Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Travelography #162: The Right to Free Hotel Wifi

  
Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.

The first story today is about how unions are calling on more regulations to stabilize the very unstable airline industry. The second is eight reasons why all hotels should provide free wifi, with mention of Google's and Bing's free offerings this holiday season. And then I talk a little about Taiwan's Modern Toilet Hotel.

This podcast is available at:
PodcasterNews.comBlubrry.com and Travelgeography.info. and TravelCastNetwork.com.

And also follow Travelography  News on Twitter.com. 

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

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Travelography #159: Tourism and the Economy: Uneasy Bedfellows

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Business travel is in the dumps, and a new study is commissioned to try and turn that around. The Australian dollar is stronger than ever -- which is really bad for Australia's tourism. Finally, I can take my precious water on the plane -- in Europe. And are floating hotels the future is a global warming world?


This podcast is available at:
PodcasterNews.comBlubrry.com and Travelgeography.info. and TravelCastNetwork.com.

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


Thursday, September 03, 2009

Travelography #154: Tourism is the New Flat

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 26 August to 3 September 2009. This podcast is available at PodcasterNews.com, Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

Travel is Growing Again!

“flat is the new up.” By that definition, and taking into consideration the trends and data discussed below, the good news is that U.S. Travel is growing again! Yes, this is a bullish view on our sector, but even if it’s premature, who couldn’t use good news?

Southwest Airlines adds charge to board sooner

... for an extra $10 each way Southwest passengers can automatically reserve a boarding position prior to general check-in. That would allow those customers to begin boarding the plane after certain elite fliers, who don't have to pay add-on fees for early boarding privileges. Unlike other carriers, Southwest does not offer assigned seating.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Travelography #143: Fire Tourists and Tweet My Spring Break

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 2 to 9 February 2009. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

  • Police warn 'fire tourists' to stay away - Australia

    People have died in their cars trying to escape the Gippsland fires and there are reports of a busload of Japanese tourists heading towards the Yarra Valley. Police say they will be blocking people who are driving towards dangerous areas and people could be charged with hindering police if they are caught sightseeing in "stupid" areas.
  • Australia's forest fire toll climbs - 166 dead - Summary : Environment

    The body count reached 166 on Tuesday, more than doubling the death toll from Australia's previous worst forest fires in 1983. Authorities in the south-coast city of Melbourne warned the death toll would continue to climb as army bulldozers cleared a path for forensic teams to enter hamlets cut off by Saturday's inferno.
  • Future Tech May Reduce Bird-Plane Collisions

    Most of today's anti-bird-strike efforts are ground-based, focusing on making airports less inviting to birds by removing ponds, exterminating the bugs birds eat, firing noise cannons, installing artificial owls, and so on. But the next frontier in bird-strike prevention is the sky. Bird-disturbing radar, pulsing lights, and reflective coatings may someday make aircraft more visible to birds, so they have time to dodge oncoming planes
  • Travel firms respond to events, share news via Twitter

    Hotels, airlines, airports and other travel companies are joining the Twitter community, too, to pitch services, update travel conditions and respond directly to the individual needs of customers. They're finding the mobile nature of the technology is ideal for talking to travelers. "We consider our Twitter account akin to an information booth,"
  • Economy won't stop the spring break party

    Bookings to popular beach destinations are strong, according to travel companies, and volunteering vacations continue to gain momentum. "Typically the student business is more resilient to the economy because it's like a once in a lifetime trip,"
  • $50,000 to stay in a house shaped like a toilet?

    Traveling to Suwon, South Korea anytime soon? Feeling flush with cash and feel like staying in a house shaped like a toilet?

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Travelography #130: Travel, Tourism and The Economic Meltdown

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Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 6 October 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

  • Economic woes cause travelers to postpone, cancel trips

    One reason experts doubt travel will rebound quickly has to do with the way many people were financing their travels before the housing market collapsed. ... many people were financing their travels by accessing the equity built up in their homes, which appreciated dramatically in recent years.
  • Ahead of the Bell: Online travel sites

    Orbitz Worldwide Inc. was downgraded and earnings estimates for online travel competitors Priceline.com Inc. and Expedia Inc. were cut Thursday, as analysts pointed to a weaker travel market and a stronger dollar.
  • Credit crunch 'good news for UK [domestic] travel'

    "Consumer behaviour is changing. We're seeing more people taking short breaks close to home and it could be that the recession will be good news for UK tourism. ... Among the new deals being snatched up are city breaks in apartments, couples' breaks in log cabins and holidays with a sporting theme."
  • Airline industry faces 'year of hell'

    The International Air Transport Association, IATA, has estimated that global airline loses will be $5.2 billion this year and $4.9 billion next year due to the economic slowdown and high price of oil. This compares with a combined profit of $5.6 billion last year.
  • Airline woes pinch Arizona tourism expectations

    Fewer seats for sale means airlines can charge more. Tickets for Phoenix flights departing in October are up an average 28% from a year ago, ... At risk: A substantial slice of $19 billion in annual visitor spending in Arizona. This comes after months of reduced numbers in hotel occupancy and airport traffic as people struggle with a plunging stock market, the housing meltdown and other economic woes.
  • The silver [travel] lining in the global slump

    Blame it on “comparative pain.” As bad as things seem in the U.S., they’re even worse in other countries with higher inflation, higher unemployment, and a weaker central bank.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Travelography #125: The Trickle Down Travel Contraction

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

Hanna-caused detour prompts 'mutiny' on Carnival Miracle

The New York-based ship was supposed to head to the Caribbean... But thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna, the 2,124-passenger vessel ... will be spending Friday more than 1,000 miles off course in -- get this -- Newport, R.I. The drastic change to the ship's itinerary -- no other ship has been forced so far afield by this week's storms -- has cause a virtual mutiny on board, according to passenger posts on cruise-focused websites.

Airline Flight Cuts End Up Hurting Airports and Hotels, Too

The carriers' misery is spreading, or is expected to spread, to virtually every industry they touch in the travel economy: hotels, rental cars, convention centers, websites that book travel, airports and others.

Gas Prices Cause Airline [in Canada] to Remove Life Vests

...all of Jazz's flights operate within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of shore. ... A commercial-style life vest weighs roughly a half-kilogram, meaning 25 kilograms would be saved by removing them from a Dash-8 aircraft with 50 seats.

Australia issues travel advisory warns of high risks for travelers to US

In a fresh travel advisory issued on Sunday, the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warmed of "high risks" of terror attacks on domestic and international flights in and to the United States.

Fake Bomb Scare Brings Real $23,000 Fine

She asked an airline employee to make the plane come back with her bag and then asked what would happen if there was a bomb in her bag. Finally, she allegedly said that there was a bomb in the bag.

Somali pirates 'kidnap tourists'

Two French citizens and their sailing boat have been seized by pirates off the Somali coast, French officials say. ... The seas off Somalia have some of the highest rates of piracy in the world. The country has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered from continual civil strife.

Airbus to extend A380 to accommodate 1,000 passengers

Airbus SAS, the world's largest plane maker, is *considering* an extended 1,000-passenger version of the A380 aircraft...The A380, the world's largest commercial aircraft even in its current form, can carry 555 passengers.

Japan's Mt. Fuji draws record number of summer climbers

Some 247,066 people climbed the mountain in July and August, beating the previous record of 220,277, set in 1987, ... Four people also died from injuries sustained while climbing, marking the first deaths since 2005, ...


Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Travelography #113: China, Thailand, UK, US, Iraq, and Airlines

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THIS WEEK'S STORIES:

China's Premier On-Line Travel Booking Site Launches in the U.S.: China's premier and fastest-growi.. http://tinyurl.com/58sppl


Tourism Authority of Thailand launches the amazing Experience Video Contest and the Thailand Portfo.. http://tinyurl.com/6rjn7u


Green Hotel Rating System Launched in Great Britain: The Green Start project aims to encourage a â€.. http://tinyurl.com/5wzdft


Iraq signs deals for 40 planes from Boeing: "Today, the process of developing economy has started,".. http://tinyurl.com/6kpmjk


Global Traffic Continues to Slow: The slowdown in the demand growth continues the sharp downward tr.. http://tinyurl.com/65warx

Airline torches woman's baggage: The airline reportedly issued Blewitt a "baggage irregularity rece.. http://tinyurl.com/5ocuds

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THESE AND OTHER TRAVEL AND TOURISM STORIES CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT HTTP:/TWITTER/TRAVELOGRAPHY

LOOK FOR THE NEW TRAVELOGRAPHY PODCAST COMING IN JUNE 2008


Friday, November 09, 2007

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:
For 8 November 2008:
For 9 November 2008

Sunday, May 27, 2007

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

This is a PCN Travelography Podcast related post Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.

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.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Travelography #51: A Smoker's Airline; and More Smoke-Free + WWW Hotels

PCN Travelography Podcast related post"> (click on the title above to go to the PCN TRAVELOGRAPHY web page)

Smint Air bring luxury travel up in smoke. Europeans now overwhelmingly prefer non-smoking hotels. Why does the Internet cost more the more you pay for a hotel room? Online Flash travel brochures for everyone. And checkout the new Jewel Cave soundseeing tour on the Geography for Travelers podcast (stereo headphone recommended).

Sunday, November 06, 2005

G4T #16: Travel, Tourism and the Environment

This is a Geography for Travelers Podcast related post-- Click on the title above to listen to this podcast --

Today's podcast focuses on the natural environment: how tourists relate to the natural environment, the impacts of tourism on the natural environment, and closing with a few words on ecotourism.

Ecotourism -- Personally, I prefer to pronounce ecotourism as 'ee-co-tourism' - with a long 'e', which I derive from the world "ecology." Some people (maybe the majority?) prefer to say 'e-co-tourism' - with a short 'e', as in 'elephant'. I assume they are basing this on the word 'ecosystem', which is sometimes (often?) pronounced with a short 'e'. Dictionary.com uses the long 'e' pronunciation, so perhaps I am in the majority.

Total Length: 30 minutes, 19 seconds. If you have any thoughts on this feel free to leave a comment, or email me at travelgeographer@msn.com

Here are the links to items mentioned in today's podcast:

* Australia Garners Friendliest Nation in the World Award - Travel News Wire
<http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000063/006311.htm>
* Grand Canyon to Get Glass Bridge - National Geographic News
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0826_050826_grandcanyon.html>
* City OKs Subsidies for Downtown Hotel - Los Angeles Times
<http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/118690.html>
* Cruise Ship Repels Somali Pirates - BBC News (also has a link to a video news clip)
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4409662.stm>
* The Amateur Traveler Podcast
<http://amateurtraveler.com/>