Destinations
The incredible golden triangle of India
I clutch the side of the autorickshaw as we swerve to miss a scooter pulling out. We rattle and grind through the narrow streets, past indigo houses and neon Ganesha statues. A group of children chases after us, shrieking with glee as they manage to grab on to the back to say hello…
— Herald Sun
Chasing quiet charm of a Finnish summer
The arrival of summer in Finland after a long and dark winter is magic I never get tired of. During the light midsummer nights when the sun briefly dips below the horizon, sleeping is optional as there is no time to waste before the weather turns and darkness again rules…
— Vancouver Sun
10 Reasons Antigua Is the Best Caribbean Hotspot You Haven't Heard Of
The Caribbean has so many great vacation choices from Aruba to Mexico, but here's why Antigua is the island hotspot you need to visit…
— Yahoo! Travel
Tours and Activities
The 10 things Australia does better than anywhere else
There are some travel experiences that Australia does better than anywhere. Here are 10 of them…
— Sydney Morning Herald
Discovering the history of Berlin
Could you have done it? One family zip-lined to freedom -- in a home-crafted zip line. A woman escaped hiding in a hollowed-out surfboard strapped atop her car…
— Fox Travel News
Cruise
Royal Caribbean Cruises Launches $5M Ocean Conservation Partnership with World Wildlife Fund
A $5 million, five-year ocean conservation project was launched today by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL) in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)…
— CruiseCritic.com
Norwegian cancels all Turkey visits by three brands for 2016
Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises ships have canceled…
— USA Today
Transportation
Winter Storm Jonas: Flight delays remain in New York, D.C.
The storm dropped snow from the Gulf Coast to New England, with near-record snowfalls tallied from Washington, D.C. to New York City…
— The Times-Picayune
British Airways considers reinstating Iran flights
Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways (BA), has suggested that the airline would like to reinstate direct flights to Tehran, the Iranian capital. "We are very interested in flying to Tehran and we are hopeful that it will form part of BA's network in the very near future," Walsh said at a Global Airfinance conference in Dublin last week…
— Telegraph (London)
Lodging
A snow dad reveals what makes a ski resort kid-friendly
Watching a pounding snowstorm from a chairlift at Steamboat ski resort, in northern Colorado, I feel the symptoms rising - shortening breath, furrowing brow, sulking self-pity. It's a classic case of Parental Powder Anxiety Syndrome…
— Miami Herald
Saybrook Point Inn Is Hollywood-Perfect Connecticut
Sometimes, when feeling lazy, writers fish for some other writer's brilliant quotation to open an article, and I admit I looked far and wide to find one about the Nutmeg State, but came up real short…
— The Huffington Post
Other and Odd
Avalanche kills person near Mount Baker ski area
Another person was hospitalized after being hurt on Mount Herman in what officials say was a "pretty frantic situation."…
— Seattle Times
Rock On! National Park Service Plans Centenntial Bashes in the Bushes
The National Park Service is turning 100 this year, and many parks and outside organizations are planning celebrations. Here are some of the best…
— NBC
Today in History
The League of Nations
On January 25th, 1919, the Paris Peace conference approved a proposal to create the League of Nations to sustain a lasting peace after the horrors of World War I. In June of that year, 44 nations signed the Covenant of the League of Nations…
— Travel Research Online
Editorial Musings
Bad advice from BRIDES and the professionals bark back
by John Frenaye
Monday January 25, 2016
Early last week , BRIDES.com published an article entitled Why You Shouldn’t Try to Book Your Guests’ Destination Wedding Travel. The title seemed innocuous enough. When I first read it, I thought it was suggesting that a bride and groom should not book travel for their guests—solid advice for the most part. But as I delved into it, it was anything but. The gist of the article was to leave your guests stranded and allow them to make the arrangements on their own. It was horrible, misguided advice, and boy did travel professionals let them know.
The article was written by Sandy Malone, who is a “Do-It-Yourself Consultant” (which seems like a contradiction of terms) and a Washington, DC-based wedding planner. But she also claims…
— Travel Research Online
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Reading Between the Lines
Do It! Marketing: Follow-Up
 “The fortune is in the follow up. It takes five to seven touches before winning the sale. Most sales occur after the eighth contact. RUBBISH!”
DO IT MARKETING - David Newman, page 164.
I am quick to endorse just about everything I read in this man’s book. But certainly not everything.
The Chapter on "follow-up" (Chapter 56) caught me off guard and I did not like what I was reading. I disagreed whole-heartedly …
— Travel Research Online
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Publishers Corner
How Low Will You Go?
by Richard Earls
Sunday January 24, 2016
We are a “dea l” obsessed culture, and the "lowest price" mentality seems to be predominant everywhere. As business people, however, it behooves us to think cautiously about any business strategy focusing on price as a way of attracting attention to our services. Not only are we training our clients to hone in on exactly the wrong issues, we also deeply damage the integrity of our own brands in the process.
Here’s the problem: At its best, travel planning has an enormous emotional component. But when price becomes the centerpiece of the exercise, the emotional keystones take a back seat to logic and math.
Our clients really want value, but they instinctively think in terms of "price." As the professional in…
— Travel Research Online
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One-to-One Interviews
Rosanna Chermisqui, Founder of Tours 4 The World and Tours 4 Women
Offering tours to over 40 destinations worldwide, Tours for the World is very proud to work exclusively with travel agents. Partner Rosana Chermisqui has over 23 years of experience in the travel industry, and it is her pleasure to assist agents in selling travel to their clients. Rosana takes great pride in her ability to help agents succeed by teaching the tools needed to sell a specific tour or destination. She can offer insight and suggest sales incentives such as creating special packages, or saving the best of a custom tour for the end, to leave a lasting impression on the traveler. Rosana is extremely approachable, and sincerely enjoys working together with an agent to come up…
— Travel Research Online
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