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Along with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, tourism has become one of the world’s dominant drivers of global, national, and local economic growth. At last tally, “the industry” – an aggregate of airlines, hotels and a slew of service businesses ranging from tour guides to street food vendors – employs a staggeringly high 200+ million people worldwide, or nearly 11% of the world’s workforce.
As previously reported, this same industry is on a … Read more »
Media has been abuzz lately about the infamous dealings of dog trafficking. It’s not the purebred puppy mill business they’re describing, but the smuggling of dogs for dinner in Southeast Asia’s Mekong Delta. Street dogs, purebreds and even stolen pets with collars on are making their way via small wire cages to restaurants and dinner tables around the region. The business is thriving, and people are beginning to notice.
Canine cuisine in Vietnam, Korea … Read more »
Social networks have made a dramatic impact on travel. During my first backpacking trip in 2004, I relied on e-mail addresses to stay in touch with the new friends I was making. I once met a girl in Paris. Later into my trip, I was shocked to run into her at my hostel in Edinburgh. What a small world!
That kind of thing would not have happened today. We’d have added each other as friends … Read more »
Let’s face it: most archaeology work can be quite boring, compared to the Indiana Jones fantasy. You’re more likely to be dusting off pottery than exploring lost cities. However, sometimes reality can trump fiction.
The New York Times had this incredible news: Beneath a Temple in Southern India, a Treasure Trove of Staggering Riches. As a routine matter, a court ordered … Read more »
Travel and writing can both be lonely endeavors, with friends and family not understanding why some of us are obsessed with both. The best fix for the blues is to surround yourself with people who have the same dream, and even better, have achieved success.
For anyone into travel writing, Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) is the highlight of the year. It brings together travel writers to swap stories, make new friends, and give each other … Read more »
Often while traveling, it seems that there’s no place immune from a wireless connection. Hotels, cafés—even buses allow you to connect with the world using your cell phone, laptop, or notebook.
It’s been many years since I’ve heard someone make a call from an airplane using those seat-back phones: “Hey, you’ll never guess where I’m calling you from.” I suppose that’s part of the allure for … Read more »
There’s always trouble going on somewhere in the world, but 2011 has been a particularly wrenching period. Revolution has swept the Middle East; Japan has endured disaster after disaster; America is carrying out military operations in three countries. One has to ask, “Is it safe to travel now?”
The answer is “Yes,” according to travel writer Paul Theroux. He made a moving call to action in this essay that appeared in The New York Times: … Read more »
Are you one of the 30 percent of U.S. citizens who has a passport? If not, and you’re planning on traveling out of the country any time in the next year, mark Saturday, April 9 on your calendar. On that day, the U.S. Department of State will host its third annual “Passport Day in the U.S.A.,” allowing citizens to apply for a passport book or passport … Read more »
Lots of people want to travel, right? Who wouldn’t? However, precise numbers are hard to come by. Gallup, a polling organization, spent 2007-2010 asking this question to young people in 148 countries: “If you could move permanently to another country, to which country would you move?”
To see their answers, check out this cool infographic: Youth Movement. The researchers specifically targeted people aged 15-29 and educated adults.
It won’t surprise anyone to know that … Read more »
What if you could:
–travel around the world for free?
–get experience as a travel writer?
–express your creativity through videos, photos, blogs, and tweets?
You can! STA Travel is holding the 2011 World Traveler Internship. The two winners will hit 16 countries and serve as travel correspondents. The runners-up will get to spend a summer in Europe. A pretty sweet consolation prize. The homepage has a slideshow of all the destinations where the … Read more »