How Social Media Is Changing Travel
It's undeniable that social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can seem like nothing but a sea of banalities -- vacation photos, mundane status updates, birthday wishes, comments on what you had for lunch -- but every once in a while, a voice in the wilderness breaks through with a post or tweet heard around the world.
This very thing happened twice in the travel industry recently when a couple of more or less ordinary (but very well-crafted) complaints about air travel turned into extraordinary Internet sensations -- and forced the airlines in question to respond.
Social media is changing the way travelers relate to big companies like airlines and hotel chains; calling the 800 number and sitting on hold for 45 minutes waiting for your complaint to be heard isn't your only option anymore. Even as we are standing in line waiting for bad news, being treated about the same as our luggage, and enduring countless slights and indignities, you and I alike can get the attention of big travel companies, forcing them to listen and respond. With the explosion of social media, we are seeing it happen more and more.
Traveling
Travel is the movement of people between relatively distant geographical locations, and can involve travel by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, airplane, or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip.Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements
Traveling gives us the opportunity to disconnect from our regular life.You get to forget your problems/issues for a few weeks, it can also help you figure things out that you would not have understood without the distance traveling can give you. We all have crazy schedules, work and a family to take care of, going away alone or with some friends can give you distance and perhaps even make you realize how important these people are for you.
Like the saying says: we never know what we have until we lose it. Another great benefit is the relaxation you get to do.It’s nice to live life to its fullest and enjoy a stress free time with yourself. Going on vacation lets us recharge our “batteries” by disconnecting us from our regular life. When we come back we feel invigorated and we are happy to be back in our day to day routine. It’s a very good stress remover that has a lot more to give than most people are willing to accept.
At times one must take time from their busy schedule and explore the world. There is so much more to life than just work. There is so much to explore and learn. By traveling, one can learn about different cultures, have and learn different aspect of other's life and obtain different perspective on different countries. In addition traveling is a great way to escape from everyday routines and stress . It enables relaxation and provide experience and adventure. As Humans we only live once therefore we should enjoy life to the fullest. Tomorrow is never promise.
Planning Ahead
When planning a vacation you want to involve knowledgable people from the very beginning. After all, you want to make sure that your vacation includes all of the sights are worth seeing, and no activities that aren’t in-line with your interests. Furthermore, you don’t want to waste money on reservations for a hotel that isn’t clean, or a restaurant that is notorious for its poor quality dinners. These two apps are both fantastic resources for introducing you to activities, lodgings, and restaurants, while also providing you with insights from other users.
If you have some time off I suggest to take that trip and experience what life has to offer. Don’t wait or tell yourself there will be a better time to go. Take the risk, the opportunity and buy your plane ticket right now and leave. When you come back you won’t be sorry that you left, on the contrary you will be thinking of your next trip the second you come back from the airport.
SleepingInAirports – Guide for camping overnight or a few hours in an airport
Ever needed to camp overnight in an airport either out of low funds or simply bad flight connections?
This is the perfect website for such a situation. Browse and read through brief overview of the airport along with user-submitted review on safety, facility, photos (where available), etc. A must for solo or women travelers who may have to experience such a situation. I personally have used it a couple of times when I had to camp overnight at airports ranging from Paris- Charles de Gaulle to Hamburg International airport and wanted to make sure that the airport even allows people to camp over.
Matro – Public Transport Guide for your mobile phone
Métro is a free worldwide public transport guide can be used on the web and on most existing smart phones. Download the program for over 250 cities wordlwide and have an easy subway, bus and tram station guide rite on your phone. It lets you calculate travel time, major landmarks (in major cities), shortest distances and of-course travel direction between any stations.
Highlights include:
– directions and information to major tourist attractions (in selected cities) – download maps to your phone for selected cities. – easy public transport search function between stops.
TripIt– Travel Itinerary planner
TripIt is a handy itinerary planner for those going on an independent trip. Simply forward your individual booking confirmations, reservation emails etc. TripIt recognizes these emails and creates a master itinerary that puts together all the individual pieces, provides extra information where appropriate (maps, weather information etc), enables the user to add notes and ultimately share and collaborate on this master itinerary with others.
Yapta – Flight-ticket price tracker
Yapta is neat service that allows users to track the price of the flight-ticket that they want to purchase or have already purchased . For people yet to buy a ticket, Yapta allows you to purchase the ticket when prices drop. If you have already bought a ticket, Yapta still allows you to track and see if prices drop. Many airlines have policies that allow for travelers to get refunds/vouchers (of the price difference) if the price of the ticket that they have purchased drops.
When it comes to planning ahead and finding the cheapest deals you may want use Orbitz.
Orbitz finds you the cheapest flights and hotels. They can package it together and even include rental cars. The best part about Orbitz is that they price match. Thus, if you are looking on any other website and find it cheaper than Orbitz will have to honor that price. However, Orbitz website is likely to only feature the cheapest price. No customer service representative or even customer wants that needless conversation on the phone about lowering the price. Orbitz even has a mobile app so that you an find your travel itinerary straight on your mobile device. Looking for places t eat or fun things to do while you travel? Orbitz has a plethora of suggestions!
There is no better site that is there for you hen you need it like ORBITZ!
Traveling increases our knowledge and widens our perspective
To view new customs, different ways of living is fantastic for the mind. It gives us a new perspective about life and especially our life, it can help us change some of our habits or even create new ones. When I travel I usually make it a point to try new food, some cultures don’t have fries in their diet and they are all skinny, others use spices to give taste and not oils or fats. Discovering different values and ways to get by in life is really interesting. You also need to visit exotic new places and discover what this wonderful world has to offer.New experiences increase our resourcefulness by living situations you would never encounter at home, this is great experience for you when you come back to your routine. I have noticed that people who traveled a lot in life were ready to embrace change and have a natural ability of overcoming problems that others would frown upon. Keeping an open mind while traveling is key. One should not be judging if a person of a different culture doesn't meet one's social norms. Traveling allows people to experience many different things which is what makes it so special. The changes you come across is so important to learn about and observe. Not just the food as mentioned before, but clothing, environment, how the people of that society connect with one another is also interesting.
When traveling with friends or family it creates memories for a lifetime. These memories will create a bond that nothing can erase no matter what happens with the friendship/relationship. It can also give a new perspective on the relationship and cement the bond forever. It also gives nice stories to tell people afterwards, you can create photo albums about your trips and when you feel nostalgic you can take an hour of your life and experience the trips again by looking at your pictures.
Family Traveling - The best theme parks around the world
Want to take your kids on an amazing adventure or simply spend a weekend going wild with your friends on fun rides? Theme parks make fantastic vacation spots, and these are some of the best of all. Whichever park you choose, you are bound to have a thrilling time. Don’t let kids have all the fun—treat yourself to a theme park adventure. This is the best way to bond with the family.
Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom: If you ask children where they want to go, Disney resorts always top the list, and this one, just outside Orlando in Florida, is widely considered the best. Iconic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Pluto welcome approximately 18,588,000 visitors each year. It is dominated by Cinderella’s Castle and incorporates six different themed areas: Main Street, USA; Adventureland; Frontierland; Liberty Square; Fantasyland; and Tomorrowland. Temperatures can get as high as 92ºF in July but at the other end of the year they are mild, so visitors can choose what works for them. United Airlines can fly you to Orlando, special buses can take you to the park and, if you want, you can stay right there in a Disney themed hotel.
Universal Studios Japan: Nobody does theme parks with quite as much enthusiasm as the Japanese. This one attracts over 10,000,000 visitors annually. To a US visitor, it may seem disorganized, but many see it as somewhere to explore, with different movie themed rides around every corner: The Amazing Adventures of Spider man, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and Jaws. The rollercoasters, Hollywood Dream, and Space Fantasy, are not for the faint-hearted, but there is something here for all age groups—try the Magical Starlight Parade for sleepy little ones. Top shows include Waterworld, with its water stunts, and Backdraft, with its fire stunts. To get there, fly to Osaka and take a train to JR Universal City, which is right beside the park entrance. There are many good hotels nearby.
Ocean Park: This Hong Kong Park has almost 7,500,000 visitors per year. It specializes in scares—book ahead to visit a haunted house customized to evoke your deepest fears—and even fairy tale land, the Forest of Legends, includes some creepy surprises. There is also much more, including fantastic animal adventures. Most visitors opt to stay in central Hong Kong.
Alton Towers: The most popular theme park in the UK, with around 2,500,000 visitors per year, Alton Towers specializes in nail biting roller coaster rides, including the famous Thirteenth and Mega-phobia. There are some great water rides (though they can be cold, as summer temperatures rarely get much above 80ºF). There are special buses to the park from Derby, Uttoxeter and Stoke-on-Trent railway stations. Many visitors opt to stay in these towns but there are on-site accommodations and there are also some good campsites nearby.
Beta Carrero World: As Latin America’s largest theme park, this colorful resort is located in Penha, Brazil, and attracts 1,530,000 visitors annually. Divided into areas including Nation’s Avenue, Fantasyland, Old West, and Pirate’s Island, it also has a popular section devoted to cars and also has its own zoo. The easiest way to get there is to fly to Rio and then on to Navegantes.
Back in the day, sharing stories about your travel experiences meant inviting your friends over for an evening spent watching hundreds of slides. Years later, Facebook allowed for photo albums consisting of hundreds of photos that (let’s be honest) most of your friends won’t want to look at. Using an app targeted at sharing your travels gives you an avenue to share your travels online with interested friends and family while you are away.
Reference
http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/2008/06/the-benefits-of-traveling/
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-travel-websites-that-should-be-bookmarked/
http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/traveler-tested/how-social-media-is-changing-travel