Put your suitcase in the post?? July 30, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, North America, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, luggage, lost baggage, lost luggage, UPS, SITA, luggage handling
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Could posting our luggage become an alternative to paying airline baggage fees?
In the United States, shipping giant UPS is taking on the airlines by pushing its freight services as an alternative to paying baggage charges on domestic flights. The company is producing lightweight cardboard ‘suitcases’ that can be packed, shipped and delivered to a traveller’s destination or hotel, “taking the lug out of luggage”.
UPS says interest in luggage shipping has picked up since airlines began increasing their fees for checked and carry-on luggage. It says its prices compare favourably with airlines’ fees, particularly for extra items such as golf clubs and skis, and the service saves travellers the hassle of long queues and security searches. However, luggage shipping is limited to flights within the US, due to duties and taxes on international shipping.
The UPS move comes as statistics show airlines are getting better at keeping track of the luggage they carry. Figures from aviation IT consultancy SITA show mishandled bags dropped nearly a quarter in 2010, although there were still more than 25 million bags that missed flights or were sent to the wrong destinations. SITA says 52 per cent of baggage mishandling occurs during aircraft transfers, while 16 per cent comes under the category of ‘failed to load’.
This article is an excerpt from Jane E. Fraser’s weekly travel column in The Sun Herald, Sydney
Dreaming of a white Christmas? July 27, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Europe, Events, North America, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, Christmas, White Christmas, Christmas tours
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With ‘Christmas in July’ celebrations drawing to a close, many Aussies will be looking forward to the real thing in December.
White Christmas tours have become hot (or very cold!) property in the Australian travel market, with many wanting to experience the fairy tale scenes that dominate our Christmas imagery. Sleigh rides through the snow, chestnuts roasting by the fire, shopping at quaint Christmas markets, drinking mulled wine… not a cheesy Christmas carol but some of the experiences typically offered in northern hemisphere Christmas tours.
“Experiencing Europe over the Christmas period has never been more popular with Australian travellers,” says Lorraine Sharp, managing director of tour operator Insight Vacations, which has added 11 itineraries to its European winter offerings this year. “The concept of white Christmas holds such a strong appeal for Australians.”
The early days
Euan Landsborough, managing director of The Albatross Travel Group, says the company was alone in the market when it released its first dedicated Christmas tour 15 years ago. The few tours available for the Christmas period were just “summer tours run over winter”, and there was no publicity in Australia about Europe’s Christmas markets. “The nearest romantic notice the public had about the fun and nostalgia that could be had over Christmas was the sleigh scene in Dr Zhivago,” Landsborough says.
There are now many tour operators offering Christmas and New Year tours in Europe, and to a lesser extent North America, clustered around areas that reliably receive snow. And the industry is becoming much smarter at marketing these tours, in many cases (more…)
Holiday nannies not just for the rich July 23, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Hotels, NZ & Pacific Islands, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, hotels, resorts, Fiji, Outrigger, nannies, kids clubs
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Who needs a kids’ club when you can have your own nanny for less than $35 a day?
The Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji resort says it has been knocked down in the rush since introducing a nanny service priced from about A$4.20 an hour. The original complement of six nannies was fully booked within 10 days of the service being introduced in April and the resort has been in recruiting mode ever since.
The service provides care for eight hours a day and parents can book four consecutive days for the princely sum of $A135. Children aged six months to two years are cared for on a one-on-one basis, while older children are two per nanny.
The resort’s general manager, Australian Peter Hopgood, says he expected the service to be popular but (more…)
Drinking guide to Marlborough, NZ July 21, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in NZ & Pacific Islands, Travel.Tags: Travel, New Zealand, Marlborough, wine regions, wine
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I’ve just returned from a fabulous trip to the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand. Absolutely loved it.
So much good food and wine and such genuine hospitality. It was damn cold, but who cares when you’re sitting by a fireplace in a winery??
For my recommendations on where to drink, eat and stay in this beautiful, beautiful region, please click here.
Why men are useless at organising holidays July 20, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, travel trends, gender divide, women, Bernard Salt, KPMG
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HOW much would men travel if women didn’t organise it for them?
A lot may have changed within gender roles over the past couple of generations but not when it comes to planning travel. Women continue to be the chief and often sole decision makers for travel bookings, calling the shots on destination, type of holiday and how much is spent. Is it because men give less priority to travel or because they are happy to let someone else do the planning for them?
Travel agent Vivien Davies, the manager of Harvey World Travel Sylvania, believes it’s a bit of both. “I think in general women are the organisers,” she says. “And they seem to be the ones who want to have that time out and get away from everyday life. A lot of men wouldn’t go anywhere [if women didn't organise it].”
Davies says with mainstream holiday bookings it is nearly always the woman who makes the decisions; “almost 100 per cent”. The exception is older couples booking luxury holidays, where it is more likely to be the man making the arrangements. “In that bracket, when they do have that much money to spend, they [men] tend to have been real decision makers in whatever business they have been in … and that follows through to making the decisions about travel,” she says.
But even in this sector, Davies is seeing more female input, with men who would have once booked without consultation now being influenced by their partners’ ideas or wishes. Davies believes most travel marketing is aimed at women and ideas that are put into women’s minds generally find their way into men’s minds, too.
Demographer Bernard Salt, of KPMG, believes the travel booking divide largely comes down to women being… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Saving the world, one bar of soap at a time July 16, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Hotels, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, hotels, charities, Clean the World, recycling
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Have you ever thought about what happens to all the half-used bars of soap and bottles of shampoo that you leave behind in hotel rooms? A US-based charity, Clean the World, is saving lives by collecting these products to help improve hygiene standards in poor countries. Last year, the organisation collected, recycled and distributed more than 200 tonnes of soap and other bathroom amenities.
“Impoverished people around the world die every day from acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease because they have no soap,” the charity says. “Studies have shown that simple hand washing substantially reduces the spread of these diseases.”
Clean the World provides participating hotels in North America with collection bins and helps educate housekeeping staff on the benefits of the recycling program. Soap bars that have only been slightly used are (more…)
National parks for novices July 13, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Australia, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: national parks, Royal National Park, Yellowstone, NPWS, eco-tourism, responsible travel, conservation
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National parks are all about trees and walking tracks, right? For those outdoor types who like camping and know one type of plant from another.
If that pretty much sums up your thinking on national parks and conservation areas, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is out to change your mind. The organisation has been tasked with increasing visitor numbers to NSW national parks by 20 per cent over the next five years and says finding recruits will be vital.
If you’re not into camping, NPWS staff will show you alternatives. If you’re not confident about setting off into a wilderness area, they’ll introduced you to tour operators who can lead the way. In short, they want you to see national parks as tourism experiences, not tracts of land locked away for perpetuity.
You may ask why the government is targeting an increase in visitors to areas set aside for conservation, especially when (more…)
It’s hip to be square July 9, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in North America, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Chicago, Ferris Bueller, Foursquare, Travel, travel trends
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It’s certainly a different way of seeing a city. A mobile phone application called Foursquare is taking off as an alternative ‘guided tour’, with users required to visit certain places in a city to earn a ‘badge’. Each badge is created around a theme, such as historical sites or hot dog stands, and users have to ‘check in’ at various sites or attractions to earn their badge.
In the City of Chicago, for example, you can re-enact movies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Blues Brothers by visiting locations where the movies were filmed. Check-in points for Ferris Bueller include The Art Institute of Chicago, Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team) and the Skydeck at Willis Tower – all recognisable scenes to fans of the movie.
Foursquare is a free application that can be (more…)
Few comforts in future flying July 7, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Airlines, Travel, Travel tips & trends.Tags: Travel, airlines, aviation, travel trends
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Have you wondered whether no-frills airlines are a fad? If one day we’ll decide we’ve had enough of having to pay to take our baggage, and paying for meals, entertainment and basic comforts such as pillows and blankets? Could the market go full circle and bring a return to the services and inclusions on flights we once took for granted?
If that day is coming, it’s a long way off. Low-cost carriers, or those that offer few or no frills, continue to grow at a rapid rate, servicing both domestic and international routes. And while they are expanding total market size by making travel more affordable, much of their growth has come at the expense of the “legacy carriers” – traditional, full-service airlines. We might like to complain about having to pay for a coffee or to check in a bag, yet the lure of cheap fares wins time and again.
Federal government statistics show low-cost carriers AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar, Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue and Tiger Airways now account for almost 20 per cent of international traffic in and out of Australia. Qantas remains the biggest player but its market share has fallen, dipping below 20 per cent. Qantas’s low-cost offshoot, Jetstar, now accounts for slightly more than 8 per cent of the international market, ahead of Air New Zealand and Emirates and snapping at the heels of Singapore Airlines.
AirAsia X, a no-frills airline from Malaysia, remains a small player but has almost closed the gap on the well-established Malaysia Airlines, despite failing to win approval to operate flights from Sydney Airport. AirAsia X has temporarily turned its focus elsewhere, boosting its capacity from Melbourne and Perth airports, but its chief executive, Azran Osman-Rani, says… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)
Travellers flock to Lake Eyre July 5, 2010
Posted by janeefraser in Adventure travel, Australia, Events, Travel.Tags: Travel, Australia, Lake Eyre, South Australia, Wilpena Pound
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Water is flowing into South Australia’s Lake Eyre for the second year in a row, creating spectacular scenes in the traditionally arid basin. Water only covers the lake every eight years, on average, and it has only filled to capacity three times in the past 150 years.
People travelled from all over Australia to see last year’s flood and this one is shaping up to be even more spectacular, with the water volume already similar to the last year’s maximum and the lake teeming with migratory birds. The lake is expected to fill completely during July and the water should remain until September.
The best way to see the lake is (more…)
