7 Days; 7 Travel Stories

1. At the Fair

Global warming's threat to the existence of the exotic resorts and beaches tourists crave has not dented holidaymakers' appetites for pollution-producing, long-haul trips, experts said at the Berlin's annual tourism fair, the world’s largest travel exhibition. Online travel agency Expedia said it has seen no decline in the number of people taking long-haul flights and that climate worries are a peripheral concern for travelers. Two of Germany's largest tourism groups, Thomas Cook and TUI said they will do more to promote carbon-offsetting schemes for customers booking flights. But interest in such voluntary schemes, where others are paid to cut emissions on the airlines' behalf, has so far been small. Another area that has failed to take off yet is eco-tourism in which people opt for train over air travel and make shorter journeys, said Klaus Liedtke, editor of National Geographic Deutschland magazine.

2. At the Money Exchange Booth

Studies conducted by the money exchange firm, Travelex, indicate that travelers are losing money because of poor planning. One recent survey revealed that 66 percent of US travelers do not exchange currency before leaving on a trip compared to 29 percent of Australians and 15 percent of UK travelers). Travelex offers the following advice to travelers to stretch trip dollars and avoid unnecessary fees: Exchange currency prior to leaving on a trip. Don’t assume that you can use US dollars at your destination, or that you’ll easily find a reputable, affordable currency vendor. Make a budget for your trip and exchange as much money as you can safely carry. Frequent exchanges or withdrawals mean numerous transaction fees and commissions. Purchase currency from a vendor that offers a guaranteed return rate for unused currency. Returning leftover cash can be the most expensive part of your transaction, because you’ll pay double without a special guarantee.

3. On the Bus

Greyhound plans to start offering its low-cost BoltBus service between Boston and New York City next month with Internet fares starting as low as $1. BoltBus is Greyhound’s latest salvo in its long-running rivalry with Fung Wah and Lucky Star bus lines. Greyhound hopes to attract young people, business travelers and tourist with the new service that is already running between NY and Washington D.C. The current lowest advertised price for a one-way ticket between NY and Boston on a regular Greyhound bus is $20. Fung Wah and Lucky Star’s fare is $15. Boston Globe

4. Empty Promises

There’s no credible evidence that the greening of travel is saving the Earth. But here’s what we do know. A recent Deloitte survey found that nearly half of all travelers try to be “environmentally friendly” when they’re traveling, and almost a quarter of them are willing to pay more for green hotels, resorts and rental cars. Another poll by Travelocity found that almost three-quarters of active travelers were prepared to pony up more cash for a greener getaway. Enter companies that sell green to make their travel product more attractive. It’s called greenwashing.

The latest stunt is Virgin Atlantic’s test flight of an aircraft burning a mixture of standard jet fuel and biofuel. But Michael Miller of the Orlando-based aviation consulting firm Green Skies, says a real alternative to jet fuel is a decade or more away. For an airline to be “green” today it needs to make a top-to-bottom commitment to saving the environment.

Hotels are figuratively falling all over themselves to out-green each other. Most of their efforts look sincere but have a negligible effect on the environment. Alex Pettitt, host of the TV show “Mainstream Green,” says some eco-resorts have really “missed the boat” when it comes to being green. “They lower their water consumption, but don’t have a sustainable design,” he says. “Or they’ll offer eco-trips, but the facility itself is an ecological wart.”

Not all unsustainable green efforts are so obvious, says Tim Gohmann, the senior vice president of travel and leisure at the market research firm TNS North America. For example, several car rental companies now offer the option of renting a hybrid vehicle. “But these offers are few and far between because the cost of maintenance for these hybrid cars are higher and the car company then loses the revenues made from traditional gas-powered cars,” he told me. “There is no immediate payoff for the car companies so they are more reluctant to put this practice into place, and it’s not widely offered.” MSNBC

5. Online

Priceline.com introduced a new suite of free, personalized airline ticketing features, called Inside Track, that is designed to comb through thousands of flights and fares, both now and in the future, to find customers the best possible deals for the trips they want to take. http://travela.priceline.com/insideTrack/flights/

6. Business Travel

Maintaining productivity is a top concern for Business travelers in choosing a hotel, according to a recent Hyatt Place survey. Among the conclusions: One third of business travelers will drive 10-30+ miles out of their way to ensure they stay in a hotel with free high-speed wireless internet access in guestrooms and public areas. More than 80 percent of travelers choose business hotels that have the technology they need to work efficiently. 81 percent of travelers say the guestrooms in their ideal business hotel are designed around the way people really live.

7. India Online

The latest buzzword in India’s online travel space is B2E or Business-to-Enterprise. To that end popular travel portals such as Makemytrip, Indiatimes, Yatra, Ezeego1, Travelguru, and Cleartrip have set their sites on corporate business. These portals are working on various models to offer services to business houses such as technology integration with a company’s intranet, an offline booking desk at the clients’ corporate office or giving login IDs and passwords to employees. Economic Times of India

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net http://www.itinarod.com/