Paris Around

Archive for September, 2010

Plan in advance: If you have a plan to visit out of your country, start your plan at least three to six month prior to your visit. Know the country and destination where you are planning to visit. Know more about the climatic condition of that country and find out the travel advices for the country. Select best time of travel for that particular country or city.

Book air tickets in advance: If you have finalized your tour program, book air tickets in advance as many airlines offer a discount for tickets booked in advance. Now get your passport, visa and other travel documents ready.

Learn the local expenses: You might not know whether you are paying the right amount for taxi, hotel and other commodities in the particular city, therefore it is better to search for the basic information about the city and you will get plenty of information on Internet. You should also have the fair knowledge of exchange rate, as this will help you in converting your currency.

Visit local shops: We all do shopping whenever we are on tour and you should try to do shopping from the local shops instead of big malls. In local store, you will find things cheaper and affordable.

Keep essential medicine: You should have a fair idea of the medicines that may be required to you while you are on tour. In addition to your daily medicine, you should also carry away with you some common medicines such as medicines for cough, cold and fever. You should also see that if immunization is required for a particular city or country.

Keep Traveler’s checks: Instead of taking a lot of money with you, it is better to take traveler’s check or credit card with you. In case if you miss these, you should immediately report to the banks or credit card providers. You should also avoid bringing valuables with you.

Dress casually: Your dress sometimes indicates about yourself to thieves and that is a risk for you, so you should dress casually. It is better to stay alert while you are in another city or country. If you see something wrong in your neighborhood, keep yourself in safe position.

 Read more...

Product Description
The perfect side dish. Mashed potatoes with toasted garlic, parsley, and a hint of butter…… More >>

Backpacker’s Pantry Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes – Serves 2

There are lots of stuff you can bring along on your backpacking trip. Remember that you have to carry all of it so think twice before bringing a bulky heavy item. Here are some miscellaneous items I have found useful to bring along:

Universal bath plug/sink stopper There are plugs which fit a variety of sinks which are very useful when you want to do laundry in your room.
Water porter A bag designed to carry water bottles, quite handy when you are out on day trips and do not want to carry a backpack around.
Luggage protection bag To put around your backpack to save it from being damaged while traveling.
Luggage straps To tie around your backpack to help hold it together.
Luggage label Attaches to the outside of your luggage and gives your contact details in case your bag gets lost.
Plastic bags Bags to put around bottles with liquid and also to organize the rest of your stuff. Use white bags without print since some coloured plastic bags tend to rub off colour on other items in your backpack.
Candy Binoculars Great for spotting wildlife.
Deck of cards/games To kill time and have fun with people you meet along the way.
Sewing kit Safety pin Swiss army knife Scissors Backpack Daypack Rubber bands To be used as bookmarks in your guidebook.
Locks To lock your daypack and backpack.
Money belt/leg pouch Put the documents/money in a protective plastic case in case the money belt gets wet (e.g. from rain).
Pen and paper (notebook) The notebook can be used for tracking expenses, collecting e-mails, keeping a journal etc.
Mask, snorkel and fins For diving or snorkelling.
Sports equipment Surf board, golf clubs, diving equipment etc.
Mosquito net Make sure you have a nail or similar to be able to attach the net to the wall or ceiling.
Wire Used to tie your backpack to your bed or the luggage rack to prevent people from walking away with your bag.
Camping equipment Tents, stoves etc.
Knife, fork, spoon, jug, plate If you plan to cook a lot.
Compass Get a small one which you can keep on you all the time.
Extra bag to check in An extra bag to store your souvenirs if they do not fit in your backpack. Used to bring home souvenirs you buy during your trip. While traveling this can double as a bag to store dirty clothes.
Water bottle for the plane These days there are restrictions on what you can bring on board including liquids. You can go through security with an empty bottle and fill it up in the bathroom before boarding though (if the water is drinkable).
Presents If you plan on visiting people a small gift from your country will be appreciated.

The internet has changed the world in which we live. Things that were never before possible are now possible thanks to the World Wide Web. The world is much smaller, and you can visit with and gaze upon loved ones even though they are thousands of miles away. You can shop, work, date and play games all from the comfort of your own home. What does this have to do with travel insurance? Not only has the web brought all of these wonderful activities into our homes, it has also made it easier than ever before to find great deals on travel insurance.

One of the ways that the internet has made it easier than ever before to find great deals is that there are more companies to choose from online. Travel insurance companies who can’t afford to or don’t want to sink money into expensive ad campaigns can attract customers online with a website. These are companies that you would never have known about if you didn’t find them online. You can also contact companies that are not located in your area when you hunt for deals online.

All of this has led to increased competition between travel insurance companies. And we all know what competition does. It drives prices down. Competing companies are always trying to capture the interest of their competitor’s customers with a better bargain. Competitive marketing is great for consumers.

There are also many benefits of browsing online for insurance. Instead of shopping for insurance conventionally which meant numerous phone calls and meeting with a travel or insurance agent, shopping online allows you to browse from the comfort of your own home. There are no business hours to dance around, and all of the information you need is at your fingertips.

Having everything in front of you allows you to easily compare travel insurance deals. If you want to investigate coverage options or different packages, all you have to do is point and click. This is much preferable to reading all of the fine print contained in black and white paper copies. Many sites even have FAQs sections that will answer many of your questions without you having to actually ask them.  Read more...

A travel agency decides about the services it would make available to the customers. Therefore product mix is a step ahead of product design. In product mix, services designed individually are clubbed together. A travel agency has to decide the length and breadth of the product mix. An example would make this clear. Suppose a travel agency is offering ticketing, travel documents and airport transfer service. This would be termed the length of its product mix. All these product lines have their breadth too. For instance the airport transfer could be provided only in luxury cars. An agency could add more product lines such as tour packages and hotel accommodation.

While extending services of a supplier, a travel agency should be cautious. It must not offer the services of those suppliers who provide bad services. This would bring bad name to them too. A travel agency must be flexible regarding its product mix. It has to take care of quality, brand etc. An agency has to change its policies according to government regulations and tax structure, political environment etc. Policies of principal suppliers also affect products/services of travel agencies. They also have to take decision on adding or dropping products. An agency has to be cautious regarding human resource development as quality services product cannot exist without good customer care.

The first step of a business is to decide on its market segment. The prospective market has to be carefully segmented. The segmentation could be done the basis of the purpose of travel or their budget. Timing of the travel decisions or services by the customers could also be the base of segmentation. For instance, lets us take the case of Penang in Malaysia. A customer could need services like travel consultancy, ticket booking, handle travel documents (visa, passports etc), airport transfers, tour packages, hotel bookings etc. Once an agency has decided on the market segment to target, it could focus on other issues.