1
SKY-POPPING
I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I’ve never felt crammed on a plane! An interesting outlook from Forbes contributor Dan Reed: “More than 201 million additional passengers boarded U.S. airlines’ flights in 2017 than did so in 2005, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation. But U.S. carriers actually operated 1.6 million fewer flights last year than in 2005.” This helps explain why I went from having 3 different plane sleeping positions to 2 since 2005.
2
CLOSING THE DELTA
Amazon, Apple, Google. In what other ways can these behemoths take over our daily lives? Oh wait: Travel. Well, I suppose if it makes it less expensive and more efficient, I’ll sign on too. Sorry Kayak, I loved you once. By Daniel Sevitt on the Market Intelligence Blog: “This shift towards Google Flights at the expense of KAYAK is further reflected in the referral traffic split to the top 10 Airline sites, with Google Flights growing it’s share from under 10% to over 25%, while referrals kayak.com dropped by over 7 points from 33.4% to 26.3%.”
3
CAN’T LIVE WITH THEM, CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THEM
From my work in travel and tourism, the more advanced destinations are moving towards more high-yield tourists. In this case, it’s a quality over quantity matter. Higher-yield tourists spend more, and are therefore better for local economies. While at the same time, I really can’t blame people who now have the funds to explore the world to get out there – good for them! From a German source, Spiegel Online: “Rome is all about long nights on the piazza, with pasta, red wine and jovial singing. Late at night, though, tourists are no longer allowed to drink alcohol on the streets of Rome, with Mayor Virginia Raggi having decreed in 2017 that the ban would be imposed each year between July and October. Rome needs tourists — but it also needs to rein them in.”
Starbucks in Italy. Scusami?
And, while we’re on the topic of Italy, no more eating in the streets of Florence either: Italy’s Florence bans eating in the street.
4
ADVENTURE OF A KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan: The world’s most difficult country to spell. Don’t forgot the Z somewhere in the middle there. Though it seems there is less zzz’s and more adventure to be had there. From the Thrillist: “One of the least-known but best-value adventure destinations in Asia, the mountainous Kyrgyz Republic is finally bleeping on the travel radar, nearly three decades after becoming an independent country after the fall of the Soviet Union.” I must admit, I didn’t have it on my radar, but, perhaps a visit is in order!
5
Z ALSO FOR ZEN
And now, after all that travel, culture and adventure, after all that going, and after all that coming, the art of impermanence. That’s what I love about this newsletter. It’s all about going with the wind, or, the way the wind blows, as they say, hence the name: WAYWINDS. And, the wind, like the waves, and like our earth, is never permanent – that’s probably one of the only things that is permanent: impermance.
Thanks,
Joe Naaman
Managing Editor, Waywinds
Keep Exploring!