Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for May, 2007
London for Less
By Linda Tancs
In this week’s edition of the podcast Travelrific, the topic is: what can you do for free (or nearly free) in London, England? With the dollar sinking against the pound, travelers need some serious cost-cutting ideas. Listen in for some fun and family-friendly ideas that won’t break the bank. Visit www.travelrificradio.com.
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What’s a Junket?
By Linda Tancs
Sadly, the term “junket” is often pejoratively used to suggest a trip sponsored by a third party seeking special favors from the traveler. Celebrities have also been known to use the term when describing the obligatory press cycle they must endure to promote their latest endeavor. In travel terms, is a “junket” any less than an “excursion”? Better than a “jaunt”? Some self-proclaimed junkets have a long and venerable history, like the Kentucky Derby Junket. Reminds me of that quote from George Bernard Shaw: “Words are only postage stamps delivering the object for you to unwrap.” Maybe there’s room for junkets in the travel lexicon after all.
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National Tourism Week
By Linda Tancs
This week is National Tourism Week. Sponsored by the Travel Industry Association, the event is intended to promote travel to and within the U.S. Some communities use National Tourism Week as a kick-off for a series of events highlighting local points of interest such as historic homes and revolutionary-war era battlegrounds.
With the dollar at an all-time low against many major currencies, it might not be too difficult these days to promote travel within the U.S. More problematic is the promotion of travel to the U.S. In fact, a recent poll of Chinese citizens indicated that a desire to travel to the U.S. (if money were no object, no less) drew very low results. And among Europeans, Australia is apparently the top tourist destination. To be sure, after 9/11, overseas travel to the U.S. dropped. Are tightened airport security regulations to blame? What is the perception of an overseas tourist towards the U.S. these days? According to the Department of Commerce, international visitation did rebound somewhat in January 2007. Will this trend continue? Let’s hope so, considering that travel and tourism can account for over $1 trillion in economic activity in the U.S. each year.
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