Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Wine Lovers Tours Announces 2012 Tours

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Wine Lovers Tours, and established leader in the food and wine niche of travel tours, offers up their 2012 schedule of tours to Bordeaux and Cognac. Wine enthusiasts won’t want to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime. Led by veteran tour organizer Vincent Marottoli Ph.D, guests of these tours will have the benefit of 30 years experience visiting these regions.

MakeMyTrip Takes on Expedia and the World

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With markets around the world in a bit of chaos, it’s interesting to note one India travel company reporting astonishing growth. According to news from MarketWatch, MakeMyTrip Limited is going like gangbusters – the company has posted an over 50% YoY profit increase. The India’s leading travel portal may soon lead more than just India.

Kuoni’s Ananea: Much More Than Eco Friendly, Unforgettable

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Zurich based Kuoni Group announces their latest initiative, environmentally aware travel. The Switzerland travel company Alfred Kuoni began back in 1906, has grown to be a leader where innovation, and the term “best” suits guests. With branch operations in over 30 countries about the globe, Kuoni is known for their specialization, but the company probably should be more popular with the mainstream, here’s why.

Hotel Lone on Croatia’s Adriatic – A Lone Design Wonder

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A fantastic new hotel opens in Rovinj, the Hotel Lone is the latest gem situated along Croatia’s Adriatic shores. A bit of an architectural masterpiece, this collaboration between Croatian architectural firm 3LHD, and conceptual experts Studio Numen is nothing short of stunning.

Saveology Hits Boston with Daily Deals

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Saveology, the innovative daily deal startup making headlines of late, has now launched their discount deal website for Boston. Saveology users now have access to more than 28 national and local markets. If it’s simple and carefree you want in “opt in” dealing Boston, now you got it.

The Blessing of Sheba and the Aksum Obelisk

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The Aksum Obelisk, Benito Mussolini, the Arc of the Covenant, Soloman and Sheba, Ethiopia has an almost mythical cultural and historic importance. Discover with Argo, a bit about legend, a lot about the place called Ethiopia.

Britain’s PM Uses Online Booking: Well Maybe

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It should come as no real surprise that Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, gets his vacation deals via the Internet too. According to the news from Travelmatch and the Daily Mail, Cameron’s booked a luxurious villa in Italy via the online travel portal. He and his family will be headed out on vacation via budget airline, the whole shebang, just like you or I. Well, almost – read on.

Hilton: Listening, Showing, Communicating in the Digital World

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Last week, Hilton extended their Stay Hilton, Go Everywhere campaign with what the hotelier calls the world’s first “iAd interactive” extension for Apple devices. The strategy is pretty simple, take Hilton’s already successful marketing campaign and evangelize it across Apple platforms already adopted by tens of millions. Whether or not Hilton’s so called iAd is a first of its kind or not, the digital engagement is brilliant.

HouseTrip – A Startup Taking Aim At Travel Alternatives

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TechCrunch reported on a fascinating startup in April, a new take on vacation rentals called HouseTrip. The news back then was about the Swiss startup’s $2.7 million in funding from Index Ventures, but today it looks as if the company is spending the money wisely. Let’s take a look under the hood of what my old friend Steve O’Hear called; “another play in the holiday apartments space.”

Google Is NOT Taking Over Travel With Hotel Finder

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Okay, just because Google bought ITA, just because flight search stuff got put onto the search page, just because they have 50 billion reasons to take over online travel, does not mean Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, and the rest at Google will. AND, launching the unbelievably fast Google Hotel Finder aspect for online travel? Nah, Google will never take over the multi-billion dollar online travel scene. Yeah! They will.

Troopswap Aims to Be Daily Deals for Soldiers [Video]

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Troopswap.com, an innovative deal network for military service people and vets, has announced a 925 thousand dollar round of funding from angel investors. The funding will be used to further expand Troopswap’s innitiatives from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to Washington DC and San Diego, California.

Tours4Fun and Hop2 Flight Search Partner

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In budget travel news, sightseeing tour company, Tours4Fun, announced a new partnership with Hop2 Travel for offering direct access for affordable flights. The Los Angeles based tour company will also add Hop2 offerings like car rentals, hotels, and even cruises for their clients. Argo takes a look at this news bit to evaluate some OTA corporate moves – is this news or not? Let’s see.

Terra Firma, Friends, and Travels Shared Through Google +

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If there is one thing concrete that we can say binds all of us, it is good old Terra firma herself. In a very real way, the Earth beneath all our feet, like our own humanity, can teach us a lot about one another. Maybe this is one reason travel is so fantastically popular – as human beings we a

Google + and Really Refined Reviews – Coming Soon

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The suggested Google Travel entity could be just around the corner. According to the news from Tnooz and Kevin May, Google unceremoniously yanked third party reviews from hotels on Google Maps and Google Places, a move May suggests puts Google’s review credibility down there with TripAdvisor’s. But what if?

Celebrity Silhouette Takes to Sea – A Cruise Milestone Set

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Celebrity Cruises is all over travel news today in the wake of last night’s extravaganza last aboard the inaugural sailing of the Celebrity Silhouette. The lavish £500 million cruise ship was launched at what became Hamburg’s biggest ever cruise ship ceremony. At 122,000 tons and over 1,000 feet, Celebrity Silhouette is the largest ship ever named from Germany’s most legendary shipbuilding city.

Magic World Russia – The Federation Strikes Back

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In travel news from the Russian Federation, California’s Moschanko Investment Group (MIG 2000) announced Magic World Russia, a compelling new destination theme park.

Concur Invests Confidence and Money in Yapta

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In travel technology news today, Concur, an integrated travel and expense management company, announced a $5 million dollar investment in the Yapta airfare and hotel rate tracking service. Accordingly, Cloncur will now use Yapta exclusively for their TripIt Pro user accounts.

Seasite Engages Business Cruising

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Seasite.com, an online portal dedicated to business cruise events, has just released their latest version which allows planners added functionality. Like hotel sourcing portals Cvent and Starcite, Seasite aims to help planners course ship charters.

Eurozone – European Travel Gone Critical

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The Eurozone is in deep trouble. The piling up of debt for member states now affects every country, every industry, all Europe is reeling at the ultimate realization economic chaos is no longer a distant danger. Italy’s Ecomomy Minister Giulio Tremonti said it all in an address on Thursday; “We move forward or we sink” – stressing the EU desperately needs a political solution to its money woes.