Tips for Travelers Articles

(Dive Travel Business News - December 7, 2010) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that since Nov. 16, 2010, officials in the Dominican Republic have reported several confirmed cases of cholera. The CDC said Dominican Republic authorities are taking preventive measures to prevent the spread of the disease. It also said the risk of cholera for travelers to the Dominican Republic is likely very low if appropriate precautions are taken.

At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State have not issued any travel warnings for the Dominican Republic. Most travelers are not at high risk for getting cholera, but people who are traveling to the Dominican Republic should exercise caution to avoid getting sick. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - Nov 10, 2011) -- Pundits are warning travelers that air travel will not only be more costly this holiday season, it will also be more crowded.  The national average airfare for Thanksgiving travel is US$383, according to Priceline.com. Only once in the past eight years have fares been higher, in 2007, when it was $385. The average airfare for Christmas is projected at $444. It was only $361 seven years ago. Orbitz is reporting that some major routes are up to 30 percent higher this holiday season compared to a year ago.

News agency Reuters reports that higher prices are a reflection of lower supply. The airlines have reduced capacity this past year by cutting routes, pulling back scheduled service and using smaller planes. The Air Transport Association reports that airlines are expected to be 90 percent full. But according to several surveys, people are starting to travel again with Thanksgiving travel estimated to be an increase of 3.5% over last year.

Busiest flying days during the Christmas Season are projected to be Dec. 23 and Dec. 26. Orbitz reports that the most expensive day to fly will be Dec. 26. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - Sept 12, 2010) -- Accessible travel -- travel by people with disabilities -- is an adventure enjoyed on a global scale. Yet too often this adventure is sidelined or delayed by inadequate facilities, higher prices and general hassles. Thankfully, the travel community is generating more and more solutions to these needs, creating a growing network of travel options for disabled people worldwide and broadening the access of accessible travel. The American Society of Travel Agents, ASTA, offers a series of tips to make the next trip memorable for all the right reasons. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 19, 2010) -- Planes are running so full this summer that U.S. travelers bound for summer vacations may have to wait overnight for the next plane if they miss a flight.

Flight cancellations due to bad weather and equipment problems are compounding the seat shortage issue, creating a domino effect, putting stress on other airlines and routes, and causing missed connections to international destinations. Few options are left for summer dive travelers who've paid for a ticket but can't get to their dive destination on their original itinerary.

For the past two years, US airlines have been cutting back service, using smaller planes or cutting routes altogether in a bid to address the impact of a poor economy, rising fuel prices and fewer passengers. The U.S. airlines' belt-tightening included a 6.7 percent capacity cut in 2008 and a nearly 9 percent cut in 2009 in a scramble to better match the number of seats to a reduced number of passengers flying. As a result, load factors - the measure of how full planes are - are up. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 8, 2010) -- Are your clients having difficulty committing to an upcoming group dive trip because of budgeting issues?  Voted "Best Budgeting Site" by Kiplinger's Magazine and  a "Top Pick" by Money Magazine, Mint.com has been helping spenders big and small set goals for their personal and household needs since 2007. In June, it launched a new tool to help travelers set a vacation goal and then save for it.

First, travelers establish how much they think their trip will cost. As a travel professional, you can start them off with package prices, air fare costs and daily spending estimates for their next dream vacation. 

Then with a new tool, Mint Goals, helps Mint users figure out how much they need to save every month to make their vacation goal by the travel deadline. Or, they can tell Mint how much they can save each month, and Mint lets them know when you can reasonably expect to be on that plane headed for their favorite dive destination. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - April 21, 2010) -- The eruption of the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of the capital Reykjavik, continues but the ash clouds have lessened, allowing more airports across Europe to reopen today. Almost 75% of the 28,000 flights scheduled in Europe are expected to take place.

Almost all of European airspace below 20,000 feet is open allowing some 21,000 flights to take off in European airspace. Airspace above 20,000 feet opened this morning at 0900 GMT.  Some restrictions still apply to Sweden and Helsinki in Finland. Industry pundits say it could take weeks to get the airlines back online and passengers to their destinations.

By the end of Wednesday it's expected that a total of more than 100,000 flights would have been cancelled since April 15 when the cloud of volcanic ash first spread across northern Europe. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - April 20, 2010) -- The havoc wreaked by a ash-spouting volcano in Iceland has forced many travelers worldwide to read the fine print in their Travel Insurance Policies.  Since insurers don't normally factor in a volcano's ability to shut down most of Europe as part of it's coverage, Travel Policy holders face a considerable amount of uncertainty as to whether or not they are camping in the airport instead of a hotel.

Travel Insurers have been swamped with huge call volumes from both U.S. travelers trying to get to Europe and those stranded in Europe. Is the traveler covered under its trip cancellation or interruption coverage when a volcano erupts?

To help determine whether a policy is covered or not, policy holders need to find out if the insurance provider classifies the volcanic ash cloud as a “natural disaster” or an “adverse weather” event.  read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - February 3, 2010) -- Police in Antigua report that a 24-year-old man from Dominica has confessed to fatally stabbing a San Francisco woman in the neck during a cruise stopover. Tishara Daniel was arraigned on Monday Feb 1 and has been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison in St. John’s to await a hearing on May 28.