“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

All good things come to an end and so does your trip. Hopefully you have had a great time and some wonderful memories.

Here are a few small things to remember to get a good ending to your trip:

• Do not pack your home keys in the check-in baggage. If your bag gets lost you can get into trouble.
• Reconfirm your airline ticket a few days before going home. The flight time may have changed and sometimes you can get bumped from a flight if you do not reconfirm.
• Store clothes used on your trip separately from other stuff at home until you have washed them if you have been in places with loads of critters. You may have brought bugs with you which can spread all over your house.
• Do not forget to keep enough money (in the right currency) to pay for the transportation to the airport, extra charge for overweight luggage and any airport tax which is not included in your ticket price (which often has to be paid in cash in local currency).
• Keeping a journal or diary is a great way to preserve your memories. Sure you have your photos but the little things like the time your waiter messed up all your orders or that little girl dancing in the doorway in Havana are just as memorable and can bring back some great memories on that cold and rainy November day when you are home from work with the flu.
  

  • There are several on-line journals where you can store your writing and also upload pictures from your journey. Not only is this a great way to share your adventure with friends and family at home while you are on the road, it is also a good way to have a back-up in case your paper journal gets lost.

  • It is often possible for people to leave comments in your travelogue which is a fun way to keep in touch with people at home. The comments that some of your friends leave in your virtual journal may not always the kind that you want your co-workers and family to read about You can handle this by dividing your contacts into two categories, registering two journals with different distribution lists and uploading everything twice (just copy and paste between them).

  • If you keep a physical journal you can also put aside some space for collecting peoples e-mail addresses. Ask people you meet to write a small greeting beside their e-mail.

Happy travels!

The Vietnam’s first luxury tour company LUXURY TRAVEL will be presented  with a Excellent Product and Service Awards 2008 from the Vietnam Small and Medium Enterprise Association on Sunday 4 Jan 2009 in Hanoi.

According to Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Mr. Hoang Trung Hai, the criterias for this prestigious award certificate the quality of the products and services of the player in the market.

This is the annual award of the Vietnam Small and Medium Enterprise Association with the purpose of honoring the most outstanding faces in thousands of companies in Vietnam.

This year, the organization committee will award 100 enterprises national wide in all sectors, the economy components, including the enterprises with 100% foreign capital operating effectively in Viet Nam. Luxury Travel will be awarded for the most Excellent Product and Service Awards in Vietnam in 2008 in the tourism industry.

The “Excellent Product and Service Awards 2008” award ceremony will be organized solemnly at Hanoi Opera House on 04 Jan 2009 and live broadcast on the Viet Nam National Televisions VTV1 and VTC1.

The organization committee expects the presence of many high ranking officials of States, Party and Government at the event live on TV, among others, Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet – President of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Le Kha Phieu former General Secretary of the Communist Central Committee of Vietnam, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Doan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, Mr. Nguyen Ðuc Kien, Vice President of the National Assembly.

“We are very proud of this Excellent Product and Service Award 2008 as it is acknowledgement of our continued efforts to create the niche tourism products for high-end tourists and deliver the right experiences with best available services. We are a small company but we still believe small is beautiful” Mr. Pham Ha, Founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Vietnam said:

“We recently returned from our wonderful 15 day journey to Vietnam and Cambodia arranged by Luxury Travel” attested Pamela Solvang, a journalist from Shark Tivi, Texas, USA. “We can’t thank Luxury Travel enough for providing such an excellent travel experience for us from start to finish. The three of us on this trip have all traveled extensively, all around the world. We have used the best luxury travel companies in the US and elsewhere and can says that Luxury Travel Vietnam have moved to top notches of all”

Notes to Editors

Luxury Travel Co., Ltd. (Vietnam) is a 100% fully registered and privately-owned Vietnamese company. It was founded by luxury travel specialists since the 1990s when Vietnam had just opened its doors to worldwide tourism.

The Luxury Travel Company is Vietnam’s first luxury tour company and full travel service agency. Luxury Travel is experienced in providing special services and unique tourism products to luxury global travelers.  The company’s depth of experience and large infrastructure enable it to create unique itineraries with the operational confidence to fulfill client expectations.

Luxury Travel Company’s main business activities – luxury inbound/outbound operator, luxury adventures, custom tours, romance, wellness and spa, MICE, family travel and private travel arrangements for VIP stars, celebrities, Royal and Government clientele, private jet and yacht cruises…nothing is impossible in the whole luxury meaning.

Last year, the company served 10,000 satisfied customers. Among Luxury Travel’s clients are ambassadors, senators, Russian millionaires, CEOs and presidents of Oman Oil Company, royalty and Oman Royal Government ministers, French ministers, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada…and others.

Luxury Travel operates two brands – Luxury Travel and Premium Travel, both for high-end travelers who are inbound and outbound. They are both registered by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

Luxury Travel is a member of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), American Association of Travel Agents (ASTA), Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM), Vietnam Tourist Association (VITA).

Luxury Travel has several locations throughout Vietnam. The Head Office is located in Hanoi. Branch offices are located in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Danang, Sapa and Nha Trang. All company operations are run by experienced, creative managers and guides. The Luxury Travel Team includes more than 50 people located throughout Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Luxury Travel has won numerous other awards in Vietnam including the most recent award: Vietnam’s Top Trade Service Awards 2007, Integration and Development Businesses Awards 2008, Cultural Entrepreneur Awards 2008, Excellent Performance – The Guide Awards 2007-2008, Vietnam’s Excellent Product and Service Awards 2008 and Most Nominated So Far for Vietnam’s Best Service Awards 2008.

Luxury Travel is headquartered in Hanoi and has offices around Vietnam and management offices in Laos and Cambodia. It pioneered luxury tourism development in the early 2004. Today, Luxury Travel boasts a 5-year industry track record and brands that are recognized nationally and worldwide. www.luxurytravelvietnam.com

The Paris Marathon, or the French say, the Marathon de Paris, was established in 1977 with the 1970’s craze for big city Marathons, and is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most popular marathons in Europe after London! And where better than the most romantic city in the World for a running holiday!!

The Paris Marathon starts on one of the World’s most famous streets, the Champs Elysees, and attracting over 35,000 runners each year, this is a truly memorable journey through to the finish in the spectacular Avenue Foch. Medals and certificates are issued for all runners who finish within the time limit of 5hrs 40mins.

Did you know? The very first marathon in Paris was on Sunday the 19th of July 1896, there was a big crowd at Porte Maillot for the first French marathon, which brought together 191 participants. After a 2h31’30’‘ race, and cheered on by 2.000 spectators, the British man Len Hurst crossed the finishing line traced out on the Conflans bridge. After a brief moment in the arms of his coach Boon, he regained all his strength in order to receive the 200 francs from the Petit Journal.

In the 2009 Paris Marathon, there were nearly 40,000 entrants, with over 30,000 finishing the marathon. Over 5,000 marathon runners entered from the UK, nearly half of the total 12,265 international entries. Interestingly, during the Paris Marathon itself, there were 220 000 spectators, 2 700 volunteers, 30 000 sponges, 84 music groups on the route and the marathon runners consumed 18 000 kg of bananas, 17 050 kg of oranges, 440 000 bottles of water, 2 000 kg of dried fruit and 2 000 kg of sugar cubes!!

Now, doesn’t that make you want to run the Paris Marathon??

This year it will held on April 11th, 2010 – 8:45 a.m (handisports: 8:35 a.m) on the Champs Elys?es. Total distance covered will be 42,195 km in the City of Paris…
From the Champs ?lys?es Avenue to Foch Avenue running through Bastille, Nation, Vincennes, les Tuileries…

Singapore Travel & Tourism Market (2009 – 2015)
The report has been researched at source Globally and Singapore specific, and features latest-available data covering:
• Global tourist arrival and receipts
• International and Outbound tourism globally
• Top 10 spenders globally
• Inbound and Outbound tourist arrivals
• Expenditure in Singapore by top 10 countries ( http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=135112&rt=Singapore-Travel-Tourism-Market-2009-2015.html )
• Hotel industry – No. of hotels & rooms, revenue generation from hotels, Average Occupancy Rate, Average Room Rate & Revenue per Available Room data is available
• Singapore – Inbound, Outbound tourist arrival and expenditure forecast till 2015
• Sectors – Holiday, Business Travel & MICE Industry (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions)
• Cruise Tourism, Formula One Grand Prix Race, and Casino Tourism have been analyzed in the report.
Research Highlights
• Globally International tourist arrivals reached 922.4 Million, up from 904.3 Million in 2007, representing a growth of 2%.
• It is estimated that by 2020 international tourist’s arrival will cross the mark of 1.5 Billion tourist’s arrivals globally.
• Singapore Inbound tourist arrivals have crossed the 10 Million mark by the end of 2008.
• It is expected that the Inbound tourist arrival in Singapore will increase with a CAGR value of around 10.18% for the period spanning from 2009-2015.
• It is forecasted that Singapore tourism receipts will increase with a CAGR value 15.71 % for the period spanning 2009-2015.
• Business Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions are the second highest region for travelers to visit Singapore from 2006 to 2008 and it’s increasing its share rapidly.
• Singapore hotel room revenue has grown with a CAGR of 15.5% for the period of 2004 to 2008.
• Internet is the most preferred medium to gather information by tourist, In 2008 more than 50% tourists gathered information from internet.
• Singapore cruise passenger is expected to cross the figure of 1 Million by 2015.
• Formula One Grand Prix Race is attracting lots of tourists to Singapore and generated more than US$ 100 Million of Tourism Receipts in 2008.
• Casino tourism is going to be another major revenue earner for Singapore tourism.
Key Players Analyzed
This section covers the key facts about the major players (airlines, hotels and tour operators) currently operating in the Indian tourism industry. The key players analyzed in this section include – Airlines: Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines Ltd, Thai Airways International Ltd, Hotels: Meritus Mandarin, Singapore, The Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore, Tour Operators: Prime Travel & Tour, WTS Travel & Tours
Data Sources
Information and data in this report has been collected from various printable and non-printable sources like Magazines, Newspapers, Trade Journals, White papers, Online paid databases, News websites Government Agencies and Trade associations.

To know more and to buy a copy of your report feel free to visit : http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=135112&rt=Singapore-Travel-Tourism-Market-2009-2015.html
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There was a time when traveling was glamorous. When ocean liners still crossed the Atlantic with nightly ballroom dances and men donned a suit and tie to fly. Fast forward to our present day of roaming backpackers and jam packed tour buses and one might secretly long for a bygone era. Luckily there are a few tricks of the trade to adding a little glamour to your next trip without sacrificing your comfy in flight sweat pants.

• Stock up on Samples—prior to traveling, swing buy any beauty or makeup counter for samples of beauty products, skin care & perfume samples. In place of your full sized drugstore anti wrinkle cream, you now have a free small portable 7 day sample of an owe so expensive department store cream.

• Indulge in Decedent Chocolate—every airport duty shop is filled with stores that sell the specified country’s national gourmet chocolate. Pick up a piece or two,, and when your fellow air passengers are eyeing their unidentified lump that suffices as desert in the land of airplane food—whip out your gold wrapped chocolates and enjoy.

• An Elegant Pen—invest in a nice pen, you will find you use it often—postcards home, immigration forms, journal entries, etc. and a classy pen is much more pleasurable to use than the old BIC pen buried at the bottom of your purse.

• Duty Free Shop—feeling a little travel worn at the airport, head to the nearest duty free shop—try out the lotions, makeup, perfume and every other beauty product known to man. You’ll kill some time, freshen up your look and board the plane feeling like a million bucks.

• In Flight Reviver—ask anyone who has just gotten of an overseas flight what they want to do, and they will inevitable say “take a shower”. Combat, or at least postpone this overwhelming desire by packing baby wipes in your carry on bag. Shortly before the plane begins its decent (and getting up from your seat becomes a no-no) head to the restroom and give yourself a quick “bath” with your baby wipes. Wash your face and wipe as much as your body down as you can manage in the confines of the airplane bathroom.

• Fresh Flowers Weekly—for the price of a latte or two you can have a pleasurable addition to your hotel.

• Red Lipstick is a Must—light, bright, dark or pale—find your shade of red and never leave home without it.

• A Sparkle or Two—a distinctive piece of jewelry or two can take any outfit from road rumpled to casual chic.

• Silk Scarves—how to the Europeans manage to look so pulled together even in the dead of winter? It’s the well worn scarf, it dresses up any outfit while still keeping you toasty warm.

• Evian Facial Water—work past your qualms about paying for water in a bottle, and pick up a travel sized spray bottle of Evian water. You will be amazed at how refreshing it feels in hot weather, and your makeup will not smudge or budge as is the case of a quick splash of water from a sink.

• Arrange an Airport Pick Up—shell out a few extra dollars and arrange to have a car service waiting for you when you get off the plane. Seeing a driver awaiting with a sign with your name on it makes life not only a little more glamorous, but easy and reassuring as well.

For more ideas on how to add a little glamour into your life and other travel tips visit Glamour Getaways at: http://www.glamourgetaways.com