Did you see that plane crash???

I was watching TV the other night and the show I was watching was on airplane crashes…now I would not recommend watching these shows if you are planning on flying in the next 48 hours.

Normally something like this doesn’t bother me, but I was suprised to watch that even a small bolt or screw missing from a plane can cause it to crash!!! Now I am a wee bit paranoid and I will be researching the airlines that I travel on…

No wonder they don’t show these sorts of tv shows or films on airline movies! 

Planning a round-the-world flight & want to book online?

Airtreks.com is a site where you are able to enter your itinerary in the trip planner either by clicking on a map or entering the airport code, then you simply get a quote. To go ahead with a purchase, you submit it to an agent who will get back to you. 

This is also a great tool if you want an approximate price, so that you know how much you will be up for when you do travel.

If you are stuck for a present for a family member or friend, you can also give them a gift certificate!!

I think that this is the way for the future of booking round the world airfares…you can book online but still speak to a real person.

Have you seen the tourist side of your country?

In my travels I have met a lot of people that love travelling internationally, but when I asked them if they have travelled in their own country they more than often say no…why is this?

Is it because the tourist boards / authorities advertise the country overseas more than at home? I remember living in Canada and I was always seeing ads for Australia & New Zealand but now that I am living in Sydney, I very rarely see ads for domestic destinations. But I believe that this isn’t only in Australia but it also happens everywhere in the world.

Wouldn’t it be good for a change if the tourism offices advertised locally…I wonder if they would get more people spending money in their own country than in someone else’s? Plus people would discover what their own country has to offer and they would be able to enjoy it’s beauty without having to travel too far.

tripMela.com - another website just for the Indian Travel Market!

A little while ago I made a post about the travel industry in India and that it was on the rise…now a new site has been launched called tripMela.com and I think that this site will be huge!

tripMela.com is not another online booking site. You don’t make reservations on the site itself but with the companies (airlines, hotels, etc) directly. They are focused on bringing together the best available specials available to India’s travellers.

tripMela.com is a site where you can find the best specials available on the internet for India, orginally you had to visit a travel agent to find specials. They can also send you an email newsletter with the best specials every week!

Not to mention that the site is well laid out and easy to navigate…

If you want to know more about tripmela.com, here is a link to their press release.

A unique way of sightseeing…

Why go on a tour on a Segway? Well that is what they are doing in Amsterdam. What a great idea! I lived in Amsterdam for a few months and I know that I was always tripping over on the cobble stone streets and I would have loved to have done a sightseeing tour that was something a bit different. Glide.cc started in May 2005 and they have day and evening tours available.

The tours are about 4 hours long and they visit various interesting sights as well as stop at local cafes etc. You also have 2 guides that are with you the whole time.

I can just imagine that these tours are going to be popping up all over the world and that it is only a matter of time before franchises are available…definately a clever idea and a unique way of seeing a city other than from a bus / car window.

Family Vacations - not just at Disneyland anymore!

Sure Disneyland and other theme parks are great if you want to take your kids away for a holiday but what happens when the kids grow out of Disneyland and they want something a bit different?

Have you ever though about an African Safari?

Over the last couple of years the African game reserves are becoming more accessible for family travel with a few of the operators reducing the minimum age requirement to 11 or 12 years old.

The reason that this is only being done now, is that in the past it has been hard as children were not educated about safaris. Now there are tv shows about safaris and Animal Planet show real animal life and not just pictures from a zoo. These days children are a lot more aware of what to do and what not to do around wild animals and this is what is making it easier for operators and the tours they operate with younger participants.

So before booking another Disneyland type holiday, maybe you should think about a destination that is just as fun and also educational?

p.s - Sorry about the lack of posts over the last couple of days, but I promise I have been working on something that I’ll tell you about soon!

How to get a cheap hire car…

The next time you plan on renting a car / SUV to go on a trip, ask the rental car company if they have any special one-way rates. These rates are normally a lot cheaper as the rental car company has to get the car back to its original depot. 

These rates are especially good if you don't have any major plans of where you want to go or if you are a backpacker looking for a cheap ride.

A good site to check out if you are travelling to Australia is GetaboutOZ as this is all they do!

Are less people doing courses in travel?

I recently found out that a local travel college only has 4 people enrolled in an Advanced Diploma of Travel & Tourism…4 PEOPLE!!!

This is the same course that I did in 1998 and we had a class that was 20 strong! What has happened to all the people that thought of the Travel Industry as a career choice?

Are people realising that the jobs aren’t available in travel? Or are they choosing a more secure path?

A new destination for wine tourism…

I was recently living in New Zealand and I discovered that New Zealand wines had become more popular with overseas travellers and I realised that there is a new market for tourism in New Zealand - Wine.

Now people go to France, Spain, Italy, Australia, USA to visit the wineries and to taste the wine, so why not go to New Zealand - some of the wine is said to be some of the best!

There are a couple of small winery tour companies starting up, but I can definately see NZ becoming the next big thing in wine tourism.

For more information about winery tours:

New Zealand Tourism Wine Site
The Classic New Zealand Wine Trail

 

Something to check out before you fly…

I came across a couple of really good websites that are really handy if you are planning on flying anywhere:

SeatGuru.com - a great site if you want to figure out exactly what seat you want to sit in on the plane. All you need is what airline you will be flying and what the aircraft will be. A way of finding out what plane you will be flying on is by looking up the airlines website or simply call the airline directly. Once you have decided where you want to sit, simply ask your travel agent or the airline to place a ’seat request’ and give them the seat number. Also when you check in at the airport, you can ask for a particular seat aswell.

AirlineMeals.net - This site is a bit different than I thought it was going to be. I imagined a site that was simply description about the different meals that airlines serve and what people thought of them…but no, it has photos and lots of them. You can browse by airline, view what the crews eat and pictures of behind the scenes. It is actually really interesting.

Lets hope these sites keep going!