→7 new wonders of the world
→People are talking about you
→Citywide sticker shock
→Chauffeurs and sub-compacts?
→C’mon, be honest
→Come on up, eh?
→Volunteers in parks
→Middle seat bribery
→Fun times on the Gulf Coast →Florida's crystal ball of tourism
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
The New Seven Wonders of the World—and a little controversy
If you want to stir up some controversy, come up with a list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Just such a list emerged from a worldwide popularity contest (voting was via text-messages and e-mail). Controversy started early on, when Egyptians were miffed that the Pyramids of Giza even were on the ballot.
“The Pyramids were on the original list,” was the party line. “It’s an insult to have to compete.” That flap was smoothed over when contest organizers grandfathered the Pyramids onto the new list, all the while choosing seven more.
The new list contains Petra in Jordan, but not Easter Island, Peru’s Machu Picchu (above left), but not the Acropolis in Athens, the Great Wall of China, but not St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. And the lists of winners and non-winners go on and on. More...
What’s the most expensive city in the world? If you’re still chapped by your last Manhattan hotel bill and answered New York, you’d be way off the mark. Moscow wins this trivia quiz, followed by London. Read the entire list...
When you have an extremely good or bad experience you usually tell someone, right? Now, thanks to the Internet, we can all share that incident when the waiter went out of his way to help or the time you were scammed out of an extra $10.
TripAdvisor.com is the hottest commodity in sharing travel and tourism experiences. Travelers are telling their tales to 24 million visitors each month. The Web site features 10 million travel reviews on topics ranging from cities to attractions to hotels. More...
The newest option at Avis is a chauffeur. For $30 an hour and a three-hour minimum, you can get someone to drive your rental car for you. Don’t look for the service in Shreveport, Knoxville or Greensboro. The launch was in 10 big markets such as Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Washington. Read more.
Have you ever cheated on your expense report? Be honest, now. KDS, a European travel and expense reporting supplier, conducted an online poll of 400 business travelers, and for some reason, they answered, presumably honestly, considering the anonymity of online answers. The results...
Canadians have been missing us in a big way. American tourism has declined $1 billion in the last five years, and the Canadians want us back. More...AROUND THE SOUTHEAST
They love the work so much they do it for free
Tom Harrington wears a National Park Service uniform when he’s on duty interacting with visitors to Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
By all appearances, he’s a stalwart park employee, but he’s different from an employee—he gets no paycheck.
Harrington’s not alone. In 2006, there were 2,150 people like him putting in long hours and providing great service in America’s most visited national park as part of the Volunteers In Parks program. That’s the biggest volunteer cadre in the South and the third largest in the entire park service system. More...
It hasn’t come to this—at least as far as we know—but how much of a bribe would it take for you give up an aisle or window seat on a crowded airplane and take a middle seat?
Orbitz surveyed business travelers, and 23% of the respondents said they’d switch seats for $100, another 15% would move if the offer was $200 and 25% said no amount of money would get them to budge. We wonder about that 25%.
Fun times on the Gulf Coast
As more and more travelers put the Gulf Coast regions of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama back on their vacation consideration lists, they're finding a one-stop shop for travel information. It's a special regional Web site at MySouthUSA.org, and the message is simple and direct: The Coast Is Clear.
The region, of course, evokes an emotional response for many people. Here's a great example from a Marylander who loves New Orleans.
Peering into Florida's crystal ball of tourismSean Smith is one of those guys who look to the future - way far into the future. He's director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness, and he sees a pretty picture for Florida's economy over the next 30 years. Read more.
