Travel Calendar

When it comes time to playing cupid, there are many websites who want a piece of the action.  Yet, dating sites have traditionally been mostly limited to dates — falling short of taking the complicated step of traveling together.  That is until recently.

A new breed of website is evolving that’s matching up travelers looking for a buddy  –someone to take that bike tour through Italy, for example –but may be open for a little romance as well. 

My-Travel-Mate bills itself as a site “for dating free singles”.  Offering free registration to its online community of travel fans, you can search for your ideal companion or date and interact with them about all your travel interests and hobbies. Once you’ve found your perfect match you can start planning your next exciting trip together.

My-Travel-Mate CEO, Marcel Gasser says traveling with a new partner is an amazing and intense experience. “You stick together most of the day and sometimes need to solve problems during traveling, so that will for sure keep an invisible bond between those two people,” Gasser said.

The dating website for travel enthusiasts, Trip2Date, also specializes in bringing together travelers looking for love. Like other dating websites, Trip2Date also allows you to post your personal profile to be reviewed by hundreds of interested singles that are looking for travel partners.

“I get why people are interested in such sites. There’s always been an appetite for solo travelers trying to find travel companions,” Robert Reid, Lonely Planet’s U.S travel editor said. “You can go to cities with higher single-to-married ratios. D.C. is the U.S. city with the most single people. Stockholm (has the most single people) in the world,” Reid added.

Even traditional travel buddy websites are getting in on the action and allowing for more romantic-type postings.

With more than 1.7 million registered members, Travbuddy is one of the fastest growing social-networking sites that connect travel buddies.  

TravBuddy doesn’t market itself as a place to find romance, but a quick search shows plenty of postings that suggest more than platonic partners. For example, in the site’s “recently entered travel plans” section one members post reads: “Looking for females to meet up in Majorca, Palma…Staying at the Ghills hotel, get in touch and hookup J.”

Once you create a profile you can post details about your upcoming trips to see if other members are from the area or would like to join you and become your travel companion. An entire page is dedicated to success stories and testimonials on the benefits of meeting new travel buddies.

Travel expert Lee Abbamonte  says sites like TravBuddy can be a great place to find and meet other like minded travelers. “This can be a tremendous value if a traveler cannot find a friend to go with or just likes meeting people and new adventures,” Abbamonte told FoxNews.com.

But he says you should use these sites with eyes wide open. “These sites are to be used with caution.  They can be deceptive and illegitimate and you might not realize it until it is too late,” Abbamonte said. “However, they can also be a good place to meet other travelers who may be looking to split costs or just have a buddy to chat with and get to know while seeing the world,” he added.

Other sites are taking the relationship to a whole other level.  For those who don’t want to spend the money on a trip but are willing to pay, (if you catch my drift) there’s MissTravel.

Brandon Wade, who created the so-called sugar daddy site, is also the brains behind other controversial sites, such as Sugardaddy.com, SeekingArrangement.com and WhatsYourPrice.com.

In what you might call a cross between Expedia and Match, or perhaps “Indecent Proposal” meets “Pretty Woman”, Wade said that the new site matches “generous travelers who hate to travel alone with attractive travelers who would love the opportunity to travel the world for free.”

With over 16,000 users in just two weeks, the site has generated a lot of new and controversial attention.

The site offers three different travel options: the “generous” member can invite the “attractive” member to visit him/her the “generous” member’s home city; the “generous” member can visit the “attractive” member in his/her home town; the “generous” member can ask the “attractive” member to accompany him/her to an agreed destination. If the new pair ends up traveling, the “generous” member must pay for all of their dates travel expenses.

Though Cupids arrow has no bounds, not everyone is convinced.

“It’s creepy. I think it sounds like a glorified escort service and the owner sounds like a pimp,” said Steve Ward CEO of MasterMatchMakers.com and host of VH1’s Tough Love.

Psychologist and relationship expert Dr. Robi Ludwig says, “It’s true, people can meet other people anywhere and anyway to fall in love, but there’s an obvious imbalance of power inherent in this situation which could be problematic to dangerous.”

Whichever path people take to find their perfect travel companion, it’s clear that many web users believe mixing travel and romance can lead them to true love.

Booking a trip often proves to be an extremely stressful, grueling undertaking. You can spend hours online searching for deals on flights and hotels, bouncing from one website to another in pursuit of the perfect price. This kind of process is often headache-inducing: Approximately 20 percent of more than 2,000 travelers worldwide said it took them more than five hours to search and book travel online, according to a recent survey by the I.B.M. Institute for Business Value.

To avoid the hassle, some consumers are turning to travel agents. After suffering for years, the travel-agent industry is now experiencing substantial growth. Nearly 1 in 3 leisure agencies is hiring, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm. And the American Society of Travel Agents reports that 57 percent of independent agents saw an increase in business in 2011.

Faced with countless choices for flights, hotels, car rental, and tours, some consumers are dumping the DIY approach. “There are simply too many travel products in the market today for individuals to decipher on their own,” says James Shillinglaw, editor-in-chief of Travalliancemedia, a media network for travel agencies. “You need a guide to help you cut through all the different things out there that are available.”

“There’s a difference between price and value,” adds Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, a newspaper that covers the travel industry. The more travelers realize that, he says, the more they’re opting to use a travel agent. Here are six reasons to consider booking your next vacation with a travel agent:

Save time. An agent can save you time by vetting thousands of flight and hotel options to find the right fare at the lowest rate. “There’s just a glut of information, and you need someone to make sense of it all,” says John Peters of Tripology.com, a website that matches consumers to travel agents.

Stephanie Axelrod and her husband, who live in Fairfax, Va., used Tamalpais Travel to book a trip to Spain and Italy in 2010, and saved a lot of time in the process. “After we spent many hours on the Internet ourselves, we found using an agent made the whole experience more pleasant and less time-consuming,” she says.

Save money. Some people shy away from using a travel agent because they think they’ll be charged extra for the agent’s services. Some agents charge additional fees (for example, a $25 fee for their time and research), but most make their commission through the travel suppliers. “You’re going to get more value from your money booking with a travel agent,” Peters says. Nina Meyer, president of the American Society of Travel Agents, says you can also save big on airfare with the right agent: “I have seen in the past people save anywhere from $500 to upwards of $1,000 on a ticket.”

Axelrod says she and her husband found it difficult to find good flight deals on their own. “The travel agent was able to get deals we weren’t able to find,” she says.

Learn what you want. “Very often, people don’t really know what kind of trip they want,” Shillinglaw says. It’s the travel agent’s job to provide you with a number of options they think you’d enjoy. Not only will they help you book a trip, they’ll help you build the trip.

Connections. Don’t underestimate a travel agent’s extensive Rolodex. Agents may have people on the ground who you can connect with, such as a local tour guide, as well as people you can reach out to if you encounter any problems. “Having access to a travel agent’s insiders makes it just an overall better customer service experience than going at it alone,” Peters says.

Kate Rice, who covers airlines for TravelPulse.com, says agents who book a lot of flights develop strong relationships with sales representatives. “That means they have double leverage that they can use on your behalf—the purchasing power of the agency group they’re affiliated with, as well as the personal relationships they have with their sales reps,” she says.

Members of American Airlines’ AAdvantage frequent-flier program can now book awards travel on British Airways and Hawaiian using American’s website.

American’s frequent fliers can redeem their points for one-way, round-trip and multi-city award travel on American, Alaska, Hawaiian and British (including a combination of the carriers).  Most award reservations can be held for five days (unless flights are scheduled within a shorter period of time).

On partner airlines, only MileSAAver awards (which require fewer miles) can be booked for economy, business- and first-class tickets. AAnytime Awards (which typically require twice as many miles) are available only on American Airlines.

I searched for AAdvantage Award tickets for a May trip to Oahu or  London.  I found more availability for MileSAAver Awards when I searched for flights on American and its partners (the default search setting) than I did just on American.  For a trip from LAX to Honolulu (HNL), the website offered award options on American, Hawaiian or Alaska.  For travel to London Heathrow from LAX (or neighboring airports), options came up for American, British Airways and Alaska (connecting flight within the U.S.).

 A free ticket isn’t free, of course.  Award tickets to Oahu required payment of domestic security fees attached.  Award flights to London had much steeper fees, as several readers have noted recently. Award flights on British Airways typically had international fees that cost about $700. American award flights typically had fees closer to $200 (but often cost more miles). 

In May, I generally found more Economy MileSAAver (22,500 miles) awards available on Hawaiian or Alaska Airlines to Oahu or on British to London than on American Airlines.

Info: American Airlines, (800) 882-8880.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Capping Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) successful
annual cruise3sixty conference at the Broward County Convention Center,
the cruise industry turned out today to support the U.S. Travel
Association’s “Vote Travel – Get America Moving” grassroots campaign to
call attention to the economic importance of the travel industry.

“We are
galvanizing support and asking all Americans to ‘Vote Travel’ this
election season.”

CLIA’s president and CEO, Christine Duffy and conference delegates
welcome the USTA VOTE TRAVEL bus tour today as part of its 20,000-mile
nationwide journey to raise awareness of the significant economic impact
of the $1.8 trillion U.S. travel industry. Speaking to cruise3sixty
delegates earlier, USTA president and CEO, Roger Dow, said, “We are
galvanizing support and asking all Americans to ‘Vote Travel’ this
election season.”

Endorsing the USTA campaign, Duffy said, “Travel is a bipartisan
industry. Vote Travel is not an endorsement of any political candidate
or political party; it’s a vote to Get America Moving. The cruise
industry’s economic contribution is substantial, contributing more than
$40 million annually to the U.S. economy and generating more than
350,000 jobs a year. It’s vitally important that this industry and the
public stand up and advocate for the importance of travel and tourism.”

Arriving in Greater Fort Lauderdale after visiting almost 20 states, the
Vote Travel bus tour’s mission is to raise awareness with elected
officials and candidates about the travel industry’s economic
contribution to the U.S. economy and to engage travel industry employees
in the electoral process through voter registration drives and the Get
America Moving Candidate Pledge. One goal is to grow the USTA grassroots
network, the Power of Travel Coalition, which works to make travel a
priority in local, state, and federal elected bodies. The tour will
continue throughout the country, including visits to the political
conventions of both political parties.

About CLIA

The nonprofit Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is the
world’s largest cruise industry organization. CLIA represents the
interests of 26 member lines and participates in the regulatory and
policy development process while supporting measures that foster a safe,
secure and healthy cruise ship environment. CLIA is also engaged in
travel agent training, research, and marketing communications to promote
the value and desirability of cruise vacations with thousands of travel
agency and travel agent members across North America. For more
information about CLIA, the cruise industry, and CLIA-member lines and
travel agencies, visit www.cruising.org.
CLIA can also be followed on the Cruise Lines International
Association’s Facebook
and Twitter
fan pages.

Travelers can either book a vacation rental online, or use a Travel Agent. Through this partnership, owners can now advertise their rental homes to the best of both markets.

Montreal, Canada (PRWEB) April 30, 2012

Montreal, Canada – Montreal-based Travel Rental Network has entered into a partnership with FlipKey by TripAdvisor that will allow current Travel Rental Network customers to seamlessly list their vacation rental properties on FlipKey, TripAdvisor and TripAdvisor’s network of international sites.

“We’re very excited about this partnership,” says CEO Brian Schwimmer. “FlipKey is one of the industry leaders and TripAdvisor and its network of sites are among the most visited travel sites in the world; we’re sure our clients will be happy to seize the opportunity to work with them and save money in the process.”

TripAdvisor boasts 9 international sites along with their vacation rental site FlipKey, and Travel Rental Network has established itself as one of the fastest growing vacation rental companies by targeting the lucrative travel agent market. “Our products complement each other very well,” adds Schwimmer, “travelers can either book a vacation rental online, or use a Travel Agent. Through this partnership, owners can now advertise their rental homes to the best of both markets, while managing one listing and one calendar. Together, we’re talking about 11 websites and over 40 million unique visitors a month during peak travel planning times.”

Travel Rental Network has fully integrated with FlipKey allowing existing Travel Rental Network customers to list their properties on all 11 sites at the click of a button. Photos, descriptions, amenities, and availability can be immediately updated across all sites through one simple to use owner dashboard.

For more information, visit http://www.travelrentalnetwork.com/flipkey/.

Founded in 2008, Travel Rental Network provides travelers and travel agents with a searchable database of thousands of beautiful and affordable hand-picked vacation rental properties around the world. One of the fastest growing vacation rental providers, Travel Rental Network’s staff of former travel agents, travel marketing specialists, real estate agents and property management experts pride themselves on industry-leading customer care and expertise.

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TWIN FALLS • Children and adults put their bravery to a test Saturday at Tubbs’ Berry Farm.

Honeybees circled in the air like mosquitoes on a summer evening as novice beekeepers and those with some experience arrived to purchase a special type for their hives, and to learn about the art from longtime beekeeper Kirk Tubbs.

Eight-year-old Kassy Kunzler, of Paul, showed no apprehension while watching the bee perched on her finger.

“That’s cool,” she said with a laugh. “He tickles.”

The daughter of Kelly Kunzler could be nonchalant because she knew the secret: Male drones have no stingers. Only female worker bees will sting, if provoked.

“I hate to say this, but the drones don’t do any work,” Tubbs told his visitors. “They do one thing (mate) and then they die.”

Dozens of people from as far away as Boise and northern Nevada and Utah drove to the farm to pick up a pack or two of the “hygienic” bees. Each container held 10,000 bees and cost $95.

Tubbs explained this type of bee is resistant to mites, which have been killing bees at an alarming rate since entering the U.S. about a decade ago. The hygienic bees are rare enough that people will travel long distances to acquire them.

“Just like breeds in cattle, there are different breeds of bees,” Tubbs said

That’s what drew Fred and Elyssa Goins, of Marsing. There are bee vendors near their town, but none offering hygienic bees, which groom each other and knock off mites.

“We’re trying to replace our white sugar with honey,” Fred Goins said of their motivation to keep bees. The couple already dabbles in the activity and not entirely with good results.

“I don’t mind them flying around,” Elyssa Goins said, “but when he messes with the hives and I take pictures, I end up getting stung.”

“I have fun and she takes the brunt,” her husband agreed.

Tubbs uses bees to pollinate strawberries and raspberries on his farm. They can pollinate plants within a three- to five-mile radius before returning home.

He occasionally sells bees as a favor to other keepers, and to help beginners learn by conducting hiving demonstrations throughout the day. Tubbs got the hygienic bees from a northern California supplier, with the transaction taking a year to arrange.

Bee eggs hatch in three days and mature 21 days later. Their lifespan is only three to four weeks during the summer, so it’s important to replenish the hive constantly. Bees know which hive to return to because they can smell their queen’s scent, Tubbs said, even if two hives are side by side.

Russell Lintner, of Ketchum, purchased two packets of bees, and a $900 kit containing everything you need to get started — two suits to ward off stings, boxes to hold the hives, a smoker, and a frame. He manages property for a man who wants honey to alleviate allergies.

Lintner said keeping bees also encourages people to avoid using pesticides because they are harmful to bees.

“From what I’ve read, if we want to keep our bees we have to have a non-chemical environment,” he said. “It’s a dual benefit.”

Arabian Travel Market

Apr 29, 2012

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt, is heading a Seychellois delegation of destination management companies – DMCs – and resorts serious about the Middle East market, to ATM, the Arabian Travel Market, which is one of the biggest travel and tourism shows in the Middle East.

ATM 2012 is taking place from April 30 to May 3, 2012 in Dubai, in the United Arabs Emirates. The Tourism Board CEO will be joined in Dubai for ATM by Julie Muirhead from the Board’s Dubai Office and Aliette Esther from the Abu Dhabi Office.

The Arabian Travel Market, the most awaited and anticipated travel fair in the Middle East, brings together travel specialists, tour operators, and national tourism organizations to present the uniqueness of their respective travel destinations.

Described as an event “unlocking business potential within the Middle East for tourism professionals,” for the first time ever, the Seychelles will co-host a branded destination display stand at the Arabian Travel Market together with La Reunion island.

The La Reunion tourism delegation, headed by Pascal Viroleau, the Director of La Reunion Island Tourism IRT, will bring a strong La Reunion delegation to the travel fair to promote the high quality travel products of the Vanilla Island concept combination with Seychelles.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt, said that “The Arabian Travel market is of increasing significance to Seychelles tourism as it seeks to diversify its markets and tap into new ones that will bring fresh streams of visitors to our shores. The Arabian Travel Market is the epitome of this process of diversification as it is an important forum for raising the profile of Seychelles, and for networking with the movers and shakers of the travel world and attracting business to our shores.”

The Seychelles tourism industry is confident that the positive trend of the 2011 Arabian Travel Market will continue this year.

Representing the Seychelles business community, ready and willing to receive business from the Middle East at ATM, the Arabian Travel Market, are seven exhibitors: 7 degrees South, Irina Udwadia, marketing@7south.net ; Banyan Tree Seychelles, Tinaz Wadia, Tinaz.Wadia@banyantree.com and Crystal Abrams, Crystal.Abrams@banyantree.com ; Berjaya Hotels and Resort Seychelles, Johnette Labiche, johnette.labiche@berjayaseychelles.com ; Coral Strands Smart Choice, Evgenia Boyankova, marketing@coralstrand.sc ; Hilton Seychelles, Michael Bell, Michael.Bell@hilton.com ; and Mason’s Travel, Eddie d’Offay, EdOffay@masonstravel.com and Jessica Giroux, JGiroux@masonstravel.com .

They are all at ATM 2012 to demonstrate their products to the professionals of the travel trade industry, as well as to exhibit latest products.

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