A week on an island paradise sounds great right about now, doesn't it? But the economic crisis has forced a lot of people to rearrange their priorities and that winter get-away has dropped way down the list.
If you can't shake the travel bug, there are a few affordable destinations. They may not be that island paradise, but they'll take you away from it all without breaking the bank.
"We're looking for places that offer unique events, such as cultural festivals," explained SmarterTravel editor Anne Banas.
No. 5: Vilnius, Lithuania
Some travel buffs are now calling this the capital of European culture and many of the events there are free. Banas says there's also an added incentive for bargain hunters. "They are not using the Euro as their currency, which tends to make the city and other destinations in the country more affordable."
No. 4: Lima, Peru
According to Banas, you can find hotel rooms as low as $5 per night. Seasoned travelers Silvana and Alan Clark know first hand that it's a great city for families to explore.
"You've got the nice central core with restaurants and the museums and the shops," Silvana explained.
No. 3: Kansas City
If you don't want to deal with the hassle of international travel Kansas City is a great choice. The SmarterTravel website says the city has invested billions to put itself on the map as a tourist destination. "Some of the things they have… is the power and light district which is 9 blocks of entertainment and food venues," Banas explained.
No. 2: Vancouver, Canada
It's not exactly that island paradise but it is the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. "It's getting ready in the year 2009 with a lot of different events and they're even building a train that connects the airport right to downtown Vancouver," said Banas. Visit in February and March and you can take advantage of a variety of free dance, art and music events.
No. 1: Riviera Nayarit in Mexico
According to Banas, it's an affordable hot spot on the Pacific coast. Visitors can go golfing, visit colonial villages and enjoy all kinds of water sports. It's about as close as you are going to get to that island paradise without the big price tag. Some of the hotels in this resort community are as low as $60 a night.
Whichever destination you choose, Banas says start researching your flights now, and book early for the best rates.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Jan 4 is World Responsible Youth Day
Asking for peace is likely to win you a crown at a beauty pageant. But it's the act of "giving peace'' that will really make the difference in these turbulent times. This philosophy, propagated by members of Rotaract, the youth wing of the Rotary Club in Mumbai, will find concrete expression this Sunday in a first-of-its-kind peace tour across the length of the city.
Taking a decision to declare the first Sunday of every year as World Responsible Youth Day-responsibility in youth being almost mythical today-Rotaract District 3140, which covers the Mumbai region, will launch its mission on Jan 4. Four hundred club members atop a truck and in four cars will undertake the day-long peace tour from Marine Drive to Navi Mumbai, halting at Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkopar and Thane before finally reaching Chembur. The tour will be dotted with musical performances and street plays, enacted by the club members of HR and SIES colleges, in an effort to coax their contemporaries into action.
At each halt, the head of the host club will field socially relevant extempore questions from the crowd such as how to file a public interest litigation. "We are even trying to get RTI activists for the rally,'' says Shrenik Gandhi of the Ghatkopar Rotaract club, adding that the peace tour is one of the biggest district projects of the club so far. The members will be joined by the Rotary, Innerwheel and Interact movements.
This event is the second step the Rotaract movement is undertaking towards this cause after a panel discussion called The Summit that was held on December 14 last year. The preparation for World Responsible Youth Day, says Yaman Banerji of Thane club, began at a panel discussion in November. "We had earlier decided that the theme for 2009 would be `Go green', and had based our material on the same, decrying the use of firecrackers and the like.''
But 26/11 changed their plan and shifted the focus from the bombs that clog the lungs of kids in Sivakasi to those that left lasting scars on the city in November. "We have collated information from different resources to present an honest account of what happened on 26/11,'' says Jigar Mehta, another member of the Ghatkopar club. "We want peace,'' he adds, as an afterthought, hoping that every day will be not just Sunday but also a responsible youth day to boot.
Taking a decision to declare the first Sunday of every year as World Responsible Youth Day-responsibility in youth being almost mythical today-Rotaract District 3140, which covers the Mumbai region, will launch its mission on Jan 4. Four hundred club members atop a truck and in four cars will undertake the day-long peace tour from Marine Drive to Navi Mumbai, halting at Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkopar and Thane before finally reaching Chembur. The tour will be dotted with musical performances and street plays, enacted by the club members of HR and SIES colleges, in an effort to coax their contemporaries into action.
At each halt, the head of the host club will field socially relevant extempore questions from the crowd such as how to file a public interest litigation. "We are even trying to get RTI activists for the rally,'' says Shrenik Gandhi of the Ghatkopar Rotaract club, adding that the peace tour is one of the biggest district projects of the club so far. The members will be joined by the Rotary, Innerwheel and Interact movements.
This event is the second step the Rotaract movement is undertaking towards this cause after a panel discussion called The Summit that was held on December 14 last year. The preparation for World Responsible Youth Day, says Yaman Banerji of Thane club, began at a panel discussion in November. "We had earlier decided that the theme for 2009 would be `Go green', and had based our material on the same, decrying the use of firecrackers and the like.''
But 26/11 changed their plan and shifted the focus from the bombs that clog the lungs of kids in Sivakasi to those that left lasting scars on the city in November. "We have collated information from different resources to present an honest account of what happened on 26/11,'' says Jigar Mehta, another member of the Ghatkopar club. "We want peace,'' he adds, as an afterthought, hoping that every day will be not just Sunday but also a responsible youth day to boot.
Bank customers forced to disclose travel plans to cut fraud cost
Under a "zero-tolerance" policy taken by some banks, accounts are frozen the moment a card transaction is attempted in another country unless advance notice has been given.
The move is designed to prevent the heavy losses some banks are incurring due to card cloning, when a counterfeit card is created using details stolen from a genuine card.
Thousands of pounds' worth of payments can be made to foreign retailers on fake cards before the owner of the original card checks their bank statement.
However, some customers have expressed frustration that under the new scheme, having been given no prior warning, they can find themselves unable to pay bills in shops and restaurants after arriving in a foreign country.
A spokesman for Barclays told The Times that customers could register their travel plans through its online banking services.
A spokesman for HBOS said that it advised customers travelling outside Europe to inform it of their plans, adding: "If people are going to Africa, South America, we like to know. Also, we like to know about people going to Eastern Europe."
Lloyds TSB told the newspaper that customers should provide it with a mobile telephone number so that it could check suspect transactions.
More than 40 per cent of losses on cards - £301 million in the first six months of last year - came through fraud overseas. Fraud is rising in most countries while it falls in Britain thanks to the chip-and-pin system making it more difficult for criminals to use cards successfully.
Fraud in the US on cards issued in Britain has risen by 118 per cent in the past three years - reaching £24.6m last year - making it the worst place for theft on British cards.
The move is designed to prevent the heavy losses some banks are incurring due to card cloning, when a counterfeit card is created using details stolen from a genuine card.
Thousands of pounds' worth of payments can be made to foreign retailers on fake cards before the owner of the original card checks their bank statement.
However, some customers have expressed frustration that under the new scheme, having been given no prior warning, they can find themselves unable to pay bills in shops and restaurants after arriving in a foreign country.
A spokesman for Barclays told The Times that customers could register their travel plans through its online banking services.
A spokesman for HBOS said that it advised customers travelling outside Europe to inform it of their plans, adding: "If people are going to Africa, South America, we like to know. Also, we like to know about people going to Eastern Europe."
Lloyds TSB told the newspaper that customers should provide it with a mobile telephone number so that it could check suspect transactions.
More than 40 per cent of losses on cards - £301 million in the first six months of last year - came through fraud overseas. Fraud is rising in most countries while it falls in Britain thanks to the chip-and-pin system making it more difficult for criminals to use cards successfully.
Fraud in the US on cards issued in Britain has risen by 118 per cent in the past three years - reaching £24.6m last year - making it the worst place for theft on British cards.
On never having to travel at all
How far does one have to travel to say sorry? When hot-headed Huan Tsin was a young novitiate he thought he had once offended his teacher by
calling him an unenlightened buffoon who had no right to teach. He had left the monastery at once and gone on to live his life the way he reckoned most others of the world do. Over the years, however, his remorse grew inside him till a day came some ten years later when he left his wife and family and travelled five hundred miles back to the monastery. He knelt humbly before the old master and said he was sorry for what he had done and begged for forgiveness. A lot of us also need to make similar journeys in order to right old wrongs but the immediate business of life keeps us too busy to undertake them. So every day appears more and more like no wrong was ever done — especially not by us — and, thus, the thin layer of forgetfulness hardens into a thick skin that memory cannot penetrate any more. After that, even infrequent introspection and honesty is not able to break through such a convenient and comfortable shield. And, all along, the further and further we move away to other cities and down the years from the once and original hurt we had caused, we fail to realise the journey is just getting longer by the day. But now, how far does one have to travel to accept an apology? This is a far less arduous expedition because it can be accomplished instantly or never at all. Either way, though, it requires hardly any extra courage to carry it off since one is always under the impression one had nothing to do with its perpetration or continuity. And the travel time is, in fact, measured only in the waiting. We who think we’ve gone out of our way to forgive someone should actually be wondering about all the time that’s been exhausted for it to happen — no matter how redeemed we appear to be feeling afterwards. Huan Tsin’s teacher, on the other hand, was astounded. He said he couldn’t understand why the pupil was sorry since he himself hadn’t been offended at all and if Huan had understood that in the first place he wouldn’t have wasted such a lot of time and space to move his life away from where it had been. So, finally, we have to ask ourselves how far had the teacher travelled? He hadn’t moved at all. Or if he had, he had moved a few mountains in the process.
calling him an unenlightened buffoon who had no right to teach. He had left the monastery at once and gone on to live his life the way he reckoned most others of the world do. Over the years, however, his remorse grew inside him till a day came some ten years later when he left his wife and family and travelled five hundred miles back to the monastery. He knelt humbly before the old master and said he was sorry for what he had done and begged for forgiveness. A lot of us also need to make similar journeys in order to right old wrongs but the immediate business of life keeps us too busy to undertake them. So every day appears more and more like no wrong was ever done — especially not by us — and, thus, the thin layer of forgetfulness hardens into a thick skin that memory cannot penetrate any more. After that, even infrequent introspection and honesty is not able to break through such a convenient and comfortable shield. And, all along, the further and further we move away to other cities and down the years from the once and original hurt we had caused, we fail to realise the journey is just getting longer by the day. But now, how far does one have to travel to accept an apology? This is a far less arduous expedition because it can be accomplished instantly or never at all. Either way, though, it requires hardly any extra courage to carry it off since one is always under the impression one had nothing to do with its perpetration or continuity. And the travel time is, in fact, measured only in the waiting. We who think we’ve gone out of our way to forgive someone should actually be wondering about all the time that’s been exhausted for it to happen — no matter how redeemed we appear to be feeling afterwards. Huan Tsin’s teacher, on the other hand, was astounded. He said he couldn’t understand why the pupil was sorry since he himself hadn’t been offended at all and if Huan had understood that in the first place he wouldn’t have wasted such a lot of time and space to move his life away from where it had been. So, finally, we have to ask ourselves how far had the teacher travelled? He hadn’t moved at all. Or if he had, he had moved a few mountains in the process.
World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 Published by S&M Publication
A unique guide for travel professionals; World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 is published by S&M Publication.
World Travel Guide & Diary is a great guide for tourism industry professionals.
World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 includes;
* All International Travel Trade, Incentive and MICE Industry exhibitions, Congresses, Conferences and Workshops calendar, with information about their location and contact addresses.
* Contact information of Tourist Offices, Travel Agent Organizations, Major Travel Publications, Embassies & Consulates, and Turkish Tourist Offices in more than 50 countries.
* 60 Major World Travel Trade Associations with contact addresses.
* 2009-Year Planner and Weekly Desk Agenda.
World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 is 40.-YTL or Euro 20.- (Includes Tax and post )
World Travel Guide & Diary is a great guide for tourism industry professionals.
World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 includes;
* All International Travel Trade, Incentive and MICE Industry exhibitions, Congresses, Conferences and Workshops calendar, with information about their location and contact addresses.
* Contact information of Tourist Offices, Travel Agent Organizations, Major Travel Publications, Embassies & Consulates, and Turkish Tourist Offices in more than 50 countries.
* 60 Major World Travel Trade Associations with contact addresses.
* 2009-Year Planner and Weekly Desk Agenda.
World Travel Guide & Diary 2009 is 40.-YTL or Euro 20.- (Includes Tax and post )
Kingman Museum presents "Seven Wonders"
Although the mighty Colossus no longer looms over Rhodes and seafarers no longer look to the great Lighthouse of Alexandria for guidance, these and other marvels of the ancient world are still open to exploration thanks to 21st century technology.
Kingman Museum will present the second production in its new planetarium beginning Friday and running through Feb. 20. "Seven Wonders" takes audiences on a visual tour of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the universe, many of which have never been seen by modern man's eyes.
"The film explores the wonders like the pyramids, then some that we don't see anymore," said Museum Educator Jennifer Sellers. "So you can see what happened, what destroyed them and from an archeological standpoint, what they've found out about them."
Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria were all destroyed by man or natural causes.
The film also pairs the ancient world with the outer world, highlighting wonders of the universe such as black holes and fluorescent, jellyfish-like nebulae.
"I think the most interesting thing about it is it first introduces you to words you have heard of but don't know the meanings behind them, then combines that history with a study of the stars," said Chief Executive Officer Sara Ann Briggs.
Kingman staff and board members had high hopes for the museum's new state-of-the-art planetarium system bringing in more visitors more often. A little more than a month after its public debut, Briggs said they haven't been disappointed.
"Except for one Friday when we were snowed out, it's going really good," she said.
Besides opening day and last Saturday, which had more than 200 and 70 attendees, respectively, Briggs said about 45 viewers visit the shows each day. Planetarium shows are given four times per day each Friday and Saturday, whereas they were only given monthly with the previous planetarium system.
Although it's difficult to gauge how much of an asset the new planetarium has been to the area's tourism so far, Calhoun County Visitors' Bureau President Dwight Butt said it has brought the museum back on radar.
"We've certainly had an increase in inquiries on Kingman and their hours and I know a lot of people are going and interested in it," he said.
The museum has several other events planned for January. In conjunction with their "Safari Africa: Changing Perspectives" exhibit, Tom Funke, Michigan Audubon Society's director of conservation, will give a free lecture about his African explorations on Jan. 6.
Kingman Museum will present the second production in its new planetarium beginning Friday and running through Feb. 20. "Seven Wonders" takes audiences on a visual tour of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the universe, many of which have never been seen by modern man's eyes.
"The film explores the wonders like the pyramids, then some that we don't see anymore," said Museum Educator Jennifer Sellers. "So you can see what happened, what destroyed them and from an archeological standpoint, what they've found out about them."
Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria were all destroyed by man or natural causes.
The film also pairs the ancient world with the outer world, highlighting wonders of the universe such as black holes and fluorescent, jellyfish-like nebulae.
"I think the most interesting thing about it is it first introduces you to words you have heard of but don't know the meanings behind them, then combines that history with a study of the stars," said Chief Executive Officer Sara Ann Briggs.
Kingman staff and board members had high hopes for the museum's new state-of-the-art planetarium system bringing in more visitors more often. A little more than a month after its public debut, Briggs said they haven't been disappointed.
"Except for one Friday when we were snowed out, it's going really good," she said.
Besides opening day and last Saturday, which had more than 200 and 70 attendees, respectively, Briggs said about 45 viewers visit the shows each day. Planetarium shows are given four times per day each Friday and Saturday, whereas they were only given monthly with the previous planetarium system.
Although it's difficult to gauge how much of an asset the new planetarium has been to the area's tourism so far, Calhoun County Visitors' Bureau President Dwight Butt said it has brought the museum back on radar.
"We've certainly had an increase in inquiries on Kingman and their hours and I know a lot of people are going and interested in it," he said.
The museum has several other events planned for January. In conjunction with their "Safari Africa: Changing Perspectives" exhibit, Tom Funke, Michigan Audubon Society's director of conservation, will give a free lecture about his African explorations on Jan. 6.
Orchid Hotels to continue looking for acquisitions
The year 2008 has been full of challenges for the Indian hospitality industry. The global recession negatively impacted foreign tourist arrivals, which grew in the range of merely 1.5-2 per cent in September-October compared to 10-11 per cent growth witnessed in August. Travel advisories against India that were issued by foreign countries in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks last month, made a dent in the peak holiday season about to begin. However, as a silver lining, Indians have not lost their love for travel yet. Travel within India by domestic tourists is still vibrant and the travel industry feels that there is more potential to it.
In light of the above, Mr Chender Baljee, Chairman and Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, tells Business Line in an e-mail interview how 2008 panned out for the hospitality industry and what is in store from 2009:
How would you describe the year 2008 for the hospitality industry? 2008 was a year of transition, from the boom times to the bad. It ended on a sour note with the terror attacks in Mumbai.
What are the expectations from 2009?
We expect the effects of the recession to sink in, leading to some subdued leisure and corporate travel. However, we have prepared ourselves for the same. We are also hopeful of opening several new hotels this year, including Royal Orchid Suites, Whitefield and Royal Orchid Central, Ahmedabad.
2009 is also going to be the election year. As part of the industry what are your expectations from the new Government?
We are hopeful of getting infrastructure status for the hotel industry.
Apart from unforeseen incidents such as terror attacks, what are the other challenges that the hospitality industry needs to brace for in the coming year?
The economic slowdown will affect us all, and we need to gear up for it. However, there are positives as the market for talent has eased considerably and we are able to find good talent at reasonable costs now.
What were the corporate developments that took place in Royal Orchid in 2008 and what does the year ahead hold for you in terms of expansion, diversification, acquisition (if any), marketing etc?
In 2008, we acquired a beachfront resort in Goa, and rechristened it Royal Orchid Resort. We acquired a beachfront property in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, marking our international foray. We acquired properties in Jaipur and Hyderabad for the development of 5-star hotels. We acquired a property in Ahmedabad for the development of a four-star hotel.
We acquired the Royal Orchid Central hotel in Bangalore. Finally, we also signed a partnership with Parsvnath Developers for the development of 10 hotels over five years. This has been a year of hectic deal making, where we grew to 12 operational hotels and cemented a pan-India presence. We have been awarded the Best Regional Hotel Brand award by Galileo-Express Travel World, the Oscars of the travel industry, and we are happy that our achievements have been rewarded.
The year ahead is one of further development activity, where we will continue to look out for acquisitions. We are also focussing on management contracts, and expect to make significant announcements on this front soon. Our sales offices, many of which were opened in 2008, are likely to help us grow our presence nationally and internationally. Finally, we would be looking at a nationwide corporate ad campaign towards the end of the year to build brand awareness.
In light of the above, Mr Chender Baljee, Chairman and Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, tells Business Line in an e-mail interview how 2008 panned out for the hospitality industry and what is in store from 2009:
How would you describe the year 2008 for the hospitality industry? 2008 was a year of transition, from the boom times to the bad. It ended on a sour note with the terror attacks in Mumbai.
What are the expectations from 2009?
We expect the effects of the recession to sink in, leading to some subdued leisure and corporate travel. However, we have prepared ourselves for the same. We are also hopeful of opening several new hotels this year, including Royal Orchid Suites, Whitefield and Royal Orchid Central, Ahmedabad.
2009 is also going to be the election year. As part of the industry what are your expectations from the new Government?
We are hopeful of getting infrastructure status for the hotel industry.
Apart from unforeseen incidents such as terror attacks, what are the other challenges that the hospitality industry needs to brace for in the coming year?
The economic slowdown will affect us all, and we need to gear up for it. However, there are positives as the market for talent has eased considerably and we are able to find good talent at reasonable costs now.
What were the corporate developments that took place in Royal Orchid in 2008 and what does the year ahead hold for you in terms of expansion, diversification, acquisition (if any), marketing etc?
In 2008, we acquired a beachfront resort in Goa, and rechristened it Royal Orchid Resort. We acquired a beachfront property in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, marking our international foray. We acquired properties in Jaipur and Hyderabad for the development of 5-star hotels. We acquired a property in Ahmedabad for the development of a four-star hotel.
We acquired the Royal Orchid Central hotel in Bangalore. Finally, we also signed a partnership with Parsvnath Developers for the development of 10 hotels over five years. This has been a year of hectic deal making, where we grew to 12 operational hotels and cemented a pan-India presence. We have been awarded the Best Regional Hotel Brand award by Galileo-Express Travel World, the Oscars of the travel industry, and we are happy that our achievements have been rewarded.
The year ahead is one of further development activity, where we will continue to look out for acquisitions. We are also focussing on management contracts, and expect to make significant announcements on this front soon. Our sales offices, many of which were opened in 2008, are likely to help us grow our presence nationally and internationally. Finally, we would be looking at a nationwide corporate ad campaign towards the end of the year to build brand awareness.
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