Chill N Trips

These tips will improve your retirement readiness

December 19, 2011 RSS Feed Print

The Jewel Dunn’s River Beach Resort & Spa is Jamaica’s premium, all-inclusive resort for adults. Sitting on 25 acres of private beachfront property The Jewel invites visitors to celebrate romance in one of the most exotic locations in the world. And there are truly few places more beautiful than Jamaica: lush palm trees sway in the gentle Caribbean breeze and the golden sunshine warms the powdery white sands. Of course, the natural beauty of Jamaica is only one part of The Jewel experience.

DALLAS–JUNE 21, 2011– This morning, Apple Vacations cut more than 40% off the price of an all-inclusive summer getaway to the Riviera Maya from Dallas as part of a 99-hour sale.

At $549 per person, the deal includes:

- Nonstop roundtrip flights to Cancun from Dallas

- Nonstop airport transfers in Mexico

- Three nights in a Junior suite at the AAA 4-Diamond adults-only Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun

- All meals and drinks, including alcohol

- Free golf at the Playa Paraiso Golf Club — one round per person per day (a $199 per person daily value)

- $200 in coupons to use at the spa or specialty restaurants

- Thursday departures on July 21, 28 and Aug. 4, 11

Additional weekday departures are also available at this price July 3 – Aug. 14.

For more information about this sale and to book, click the link below. Final price will include $101 in taxes per person. Note: A $10 per person late-booking fee will be added to reservations made less than 14 days in advance.

Book by Friday, June 24.

http://www.travelzoo.com/newsflash/83715923-1052354/

About the resort: Secrets Silversands is an upscale adults-only (ages 18 and older) resort with a private white-sand beach, eight restaurants, a spa, an outdoor infinity pool, swim-up bar and nightly entertainment.

Note: A mandatory cart fee of $49 per person per round is extra.

Yesterday, we looked at cultural differences that should be considered when living ot traveling abroad.

Once you accept the differences in culture, you may want to look for a country that has a very low cost of living, low real estate costs and low or no taxation, as well as good health care. When considering health care – both the affordability and the accessibility of necessary treatment and care should be contemplated.

Once an individual becomes non-resident in the US they will find that their expat health insurance costs usually fall dramatically and sometimes healthcare is actually free – so affording healthcare abroad shouldn’t be restrictively expensive –the above link provides a starting point into showing you which providers cover which countries and how much you will have to pay for the necessary level of health cover.

A growing number of US citizens are choosing to move to Canada where real estate can be cheaper, taxation in certain regions such as Ottawa can be lower, healthcare is far cheaper and the standard of living as high as in America.  Regarding the standard of living and health care, in the words of Kurt Vonnegut “In this world, you get what you pay for.”

Tomorrow, we will look at other locations, and provide you links that will give you a bit more insight on where you can research you own destination.

Tags: English, Living Abroad, Travel

Once your health care issues have been addressed, your next step should be location, location, location.

Eastern Europe is emerging as a destination of choice for some of the more pioneering Americans who want affordable real estate, a low cost and nice standard of living.  Countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Croatia and Romania all have emerging economies and real estate markets. These countries are working hard to attract foreign investment – whether direct investment or in the form of welcoming expatriates to live and even work among them.

Although when thinking of the place that gives you more bang for the buck, you may also want to consider the local economy or lack of. Harare, Zimbabwe; as a consideration, while ranking as one of the cheapest cities in the world, Zimbabwe also has a 94% unemployment rate and a major refugee problem due to the country’s financial collapse.

Be mindful of the “Corruption Index”, albeit, somewhat jaded in the findings, the information is a useful guide for comparing a good too bad living environment. The Transparency.org – 2010 corruption index ranked Zimbabwe with 134 up from 146 in 2009. As a comparison Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are ranked 1 and Somalia is 178. The higher the number, the more corruption pervades everyday life.

One last thing to consider; it is critical to consider an exit strategy when for returning to your home country, regardless if you plan to use it or not. You will also need to have a plan when it comes to savings and investment activity offshore.

While living abroad many expats can benefit from the offshore financial marketplace and the potential tax saving advantages therein, however for those who may one day move back to their home country, investments have to be carefully structured to insure that you do not inadvertently break in of your nations tax laws.

Work with a financial planning advisor that has an offshore investment portfolio as part of their investment strategy. With a bit of research, a list of things that you must have to accommodate your standard of living and sense of adventure will help make the transition easier.

Tags: English, Living Abroad, Travel

When considering places to live abroad it’s not enough to just look at cost of living index – culture, real estate, taxation, healthcare and affordability as well as accessibility are just a few considerations to keep in mind.

What is often overlooked and requires a mention, is the cultural differences that will be encountered when living in a foreign country. Western-style assertiveness is not so common in the rest of the world. Many Americans have had varying degrees of exposure to the subtle nuisances that a number of other cultures exhibit in their everyday verbal and non-verbal communications.

We as Americans tend to overlook some similarities and notice just the differences when we start to relate with non American nationals. Using our own cultural as the basis of the behavior of a non-American will undoubtedly force us into a false conclusion and create an erroneous understanding.

As an example American English is spoken in the USA, Canada and many Pacific Rim countries. British English is spoken throughout the British Commonwealth of 54 countries, most notable the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with Canada being the exception. Although part of the Commonwealth, Canadians speak a mixture of American and British English due to their proximity to the USA; all with varying degrees of cultural differences. Gestures, inflections in your voice, mannerisms, and unspoken words, do not always translate correctly from one culture to another, resulting in unintended consequences.

That being said, it is best in my opinion, to reflect on what may have been interpreted as a slight and ask for clarification, using a phrase like “In my culture, when you it means. Is that your interpretation?”

Tomorrow, we will look at health care –

Ciao for now

Tags: English, Living Abroad, Travel

I know this is a travel site, but with the wake of ignorance rampant in our culture about other nationalities, particularly those locations we want to visit; you have to wonder who is responsible for the innate autonomy behind the rants of adults, young and old alike.

I think personal accountability is at the forefront. Imagine, for just a brief and frightening moment that people were held accountable for their own actions, and you did not paint everyone with the same broad strokes. Would we be less inclined to disparage a culture we were not familiar with?

With the UCLA student Alexandra Wallace who posted her anti-Asian rant having decided to leave the university, what has been left in her wake are some really funny revenge videos. Like this one below.

Download Asians in the Library UNCUT UCLA (Alexandra Wallace) Music Video Response on Savevid.com

Have you thought about the major changes that occurring in the travel sector of late?

As a new business development specialist, I was curious, why Google is working on acquiring ITA? Could it be that Travel and Tourism, is still growing at almost 8% in 2010, and expected to continue for 2011.

Google in July agreed to acquire ITA, whose software powers 65 percent of flight bookings for airlines via the Web. Google said it wants to use ITA’s data to beef up travel-search results on Google.com.

ITA customers, including Expedia, Kayak.com and others opposed the acquisition by forming the FairSearch.org coalition, an organized front to ask the DOJ to block the deal The DOJ began scrutinizing the deal last August and has been negotiating with Google for a resolution.

Is it just a search tool, or can Google leverage the software to position Google’s preferred vendors at the top of the list and undercut the competition?

I have not seen a great deal of press, but last week, American announced that it would be partnering with ITA Software to power the flight availability and pricing functions for its new reservation system.

This is a big move, and it may put American’s fight with its global distribution system partners in a different light.

Are other airlines going to follow the trend?

With Expedia kicking American out and now Sabre saying it will do the same in August, there’s growing concern about collusion on the airline side of things. With American’s data being available on a dwindling number of sites, comparison shopping has become more difficult and it has nothing to do with ITA or Google.

Will Google take on the Hotel distribution next?

If Google enters the hotel booking game, what will the resulting merchant landscape look like?
Should the Open Travel Alliance (OTA) start to worry?

According to industry experts the OTA should not worry about it too much because the scenario is not likely.

Despite buzz surrounding Google’s pending acquisition of ITA Software, there are no signs that Google plans to become a hotel room retailer, according to industry participants. In fact, many think Google’s increased interest in travel-related search results could be a benefit, with an important exception being the online travel agencies, like Expedia, Kayak.com and others.

2011 should be an interesting year in Travel – hey I’m starting to plan my next great Tuscan adventure. Maybe the ITA deal will be finalized, and I can benefit from using the new software on an Andriod.

Tags: Education, Expedia, Travelocity

A day after my last post a friend sent me the following YouTube link – pretty cool – does this ever happen to you?

Happy Holidays

Tags: Event, Holiday, YouTube

Latest World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) figures revealed at World Travel Market (WTM) show that travel and tourism’s gross domestic product is expected to rise by 2% this year. The spurt has led the WTTC to downgrade its 2011 growth forecast from 3.2% to 2.7%. Also mentioned at the WTM show was the marginal impact that Social Media has played in company’s propagation of Sales and Marketing information to the masses.

WTTC president and chairman Jean-Claude Baumgarten said 2010 had been “very good news for everybody”, but Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economic Forecasting, warned: “Things have been stronger than expected this year, we expect to see the global recovery slowing next year.”

Cooper also said “We are not expecting to see the growth trend we would normally see in the second year of a global recovery”.

The WTTC has downgraded growth forecasts in all markets, with the biggest fall seen in the Middle East, which is now forecast to grow at 4.1%, one percentage point less than previously assumed. Europe is predicted to grow 1.4%, a change of 0.2 percentage points.

Although the good news in the US at least, is that the Travel & Tourism Economy is growing. North American carriers are now forecast to make $3.5 billion (up from $1.9 billion). US airlines cut capacity significantly as fuel prices spiked in 2008 and maintained a cautious approach to reinstating capacity to the market this year. The US economy and the resulting freight and air travel growth have grown at a better pace than in Europe. Although US lodging growth is growing as well, the amount paid for an overnight stay has decreased, primarily due to business travel.

Baumgarten added that the industry would also have to learn to live with yields that were depressed for several years to come.

What role has Social Media played in stymieing the declining industry trends?

Has Social Media actually helped improve the dissemination of information to the masses?

Are the marketing messages get to the people willing and able to travel?

According to the WTM, probably not.

The latest information from the recent WTM Travel and Tourism Show; WTM chairman Fiona Jeffery said less than a quarter of the Travel Bureaus expect to use social media to book next year’s holiday, so its small influence is waning:

• Only one in three tourists uses social media
• Social media has only a small and waning influence over travelers’ choice of holidays
• Only one in three UK holidaymakers use sites such as TripAdvisor as part of their research, although more than a third of those who do change their travel plan as a result.
• Of the 36% who did use social media sites, two out of three used TripAdvisor, around one-third referred to Facebook and one in five looked at YouTube. Only 17% looked at Twitter.
• Travel and tourism chat rooms and forums attracted 28% of the social media users, compared with blogs which accounted for 9%.
• WTM concluded from its research that holidaymakers’ interest in social media is not as great as the travel and tourism industry thinks.
• More than 60% of 1,257 senior travel industry professionals questioned said it had influenced their business over the past year.
• More than four out of 10 believe social media represents an opportunity for their businesses over the next five years.

Jeffery believes that “This investment could be a waste of time and money as holidaymakers do not appear to rely on social media as much as the industry believes.”

ChillNTrips has been in contact with new groups in the US and New Zealand that are developing web portals that leverage multi-social media services to disseminate information – two that we know of in particular are currently in development and appears to be going after the B&B web sites, as well as the eBay/Craigslist travel portals.

ChillNTrip believes, with competing thoughts based on what continent you happen to live, there is not a strong indicator that Social Media will not have a long and lasting effect on the personal or vacation travel industry.

What was not captured in either of these studies, is the viral message that is past to the consuming public.

Business Travel on the other hand, has not had a significant impact through the use of social media, although, Corporate B2B sites appear to be on the rise, as large corporations are now partnering with Amadeus and Saber, as well as a host of small tour and travel aggregators.

What trends are you seeing?