During and following this summer’s class in Cultural & Heritage Tourism Development I learned a lot about tourism at World Heritage sites and did my final paper on  endangered world heritage. It’s a sad issue that, in my opinion, doesn’t get near the coverage that it should.

Although I’ve never been to Galápagos, it’s always interested me stemming from research I did as an undergrad about the economic situation in Ecuador (archive of an old tripod page that defies all laws of good design-sense). I think tourism is just one of the many ways that Ecuador can develop and recover, but at what expense?

Ecotourism  is a huge boon to some regions, but when a site is placed on the danger list, what’s the responsibility of tour operators and tourists?

It’s a good question that I’m not sure I know the answer to.

Tags

NY Times, Culture & Heritage Tourism, Ecuador, Ecotourism

I think it’s an interesting step by the Prague government to deal with the homelessness issue, I wonder how it would effect those of us who look less vagrant?

Yes, I’m thinking back to May when I spent the night at Prague Airport. To be honest, I didn’t notice a huge number of homeless. That was far more of a problem at Praha Hlavní Nádraží when I’d head there to catch a train. Then again, it wasn’t the depth of winter either.

Judging by Prague’s section in Budget Traveller’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports, I’m certainly not the first to do so. In addition there were facilities open to serve those of us there –without a place to sleep or waiting for connections. I wonder how they’d feel if the night time clients were chased out?

Tags

Prague

Many of the reader-generated reviews of hotels, restaurants, destinations and other travel services on the Web may have started their lives as independent blogs by travel buffs. But they have consolidated into major online businesses, taking an ever-growing piece of the market from print guides.

While there’s no doubt that the resources, financial and otherwise, that come from the big corporations can help a site I can’t help but wonder if it causes the same problems that face the print guides in the end. For example, when Lonely Planet was a smaller entity they were better able to research and update their titles but now, their books have a tendency to go stale. When TripAdvisor and the others have to worry about meeting the needs of a parent entity, will the same thing happen? It’s no secret that I have an interest in social media as it relates to tourism, but I think the trend toward mega businesses is taking it too far.

I think that IgoUgo is headed down the better bath in that they require users to register and comments are often linked with user profiles. In addition to helping to reduce/eliminate the possibility of review stacking, it allows someone who reads the reviews to see if their interest is in line with the reviewer. If a 20 something person is looking at hotel reviews, it’s more likely that they’d want to read a review posted by someone in their own generation rather than someone in their grandparent’s generation.

It’s going to be interesting to watch the big two evolve, as well as: I 8 There, Hotel Shark and the other related sites. See where they all are in a year.

Tags

NY Times, Tourism and Social Media, Travel/Web 2.0

• Japan, specifically Kyoto and the Higashiyama district. While I think it’s likely that that she’s one of the many who dress for the day rather than a true geisha, things like this are still a stunning site. I don’t think you can get an idea of just how different Japan is until you see sites like this near Kiyomizudera. I didn’t have much of an interest in Japan prior to my first trip in 2001, but now it has its claws in me and won’t let go.

• Europe - all of it. The history. When in Prague for the first class last summer, a friend and I were on a cruise on the Vltava River for a different look at Prague. We ended up speaking Spanish with a Catalan speaking couple from outside Barcelona. They asked if we found the small cities a challenge compared with New York and my response was no, for their sheer history. I also like the closeness of the different cultures. Over a month in Prague, I spent each weekend in a different country: Poland, Italy, Germany and Switzerland (plus England if you count the day in London on the way to Prague). It was easy, convenient and a walking history book.

You walk down from the Piazza Venezia and there it is. I took a number of photos that weekend and they all jut spoke to the history of the city yet mixed with modern Rome. It’s something that we can’t even imagine in the US or Australia.

• Australia - yep another all of it. The natural landscape, the relative lack of pollution, the open spaces. Unfortunately most of my photos are off line but this picture of Darwin’s Mindil Beach covers most of it. I adored Australia and for natural beauty, I can’t imagine anything ever topping it:

Tags

Travel: General, Travel: Favorites

My Experience in One of the World’s Most Dangerous Places from Hole in the Donut really struck a chord with me. As was the case in Tony Wheeler’s Bad Lands (and he’s contemplating a sequel!) the experience that the traveler gets, especially an open minded traveler, is often far removed from the dire warnings and classifications on lists such as the one Forbes published. While I’m not sure I have any interest in Zimbabwe, the photos are beautiful. The author hits the nail on the head when she speaks of the “real Zimbabwe” — the country you see with your eyes, not one you hear on a list.

So you’ve decided you’re going to Zimbabwe, or another country that strikes your fancy. How do you figure out how much this is all going to cost? How to Create a Simple Vacation Budget from foXnoMad provides some great information. It’s not impossible. Using some of the tools provided, it’s not even particularly hard. I’ve never been particularly good at setting budgets, or sticking to them when I have a rough idea, but it is a good idea. This site is also valuable if you’re one of those people forever trying to convince your friends that travel is possible and that it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

So now you’ve set your budget, but you’ve realized you’re really not up for a visit to a place that’s been identified as Dangerous. Something more along the lines of a fairy tale is what you’re interested in. Then the Top 25 Most Beautiful Castles in the World from International Listings is a good place to start. It includes some very well known Castles: Windsor, Château de Versailles, Arg-é Bam Castle and Angkor Wat (although I never knew the latter was considered a castle) as well as some I was completely unfamiliar with. I was surprised not to see the Taj Mahal or Neuschwanstein Castle included. Either way, it’s got me itching for another trip!

It was a plesaure to host this week’s carnival and a real challenge to include just three. I encourage travel bloggers to read the rules for submission and participate in future weeks. It’s a great way to find new blogs you’re unfamiliar with and learn about new places, tips, etc.

As for this blog, I hope to get it back on track soon. I’ve been exceptionally busy with work, school and another project in the last few weeks but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tags

Travel Blog Carnival

• Inconvenient “convenience” fees - I think this one bothers me the most. That said, I experienced the fees far more in Japan and Australaia than I did here, so it’s yet another case of the US catching up with the rest of the world. The “convenience” fee that I don’t mind is the exit row and other extended legroom options as Virgin America charges for them. I don’t agree with the airlines that make these available only to elite level, they should be available to those willing to pay. It’s interesting to see how it’s going to shake out with booking fees, as I’ve mentioned before.
• Gridlock on the ground: the sequel - I agree with Christopher here, Mass Transit. Last school year I was commuting 80+ miles a day on school days from Nyack -> Suffern -> Midtown or Astor Place. I was killing my car and my sanity. Now with the internship in Manhattan, I take the TZ Express from Nyack to Tarrytown, where I pick up MetroNorth. Someone else fights the traffic and I get to read or sleep, sounds like a win win to me.

So maybe it’s not the end of the world…

Tags

Travel: General, Travel:Air, Virgin America

While I realize the issue(s) facing those interviewed:

Like many other frequent business travelers, he finds that there is only one airline whose flight schedule fits his needs.

“I’m not loyal,” he adds. “I’m just a hostage.”

it bothers me.

Maybe I’m spoiled in the NY area where I have, at minimum, four viable airports (HPN, EWR, LGA and JFK) and innumerable airline choices but I find it very hard to imagine an airport where there is a monopoly. Or if not a monopoly, a time monopoly. If the traveler’s schedule is so strict that only one makes it, how does s/he tolerate the unavoidable delays?

In an article on SmarterTravel.com titled “Frequent Flyer Resolutions for 2008,” he wrote, “My first resolution is to continue my gradual disengagement from mileage programs.”

In a way, that’s what I’ve been doing. I don’t want to feel tied to one program. Granted, there are times I wish I didn’t do this in order to more easily attain elite status, but I don’t mind being non-elite for the sake of my sanity. A good example is Virgin America, eleVAte hasn’t launched officially and even when it launches it isn’t likely to be aligned with any of the Big Three, but the flight times and prices are good. To me, it’s about more than mileage.

…interesting FlyerTalk discussion on the article as well…

Tags

NY Times, Travel:Air

I’m not sure where it stemmed from, but something interested me enough to sign up for a book ring of  Go: An Airline Adventure last fall. I adored the book and subsequently read Nuts!, which I also loved and this morning started Blue Streak. On Mt. TBR I have From Worst to First and just mooched A Spirit of Greatness.

Confession time, I’ve never flown jetBlue or Southwest. Southwest doesn’t have a ton of options from the NYC area and on several occasions where I’ve intended to fly jetBlue, something comes out cheaper. My recent flights to and from LAX are a classic case of this. I’d love to fly into BUR because it’s so much less insane than LAX (although I’ve become somewhat immune to that insanity having been through there some 10 times in 2007) but the times are awful (red eye gets into JFK at 5 AM and the price just isn’t that good. Virgin America is ahead of them by leaps and bounds and even the legacy carriers usually work out better. For me there has to be a compelling reason to go to JFK - VX is, jetBlue isn’t.

My question is: what, if anything, should I do with this airline interest.

Tags

Books, Travel:Air

The safety demonstration!

This isn’t exactly the one I saw, but it’s pretty close. I love that their planes have done away with the obsolete no smoking sign and replaced it with something useful and I adore the seatbelt comment. Good way to make people pay attention.

ETA: The Travel Blog Carnival has launched and it’s already garnering some attention. I look forward to my turn to host it.

Tags

Travel Blog Carnival, Virgin America

My personal favorite:

A fracas involving 20 passengers erupted in June on a flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to London. It was touched off when a passenger took exception to the reclining seat in front of him. Fliers duked it out with fists, bottles and belts, causing the captain to make an emergency landing.

Namely because I’ve never understood the huge kerfuffle re: reclining airline seats, yet it’s a frequent topic of conversation on FlyerTalk. Some favorite threads:

• Just Get Rid of Reclining Seats in Coach
• Passenger reclined the seat to my knees- so I grabbed and pulled the seat often

I guess because I’m only 5′3, someone reclining doesn’t get in too much of my space. Unless, of course, I can’t see my RED screen on VX, and then it’s war!

A 64-year-old man was hospitalized earlier this month after chugging a liter of vodka rather than surrendering it at a checkpoint in Germany’s Nuremberg airport. (Full story: Man chugs vodka in airport line)

Well I suppose that’s one way to get around the 3 oz/100 mL regulations. I’m still waiting for better toothpastes to be available in the smaller sizes.

Coming from my own background in tourism development, but this makes me chuckle:

Royal Nepal Airlines for using a photo of the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu in Peru to illustrate a poster that asked, “Have you seen Nepal?”

You would really hope that a country/airline would know its own product well enough to market it.

Tags

Travel: General