Has The Economy Affected International Travel

from: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/article/123157/international-travel-hits-new...

Financial woos have not slowed the international traveller as worldwide travel reached a new record with up to 440 million arrivals for the first half of 2011.

According to World Travel Organisation (UNWTO) statistics, the 4.5 percent rise on international tourism was lead by the 4.8 percent growth in emerging economies and saw 19 million more passengers take-off this year.

Despite tough economic situations, Europe and the Sub-Saharan Africa saw a six and nine percent rise, while the Middle East and North Africa saw travel drop by 13 and 11 percent. The Americas also welcomed a six percent increase, while South America shot up by 15 percent for the period compared the first six months last year.

“The sustained growth registered in tourism demand in such challenging times clearly makes the case for the sector and reinforces our call to consider tourism as a priority in national policies,” UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai said.

“Tourism can play a key role in terms of economic growth and development, particularly at a moment when many economies, for the most part in Europe and North America, struggle for recovery and job creation.

“We are very encouraged to see demand picking up in such important tourism destinations and call for continued support to these countries which are today fully ready to receive travellers from all over the world.” Mr Rifai concluded that despite the record breaking growth, tourism needs to “remain cautious”, particularly as “many advanced economies” face slow growth and high unemployment. Source = e-Travel Blackboard: N.J o

What to Bring & What Not To Bring While Treavelling to South America

I'm hooked on travel blogs at the moment. I follow more than I care to admit.. Just now I found a new one to add to my list. I thought this helpful post might interest you so I'm reporting it for you and encourage you to go visit Bacon is Magic. Since I'm vegetarian the name repelled me at first but now I pretend she's referring to tofu bacon:)

What I loved
Packing cubes I will never travel without packing cubes again. These changed how I viewed packing my bag. Instead of rummaging through my bag it was simple and quick to take them in and out. If you don’t have them believe me you need them. HP Mini 311 I thoroughly researched netbooks and this was perfect for me as it allowed me to edit photos on Lightroom. It was a bit slow when I tried to run multiple programs but only $250 and you can’t beat that. Chacos I once hated these sandals and thought they were ugly but they are perfect for long days on cobblestone. Canadian stickers I bought them at a dollar store and tucked in my journal and gave them to kids and fellow travelers who loved picking between flags, beavers and polar bears – so much for crushing stereotypes! What I didn’t need Travel wash bag The awkward size took up too much room. I thought the hook at the top would be practical but most places did not have somewhere for me to hang it. I got rid of it at 7 weeks. Expensive travel clothes I was so excited at this big trip I went out and bought a bunch of fancy travel clothes. If you are an adventure traveler you may need this but if you realize you hate hiking you should spare yourself the $100 merino wool sweater because you are only going to hang it up at some hostel in Panama and lose it and then wonder why you buy nice things. My zip off pants were very practical and I did wear them places like Machu Picchu but not in cities as I felt like a grungy gringo backpacker. Rain poncho I didn’t bring any rain gear at all. I only got stuck in the rain once and wore a garbage bag. I did buy a 99 cent poncho and didn’t wear it until month 13. I should have worn another garbage bag. Medications I rarely used anything in my medications bag and it was a small fortune. Most of the medication I could have gotten in Latin America where many countries sell by the pill, in Panama I bought motion sickness pills for 10 cents a pop. Mini first aid kit I ended up taking the band aids and throwing out the rest. Multitool I once used it for a mango, that’s the only time I used it. Next time I’ll just bring a corkscrew. Sewing Kit Every traveler has one but the only time I needed to sew something I just dropped it off at a seamstress and she fixed it for $2. Mini flashlight on key chain I had a head lamp, which was recommended by many and I used it quite a bit, even if just to enter dorm rooms at night. Silk sleeping bag I did not need to use this once, hostels in Latin America are quite nice and if I had seen one that required the bag I didn’t stay there. It was a lot of money so if you really want one save yourself some money and sew up a sheet. How about you, what have you lugged around and realized you did not need?

Travel Tip: While I wondered what to pack for travel in South America, I packed my bag without a lot of technical gear because I’m not interested in adventure tours but if you are you may want to pack some additional gear.

South America Cheaper

from: http://thecaribbeansbest.com/articles/19000/1/How-to-Travel-South-America-Che...

Travel to South America cheap by using specialty tour companies. These companies are able to maximize savings for clients and provide interesting travel arrangements at the same time.

Some of them offer desirable options like Carnaval in Rio de Janero but others have unique offerings not found elsewhere. South America has many options for travelers no matter what their specific interest in travel is.

Home to classic, European style cities with culture and history, tropical rainforests, wide open land with cowboys and cattle, it has almost every type of vacation opportunity that anyone could imagine.

Those who want to travel to Rio during Carnaval and celebrate the party atmosphere for days can find budget wise accommodations and packages.

Going to Peru to see Machu Picchu is a dream many would like to achieve. Visiting a rainforest, vacationing on a sunny beach or soaking in regional culture are all destinations that are possible within the many areas of South America.

Travelers can make use of sites that have information about South America travel from different companies. Using this type of site not only lets users see the various types of options available but they can usually be compared side by side. This makes it easier to see who provides the best options at the best prices.

Many of the sites have discounts available for group rates, repeat users or bundled trip selections. Using a group travel method allows companies to offer greater discounts to travelers than if they book singly.

Hotels, restaurants and other service industries are more likely to offer better rates when they know that they will have many using their services at the same time. Group travel companies can also get better rates on travel within the destination as many times they can provide unique solutions to help travelers get around.

Sometimes there are well connected routes for public transportation that travelers can use. This shaves the cost of getting around to a fraction of what other alternatives might cost.

Another useful method for finding travel is to view feedback on these sites. While it is true that some site pad their feedback with positive comments that have been purchased, most of them have real, reliable information from previous users.

While its not unusual to find a user or two that was not happy about something on their vacation, finding a great number of them who are unhappy should tell the user to look to other companies. Travel to South America cheap can be easy if a little research is done first.

The Ultimate Cruise Line: Which one is it?

from: The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/8737362/Mediterranean-cruises-which...

In the calm, indigo-blue waters of the Mediterranean, two lines, Seabourn and Silversea, are locked in a battle for supremacy.

Both have relatively small ships, butler service and spas – but which is better? Adriaane Pielou joins two comparable cruises to find out. A Mediterranean cruise is the last great treat of summer, an experience to relish before the weather starts to cool.

Afloat, you can enjoy the kinds of luxuries associated with a five-star hotel. Ashore, you can explore Pompeii or Ephesus, Rome or Istanbul, knowing you will go back to a comfortable cabin where you can open the door to your verandah and fall asleep to the sound of waves, then wake to breakfast on deck in the sunshine. Get it right, and a cruise can be a winning formula.

Prices have come down in recent years, and once on board there are few extras to pay for – so unexpected expense isn’t an issue.

Knowing when to go is straightforward, too. The next six weeks are ideal, because by the end of October ships will be starting to leave for winter cruising areas in the Caribbean, Asia and South America. Otherwise, next April or May will be a good time to go. The summer is too hot for sightseeing.

Deciding where to go is simply a matter of identifying the key place you want to see – Venice, say. Itineraries tend to wrap several dull destinations around one or two stars. The big issue, then, is how to do it.

Get on the wrong ship, and you face an experience as grisly as being trapped in a downmarket resort without a hire car; by day two, you will want to hurl yourself overboard. Board the right one, and by the second day you will be hugging yourself and blathering on about the amazing value and convenience.

The trick is simply to choose a small ship. Smaller, anyway. Look for the kind of vessel that takes about 500 passengers and can moor directly alongside the quayside. The two best lines with smaller ships in the Mediterranean are Seabourn and Silversea, locked in an ongoing battle for small-ship supremacy.

So which should it be? To find out, I joined Seabourn Odysssey for one of its regular one-week cruises from Istanbul to Athens. Then, for comparison, I stepped aboard Silversea’s Silver Spirit for the Palermo-Rome segment of a round-the-world cruise.

To read the rest of this article , go here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/8737362/Mediterranean-cruises-which...

Become a Minimalist Through Long Term Travel

from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sasha-cagen/how-longterm-travel-turne_b_932702....

Living out of a backpack for a year really does change you. It changed me: I'm a born-again minimalist.

During my year-plus churn through South America and Europe, I lived out of a small black backpack. I loved having so few possessions, just a few outfits, a tiny netbook, a camera, a nightgown, and reading materials on my iPhone.

Now that I'm back in the States, I'm on a continual stuff diet. I want only books that feel current, shampoo that doesn't make my hair frizzy, clothes I wear and love, towels that feel good. Losing stuff is like losing weight. It's a long-term process.

My purge began almost two years ago when I decided to go on a walkabout for four months in Brazil. Four months turned into more than a year of traveling and hanging out getting to know people and places in Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina. That's a longer story that I am writing in memoir form.

Before I leapt into travel mode, I had been living in a San Francisco apartment for four years with two roommates. Four years equals a lot of stuff! Moving always caused me to sink into temporary holes of depression. The process always seemed more emotional than seemed warranted. I was forced to stare at things I acquired in the heat of the moment and then see them with fresh eyes.

What is this junk and why do I have to pack it up with me? This cheap costume wig that is so mangled I can't even comb it, this unflattering schwag t-shirt? I could think of one thing with value: a juicer that could easily juice a beet.

If my stuff was a reflection of life, my life seemed to be filled with junk. Thus began the purge that continues to this day. I began in Brazil with a bloated bag of dresses and skirts and quickly realized the weight was too much. I spent $80 to send clothes back.

(Advice for anyone embarking on long-term travel: Don't worry about clothing. Shoes are a different story, but you will get the appropriate clothing anywhere you go and understand better what you actually need.)

Now that I'm back in the States—and considering future adventures abroad—I want to remain buoyant and light. I think wistfully back to the days when there was so little laundry to do. I bundled up the bag more frequently but it wasn't so laborious and heavy.

My stuff was stored in a storage unit for over a year. Like most people, I had no desire to deal with it. If I had survived without those boxes for 16 months, what did I need them for? But I was paying a ghastly monthly fee. I didn't want to be one of those Americans who pays to store junk in storage for the rest of my life. The storage industry now exceeds the revenues of Hollywood.

Since those cardboard boxes came back into my life, I've been purging. It's funny how I still feel a sense of loss when I pick up the pair of tango heels that are unstable—no matter how many times I brought them to a cobbler—and then put them on a bag on the street. It's a loss, and then a joy—I'm free of that problem now!

I get a buzz out of giving away CDs, books and dishes. I work on wearing every piece of clothing in my wardrobe, and if I don't wear it within three months, it goes out on the street to someone who will love it more. I hope these objects will be received with joy by someone else.

Ever since I came back from my travels, shopping is no longer therapy. I no longer acquire clothes as a hobby. That's pretty amazing since I spent 30 percent of my free time in junior high school and high school in malls! I take this as a sign that I have more fulfillment in my life—I don't need to seek fulfillment in shopping because there are other things I want to spend money on, like travel and tango.

Over the last six months, I spent $100 on new clothes for practicing or dancing tango. Here's a fascinating statistic that makes this accomplishment feel bigger: "By 2005, according to the Boston College sociologist Juliet B. Schor, the average [American] consumer purchased one new piece of clothing every five and a half days."

Steadily getting rid of possessions brings me a lightness and joy that's hard to name. It's easier to create order when I am surrounded by fewer objects to organize. A simple home reflects a calm mind.

My desire for simplicity doesn't stop with possessions. I also want less in my information diet. I want to be informed. I do not want the debt ceiling limit to result in seniors not being able to get health care, for example. But there are limits to how much information I can take in. I was a perpetual NPR listener in my previous life, and now I am more likely to intersperse silence and music on college radio.

The news can be a barrage, and my brain can't hold on to all the threads. The voices become noise after a while and noise is clutter. I lived without an iPhone while I was in South America and it was a joy to be free of the distraction.

My goal is to be simple in all ways. How can we be sustainably simple in this "crazy" world in the United States? I am always struck how people call their days "crazy" in the U.S., and I don't want "crazy" days whether I am living here or abroad. I want simple, love-fueled days. I want to keep the light, well-edited minimalism of travel with me now always.

Sasha Cagen is an author, entrepreneur, and life coach who splits her time between the U.S. and South America. Check out her site at sashacagen.com. Follow Sasha Cagen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sashacagen

Mexico for your Gap Year?

from:
http://m.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/aug/19/gap-year-trips-itineraries?cat=tra...

Mexico is brilliant for short-term travelling. Flights are relatively cheap, you'll meet other travellers and it's a good first time trip to Latin America.

Fly into cheap holiday hotspot Cancún, then get the hell out, travelling south through the Yucatán peninsula (amazing ruins!), west into Campeche (untouristy!) and Chiapas (amazing colonial towns!), even as far as Oaxaca (for amazing food!). Or start at Mexico City and head to the colonial and mining towns in the north and the Pacific coast

Want other options for your Gap Year, go here: http://m.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/aug/19/gap-year-trips-itineraries?cat=tra...

Vegan South America: Top 10 Tips For Vegan Travel

from: http://www.volunteerlatinamericablog.com/ten-tips-for-vegan-travel-in-south-a...

For many vegans, travel can be something of a challenge. If you’re worried about vegan travel in South America, you’ll be surprised at how easy it can be if you are prepared and go to the right spots.

Basically, it’s about doing your homework and learning how to keep up your vegan lifestyle while travelling. It may seem difficult at first, especially when in a foreign country, but you can master travelling as vegan in the same way you mastered being a vegan at home.

Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction before your pack your bags and hit the road. Use these tips and you’ll find it’s not hard to maintain a vegan diet while travelling in South America. The more exciting things may be harder to come by but the healthy, whole food options are always available. If after reading these tips you have any doubts about vegan travel in South America, let us assure you it’s possible. It does take a little extra planning and preparation but it’s worth it, not just for you but for the animals.

1. Do Your Research

Get online and search for vegan restaurants and health food stores. One of the best places to start is Happy Cow (www.happycow.net); an online directory of restaurants and health food stores that have vegan and vegetarian options. You can search for any city or address (like your hostel or hotel) and it will return a list of vegan/vegan-friendly restaurants nearby. Happy cow (like other vegan restaurant lookup sites) also returns a list of health food stores that carry vegan foods or vegan products.

Whenever you would like a vegan meal or snack for your hotel room, lengthy bus trip, or souvenirs to take home with you, a visit to one of these international health food stores is a nice convenience. You should also look online for local vegetarian or vegan associations, where restaurant and health food shop listings tend to be up to date. To find local associations, do a quick Google search for the city name and ‘vegan society’ or ‘vegan association.’ Don’t be scared away if the content isn’t in English, that’s what Google Translator is for. Between these online resources, you should be able to compile a list of places to find vegan food.

2. Connect with Other Vegans

To find possible places to eat you could ask local vegans for recommendations. They’ll know which bakeries have vegan treats and which cafes serve the best weekend brunch. Online resources can only get you so far. The best knowledge is local knowledge. To find local vegans, or get recommendations from vegans who have recently visited the city, start with a Google search. You can usually find them by Googling the city name and ‘vegan.’ With this approach, you’re likely to find a blog by a local vegan or reviews by vegan visitors. You can also connect with vegans on Twitter and Facebook, by searching for the city name and ‘vegan.’

There are also online and offline communities, like the Vegan Around the World Network and Vegan Meet up Groups, that help connect vegans in faraway places. A really good place to search for vegans is Couch Surfing (www.couchsurfing.com), a website where people offer up their sofas, air mattresses, floors and spare rooms to travellers. It’s a free service, where no money is exchanged. You can filter your results by including ‘vegan’ in the keyword search. There is also a Couch Surfing group for vegan and vegetarian members.

Some large and vegan-friendly cities have their own vegan and vegetarian groups. If you don’t like the idea of sleeping in a strangers house, you can always ask people from Couch Surfing to meet for a drink or meal. At the very least, ask a local vegan you met through Couch Surfing for recommendations on restaurants, supermarkets, and health food stores.

3. Carry Snacks

It’s very important to pack food when travelling as a vegan. At the very least, don’t leave home without some snacks for the airplane, bus, train or car ride. You never know when unexpected delays will leave you in a place where vegan options are scarce.

Pack easy snacks like apples, bananas, nuts, seeds, homemade sandwiches, granola bars, carrot sticks, bread, pitas, nuts, crackers, peanut butter or hummus. If you’re travelling for more than a week or two, don’t try to pack your entire food supply, just plan to make the local supermarket your first stop.

Carrying a small stash of food with you isn’t a recommendation, it’s a requirement for vegan travellers. Unless, of course, you don’t mind skipping a meal or eating something that you’re unsure about. At some point during your travels, you’re bound to find yourself in transit, lost or far away from any vegan restaurants.

4. Find a Kitchen

If you’re travelling to a destination that doesn’t have a lot of vegan restaurants, plan to stay in a hostel or hotel where you’ll have access to a kitchen. This way you can prepare your own meals and have full control over what you eat. Without access to a kitchen, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy vegan diet when travelling to some destinations.

If you’re not worried about the weight of your luggage, you can also bring along some kitchen essentials like a good knife, cutting board, travel blender, bowls and utensils. A small Tupperware container and a fork/spoon go a long way, making it easy to take homemade food or leftovers on the road. If you plan to make a lot of your own food on the road while staying in hostels or couch surfing, and you like spices, it is a good idea to premix some dried herbs and spices and take them with you.

5. Pack a Vegan Passport

If your travels take you to a place where you don’t know how to speak the local language, the best thing you can do is learn a few key words before leaving home.

If this isn’t possible, and you’re not staying long enough to take lessons once you arrive, the next best thing is to pack a copy of the Vegan Passport. In 73 different languages, this little booklet explains what it means to be a vegan, lists items you can eat, and recommends some simple dishes that can be made vegan. You can show this to people at restaurants to give them an idea of what you’re looking for.

6. Learn the Lingo

Your life will be easier if you can speak some Spanish or Portuguese to explain your eating requirements and check if a meal contains meat or dairy products. Without knowing the local words for things like chicken, milk, eggs, cheese or butter, it will be hard to determine whether or not a food item is suitable for vegans. You can look keywords up online, write down some vegan phrases or carry the Vegan Passport, a handy book that can be used to help communicate your dietary needs at restaurants and stores around the world.

Don’t worry too much about the language barrier when you first start travelling as things seem to just fall into place. It won’t be too long before you can say you don’t eat meat or milk or cheese or butter in Spanish or Portuguese. If you have time you should take some language classes on arrival in South America.

7. Go Raw

Whenever you think you can’t find vegan options, go raw. Just get yourself to a grocery, local market, health food store, salad bar, or even a convenience store and find the raw items. You can easily survive on salad, fruit, and nuts for a few days. (And maybe you’ll even decide to go raw more often). As other travellers can testify, there is an abundance of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds in South America.

8. Tell People You’re Vegan

Make sure you book a vegan meal on your flight. Remind the flight attendants when you board. Tell your hosts that you’re vegan and remind them what that means. They may have suggestions for you. Mention that you’re vegan to the hotel concierge or check-in clerk. They can often recommend a restaurant or know someone else who can.

9. Make it Easy for Others

Don’t walk into a regular restaurant, cafe, bakery or supermarket and ask a staff member to point you in the direction of their vegan options. Don’t expect people to even know what vegan food is. Vegans will have a more difficult time than vegetarians and though some South Americans understand the concept of not eating meat and consider it to be a healthful lifestyle, those who don’t consume any animal products at all may meet with incomprehension.

Make things easy for them by asking if they can customize a menu item that’s almost vegan. For example, ask for cheese to be removed from pizza, pasta or a sandwich. If you’re in a bakery, don’t ask if a loaf of bread is vegan, ask if it contains or has been glazed with milk, butter, eggs, lard or any other animal product. If you’re cooking with people who don’t have experience making vegan food, give them specific ideas, share recipes, or offer to prepare a dish for them.

Often, people get confused about what is okay, and what’s not. They don’t want to offend you by accidentally adding something you can’t eat. Don’t be afraid to help and answer questions. In the end, hopefully everyone will forget about the missing animal ingredients and enjoy the dish as part of a healthy and tasty meal.

10. Make a List of Vegan Restaurants

Though the prospect of finding vegan food in South America can be daunting, the experience is definitely worth it. Make a list of all the vegan restaurants you found on Happy Cow, TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), or elsewhere, and pack it in your luggage. Below you’ll find some great South American vegan restaurants to start your list. If you find yourself in an omnivore restaurant, it’s important to be careful when ordering and vegan travellers should make every effort to be prepared.

Making a set of vegan translation cards is a good idea if you have a low level of Spanish and/or Portuguese, or don’t have a vegan passport. Though finding food can be a struggle outside of vegan, vegan friendly-only restaurants, it isn’t impossible.

Top Vegan Restaurants in South America: AlmaZen (Lima, Peru) Casa Felix (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Entre Indyas (Salta, Argentina) Buenos Aires Verde (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Namaste (La Paz, Bolivia) Verde Gourmet (Colon, Argentina) Mug Cafe (Santiago, Chile) Arte Sano (Buenos Aires, Argentina) El Huerto (Santiago, Chile) Bio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Verdellama (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Kensho (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Azahares (Mendoza, Argentina) Cada Dia (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) Bonobo (Porto Alegre, Brazil) Refeitorio Organico (Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) Epif Cafe Vegetariano (Valparaiso, Chile) Ramy (Barranquilla, Colombia) La Esquina Vegetariana (Bogota, Colombia) Restaurante Manantial (Quito, Ecuador) Vegan Vegan (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) El Gourmet Vegetariano (Caracas, Venezuela) Imaymana (Bogota, Colombia)