Study Shows Travel Can Increase Your Sex Appeal

by Jessica Festa on

According to a study done by Intrepid Travel using the online dating site RSVP.com.au, people who travel a lot are seen as more attractive than their non-traveling counterparts. The study found that daring travelers are seen as the sexiest, while 23 percent say adrenaline seekers make their heart race. Moreover, off-the-beaten-path travelers were most attractive to 22 percent, while culture buffs got 16 percent of the votes.

Says Intrepid spokeswoman Jo Stewart, “The attitudes of singles show that a bi-product of travel is that it adds to your sex appeal.”

The study also looked at the behavior of single travelers. Data showed that 96 percent of singles who were passionate about traveling, were also looking for a partner with the same interests. Many single travelers – 72 percent – also dream of meeting someone special on their trips. Ever fantasized about a romantic picnic in Tuscany? Twenty-six percent responded this was their perfect first date, with a sentimental stroll in Paris being their second.

[image via permanently scatterbrained]

Airline Trends: Fliers To Be Charged Extra For Window Seats

by Jessica Festa on

While you can usually purchase your flight ticket and then reserve any seat you’d like in your section, airlines are beginning to charge extra for window seats. Certain airlines, like Delta, American Airlines, US Airways, Frontier, Spirit and Allegiant, have already implemented the “preferred seating” fees, charging $29 each way on domestic flights in the U.S. and $59 on international flights in the front section of the plane.

Aside for having to spend extra money, doing this also creates a problem for passengers who want to sit with their family and friends. By setting aside these more desirable seats, the airlines are making it difficult for people traveling together to always be seated near one another. Not surprisingly, these fees are part of a bigger plan to make up for rising fuel charges by adding fees to things that passengers are used to having included, like pillows, blankets, movies and beverages.

Of course, this isn’t how the airlines are spinning it. Katie Hulme, a spokesperson for Delta, explained to CNN, “Offering preferred seats for sale to all Delta passengers means that we are offering different seat selection options to enable more passengers to travel in their seat of choice.”

What do you think of preferred seating charges?

[photo via VirtualErn]

Antarctic Tourism Expected To Increase In 2012-2013

by Kraig Becker on

The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) is predicting an increase in Antarctic tourism this year as adventurous travelers begin to return to the frozen continent in larger numbers. If that prediction holds true it will be the first time in four years that Antarctica will see an increase in visitors, which is good news for travel companies that operate in the region but could spell an end to the fantastic discounts that we’ve enjoyed over the past few years.

The IAATO says that during the 2011-2012 season, which ended in April, its members carried 26,519 passengers to Antarctica. This year it is predicting that the number of travelers will increase to 34,950, which is still well below the record high of 46,265 visitors set during the 2007-2008 season. The following year marked the start of the global economic downturn from which many countries are still struggling to recover. Additionally, a 2010 ban on ships that use heavy fuel oils has helped to reduce capacity to the Southern Ocean as well. Both of those factors are believed to have contributed to the sharp decline.

While the number of visitors to the Antarctic has steadily dropped over the past three years, travelers have been able to take advantage of the situation and visit the continent at bargain prices. A number of high-profile tour operators have offered substantial discounts, and even “two for one” specials, to help fill their cruise ships. Now that demand appears to be on the rise again, those of us who have always wanted to visit the Antarctic may have missed our opportunity. Alternatively, if you do come across a good discount for the 2012-2013 season, you just may want to grab it.

[Photo courtesy of the IAATO]

Happy Birthday, Hubble Space Telescope!

by Sean McLachlan on


The Hubble Space Telescope has been in orbit for 22 years today, and to celebrate, NASA has released this awesome image of the Tarantula Nebula, also known by its less romantic scientific name of 30 Doradus.

A nebula is a massive cloud of gas and dust in which some areas are coalescing and igniting into stars. The Tarantula Nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy orbiting our own Milky Way galaxy. The light comes from thousands of stars in its center that illuminate the clouds and filaments around them.

In addition to being one of the most groundbreaking scientific instruments of the late twentieth century, Hubble is a team player. This image is a composite from the Hubble and two other space telescopes: Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope, an infrared instrument my super-cool astronomer wife uses. NASA says:

“The Hubble data in the composite image, colored green, reveals the light from these massive stars along with different stages of star birth, including embryonic stars a few thousand years old still wrapped in cocoons of dark gas. Infrared emission data from Spitzer, seen in red, shows cooler gas and dust that have giant bubbles carved into them. These bubbles are sculpted by the same searing radiation and strong winds that comes from the massive stars at the center of 30 Doradus.”

Happy Birthday, Hubble!

Photo courtesy NASA. To see the image in its full 3000-pixel glory, click here.

Chinese Architects Pose As Tourists In Attempt To Steal Plans For Austrian City

by Jessica Festa on

It’s not uncommon for different cultures to influence each other and even borrow ideas. However, China is taking this to the next level by literally transforming the industrial city of Huizhou into a replica of Hallstatt in Austria.

According to the Daily Mail, the plan, which will cost over $7 billion, was found out about when blueprints were left behind at a Hallstatt hotel. Apparently, the Chinese had been visiting the city for three years, getting the necessary information to recreate the buildings and environment – even including an artificial lake to match.

So, how do locals of Hallstatt feel about China’s plan? Most are pretty proud, actually.

Says Ingrid Janu, the owner of a souvenir store in Hallstatt, “We’re happy they find it beautiful enough to copy.”

However, there are those who are upset over the sneaky approach used by the Chinese.

“I don’t like the idea of knowing that a team was present here for years measuring, and photographing and studying us,” comments Monika Wenger, a hotel owner.

You have to admit, she does have a point.

What’s your opinion?

[Image via pipimaru]