Wednesday, November 18, 2009

“AP TRAVEL AND LEISURE DIGEST For Week Of Nov. 16 - CBS News” plus 3 more

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“AP TRAVEL AND LEISURE DIGEST For Week Of Nov. 16 - CBS News” plus 3 more

AP TRAVEL AND LEISURE DIGEST For Week Of Nov. 16 - CBS News

Posted: 18 Nov 2009 02:30 PM PST

(AP)  AP Travel for week of Nov. 16

OBAMA-NYC

NEW YORK - Jeremiah Miller calls the time Barack Obama spent in New York "the lost years," because that period from 1981 to 1985 is not as well-known as his roots in Hawaii or his recent years in Chicago. To fill in the gap, Miller offers a tour of Upper Manhattan called "Obama's New York." The two-hour $25 walking tour includes stops at Columbia University, a Harlem subway station, and the street where the man who now sleeps in the White House once slept in an alley.

By BETH J. HARPAZ.

AP Photos NY400-407

AP Travel Video filename: 1116trav_walkobama

HONDURAS

ROATAN, Honduras - "The president's been arrested already this morning," hotel owner Jeff Kuken told me and my wife one Sunday morning in late June. We had spent months planning a vacation across Honduras, but now Latin America's first military coup in decades was unfolding on the third day of our trip. Not exactly part of our plans, and definitely not included in guidebooks that painted Honduras as the Next Big Destination for affordable eco-tourism.

We wondered whether it would be possible to have fun and relax in a beautiful country going through political chaos. The answer turned out to be a resounding yes - with some changes in plans and a bit of luck. By RYAN J. FOLEY.

AP Photos NY421-426

HOLIDAY GIFTS

NEW YORK - What makes a good holiday gift for a traveler? If you have big bucks, splurge on an e-reader or a netbook. But if you're on a budget, go for clever stocking-stuffers, like a laminated cardboard wine wheel to help wine-challenged foodies instantly determine good pairings, $8.85 from Magellan's, or a funky $17 passport wallet from Flight 001. By BETH J. HARPAZ.

AP Photos NY408-410

HOLIDAY BOOKS

NEW YORK - Whether you're looking for a gift for an armchair traveler or a frequent flyer, you can't go wrong with a book. Booksellers from three travel bookstores - Distant Lands - http://www.distantlands.com/ - in Pasadena, Calif., Globe Corner - http://www.globecorner.com/ - in Cambridge, Mass., and Idlewild Books - http://idlewildbooks.com/ - in New York City - offered their recommendations for travel books that make good holiday gifts, from coffee-table books filled with gorgeous photos, to travelogues of long-ago adventures in faraway places, to practical guidebooks for every type of traveler. By BETH J. HARPAZ

AP Photos NY411-414

HOLIDAY LIGHTINGS

NEW YORK - This season's Christmas tree displays include trees made from feathers at a historic home in Indianapolis, a thank-you tree in Boston sent from Nova Scotia, and the Obamas' first National Christmas Tree ceremony in Washington. By BETH J. HARPAZ

AP Photos NY415-420

FASHION-SNL WINDOWS

NEW YORK - It's not quite the warm and fuzzy crowd one probably imagines gathering around the Christmas tree, but Barneys New York is celebrating the holidays at its flagship store with a motley crew that includes Roseanne Roseannadanna, the Church Lady, Father Guido Sarducci, Wayne and Garth - and Pat. Two dozen "Saturday Night Live" favorites have been transformed into life-size, paper-mache ornaments to hang in the windows on Madison Avenue as the retailer puts on its biggest visual show of the year.

By Samantha Critchell

Eds: Story expected Tuesday, Nov. 17

TRAVEL BRIEFS

Eds: Items on travel survey, cruises for babies, holiday airfare, New Year's Eve-Times Square, New Year's Eve-Vegas, books, Smithsonian holiday exhibit, Forbes awards, Indiana-cranes, Alabama governor's mansion

FLIGHT PLAN-CREDIT CARD FEES

ATLANTA - Another fee is coming in the new year for airline and hotel customers - this time from your credit card company. The message: Miss a payment one month and you forfeit the miles or points you thought you earned for making purchases on your card during that period. To get the rewards back, it's going to cost you. By Airlines Writer Harry R. Weber.

Eds: Moving Wednesday.

UPCOMING TRAVEL STORIES:

Eds: For planning purposes, here are some of the print stories scheduled for the AP Travel package for the next few weeks (list subject to change).

For Nov. 23:

St Barth

Amtrak-AutoTrain

Frank Lloyd Wright synagogue tours - Philadelphia

Daisy Bates house tours - Little Rock

Holiday train shows

For the near future:

Nov. 30 - 3 stories for Olympics-themed ski package: A look at the 3 U.S. venues that have hosted the Olympics and how the winter games influenced those destinations: Squaw Valley, CA; Lake Placid, NY; SLC, Utah.

Bethlehem, PA: Christmas City

East v. West skiing - pros and cons

Rethinking green skiing

Colorado - ski season outlook

Honduras

Motorcycle - tour rentals

Bonaire

Virginia pirates exhibit

St. Bart's

January - Vancouver - one month out from winter OLY

Late January - cruise trends

AP Travel editor Beth Harpaz is reachable at bharpaz(at)ap.org. For AP Photos, call 212-621-1921.

Reruns of stories are available from http://apexchange.com or from the Service Desk (800-838-4616).

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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TNS: Hong Kong's bright future from China's exploding travel market - The FINANCIAL

Posted: 18 Nov 2009 04:12 AM PST

The FINANCIAL -- CA new study by one of the leading market information companies TNS, which probed the travel preferences of mainland Chinese businessmen and holidaymakers from tier 1 and 2 cities across the country, suggests that the explosive growth in the outbound Chinese travel market is set to continue.

 

90% of both business and leisure travelers claim they are travelling more (or at least the same), in 2009 as they did in 2008, and the indications are that this trend will continue in 2010. The study found that there were few reasons for travelling less. Business travelers who claim they will be travelling less, mainly say they will be switching to webcasts or teleconferences instead. The main reason cited by leisure travelers was fear of H1N1, which may fall away in 2010.

 

COMBINING BUSINESS AND LEISURE


Less than 10% of travelers are travelling only on business, with around 60% combining both leisure and business. Commenting on the findings, Neel Banerjee, who leads the Travel & Leisure practice for TNS in Hong Kong, says this suggests opportunities for persuading business travelers to extend their trip for a few days of leisure, perhaps including their family or friends as well. The leisure travel market is being driven mainly by travelers taking advantage of attractive packages, low airfares and budget airlines, and budget hotels. Hong Kong is in a prime position to take advantage of these combined business and leisure trips. It is already the number one destination for both business and leisure travelers and within convenient flying distance if family or friends are to join the business traveler.

 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR HONG KONG


Hong Kong has another advantage. The survey found that in fact travelers' experience of Hong Kong was better than its reputation had led them to believe (see chart on next page). Hong Kong has a TRI*M Index score of 70 for Reputation but 79 for Experience. This suggests that Hong Kong has a communication problem and that it needs to tell travelers more about the benefits it has to offer.

 

Although 45% rely on family and friends for traveling advice, the main source of advice for travelers is still the internet, with 86% consulting one or more sites. Clearly investment in digital media will be critical if Hong Kong is to reach this target efficiently and communicate its benefits.

 

WHAT SHOULD THE COMMUNICATION SAY ABOUT HONG KONG?


Leisure travelers are primarily looking for relaxation (see chart below). No doubt stressed business travelers would like some relaxation time as well. Hong Kong is perhaps best known for its fast paced, hectic lifestyle. Is this the 'gap' between reputation and actual experience? What can Hong Kong do to persuade potential visitors that it is also a good place to relax? Certainly Hong Kong can offer great sightseeing, a vast array of food/dining options and endless shopping opportunities. However what about promoting the idea of Hong Kong as a place for romance and for self pampering or as a place to admire some of the world's most impressive architecture?

 

Top attractions in Hong Kong have been and remain Disneyland, Victoria Harbour and Ocean Park, with 83%, 82% and 82% having been to these attractions during their last visit. Future destinations of interest, which may be used as drawcards in communication, include the Hong Kong Wetland Park, the Giant Buddha and Ngong Ping 360, with 55%, 48% and 46% of travelers planning to see these attractions on their next visit.

 

WHERE ARE THE THREATS TO HONG KONG COMING FROM?


The number one destination experience for Chinese travelers is Australia with a TRI*M Experience Index of 88. Singapore (Index 83) and New Zealand (Index 80) offer similar levels of Experience to Hong Kong (Index 79). Banerjee also commented that if Australia can persuade more people to make the journey by communicating their benefits to Chinese travelers, then for most the experience turns out to be better than they expected. Since Chinese consumers rely on the internet and family/friends as the main sources of information for their next trip, word of mouth could play a strong role in increasing the attractiveness of Australia as a destination, perhaps at Hong Kong's expense.

 

FINALLY WHAT ABOUT THE ALL IMPORTANT SPENDING HABITS OF TRAVELERS?


The good news is that around 80% of both business and leisure travelers say that their shopping budget in 2009 has increased or at least stayed the same, despite the recession. Travelers feel that prices outside of China are often better than at home and they like both the service and the shopping environment in foreign destinations. Hong Kong is in an excellent position to offer a great shopping experience and to provide all of the top merchandise travelers are looking for.

 

Again, communication is important so that travelers know where to buy what and where the best deals and shopping experiences are to be found. The internet is key to this, with 75% relying on the internet for shopping information. The main product categories which people are interested in buying in Hong Kong are shown in the chart below. Business and leisure travelers are interested in the same categories.

 

 

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New travel books: 100, 300, 500 and 1000 ideas - The Canadian Press

Posted: 18 Nov 2009 05:02 AM PST

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP) – 18 hours ago

NEW YORK — Looking for inspiration for your next trip?

Five new travel books offer ideas in multiples of 100.

The 2010 edition of Travel + Leisure's "100 Greatest Trips" shows the upscale magazine's editors suggesting some surprisingly down-to-earth destinations, such as the Jersey Shore, Niagara Falls, and Milford, Pa., mixed in with more exotic locales like the Brazilian beach town of Trancoso, and Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands off Malaysia's northwest coast.

If the idea of voluntourism is appealing to you, check out Frommer's "500 Places Where You Can Make A Difference." Listings include an animal shelter in Vieques, Puerto Rico; orphanages in Bulgaria and Cambodia; and 10 places where you can learn a language while teaching English as a volunteer, including La Ceiba, Honduras, and Wuhu, China.

Also new from Frommer's is "300 Unmissable Events&Festivals Around the World," from the State Fair of Texas, in Dallas, starting late September, to the rose festival held in Morocco's Dades Valley mid to late May, when millions of rose petals are crushed to make rosewater and rose oil. Other phenomena and events include the flamingo migration March-June, in Botswana; the summer solstice at Stonehenge; Hemingway Days in Key West, Fla., in late July, and the Buenos Aires Tango Festival, held in August.

From Lonely Planet comes "1000 Ultimate Experiences," organized into categories like "Top 10 places to go skinny-dipping" (including Formentera, Spain); "Dreamiest fairy-tale destinations" (Germany's Black Forest), "Ultimate party cities" (bet you hadn't heard the buzz about Baku, Azerbaijan), and "Essential experiences to make time stand still" (Petra, Jordan).

And from National Geographic comes "Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe," including the Phuket Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, held each fall; the oldest street market in Rome, Campo dei Fiori; the bourbon distilleries of Kentucky; and La Rioja, Spain, recommended for its fall wine harvest. The listings are divided into sections such as markets, seasonal items, street food and desserts, and the book also includes top 10 lists. The list of places that offer best dining with views of the water includes The Boathouse at Breach Inlet, Isle of Palms, S.C., and top old-fashioned candy stores includes Economy Candy on New York's Lower East Side.

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Weekly travel and leisure offers from Vouchercodes.com - PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)

Posted: 18 Nov 2009 08:20 AM PST

2009-11-18 17:16:58 - Top five travel and leisure voucher codes for 16-22 November 2009
Courtesy of www.VoucherCodes.com

With torrential rain and severe weather warnings forecast for this week, shopping on the high street could be a recipe for disaster. Let the postman brace the weather instead of you and order your shopping online and let it arrive straight to your front door!

VoucherCodes.com today releases the top five money saving voucher and promotional codes currently on offer

at www.vouchercodes.com


Enjoy amazing discounts on room rates at MacDonald Hotels
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Save £10 on all hotel bookings with Expedia
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Enjoy £20 off Ski Accommodation Breaks over £500 with LowCostHolidays.com
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Get 10% discount on all orders with 365 Calendars
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Save 10% on orders over £30 with The Gift Experience
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www.VoucherCodes.com is the UK's original money-saving solution, offering vouchers, promotional codes and exclusive discounts for some of the country's biggest brands to savvy online shoppers – brilliant for those early Xmas shoppers.

Shoppers can take advantage of the numerous offers and discounts available on the site, simply by taking note of the voucher codes displayed and inserting them before they pay at the online checkout.

Go to VoucherCodes.com or sign up to the free weekly newsletter updating shoppers with the latest codes and discount.

For information, images and interviews or further information,
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