India Railways is taking on the same battle that its buddies in Europe are: defeat the budget airlines. Last week Europe I posted how Europe rail travel is positioning itself for a comeback with its new high speed rail expansions.

Well, Indian Railways is gearing up for a similar battle, but with an even more aggressive plan to win over budget travelers. And…it sounds like a good one.

The plan actually began in 1998, and targets the very thrifty budget travelers and backpackers, as well as the premium / high class travelers.There 4 tier plan includes:

1. Four High Speed Railroad links - They are testing some real fast ones that could cut travel time very nicely.

2. 100 Budget Hotels on unused land owned by the railway - In a public-private partnership, Indian Railways will lease land to private developers to create a 100 budget hotels along the rail routes. This ensures that travelers will not be required to stray too far away from the lines to find a cheap place to stay. Win-win for budget travelers and the government.

3. A campaign to increase cleanliness of travel - Good. Many people often picture railways to be crusty and dirty, and they probably have a good reason to do so. A public campaign will mandate cleanliness, giving travelers confidence.

4. Reservation and Fare changes - These changes are suppose to be pretty drastic compared to how Indian Railways previously operated. They will employ many new computer booking kiosks, smart cards, and better phone information and reservation systems. For the fare changes, fares are expected to be reduced a little bit, which is always good.

So this shows the railways haven’t been ignoring their loss in market share to the budget airlines over the past few years. If this continues it can only help the cause of the budget backpacking traveler. Sweet…The original story is from the Bangkok post, but the site is down at the moment.

Mark Ashley of Upgrade Travel Better has started the first annual Travvies, awards for travel blogs. I’m hoping Budget Globetrotting will be nominated by someone, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if it isn’t since there are a plethora of other superb travel blogs out there.

If you would be interested in nominating my blog for this, I’d be flattered. All you do is leave a comment including my blog in the comments area under the Travvies Category Budget Globetrotting would fit under.

The categories for this years travel blog awards include:

• Best Travel Blog
• Best Destination Blog
• Best Informative/Practical Travel Blog
• Best Group-Written Travel Blog
• Best Photography on a Travel Blog

I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the awards I’ll more than likely win the Travvies that will be awarded to the best travel blogs. Peace.

Hotels have recently fallen victim to the infamous norovirus that has been known to plague Cruise ship passengers for years.

The outbreaks began after Christmas, when 60 people in Madison, Wisconsin fell ill after attending a party at a hotel convention center.

Most recently, the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport hotel (long name I know..) was hit with the virus causing the hotel to shut down for a thorough cleaning. In this incident, 120 people became sick from the virus.

The best way to protect yourself from catching this disease is to never come in contact with other people. Since I’m hoping that’s not possible, the second best way is to just wash your hands and stay clean. This particular virus originates from infected food, then spreads through person to person contact. So wash your hands, avoid people, and don’t have bad luck and you’ll be fine staying in hotels.

As we embark on the New Year soon, I’m going out on a little limb to make a Five great and probable Travel Predictions for the splendid year of 2007.

US Lifts Cuba Travel Restrictions Fidel Castro’s eternal rule over Cuba ends with his passing mid 2007. Diplomatic relations immediately improve between the US and their neighbor to the South. Travel restrictions will be lifted, and Americans will flood Cuba. By the end of 2007, Cuba will find itself in a position to be one of the fastest growing travel destinations in the world, to the UAE’s dismay.

Puerto Rico or Florida Travel Increases The United States’ new passport requirement of travelers may mess up some last minute beach vacationers. Since Puerto Rico, and Florida (obviously) do not require a Passport, those who are too lazy or late to purchase a Passport may elect to visit Puerto Rico or Florida instead of other Caribbean destinations. The same goes for cruise passengers who will need to have Passport starting in 2007.

Airfares Stay Steady I don’t see oil rising as much, with the rampant oil speculation failing to kick off early in the spring, therefore, sending hedge fund money to other sectors. So airline fares shouldn’t be, in theory at least, as high with cheaper fuel costs.

European Travel is really, really expensive - The Federal deficit, which could lead to a world wide financial collapse in the future, is growing astronomically right now (Something like $2.3 trillion this year alone…Thank you Mr. President). Investors will notice and wave the finger, and then Euro will continue to kill the dollar in the financial markets of this wonderful world. European budget airlines are the only bright spot of traveling in Europe, but they are not bright enough.

I think the cost of traveling to Europe could go up 10-25% according to my very rough calculations. But I wouldn’t advise waiting for the dollar to gain strength before your travels to Europe, because it will head south until the 2008 elections.

Internet still Impacts Travel The internet and the Online Booking Revolution (Flyspy, Farecast, Farecompare, and Triptie) will continue to impact the travel industry 2007. With Web 2.0 staying strong, expect even better online travel tools developed in the next year for you to use at your disposal. After Web 2.0 bursts, there may be a drought until Web 3.0 starts up, but that’s several years away.So there are five of my not so risky travel predictions for the year 2007. If you have one of your own, feel free to leave it as a comment.

This is my third entry into Problogger’s Awesome Group Writing Project. My previous entries into this cool writing project were How to Travel and Budget Travel Wish list.

Traveling has now become much easier and affordable. You can find resorts and cheap hotelsthrough the world but you have to take some precautionary steps to avoid any undesired situation. Many insurance companies along with cheap car insuranceand health insuranceare now offering insurance package which includes travel insuranceas well. While traveling, credit cardsand visa cardsare really beneficial and your only partner when you are out of cash.

If you are someone who loves traveling, the best place to go when you need last minute travel deals is online to a site that can get you last minute cruises or even Hawaii vacation package.

I waited to report on the Fiji political situation, as I expected it to blow over. However, almost a week later, Fiji still faces political unrest. Basically, the military is in the middle of an overthrow of the government. After it started, many countries posted travel warnings because of the potential dangerous conflict.

This has undoubtedly angered potential travelers to the region, as they canceled their holiday plans. Luckily, since Fiji really isn’t considered the most budget friendly travel destination, I have an inkling that all of my readers are not affected. This is an important political and economic lesson however.

Last year, Fiji’s holiday travel occupancy was up 75% compared to 2004. Impressive. This year, it’s occupancy is down to 25%. Not good, since 25% Fiji’s Gross Domestic Product is tourism. The only way their economy could be any worse is if they poison their water supply, and lose their Fiji water exports…(just kidding)

But from the travel cancellations, Australians are getting a refund of $500. With such a big hit to their economy, their currency is being monitored very closely.

So big unrest in the Fijian travel market. After the conflict is solved, the cost of travel will surely decrease. Maybe, it’ll depreciate to a level us budget travelers and backpackers can afford. Time will tell.

Snakes on planes cellphones on planes? Which would you prefer? Ok… it probably won’t be that bad. But who really wants cellphones on planes? Well, the new trend started by Emirates Airline will allow passengers to use their phones during flights.

USA Today has an article on it.

“…the airline expects to have a system installed in the first of its Boeing 777 fleet in January that enables cellphones to operate at minimum power levels that won’t interfere with in-flight systems. The system is to be rolled out in 100 of the Dubai-based carrier’s aircraft in succeeding months.”

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