Travel Warnings – The Silent News Cast
By Cassandra Ingraham
If you truly want to know what is happening in the world today, take a look at the US State Departments Travel Warnings. These Warnings are not to be taken lightly. Just because the warnings are not on the six o’clock news does not mean that there is nothing to be concerned about.
The US Government has an obligation to inform and warn US citizens about unsafe travel destinations. And the Team of writers (Bureau of Consular Affairs) who write the Travel Warnings take their job very seriously, (Information based upon the details and high level of information provided to US Citizens)
I can’t help to think that there is a template for information that is to be provided, even so, the information is detailed and enlightening.
The Travel warnings are very factual without emotion or personality, just cold hard facts that leave you wondering if you should ever leave the country?
The thought of not leaving the country last only for a moment. The thought of us, US Citizens, not being able to travel anywhere in the Free world is a joke. (Most of us are not old enough to remember WW II.) We are spoiled and feel that as long as we have a passport, a credit card and a desire to go, then there can be no other factors. This line of thinking may be OK for now, and maybe for dozens of years to come, however, it is time to become VERY AWARE of our surroundings while traveling outside of the US.
(This next paragraph is for the young jet-set)
As a word of caution, it may be time to retire from the International night clubs a little earlier and much more sober. It may be time to be discrete before sharing your hotel room number and location with complete strangers or going for a ride with a stranger that you meet at the party or having a party within a party at a different location from the original party! (If you understand what I just wrote, then I am talking to you)
Heads up people, we must become more aware when traveling outside of the US. I cannot say this enough. This includes cruise ships, all inclusive resorts, International jet-set hot spots, and private islands, spring breaks, senior travel and sex party travel.
One thing is for sure, the US State Department is not telling everything!
‘Stuff is Happening’ and its not always on the News. Be safe, be aware, say a pray and if you don’t pray, meditate. Read the Travel Warnings and know that there are millions and millions of people just like you, who will travel no matter what is happening in the world.
About The Author: Article written by Cassandra Ingraham, e-Publisher for http://www.travel360degrees.com A web site for the cost conscience travelers featuring travel articles with links to affordable Travel Suppliers and cosolidated airfare quotes.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cassandra_Ingraham
The News on Airline Travel
By Lee Dobbins
Airline travel is an accepted mode of transportation used by millions today. It’s hard to believe that airplanes and airports haven’t really been around for that long. In this fast paced day and age traveling by plane is the only way to get business and pleasure accomplished in a short period of time, but did you ever think about what it might be like if air travel wasn’t around?
Airline travel has been in the news for quite some time. At first, newspapers would report only about airplane trips taken by daring single pilots over long distances. Lindberg’s flight was one example. The tragic flight of Amelia Earhart was another such example. This mode of transportation was more of a lark back then, no one could imagine that traveling by plane would become commonplace in our society.
Before World War II only a few wealthy people enjoyed airline travel. Wealthy businessmen, such as Howard Hughes, looked for ways to make money from airline travel. Hughes’ exploits led to the building of many airplane lockers on the fields west of Los Angeles. Today, in Culver City, CA, one can view what remains of those lockers by taking a short bus ride from the Los Angeles International Airport.
The efforts of Hughes and other businessmen created an environment that encouraged airline travel. Such travel became more affordable, so that larger numbers of people could fly. In the 1950s the public enjoyed the arrival of the jet, an airplane that could cross the American continent on a single flight.
One morning in the mid 1950s radio announcers mentioned the first flight across country by the TWA jet. It had left Los Angeles, bound for the eastern seaboard. It was a little intriguing and very frightening for many people around the world. In fact, it was such a new innovation, many people on the ground were afraid airplanes might leap from the sky.
Soon air travel became more and more common. This mode of transportation enabled everyday people to visit place that were unreachable for them before. Vacations would take on a whole new meaning as you were no longer limited to where you could travel to by car or train. Air flight became a popular mode of getting from one place to another and still is today.
It was an era of airline travel that continues today, although with a different perspective. The events of September 11, 2001 placed airline travel in a new and different light. The public found that it did not find satisfaction in all of the news about airline travel. Today however, there are few plane crashes and most air travel is very safe. In fact, the news on airline travel is typically non-existent or good news at that.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn how to find the best airfare to your favorite destinations.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
Costa Rica Travel News – Costa Rica, Greenest & Happiest Country on Earth
By Matthew Barker
The country’s astounding richness in its wildlife and biodiversity makes a Costa Rica vacation an experience to remember and the nation’s commitment to its natural riches have made the country a world leader in environmental protection and conservation.
But now it seems that Costa Rica’s record has made it more than a natural sanctuary for threatened wildlife, but a world leader in global happiness too.
A study by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) which links countries’ environmental protection to the happiness of their citizens has named Costa Rica as the greenest and happiest country in the world.
The study, called the Happy Planet Index, compares the natural resources that each country consumes with their happiness and quality of life. The report combined ecological impact with other factors including life expectancy and life satisfaction to calculate which country is the most “happy” overall.
According to the Happy Planet Index, Costa Ricans have the highest life satisfaction in the world, thanks to their long life expectancy which is slightly longer than the USA average, combined with their tiny environmental impact, which is 75% smaller than the United States’ per person equivalent.
Costa Rica has become well known throughout the world for its excellent level of environmental protection. Almost one third of the country has been protected by a system of national parks, conservation areas and natural reserves.
Some of the most popular protected areas include the World Heritage Site of Corcovado National Park which is famous for its mangrove swamps, tapirs and macaws, the beautiful beach-side Manuel Antonio National park, and Tortuguero National Park, a favorite nesting ground for endangered sea turtles.
In a separate recent survey the country was voted the number one Latin America travel destination thanks to its astonishing range of national parks protected the world’s biggest concentration of exotic, and often endangered, animal species ranging from poison arrow frogs, green leatherback turtles, the resplendent quetzal and the jaguar.
This Costa Rica travel news update was written by a travel-loving Costa Rica vacation expert at Costa Rica For Less, a member of the Latin America For Less family.
Latin America For Less, a US travel agency established in 1998, offers a complete South America vacation service to destinations across Latin America, including Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia.
The company is unique in its ability to offer a price match guarantee as well as the highest standards in quality and customer service. Fully customized itineraries coupled with personal and friendly service are the hallmarks of a Latin America For Less vacation.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Barker
Costa Rica Travel News – Costa Rica Tops Tourism Table
By Matthew Barker
Costa Rica has been ranked as the number one Latin America vacation destination in a major international survey of the world’s favorite tourism hotspots.
The World Economic Forum’s yearly travel competitiveness report takes into 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.
The report 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 almost 30% of the country’s land areas designated as protected areas, either as one 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.
Some of the most successful and well known protected areas include the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero National Park and the World Heritage Site on the Corcovado peninsula.
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.
Supporting these strengths with abundant, high quality services such as hotels, car rental firms and high quality transport infrastructure, means that the country has been able to reinforce its position as a leading vacation destination in the Americas, and throughout the world.
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.
This Costa Rica travel news update was written by a travel-loving Costa Rica vacation expert at Costa Rica For Less, a member of the Latin America For Less family.
Latin America For Less, a US travel agency established in 1998, offers a complete South America vacation service to destinations across Latin America, including Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia.
The company is unique in its ability to offer a price match guarantee as well as the highest standards in quality and customer service.
Fully customized itineraries coupled with personal and friendly service are the hallmarks of a Latin America For Less vacation.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Barker
Business Travel News
By Kevin Stith
As a frequent business traveler, you must stay abreast of the latest business travel news. For example, a new flight company may have entered your area and may be offering attractive travel packages with cheaper airfares or better travel facilities. If you do not know about this new travel service, you may be losing a lot in terms of airfares and travel facilities. Perhaps the pilots of the airline you are traveling by go on strike the very day you have planned to board the plane. How you wish you had known it beforehand!
Business travel news also includes your awareness of the geographical situation and latest weather report of your destination. You may be traveling from a tropical country and you are suddenly required to travel to some destination which remains covered with ice and snow with strong cold winds howling all the year round. Now suppose you carry nothing but some light clothes in your suitcase; your predicament can now better be imagined than described.
Keep in mind the language spoken in your destination country. It may not be an English speaking country. So you need to make arrangement for a guide or an interpreter to take you around the city.
The place you may be traveling to may be infested with criminals and pickpockets. The fraudulent misuse of credit card information is widely prevalent in China. So you may have to pay heavily for being ignorant about the law and order situation in such countries.
Again, you are not allowed to drive a car in China even if you have a driver’s license in your own country. You therefore cannot hire a car in China to drive it yourself like you can do in many European countries or America.
Finally, the Internet is a great source for the latest news, which it provides by the hour.
Business Travel provides detailed information on Business Travel, Business Class Travel, China Business Travel, Business Travel News and more. Business Travel is affiliated with Corporate Travel Agencies [http://www.e-CorporateTravel.com].
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Good News For Thailand Tourism
By Chronus Banev
Just as reports emerged stating that tourism is down almost 40% over last year, the Asian development bank has announced that Thailand’s economy is already set to recover as tourism is finally on the increase as the summer holidays abound.
Thailand which has seen recent crises devastate the tourism industry has been quick to reinvest in the tourism in order to try and revitalize and persuade vacationers to come and visit the ever famous Land of Smiles.
With a stronger focus on short-haul tourism planned for 2010 and beyond, Thailand is looking for pragmatic ways to deal with the reduced number of visitors, and the nation’s practical approach is finally paying dividends as tourism is starting to pick up.
At the height of the tourist slowdown, the Thai government revealed a range of measures in efforts to keep the spot light on Thailand, spending billions of baht on promotional offers, discounts and free visas for tourists.
Until recently these incentives were having little effect due to the Thailand’s very recent history of instability, but recently the political situation has stabilized significantly providing a great deal of international reassurance.
At a time when both Bangkok and Chiang Mai have been voted two of the best cities in the world by independent review, these economic reports are providing at least some reassurance to the many foreign and Thai owned tourism businesses operating within Thailand that have been affected badly by the drop in tourism.
With many promotional offers still in effect for tourists, the rainy season is now upon us, which signals the start of the annual low season in Thailand and tourist centers such as Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai are all screaming out for tourists.
Whilst the rainy season is now here, it is still a perfect opportunity to take a relaxing break to the wonderful country of Thailand and see all the country has to offer in peace and relative unspoilt harmony. Thailand is in some ways at its finest during the rainy season when the fields are green and the rice is growing.
Did You Know: Thai weather has three main seasons: The hot season, the wet season and the mild season! The worst of the wet season in Thailand lasts around three to four months from August to November, and chances are it is nowhere near as wet as you think!
Typically rainy season consists of daily rainfall lasting 3 or 4 hours, followed by nonstop rain in the evenings. Bring an umbrella and have fun!
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chronus_Banev
Thailand News – Travel Situation Update
By Chronus Banev
The tourism industry in Thailand truly took off when US soldiers started to arrive in the 1960s for Rest and Recuperation (R&R) during the Vietnam War period. Coinciding, international mass tourism sharply increased during the same period due to the rising standard of living, more people acquiring more free time and due to improvements in technology making it possible to travel further, faster, cheaper and in greater numbers, epitomized by the Boeing 747 which first flew commercially in 1970. Thailand was one of the major players in Asia to capitalize on this then-new trend.
Tourist numbers have grown from 336,000 foreign visitors and 54,000 R&R soldiers in 1967 to over 14 million international guests visiting Thailand in 2007. The average duration of their stay in 2007 was 9.19 days, generating an estimated 547,782 million Thai baht, around 11 billion Euros. In 2006, Thailand was the 18th most visited country in the World Tourism rankings with 13.9 million visitors. France, comparable to Thailand in size and population, led the list with over 79 million foreign tourists.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, 55% of the tourists in 2007 came from the Asia Pacific region, Japanese and Malaysians forming the two biggest groups. The largest groups of Western tourists come from Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and the United States. The number of tourists arriving from the Middle East and Russia is on the rise. Around 55% of Thailand’s tourists are return visitors. The peak period is during the Christmas and New Year holidays when Western tourists flee the cold conditions back home.
No patience with Swine Flu in Thailand
Laboratory tests conducted on a 42-year-old Thai woman who was quarantined on Tuesday for possible swine-flu infection showed that she is free from the deadly virus, a hospital official said on Wednesday.
Two tests were made on samples from the woman. She was found to be suffering from ordinary human flu, Chulalongkorn Hospital virus specialist Dr Yong Pooworawan said at a press conference.
The woman was admitted to Chulalongkorn hospital on Tuesday after having developed a fever last Thursday on arriving back from Singapore. Her trip had earlier taken her to Mexico and the USA between April 3 and 19.
On Tuesday, the Public Health Ministry issued a warning that travelers should avoid going to Mexico or the US if possible.
Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai confirmed in parliament on Wednesday that the swine flu virus strain responsible for the global alert has not spread to Thailand.
He said he had ordered provincial health units throughout the country to stock medicines used to treat influenza and to be ready in case the deadly variant of the virus spreads to Asia.
Democrat MP Somboon Uthaiwienkul urged the government to register migrants coming to work in Thailand because they could easily become a burden on society whenever a disease spreads.
Health official’s overseas treating people who have been infected with swine fever confirm that the generic antiviral drug oseltamivir, sold commercially as Tami flu, is effective against the virus.
CNN International today announced the results of its Online Consumer Survey (OCS) on Travel and Tourism which reveals that Thailand was chosen as representing the best value for money for travelers in the Asia Pacific region. The survey conducted across CNN English websites had more than 5,000 respondents globally. Thailand came out as the best value in Asia-Pacific for respondents over China in second place and India in third.
The comprehensive survey also revealed that although times are tough, the recession hasn’t reduced people’s desire to travel. On the contrary – people are trading down, not trading out – but not compromising their experience. In addition, more business leaders are likely to travel over the next 12 months than in the past year.
* Overall the survey indicated that more people would travel for holiday over the next 12 months than last year, but 1 in 5 would make fewer trips
* 46% of business travelers in Asia Pacific claim the economic environment has had no impact on their business travel plans.
* 79% of Asia-Pac respondents feel they are likely to take a vacation in the region within the next 12 months. And the economic downturn isn’t affecting everyone’s travel plans. Asia-Pacific holidaymakers spent an average of just over US$4,000 on their last vacation, – ahead of the global average of $3,700.
* 71% of CNN’s audience of global travelers flies long-haul for leisure. Respondents take an average of 14 days vacation a year and holiday an average of three times a year.
Brand image and reputation also remains a critical factor for air travel, and survey respondents clearly feel that preferred, trusted airlines are able to command a premium. Respondents are also more likely to do fewer trips than look for cheaper hotels or discounted flights with budget airlines.
* 58% of Asia Pacific respondents are ‘willing to pay more to travel with my preferred airline’ (vs. 50% globally and just 41% of North American respondents)
* 61% of these Asia Pacific air travelers ‘prefer to fly with a trusted brand regardless of cost’. Furthermore, in difficult financial times, there is value for advertisers in targeting premium audiences.
* 83% of business travelers influence the choice of airlines and hotels when it comes to corporate travel.
* 40% of those who travel for work fly business or first class, make an average of five business trips per year and are away for an average of 19 days per year.
William Hsu, VP Advertising Sales, CNN International added “These results send a strong message to tourism boards that smart destination branding is critical for country differentiation and return on investment.”
The survey comes as the latest PAX research for the full year 2008 once again reconfirms CNN as the leading channel in its genre for reaching each of the 3 main PAX groups: Affluent Adults, Business Decision Makers and Top Management. Among the Top Management group CNN is the leading international channel regardless of genre, while CNN.com continues to generate substantially higher reach than all other measured media sites.
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How Dentist’s Visits For Dental Braces Work
By Simon Mahoney
In order for a person to be able to get one’s dental braces to work for one’s needs a number of dentist’s visits will be required. These visits are ones that will be used to help with seeing that one’s braces are working just fine. Here is a look at some of the things that will happen during a typical dentist visit.
The dentist that one will be visiting in particular is an orthodontist. This type of dentist is one that focuses on working to get a person’s teeth straightened.
For one’s visits the orthodontist that will be used will particularly be the same person that the patient was dealing with at the time that one first got the dental braces. This is done as a means of helping to allow for some kind of familiarity during the entire dental procedure. It is also done so that one dentist will be able to keep track of one’s progress when dental braces are being used.
An orthodontist will generally work to check on how the braces are working. A comparison of how one’s teeth looked originally will be used alongside a look at how that person’s teeth look at the time of the visit. The comparison will be used as a means of figuring out how well things have gone for one’s dental visit. It is used to see if the braces can work on the same course that they are going under or if something else is needed.
In many cases adjustments to the braces will be made. This is done only in cases where the dentist feels that it is necessary to do it. When this happens the wire for one’s braces will be adjusted to where it can be tighter. This is done as a means of helping to get one’s teeth to go into their right positions at a better rate. In the case of clear aligners a new aligner might have to be installed into one’s mouth.
A cleaning of one’s braces may also be used. This is done in order to not only make sure that the braces continue to work properly but also so that the braces will be able to feel comfortable.
A typical dentist visit will be one that is going to occur on a monthly basis. In many cases only one visit is going to be necessary because of how some braces work with minimal practices. In other cases several visits will be needed. The overall number of visits that a person will be dealing with will be based according to the amount of work that is needed for one’s teeth. More visits are needed for longer processes.
Dentist’s visits are important things to see when a person is wearing dental braces. These visits will be ones that are used to see if one’s braces are working properly and if they need to be adjusted. A good visit schedule will be needed in order for these braces to work properly for one’s needs.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_Mahoney
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