Green Travel And Tourism

All About Green Travel

What exactly is meant by a phrase like Green Travel? Green Travel can mean anything from environmentally responsible motor cars to eco-friendly transportation fuels, to responsible eco-tourism options, sustainable travel or stays in hotels and facilities that are environmentally conscious.

Read on to find some great options on the Internet where you, the environmentally-responsible traveler, can enhance your knowledge and continue to seek the smartest, most planet-conscious choices available when you travel.

Why Green Travel Matters

Tourism, in contemporary times, is a tremendously growth-oriented industry, and is among the world's largest, with spending figures estimated at over five hundred billion per year in recent years. Because of the overwhelming size of the industry globally, millions of people are employed within its ranks, and are therefore of great concern when it comes to responsible, eco-conscious decisions.

Such lofty statistics all begin with local, individual choices - where people spend their money when they travel, during their travel and the message that their actions send out to global populations. The impact of global travel, when geared toward the positive, can be terrific - including when tourism's dollars go to the enhancement of local populations, or when travelers return home with a fresh take on other cultures, communities and environments, for instance.

How Tourism and Travel Become "Sustainable Tourism and Travel"

WTTC Associations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council in London, England, offer world travelers a wealth of information on sustainable and green tourism. The mission statement of the organization speaks to their goals: "Raising awareness of the importance of Travel & Tourism, promoting synergies between the public and private sector, generating profit as well as protecting natural, social and cultural environment [these] are the fundamental components of [their] mission, as outlined in the Blueprint for New Tourism."

Whenever you travel, do what you can to extend the extra effort to ask questions about the businesses that service your trip: from hotels to tours to restaurants and more. Find out what you can about the impact of their businesses on the environment, in terms of both the physical and cultural aspects. No set of universal standards or guidelines currently exists to ensure that those in the travel and tourism industry world-wide operate according to environmentally conscious principles.

Best Travel Partner Services

If you think that looking for a perfect travel friend can be as easy as 1-2-3, you are definitely wrong. After all, there are so many things that you consider, one of which the reliability or the trustworthiness of your travel mate. Of course, you basically do not want to go somewhere with a complete and unworthy stranger, do you?

To help you out with your search, it is always best to search for a travel companion at a travel partner website. Here are the different factors that can make an excellent travel buddy site:

1. It has an About Us and a Contact Us page.

Numerous businessmen who are always traveling would like to have a travel companion. They need someone who can remove the monotony or the stress brought by constant conferences and meetings with their colleagues and business partners. Thus, looking for a travel mate means serious business. If you belong to this fold, you would definitely like to look for a travel buddy from a legitimate website. The About Us and the Contact Us pages will be the very first things that will tell you if it is fake or not. You can try giving the company a call and inquire about some information about their packages just to confirm.

2. There should be several packages.

Different strokes for different folks, they say, and the travel companion website should be able to give that to all their customers. Commonly, packages may include a travel partner during a tour or a cruise. There is even something that you can avail if you are a person with disabilities. The more choices you have the greater flexibility you will have not only in choosing a travel mate but also on the travel experience you want to undergo.

3. Tips and travel resources can go a long way.

It would be ideal if the travel companion website you have chosen does not only match you to your ideal travel buddy but will also give you tips and general information on how to go with and enjoy your traveling opportunities. As a matter of fact, if you can just do your research well, you will find out that some of these websites are affiliated with hotels, restaurants, and transportation companies. Thus, you can avail of fantastic discounts, coupons, freebies, or rebates if you will only choose a travel mate from their website. In the end, you will not just find a friend but you can start saving some of your money.

4. It can go global.

An extensive traveler does not only do country backpacking or travel from state to state. Definitely, he/she has a big dream of going out of the country and feel the culture, history, and heritage of other people. Therefore, it could be wise if the website that caters to travel companion can go global or has members that belong to other nations. It will become extremely easy for you to find a friend and feel at home once you set foot in a foreign soil.

If you like to travel America and you do not want to go for singles travel, find a travel companion site that meets all these qualifications. You will never go wrong.

Buying Investment Homes For Profit

Given the current economic crisis and the ever plunging real estate rates; it is needless to say, that now, is one of the best times for buying montgomery county investment homes for profit. If you were to check out the real estate trends in many cities across the country, you will notice that the prices of houses in some areas are lower than they have ever been in the last two to three years. This certainly means that anybody who can afford to purchase a property at this point in time and hold it for a while is looking at sizable capital gains in the future.

How can you make a profit?

The price of real estate always has a trend of moving upwards but buying investment homes for profit is not a lucrative venture if you purchase the property when the market is high. So it is imperative to check out the current market trends preferably weekly trends that are available on many websites before you consider looking at homes in a particular area. In certain states like Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida, the real estate prices have plummeted, offering potential future rewards for buyers. So this is a wonderful time for buying investment homes for profit in these states. Also the fact that the number of foreclosures and short sales are sky rocketing means that you can purchase homes at dirt cheap rates.

Finances

Unfortunately very few people can actually boast of enough liquidity to buy a house without taking recourse to regular financing options. If you are going to need a loan, it would be best to analyze your credit before you put in the hard work of rummaging through MLS sites. In this economic environment, procuring a loan is getting increasingly difficult and nothing less than the perfect credit rating will do for the weary lenders. The norm is that you would need a 20% down payment which means that in order to purchase a home worth $250,000 you would need to have liquidity to the tune of $50,000!

Haute Hair Tip for Winter: Hydrate

I love my haute natural hair! My winter hair care tip... hydrate! Keep your hair looking beautiful by keeping its moisture content high using steam therapy. It will grow fuller and longer with lots of shine.




My hair therapy session and styling is compliments of Robin D. Groover in Atlanta and New York City.


What do you think about haute natural hair with brilliant color and shine?

Haute Travels Tip: Mini Fragrances for Travel

As a girl on the go, I must carry my favorite fragrances with me. I absolutely love a beautiful vanity counter that highlights my various moods by the perfumes that I select. Mini-size fragrances offer space saving options for carry on bags and they look great next to your bed or in your dressing room.

Marc Jacobs Dot Fragrance for the Young at Heart

Marc Jacobs was so inspired by his love of poka dots that he created DOT a personal signature fragrance. The scent offers top notes of red berries, dragon fruit and honeysuckle. The mild and base notes contain Jasmine, coconut water with musk.

The fragrance is captured in a beautiful red bottle that plays with fantasy. I love the design of the bottle because it looks like a work of art. The bufferfly-inspired top plays with porportions offering a chic way to indulge in something that brings pure joy. The girls who are happy, vivacious and upbeat will enjoy DOT. You can find DOT at Bloomingdales for $89.00.

Travel Vaccinations - Why Do Some Travelers Miss Them?

I read an interesting piece of news from 'across the pond' this week. It was a small news item released in London, but it caught our attention at Travelogue. The results of this survey should be of interest to every American who will be traveling abroad and wants to remain safe. Before relating the British survey findings to you, take a look at our own safety survey question.

Which of the following activities are safe and sensible activities?

(1) Driving while text messaging
(2) Wearing dark sunglasses as you drive into a tunnel
(3) Wandering alone in unfamiliar neighborhoods in foreign countries at night
(4) Riding a motorcycle without a helmet
(5) Approaching a family of cute raccoons in your backyard
(6) Letting your 2 year old play with marbles

If your answer is 'none of the above', then consider yourself to be genius material. All of these activities demonstrate poor judgment. Is is it really an 'accident' if a bad outcome should be anticipated and could have been prevented?

Here's the latest from Britain. They just published research findings that showed that a majority of British travelers never investigate if they need travel vaccinations before going abroad. For example, over 90% of them did not know that travel vaccines are necessary for travel to eastern Europe and to Russia. Why would folks from an educated society make such a poor judgment that places them at unnecessary risk? Surely, these travelers wouldn't let small kids play with matches or leave them unattended in a swimming pool. Yet, they completely ignore their own travel safety.

While we do not have firm statistics in America, vaccine manufacturers estimate that over 10 million of us will go overseas without necessary travel vaccinations. When we do so, we risk hepatitis, yellow fever, typhoid, rabies and meningitis. Every one of these diseases can be prevented by a safe and effective vaccine. Make sure that you get the travel shots and safety advice you need before departure. Consult with a travel physician in your area.

Travel Alert! State Department Warns

As an adjunct to America's insane policy of dealing with Islamic terrorist attacks by waiting to be attacked, (since, as our president and Muslim commentator Fareed Zakaria have pointed out, we're well able to "absorb" even nuclear assaults on the homeland), we're now warning travellers and tourists to be careful out there when they're travelling to and touring in Europe.

Obama made that "absorb" comment according to Bob Woodward's new book, Obama's Wars and now travellers and tourists have been warned by our State Department of "the potential for terrorist attacks in Europe. Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks."

That alert goes on to advise: "Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure. Terrorists have targeted and attacked subway and rail systems, as well as aviation and maritime services. U.S. citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when traveling."

Just as with domestic terror warnings, our government fails to provide any specific methods or techniques to implement that precaution or information on how to deal with or to avoid being reduced to splinters.

Excuse me, that's not exactly true.

State reassures travellers and tourists that, "We continue to work closely with our European allies on the threat from international terrorism, including al-Qa'ida. Information is routinely shared between the U.S. and our key partners in order to disrupt terrorist plotting, identify and take action against potential operatives, and strengthen our defenses against potential threats.