TotallyBarbados has received their prestigious award as THE Caribbeans Leading Overall Travel Information Website at the gala award ceremony of the World Travel Awards held in Turks and Caicos on the evening of Wednesday December 12th, 2007. The event was attended by over 300 travel professionals from over 30 different countries. The World Travel Awards were conceived in 1993 to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in the worlds travel and tourism industry. Now in their fourteenth year, travel professionals and discerning travelers have come to regard the World Travel Awards as the very best endorsement that a travel product could hope to receive. TotallyBarbados was voted the Caribbeans Leading Overall

Travel Information Website by travel professionals from 167 000 travel agencies, tour & transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe. Winning a World Travel Award has become one of the highest accolades a travel product or organisation can achieve. World Travel Awards are especially coveted as, uniquely, the votes are cast globally by fellow travel professionals. The event is highly regarded and well-established as a forum that brings together all areas of travel and tourism in recognition of their achievements.

Paid $1,399 for their 17-day cruise, which they had to leave after five days. They had $99 return flights to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but ended up spending $550 (U.S.) each for a one-way ticket home when they got off in Barbados. They also racked up $300 in long-distance calls from the ship while making all their last-minute arrangements. Havelock thought the travel medical insurance he bought before the trip would cover his extra costs. But he was wrong. His mistake was not getting an all-inclusive package.

Instead, he bought trip cancellation insurance from his son’s credit card company, out-of-country medical insurance from his wife’s employer and baggage insurance from the cruise line. What he needed – and didn’t have – was trip interruption insurance to cover him once he left home. Many travel insurance policies will pay for the cost of your trip if you have to cancel before your departure date.

But that’s all. It’s worth asking if you’re covered for both trip cancellation and trip interruption.”Otherwise, you’re stuck with the balance of the cruise and you can’t enjoy it when you’re taken off at the first port,” says Michael Camacho of CSI Brokers Inc., which works with financial institutions to develop travel medical insurance products. Trip interruption is “an inexpensive add-on” to a travel medical policy, in his view. It’s helpful when you have a prepaid tour package.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the regulatory body of insurance practice in the country and the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), the umbrella body of insurance brokers, have been petitioned over an alleged illegal insurance business, being transacted by Sarah Travels and Tours Limited, a Lagos- based travel agency.

A concerned Nigerian alleged that the company was selling Travel Medical Insurance to Nigerians, travelling abroad and demanded that the task force on Fake Insurance Companies immediately stops the company from further breaching the nation’s insurance laws. In a petition addressed to the Commissioner for Insu-rance, Dr. Oladipo Bailey and entitled: “Petition Against an Illegal Insurance Business Transaction”, the petitioner stated as follows: “We write to bring to the notice of the Commission the illegal and unlawful transaction of Travel Medical Assistance by Sarah Travels and Tours of No. 22, Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi, Lagos State, a company not registered as an insurance broker or insurance company.

Brits looking to take Spanish holidays should not only remember to take out insurance, but also be aware that one size does not necessarily fit all. According to STA Travel, insurance deals vary depending on the type of holiday that Brits are taking. A spokesperson noted that each travel insurance policy is different and offers consumers different levels of cover and inclusions. “It is important for a customer to assess their needs when it comes to travel insurance, for instance assessing the overall value of the items they are traveling with,” she continued. Suggested questions include whether holidaymakers are taking any particularly expensive items which they need cover for, whether they are going to a country with a compatible health agreement with the UK and if they are working while overseas.

Britons planning on hitting the slopes this winter have been issued with some last minute insurance advice before the 2007-2008 season properly begins this weekend. While a number of European ski resorts have already opened ahead of schedule for weekend skiing, the first weekend of December will see even more ski resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy in operation. However, Insurancewide.com is encouraging skiers not to consider taking to the slopes without taking out and understanding travel insurance policies.” A specific winter sports travel insurance policy should include cover for skiing or boarding, piste closure, ski equipment, medical costs including rescue and repatriation, your liability to others and your luggage,” commented chief executive James Harrison.

He added that a European helicopter mountain rescue service can cost £1,500 with repatriation costs estimated at £4,000.The Association of British Travel Agents recently reported that over 1.3 million UK holidaymakers will head to the snow this winter.

Italy’s position as a world leading tourism destination seems unlikely to dwindle as domestic figures continue to rise. Italians show a strong passion for their homeland, being the main visitors to the paradisiacal southern regions and creating an increased demand for rental property in these areas. Tourism figures reflect sharp growth in the past two years: International tourism arrivals to Italy amounted to over 40 million visitors in 2006 according to UN World Tourism Organization, giving the country the impressive ranking of 5th most popular destination in the world. Tourist arrival numbers rose by 17.2% in 2007, therefore we may be pleasantly surprised when new UN ranking figures are released in June this year. The findings come as no surprise, with cities like Rome or Venice seldom being matched in travel brochures and Milan and Rome having climbed their way into the “Top 50 Most Expensive Cities in the World”, according to a survey carried out by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Meanwhile, stunning countryside draws discerning visitors seeking the charms of Italy’s most stunning rural retreats.

Italy’s GDP continues to be amongst the world’s top ten, with a gross national income per capita of over $32,000. After undergoing a mass exodus to the cities in the past decades, nationals are now returning to their rural origins, favoring a more relaxed and homely approach to holidays. The fast emerging southern region of Calabria alone saw over 209,000 Italian visitors in 2006, with 2007 figures still under review. However, with the World Travel and Tourism Organization forecasting a 2% growth in 2008 and subsequent years, it is highly unlikely that figures will drop.

Calabria is now regarded as a strong emerging property market, with high anticipated rental yields in key holiday locations. Indeed, prospects for buy-to-let investors in southern Italian regions are high: domestic demand, complemented by a distinguished international presence, creates a perfect combination for landlords looking forward to having as few vacant weeks a year as possible.

Amazing Thailand 2008″ - Thailand’s latest destination marketing initiative which incorporates the use of the e-marketing channels to promote ‘Amazing Thailand’ online which is expected to response in not only a greater revenue outcome to the travel suppliers as well the country but also a better reputation of Thailand tourism to world wide online travelers. TAT launched “E-marketing for Amazing Thailand 2008″ on January 28th 2008, introducing 5 new projects for the year, each targeting the inbound travelers from countries through out the world. The objective is to increase tourism in Thailand and create a better impression by conducting different online marketing activities for the focused group travelers via various online channels through the announced amazing Thailand campaign.

The announced 5 projects of “E-Marketing for Amazing Thailand 2008″ campaign consists of: Thailand Amazing Deals Project is to promote the travel products of Thailand by launching a mini. Her Own Way: “Thailand - The Woman’s Paradise” Project is to promote the travel products categorized under golf, shopping, beauty and spa by launching a mini site: targeting women travelers from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Middle East.

Thailand Portfolio Project is to promote tourism in Thailand by distributing online travel content comprising of photos, videos and travel articles through 9 worlds’ most famous user-generated media websites targeting world wide online travelers.

Amazing Shot… Amazing Experience Contest is to organize an online event, VDO competition, for both domestic and international travelers to send their travel experiences in Thailand through VDO clips format under the concept of “Amazing Shot.. Amazing Experience!” in order to win TAT’s amazing prizes.

Less than two days after returning from its winter training trip, the Hillsdale College women’s swimming team was back in action Saturday afternoon vs. GLIAC foe Lewis University. Hillsdale diver Charlotte Wolfe won both events in Saturday’s meet. Improved second-place times were turned in by Anne Verhoef, Cassie Nielsen and Meredith Scott in the meet.

He set up the company in 2005 with Phil Bish and Turkish civil engineer Emsal Yilmaz. Over two years on, and Turkish Homes 4 less has completed three building projects in the eastern Mediterranean areas of Alanya and Belek, and has established offices in Liverpool, Northern Ireland and Turkey. Here is his working day: I wake up in my house in Garston, with a packed suitcase at the end of my bed.

I have just come back from a four-day viewing trip with a group of prospective buyers, and crashed out as soon as I got back from Manchester Airport late last night. No time to relax, though, as I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I quickly jump in the shower and grab a bit of breakfast before heading to the office, luckily only a short drive away to Aigburth Road. I arrive at the office to be greeted by Mick, who has opened up the shop and made us a cup of tea. I update him on how the trip went and show him the latest pictures of our Panorama Apartment development.

He is planning to re-locate to Turkey himself once his house sale goes through. I have just come off the phone with a customer who bought a holiday home from us a year ago. He would like us to start renting out his property, and wants to know how it all works. I explain to him that the rental market in Turkey is thriving at the moment, thanks to the increasing numbers of sun-seeking tourists, so it won’t be difficult to find tenants for this property.

In a home that was built in 1887 on property that reaches three city lots, one family is making plans to save money. When Rick and Rebecca Lieb got married about four years ago, they brought eight children to the relationship; Cody, 20, currently in the U.S. Army; Joshua, 16; Katherine O’Bryan, 15; Nicholas, 13; Conner O’Bryan, 12; Rikki 11; Julia O’Bryan-Lieb, 11; and Zachary, 9. “They call themselves ‘O’Bryan-Leibs,’” Rebecca said of her children. “There is such continuity, they’re full siblings. They really pull together.” A year ago, the family started thinking about making a new addition to the family. Because of the rising price of gas, Rebecca said she has plans on having the family’s pony pull a cart for local travels. The family already uses a “flock of bicycles and a 12-passenger van, “which guzzles the gas.” We typically do think out of the box,” Rebecca said.

“Come spring I will be all over town. … There are animals all over town, and 100 years ago, Carthage was full of carriage horses. We’re not that far away from that time. Nobody thinks that maybe they don’t have to have three cars, a big mortgage … people frequently doesn’t think further than the standard quo. The real charm of Carthage is its pastoral and its historical value. I think it would do us well to embrace that as a community. It’s a different way to look at life and the world.”

There is another contributing factor to the family’s money-saving decision. Julia is still in the diagnosing stages of having autoimmune diseases. She has fevers, severe pain, averages 15 hours of sleep a day and has to make frequent trips to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City.