The Indochina Trekking Company
December 28, 2010
The Indochina Trekking Company is an intimate and specialized adventure travel agent. Based in Hanoi, Vietnam, we are an intimate and specialized adventure operator who offers active holidays in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Our products include bicycling, trekking, kayaking, cruise, diving, student camping and special interested tours. All of our trips are fully researched before up and running. We have a dedicated team, good bicycles (Trek 4300/4500), and camping equipment. Our main purpose is to offer high quality adventure holidays, yet keep the price reasonable. With responsiveness and accuracy in communication, along with high flexibility, we are very confident to be a reliable ground handler for you. Your trust is the key to our success! Connect with The Indochina Trekking Company on The HUB! Read More →
ATTA Member Profiles
Canyons Ltd.
December 27, 2010
Canyons is an outdoor adventure company based in Japan. Our mission is to “refresh society through sustainable world class outdoor adventure experiences”. We specialize in providing quality experiences throughout the four seasons. From spring to autumn, you can enjoy white water rafting, canyoning and climbing, while winter is all about the backcountry skiing and snowboarding, ski and snowboard instruction and snowshoeing. Throughout the year, Canyons also offers caving, team- building activities and outdoor education programs. Our company prides itself on having a wide variety of quality courses available for each activity, meaning that adventures can be matched to suit each client’s requirements—be it the thrill level, wilderness level, fitness level, duration or goals. Our broad client base includes companies (for team building, bonding and social events), international schools (outdoor education) and private thrill seekers and families. At present, Canyons has three... Read More →
ATTA Member Profiles
Southern Visions & Active Cultures Travel
December 27, 2010
Southern Visions & Active Cultures Travel offer three levels of guided walking tours in Southern Italy, ranging from the most luxurious for intimate groups to the easy casual for groups of 16 or more. All of our walking programs offer fully guided days, complete lodging, and most meals. Each itinerary is designed at an ideal pace for those who simply want to take it all in and immerse themselves in an authentic journey. We can also build custom walking and trekking itineraries to suit all needs for groups of 6-30. Our carefully researched culinary itineraries have been built with the passionate foodie in mind. Live the life of a culinary professional for seven days and six nights while exploring the diversity and exceptional quality of Puglia’s products! An expert local chef or guest celebrity chef will lead daily classes for a maximum of only eight guests. Your intimate group will explore the regional cuisine and traditions alongside the chef. You will comb the markets and... Read More →
Must Read/View
TripAdvisor Launches Facebook® Integration, Instantly Surfaces Personalized Reviews and Activities from Friends
December 27, 2010
Newton, MASS. – TripAdvisor® has launched an integration with Facebook that instantly personalizes the site for each person who visits, surfacing trusted reviews from friends, most popular destinations among friends, and an interactive social map. The integration is the next step in making travel planning even more fun, relevant, and social for travelers. “Earlier this year, we thought, how cool would it be if travelers could automatically see travel reviews written by their friends while researching their vacations on TripAdvisor? Fast forward to today and we’re thrilled to have brought it to life with Facebook,” said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. “More than half of TripAdvisor users have a Facebook account, and we wanted to make it easier for them to find the most relevant and social content quickly and share the experience with their friends. Today’s launch is an evolution of TripAdvisor’s social integrations... Read More →
By the Numbers
PATA Reports 2010 Surge in Southeast Asian Travel, Travelmatch Confirms Growing Popularity with European Tourists
December 27, 2010
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has released preliminary figures showing excellent growth numbers for tourism in Asia during 2010. Strong performance in Southeast Asia, which includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, highlighted the report with an 11% increase in international arrivals in 2010. Alex Francis of the online travel specialists travelmatch.co.uk, comments: “It has certainly been a strong year for the Asian market, especially in destinations such as Thailand and Malaysia, where we have seen an influx of tourists on one or two week trips.” PATA reported international arrivals to Thailand rose by 15% in September; the report also showed strong performance in the entire Asian market with 12% year on year growth. Other notable highlights include Sri Lanka and Myanmar which saw September increases of 25% and 29% respectively. PATA also found that Europeans are travelling in increasing numbers... Read More →
Member Press Releases
JITOA’s “Don’t Mess with Nature” Gets Contribution from the Modern National Forms Company for Printing Promotional Stickers and Banners
December 23, 2010
The “Don’t Mess with Nature” Initiative continues to provide new opportunities for the public and private sector companies to support its activities in the aim of increasing environmental awareness among local communities and contributing in the preservation of tourist site. Recently the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association (JITOA) cooperated with the Modern National Forms Company to contribute in printing promotional stickers with the initiative’s logo, also to contribute in the production of banners that will be used in “Don’t mess with Nature” next activity, that will include the installation of environmental friendly trash bins in Jerash. The trash bins will be made of polished wooden panels that can bear the different external weather factors. This is under Jerash Adoption Program 2010-2011 plan that was launched early this year. The Modern National Forms Company will provide the printed signs with the environmental slogans that will be set on the trash bins. JITOA... Read More →
Member Press Releases
Bicycles for Humanity International Reports Successful Year, Significant Accomplishments, New Initiatives for 2011
December 23, 2010
300+ bikes and parts were delivered to people in Ngoma, Namibia as part of Bicycles for Humanity. Billings, MT – Bicycles for Humanity (B4H), the altruistic grassroots organization that empowers people to improve their quality of life through donated bicycles, recently announced an impressive list of accomplishments for 2010 along with new initiatives for the coming year. B4H International reports that counting all of its chapters combined a total of 5,215 donated and new bicycles along with spare parts and tools were successfully shipped to various African communities in 2010. To date, since B4H’s inception in 2005, over 14,000 bicycles have been shipped to disadvantaged recipients abroad. To help guide the organization into the future, this year also saw the appointment of Dan Austin as Executive Director of B4H International. Austin may be better known as the founder and director of the award-winning adventure travel company Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA). Based... Read More →
Member Press Releases
Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges Opens Scuba Dive Lodges on Santa Cruz and Isabela Islands in Galapagos
December 23, 2010
New Facilities Augment Three Sister Island Lodges -Will Serve Red Mangrove’s New Dive Academy Scheduled to Open Spring 2011 Red Mangrove's new Santa Cruz Diver Lodge Quito, ECUADOR – Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges announces the Dec. 1 openings of the 9-room Santa Cruz Divers Lodge in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and the 5-room Isabela Divers Lodge in Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island in the Galapagos. This brings to six the number of lodges owned and operated by Red Mangrove Galapagos and Ecuador Lodges, the region’s leading hospitality company for active adventure. Currently there are five island-based accommodations with a total of 46 rooms and another, Red Mangrove Samai Lodge on mainland Ecuador featuring 11 guest rooms. Hernan Rodas, visionary founder and owner, said the two new lodges represent his strategy to create a world-class dive destination in the Galapagos by utilizing sustainable, small, island-based accommodations scattered throughout the Galapagos... Read More →
Must Read/View
ASTA’s New CEO Faces Budget Issues, Declining Membership
December 23, 2010
Assistant Editor’s Note: The following article, by Nadine Godwin and Johanna Jainchill, was originally published in Travel Weekly. New ASTA CEO Tony Gonchar, a Virtuoso and Expedia veteran, takes on leadership of an organization plagued by budget woes and stagnant membership as it has struggled to navigate the shifting travel agency landscape over the last decade. After a nine-month vacancy at its helm, ASTA appointed Gonchar to be its new CEO last week. He replaces Bill Maloney, who abruptly departed ASTA in March following a contract dispute. Asked to identify Gonchar’s biggest challenge, the association’s president, Chris Russo, said, “We have an industry trying to find an identity, and [we] need to make sure ASTA is relevant.” In an interview last week, the new CEO made it clear that this mission was not lost on him. He identified awareness as one of the three main areas he thinks is in need of focus at ASTA. “When it comes to awareness, the industry knows... Read More →
Must Read/View
Can Facebook Morph into the New Travel Guidebook?
December 23, 2010
The following excerpts are from a story in the Wall Street Journal’s Business section, about the rising trend of both companies and individuals alike trying to create online travel forums within Facebook. If Facebook users have anything to say about it, the days of your travel agent, guidebook and (uh-oh…) travel writer could be numbered. Indeed, while many of us are still using the site to waste time at work or keep tabs on our exes, a small but savvy group of travelers are increasingly turning their online networks into a travel think tank. Some are just using the basic “wall post,” where they can broadcast news of their upcoming trip—and call for recommendations—to their entire network with just a few keystrokes. Then there’s Facebook Questions, one of the site’s newest additions, which lets people post any type of query and get answers from their own friends, as well as from the Facebook universe at large. (Recent post: “What are... Read More →
