Caribbean Week Brings Music, Dance, Deals To New York City

by Chris Owen on

Now through June 11, Caribbean Week New York is being held at Grand Central Terminal, offering a celebration of the unique vacation experiences available in the Caribbean. Hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) the event is a chance to experience the sights, sounds and culture of island life along with some exclusive travel deals.

Travel experts from Caribbean destinations will be on hand and visitors will have opportunity to book exclusive Caribbean Week travel deals via Travelocity and American Airlines Vacations.

Part of Caribbean Week New York is the 2012 Rum and Rhythm Benefit. At this event guests will sample premium rums of the Caribbean and cuisine prepared by the region’s celebrity chefs. There is also an opportunity to experience some of the Caribbean’s award winning musicians and mixologists as guests journey from one destination to the other. A live auction will give visitors the opportunity to outbid each other for exclusive vacation packages.

At another event, one lucky couple will tie the knot at a Caribbean-themed wedding ceremony in the iconic New York City landmark. “From the bride’s dress to the wedding cake to the honeymoon, the Caribbean has spared no expense to make their Caribbean dream come true,” says the CTO on their website.

The top-rated island of St Kitts will host a honeymoon for the lucky couple including two business class tickets to St. Kitts in addition to a four-night stay at the St. Kitts Marriott, which is also providing complimentary spa treatments and more.

Performances by JAM-X Band, Danza Fiesta Salsa Dancers of Puerto Rico, Natraj Center for the Performing Arts and Braata Productions will be held throughout the week. Admission is free.



[Flickr photo by katiew]

New Clues Revealed In Disappearance Of Amelia Earhart

by Kyle Ellison on

Most of us grew up learning that famous early aviation icon Amelia Earhart simply up and vanished on her quest to fly around the world in 1937. Departing from Papua New Guinea after an enjoyable stay, Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan set a course for remote Howland Island in the Central Pacific, never to be seen or heard from again.

Or so the story goes.

Now, nearly 75 years after her disappearance, Discovery reports that teams of researchers are concluding that’s simply not the case.

At a recent three-day conference held by TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery), researchers announced the existence of 57 credible radio signals originating from Earhart’s downed aircraft in the hours and days directly following her disappearance.

Amateur radio operators from Melbourne, Australia, to Honolulu, Hawaii, are reported to have picked up faint transmissions containing the call sign of Earhart’s Electra aircraft, KHAQQ, and various military ships in the region also reported garbled transmissions believed to be those of a crash-landed Amelia Earhart.So here’s the new story:

Amelia Earhart didn’t just overshoot Howland Island, run out of gas and crash into the sea. She overshot Howland Island, nearly ran out of gas, but managed to land her aircraft on a remote atoll known today as Nikumaroro. With her aircraft still functioning properly she was able to initiate radio transmissions from inside the aircraft only when the sea water level was low enough to not reach the transmitter.

As it just so happens, recent research into the tidal swings of Nikumaroro atoll for the exact week of her disappearance show that the transmissions sent by Earhart coincide with the times at which the water level would have been low enough to operate the engine and the transmitter.

Eventually, however, the Electra aircraft would lose its battle with the sea, and so, too, would Earhart and Noonan lose their ability to communicate with the outside world.

While expeditions to Nikumaroro have been conducted in the past, the closest piece of evidence found is a jar of anti-freckle cream believed to have belonged to the long lost aviator.

[Photo credit: miss_rogue on Flickr]

Sustainable Travel Agents Make Impact, Educate

by Chris Owen on

Sustainable travel aims to yield a net beneficial gain, or render at least neutral, every aspect of the travel process. When rating elements of a travel plan, from booking flights online to hotel operational policies, everything is considered. At one time, sustainable travel was the domain of tree-hugging environmentalists, out to get travel suppliers. Now, Earth-friendly travel agents are making it their mission to educate consumers.

Andrea Dixon and Lindsay Batchelar founded Green Motion Travel in 2010, making sustainable tourism the prime focus of their Canadian travel agency. Batchelar, an experienced travel consultant, and Dixon, with a masters in Tourism, were frustrated that the research on sustainability never trickled down to consumers.

“A big part of Green Motion’s work is providing information about options available for travel choices,” Batchelar told Travel Market Report.

The two met five years ago when their sons entered kindergarten together. Initially, Green Motion Travel devoted resources to educating potential clients about key sustainability concepts. Explaining how those concepts could be applied to the travel experience, Green Motion circulated handouts with titles like “What to Ask Before You Book,” and “Sustainable Tourism While You Travel.”

They also sent questionnaires to travel suppliers and ranked them according to each supplier’s commitment to sustainable tourism. The results yielded a relationship with hotels, tour operators and other service providers eager to offer green travel options.

“It took a long time to find out which companies are committed to sustainability. So many are trying to be environmentally friendly and want to promote their effort, which is great,” said Dixon.Now with more than double the manpower, Green Motion Travel’s mission continues to educate and promote their website. There, visitors can easily make transportation choices that suit their evolving needs and criteria.

So what is trending in the sustainable tourism world?

“We are seeing a growing number of our clients choose rail over flying when the option is presented by us. In Canada, our rail network is decent in the Ottawa-Toronto-Montreal corridor. It is these types of trips that are hardest on the environment when flying, so every convert to rail – which also avoids airline security hassles – is a benefit,” said Dixon.

“Tourism can never be neutral,” says the Green Motion Travel website. “It will always have an impact but the key is to try and make the impact as positive as possible.”


[Flickr photo by The Brit_2]

Video: Oregon Man Turns Retired Jetliner Into Home

by Laurel Miller on

Reduce, reuse, recycle – we’ve heard it ad nauseum, but it’s certainly a great maxim to live by. Bruce Campbell, an Oregon electrical engineer remodeling a retired 727-200 commercial jet into a home, believes he’s on-trend, according to an interview with CNN. He admits it’s not for everyone (it’s like the Ninth Circle of Hell for aviophobics such as myself) but he does have a point about the wings making for a great deck.

For a tour of Campbell’s dream home in progress, watch the video.

Mobile Phone Use While Flying: Not All That Popular Says Survey

by Chris Owen on

Just when those who would like to use their mobile phone in the air get a break, a new survey says most travelers would prefer that they keep it turned off.

Not long ago, Virgin Atlantic announced it would allow mobile phone calls during flights on its London to New York route. Calls made will cost £1 a minute and a text will be 20 pence, much more than on the ground but worth it to those who need uninterrupted communications ability.

But a new survey from flight comparison site Skyscanner has revealed 86 percent of those surveyed said it would be “annoying to listen to other people’s conversations” reports Caribbean News Digital.

“In a world where we are now almost always ‘on call,’ it seems people don’t want to say good-bye to their last sanctuary of non-connectivity,” says Sam Baldwin, Skyscanner Travel Editor. “Flying allows us to switch off for a few hours, both from our own calls, and other people’s.”

Even those who like the idea of using their mobile phone in the air are not all that excited about it. Only 1 percent of respondents said they would actually pay more to fly with an airline that offered mobile call ability – surely not enough to get airlines in the mood to offer it.
The Skyscanner survey also revealed 48 percent said they would send texts, 35 percent said they would surf the web, 10 percent would send email, but only 6 percent would actually make and take calls.



[Flickr photo by Tim Psych]