Travel Cruncher

By Mitch Lipka

Fri May 18, 2012 5:30am EDT

(Reuters) – Sonia Bovio, tired but unable to sleep after her long journey from Phoenix to London last week, settled into her hotel room and was fiddling around on her laptop. One inadvertent click later, a file downloaded and she realized she had made a big mistake.

“It was terrifying,” said the 43-year-old senior vice president with communications firm Brodeur Partners. “I had a pit in my stomach. My biggest concern was that I didn’t want to be presenting to a roomful of executives and have something pop up on my screen.”

About the same time that was happening, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – run in part by the FBI – was issuing a warning to Americans traveling abroad about getting duped into downloading malware while connecting to the Internet at their hotels. Malware can allow someone to take control of your computer, record passwords and personal information or disable the machine altogether.

The warning was specifically directed at “government, private industry, and academic personnel,” suggesting this threat was more about what is on their machines and less about bank accounts and personal identities. Travelers, the FBI said, are allowing malware to infect their computers by clicking on pop-up windows that appear while they are getting on the hotel Internet connection. The pop-ups appear to be part of what looks like a routine software update.

It’s very easy for someone trying to dupe you to make a pop-up appear to be from a legitimate source, said Robert Siciliano, a consultant for the computer security firm McAfee Inc, a division of Intel Corp (INTC.O). “Be smart

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK |
Wed May 16, 2012 10:02am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Workers whose jobs require them to interact with people in foreign countries say that English is the dominant language of business, according to a new poll.

More than one quarter of employees in 26 countries around the world told an Ipsos poll that their jobs involve dealing with people in other countries. And of those, two-thirds said that English is the language they use most often.

Workers in India, Singapore and Saudi Arabia were the most likely to say their jobs involved interacting with people in other countries, with 59 percent, 55 percent and 50 percent saying so, respectively.

But only nine percent in Japan and 13 percent in Russia said their work required communication outside the country.

“The most revealing aspect of this survey is how English has emerged as the default language for business around the world,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs which conducted the poll for Reuters.

The survey of 16,344 employed adults in 26 countries showed that 67 percent, or just over two-thirds, of workers who deal with people beyond their borders said English was the language used most often, with Spanish a very distant second at five percent.

Nearly as many, 61 percent, said the language used for such interactions was different from their native one.

Bricker said the findings suggest “that all those in the English-speaking world who suggested that our children should learn Mandarin or Japanese to have successful careers were beaten to the punch by the Chinese, in particular, learning English first.”

While more

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

By Kara Newman

Mon May 14, 2012 11:01am EDT

(Reuters.com) – “Dawa” means “medicine” in Swahili, as in “I need dawa for my headache.” It is also the name of a refreshing cocktail found in Nairobi – and on a hot afternoon, it sounds like just what the doctor ordered.

The drink is a mix of vodka, lime juice, honey, and a little sparkling water, often with sugar around the rim of the glass.

“It comes with a stick so you can stir the honey from the bottom – a ‘dawa stick’,” explains Beth O’Donnell, an American photographer and artist who also leads safaris in East Africa where she lives several months of the year.

In addition to a cold Tusker Beer, with the iconic African elephant on the label, the Dawa is the drink to request, especially at one of the local hotel bars.

“If I’m in Nairobi and I’m at a bar, I order a Dawa and they’ll know what I’m talking about,” O’Donnell says.

Failing that, opt for a classic Gin Tonic – during the British colonial days, the quinine in tonic water was purported to help ward off malaria.

“If you’re in Nairobi on a conference, it might be at the Norfolk Hotel (www.fairmont.com/norfolkhotel),” O’Donnell says.

This historic hotel, which opened in 1904, is famed as the place where “Out of Africa” author Karen Blixen lived in the 1920s, and the Norfolk’s terrace bar is a top choice for tippling in old-world colonial-style.

Meanwhile, luxury hotel Tribe (www.tribe-hotel.com/) in upscale Muthaiga, near the United Nations compound, also offers a prime spot for a poolside drink. Noted as the most modern hotel in the area,

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

Fri May 11, 2012 10:04am EDT

(Reuters) – While most travellers know that Copenhagen and Amsterdam are ideal for exploring by bicycle, the rise of bike-sharing and bike tours in other cities is making discovering other destinations by bicycle easier than ever.

That’s why the members and editors of travel website VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) have compiled a list of the “Top 10 Spots to Explore by Bicycle.” Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Montréal, Québec, Canada

While Montréal’s most famous paths may lie underground, it’s most intriguing routes in the upcoming warmer months lie amongst its 2,400 miles of bike trails and paths. The first North American city to adopt a bicycle-sharing program, Montréal has a few popular rides, including along the Lachine Canal, the quays of the Old Port, and Rue McGill. In addition to paths within the city, Montréal lies in the centre of the Route Verte, a series of bikeways throughout Quebec modelled after Denmark’s national cycle routes and the Danube and Rhine bikeways. The route, which starts further west at Fort-Coulogne, also connects Montréal with Québec City to the north.

2. Paris, France

Though the first bike-sharing program in France originated in Lyon, it is Paris which gets most of the credit for spurring the bike-sharing craze around Europe. Paris’ bike-sharing program, called Vélib’, is now as synonymous with a Parisian experience as the Louvre and steak frites. Over the past few years, Vélib’ has grown to over 20,000 bikes with sharing stations every 300 meters. The initial benefits were aimed at commuters and residents, but it’s become a popular tourist activity as well. Easy routes to explore include the quais and ponts along

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

FRANKFURT |
Thu May 10, 2012 8:49am EDT

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Anyone wishing to travel to Baku for the Eurovision Song Contest later this month may get a shock when they look for a hotel room, with prices shooting up as rooms become scarce in the Azeri capital.

According to German travel search engine Swoodoo, some hotels have increased prices six-fold, while Eurovision fans can expect to pay on average 144 percent more for a hotel room there during the contest than usual.

Azerbaijan, with just 9 million inhabitants and an economy dependent on oil, won the right to host the contest by winning the event last year in Germany with love song “Running Scared”.

The country has come under fire, however, for its human rights record and with reports that homes have been razed near the new Crystal Hall arena as part of a wider redesign of the city.

In a country not known for its tourism facilities, the lack of available hotel rooms is what is driving prices up, said Swoodoo.

“The hotel infrastructure in Baku is not comparable with that with western and central Europe,” said Christian Saller, CEO of Swoodoo. “Although they’ve invested a lot, they just haven’t been able to get some hotels finished in time.”

Swoodoo said that hotel rooms were available at an average price of 341 euros a night for the period between May 22 and 27.

That compares with an average of 140 euros for the weeks either side of the contest, said Swoodoo, which looked at prices from 100 operators.

The Eurovision final will take place on May 26, with two semi

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

By Keith Weir

LONDON |
Tue May 8, 2012 6:25am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) – Around 100 London companies were testing plans this week to ensure that business does not grind to a halt when the British capital plays host to the world during the Olympic Games this summer.

The “Stress Test” on Tuesday and Wednesday aims to replicate arrangements for the July 27-August 12 Games when companies are being told to encourage staff to work from home or stagger starting times to ease the strain on public transport.

“On the busiest days of London 2012, there are expected to be an extra three million journeys on the public transport system,” said Mark Naysmith, Games readiness director at business advisory group Deloitte.

“It is essential that companies across the city, large and small, have thought through how their business and their people will cope with this period,” he added.

London’s transport authorities want to cut the number of commuters using public transport by 30 percent during the Games to help ensure the city’s crowded trains can cope with the influx of visitors for the Games.

That means more remote working and variations to regular shift patterns to avoid peak times for congestion.

Once the Olympics are finished, London hosts the Paralympics from August 29 to September 9 – placing a fresh strain on its ageing transport network.

Britain’s economy went back into recession in the first three months of 2012 and companies need to try to wring maximum value from the sporting summer, the third times London has staged the Olympics.

A report from ratings agency Moody’s last week said that hosting

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Tags: country, cruises, locations, travel, world

Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) is joining the ever-growing gluten-free movement, saying it will start offering pizzas with glutenless crusts in most of its U.S. stores.

The crust, Domino’s said in a press release, is “appropriate for those with mild gluten sensitivity,” but it’s not recommended for people who have celiac disease. Domino’s consulted with National Foundation for Celiac Awareness on the new recipe, which will be available on the small, 10-inch pizzas and cost about $3 more, USA Today reports. The pizza chain has almost 5,000 stores in the U.S.

The NFCA says that one out of every 133 Americans has celiac disease, or about 3 million in all. Another 18 million have a less serious “sensitivity” to gluten, the organization says. Gluten is found in wheat, barley and rye. Celiac disease is a condition in which the immune system responds to gluten intake by damaging the small intestine. In turn, that can inhibit the absorption of various nutrients.

Gluten avoiders should be aware that the crust will be prepared in the same kitchen as the regular, gluten-containing crusts, so some risk of gluten exposure will remain, the company said. Even so, the NFCA said it was happy to have Domino’s on board.

“The NFCA is thrilled that Domino’s Pizza has developed a product that will improve the quality of life for many of the estimated 18 million Americans who are gluten sensitive,” said Alice Bast, the group’s founder and president. “Not only is Domino’s Gluten Free Crust a huge win for much of the gluten free community who can now get pizza delivered to their door, it’s also delicious. Customers aren’t going to believe they’re eating a pizza made on a gluten free crust when they try it. And the variety of fresh toppings that are available is a giant leap ahead.”

The amount of gluten out there in pizza crusts is potentially significant. Domino’s says it delivered some 400 million pizzas last year. In the U.S., about 3 billion pies are sold every year, according to data from the National Association of Pizza Operators.

In addition to Domino’s, several other chains have at least a few options for diners who want to avoid gluten, including Carrabba’s Italian Grill, P.F. Chang’s (PFCB) and Legal Sea Foods, and even at independent restaurants it’s becoming more common to see menu sections detailing gluten-free meals.

Domino’s, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., says it’s the first national delivery chain to provide the choice of gluten-free crusts with its pizzas. Pizza Hut, part of Yum! Brands (YUM), is the largest pizza seller in the U.S., followed by Domino’s. Papa John’s (PZZA) is No. 3, according to PMQ Pizza Magazine. All told, the magazine says pizza in 2010 was a $35 billion business in the 50 states.

Would you eat a gluten-free pizza crust? Or do you think the gluten-free movement is bound to fade? Are fast-food chains doing the right thing by aiming to have healthier menu options? Weigh in below.