Travel Industry
Earlier this week, I wrote a post that was intended as a satire. Many people seemed to miss what the satire was about, but the conversation spread to other blogs and over Twitter. I hate having to explain jokes. It’s generally a sign of a failed joke, but it seems as though some explanation is [...]
Our guide puts his finger to his lips. We mustn’t disturb them in case they run for it. “They’re very sensitive to intrusion,” he says. “The slightest disruption can make them squawk in anguished pain. And if the herd starts stampeding, they can start lashing out wildly without any rhyme or reason.” We’re huddled behind [...]
Continue reading about On safari in Jordan: The world’s new wildlife-spotting hotspot
Changes coming I’m writing this down and publishing it, partly to inform, but mostly to force myself to actually do what I’ve promised myself for a long time. Over the next few months, I’m going to be making a few changes to Grumpy Traveller. How online publishing will change A couple of days down [...]
Continue reading about Grumpy Traveller: A (slightly) new direction
As one of the more enjoyable parts of two shop-talking days, I sauntered along to Travel BlogCamp 2011 on Tuesday night, with the heavy elephantine feet of a man who had spent a day talking to irrelevant people on big flashy stalls. I’m still working out my overall impressions, but here are a few things [...]
Continue reading about Travel Blog Camp 2011: A few random takeaway thoughts
In recent times, I’ve encountered a few press trip frustrations that, from my point of view, just didn’t need to happen. It got me thinking – what would my ideal press trip consist of? Well it obviously depends on the stories I’m going to research, but this little lot just about covers it… A [...]
One-on-one tour On the e-mail, the words I secretly dread appeared. “We can offer you a guide for three hours,” it said. My heart sank. In many ways, having a personal, one-on-one guided tour around a city should be the ideal way to discover it. They can show you the best bits, explain the history [...]
Continue reading about Why private tours don’t work (for me)
“We want you to know we’re here” On Wednesday, as I was sat at Geneva airport, I was sent a rather interesting tweet. @Odinsson2 had a question to ask. “Operators like us just want people like you to know we’re here when you want us. PRESS4TRAVEL any good?” I followed up by e-mail, and Ian [...]
Continue reading about How can a small travel company get journalists to write about it?
Ask the concierge? Having spent the last week travelling around Switzerland and openly weeping at the cost of, well, absolutely everything, I’ve made unusually frequent encounters with people I don’t usually trust. Common consensus has it that hotel concierges are an excellent source of knowledge about the city they work in. They know where the [...]
NB. This is one of three related pieces. Go here for an analysis of where to get the best Air Miles/ Avios value and here for a full destination-by-destination comparison table. Air Miles to disappear Late last week, it was announced that the Air Miles frequent flyer scheme was to undergo significant changes. From 16 [...]
Continue reading about The end of free flights – the massive devaluation of Air Miles
The right brand name The right brand name is undeniably important, and some companies spend millions on picking the right one. It is, therefore, probably quite annoying when people spell that brand name incorrectly. I should know – my surname seems to take on numerous variations when people try to spell it, and this really [...]
Continue reading about How to make sure your company name gets spelled correctly