Tag Archives: Travel

Child-free flights? Yes please.

 

I rather see people with children paying more money but for the rest I completely agree with those who would pay more to flight without having annoying children on the plane.

Read on..

A third of Britons would happily pay more for their flights if there were no children on board.

A survey of more than 2,000 Britons carried out by travel site TripAdvisor has revealed that badly behaved children are one of the biggest causes of frustration when flying. Some 37 per cent of those questioned said they were so irritated by noisy children that they would be willing to fork out more money to go on a flight without them.

Having a child kick the back of their seat was the biggest annoyance for 22 per cent of the respondents, while another 22 per cent said parents not controlling their children was their biggest frustration.

A TripAdvisor spokeswoman, Emma Shaw, said that even on a short-haul trip, a stressful flight could have a severely negative impact on the overall travel experience. “Any disturbance when flying is annoying but it seems that unruly children are among the biggest causes of frustration for some passengers,” she said.

The No 1 irritation for travellers, according to 29 per cent of those surveyed, was inconsiderate seat recliners. But opinions were divided over whether young children should be allowed to fly in first-class or business-class areas – 34 per cent said they should be excluded while 36 per cent felt they should not. The rest were undecided. Ms Shaw said: “It’s clearly a topic that fiercely divides opinion.”

Article taken from The Independent.

London – The best destination in the world

London is the number one destination in the world, according to TripAdvisor’s 2012 Travelers’ Choice Destinations awards.

Top 10 Travelers’ Choice World Destinations:
1. London, England
2. New York City, New York
3. Rome, Italy
4. Paris, France
5. San Francisco, California
6. Marrakech, Morocco
7. Istanbul, Turkey
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Siem Reap, Cambodia
10. Berlin, Germany

Top 10 Travelers’ Choice U.S. Destinations:
1. New York City, New York
2. San Francisco, California
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Honolulu, Hawaii
6. Los Angeles, California
7. New Orleans, Louisiana
8. Seattle, Washington
9. San Diego, California
10. Orlando, Florida

Japan to offer 10,000 free trips to foreigners to boost tourism industry

TOKYO —

Japan will offer 10,000 foreigners free airfares to visit the country next year, in an attempt to boost the tourism industry which has been hit by the ongoing nuclear disaster, a report said Monday.

The Japan Tourism Agency plans to ask would-be travelers to submit online applications for the free flights, detailing which areas of the country they would like to visit, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.

The agency will select the successful entrants and ask them to write a report about their trip which will be published on the Internet.

Tourism authorities hope that positive reports from travelers about their experiences in Japan will help ease international worries about visiting the country, the newspaper said.

The program, which will require travelers to cover other costs such as accommodation, is expected to start from next April, subject to government budgetary approval.

The number of foreign tourists to Japan fell more than 50% year-on-year during the three months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that triggered meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The sharp drop began to ease somewhat in the summer.

In June and July, tourist figures were down 36% from a year ago, easing to 32% in August as the country worked to reassure foreign tourism markets.

The government has said Japan is safe except for the immediate vicinity of the crippled plant, where work crews are still trying to bring the facility to a cold shutdown.

From JapanToday

Colours, Fun and Knowledge to Come Together at Thailand Tourisn Festival, June 8-12

Bangkok, 3 June 2011 — More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Thailand Tourism Festival 2011 (TTF 2011), the annual travel and tourism showcase event targetting Thai and expatriate residents, to be held during June 8-12, 2011 at the Challenger Hall 1-3, Impact Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Centre between 10.00-21.00 hrs.

This event is being specifically held in conjunction with the Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2011, so that it may be visited by international trade visitors and help to further boost the publicity and promotional value for the variety and uniqueness of Thai tourism products and services from all regions.

The five-day event is expected to generate an estimated 150 million Baht, both directly and indirectly. One of its primary objectives is to promote domestic tourism and meet the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s 2011 target of 91 million domestic trips and estimated revenue of 432 billion Baht (US$13.03 billion).

“We want to stress the importance of domestic tourism to the national economy, especially in these days of frequent global crises which invariably have an impact on international visitor arrivals.”

This year, TTF is designed to focus on promoting sustainable tourism activities under a new campaign slogan, “Travel with a New Heart for a Sustainable Thailand”. The numerous promotional activities are divided into three categories:

Exhibition “The auspicious occasion of 7th cycle 84th birthday of His Majesty the King”: Participants will have a chance to send greetings and blessings to His Majesty the King through information technology.

Creating Awareness and Disseminating Tourism Knowledge: This section will be sub-divided into seven zones, as follows:

Zone 1 Tourism Authority of Thailand:
TAT will highlight the latest campaign “Travel with a New Heart for a Sustainable Thailand” and feature an exhibition of the TAT’s history, information technology, 1672 call centre, TAT magazine, etc.

Zone 2 Identity of each tourism destination in the five regions:
TAT together with related agencies from each region of Thailand will present and highlight the unique identities of major tourist attractions, tourism activities and products under the following themes:
Central region: “Variety of Tourism”
Northern region: “Valuable Culture, Beautiful Nature”
Northeastern region: “Destination for Learning, Places of Civilization”
Eastern region: “Colours of the East”
Southern region: “Beautiful Forest and Sea, Variety of Cultures”

Zone 3 “Travel with Knowledge, Preserve Tourist Attractions”:
This will highlight the many activities of the TAT under the 7 Greens campaign — Green Heart, Green Logistics, Green Attraction, Green Community, Green Activity, Green Service and Green Plus. In addition, the Thailand Tourism Awards “Hall of Fame”, ecotourism and adventure activities, health and wellness ;such as, salt spa and demonstration of different styles of Thai massages from the 4 regions will be presented in this zone.

Zone 4 “77 Dining Places, 77 Shopping Places in 77 Provinces”:
A showcase of outstanding dishes, famous menus, delicious fruits,and souvenirs from Thailand’s 77 provinces.

Zone 5 New dimension of “Holding Hands, Feeling with the Heart, Hug Thailand, Let’s Go Together”:
This will highlight the long-standing cooperative efforts between TAT and the many government agencies and private-sector bodies; such as, Ministry of Commerce, International Arts and Craft Promotional Centres, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, Office of Commerce in Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports, etc.

Zone 6 Entertainment:
Thai cultural performance, contemporary art performance and entertainment ;such as, Thai folk songs, Thai folk concert, magic show, Thai classical dance, pantomime (Khon) and mini puppet show will be shown on the main stage. There will also be a mock up of a temple fair atmosphere with fun games and outdoor cinema.

Zone 7 Technical seminars:
On June 9, consumers can attend three informative seminars on the following topics: “Destination Branding” from 09.30-12.00 hrs, and “Modern Destination Marketing” from 14.00-16.00 hrs. On June 12, 2011, a seminar on “Tourism Onward: Past and Present” from 09.30-17.30 hrs will bring together a number of Thai experts invited to share their views. All the seminars will be conducted in Thai.

“Travel Linkages Promotion”: Dozens of exhibitors from the public and private sectors including tour operators, travel agents, diving schools and equipment suppliers, spas, accommodation, airlines, golf courses, car rental companies, souvenirs, local handicrafts, local foods and entertainment suppliers are participating in this promotion.

People who buy travel packages at this event will have a chance to win special prizes as well.

Visitors who join the activity of “Travel with a New Heart, Travel Thailand Every Month” can collect the 12-points stamp on the TAT passport and have a chance to win a gift of “New Heart” from TAT.

For further information on the Thailand Tourism Festival 2011, please check http://www.tourismthailand.org or Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext 1336, 1337

International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48
Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419
E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Web site: http://www.tatnews.org

Annual Travel Survey

Tripadvisor published the result of its survey on air travel. I agree with most of the things mentioned by the respondents but I also would like to highlight something you might find a bit controversial, I find babies and children very annoying both in short and long flights. I’d like to start a petition to have ‘adults only’  flights. 

The following are some results of the survey:

“Fee’d” Up with Airline Charges

Forty-six percent of travelers think checked baggage fees are the most annoying fee airlines now charge, followed by 24 percent for seat selection fees and 18 percent for carry-on baggage fees. Seventy-two percent of respondents expect the overall cost of airline fees to rise during the remainder of the year. Travelers expect priority seating fees (49 percent), carry-on baggage fees (46 percent) and seat selection fees (41 percent) to either be added or expanded by some airlines in 2011.

Flyers Beg for Leg Space

Uncomfortable seats and limited legroom topped the list of traveler gripes about air travel, with 26 percent of respondents saying it was their biggest complaint. This was followed by the 23 percent who said airline fees and the 17 percent who cited rising airfares. When asked what one thing airlines should do to make the in-flight experience better, the vast majority – 43 percent—cited more legroom.

Sick or Smelly, Whoa Nelly!

Twenty-eight percent of respondents said that a sick seatmate was the worst kind of seatmate to have on an airplane. This was followed by the 27 percent of travelers who said a smelly seatmate and the 13 percent who responded a “space intruder.” When it comes to socializing with their seatmate during a flight, 74 percent of travelers said that a little small talk is fine, but that they like to keep to themselves for most of the flight. Only 12 percent of respondents said they enjoy socializing with their seatmate during a flight.

Additional Air Travel Tidbits:

  • The number one carry-on essential for travelers was a book, according to 74 percent—more than an iPad/tablet, laptop, and portable music player combined.
  • 54 percent of travelers chose the aisle as their favorite seat, while 42 percent pick the window.
  • 82 percent of respondents think passengers of size should be required to purchase tickets for two seats on their flights if they infringe on the seat next to them.
  • 35 percent said they often take advantage of frequent flier points, 13 percent said they always do.
  • 77 percent of respondents said they would go on a last minute trip if they found a great deal on a flight.