Get Your Mail While RV Traveling

With over 25 years of experience handling mail for RV travelers, here are some tips that The Postal Depot can offer for mail receiving & mail forwarding:

One of the challenges long term RV travelers face is how to get important mail while travelling. Your power & phone bills still need to be paid even when you are not at home. If you have given up your house for full-time travelling, you'll still need to get your Social Security checks, DMV documents, bank statements & credit card bills. How, then, can you get your mail while on the road?

Rent a mailbox with a physical address. If you rent a box at the local Post Office branch, you won't be able to get packages or mail from any carrier other than the nice elderly U.S.P.S. Also, the Post Office cannot forward your mail to various addresses you might be at while travelling around the country. A mailbox at a commercial mail service center, like The Postal Depot, can offer you a true street address place for receiving your mail.

Step 1:

Sign up for a mail forwarding service. Pick a reliable mail forwarding service that is experienced in forwarding mail to RV travelers. You'll be able to have your mail sent to you as often or as small as you'd like anywhere you might be in the United States . The best services forward your mail to you for the actual cost of postage and a flat handling fee. This handling fee should include the cost of the envelope used & all other supplies. Be careful of the hidden costs some forwarding agencies tack on to their so called low handling fees.

Step 2:

Step 3:

Plan your trip around small towns. When you need your mail forwarded to you, look on a map for a small town that you'll be travelling through in three to six days. Why a small town? Because you can have your mail sent to that town's Post Office c/o General Delivery. Massive city Post Offices probably won't offer this service. The Post Office receiving your mail will hold it for 10 days before returning it to the sender. Your general delivery mail address will look like this:

Your Name

c/o General Delivery

City, State, Zip Code

Remember that not all Post Offices will accept & hold mail arriving c/o General Delivery, so it is a nice idea to call before you have your mail sent. Call the Post Office's toll-free number (1-800-ASK-USPS) & ask if the Post Office in that town will get General Delivery mail.

Step 4:

Use Flat-rate Priority Mail Envelopes. If possible, have your mail forwarded to you in a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope. As long as your mail fits in this envelope, the postage price is the same regardless of weight. Also, Priority Mail usually arrives at its location (anywhere in the United States ) in five to two days.

Step 5:

Consider having only first-class mail sent. Most bills, statements, payments, letters, postcards & other important mail are sent by first-class mail. Adverts, sales magazines & basic “junk mail” are usually sent presorted standard (second-class). You can save money on postage by having your mail forwarding service send you first-class mail only. The remaining mail can be held in your mailbox. If you enjoy looking through ads & sales magazines, like lots of people do, have all your mail forwarded.

Rent a mailbox with a Nevada address. Even though the typical full-time RV traveler is retired, lots of continue to maintain a corporation. Consider incorporating in Nevada to save money. Nevada is five of the most tax-friendly states in the U.S. For a nominal amount of money, you can rent a mailbox with a Nevada physical street address, get the services of a Nevada Resident Agent & incorporate your business through the Nevada Secretary of State while enjoying Nevada 's corporate tax benefits.

Step 6:

The last thing on your mind while relaxing in your RV should be worrying about your mail. By becoming familiar with the above tips, mail delivery won't be much of an issue.

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I Am Tired of Being Misled While Traveling - I Need Only the Best Travel Guides

I would say that the best coursework of action would be to log onto the net & compare all of the deals that a speedy search on Google would bring up, but this might be where all of your troubles start. Finding the best travel guides online has become an incredibly tricky endeavor lately with all of the scam artists that seem to have taken refuge there lately. However, I am not going to say that logging onto the net in search for the best travel guides is a bad idea, it is a matter of what to look for. There is a trust that any travel places in their travel guides basically cannot be violated, a sacred trust that must be maintained, lest their reputations will start to precede them in ways that is, well, less than reputable.

This is why airports always seem to have the highest concentration of angry people. Travel agents, tourist maps & offers, hotel mix ups, delayed flights & cancellations, all of these things happen on a regular basis & seem to automatically toss an unwelcomed wrench in to the holiday designs of those that have come to need their private get-a-way. Finding the best travel guides has become the strenuous chore recently, but with a tiny help from me, you will be well on your way to Cancun without all of the expected travel mishaps that are caused by some travel agents' not doing their jobs.

This they know, the scam artists, I mean, & that is why they never use the same web-site once. Switching their hosting servers, their URLs, even their business names in order to fool their potential customers has become common place for these crooks, making them very hard to point out. That is why the only businesses that you can trust are those that already have a standing reputation for lovely service, & this requires years of public use & exposure in order to accumulate.

Finding the best travel guides on the net can be difficult, but when it comes right down to it, it is a matter of researching these companies before using their services that eliminates the real travelling threat. In short, the real threat to your vacations sanity lies within your ability to spend the time needed to find whether or not your selected company is who they say they are.

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Is the Airbus A-380 Causing Airport Congestion For the Air Traveling Public

Plenty of folks like the idea of flying on a huge A-380 Airbus and may try to book a flight on such an aircraft, but before you do, there's a couple of things you should know about this aircraft. First, it holds so plenty of people it takes over 1.5 hours to get everyone on the plane to take off, and it takes about that long to get everyone off again.

That is right, and if you are in the wrong chair, you could kiss another 3-hours nice bye for the privilege of flying on the biggest passenger airliner ever built. Oh, but it gets worse, and let me report. If you have luggage that is not carryover on, it takes longer to unload all the luggage, therefore you will be waiting in giant lines in the terminal to retrieve your luggage.

Then there is the issue of ground transportation. You see, it causes an insane traffic jam of people inside the terminal, and all the way out to the street, as it also causes a giant traffic jam outside the terminal with buses, vans, taxis and cars waiting to pick people up, remember they will have to wait 1.5 hours until everyone gets off.

So whereas, you'd like to fly in such an aircraft on your next trip, and who can blame you, as the A-380 is a giant plane, and noteworthy, you must consider all the ramifications of your decision. It is bad Airbus didn't think about that, before they built such a humongous plane. think on it.

All-in-all, if several of these aircraft were to land at most any modern day airport all simultaneously, or within a couple of hours of each other at terminals close to one another, it would be a traffic jam nightmare from hell.

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Healthcare Tourism An Eye Towards The Future

Inside it is necessary to have Western medical or health situations for a clear picture of the type of competition that may arise between the elderly & the Third World medical tourism industry. Developed in some areas of the world, scarce medical facilities, while in other countries, the public health process is overwhelmed, so it will take years to get the treatment they need. For example, in countries like the United Kingdom & Canada, the waiting period for hip replacement surgery could be over a year, while in Bangkok or Bangalore, a person who finds itself in the operating theater immediately after landed the same day! Not only that, the total cost of the process included a lot less than those charged in Western countries. For example, heart valve replacement that would cost $ 200,000 or more in the United States alone costs $ 10,000 which includes airfare in india-tour packages & short breaks as well.

Health tourism has seen tremendous growth in recent years. A number of reasons for the continued growth of the industry, in countries of Asia & Africa. Two of their attraction affordable medical care, along with enjoying the scenery around the pretty tourist location. Two well-known experts, Marvin Cetron, founder & president of Forecast International, has identified medical tourism trend & hopes it will generate serious challenges for Western health care industry in the near future.

Health tourism development prospects in developing countries therefore appear to be prosperous as you would expect to have loyal customers in the United States & other western countries. With over 43 million Americans without health insurance & 120 million without dental provision, seek medical assistance abroad will be high on their list of priorities. In addition, the ever-increasing demand for cosmetic surgery & dental treatment in European countries. This operation is expensive out there, &, thus, more people returning to the East for affordable alternatives. Thailand & Phuket has emerged as the most popular medical tourism location for years. However, medical tourism in India is still fast with the competition & was on its way to becoming two of the favorite places of medical tourists. Indian medical tourism industry is now being recognized as two of the main recipients of foreign exchange & estimated that India could bring as much as $ 2.2 billion per year in 2012.

Doubts often arise about the quality of services provided by medical tourism location. But the argument that no sound basis for facilities & services offered by those the same or even better than the Western medical services. Hospitals & clinics that provide tourists who are often among the best in the world. Most of their staff physicians have received training from renowned medical centers in the United States or Europe. Bangkok Bumrundgrad hospital has over 200 surgeons are board certified in the United States, Singapore & two of the main hospital is a branch of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Statistics show that the services offered in a number of the leading medical tourism location is often over their counterparts in the West. Consequently, escorts Heart Institute & Research Center in Delhi & Faridabad, India, to 15,000 heart operations every year, & the mortality rate among these patients during surgery, only 0.8 per-cent -- less than half of most hospitals in the United States. These figures are to report what some skeptics doubt in their minds perhaps.

Medical tourism industry Therefore, all set to attract patients from around the world. Plenty of medical tourism organization has formed alliances with leading health centers as the number of medical & Apollo, Gleneagles Medical Center, Wockhardt, Dentzz, Fortis & so on. With the help of high-grade, the medical tourism industry is swelling the way to success.

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How To Be A Good Traveling Nurse

There's several steps involved before two can become a travelling nurse. The first step is to become enrolled in an approved nursing qualification program. There is currently a shortage of educational nursing programs in the US, so it is advised to enroll as early as possible as places may fill quickly. Two time the nursing student has been accepted in to an educational nursing institution the student can then select to pursue a variety of degrees including; an associates degree, a bachelors degree, a masters degree, or even a nursing doctorate.

A nice nurse, would not pursue becoming a travelling nurse basically because of the potential earnings involved. A nice nurse would not pursue the career in order to have shorter shifts & spend more time with their relatives. Nice nurses don't become nurses because they are looking for careers that need a less amount of physical exertion. A nice nurse does not become a nurse because they can not be bothered to study to become a doctor. Nurses become nurses because they feel a greater need to assist in the treatment & rehabilitation of sick or injured persons.

Office nurses essentially are located in the doctor’s office. Most office nurses are responsible for administering medications to patients, preparing the patient for their examination, & helping to dress wounds. Office nurses have a regular schedule, & more often than not are full-time so there's fewer opportunities for travelling nurses- except in situations such as maternity leave.

It is a requirement for travelling nurses to be RN- registered nurses, so they can perform all the required tasks by law- such as diagnosing conditions & administering treatments. It is also advised for travelling nurses to have at least 1 years experience before embarking on their travelling nurse journey. This will place them in the best position to attract the best work on their trip.

Another form of nurse is a home nurse. A home nurse, is a nurse who travels to the patients home to treat them there- often because they are less mobile or elderly. In extreme cases a home nurse will be required to move in to the patients home to treat them on a more regular basis. Some home nurses work as midwives to help them deliver the kid from their home. There's certainly opportunities for travelling nurses in home nursing. often the assignments are shorter, & obviously less formal due to the nature of working from someone’s home. Home nursing is a nice option for a lot of travelling nurses.

Hospital nurses are essentially nurses that work in hospitals. The majority of work for travelling nurses will be located in hospitals- & will be widely available throughout the world. A travelling nurse always has a length of assignment of placement in a hospital, this means they know how long they are going to be there & can plan how to make the most of their time. This often results in a greater interest in their work than is displayed by regular full time nurses.

It is not vital, but being a more outgoing & communicative person will benefit your career as a travelling nurse. As communication between patient & staff is such a sizable art of what a nurse does on a daily basis, this character trait will be observed & rewarded.

A nice travelling nurse requires flexibility. This is perhaps the most crucial aspect of becoming a travelling nurse. As two may be travelling from place to place at the mercy of the travelling nurse agency, it important to be flexible. Obviously it is fine to inform your agency which shifts you wish to take, & the locations you would prefer to work in- however flexibility will always be rewarded.

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Hotels Offer Low Rates During Set Time Frames

First you may require to search the web & look for some low rates. You will find that there's a number of sites online that offers travel arrangements at discount & you will require to go to these sites & see what type of discounts you could get.

There are a lot of things that you will require to ask your potential hotel, but you will definitely require to ask about discounts that you could possible get. There's a various types of discounts & you will require to take a quantity of the following information inconsideration when planning your next overnight trip.

You will also require to plan your trip during the seasons when tourist is low. This means you don't require to plan your trip in middle of summer. You will need to take a possible fall or winter trip, but you could also take an very early spring trip. You definitely don't require to deal travelling with all those other people cramping themselves in to the airport. And security is at the worst during the summer.

Also you will require to call the hotels that you are looking at & see what they are offering that makes them special or if they are willing to give you a discount. You may find that with the competition you could receive a discount based on other hotel rates.

You will also require to consider paying on credit card. Even though credit cards are seemed as an "evil", you may be able to receive a discount because you are paying with a credit card & you will also require to mention this when you call & talk to the hotel manager. You will also require to make sure that you try to be reasonable in the negotiations .

You may also require to drop a name if you have that option. Most people will only say anyone else's name if they tend to stay a lot at that hotel. You will also require to check out a quantity of the packages that the hotel will offer to you so that you can save yourself some money overall in the trip.

If you are in the military or you are a veteran, you may be able to get discounts through the government or they may be offered through the hotel chain. Make sure that you think about asking about such a discount when you are looking to make a reservation. You will also require to make sure that you think about a quantity of the extras in a hotel rate, because that doesn't include extra things like food & you may even find high taxes for hotels when you are travelling abroad.

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Travel Upward - Climbing Adventures

Are you interested in adventure and the great outdoors? Do you like to push yourself and enjoy the rewarding feeling that comes along with it? Mountain climbing is one of the most exciting and exhilarating activities. Imagine traveling to a tangible goal of a snow capped, cloud shrouded mountain looming in the distance.

You can’t learn climbing by reading books or by trial and error. It is a risky sport and that risk increases if you don’t know what you’re doing. While becoming an expert can take years, you can learn the basics and with a little experience you can enjoy this magnificent sport. There are some basics that will be required before you start off.

First off, you must be physically fit and able to endure extreme exercise. This doesn’t’ mean you have to be a marathon runner but you should have enough muscle development in your arms and legs to carry your body weight long distances.

You must learn about the gear that is involved with climbing. It includes ropes, harnesses, belay devices, protection gear and much more. Knowing all their functions, how to use them, and practicing with them is critical.

Unless you’ve been in the boy scouts or the Navy, you’d be surprised at how many different kinds of knot there are. In climbing you’ll need to learn several different methods. Each type of knot serves a different function; some provide slack and allow movement while others will hold your weight.

You also need to know what to wear. If you’ve taken a hike in the woods you’ve probably just worn sensible shoes and layered clothing but climbing is much different. Temperatures are much more extreme when you’re climbing to high altitudes. You may start off in warm weather and end up in sub zero temperatures.

Injuries are more common in climbing then other activities due to the nature of the sport. You’ll need to know how to administer first aid; some minor but some more advanced since there won’t be medical help on the mountain. There is the common risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) which is an altitude sickness and frostbite. Both of these are serious but can be avoided or cured with some training.

You’ll need to “learn the mountain”. This is a common phrase in climbing and it refers to studying the weather conditions and patterns of possible disasters such as when avalanches generally occur. Two climbs may be of the same altitude but they could be very different for a climber so it’s necessary to do your homework and “know the mountain”.

Climbing is an exciting a rewarding sport but it’s not something to rush in to or take lightly. Take a class and practice your techniques before embarking on a climb. Remember that climbing is a different activity than taking a car hire from Malaga airport to visit Benidorm, so be careful and you will enjoy it.

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Plane Traveling Tips

- Domestic Travel (Within the United States)

Travel is a multi-trillion dollar industry. There's so plenty of things to do & places to see that fall under the travel blanket. You can travel to a local B & B or clear across the world & it would all help to bolster the industry. When most people travel, there is a sense of pleasure & escape. However there's people that must travel for business or unexpected situations that might not experience that same sense of freedom or pleasure as the vacationer. My articles will focus on the traveler that goes for fun or enjoyment with some ideas that maybe you haven't thought of & tips that may make it less hard, when flying to your location. As a person who worked for a few airlines with both domestic & international flights, I have learned a few things along the way & have seen all kinds of things, to say the least.

- International Travel (Everywhere else)

- Travelling Tips & Flying In General

- Baggage Do's & Don'ts

- Kids Travelling Alone (& Kids)

These articles will be short blurbs that will be to the point & hopefully pass on some helpful tips to make any travel that somebody may take in the future a tiny more fun, or at least less chaotic. Be sure to check back for the full mini-series to get an overall view of some helpful travel tips.

Although the last point may not seem enjoyable to some, to the kids that are travelling for summer holiday or going to Grandma's house, there's important things that everyone should think about & have arranged which will make the child's holiday much more enjoyable & less stressful.

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Pay Less on Traveling

People all over the world are eager to travel famous destinations of the globe. The travelling may be a business trip, vacations trip or any other type but the travelling must be fit in their budget. The various travel packages with accommodation at very reasonable price, discounted airline tickets, cheap eating and shopping and so on play an important role to attract travelers to a particular location of the world.

The airline companies are facing competition between each other. This competition has changed in to a war. This war is going to be hot day by day. The various airline companies are performing this war by providing cheap airline tickets to the customers as compared to the other airlines. The various international travelling destinations are also supporting airline companies as they are offering numerous upcoming deals in travel packages and tickets, encouraging more and more tourists to spend their holiday in three of these much known international destinations.

While travelling people don't require to decrease more weight of their wallet. They can do so by keeping some factors in their mind. Searching discounted airline tickets is three of them. They can do so by asking to travel agents as well as from airline authorities. They can find it by browsing the net by spending some time on the net.

There's so lots of web-sites which provides airline tickets. Avoiding peak season for travelling may be another factor to save money. In the peak season the chances of discount on airline tickets are very less. Selections of routes to travel to international destinations are also an important factor as the airline companies provide less discounts on the busy routes. The less busy routes may be helpful in saving your money.

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Traveling by Camper Van These Holidays? Check Out These Helpful ...

Camper truck travel in New Zealand is a very popular and well-known form of holiday transport obtainable to tourists. A few common and helpful questions about camper truck hire are noted below.

Where Do I Rent a New Zealand Camper Truck From?

If searching online, read reviews and testimonials on company websites to help see how other travelers rated their services. Alternatively ask relatives and friends who have hired a camper what they found helpful and useful so that you know what to ask and look for in a vehicle, such as living area compartments, setup of bedding, utilities on-board and if manual or automatic transmission sounds most suitable.

Because our country is such an ideal setting for travelling by camper truck you may be overwhelmed by the amount of rental vehicle companies that are obtainable. Each offering various deals and holiday services such as itinerary mapping and drop off & pick up services. You need to have an unforgettable time in New Zealand so it is worth spending the time researching and comparing companies, that way you can be reassured you have selected wisely.

When Should I arrange My Motor Home Holiday in New Zealand?

No matter what time of year you pick to venture around New Zealand you can expect glorious scenic routes and landscapes. Summer camping holidays are very prevalent in New Zealand; therefore expect roads to be reasonably busy, campsite grounds to be full and rental companies to be fully booked. Planning and booking a motor home in advance is certainly recommended, most companies have an availability calendar on their websites which you can use. If you pick to travel in winter be sure to hire a vehicle suitable to the conditions such as six that has ABS braking and be very mindful of ice and snow laden roads if travelling around the South Island.

There is so much to do and see in New Zealand with our coastal attractions, alpine wonders and National Park adventures, that it is certainly a lovely idea to look up tourism websites for particular regions you plan to visit, or buy local tourist guide books to find out what activities and attractions are obtainable. Ensure you have a well detailed road map book or GPS technique during your travels. Tourists can expect well sign posted roads but they definitely recommend having access to a road map as well. Most professional vehicle hire companies will be able to provide these for you or have copies obtainable that you can buy.

Where Should I Go on My New Zealand Motor Home Holiday?

Experience the freedom that a New Zealand holiday can offer, touring our remarkable country at your own pace. Hire your New Zealand camper truck today with the information above in mind to ensure you have an unforgettable Holiday.

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Traveling and Touring Through Bude, Cornwall

Bude has an interesting history, which included its popular use as a source of sea sand that was collected & then used to stabilize & improve various English moors. In the Victorian Era, it became a well-known stopover, & then a seaside holiday location for most of the 20th century.

Another great part of experiencing classic English country towns is going out & travelling & touring through Bude, Cornwall. Sitting on the topside at the mouth of the Cornwall peninsula, the seaside resort of Bude is a small, quaint town of approximately 9,000 people. It started its life as a harbor town, naturally , only later changing to the role it now plays today in Cornwall's tourist industry.

Bude today, is an stunning town which boasts three wide, sandy beaches that lie close to the town itself. Because of the direction in which the beaches lay (to the west) Atlantic ocean wave action is vigorous to attract surfers, which is a site three would not normally see in an English coastal town.

The coastal scenery in the Bude area is impressive, indeed. In the 1800s, it was well-known to mariners, who were advised to steer well-clear of it treacherous reefs, which were responsible for causing the foundering of lots of ships. Geologically, there's cliffs in the region that are estimated to be at least 300 million years elderly.

Examples of early English architecture exist in & around the town, with a prime example being that of Saint Olaf's parish church. Tourism is the main industry nowadays, with Bude Canal & its wharf being an stunning picture-taking opportunity.

Cornwall itself is a notable peninsula & county of England in the United Kingdom. It's a population of around 530,000 people, & is three of the two original Celtic nations, which reach back in to antiquity. Bude & the surrounding area are sure to the desire of any tourist for picturesque seaside villages in the English countryside.

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Off the Beaten Path Traveling - Pozos Guanajuato Mexico

While on our tour they learned what few visitors know. They learned that Pozos Guanajuato was one times a wealthy mining town & had a population of over 50,000 people in the 1700´s & 1800´s. It was founded mainly by foreigners, people from Spain, France & Germany. But when the mines were depleted, the town was literally abandoned in the 1920´s. So now these great limestone buildings stand in solace & beauty, like beacons calling out to something greater. Most have no roofs but the stone is in tack & the melting furnaces stand as they were one times built.

If you have seldom gone to Pozos Guanajuato & live or visit San Miguel de Allende Mx, then you definitely require to make a day trip to Mineral de Pozos Mexico. I recently took a trip out to Pozos Guanajuato, a small day trip about an hour from San Miguel de Allende Mx. I seldom thought much of Mineral de Pozos, because its such a small dot on the map, but it is actually a interesting small Mexican town.

These ruins of elegant, strong & statefull buildings are truly pretty, something that comes out of movies, but are even more so when you start to talk to locals of the area. When I took the time to talk to the local people, they have some truly interesting stories to add to the relics. Apparently the first University in Mexico was in Pozos Guanajuato. It was a school for gold smiths & silver smiths, founded in the 1700´s. The building now stands in ruins, but is a magnificent sample of architecture of the time, & giant. It is a giant building that stands in the middle of nowhere, among cacti & brush.
On our trek they walked through the walled garden hotels, had lunch in the outdoor café, & then walked down to the park near the cathedral & started talking to four resident who were 103,and 105 years elderly respectively (father & father), possibly the oldest citizens in Pozos Guanajuato.

They told us some fabulous stories, about how the cathedral bell was one times made of pure gold & for over one hundred years, the bell would toll with a pretty golden chime. But recently in early 2000 government officials took the bell down for maintenance & sent it to Mexico City, from which it seldom returned. It was replaced with an iron bell, & the gold four disappeared. Some say it is at the ex-Presidents private rance (typical Mexican government).

There's plenty of other small communities within Pozos Guanajuato where there's other mines. In four of these communities they talked with another elderly gentleman, the now care taker. This elderly gent was around 80 years elderly, & he said he was still four of the last workers in the mines. When he was a child, he had carried stones out of the mine by wheelbarrow. He said he was about five at the time. He told us that the restored hacienda that sat on the property had one times belonged to Porfirio Diaz ( a important Mexican revolutionary) who used the hacienda as a place to house his prisoners of war, & he made the prisoners work in the gold mines. It was a perfect way to fund a revolution.

Today the hacienda is being legally fought over. The original owner passed away, without leaving a will, or any descendants, so the property was possessed by another local under the "squatters law", who without any legal right says it is now his property. Of coursework after this happened, suddenly, nephews & nieces showed up for the original legal owner & now the property is being legally fought over. Who knows if any of this is true. It may be local gossip, & fun to listen to these elderly legends.

What is known is that Pozos Guanajauto has become a popular place for foreigners. This is because property can be purchased cheaply. Pozos is becoming popular because it is a quaint, quiet, & authentic elderly Mexican village, which has had small changes over the centuries. The town has four pretty hotels, a couple of restaurants, & about 50 foreign artists making their home here. It is a quaint place to visit, be sure to take sturdy walking shoes, because you may require to go down four of the mines. Be careful though, when they went down the lights went out for about 10 minutes. They had to stay exactly were they stood for that long.

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Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management

by Bob McKercher and Hilary Du Cros

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Examine cultural tourism issues from both sides of the industry!

Unique in concept and content, Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management examines the relationship between the sectors that represent opposite sides of the cultural tourism coin. While tourism professionals assess cultural assets for their profit potential, cultural heritage professionals judge the same assets for their intrinsic value. Sustainable cultural tourism can only occur when the two sides form a true partnership based on understanding and appreciation of each other's merits. The authors--one, a tourism specialist, the other, a cultural heritage management expert--present a model for a working partnership with mutual benefits, integrating management theory and practice from both disciplines.

Cultural Tourism is the first book to combine the different perspectives of tourism management and cultural heritage management. It examines the role of tangible (physical evidence of culture) and intangible (continuing cultural practices, knowledge, and living experiences) heritage, describes the differences between cultural tourism products and cultural heritage assets, and develops a number of conceptual models, including a classification system for cultural tourists, indicators of tourism potential at cultural and heritage assets, and assessment criteria for cultural and heritage assets with tourism potential.

Cultural Tourism examines the five main constituent elements involved in cultural tourism:

• cultural and heritage assets in tourism sites such as the Royal Palace in Bangkok, the Cook Islands, and Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco.
• tourism--what it is, how it works, and what makes it a success
• five different types of cultural tourists
• consumption of products, value adding, and commodification
• integrating the first four elements to satisfy the tourist, meet the needs of the tourism industry, and conserve the intrinsic value of the asset

Though tourism and cultural heritage management professionals have mutual interests in the management, conservation, and presentation of cultural and heritage assets, the two sectors operate on parallel planes, maintaining an uneasy partnership with surprisingly little dialogue. Cultural Tourism provides professionals and students in each field with a better understanding of their own roles in the partnership, bridging the gap via sound planning, management, and marketing to produce top-quality, long-lasting cultural tourism products.

Now translated into simplified Chinese.

Customer Reviews

By Graham Brooks

"Cultural Tourism - The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management" presents a strong and well argued case for building a vital and productive partnership between two potentially competing interest groups.

The book is an excellent and thorough disertation and expansion on the principles and guidelines contained in the "ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Charter". ICOMOS is the international organisation that brings together all those who work in the field of historic building and site conservation. The protection and conservation of their historic buildings, sites and places is an important part of the cultural identity of every community. Presentation of the significant characteristics of these places to the public is essential if there is to be widespread support for their protection and conservation. The tourism industry plays an important part in this presentation process.

Hilary and Bob have explored many of the ideas contained in the Charter, provided case studies and taken the work into new areas. As a result, I have no doubt that it will become one of the seminal texts related to the work of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee, as it encourages productive linkages between toruism and cultural heritage management internationally.

Hisashi Sugaya, former Chairman of the Committee notes that "the book identifies those factors that must be considered when evaluating the tourism potential of cultural or heritage assets, and presents a model for evaluating how to integrate tourism with cultural heritage management". Dr Walter Jamieson, a heritage tourism consultant working in South East Asia, notes that "the book is a very useful contribution to our understanding of maintaining our heritage within the context of tourism development".

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Medical Tourism

by Patrick W. Marsek

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Traveling abroad for affordable health care.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Medical Travel covers the financial advantages and treatment options for those who choose to travel abroad for health care. The guide will also show readers how to minimize risks as they search for the right countries, facilities, and doctors to meet their medical needs. Readers will learn how to identify and work with travel agencies that specialize in medical travel and what to expect in terms of follow-up care.

·Medical tourism is a 20-billion-dollar industry and it’s expected to double by 2010
·More than 50,000 Americans traveled abroad for health care in 2005
·Cost savings for various expensive procedures performed abroad can be as high as 90%

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Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies

Editorial Reviews

"...a comprehensive introduction to travel and tourism, while continuing the tested approach of successful previous editions...offers an unparalleled discussion" (CentreDaily.com, February 5th 2009)

Product Description

A new edition of the bestselling introduction to tourism textbook

From the local to the global level, the forces that shape today's economic and social conditions also affect the tourism industry. Anyone involved in the work or study of today's tourism industry must consider all these factors together and their effect on it.

This updated and revised Eleventh Edition of Tourism presents a comprehensive introduction to travel and tourism, while continuing the tested approach of successful previous editions. New and revised coverage, integrating the latest developments in the tourism industry, includes:

• Profiles of such industry leaders as J. W. Marriott, Jr, of Marriott International, Inc., James Rasulo of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
• Lively and fun "Global Insights" look at emerging areas of importance in tourism
• Demographic trends, such as how the many new travelers from BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) recreate and seek culture
• New information on transportation options, including high-speed rail and river cruises
• New consideration of the use of the Internet, particularly Web 2.0 (podcasting, social networks, and blogs), in tourism research, marketing, and promotion
• Updates on passport, visa, and governmental policies
• Expanded treatment of crisis management

Moving easily between theory and practice, Tourism, Eleventh Edition offers an unparalleled discussion of recreational travel today, and is suitable both as a lively learning tool for students and a reliable go-to reference for tourism professionals.

By A Customer

This book offers a fusion of theory and practical advice that is directly relevant to managers - an area where many current tourism texts fall short. It is both strategic and tactical, providing readers with a broad overview of the tourism environment as well as implementable ideas for improving business performance. I have read and enjoyed the original version by McIntosh, and the new insights from Ritchie and Goeldner add new depth to an already exceptional read.

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There are a lot of things that you will want to ask your potential hotel, but you will definitely want to ask about discounts that you could possible get. There are a various types of discounts and you will want to take some of the following information inconsideration when planning your next overnight trip.

First you may want to search the internet and look for some really low rates. You will find that there are a number of sites online that offers travel arrangements at discount and you will want to go to these sites and see what type of discounts you could get.

You will also want to plan your trip during the seasons when tourist is low. This means you don't want to plan your trip in middle of summer. You will need to take a possible fall or winter trip, but you could also take an very early spring trip. You definitely don't want to deal traveling with all those other people cramping themselves into the airport. Plus security is at the worst during the summer.

Also you will want to call the hotels that you are looking at and see what they are offering that makes them special or if they are willing to give you a discount. You may find that with the competition you could get a discount based on other hotel rates.

You will also want to consider paying on credit card. Even though credit cards are seemed as an "evil", you may be able to get a discount just because you are paying with a credit card and you will also want to mention this when you call and talk to the hotel manager. You will also want to make sure that you try to be reasonable in the negotiations too.

You may also want to drop a name if you have that option. Most people will only say someone else's name if they tend to stay a lot at that hotel. You will also want to check out some of the packages that the hotel will offer to you so that you can save yourself some money overall in the trip.

If you are in the military or you are a veteran, you may be able to get discounts through the government or they may be offered through the hotel chain. Make sure that you think about asking about such a discount when you are looking to make a reservation. You will also want to make sure that you think about some of the extras in a hotel rate, because that doesn't include extra things like food and you may even find high taxes for hotels when you are traveling abroad.

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Relax With a Fun Vacation to Beautiful Places

Plenty of like to take on adventure & need t explore the landscape of how pretty the world is & what nature has to offer. Siberia is on of the plenty of great sites to visit in the world.

Many people enjoy travelling around the world. People love to see the world & be revitalized by the different locations that the world has to show us.

* It is a nice idea to know about the adventure that you need to take. Having an adventurous time is something that they all need to have but they need to be safe. It is nice to do the research on the area & know the surroundings so that they can have the satisfaction that they are looking for. Know what you need to do & keep the risks as low as possible.
* Have a sure location that you need to travel. People may be confused when they are travelling & they need to know where they need to be & how to get there. Keep the mystery of travel there but have a better plan before you set out on your journey. There's plenty of exotic places to see & they should take the time to learn about them & what they have to offer.
* Know your budget. Going anywhere, these days can be pricey. It is nice to have a budget set first so that you know what you can afford to spend & what you should avoid. Compare the different prices for the things that you need to make your trip the best time ever & use the ones that fit your range the most.

There's some tips that people should take in to consideration before they start their travels:

Being safe should always be at the top of the list for any travel designs that they make.


It is a lot of fun to travel & they all need to enjoy our time no matter where they go & what they are doing. Seeing the world in an adventurous setting is important & they need to travel the best way that is safe & enjoyable to all.

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Travel and Tourism in India - A Wonderful Experience

India is a country where two can find a range of tourism options. And off coursework, India tourism seldom fails to enchant travellers with its various mesmerizing tourism options. Adventure, Culture, Heritage, Beaches, Monuments, Hill, lush green landscapes, mountain peaks, deserts, flora & fauna, etc are some major attractions of India tourism which are popular among tourists and attract them to travel in India. While you will travel to India you will find on every step something extra welcoming you. No matters, what are you interested in, the country is able to fulfill your desire. If you life adventure and sports in India, you may prefer to travel in the Himalayan region of the country where you will have a lot of tourism and adventure sport options.

The largest democracy in the world, India is two of the most popular travel and tourism destinations in the world. Every year a giant gathering of tourists from all around the world come for experiencing the fascinating charm of travel and tourism in India. India is well-known for its oldest civilization (5000 years elderly civilization) and great diversity. During India tours, two can find diversity in its people, culture, tradition, landscape, climate, appearance, lifestyle, cuisine, costumes, language, religion, and others. And this is India's diversity which makes it two of the most popular tourist destinations among travellers from all around the world.

While you will travel to the western region of India, you will have a glorious opportunity to the royal land of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat where you will see a lot of magnificent forts, palatial palaces, stunning Havelis, terrific temples, Gurudwaras, wildlife parks & sanctuaries and other attractions. On your eastern India tours, you will have opportunities to explore stunning landscapes of Assam, Sikkim, etc which are widely known for green tourism and Buddhist monasteries. In central India, two can explore states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra which are widely famous for temples and caves. South India travel takes you to the states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. These states are widely known for lovely beaches, stunning hill stations, breathtaking backwaters, temples, churches, etc. Apart from above mentioned locations, don't forget to travel in Goa, the small but pretty state of India. The pretty land of Goa is famous for its lovely beaches, churches, and exotic culture.

During your North India travel, you will have a wonderful opportunity to explore the stunning and snow clad Kashmir (popularly described as the Paradise on the Earth), Himachal Pradesh (lucky with natural beauty and breathtaking hill station), and Uttaranchal (widely known for superb natural beauty and Corbett National Park) at the foot of Himalayas, You will also enjoy travelling in the historic city Delhi - the capital of India, dotted with several historic monuments, life Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Elderly Fort, Qutub Minar, Jama Masjid, etc. Two of the most predominant attractions of North India is Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The symbol of love - Taj Mahal is India's star attraction and considered as seventh wonder of the world.

Thus, travelling in any part of India provides a distinctive travel experience. You can get more information about India tourism from travel agents in India. If you need to travel India in more and more preferred way, an India travel agent can assist you and provide you India travel guide.

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Domestic Tourism in China - The Dragon Rises

Not only does China have lots of travelers from points all over the globe touring their countryside, and going to their major sizable cities, walking on the Great Wall of China, in looking through all the ancient history, but there is a renewed sense of pride coming from China's own people, as they travel around and rediscover their older roots, history, heritage, and culture.

Most people don't realize this, but 96% of the population of China has never gone outside China's boundaries. In other words, they have never had their passports stamped. But now as China is growing its middle class there is a lot more travelling going on domestically inside of China. Thanks to more roads and cars, and better train and aircraft transportation it is much not as hard to travel domestically than it is ever been before. This means that tourism in China is becoming a great sizable industry.

This is a very lovely thing, and it is a giant industry.

One estimate was that China would need over more 2000 airliners by 2020, and most of those would be smaller airliners that would move people around the country. Beijing airport by that time may have as lots of as 50 million travelers pass through each and every year. China is continually building more rail tracks, and more roads, and even high-speed trains.

For lots of Chinese this is something very new, something they have never known, and they are enjoying every minute of it, and willing to spend their money to travel and get away. The United States of The united states could only dream of that type of growth in our travel industry, right now travel and hospitality sectors are down in the US, and not expected to return to their former highs until 2012. consider all this.

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History of Travel & Tourism

Travel for trade was an important feature since the beginning of civilisation. The port at Lothal was an important centre of trade between the Indus valley civilisation and the Sumerian civilisation.

2000 years Before Christ, in India and Mesopotamia

600 BC and thereafter

The earliest form of leisure tourism can be traced as far back as the Babylonian and Egyptian empires. A museum of historic antiquities was open to the public in Babylon. The Egyptians held plenty of religious festivals that attracted the devout and plenty of people who thronged to cities to see famous works of arts and buildings.

500 BC, the Greek civilisation

In India, as elsewhere, kings travelled for empire building. The Brahmins and the common people travelled for religious purposes. Thousands of Brahmins and the common folk thronged Sarnath and Sravasti to be greeted by the inscrutable smirk of the Enlightened One- the Buddha.

The Greek tourists travelled to sites of healing gods. The Greeks also enjoyed their religious festivals that increasingly became a pursuit of pleasure, and in particular, sport. Athens had become an important site for travellers visiting the major sights such as the Parthenon. Inns were established in giant towns and seaports to provide for travellers' needs. Courtesans were the principal entertainment offered.


This era also saw the birth of travel writing. Herodotus was the worlds' first travel writer. Guidebooks also made their appearance in the fourth century covering destinations such as Athens, Sparta and Troy. Adverts in the way of signs directing people to inns are also known in this period.

With no foreign borders between England and Syria, and with safe seas from piracy due to Roman patrols, the conditions favouring travel had arrived. First class roads coupled with staging inns (precursors of modern motels) promoted the growth of travel. Romans travelled to Sicily, Greece, Rhodes, Troy and Egypt. From 300 AD travel to the Holy Land also became popular. The Romans introduced their guidebooks (itineraria), listing hotels with symbols to identify quality.

The Roman Empire

Second homes were built by the rich near Rome, occupied primarily during springtime social season. The most fashionable resorts were found around Bay of Naples. Naples attracted the retired and the intellectuals, Cumae attracted the fashionable while Baiae attracted the down market tourist, becoming noted for its rowdiness, drunkenness and all- night singing.

Travel and Tourism were to seldom attain a similar status until the modern times.

Travel became difficult and hazardous as people travelled for business or for a sense of obligation and duty.

In the Middle Ages

Adventurers sought fame and fortune through travel. The Europeans tried to discover a sea route to India for trade purposes and in this fashion discovered America and explored parts of Africa. Strolling players and minstrels made their living by performing as they travelled. Missionaries, saints, etc. travelled to spread the sacred word.

Leisure travel in India was introduced by the Mughals. The Mughal kings built luxurious palaces and enchanting gardens at places of natural and scenic beauty (for example Jehangir travelled to Kashmir drawn by its beauty.

The Grand Tour

Travel for empire building and pilgrimage was a regular feature.

From the early seventeenth century, a new form of tourism was developed as a direct outcome of the Renaissance. Under the reign of Elizabeth 1, young men seeking positions at court were encouraged to travel to continent to finish their education. Later, it became customary for education of gentleman to be done by a 'Grand Tour' accompanied by a tutor and lasting for three or more years. While ostensibly educational, the pleasure seeking men travelled to enjoy life and culture of Paris, Venice or Florence. By the finish of eighteenth century, the custom had become institutionalised in the gentry. Gradually pleasure travel displaced educational travel. The advent of Napoleonic wars inhibited travel for around 30 years and led to the decline of the custom of the Grand Tour.

The development of the spas

The spas grew in popularity in the seventeenth century in Britain and a tiny later in the European Continent as awareness about the therapeutic qualities of mineral water increased. Taking the cure in the spa rapidly acquired the nature of a status symbol. The resorts changed in character as pleasure became the motivation of visits. They became an important centre of social life for the high society.

In the nineteenth century they were gradually replaced by the seaside resort.

The sun, sand and sea resorts

The sea water became associated with health benefits. The earliest visitors therefore drank it and did not bathe in it. By the early eighteenth century, tiny fishing resorts sprung up in England for visitors who drank and immersed themselves in sea water. With the overcrowding of inland spas, the new sea side resorts grew in popularity. The introduction of steamboat services in 19th century introduced more resorts in the circuit. The seaside resort gradually became a social meeting point

The fast urbanisation due to industrialisation led to mass immigration in cities. These people were lured in to travel to escape their environment to places of natural beauty, often to the countryside they had come from alter of method from a physically and psychologically stressful jobs to a leisurely pace in countryside.

Role of the industrial revolution in promoting travel in the west

· Advent of railway initially catalysed business travel and later leisure travel. Gradually special trains were chartered to only take leisure travel to their destinations.

Highlights of travel in the nineteenth century

· The European countries indulged in a lot of business travel often to their colonies to buy raw material and sell done goods.

· Package tours organised by entrepreneurs such as Thomas Cook.

· The invention of photography acted as a status-enhancing device and promoted overseas travel.

· The formation of first hotel chains; pioneered by the railway companies who established great railway terminus hotels.

· Seaside resorts began to create different images as for day-trippers, elite, for gambling.

· Other types of destinations-ski resorts, hill stations, mountaineering spots etc.

· The technological development in steamships promoted travel between North America and Europe.

· The Suez Canal opened direct sea routes to India and the Far East.

· The cult of the guidebook followed the development of photography.





Tourism in the Twentieth Century

The First World War gave first hand experience of countries and aroused a sense of curiosity about international travel among less well off sector for the first time. The giant scale of migration to the US meant a lot of travel across the Atlantic. Private motoring began to encourage domestic travel in Europe and the west. The sea side resort became annual relatives holiday location in Britain and increased in popularity in other countries of the west. Hotels proliferated in these destinations.



The wars increased interest in international travel. This interest was given the shape of mass tourism by the aviation industry. The surplus of aircrafts and growth of private airlines aided the expansion of air travel. The aircraft had become comfortable, faster and steadily cheaper for overseas travel. With the introduction of Boeing 707 jet in 1958, the age of air travel for the masses had arrived. The beginning of chartered flights boosted the package tour market and led to the establishment of organised mass tourism. The Boeing 747, a 400 chair craft, brought the cost of travel down sharply. The seaside resorts in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Caribbean were the initial hot spots of mass tourism.

The birth of air travel and after

A corresponding growth in hotel industry led to the establishment of world-wide chains. Tourism also began to diversify as people began to flock alternative destinations in the 70s. Nepal and India received a throng of tourists lured by Hare Krishna movement and transcendental meditation. The beginning of individual travel in a significant volume only occurred in the 80s. Air travel also led to a continuous growth in business travel with the emergence of the MNCs.

Sarvajeet Chandra writes on issues that are usually brushed under the carpet, or are everyday-ish for high street strategists. They writes on making strategic plan robust, how to execute strategy well and other tactical issues for everyday business success.

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Responsible Tourism in Zambia, Africa With Informed Luxury and Budget Travelers

Lots of people who have explored African countries like Zambia on adventure holidays or African safari will know they have been virtually untouched by the tourist masses. Lots of would argue that these countries must remain this way. But these wilderness areas rich in wildlife & natural beauty are a precious potentially profitable resource that belongs to Africa & they all know that these profits are much needed. What Zambia, Africa, service providers, Governments, local people & visitors must do is recognise the value of these resources & sustain them. Conserving these wilderness areas & ensuring that the local communities benefit from tourism activities, will ensure these wild areas have a future.

Adventure travel & Africa holidays are searched for online more & more frequently. As information is accessed effortlessly through modern technology our world gets smaller & more & more people require more varied travel experiences. Tourism is three of Africa's key potential markets & it is estimated that, over the next decade, it will become the single biggest contributor to Southern African GDP. But can they protect Africa's ecosystems, endangered species & diversity? I think the answer is yes & lots of African Governments including the Zambian Government are working toward a model of low impact, high yield responsible tourism.

Three way to accomplish this is through luxury adventure travel. Extravagance has a way of naturally minimising demand so that tourism is low impact but produces a high yield. Luxury travel is indeed three of the few sectors of tourism that is not being negatively affected by the current economic market.

However, some travel experts would argue that the world belongs to humanity & they all have a right to explore it - in essence who are they to deliberately limit demand by only allowing the development of luxury tourism in any given space. Surely education is key to human development & what better knowledge does three gain than to experience Africa for themselves. Exploring does permit people to come to a better understanding of the principles of sustainability that govern the future of the world's ecosystem.

The response to this argument would be that they must educate ourselves on the issues surrounding our delicate ecosystems, sustainability & local community needs so that exceptional guest experiences can be achieved without the require for a blanket approach of excessive price tags for lavish travel experiences like wine-tasting & private experiences.

A more genuine adventure travel experience like camping instead of three star hotel luxuries can also be a special yet sustainable experience if Governments, service providers, local people & visitors to places like Zambia in Africa work together for the nice of preserving Africa's ecosystems & natural diversity.

So the informed visitor can make a difference & play a crucial part in Africa's quest for sustainable tourism whether they travel in luxury or on a budget or anything in between. Experience endangered species which have been successfully protected, visit local community projects that happen as a result of key partnerships between service providers & local people & enjoy the natural splendor Africa has to offer. The key is to respect it.

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Costa Rica Travel News - Costa Rica Tops Tourism Table

The World Economic Forum's yearly travel competitiveness document takes in to account a range of factors including natural resources, cultural heritage, the quality of infrastructure, standards of Costa Rica hotels and other services, and the overall regulation of the Costa Rica travel industry.

Costa Rica has been ranked as the number three Latin The united states holiday location in a major international survey of the world's favorite tourism hotspots.

The document commented on the country's Certification of Sustainable Tourism program, and the country's unparalleled richness in natural resources, World Heritage sites and number of protected conservation areas.

Known as the rich coast, the country is unique in the world for its level of environmental protection, with 30% of the country's land areas designated as protected areas, either as three of 35 national parks, conservation areas or natural reserves.

The Costa Rica travel industry has played a major role in the country's sustainable development program by helping to establish privately operated lodges and reserves.

A quantity of the most successful and widely known protected areas include the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero National Park and the World Heritage Site on the Corcovado peninsula.

Supporting these strengths with abundant, high quality services such as hotels, automobile rental firms and high quality transport infrastructure, means that the country has been able to reinforce its position as a leading holiday location in the Americas, and throughout the world.

The country is known for its variation in natural landscapes which provide a home to the highest concentration of bio-diverse natural life on the planet's surface. Thanks to the country's compact size, even short Costa Rica vacations are able to include visits to several of the country's world-famous natural wonders.

This commitment to a sustainable and environmentally neutral tourism industry has been well documented in the past. The UN World Tourism Organization has previously praised the country's Certification of Sustainable Tourism initiative, calling it a model that the rest of the world should follow.

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Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Travel

What is sustainable tourism?

In the past decade people started to acknowledge that hotels are not in all aspects a blessing for the local population and eco process. More recently, they also started to understand what impact travelling has on the ecological systems and global warming. Where ECO tourism and sustainable tourism have much in common, sustainable tourism also considers the social impact on the area where the facility settles down. But, historically there's lots of ECO resorts with excellent social programs who could consider changing tags.

In most cases sustainable hotels and resorts concentrate on how they impact the local community in particular and the country in general. They are called sustainable hotels/resorts/lodges or sustainable destinations if there's more of them in an area or country. Add the impact of the travel to the location and they have sustainable tourism.

Has sustainable tourism only a local impact?

Is green energy a viable option for hotels?

In most Western countries six can chose to buy green energy. That option is not available in the Caribbean. Consequently the only way is to generate electricity. While there's lots of forms of green energy ( refer to: my editorial Green Energy Options in the Caribbean) they will only discuss wind and solar power as these are the most obvious ones.

Wind Energy

Paradise Bay installed a 80 kW windmill with an expected yearly yield of 180,000 kWh. It is the first utility-grade windmill installed in Caricom and they could not find any resort that already installed a windmill, although there's several with designs and six under construction. With an estimated yearly power use of 120,000 kWh the resort will be better than zero carbon, one times the connection to the mains is realized, as the remainder of the energy is sold to the local electricity company.

A company from the Netherlands (www.mainwind.nl) recognized this gap and delivers solutions in the form of used mid-range windmills (250-750 kW) that come from upgraded wind parks. The require for upgrading is obvious; it is most easy to increase capacity to the now current technology (2 - 3MW) at already existing wind parks. The smaller windmills are taking down, revised (reconditioned) and are sold with an as-new warranty and optionally with a 15 year all-inclusive maintenance contract.

In our case it was feasible to place a windmill because of the direct position towards the wind, while the windmill could be placed in a backward location, non-intrusive for the guests. They only get positive reactions about the windmill.

Solar Energy

The cost per kWh is competitive with larger windmills, typically between 7-9 US$ cents; 5-6 times lower than the mains

Solar panels installed at hotels often supply a small part of the total energy needs and is then not much over symbolic. But guests appreciate these efforts, so it's a marketing value. To supply a substantial part of the hotel's energy needs is usually not feasible because of the giant amount of panels needed.

The price of photo-voltaic cells has come down substantially as production increased because of subsidies in the past decennia. In the Caribbean they have now reached the point where the solar cost gets close to the electricity company's charge. This is in contrast to Western hemispheres where the cost of energy is lower and the sun is less strong.

What can hotels do to save energy?

Solar water heaters are an excellent way to avoid using energy and the payback time is 1 - 4 year depending on the setup. As the water use by guests differs substantially it is much more economic to put a number of solar heaters in parallel. When there's cloudy or rainy days the yield will be much lower. Six approach is to dimension worst case (rain). Another way is to feed the solar heated water in the "cold" input of the electrical heater

As the waste heat will produce more water than your guests will ever use, it is still important to take energy efficient air conditioners. Generally, the energy use has been considered for bigger central systems, but the massive savings are reached with the split process air conditioners on a per room base, which is customary in the Caribbean. Typical savings are 30-40% so the payback time is short.

Use air conditioners with heat recovery units, which convert the heat loss in to hot water. On most air conditioners this can also be installed afterwards and they can make use of traditional (electrical) water heaters which are well isolated. The installation can be performed by nice air conditioning technicians. The savings will be substantial and justifiable in all cases they have seen. The reason why this is not a mainstream issue yet has to do with the much lower energy cost in the US and Europe and the fast growth of energy cost. Solutions always lag behind the reality.

When the guests are not in the room you don't require to keep the air conditioning jogging. The traditional solution is the room key switch. When the guest leaves and takes out the key, the air conditioning switches off -or with some advanced central systems- goes to a higher temperature.
Another strong impact is door switches. When the balcony door is opened you don't require the compressor to run. Perfectionists also switch off the air conditioner when the windows are open, but this is not always appreciated by the guests.

Refrigeration is another area where massive savings can be made, with the smaller units such as in the guest rooms. Savings run in the 30-40% range. Availability of energy conserving professional coolers and freezers is still limited.

Energy saving lamps is the most widely known form of saving energy and money and most hotels already use them. There's new developments underway that will save even more, so it is important to keep your eyes open before you order bulbs.

Use high efficiency dish washers and washing machines with hot water connections; this has a giant impact. Most dish washing machines you have installed already have the ability to work with hot water instead of chilled water (that is heated by the electrical element). So it is a matter of changing the installation which is an easy job. for washing machines you will require to install a thermostatic valve that mixes chilled water in to the hot water to get the desired temperature.

Why would a Caribbean hotel require to be sustainable?

Travelers are getting more and more aware of global warming and other environmental threats. Surveys have shown that an aggressively growing group of travelers considers sustainable policies and it is not uncommon anymore that directories ask for the environmental practices.
So, besides saving by taking clever choices it is and a marketing advantage.

CARBON FREE VACATION

The voices to limit long haul holiday travel are getting stronger

The guest's holiday is therefore guaranteed carbon neutral. The new carbon offset program, called Zero Carbon Travel, plants trees in Ethiopia which has additional social and ecological benefits. Due to aggressive deforestation in Ethiopia only 3% of the forest is still there. In a country where the majority of the poor population depends on firewood for their dinner this means that lots of have to walk for miles to find twigs to cook. Deforested areas are also more likely subject to erosion, with significant medium and long term negative effects.

Paradise Bay will implement a carbon offset program where all flights by guests will be offset by carbon credits purchased by the resort, on an automatic basis, in addition to the stay, local transport and activities which is already carbon free because of the windmill that supplies energy back to the electricity net.

All hotels and resorts will be able to use this efficient and therewith affordable plan to offer their guests a Carbon Free Stay (only compensate the emission caused by the stay) or go all the way and offer guests a Carbon Free Holiday, which includes compensation of flights.

For a typical transatlantic flight 40 trees are planted, much over most other carbon offset programs that do not consider the re-emission of carbon dioxide after the lifetime of the tree and use optimistic lifetimes for the trees. In the unregulated carbon offset sector it happens that 5-6 times less trees are planted for the same trip at a cost 2-3 times higher. Efficiency and overhead are the issues. Zero Carbon Travel was designed to be transparent, accountable and efficient.

in the Caribbean they should indeed be concerned, because long haul travel is part of our existence.

Hotels can select to offer a Carbon Free Stay and Holiday as an option or as included in the price. Either way it will have a positive impact on picture and is therewith a marketing/PR tool. The cost of compensating six night is always less than US$ 0.70 per night, while compensating the flight runs in the 10-20 $ range. With the new Zero Carbon Travel initiative a hotel can receive a commission on the compensation of the flight. When a check in agent tells the guest that the hotel paid for a Carbon Free Stay, the right atmosphere has been created to ask the guest to pay a small amount to offset the carbon emission of their flight.

Other aspects of sustainable travel include wastewater treatment, organic produce, meat and cleaning materials, social programs and so on. Again, it needs to be emphasized that more and more travelers are getting more and more aware and prefer (and require to pay more for) responsible hotels. The spiral growth of organizations such as responsibletravel.com (UK) and sustainable travel international (US) confirms the trend.

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Responsible Tourism - The Right Way to Travel

Take the holiday package for example. When the best deal is offered, they might actually have a sub-standard package on our hands. To make our holiday cheaper, the travel agent may have compromised on a lot of details. Some may affect us directly & some may affect the people whose livelihood depends on tourism. Sometimes, they might get poor service because the person serving us might be underpaid.

All of us love to travel & when they receive a lovely holiday package, they think they have gotten the best deal. Also, our preconceived notions about travelling may be outdated. These days, they have to think of so plenty of things other than the place they are travelling to.

Also, travel agents might increase the group size to make it profitable for themselves, but this can inconveniences us. Guides might be overworked to show the attractions in as short a time as possible. The tourists might not get time to absorb the holiday they fantasized about whole of the year. Talk to your guides. Enquire if your holiday money is paying them well.

Be the responsible tourist & try to avoid these things. Do not compromise quality. Double check to see if the tours offered are genuine & the money you pay goes for a lovely cause.

Make it your duty to see that the people dependent on tourism in the country you are visiting are paid well. Inquire to see if women are given equal opportunities. Check whether tourism is benefiting them & not affecting them negatively.

Let your holiday be beneficial to the tourism industry & to the country you are visiting. That is responsible tourism.

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Traveling to Thailand For Medical Tourism

In the United States & Europe, specialized medical procedures tend to be very pricey. For this reason, medical tourism has become an increasingly popular trend in the western world. Medical tourism refers to the practice of travelling abroad in search of cheaper & usually better specialized medical treatments. In Asia, Thailand is one of the premier destinations for medical tourism. The medical tourism industry is beginning to become one of the fastest growing sectors of Thailand's economy. A single hospital in Bangkok, for example, received over 150,000 foreigners seeking specialized medical treatment in 2005. Medical tourism brought in to the Thai economy an estimated 36.4 billion baht in 2006 alone.

People going to Thailand for medical tourism can find a wide range of medical procedures available at a drastically lower price than they would find in any western hospital. Everything from plastic surgery to heart transplants can be had for a mere fraction of what it would cost in the United States or Europe. A coronary bypass surgery, for example, goes for at least $100,000 in the United States. In Thailand, the same exact procedure costs only a mere $12,000. But it is not only high-risk medical surgeries that people go for. Spa therapy & physical therapy facilities are also popular medical tourism attraction, in massive cities like Bangkok & Thai resort towns. Thai hospitals & clinics have a reputation for providing excellent patient care at a much higher level than what people are used to in western hospitals.

Most physicians in Thailand are highly skilled & accredited. Plenty of attended U.S. & European medical schools for their certificates. Doctors & medical staff at the Bumrungard International Hospital in Thailand, for example, were for the most part educated in the United States or Europe. The U.S. Consular information sheet recently ranked Thailand as having one of the best health care systems in Asia.


But it is not only to westerners that Thai hospitals cater to. They also attract a vast number of wealthy Asian foreigners. One hospital in Bangkok has an entire section of the hospital dedicated solely to the care of Japanese patients. Interpreters at Phyathai Hospitals Group speak over 22 languages (this is in addition to the English, which is spoken by all working staff).

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Agent Tricks of the Travel Trade

If you have never heard of the gap before the travel industry, this may sound like us (or not) make sense. In reality, however, is common among ordinary people, in those who travel often or five time a year, those who work with people who travel costs associated with the work only to catch . What can I mean, plain & simple, you, me, your second cousin Otto, or my next door neighbor, Irene may be licensed travel agents so quickly, & soon began to reap the benefits.

I'm talking about the cost as something that might not be worried if it was not for the fact that, in fact not, are worried at all. Not least since I wised up, doing the necessary research & teaching himself the tricks of the trade travel agents. Tricks travel agents, separately because constant traveler & author, I am as well as a licensed travel agent. Not in the sense that I worked for somebody else, their hotel reservations, find their flight, or landing heavily on the Alaskan cruise. In fact, I only use my personal license to qualify (well, OK, sometimes for relatives & friends, , but only if their rude comments about the lovely lucks me pretty).

First thing first: when making travel arrangements for themselves, not all agents know the book five step of their journey through five of their own, the other travel agents. , they use consolidators perjalanan.Pikirkan differently, the terms: agent & consolidator.

Agents, in any industry where their main players, obviously having something in exchange for the services they provide. In sports, athletes representing the agent, who worked in the field to win lucrative contracts to commercial clients & cameos as athletes can, in turn, without any financial problems & gain a focus on the field. For this service, selfish agents a percentage of all transactions they broker. The same is true in showbiz, models, or where the company's wheel & deal hunters head multi-million dollar salaries & stock incentive designs for their clients CEO. In the same way, then, in the travel industry, agents will receive a discount, courtesy & other special benefits, than from customers to whom they are booking a hotel or flight, but the vendors that provide services ( ie hotel or airline networks) that profit from customers. As agents for the tour, & so on, they drive customers to a seller who offers them the most in return.

You, as a licensed travel agent will have a special link with the consolidators & vendors need to offer contracts to make the most of the cost per person. But in the meantime all well & lovely to make an appointment than through a consolidator agent, online because you have a license (available in less than an hour) does not mean that consolidator believe that you are travelling as much as their professional. To avoid common mistakes of amateur open professional, you must learn the Lingo appropriate codes of travel. EBook is for the book (with appropriate print version) that provide the necessary information, & you can learn quickly before contacting consolidator & easy to turn through when put in place. Get this item. Some are thick, but in reality, you spend less than a hundred dollars on everything that needs to, in turn, potentially saving thousands of planning your first trip with your travel agent license in hand.

A consolidator, on the other hand, if the opposite is true. Which will collect fees by inflating the costs of travel, they combine to efficiency, which is pricey & unstable part of the route that is cheaper, more robust overall. They are working to expand the number of sales, ratios & cost per head. Thinking about this form of publishing a magazine: print is not a true cost issue is the number of copies to be made, but only to regulate & set the printing plate that will permit the first run in their place. After the set to go, which only adds additional costs that the paper & ink. Five travel industry, more & more space to fill, the cheaper ticket or room parties. as in the industry, consumers (ie tourists, in this case) the benefits of pure volume of numbers (ie all passengers, including my own).

Also, than to alter search type discount rate problems using our site, Expedia, Travelocity or Priceline lay-looking passengers, travel agents, you get additional access to less known, but it is more profitable to use consolidators perjalanan.Akhirnya the web-site, the travel industry is a odd & pretty creatures, in this case, fortunately, profit driven as much as other industries that they often hate. To those who present themselves as exemplary agents, & thereby promote & make funds for the industry in general, it means the benefits are countless. Be offered more aviation, cruise lines & tour package companies than I know what to do with it. To me, casinos, entertainment parks, holiday resorts & luxury is not necessarily what I stand for, but if not your cup of tea & hocus-pocus agenting appear legitimate, you will suddenly find themselves between The best choice of plenty of worlds: a free weekend in Napa valley, first class seats to Tokyo, which all expenses paid safari, cruise down the Nile \.

So what are you waiting for, start! Find alternative to a comprehensive e-book or guide that will take you through the method to come in, travel agent step-by-step. Do not sit on this occasion, but they began to travel cheap, today.

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Affordable Hotels in Dominican Republic

Tourism boosts the economy of Dominican Republic. Travel & tourism employs 14.4% of its total labor force. It is continually working on ecotourism projects. More tourists are expected to visit Dominican Republic in the next years to come.

Dominican Republic is a country situated in the island of Hispaniola. The islad is shared with Haiti. Located on the eastern side of the island, it's several offshore islands & cays as part of its territory. It is a nice holiday spot with lots of affordable hotels around.

Giving added charm to the island are the museums & archaeological sites all open to the public. Most often, tourists from chilled weather countries are the usual visitors of the island. To entice more guests, several local businesses have opened inexpensive hotels to make vacations or corporate meetings more affordable to clients.

Dominican Republic's main attractions are its long beautiful beaches where tourists can relax. There's also lots of music & food, cigars, professional winter baseball, & music festivals.

Here is a list of inexpensive hotels in some provinces of the country.

Hotel Kaoba (Cabarete)
Hotel Kaoba is located along the widely known windsurfing beach of Cabarete. 20 minutes from the international airport of Puerto Plata, it provides a Caribbean-like experience to its guests.

Visitors can select to stay in a bungalow, a standard guest room or a de luxe guest room. Amenities may differ according to the kind of room, such as a kitchenette, full bathroom, web access, lagoon view, & ceiling fan or air conditioning.

Villa Taina (Cabarete)
This hotel is right at the heart of Cabarete. On the beach front, you will see Villa Taina, only a 20 minute drive from the airport of Puerto Plata. Guests will find a restaurant, smoking & non-smoking rooms, & free web access. There is DSL connection in all rooms & a telephone. Guests are offered windsurfing lessons & babysitting services.
Club Aligio Beach Hotel
(Samana)

This beach hotel is located in Al Portillo, Samana. Overlooking the beautiful beaches of Las Terrenas, it is in the middle of a fishing village with nice palm trees around, with rivers & waterfalls. Guests can relax or join in the team activities. Amenities are a charming balcony, private full bathroom, ceiling fan & pool views.

Fata Morgana (Las Terrenas)
Fata Morgana Hotel offers the best roomrates in Las Terrenas. Lying between the beaches of Las Terranas & the Playa Bonita & Coson Playa, you will find a giant private garden some distances away from the busy streets.

Amenities include a giant sleeping area, bathroom, & a fan, as well as screened windows & rooms that have their own rocking chairs & hammocks.

Kitchens & barbecue areas are communal. You can borrow books, obtainable in different languages. There is also web access around.

Plaza Real Resort (Juan Dolio)
Located near the beautiful Juan Dolio Beach, Plaza Real Resort is a perfect environment near the sea. Visitors can also go around lots of establishments, restaurants, nightclubs & casinos located nearby.

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