Chimu Adventures revenue pops 300% for South America, Antarctica tours

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Chimu Adventures, which operates tours in South America and Antarctica, seems to have found a winning formula for these trying economic times. For the first quarter of 2009, revenue shot 310 percent higher relative to the same quarter last year.

These types of excursion aren’t cheap, so why are travelers still shelling out their hard-earned cash for such high-end experiences? Company directors Greg Carter and Chad Carey cite the value offered, “Travelers are looking to save money in these uncertain times yet still want a high quality tourism product. This is where the internet becomes a very important tool and we have seen a growing trend towards online sales. This confirms our belief that the days of high street traditional travel agents are numbered and innovation and specialization is the key to their future growth.”

Low-cost airfares from Australia (Chimu’s core market) to South America have sparked a lot of interest in these deals, as well, “We have regularly seen return airfares to Buenos Aires and Santiago for Aud$1400, Aud$1300 and even as low as $1100 which was just unthinkable a year ago.” And, it’s a shorter flight than Europe or the United States. “People will still always want to go travelling, even in these tough times but are looking for shorter and more affordable alternatives.”

Go Green in El Salvador

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Latin America is becoming a hot spot for green travel, but most adventure-seekers look to Honduras and Nicaragua … rather than El Salvador, with which they share a border. With the country’s civil war in the past, a destination marketing campaign has been launched, and a new web portal can give prospective travelers a place to start.

Art and anthropology museums and other cultural venues dot the country’s capital, San Salvador. If you want to get off the map, check out Izalco, which has the largest indigenous community in the area. Also stop by the ruins of Joya de Ceren, considered to be the Pompeii of the Maya world, where village remains include a fully preserved Shaman’s hut.

This is your chance to truly get off the tourist grid. Scrap your conventional plans this year and try El Salvador. Different is definitely better.

Airline biz to lose $2.5bn, but more flights on time

by Tom Johansmeyer on

MSNBC continues to publish the same story, and I continue to reblog it. Fortunately, author Sholnn Freeman managed to sneak in some interesting stuff at the end.

It’s no secret that airline prices are dropping as fast as they possibly can. Broader economic conditions are responsible for this fact. How do we know? The fine folks at MSNBC have developed the unique skill of telling the same story over and over with different words.

So, here’s the reality: you can find domestic one-way fares for under $100. I’ve seen several international fares (one-way) for under $200, usually to Latin America. According to Rick Seaney, Chief Executive of FareCompare.com, “If you are paying over $300 for an airline ticket right now, you are probably paying way too much.” He continues that these prices do not occur outside a recession.

Nonetheless, passengers remain cautious. You know the drill … the savings may be great, but if you can’t afford to take advantage of it, you save nothing. A lot of people are canceling or scaling back vacation plans.

Thanks, MSNBC; we had no idea …

But, there is good news, and this is stuff MSNBC hasn’t reported before.

Airline on-time rates are at their best levels in years. Since there are fewer flights taking off, congestion has declined. So, all that time waiting on the runway last year is time in the sky this year. Of course, efficiency comes at a cost: the International Air Transport Association expects the global airline industry to lose $2.5 billion this year.

Hostel Trail: Latin America’s hostel network

by Brenda Yun on

I think long and hard about what kind of cool, helpful knowledge I might be able to share with Gadling readers, and sometimes the most obvious material escapes me. But it only took me a few months to realize I’ve been keeping my best tips to myself because I don’t see them as suggestions, but rather as experiences.

I stepped foot in the Hostel Trail guesthouse in Popayán, Colombia by default. I hadn’t even intended to pass through the “white city” (it’s known as this because all of the buildings in the historical center of the city are a beautiful, uniform, stark white color). In fact, I only planned on being in Colombia for five weeks — not twice that long, as my stay there turned out to be. My five days in Popayán were so comfortable because Hostel Trail is one of the cleanest and most reasonably-priced guesthouses I’ve stayed in all my travels around Latin America (and, believe me, I’ve seen some pretty decripit places).
Tony and Kim, the Irish owners of Hostel Trail, realized the fantastic potential of Popayán as a travel destination (it was recently named of the gastronomical centers in Latin America — and rightly so!). They quickly made this place (at the edge of the old city) their home and have been sharing it with backpackers for about two years. Using their technological savvy, as well as their connections in Colombia and Latin America, they decided to utilize their innovative web domain as a homepage for not only their hostel but all of the cool hostels in Latin America. Tony and Kim continue to spend long hours networking with other hostels in South and Central America. Once part of the network, a hostel is given a whole page dedicated to information about their lodging. Ultimately, HostelTrail.com is truly the most viable lodging resource for backpackers in Latin America.

There are now hundreds of hostels in the Hostel Trail network, making it that much easier to travel from city to city because you know what to expect when you get to your next hostel. What’s even cooler about Hostel Trail is if you’re on a tight budget and have a way with words and a camera, you can actually write for Hostel Trail and get free lodging wherever it is you stay — so long as it is not a place that is already covered on the site, and you provide a comprehensive overview of the hostel, along with photos of the place for other travelers to see.

How have I waited this long to reveal one of my best kept Latin American secrets? I guess it’s been nearly a year since I stepped foot in Latin America, so I kept my memories tightly locked in the recesses of my mind so as to avoid the painful nostalgia I feel for this part of the world. Regardless, the Hostel Trail guesthouse in Popayán, its hostel network, and the travel writing opportunity with the site makes HostelTrail.com one of the best resources for travel not only in Colombia, but all over Latin America. If you do make it to Popayán, please tell Tony, Kim, and their cute little black dog I say “aloha!”
[Yes, that’s me in the photo, enjoying Poker beer and a ride on a Chiva, taking in the Popayán nightlife!]

Gadling Take FIVE Week of Oct. 25–Oct. 31

by Jamie Rhein on

Wow! Here it is Halloween and October is almost over. Whew! What a month.

The pace at Gadling has continued to pick up. Perhaps you’ve noticed that Gadling blogger Karen Walerond has returned. She’s our resident camera and photographer expert, so stay tuned for tips on how you can make your camera work sing.

Also, there’s yet another series to add to our other mini-series. Aaron is gracing us with a Travel Trivia quiz each Tuesday. That Aaron is one smart guy.

Hopefully, you’ve been following Gadling’s series “Catching the Travel Bug” about our experiences when we’ve caught some illness when on the road. Also, this week there were two more “Sounds of Travel” offerings. This is the series where we’re sharing the songs that have moved us when we’ve ventured from home.

This week, who hasn’t noticed the flurry of U.S. election related news? By the next time I write next week’s Gadling TAKE FIVE roundup, we should know who our next president will be. We’ve had our own musings about the candidates and some oddball details.

Yes, that’s only four, so here’s one more from one of my favorite topics, New York City. Jeremy has once again given us a blueprint for discovering the gems we may not have heard of before. I’m so heading to Roosevelt Avenue in Queens for dip into Latin American culture the next time I am in New York.

By, the way, have a wonderful Trick or Treat or party, or whatever you’re up to. Hopefully, your fall day is as gorgeous as mine is.