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Travelography
The Travelography podcast discusses travel and tourism related news, opinions and more from around the globe. I discuss travel in the news, and news that affects travel.

• Travelography 136: Holiday Travel Ups and Downs
  

  Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 17 November 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

  • Gloomy economy expected to curtail Thanksgiving travel 

    Los Angeles International Airport holiday travel will be down 14.3% from the 1.85 million passengers that passed through the airport last year, airport officials said Thursday.

  • Japanese traveler refuses to leave Mexico City airport 

    At first, he frightened passengers, and airport authorities asked the Japanese Embassy to investigate why the foul-smelling man refused to leave. Now, he's somewhat of a celebrity, capturing Mexico's collective imagination with nearly daily television news reports on his life at the food court.

  • UK travelers avoiding USA - Skyscanner Report 

    while flight search traffic remains high on the Skyscanner site, over the last month there has been a 15 percent fall in searches for UK-USA flights, suggesting that the credit crunch and the weakening pound have finally taken their toll on British travelers, and that they are forgoing their American trips.

  • American Automobile Association Predicts Drop in Holiday Travel 

    AAA and the Air Transport Association predict fewer Americans will be on the move during the upcoming holiday travel period, the first drop in Thanksgiving travel since 2002. It's the fourth holiday this year that will have seen decreased travel compared with the year before.

  • End of the [US] Tourism Boom? 

    As an example, hotels in Miami alone expect a 3 to 6 percent decline in budget revenues, compared to the same period in 2007. With pressures to attract more customers, the hospitality industry is bound to offer more deals and reduce its rates. "The U.S. hotel industry is virtually frozen by the uncertain state of the global economy,"

  • U.S. Economy Expected to Receive a Shot in the Arm from Visa Waiver Program Expansion 

    Starting today [Nov-17], travelers from seven new countries--the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and the Republic of Korea (South Korea)--can travel to the United States without first obtaining a tourist visa.

  • Despite Economic Challenges, People Traveling Over Holidays Feel Time and Money Spent is Small Price to Pay to be With Loved Ones 

    Older Americans, in particular, appreciate the value of travel during the holidays.
• Travelography 135: Responsible Travel and Tourism around the Globe
  

  Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 10 November 2008. This podcast is also available at Blubrry.com and Travelgeography.info.

  • Air New Zealand Schedules First Commercial Biofuel Flight 

    On December 3rd, Air New Zealand will be the first commercial airline to power one of its jets with a second generation non-food biofuel made from the Jatropha plant. Jatropha is viewed as having a huge potential as a major source of oil for sustainable biofuel production.

  • The Responsible Tourism Awards organised by responsibletravel.com 

    The judges declared New Zealand the overall winner for proving that it is possible to develop a national strategy which uses tourism to help make better places to live and to visit.

  • China’s First Carbon Neutral Hotel wins Accolade 

    “By renovating an existing downtown factory, focusing on using recycled and locally sourced materials such as reclaimed hardwoods and old Shanghai bricks, and introducing eco-friendly solutions like passive solar shades, and water based AC systems, URBN hopes to set an example for other businesses and industries in China and around the world,” Mr Krauss said. “We track the total amount of energy (gas, water and electricity) the hotel consumes, including staff commutes, in order to calculate the carbon footprint.

  • Ivory trade thriving in China but signs of decline 

    Ivory continues to be smuggled into China despite a ban on imports that dates back to 1991, with the tusks mainly being sourced from Africa, according to the report released by TRAFFIC, a wildlife monitoring organisation. Nevertheless, it said increased enforcement of regulations in China had led to some improvements, with surveys of markets showing that fewer illegal products were on sale.