Travelography #104: Travel and Tourism in 2008

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What will 2008 hold for Travel and Tourism?

New technologies and new planes will be tested in 2008, but wont really affect travelers until 2009. Open air agreements will expand air travel across the Atlantic, which will help to continue the year-on-year record growth in international travel. The high cost of travel to Europe will encourage many people to go elsewhere, benefiting many new destinations and special interest niche tours around the globe. Climate change will also affect where people go and how the travel and tourism industry develops.

Links to stories in Travelography #104:

• Travel Trends for 2008: Travelers May Stay Closer to Home

• Changes for better on horizon for fliers in 2008

• Travel Trends: What's Hot for 2008

Travelography #103: Prostitutes and Pilgrims

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Links to today's stories:

Well, at least I put a tech story between the Amsterdam's brothels and the Vatican...

1. Amsterdam to clean up famed red light district

2. Denver Airport offers 802.11n Wi-Fi for free

3. Higher fares don't deter holiday fliers

p.s. - I had some problems with the new PodcasterNews.com interface and was not able to upload this until December 31st when my problem was fixed. -- Alan

G4T/TGPod #61: Utterz from Northern Finland and Sweden

This is a Geography for Travelers Podcast related post (click on the title above to download the .mp3 file)

Travel Geography Podcast #61

The December Travel Geography Podcast is a compilation of mini Utterz.com podcasts that I posted during my trip to Finland and Sweden. The trip was from November 28 to December 10. Utterz.com is a free podcasting service on which you can post unlimited mini-podcasts -- sort of like an audio Twitter. The Utterz episodes that I have have compiled here include:

1. My first impressions of being in a place with only 4 hours of sunlite
2. A noon time walk on the University of Oulu campus to find the sun
3. Report on our post-conference field trip to Santa Claus Land at the Arctic Circle and to the World Cup Ski competition at the Ruka Ski Resort near the Russian border
4. A report on my job as a Ph.D. "Opponent" and the party that followed
5. Some thoughts while in transit back to the US, and my jetlag after returning to Arizona, and
6. A weather report update and news story about a new tourist attraction in Sweden

The sun never get very high above the horizon. Above is about 1 pm.


Me, standing on the Arctic Circle line in the Santa Claus Land shopping mall in Finland.


World Cup Ski Jump competition at the Ruka Ski Resort in Finland.


Wild (?) reindeer on a snow-packed road in Finland.

All Photos: Creative Commons Copyright: non-commercial, attribution, share-alike

Travelography #102: 2007 Travel News In Review

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In today's podcast I give a summary of the major themes that were covered in the Travelography World Travel News podcast in 2007.

Links to new stories in today's podcast:

• Tourism of doom' on rise
• Poll: Travelers dislike TSA as much as IRS

Travelography #101: Ski Resorts in the Alps Prepare for Global Warming

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Spas and shopping malls are replacing replacing skiing as glaciers and snow melt in the Alps.

Resorts prepare for a future without skis

Travelography News on Twitter

Travelography News on Ning

Travelography 2.0 podcast

Geography for Travelers

Listen to Travelography on you phone +1 (360) 227-5594

With this Travelography #101 podcast I am changing to a more informal format -- mostly because it is easier for me, but also because I enjoy it more. I hope you like it, as well.

Travelography #100 - Theme Parks Boom, Gorillas Grow, and Air Hostess Games

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Today's Stories:
- Amusement parks are doing well world wide
- Mountain gorillas bring high end tourist money to Uganda
- Women compete for airline hostess positions on a new game show in China

Links:
Amusement park and attractions business to grow in Asia and Europe but will go steady in US
Rare mountain gorillas prepared for tourists
China's airline clones

Travel Geography Podcast (this website)
Travelography News on Ning
Travelography News on Twitter
Listen to Travelography on you phone +1 (360) 227-5594

Santa + Ski Jump @ Arctic C Pt 2

PART 2 - Recorded last night at the University of Oulu Research Center at Finland's Oulanka National Park. One Correction: The three events were Ski Jumping, Cross Country Skiing, and Nordic Combined (both jumping and x-country skiing). Sorry about the sound quality - I will try to avoid using that recorder in the future (or learn how to use it appropriately).

PHOTO: Ski Jump at the Ruka Ski Area in Finland, near the Russian border.

Mobile post sent by alew using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Santa + Ski Jump @ Arctic Circle

PART 1 - Recorded last night at the University of Oulu Research Center at Finland's Oulanka National Park. One Corrections: The three events were: Ski Jumping, Cross Country Skiing, and Nordic Combined (both jumping and x-country skiing). Sorry about the sound quality - I will try to avoid using that recorder in the future (or learn how to use it appropriately).

PHOTO: Sun at about noon time in Oulu, Finland

Mobile post sent by alew using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

NaPodPoMo - Travelography 2.0 - Daily Podcast Challenge - Week 4

For 29 November 2007- First Impressions of Oulu, Finland

Pretty slow internet connection here at the university, but with patience it works and I did get today's podcasts posted on Utterz. Sunrise was a 9:30 am this morning, well after the conference had started; sunset was at 2:30 pm. It is now 4pm and pitch dark outside. Seems like I should be getting ready for bed now -- probably the jetlag. At our downtown hotel, stores are be open until 9 pm and the snow-packed streets are busy with shoppers.

Additional postings about my trip and conference are at http://twitter.com/alew

For 27 November 2007 - Flying by Car to Phoenix - My morning flight was canceled, so I had to drive to Phoenix to make my connecting flight!

Travelography #99: T-Day Travel, HI Superferry, and Japan Whales and Fingers

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Today's Stories:

- Weather, among other factors, help make for smooth traveling during the Thanksgiving weekend in the US.
- Hawaii's Superferry to re-start on December 1st between Honolulu and Maui.
- Travel boycott called against Japan as it dramatically increases its whale catch.
- Japan starts fingerprinting all foreign visitors to prevent terrorist attacks.

Story Links:

Fearing worst, U.S. air travelers find smooth going

Hawaii Superferry Employees Heading Back to Work

Boycott Japan - Save the Whales

Tourists given the finger

Geography for Travelers

Travelography News on Ning

Travelography News on Twitter

Travelography 2.0 on Utterz.com

Listen to Travelography on you phone +1 (360) 227-5594

NaPodPoMo - Travelography 2.0 - Daily Podcast Challenge - Week 3

Week 3 of National Podcast Post Month (NaPodPoMo)

I joined NaPodPoMo a few days late, but you can find my posts week 1 (Nov 7-9) here and for Week 2 (Nov 11-19) here. Nov 10 + Nov 19 were my regular weekly Travelography podcast.

For 25 November 2007

• Orbitz TLC Letter - Surprisingly helpful letter from Orbitz.
  

For 24 November 2007

• Turkey Congee - I am amazed by all of the traffic heading north from Phoenix this weekend! And I talk about our traditional post-Turkey Day meal of turkey congee (rice porridge). Here is one of many turkey congee recipes available online: http://esyurl.com/2pj - also check out: http://napodpomo.ning.com/ For 21 November 2007

For 23 November 2007

• Black Friday Urban Fix

For 22 November 2007

• Happy Thanksgiving

For 21 November 2007

• Angkor Wat and Ha Long Bay - I talk about a couple of places that many people (especially Americans, I think) do not know about, but really should be on their must visit someday list of places: Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

For 20 November 2007:

• Report Airline Abuse @ FlyerRights.org

Travelography #98: Turkey Day Air Travel, Fuel Surcharges, and Forever Travel

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Stories covered in today's podcast include:
- The US government institutes policies to reduce Thanksgiving air travel -- we'll see if it works!
- Airlines and cruise companies adopt new fuel surcharge fees to cover increasing costs.
- Are you a potential Forever Tourist?

Links:

More Highways in the Sky to Ease Travel

Airlines, Cruises Add Fuel Surcharges

Forever Tourism Truly Offers a One Way Ticket

NaPodPoMo

Geography for Travelers (this website)

Travelography 2.0 on Utterz.com

Travelography News on Twitter

Listen to Travelography on you phone +1 (360) 227-5594

NaPodPoMo - Travelography 2.0 - Daily Podcast Challenge - Week 2

Week 2 of National Podcast Post Month (NaPodPoMo)

I joined a few days late, but you can find my posts from last week (Nov 7-9) here. Nov 10 was my regular weekly Travelography podcast.

For 18 November 2007:

• Travelography 2.0: Getting Older... -
  

For 17 November 2007:

• Travelography 2.0: China's Golden Weeks Explained - I just finished an essay on Domestic Tourism for the Encyclopedia of Modern China (due out sometime next year) -- so in today's podcast I talk about China's Golden Weeks -- what they are and how they are changing.

For 16 November 2007:

• My Travel Podcast Susbscriptions - Only a fraction of the 100 podcasts that I subscribe to are related to travel and tourism. I talk about those in today's podcast. And OOPS - I forgot to mention the Home Based Travel Agent podcast -- sorry Barry ...

For 15 November 2007:

• Traveler Resilience - Record numbers of Americans will hit the roads next week despite gas prices being $1 more than last year.

For 14 November 2007:

• 60 MPG Downhill - for NaPodPoMo

For 13 November 2007:

• EU Upsets US Airlines with New Emssions Rules
• related link: Original story from the International Herald Tribune

For 12 November 2007:

• Two PR Emails - a right and a wrong way to contact bloggers
• relate link: Web 2.0 Travel Tools

For 11 November 2007:

• NaPodPoMo for Sunday - Interview with my Son

Travelography #97 - Great Wall of Sand, 750 mi. Golf Course, and Cold War Tours

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Stories in today's podcast include: (1) Growing sand storms are eroding away the Great Wall of China; (2) Australia building 750 mile / 1200 km long golf course; (3) US National Park Service offering nuclear reactor tours in Washington State; and (4) New tour of life in a Communist town in Poland.

Main Story Links:

Sandstorms Are Eroding Great Wall, China Says

Australia will fund world's longest golf course

Nuclear reactor a tourist hot spot

Poland's showcase of communism becomes offbeat tourist draw Other Related Links:

Geography for Travelers (this website)

Travelography News on Twitter

NaPodPoMo (National Podcast Post Month)

Travelography 2.0 on Utterz.com

Listen to Travelography on you phone +1 (360) 227-5594

NaPodPoMo - Travelography 2.0 - Daily Podcast Challenge - Nov 7 to 9

So I was wondering what NaVloPoMo was that CherlyColan on Twitter was talking about, and I stumbled on the NaPodPoMo website on Ning.com. NaPodPoMo = National Podcast Post Month, and those who sign up in the month of November as supposed to post a podcast every day for 30 days.

Even though I came down with a head cold a couple of days ago, this sounded kind of fun, and I had just signed up for Utterz.com, so I though I would give it a try. I am calling these NaPodPoMo podcast posts "Travelography 2.0" as they will be very short, un-edited versions of my Travelography: World Travel and Tourism News podcast. I will add them to this blog entry as they are recorded.

Here is the first one for 7 November 2007:

• Travelography 2.0: Pumpkin Pie and Yucky Glasses - click to listen - Websites mentioned in this podcast include:
• Consumerist.com: Dirty Glasses Story
• RSS Feed for the Travelography 2.0 Podcast - use this to subscribe either with your podcatcher or other feed reader

For 8 November 2008:

• Travelography 2.0: Humidifier Attack and Travel 2.0 - click to listen - Sorry for the coughing, but my head cold has gotten much worse today! Websites mentioned in this podcast include:
• * Great Travel 2.0 Websites (The Ratings Guy)
• * Web Travel Sites (Washington Post)
• * My List of Travel Sites
• * My Other Hubpages

For 9 November 2008

• Travelography 2.0: Nokia N800 and Cruiseship (and other tourist) Crimes - click to listen - Enjoying my recently purchased Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. Quite a few tourist crime stories in today's nes feeds. I focus on cruiseship crimes. Links mentioned:
• * Travelography News Feeds on Twitter
• * Travelography Show Notes (this website)
• * My Utterz.com site - http://www.utterz.com/~h-alew/
• * Cruise Ship Crimes story