from popular culture, ranging from Western imagery of cowboys and Indians to contemporary images of spaceships and atomic era iconography.

Motels differ from hotels in their common location along highways, as opposed to the urban cores favored by hotels, and their orientation to the outside (in contrast to hotels whose doors typically face an interior hallway). Motels almost by definition include a parking lot, while older hotels were not built with automobile parking in mind.

With the 1952 introduction of Kemmons Wilson's Holiday Inn, the mom-and-pop motels of that era went into decline. Eventually, the emergence of the interstate highway system, along with other factors, led to a blurring of the motel and the hotel, though family-owned motels with as few as five rooms may still be found, especially along older highways.

Long-term

Motels / hotels with low rates sometimes serve as housing for people who are not able to afford an apartment or have recently lost their home and need somewhere to stay until further arrangements are made. Motels catering to long-term stays often have kitchenettes.

Short-time

In most countries of Latin America and some countries of East Asia, motels are also known as short-time hotels, offering a short-time or "transit" stay with hourly rates, primarily intended for people having sexual liaisons and not requiring a full night's accommodation. In Mexico, love hotel equivalents are known as "Motel de paso" (Passing Motel), even if they are actually meant mostly for pedestrian access. In Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, motels are used by people for sexual intercourse only. In Argentina, these establishments are called albergue transitorio ("temporary lodging"), though known as telo in vesre-slang. In Panama, love hotels with individual garages are known as Push Buttons (referring to the button that you push to close the garage door and the other button that grants access to the room). In Paraguay, similarly to Brazil and Colombia, motels may charge only by the hour and are also popularly known as reservados. In Singapore, cheap hotels often offer a slightly more euphemistic "transit" stay for short-time visitors. In Manila, a campaign against the hotels, believed by religious conservatives to contribute to social decay in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, ended with the city banning hotels from offering stays of very short duration. As of December 2006, there are still many short time hotels in operation. In Belgium and France, these establishments are known as hôtels de passe. In Chile, they are known as moteles parejeros (coupling motels), and many of them offer hourly rates. In the United States and Canada, some ordinary motels in low income areas—often called no-tell motels or hot sheet motels—play a similar role to love hotels.

Films

The Bates Motel is an important part of Psycho, a 1959 novel by Robert Bloch and Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, Psycho. Film sequels, Psycho II and Psycho III, also feature the motel as does the 1987 television movie, Bates Motel. The motel makes appearances in Psycho IV: The Beginning, but is not featured as much as in previous films. The Bates Motel returned to prominence in the 1998 remake of the original film.

Legal issues

Motels have also served as a haven for fugitives of the law. In the past, the anonymity and the ability to move around easily between motels in different regions by dropping in and checking out with a simple registration process allowed fugitives to remain ahead of the law. However, several advances have reduced the capacity of motels to serve this purpose. Credit card transactions, which in the past were more easily approved and took days to report, are now approved or declined on the spot, and are instantly recorded in a database, thereby allowing law enforcement access to this information. This system was implemented in 1993 after the abduction and murder of Donna Martz, whose credit card was used by her killers, following her death to purchase food, gasoline and to pay for overnight motel stays. The story of Martz's disappearance, leading to the development of this system, was described on The FBI Files. Laws in many places now require registering guests to present a government-issued photo ID, especially when paying with cash. Local law enforcement agencies frequently check motels when they suspect a wanted individual may be staying in their jurisdiction.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Momondo

2009-08-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

Momondo.com is a travel search engine that allows the consumer to compare prices on flights, package tours, hotels, car rental and trains. The search engine aggregates results from more than 550 travel websites simultaneously to within seconds give an overview of the best offers found. Momondo doesn’t sell tickets; instead it shows the consumer where to buy at the best prices and links to the supplier. It is free of charge to use Momondo, which receives commission from sponsored links and advertising. In 2007 NBC Today’s Travel recommended that when it comes to finding the best offers on flights the consumer should go to sites like Kayak, Mobissimo, SideStep and Momondo instead of buying tickets from third-party sites that actually sell travel and are dealing directly with the airlines. In addition to the price comparisons Momondo also offers travel content written by bloggers based in different cities.

The company is Danish and is based in Copenhagen.

History

Momondo was launched in September 2006 as a flight search engine only. In September 2007 the website was re-launched now also offering city-guides and travel content. Since it has expanded to also offering price comparisons on package tours, hotels, car rental, trains and it has become a multilingual site that supports English, German, French; Italian; Spanish; Portuguese; Turkish; Swedish, Norwegian and Danish.

Media

In the early stages Momondo was mostly covered by the Danish media, such as DR1 and BT, drastically increasing the number of unique visitors from Denmark. Gradually more, Momondo has built a broader international following, helped by Frommers.com’s October 2007 test comparing different search engines and concluding that Momondo came up with the best offers. Subsequently CNN concluded that Momondo is the best flight search engine for: “Searching far and wide – fast”; and recommendations by CBS, ABC and The Daily Telegraph, amongst others, has further cemented Momondo’s position in the eye of the consumer.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Miles & More

2009-08-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Miles & More is the largest frequent flyer program in Europe with more than 15 million members as of May 2008. The program was launched by Lufthansa (LH) in 1993 and is currently used by 13 European airlines. The program enables its members to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on all of the fully integrated airlines as well as all the Star Alliance members. Furthermore, all customers are able to build status, which gives them access to certain privileges. Miles & More is free of charge and everybody can sign up.

Partnership history

* 1993 - Lufthansa introduces Miles & More on January 1, 1993
* 1997 - Star Alliance is founded by Air Canada, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International
* 2000 - The Austrian Airlines Group joined Miles & More
* 2003 - LOT Polish Airlines becomes a fully integrated partner
* 2006 - Swiss International Air Lines is bought by Lufthansa and its frequent flyer program, Swiss TravelClub, is converted to Miles & More on April 1, 2006
* 2009 - Brussels Airlines joins Miles & More

Airline partners of Miles & More

Fully-integrated airline partners

* Lufthansa
o Air Dolomiti (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
o Augsburg Airways (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
o Contact Air (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
o Eurowings (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
o Lufthansa CityLine (partner-airline of Lufthansa Regional)
o Lufthansa Italia (from February 2009)
* Austrian Airlines Group (since 2000)
* LOT Polish Airlines (since 2003)
* Swiss International Air Lines (since 2006)
* Adria Airways
* Croatia Airlines
* Luxair
* Brussels Airlines (since March 29 2009)

Star Alliance partner airlines

* Air Canada
* Air China (since December 2007)
* Air New Zealand
* All Nippon Airways (ANA)
* Asiana Airlines
* bmi
* EgyptAir
* Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)
* Singapore Airlines
* South African Airways
* Spanair
* TAP Portugal
* Shanghai Airlines (since December 2007)
* Thai Airways International
* Turkish Airlines (since April 2008)
* United Airlines
* US Airways

Star Alliance regional partners

* Blue1
* Adria Airways
* Croatia Airlines

Other partners

* Aegean Airlines
* Air India
* Air Malta
* Cimber Air
* Cirrus Airlines
* Condor Airlines
* Ethiopian Airlines
* Jat Airways
* Jet Airways
* Mexicana
* Qatar Airways
* TACA
* TAM

The miles

There are three types of miles within the program.

Award miles

These are the miles that can be collected in the account of a member and later on be used to buy flights, upgrades, merchandise from the Lufthansa WorldShop and other Miles & More partners. For standard Miles & More members they retain validity for 36 months, after which they expire. For Frequent Travellers, Senators and HON Circle Card holders, the miles have no expiration date. However, as soon as a customer does not hold any of these cards anymore, the expiration date of all miles is set to 36 months counting from loss of frequent flyer status. For Miles & More Credit Card (Visa or MasterCard) holders issued in several countries, miles have no expiration date as long as the card is held. After the credit card expires, the original expiry date of the miles is reinstated; although the earliest miles can expire is at the end of the quarter after the credit card contract is ended.

Status miles

Status miles can only be earned when flying on the fully integrated partner airlines or on Star Alliance members. There is no other way to earn these miles. In addition, status miles expire at the end of each calendar year. They are used to identify the frequent flyers and members are able to qualify for a higher status on the basis of the status miles that they have collected in one year.

HON Circle miles

HON Circle miles can only be earned when flying on the fully integrated partner airlines and Air-Rail trains in Germany (up to a total of 600.000 Miles within 2 calendar years). They are necessary to attain the top-tier status on Miles & More - HON Circle. Until April 1, 2006 it was possible to also collect this type of miles on United Airlines. This option does no longer exist.HON-miles are valid for 2 years. Furthermore, only Senators (with an account balance of more than 300,000 status miles over two years) and existing HON Circle members can see these miles on their account statement.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Mileage run

2009-08-10T23:16:00.001-07:00

A mileage run is a paid/revenue airline trip designed solely for gaining maximum frequent flyer miles, points or status for no other reason than to gain the miles, points or status.

Sometimes, a frequent flyer will embark on a mileage run for the purpose of boosting their frequent flyer account balance. For example, if a person is trying to raise their frequent flyer balance to a certain level in order to redeem an award ticket, they may "take a mileage run" in order to boost their account balance. This scenario is particularly useful if the traveler has already achieved some sort of elite status as they will be earning bonus miles on top of their actual flight miles, and consequently they will reach their goal much sooner.

Another common reason to take a mileage run is to (re-)qualify for an elite level. Suppose that in a particular frequent flyer program, 70,000 yearly miles are required for Platinum status. If a person calculates that his or her business travel will net them only 65,000 miles (105,000 km), they might be tempted to take a mileage run in order to cover the difference and re-qualify for elite status. Indeed, such requalification may very well net the person much more frequent flyer miles the following year.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, suspicion levels with air travel have been higher. As such, individuals that are traveling on itineraries with multiple stops, and short time in between the outbound and return segment, can be considered suspicious at times by airline personnel who encounter these itineraries. Similarly, travelers on international mileage runs can raise suspicions of immigration officials, since they have a short stay at the country they travel to and no official destination, other than the airport terminal.

In a similar manner, a "Mattress Run" is a stay at a hotel for the purpose of attaining enough stays in a year to obtain/maintain elite status on that hotel chain's Frequent Guest Program or when the points earned during a stay, as a result of bonus points and other promotions, are deemed to be worth more than the cost of the stay itself. These are quite popular on Friday and Saturday nights when many hotels offer good discounts to counter low occupancy rates.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Marchetti's Constant

2009-08-10T23:15:00.001-07:00

Marchetti's Constant is a term for the average amount of time spent travelling each day, which is approximately one and a half hours. Developed by Venetian physicist Cesare Marchetti, it posits that although forms of urban planning and transport may change, and although some live in villages and others in cities, people gradually adjust their lives to their conditions (including location of their homes relative to their workplace) such that the average travel time stays approximately constant. Even since Neolithic times, people have kept the time at which they travel per day the same, even though the distance may increase.

Activist, consultant and author Peter Newman often makes reference to Marchetti's Constant in his arguments for sustainable urban planning and transport.

A related concept is that of Yakov Zahavi, who also noticed that people seem to have a constant 'travel time budget'. Zahavi's work is cited by David Metz in his book 'The Limits to Travel' (2008) published by Earthscan, London p. 8. Metz refers to the travel time budget as 'a stable daily amount of time that people make available for travel' (ibid). Metz cites data of average travel time in Britain drawn from the British National Travel Survey in support of Marchetti's and Zahavi's conclusions. This work casts doubt on the contention that investment in infrastructure saves travel time. Instead it appears from Metz's figures that people invest travel time saved in travelling a longer distance. The point is also made in a 2009 paper by Yves Crozet: 'Economic Development and the Role of Travel time: The key concept of accessibility' published in Commissioned Papers for the 4th International Future Urban Transport Conference of the Volvo Research and Educational Foundations, Gothenburg, Sweden, April 19-21 2009.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Lost luggage

2009-08-08T06:01:00.001-07:00

Lost luggage is the phenomenon in which a public carrier, airline, ship, or train does not send a passenger's luggage to the correct destination to arrive with the passenger. In the United States, an average of 1 of 150 people have their checked baggage misdirected or left behind each year.

Lost or misdirected luggage becomes more common the more elaborate a flight plan is. International flights, or flights with connections are far more likely to see luggage get lost. There are many causes of lost luggage. If a passenger arrives late for a flight, their luggage will sometimes not have enough time to be loaded on the plane. If tags are accidentally torn off airport workers may not know where to send the luggage. Human error is also common as tags are misread or luggage is placed in the wrong location. Sometimes there is no room in the plane or weight problems. Security delays can also cause bags to arrive on a later flight than their owner. Customs processing is normally handled after luggage is picked up.

Most lost luggage is quickly sent by the airline to the correct destination. For the inconvenience airlines will often reimburse passengers for toiletries, clothing, and other essentials if the arrival airport is away from the passenger's home area. In most cases, upon the arrival of delayed luggage, a courier service will deliver it from the arrival airport to the passenger at his or her home or hotel. Delivery charges are paid by the airline except in rare cases.

On some occasions luggage is completely lost and cannot be recovered. The airline will then normally compensate the owner. The passengers must then list the contents of their baggage and file a claim. Most airlines maintain stores where they sell the contents of lost or abandoned luggage. If a bag is never recovered it is usually because it has been stolen or mistaken by another passenger or stolen by an airport employee.

To deal with lost luggage travelers are advised to carry all essentials in a carry-on bag, including a change of clothes and anything they would be greatly troubled to lose because of monetary or emotional value.

Bags can also be damaged during travel, but most damage (such as broken wheels and handles) is not covered under the airlines' contract of carriage. Some airlines, however, will still repair such damage as a good-faith gesture to the customer, or offer a discount voucher for a future flight. In general airlines regard the purpose of luggage to be the protection of its contents during transit. If the luggage is damaged, even severely, but the contents remain unharmed then airlines regard the luggage as having fulfilled its purpose and will not compensate owners.

The majority of unclaimed baggage in the United States, whether by being lost or misdirected, or simply forgotten by travelers, is handled by the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, which has contracts with most major airlines. The luggage sent to UBC is eventually resold for a profit.

The U.S. Department of Transportation maintains air travel consumer reports, which includes statistics on mishandled baggage. For April 2009 Atlantic Southeast Airlines was the top ranked for reports of mishandled baggage with 9.17 reports per 1000 passengers.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Lodging

2009-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lodging (or a holiday accommodation) is a type of residential accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.

Lodging is done in a hotel, hostel or hostal, a private home (commercial, i.e. a bed and breakfast, a guest house, a vacation rental, or non-commercially, with members of hospitality services or in the home of friends), in a tent, caravan/camper (often on a campsite). In addition there are make-shift solutions.

Sleeping is typically done lying in a bed, or more generally on a soft surface, such as an air mattress, a couch, etc. Some trains have sleeping cars.

Sometimes people sleep sitting, because lying is not possible, such as in a train (if not in a sleeping car), a bus, a seat in a waiting room or a bench on the street or in a park. Inclinable seats allow something between sitting and lying. Whether lying on a row of seats is possible and comfortable depends on the presence of arm rests, and whether they can be moved up. In some public places, lying would be possible, but is not permitted.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Lifestyle travelling

2009-08-06T03:46:00.001-07:00

Lifestyle traveling is a type of alternative lifestyle practiced by people who travel for many years, usually from country to country.

Lifestyle travelers normally engage in free lance jobs, entrepreneurship, own companies, or temporary jobs.

Lifestyle travelers also dedicate to care for people, nature and culture, live and experience earth as global citizens.

In preference to "settling down" with a family or other traditional life goals, some lifestyle travelers can actually develop a career or even start a family.

To become a lifestyle traveler, it is necessary to change the normal way of understanding life and managing resources and decisions.

Young people often pursue a year or two of living abroad traveling, called a Wanderjahre, before settling down, returning to university, or otherwise resuming a regular lifestyle. This is known as backpacking. A very small minority, however, follow the path of the lifestyle traveler, as a path for a major part or even all of their adult lives.

Some lifestyle travelers purchase a sailboat, which allows a place to live and a mode of transportation at the same time. Others rely on cheap berths on cargo ships or modern aviation to take them from destination to destination, purchasing, for example, inexpensive standby or open-jaw tickets to meet the flexibilities of their schedule. Others, according to their budget and way to generate income, travel with a van, or have their own airplane, or even continue backpacking.

Popular destinations include Goa and other areas of India, Thailand, Mexico, South America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Algeria, Morocco, and to a lesser degree Egypt, Turkey, and Romania.

Lifestyle travelers, as opposed to short-term backpackers, tend to spend at least three to six months in their various home cities, usually to cut down on costs but also to get the full advantage from each new culture they explore. Stays of two, five or even ten years are not uncommon, at the far end of which the only distinction between being an expatriate and a lifestyle traveler is the certainty that one is leaving.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Layover

2009-08-06T03:44:00.000-07:00

In transportation, a layover or lay over is some form of a break between parts of a single trip.

In mass transit

A layover for a mass transit line refers to the break the driver or the vehicle is given at the end of a trip before it starts operating its reverse route, or if the route is circular, before beginning its next trip. The layover has several benefits. These include:

* If the service has arrived at the final point is behind its scheduled time, this allows for make-up time prior to starting the next trip, and therefore, better schedule adherence on the route.
* Allows for the operator of the vehicle to have a break without disrupting the service. If a shift change is necessary, this also can be done here without disrupting the service.
* In some cases, may allow for the vehicle being used to undergo a safety inspection.

The typical layover for a public bus line may be:

* A bus stop along the street in a location where the vehicle's presence will not be disruptive to the flow of traffic.
* An apartment complex or other similar development.
* A mall or shopping center parking lot or similar facility.
* A well-known landmark, such as a hospital, college or university, or a government facility.
* A commuter rail station or a park-and-ride lot.

Sometimes, such a location may serve as a layover for more than one bus line. Many cities have specified locations, known as hubs or bus stations, which serve as a layover point for several routes. In many cases, the layover point for one route may simply be an intermediate stop for another, where riders can transfer.

In long-distance travel

A layover in long-distance travel by plane, train, or inter-city bus can refer to a break that a passenger must take between vehicles in a multi-vehicle trip. It refers to the time that is spent at a terminal after departing one vehicle and waiting to board the next. Many inter-city and international travelers face layovers during their journeys.

As in mass transit, the term layover is also applicable in long-distance travel for breaks taken by operators. A vehicle is said to be laying over after it finishes its route and is waiting prior to a return trip, or else it is taking a break to change crews or for the crew to rest.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Kistler Valley Road

2009-08-04T09:08:00.002-07:00

Kistler Valley Road is a secondary road linking Berks County, Pennsylvania and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. This road is also referred to as the "Cement Highway" because it was at one time made of cement, rather than asphalt. The route both begins and ends in unincorporated communities; Kempton and Lynville. Ironically, it begins at the Kempton Hotel and ends at the Lynnville Hotel. After this, the road continues east as Holbens Valley Road.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Kemwel

2009-08-04T09:08:00.001-07:00

Kemwel is an independent car rental consolidator based in Portland, Maine, United States, with access to over 750,000 vehicles in Europe and worldwide from over 4,000 pick up locations.

The company dates from 1908 as a parking garage in New York City, but became a Studebaker dealer, then, finally in 1958, a Mercedes-Benz dealer. It was the addition of the Mercedes line that prompted the owner to branch out into rental vehicles. Due to Mercedes' insistence that buyers come to the factory in Germany to buy the vehicles at a discounted price, once there, the customers usually had to wait while the vehicle was being built. Most of these clients needed transportation, so the idea to branch out into car rentals was born and implemented.

In 2001 Kemwel moved to Portland, Maine.

Kemwel focuses now on low-cost and student car rentals, Peugeot short term car leasing, and

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Jetpooling

2009-08-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

Jetpooling (also known as jet-sharing) is an arrangement among a group of jet travelers by which each individual shares the cost of private jet travel by paying on a per seat, pro rata basis. Those included in such arrangements are referred to as 'jetpoolers'. Jetpooling is a fairly new concept (12/2008) that originated as an alternative for air travelers to still enjoy the benefits of travelling on a private jet without paying all of the expenses involved. It was also developed to help offset carbon emissions by allowing people who would otherwise book separate jets, to fly together.

Jetpoolers match flight terms and then enlists an agent to act on their behalf to secure lift for the trip. With jetpooling, flights are not previously booked, per se', rather they are booked once travelers agree on terms (from, to, date, time). No funds change hands amongst the travelers. Flight costs are collected by the agent that secures the jet.

Jetpooling only applies to aircraft with turbine engines. Some aviation companies may offer a similar product using smaller, piston aircraft, but these offerings do not require DOT/FAA approval to do so. Companies that offer jetpooling using the aforementioned concept must receive DOT/FAA approval in order to legally allow travelers to pay on a per seat, pro rata basis.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Jet lag

2009-08-02T05:47:00.000-07:00

Jet lag, also jetlag or jet-lag, medically referred to as "desynchronosis" is a physiological condition which is a consequence of alterations to circadian rhythms; it is classified as one of the circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Jet lag results from rapid long-distance transmeridian (east-west or west-east) travel, as on a jet plane.

The condition of jet lag may last many days, and recovery rates of 1 day per eastward time zone or 1 day per 1.5 westward time zones are mentioned as fair guidelines.

Cause

When traveling across a number of time zones, the body clock will be out of synchronisation with the destination time, as it experiences daylight and darkness contrary to the rhythms to which it has grown accustomed: the body's natural pattern is upset, as the rhythms that dictate times for eating, sleeping, hormone regulation and body temperature variations no longer correspond to the environment nor to each other in some cases. To the degree that the body cannot immediately realign these rhythms, it is jet lagged.

The speed at which the body adjusts to the new schedule depends on the individual; some people may require several days to adjust to a new time zone, while others experience little disruption. Crossing one or two time zones does not typically cause jet lag.

The condition is not linked to the length of flight, but to the transmeridian (east-west) distance traveled. A ten-hour flight from Europe to southern Africa does not cause jet lag, as travel is primarily north-south. A five hour flight from the west to the east coast of the United States may well result in jet lag.

Crossing the International Date Line does not contribute to jet lag, as the guide for calculating jet lag is the number of time zones crossed, and the maximum possible disruption is plus or minus fourteen hours.

Symptoms

The symptoms of jet lag can be quite varied, depending on the amount of time zone alteration. They may include the following:

* Digestive problems
* Headache
* Fatigue, irregular sleep patterns, temporary insomnia
* Disorientation, grogginess, irritability
* Mild depression

Other symptoms which some may attribute to jet lag, such as nausea, ear aches and swollen feet, may be caused by the mode of travel rather than the time zone change.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Itamos

2009-07-31T18:34:00.002-07:00

Itamos (Ίταμος) is a municipality in the Karditsa Prefecture, Greece. Population 4,726 (2001). The seat of the municipality is in Kallithiro.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

International Student Identity Card

2009-07-31T18:34:00.001-07:00

The International Student Identity Card (ISIC) is a photo identification card that identifies the holder as a full-time student. It currently is the only such form of identification that is internationally recognized (though not accepted at many establishments as proof of age).

Cardholders gain access to special discounts with many companies, particularly on travel-related services such as airplanes, buses, trains, ferries, and rental cars. Other discounts are for museums and cultural sites, various attractions and entertainment, hostels and hotels, and bars and restaurants. As a guide price, cards cost $22 in the US or £9 in the UK. In the United States, cards come with international travel/medical insurance, hence the increased cost.

The card is issued by the ISIC Association, which describes itself as "an international, not-for-profit membership association of the World Youth & Student Educational Travel Confederation". The ISIC Association reports that it has issued almost 45 million ISIC cards since the early 1960s.

ISIC is endorsed by UNESCO.

If an individual is not a full-time student, but aged under 26 or is a full-time teacher or professor, the International Youth Travel Card (IYTC) or International Teacher Identity Card (ITIC) could apply. The IYTC and ITIC offer similar benefits, services and savings to the ISIC card.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

International Identity Federation

2009-07-29T15:58:00.001-07:00

The International Identity Federation (www.idfed.org) was formed in Scotland during 2006. IDFed provides a web-based solution to the problem of identification of injured or distressed travellers. Members are issued with a unique number embossed onto an identity tag or bracelet. They use a forum to log their movements and this relates back to a secure data base controlled by a 24 hour monitoring service. In the event of a member being found helpless, the 18 digit unique number (created using an algorithm) is used to inform next of kin or employers and aid in the treatment and/or repatriation of the member. For those undertaking particularly hazardour or dangerous journeys, DNA profiling is also offered through a UK Department of Justice approved specialist DNA laboratory based at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

International Committee for Exhibition Exchange

2009-07-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

The International Committee for Exhibition Exchange (ICEE) is one of the international committees of the International Council of Museums(ICOM).

It is a non-governmental organization with formal relations to the UNESCO and functions as a forum for the dissemination of knowledge and experience about exhibitions.
The committee deals with many different aspects of exhibition development, circulation and exchange. It also collects information about potential as well as existing travelling exhibitions.
The ICEE holds meetings annually and have various publications that offer practical solutions to help professionals organize exhibitions.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Independent travel

2009-07-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

Independent travel is the umbrella term which best describes an important developing market. With the world travel market having undergone significant changes over the last few years a new type of tourist has emerged known as the "free independent traveler" (or tourist (FIT).

Definition

The definition is broad but it tends to refer to people over 35, often, though not necessarily, of above average income who prefer to travel in small groups or typically as couples. They eschew mass tourism and the package holiday concept promoted by travel or tour operators, in favour of a more individualistic and fluid approach to travel.

Implications

There are two implications to the concept of the free independent traveler. One is important in the context of a marketing niche with a distinct economic behaviour whilst the other concentrates more on the philosophy of travel. This distinction can be summarized in how they are described. For the economic importance of tourism and for marketing purposes they are Free Independent Travelers as they are an identifiable group within the market) whilst the people themselves are perhaps more attracted to the possibilities and lack of limitations in the concept of being a free, independent traveler.

Make-up

The independent travel vacation or holiday is a custom built cocktail, complied with suggestions from friends, forums, specialty providers or others, creating the idea around which a trip is built. The FITs themselves are responsible for adding components in place of the traditional package operators.

Increasing popularity

The rise of low cost airlines in the US and Europe has increased the supply of alternative and lower cost short haul destinations fueling demand for these newly available markets. Southwest Airlines in the US, Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe and later Spanish, German and nationally orientated airlines grew up adding destinations and creating an internationally networked portfolio of air-routes delivering people to destinations which were not previously available at a commercial, international level. The internet is fundamental to the rise of independent travel, offering suggestions and ideas, for example, a good meal out in Rome from a fellow FIT, across the globe, who ate there last week can be relayed and sourced instantly.

As an economic phenomenon

Free and independent travelers are an important and growing sector in the market. Governments, regional tourist boards and other public sectors responsible for tourism development try to attract them. Why? The basic principle is economics. FITs spread their money around. Fifteen FITs will eat, sleep, snack, take a coffee, go to theatres/art shows/opera festivals/football games/rural villages in fifteen different locations and introduce their money in hundreds of different channels. Contrast this with a tour group of another 15 people run by a tour operator based in and delivering share-holder profit to Country A. Their tour to Country B is less efficient from an economic development perspective as the tour operator controls and constrains so many of the components in the chain.

Trivia

Independent travel is also sometimes referred to as DIY travel or Do-It-Yourself travel.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Inclusive tour

2009-07-28T04:56:00.000-07:00

The term inclusive tour (IT) is used to describe a commercial arrangement where a company commonly referred to as a tour operator organises package holidays that include accommodation in addition to transportation. These arrangements are usually built around charter flights carrying a group of individuals who share seats on the same plane to travel together to their intended holiday destination as well as back to their point of origin. These flights can be organised by individuals on behalf of other individuals or by tour companies. They also include accommodation and - in some cases - other holiday arrangements such as the provision of meals as well. Everything is sold to the holidaymaker as an all-inclusive package. In contrast, firms that charter aircraft without offering any accommodation are generally referred to as "seat-only" operators.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Hotel

2009-07-25T09:50:00.001-07:00

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control. Additional common features found in hotel rooms are a telephone, an alarm clock, a television, and Internet connectivity; snack foods and drinks may be supplied in a mini-bar, and facilities for making hot drinks. Larger hotels may provide a number of additional guest facilities such as a restaurant, a swimming pool or childcare, and have conference and social function services.

Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours; to avoid this requirement it is not uncommon to come across private hotels which are not subject to this requirement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.

In Australia, Canada and Ireland, the word may also refer to a pub or bar and might not offer accommodation. In India, the word may also refer to a restaurant since the best restaurants were always situated next to a good hotel.

Etymology

The word hotel is derived from the French hôtel (coming from hôte meaning host), which referred to a French version of a townhouse or any other building seeing frequent visitors, rather than a place offering accommodation. In contemporary French usage, hôtel now has the same meaning as the English term, and hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning. The French spelling, with the circumflex, was also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' found in the earlier hostel spelling, which over time took on a new, but closely related meaning. Grammatically, hotels usually take the definite article - hence "The Astoria Hotel" or simply "The Astoria".

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Hospitality service

2009-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

The concept of Hospitality Services, also known as “accommodation sharing”, “hospitality exchange” (short “hospex”), and “home stay networks”, refers to centrally organized social networks of individuals who trade accommodation without monetary exchange. While this concept could also include house swapping or even time share plans, it has come to be associated mostly with travelers and tourists staying with one another free of charge. Since the 1990s, these services have increasingly moved away from using printed catalogs and the telephone, to connecting users via the internet. As of March, 2008 over 1,000,000 people are registered users of these internet networks.

History

In 1949, Bob Luitweiler founded the first hospitality service called Servas Open Doors as a cross national, non-profit, volunteer run organization advocating interracial and international peace. The next began in 1965 when John Wilcock set up the Traveler's Directory as a listing of his friends willing to host each other when traveling. This later became the Hospitality Exchange in 1988 when Joy Lily rescued the organization from imminent shutdown. Hospitality Club is the direct successor Hospex, the first Internet-based service, operating out of Germany since 2000. CouchSurfing is the largest hospitality exchange organization and was founded in 2004. Just as all the individual services have their own individual creation stories and organizational histories (often including demise and resurrection), many also have specific niche markets that they cater to including students, activists, religious pilgrims, and even occupational groups like police officers. However, the trend in recent years points to a greater consolidation of users in networks without a specific group, value, or lifestyle affiliation.

How they work

In essence, these systems employ reciprocity – users gain access to other users’ information only by posting their own. Required fields normally include name and contact information, though newer services encourage users to include more detailed personal material, including likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, and even photographs. Of course, more information included tends to improve the chances that someone will find them trustworthy enough to host or stay with while traveling. It is very much akin to social networking sites.

Benefits

Monetary savings

Staying in private homes means that travelers can save lots of money on accommodation that they would usually be spending on hotels or hostels. Used over a long period of time (2 to 4 weeks), this strategy can cut overall travel budgets in half, or even more combined with hitchhiking. These savings can then be passed on towards more generously patronizing local establishments or simply staying abroad for longer periods of time.

Local economic sustainability

Many tourist vacations today are sold in package form, often including flights, hotels, rental cars, sightseeing tours, and coupons for chain restaurants and bars. While this makes purchasing more convenient, it also puts more money in the hands of large multinational corporations exploiting the synergy strategy of marketing their products in the context of their subsidiary companies operating in other markets. Many years ago, this might have been termed collusion; today, however, it is the norm. This comes at the expense of locally owned independent businesses. Accommodation sharing helps to break apart this monopoly and hopefully redirects some of the tourist revenue back to the local or national economy.

Ecological sustainability

While this is especially important in more rural travel venues where hotels are often built in very picturesque, though fragile environments, every night stayed at a local’s home means that much less demand for such hotel rooms. Also, if accommodation sharing does in fact increase the length of average stays, it may reduce the amount of trips to and from different locations and back home again, thus reducing the overall fuel expenditures in the process.

Local contact

Ostensibly, one of the primary reasons we travel is to experience what life is like for people living in other countries. Making interpersonal connections and fostering understanding of different cultures may in the long run also be important to international relations. However, even in our increasingly globalized world, supposedly rife with diversity, in many popular travel destinations, we find tourists milling around “tourist enclaves”, where the companies they patronize back home have set up shop to cater to their desires while they are abroad. Sociologist George Ritzer has referred to this phenomenon as the "McDonaldisation of society" and the more recently, the "globalization of nothing". The location of hotels near these centers only fosters more convenient envelopment of the tourist money. During hospitality exchanges, hosts want to show off their local knowledge and exciting “off the map” venues. Not only may travelers get a distinctly different experience, but they will also get a feel for the everyday lives of local residents.

Reciprocity

These systems foster richer and more convenient travel experiences not so much on the premise of altruism, but on the basis of social exchange theory. Implicit in the agreement to host travelers is the ability to ask to be hosted by them in the future. If one enjoys having interesting guests in their home, this works out well for both parties. It works comparatively better if you are visited by travelers from a locale you find particularly attractive. Thus, hosting someone from New York City in Gainesville, Florida seems to be an unbelievable opportunity. Moreover, if you are a Westerner visiting someone in a developing country, your stay might be the only way that this individual or family could afford a trip to a rich nation. This may mean more than just a relaxing vacation for such disadvantaged parties.

Authenticity and adventure

Tourism has always searched for these two qualities, but much like Midas and his golden touch, the reach of tourism has to a large extent destroyed the opportunity to encounter them in most places. Unluckily, the experience has been thoroughly commodified by everyone who wanted to secure their opportunity to make a profit in the process. Accommodation sharing offers a way out of this bind and a viable alternative to having one’s desires manipulated by corporate conglomerates who never had the best interests of the place or the people foremost in their minds.

Drawbacks

Lack of guarantee

There is no contractual agreement between users in these systems. Reservations are made, but if they are for some reason broken, there is no higher authority to which one could plead for a refund or other compensation. The only repercussion will be the poor rating you give that user and your only consolation will be that your warning will deter others from visiting or hosting them. For those who feel insecure unless their travel arrangements are written in stone before departure, this system will not be comforting.

Potential interpersonal conflict or awkwardness

There is a chance that guest and host will not get along. Perhaps there will be scheduling or ideological conflicts. Maybe you will find that hosts or visitors have misrepresented themselves. Perhaps the experience will not live up to your expectations. Intense interpersonal communications in advance and a flexibility once you have arrived is your best bet. These experiences require additional planning and courtesy towards the demands of your host. Thus, your living conditions, length of stay, and overall experience will be circumscribed by the living conditions you enter into.

Digital divide and demographic segregation

The average user is a young white person who speaks English and lives in a developed nation. While there are many users who do not fit this description, the more different they are, the less likely they will be involved. This is especially true for persons living in the developing world who likely do not have easy access to the fundamental prerequisite for using these services: computers and the Internet. Thus, the sample population found in searches of these databases are really much less diverse than a geographical representation of worldwide users might suggest.

Security

There is a distinct possibility that someone will abuse the system and that innocent users will get hurt. All services include disclaimers that require users to waive their rights to hold anyone but themselves responsible for any harm that may come to them in using the system. They advise that the best defense mechanism is to only involve oneself with users that have extensive personal information and interpersonal networks within the system that have been verified by others. It does seem entirely plausible that someone clever and patient enough might be able to invent an entire group of complex user identities and build histories convincing enough to fool even more cautious patrons. Still, the difference between these systems and the other social networking platforms popular nowadays on the web (such as Facebook, MySpace, Tribe, Orkut and LiveJournal) is that any agreement reached through the accommodation sharing medium is contingent on actually meeting other people face-to-face. Other web scams are easier because interpersonal interactions rely so much on putative identities that are never actually verified in the real world. However, this does not diminish the greater risk to physical well being that this kind of traveling by definition must entertain. The best advice is to meet unknown persons in public spaces first, and try to meet some of their acquaintances in person before agreeing to a hospitality exchange.

Example networks

There are countless websites that serve the idea of hospitality service, with new ones appearing as this phenomenon becomes more popular. While this page is not intended to be a directory listing, here is a small sample of the well-established and long-standing networks:

* CouchSurfing - A very active network with over 1 million members in more than 200 countries
* Hospitality Club - A very active network with over 390 thousand members in more than 200 countries
* Servas International - human rights and global peace oriented since 1949. A relatively small network now with over 15,000 members with a very long history.

Specialized networks

Some networks offer specialised hospitality services. There are at least 15 (specialised) hospitality services., here are some examples:

* Lesbian and Gay Hospitality Exchange International;
* Warm Showers - Hospitality network towards touring cyclists;
* Pasporta Servo - for Esperanto speakers;
* WWOOF - "Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms", help on the property is exchanged for food, accommodation, education and cultural interaction;
* HelpX - "Help Exchange", help is exchanged for food, accommodation, experience and cultural interaction;
* Homeshare International -- charity organisation providing exchange of housing for help in the home.
* Ridester -- ride sharing for travelers.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Holiday

2009-07-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents, but usually refer to one of the following activities or events:

* Official or unofficial observances of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations or festivities
* A general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation
* A specific trip or journey for the purposes of recreation or tourism

People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances, or for specific festivals or celebrations. Vacation or holidays are often used spent with friends or family.

A person may take a longer break from work, such as a sabbatical, gap year, or career break.

Etymology

Holiday

Holiday is a contraction of holy and day. Holiday originally refered only to special religious days. In modern use, it means any special day of rest, as opposed to normal days off work or school.

Vacation

In the United Kingdom, vacation once specifically referred to the long summer break taken by the law courts and, later, universities—a custom introduced by William the Conqueror from Normandy where it facilitated the grape harvest. The French term is similar to American English: "Les Vacances". In the past, many upper-class families moved to a summer home for part of the year, leaving their usual family home vacant.

Regional meanings

As a trip

Vacation, in English-speaking North America, describes recreational travel, such as a short pleasure trip, or a journey abroad. Most of the rest of the English-speaking world says holiday, rather than vacation. Americans, especially those of recent British or European descent, may also say, going on holiday. People in Commonwealth countries also use the phrase, going on leave.

Canadians often use vacation and holiday interchangeably referring to a trip away from home or time off work. In Australia, the term can refer to a vacation or a public holiday.

As an observance

In all of the English-speaking world, including North America, holiday may refer to a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) for commemoration, celebration, or other observance. Schools, business, and workplaces often close for holidays.

Employment issues

Most countries around the world have labor laws that mandate employers give a certain number of paid time-off days per year to workers. Nearly all Canadian provinces require at least two weeks, while in most of Europe the minimum is higher. US Where law does not mandate vacation time, many employers nonetheless offer paid vacation, typically 10 to 20 work days, to attract employees. Under US federal law, employers usually must compensate terminated employees for accrued but unused vacation time. Additionally, most American employers provide paid days off for national holidays, such as Christmas, New Years, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving.

While US federal and most state law provides for leave such as medical leave, there are movements attempting to remove vacation time as a factor in the free-market labor pool by requiring mandatory vacation time.

In the United Kingdom and Denmark, mandated summer holidays present issues to parents planning vacations. Accordingly, holiday companies charge higher prices, giving an incentive for parents to use their work vacation time in term time.

Types of holiday (observance)

Consecutive holidays

Consecutive holidays refers to holidays that occur in a group without working days in between. In the late 1990s, the Japanese government passed a law that increased the likelihood of consecutive holidays by moving holidays from fixed days to a relative position in a month, such as the second Monday.

Religious holidays

Many holidays are linked to faiths and religions (see etymology above). Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year. The Catholic patronal feast day or 'name day' are celebrated in each place's patron saint's day, according to the Calendar of saints. In Islam, the largest holidays are Eid and Ramadan. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of the largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). Japanese holidays contain references to several different faiths and beliefs. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year. Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities. The Bahá'í Faith observes holidays as defined by the Bahá'í calendar. Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach (Passover), Chag Ha-Matzot (Festival of Unleavened Bread), and Shavuot (Weeks, called Pentacost in Greek); and the Fall Feasts of Yom Teruah (Day of Blessing, also called Rosh HaShannah), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Northern Hemisphere winter holidays

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere features many holidays that involve festivals and feasts. The winter holiday season surrounds the winter solstice celebrated by many religions and cultures. Usually, this period begins near the start of November and ends with New Year's Day. Holiday season is, somewhat, a commercial term that applies, in the US, to the period that begins with Thanksgiving and ends with New Year's Eve. Some Christian countries consider the end of the festive season to be after the feast of Epiphany.

National holidays

Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history. For example, Australians celebrate Australia Day.

Secular holidays

Several secular holidays are observed, both internationally, and across multi-country regions, often in conjunction with organizations such as the United Nations. Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given.

Unofficial holidays

These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are "funny" holidays celebrated with humorous intent.

Opposition

Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate holidays, including Christmas, Halloween, and Easter, because they believe holidays are pagan.. They reject national holidays as well because they believe that by celebrating these holidays they are giving honor to man's governments and not God's Kingdom.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Gunflint lodge

2009-07-19T02:28:00.000-07:00

Gunflint Lodge is one of the oldest and the most well-known lodges on the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota. It is located on Gunflint Lake, on the border of Ontario, Canada, and is open year round.

Built in the 1920s by the Spunner family, the lodge was sold in the 1930s to the Kerfoot family, and has been owned by them since.

Some of the most popular activities at the lodge are fishing and hiking, and in the winter, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

The lodge was threatened by the Ham Lake Fire in spring of 2007, but avoided any damage.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Grand Tour

2009-07-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

The Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. The tradition continued after rail and steamship travel made the journey less of a burden, and American and other overseas youth joined in. It served as an education rite of passage. Primarily associated with Britain (particularly the British nobility and wealthy gentry), similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent.

The New York Times described the Grand Tour in this way:

Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.

The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, lay in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the European continent. In addition, it provided the only opportunity to view specific works of art, and possibly the only chance to hear certain music. A grand tour could last from several months to several years. It was commonly undertaken in the company of a knowledgeable guide or tutor. The Grand Tour had more than superficial cultural importance; as E.P. Thompson stated, "ruling-class control in the 18th century was located primarily in a cultural hegemony, and only secondarily in an expression of economic or physical (military) power.

History

Thomas Coryat's travel book Coryat's Crudities (1611) was an early influence on the Grand Tour. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of the term (perhaps its introduction to English) was by Richard Lassels (c 1603-1668), an expatriate Roman Catholic priest, in his book An Italian Voyage, which was published posthumously in Paris in 1670 and then in London. Lassels' introduction listed four areas in which travel furnished "an accomplished, consummate Traveller": the intellectual, the social, the ethical (by the opportunity of drawing moral instruction from all the traveller saw), and the political.

The idea of traveling for the sake of curiosity and learning was a developing idea in the 17th century. With John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) it was argued, and widely accepted, that knowledge comes entirely from the external senses, that what one knows comes from the physical stimuli to which one has been exposed, thus, one could "use up" the environment, taking from it all it offers, requiring a change of place. Travel, therefore, was necessary for one to develop the mind and expand knowledge of the world. As a young man at the outset of his account of a repeat Grand Tour the historian Edward Gibbon remarked that "According to the law of custom, and perhaps of reason, foreign travel completes the education of an English gentleman." Consciously adapted for intellectual self-improvement, Gibbon was "revisiting the Continent on a larger and more liberal plan"; most Grand Tourists did not pause more than briefly in libraries.

The typical 18th century sentiment was that of the studious observer traveling through foreign lands reporting his findings on human nature for those unfortunate to have stayed home. Recounting ones' observations to society at large to increase its welfare was considered an obligation; the Grand Tour flourished in this mindset.

The Grand Tour not only provided a liberal education but allowed those who could afford it the opportunity to buy things otherwise unavailable at home, and it thus increased participants' prestige and standing. Grand Tourists would return with crates of art, books, pictures, sculpture, and items of culture, which would be displayed in libraries, cabinets, gardens, and drawing rooms, as well as the galleries built purposively for their display; The Grand Tour became a symbol of wealth and freedom. Artists who especially thrived on Grand Tourists included Pompeo Batoni the portraitist, and the vedutisti such as Canaletto, Pannini and Guardi. The less well-off could return with an album of Piranesi etchings.

The "perhaps" in Gibbon's opening remark cast an ironic shadow over his resounding statement. Critics of the Grand Tour derided its lack of adventure. "The tour of Europe is a paltry thing", said one 18th century critic, "a tame, uniform, unvaried prospect". The Grand Tour was said to reinforce the old preconceptions and prejudices about national characteristics, as Jean Gailhard's Compleat Gentleman (1678) observes: "French courteous. Spanish lordly. Italian amorous. German clownish." The deep suspicion with which Tour was viewed at home in England, where it was feared that the very experiences that completed the British gentleman might well undo him, were epitomised in the sarcastic nativist view of the ostentatiously "well-travelled" maccaroni of the 1760s and 70s.

After the arrival of steam-powered transportation, around 1825, the Grand Tour custom continued, but it was of a qualitative difference—cheaper to undertake, safer, easier, open to anyone. During much of the 19th century, most educated young men of privilege undertook the Grand Tour. Germany and Switzerland came to be included in a more broadly defined circuit. Later, it became fashionable for young women as well; a trip to Italy, with a spinster aunt chaperon, was part of the upper-class woman's education, as in E.M. Forster's novel A Room with a View.

Travel itinerary

The most common itinerary of the Grand Tour shifted across generation in the cities it embraced, but the tourist usually began in Dover, England and crossed the English Channel to Calais in France. From there the tourist, usually accompanied by a tutor (known colloquially as a "bear-leader") and if wealthy enough a league of servants, would acquire a coach (which would be disassembled and packed across the Alps, as in Giacomo Casanova's travels, and then resold on completion) and other travel and transportation needs.

Upon hiring a French-speaking guide, the tourist and his entourage would travel to Paris. There the traveller might undertake lessons in French, dancing, fencing, and riding. The appeal of Paris lay in the sophisticated language and manners of French high society, including courtly behavior and fashion. Ostensibly this served the purpose of preparing the young man for a leadership position at home, often in government or diplomacy.

From Paris he would typically go to urban Switzerland for a while, often to Geneva (the cradle of the Protestant Reformation) or Lausanne. ("Alpinism," or mountaineering, was a development of the 19th century.) From there the traveller would endure a difficult crossing over the Alps into northern Italy (such as at St. Bernard Pass), which included dismantling the carriage and luggage. If wealthy enough, he might be carried over the hard terrain by servants.

Once in Italy the tourist would visit Turin (and, less often, Milan), then might spend a few months in Florence, where there was a considerable Anglo-Italian society accessible to traveling Englishmen "of quality" and where the Tribuna of the Uffizi gallery brought together in one space the monuments of High Renaissance paintings and Roman sculptures that would inspire picture galleries dressed with antiquities at home, with side trips to Pisa, then move on to Padua, Bologna, and Venice. The British idea of Venice as the "locus of decadent Italianate allure" made it an epitome and cultural setpiece of the Grand Tour.

From Venice the traveller went to Rome to study the ruins of ancient Rome. Some travelers also visited Naples to study music, and (after the mid-18th century) to appreciate the recently-discovered archaeological sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii and perhaps for the adventurous thrilling ascent of Mount Vesuvius. Later in the period the more adventurous, especially if provided with a yacht, might attempt Sicily (the site of Greek ruins) or even Greece itself. But Naples or later Paestum further south was the usual terminus.

From here the traveller traversed the Alps heading north through to the German-speaking parts of Europe. The traveller might stop first in Innsbruck before visiting Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and Potsdam, with perhaps some study time at the universities in Munich or Heidelberg. From then travelers visited Holland and Flanders (with more gallery-going and art appreciation) before returning across the Channel to England.

Published accounts

Published (and often polished) accounts of personal experiences on the Grand Tour provide illuminating detail and a first-hand perspective of the experience. Of some accounts offered in their own lifetimes, Jeremy Black detects the element of literary artifice in these and cautions that they should be approached as travel literature rather than unvarnished accounts; he instances Joseph Addison, John Andrews, William Thomas Beckford, William Coxe, Elizabeth Craven, John Moore, tutor to successive dukes of Hamilton, Samuel Jackson Pratt, Tobias Smollett, Philip Thicknesse, and Arthur Young.

The Grand Tour on television

In 2009, the Grand Tour featured prominently on a PBS miniseries based on the novel by Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit. Produced with masterful attention to detail, and in sumptuous settings, mainly Venice, it faithfully portrayed the Grand Tour as an essential ritual for entry to English high society.

In 2005, British art historian Brian Sewell followed in the footsteps of the Grand Tourist for a 10 part television series 'Brian Sewell's Grand Tour'. Produced by UK's Channel Five, Sewell travelled across Italy by car stopping off in Rome, Florence, Vesuvius, Naples, Pompeii, Turin, Milan, Cremona, Siena, Bologna, Vicenza, Paestum, Urbino, Tivoli. His journey concluded in Venice at a masked ball.

In 1998, the BBC produced an art history series 'Sister Wendy's Grand Tour' presented by Carmelite nun Sister Wendy. Ostensibly an art history series, the journey takes her from Madrid to St. Petersburg with stop offs to see the great masterpieces.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Good Sam Club

2009-07-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Good Sam Club is an international organization of recreational vehicle owners. Its stated primary goals are to make RVing safer and more enjoyable, and to save members money through Club-endorsed benefits and services. It claims over a million members.

Credited with the development of the Good Sam Club is Art Rouse, founder of TL Enterprises, a California-based publishing company responsible for Trailer Life Magazine, Motorhome Magazine, and Rider Magazine. Rouse and his two sons acquired the organization in 1968 and further developed member benefits and RV-related services for which the club is known. Rouse sold TL Enterprises in the 1980s and died on June 19, 2007 following head injuries suffered as a result of a fall, at 89 years old.

Good Sam Club is currently owned by the Affinity Group Inc., which also owns Trailer Life Publications, Motor Home Publications, Camping World, Woodalls RV park directory, and Camp Coast to Coast.

The name comes from the Bible parable of the Good Samaritan, which tells of a traveler from the region of Samaria who helped a person along the road who had been robbed and beaten.

There are 1,700 RV parks and campgrounds affiliated with the Good Sam organization which offer Club members discounts for staying in their parks. These RV parks have to meet a minimum standard of services and appearance to be considered for association. These parks are inspected annually by Good Sam representatives and secret inspectors, who also help the parks stay current with industry trends and the needs of RV'ers.

Good Sam also publishes information to help members find parks that provide stated levels of services.

Associated parks pay no revenue to Good Sam other than the cost of inspection and may advertise in the Good Sam publications at their discretion.

Good Sam Club is based in Englewood, Colorado.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

GLOBOsapiens

2009-07-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

GLOBOsapiens is a cooperation headquartered in Munich, Germany, providing Internet services worldwide. The company is perhaps best known for its multicultural oriented Worldwide Internet Travel Community, GLOBOsapiens.net, and a classified service named findix. GLOBOsapiens was founded out of a University diploma thesis at HdM-Stuttgart by Walter Andreas Pucko. It went live in June 2002 and was incorporated on April 2004.

Travelers' community

GLOBOsapiens is a growing travellers' community subscribing travel enthusiasts from around the world. Basic membership is free. Members have an opportunity to build up their own travel pages by submitting proprietary material such as photographs, travel logs and travel stories. The material is rated and commented on by other members. GLOBOsapiens uses star system. Photographs and travel reports can be awarded from one to five stars. Material receiving the highest rating is sorted in the main picture gallery and reports page, respectively. In addition, members can join existing discussion groups or propose creation of new groups.

GLOBOsapiens allows members to submit travel tips, which are grouped by countries, where members are free to share their opinions about restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs, travel agents, and internet cafes. Members are permitted to provide their own descriptions of places they visited, creating travel guides.

Members are awarded points for the contributions they make to the community. Every month, GLOBOsapiens presents four honorary awards: the Member of the Month, the Picture of the Month, the Report of the Month, and the Album of the Month.

Origins of the name

As increasingly more people travel the world, they become familiar with cultures from far away places. And according to the philosophy of the community, HOMOsapiens has turned into a GLOBOsapiens.

GLOBOsapiens is one of many successful portals on the internet that have brought travellers close together from the entire world.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Frequent-flyer program

2009-07-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

A frequent flyer program (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate points corresponding to the distance flown on that airline. Accrued points (also known as frequent flyer miles) can be redeemed for free air travel; for other goods or services; or for increased benefits, such as airport lounge access or priority bookings.

History

The first modern frequent flyer program was created by Neal J. Robinson, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Braniff International Corporation, and Jeff Krida, Vice President, Sales, Braniff Airways, Inc., 1980. Robinson needed a program that provided a real benefit for the passengers without cost, similar to S&H Greenstamps. Robinson and Krida conceived the idea of providing points, ultimately miles, for a passenger's air travel. The next program in time, the AAdvantage program was initiated in May 1981 by American Airlines; it was a modification of a never-realized concept from 1979 that would have given special fares to frequent customers. It was quickly followed later that year by programs from United (Mileage Plus) and Delta (SkyMiles), and in 1982 from British Airways (Executive Club).

Since then, frequent-flyer programs have grown enormously. As of January 2005, a total of 14 trillion frequent-flyer miles had been accumulated by people worldwide, which corresponds to a total value of 700 billion US dollars.

Points accrual

The primary method of obtaining points in a frequent flyer program is to fly with the associated airline. Most systems reward travellers with a specific number of points based on the distance travelled (such as 1 point per mile flown), although systems vary. Many discount airlines, rather than awarding points per mile, award points for flight segments in lieu of distance. In Europe, for example, a number of airlines offer a fixed number of points for domestic or intra-European flights regardless of the distance (but varying according to class of travel). The calculation method can become complicated, with additional points given for flying first or business class, and often fewer points given when flying on discounted tickets.

With the introduction of airline alliances and code-share flights, frequent flyer programs are often extended to allow benefits to be used across partner airlines.

Many programs also allow points to be obtained not just through flying, but by staying at participating hotels, or renting a vehicle from a participating company. Other methods include credit cards that offer points for charges made to the card, and systems which allow restaurant diners to earn miles by eating at participating restaurants.

Programs differ on the expiration of points. Some expire after a fixed time, and others expire if the account is inactive for an extended period (for example, three years).

Customer status

Many frequent flyer programs identify travellers who fly more than a few times per year by awarding them different status levels, which in turn give a number of benefits. Status levels vary from scheme to scheme, but benefits can include:

* Access to business and first class lounges with an economy ticket
* Access to other airlines' lounges
* Increased mileage accumulation (such as doubling or tripling)
* Reserving an unoccupied adjacent seat
* The ability to reserve specific seats, such as exit row seats with more leg room
* Free or discounted upgrades to a higher travel class
* Priority in waitlisting or flying standby
* Preference in not being bumped if a flight is oversold
* Priority of luggage (to be prioritized on transphere and to be diplayed on the belt first)
* Ability to grant status to another person

Some programs even permit elite members to reserve space on sold-out flights, giving members the ability of bumping regular passengers. In the US, member status is based on elite qualifying miles (or flight segments), not redeemable miles. Typically one elite qualifying mile is earned for each mile flown on a paid ticket, although there may be a percentage bonus for flying full-fare economy, business, or first class. In addition, the airline may offer opportunities to earn elite qualifying miles in non-flying ways, often in connection with their branded credit card. There are usually many more non-flying ways to earn redeemable miles which can be redeemed for free tickets and other benefits. Some airlines will recognise a customer's status with a competing airline, and grant them the same benefits.

Some airlines offer accelerated admission to their elite programs through special promotions, such as flying 25,000 miles (40,000 km) within one month gains a top-tier membership normally reserved for passengers flying 100,000 miles per year.

Value of a point

Travellers frequently debate how much accumulated points are worth, something which is highly variable based on how they are redeemed. A typical ballpark figure is approximately 2 cents per mile based on discount (rather than full fare) economy class travel costs according to the Compendium of International Civil Aviation by Adrianus D. Groenewege. However, most airlines have stringent capacity constraints on the number of "reward" seats available, so some people argue that this ballpark figure is an overstatement. In this case, the value of a mile drops below a cent per mile. The airlines themselves value miles in their financial statements at less than one one-thousandth of a cent per mile.

In contrast, calculating the value of a point based on full-fare business class travel costs can yield a figure several times higher, but only if the customer would personally be willing to pay the multiple thousands of dollars such tickets would cost otherwise. However, a person paying a full business fare will be able to change flights on short notice without extra cost; a person flying business class on a free award ticket may find that last minute minutes changes result in no award seat availability with the result that a ticket must be bought.

Increasing limitations on the availability of seats for point redemption, increases in services fees that airlines charge for redemption, and limitations on the transferability of redeemed tickets together have caused the value of points to customers to decrease with time.

Bankruptcy

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, some airlines have faced financial difficulties, raising concerns among frequent flyers that their points could be lost or devalued. All airlines include provisos in their program agreements reserving the right to modify or eliminate them on relatively short notice. But since miles are a strong customer incentive, troubled airlines avoid their elimination in bankruptcy proceedings, and indeed may expand them or make them more generous to elite members and high fare passengers in order to win sales.

Furthermore, since most airline miles are never claimed, the programs represent a relatively small liability, and indeed can represent a profit center. Since the 1990s, U.S. airlines have sold billions of miles to partners such as credit cards, hotel chains, and car rental agencies, who offer this "currency" as an incentive to purchase their own services. Any effort to curtail the awarding of miles would thus endanger partner relations and another revenue stream. Notably, the banks backing several airline-branded credit cards have been a key source of airline financing, including United Airlines (Chase), US Airways (Juniper Bank), Delta Air Lines (American Express), Northwest Airlines (US Bank), American Airlines (Citibank) and Copa Airlines (Visa).

Historically, the record is mixed. U.S. airlines have usually honored miles held in the accounts of acquired airlines. For instance American Airlines converted members of TWA's "Aviators" program to its own, as did Air Canada for Canadian Airlines' "Canadian Plus" program members. Sometimes, miles were honored by a close partner; Continental Airlines assumed Eastern Air Lines' program when it failed, as did Delta of Pan Am's. Bankrupt Swissair miles were transferred to Swiss International Air Lines TravelClub who were transferred to Lufthansa's Miles & More after the acquisition of the Swiss carrier.

Members are at greatest risk of losing their miles when an airline liquidates. All miles and privileges were lost, without recognition from any other carrier, in the cases of Midway, Braniff, and Ansett Australia.

Accounting issues

Business travellers typically accrue the valuable points in their own names, rather than the names of the companies that paid for the travel. This has raised concerns that the company is providing a tax-free benefit (point-based rewards) to employees, or that employees have misappropriated value that belongs to the company, or even that the program acts as a kind of bribe. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has not as yet made any move to tax mileage programs, though for instance the Canadian taxation authorities consider mileage redeemed for free travel to be a taxable benefit. Most companies consider the miles earned by their employees to be a valuable personal perk that in part compensates for the daily grind of frequent business travel, though some governmental organizations have attempted to prevent their employees from accumulating miles on official travel. For example, Australian Public Servants are not permitted to redeem points accrued from official travel.

In some counties, some reward points can be donated to charity. While the Canadian government will honour these donations as a charitable gift, the difficulty here is getting a tax receipt for those points from the company itself. This policy also appears to conflict with the position that reward points are taxable in the first place.

On the airline side, the points represent potential non-revenue travelers on its books. These must be carried forward on balance sheets as an outstanding contractual debt for an indeterminate time, although the actual value (or loss) may be difficult to determine for any particular period.

Airline Programs and Expiration Policies

Asia

* Cathay Pacific Asiamiles - Miles expire 36 months after they are earned.

Europe

* Air France / KLM miles expire after 20 months of inactivity
* British Airways miles expire after 36 months of inactivity

North America

* Air Canada - Miles expire after 12 months of account inactivity or 7 years after they are earned, whichever occurs first.
* AirTran A+ Rewards - Credits expire 12 months after they are earned.
* Alaska Mileage Plan - Miles expire after 36 months of account inactivity.
* American AAdvantage - Miles expire after 18 months of account inactivity.
* Continental OnePass - Miles don't expire, however, accounts may be closed or miles forfeited at Continental's discretion after 18 months of account inactivity.
* Delta SkyMiles - Miles expire after 24 months of account inactivity.
* Frontier EarlyReturns - Miles expire after 24 months of account inactivity.
* Hawaiian HawaiianMiles - Miles expire after 36 months of account inactivity.
* JetBlue TrueBlue - Miles expire 1 year after they are earned.
* Midwest Airlines Midwest Miles - Miles expire after 36 months of account inactivity.
* Northwest WorldPerks - Miles do not expire, however accounts may be closed or miles forfeited at Northwest's discretion after 36 months of account inactivity.
* Southwest Rapid Rewards - Credits expire 24 months after they are earned.
* United Mileage Plus - Miles expire after 18 months of account inactivity.
* US Airways Dividend Miles - Miles expire after 18 months of account inactivity.
* RBC Avion Points - Avion points can be used to buy seats on any airline and they never expire.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Freedom of movement

2009-07-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human rights concept which is respected in the constitutions of numerous states. It asserts that a citizen of a state, in which that citizen is present, generally has the right to leave that state, travel wherever the citizen is welcome, and, with proper documentation, return to that state at any time; and also (of equal or greater importance) to travel to, reside in, and/or work in, any part of the state the citizen wishes without interference from the state. Some immigrants' rights advocates assert that human beings have a fundamental human right to mobility not only across states but across nations. Ray Ybarra, an immigrants rights activist and filmmaker, coined the concept of human mobility to apply to international freedom of movement. According to Ybarra, human mobility is a fundamental human right.

Common limitations

Nevertheless, restrictions on international freedom of movement (immigration or emigration) are commonplace. Within countries, freedom of movement is often more limited for minors, and penal law can modify this right as it applies to persons charged with or convicted of crimes (for instance, parole, probation, registration). In some countries, freedom of movement has historically been limited for women, and for members of disfavored racial and social groups. Circumstances, both legal and practical, may operate to limit this freedom. For example, a nation that is generally permissive with respect to travel may restrict that right during time of war. In some instances, the laws of a nation may assert a guarantee of this right, but lawless conditions may make unfettered movement impossible. In other instances, a nation whose written laws codify such rights may fail to actually provide them. Other common political-legal restrictions on freedom of movement are:

* national and regional official minimum wage tariff barriers to labour market entry (free movement or migration of workers);
* official identity cards (internal passports, citizenship licenses) that must be carried and produced on demand;
* obligations on persons to register change of address or partner with the state authorities;
* protectionist local-regional barriers to housebuilding and therefore settlement in particular districts; and
* road toll barriers to the free movement of persons by motor cars.

Freedom of movement between private parties

Freedom of movement is not construed as a right to permit an individual to enter private property of another. Such an unauthorized entry constitutes a trespass, often punishable as a tort or a crime, for which the private landowner can summon public officials to remove a trespasser from the landowner's property. In some jurisdictions, questions have arisen as to the extent to which a private owner of land can exclude certain persons from land used for public purposes, such as a shopping mall or a park. There is also a rule of law that a landowner whose property is completely boxed in by that of other private landowners shall have the right to cross private land if that is necessary to reach a public thoroughfare. The concept is also used as the basis for enacting laws to prevent alternate use of streets, roads and right-of-ways from blocking or restricting freedom of movement such as block parties and playing basketball.

There is a converse duty for a private person not to impede the free movement of another. Where a person prevents another from freely leaving an area, either by physically imprisoning them or by threats, that person may be subject to a lawsuit for false imprisonment, and to criminal charges for kidnapping.

Entrance restrictions in certain countries

Exit restrictions in certain countries

Some countries, such as the defunct Soviet Union, required that their citizens, and sometimes foreign travelers, obtain an exit visa in order to be allowed to leave the country. Currently, foreign students in Russia are issued only an entry visa on being accepted to University there, and must obtain an exit visa to return home.

Citizens of the People's Republic of China who are residents of the mainland are required to apply for special permits in order to enter the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau (and SAR residents require a Home Return Permit to visit the mainland).

Saudi Arabia requires all resident foreigners, but not citizens, to obtain an exit visa before leaving the kingdom.

Sometimes restrictions are placed on leaving that are specific to the intended destination. In the United States travel to Cuba is restricted with the ostensible goal of putting pressure on Cuba by denying it income from American travelers.

History

When Augustus established the Roman Empire in 27 BC, he assumed monarchical powers over the new Roman province of Egypt and was able to prohibit Senators from traveling there without his permission. However, Augustus would also allow more liberty to travel at times. During a famine in 6 AD, he attempted to relieve strain on the food supply by granting senators the liberty to leave Rome and to travel to wherever they wished.

In England in 1215, the right to travel was enshrined in Article 42 of the Magna Carta:

It shall be lawful to any person, for the future, to go out of our kingdom, and to return, safely and securely, by land or by water, saving his allegiance to us, unless it be in time of war, for some short space, for the common good of the kingdom: excepting prisoners and outlaws, according to the laws of the land, and of the people of the nation at war against us, and Merchants who shall be treated as it is said above.

After World War II, the United Nations was established. The new international organization recognized the importance of freedom of movement through documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, reads,

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights incorporates this right into treaty law:

(1) Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.
(2) Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
(3) The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.
(4) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.

The ICCPR entered into force for the initial ratifying states on 23 March 1976, and for additional states following their ratification. In 1999, the U.N. Human Rights Committee, which is charged with interpreting the treaty, issued its guidelines for Article 12 of the ICCPR in its "General Comment No. 27: Freedom of Movement".

Institutional laws by region

Africa

Freedom of movement laws and restrictions vary from country to country on the African continent, however several international agreements beyond those proscribed by the United Nations govern freedom of movement within the African continent. The African Charter on Human and People's Rights, Article 12, guarantees that every individual will have the right to freedom of movement within the borders of their own state so long as they abide by the states laws.The Charter also recognizes the right to leave and return to one's country at will, barring concerns of national security, public health, or a threat to the general population. The charter also prevents the mass expulsion of entire groups of people. However, these laws are not necessarily followed or enforced, as evidenced recently by the genocide and mass expulsion in Sudan. There have been attempts to have intellectuals recognized as having special freedom of movement rights, to protect their intellectual ideals as they cross national boundaries.

The Constitution of South Africa also contains express freedoms of movement, in section 21 of Chapter 2. Freedom of movement is guaranteed to "everyone" in regard to leaving the country but is limited to citizens when entering it or staying in it. Citizens also have a right to a passport.

India

see Fundamental Rights in India

* Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India though reasonable restrictions can be imposed on this right in the
interest of the general public, for example, restrictions may be imposed on movement and traveling, so as to control epidemics.

* Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India which is also subject to reasonable restrictions by the
State in the interest of the general public or for the protection of the scheduled tribes because certain safeguards as are
envisaged here seem to be justified to protect indigenous and tribal peoples from exploitation and coercion.

Burma/Myanmar

The military regime in Burma has been criticized for allegations of restrictions to freedom of movement. These include restrictions on movement by political dissidents, women, and migrant workers. Burmese passports contain a microchip embedded in them which carries identifying information about the passport holder. UN special envoy Razali Ismail, part owner of Iris corporation which won the contract to install the new system, dismissed any security concerns, and said, "Must you think of things in such sinister terms? Anyway, it’s only for those people who want to travel outside. In most cases, those will be government people."

Canada

The Constitution of Canada contains mobility rights expressly in section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The rights specified include the right of citizens to leave and enter the country and the right of both citizens and permanent residents to move within its boundaries. However, the subsections protect poorer regions' affirmative action programs that favour residents who have lived in the region for longer. Section 6 mobility rights are among the select rights that cannot be limited by the Charter's notwithstanding clause.

Canada's Social Union Framework Agreement, an agreement between governments made in 1999, affirms that "All governments believe that the freedom of movement of Canadians to pursue opportunities anywhere in Canada is an essential element of Canadian citizenship." In the Agreement, it is pledged that "Governments will ensure that no new barriers to mobility are created in new social policy initiatives."

European Union

Within the European Union, residents are guaranteed the right to freely move within the EU's internal borders by the EC Treaty and the European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004. Union residents are given the right to enter any member state for up to three months with a valid passport or identity card. If the citizen does not have a travel document, the member state must afford them every facility in obtaining the documents. Under no circumstances can an entry or exit visa be required. There are some security limitations and public policy restrictions on extended stays by EU residents. For instance, a member state may require that persons register their presence in the country "within a reasonable and non-discriminatory period of time". In general, however, the burden of notification and justification lies with the state. EU citizens also earn a right to permanent residence in member states they have maintained an uninterrupted five year period of legal residence. This residency cannot be subject to any conditions, and is lost only by two successive years absence from the host nation. Family members of EU residents, in general, also acquire the same freedom of travel rights as the resident they accompany, though they may be subject to a short-stay visa requirement. Furthermore, no EU citizen may be declared permanently persona non grata within the European Union, or permanently excluded from entry by any member state.

Hong Kong

Under Basic Law of Hong Kong article 31, "Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of movement within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and freedom of emigration to other countries and regions. They shall have freedom to travel and to enter or leave the Region. Unless restrained by law, holders of valid travel documents shall be free to leave the Region without special authorization."

Ireland

In Ireland, the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was adopted in November 1992 by a plebiscite of the Irish people in order to ensure the freedom of movement in the specific circumstance of a women traveling abroad to receive an abortion - a practice that is banned in Ireland itself.

Republic of Poland

The freedom of movement in Republic of Poland of Polish nationals holding dual citizenship is or might be unlawfully restricted by Polish government. US Department of State is warning Polish nationals holding dual citizenship, that Polish government despite that Poland joined the Schengen System are obliged to use Polish travel documents (a Polish passport or, as an alternative within the Schengen zone, a Polish National ID card (Dowód Osobisty), or they will NOT be allowed to leave Poland. The latest such incident is recorded as of January 15, 2008. Poland requires Polish citizens (including American citizens who are or can be claimed as Polish citizens), or those who can be suspected to be Polish citizens, to enter and depart Poland using a Polish passport.
Poland does not recognize (although it does not prohibit) dual nationality.
A person holding Polish and U.S. citizenship is deemed by Poland to be a Polish citizen and subject to Polish law. The US Embassy in Poland will not be in a position assist Polish citizens in case of not being allowed to leave Poland.

* Poland - US Department of State: Country Specific Information.
* Dual Citizenship

Syria

The Syrian Constitution states "Every citizen has the right to liberty of movement within the territory of the State unless prohibited therefrom under the terms of a court order or public health and safety regulations.". The United Nations has reported that "in Syria, no laws or measures restrict the liberty of movement or choice of residence of citizens.". Legislative Decree No. 29 of 1970 regulates the right of foreigners to enter, reside in and leave the territory of Syria, and is the controlling document regarding the issuance of passports, visas, and diplomatic travel status. The document specifically states "The latter provision is intended merely to ensure that our country is not the final destination of stateless persons."

However, Syria has been criticized by groups, including Amnesty International for restrictions to freedom of movement. In August 2005, Amnesty International released an "appeal case", citing several freedom of movement restrictions including exit restriction without explanation, refusal to issue passports to political dissidents, detention, restriction from entering certain structures, denial of travel documents, and denial of nationality. The United Nations Human Rights Committee issues regular reports on human rights in Syria, including freedom of movement.

Tibet

Article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination explicitly guarantees "...the right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State". Under the Chinese household registration citizen, Tibetan residents must receive permission to change their household between a rural and urban area. Tibetans are also forced to agree to Chinese communist party ideals in order to receive a permit to exit the country. It has been reported that Chinese residents in Tibet are not subject to these restrictions, especially if they have access to a Chinese household permit.

United Kingdom

Britons have long enjoyed a comparatively high level of freedom of movement. Apart from Magna Carta, the protection of rights and liberties in this field has tended to come from the common law rather than formal constitutional codes and conventions. Freedom of movement is a basic component of liberty in general and one of the major basic legal constraints on infringements of liberty is the common law ban on all forms of slavery/serfdom.

However, various actions by the UK governing authorities have directly or indirectly curbed personal freedom of movement and residence of citizens in their own country of late.

It has been proposed that a range of specific state restrictions on freedom of movement should be prohibited under a new or comprehensively amended Human Rights Act. The new basic legal prohibitions could include: road tolls and other curbs on freedom of travel and private vehicle ownership and use; personal identity cards (internal passports, citizenship licenses) which have to be produced on demand and/or in order for individuals to access public services and facilities; and legal requirements for citizens to register changes of address or partner with the state authorities.

United States

The Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution states, "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." As far back as the circuit court ruling in Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546 (1823), the Supreme Court recognized freedom of movement as a fundamental Constitutional right. In Paul v. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168 (1869), the Court defined freedom of movement as "right of free ingress into other States, and egress from them."75 U.S. 168 (1868) However, the Supreme Court did not invest the federal government with the authority to protect freedom of movement. Under the "privileges and immunities" clause, this authority was given to the states, a position the Court held consistently through the years in cases such as Ward v. Maryland, 79 U.S. 418 (1871), the Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1873) and United States v. Harris, 106 U.S. 629 (1883).

In United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 (1920), the Supreme Court reiterated its position that the Constitution did not grant the federal government the power to protect freedom of movement. However, Wheeler had a significant impact in other ways. For many years, the roots of the Constitution's "privileges and immunities" clause had only vaguely been determined. In 1823, the circuit court in Corfield had provided a list of the rights (some fundamental, some not) which the clause could cover. The Wheeler court dramatically changed this. It was the first to locate the right to travel in the privileges and immunities clause, providing the right with a specific guarantee of constitutional protection. By reasoning that the clause derived from Article IV of the Articles of Confederation, the decision suggested a narrower set of rights than those enumerated in Corfield, but also more clearly defined those rights as absolutely fundamental.

But the Supreme Court began rejecting Wheeler's reasoning within a few short years. Finally, in United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966), the Supreme Court overruled Chief Justice White's conclusion that the federal government could protect the right to travel only against state infringement.

In Kent v. Dulles, 357 U.S. 116 (1958) (overruled by Regan v. Wald, 468 U.S. 222, reh'g denied, 469 U.S. 912 (1984)), the United States Secretary of State had refused to issue a passport to an American citizen based on the suspicion that the plaintiff was going abroad to promote communism. Although the Court did not reach the question of constitutionality in this case, Justice William O. Douglas held that the federal government may not restrict the right to travel without due process:

The right to travel is a part of the 'liberty' of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the Fifth Amendment. If that "liberty" is to be regulated, it must be pursuant to the law-making functions of the Congress. . . . . Freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction, and inside frontiers as well, was a part of our heritage. Travel abroad, like travel within the country, . . . may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads. Freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values.

Six years later, the Court struck down a federal ban restricting travel by communists (Aptheker v. Secretary of State, 378 U.S. 500 (1964)). But the court struggled to find a way to protect legitimate government interests (such as national security) in light of these decisions. Just a year after Aptheker, the Supreme Court fashioned the rational relationship test for constitutionality in Zemel v. Rusk, 381 U.S. 1 (1965), as a way of reconciling the rights of the individual with the interests of the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court also dealt with the right to travel in the case of Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489 (1999). In that case, Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, held that the United States Constitution protected three separate aspects of the right to travel among the states: the right to enter one state and leave another, the right to be treated as a welcome visitor rather than a hostile stranger (protected by the "privileges and immunities" clause in Article IV, § 2), and (for those who become permanent residents of a state) the right to be treated equally to native born citizens (this is protected by the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause).

The Court's establishment of a strong constitutional right to freedom of movement has also had far-reaching and unintended effects. For example, the Supreme Court overturned state prohibitions on welfare payments to individuals who had not resided within the jurisdiction for at least one year as an impermissible burden on the right to travel (Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969)). The Court has also struck down one-year residency requirements for voting in state elections (Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972)), one-year waiting periods before receiving state-provided medical care (Memorial Hospital v. Maricopa County, 415 U.S. 250 (1974)), civil service preferences for state veterans (Attorney Gen. of New York v. Soto-Lopez, 476 U.S. 898 (1986)), and higher fishing and hunting license fees for out-of-state residents (Baldwin v. Fish & Game Comm'n of Montana, 436 U.S. 371 (1978)).

A strong right to freedom of movement may yet have even farther-reaching implications. The Supreme Court has acknowledged that freedom of movement is closely related to freedom of association and to freedom of expression. Strong constitutional protection for the right to travel may have significant implications for state attempts to limit abortion rights, ban or refuse to recognize same-sex marriage, and enact anti-crime or consumer protection laws. It may even undermine current Court-fashioned concepts of federalism.

For much of American history, the right to travel included the right to travel by the vehicle of one's choice, and courts occasionally struck down regional regulations that required licenses or government permission to travel on public roadways. With the advent of the automobile, however, courts began upholding laws and regulations requiring licenses to operate vehicles on roadways. Constitutional scholar Roger Roots has referred to the forgotten right to travel without license as "the orphaned right."

The issue of freedom of movement has received new attention in the United States as of 2004, particularly concerning the methods and practices of the Transportation Security Administration. On August 5, 1974, the Air Transportation Security and Anti-Hijacking Acts of 1974 (P.L. 93-366) were signed. Among many important provisions, this landmark aviation security law directed that regulations be prescribed requiring weapons-detecting screening of all passengers and carry-on property. The law is located in Title 49, United States Code (U.S.C.), sections 44901 (Screening passengers and property)and 44902 (Refusal to transport passengers and property). For many decades, an airline ticket's fine print has contained an agreement by the purchaser to submit to a search for unlawful dangerous weapons, explosives or other destructive substances. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for such screening prior to departures from commercial airports within the United States since the signing of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (P.L. 107-71) on November 19, 2001. Freedom of movement is not denied unless a passenger refuses to submit to a search required by law. There are, however, a number of other safety and homeland security related issues covered in 49 U.S.C. Chapter 449 and Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations in the 1540 series that could impede movement, such as a passenger's name appearing on a "no fly" or "selectee" list. The TSA website (www.tsa.gov) is a good source of information on these and other issues.

Another issue of contention deals with freedom of movement across U.S. national borders. The United States has long been lax in permitting persons to cross from Canada into the United States.Concerns about drug trafficking and illegal immigrants seeking employment have led to much stricter controls on those crossing the border from Mexico.

A related issue deals with Free Speech Zones designated during political protests. Although such zones were in use by the 1960s and 1970 due to the Vietnam-era protests, they were not widely reported in the media. However, the controversy over their use has resurfaced strongly due to the 2001-2008 Bush presidency. In essence, Free Speech Zones prevent a person from having complete mobility due to the fact that they are exercising their right to speak freely. Citizens are restricted from traveling (as opposed to being arrested) due to their political communication, despite the fact that the Constitution permits free speech anywhere on U.S. territory.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Flight information display system

2009-07-08T17:49:00.001-07:00

A flight information display system (FIDS) is a board or a television screen displaying in real-time the different arrivals or departures occurring over a specific period of time. It is located inside or near an airport terminal. A virtual version of a FIDS can also be found on most airport websites and teletext systems. In large airports, there are different sets of FIDS for each terminal or even each major airline. FIDS is commonly used to assist passengers during air travel and people who want to pick-up passengers after the flight.

Each line on an FIDS indicates a different flight number accompanied by:

* the airline name and/or its IATA or ICAO airline designator
* the city of origin or destination, and any intermediate points
* the expected arrival or departure time and/or the updated time (reflecting any delays)
* the gate number
* the check-in counter numbers or the name of the airline handling the check-in, when applicable.

Due to code sharing, one single flight may be represented by a series of different flight numbers, thus lines (for example, LH474 and AC9099), although one single aircraft operates that route at that given time. Lines may be sorted by time, airline name, or city.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Flight cancellation

2009-07-04T06:32:00.001-07:00

Flight cancellation occurs when an airline cancels a scheduled flight for a certain reason. When flights are cancelled, passengers may be entitled to compensation due to rules obeyed by every flight company, usually Rule 240, or Rule 218 in certain locations. This rule usually specifies that passengers may be entitled to certain reimbursements, including a free room if the next flight is the day after the cancelled one, a choice of reimbursment, rerouting, phonecalls, and refreshments.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Flight Centre

2009-07-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

Flight Centre Limited is Australia's largest travel agent. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $1.145 billion as at March 2006. It has over 1500 stores in nine different countries with over 8000 staff.

Flight Centre was founded by Graham Turner in 1981. Turner had previously run a successful budget bus trip company in Europe called Topdeck. Turner retains 18% of Flight Centre. By 1990, Flight Centre had opened stores in New Zealand, the UK and US. The UK and US offices were closed in 1991 in the face of the Gulf War. Expansion began again with a move to South Africa in 1994, Canada in early 1995, and the UK later that year. US operations recommenced in late 1999 It has been claimed that

"Flight Centre revolutionised the retailing of international air-travel in Australia by shifting to a model where profitability was driven by volume rather than margins. Initially they built a price advantage by bypassing ticketing wholesalers, seeking out less well-known airlines, and also by arbitraging price differentials across markets."

The company grew rapidly, establishing different brands to cater for different parts of the travel market. It owns FCm Travel Solutions for the corporate market,Student Flights, Overseas Working Holidays for the student market and also runs related businesses in the discount holiday organiser Escape Travel, travelthere.com, quickbeds.com, luxury holiday company Travel Associates, retail cruise specialist Cruiseabout and Campus Travel aimed at the academic and university markets. Its website flightcentre.com has been the most popular Australian travel agency website for several years. It has operations in Australia ($4.4 billion 2004/5 sales), New Zealand ($639 million 2004/5 total transactions), South Africa ($365 million 2004/5 total transactions), United Kingdom ($909 million 2004/5 total transactions), United States ($65 million 2004/5 total transactions) and Canada ($415 million 2004/5 total transactions).

After decades of rapid and consistent growth in revenues and profits, Flight Centre flew into trouble in 2005 with its first ever decline in annual profit. For the year ending June 30 2005, on a total revenue of $6.9 billion, its net profit was $67.9 million. Profit announcements for the half year ending December 31 2005, showed a continuing fall in net profits to $33.6 million, a decline of 7.7% on the previous year.

It followed Graham Turner's departure from day-to-day operations when he stood aside from being Chief Executive Officer in 2002, allowing a senior manager Shane Flynn to replace him. He corrected this in July 2005, resuming his previous role as a hands-on manager as Executive Chairman.

The one time darling of the stock market, normally showing strong profit growth, was punished severely with it being the second worst performing stock in the Australian Stock Exchange's Top 200 companies. Its share price is down 57% from its peak in 2002. This reflected not only concerns about the company's management but also its long-term prospects.

The company faces serious challenges, with disintermediation occurring in the travel industry. In 2006, Qantas announced that it would no longer pay base commissions to travel agents for domestic and New Zealand flights and that it would reduce international commissions from 7% to 5%. An increasing number of customers are following the lead of many of Flight Centre's suppliers and dealing with them directly through their own websites rather than going through travel agents. Some financial analysts are very concerned about this, with one issuing a sell recommendation on the stock in a report titled Flightless Centre.

In November 2006 a company associated with the founders and a private equity firm is offering $17.20 a share (and somewhat less to current "controlling" shareholders) to take Flight Centre back into private hands. In February 2007 the privatisation of Flight Centre failed when investment bank Lazard rejected the deal even though the majority of minority shareholders agreed with the privatisation bid. Flight Centre shares tumbled soon after the trading halt was lifted to around $15. The company's share price continued to fall during the 08/09 financial crisis and in March 2009 is trading below $3.

In 2008, Flight Centre acquired GOGO Worldwide Vacations, a travel wholesaler with more than 40 locations in the U.S. and in Canada.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

First class travel

2009-06-30T04:54:00.000-07:00

First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance.It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.

Aviation

The first-class section of a fixed-wing passenger aircraft is typically located in the very front of the aircraft.

However, many commercial carriers have completely removed first class altogether from their international flights, only offering business class as their highest level of international service.

First class passengers are usually granted access to lounges at airports while they wait for their flights.

Railways

Australia

Australia has internal rail operations in each of its states, excluding Tasmania, normally run by the State Government but in some cases is run by private operators. In each state, first class travel differs.

* CountryLink (New South Wales)

First-class travel on CountryLink comes in two forms. On Xplorer and XPT trains, first-class seating is offered which include an increased legroom and seating recline over economy-class seating. On some XPT trains, first-class sleeping compartments can also be found. On day services these accommodate three people per compartment, and by night they carry two people with bunk-style accommodation.

* Queensland Rail (Queensland)

Queensland Rail offer first-class travel on many of their Traveltrain services, along with business class on their Tilt Train Services. Queensland Rail Traveltrain first class carriages provided private cabins in either roomette (single room) or twinette (double room) cabins.

* V/Line (Victoria)

First-class accommodation on V/Line is a 2x2 seating arrangement, with extra legroom and recline, only available on certain locomotive-hauled services.

* Great Southern Railway (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia)

This railway privately operates the tourist-oriented The Overland, Indian Pacific, and The Ghan services. The first class travel on these trains are branded as Gold Kangaroo Class (on the Indian Pacific and The Ghan) with roomette, twinette and deluxe cabins; or Red Premium Class (on The Overland) with 2x1 seating, extra legroom, and more recline that the Red Service seating.

Germany

The various private and state-owned railways in Germany featured first-class, second-class and third-class amenities from the start. Beginning in Prussia in 1852, extremely austere fourth-class coaches were introduced. After nationalisation (1920) and consolidation (Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft, 1924), the fourth class was abandoned in 1928 in order to generate more revenue by forcing passengers to pay the higher prices for third-class tickets.

As those of most of the rest of Europe, the railways of East as well as West Germany moved to a two-class system in 1956. To this end, the first class was abandoned and the former second and third classes redesignated as the new first and second classes. Except for some regional and commuter train services (including some, but not all S-Bahn systems), which are second-class only, this distinction exists to this day.

The difference in amenities between the first and second class varies between train operators, services and lines. It generally translated to more legroom, tables and/or three-abreast instead of four-abreast seating for first-class passengers. On Deutsche Bahn's international ICE services, first-class passengers, unlike second-class passengers, receive a complimentary meal; on all ICE and InterCity services, passengers in first class are served the full selection of meals and refreshments at their seats, while second-class passengers can only obtain them in the dining car.

With some, primary local, services operated both by DB and other companies, there is no difference in seating between classes, except for maybe the presence of armrests in first class. The rationale for providing first-class spaces on these services is mainly that due to the higher price, there are usually seats left in first class when all second-class seats are taken.

Japan

The term "First Class" was abolished on Japanese National Railways in May 1969, and was replaced by "Green Cars". Green Cars are identifiable by the green four-leaf clover logo at the doorways. In recent years, there has been a gradual trend to restore Green Cars to longer-distance commuter lines in the Tokyo area, complete with female "Green Attendants" who provide an at-seat refreshment service as well as checking tickets.

Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) refers to its first-class coaches as its "μ-ticket" (ミューチケット) service. These coaches are somewhat more comfortable than economy class and include assigned seating.

Spain

First Class travel is not available on short distance trains in Spain such as the Regionales or Cercanias services, but on long- and medium-distance trains such as the Altaria or Euromed services "Preferente" class, comparable to British first class is available. This includes complimentary food and drinks (typically a welcome-aboard drink, including champagne, and drinks with the meal) as well as larger seats.

A further service is available on the high speed AVE network. A club class or preferente ticket allows access to lounges at certain stations. And on-board club class service includes a large leather seat, power supply, a la carte food and unlimited complimentary bar service at your seat.

It is worth pointing out that on all Spanish "Grandes Líneas" (long haul) and Media Distancia (medium haul) trains, video and music is available and accessed through complimentary headphones. Additionally notable is the cost of first-class travel. Prices are basically not discounted other than for off-peak times of day and the price of a "preferente" ticket is normally only €30 - 40 more than economy, and club class on the AVE is normally only €40 more than "preferente" - significantly cheaper than most first class fares in Britain.

UK

The existence and nature of different classes of passenger service on British trains has varied over time. Currently, most longer-distance services offer first-class and standard-class service, while most local and suburban services are single class - as are urban transit services such as the London Underground. First-class tickets can be purchased from ticket offices at London Underground stations, for use on lines such as the West Coast Main Line which serves LU stations First-class service offers access to dedicated first-class sections of the train, nearly always featuring fewer but larger, and - at least ostensibly - more comfortable seats, in a generally more spacious arrangement that provides more personal space, often a table and upgraded decor / carpeting, and in some cases additional amenities (such as power outlets for mobile phones or laptop computers).

In addition to the dedicated seating, the current first-class rail experience may include access to a lounge (at major departure and/or arrival stations) and additional on-board services, such as food and/or drinks service, complimentary newspapers, etc. Such on-board services vary widely; they can be distributed by train operating company, by route, by day of week (weekday or weekend), and by time of day. The most complete first-class experience is offered by long-distance train operators, such as First Great Western, NXEC, and Virgin Trains, especially on weekday morning and evening trains on high-volume routes, where it is targeted at business travellers.

On some overcrowded commuter services First Class seating is identical to Standard class. However its higher cost ensures the First Class ticket holder a better chance of finding a seat.

First-class service is offered on overnight sleeper trains between London and Scotland (refer to Caledonian Sleeper).

Eurostar international trains between Great Britain and continental Europe offer two distinct first-class services, which they call Business Premier and Leisure Select respectively, in addition to standard class. The comfort and on-board services are basically the same; the difference is a greater flexibility and a shorter check-in time for the Business Premier service. It also serves to keep the two types of traveller separate from each other.

United States

On Amtrak services, first-class travel is available on the Acela Express service, as well as long distance services operated with Superliner or Viewliner stock. Passengers also have access to special waiting rooms at many cities and high-traffic stations. First class on the Acela Express service has wider seats than the standard business class (44 vs. 65 seats per carriage), in-seat electrical outlets, a carriage attendant, and complimentary meals and beverages. On the long distance services sleeping accommodation is provided, including Roomettes, Bedrooms, Bedroom Suites, and Accessible Bedrooms. Many rooms include a shower and toilet; for other rooms a toilet and/or shower is located nearby. Meals and other hotel-style services are also included in the price.

Cruise Ships & Liners

Some benefits of first class on modern cruise ships include larger cabins, priority check-in, priority embarkation and disembarkation, priority meal-sitting selection, and, on premium lines, butler service. However, higher-accommodation passengers are served the same food and receive the same service as other passengers in the dining room and throughout the cruise ship, with Cunard Line being the only modern exception.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

First class (aviation)

2009-06-30T04:51:00.000-07:00

First class is a luxury travel class on some airliners that exceeds business class, premium economy, and economy class. On a passenger jetliner first class refers to a limited number (rarely more than 16) of seats or cabins located in the front of the aircraft which are notable for their comfort, service and privacy. Propeller airliners occasionally have first class in the rear.

Additional Benefits

First Class seats vary from large reclining seats with more legroom and width than other classes to suites with a fully reclining seat, workstation and TV surrounded by privacy dividers. International First Class seats usually have between 58 and 94 inches (147 - 239 cm) of seat pitch and between 19 and 35 inches (48 - 89 cm) of width while domestic flights may have between 34 and 68 inches (86 - 173 cm) of pitch and between 18 - 22 inches (46 - 56 cm) in width.

On the ground, First Class passengers are sometimes offered complimentary limousine service and usually have special check-in and security zones at the airport while some airlines operate private terminals. First Class passengers are often able to board the aircraft before other passengers, sometimes through their own jetbridge.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary and gourmet meals are usually served with a choice of wine, dessert, and aperitifs. Often these meals have been designed by leading chefs and are served on white linen table cloths and with real cutlery (often with the exception of knives for security reasons).

First Class passengers usually have at least one lavatory reserved for their exclusive use, with more than one on larger planes. Business and Economy Class passengers are not normally permitted into the First Class cabin. Normally AVOD (AudioVisual On Demand) entertainment is offered, although sometimes normal films, television programs and interactive games are provided on medium-large seat-back or armrest-mounted flat panel monitors.

Historically, First Class air travel has been very expensive. More recently, passengers have been able to upgrade their Business Class or Economy Class tickets through membership in elite frequent flyer programs and through the policies of some airlines that allow Business Class or Economy Class passengers to purchase upgrades on a space-available basis. First Class long haul fares regularly exceed $10,000 per person round trip, as opposed to $3,000-4,500 international business class tickets and $1,000 economy class tickets.

Cabin separation

Access to the First Class portion of the plane is usually restricted from those traveling in Business Class and Economy Class by curtains, although for security reasons, US-based airlines are increasingly removing these cabin dividers or installing transparent cabin dividers. Even though Business Class passengers are restricted from the First Class Cabin and Economy Class passengers are restricted from both the First and Business Class Cabin, airlines generally will allow a group of people traveling on the same flight in different Cabins to convene together in the lowest ticketed cabin amongst the group.

US Domestic First Class

On most domestic flights within the United States, what is normally Regional Business Class in the rest of the world is branded as "Domestic First Class" by the US Airlines. The service is generally a step below Long Haul International Business Class.

However, Domestic First Class does have two very different meanings on certain transcontinental routes such as LAX-JFK, SFO-JFK, and others. American Airlines and United Airlines both operate a special service on the JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO routes known as "American Flagship Service" and "United premium service" respectively. In these cases, First Class is actually a three cabin First Class which is different from two cabin First Class, both in comfort and price. In these cases, Domestic Business Class is generally equivalent in pricing to Two cabin Domestic First Class. The Three Cabin First Class is more of a true First Class rather than a rebranded First Class.

Occasionally, an airline will have an Internationally configured aircraft operating on a domestic route (usually to increase utilization or simply to reposition the aircraft) where the Domestic First Class customers will get to enjoy the nicer International Premium cabins as a free unexpected bonus.

For example, American Airlines operates a single Boeing 777 between Dallas Ft. Worth and Chicago every day in addition to the rest of the flights which are on the domestic MD-80 aircraft. The bonus for First Class customers on that particular flight is that they get treated to the International First Class Flagship Suites for no additional premium. Further sweetening the deal, AA only sells the particular flight as 2 class service, in which case, the International Business Class Cabin is sold as Economy, which means a few lucky Domestic Economy class customers will get to sit in an International Business Class product, though the service will still be standard Economy service.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Field trip

2009-06-28T17:56:00.001-07:00

A field trip is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment.

The purpose of the trip is usually observation for education, non-experimental research or to provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities. The aim of this research is to observe the subject in its natural state and possibly collect samples. In western culture people first come across this method during school years when classes are taken on excursions to visit a geological or geographical feature of the landscape, for example. Much of the early research into the natural sciences was of this form. Charles Darwin is an important example of someone who has contributed to science through the use of field trips.

To mitigate these risks and expenses, most school systems now have formalized field trip procedures that considers the entire trip from estimation, approval and scheduling through planning the actual trip and post-trip activities.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Family Motor Coach Association

2009-06-28T17:55:00.001-07:00

The Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) is an international organization of families who own and enjoy the recreational use of motorhomes. Since 1963 FMCA has issued more than 390,000 memberships to families who look to the association as their source of information about all facets of motorhome ownership and travel. FMCA is a member-owned association that maintains its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and employs a full-time office staff. FMCA is governed by volunteer officers who are elected from within the ranks of the association.

Formation

On July 20, 1963, 26 families met at the Good Will-Hinckley School in Hinckley, Maine, to socialize and become acquainted with other "house car" owners. They decided to form a motor coach owners' common interest group. A monument to commemorate the founding was dedicated at the school on July 4, 1994.

Membership

Membership in FMCA is contingent upon ownership of a motorhome - a self-propelled, completely self-contained vehicle that contains all the conveniences of a home, including cooking, sleeping, and permanent sanitary facilities and in which the driver’s area is accessible in a walking position from the living quarters. FMCA has more than 120,000 member families who hail from every U.S. state as well as Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, and beyond. The Association offers its members a full line of benefits to enhance the motorhome lifestyle. Membership in the FMCA costs $45 for the first year (which covers the dues for the first year and an initiation fee) and $35 per year thereafter. FMCA also has 2,500 commercial members — dealers, suppliers, manufacturers, campgrounds, service facilities and other firms servicing the motorhome owner or the motorhome industry.

Code of Ethics

Every member of FMCA agrees to follow the Association’s Code of Ethics, which requires members to comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the ownership and use of family motor coaches. The Code of Ethics also calls for members to be "good neighbors, careful and responsible coach owners and operators, and good citizens of our communities.

Purpose

The purpose of FMCA is to organize social activities, exchange motorhome information, and supply benefits made possible, in part, by collective purchasing. The group publishes Family Motor Coaching, a monthly magazine. It provides news concerning motorhome technology, the RV industry and the association. However, perhaps the most important FMCA member benefits are the fun and camaraderie shared by people who enjoy the common interest of motorhome travel. The Association is rich in the tradition of members extending hands of genuine friendship to one another. FMCA members can be identified by the FMCA “goose egg," or membership emblem, displayed on their motorhome. This oval plate, embossed with the family's membership number, opens the door for many friendly encounters while traveling.

Chapters and conventions

FMCA encourages the development of local, regional and specialty chapters. These chapters — FMCA has approximately 500 of them — organize events of particular interest to their members, including numerous rallies throughout the year. Regional rallies, composed of several chapters from a geographic area, also are held annually. Many FMCA chapters cover specific or general geographic areas. Others are dedicated to a motorhome brand, a hobby or a special interest. Special-interest chapters include golf, crafts, amateur radio, single RVers and handicapped RVers.

FMCA holds two international motorhome conventions each year, at various locations in the United States. Motorhome manufacturers, dealers and RV suppliers display their latest products. The events take place over a four-day period and can attract 3,000 to 5,000 motor coaches. .

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

EuroBonus

2009-06-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

EuroBonus is the frequent flyer program of 5 European airlines. It was launched by Scandinavian Airlines System (SK) in 1992.

Airline partners

EuroBonus airlines

* airBaltic
* Blue1
* Estonian Air
* Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)
* Widerøe

Star Alliance partner airlines

* Adria Airways (Regional partner)
* Air Canada
* Air China
* Air New Zealand
* All Nippon Airways (ANA)
* Asiana Airlines
* Austrian Airlines
* Bmi
* Croatia Airlines (Regional partner)
* EgyptAir
* LOT Polish Airlines
* Lufthansa
* Shanghai Airlines
* Singapore Airlines
* South African Airways
* Spanair
* Swiss International Air Lines
* TAP Portugal
* Thai Airways International
* Turkish Airlines
* United
* US Airways

Other airline partners

* Air Greenland
* Air One
* Atlantic Airways
* Cimber Air
* City Airline
* Qantas
* Skyways

Hotel partners

* Best Western Hotels
* Country Inn & Suites
* Hilton family of hotels
* Park Inn
* Radisson Edwardian Hotels
* Radisson Hotels & Resorts
* Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts
* Regent Hotels (selected hotels)
* Scandic Hotels
* Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts
* Sol Mélia Hotels & Resorts

Other partners

* The Economist
* Diners Club
* MasterCard

Membership Levels

EuroBonus has four membership levels. The entry level is "Basic", followed by "Silver", which is attained by earning 20,000 bonus points in a year. Benefits include business class checkin and extra baggage allowance on some flights, as well as 15% extra bonus points os SAS Group flights. Following that is "Gold", which requires 55,000 bonus points in a year. Benefits include all Silver benefits, plus priority security at certain airports, access to SAS and Star Alliance lounges and a 25% bonus on points on SAS Group flights.There is also an exclusive membership tier, called "Pandion", which is awarded personally to 1,500 selected customers by the CEO of SAS. Each Pandion membership is reevaluated yearly, and you have to "fly more than the pilots and crew of SAS" in order to be eligible. In practise the membership is awarded according to revenue created for SAS by a single flyer rather than the amount of EuroBonus points earned. Benefits include guaranteed seats on SAS flights, even on fully booked flights, and exclusive service.

Norwegian ban on frequent flyer miles

In 2002, SAS bought up the rival airline Braathens, giving the company a near monopoly on major domestic routes within Norway. After a few months, the airline Norwegian Air Shuttle started flying major routes in competition. To remove the edge SAS had over the new airline, the Norwegian Competition Authority then banned the award of EuroBonus points in Norway from August 1 that year.

In 2005, Morten A. Meyer, the Modernization Minister asked the competition authority to consider extending the ban on frequent flyer miles to include all of Scandinavia. Norwegian Air Shuttle and Sterling Airlines had also complained about SAS's bonus program in Scandinavia. It was pointed out that the situation on these routes was different from the monopoly which had been present on the Norwegian domestic market

The authorities indicated in 2007 that the ban against frequent flyer points would continue, arguing that the ban on EuroBonus had reduced the ticket prices by 30% and boosted competition. SAS Norge, the Norwegian affiliate of SAS protested, arguing that the extent of the fare reduction was exaggerated (claiming 18.4% rather than 30%), and were due to more efficient spending, not the ban on EuroBonus.

Freddie Awards

EuroBonus won the Freddie Awards, the largest award in the travel industry, for best frequent flyer program numerous times. They won the six years prior to 2003, and again in 2004. In 2005 they wound up in a disappointing 13th place. The ban on domestic point awards in Norway, which reduced the value of the program, was part of the reason for EuroBonus's decline in the rankings.

EuroBonus received the acclaimed Industry Impact Award at the Freddy Award Ceremony held in Phoenix, Arizona on April 24 - 2008. What in fact was awarded was the Award Seat Prognosis - transparently displaying any available award seats online for the members setting a new standard for Frequent Flyer Programs can display award availability for their members.

Criticism of the Program

Although EuroBonus has been awarded the Freddie Awards several times, there are still many SAS Group passengers who criticize certain elements of the EuroBonus program especially compared to similar programs on other Star Alliance airlines. EuroBonus has two different types of point/miles like most frequent flier programs do, some which qualifies the holder for elite status and some which don't. Usually the non-qualifying points are only used for points acquired in terms of non-airline activity such as hotel stays and car rental. However, with the EuroBonus program, passengers only earn what SAS refers to as BasicPoints (i.e. elite qualifying points) when flying with a SAS group airline. If a passenger flies with another member airlines the passenger will only earn ExtraPoints (i.e. non-qualifying points). Another often criticized part of the EuroBonus program is the fact that points/miles expire after 5 years regardless of activity. This is as opposed to other airlines where as long as you keep flying once every two years, your miles will never expire. Or even some airlines like Continental Airlines where your miles never expire.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Estimated time of arrival

2009-06-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

The estimated time of arrival or ETA is a measure of when a, ship, vehicle, aircraft, cargo, emergency service or computer file is expected to arrive at a certain place. One of the more common uses is in public transportation where the movements of trains, buses, airplanes and the like can be used to generate estimated times of arrival depending on either a static timetable or through measurements on traffic intensity. In this respect, the phrase or its abbreviation is often paired with its complement, "estimated time of departure" or "ETD", to indicate the expected start time of a particular journey.

For example, a certain flight may have a calculated ETA based on the speed by which it has covered the distance traveled so far. The remaining distance is divided by the speed previously measured to roughly estimate the arrival time. This particular method does not take into account any unexpected events (such as new wind directions) which may occur on the way to the flight's destination.

ETA is also used metaphorically in situations where nothing actually moves physically, as in describing the time estimated for a certain task to complete (e.g. work undertaken by an individual; a computation undertaken by a computer program; or a process undertaken by an organization).

ETA has been frequently used in different Hollywood movies on numerous occasions to convey the approximate measure of time of arrival of vehicles, or emergency or rescue services.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Economy class

2009-06-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Economy class, (also called coach class, standard class, or cattle class), is the lowest class of seating in air travel and rail travel.

Although it is reputed to be uncomfortable, with limited legroom and amenities, it is favoured by many travellers as it offers the cheapest seats.

Economy class in rail travel

Some railways have renamed their economy class for marketing purposes. Such names include VIA Rail's Comfort class, although Amtrak still refers to such seating as coach class. It is called second class on most European railways or standard class in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

An economy class seat in a train usually consists of a seat, sometimes with a fold-down tray for use as a work surface or for food service. The chair sometimes will recline, particularly on overnight trains, where it will permit more leg room for sleeping in a semi-upright position. The seat may also include a pocket attached to the back of the seat in front for storage of small items such as magazines. Depending on the configuration of the passenger compartment, luggage might be stowed in overhead racks or at each end of the coach.

Economy seats in North American intercity passenger trains are found almost exclusively in Coach cars, with other class fares on the train separated by the type of car (ie. sleepers, etc.). Economy seating on North American passenger trains typically does not include meal service in the fare.

On British intercity trains it is common to find some standard class seating arranged around permanent tables - offering plenty of space to work. Power sockets for laptops are common and some trains offer (chargeable) Wi-Fi Internet access in standard.

Economy class in air travel

Some airlines have renamed their economy class for marketing purposes. Such names include British Airways' World Traveller, United Airlines's Steerage/3rd Class, Air Canada's Hospitality/Hospitalité, Philippine Airlines' Fiesta Class (although Economy Class is widely used), LAN Tourist Class, and Air France's Tempo. The seat pitch of domestic economy class seats range from 29 to 36 inches (74 to 91 cm), usually 30–32 in (76–81 cm), and 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm) for international economy class seats. The seat size of domestic economy class seats range from 17 to 18.25 in (43 to 46 cm), usually 17 in (43 cm), and 17 to 19 in (43 to 48 cm) for international economy class seats.

In addition to a fold-down tray table, an economy class seat usually also includes a pocket of items attached to the seat in the next forward row, containing such things as:

* An airsickness bag
* An airline magazine
* A Duty-Free shopping catalogue
* A safety and evacuation procedure card
* Headphones (if inflight entertainment is available)

In-flight entertainment may be available. Some video screens, especially on older planes, are mounted on the ceiling of the aircraft or on a bulkhead so that all passengers in the cabin watch the same film. If there is an individual screen for each seat or partial row of seats, it may be smaller than first and business class screens, or there may be fewer video channels available. Headphones must be purchased on some carriers. This is often called an "entertainment fee". Airlines usually attribute this to being hygienic by not reusing and recleaning headphones. On some carriers, the headphones come in a pack with other amenities such as earplugs, eye mask etc.

Low-cost carriers often offer only economy class. These airlines are often associated with short-pitch seats, no free food or drink, and little or no reading material, but also lower fares. Such airlines include EasyJet, Ryanair, and Bmibaby. Most charter airlines also offer only economy class but some are introducing 'Economy Plus' Virgin Blue and Air Transat is now offering Club class. This class is also referred to as 'cattle class' by some people, in a somewhat insulting manner.

Meals are usually provided on longer flights, although, due to drastic cost-cutting, even some mainline airlines have ceased to serve meals except on very long and international flights. Short flights usually include a soft drink and a snack such as pretzels or peanuts. Many airlines, particularly low-cost carriers charge for snacks on short flights and even on flights of a duration of more than 6 hours or more en route. Skybus went as far as to institute a "no outside food" policy, which would force passengers to buy their refreshments. Many, such as Aer Lingus and Ryanair, no longer provide complimentary soft drinks on flights that are under two hours long.

The quality of the food varies depending on a number of factors. Airlines have now introduced a variety of special meals, such as vegetarian or kosher meals, as well as dishes suited for particular nationalities. All of these requests should be ordered well before departure. Generally, domestic airlines in the United States are known for poor quality food. Therefore, economy class food is a frequent butt of comedians' jokes.

Because of the reputed low quality and frequent unavailability of airline food on domestic U.S. flights, some airport vendors have started to offer meals packaged so that they can be carried on to the flight.

Carriers such as Qantas and Cathay Pacific offer inflight audio and visual entertainment on demand as well as a choice of meals across their international and selected domestic routes. On Qantas' new Airbus a380's wireless connectivity is available to all of its passengers (including economy).

Premium Economy class

Increasingly, airlines offer a Premium Economy class to passengers willing to pay more for slightly better seats and, in some cases, better service. These include British Airways (World Traveller Plus), Virgin Atlantic (Premium Economy), EVA Air (Evergreen Deluxe Class), Pakistan International Airlines (Economy Plus+), Qantas (Premium Economy) and United Airlines (Economy Plus) among others.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/

Dynamic packaging

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Dynamic Packaging is a method that is becoming increasingly used in package holiday bookings that enables consumers to build their own package of flights, accommodation, and a hire car instead of a pre-defined package. Dynamic packages differ from traditional package tours in that the pricing is always based on current availability, escorted group tours are rarely included, and trip-specific add-ons such as airport parking and show tickets are often available. Dynamic packages are similar in that often the air, hotel, and car rates are available only as part of a package or only from a specific seller. The term "dynamic packaging" is often used incorrectly to describe the less sophisticated process of interchanging various travel components within a package, however, this practice is more accurately described as "dynamic bundling". True Dynamic Packaging demands the automated recombination of travel components based on the inclusion of rules that not only dictate the content of the package, but conditional pricing rules based on various conditions such as the trip characteristics, suppliers contributing components, the channel of distribution, and terms of sale. Dynamic packages are primarily sold online, but online travel agencies will also sell by phone owing to the strong margins and high sale price of the product.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/