Posts for 'Traveling' Category

According to a report in etravelblackboardasia.com, travelling in the Asia Pacific region is set to become more expensive as the region will witness the largest jump in travel costs next year. Both airfares and hotel rates are driving up the costs of travelling in the Asia Pacific region. This has been forecasted by a recent survey- the Global Business Travel Forecast, a report commissioned annually by American Express and produced by eXpert insights.

The survey forecasts that domestic Economy Class airfares can expect a boost of three-eight per cent within the Asia Pacific region, while on the other hand international Business Class airfares are expected to rise one-six per cent in 2010. Hotels, both mid-range and upper-range are likely to lift rates by one-six per cent in the next year. Global Business Travel Forecast also predicts that upper-range hotels will drop prices in every region in the world except for Asia Pacific. China, India, Japan and Singapore lead the charge in terms of domestic airfares with three-eight per cent growth.

Pakistan ranked 113 out of 130 countries in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 released by World Economic Forum on Wednesday. Last year Pakistan ranked 111 out of 124 countries, so in reality Pakistan’s ranking remains stagnant, report mentioned.

Country’s low ranking in the index underlined its frail travel and tourism regulatory framework, low prioritisation of the travel and tourism industry by the government, low effectiveness of marketing and branding and a constricted tourism perception.

Some of the other competitive disadvantages for Pakistan include a poor tourism infrastructure such as hotel rooms (119 compared to 110 last year); available ATMs accepting visa cards (111 compared to 110 last year) and the prevailing security situation (132 compared to 106 last year).

Read the complete story

LONDON (AFP) - The first excavation inside the circle since 1964 uncovered fragments of stone that could have been used as lucky charms, said Professors Tim Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright as they presented the preliminary findings of their two-week dig last April.

The archaeologists believe the Stonehenge monument was a temple constructed round the bluestones, which they believe were brought to the site in Wiltshire, southwest England, at 2,300 BC -- 300 years later than previously thought. They said people may have believed the stones had magical, healing qualities which attracted pilgrims to the site.

Read the complete story

China will heighten scrutiny of overseas trips by government officials to curb worsening abuse of public funds by high-flying cadres as China's international exchanges grow, state media reported on Friday.

The amount of expenses available for business trips will be restricted and officials will face audits even before travelling, the China Daily said.

"With the country widening international exchanges in recent years, some officials have taken advantage of overseas trips in order to pocket public funds," it said.The paper cited the case of a high-ranking law enforcement official who forged an invitation to visit Finland in 2006 so he could travel there at public expense.

Read the complete story

Like anyone else, business travelers are pinching their pennies these days. They're searching for the least expensive flight and hotel room during their stay, said Kim Bair, travel manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Manchester Township, York County.

Airlines appear to be working to entice the leisure traveler more than the business traveler, Bair said. She mainly arranges travel for business clients at Carlson, which deals with about 40 percent corporate travelers and 60 percent leisure travelers.

"A lot of the air fares require a Saturday night stay to get the cheapest price," Bair said. "Business travelers usually don't travel over the weekend."Travelers also must purchase their tickets between 14 and 21 days in advance to lock in the cheapest air fare, which hinders business travelers who might do a lot of last-minute flying, she said.

Read the complete story

Microsoft is working on a new service which will help the drivers to avoid traffic jams. According to The New York Times, the Redmond-based company is developing a technology called Clearflow, that will be available as a free software on maps.live.com.

Unlike other navigation software, Clearflow will offer driving directions by taking into account the traffic conditions and real time events. In addition, the software will analyze the traffic not only on the main roads, but on the side streets as well.

For the moment, Microsoft intends to make Clearflow available for 72 cities in the United States.

As The New York Times noted, is possible that in some cases Clearflow will compute that a trip will be faster if a driver stays on a crowded highway, rather than taking a detour,  because side streets are even more backed up by cars that have fled the original traffic jam.

The development of the new technology has started in 2003 when Eric Horvitz, an artificial-intelligence researcher at Microsoft, noticed that the side streets suggested by the navigation software were more crowded than the main roads.

“It hit me that we had to do all the side streets,” he said for The New York Times. “We really needed to understand the whole city.”

Of course, Microsoft hopes that the new technology will make its Maps service a better rival for Google Maps and other similar services.

American Airlines expected to cancel more flights Wednesday -- and perhaps beyond -- as it tried for a second time to comply with federal rules about wiring on about 300 of its planes.

more stories like thisAirline officials said they canceled about 500 flights Tuesday but didn't know how many would be scrubbed Wednesday. It depended on how quickly the airline could inspect and, if necessary, rework the wiring in its MD-80 aircraft.

American operates about 2,300 daily flights, and more than one-third use MD-80s, most commonly on midrange flights from hub airports in Dallas and Chicago.

It was American's second bout with mass cancellations in less than two weeks for failing to meet the same wiring rules set by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is cracking down on airlines after admitting its inspectors were too lax last year with Southwest Airlines Co.

Since the FAA began looking more closely at airlines' compliance with safety directives, there have been cancellations at Southwest, Delta Air Lines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines. The agency levied a $10.2 million civil penalty against Southwest for using planes that had missed inspections for cracks in the fuselage.

Read the complete story

 For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population - a stable percentage - while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.

"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

Excavations in a cave in the mountains of northern Spain have uncovered the oldest known remains of human ancestors in Western Europe, scientists reported Wednesday.

The fossils of a lower jaw and teeth, more than 1.1 million years old, were found in sediments along with stone tools and bones of animals that appeared to have been butchered. The remains have been attributed to the previously known species Homo antecessor, a possible ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans.

Read the complete story

Great diving, friendly locals, cheap food and lodging, and all the time in the world to wander around: why on earth would you want to go anywhere else?

When To Go

On Utila, the rainy season is later than in other parts of Honduras, around September to December, with nortes (northerners - cool storms from the north) possible into February. Hurricanes are most likely from September to October, though they rarely hit directly. That said, a far-off hurricane can cause heavy rain, flooding or even minor mudslides. Travel is easier during the dry season, especially if you're keen on scuba diving; February and March are good months to visit because the weather is fairly stable.