Vietnam: readers' tips, recommendations and travel advice - Telegraph

Unless you're desperate to shoot an old M16 or see holes in the ground, I'd give a miss to the Cu Chi tunnel trip and instead take a Bassac (tributary of the Mekong) cruise and end up with a few days of snorkelling and swimming on tropical Phu Quoc island off the Cambodian coast.

Peter J Griffiths, from Cornwall, wins a travel voucher with DialAFlight

Sapa

Two-man job

I still think of my Vietnam holiday as the most exciting one I have ever had. It was an organised trip beginning in Hanoi, and we travelled the length of the country through the seasons in two weeks: they were planting rice in the north and harvesting in the south.

Hanoi was austere and drab, but the people were fun, taking us around the city on their bikes. It's the first time I have seen two men using one shovel. Travelling through the countryside you see the amazing ways they carry animals on their bicycles. The markets are fabulous Classic tours, Classic tour, Journey Mekong places with all the produce you can think of.

Ho Chi Min City was a bustling colourful modern place, full of scooters and mopeds. But beware pickpockets – they were rife.

Neville Meeker, by email

Cool welcome

Don't miss the ancient port of Hoi An with its wooden houses, market and Japanese covered bridge. We stayed in the Pacific View Hotel, and on arrival were greeted with cool towels and welcoming drinks before being taken to a large airy room with a balcony view across the treetops – and a neighbour far below with a pig in the back garden.

Lunch at Wonton restaurant cost about £4 and in the evening we visited a silk workshop which measured us for bespoke outfits that were ready within 24 hours. Afterwards we ate at an amazing riverside cafe and had a five-course meal for about £7 sitting outside around a huge table next to the Thu Bon River.

Rosemary Wyeth, Wiltshire

Perfect view

My tip for a visitor to Saigon is to head for the Rex Hotel in the evening and go to the famous Classic tours, Vietnam classic tour, Journey Mekong bar on the roof. Try for a seat near the edge and a stunning view of this vibrant neon-lit city, while enjoying an excellent Singapore Sling at a fraction of the price of one in Singapore.

Sally Higgins, West Sussex

Green peace

We'd booked a fortnight's tour of Vietnam and Cambodia, including a week's cruise along the Mekong. Our flight to Ho Chi Minh City arrived early on Sunday, giving us a free day before the formal tour programme began. As keen gardeners, we decided to explore the Botanic Garden. Walking there gave us a lesson in a necessary local skill; how to cross roads teeming with unbroken streams of motor scooters. (Stride out and look confident.)

Arriving unscathed, we found a garden full of exotic tropical plants and trees, including a zoo that boasts rhinos, colourful birds and much else. We sat for a while in front of the bandstand, watching a charming show featuring music and performing dogs. Spending an afternoon among families enjoying peaceful outings added a soft perspective to the sightseeing programme, which inevitably included allusions to the country's turbulent past.

Olga Leapman, London

Streetwise

Exploring the back streets of the cities and checking out silk shops, street food, family parties, old buildings and general chaos is one of the best experiences in Vietnam. Inevitably one gets lost. Top tip: shops and businesses display their name and street address with other information over their doors. Look up! Instant orientation. A little tourist map and it's all sorted.

Clodagh Veale, by email

Local knowledge

One of the highlights was our stay in Nha Trang at the new Novatel. Lanterns restaurant is within walking distance and it's not to be missed. The food was delicious, and on Mondays they give free food to local people in need.

We Journey Mekong, Classic tours booked a tour to Ninh Hoa, about an hour away, and our guide took us to her village home. We made incense sticks, watched rice wine being made (and tasted it), went to a market, had lunch with a local family, took a ride on a bull and cart and watched the fishing boats going out and coming in with their catch.

Alex Gould, West Midlands

Fish tank

Leave behind busy Ho Chi Min City and board a cruise boat at My Tho on the Mekong to explore Vietnam in a relaxed and leisurely manner. The dry season is best as there are no mosquitoes. The Pandow Line boat RV Mekong Pandow was clean, the food and accommodation were excellent and the staff very attentive.

The scenery is ever-changing, from mangrove swamps to forested areas with villages on stilts and temples to explore along the way. Smaller local boats take you to villages, floating markets with the wares advertised on the end of bamboo poles, to small family businesses making rice paper and hand-rolled sweets, and to the liquor brewer who matures his wine with snakes in the bottle.

Visit the attractive floating http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tours/classic-tours/ bungalows tethered together to form villages and accept the invitation to look inside. The typical living space, with table and chairs, sofa, pictures on the walls and carpet on the floor, is suddenly transformed when the carpet is rolled aside, a wooden trap door is lifted and thousands of fish can be seen thrashing in a cage below. The bungalows are all fish farms. Just one of the many delights and surprises of Vietnam.

Davena Lawrence, Hampshire

Wartime memory

Any trip to Vietnam must include a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels built by the Viet Cong. Contrast these with the splendour of the neoclassical, French colonial architecture less than 25 miles away in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. Watch the hustle and bustle of Hanoi city life from a rooftop restaurant, experience the tranquillity of Ho Chi Minh's stilt house in the middle of the city and enjoy the sheer beauty of Halong bay: all examples of the diversity of Vietnam.

Despite the historic conflicts, the resolve of the people to try to please everyone can be summed up in their Cao Dai religion, which combines Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and various local beliefs, so a visit to the splendid Great Temple at Tay Ninh should be on any traveller's itinerary.

Richard Williams, by email

Taxi scam

A visit to Vietnam would not be complete without a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. Pay only for the bullets and fire any gun of the period, including the AK47. Marvel at the ingenuity of the Viet Cong over a vastly superior enemy.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) by riverboat. Visit one of the factories run for the benefit of people born with birth defects Classic tours, Journey Mekong associated with the use of the defoliant Agent Orange.

Be aware of a scam in Saigon where a taxi will quote a fare and then demand more money halfway through the journey. My travelling companion and I fell into this trap on the way to the railway station. Use only a reputable taxi firm such as Vinasun.

Francis Horton, by email

On your bike

Hoi An is a wonderful place to spend a few days relaxing and exploring. If you can steer yourself away from the tempting tailors, there are some beautiful areas to explore just outside Hoi An. For about $1 a day you can hire a bike (with lock) and cycle down to the beach through the paddy fields, passing grazing water buffalo.

Book a cookery class, and you'll get a guided tasting tour round the local market with the vibrant stalls of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish, and a masterclass on how to choose a good fish. You can learn about the health benefits of Vietnamese cooking, and how to make banh xeo (crispy Hoi An pancakes) and turn out the perfect rice-paper summer roll. Better still, you get to eat the product of your labours.

Gill Whitelegg, London

Motorcycle memories

Travelling through Vietnam by motorcycle may not be to everybody's taste, but for me it was the best ride of my life. I met a fellow solo traveller from Norway on my first night in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), having travelled there from Cambodia. The following night I bought Max, a Honda Win 100 which was to be my ride for the next three weeks.

Our first of many challenges was to ride safely out of HCMC. However, once Classic tours, Vietnam classic tours, Journey Mekong on our way to Mui Ne, the feeling of freedom and pure exhilaration largely outweighed those of trepidation and uncertainty.

We saw white and red sand dunes in Mui Ne, the My Son ruins, the most incredible, surreal caves at Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, islands rising from the waters at Halong Bay and enough coffee shops along the way to keep caffeine levels at a dangerous high. But the best moments were riding along the Ho Chi Minh trail through the mountains. Every winding road took your breath away as you were faced with incredible landscapes.

The children who ran out of their houses in villages we rode through, just to wave and say hello, were humbling. The same was true of the hospitality of the locals who invited us for coffee or pho bo (beef noodle soup).

Vietnam is one of the most surprising and beautiful countries I have ever visited, heightened by travelling on motorcycle.

Joella Sandstra-Bennett, Essex

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You kill it, hotels cook it in new travel trend - Travel - TODAY

You kill it, hotels cook it in new travel trend

Farm-to-table meals have become so popular that hotels are now getting in the game with an even closer-to-the-source experience by offering chef-prepared meals using food hooked, foraged or shot by their guests.

Video: http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/combined-adventure-tours-northern-landscapes/ Matthew Upchurch, Virtuoso chairman & CEO, discusses the baby boomers' big impact on the travel industry.

You might visit Turkey Trot Acres in Candor, New York, for a wedding reception, reunion, barbecue or zombie-fest, but wild turkey hunting in the spring and fall is what this upstate lodge is best known for.

"A lot of our clients are busy business people who maybe grew up hunting and still have an interest in it," said Peter Clare, who runs the lodge with his wife, Sherry.

Turkey Trot specializes in three-day guided hunting packages that start at $1,200 and include single-bed rooms, meals and guides. And while not everyone bags a turkey, those who do usually pose proudly with their bird before it goes into the cooler.

"Turkey Trot will clean the turkey for you, package it and tell you how to cook it. And if you want it prepared for dinner, they'll do that too," said Marlin http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/gentle-color-of-adventure-tours-mai-chau/ Watkins, a well-known turkey call maker from southeast Ohio who's been a regular at the lodge for the past 25 years.

"But when you harvest a wild turkey it's such an event that most people would rather take it home to show off to their friends and family. I've seen a lot of turkeys go home in the back of a Cadillac," Watkins said.

Turkey Adventure Tours, Adventure Travel, Journey Mekong Trot Acres

Marlin Watkins with wild turkeys bagged at Turkey Trot Acres.

Next winter, Viceroy Snowmass, near Aspen, Colorado, http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tours/adventure-tours/ will also be adding a "you kill/we cook" option to its menu of hotel activities. From Nov. 8 to Jan. 18, guests will be able to hunt for pheasant, duck and goose — but not turkey — with guides from the Aspen Outfitting Company. The hotel's executive chef, Will Nolan, will show guests how he breaks down the game and then prepares it for a meal. The cost: $2,200, not including accommodations.

"Guests are constantly looking for ways to get closer to their food, and I can't think of a more intimate experience," said Nolan. "The most memorable meals are those that you actually have a part in creating, so this fits the bill in a number of exciting ways."

Michigan's Catch & Cook program, a joint project of a half dozen public agencies and commercial associations, connects charter fishing clients and charter boat operators in the state's Great Lakes region with about 50 restaurants, many of them linked to hotels and inns, which will cook and Adventure Tours, Adventure Tour, Journey Mekong serve the day's catch.

The program began in 2012 and has reeled in a net full of economic benefits.

"Distinctive experiences like Catch & Cook are likely to be told and retold," said Jordan Burroughs, a wildlife outreach specialist at Michigan State University. Charter boat businesses benefit through positive word-of-mouth, restaurants get added business during the early afternoon — a traditionally slower and less profitable part of the day — "and communities benefit when visitors extend their stay, supporting local restaurants and presumably, other local businesses," Burroughs said.

In Florida, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota has a "You Catch 'Em, We'll Cook 'Em" offer for visiting anglers, including those who dock at the hotel's 32-slip marina. For $40 per person, the chef at the Hyatt's Currents Restaurant will grill, blacken, sear or pan fry a fisherman's cleaned and filleted catch and serve it up with soup or salad, sides of fresh vegetables, other accompaniments and dessert.

A similar program, called "Hook N' Cook," is offered at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral, Florida. There, chefs at two onsite dining venues will prepare a guest's freshly caught and cleaned fillet for a typical plate fee of $15, with other menu items included with the meal at an additional cost, said Stefanie Eakin, the Westin resort's marketing manager. "The service is one our guests and local community rave about," she said.

Nita Adventure Tours, Adventure Holidays, Journey Mekong Lake Lodge

Guests at Nita Lodge in Whistler, B.C., Can go foraging for lichens, mushrooms and other forest edibles in the morning and sit down to a five-course meal http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/northern-highlights-adventure-tours/ made from those items that evening.

Each Wednesday morning during September and October, guests may go foraging for wild and edible plants, shoots, lichens and mushrooms with the executive chef of Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler, British Columbia.

Wednesday evenings, those same guests can dine with their fellow foragers on a five-course meal using the ingredients plucked that morning in the Whistler Valley. Tickets are $70 per person, plus tax, for the foraging foray and the dinner.

The class spends a great deal of time talking about and studying false or deadly look-a-likes. "All amateur foragers learn a key rule," said Paul Moran, the executive chef at the lodge's Aura Restaurant. "When trying to identify wild plants and mushrooms, even if you are 99 percent sure something is edible, if you still have 1 percent of doubt, it's not worth eating."

Harriet Baskas is the author of seven books, including "Hidden Treasures: What Museums Can't or Won't Show You," and the Stuck at the Airport blog. Follow her on Twitter at @hbaskas. Follow Road Warrior at @CNBCtravel.

Source : today

Anonymous Travel Writer: "The Overrated Places I Never Want to See Again"

Here, a working travel writer shares her view of so-called “dream vacation spots” that are, in her view, overrated Hells on Earth. To spare her from possible reprisals from the tourist industry that she covers, Yahoo Travel is not using her real name (or her real picture; the young woman above is a model). The opinions of “Siena” are hers alone and don’t reflect those of Yahoo Travel.

As a travel writer, my credo is “I’ll try almost anything once.” That open-mindedness has served me well. The huge majority of my experiences have been very much worth having. But I’ve had a few duds — destinations to be crossed off the wish list and never considered again. Most travel writers I know have their anti-favorite list of overrated places. This is mine.

Bora Bora

Bora http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/vietnam-romantic-on-the-beach-holidays/ Bora: the beautiful view gets old quick (Thinkstock)

More than one friend of mine calls this island “boring boring.” The reefs and water are absolutely spectacular, but how long can you stare at fish? There’s nothing else to do. The resorts are on their own private motus (islets), so there’s no nightlife, and guests aren’t looking to socialize at all as they’re all on their honeymoons. And http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/vietnam-vacation-at-phan-thiet-on-the-beach-holidays/ the click here “France in the South Pacific” marketing is not a selling point: French Polynesia offers the worst combination of Gallic snobbishness and of island indifference. I just felt sorry for the guys who had to paddle me around on a canoe for breakfast (though they were nice to look at). And it’s expensive. If you want Polynesia, just go to Hawaii. If you want exotic, go all the way to Asia, where your money will go a whole lot further.

Related: Speedos, Nudity and Sharks: What’s Normal at the Beach?

Dubai

Dubai proves that bigger isn’t always better (Photo: Thinkstock)

Look, I’ve been writing about luxury travel for more than a decade. I like glorious excess. I get that sometimes more is more. But Dubai is just too much. “The Las Vegas of the Middle East,” as Dubai is often called, is really a half-finished monument to wretched excess. Also, It’s hot. When I recently visited, there were also grim reminders everywhere of the economic crash in 2009: abandoned skyscraper skeletons with idle cranes on top, billboards advertising the Ferrari that would be thrown in along with the purchase of a luxury condo. Still, shopping remains the most popular sport (and international draw) here, but that’s another non-selling point for me. Yes, you can ski at the Mall of the Emirates. Know where else you can ski? Mountains.

Related: Brave New World: Dubai Announces World’s First Climate-Controlled City

 

Abu http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/vietnam-stunning-on-the-beach-holidays/ Dhabi

Our writer says the “cultural emirate” isn’t cultural at all (Photo: Thinkstock)

Billed as the cultural emirate, Abu Dhabi is supposed to offer a more enlightened alternative to glitzy Dubai. At least there’s no overconsumption hangover here, as the city is still filthy rich even after bailing out its flashy neighbor. And so the government has invested in the very best culture money can buy, shelling out for museum outposts and starchitect-designed buildings — the Performing Arts Centre by Zaha Hadid, the Louvre Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry. But for all of that, there’s no “there” there.  Cities like New York and London are great because of their genuine culture, not the store-bought variety that seems chi tiet to run rampant in Abu Dhabi. And you don’t have be a tree-hugger to be put off by the ecological footprint of a place where oil is easier to come by than water, wide highways are filled with SUVs, and the space around them is filled by the most massive power lines and transformers I’ve seen — so much so that there are road signs warning drivers about the dangerous voltage overhead.

Ireland

The song says, “When Irish eyes are smiling…” You know who’s not smiling? The writer, whenever she has to go to Ireland (Photo: Thinkstock)

I’ll probably http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/nha-trang-on-the-beach-holidays-escape-4-days-3-nights/ get hate mail for this, but there’s something I find entirely too precious about the Emerald Isle. Castles and Guinness and fiddles are completely lost on me, and I don’t care about that mythical fun factor they call “craic,” however you pronounce that. I dislike Irish pubs in the U.S. Why would I want to go to the motherland?

Roatan Island, Honduras

Nice sunset. But Roatan doesn’t hold up well in full daylight, says our anonymous travel writer (Photo Thinkstock) 

Yes, the diving is great. But it’s also great in nearby Belize and the largely undiscovered San Andres Islands off the coast of Nicaragua. And those places aren’t crowded with cookie-cutter condo developments, mass-market resorts, drunken beach parties, and booze cruises. And while Roatan isn’t the only place in the world with “dolphin experiences,” it’s the place where I got talked into doing one. I cringed through every awkward minute of my hour spent holding onto to the swimming animals’ fins and surfing on their snouts, but I got through it by reminding myself that it could have been worse — I could have been the dolphin.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg: http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/danang-on-the-beach-holidays-extension-4-days-3-nights/ Proof that there is such a thing as too perfect (Photo: Thinkstock) 

Too. Damn. Orderly. Luxembourg is the most sensible place I’ve ever been. I hated it.

Want more like this? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so that we can inspire you every day.

Nguon: yahoo

New TSA security could cause air travel confusion | Fox News

A passenger enters departures in Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport in London July 3, 2014.REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

The implementation of tighter cellphone click here security at overseas airports could spell big hassles for travelers to the U.S.

Last week Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson directed the Transportation Security Administration to implement enhanced security at certain foreign airports operating direct flights to the U.S. In a statement released on Sunday, the TSA added that travelers may tham khao be asked to power up some devices, such as cellphones, warning that powerless devices will not be allowed onboard the aircraft.

 

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An chi tiet unnamed official told the BBC that Heathrow, the U.K.’S largest airport, is among the airports affected by the security clampdown. With dozens of flights from Heathrow to the U.S. Tham khao o day each day, thousands of travelers could potentially face disruption.

The other airports that could be involved were not immediately identified.

Adding to the confusion, relatively few details about the logistics of the U.K. Clampdown have been released, such as whether powered-down devices will eventually be returned to their owners or destroyed. It’s also unclear tai day whether charging stations will be available at airports to address the problem of powered-down phones.

“It's an idea that looks straightforward but is fraught with challenges,” warned Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at U.K.-Based research and analysis company Quocirca, in an email to FoxNews.Com. Devices with flat batteries, for example, chi tiet tham khao would be a challenge to store and forward, he added.

When contacted to discuss how the TSA’s new security measures http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/cam-chau-homestays-a-truly-hoi-an-3-days-2-nights/ will be implemented, Heathrow airport advised FoxNews.Com to contact the U.K.’S Department for Transport.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport told FoxNews.Com that, at the moment, it is not discussing the specific logistics of the security checks. Its website offered a little more information, urging air travelers to the U.S. To ensure that their electronic devices are charged before they travel. “If your device doesn’t switch on, you won’t be http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/pu-luong-homestays-call-of-nature-4-days-3-nights/ allowed read more to bring it onto the aircraft,” it warned.

Quocirca’s Bamforth noted that extending air travel restrictions on the likes of scissors to much more expensive devices could result in some very unhappy travelers.

“This is acceptable for http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/cham-island-homestays-2-days-1-night/ the odd set of nail scissors, pen knife and hair gel to be confiscated, but quite another matter with a £500 gadget,” he wrote. The potential for powered-down work devices to be confiscated could mean yet more woe traveler woe, he added.

Bamforth, however, noted that airports could start charging passengers money to power up their devices.

Nguon: foxnews

'Travel agents created this hotel' - Travel Weekly

I have recently heard speeches by business leaders and writers who presented case studies that underscore the importance of inclusion and community-building in achieving success. Those concepts are not particularly radical, but if applied creatively, they can yield extraordinary results.

Mark King, CEO of Adidas Group North America, discussed how ideas generated by his staff turned the TaylorMade golf division (which he ran from 1999 until his promotion last month) from a $300 million company with 10% market share into a $2 billion company with 50% market share today.

"At some point in time, leaders exhaust what they know," King said. "And the world is moving fast."

"Distributed leadership" is the term for a model that suggests executives should listen more than they command.

William Taylor, the founding editor of Fast Company magazine (as well as a Harvard Business Review blogger and author chi tiet of best-selling business books), talked about two companies that also found success by reaching out to and including their extended shareholder community in unusual ways.

Portland, Ore.'S Umpqua Bank changed the concept of what a local bank can be by putting the communities in which they operated at the center of their brand. They began opening their banks after hours to serve as meeting places for local groups, becoming the venue of choice for everything from entrepreneur networks to "stitch and bitch" clubs (whose primary purposes appear to be knitting and complaining).

The branches do not look http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/family-holidays-cultural-holiday/ like conventional banks, and they were redesigned with the community outreach in mind. The outcome of that initiative (as well as some smart acquisitions) was similar in scale to TaylorMade's turnaround: Umpqua went from being a relatively small local bank to one with 394 branches and $22 billion in assets.

Taylor also spoke about how DaVita, which provides kidney dialysis services, brought its stock price up from $1 to $60, in large measure by involving 300 nurses in its decision-making process.

So where is the parallel travel industry story? I was reminded of one, not at an industry conference nor in the pages of a Wall Street Journal best-seller, but at a corner table at the Lambs Club in the midtown Manhattan Chatwal hotel.

The Chatwal, part of Hampshire Hotels Management (which includes the Plaza, Dream, Time and Night brands), opened four years ago as a "baby grand" hotel in the theater district. With just 76 rooms and in a prime location off Times Square, it is arguably the top small luxury property in the area, and the Lambs Club, under celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, has become one of the more difficult reservations to secure.

Joel Freyberg, who opened the property and is its general manager, has deep experience in both luxury hospitality and the New York market. He began his career at the Mayfair Regent, moved to the Michelangelo, then to the Carlyle, opened the Gansevoort and was recruited to be general manager of the Waldorf Towers prior to being asked to open the Chatwal.

The tham khao o day New York hotel scene is both competitive and lucrative, with several candidates vying for fickle and fussy visitors (and even more fickle and fussier local diners). Over lunch, Freyberg and I discussed what, during the preopening period, he had identified tham khao o day as being key to making the property successful.

Given his long experience running luxury hotels, his answer might seem counterintuitive.

"Travel agents created this hotel," he responded. "I knew that to succeed, we would have to get the chi tiet tham khao luxury community to buy in, and the luxury travel professionals know more about their clients' life than even their spouse."

Before the property was renovated prior to opening, he asked retailers for their input on the design. Originally, he had thought to have a full bath and a half bath in the suites.

"They looked at the plans and said, 'Why are you doing that? Two full baths are important.' So we took space from the parlor. And we put a full queen-size [Murphy bed] in every one-bedroom suite, one whose mattress is every bit as comfortable as our other beds, so now every one-bedroom suite can comfortably sleep four."

He listed other features that resulted from agent input: complimentary butler service for everyone, not just in the suites; complimentary Internet. "Make sure the lighting is good, I was told. There needs to be a good place for women to put on their makeup. Make sure the technology is simple, not complicated. Make sure entire floors can be keyed off as private floors. Make the room service menu exactly the same as what guests will get in the restaurant."

And, unusual for a midtown hotel, there is no business center. "It was pointed out that people often have to wait for a free computer in a business center," he said. "So instead, if someone needs these services, we send a computer and printer up to the room."

It's intuitive that the "distributed leadership" explained by Adidas' King would extend to employees and customers. Freyberg's success suggests leadership is extraordinarily elastic -- enough so to include intermediaries, as well.

Nguon: www.Travelweekly.Com

 

Tourism jobs growing along with family incomes

Glenn Camus checks in at the front desk at Hotel Zero Degrees in Stamford, Connecticut. Hospitality jobs are a growth area for Asheville.

(Photo: Eileen Blass , USAT )

Story http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/halong-bay-cat-ba-Excursions-3-days-2-nights/ Highlights

• 6.8 percent: Grown of Asheville metro area tourism jobs in 2013.
• 25,500: Workers in hotels, restaurant and other tourism jobs.
• $345: Average weekly salary for tourism jobs, compared with $890 in manufacturing.
• $56,000: Median income for an Asheville area family, or $1,077 a week (may include multiple earners)

36 CONNECTTWEET 1 LINKEDIN 6 COMMENTEMAILMORE

ASHEVILLE Halong Bay Excursions – A solid career with a good paycheck is what Jon Hessler wanted after serving as an Army officer in Afghanistan.

He found his break in an industry often dismissed for lower wages and part-time work.

Hessler had interned at a hotel as a front desk clerk during high school and had stayed in touch with his first employers.

After mustering out of the Army as a first lieutenant, he started work last August as sales manager for Asheville’s three Hampton Inns and the Homewood Suites Hilton.

At age 28, he’s getting married next month and just closed on the purchase of his first house, thanks to an annual salary around Buncombe County’s average of $35,748.

Tourism wages still fall short of those paid in industries like manufacturing, but they have been on the upswing — and managers increasingly are naming their own price.

That’s especially true in the Asheville area, which has been enjoying an increase in income levels. Median family income in the Asheville metro market grew at a faster rate than any other North Carolina metro last year.

“It’s a tight job market in Asheville, but I would encourage anybody to take a look at this field.” Hessler said. “It matches the cost of living.”

Tourism jobs grew at a 6.8 percent clip in 2013, contributing nearly half — 1,500 — of the 3,200 net new jobs added around the Asheville metro area of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

With 25,500 workers in hotels, restaurant and other tourism jobs, leisure and hospitality posted a record number of area jobs in May.

But with more seasonal and entry level workers, hospitality jobs paid on average only $345 a week in 2013 compared to the far fewer full-time workers in manufacturing, who earned a weekly average of $890 last year.

The median income for an Asheville area family jumped by 3.9 percent over the past year to $56,000 annually, ahead of Greensboro-High Point at $55,100 and Fayetteville at $52,800, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Despite the faster growth, Asheville family income still far lags behind Raleigh-Cary, where the median household income reaches $75,800 in the tech-heavy Research Triangle Park or the financial powerhouse Charlotte, with household median income of $64,700.

Yet tourism jobs sometimes http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/nha-trang-da-lat-excursions-2-days-1-night/ get a bad rap as low pay and part-time as critics point to minimum wage burger flippers and housekeepers. Industry advocates say don’t overlook the sales staff, managers, human resources and financial officers and other professional services in hotels or restaurant chains.

“I think those critics are wrong,” said longtime Asheville hotelier John Winkenwerder, managing partner of South Asheville Hotel Associates.

“While the starting pay may be a little lower than other, the opportunity to mid- and upper tiers of income is wide open,” he said. “We promote people. It’s not usual to hire chi tiet tham khao someone for the front desk, and in less than two years, that person is an assistant general manager.”

With even more training, full-time supervisors in hotels and restaurants can command salaries comparable to other sectors.

“We get more salaried job offers than we can fill,” said Walter Rapetski with the Hospitality Management program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. “Over the past five years, graduates have been getting positions with salaries ranging from $34,000 to $65,000 because our students graduate with the skills industry wants.”

A path forward

Rapetski appeared as a panelist at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Charlotte this spring, pressing his message that hospitality plays an important role in the local economy, but especially Asheville’s.

While tourism’s entry level positions typically pay above minimum wage of $7.25 an hour but often below Asheville’s living wage of $11.85, promotions and higher paychecks may be more readily available with the right work ethic.

“We are heavy with hourly line employees, but people chi tiet can move up quickly,” Rapetski said. “This industry creates more minority and female management positions than any other industry nationwide.”

Brenda Durden would agree. She started in high school, working as a front desk agent 24 years ago. “I was fairly young, but I liked taking care of people. It was part of my DNA, and I knew I could grow in this business. I was not afraid to step up and take on challenges and that does get rewarded in our industry.”

She was the first female general manager for the South Asheville Hotel Associates and now serves as the company’s chief operating officer.

“Tourism is so critical to our area. It makes perfect sense to count on hospitality careers as good choices after we’ve lost jobs in so many other industries,” Durden said. “These are jobs that are here to stay.”

The job market has been tightening for hospitality in the past year, putting pressure upwards on salaries, Durden said. “It’s getting tougher to find the right candidates. We have to be competitive.”

Of the company’s 140 employees about 10 percent work part time. Employees start above minimum wage with benefits including health and dental care, life insurance and paid vacations, Durden said.

No outsourcing

Discerning travelers who come to Asheville have their choice of destinations and are paying good money for their stay here, Winkenwerder said.

“If they’ve selected Asheville over Charleston or Savannah, you’re not going to http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/unique-beauty-excursions-of-the-north-4-days-3nights/ satisfy them with a team of workers who are all making minimum wage,” he said.

It’s not just hotels that decent paychecks for managers, restaurants around Asheville don’t run without well-paid supervisors, Rapetski said.

“These are jobs that aren’t going to get outsourced. These dining rooms are full around Asheville,” he said. “For each of these restaurants, there are probably five to six salaried supervisors. You look at a general manager at Outback steak house or Olive Garden, these people are making between $60,000 to $100,000.

Asheville’s economy has done well in the past year with a falling unemployment rate and rising incomes along with announcements of more manufacturing jobs, said Paul Szurek, chairman of the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville and Buncombe County. “We are hearing about hotel companies having to pay more.”

The EDC and Asheville Area Chamber is focusing more efforts, not just in manufacturing or in tourism, but in building up more technology jobs and start-up companies that could expand here from one and two founders to staffs of 10 to 15, Szurek said.

“We need to make more headway in professional, technology and other similar jobs,” Szurek said. “We’re never going to be a banking center like Charlotte, but there are portions of the financial industry that can expand here, like investment managers.”

“Tourism is part of what’s raising the wages for our community. These are jobs that can’t be outsourced.” Rapetski argued. “What’s lacking for Asheville perhaps is the professional base that cities like Raleigh and Charlotte have.”

BY THE NUMBERS

• 6.8 percent: Grown of Asheville metro area tourism jobs in 2013.

• 25,500: Workers in hotels, restaurant and other tourism jobs.

• $345: Average weekly salary for tourism jobs, compared with $890 in manufacturing.

• $56,000: Median income for an Asheville area family, or $1,077 a week (family income may include multiple earners)

Nguon: citizen-times

Breastfeeding Moms in Summer Travel Tips

The beginning of summer means more family road trips and extended vacations. Though vacations are a great way to rest and recharge, traveling while breastfeeding can be tricky. Here are some tips to ensure that mom can enjoy her vacation while caring for baby:

1. Pack properly.

When it comes to traveling on planes, breastfeeding moms have more to worry about than packing the right shoes. With bottles, brushes, breast pumps and more, it's important to know what products are allowed on board. Thankfully, the TSA relaxes its policies Excursions when it comes to products for little ones. Typically, passengers cannot carry more than 3.4 ounces of liquid in a carry-on aboard a flight. However, according to the TSA, a passenger can take more than 3.4 ounces of breastmilk on a flight as long as she lets the TSA agent know before the X-ray screening process. TSA also allows baby food and formula in excess of 3.4 ounces. For more information, check out http://www.Tsa.Gov/traveling-formula-breast-milk-and-juice.

2. Stash a snack.

Because schedules can change at a moment's notice, it's always good to be prepared with a snack. For those with a bit of a sweet http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/unique-beauty-excursions-of-the-north-4-days-3nights/ tooth, lactation cookies are the perfect treat. MilkMakers are delicious cookies with oats and brewer's yeast that actually help moms provide more milk for baby. Carrots and nuts are other great snacks that are easy to stash in a carry-on or small purse and provide health benefits for nursing moms.

3. Dress accordingly.

Nursing and pumping on the road or during a flight can be difficult and time-consuming. However, with the right products, any mom can feed with ease. The Simple Wishes B3 All-in-One is a multi-functional bra designed to maximize skin-to-skin For Excursions contact, and is strong enough to support flanges during hands-free pumping. This innovative bra allows moms to relax while using their breast pump, and gives moms the valuable gift of time by freeing up their hands for other tasks. Nursing pads like Bamboobies are also great for travel because they discretely soak up any leakage that may occur between feedings.

4. Provide consistency for baby.

Because traveling schedules are often unpredictable, moms may find times when breastfeeding is not an option. Nipple confusion can occur when baby transfers from breast to bottle and back, so a bottle that imitates mom's nipple is essential. Munchkin's LATCH bottles aid http://www.Journeymekong.Com/tour/halong-bay-excursions-tour-the-classic-experience-4d3n-in-halong/ in the transition from breast to bottle and back with key features: the accordion-style nipple flexes and stretches like the breast to provide a continuous latch and the bottle pumps like the breast by releasing more breast milk as baby pushes against Day Excursions the nipple's base.

5. Be prepared to explain your situation and answer questions.

Because not everyone understands the in and outs of breastfeeding, moms may need to explain their various gadgets. Bringing breast pump instructions to security check points will make life easier for both harried moms and TSA agents. Oftentimes, family members or friends will ask questions about breastfeeding. Though breastfeeding is a personal choice that not everyone will feel comfortable discussing, these discussions can educate others and help moms discover new tips.

Traveling while breastfeeding can be challenging, but it doesn't have to put a halt to all vacation plans. By bringing the right equipment and planning ahead, moms will be able to enjoy their trip with baby in tow.

Source : huffingtonpost