travel software in a tour operator?s office

July 29th, 2010

The use of travel software in a tour operator’s office

Travel… the one modern day activity that has its origins in times going back eons of years. If early man traveled out of sheer necessity then modern day man travels for pleasure, profit, business and bonding. For some life depends on traveling, for others travel is what one does on holiday. But whatever the reason and whatever the nature of travel, the one thing common in all this is the irrefutable fact that today if you want to travel then you need to book tickets, make reservations and plan well, really well in advance to avoid disappointment.

Savvy business persons caught on to this travel bug many years ago and today travel and tourism agencies are aplenty. Each offers the best bargain, the best deals, and the best in every possible travel requirement. Agencies are fully automated and computerized and the advent of the internet made life so much easier for these enterprising business persons. travel software is one very integral part of all this high tech computerization and automation.

Today computers are the way to do any business…big or small. Everyone has something to offer in every field possible and travel is no exception. Today, sitting in one office bookings can be made to anywhere in the world and by any mode of travel or all modes of travel. Travel software is the magical software that helps get it all together.

There are a lot of advantages to using travel travel agency software software. There are lots of global distribution systems operating in tandem in the world of travel bookings today. Since people have very individual travel booking requirements this travel software helps keep it all in place and it can integrate the specific details to suit the person requirements.

There are lots of options for travel software in the market today. Some travel software comes with integrated financial tools that are task specific. Efficient and well integrated travel software can make bookings and reservations a lot easier than you think. Today it is possible to use travel software that not only is Global Distribution System or GDS compatible but also linked with private charters, specials and other business oriented connections. Customer satisfaction is assured when you have travel software where all your records and data etc is kept indexed on your computer and you can get results in seconds.

Here is one software solution where small companies benefit because the travel software aids client base expansion and saves time and money as you are using one fully integrated program. Large companies also save on money and time and effort as all their small assorted programs now get compressed in to one fully automated travel management software which ensures that work is done quickly and efficiently. Sometimes bookings require different currency calculations; availability is a very important factor while making reservations, bookings done using credit cards etc require secure sites where there is no fear of data stealing, these are just some aspects of why travel software is a good decision.

With travel software bookings can be done form anywhere to anywhere, and in any currency. Travel software will take care of enquires availability, administration issues and text and email notification to inform you about your bookings. Payments can be made via secure gateways and all credit cards and other important data remains confidential. There is no cost of installation and execution and one can cancel a booking at anytime also.

The travel software is just right for companies looking for a proficient and flexible online booking system. People have varied travel and booking requirements and a good company is one which can meet these conditions successfully. Travel software is available today in many versions which are feature rich and task specific to suit all types of companies and travel related details. Travel software ensures that bookings are confirmed are authentic, not in danger of being double booked and it ensures that wherever possible seat numbers are also supplied to avoid fraudulent entries.

So if you are in the travel business then this is one software that you should install on your computers so you can expand your clientele and data base and give your business the boost it requires. Surf the net for one of the many variants available and you should be able to come up with the perfect travel software to meet all your demands.

Travel Pre and Post Internet

July 21st, 2010

Title: Travel: Pre and Post Internet.

By: The Nomad

Travel Pre Internet:

I’ve been travelling for over 40 years – by thumb in my early days, by boots in the Scouts, a Lambretta came next and then my first old banger followed by newer old bangers to the beaches of the Costa Brava.

My thumb, boots, bikes and bangers took me all over Europe and the UK before finding that a charter flight to Spain on an old ‘Connie’ could get me to the beaches and bars a lot quicker and allow more time to enjoy the local travel opportunities by horse and cart and the occasional bus and train.

‘Go West and Prosper’ seemed to be a good idea so instead of taking an 8 hour flight I took an 8 day transatlantic crossing from Tilbury to Montreal on the Stephan Batory of Polish Ocean Lines ensuring that jet lag did not trouble my travel plans. Some years later I crossed the pond again on a ship but this time it was 5 times bigger and I travelled in style on the QE2 and dined in the Queen’s Grill somewhat removed from my earlier experience. I highly recommend ocean voyages but cannot see myself on one of the modern cruise ships going from port to port with constant line-ups to get on and off to buy t-shirts. However, I have done 10 Windjammers and a Star Clipper cruise in the Caribbean which were all memorable (let’s hope Windjammer Barefoot Cruises recover from their woes). But I digress.

I had read that Canada is a spectacular country, from sea to shining sea, and my entrance into the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and then heading west in an old Econoline van from the Great Lakes, across the Prairies to the Rocky Mountains before ending up whale watching off of the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island was a trip of wonder to a bloke from London. Today the scenery is still spectacular and the best way to go is still by road so rent or buy a car, motorhome or motorbike, take the train or tour bus but remember the maps, a fly rod, good boots and take your time.

My favorite part of Canada / USA for adventure travel has to be Northern BC / Alaska, to hike the Chilkoot Trail in the steps of the goldseekers of 1898. The Northwest Territories to canoe the Nahannie River and the Yukon to drive from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska. If you like the outdoors and can put up with a few bugs, cast a fly and scale a few hills or drive on endless dirt roads sharing the space with moose, caribou, elk, bears and eagles, then these are the places to put on your list. The pleasures and experiences in driving to Inuvik on the Dempster Highway or to Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway or even the Canol Road can only be felt by doing them. I would have mentioned the Alaska Highway but now it is an easy drive unlike the aforementioned.

Today the costs of driving these distances may mean that sharing the journey with others is required, but RVing or simply vanning and camping is a great way to see beyond the horizon. Some enroute adventures now need to be booked in advance whereas when I hiked Denali and the Chilkoot Pass it was just a case of turning up, registering with the local ranger office and heading on out. A little more forward planning is needed for today’s traveller and cost considerations of lengthy flights or drives have to somehow be countered with more careful planning. In the days of reasonable gas prices I would not even consider the driving or flying costs and have driven to Key West from the northwest coast, down the west coast to the Baja and to the west coast from New York. I once even flew my 1946 Fleet taildragger from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back using around 5 gallons an hour of avgas. Before the oil and credit crisis I drove from Rio de Janeiro to Lima, down to Tierra del Fuego and back to Rio covering over 15,000 miles of spectacular scenery and with no consideration about the cost of gas. South America should be on your itinerary too! Some other memorable drives that may now require a mortgage with the gas companies include London to The Nordkapp, Norway, Skippers Canyon in New Zealand and the loneliness of the far north of Australia and the amazing coast of Western Australia stopping by at Monkey Mia and Wave Rock.

We tend to forget that the real cost of travelling is often less today than over the 40 years of my travels. In 1977 my round-trip airfare from Canada to Australia cost over $1700 in 1977 dollars so today it is far cheaper to fly, even with the airlines gouging for fuel, extra baggage, no service and no pleasure. The ‘Big Mac’ method of price comparison as developed by The Economist newspaper gives us a good gauge for most expenditures of today compared to yesterday but my $1500 cost to get a private pilots licence in the 1970′s seems cheap by comparison to today, but obviously not when using this Big Mac principle. Other travel costs are also far cheaper today but this should not mean that travellers should disregard the many methods of saving costs that can then be put to extended or improved travel experiences

Travel Post-Internet:

In my 40 years of travel I have had to use travel agents to make even the simplest of reservations and buy tickets, not even thinking to ask them if they had “been there, done that?” It was just a case of there being no other options to buying travel. Now we have unlimited choices and can seek out better travel agents, better prices, better selections and information about anywhere in the world for our travels – without even leaving home.

The Internet now gives travellers ideas and options of Where to go, When to go, Why to go, What to do, Who to book with and How to save money and offset costs. We can search and find experts for every travel option. If we are comfortable with the Internet we no longer have to go to a travel agent to make reservations and buy tickets except to book with some of the larger travel companies that still produce glossy brochures and offer all inclusive packages or tours that only sell through the agency system. The Internet also allows those of us who are smart enough to know when to seek out a top travel agent with knowledge, experience and expertise (KEE skills) of destinations and activities about where to find them. There is no longer any need to only use our local agents when we can find one somewhere else in the world. When we do not need ‘the knowledge’ and can do it ourselves we simply surf the web so that we can book directly with tour and travel operators wherever we have decided to go.

Some travel agents operate their own tours, some are both wholesale and retail, some limit consumer selection by only selling their ‘preferred’ suppliers and some have professional consultants with years of experience invested in gaining knowledge, experience and expertise and are worth their weight in gold to the savvy traveller. Beware though, as some are also called destination specialists and some of these designations merely require the agent to take a rudimentary test offered by tourism offices, destination marketing groups or even tour operators and in my opinion can harm the reputation of the travel industry. A specialist is not necessarily an expert.

Travel is probably the most used commercial aspect of the Internet and if retail agents want to harness this exciting medium to offer ‘the knowledge’ and their ‘kee’ skills to a global audience, not just their local community, they must embrace the changes that are happening. Travellers now have the ability to seek answers to the 5 W’s of travel and the important ‘How to’ save money and offset costs by having information just a click away.

And then it occurred to me that even internet travel prices often include a commission element even when sold directly to the consumer. If we book directly with operators we should not have to pay full retail prices as we are doing for ourselves what a retail agent would normally do for us. A dilemma for the operator is that to show a both a retail and a cost price option could deter many agents from selling the services as travellers could use an agent for free advice and book directly with the operator to get a ‘net of commission’ price. Obviously this two tier pricing is not often available but travellers who do not need advice should also not be penalized by retail pricing. A new way had to be found and I think I have found it!

The need for fairer fare prices is why I developed the Top Travel Voucher program at The Top Travel Club and I even found a dot com for it. All travel selections on the site are at ‘net of commission’ prices for members who handle there own travel arrangements directly with the operators linked on the club website using our voucher program.

I am inviting travel operators from around the world to join this program, from B&B’s, Motels, Hotels, Luxury Lodges, Eco Resorts, Beach Resorts and Tour and Adventure Operators who want to promote their products and services to travellers who are comfortable with direct bookings and reservations.

I am also inviting Travel Agents with knowledge, experience and expertise of destinations and activities to showcase their skills to a global audience of travellers and to the members of this new travel club. I am leery of ‘specialist agents’ and only want experts to showcase their services.

This opportunity is available to the travel trade at no cost except for them to offer net, wholesale or outlet prices to club members and visitors to the website using top travel vouchers. I believe this program offers fairer fare prices to direct-booking travellers. The operator would normally be paying commission anyway but now travellers get the savings because they make their own arrangements.

The Top Travel Club opened in mid-April 2008 offering thousands of top travel vouchers for travel in over 70 countries with around 150 travel operators onboard. Every week we add more travel operators with more choices for members. Currently you can get savings on accommodations, adventure travel, boat charters, culinary tours, hike, bike and dive tours, auto and RV rentals fishing lodges and guides, safaris, vacation rentals, single travel, women only and dude ranches. Members get the vouchers free of charge by paying an annual membership fee and non-members can buy the vouchers on the internet at Top Travel Sites at deeply discounted prices to the face-value. The future growth will include restaurants, travel clothing, travel insurance and the opportunity to access air ticket consolidators who want to deal directly with consumers.

The way I have travelled and the way I see travel is that consumers should have unlimited access to every travel opportunity with the ability to do their own due diligence or to find a professional who can offer quality advice and services at fair prices, and to find all of this without needing endless hours of searching.

To find out more about the new way of cost offsets for travel please go to The Top Travel Club and my apologies for some of the spelling (traveller / traveler) but that is what I was taught. As long as we all understand the meaning, vive le difference!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare Ytb Travel and Travel Fhtm

July 17th, 2010

Let me start by saying YTB Travel and Travel FHTM are both great home based opportunities. We are former YTB Power Team Leaders and we enjoyed our time with YTB. However; we chose to leave YTB because of all the negative news, blog postings, scam reports etc.

YTB Travel is a legitimate business opportunity that is powered by one of the leading travel booking engines, Travelocity. The problem with YTB Travel or ANY business that has received such a blow to its reputation, business or sales will suffer as a result.

Travelocity is a leading travel booking engine that offers many Features and Benefits to any home based travel agency such as:

Partnership with a strong brand like Travelocity

Tools, data feeds, and products to help you succeed

Reporting and tracking

Competitive commissions with increases for high producers

Merchandising and marketing support

Dedicated team to support your business

Travelocity award-winning customer support

Travel FHTM offers 24/7 customer support, something not offered by similar online travel booking engines, so you can rest assured that you guests will have a worry free vacation with Travel FHTM.

Travel FHTM is a travel website being offered through the Travelocity Partner Network. Through an FHTM Independent Representative’s travel site, you can book travel on 60+ airlines, stay in one of over 55,000 hotels and resorts and rent cars from over 28 rental companies.

Travel FHTM, also a Travelocity partner guarantees that everything about your booking will be right, or we will work with our partners to make it right, right away. The Travel FHTM 24/7 customer support and booking guarantee are two of the reasons we chose to leave YTB Travel for Travel FHT.

Other reasons to compare YTB Travel and Travel FHTM are price comparison. YTB Travel costs $449.00 to join and $49.00 per month vs. Travel FHTM at $299.00 to join and $49.95 per month. By joining Travel FHTM, you save $150.00, so in this rough economic times, cost was an important reason to switch to Travel FHTM.

YTB Travel offers the ability to get the travel booking engine for free, once you recruited and maintained 5 YTB RTA’s, but MOST YTB RTA’s were not able to get the free site because of the initial start up costs.

Travel FHTM does not offer a free travel booking option, but you will earn customer points and earn commissions on your monthly fee, weather you have no reps under you or 100 reps under you.

When you join YTB, you get one product to sell, that’s travel! When you join Fortune Hi Tech Marketing, you currently have 20 ADDITIONAL products and services to sell and each pays a monthly residual income.

Yes, you heard me correctly, 20 ADDITIONAL products and services from Fortune 500 companies, such as Dish Network, Sprint/Nextel, Verizon Wireless, GE Home Security just to name a few. So, for $150.00 less to join Fortune Hi Tech Marketing, you get 20 Additional products and services to sell and earn additional monthly residuals.

Overall, YTB Travel and Travel FHTM are both powered by Travelocity, both offer travel commissions to 70% and all the same great travel trips, destinations, travel providers and weekly travel deals emailed to your prospects, etc.

Both companies offer travel training, but the travel training at YTB will cost you money, travel training at Fortune Hi Tech Marketing is free.

In conclusion, when you compare YTB Travel to Travel FHTM the benefits are clear. With Travel FHTM, you join a company with a positive reputation, you save $150.00 upon signing up, you have Travel FHTM’s 24/7 customer support and travel guarantee, and you have 20 ADDITIONAL products from Fortune 500 companies which to sell and earn residual commissions from, in addition to building business of independent marketing representatives.

To learn more about the benefits of joining Fortune Hi Tech Marketing, vs. YTB Travel visit Fortune Hi Tech Marketing or Call Brent Vanderstelt at 231-206-5333 or Sherri Russell at 616-638-9384. We are Fortune Hi Tech Marketing approved trainers and internet marketing experts and will help you succeed in building a successful home based business.

Secure Your Travels: Insure Against Terror When You Travel

July 11th, 2010

The Impact Of The Recent Terror Attacks On The Travel Industry And It’s Importance Of Travel Insurance In The Current Scenario

If you want to travel abroad, you also have to bear in mind possibilities such as terror attacks along with travel hazards now, and not just the normal issues that crop up like booking tickets, visas, and so forth. This is becoming more important now as the world has been shaken up with terrifying terror attacks recently – take the terror attacks in Mumbai for example. Thus, when you are planning foreign travel to any country in the world, you should not forget about something which is imperative, and that is travel insurance. We have still not recovered from the impact of the recent terror attacks that shook up Mumbai. Such terror attacks were unprecedented in India. Plenty of globe trotters visit India when they think about foreign travel. They don’t travel abroad to other exotic country but visit India because of its lovely tourism as well as excellent hospitality industry. However, who could have ever thought that travel hazards could appear in the form of terror attacks here?

The travel industry in India has suffered a deep scar because of these terror attacks and the subsequent travel hazards. No one wants to travel abroad and risk his or her life. The impact of the terror attacks in India is already being felt. Business travelers, for whom foreign travel is a regular feature, are canceling their flight tickets. In fact, the world is no longer a safe place to travel abroad as it used to be. Life threatening travel hazards can affect anyone anywhere. However, if we have the assurance of travel insurance, then we won’t need to feel scared about foreign travel. In the current scenario of terror attacks, travel insurance gains primary importance, especially for foreign travel.

Terror attacks are not restricted to countries like India alone. We are all aware of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. When there is loss of life because of terror attacks, then that loss cannot be replaced, but losses during foreign travel can surely be covered, provided you have the right travel insurance plan. Today, with the rising threat of terror attacks, you can have terrorists right inside your hotel. To combat that, you can opt for terrorism insurance.

Even your best-planned foreign travel tour or travel abroad trip can get disrupted with travel hazards and emergencies. Even if there are no terror attacks, your foreign travel vacation or travel abroad trip may not be a smooth ride. Travel hazards could range from anything like loss of baggage to medical injuries while you travel abroad. You have no idea what kind of travel hazards may attack you. You may fall sick, hurt yourself, injure yourself while driving, or need medical treatment. All these travel hazards can prove to be very costly. You can say goodbye to all these problems and travel hazards during your foreign travel with the right travel insurance policy. If you choose a good travel insurance plan then you can relax all through your foreign travels. Your travel insurance plan takes care of all kinds of travel hazards. If you want to stay safe from the time you leave home, travel abroad and return back, then go for a good travel insurance plan. Many travel insurance companies in India offer travel insurance plans designed to address travel hazards and help in foreign travel. It is a good idea to weigh the pros and cons of different travel insurance plans and find out which travel insurance suits you best for your travel abroad vacation.

Get travel insurance plan that provides the best coverage including baggage loss, medical evacuation, and travel abroad trip cancellation. Now you can travel abroad in peace without any worries!

Fulfilling Ones Travel Needs, Giving the Reader a Choice of an Affordable Dream Vacation

July 9th, 2010

Sell off vacations info dot com website is a unique and therefore an extremely important travel website on the internet in modern times, its importance is that the website alone, allows the traveller full free access to some of the most detailed travelling articles ever written on the internet today.

The sell off vacations info website have a unique function within the travelling community, which resolves the most important aspect of choosing the exact vacation, vacation rentals, flight to any where in the world, booking the ultimate luxury cruise, or even finding the most affordable hotel or booking the destination car rentals.

The uniqueness of the travel website is its unique feature of collecting and collating the vast array of the finest travel and adventure holiday articles and travel guides from the best sourced and knowledgeable travel authors, then offering the unique opportunity to the traveller to study in depth, the destination and travel, guides and destination and travel articles even before booking the vacation, vacation rentals, booking business flights, booking flights, cruises, hotels or car rentals.

The advantage of this unique service to the traveller is that the travelling website will not charge a cent for freely accessing the vast array of travel articles, this reading service is absolutely free and with no commitment to buy any products or services mainly as we don’t sell services or products, so you have no fear of hidden charges or any payment pre-conditions.

This complete travelling articles service is provided free and paid for by the very kind sponsor, the travel website, sell off vacations dot info, which pays for/sponsors the uniquely free travel articles and destinations guides. All in all without the kind sponsorship from sell off vacations dot info, this unique service would not be available and the travelling public would be deprived of this unique service and facility.

To the average traveller to from all countries of the world, booking and purchasing a vacation, flight, cruise, vacation rentals, car rentals is only the first step in the complicated function of taking a well earned and well deserved vocational pursuit and returning from the sell off vacations, holiday relaxed from a stress free pre-planned and pre-prepared vacation.

The importance of pre-planning and pre-preparation is one of the key attributes of booking and then enjoying a trouble free vacation, vacation rentals, and Caribbean cruise, business flight, flight and even car rentals all these ordinary and every day endeavours, which is likely to be accomplished many times a day by ordinary people throughout the world.

But to have any possibility to accomplish a successful travelling venture, prior to the vacation, one must research the relevant travel articles and use the relevant details – relevant to your individual needs, and through preplanning and combined with the preparation, which is necessary prior to the start of the vacation, expect to accomplish a relaxed, stress free and successful vacation, holiday, or flight without the hassle often experienced on the last minute panic type of travelling experience.

There are definite advantages associated with booking your vacation, holiday, business flight, flight, hotel, car rental and even your vacation rental on line with you the paying consumer in control of simple function of online booking facilities.

The paying consumer accepting control and empowered to search for and identify the exact travel package that is best suited to your individual needs, based on the simplified facts found in the free travel articles, free articles on sell off vacations info dot com, even include articles specific to travel tips of the most important tasks involved in selecting your travel package easily and effectively on a needs led basis, and tailored to your own intimately specific needs specifications and all through the efforts of you making important informed choices.

The unique facilities of sell off vacations info dot com and its kindly sponsored partner sell off vacations dot info allow the consumer to select their ideal needs based travel package at sell off prices – through informed choices and unique sell off vacation search facilities, which allow the consumers a unique opportunity to bypass the high street travel agent.

We are now at the critical stage of the valid and often hidden or certainly not publicised, the intricate workings associated with booking your vacation, holiday, trip vacation rentals, luxury cruise, Caribbean cruise, even the simple booking of a hotel and car rentals. Using the combined websites – sell off vacations info dot com and sell off vacations dot info, the consumer have an unique opportunity to book and purchase their travel package online and benefit from sell off vacations prices

To justify visiting these two unique travel website and paying less through sell off vacations online, then it is extremely important to understand the intricate workings of the high street travel agent, at this stage, must be considered.

To enter a high street travel agents premises and book your vacation, you will automatically, without any doubt, increase your travel package quite significantly, especially when you consider, the travel agent, at best, will be booking your travel package from the same, or very similar, travel agents booking facilities that is offered on sell off vacations dot info.

The exception, to this rule is two fold; firstly, sell off vacations dot info, have a unique opportunity to search the travel agents database facilities for vacations at last minute sell off travel package prices, which are sold at sometimes significantly reduced pricing just to increase the passenger capacity of individual airlines throughout the world – this sell off facility in the depressed financial times is even more important to both the airlines and the travel consumer, than a decade ago.

I am not suggesting the high street travel do not have access to similar sell off vacation prices, but, consider one very important aspect of the high street travel agents and the way in which they are forced to compete.
Secondly, imagine for a moment you enter your high street travel agents office, with the intention of booking and purchasing a vacation package.

The sales representative will input your particular travel package query into the intensive travel agents database. I suggest, the high street travel agent representative will be presented with a long list of possible relevant booking prices and each selection will display differing prices – search sell off vacations dot info, and the travel search results will display a large pricing difference which the booking travel agent will ultimately offer to the potential customer as a selection.

At this important stage of the articles argument, we must consider influences on an individual high street travel agent representative, which may have an adverse influence on the selections that could be considered to be relevant, and not necessarily based on the finances or worse still the individual travel needs of the potential travel customer which will be processed through the booking agent.

Consider the high street travel agents have physical premises, and these premises can present a financial burden – rents, leasing, utilities- electricity to power the computer networks and lighting heating, and more importantly employer/employees salaries and commissions – sometimes large commissions, on each on each and every travel vacations, vacation packages, luxury and basic amenities cruises, vacation rentals even booking hotels and car rentals.

So, with a multitude of pressures on the travel agent representative – critical decision making is even more critical, if the travel agent representative’s salary is commission based, the higher the vacation package sale price the possibility of more financial remuneration, and in this credit crunch times, with families organisations cutting back immensely their travelling commitments, the high street travel representative may be facing financial pressures, stressed workloads, which may be beyond anything they may have experienced previously, and may have an adverse influence of their decision making associated with selecting the needs based travel vacation holiday package available to the consumer.

Buying your vacation related packages from sell off vacations dot info, you will be presented with similar travel prices from similar global travel booking databases, the travel package prices will also include sell off vacation prices which offer the potential travel consumer an extremely affordable travel package options, and even more amazing the potential travel customer/consumer will bypass some high street travel agent representative sometimes adversely difficult travel packages decision making and select the exact travel vacation, holiday package based on individual needs – financial needs and individual preferential needs.

The travel vacations decision making will be based on the expertly written advice contained in the free travel and destination articles and free guides freely available on sell vacations info dot com and her sponsor partner travel website sell off vacations dot info.

The Economic Recession Diet for Business Travel

July 7th, 2010

Cutting travel program fat without compromising strategic objectives

The global economic downturn is hitting business travel where it hurts: According to a new survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), more than 70 percent of U.S. travel managers plan to spend less on corporate travel in 2009. The results represent a sharp shift from an earlier ACTE poll (Sept. 2008), which found that only 33 percent of U.S. travel managers were planning on cutting travel spend in the year to come.

While the ACTE survey may have focused on the U.S., the challenges faced by travel buyers and travel managers cut across all sectors of the globe. From reducing travel to tightening travel policy, and from renegotiating with suppliers to adjusting travel behavior, travel program stakeholders are intent on cutting trips and curbing expenses.

The silver lining to the financial storm clouds, says Kathy Jackson, executive vice president.

Story highlights:

* Travel buyers and managers now able to make changes that were impossible in the past

* New role for account managers in understanding and supporting client business drivers

* Changes to travel policy, approval process, traveler behavior are leading savings mechanisms for cost-conscious companies

* Demand management and online technologies are key supports

For Global Client Management at BCD Travel, is that the economy is enabling travel buyers and their respective teams to make changes that, quite frankly, have never been achievable in the past.

The challenge, adds Jackson, is to save on travel spend without compromising on business objectives: “As hard as it may be to foresee, the recession will not last forever. Companies will need to emerge from the downturn with plans for growth and solid business relationships in place- and travel is a crucial element in supporting growth and retention initiatives.”

Teri Miller, senior vice president for Global Client Management in the Americas for BCD Travel, sees a major opportunity for travel management company account managers in the current situation: “Account managers need a deep understanding of the customer’s business drivers to enable them to anticipate and add value, rather than react. As an example, if a client is closing manufacturing plants in three countries, our account manager will explain how travel patterns will shift as a result, illustrate what effect that may have on supplier contracts and provide a plan for optimizing potential impact.”

What steps are BCD Corporate Travel clients taking to combat the recession?

Companies need to look beyond the big-ticket items, says Jackson, and filter adjustments through every component of a trip. “It may be tempting to focus exclusively on air ticket costs, but for some programs, air may make up only as much as 20 percent of total T&E expenditure. Our account managers, often with the support of a consultative engagement from Advito [the independent consulting branch of BCD Travel], help clients focus on the total cost of trip, including hotel, ground transportation and even restaurant costs.”

A list of some of the decisions in which BCD Travel is supporting its clients’ recession-management travel strategies is below.

The choices and decisions being made represent a major opportunity for companies to make lasting beneficial changes to their travel programs, says Jackson: “As with any diet, success is incumbent on making change a way of life, not a 30-day wonder regime.”

Changes in travel policy

Growing corporate cost-consciousness is manifesting itself most prominently in the refinement and enactment of more stringent travel policies. Among the common cost-cutting elements BCD Travel is seeing: shifting from business class to coach class (variations include mandating coach class for all travelers regardless of hierarchical level and increasing the business-class flight-time threshold); down-tiering hotels (i.e., three-star instead of four-star); mandating the use of public transport rather than taxis; and retaining frequent flyer miles for business travel rather than personal travel.

BCD Travel is also seeing an increase in the use of rail and low-cost carriers within EMEA, says Felix Vezjak, senior vice president for Global Client Management in EMEA: “Companies are much more likely to accept what were formerly seen as inconveniences (i.e., secondary airports) in exchange for savings. However, particularly in the case of low-cost carriers, companies need to ensure that their travelers always use the preferred booking channels (online booking tool and agency) of choice to ensure adequate reporting and security tracking.”

For further suggestions on refining and enforcing travel policy, see our Feb. 2009 article “Reliance on compliance.” Changes to travel approval process

Whether it’s instituting an official approval process where one might not have existed or – as is more common – making existing processes more restrictive, this cost-cutting method is winning wide-spread support among BCD Corporate Travel clients as an easy “quick win.”

As part of a concerted travel-cost reduction effort, one of BCD Travel’s global clients, which has over US$450 million in annual travel spend and more than 325,000 employees worldwide, changed its travel approval process radically to incorporate the following:

# No travel unless approved by a vice president on a single trip basis (<150 VPs in the company)

# No last-minute travel (under seven days’ advance purchase) unless approved by an executive vice president (<15 EVPs in the company)

Demand management (travel reduction or travel freeze)

More and more companies today view demand management as one of the biggest opportunities they have to control or reduce costs without compromising their overall business goals and requirements.

Among the possible steps companies can take to reduce travel demand:

# Eliminate all non-client-related travel

# Freeze attendance at industry conventions and conferences

One BCD Travel client refers to internal meetings as the “mother of all travel,” and has implemented the following methods to reduce the travel they generate:

# Prioritize video/web-conferencing for internal meetings

# Reduce number of meeting participants (all participants must be on agenda)

# Require meetings to be planned around travel, rather than vice versa

# Eliminate hotel nights before and after the meetings

# Choose meeting venues based on total cost, including travel and employee time spend

Travel management company as educational and staffing resource

BCD Travel has played an important role for several major clients in helping educate travelers and travel arrangers on a range of subjects in order to improve their ability to support the companies’ savings initiatives. For some clients, BCD Travel account management has provided workshop sessions for travel bookers; for others, the company has created “Tips and Tricks” documents for cost-savvy travel that clients have made available to all travelers.

Some clients have also had to face internal downsizing, resulting in the loss of key travel personnel. In one recent case, following the departure of the travel manager, BCD Travel has been able to dedicate a resource to that role. The account manager has also supported the client by conducting analyses to forecast further headcount reduction ahead of online adoption drive. This headcount reduction has been written into the budget for 2009.

Increased use of online booking tools

In order to save on transaction costs and streamline processes, companies are increasingly mandating that all domestic or point-to-point travel be booked online. Online tools can also play an important role in supporting changes to the travel policy and to traveler behavior, says Miller: “Companies can modify booking tools to ask travelers about the necessity of a trip or offer alternatives to the journey before proceeding to booking.”

Program consolidation

Finally, says Jackson, the economic downturn may present a significant “carrot” for companies that had been looking into consolidating their travel services regionally or globally: “Consolidation of multiple country services into a multinational service center, for example, can represent considerable savings in resource and process costs. However, companies must be sure that their organization is prepared to fully support consolidation in order to fully achieve the benefits. That means asking questions like, ‘Do we have a consistent travel policy in place that spans the markets involved? Are there language constraints that would be met by the service center?’”

Travel Guru Guide to Prague City Breaks

July 5th, 2010

Guide To Prague City Breaks

Knowing where to go in Prague while on a break either during traveling through or stopping and staying is to know something about the city itself. Prague is the Capital of the Czech Republic and a famous historical city as well. Prague is known for hosting events like the Film, Music, and Writers Festivals as well as Fashion Shows. There is more money going through Prague than most places in all of Czech.

Prague Hotels & Sights

Prague has a wide range of hotels offering luxury and budgeted stay. The famous hotels of Prague are Corinthia Panorama, Corinthia Towers and Hotel Hilton Prague. Not to mention Prague has some of the most inspiring architecture around, one such is the St Martin Rotunda with its beautiful rounded design and historical significance. What about the grand Prague Castle and the glorious St Vitus’s Cathedral with its many spires and stained glass windows. Both of these will inspire even the most hardened of hearts and give you a memory you will never forget.

Prague City Break Attractions

There are other magnificent Churches you can visit while you are on your Prague city break, the Church of St Nicholas that brings the old world style and modern glamour in one. Then there is the view of the Wenceslas Square or the Prague Gardens such as the Petrin Park. The bridges in Prague are something else that should not be missed one fine example is the Charles Bridge.

The Neo Gothic towers of St Peters and St Paul, here you can see where myth and legend meet history are viewable by anyone and everyone as the first seat of Czech Princes and Princesses. You will also want to visit the Astronomical clock dial, which was made in 1410 by Mikulas of Kadan and Jan Ondrejuv called Sindel. There is also the National Museum to visit, the Rudolfinum or House of Artists and of course the many art galleries. You can find yourself basking in history or mixing it with the modern world.

Getting Around Prague

While on your Prague City Break you might find yourself wanting to spend more than a few hours wandering around and need a place to stay. Well with the new Ruzyne Airport only 20 km northwest getting there is easy, public transportation made up of trams and Buses or car rentals you can get around Prague easily and efficiently. There are many hotels in Prague to choose from Corinthia Panorama, Corinthia Towers and Hotel Hilton Prague to renting an apartment.

Red Sea Egypt?STI-Travel

June 23rd, 2010

Egypt is known for its rich heritage that includes attractions like the pyramids and the ancient temples. It is even considered to be a place of pilgrimage for people from Christian and other religious communities. Here you find the pleasures of scuba-diving, desert safaris, fishing, and golf playing. Red Sea Egypt is regarded as the best place for relaxation for people who visit Egypt. Red Sea Egypt is also the Sinai coasts with its coves, beaches and natural or religious sites. Sti-travel can guide you on all that needs to be done or seen in and around the place.

Red Sea Egypt is known for its mountain ranges that are red and mineral-rich in its contents. Mariners visiting the coast of the Red Sea name the sea as Mare Rostrum. The Red Sea of Egypt is famous for its rich coral reefs and teeming underwater life Red Sea ports are the departure points for snorkeling, diving and fishing excursions.

The Red Sea Egypt is located on the eastern coast of Mainland Egypt that borders this sea and the shores of the Sinai Peninsula. Hurghada and Sharm-el-Sheikh are two coast cities that should not be missed. Sti-Travel can arrange wonderful vacations to these scenic beach resorts with a direct international flight to Cairo, and a short internal flight to Sharm or Hurghada – or overland by car or bus.

The weather of Red Sea Egypt remains moderate throughout the year, with calm shores, which makes the journey to the sea a wonderful experience. Many hotels are available on or near the beach offering comfortable accommodation with all basic, modern amenities. Red Sea Egypt also boasts of professional and fully equipped diving centers and certified divers to help you out in your diving attempts or take you to incredible diving sites.

Other tourist attractions of Red Sea Egypt are the monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul, the Monastery of St Catherine & Mount Moses, the Colored Canyon, desert safaris and more. Further information regarding Red Sea Egypt, Egypt & Red Sea Tour, Luxury Nile Cruise, Egypt Hurghada, Egypt Tour Packages, and Egypt Hotel Hurghada can be obtained from the site of sti-travel.com.

India Travel : A Perfect Budget Accommodation In India

June 21st, 2010

India is one of the most visited tourist destination in India offering awe-inspiring tourism opportunity and perfect settings of holidays. This beautiful country has a lot to offer its visitors. Historic cities, historical places, ancient monuments, magnificent forts & palaces, terrific temples, exotic wildlife rich in flora & fauna, vibrant culture, glorious history, pilgrimage & religious sites, rich art & architecture, verdant hill stations, heritage monuments, etc all are to make this country one of the most popular tourism & holiday destinations in the world. Every year a large gathering of tourists from all over the world visit this country to enjoy awe-inspiring tourism or simply enjoy the fun-filled cheerful holiday vacation. Undoubtedly, it is a very fascinating country in terms of tourism and holiday.

Hotel Clarks Shiraz in Agra, is a five-star magnificence hotel which mix comfort with enjoyment and manner with essence. The hotel is situated just 2 kilometers away from the symbol of love Taj Mahal, in the heart of the city. The hotel is also very near to airport and railway station, just 7 kilometers from the Airport and only 3 kilometers from the Agra Cantt Railway Station. If you want to have the most excellent hospitality, this hotel is just perfect for you. As a world class five star hotel, Clarks Shiraz offers a perfect residence to tourists and travelers. The hotel’s guest list has many VIP’s and famous person which make this hotel more famous.

Hotel Amar is perfectly situated in the center of the Agra very close to the symbol of love the great Taj Mahal. Agra receives millions of tourists every just because of its three world heritage sites the first one is Taj Mahal, second is Red Fort and the third is Fatehpur Sikri. The hotel is conveniently location just 8 kms from Airport and only 4 kms from the Agra Cantt Railway Station. The hotel Amar is a government approved three star hotel, offers 68 well maintained rooms to make your stay comfortable. It presents well-furnished rooms with all modern amenities like attached bath and various gracious facilities.

Ashoka Hotel in Delhi is the most desired place for stay among all five star hotels. Ashoka Hotel’s trademark is its superior quality of service and conventional cordial reception of guests. It is one of the major and most important hotels of the Ashoka Group of hotels. Its position in one of the posh areas in Delhi and its proximity to the airport has been an added benefit for its expansion; the Ashok is a distinctive landmark, its rose-pink walls and arched arc-turreted contours set it apart from the glass and concrete conformity of other hotels.

Vibrant and vivid culture, magnificent forts and breathtakingly beautiful palaces discriminate the capital town of Rajasthan – Jaipur from the other vacationer destinations. All decorated pink Jaipur is frequently described as the Pink City of India.

Hotel Amar provides the visitor true value for their hard earned money with all basic facilities necessary for happy lodging. Hotel Amar is just perfect for both, tourists as well as business class visitors because it offers lots of leisure amenities along with brilliant conferencing and banqueting services. If you are searching for a relaxed stay where you can blend happiness with commerce and feel right at your house even when you are far away then its is a perfect accommodation for you.

Mekong Travel

June 17th, 2010

Mekong Travel at www.mekongtours.biz

The Mekong Delta is the bottom half of Vietnam’s two rice baskets, the other being the Red River Delta in the North . This vast delta is formed by the deposition of the multiple tentacles and tributaries of the mighty Mekong River which has its origin in the Tibetan highland plateau 2,800 miles away. From its source, the river makes its way through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam before flowing out into the South China Sea. The Mekong’s Vietnamese name, Cuu Long, means Nine Dragons for the nine mouths that terminate the flow of this great river as it is absorbed by the sea.
The people of south Vietnam are often very proud of the richness and vastness of this land. When referring to the rice fields in this area, they often say, “co bay thang canh”, meaning the land is so large that the cranes can stretch their wings as they fly. Today, the region is one of Vietnam’s highest producer of rice crops, vegetables and fruits.

Life On The Mekong

The Mekong Delta was an ancient Khmer territory. The area was mostly marshland and forest. When the Nguyen Lords took control of this region, a series of canals were built and a system of transportation was implemented in the maze of water ways in the area.
The Mekong Delta is divided into 9 provinces: Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Hau Giang and Minh Hai. The people in this region are made up of Vietnamese and some people of Khmer, Chinese and Cham origin. This accounts for the variety of religions that add to the cultural diversity of this area. Among the religions practiced here are: Buddhism, Catholicism, Cao Dai , Hoa Hao and Islam.
The southwest region of Vietnam is known for the vast rice fields and the huge plantations that make up the core of this region’s economy. The region is also known for the many miles of waterways criss-crossing the land making this area both fertile and unique.

Fruit Orchards

The majority of Vietnam’s fruits come from the many orchards of the Mekong Delta. On any given season, one can find a variety of tropical fruits that are produced by farmers of this region in the markets of Saigon, Hue, and Ha Noi.
For many tropical fruits, the season is very short because they cannot be picked green and they don’t last long in storage where they quickly loose their aroma. The greatest variety of fruits is available during the raining season, from June to September in the South.
After they are picked, the fruits are transported on small boats to floating markets where they are sold to wholesale dealers. In the off-season, many orchards become flower nurseries to meet the peak demand for flowers during the new year celebration in the big cities.
The orchards are divided by a myriad of small irrigation canals with delicate bamboo bridges called “Cau Khi” or monkey bridges crossing them.

Life On The River

The people living in the Mekong Delta make their living as farmers and fishermen. Often, they live right on the edge of the rivers or canals on various structures built from whatever materials found. Consequently, the architecture along the delta varies from place to place.
Often, many homes have fisheries right under them. Enterprising individuals build a cage like structure of bamboo beneath their homes on these waterways to house fishes. As the fishes grew, they sell the whole batch to processors from the city and start with new ones.
Life in the delta is tightly woven with its rivers as daily activities and businesses are conducted on its banks. Markets, stores, ship yards, repair shops are some of the more popular trades.

Floating Markets

Floating markets are held every morning from 5:00 to about 11:00. Phung Hiep market is the biggest since it is located at the intersection of 7 major canals. It is also a photographer’s delight because it can be seen above from a bridge. Cai Rang and Phong Dien are two other notable floating markets in the delta.
Boats loaded with produce from nearby orchards of the Mekong Delta converge to the floating market. They carry mostly fruits but also coconuts, vegetables and fishes.
Buyers are local traders with bigger boats snapping everything by the bushels and resell at local markets or to wholesale dealers from big cities, often for a handsome profit.
Large floating markets are not complete without its floating restaurants, floating gas stations and an occasional tour boat filled with tourists.

Snake Industry

Another unique industry in this region is the snake farm in the area of My Tho township. In 1977, Lt. Colonel Tran Van Duoc (Tu Duoc), a reptile enthusiast, created Dong Nam Snake Farm. Initially created strictly as a research site for medicinal uses of reptile venom, Dong Nam Snake Farm today is the largest of its kind in Vietnam. The farm boasts 20 different varieties of venomous snakes and is home to other species such as boas, turtles.
Cobras are often soaked along with herbs in large flasks of whisky which can be bought in the snake market in Phung Hiep. This potent drink reportedly will increase your libido as well as cure all sorts of illnesses. Live snakes are also for sale in the market and are exported to other Asian countries to be used as food and medicine.

In a typical snake full-course meal, the gallbladder is extracted from the freshly-killed snake and together with some blood and whisky a drink is made. The snake is then chopped off and cooked in various ways. Most tourists opt for a curry stir-fried snake dish just for the thrill of it. General comments are “too much bone and no taste!”. More adventurous travelers have reported severe stomach cramps after swallowing down the snake drink.

Source : Mekong Travel – ImPress Vietnam at www.mekongtours.biz