New water bottle stations in Grand Canyon make park safer, more “green”

by Kraig Becker on

Stretching for 277 miles through the Arizona desert, the Grand Canyon is amongst the more impressive natural wonders you’ll ever see. It is over 6000 feet in depth and at its widest point, it is 18 miles across. Everything about the place is truly epic in scale, and that is why the park receives nearly 4.5 million visitors a year. But all those visitors can have an impact on the environment there, which is why the National Park Service recently took steps to protect the Canyon, while serving its visitors better at the same time.

A few weeks back the NPS completed the installation of nine water bottle stations in the park. Those stations, located in the highest traffic areas, will provide visitors with plenty of water while hiking in the canyon, which can be quite warm in many months of the year. Visitors are now encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles or hydration packs, and refill often while on the trail.

Keeping visitors hydrated during hot days in the park was only one of the reasons these stations were installed however. The Park Service estimates that about 30% of all the waste removed from the park comes from plastic water bottles, and they are hoping that these filling stations will become a more viable option for hikers, while cutting down on litter and the use of plastics in general. The Park’s leadership has made a commitment to being more environmentally friendly, and they’re encouraging visitors to do the same.

Six of the water stations have been installed along the South Rim at Hermits Rest; the Bright Angel and South Kaibab Trailheads; the Canyon Village and Desert View Marketplaces; and
Grand Canyon, Verkamp’s and Desert View Visitor Centers. An additional three refilling stations have been installed along the North Rim at North Kaibab Trailhead, North Rim Visitor Center, and at the North Rim Backcountry Office. Two of those, the North Kaibab Trailhead and the North Rim Visitor Center are for seasonal use only, while all others provide access year round.

Considering how environmentally unfriendly plastic water bottles are, this is a great move for the Park Service. It is also a fantastic resource for travelers in the Grand Canyon as well. The hot, dry weather often surprises visitors to that park, and there are a high number of evacuations there each year for heat and dehydration related issues. Hopefully a readily available supply of water will help address that issue as well.

Business travel is back and growing fast

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Business travelers shelled out more cash in the fourth quarter of 2010 than they did in any other since the recession kicked in. The latest report from the Global Business Travel Association shows an increased spend of $4.2 billion over the previous quarter. For all of 2010, business travel spending ticked up 3.2 percent – far ahead of the 2.3 percent originally predicted.

Now, hopes for 2011 are even higher. Business travel spending is expected to grow 6.9 percent this year, relative to an original forecast of 5 percent.

According to Michael W. McCormick, GBTA Executive Director and COO, “These are very heartening signs. Business travel spending is coming back at robust levels, indicating the shape of things to come – namely more travelers on the road, an improving economy, and a positive environment for continued job growth.” He added, “Thanks to increasing corporate confidence, companies are investing more in business travel which will further stimulate business activity and economic growth.”Increased travel prices are part of the reason for this, the GBTA explained. The association noted that “[r]ate analysis based on an aggregate of airfare, lodging, meals, ground transportation and car rentals shows travel prices in 2010 increased by 2.5 percent and are projected to increase between 2 percent to 4 percent for 2011.”

Some of the gains are also coming from business travelers crossing borders. Lat year, international travel spending climbed 17.3 percent year over year, with another 7.9 percent expected this year. International travel growth is expected to outpace the overall trend.

Finally, good vibes are contributing to the increased flow of cash. McCormick said, “Group travel, events and conferences are large expenses with long lead times. Companies lacked the confidence and clarity to make these longer-term investments when the economy was struggling, but these increases are further evidence that companies are feeling much better about investing in business travel and face-to-face meetings once again.”

The Legacy of Titanic- Cruise Lines learn about reality

by Chris Owen on

Today’s cruise industry exists and operates as it does in many ways as a result of the Titanic tragedy. This week we take a look at the legacy left behind in ways that affect cruise passengers on every sailing of every ship.

Titanic was the most advanced vessel of her day. Built with the best technology of the time, White Star Line which owned the ship thought her unsinkable.

Titanic was designed to compete with Cunard Line’s Lusitania and Mauretania and focused on high-end luxury travel, very much as depicted in the movie Titanic.

Out of 840 staterooms, almost half were first-class accommodations. The ship was built for pleasure and beauty. It was filling that order which would contribute to the loss of life just days after launching Titanic. The ship was designed to hold 32 lifeboats but only 20 were on board.

Cruise line management thought too many lifeboats would take away from the beauty of the ship. The 20 lifeboats on board Titanic could carry a total of 1,178 of the 3,547 the ship might have if fully loaded.

On that tragic night in 1912 when Titanic sank, the SS Californian was the closest ship to Titanic and many believe it could have easily rescued all on board. Unfortunately, the radio operator went to sleep not long before Titanic started broadcasting emergency distress messages.

After the Titanic sinking, ships were required to have enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship. Existing ships were refitted in a variety of ways and ship design changed to address safety issues.

The International Convention for the Safety of Life A Sea (SOLAS) is a treaty passed in 1914 in answer to the sinking of the Titanic. It addressed the lifeboat issue along with specifying emergency equipment and procedures including radio watches.

Today, advanced weather forecasting and navigational equipment on cruise ships take advantage of the great strides made possible by modern technology. GPS monitoring allows cruise lines to know where cruise ships are at all times. On-board video surveillance systems keep track of passengers and crew and are often called upon to solve cases of crime at sea.

Join us tomorrow as we take a look at one of the key figures in the Legacy of Titanic, the Captain of the ship. We’ll explore the Captain’s role then and now as more cruise ships sail more itineraries in more parts of the world than ever before.

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Flickr photo by formatc1

Video of the Day – Extreme kayaking around the world

by Stephen Greenwood on

Before watching this video, I was unaware that it’s possible to intentionally be inverted or airborne in a kayak, let alone both at once.

If you love river sports and/or beautiful cinematography, then settle in for three and half pulse-raising minutes and check out this trailer for River Root’s kayaking film dubbed Frontier.

Featuring scenes from Mexico, China, Iceland, Norway, the U.S., and Canada, Frontier follows a group of kayakers as they explore some of the world’s most powerful rivers and seemingly impassable whitewater. The full length film is due out on DVD this month and is available for pre-order on the River Roots website. Needless to say, if the full film features more scenes like the final clip of the video, then I’ll definitely be ordering a copy.

Have you uploaded any footage or photos of your favorite adventure sport? Share it with us by leaving a comment below or adding it to the Gadling Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo/Video of the Day.

Orbitz listens to business travelers, goes mobile

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When you’re out on the road for your company, wouldn’t you rather use a mobile device to book your trips and get information? Well, the travel industry is catching on.

Orbitz for Business, the division of Orbitz that caters to laptop-toting folks, just announced that it has launced an “end-to-end mobile solution” that the business travel community can use to book their flights, hotels and such from their smartphones via a mobile-optimized website. This could make life a lot easier for road warriors who don’t book until the last minute … or look up hotel details until they are en route to the airport.

“Business travelers increasingly want to use mobile devices to search and book trips that adhere to their companies’ travel policies – we do not believe a comprehensive, end-to-end solution has been available until today,” said Frank Petito, president, Orbitz for Business. “The Orbitz for Business mobile solution enables travelers to plan and purchase air, hotel and car travel through a streamlined, intuitive interface optimized for mobile devices. Equally important, the solution was built to support the policy, control and compliance requirements of corporate travel managers and their programs.”
So, what does this new solution do? The company said it allows users to make new reservations, track their trips and itineraries and watch for flight statuses and updates. It can also be used in accordance with a company’s travel policies … always important when someone is approving your expenses.

What really makes this development interesting is that business travelers have been leaning in this direction. In a Deloitte report on business travel back in November, we learned, “Twenty-six percent of respondents have downloaded a hotel app to a device, with 54 percent of them using it ‘primarily to book a room.’ “

See, someone’s listening!