How do you define sustainable tourism? If your answer is eco-friendly you’re on the right track, but only partially correct. While environmental consciousness—or being green—is certainly a big component of true sustainability, there are other necessary factors to consider as well. These include the economy, or keeping money local whenever possible, and culture, or minimizing the negative impact of tourism on local society while maximizing the positive.
If you’re a parent, you know that teaching your kids about finances isn’t always easy. You may give your children a weekly allowance or reward them for doing something great. But do you really know what they’re spending or think they truly understand the value of a dollar?
According to a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), which runs the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 22 percent of 15-year-olds lack basic financial literacy.
Travel—whether you explore a new destination every few years or regularly hit the road on exciting adventures—can be transformative. For travel expert Wendy Perrin, founder of WendyPerrin.com, more than a few vacation experiences have been life changing. From her journey to the Galapagos Islands, to a pre-war trek through Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, the revelations have been numerous and often shared with her husband and two sons.
Summer is a popular time for families to vacation together, and according to AAA, more than a third of Americans expect to take a journey that is at least 50 miles away from home. With 79 percent planning a road trip, 51 percent preparing to visit a national park, and 33 percent anticipating a visit to an international destination, the opportunity for educational experiences abound.
More people are choosing to become digital nomads where they can work anywhere in the world. Many jobs no longer require an office because the work can be done online. Remote or freelance workers can earn money with an electronic device and a reliable Internet connection.
Healthcare in the U.S. is notoriously expensive. According to the number crunchers at the Department of Health and Human Services, national health expenditures were expected to hit $3.35 trillion last year—or an average or $10,345 for each man, woman and child in America. Hospitals collected 32 percent of this spending while doctors and other clinicians snagged 20 percent for their services. Prescription drugs purchased through pharmacies accounted for another 10 percent.
Did you ever wonder why your boarding pass has ads on it? And did you ever get the sneaking suspicion that those ads were targeted? If so, you’re right. Sojern is the company that started doing it back in 2007. These days the company uses insights from more than 350 million unique traveler profiles — along with billions of travel purchase signals — to help marketers target the right travelers, at the right time, with the right messages.
If you’ve ever been in an airport with time to spare, odds are that you stopped for some quick grub at a kiosk or sat down with your travel companions for nice meal. After all, eating is a big part of the airport experience, especially if you have a connection and there’s not much else to do. But few travelers are aware of the story behind the restaurants they find at the airport.
Do you have a habit of repeatedly visiting the same vacation locations? Are your family adventures beginning to feel a little less than adventurous? Would you like to break out of your travel rut and explore more of the world—maybe even a less accessible destination? If so, it may be time for you to consider working with the professional travel planners at GeoEx.
Alice Howell, GeoEx’s director of user experience and collaboration, recently spoke to RewardExpert about the inspiration behind the high-end adventure travel company, its current offerings, and her top five destination suggestions for this year’s summer vacation.
Have you been thinking about exploring new career options? If so, you’re not alone. According to one survey of U.S. workers, 22 percent are planning to change jobs in 2017. The number is even higher among younger employees—with 35 percent of survey respondents between the ages of 18 to 34 anticipating a change of employer.
Airplanes can take you anywhere there’s a runway, but there are enormous and complicated systems behind the scenes that make it possible for millions of flights a year to go smoothly.
At a time when 50 percent of Facebook users have more than 200 virtual friends, and the average Twitter user has nearly 350 followers, Pew Research Center data reveals 29 percent of Americans only know a few of their actual neighbors. Even more worrisome, 28 percent don’t know any of them at all. And because it’s hard to have confidence in strangers, it’s no wonder nearly half say they don’t trust the other people who live in their neighborhood.
When it comes to receiving one-on-one instruction, look no further than Wyzant, the nation’s largest online marketplace for tutoring.
Every person has interests, but sometimes it can be a real chore to sift through all the possibilities. One company wants to bring the fun to the people on vacation, rather than the other way around.
Ceetiz, a web platform and iPhone application created in 2012, does just that by helping individuals find the right activities in a sea of thousands of worldwide offers. Sebastien Gal, the chief marketing officer for Ceetiz, said the company’s goal was to give people the right tools based on their budgets, time restrictions and organization requirements. He talked with RewardExpert.
Travel is an expensive yet popular hobby. According to the U.S. Travel Association, direct spending on domestic and international leisure travel by Americans totaled more than $683 billion in 2016. These U.S. residents logged 1.7 billion person-trips for leisure purposes last year—at an average cost of $400 per person-trip. The U.S. Travel Association defines a person-trip as one-person travel away from home overnight in a paid accommodation or on a day or overnight trip to a destination 50 miles or more (one way) from home.
You may be already involved with incentive travel because it involves the credit card airline miles you gain or the loyalty points you obtain by traveling with a particular airline. Those are just a few examples and there is a not-for-profit who ensures the industry as a whole is always moving forward.
If you’re unfamiliar with SpotHero, you probably drive in areas where parking isn’t an issue. Lucky you! For many living in or visiting high-population, ultra-packed cities, however, the company has come to be a lifesaver.
We spoke to Kristen Cho, Vice President of Marketing at the company, to learn more about SpotHero, its story, and where it’s going.
Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, you don’t want to leave your business behind. That’s where Hightail comes in, allowing colleagues to view complex information and make critical decisions from all parts of the globe. According to Hightail’s Chief Marketing Officer, Deborah Holstein, “Everyone is able to participate regardless of where they are geographically.”
Do you live to travel? If you’ve found your way to RewardExpert, it’s a safe bet that you do. After all, earning enough points and miles to score free airline tickets requires diligence and a well-crafted plan—two things your average sporadic vacationer rarely has. It’s even possible you love traveling so much that you’ve imagined quitting your job and spending the rest of your years journeying around the globe. But while that’s an attractive daydream, it doesn’t leave much room for family, friends, or future retirement savings.
The home page at Stride Travel includes a banner that says “Life’s too short for vanilla vacations.” While most of us would agree with that conclusion, planning that perfect combination of travel, accommodations and sightseeing is not an easy task.
