Travelography #167: Cleaning Up After Tourists

  

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My top story is an article about cleaning up New Orleans after Mardi Gras, which relates to many other tourism venues, as well.  Also: The World's Most Dangerous Countries, The World's Most Delayed Airports, and When Travel and Facebook Do Not Mix.

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This podcast is available at: PodcasterNews.com,  Blubrry.com  and Travelgeography.info and the TravelCastNetwork.com.  And also followTravelography  News on Twitter.com. 

Click Here for links to ALL of the News Stories discussed in this podcast.

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Travelography #138: Travel Now - Save the Economy!

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 1 December 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• TSA says new uniforms calm travelers and make spotting terrorists easier

  the new [blue] shirts project a more professional look and instill a greater sense of calm among passengers. In turn, the agency says fewer nervous travelers now make behavior profiling of potential terrorists more effective.

• De-icer shortage threatens US flights

  The federal government is warning airlines that flights could face disruptions this winter because of a severe shortage of a chemical used to keep runways free from snow and ice.

• Australians told to take a break for the economy

  The country's 11 million workers have hoarded about 121 million days of paid-leave entitlements which the government wants to unlock to help stimulate a tourism sector hard hit by the global downturn.

• 6 reasons we love to travel now

  Turn back the clock just a year and you'll find a dramatically different picture. Travelers were unappreciated -- even exploited -- by unscrupulous travel companies that were flush with profits. No longer. With just one notable exception, it's difficult to find any part of the travel industry that isn't being extra-nice to its customers.

• Lebanon tourism hits four-year high

  Arab tourists accounted for 54 percent of visitors in October, the ministry said, hailing the "stable political situation since May 2008" when Lebanon's political rivals struck an accord after deadly clashes in Beirut. Lebanon has witnessed a string of political assassinations since the Beirut bomb blast which killed Hariri in February 2005.

Travelography #136: Holiday Travel Ups and Downs

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 17 November 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

• Gloomy economy expected to curtail Thanksgiving travel

  Los Angeles International Airport holiday travel will be down 14.3% from the 1.85 million passengers that passed through the airport last year, airport officials said Thursday.

• Japanese traveler refuses to leave Mexico City airport

  At first, he frightened passengers, and airport authorities asked the Japanese Embassy to investigate why the foul-smelling man refused to leave. Now, he's somewhat of a celebrity, capturing Mexico's collective imagination with nearly daily television news reports on his life at the food court.

• UK travelers avoiding USA - Skyscanner Report

  while flight search traffic remains high on the Skyscanner site, over the last month there has been a 15 percent fall in searches for UK-USA flights, suggesting that the credit crunch and the weakening pound have finally taken their toll on British travelers, and that they are forgoing their American trips.

• American Automobile Association Predicts Drop in Holiday Travel

  AAA and the Air Transport Association predict fewer Americans will be on the move during the upcoming holiday travel period, the first drop in Thanksgiving travel since 2002. It's the fourth holiday this year that will have seen decreased travel compared with the year before.

• End of the [US] Tourism Boom?

  As an example, hotels in Miami alone expect a 3 to 6 percent decline in budget revenues, compared to the same period in 2007. With pressures to attract more customers, the hospitality industry is bound to offer more deals and reduce its rates. "The U.S. hotel industry is virtually frozen by the uncertain state of the global economy,"

• U.S. Economy Expected to Receive a Shot in the Arm from Visa Waiver Program Expansion

  Starting today [Nov-17], travelers from seven new countries--the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and the Republic of Korea (South Korea)--can travel to the United States without first obtaining a tourist visa.

• Despite Economic Challenges, People Traveling Over Holidays Feel Time and Money Spent is Small Price to Pay to be With Loved Ones

  Older Americans, in particular, appreciate the value of travel during the holidays.

Travelography #119: Let's see.. shall I take the A380 or the RV ?

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 7 July 2008. In addition to Podcasternews.com and Travelography.info, This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com.

1. Dublin Airport shut down after radar malfunction

   The decision forced dozens of flights to be grounded at airports across Europe or, if already in the air, to be diverted. The airlines hit most heavily by delays were the airport's two biggest users, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

2. Brussels Approves CO2 Trading Plan for Airlines

   All flights starting and landing in Europe will be included in an EU Emissions Trade System from 2012, following a vote in the European Parliament. Airlines say it will drive up the cost of air travel.

3. U.S. Loses Grip on Foreign Tourists

   Nearly 26 million people traveled to the United States from overseas in 2000.... The number bottomed out in 2003 with 18 million overseas visitors, and with 24 million last year still had not returned to previous levels.

4. Emirates to launch first commercial A380 service to US

   ...Emirates Airline's state-of-the-art A380...on August 1 when the airline launches its first A380 commercial service from Dubai to New York JFK. The 14-hour non-stop flight will also be the first-ever commercial A380 service to the United States.

5. U.S. tourists' visits to Canada hit 36-year low

   Among the hardest-hit are communities and businesses that rely on short-term, drive-in tourists. In March, Americans made only 730,000 same-day car trips, down 2.5 percent from February and 68.3 percent from 2001.

6. RV Vacations Are Least Expensive, Study Shows

   Fuel prices would have to more than double for typical motorhome vacations to become more expensive than other forms of travel, according to PKF Consulting. The study also shows that fuel costs would have to more than triple for trips in lightweight...

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

Travelography #76: Airline News: FAA, Virgin USA, Greenland, North Pole, China

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1. The US FAA will give airlines the option to either wait a storm out or fly around it.
   
2. Richard Branson has received approval to start his Virgin America budget airline this summer 2007.
   
3. Air Greenland launches first direct flight between the US and Greenland.
   
4. LTU starts the first scenic flights to the North Pole.
   
5. Direct US-China flights are set to more than double within the next five years.

Links to these five stories can be found at Travelography on PodcasterNews.com on Monday, 4 June 2007.

Travelography #75: Flying Backward, Yotels, and Renting Cars by the Hour

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A proposed airline seat design (the Economy Freedom Seat) would turn the middle seats around to give economy passengers more elbow room. Yotels, or micro hotel rooms, are coming to London's two airports, for rent by the hour. And hourly car rentals are gradually growing in availability in some US cities.

Back to the future of seats on a plane?

Airport Check-in: London fliers can rest easy

More companies rent cars by the hour

Geography for Travelers

Travel News on Ning

Travelography #73: US Pow-Wow Border Troubles, and Airport Wifi Resource

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This year's Travel Industry Association's International Pow Wow in Los Angeles highlighted the problems that foreign visitors have in coming to the US, at the same time that the US government is trying to fix its problems. And I talk about a good source of information on wifi availability at airports -- mostly in the US, but also worldwide. (Geography for Travelers)

Visitors say U.S. is no vacation

Travelpost.com's Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide

Travel New on Ning

Nepal Research Project - At the Bangkok Airport

(this is a blog, not a podcast)

1 January 07

I am sitting at gate C5 at the Bangkok international airport, listening to the Slashdot Review podcast on a small RCA Lyra mp3 player, while recording some of the sounds of the waiting room on my iRiver. The sounds include different languages and a video screen showing a black and white documentary of the early life of the King of Thailand (the 60th year of his reign is being celebrated in 2007). The video’s narration is in Thai, though I think only a minority of the passengers here are actually Thai.

For the Full Text of this blog entry, go here:
http://seasiatourism.blogspot.com/2007/01/nepal-research-project-at-bangkok.html