Travel News | "Emaar group wins at World Travel Awards "

By: Press Release
Source: http://www.tradearabia.com
Category: Travel News

Dubai-based Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure unit of property developer Emaar Properties, was named Middle East’s Leading Development Company, at the annual World Travel Awards 2012 in Dubai.

The group also won the Expedia Award for The Address Downtown Dubai, underlining the group’s commitment to service.

Jurgen Baumhoff, chief operating officer, Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “Emaar Hospitality Group offers three key differentials – location, high standards of service and ensuring tangible guest benefits – which have become the benchmarks in hospitality in the region. These awards are a true testament to our commitment to continued excellence.”

 

source: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/TTN_217120.html

Travel News | "After 50 years, Cubans hope to travel freely to any country of the world"

By: Press Realese
Source: http://www.cubaheadlines.com
Category: Travel News

After controlling the comings and goings of its people for five decades, communist Cuba appears on the verge of a momentous decision to lift many travel restrictions. One senior official says a "radical and profound" change is weeks away.

The comment by Parliament Chief Ricardo Alarcon has residents, exiles and policymakers abuzz with speculation that the much-hated exit visa could be a thing of the past, even if Raul Castro's government continues to limit the travel of doctors, scientists, military personnel and others in sensitive roles to prevent a brain drain.

Other top Cuban officials have cautioned against over-excitement, leaving islanders and Cuba experts to wonder how far Havana's leaders are willing to go.In the past 18 months, Castro has removed prohibitions on some private enterprise, legalized real estate and car sales, and allowed compatriots to hire employees, ideas that were long anathema to the government's Marxist underpinnings.

Scrapping travel controls could be an even bigger step, at least symbolically, and carries enormous economic, social and political risk.Even half measures—such as ending limits on how long Cubans can live abroad or cutting the staggeringly high fees for the exit visa that Cubans must obtain just to leave the country—would be significant.

"It would be a big step forward," said Philip Peters, a Cuba expert at the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "If Cuba ends the estrictions on its own citizens' travel, that means the only travel restrictions that would remain in place would be those the United States imposes on its citizens."

The move would open the door to increased emigration and make it easier for Cubans overseas to avoid forfeiting their residency rights, a fate that has befallen waves of exiles since the 1959 revolution.It could also bolster the number of Cubans who travel abroad for work, increasing earnings sent home in the short term and, ultimately, investment by a new moneyed class.

Scrapping exit controls should win Cuba support in Europe, which improved ties after dozens of political prisoners were freed in 2010.But Peters and several other analysts said they doubt the new rules would bring about any immediate shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba, which includes a ban on American tourism. Those restrictions are entrenched and enjoy the backing of powerful Cuban American exiles.

"I don't think it would lead to a drastic change in U.S. policy, but an accumulation of human rights improvements could lead to an incremental change," Peters said.Cuba-born Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida, said any discussion about immigration reform on the island is a peripheral issue.

"The kind of changes I'm interested in are not about immigration," said Ros-Lehtinen, who heads the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. "I'm interested in changes that affect fundamental freedom, democracy and respect for human rights."

U.S. officials said they have been watching for an announcement for months, noting there has been such talk as far back as August. But nothing has happened, and they are skeptical that the Castro regime is truly committed to such reform.

Asked about possible reciprocal measures, one U.S. official said the Obama administration can't promise anything because it doesn't know what exactly Cuba plans to announce. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly and demanded anonymity.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. "would certainly welcome greater freedom of movement for the Cuban public."Rumors of the exit visa's imminent demise have circulated on and off for years. The whispers became open chatter last spring after the Communist Party endorsed migration reform at a crucial gathering. But Castro dashed those hopes in December, saying the timing wasn't right and the "fate of the revolution" was at stake.

Alarcon's comments, made in an interview published in April, revived hopes that a bold move is coming."One of the questions that we are currently discussing at the highest level of the government is the question of emigration," he told a French journalist. "We are working toward a radical and profound reform of emigration that in the months to come will eliminate this kind of restriction."

But on Saturday, Vice Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez told exiles not to set their hopes too high, vowing the government would maintain some travel controls as long as it faced a threat from enemies in Washington.Havana residents say they are anxiously waiting to see what the government does.

"The time has come to get rid of the exit visa," said Vivian Delgado, a shop worker. "It's absurd that as a Cuban I must get permission to leave my country, and even worse that I need permission to come back."Added Domingo Blanco, a 24-year-old state office worker: "It's as if one needed to ask to leave one's own house."

Many Cubans are reluctant to talk about their own experience with the exit visa. One woman named Miru, who has been trying to leave Cuba since 2006, shared her story on the condition her full name not be used for fear that speaking with a foreign journalist could land her in trouble."This has been a very long process," she said of her odyssey, which began when her husband defected from a medical mission in Africa and sought asylum in the U.S.

First, she had to get a letter releasing her from her job at a government ministry—a process that took five years. Only then could she apply for the exit visa. That was three months ago, and Miru still hasn't received an answer. Officials say her case is complicated but won't give a specific reason for the delay."I am very anxious to see my husband again," she said.

The exit controls are a Cold War legacy of Cuba's alliance with the Soviet Union. They were instituted in December 1961 to fight brain drain as hundreds of thousands of doctors and other professionals fled, many for new lives in Florida. That was three months before the U.S. embargo barring most trade with the island went into full effect.

Over the years, it has become much easier for Cubans to obtain permission to travel, though many are still denied, and it is particularly hard to take children out of the country.Also, the exit visa's $150 price tag is a small fortune in a country where salaries average about $20 a month. In addition, the person the traveler wishes to visit must pay $200 at a Cuban consulate.

Those who leave get only a 30-day pass, and the cost of an extension varies by country. In the U.S., the fee is $130 a month. Those who stay abroad more than 11 months lose the right to reside in Cuba. Before 2011, any property would automatically go to the state.

"The Cuban government has monetized every part of the humiliating process of coming and going," said Ann Louise Bardach, a longtime Cuba expert and author of "Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington." "Getting out means running a gantlet, and it is all based on how much humiliation you can endure, and by the time they end up in Miami, people are filled with hate and dreams of revenge."

Cuban officials have long portrayed the measures as necessary to counter Washington's meddling. They accuse the U.S. of trying to lure away doctors by letting them walk into any American consulate and request asylum.

Cuban officials say even ordinary islanders are encouraged to leave by U.S. regulations that automatically grant asylum to any who reach American shores, a policy Cuba says has encouraged thousands to attempt the dangerous trip on leaky boats and makeshift rafts across the Florida Straits.

It's not clear how emigration reform will affect dissidents, who are routinely denied permission to leave and could still find themselves on some form of no-exit list.

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez called the exit controls "our own Berlin Wall without the concrete ... a wall made of paperwork and stamps, overseen by the grim stares of soldiers." She has been denied travel papers at least 19 times by her own count.Some hardliners in Florida predict any change will be merely a sleight of hand designed to export malcontents, ease a severe housing shortage and fob off legions of superfluous state workers.

But for hundreds of thousands of Cubans like Miru, the exit visa is a personal matter, not political. After six years separated from her husband, she clings to hope that she will finally obtain permission or benefit from a change in the law."I have followed all the rules of my country," she said. "I'll be so happy to leave."

Source:  http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2012/05/03/35136/after_50_years_cubans_hope_to_travel_freely_to_any_country_of_the_world.html

Travel News | "Unregulated tourism is ravaging the Western Ghats"

By: Subir Ghosh
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com
Category: Travel News

Unbridled tourism in the Western Ghats will be a thing of the past if the Union government accepts the recommendations of an expert panel that was formed to look into the environmental aspects of the ecologically-fragile region.The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, which submitted a comprehensive report to the government in August 2011, has noted that some of the environmental footprints relate to the uncontrolled growth of tourist establishments in the Western Ghats leading to habitat fragmentation and increasing human-animal conflict.

Unlike in the case of mining where it urged for a blanket ban in the more ecologically sensitive areas, the panel has called for the ecotourism policy of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to be refined by the proposed Western Ghats Ecological Authority to promote minimal impact tourism. It has also stressed on the need for strict regulation for waste management, traffic, and water use.

There are a number of causes for worry. The 14-member panel headed by eminent ecologist Prof Madhav Gadgil found that there has been a tremendous increase in garbage accumulation in the area which attracts various pest species and also causes an increase in pathogens and disease. Untreated water is discharged into the open and this impacts vegetation and groundwater. There is also an increased risk of fires.

On the socio-cultural front, the group noticed changes in traditional livelihoods. Agriculture has been adversely affected because of land use changes and labour shortages, besides loss of access by indigenous and local communities to their land and resources as well as sacred sites. The report remarked, “Despite ecotourism, arising as a concept to promote nature conservation, it is found that the way ecotourism is practiced in India, it is being perceived as becoming just another form of mass tourism.”

Tourism in the Western Ghats has been increasing steeply. The forms of tourism observed in the region include ecology and wildlife, religious, social, and business. Religious tourism has the highest share of tourism in the Western Ghats followed by nature-based, social and business; the largest share of tourists is from the domestic sector. Tourist flows have risen sharply to the protected areas in the Western Ghats – Periyar, Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Dandeli-Anshi since 2000.

Most of the tourism is unplanned and unregulated. The panel observed that even planned world class tourism projects, e.g Amby Valley and Lavasa, have considerable local impacts. Tourism is being promoted both by the Centre and states without proper environmental impact assessments or cumulative impact assessments.

Among other things that can be done to mitigate adverse effects of tourism, the panel said that smallscale tourism should be encouraged by adopting benefit-sharing measures with local communities. Tourism infrastructure, particularly accommodation, should be eco-friendly, with careful use of locally available materials.

The panel has recommended that erection of concrete structures around springs, lakes and other perennial water bodies should be discouraged. There should be site-specific control of tourism infrastructure in the buffer regions of protected areas. Rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory for all new large and medium tourist infrastructure in the Western Ghats.

The WGEEP also laid a roadmap on how to implement its recommendations. A special cell within the WGEA would need to be constituted to deal with tourism-related issues. Control of tourism developments and activities, including licensing and overall targets for and limits to the scale and type of tourism should be overseen by the WGEA, the panel recommended.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_unregulated-tourism-is-ravaging-the-western-ghats_1681318

Travel News | "TripAdvisor Survey Reveals Air Travel On The Rise In 2012"

By: Press Release
Category: Travel News
Source: http://www.sacbee.com

Tripadvisor the world's largest travel site*, today announced the results of its annual air travel survey of more than 1,000 U.S. respondents. Americans are flocking to the skies this year as 91 percent of respondents said they plan to fly domestically in 2012, compared to 84 percent that did last year.  International flights are also on the rise, with 65 percent planning a flight out of the country, up from 55 percent in 2011.

Source:  http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/25/4440626/tripadvisor-survey-reveals-air.html

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/25/4440626/tripadvisor-survey-reveals-air.html#storylink=cpy

Travel News | "Travel Agents Make a Return Trip"

By: Kate Springer
Category: Travel News
Source: http://newsfeed.time.com

At their height in the mid-1990s, travel agencies boasted more than 34,000  locations in the U.S. Today, thanks to the economic uncertainty of the past decade and the boom in online travel sites, that number has been sliced in half. But don’t shed a tear for your neighborhood vacation expert just yet: brick-and-mortar agencies are making a comeback, reports the New York Times.

The rebound is thanks to an uptick in corporate and leisure travel, but it’s also due to growing frustration with the sheer amount of travel-related information on the web.  As discount travel portals and free-for-all recommendation sites have multiplied, more and more people are turning to experts to help make sense of it all. “I needed recommendations and someone to steer me in the right direction,” Jessica Griffin, who opted to work with an agent despite making her own reservations for years, told the Times. “I wanted somebody from a reputable agency who could say yes, you’ll enjoy this stay.”

Source: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/23/travel-agents-make-a-return-trip/

Travel News | "The Scripps-owned cable network has five new shows in the works for the 2012 programming slate"

By: Press Release
Category: Travel News
Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com


Travel Channel has greenlit three pilots and announced development of two new original series. Network GM Andy Singer discussed the plans on Thursday.

Among the pilots is Barn Finds, produced by BCII, which follows car expert Corky Coker on a roadtrip through the American south, looking for automotive bargains. Another auto-centric project, Power Trip with Jason Harper (Departure Films), has the host touring different countries behind the wheel of different famous (and pricey) cars. Kevin Michael Connolly Project, from Crazy Leg Productions, takes the titular thrill seeker and noted author and photographer, born without legs, around the globe.

In development, Travel is pursing Coffee Hunter and City Swappers. The first, from Nancy Glass Productions, takes a peek into the world of premium coffee peddlers, focusing on Philadelphia-based La Colombe Torrefaction. City Swappers comes from Stone Circle Films and explores what happens when two couples swap homes, cars, friends, etc. when they go on vacation.

"Our programming mission is to continue to provide a myriad of travel perspectives that not only entertain and inspire, but will take viewers beyond the guidebook," said Singer. “We’re excited about our new shows in development which feature a group of new talent who each weave their own personal experiences and stories through each show’s unique travel lens.”

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/travel-channel-pilots-development-313038

Travel News | "Travel Apps Targeted in Patent Infringement Lawsuits"

By: Michèle McDonald
Source: http://www.travelmarketreport.com
Category: Travel News

Mobile devices give agents exciting new opportunities for servicing customers, but creativity in the mobile channel could be stymied by a phenomenon known as the “patent troll.”A patent troll is a company that makes money primarily by suing other companies for patent infringement. Mobile technology is proving to be fertile ground for such companies – and travel companies are among the targets.

Travelocity, UAL, Hertz Are Sued

A Tulsa, Okla., company called Macrosolve has sued 59 companies, claiming infringement of a patent that it was awarded in October 2010. Among the defendants are some of the largest travel companies in the U.S.

American Airlines, Avis Rent A Car System, Continental Airlines, the Hertz Corp., Hipmunk Inc., Hotels.com, Priceline.com, Southwest Airlines, Travelocity.com and United Air Lines were sued on Dec. 21. They have since been joined by Marriott International, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Six Continents, IHG’s corporate predecessor.Macrosolve has not shied away from taking on other big names – including Facebook, Groupon, Dell and AT&T.

Patent for app transmissions

The patent that is the basis of its lawsuits gives MacroSolve the rights to a process that sends applications to mobile devices for downloading, collects information from users and sends it back to a central database.That covers any existing or future mobile app that sends data from the app user back to the makers or administrators of the app.

Any booking, purchase or request for information would fall into that category. That makes every transactional travel app a potential target for a lawsuit.

Tricky legal terrain

Patent infringement lawsuits are nothing new in the world of technology. Alexander Graham Bell was sued by several inventors after he produced the telephone. But software patents present some difficulties.

The U.S. Patent Office resisted awarding software patents for a long time, believing it was akin to awarding a copyright for language. You can copyright a book, but you can’t copyright an idea. But several court decisions in the 1990s forced it to change its stance.

The office was then deluged with applications, and according to M-CAM, a patent consultancy, patents for the same “invention” were often granted to different companies. In some cases, the language of the patent is mystifying even to the inventor.

‘Abysmal monument’

M-CAM chairman Dr. David E. Martin called MacroSolve’s patent “an abysmal monument to the complete failure of the patent system,” noting wryly that the patent hinges on keyword searches “with innovative terms like ‘survey,’ ‘poll,’ ‘collect’ and ‘gather.’”

Macrosolve does market some mobile applications and tools for restaurants, school safety and other categories under the Illume Mobile brand, but it has openly declared that “monetization” of the patent is a priority. It told investors that it has targeted an additional 250 companies for legal action.

Lucrative business

In Macrosolve’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it said it “has received 14 settlements in the form of non-exclusive, perpetual paid-up licenses for licensed products resulting in revenues of over $1 million in 2011, which represented approximately 63% of total revenue in 2011.”

Source: http://www.travelmarketreport.com/technology?articleID=7051&LP=1