TripAdvisor (owner of SmarterTravel.com) is among a select few corporations that wear their social conscience on their sleeves, due in large part to the conviction and efforts of company founder and CEO Steve Kaufer. The company’s latest initiative, announced this week: a ban on sales of tickets to animal attractions “where travelers come into physical contact with captive wild animals or endangered species, including but not limited to elephant rides, petting tigers, and swim with dolphin attractions.”
In addition to the ticket ban, TripAdvisor will launch an educational portal designed to educate travelers about issues of wildlife conservation.
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The move reportedly came at least partly in response to a petition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) prodding TripAdvisor to stop selling tickets for elephant rides. The company decided to go further, banning sales of tickets to a wide range of animal attractions.
The ban was lauded by a host of organizations with an animal-rights focus, including PETA: “By refusing to sell tickets to businesses that treat animals as entertainment or playthings, TripAdvisor is making a precedent-setting statement about the use and abuse of animals for entertainment.”
TripAdvisor stressed that it would continue displaying animal attractions on its website that don’t meet the new animal-friendly criteria, to allow site visitors to review the attractions, positively or negatively. “The company continues to firmly believe that our community of contributors can serve as a check-and-balance on matters of quality, customer service, and social issues — such as how animals are treated in the tourism industry.”
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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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Train travel is undoubtedly the most romantic way to explore Europe. You can sit back and soak up the continent’s most beautiful sights as they zip past, from the towering snow-cloaked mountains of Germany and the glittering fjords of Norway to the sparkling coasts of Italy and vine-carpeted fields of France. Plus, there are few greater feelings than getting from country to country in the knowledge that you are traveling more sustainably and minimizing carbon footprints. But sadly, the evolution of budget airlines has meant that aviation has become a more affordable (and at times faster) alternative for travelers. Below, we look at the ultimate travel hacks for finding cheap train tickets across Europe this summer so you can embrace slow travel – with expert advice from some of the world’s top train travel experts.
With no published award-price charts to refer to, members of Delta’s SkyMiles program don’t know when award prices are higher or lower than normal. That’s because there is no baseline to use as a reference point; there is no normal. Or rather, normal is whatever Delta chooses to publish as the price for an award ticket on a particular flight.
Hilton titled the news release announcing upcoming changes to its Honors loyalty program as follows: “Hilton Honors Delivers Even More to Its Members in 2018 with Industry-Leading Earn Rates and New Benefits.”
By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.
I’m not a fan of flash sales. If a company discounts its product or otherwise adds value to a purchase, then it should allow sufficient time for the offer to be widely communicated, considered, and acted on. “Snooze you lose” has always struck me as disrespectful and a bit nasty.
The ban on electronic devices carried onboard flights to the U.S. and U.K. from select African and Middle Eastern countries has been anything but uncontroversial. While the response at the level of companies and organizations has been mostly muted, travelers on such sites as FlyerTalk and InsideFlyer have expressed considerable skepticism as to both the ban’s underlying motives and its efficacy.
Just hours after the Department of Homeland Security published its ban on electronic devices on flights to the U.S. from 10 Middle East and African airports, the U.K. followed suit, with its own ban on carry-on devices on flights to the United Kingdom from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.
With no published award-price charts to refer to, members of Delta’s SkyMiles program don’t know when award prices are higher or lower than normal. That’s because there is no baseline to use as a reference point. There is no normal. Or rather, normal is whatever Delta chooses to publish as the price for an award ticket on a particular flight.