Travel Calendar

Registration for the travel industry’s first agent-oriented conference on health, wellness and medical travel is now open. Organizers are encouraging travel agents to take advantage of early bird specials providing sizable savings on inclusive conference rates. (See sidebar.)

Co-sponsored by Travel Market Report and Well-Being Travel, the Well-Being Travel Conference will be held June19 to 21, 2012, at The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. The cutting edge, educational conference is open to all travel sellers.

The Well-Being Travel Conference will give travel agents a unique opportunity to learn how to profit from the fast-growing health, wellness and medical travel market, said conference organizer Anne Marie Moebes. Moebes is executive vice president of Well-Being Travel, an industry resource that brings together the medical and travel industries.

Practical tools for agents
Well-Being Travel has partnered with Travel Market Report to create a dynamic program that addresses the particular needs of retail travel agents, Moebes said, noting the publication’s advocacy role for travel agents.

She stressed that the Well-Being Travel Conference 2012 will give agent attendees the tools and resources to develop an action plan for implementing specialized travel offerings in the health and wellness niche.

Comprehensive seminars, panels and training sessions for travel agent attendees will cover:
•    the fundamentals of medical and wellness travel;
•    the latest developments in health and wellness travel, including key growth areas;
•    how to market their agency’s medical travel services and expertise to corporate clients and to consumers;
•    how to handle customers’ medical travel needs.

Top-flight speakers
Presenters will include thought leaders in wellness and medical travel; marketing experts; and destinations and travel suppliers that cater to medical travelers, among others. A panel of medical travelers will share their insights and experiences as consumers of medical travel.

Among the speakers will be David Boucher, president of Companion Global Healthcare and Laura Carabello, publisher of Medical Travel Today.

“For the first time, travel sellers and travel providers will meet face-to-face with the experts in medical and wellness travel,” said Moebes.

Networking sessions have been designed to facilitate exchanges between potential partners in the wellness and medical travel space.

Bridging the gap
The conference program is designed to bridge the gap between information currently available and the specific needs of travel agents, she noted. One of its goals is to develop an effective distribution system for medical and wellness travel, Moebes said.

“A variety of medical travel events are offered in the marketplace today, but none has yet provided a solution for a strong distribution system that effectively reaches consumers,” said Moebes.

“That distribution system must include travel agents,” she added.

In announcing that Travel Market Report is a co-sponsor of the conference, Moebes noted that Travel Market Report is the only travel trade publication providing comprehensive agent-focused coverage of the health, wellness and medical travel sector. (Travel Market Report and Well-Being Travel are both part of the American Marketing Group Inc.)

To learn more about the Well-Being Travel Conference 2012, go to www.well-beingtravelconference.com. Conference registration includes all educational sessions and all meals.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of KOKI FOX23 – Tulsa

Wenzani is an iPhone app comprising restaurant, going-on, activity and other recommendations from content partners, as well as an ability to tap users’ social contacts for the same kinds of info.

That content comes from Lonely Planet and its owner BBC Worldwide’s BBC Travel, plus third parties Time (NYSE: TWX) Out, Frommer’s Travel and Wcities. “Although usually considered competitors, we have joined forces to do something unique and give our users the most comprehensive guide possible,” according to Wenzani’s blog.

BBC Worldwide tells paidContent: “Lonely Planet is the only equity holder. Time Out, Frommer’s Travel and Wcities are content partners only.

“Development has wholly funded by Lonely Planet and there hasn’t been any investment from outside Lonely Planet.”

The firm is led by Textingly online SMS startup founder Jenny Fielding as CEO. In September, Lonely Planet CEO Matt Goldberg said he would attract executive talent to Wenzani using equity, in startup fashion.

BBCWW did not confirm whether those publishers are providing content on a commercial basis. “With today’s launch, we’ve offered the publishers an opportunity to get their brand and content in front or an array of consumers,” a spokesperson said. “Later iterations will also include monetization opportunities, from which our partners will share revenue.”

To minimise the effect of international conversion to and from the high dollar in Australia where it is based, Lonely Planet recently relocated its web team out of Australia to sit alongside BBC Worldwide in London, has its mobile team in Oakland, California, but retains its print publishing business Down Under.

CEO Matt Goldberg told paidContent in September: “By doing this as an independent company, we can invite those around the travel space to join us without feeling any compunction. Innovation requires restless experimentation. It’s something that requires a particular cultural mindset.”

However, for the product itself, Wenzani has parked itself in the social mobile restaurant and travel recommendations already occupied by peers, even including Foursquare, to which The Financial Times has also just begun feeding its UK and New York restaurant reviews.

Introducing Wenzani from Wenzani on Vimeo.

Last updated:
December 5, 2011 5:26 pm

By Christopher Thompson and Mark Wembridge

MILWAUKEE, Wis., Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Adelman Travel now employs global management consultants to direct their customers’ travel programs and provide all consulting initiatives. This structure incorporates consulting services into account management to deliver a single point of contact for both solutions.

“While some travel management companies offer consulting services to their corporate customers, these are typically separate from their account management organization,” said Steve Cline, Chief Operating Officer of Adelman Travel. “Such an arrangement can lead to significant increases in the cost of a travel program because the consulting service is connected to a separate cost center within the TMC. At Adelman, we combine these services into a single product for our customers and do not charge separately for our consulting services.”

Adelman’s management consultants go through a rigorous internal certification process to become what the company refers to as “corporate travel architects.” Through this process, they learn how to provide solutions that go beyond identifying trends found in standard travel data and to consult on all elements of TE expenses. Management consultants advise on strategies that include integrated video conferencing (VideoTravel(TM)), risk management, and implementation of expense and payment solutions, as well as providing additional services such as travel policy development and supplier negotiations. Adelman’s objective is to educate and alter traveler behavior that ultimately results in ROI for their customers.

“Adelman Travel has always taken a consultative approach to managing our customers’ travel programs,” said Gary Deutsch, Vice President of Global Management Consulting. “By providing our customers with management consulting services, we are taking our approach to the next level and going beyond the normal boundaries of TMC services.”

Adelman’s management consultants use the Adelman Blueprint, a customized plan that provides a solution-focused, comprehensive illustration of a company’s travel program. The Blueprint is an integrated engine that manages leakage by capturing data from Adelman’s global reporting solution, which is automatically populated into the plan to create strategic solutions.

“I have been an Adelman customer for the past 18 months. During this time Adelman has been diligent in bringing value to my travel program. My Global Management Consultant consistently studies and interprets my company’s travel information and then provides me with multiple solutions that have a positive impact on my company’s bottom line,” said Diana Paine, Manager of Travel Operations at Omni Air International. “Adelman is a very forward thinking company, which is what made me select them in the first place.”

About Adelman:Adelman is dedicated to bringing people together to conduct business and specializes in corporate travel management, video travel and global consolidations. The company has regional travel solution centers and corporate on-sites in the U.S. and dedicated affiliate offices in Asia, Canada and Europe. Learn more at
www.adelmantravel.com and connect with us on facebook.com/adelmantravel, twitter.com/adelmantravel, linkedin.com/company/adelman-travel-group, and youtube.com/adelmantravel.

SOURCE Adelman Travel Group

Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

By HOLBROOK MOHR, Associated Press
–
2 hours ago 

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has ordered an “extensive and thorough review” of a foreign exchange program that has been used by U.S. businesses as a source of cheap labor and exploited by criminals to import women to work in the sex industry.

In the latest debacle for the J-1 Summer Work Travel visa, a federal indictment unsealed last week accuses the mafia of using the cultural exchange program to bring Eastern European women to work in New York strip clubs.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee also has been gathering information on the J-1 visa, which was created in 1963 to allow college students from other countries to spend their summer breaks living, working and traveling in the U.S.

As the program has grown to bring more than 100,000 young people here annually, it has become as much about money as cultural understanding.

The State Department has made several changes since an Associated Press investigation last year uncovered widespread abuses, including living and working conditions that some participants compared to indentured servitude. In one of the worst cases, a woman told the AP she was beaten, raped and forced to work as a stripper in Detroit after being promised a job as a waitress in Virginia.

More common than sex trade abuses is shabby housing, scarce work hours and paltry pay. In August, dozens of workers protested conditions at a candy factory that packs Hershey chocolates in Hershey, Pa., complaining of hard physical labor and pay deductions for rent that often left them with little money.

A State Department spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Clinton “has called for an extensive and thorough review of the program.”

“We continue to be committed to working to strengthen the Summer Work Travel Program to safeguard the health and welfare of the participants,” the official said in an email late Friday. “We have already instituted one set of reforms and are working toward additional ones that take additional measures to protect participants and prioritize the original cultural intent of the program.”

The New York case was made public just days after the State Department opened a period of public comment on proposed changes that would require companies that sponsor the participants to gather more information about employment and living arrangements.

It’s not clear if the proposed changes would have prevented the situation in New York, in which authorities say fraudulent offers for jobs as waitresses were used to help Eastern European women get visas to come to the U.S. Instead of working in restaurants, they allegedly danced in strip clubs. Authorities say members of the Gambino and Bonnano crime families were involved, along with the Russian mob.

The reforms being considered by the State Department would limit and refine the types of jobs students can have, expand the list of prohibited employment categories, and strengthen the “the cultural aspects of the program to ensure that the objective of the program — positive exposure to the United States — is accomplished.”

The agency already prohibits participants from taking jobs “that might bring the Department of State into notoriety or disrepute” but the AP found that strip clubs and adult entertainment companies openly solicited J-1 workers.

Most of the abuses in the J-1 program over the years have been blamed on unregulated, third-party labor brokers who work with the students. Critics say the students have gotten little help from companies designated as sponsors by the State Department.

The State Department said in November that it has temporarily stopped accepting any new sponsors and will limit the number of future participants to this year’s level, or about 103,000 students. The State Department also revised its rules to require more oversight by its 53 designated sponsors, which help students arrange for visas and find jobs and housing in return for a fee.

“Foreign exchange student abuse continues due to lack of oversight by State and the unadulterated greed of the exchange sponsors,” according to Danielle Grijalva, director of the Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students, an advocacy group. Grijalva called on the State Department to enact a strict moratorium and impose sanctions for sponsors who fail to maintain the integrity of the program.

Under the J-1 program, foreign students are granted visas for up to four months and often land jobs at hotels, resorts and restaurants. Participation has boomed from about 20,000 students in 1996 to a peak of more than 150,000 in 2008, and roughly 1 million foreign students have taken part in the past decade. The students come from around the world, with some of the top participating countries being Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, Thailand, Ireland, Bulgaria, Peru, Moldova and Poland.

The students sometimes work as maids or groundskeepers in high-priced resorts, but they can also be found flipping burgers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or working at fish factories in Alaska. The State Department says most participants enjoy the program and some sign up to participate more than once.

The J-1 program generates millions for the participating employers and middleman companies. The students pay fees that reach several thousand dollars for help getting visas. Businesses that hire a foreign student over an American can save 8 percent because they don’t have to pay Medicare, Social Security and unemployment taxes. Also, the foreigners must have their own health insurance.

In its own review, the AP found plentiful examples of students who made $1 an hour or less after deductions for housing, transportation and other expenses. Sometimes, labor recruiters charge students exorbitant rent for packing them into filthy, sparsely furnished apartments so crowded that some endure “hotbunking,” where they sleep in shifts.

George Collins, an inspector with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department in the Florida Panhandle, has investigated abuses in the program for years, and said the State Department has done little to fix the problems, even when he has told them the names of corrupt labor brokers.

Collins said the middlemen between the sponsors and work sites should be cut out completely, the students should be better informed of their rights and sponsors who don’t comply should be fined, suspended or banned.

There also needs to be a better system for verifying compliance and checking students’ living and working conditions, perhaps through partnerships with state and local governments, he said.

“There’s an old saying that ‘what the boss doesn’t check doesn’t get done,’” Collins said. “The boss needs to start checking.”

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Dec 05, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Sabre Travel Network, a global technology company serving travel
suppliers and agencies, announced today its participation in the Open
Visual Communications Consortium (OVCC), a group of global video
exchange providers, network providers and equipment manufacturers that
have united to expand video communications.

OVCC members are committed to closing connectivity and service gaps that
have prevented video communications between companies by specifying use
of standards, best practices and connectivity agreements. Sabre is
joining as a sponsoring member and will be represented by Jeremy Stubbs,
general manager of Sabre Virtual Meetings, part of Sabre Travel Network.

“We believe that Sabre Virtual Meetings will help OVCC achieve its goal
of promoting the adoption and use of video collaboration technology by
making it easier for corporations to find available rooms and schedule
intra- and inter-company meetings,” said Stubbs. “Inter-company
collaboration is critical if companies are to leverage the full
productivity and relational benefits of visual communications.”

Earlier this month, Sabre announced Sabre Virtual Meetings, a global
reservation system for booking and scheduling public and corporate-owned
high-definition video conferencing rooms. The system will allow users to
view conference room availability in real-time, review rates and
features, and book meetings across geographic regions.

When integrated into travel applications such as online booking tools
like GetThere or travel agency systems such as the Sabre Red Workspace,
travel buyers (including travel agencies, corporate travel managers,
small-to-medium businesses, government agencies and corporate employees)
will be able to reserve and schedule video conferencing rooms at the
same time they book flights and hotels. Sabre and Polycom are working
together to develop and market Sabre Virtual Meetings.

“We are excited to see Sabre take a role in OVCC,” said Sue Hayden,
executive vice president of Polycom. “Having worked with Sabre on Sabre
Virtual Meetings and the other members of OVCC on interoperability
services, we see it as a natural fit. A neutral scheduling platform that
makes it easier for companies to locate and reserve a video conferencing
room combined with services providing ubiquitous video around the world,
connecting millions of users, will only help drive awareness and use of
video conferencing solutions and, in turn, help our enterprise customers
maximize ROI on video conferencing technology investments.”

OVCC members are committed to providing ubiquitous video around the
world, connecting millions of users through agreements with
interconnected service providers across six continents. As early as
mid-2012, service providers will be able to deliver a consistent
business-to-business video experience that allows corporate users to
place and receive video calls beyond corporate firewalls and across
proprietary video platforms.

Sabre expects to launch Sabre Virtual Meetings by mid-next year.

Sabre Travel Network provides technology to the travel industry.
It operates the world’s largest travel marketplace, connecting travel
buyers and sellers through the Sabre global distribution system (GDS).
Its innovative technology connects 350,000 travel agents to more than
400 airlines, 100,000 hotels, 25 car rental brands, 50 rail providers,
13 cruise lines and other global travel suppliers. More than $100
billion of travel is purchased through this channel annually.

Sabre Travel Network is part of Sabre Holdings, a global travel
technology company serving the world’s largest industry – travel and
tourism. For more information please visit:
www.sabretravelnetwork.com .

SOURCE: Sabre Travel Network

        Sabre Holdings
        Heidi Castle, 682-605-4290
        heidi.castle@verizon.net

Copyright Business Wire 2011

DORKING, England, December 5, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ –

Kuoni is proud to have been voted number one in the ‘Luxury Tour Operator’ category at the Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers’ Awards 2011, held at the beautifully restored St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London.

This is the first year that the Sunday Times Travel Magazine has held a ceremony to celebrate with the winners of these prestigious awards, as voted for by the Sunday Times Travel Magazine readers. The ceremony was hosted by the editor, Ed Grenby, and attended by industry leaders from the airlines, hotels and destinations.

Naomi Wilkinson, Head of Marketing, Kuoni UK said: “I would like to say a big thank-you to the readers who voted for us.  At Kuoni, we pride ourselves on our breadth and depth of product in the luxury arena, as well as our renowned customer service and tailor-making capabilities, so to win the ‘Luxury Tour Operator’ Award makes us very proud.”

Other winners in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers’ Awards included: Hotel Arts Barcelona (European City Hotel), The Peninsula Hong Kong (Worldwide City Hotel), Rome (European City Break), Southern Spain (European Beach Destination), Maldives (Worldwide Beach Destination), New York (Worldwide City  break), Australia (Worldwide Adventure Destination), British Airways (Short-haul Airline) and Virgin Atlantic (Long-haul Airline), all of whom Kuoni are delighted to be working with.

In previous years, Kuoni has picked up the following Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers’ Awards: Favourite Family Tour Operator (2010); Favourite Tour Operator for family holidays (2009); Best Longhaul Tour Operator (2008) and Best Travel Company (2006/2005/2004).

About Kuoni:

Kuoni was established in 1906 in Switzerland by Alfred Kuoni, a visionary adventurer and explorer of his time who opened some of Europe’s first travel agencies. It has branch operations in over 40 countries. For 105 years Kuoni has been creating holidays with a spirit of adventure and has been recognised consistently, winning coveted awards such as The World’s Leading Tour Operator for 11 years in a row at the World Travel Awards, Best Large Tour Operator at the 2011 Daily Telegraph Ultratravel 100 Awards for five consecutive years and scored most highly in the Which? top 20 travel company survey 2011. Kuoni has also been voted Britain’s Best Long-haul Tour Operator by travel agents for the past 29 years. Kuoni offers travel and packages to a variety of worldwide destinations including Thailand holidays, Maldives holidays, Mauritius holidays, Sri Lanka holidays and USA holidays.

For customers who like to book a holiday face-to-face with their own personal consultant, they are invited to pop into one of Kuoni’s exclusive travel stores across the UK. Kuoni stores can be found in; High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge and Cheapside in London, Blue Water, Bristol, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Dorking, Guildford, Kingston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Sheffield and Solihull. Coming soon: Canterbury, Chichester, Westfield Stratford City and Winchester.

Kuoni is ABTA and ATOL protected.

PR contact:
Anne-Marie Hansen
Kuoni Travel Ltd
Kuoni House
Deepdene Avenue
Dorking
Surrey
RH5 4AZ
+44(0)1306-744-173
http://www.kuoni.co.uk

SOURCE Kuoni

Officials expect increased Insight Bowl travel

BY SAM LANE | DECEMBER 05, 2011 7:20 AM

Ticket and travel package sales for the Hawkeyes’ trip to the Insight Bowl this year will increase over last year, officials predict.

The Hawkeyes learned Sunday night they’re heading back to Tempe, Ariz., for the second-consecutive year to face the Oklahoma Sooners at the end of the month.

Last year, Iowa defeated the Missouri Tigers at the Insight Bowl, 27-24.

Terry Tegen, the general manager of Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel of Iowa City, said Iowa’s matchup against Oklahoma is going to be a “big seller.”

“It’s Oklahoma being named as a foe, [former Iowa player and current Sooner head coach] Bobby Stoops, the whole scenario with Iowa and Ferentz,” Tegen said. “I think it’s just going to be a great game. It’s not a major bowl, but it’s a beautiful place.”

Tegen said his agency received more than 700 registration requests for its bowl-game packages before the bowls were announced this year. Additionally, nearly 300 more customers have indicated interest in a travel package.

Not every person who registered or expressed interest will end up making a reservation, Tegen said. But he estimated the agency will sell twice as many packages as it did last year, when it arranged slightly more than 400 trips.

Winebrenner is offering land and air packages — including travel expenses, hotel stays, and game tickets, among other amenities — ranging from $745 to nearly $1,600.

As of 9:30 p.m. Sunday, the university had sold roughly 1,000 of its 11,000 alotted tickets, said Pam Finke, UI director of ticket operations.

Insight Bowl tickets will range from $25 for upper level seats to $67 for lower level, according to the Athletics Department.

Finke recommended UI students call the ticket office directly when ordering to avoid additional fees and limits on ticket requests.

In today’s issue:

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Published: December 5, 2011 8:43 AM

By The Associated Press
 JOE EDWARDS (Associated Press)

Quick ReadTourism officials in Tennessee count on bowl games, special events to boost December visitors

(AP) — Tourism officials in Tennessee are counting on football games and special events to keep the travel business steady during the usually slow month of December.

December is not a key month for Tennessee tourism, a $14 billion-a-year industry. Bad weather restricts some travel, and holiday shopping and parties occupy consumers’ time. Youngsters are still in school, which cuts into family…

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