Etiquette
Starting out with Twitter Last Friday, I met a few friends in Sydney, a few of whom have just started getting into Twitter. They asked if I’m on it, and they asked how many followers I’d got. “Around 2,400” seemed like an extraordinarily large number – and thus started a barrage of questions about how [...]
Continue reading about How to use Twitter successfully: Is it the present or the box?
Much ado about Naples On Wednesday morning, I was putting together an article about York. I’d just written that Laterooms.com is a decent place to look for deals on B&Bs when Rotterdam-based travel writer Shaney Hudson said something rather interesting on Twitter. Shaney had spotted a sizable chunk of her article on Naples quoted in [...]
Continue reading about A dubious approach to website content
Tipping leads to good service? As I have stated on countless occasions, I hate the whole circus that is tipping. I’ve many arguments against it, but one often thrown back at me is that tipping leads to good service culture. Fair enough; this is a valid argument. Tipping in the States I’ve just come back [...]
This is the second instalment of a two part guide giving advice on how small travel companies can get more media coverage. It is aimed at small, independent tour operators or accommodation providers – and Part One with Tips 1 to 5 can be found here. SIX: Team up with like-minded souls Whilst doing [...]
Continue reading about How small operators can get more media coverage: Tips 6 to 10
Ten tips for getting yourself noticed: PART ONE In recent times, I have come across a number of really interesting projects – be they unusual tours, genuinely excellent B&Bs or quirky experiences. And there seem to be some common themes with them. Firstly, they’re small, independent operations run by one or two people without [...]
When in Rome… By and large, I like to go with a “when in Rome” policy. If the traditional owners don’t want you to climb Uluru, you don’t do it; if walking around in shorts is deemed offensive in certain countries, you stick to trousers; if public displays of affection are frowned upon, then you [...]
Continue reading about Cultural expectations – is the onus on the visitor or the host?
A confession I have a confession to make: I find many world class art galleries and museums really, really dull. Some I broadly like, bits of others I really like. But on the whole, I find looking at what is considered to be great art a tedious experience. Why? Well, a lot of it tends [...]
Continue reading about Religion and cultural tourism: The inner discomfort of the atheist traveller
The freebie debate The debate about whether journalists and bloggers should accept freebies is so old and hoary that I’m reluctant to bring it up again. But my recent experience in Germany shed a bit of new light on it for me, so tough, back to the well-chewed territory… For those not in the know, [...]
Continue reading about Travel writing and freebies: The bias that matters
The negative impact of cruising In the past, I have been somewhat critical of cruising. As a form of tourism, I believe it is extremely damaging, not only to the environment, but to the culture of the places the gigantic floating resorts visit and the experience of the unfortunate souls who happen to be in [...]
A unique August? In my Twitter feed yesterday, I kept encountering a rather interesting stat. @JJ_Lin (me neither…) had this to say: “INTERESTING FACT ABOUT AUGUST 2010. This August has 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays, 5 Tuesdays, all in one month. It happens once in 823 years.” I don’t follow this chap, but I picked up [...]
Continue reading about Twitter and the law: The perils of the All You Can Retweet buffet