Travel Blogger

We'll get through this oil mess together, Jimmy Buffett tells people of Florida Panhandle - chicagotribune.com

The timing might be a bit off for tourists hoping to waste away in Margaritaville. But that doesn't bother Jimmy Buffett.

The singer — whose tunes are as much a part of life in this beach town as fried grouper sandwiches, Land Shark beer and the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels — is planning to open a 162-room Margaritaville Hotel in a week.

via www.chicagotribune.com

FL Tourism Officials Try to Quell Oil Concerns

There are no tar balls on Florida beaches. No sheen has washed ashore anywhere in the state. Forecasters are predicting it will be five days or more before any oil from the Gulf spill could arrive on Florida's shores — and even then they say the damage may be minimal and isolated.

But that reality isn't the perception among some would-be out-of-state tourists, who have been calling seaside resorts this week from the Panhandle to the Keys, fearing the beaches are about to blackened and their vacations ruined. Some hotels are reporting 10 percent cancellations.

via abcnews.go.com

Mexico Issues Travel Warning on U.S. | Newsweek.com

Regular traffic of leagal travelers from Mexico has been dropping over the past 2 years.  I understand that most of that is due to the fears of Mexican Citizens to approach boarder towns due to drug related violence. Video reminder of life in Mexico today. TB

Last week, after the state of Arizona passed one of the toughest immigration measures in U.S. history, Mexican President Felipe Calderón issued a travel warning for Mexicans planning to visit the Southwestern state. It's rare that America is the recipient, and not the issuer, of a travel warning--notable exceptions include the E.U. discouraging citizens against visits there last fall due to swine flu fears, and Canada issuing a symbolic warning in 2002 to protest America's tough new antiterror laws. But Mexico's move is among the first times a developing country has exhorted its people to avoid the U.S.--and it's hardly an empty threat. If Mexicans follow Calderón's advisory, the economic impact on Arizona could be devastating.

via blog.newsweek.com

Travel Industry Launches First-Ever Industrywide Promotion to Stimulate Travel

Hoping to stimulate summer travel within the United States, nearly 50 of America's top destinations and travel brands have collaborated on a new travel promotion, its creator, the U.S. Travel Association, announced yesterday.

Called Discover America Daily Getaways, the one-month promotion is being sponsored by American Express and runs from May 3 to June 4. Its centerpiece is a website, DailyGetaways.com, where travelers can find deals and discounts from hotels, airlines, rental car companies, attractions and more.

via www.meetingnews.com

Gunmen kidnap six from Mexico hotels | Toronto Sun

Dozens of gunmen burst into a Holiday Inn and another hotel in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey Wednesday, searching from room-to-room and abducting at least six people, prosecutors said.

Nuevo Leon state attorney general Alejandro Garza y Garza said that between 20 and 30 gunmen abducted four guests and a receptionist from the 17-story Holiday Inn in Mexico's industrial hub, which has seen a surge in violence recently.

via www.torontosun.com

Get packing: Brussels decrees holidays are a human right | Times Online

An overseas holiday used to be thought of as a reward for a year's hard work. Now Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right and pensioners, youths and those too poor to afford it should have their travel subsidised by the taxpayer.

Under the scheme, British pensioners could be given cut-price trips to Spain, while Greek teenagers could be taken around disused mills in Manchester to experience the cultural diversity of Europe.

via www.timesonline.co.uk

Volcanic ash tourists travel home on cruise ships | BBC News

A cruise ship has arrived at the port of Southampton with 2,200 tourists on board who were stranded in Spain.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Major airlines say they won't add carry-on fee | USATODAY.com

In a remarkable gesture to fee-weary air travelers, five major U.S. airlines are committing to actually not charge a fee for something - the carry-on bag.

The announcement Sunday comes despite the fact that some of those same airlines are expected to report first-quarter losses next week amid significantly higher fuel prices and the beating they took from the heavy February snowstorms. Add-on fees for things like checked bags, pillows and food are a key revenue stream for them.

For 26 large U.S. airlines, so-called ancillary fee revenue accounted for 6.9% of their total operating revenue in the third quarter of 2009, up from 4.1% a year earlier, the most recently available government data shows.

via www.usatoday.com

Iceland Volcano Causes Europe Travel Chaos | ABC News

Video - Pictures TB 

A Cloud of Volcanic Ash Has Led To Airpace Closures All Over Europe

Airports across Europe were thrown into chaos today after ash drifting from Iceland's erupting volcano caused several countries to close their airspace.

Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, early Thursday...
Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, early Thursday April 15, 2010, which has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.  

via abcnews.go.com

Video - Mexican Police Video Captures Killings

With the positive statements made yesterday by the First Lady regarding the safety of Mexican travel, the 5 killed in Wednesdays daylight shootings in Acapulco, you need to see this leaked police surveillance video taken not far from the entrance to the world famous Copper Canyon.  Click Here, Read and Watch.  Some may find this video disturbing.  I'm glad I didn't come driving down one of those roads.

I love Mexico.  I hate what has happened to this beautiful country and it's wonderful people.  The citizens have allowed their elected officials to let this happen.  Don't ask me why...  TB