The Savvy Traveler takes a curtain call

I learned from Jen Leo’s blog this week that public radio’s Savvy Traveler program has gone off the air. This is sad news for travel radio buffs — and doubly sad for me, since The Savvy Traveler gave me my first opportunity to do essays for public radio. The favorite pieces I did for the program include an essay about traveling with my parents in Mongolia, and my quest to watch the Superbowl in Thailand. I’ll miss hearing and contributing to the program.

According to the NPR website, “The Savvy Traveler was unable to attract necessary funding to support the ongoing expense of quality production. Major challenges in securing funding included the post-9/11 depression in the travel industry and lack of consistent carriage in major markets.”

Full information about the end of the program can be found here and here.