Got the travel bug and want to express it this Halloween? Following is the third of several travel stereotypes you can use for costumes.
American exchange student: You know the type. Young, drunk American students who are suddenly legally allowed to drink set loose across Europe without chaperones. You’ll find them in hostels across the Old World, lugging giant backpacks and sporting Eurail passes. For this costume, you will definitely want a college sweatshirt or t-shirt. Gentlemen, pair it with khaki pants and a baseball cap. Ladies, yoga pants or skinny jeans will do the trick, and finish the look off with a pair of running shoes.
Carry a giant backpack (sew a Canadian flag on there if you don’t want folks to immediately assume you’re an American), and make sure to get really drunk.
This costume also works well in a group: random drunken make-out sessions will add authenticity to the hostel-party vibe.
National Geographic Traveler has released the results of its 6th annual survey of authenticity and “destination stewardship”. The survey, ranks 133 places on earth according to how well (or how poorly) the local governments, businesses and residents are protecting the area from degradation, along with other factors like risk of natural disasters.
437 panelists scored each destination according to: environmental and ecological quality, social and cultural integrity, condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and outlook for the future.
The highest-rated place: the Fjords region of Norway, followed by locations like the South Island of New Zealand, Slovenia, Ancient Kyoto in Japan, the Bavarian Alps and Vermont. Other places listed as “doing well” include Tuscany, Cappadocia, Easter Island, South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and Kentucky’s Bluegrass Country.
There are some places “in the balance” that need work in multiple areas. Destinations such as Costa Rica, the Great Barrier Reef, Prague’s Old Town, Petra and St. Lucia are included here. From there, it gets worse. Places with “troubles” include Ha Long Bay, Giza, Venice and Siem Reap.
The bottom of the barrel: Cabo San Lucas, the West Bank, and Spain’s Costa del Sol.
More interesting than the rankings are the reasons behind them. For example, Costa del Sol rates so low because it’s a “textbook example of mass tourism run amok”, overdeveloped, unattractive and straining local water resources. And what makes the Fjords so great? Few visitors, environmental quality, and a tourism industry that benefits the local people yet allows them to preserve traditional ways of life.
Is it just me or is it a little early for a winter snowstorm?
The Denver International Airport (DIA) had to cancel flights yesterday due to blizzard conditions. It was just too difficult to keep runways and taxiways clear, so United canceled about 200 of its 400 flights departures and arrivals, and Frontier canceled 19 of its 155 departures. Passengers on flights that had been delayed find themselves waiting one to four hours.
As of yesterday afternoon, about a foot of snow had dropped since Tuesday evening. But the wind — with 20 to 40 mph gusts — is actually the greater threat, rather than the snow.
The two east-west runways have been closed, but the other four north-south runways remain open.
Anybody with a flight scheduled into or out of DIA should check their flight status before going to the airport.
In his first song, Carroll said he wouldn’t rule out flying United again, specifically, “To save the world, I probably would … but that won’t likely happen.” Well, he did fly United again, simply because he needed a direct flight from Nova Scotia to Denver, and United had the only one available. This time, United didn’t break his guitar, but it did lose his luggage.
When he arrived at Denver International Airport, Carroll learned that his luggage was delayed, and the United employees on hand told him to wait for it. Meanwhile, an airport official told him to leave the baggage claim area. Eventually he yielded — a smart move, since his luggage didn’t arrive until Wednesday. And, yet again, United is in the position of having to investigate a problem associated with quite possibly the nicest wronged customer in the history of the travel business.
Following his original debacle with United, Carroll said he’d create three videos for YouTube. He’s created two so far, in addition to a statement explaining the situation with United and urging people not to be so hard on Ms. Irlweg. All three have been viewed a total of nearly 7 million times.
United has promised to take steps to improve customer service, but this seems to be slow-moving, as evidenced by Carroll’s recent situation. To make matters worse, the word from United’s vice president of customer contact centers, Barbara Higgins, said in an interview with Christopher Elliott, “Our agents are empowered to escalate serious concerns that they hear from our guests. We have since provided them with a better way to do that to ensure we can be more responsive to special situations that arise, while also protecting us from the fraud that we see.”
“Empowered to escalate” — that doesn’t strike me as terribly empowered.
The lack of movement on the issue seems clear in Carroll’s Denver debacle. He had finished the lyrics for the third song before taking this trip. “They lyrics that I used sort of encompass what happened here this week so I might not have to rewrite it after all,” he told CBC. That’s a sad statement, when you think about it. He was writing about a problem that happened over a year ago, and recent events don’t call for revision.
So much for progress …
Ironically, Carroll was flying to Denver to give a speech at RightNow Technologies, a company that develops customer service software. Maybe United will schedule a demo soon.
In the interests of disclosure and transparency, I don’t ski. I did a little bit of snowboarding 15 years ago, but it didn’t amount to much. So, when I write about the ski deals that come across my desk, it’s not lost on me that some people don’t hit the slopes. The latest package from The Lodge at Vail, a RockResort, has something for those of us who don’t stumble down the mountain. The “Spa, Savor & Snowshoe” deal is for everyone else. Guests can work up some hunger while snowshoeing, get those taxed muscles rubbed down at the spa and tie off the day with a three-course dinner at the Wildflower restaurant.
At $423 a night, the savings is around 25 percent, but you need to book a three-night stay. You’ll get a $300 spa credit, half-day guided snowshoe tour and daily breakfast for two (along with the dinner at Wildflower).
It looks like you don’t need to be a skier to enjoy winter in Colorado!