Category Archives: Europe

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 4.22.12

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The good, bad and bizarre from the world’s best travel media. ​

©James Vallee | Dreamstime.com

​AIR
AIRPORT APP
You’re at the airport, with hours to kill before boarding, but your laptop’s battery is running low. Ever wish there were a smartphone app that could not just tell you, but show you where the electric outlets are in your particular airport terminal?

Well, according to the folks at TNOOZ, there is one — or soon will be. It’s called AirportPlugs.

It’s stil in beta test mode, and so far, it’s only set for five airports in the western United States, but you’ve got to love the concept. Can’t wait to see how it looks — and performs — once it’s ready to go.

DON’T TEXT AND FLY
It was bound to happen: An Australian airliner blew a final approach into Singapore’s Changi airport recently. The reason: Instrument interference from the pilot’s cell phone, which he later said he’d forgotten to turn off.

It forced the crew to declare a “missed approach” and go around for a second landing attempt, which is serious business at any airport and led to an official inquiry.

They’re lucky Alec Baldwin wasn’t in the cockpit; the plane might’ve crashed.

CHARGING FOR CARRY-ONS
Allegiant Airlines has become the second air carrier in the United States to charge passengers for stowing carry-on luggage in the overhead bins.

Spirit Airlines, not the most passenger-friendly carrier in the industry, started this nonsense back in 2010. Two years later, Allegiant has seen fit to follow suit. Allegiant president Andrew Levy calls this latest add-on fee part of “an ongoing effort to develop an innovative, new approach to travel.”

I have my own terms for this kind of “innovation,” but I try not to use that kind of language here on IBIT.

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from the New York Times
Take advantage of the federal government’s express check-in programs to speed past security lines. You’ll have to pay for them, but the time saved — and aggravation avoided — just might be worth it.

from the Washington Post
Even as those federal express check-in programs take hold, however, one of them may already be on shaky ground. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s from the TSA. What a surprise…

from USA Today
For the airline business, rising fuel costs are becoming like Jason in all those Friday the 13th horror movies, a killer that won’t go away.

​from msnbc
A TSA inspector at Dallas-Fort Worth airport finds an envelope with $9,500 in cash inside…and not only turns it in, but tracks down its owner and returns it to him. There may be hope for this outfit yet.

from CNNgo
Is airline code-sharing dead? The head of an up-and-coming low-fare Asian airline says yes, among other things.

​LAND ​
RENT THY NEIGHBOR’S RIDE?
It was Airbnb that really launched the idea of couch-surfing, travelers saving money by renting rooms in private residences instead of more expensive hotels or even hostels. Now, there’s a new site called Getaround that’s trying to do the same with cars.

It’s still in beta, but it’s a beta worth looking at.

Basically, Getaround connects people looking to rent a set of wheels with individuals willing to rent out their own vehicles by the day or even the hour. It claims to screen the renters, and even provides insurance. The renter gets cheap local transportation. The car owner gets paid.

Couch-surfing…say hello to car-surfing.

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from the New York Times
With travelers able to hunt for bargains and book their own trips online, travel agents looked to be headed for extinction, but it’s not panning out that way.

from USA Today
Five smartphone apps that literally could save your life when traveling overseas.

from CNN Travel
Climate change is gradually turning Greenland into a tourist hotspot. Why? Because so much of its ice has melted that you can actually see the place.

SEA ​
ANOTHER CRUISE FAIL
The cruise industry has taken yet another hit with reports that the cruise ship Star Princess ignored a drifting fishing boat desperately signaling for help, even after passengers pointed out the stricken boat to a member of the cruise ship’s staff.

By the time help finally reached the boat, two of the three men on board were already dead from hunger and dehydration. In its subsequent apology, Princess said word of the crippled boat never reached the captain nor the officer of the watch.

Do you buy that? Modern cruise ships have powerful radars to detect surface traffic, and bridge officers with binoculars whose job is to scan the waters around them. It shouldn’t even have been necessary for someone to tell the bridge crew about the fishing boat and its frantically waving victims.

When your passengers are more conscientious than your crew, you’ve got a problem.

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​from USA Today
If you’re leaving from Seattle on a cruise and need a place to stay before you embark, these hotels come with a “cruise concierge” to help you out.

from USA Today
What do you get when you subject a 15-year-old cruise ship to a $54 million makeover? In the case of Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, you get a virtually new ship.

from msnbc
With the cruise lines trying to shore up sales in the midst of a problematic year, this might be a good time to score some serious bargains on cruises to the Bahamas.

​AFRICA ​
CRUISING INTO THE FUTURE?
Quiet as it’s kept, the coast of West Africa has enormous potential as a cruise venue, and some folks are positioning themselves to make the most of it.

Already there’s an outfit called G Adventures offering 27-day all-inclusive cruises between Cape Town, South Africa and Dakar, Senegal.

In both time and money, the G Adventures cruises are out of reach for a lot of travelers for now, but they show what’s possible once more competition and more West African ports enter this market.

It’s not hard to envision a great circle trip from the United States — a flight to Cape Town, a cruise with stops along the West African coast, then a flight home from Cameroon, Nigeria or Ghana, perhaps.

It’s going to happen. You watch.

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from IOL Travel
In South Africa, the Protea Hotel Ranch Resort will let you walk with a pride of what it calls “disciplined and well-trained” lions, including three rare white lions. The lions will even let you hold their tails while you walk with them. Am I the only one who finds this disturbing?

from Eyewitness News (South Africa)
South Africa has some of the world’s best surfing. Unfortunately, it also has some of the world’s most dangerous sharks.

from The Star (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
The government is urging Kenyans to embrace wildlife conservation as a way of boosting the country’s tourism.

from ​The New Times (Rwanda) via allAfrica.com
Another sign that tourism in Central Africa is on the rise: Expedia is expanding its presence in Rwanda.

AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
AGRITOURISM: A GROWING ATTRACTION IN HAWAII
There’s always been more to Hawaii than pristine beaches, towering waterfalls, volcanoes and big waves. Even the most casual tourist can’t help but notice everything from pineapples to poinsettias, coconuts to coffee beans, just growing wild along the sides of the roads.

It’s as if the islands were a giant collection of farmers markets.

Now, the phenomenon known as agritourism is turning Hawaii’s agriculture into a growing tourist draw in its own right. Farmers markets. Ranch tours on horseback.

And the souvenirs are delicious.

A NEW MONUMENT
Near Monterey on the central California coast — one of the most gorgeous stretches of the Golden State — more than 14,000 acres of federal land that once belonged to the Army’s Fort Ord installation have been designated by the Obama administration as a national monument.

If hiking, mountain biking and camping on rolling hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean sound like your idea of a good time, you’re going to love this place. The fact that you can take one of the world’s most scenic highways to get there — California’s famed Highway 1 — doesn’t hurt, either.

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from the New York Times
Need a reason to visit Bend, OR? If you love lots of good, locally-crafted beers, you’ve already got one.

from USA Today
For those who don’t find the Las Vegas Strip exciting enough, a zipline is being planned between the Luxor and Excalibur resorts, apparently high enough and close enough to McCarran airport that the FAA had to sign off on it first.

ASIA/PACIFIC ​
REAL LIFE, CHINESE STYLE
If you’re like me, you don’t just want to see “the sights” when you visit a different country. You want to get a feel for what real life looks like — or used to look like — before modernization swept over everything.

If you’re in Beijing, China’s sprawling capital, that means you’ve got to check out a hutong, a traditional Chinese neighborhood.

Many have been torn down to make way for high-rise apartments and office towers, while others are runddown, but a relative handful survive as well-maintained communities and are open to visitors. This slideshow from CNTV lists some of the best to visit in Beijing.

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​from CNNgo
At the Bamboo Nest guesthouse in the mountains of Chiang Rai in Thailand, bamboo is everything. and I do mean everything. SLIDESHOW

from CNNgo
Want to play soldier? Then put down the remote, put on your cammo gear and head for the jungles of Thailand, where the Royal Thai Army will put you behind the trigger of an M-16 assault rifle or the controls of a tank. As real as it gets, including the insects you’ll be eating for dinner.

EUROPE ​
CATALUNYA: VISITORS UNWELCOME?
Spotted this on the TypicallySpanish.com site. Check out what this commenter has to say about Catalunya, a semi-autonomous region where people have a reputation for being fiercely proud of their Catalan heritage:

“…here, not only do most of those involved with tourists refuse to speak English (apologies but it is recognised as the ‘World’ language) – most insist on not speaking Spanish!!! It’s a case of ‘if you can’t be bothered to speak Catalonian, then I can’t be bothered with you, wherever you happen to be from!’ “

If this is true, it’s a real problem for Catalunya and for Spain in general. This is the kind of word-of-mouth advertising no country can afford, especially one in the midst of an economic crisis.

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from The Telegraph (London UK)
Speaking of Spain, an extensive guide to the Andalucia region sponsored by the Spanish tourism folks. Extensive and potentially useful.

from The Guardian (London UK)
The tiny Greek island of Kalymnos is carving out a niche for itself as a destination for climbers and cavers.

from The Guardian (London UK)
Europe has a vibrant, diverse music scene, and that extends to its summer music festivals.

Edited by P.A.Rice

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 3.21.12

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media.

Amsterdam canal houseboat

Canal houseboat in Amsterdam | ©IBIT G. Gross

VIVA MEXICO
For all the negative talk about crime and violence related to its ongoing drug war, Mexico endures as a travel destination.

Travel Weekly reports that Carnival Cruises Lines, which has already sunk some $100 million into improvements for Mexican seaports, is looking at investing in two new ones — Calica on the Caribbean coast and Puerto Cortés in Baja California Sur.

No dollar signs yet, but the fact that Carnival would be interested at all says a lot, as does the fact that Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill was down south last week to meet with Mexican president Felipe Calderon and tourism minister Gloria Guevara.

So too does this little tidbit from TW: In a story about how Spring Break travel has picked up in 2012, they point to Student City, an online travel agency that caters to high school and college kids. According to Student City, its top two destinations were Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, both on the Mexican Riviera. Panama City, FL was third.

SUMMER AIRFARES — INTO THE STRATOSPHERE?
That’s definitely how it looks to the folks at USA Today, who checked the situation with aviation and travel experts.

What do you want first, the bad news or the very bad news?

Airliners may not have to pull up to the local gas station to fill their tanks the way you and I do, but when it comes to fuel prices, the oil companies don’t cut the airlines any more slack than they do for us. So whatever causes the cost of a barrel of crude oil to jump hits everyone hard.

Even the airlines’ ability to buy options on jet fuel, a tactic pioneered by Southwest Airlines and copied by many other airlines since, doesn’t help as much as it used to.

Bottom line: Airfare prices already are higher than they were a year ago, and the pain is only going to increase once the summer “high season” arrives. You need to plan accordingly, and the US Today story has a few tips that may help.

VACATION — WHO GETS IT AND WHO DOESN’T
Embedded in a story from CNN Travel about Swiss voters rejecting a proposal for six weeks of paid vacation a year (like their neighbors in Germany) is a survey of 20 countries from Expedia, listing them in order of the amount of vacation time employees receive, how many of those days are actually taken and how many go unused.

France, to no one’s surprise, was at the top. The United States, again no surprise, was near the bottom. What may be unexpected is that nations with some of the strongest economies in Europe, as well as some of the weakest, rank among the highest for vacation days offered and actually used.



And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from the New York Times
The FAA finally decides to consider adding to its list of consumer electronics devices approved for in-flight use.


from eTurboNews
The 2012 London Olympics are only a few months away. Can London’s five airports handle a crush of visitors flying in? The heads of four British airlines seem to have their doubts.

from Travel Weekly
They’re coming to America…or at least trying to. Gol, Brazil’s low-fare airline, wants to fly Boeing 737s from Miami to Sao Paulo, with a stop in Caracas, Venezuela.

from the New York Times
How to avoid the worst seat on the airplane.

from Travel Weekly
There’s First Class, and then there’s this: Etihad, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, is installing chefs to prepare in-flight meals for their First Class passengers.

from Travel Weekly
Remember People Express, the low-fare airline back in the 1980s that bowled people over with some ridiculously cheap fares — while putting them through some even more ridiculous hassles — until Continental swallowed them up? They may be coming back.

from TNOOZ
Have you ever played with Google Flight Search? It’s only been online for six months. Simultaneously shows air routes and airfares across the United States…and now, internationally.

LAND
from 
Frommer’s Travel
Want to get the feel of a place from a local’s perspective? Take a walking tour. Here’s what you’ll see if you hit the bricks in the Montmartre section of Paris. SLIDESHOW

from Smarter Travel
There are more than 900 World Heritage Sites identified around the globe by the United Nations, all of them worth seeing. The folks at Smarter Travel pick 11 must-sees. See if you agree. SLIDESHOW

from the Los Angeles Times
Ever have trouble with those balky remote controls for the television in your hotel room? Now there’s an app that will let you operate the hotel TV right from your smartphone. Unless, of course, you own a Blackberry.

SEA
from Travel Weekly
Is it just me, or is the cruise industry taking a beating this year? Princess Cruises cuts short one Caribbean cruise and cancels two more due to engine troubles aboard Caribbean Princess. Oh well, maybe things will be better next year: Princess is among the cruise lines now accepting bookings for 2013.

from Cruise Critic
A head-to-head comparison of the ten most popular mega-ships and their features — cabins, dining options, entertainment. Which one most appeals to you?

from 
CNN Travel
The inside view of ten of the most popular North American cruise ports. One’s in Alaska, while the rest are scattered around the Caribbean. Avoid the crowds and pick up some local flavor.

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AFRICA
from 
Reuters via Yahoo!
Is Britain trying to block access of Africa’s largest airline to Europe?

from 
Capital FM (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
An innovative attempt to promote tourism to Kenya through music. Plans underway to create a musical stage production on Kenyan cultural attractions, with the country’s different languages as a centerpiece.

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from 
BBC Travel
Southern, sleepy, set-in-its-ways Savannah, GA is suddenly becoming a hot zone of sophisticated art, music, dining and shopping.

from the 
Los Angeles Times
There’s a lot more to Peru than just Machu Picchu, and the LAT’s Chris Reynolds shows you the what and the where in Cuzco.

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ASIA/PACIFIC
from eTurboNews
One unexpected aftershock from Japan’s 2011 earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster — a lot more Japanese tourists vacationing in Taiwan.

from BBC Travel
A mini-guide to a mini-country with a lot going on: Singapore.

from the 
Los Angeles Times
A veteran traveler digs through the multiple cultural layers of the Malaysian city of Malacca.

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EUROPE
from The Guardian (London UK)
Berlin has some of the world’s most cutting-edge architecture, and through this self-guided walking tour, you can check out a lot of it.

from The Guardian (London UK)

The three most beautiful words in the English language when joined together: Paris…wine…free. Free wine tastings of some of France’s best bottled offerings through June.

from The Guardian (London UK)
When you’re ready to party hard, head for Spain. A rundown on where and when to go. Who needs sleep, anyway?

from Rick Steves via USA Today
New things to see and do in France and Spain for 2012.

Edited by P.A.Rice

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 3.11.12

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media. ​

© Christina Deridder | Dreamstime.com

KENYA: GOING BEYOND BUSH AND BEACH TOURISM
I’ve been saying for awhile now that there’s a lot more to Africa than just exotic wildlife. It looks as if the folks in charge of Kenya’s tourism agree.

According to media reports out of Nairobi, the Kenya Tourism Board is abandoning its focus on beach and safaris. Now, they’re looking to diversify their approach, touting the East African nation as a destination for multiple forms of upscale travel — among them cultural tourism, eco-tourism and sports travel.

Kenya also is looking to raise its profile as a prime African location for MICE — traveltradespeak for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

(South Africa is the Mother Continent’s current leader for MICE tourism. Looks as if Kenya wants to break off a chunk of that lucrative market for themselves.)

All this is being done with an eye toward drawing more tourism from Europe and the KTB started pushing this updated concept of Kenyan tourism at the International Travel Bourse show last weekend in Berlin.

Kenya continues to draw international visitors despite its military clashes with al Shabab militias from neighboring Somalia.

For more on this story, check out this report from theNairobi Star.

“LOVE BOAT” TO THE BONEYARD
According to USA Today, the cruise ship that served as the floating set for the TV series “The Love Boat” ‐ and may well have helped launch the modern cruise industry as we now know it — is sailing toward an inglorious end.

The vessel formerly known as the Pacific Princess, has been sold to a demolition company in Turkey, where she’ll be cut up for scrap.

Apparently, she’s been laid up at a dock in Genoa, Italy for nearly a decade.

You can read the USA Today story here.

Those old enough to remember the show also will recall how huge we thought the ship was. In reality, she only held a maximum of about 600 passengers. Today’s mega-cruisers can hold more than that on one deck.

And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from the New York Times
Is there any way to make airplane food taste good? The airlines are trying everything — and I do mean everything.

from the New York Times
A couple of Sea World penguins get the celebrity treatment aboard a Delta flight. Not only do penguins fly, but in this case, they flew First Class. The humans loved it. VIDEO

from USA Today
The skies haven’t been that friendly of late for babies and parents. In one instance, TSA screeners denied boarding to a nursing mother. In another, JetBlue booted an entire family off a flight after their toddler went to DEFCON-5 with her tantrum.
​
LAND
from the New York Times
From how to save money on whale-watching in Hawaii to why your next pair of contact lenses should come from Thailand. A roundup of tips from the recent NY Times Travel Show.

from Budget Travel
A vacation rental site adds insurance to protect vacation home renters from nasty surprises.

from Frommer’s
Buy fragile things when you travel? Here’s how to pack them to survive the trip home. SLIDESHOW

SEA
from USA Today
The Costa Allegra, the container ship-turned-cruise ship that went adrift in pirate-infested waters off the East African coast after an engine fire, has probably sailed her last cruise. Her owners, Carnival Cruise Lines, say she will be sold or scrapped.

from USA Today
Another bit of fallout from the loss of the Costa Allegra — beleaguered Costa is cancelling its Red Sea cruises this year. The ship that was to be used in the Red Sea, the Costa Voyager, is being shifted to take Allegra’s place.

from USA Today
Carnival Destiny, the first of Carnival’s mega-sized cruise ships, is going to get one of the biggest makeovers ever done on a cruiser. By the time she re-emerges, even her name will be different.

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AFRICA
from Capital FM (Kenya) via allAfrica.com
Buoyed by what is sees as an improving global economy, British Airways is adding flight between London and the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

from The Chronicle (Ghana) via allAfrica.com
Aviation officials in Ghana say their citizens are being subjected to artificially high airfares, antiquated equipment and disrespectful treatment by flight attendants aboard foreign airlines. Accra is threatening retaliation if the foreign carriers don’t “come correct.”

from This Day (Nigeria) via allAfrica.com
Four years ago, Lagos welcomed the arrival of the first yacht hotel anywhere in Africa. Four years later, the Sunborn Yacht Hotel is a floating white elephant, yet to welcome a paying guest. PICS and VIDEO

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from The Associated Press via The Grio
In New York’s Harlem, the phenomenon of gospel tourism is increasingly filling the pews of dwindling black congregations with white European tourists. It’s proving to be a mixed blessing.

from Budget Travel
How well do you know New Orleans? Test your knowledge of the NOLA with this quiz.

from the San Francisco Chronicle
Mention the Amazon and the first place you’re likely to think of is Brazil. Add Peru to that list. Especially if the prospect of exploring the Amazon via a small luxury cruise appeals to you.
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ASIA/PACIFIC
​from Voice of America
One year after being rocked by a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Japan is still trying to get tourists to come back.

from the Los Angeles Times
In Vietnam, the city of Hanoi is making a name for itself among international travelers looking for the best in Vietnamese cuisine.

from the Los Angeles Times
Another sign of growing affluence in China — a domestic wine industry.

from Your Singapore
Remember when Singapore was known for its staid, ultra-conservative lifestyle? The St. James Power Station is an old coal-fired powerplant converted into the ultimate nightlife venue — ten different bars and live music venues under one roof. (Wikipedia lists 11.) So much for staid.

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EUROPE
from TravPr.com
“Paris pour les femmes” means Paris for women. A European tour company is offering luxury tours of Paris—exclusively for women.

​from The Guardian (London UK)
“Foodie” may be a dirty word these days among the travelerati, but if you’ve got a thing for both rustic Italian countryside and great Italian food, there are some places to stay in rural Italy that can satisfy both cravings.

from The Guardian (London UK)
And speaking of Italy, virtually every hotel in Venice is on an island, but this one has an island pretty much to itself, well away from the tourist mobs.

​​

XL Airways France

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Another French airline is making its way across the Atlantic to give both US and European air carriers a little competition on the Paris route.

​I happen to like Air France quite a lot, but they have a new competitor for the affections of American air travelers. It’s called XL Airways France.

It’s actually been around since 1995 as STAR Airlines, mainly flying from France to destinations in the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa. It changed its name to XL Airways France in 2006, survived a bankruptcy, and now it’s here.

XL showed up briefly in the US market for the first time last year, when it began flying Airbus jumbo jets from Las Vegas to Paris. Starting in May, it’ll be flying to Paris CDG from JFK in New York and San Francisco, as well as Vegas.​

It’ll be vying with US air behemoths like United, American and Delta airlines, as well Air France, British Airways and a host of other European carriers, to carve out a slice of the US-France travel market.

It’s not exactly a large outfit, but that may be to its advantage if it helps to hold down costs, and thus ticket prices. Their fleet consists of exactly nine airplanes — six Airbus A330s and three Boeing 737s.

No details yet on schedules or airfares. As soon as that becomes available, I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, if you’ve flown XL Airways in the past, what was the experience like? Would you fly with it again? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Edited by P.A.Rice

​

​

IBIT Travel Digest

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media

Photo courtesy of Cathay Pacific

THE WORLD IS TRAVELING
According to the UN’s World Tourism Organization, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide is on pace to hit 1 billion this year. Overall, international tourism was up 4 percent in 2011, coming in at 980 million arrivals.

Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa all saw their tourist traffic rise last year, with only the Middle East showing a decline, mainly due to the turmoil produced by the Arab Spring.

Not bad for a world supposedly locked in the grip of a recession.

You can check out the details of the UN report here.

COMING TO AMERICA
President Barack Obama used a visit to Disneyworld in Orlando, FL, last week to announce a new initiative to draw more tourists — and their money — to the United States. Its ultimate aim, he said, was to make America the world’s top tourist destination.

It’s centered around streamlining the visa process and making it easier for visitors from friendly nations to come here. For you who prefer your news direct from the source, here’s the White House announcement of the actual plan.

As you might expect, the U.S. Travel Association is ecstatic over this, and for good reason.

Up to now, Washington had more or else taken US-bound tourism for granted, as if international travelers didn’t have alternatives on where to spend their vacations, and their money. The Travel Promotion Act of 2009, also signed by Obama, was the first time ever that the U.S. government set out to promote this country as a brand in the hyper-competitive international tourism market.

Given how lucrative the travel biz is, you have to wonder why.

Tourism generates nearly $2 trillion worth of revenue and 14 million jobs in this country. Any serious effort from Washington to grow those two numbers is something we all should welcome.

But it won’t be a snap. In an exclusive interview recently with IBIT, CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg described America as “the most unwelcoming nation in the world.”

That may be an exaggeration, but not by much. Between the steep visa fees imposed on many foreign travelers after the 9/11 attacks — mostly on countries friendly to the United States whose citizens took no part in those attacks — and the shortage of immigration inspectors at the nation’s air, sea and land ports, America the Beautiful doesn’t exactly come across as America the Friendly.

We’ve got work to do.

AMERICAN AIRLINES: GOING DOWN?
American Airlines, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, could be the next in that long line of US-based airlines of the last two decades or so to be swallowed up in a merger.

According to the Los Angeles Times, both Delta and US Airways are eyeing American as a possible acquisition.

Not sure which of those two I’d prefer to see make that acquisition, but strictly from the consumer’s perspective, it’s hard to see how having fewer national airlines, reduced routes, fewer planes, fewer seats and fewer crews could be viewed as a good thing.



And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from USA Today
Starting next month, American Airlines offering free beer and wine on most overseas flights.

from USA Today
Hairline cracks turning up in Airbus A380 super jumbo jets. European aviation authority ordering inspections.

from d travels ’round
Words of travel wisdom from someone who travels for a living, a merchant seaman.

​LAND

from The Daily Meal ​
East Coast hamburger fanatics, take note: In-N-Out, the Southern California burger chain whose following borders on the religiously fanatical, is planning to expand.

from Rick Steves via Smarter Travel
Lose your bag when you travel? Don’t lose your mind. You will survive this.

from the PlanetD
Can you ride bicycles in Africa and survive? Yes, you can. There will, however, be a few unusual challenges.

from the BBC​
Ways to get around those obscenely high mobile roaming charges when making international calls while you travel. VIDEO

SEA

from News24 (South Africa)
The Costa Concordia isn’t the only hit the cruise industry took recently. The South African government, citing safety concerns, bans cruise ships from docking at Cape Town.

from USA Today
The hits just keep on coming for the ill-fated Costa Concordia. Confirmed dead now at 13, but there may have been unregistered passengers on board, which could push the final death toll higher.

from the Daily Nation (Kenya)
Some in Kenya starting to view the caves used by Mau Mau guerrillas to fight British colonialism as potential tourist attractions. But some of the former fighters themselves are uneasy about that.

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AFRICA

from the Africa Review
Are bogus Chinese constructions firms doing dirt in Ghana?

from Bikyamasr.com
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which took almost half the seats in the country’s recent parliamentary elections, is telling the country’s tourism sector to relax: No sweeping changes; booze and bikinis for tourists still okay.

from the Zambia Daily Mail
Zambian government, looking to improve all forms of transport in the country, is trying to draw more foreign airlines to Zambia.

from the BBC
Five foreign tourists shot to death in a remote, rugged Ethiopian desert. Ethiopia casts suspicions on neighbor–rival Eritrea.

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN

from the New York Times
If the beach crowds in Rio de Janeiro get to be too much, head for an unspoiled alternative, Praia do Rosa.

from BBC Travel
All you tokers, potheads and other recreational herbalists still have a reason to visit Amsterdam, for now — that new Dutch law that was supposed bar non-Dutch citizens from patronizing the Netherland’s famed ​”coffee shops” has been postponed until May.

from the San Francisco Chronicle
Trains don’t usually come to mind when you think of Hawaii. The Kaua’i Plantation Railway could change that.

from the Guardian (London UK)
Sleep tourism? That’s right, I said it! Grenada may be one of the world’s most beautiful places to learn how to beat insomnia. But it’s not the only one.

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ASIA/PACIFIC

from Ready Click and Go
What and where — but mostly how — to eat in China.

​from the Guardian (London UK)
And speaking of food in China, the capital of Chinese cuisine may just be Sichuan province, which may have the the most densely packed collection of restaurants and teahouses on Earth.

from ​The Japan Times
Are your favorite North American and European ski resorts unexpectedly barren of snow this winter? You might want to look to Japan to get your downhill thrills this year.

from The Japan Times
You may have never heard of Nada, Japan, but if you’re a serious lover of sake, it needs to be on your must-visit list.

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EUROPE
from the New York Times
In search of real Dutch food in Amsterdam. Even if you don’t find any, you definitely won’t starve.

from the New York Times
How to hit the ground running for a fun weekend in Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest city.

Edited by P.A. Rice

IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media. ​

Pacific sunset

Sunset from San Clemente, taken from the Amtrak Surfliner | ©IBIT G. Gross

TELLING YOU WHERE TO GO
Travel writers love making lists. We all do it. And so does the New York Times.

They’ve published a list of “The 45 Places to Go in 2012.”

At the top of their list is a place near the top of mine, Panama. Vibrant, a growing economy, small enough to explore, and a mix of indigenous, Latin and African cultures.

It’s an extremely eclectic list. It must be if it includes Myanmar and Oakland, CA in its top ten. And that’s just part of what I love about it.

SPEAKING OF LISTS
Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has his own list of places to go if you want a better understanding of the rapidly changing world we face. Top of his list, India and China.

He especially recommends breaking away from the big cities like Beijing and Mumbai and getting out into the countryside in both those countries. Good advice, but tough to do when you have only a handful of days “in-country.”

Your best bet is to do some research, decide what interests you the most, and focus on that.

COFFEE, TEA OR BEATDOWN?
London’s daily Telegraph is reporting that one of China’s four main airlines, China Eastern, has just trained 20 of its flight attendants in kung fu. The company considers the pilot project so successful that they will now train up all 2,600 of their attendants.

The idea, apparently, is to enable them to act as the first line of defense against an on-board terrorist attack, and give the air marshals (who are on every Chinese flight) extra seconds to intervene.

You can read the entire Daily Telegraph story here.

Don’t be surprised if the other three major Chinese air carriers — Air China, China Southern and Hainan Airlines — adopt similar measures.

DUELING TRAVEL SHOWS
For years, Los Angeles traditionally has hosted a major travel show each winter bringing together tour companies and travel experts with would-be travelers. This year, there will be two.

The Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show, which had been held for the last couple of years at the Los Angeles Convention Center, is moving back to Long Beach, where it had been held in years past. That one’s scheduled for this weekend.

Then there’s the Los Angeles Times Travel Show, which will be held at the LA Convention Center Jan. 28-29.

Confused yet?

The Times, after several years of co-sponsoring the other travel show, decided to break off and do its own thing.

Each will have its share of high-powered presenters with the likes of Andrew Zimmern, Samantha Brown, and Rick Steves. But my two favorites are always the man I call the Godfather of Travel, Arthur Frommer, and his daughter, Pauline, herself an accomplished travel writer.

This is the kind of overload I like!

A DIFFERENT LOOK
Believe it or not, one of my favorite travel activities is to watch television. You can learn a lot.

One of the things you learn is that there’s a lot of great stuff being aired around the world that will never make its way to the States. Another is that network news elsewhere in the world is not the joke it has become here.

While in Paris, I was able to compare CNN, the BBC, France 24 and Al Jazeera during their coverage of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Al Jazeera blew them all away — thorough, professional, level-headed, fresh.

What made me think of this today is word that a six-part mini-series is in the works about the life of Nelson Mandela, an international production to be shot in South Africa. It’s to be called “Mandiba.”

You can pick up more details about the series from The Guardian story here.



And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

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AIR
from We Blog the World
Here’s a thought: Instead of donating money to charity, why not donate some of your frequent flier miles? Yes, you can do that.

from Eurotriptips
Some tips for avoiding add-on fees on low-cost European airlines.

from Budget Travel​
Another day, another fee. Airlines are adding a $6 fee to cover a “carbon fee” imposed by the European Union. Still, considering what US airlines charge to check a suitcase, it’s hard for me to get too upset.

​LAND
from the New York Times
Another list from the Times, this one of useful Web sites for saving money on flights, lodging and a whole lot else. Many of them are the “usual suspects,” but you’ll find a few new names, as well.

from USA Today
Before we write off airport security as a total joke, TSA screeners say they’re finding an average of four guns a day at US airports. Say WHAT?

from Pushing the Limits
His name is Andy Campbell. He’s paralyzed. And he’s out to travel 30,000 miles around the world…in a wheelchair. What was your excuse again?

SEA
from Smarter Travel
The ST crew gives you their outlook for cruise travel in 2012. The good: new ships, refurbished ships, a big year for river cruising. The bad: smaller cabins and more add-on fees.

from USA Today
The comeback continues. Cruise ship sailings are breaking marks set prior to Hurricane Katrina.

from Travel Weekly
After three years’ absence, Royal Caribbean resumes cruising the Panama Canal.

from USA Today
Have you heard of or seen a “5-D” movie? The next new Carnival cruise ship will boast a 5-D movie theater.

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AFRICA

from the East African Business Week (Uganda)
Hundreds of elephants and other wild animals are stampeding out of Uganda’s largest wildlife reserve and into inhabited areas, trashing farmers’ crops and generally raising hell. The suspected culprit: oil exploration inside the park.

from the Citizen (Tanzania)
Tanzanian tourism officials crow after their country cracks the top ten of the NY Times’ list of “The 45 Places to Go in 2012,” and look to build on that momentum.

from the Herald (Zimbabwe)
Tourism minister rails against “shylocks” whom he says charge exorbitant prices at the country’s tourist resorts, inhibiting tourism growth in the country. ​

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from USA Today
If you live within easy travel distance of a US national park, the upcoming Martin Luther King holiday weekend would be a good time for a visit. Admissions are free.

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ASIA/PACIFIC
from the Los Angeles Times
Turning ice into art in the Chinese city of Harbin. SLIDESHOW

​from the Quirky Traveller
Hanoi is emerging from the shadow of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) as a tourist destination.

from the Telegraph (London UK)
A massive snowfall in Austria strands thousands of skiers. ​

from CNN
North Korea. Rogue state…cult of personality…tourist destination? Really?

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EUROPE
from msnbc
Cheapest European cities to hit in 2012.

from Budget Travel
How to fly around Europe for ridiculously small amounts of money. One key advantage, low-fare airlines. Another, smaller airports. The tradeoff, a longer cab, bus or train ride to your destination.

from the Guardian (London UK)
Brussels may not get as much respect as Paris when it comes to cuisine, but these folks know how to throw a food festival. For one thing, theirs lasts most of the year. Turn a tram into a resto? A dining room suspended from a crane? Top that, Monsieur Michelin!

Edited by P.A. Rice

T’is the (Christmas market) season in Europe

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Christmas market, Strasbourg, FR

Strasbourg, France — Christmas market | © G. Gross

If you’ve never experienced a European Christmas market, you owe it to yourself to get out there in the cold among the bright lights and the non-stop festive cheer.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Christmas is an outdoor affair that lasts for a month or more, a public event to be shared with townspeople and tourists alike, and they draw visitors across Europe annually by the tens of millions.

The Christmas market is a tradition that may date back as far as the 1300s. Some of the first known began in the German-speaking region of Alsace, in what is now eastern France.

Since then, it’s taken hold throughout western Europe, has penetrated portions of eastern Europe — and can even be found in the United States here and there.

Wherever you’ll find them, you’ll have a blast, because that’s the whole point.

The Christmas market is a mixture of Christian and pagan traditions. The great European cathedrals are often the anchor point of Christmas markets. Nearby may be a huge, gayly decorate pine tree, a tradition we got from the pagans.

There are solemn religious ceremonies this time of year also, but mostly, this is neither the time nor the place for solemnity. Whether to mark the birth of Christ or the coming of the winter solstice, Christmas markets are all about celebration.

The bigger ones set up huge amusement-park rides. Outdoor ice-skating rinks welcome the skilled and lure the foolhardy. Street musicians and singers perform. Vendors sell tasty snacks and hot drinks, especially the hot, spiced wine known as vin chaud in France and glühwein in Germany.

This is where everyone is free to be a kid, regardless of the date on their birth certificate.

Stalls sell all manner of Christmas trinkets and decorations. As with a lot of other things around the world these days, a lot of what they sell may be mass-produced in China or elsewhere, but if you look, you can still find seasonal items lovingly handcrafted by locals.

The Christmas markets also may be where the locals come to buy their Christmas trees and Christmas lights.

If you can’t have fun at a Christmas market, check your pulse. Someone may have stolen it.

I experienced my first Christmas market a few years ago in Strasbourg, the regional capital of Alsace. It claims the title as the first official Christmas market, going back to the 1500s, and remains one of Europe’s best.

There definitely are bigger and splashier ones elsewhere, however, especially across the Rhine River in Germany.

The Christmas markets now springing up in Eastern Europe might be especially interesting to check out because they only began to appear with the fall of the Iron Curtain. So only now are people able to celebrate as they please, as their western European counterparts have been doing for centuries.

They might not be as smooth or well-organized as they are in France, Germany and elsewhere, but that spirit of new-found freedom and celebration might more than make up for that.

The European Christmas market phenomenon belongs on your holiday travel list — if not for this year, then for 2012 and beyond.

ALSO CHECK OUT:
Where your Christmas comes from
The SUNDAY TRAVEL DIGEST

the IBIT TRAVEL DIGEST 11.7.11

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A roundup of the good, the bad and the bizarre from the world’s best travel media.​

Strasbourg Xmas lights

Christmas lights for sale in Strasbourg, France | © G. Gross

TIS THE SEASON…FOR EUROPE’S CHRISTMAS MARKETS
We’re moving into November, which means that Christmas markets are or soon will be opening up in almost every capital in Western Europe, and a good many smaller cities and towns all across the continent.

You could probably start a pretty ferocious argument among locals, travelers and expats as to who’s Christmas market is the best. Having only experienced two so far, in Paris and Strasbourg, the capital of France’s Alsace region on the border with Germany, I’m in no position to judge.

I can tell you that the Christmas market scene turns the Champs Elysee into a linear holiday scene, but the Marche de Noël in Strasbourg made me fall in love with the whole city.

If you’ve never experienced a European Christmas market, you really should — and the bigger and livelier, the better. You’re only problem will be choosing among all the spectaculars.

To help you start the selection process, here’s a list from Britain’s Europe a la Carte site of their favorite 25 Christmas markets around Old Europe.

TEN DAYS OF ADVENTURE IN THE HEART OF AFRICA
Another sign that Rwanda is pushing forward — hard — with its tourism:

The day after Thanksgiving, the Congo Nile Trail will formally open to travelers — 227 kilometers (140 miles) along Lake Kivu. Supposedly, you can hike it in ten days, bike it in five or drive it in a 4×4 in three. There’s a main trail, sub-trails and base camps.

For more details about the Congo Nile Trail, check out these stories from eTurbo News and allAfrica.com.

If you’ve ever wanted to go beyond the prepackaged, all-the-creature-comforts safari travel when you visit the Mother Continent, Rwanda and the Congo Nile Trail could be just your ticket.

A TIP FOR CARNIVAL
According to USA Today, Carnival Cruises is putting out revised guidelines for its passengers to get them to give cruise ship crewmembers bigger tips.

Here’s a tip for Carnival: PAY YOUR CREWS BETTER.

Nothing against being more generous with tips for the crews. They work incredibly hard, seven days a week, almost 24 hours a day. If you can afford to fatten the tip envelopes, even by a fraction, by all means, you should.

But when you’ve got people working that hard for as little as $18,000 a year, it sounds just a little disingenuous to hear a multibillion-dollar cruise ship company urging the passengers to dig deeper into their wallets to do what the company should be doing itself. Just sayin’.

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And now, here’s this week’s Digest:

AIR
from Vayama
A helpful page from their Web site listing ground transportation options at 150 airports around the world. This is one link you’ll want to keep in your smartphone.

​from Travel+Leisure
How to sleep comfortably in an airport. Someday. Maybe.

from Travelpro Luggage blog
Eight myths about airports — and the realities are not in your favor.

from the Consumer Travel Alliance
Consumer watchdogs versus airline avarice. Think they’ll have any trouble finding examples?

​LAND
from Vagabondish
Seven things never to do as a traveler — unless you just have a death wish.

from BootsnAll
Were you an English major in college? Here are four places in the world you’ll want to see…as soon as you finish paying off those student loans. Or maybe even sooner.

from the San Francisco Chronicle
One of the best urban green spaces in America is Golden Gate Park in San Francisco…and one of the best ways to see it is by bike.

SEA
from Cruise Critic
Thirteen things not to do on a cruise ship, including overeating. (Good luck with that one, bud!)

from USA Today
Should this be Number 14 on the list? California man sentenced for dealing drugs aboard a cruise ship.

from the China Daily
China, as a cruise ship market? Yes, and like virtually every other market in China these days, it’s growing. ​

from Bloggers Base
There are houseboats, and then there are India’s Kerala houseboats. Holy cow!

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AFRICA
from Travel Age West
A two-for-one safari sale.

from Hills of Africa Travel
A collection of seriously luxurious accomodations to be found on the Mother Continent.

from Real Africa
Great rail journeys in Africa. ​

from​ allAfrica.com
Air travelers at Lagos International Airport in Nigeria are being subjected to extortion by airport security and narcotics cops, for as much as $100 a pop.

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AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from the Travel Channel
America’s cavenmen? Explore the Cherokee caves of prehistoric times. VIDEO

from ​Gadling
Friendly Planet Travel begins offering authorized travel to Cuba.

from Kaleidoscopic Wandering
Take a short trip — about 14 miles, 90 minutes and a century and a half or so in time — on a historic
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ASIA/PACIFIC
from Ready Click and Go
For a good view of Tokyo, get on the bus. This bus.

​from Travel+Leisure
Chinese healing practices go back five millenia, but you can still experience them today in the land of their origin.

from the Huffington Post
The Great Wall of China is falling — not to the ravages of time, but a lot of ill-considering mining underground.

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EUROPE
from the San Francisco Chronicle
Cognac. a) A drink. b)A state of being. c) A place in France. The correct answer is: All of the above.

from the Guardian (London UK)
There are lots of good reasons to visit the city of Porto in underpriced and under-appreciated Portugal. But some will insist that the best reason still comes in a wine glass.

fromThe Traveler’s Way
Where to find a good Indian curry…in London. Why curry? Because Man does not live by bangers and mash and mushy peas alone. ​

from Europe Travel.net
Canal hopping in Amsterdam.
​

Ryanair: Can a sweatshop have wings?

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Does this airline get some sort of perverted kick out of abusing people?

The way some businesses look at public relations, even bad publicity is good, as long as it keeps the company name in front of the public.

In that case, Ryanair, the airline that turns “cheap” into a four-letter word, must constantly be in seventh PR heaven.

Ryanair seems to have a genius for keeping its name in the public consciousness, even as it solidifies its reputation as a company that doesn’t give half a damn about its customers:

  • Making its passengers bum-rush its airplanes to get a seat
  • Raising already ludicrous baggage fees
  • Floating such notions as operating airliners with a single pilot
  • Seeking to install pay toilets on its aircraft
  • Propose “standing seats” in return for super-cheap fare

Their latest stroke of “genius” is a request to the US jet maker Boeing to remove two of the standard three toilets aboard their mid-range Boeing 737 airliners, for the purpose of installing six extra seats.

Ryanair has “touted” this idea, saying it would allow them to reduce their base airfares by 5 percent. According to Caroline Morse at Smarter Travel, that works out to a whopping $3 off on a typical Ryanair ticket.

Are you not thrilled? Are you not impressed?

Apparently, however, it’s not just your kidney comfort to which the good folks who run Ryanair are utterly indifferent. That much was made clear on a flight last month from London Stansted airport to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

Lining up to board, the 200 passengers were able to watch as Ryanair ground crews reinforced a cockpit window — with duct tape. But the real eye-opener came about 20 minutes after takeoff, when the pilot informed the passengers that the flight was being aborted and returning to Stansted.

The reason: The tape was coming loose and the window was making funny noises.

Think I’m making this stuff up? Click here.

Can you imagine what an “uncontrolled decompression” of a cockpit at, say, 37,000 feet can do to an airliner, not to mention its two-member crew?

That started me wondering if Ryanair treats its employees with the same callous indifference it shows toward its passengers.

I shouldn’t have asked.

Here’s a sample of comments from a Ryanair employee Web site:

“Just got a letter in my pigeon hole about my poor attendance for the last 12 months, because I have 3 sickdays in 1 year.”

“On one day last week there was no water available in the crew room for crew. We do have waterfilters which provide us water from the tap, but the waterpipes were broken so they shut down the water supply. So no water for crew to take on board. 12hr without water.”

“We have recently got a new supervisor who thinks it acceptable to threaten with ‘Disciplinary action’ for everything! She recently held a meeting stating that safety and sales where equally important!”

“Hopefully their bubble will burst one day – this company is not fit to fly. Especially when you’re threatened upon leaving that your final pay might be withheld unless you sign a declaration that you will not sue the company in the future…”

Some of the folks who make a living following the airline industry figure Ryanair does all this stuff mainly for the sake of attention, just to keep their name fresh in the industry media. Others think they are genuinely indifferent to their passengers and employees alike.

After having flown them once and spent the last two years observing them from a distance, I’ve decided that it no longer matters.

Abusing your passengers in the name of low-cost flights is bad enough. Putting them and your flight crews at risk by cutting corners on aircraft maintenance pole-vaults over a line that should never be crossed. Some things just aren’t worth a cheaper ticket.

The more you look at these guys, the harder it is to escape the conclusion that this is not an airline, but a sweatshop with wings.

Ryanair? I’d rather walk.

The Leaning Tower of …LONDON?

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© Alvaro Ennes | Dreamstime.com

The iconic clock tower that marks London’s Houses of Parliament has been gently shifting for decades. The tilt is now pronounced enough to see with the unaided eye.

Could it be that Italy’s famously leaning tower in Pisa is about to get some competition?

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in London is reporting that the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster, known incorrectly the world over as *Big Ben, has been gently and slowly tipping for decades.

As much as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, the Colosseum is to Rome or the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco, the Westminster clock tower, the dominant physical feature of the Houses of Parliament, is likely the first image that comes to your mind when someone says “London.”

So if the tower is tipping, it matters.

The tilt is now so pronounced, a full 18 inches “out of plumb,” that you can see it yourself, without the aid of surveyor’s tools.

Apparently, it was first detected back in the 1970s. Construction work in the 1990s to extend a heavily used subway line for the London Underground accelerated the process. So the UK government has known about this for a long time.

Not until the newspaper filed a Freedom of Information request, however, did the government admit it publicly, according to the Associated Press.

To read the full Sunday Telegraph story on the tilting tower, click here.

Don’t let the paper’s accompanying photo freak you out, though. The lean isn’t anywhere near that pronounced yet.

In fact, the best estimates are that it will take about 4,000 years for the London tower to catch up to its counterpart in Pisa.

By then, I suspect most of us will have lost interest.

*NOTE: The term “Big Ben” refers not to the tower, but to the bell of the clock that it houses.