Travel Bargains

Cruise Packages have Something for Everyone!

The traditional view of cruises has been that they’re for couples who are getting away for romance and adventure. More recently people have also begun thinking about cruises as a way for singles to meet each other and have a great time as well. But even that is a limited view of cruising. The reality is that there are cruise packages available today for everybody – if you like to travel and are looking for a unique vacation opportunity, a cruise offers more diversity and choice than any other kind vacation out there!

Cruise Packages Cater to Every Group and Need

There are cruise packages for couples, singles, groups of friends and families, and each of these take into consideration the specific needs and interests of these groups. This is what makes a cruise vacation so special – the attention to detail and specialized service. Most vacation packages simply can’t provide this kind of service.

Family cruises can be amazing bargains when you’re traveling with your children because the cruise ship staff takes care of your children’s entertainment needs from the moment they step aboard ship. Kid-rated movies, live kid-friendly theaters, pizza parlors, organized games and activities and free baby sitting for the younger ones mean you’ll have the opportunity to have some couples time while your kids have a blast! The best part is the all-inclusive price – they can play, watch, swim and eat to their hearts’ content! How many hotels give you that?

Worried that teens will be bored? Not a problem! Cruise packages with families in mind have age-specific activities planned that range from crafts for the younger set to karaoke and coffee houses for the teens, so you’re practically guaranteed to find something for every age group.

Honeymoon cruises cater to your desire for romance and pampering. Little extras like champagne and chocolates are typically included in the price of your cruise, and discounts are usually offered for luxury accommodations onshore when you get to your port of call if you are staying there a few days. You can also upgrade for a small fee and get extras that really stand out, such as chocolate covered strawberries and canapés in your room, breakfast in bed and matching robes to take home with you.

Let the cruise ship know ahead of time that you’re on your honeymoon and you’ll almost always receive some free gifts as well, and a special invitation to dine at the Captain’s table one evening. It’s thoughtful touches like this that make a honeymoon cruise such a popular choice.

Cruise ship staff members are some of the most highly trained in the world, and excel at being both unobtrusive and ever-present to cater to your needs, making your honeymoon magical in every way. For a romantic vacation getaway, a honeymoon cruise can’t be beat. Fine dining, spas, world class entertainment, sumptuous rooms and moonlit nights with sea breezes all combine to make these romantic cruise packages a honeymoon vacation you’ll never forget.

Girlfriends’ Getaway Cruises are the newest alternative to Girls Night Out. Hey, we all have those days when we throw up our hands and say, “I can’t take it anymore!” don’t we? Why not take a two or three day discount cruise for the weekend? It’s so much nicer than the yearly trip to the outlet malls! Pack up your bathing suits and get ready to relax!

A three-day vacation with the girls can be all about you – spas, saunas, drinks on the deck while reading a great paperback. Nights of relaxing and chatting or seeing a great show; or maybe playing the slots in the casino. It’s three days of just the girls, and when you go home you’ll be refreshed, relaxed and full of great memories!

You can get a great discount on three day cruises that will bring in the weekend at a lower cost than driving to those outlets, renting a hotel room and buying all of your meals in restaurants – and the food will be better, too. No driving around looking for the nearest movie theater, no looking for something to do – it’s all right there on board ship.

Singles Cruises are usually booked as groups of singles onboard cruise ships that may have other groups as well, but because the singles group organizer is buying a block of rooms to keep the singles all together you can get a great discount on this kind of vacation. If you’re looking to meet and mingle with other singles, these cruise packages offer activities, dining and dancing with other singles onboard.

These have become increasingly popular and are also a great way to enjoy great vacation destinations – why not go snorkeling off Nassau or shopping in the Bahamas and meet some great eligible singles, too? Today’s single professionals don’t want to wait until they find someone special to enjoy the finer things in life, and a singles cruise means they can enjoy an amazing vacation and find someone special at the same time!

Cruise Packages to Fit Your Vacation Schedule

Cruise packages come in several different sizes to fit your budget and your time constraints. You can even start with a day cruise if you’d like to try out your “sea legs” and see what cruises are all about. But be warned – once you’ve tried a day cruise, you’ll be ready to book the next step up, and you’ll be looking at four day, seven day or longer cruises!

If you’re looking for a great getaway for a long weekend, check into the three- and four-day cruise packages that are available; you can find savings of up to 50% on these if you book in advance and are flexible on which port you leave from.

For a longer vacation, there are cruise packages of a variety of lengths, with the most common lengths being seven day, eleven day, and then two and three week cruises. For seriously intense vacations, you can even book a discount cruise that’s a month or two months long (travel around the world on a cruise ship, anyone?). The fabulous thing about a really long cruise is that the discount is often substantial – an empty cabin is expensive for a cruise ship, so they’ll offer it a significant discount rather than have it sit empty for two months, so be sure to check out all possibilities – you may be surprised by what you can afford!

About the Author

Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her job because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a lot about last minute discount cruise deals. Lori once led a Conga line to the tune, "Hot, Hot, Hot," throughout an entire cruise ship sailing to Nassau. More Cruise articles at can be found at Discount Cruise





Written by: Lori Wilkerson

NEWS

Airfare - Not Always Fair

Need a vacation but don't want to stay around town?

Want to go somewhere exotic, somewhere different?

Want to fly but worried about the airfare? Sourcing the

cheapest airfare available has been made easier with

competition growing between travel agencies as people

realize that a vacation need not be all that expensive.

Airfare can be a hindrance to the best of vacation plans

but it need not be. With so many travel companies vying

for your business - securing cheaper airfare is a given!



The airline companies set airfare price, with travel

agencies just higher than wholesale price. The

advertised price of an airfare does not contain any

government taxes or duties so extra charges such as

these will need to be added into your airfare budget.



Aside from the airline companies and travel agencies

setting the price, there are many things, which can

affect airfare price. The most important factor that can

influence price is the final destination. Another factor can also

influence the ticket price but not limited to:



The kind of airline class you opt for - do you want

comfort or want to go economically. The location of your seat -

window or inside seat. The time and day on which you

want want to travel. How near you book to your departure

date - booking nearer to your departure date may boost your

airfare when you secure a last minute deal. Whether your

airfare is part of an all inclusive holiday package. More often

than not for these all-inclusive package,s the airfare

has been given with a massive discount as a contract

between the resort or hotel, the airline and travel agent.



Therefore, if you want to save your money, you should

consider the above points before you commence with

exploring your airfares that fit within your budget. Shopping for

airfare is a difficult job, especially when you are looking

for cheapest rate. You can make use of the Internet, as

last minute deal websites are being developed and there

are some great bargains to be had, particularly in regards to

airfare rates. Checking frequently and subscribing to these

last minute deal websites will make sure that your vacation

is long lasting, and memorable without the extra burden

of supplementary expenses for airfare! So check around

for last minute deals.




Elizabeth Ann Wares is the webmaster of

Airfare X - What's Hot In Discount Airfare , a great resource.




Written by: Elizabeth Ann Wares

NEWS

5 Tips To Spend The Most Luxurious Caribbean Vacation You Ever Dreamed Of!

Tip #1 : Buy a beach front Caribbean villa!
Buying Caribbean beach front property can range from a bargain to outrageous. This does not mean that the cheaper Caribbean beach front property is any less beautiful or luxurious than the more expensive ones, but rather means the location is different. For instance, Caribbean beach front property in the Bahamas is beautiful, over run with tourists, and incredibly expensive. However, Caribbean beach front property in the Dominican Republic is just as beautiful, has less tourists, and a considerably more affordable price tag.

Tip #2 : Rent a villa for your trip!
If you are not into real estate investment, why not rent a villa instead? Often, the price will not be a lot more expensive then an all inclusive package in a crowded hotel. And instead of having to eat buffet food for a week, you can cook your own meal, or even have someone do it for you!

Tip #3 : Rent a Caribbean island!
Did you know you can rent a whole island just for yourself? This can come with staff and everything you need to spend a luxurious vacation. It is also a very nice idea for a wedding!

Tip #4 : Charter a luxury Yacht!
If you are looking for something a little less extravagant then the huge private Yachts, and a lot more affordable then there are a variety of luxury yacht charters Caribbean providers that will also be able to meet your needs and your budget. The wonderful thing about he Caribbean is no matter what your budget, preferences, and schedule there is someone who will be able to provide exactly what you are looking for.

Tip #5 : Contact a Caribbean holiday specialist
Certainly, you can get online and start searching and learn everything there is to do in the Caribbean, however it is certainly a lot easier to simply employ Caribbean holiday specialists to help you plan your vacation. Not only will this save you time, but it will also save you money because more often than not Caribbean holiday specialists are aware of different discounts and preferred rates. They have insight and knowledge and many years experience booking Caribbean vacations, where you will have to do some serious work and effort to plan the vacation yourself.

About the Author

http://www.luxury-caribbean-vacation.com "> Luxury Caribbean Vacation offers information about luxury services available in the Caribbean : villa rental, Caribbean real estate, yacht and sailboat rental and private aircraft charter. If you want the services of a REAL, knowledgeable travel agent, this is the pace to go!



Written by: Stephanie Hetu

NEWS

Looking for Luxury Hotels for Less in Australia?

The Commonwealth of Australia is the largest island on earth and the smallest continent. It also boasts to being one of the most progressive nations in the world with one of the oldest civilizations. It is made up of a variety of landscapes, including tropical rain forests, the deserts of the outback, snow-capped mountains, rolling expanses of pastoral land and magnificent beaches.



That's why every year millions of tourists from all over the world decide to spend their holidays in Australia. Many of them surf the web looking for information about places to visit, lodgings and accommodations, flights and tours.



www.ratestogo.com is a website that wants to answer all these questions. Web surfers can find a selection of luxury hotels throughout Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns and Adelaide.

http://www.ratestogo.com/Country/EN/Australia

Sydney

Many visitors would be surprised to find that Sydney, it’s largest city, is not the capital of Australia. Built on the shores of the stunning Port Jackson, Sydney is one of the world's landmark cities, and is also Australia's oldest city. Sydney, the nation's premier metropolis, mixes a flare for groundbreaking architecture, a love of the arts and high-powered commerce. The must-do’s on every visitors list include the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Centrepoint Tower, The Rocks, Bondi Beach, Olympic Park Homebush better known as the site of the 2000 Olympic Games, and Darling Harbour.

http://www.ratestogo.com/City/EN/Sydney

Melbourne

Multicultural Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and the second largest city in Australia behind Sydney. Located on the Yarra River at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne is a city of style, of Victorian architecture, of trams, of fashion, food, theatres, art galleries, and leafy gardens. It is a sport-mad city, which hosts events such as the Australian Tennis Open, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, and the premier horse race, the race that ‘stops a nation,’ the Melbourne Cup. The “Great Ocean Road” is a popular drive for tourists and locals alike, acknowledged as one of the world's most spectacular coastal drives, visitors can view the spectacular site of the Twelve Apostles.

http://www.ratestogo.com/City/EN/Melbourne

Cairns

Cairns is the Far North's tourist capital and an ideal place from which to explore northern Queensland with trips to the superb Great Barrier Reef, Green and Fitzroy Islands, the Atherton Table land, the market town of Kuranda and miles of superb beaches that stretch all the way to Port Douglas.

http://www.ratestogo.com/City/EN/Cairns

Adelaide

Built on the banks of the Torrens River, Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. Adelaide is an elegant city noted for its festivals and concerts, filled with galleries, parks, historic churches and buildings, and home to one of the world's most dazzling Festival of Arts. It is the ideal place to relax and enjoy some of the finer things of life, including gourmet restaurants and wines from the nearby Barossa and Clare Valleys and from the Coonawarra area.

http://www.ratestogo.com/City/EN/Adelaide

Central Australia, also known as the Outback, is the heart of Australia. There's the famous Ayers Rock/Uluru, Kings Canyon, and the East and West MacDonnell Ranges. There are also other parks and reserves with plentiful bird and animal life. Not too far from these natural attractions is the pioneering town of Alice Springs, built on the banks of the frequently dry Todd River.
Chloe Lim is a photographer and avid traveler. She travels extensively for work and family vacations. She is always on the lookout for bargain travel deals and discount luxury vacations.

This article is courtesy of http://www.ratestogo.com, you may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.




Written by: Chloe Lim

NEWS

Five Affordable World Travel Destinations

Locations
That Offer More But Cost Less

So
you want to travel the world but you have a tight budget? 
Are you tired of reading about everyone else’s exotic adventures and
ready to have some of your own?  Have
you always wanted to take an international vacation but thought you couldn’t
afford it?  There are numerous
travel destinations across the world that are both exciting and affordable. 
Five of them are described here to give you ideas and get you started
planning your own getaway.

There
are two ways to approach affordable vacations to distant destinations. 
Either you will save money getting there or the savings will occur once
you arrive at your selected spot.  If
you want the trip there to be affordable, many travel consolidators recommend
choosing well-known destinations that are served by numerous airlines and
receive millions of travelers each year.  The
competition for customers usually drives costs down for everything from lodging
to tour packages.  Airfares between
major hubs tend to be more affordable and there are often plenty of discounts
and last minute travel deals.

In
Europe, London is a top pick for affordable vacation destinations, for these
exact reasons.  Not only do you have
more flights to choose from, they are cheaper than if you flew to a more remote
location. On average, staying in
London may be a bit more expensive than other European destinations, but the
seemingly endless choices in hotels, restaurants, transportation, tours, and
other travel essentials gives travels opportunities to mold their vacation to
fit their budgets.  And you can use
London as your home base to set out on day trips to other more exotic locations
or buy a Eurorail pass and see those more remote countries without the expense
of flying there.

This
theory also works well for traveling in the Caribbean. 
Belize is an appealing destination, with wonderful Caribbean beaches and
a lush tropic setting, but since it has only recently emerged as a popular
travel destination, it is more expensive than Cancun, Jamaica or other
well-traveled locations along the Mayan Riviera. 
With fewer flights, getting there is more expensive, and there are few
moderate lodging options. Development
of larger luxury resorts have begun to boom, but the only real alternative for
those on a budget is staying in local facilities that may be hard to locate from
home and may be more rustic than most travelers are willing to try.

Although
there are many options for affordable vacations in the Caribbean, an excellent
pick is Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  Accessible
via flights to Cancun, which are often some of the cheapest in the region, Playa
is just a half hour away.  It is
filled with a multitude of lodging choices, from expansive luxury resorts on the
ocean to quaint but clean hotels downtown. 
From Playa, travelers can branch out and visit Tulum and other locations
on the Mayan Riviera or take the ferry across to the island of Cozumel where
snorkeling is prime and the attractions are many.

For
Asian destinations, travelers often do better to focus on saving money once they
get to their destination. Depending
on your country of origin, getting to just about any spot in Asia is going to be
a sizable chunk of your travel budget.  The
difference will come from the cost of lodging, food, entertainment and other
travel expenditures once you arrive. By
choosing destinations where you get the most for your money, you can save a
great deal on your international vacation. 
A drink or dinner in Tokyo will cost you many times more than what it
would in Saigon. The key here is to
go where your dollars buy you more and where the local cost of living is low.

An
affordable yet exotic choice for Asia is Malaysia and specifically Tioman
Island, knows as the mythical 'Bali Hai' from the film 'South Pacific.’ 
Tioman Island is located at the southern end of the east coast of
Malaysia on the South China Sea. Its sandy beaches, bordered by lush jungles and
stunning mountains make it a relaxing yet intriguing destination, ideal for sun
lovers, snorkelers and divers.  The
island also has many villages for exploring and shopping. 
English is widely spoken and the
rates are amazingly affordable, with a two night lodging package for a suite at
a lovely oceanside resort averaging around 100 U.S. dollars. 
Typically visitors reach the island via the speed ferry from the
mainland. Although the trip can
take over two hours, it is enjoyable and provides opportunities for dolphin
watching along the way.

South
America also has many destinations that are affordable because of the savings
once you arrive. Locales like Rio
de Janeiro in Brazil, the areas top destination, are coming down in price but
are still more expensive than cities such as Buenos Aires in Argentina, where
the rates are lower and the U.S. dollar goes further.

A
huge metropolis that is more European than South American, the city has much to
offer including cultural events, thriving nightlife, shopping, local sports, and
a host of tours and excursions. La
Boca, with its street performers, shops, and unique architecture is a big
tourist draw.  The large number of
choices for lodging, restaurants, and activities provides opportunities for
budget travel and savings. Airfare to the city is relatively reasonable for an
international destination, with discount fares from the U.S. averaging around
$500 round trip.  Buenos Aires might
not be one of the most exotic or inspiring destinations in South America, but it
is a city that everyone should see at least once, and with some of the most
affordable rates and fares around, it makes the list as a top South American
destination.

The
list would not be complete without a North American destination, and the champ
of all affordable locales is Las Vegas.  It
too is a city that should be seen at least once, and many world travelers return
again and again for the gaming, art, shows and people watching that just can’t
be found anywhere else. Close
enough to other top U.S. attractions like the Grand Canyon, Vegas provides other
options for those who have had their fill of casinos.

The
city has long been known for its cheap vacation packages with hotels and resorts
that offer discount rates for rooms, meals and entertainment in hopes of
attracting people to their gaming tables. Airfare
rates into Vegas are some of the most reasonable in the United States, no matter
the origination destination. And
with more than 100,000 hotel rooms to choose from, there is sure to be a lodging
choice that fits your budget.

The
world provides hundreds of affordable travel destinations. With all the options available, there is no excuse to put off that
life-long desire to travel to exotic places at the far ends of the earth. Destinations can be researched on the Internet or your
travel
consolidator can make
recommendations and help with locating cheap
international airfare and
lodging rates that fit your budget.  So
what are you waiting for?  Get out
there and explore the world.

C.J.
Gustafson is a freelance writer and photographer who travels extensively for
work and family
vacations. 
A cheapskate by nature and necessity, she is always on the lookout for
bargain travel deals and affordable vacation destinations. 

© 2004 1st-in-cheap-vacations.com

You may reprint this article on your website only if links are kept intact.

About the Author

None



Written by: C.J.Gustafson

NEWS

Four Ways to Free/Low Cost Travel

1. Free lodging!

Find a pen friend. Maybe you haven’t thought of this. It’s the best solution to your budget problems, but you can’t have it overnight! Greek people are hospitable and so are other countries’ people if you become friends with. It’s the simplest thing to do if you like writing letters or just exchanging cards and souvenirs. I’ve done it and a lot of other people have, why not you? Your friend will probably be happy to put you up for a couple of nights and show you around as well. The other alternative is to exchange your house/flat with somebody else’s abroad. There is a site online that will help you find a place . Try www.welcometraveller.org, they advertise ‘exchange homes free of charge’. Try also www.bigworld.com for offers and discounts.

2. Low cost travel

Stay at campsites. The cheapest alternative to free lodging, at least in Greece. You save money and have fun . Find a campsite at www.greecetravel.com/campsites

3. Invest on a bike.

If you like cycling, then you can do it. In Greece you can cycle to most places and see areas that are worth visiting. You can easily rent a bike , and if you are in Corfu you can try www.mountainbikecorfu.com

4. Rent a room in a village or at the port

There are families who rent rooms in their own house ; cheaper than hotel rooms but you have to follow the rules. Where can you find them?

Watch the port area if you come by ship. There are people who approach you and tell you about their own rooms around the area, at low prices. Sometimes you can even bargain to get a better price.

Well, if all these don’t suit you and you may own a caravan , you don’t have to worry about lodgings. You can stay at campsites at low cost, at the side of the road or even in a field for free. You can also hire a caravan and share the expenses, if you travel with friends.

Don’t know where to find one? In Greece you can try www.greecetravel.com/carrentals

Greece is ideal for traveling at low cost. But you must be inventive and explore all the sources available. Visit www.google.gr

This is a search engine that will help you find all the info you want. Just type the word Greece and click on Search.

GOOD LUCK!

Liana Metal has been writing fiction ,non fiction, ebooks and reviews for many years. Visit her at http://lianametal.tripod.com to read more about writing, books and markets.

lianamet20@yahoo.co.uk

Written by: Liana Metal

NEWS

Online Travel Bargain

Are holiday bargains for true or have catches hidden?

REMEMBER YOUR LAST CONVERSATION WITH THAT family relative who couldn’t talk enough of how much they saved on their last holiday package deal? Or that colleague bragging about his $59 round- trip flight to Las Vegas and his stay in a 5-star hotel at $89 a night? Have you found yourself staring wistfully (and suspiciously) at a $399 package deal for two for Hawaii?

Just because your email seems flooded at times with seemingly impossibly priced travel offers, and you find Internet search engines are flooded with 1000’s of sites selling internet travel besides big hotel brands and branded distribution sites don’t discount them all.

Who can you count on?
Just four or five years ago, when you looked for travel discounts you could choose between a travel agent, the airline offices and the hotels themselves, and maybe, if you were lucky, some travel guru down the street. Today, there’s a massive range of things you can do online, and a lot of them can save significant amounts of money.

The reality is:

• Nine out of 10 online travelers now have some history of shopping for travel online, and nearly 15% of all Americans purchased travel online last year - that’s five times the penetration rate of 1998. (PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey)• Nearly one-third of online travel buyers say the Internet was responsible for their travel purchases last year.

• In 1998, six million consumers bought travel online in the U.S. Jump ahead to 2002 when 30 million Americans purchased travel online in the last year. Half of them only buy their travel online. (PhoCusWright Consumer Travel Trends Survey)

• Online travel bookings exceeded $23 billion in 2001, and are expected to reach $63 billion by 2005.

• Internet bookings in the first three quarters of 2002 accounted for over 23% of rooms sold in New York, and over 15% in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. Anecdotally, for some properties, hotel managers are reporting Internet bookings ranging from 30% to 50% of all room nights in 2002. (Smith Travel Research and TravelClick)

What does this mean?

This means that online distribution channel is extremely successful in reaching buyers and buyers are finding it more confirmable to shop online. They are seeing a broader range of travel options and variety of products and packages. And its more likely that consumer wants to control that transaction through access to more competitive pricing. Pricing is becoming key factor to determine the sale.

Key factors: Why travelers prefer to book online

• Competitive Price
• Ability to compare product and Prices
• Ability to plan last minute
• Availability of Range of options

Online travel shoppers are not very loyal on where they shop—65 percent of online travelers do not view themselves as brand-loyal. As much as they love to shop online and spend their time researching what suits their needs, they are not loyal to the companies from which they buy.

The above scenario indicated that the travel suppliers have no choice but to participate in this online distribution channel. The suppliers are realizing that the traditional channels like GDS (Global Distribution System)/travel agent and call center/reservation office is somewhat inefficient and expensive, especially when the economy is weak. Ignoring online distribution channel and concentrating only on traditional distribution channels will result in lower occupancy, and higher distribution and operational costs for travel suppliers. As online channels become more popular among suppliers their participation is increasing.

How Pricing and Distribution Become Key

9/11 caused a dramatic shift in how consumers booked their travel. The instability caused a large drop in demand for airlines, hotels and car rentals leading to ever-lower prices. This low demand factor forced travel suppliers to introduce unprecedented discounts. Travel suppliers struggled to sell seats, rooms, car rentals to a significantly shrunk leisure and business travel market. Every air seat, room and auto not booked cost their companies money. Better to sell dirt cheap than not to sell at all. But how to get the word out?

Smart, proactive suppliers adopted the Wal-Mart business model—sell low and distribute inexpensively and efficiently. But how?

The Internet allowed them to reach consumers, sell inventory outstrip their less progressive competition. Those suppliers who had no clear Internet strategy or understanding of how the Web and online distribution works suffered.

Discount hotel sites attract millions of buyers with their special rates leading to stratospheric sales through these channels. They thrive on hoteliers selling their distressed inventory at a fraction of their normal rates. Occupancy is the lowest its been in years, hoteliers continue to work with leading online retailers to move inventory at lower price.

The $6.3 billion in online hotel sales (2002) with are split roughly evenly between discount agency sites and hotel Web sites. PhoCusWright projects that around 75% of discount agency hotel site sales are via the merchant model, where the agency typically takes a 20-30% “margin” on the hotel net rate (instead of the usual 10% commission). This approach has helped profits at Expedia and Hotels.com, who have roughly 60% of online discount agency hotel sales. Travelocity and Orbitz are instituting the same successful approach. Other notable players thriving in this arena are Hotwire.com, http://www.hotels-and-discounts.com , Lodging.com and Travelweb.com.

What is the Future?
Online travel growth will continue to grow in 2003-2005, but it will slow down year by year compared to the record gains see so far. However millions of travelers haven’t yet made their first purchase so the market is not near saturation. Technological improvements will soon make it possible to more easily dynamically package vacation deals including air, hotel and car leading to even lower prices but higher average sales. So growth is projected to come from customers buying more, higher-ticketed products online.

The growth of the online distribution channel will prove beneficial to the end user when the suppler finds it easier and more cost-effective to distribute their inventory there than over the traditional distribution channels. As technology becomes mature in the online distribution sector, it will become more effective and user friendly for the Buyers and thus will attract more Suppliers. Due to its low cost of distribution and emerging ability to package and cross sell inventory, prices will be attractive for years to come, until this channel eventually becomes a commodity.

By Yatin Patel
Published in http://www.siliconindia.com
July 2003

About the Author

None



Written by: yatin patel

NEWS

Insuring Your Travel on a Shoe String

Cheap travel insurance isn't necessarily about who's asking the lowest premium. Cheap travel insurance is about knowing your choices, perusing all the options and discarding the coverage you don't need. If you end up with cheap travel insurance that doesn't help you out of an overseas medical or evacuation jam, you haven't gotten a bargain. However, if you're a U.S. resident traveling within the United States you aren't going to need travel insurance that offers medical evacuation coverage. If you're touring the country by car you don't need lost luggage protection.

Travel insurance can offer much more than medical care while you're traveling. Some of the other features of some travel insurance plans are translation services, travel assistance, lost luggage, trip interruption, replacement of lost or damaged eyeglasses, repair of damaged or stolen rental vehicle, emergency medical evacuation coverage, flight cancellation due to bankruptcy of the airline, flight accident and terrorism.

For purposes of comparison there are four levels of travel insurance coverage - the most all-encompassing being total trip coverage. Some of these plans have a coverage ceiling as high as $500,000. Along with the above-mentioned travel catastrophes these plans also provide payment for return of traveler's remains to home in the event of death, as well as emergency dental coverage and reimbursement for financial default of your travel agency or any other provider of your trip, such as cruise company.

The next level down, comprehensive, can provide up to $1 million in coverage with some carriers. The range of coverage incidents and the ceilings are often a little lower than total trip coverage, however.

When it comes to cheap travel insurance there are two options. You can choose the economy level of trip coverage or, if you travel extensively, you may do better paying an annual premium. You can also end up with cheap travel insurance if you mix and match your various issues, choosing only the coverage you need. You can, for instance, choose to purchase only flight ticket protection (in case of trip interruption, for reimbursement of your non-refundable ticket). Perhaps you might want to purchase AD&D (accidental death and dismemberment) coverage in case of airline accident. Or you might want to add, or purchase alone, some cheap travel insurance for medical care, and/or medical evacuation. You may choose to add reimbursement protection for lost or delayed baggage.

Cheap travel insurance is about making good choices and buying only what you need as you need it. It's also about comparison shopping.


About the Author

Steve Cogger is an avid traveler offering a wealth of travel information. For more information on travel insurance visit thehttp://www.1-Happy-Traveller.com" target="_blank">1 Happy Traveller website.



Written by: Steve Cogger

NEWS