Another great travel resource in Moebii.com

by Brenda Yun on

Whether sifting through endless piles of saved travel section clippings, or spending hours online navigating destination articles, the amount of time and energy it takes to organize the perfect trip can be overwhelming. That’s what Chris Danielian and Robert Celic, the founders of Moebii discovered in their attempt to find destination information.

In late 2008, Danielian had returned from a vacation in Morocco and Celic was researching a trip to South America. Both had similar gripes about the state of travel information on the web. They realized that while there is a lot of great online travel content, it was nearly impossible to keep track of all the stories and websites. The extent of fragmentation among travel stories was shocking and traditional search engines did not address the problem. After countless hours of brainstorming, testing and refining, Danielian and Celic created Moebii.

Moebii is a website that compiles content from hundreds of publications and online sources. Users tag the stories based on keywords, thereby narrowing the pool of travel stories into a list that is relevant and up-to-date. A foodie traveling to Spain, for instance, can search for the most authentic tapas restaurants in Barcelona, while a thrill-seeker traveling to Iceland can read up on the best cave-exploring adventures outside Reykjavik. Relevant travel stories arrive on a fully-linked page and are at your fingertips withinseconds.

In addition to travel story searches, Moebii can track stories by destination or publication, set up alerts to receive new stories as they’re posted to the site, and send stories to friends. Its user-interactive component also lets travelers create itineraries for future trips, publish their own travel stories, vote stories up or down, (allowing the highest quality content to rise to the top), and have real-time conversations with other travelers about destinations in order to compare notes and insider tips.

Trying out the site myself for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. While the site is in its primary stages, the potential for travelers to save time and energy searching for just the right story is well worth bookmarking Moebii for frequent use. Give Moebii a test drive, and if you find any issues with it, feel free to contact them directly with feedback or let Gadling know. I’ll be personally visiting with Celic to discuss travel and the site, so I’m happy to pass on any messages.

Matador Network launches new travel writing school

by Brenda Yun on

It sounds like a dream job: getting paid to explore the world as a travel writer. For many, this job remains a far-fetched dream. However, for those willing to dream big even during these recessional times, travel writing can be a profession rather than a pipe dream.

Count on Matador, the world’s largest independent travel publication, to turn dreams into reality. The travel network has developed its first educational component, MatadorU, which is aimed at revolutionizing the way travel writers of all levels launch and accelerate their careers.
Matador and its fleet of independent travel writers know how to thrive. In less then 3 years, Matador has grown from a small community of passionate travelers, to a massively popular network of niche travel blogs, reaching over 800,000 unique visitors a month. With its growing popularity, it is turning to its travel writing school, MatadorU, to make the travel writing profession a realistic aspiration.
MatadorU‘s first course is a 12-week curriculum aimed at travel writers of all levels. I was able to browse the course materials myself, and I have to say that the course is rich and informative, and in many ways itliterally gives away the blueprint used to navigate the continuously evolving world of travel publishing. Each week, students receive online chapters and assignments, with lessons ranging from: ways to improve your storytelling, learning how to organize submissions for publication, to mastering social media, monetization blogs, and negotiating ad contracts.

In addition to the course materials, MatadorU students also gain access to travel writing market leads as well as an exclusive online forum. To promote its new school, Matador is offering this free download, which provides helpful insider information on how much travel magazines pay — a great resource for travel writers looking for more exposure and some $$$ too.

Shanghai taking steps to correct funny Engrish signs

by Scott Carmichael on

For years, Chinese signs have been a fantastic source of comedy.

Entire sites have been created around the humorous translations used in signs, and while some are just plain stupid, others have become Internet sensations, pulling in millions of viewers.

That may all come to an end soon in Shanghai. Officials in the city have assembled a team of volunteers who will check signs, and report incorrect translations to the authorities. Those signs will then have to be removed and/or corrected.

The increase in poorly spelled signs can be blamed on poor translation software and poor user input. In fact, incorrect use of translation software can even result in really stupid signs like this one.

Whether the efforts in Shanghai will result in perfectly translated signs remains to be seen – similar campaigns in Beijing back in 2002 and 2006 have not resulted in a decrease of funny signs.

Thankfully, the Chinese are not alone in the world of stupid signage, as you can see on this Welsh sign.

Airlines roll out last-minute sales for Labor Day

by Katie Hammel on

There are just two weeks left until Labor Day, but it’s not too late to plan a getaway for the holiday weekend. In fact, waiting until now to book your trip might even save you money with some of the great last-minute deals that are available.

American Airlines Flights
American Airlines has several destinations on sale for Labor Day. Buy your tickets to Belize by August 28th and travel Monday through Thursday, starting September 1st, for as low as $217 each way. Book a trip to Jamaica by August 24th for travel any day of the week after September 1st, and prices will start at $84 each way. Tickets to Cancun, booked by August 25th for Saturday and Tuesday travel after September 1st, start at $88 each way.

United Airlines Flights
If you can stretch your weekend until Tuesday (departing on Saturday), book tickets to destinations within the United States on United Airlines by August 25th to save. Prices vary by departure and destination cities, but sample fares include Chicago to New Orleans for $89 each way, Atlanta to Denver for $109 each way, and Miami to Washington Dulles for $69 each way.

Spirit Airlines Flights
Spirit is well known for its near-constant sales to destinations within the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. It’s like the Gap of airlines – never pay retail because, just as the Gap will knock 50% off those jeans in two weeks, chances are that Spirit will soon offer a better deal for the flight you want. Their current sale ends tomorrow, August 25th, and discounts some of their more popular routes to as low as $33.90 each way. As with all of their sales, $9 Fare Club members and those in hub cities like Fort Lauderdale and Detroit save the most and have the most options. But even the rest of us can still get some good deals for Labor Day. For example, New York to Medellin, Colombia is $138.90 each way, Boston to Myrtle Beach is $68.90 each way, and Atlanta to San Jose, Costa Rica is $128.90 each way.

Expedia.com Deals
Beyond flights, Expedia has deals on just about everything else – hotels, cars, cruises, package deals – for your Labor Day travels. Deals vary widely by location, but some of the highlights include discounts of up to 50% off hotels in Las Vegas, Orlando and Chicago (among other cities) and 3-night Royal Caribbean Bahamas cruises for as low as $262 per person for an inside cabin.

If these deals don’t work for you, there’s still plenty of time to plan your perfect Labor Day vacation at a great price. Check out Hotwire’s Travel Ticker, peruse the sale list on Travelzoo and follow your favorite airlines on Twitter. JetBlue and Southwest regularly post their top deals on twitter, so you’ll be the first to know about great fares.

Nominees for Planeta.com’s Ecotourism Spotlight Award announced

by Katie Hammel on

Planeta.com, a website dedicated to ecotourism and encouraging environmental conservation through tourism, has announced the nominees for its Ecotourism Spotlight Award. The Award honors the tourism boards that promote ecotourism through their websites, both by highlighting their own efforts and by helping travelers connect to independent tour providers who operate using sustainable practices.

The award was created in 2007 to encourage National Tourism Boards to promote ecotourism within their countries and to reward those who were doing so effectively. The winner in both 2007 and 2008 was Ecotourism Laos and the site is nominated again this year, along with Quito Visitors’ Bureau, Responsible Tourism Guide to the Mekong, and Failte Ireland.

The voting is open to the public on Planeta’s website and will continue through August 31. The winner will be announced on September 27, World Tourism Day. So cast your vote, and check out the sites to see what each is doing to promote ecotourism in its country.