Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

US Airways Sabre Deal Calms Travel War Waters

by

In airline travel news, US Airways just announced the signing of a multi year contract for full content distribution and merchandising with Sabre Travel Network. This latest news, pertinent to the ongoing wars between the various online agents and service providers, is at least a positive sign for global distribution players.

European Capital of Culture: Spotlight Burgos

by

Every year The Council of the European Union selects two cities to act as the European Capitals of Culture. For 2011 those cities are Tallinn in Estonia, and Turku in Finland. But, the process for cities being selected actually began several years ago. In keeping with the process, future cities are due to be selected later this year – to represent the European Union in 2016 and onward.

Tribute to A Sci-Fi Legend: Ion Hobana

by

In honor of one of Romania’s and the world’s great writers, Ion Hobana, who made my lovely wife’s childhood that much more rich, I dedicate this short tribute.

Ion Hobana (lower left), 80, died of cancer on yesterday, February 22, 2011 in Bucharest. Hobana was Romania’s best most widely known Science Fiction writer, for Romanians and people around the world, a artist of the perhaps, even the inevitable.

Libya Evacuations: Spotlight On World Cooperation

by

The Russian Federation, Greece, and now Turkey apparently intend to facilitate the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from embattled Libya. In a press announcement from First Deputy Prime Minister/Economic Development and Trade Minister Andrii Kliuev (below), some Ukrainian citizens will now leave Libya via Russian Federation transport.

TripAdvisor & Others at HotelWebsiteMarketing Conferences

by

HotelWebsiteMarketing.com has announced a series of conferences to take place across Europe in May and June, 2011. Also, TripAdvisor, Availpro.com, Meetingsbooker.com, reviewPro.com, TIG Global, and other leading travel companies have joined the conferences to speak and contribute. The focus will be on hotel sales, marketing, revenue and e-commerce, among the many other topics.

New Zealand Quake Unhinges Glacial Ice

by

A deadly earthquake has stunned the people of New Zealand leaving in its wake at least 65 dead and many more injured or in a state of upheaval. The 6.3 magnitude quake caused the city of Christchurch to shudder violently, and even dislodged a massive chunk of glacial ice.

Stay.com Lets Users Roll Their Own Travel

by

Norwegian travel startup Stay.com release their version 2.3. As a mid-term development release, what Stay offered up was fairly significant. Stay.com affords users unparalelled tools for building, sharing, and printing their own personal travel literature, and great hotel deals as well.

Karlo Damijanić – Croatia’s World Class Bartender

by

Karlo Damijanić from Pula, Croatia took fourth place in the recent World Bartender Championships in Singapore. Taking part in the “flair category,” the 23 drink juggler extraordinary gave gave a superb stage performance, taking Croatia to the World Cup for the first time ever. Karlo is aiming even higher for next year’s competition.

Russia’s SAT & Agoda Join Forces

by

Agoda.com, Priceline.com’s Asian global hotel booking site, announces partnering with Russia’s SAT Airlines. The resulting collaboration will allow SAT travelers instant access to Agoda’s over 150,000 hotels.

Linking Europe to Asia – Georgian Military Highway

by

The Georgian Military Highway runs north through the Caucasus from Tbilisi to the border of Russia. Since 1799, it has served as an important link between Asia and Europe. This highway was not referred to as the Military Highway until Russia annexed east Georgia during the 19th century, improving the track for the purpose of troop movements. For the traveler the highway is significant because it travels past some of the most awe inspiring landscapes and attractions in the world.

Online Travel Warfare To End Soon

by

The war in online travel over basically who gets what & when continues this week with Delta Airlines snatching seats from Rick Seaney’s FareCompare, American Airlines going hog wild trying to engage on their own, and Google outlining (see Matt Cutts video below) how they can manually crucify websites for SPAM. Meanwhile travelers just want some price break justice.

Tnooz’s THack Uncovers Some Tech Greatness

by

Travel Technology Europe wrapped up earlier this week in London, and what was revealed is pretty significant for ongoing travel developments. Tnooz’s THack initiative in particular uncovered and showcased some extraordinary travel technology assets. Voice enabled travel search, advanced API use tools, and even superior advertising solutions were offered, among the many other cutting edge technologies.

Opodo Deal Worth Over Half a Billion

by

Just about every news outlet in Europe is all a buzz about private equity firm Axa, and Permira headed for a deal to buy Amadeus’ Opodo. The OTA started in Germany in 2001, if the deal goes through as suggested, will be worth between $500 and $700 million. An unnamed source at Amadeus IT Holding SA told Reuters the sketch details of the negotiations.

Moldova’s World Famous Wine Cellars

by

The underground wine cellars at Cricova are the largest such storage facilities in the world, making them Moldova’s wine treasure. The perfect combination of humidity and temperature make these massive caves underground the perfect spot for storing the best wines of Moldova. Best of all, visitors can tour these extraordinary cellars via tours.

A Swiss Alternative – Ski Stowe in Vermont

by

When Switzerland is out of the question, an even the value of skiing or snowboarding Eastern Europe seems impossible, there is Stowe, Vermont. For the weekend Winter excursion for easterners, Stowe represents a top notch skiing solution. While not the cheapest lift ticket in the world, Vermont accommodations are famous for rustic luxury.

TUI Travel Gains Confidence and Russian Investment

by

Russian billionaire steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov has increased his stake in German tourism group TUI. Mordashov raised his stake to above 20 percent from just above 15%. The transaction was made via his S-Group holding company. In TUI’s latest corporate documents, it is clear the company intends massive expansion into the Russian Federation.

HomeAway & the Business of Super Bowl Commercials

by

With Super Bowl XLV headed to living rooms and sports bars everywhere this weekend, one highly anticipated aspect of that great event is, of course, the ever present commercials which often entertain more than the game itself. Remember the time when your parents rented that beach house for the Summer? HomeAway remembers.