Controversy over Condé Nast Traveler’s World Savers Awards

by Sean McLachlan on

The popular magazine Condé Nast Traveler hosts the annual World Savers Awards to recognize the efforts of hotels, airlines, tour and cruise companies that give something back through their environmental or social programs. But one recipient of the 2010 award is attracting controversy over its actions.

Wilderness Safaris won this year’s award in the Health Initiatives category for its HIV/AIDS program, which includes the construction of clinics in South Africa, Zambia, and Malawi. Now Survival International, which supports the rights of indigenous peoples, says Wilderness Safaris falls short of its image as positive force in the community.

It points to its new luxury lodge, the Kalahari Plains Camp, set on the traditional lands of the Bushmen in Botswana. The lodge boasts a bar and swimming pool while the Bushmen have to walk for miles to get water. The local people used to have a well, but the government capped it when it kicked the Bushmen off the land in 2002. Survival International and the Bushmen went to court and won the right for the Bushmen to return to their lands, but the government still won’t allow them to reopen the well.

Wilderness Safaris says providing water isn’t their responsibility, but Survival International points out that they constructed a well near one of their resorts in Zimbabwe in order to attract more wildlife.

How much responsibility does a resort have to the local community? Tell us what you think in the comments section.

[Photo courtesy Ian Beatty]

Daily Pampering: Condé Nast Traveller names top spa in the U.S.

by Melanie Nayer on

If a little relaxation and rejuvenation, and a lot of pampering, is on your task list for 2010, Conde Nast has a place for you: The Spa Solage.

Readers of Condé Nast Traveller voted Spa Solage, at Solage Calistoga, the “Favourite Overseas Hotel Spas: The Americas and Caribbean” in its seventh annual “Readers’ Spa Awards 2010.” This recognition follows on the heels of Spa Solage’s number two spot among the “Top 25 Hotel Spas: Continental U.S. and Canada,” in Travel + Leisure Magazine’s “World’s Best Spas 2009” awards.

The spa is located on 22-acres in Napa Valley and is known for its eco-friendly services including mineral pools, mud-treatments and organic menus. You can spend the day or stay the weekend in the one of the resort’s suites, which start at $320/night.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Sign up for flash-sale alerts with Jetsetter.com

by Katie Hammel on

Want to be in the know about deep discounts and deals on luxury travel packages and top-tier hotels? Well then you need to wrangle yourself an invite to the Jetsetter.com email list (or just surf on over to Wendy Perrin’s post and use her “exclusive link” for readers).

According to Perrin, Jetsetter is a “flash-sale site that negotiates with noteworthy hotels, cruise lines, and other luxe travel suppliers to offer slashed rates unavailable to the general public.” Those who get on the email list will receive a notice of the next days’ sales each night at 8pm. Each sale lasts just two days, or until the availability runs out.

Sounds pretty cool, right? I used Perrin’s link to sign and up and browse some of the current….um, sales, and found that there are some deep discounts offered here. But remember, this is a luxury travel site. Half off of $800 is still way out of my price range. Budget travelers may have a harder time finding a deal they can afford….but it’s not impossible. One deal currently being offered is a Superior Queen Guestroom at the West Hollywood Sunset Tower for $129 (as opposed to the usual $225-$275). The discounted, but still $650 a night, Asia cruise is probably a little less affordable for most people.

Perrin was able to offer the exclusive sign-up link through Conde Nast’s new partnership with Jetsetter, which is a member of the Gilt Groupe. Each month, Jetsetter will offer special deals on products and services sold by some of the magazines advertisers.

Dates for 2010 Travel Blog Exchange Announced

by Katie Hammel on

Last July, travel writers and bloggers from all over the world came together in Chicago for TBEX, the Travel Blog Exchange. It was a day to meet people in the industry, to learn from other writers and bloggers, and most of all, to start a conversation about the business of travel blogging.

Topics covered at the inaugural event included “Creating a a Lively and Successful Travel Blog”, which was led by Bootsnall’s Sean Keener, Nomadic Matt, Micheal Yessis from Worldhum, and Gadling’s own Heather Poole (who did a stellar job explaining how she keeps her own blog stocked with informative and entertaining posts). There was a session on working with PR people, one on podcasting and video (featuring Chris Martin from the Indie Travel Podcast and Chris Elliott from National Geographic and MSNBC) and a panel on the difference between travel journalism and blogging, led by Conde Nast’s Wendy Perrin and Jen Leo from the LA Times. Between sessions there was plenty of time for networking.

I had the chance to attend the 2009 event and was glad I did. I learned a lot, got to meet several people whose blogs I have been following, and made some valuable connections. As soon as the event was over, I signed up to be alerted with news about the 2010 Travel Blog Exchange.

Today, the dates and locations for next year’s TBEX were announced. This year’s event will be held June 26 and 27, 2010, and sounds like it’s going to be even bigger and better than last year. It will be held in New York City, is an extra day long, and will offer more in-depth session for niche discussions. Plus, Gadling is going to be one of the sponsors.

Speakers have not been confirmed yet, but based on the experts assembled last year, I’ve no doubt that next year’s attendees will be treated to an all-star panel. Early Bird registration (before January 1, 2010) is just $40. After that, it’s only $80, making this one of the cheaper blogger conferences available and well worth the money. You can sign up now to attend in person, or stay tuned to the TBEX page for information on watching the event via live stream.

Conde Nast Traveler Rates Books for (Armchair) Adventurers

by Catherine Bodry on

The September issue of Conde Nast Traveler offers a list of literature that will hopefully whet your adventure appetite. The magazine is touting the list of books due out this fall as “new classics,” although it includes Jack Kerouac’s re-released On the Road (original scroll in book form).

You don’t have to get seasick to follow Marco Polo’s explorations or tales of a Viking woman who “sailed the seas 500 years before Columbus.”

For more great travel literature, check out Gadling blogger Kelly Amabile’s One for the Road series. Grab a blanket, make a cup of tea, and travel away in your mind.

[via USA Today]