Travel “Webby” Winners Announced

by McLean Robbins on

The winners of the 16th annual Webby Awards were announced this morning, referencing those who achieved excellence online. We reported earlier on the full list of 2012 nominees, and now we’ll bring you the winners:

Kayak.com won both The Webby Award and The People’s Voice Award for Best Travel Website. It also won The People’s Voice Award for Best Travel App, but FlightBoard won The Webby Award in the same category.

The New York City Tourism Bureau won The Webby Award for NYC The Official Guide while Greenland.com won The People’s Voice Award.

Norway’s Tourism Bureau won The Webby Award for Best Home/Welcome Page for Visit Norway 360.

In the Online Film & Video categories, From Peru for Peru won both The Webby Award and The People’s Voice Award for Best Travel & Adventure Online Video and “Sonia’s Travels” won the People’s Voice Award for Best Web Personality/Host.

What do you think? Are these truly the best-in-class projects across each category? Weigh in with your comments, below.

Infographic: The Future Of Hotels Is Green

by Jessica Marati on

It was only a matter of time before someone made a snazzy infographic on the wastefulness of the hotel industry. This one comes from blog Hotel.info, with information sourced from the U.S. Green Building Council, American Hotel & Lodging Association, NFL, U.S. Energy Information Association, Energy Star, Environmental Protection Agency, Siemens and Forbes.com.

The graphic features plenty of interesting information nuggets and analogies, like:

  • Hotels create 1.9 billion pounds of waste each year, enough to fill 37 million suitcases.
  • They also use 84.7 billion kwh of energy per year, enough to power 64.5 million television sets.
  • If one person took a shower non-stop for 277 years, it would be equivalent to the amount of water used by hotels each year.
  • Hotels also produce 60 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to that generated by 10.6 million cars and 12 coal-fired power plants.

Shocking, eh? For a look at what would happen if both hotels and guests adopted greener policies, click on “Read More” for the full graphic.

[via Hotel.info]

Travelers Want To Be More Eco-Friendly, Says TripAdvisor Survey, But Hotels Need To Do More

by Jessica Marati on

According to a new survey from TripAdvisor, 71 percent of travelers say they plan to make more “eco-friendly” travel decisions in the next 12 months, compared to 65 percent in the past 12 months. But with varying opinions on what constitutes eco-friendly anything these days, what does that mean?

As per the release, the top “eco-friendly” efforts practiced by individuals participating in the survey are as follows:

  • 88 percent turn off lights when leaving their hotel room
  • 80 percent participate in their hotel’s linen or towel re-use program
  • 57 percent use recycling in the hotel

From the data, it looks like most of the travelers surveyed avail of small opportunities to make eco-friendly decisions when the opportunities are presented to them, usually in their hotels. But what opportunities are the hotels offering?

  • 58 percent offer linen or towel re-use programs
  • 37 percent have an adjustable thermostat in the room
  • 32 percent offer water-efficient low-flow toilets and showerheads

They are small moves, but compared to what hotels could be doing, they don’t amount to very much. To boot, 60 percent of travelers say they rarely feel informed about whether hotels are truly eco-friendly or just claiming to be. It seems to fall, then, on hotels and tourism operators to truly incorporate greener practices, publicize them and offer ways for guests to get on board. It seems that many travelers want to be more eco-friendly – they just need that extra push when they’re in vacation mode.

[Flickr image via cogdogblog]

How Are You Celebrating Earth Day?

by Kraig Becker on

Today is Earth Day, an annual event that is meant to remind us of how fragile our planet’s natural environment is and the importance of protecting it. All across the globe millions of people are taking part in events designed to celebrate this amazing rock we call home, while simultaneously looking for ways to preserve it for the generations that will follow.

At the heart of this year’s Earth Day celebration is the “Billion Acts of Green” initiative in which organizers of the event have asked participants to pledge to take steps to lead a more “green” lifestyle. Those pledges can include something as simple as taking reusable bags to the grocery store or signing a petition to protect the Amazon, or as big as installing solar panels in your home and buying a hybrid car. The thought is that if we all vow to make small changes in our lives to help the environment, our collective efforts will have a lasting impact on the planet. To make your own pledge to the cause simply click here.

Additionally, a host of Earth Day events are taking place across the world today that will give us the opportunity to have a positive impact on the communities we live in. Those events include things like cooperative efforts to clean up local parks or organized recycling drives. There is even a rally scheduled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. For a complete list of events or to find one in your area, click here.

As travelers, I believe that we understand the importance of protecting the environment as well as anyone. But I also happen to believe that we need to take a more active role in protecting it. After all, we are the ones who are jetting off to visit the far-flung corners of the globe on a regular basis. The next time you take a trip, remember to have a heightened respect for the place you are visiting; take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. That way those destinations that we love so much will be there for future travelers to enjoy too.

British Woman Prepares To Row Across The Pacific

by Kraig Becker on

Last April we posted a story about Sarah Outen, an adventurous 26-year-old from the U.K. who had set out to circumnavigate the globe using nothing but her own power. Sarah called her journey the London2London expedition and over the past 12 months she has traveled by kayak and bike across Europe and Asia. Now she is preparing to embark on the next stage of her journey, a solo row across the Pacific Ocean.

Sarah is currently in Choshi, Japan, where she is busy making the final preparations to her 21-foot rowboat named Gulliver. That boat will be her home for the next seven months as she undertakes the physically and mentally demanding task of crossing the Pacific. If all goes as planned, and the weather is right, she’ll set out tomorrow on a 5179-mile row that will eventually end in Vancouver, Canada.

This isn’t Sarah’s first ocean crossing under her own power. Back in 2009 she rowed solo across the Indian Ocean as well. That expedition took more than four months to complete and covered approximately 3100 miles of open ocean. The Pacific will provide a similar experience, albeit on a much grander scale.

After setting out from London last year, Outen paddled down the Thames River and crossed the English Channel in a kayak. Arriving on the shores of France, she climbed aboard a bike and began peddling east, crossing through numerous countries in Europe and Asia along the way. She arrived in Japan last October, but the Pacific is unforgiving in the autumn and winter so she has waited until now to start this stage of the journey.

After she completes her row across the Pacific, Sarah will once again return to her bike and continue her round-the-world adventure. The next stage will involve riding across Canada and the U.S. Finally, she intends to cap the journey by rowing across the North Atlantic and back up the Thames River, finishing where she started under the London Bridge.

I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

[Photo courtesy Sarah Outen]