Category: Travel

Benefits of Consulting a Travel Agency for an International Vacation

Ryan Anderson asked:

You might think you are going to need some help with your vacation planning, and if you are taking an international trip, you might not realize how important a travel agency can be. When you are traveling internationally, a travel agency is going to be a major help to you. You’ll be able to plan the perfect trip by using a travel agency, there are certain things that a travel agency can do for you that you just can’t do on your own.

Finding Package Deals

When you are traveling on an international vacation, a package deal can be even more important for you to find because you might be able to save money on things like airfare, hotels, and car rentals. When you travel internationally, you are going to need everything that a package deal has to offer. You are going to need to have some form of transportation, and a car rental or some kind of shuttle pass may be your only option. Therefore, for an international vacation, package deals are probably the best thing for you to do, and the best place to find package deals is by going to a travel agency that you can trust.

Dealing with Language Barriers

As you travel internationally, you will most likely be traveling to places where your native language is not that country’s native language. This means that items are going to be called by different names, and you might not be able to just open up a phone book and find a place to rent a car. Travel agencies deal with different languages all the time, and they can do all of the pre-booking for you. They can also gather information about things like your hotel, your car rental, and the attractions you will be going to see. You won’t have to worry about tracking down the translations because your travel agency will have taken care of this already.

Dealing with Cultural Barriers

Traveling internationally might take you into cultures that are extremely foreign to you. If you are booking these trips on your own, you may not know what appropriate attire is to wear in certain situations, or how you are supposed to act in a different country. Your travel agency can help you with all of these things, and will prepare you for being in a different culture. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable on your vacation, and your travel agency can help you with this as well. They should tell you everything you need to know in order to have a relaxing vacation.

Having Support if There Are Problems

There’s a good chance you won’t run into any problems while you are traveling internationally, but the thing is that you really never know when problems will come up. If you have a travel agency that has booked your trip, and a ticket gets canceled, or a flight gets missed, your travel agent can help you fix those problems even from back home. Therefore, it is always a good idea to go with a travel agency when you are booking international trips. You never know when you are going to have to get into a different hotel, find a different flight, or completely change the country you are traveling to, and your travel agent can help you with this.

Having Refunds Available

When things do go wrong, and there are problems with the booking, your travel agent is going to be responsible for that. If you’ve booked on your own, and you make a mistake, you are out of luck. There is really nothing that you can do about it. However, if something goes wrong and your travel agent has booked it for you, you’ll get new travel plans and any refunds that you are entitled to. This means that you have a type of insurance that you can take along with you when you travel. You know that you have the support of the travel agency behind you, and you also do not have to worry about refunds if something does go wrong.

Lower Costs and Less Hassle

When you travel internationally, there is always a lot of cost and a lot of hassle associated with your trip. Vacations are expensive, especially international vacations, and making sure that you plan your vacation right can really cause headaches. Therefore, booking an international trip with a travel agency is something that you can do to make sure that you have less cost and less hassle. While you are spending less money, and not stressing about the hassle, you will be able to enjoy the trip even more, and your international vacation will be a greater success for you. By using a travel agency you will be spending money wisely, in all the right places. No unnecessary payments or headaches.

Why Travel Agents are Important in your Travel Plans

Lesley Lyon asked:

A travel agent engages in purchase and sales of tour and related services of travel. Travel agents can be employees or they can do business independently. In the tourism industry if travel is considered as the leg for the industry, then the travel agents are the very important backbone of the whole system.

Even though the Internet has created revolutionary changes in the tourism industry, travel agency cannot be replaced. You are using the Internet as a travel agent for arranging your travel services. Websites of travel agents and travel suppliers are providing you their services depending totally on your needs.

As the travel industry is very competitive, being a travel agent is not an easy one. Travel agencies are under constant pressure like facing stiff competition among them and also with online portals and they have to survive with lower profit margin. There are travel agencies specializing on packages like honeymoon, health, water sports etc.

In the past, the travel suppliers used to sell their packages to the public through travel agencies. Nowadays, the usage of Internet for travel service by travel consumers has been increasing and so all the travel suppliers are opting for online travel agencies. The Travel Industry Trade Associations are linked with many Travel suppliers, Travel Wholesalers and Consolidators, though the travel suppliers have web sites on their own. The Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) supports travel agents like home based, Independent contractors and outside sales agents with 100,000 members in it.

Being a travel consumer you can access the catalog e-vacation that includes reading of needed information and watching online videos of the destination you want to travel without any verbal communication with the travel agent. Some travel agents offer packages or services with mark up price and there are others who offer the product for the same price charged by the supplier and there is always a debate of these travel deals offered.

The United States State Department encourages group travel of US citizens while traveling abroad. The travel agencies understand this silent push and they offer services that are affordable to everyone at unbelievable price. Being a holidaymaker, there are stories revolving around them for bad services and rip-off stories. You must be wondering how to find a creditable agent for your travel services. Here are some ways by which you can find many travel agents who offer good travel services for you.

First, be clear with your travel objectives and look for travel agents offering all types of packages and travel services. Flexibility in the price offered for your travel service will make you feel comfortable with the travel agent and so a good agent must be ready for negotiation of prices with a customer. Get recommendation from other customers who have used the travel agency for their needs and always feed back is very powerful. Your network of contact will help you a lot and will give an idea of the travel agents’ competency.

Always choose agencies that wish to sustain good relationship with customers. These agents will give you the utmost benefits on the services provided by them because of expecting repeat business and for having long-term association with you. If you have found an agent who keeps his word and has offered you his best services, then you stick to him for all your travel needs.

Fulfilling Ones Travel Needs, Giving the Reader a Choice of an Affordable Dream Vacation

Desmo Boss asked:

Sell off vacations info dot com website is a unique and therefore an extremely important travel website on the internet in modern times, its importance is that the website alone, allows the traveller full free access to some of the most detailed travelling articles ever written on the internet today.

The sell off vacations info website have a unique function within the travelling community, which resolves the most important aspect of choosing the exact vacation, vacation rentals, flight to any where in the world, booking the ultimate luxury cruise, or even finding the most affordable hotel or booking the destination car rentals.

The uniqueness of the travel website is its unique feature of collecting and collating the vast array of the finest travel and adventure holiday articles and travel guides from the best sourced and knowledgeable travel authors, then offering the unique opportunity to the traveller to study in depth, the destination and travel, guides and destination and travel articles even before booking the vacation, vacation rentals, booking business flights, booking flights, cruises, hotels or car rentals.

The advantage of this unique service to the traveller is that the travelling website will not charge a cent for freely accessing the vast array of travel articles, this reading service is absolutely free and with no commitment to buy any products or services mainly as we don’t sell services or products, so you have no fear of hidden charges or any payment pre-conditions.

This complete travelling articles service is provided free and paid for by the very kind sponsor, the travel website, sell off vacations dot info, which pays for/sponsors the uniquely free travel articles and destinations guides. All in all without the kind sponsorship from sell off vacations dot info, this unique service would not be available and the travelling public would be deprived of this unique service and facility.

To the average traveller to from all countries of the world, booking and purchasing a vacation, flight, cruise, vacation rentals, car rentals is only the first step in the complicated function of taking a well earned and well deserved vocational pursuit and returning from the sell off vacations, holiday relaxed from a stress free pre-planned and pre-prepared vacation.

The importance of pre-planning and pre-preparation is one of the key attributes of booking and then enjoying a trouble free vacation, vacation rentals, and Caribbean cruise, business flight, flight and even car rentals all these ordinary and every day endeavours, which is likely to be accomplished many times a day by ordinary people throughout the world.

But to have any possibility to accomplish a successful travelling venture, prior to the vacation, one must research the relevant travel articles and use the relevant details – relevant to your individual needs, and through preplanning and combined with the preparation, which is necessary prior to the start of the vacation, expect to accomplish a relaxed, stress free and successful vacation, holiday, or flight without the hassle often experienced on the last minute panic type of travelling experience.

There are definite advantages associated with booking your vacation, holiday, business flight, flight, hotel, car rental and even your vacation rental on line with you the paying consumer in control of simple function of online booking facilities.

The paying consumer accepting control and empowered to search for and identify the exact travel package that is best suited to your individual needs, based on the simplified facts found in the free travel articles, free articles on sell off vacations info dot com, even include articles specific to travel tips of the most important tasks involved in selecting your travel package easily and effectively on a needs led basis, and tailored to your own intimately specific needs specifications and all through the efforts of you making important informed choices.

The unique facilities of sell off vacations info dot com and its kindly sponsored partner sell off vacations dot info allow the consumer to select their ideal needs based travel package at sell off prices – through informed choices and unique sell off vacation search facilities, which allow the consumers a unique opportunity to bypass the high street travel agent.

We are now at the critical stage of the valid and often hidden or certainly not publicised, the intricate workings associated with booking your vacation, holiday, trip vacation rentals, luxury cruise, Caribbean cruise, even the simple booking of a hotel and car rentals. Using the combined websites – sell off vacations info dot com and sell off vacations dot info, the consumer have an unique opportunity to book and purchase their travel package online and benefit from sell off vacations prices

To justify visiting these two unique travel website and paying less through sell off vacations online, then it is extremely important to understand the intricate workings of the high street travel agent, at this stage, must be considered.

To enter a high street travel agents premises and book your vacation, you will automatically, without any doubt, increase your travel package quite significantly, especially when you consider, the travel agent, at best, will be booking your travel package from the same, or very similar, travel agents booking facilities that is offered on sell off vacations dot info.

The exception, to this rule is two fold; firstly, sell off vacations dot info, have a unique opportunity to search the travel agents database facilities for vacations at last minute sell off travel package prices, which are sold at sometimes significantly reduced pricing just to increase the passenger capacity of individual airlines throughout the world – this sell off facility in the depressed financial times is even more important to both the airlines and the travel consumer, than a decade ago.

I am not suggesting the high street travel do not have access to similar sell off vacation prices, but, consider one very important aspect of the high street travel agents and the way in which they are forced to compete.

Secondly, imagine for a moment you enter your high street travel agents office, with the intention of booking and purchasing a vacation package.

The sales representative will input your particular travel package query into the intensive travel agents database. I suggest, the high street travel agent representative will be presented with a long list of possible relevant booking prices and each selection will display differing prices – search sell off vacations dot info, and the travel search results will display a large pricing difference which the booking travel agent will ultimately offer to the potential customer as a selection.

At this important stage of the articles argument, we must consider influences on an individual high street travel agent representative, which may have an adverse influence on the selections that could be considered to be relevant, and not necessarily based on the finances or worse still the individual travel needs of the potential travel customer which will be processed through the booking agent.

Consider the high street travel agents have physical premises, and these premises can present a financial burden – rents, leasing, utilities- electricity to power the computer networks and lighting heating, and more importantly employer/employees salaries and commissions – sometimes large commissions, on each on each and every travel vacations, vacation packages, luxury and basic amenities cruises, vacation rentals even booking hotels and car rentals.

So, with a multitude of pressures on the travel agent representative – critical decision making is even more critical, if the travel agent representative’s salary is commission based, the higher the vacation package sale price the possibility of more financial remuneration, and in this credit crunch times, with families organisations cutting back immensely their travelling commitments, the high street travel representative may be facing financial pressures, stressed workloads, which may be beyond anything they may have experienced previously, and may have an adverse influence of their decision making associated with selecting the needs based travel vacation holiday package available to the consumer.

Buying your vacation related packages from sell off vacations dot info, you will be presented with similar travel prices from similar global travel booking databases, the travel package prices will also include sell off vacation prices which offer the potential travel consumer an extremely affordable travel package options, and even more amazing the potential travel customer/consumer will bypass some high street travel agent representative sometimes adversely difficult travel packages decision making and select the exact travel vacation, holiday package based on individual needs – financial needs and individual preferential needs.

The travel vacations decision making will be based on the expertly written advice contained in the free travel and destination articles and free guides freely available on sell vacations info dot com and her sponsor partner travel website sell off vacations dot info.

Travel software

itay asked:

l software never get lost again!

If you are tired of surfing online for the latest and best travel deals then travel software can help you with it! Using such travel agency software you get all the discount, bargain deals right inside your email inbox. That is not all, you also get to compare all the different schemes available in the market.

Benefits of using travel software

Gone are the days when you needed to call up several agencies or download many software to get the best travel deal. Now, you get specialized travel software using which, you can easily access all the travel deals available online. You can compare thousands of deals online and decide on which is the best for you. Specialized comparison tools help you sort results based on price, features, amenities, discounts and many other aspects. This way, you can use tour operator software to plan your travel itinerary many months beforehand. What is even more beneficial is that you can also reserve hotel rooms and accommodation in advance. Whether you are a vacationer or a company offering travel packages to clients, you will both benefit tremendously with travel software. Such software enables you to check special travel deals across the globe. What is also great about such travel software is that you no longer have to browse through multiple search results to arrive at the best packages. Instead, a single, centralized system does all of this work for you! No more multiple searches and no more time wastage. This is the kind of power travel software provides you.

Used all over

Most of the popular travel software are currently being used by travel agencies around the world. Clients use them to browse through the best travel packages and offer competitive rates to their clients. Most modern travel agency software also has the capability to interface seamlessly with various distribution systems of the world, making them very robust. Features such as easy integration of online as well as website bookings, financial tools to make and receive payments pertaining to travel as well as ability to handle customized bookings make these travel software truly special. If your business depends on travel packages then you should leverage the power of tour operator software to maximize your profits.

No time wastage

The significant advantage of using travel software is that you do not need to waste time on numerous searches online. Instead, you can search just once and the travel agency software brings up the most updated, relevant and competitive travel packages for your usage. Records can be easily retrieved and maintained with the easy computer-generated reports and archives in your PC. These travel software thus enable you to maintain records of past bookings, which packages you chose for your last travel and other such relevant details. If you are a travel company then such travel software can boost your business tremendously. This is because the modern travel management software are highly scalable, which means that if your customer base grows the tour operator software will be able to accommodate these extra clients seamlessly.

A Beginners Guide To Purchasing Travel Insurance

Josh Webber asked:

If you are planning on traveling overseas, it is a good idea to acquire travel insurance before your departure. In fact, this should be near the top of your list of things to do. Travel insurance, similar to other forms of insurance, will probably not be needed. However, travel insurance, similar to other forms of insurance, can come in handy in the event of anything unforeseen happening while you are traveling.

Most travel insurance policies are designed to reimburse you in the event of the most likely scenarios that you might encounter while traveling, such as a delayed or canceled trip, death or illness, as well as the death of a relative at home. Travel insurance also covers the high cost of emergency medical assistance in a foreign country, as well as reimbursement for lost baggage.

You can also purchase various extras, including coverage in the event of an accident while participating in extreme sports, such as diving, skiing and skydiving; and coverage that will reimburse you for the cost of any emergency air transportation home, sometimes known as air ambulance. Travel insurance policies do not cover absolutely everything; they generally do not include coverage for expenses due to riots, wars and natural disasters.

It can be confusing determining how much travel insurance you need, or even if you actually need any at all. Most credit cards do include some kind of basic travel or trip cancellation insurance, which is usually adequate. If you are buying a plane ticket, your ticket comes with basic liability coverage for lost or delayed baggage, although it does not really cover expensive items. Also, if you are worried about your airline declaring bankruptcy, which is not so out of the question in today’s economic climate, an airline that ceases operations is required by law to protect you on another carrier or refund your ticket.

There are also policies designed for families and groups as well as so-called “multi trip insurance”. If you travel regularly throughout the year, it is almost certainly less expensive to purchase a policy that covers multiple trips. Family plans provide coverage for families traveling together and are also nearly always less expensive than buying an individual insurance policy for everyone. In this case, the definition of family may extend to various in-laws, cousins and grandparents.

The cost of your travel insurance policy can vary greatly, depending on the length of your trip and just how much coverage you want as well as your destination. Typically, you should expect to pay between 4% and 8% of the overall cost of the trip itself to have adequate travel insurance. If you are traveling to a remote or dangerous country, or to somewhere not recommended by the US department of state, expect to pay more for your travel insurance.

Not surprisingly, many people like to have the security of travel insurance or trip protection insurance if they are going on a particularly expensive or a once in a lifetime trip, such as a honeymoon or a vacation to a far away, exotic location such as Fiji or Africa.

Travel insurance policies also offer different levels of coverage, known as primary coverage and secondary coverage. If you take out primary coverage, your insurance company will pay you before any other insurance you have takes effect; if you have secondary insurance they will only pay you when you have collected from any other insurance options that are available to you.

You also may find that your policy is more expensive if you have what the insurance companies regard as a pre-existing medical condition. Always declare any pre-existing condition when you take out travel insurance, otherwise your policy may be void. This can lead to a very unfortunate experience, of needing insurance and not being able to purchase it at an affordable rate.

Once you have decided what kind of travel insurance you might need, purchasing it is simple. The internet has made it easy and convenient to shop around and compare prices and services offered. Most airlines, travel agents and cruise lines will only be too happy to sell you a policy, as they are probably getting a commission from the insurance company. You are not obligated to get your insurance through them – although it is often just as easy to do so.

If you are buying travel insurance for the first time and are confused, the best option is probably to purchase a basic policy along with your vacation, cruise or plane ticket. You should not be persuaded into taking out much more insurance than you will realistically need. Make sure that you understand exactly what is included and is not included in your policy; and that you take all the paperwork with you when you travel.

Does the Internet Benefit Small Travel Businesses?

Anthony Francis asked:

Yes, of course it does, but as much as it should?

When you think of the number of travel directories and websites available to travelers you would think that this is a world free of the normal conventions of business but unfortunately it is often bound by restrictions that travelers would not appreciate. Pricing of travel is one of the conventions that are not yet totally free of restrictions and understandably so due to distribution considerations.

Travel businesses using the traditional distribution chains for the sale of their products need to allow for the payments of commission to various levels of middlemen, Inbound Tour Operators, Wholesalers and Retailers, all who need to take a percentage for their efforts in enabling travel services and products to reach the consumer.

Websites however, reach directly to consumers and enable them to make direct bookings with travel providers but they can still incur the costs attributed to these middlemen. But, to place a two-tier price for each product could deter the agents from representing products so a new way had to be found. This is where TopTravelSites stepped in with their newly developed service for the travel provider who wants to continue with the traditional supply chain but also wants to encourage travelers who are comfortable with making their own arrangements directly with providers and who do not need the services of travel agents, just the internet.

The service called TopTravelVouchers gives travelers a ‘fair fare price’ on direct bookings but the provider still incurs the cost of commission.

This new price format is achieved by the travel operator issuing a voucher in exchange for marketing, promotion and deliverance of travelers directly to their websites to make their bookings. The voucher is sold to travelers at deeply discounted prices to their redemption values enabling the traveler to be the beneficiary of a ‘nearly net’ price for the travel package or service. The operator of TopTravelVouchers does not have the normal costs that are attributable to retail and wholesale agents such as shops, reservation systems, brochures and high staffing and is thus able to encourage travelers to book directly with their clients and to get a price saving for their efforts. It is in effect a travel agent that does not sell travel, only travel vouchers, which are to be used towards travel purchased from the travel companies who are participating in the service.

Many travel businesses do not use middlemen, often due to the small size of their travel operation, but they would still be prepared to pay a commission or fee for a referral or a sale. They still need to make travelers aware of their products and services and to be able to offer encouragement and a reward gives them an opportunity to reach out to travelers who prefer to deal directly with operators.

There are thousands of smaller travel businesses around the world ranging from B&B’s, Family Boutique Hotels, Small Tour Operators, Adventure and Eco Tours that are rarely seen by the vast majority of travelers. These operators are not found in the glossy travel brochures or represented by travel agents but they often have excellent products and services which can be seen on their websites. Many of them are willing to pay a commission to a seller of their products but are not able to get travel agent representation. This new voucher system allows them to encourage and reward travelers who prefer to handle their own arrangements directly with the operators by offering a price that reflects discounted commission costs and thus savings for the do-it-yourself traveler.

TopTravelVouchers sell at three price levels according to the savings on each: $30, $50 or $100usd or equivalent currency if purchased outside of the USA. They may often be purchased in multiples, benefiting families or groups and at the time of this article there was a voucher costing $100usd with a value of 1,500euros (around $2,000usd) offered on a small ship cruise in Greece that is also a small travel operator not normally represented by the agency system.

Travelers are given 100% money-back guarantees if the vouchers are not used within 1 year of issue but maybe this should be for two years as the vouchers are normally valid for 2 years. Even after the completion of travel and travelers are unhappy with the quality, the voucher cost is reimbursed by TopTravelSites and the problem taken up with the travel operator.

It is obvious that this service will only work for TopTravelSites if supported by the world of travel providers who need to expand their representation as the retention of only a small percentage on each sale needs to be followed by high volumes of voucher sales but it is a unique service offering benefits to both travelers and the smaller travel businesses in the travel industry utilising the logical use of the internet for direct bookings.

Reasons to Utilize a Travel Agent when Planning a Vacation

Ryan Anderson asked:

Utilizing the services of a travel agent to plan your next vacation is something that you might want to consider. It is usually a good idea to proceed with caution when dealing with money. However, when planning out a vacation, which has many different variables which can impact the amount you spend, you do not want to leave anything to chance. Here are some reasons why working with a travel agent to plan your vacation is a good idea.

Reason #1: Your travel agent has extensive knowledge about trip planning

When you’re planning a vacation, the process can become pretty stressful. In many cases, you are not sure what the weather conditions will be like when you arrive at your destination, and it can be difficult to find your way around if you are not familiar with your surroundings. Also, in many cases, once you have finally settled, you are not sure which activities and sights to experience! A travel agent can help you navigate through all of these obstacles.

If you’re the type of person who enjoys simply choosing a destination, getting there, and letting the rest take care of itself, then planning your trip isn’t necessarily difficult. But if you prefer to have your itinerary carefully laid out before you head off, then a good travel agent can really save you some time and unnecessary frustration.

Your travel agent can help you choose when to fly, find a comfortable hotel within your budget, plan your itinerary for you, and provide you with up-to-date information about travel documents, vaccinations, and anything else you might need to travel to your chosen destination. With the help of your travel agent, planning your trip should be much easier and less stressful, leaving you free to enjoy yourself that much more.

Reason #2: Your travel agent can help you save money

Typically, working with a travel agent won’t cost you any more than if you had planned the trip yourself. In fact, you are more likely to save money than to spend more money. Typically, travel agents have access to cheaper flights, lower hotel prices, and more, because they deal in bulk, rather than just booking one trip (as you would do if you booked the trip yourself). They have access to bulk discounts, which means that even with their commission added on you will rarely pay any more than if you had booked the trip yourself. You will also save yourself the hassle of planning and booking the trip alone.

A good travel agent can help you save money. They know when the cheapest times to fly are, when hotel off-peak seasons start, how to get bulk flight deals, and other tricks of the trade that can help you get more for your money.

Reason #3: Your travel agent is familiar with your destination

If you are traveling to an exotic or obscure location which you have never visited before, then working with a knowledgeable and experienced travel agent is a must. Your travel agent can help you find accommodations, events and activities, and provide you with tips on traveling safely. If you manage to hit the jackpot and find a travel agent who has actually visited your destination, they might also be able to tell you about those little bonuses that most people won’t know about. Places such as the weekend markets, where to find authentic souvenirs, and the best restaurants, all the things that will make your trip even more enjoyable.

Reason #4: Your travel agent can help you get the vacation you really want

From rock-climbing in the Swiss Alps to a relaxing beach vacation in Spain, there are vacations to suit every requirement and personality type. With so many choices available in terms of destinations and activities, it’s not always easy to know what you want.

What do you want out of your vacation, and do you know how to achieve it? Your travel agent definitely does, and can use his or her experience and knowledge to make sure you get the trip you really want. A good travel agent will quickly find out exactly what you want out of your trip, and will go the extra mile to make sure everything, from flights, hotels, and activities, meets your needs.

Reason #5: It just makes sense

Working with a travel agent won’t cost you any more than booking the trip yourself, and you may even save money. Also, a travel agent can save you a lot of time and headaches, and you may even find that a knowledgeable agent will be able to help you access some of the best and most exclusive events and activities at your destination, which you might not have known about without the help of your travel agent.

Really, it just makes good sense to plan your vacation with the help of a travel agent. With all of these important factors coming into play when you book your next trip, there’s definitely no good reason not to use a travel agent!

Indian Medical Travel Association (IMTA) to support IMTD 2009 – the first ever conference and exhibition in Canada

Indian Medical Travel Association asked:

“India:  Medical Tourism Destination 2009”, to be held in Toronto, from November 20th to  22nd 2009, at the prestigious Metro Toronto Convention Centre will showcase the best of Indian healthcare in Canada. The speakers at the IMTD Conference are leading lights from Indian Hospitals, Wellness services providers, Government and medical tourism facilitators.

The phenomenon now popularly known as Medical Tourism is often cited as the next big opportunity for India after the IT outsourcing to earn billions of dollars in forex earnings and create jobs in the healthcare sector. So far only a select group of Indian hospitals have been making valiant attempts to market their services in international arena. More than a million overseas patients already treated at top Indian corporate hospitals like Apollo, Fortis, Wockhardt, Max, Manipal and many others have already proved to the world that the clinical quality, technology and cost proposition offered by India is unmatched. The capacity in super specialty segment Indian hospitals is expanding fast and there is no waiting period for local or overseas patients.

Indian Medical Travel Association, the Embassy of India in Canada, Ministry of Tourism and Surgical Tourism, Canada  have joined hands to hold this  first ever specialized trade show in Canada to promote Medical Value Travel to India.

Canada as a market for promoting medical tourism to India holds great potential. It has socialised system of healthcare delivery that is under  strain and waiting lists are growing. The patients who do not wish to wait and are generally affluent have started to explore overseas treatment options.

A surgical wait list of large 850,000 Canadians , points towards the need for this conference. Canadians tired of waiting are encouraged to visit and learn about their multitude of options beyond the realms of 100% public health insurance.

The sponsors and exhibitors will get the opportunity to meet Canadians  looking for medical and surgical services outside Canada, Provincial Health Authorities, Insurance companies, travel and tour operators, legal entities, medical information management companies, hospital administrators and medical tourism facilitators.

There is a large population of Indian origin in Canada dominated by North Indians, who are also likely to visit this trade show and therefore IMTD 2009, a unique opportunity for Indian Healthcare providers and medical tourism stakeholders to raise the level of awareness about what India has to offer.

As part of the Expo a series of workshops would held on 20th November, 2009 where a number of pioneers and leaders from the Indian Healthcare sector would speak and also participate in a round table with  Consulate General of India in Toronto, and  senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Ontario.

About Indian Medical Travel Association. www.indianmedicaltravelassociation.com

A non profit body aimed at preparing India for facing the challenges of global competition in Medical Tourism space and actualise the tremendous opportunity for India to become a leading global healthcare destination. IMTA’s membership has a diverse base of India’s leading JCI, NABH accredited hospitals, Indian System of Medicine and Wellness service providers, travel industry, Insurance, Assistance and Medical Tourism facilitation companies.

Vietnam Travel

Vietnam Culture Tour asked:

Viet Culture Tour Co., Ltd. (Vietnam), is a premium local tour operator based in Hanoi Vietnam. It was founded in 2004 by Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung who has been working in tourism for more than 10 years.

From the beginning, Viet Culture Tour have been built our own culture service in purpose of giving to travellers the most memorial time in our beautiful country. Thanks to our strong and professional team, Viet Culture Tour have served thousands of happy customers and many of them travel with us regularly and become our friends.

Our tours are focusing on culture and people, every tours including some highlights of people in Vietnam, from visiting houses in the countryside or having a local meals with local family or chating with famous historican will bring your trip a different experience and better understanding our culture and daily lives.

Our company is a fully-licensed and accredited full service travel agency, and inbound and outbound luxury tour operator. We are Vietnam’s Luxury Tour Company. Our company excels in business and leisure travel. We offer services not only for tour operators and travels agents, MICE planners, but also for leisure-free independent travelers worldwide.

Our Main Business

Luxury Outbound Tour Operator Luxury Inbound Tour Operator Full Travel Service Agency Online/Internet Travel Service Culture Tours Private Yacht Cruises Family Travel Sporting Holidays Romance Luxury Transportation Private Jet, Air Plane/Helicopter Charter Luxury Car Rental Wellness and Spa Golf Holidays Luxury Adventures Custom Tours Luxury Hotels/Villas/Boutiques Hotels/Resorts Reservation Service Private Travel Arrangements for VIP Stars and Celebrity, Royal and Government clientele. MICE: Meeting, Incentive, Cooperation and Exhebition. Business Travel and Conference Travel, Event, Meeting Plan…

With our award winning travel experts , our guests travel with the knowledge that their holiday has been arranged by travel experts, who have first-hand experience in each of the destinations we offer.

For your reassurance, we are partners with numerous travel agencies and tour operators around the world, serving discriminating travelers. Many of them become our referrers or repeated clients.

Viet Culture Tour is fully licensed travel company, we also are members of reliable organizations such as PATA, ASTA, Vietnam Tourism.

Viet Culture Tour now is having more than 20 full time employees in 3 our offices in Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh city. We own and operate our own travel services such as transportation, cruise, one hotel in Hanoi and other properties in order to secure our value service to customers.

Travel with Viet Culture Tour is easy and peace of mind, we will be promptly taken care by our friendly staffs, secured and simple payment methods, fair and flexible on service modify or cancellation. As also frequently travellers, we understand how nice to deal with an honest agency!

Starting Your Online Travel Career

Personal Travel asked:

I did some research on this and found out that the Online Travel industry is growing fast and the best part is that it is generating numerous jobs and many people around the world are setting up their own online travel companies.

How do they do that? I did that assignment too and I wanted to share the information I learned from those who have succeeded and who have been earning way more than the average income from their previous jobs.

There are sites that are currently providing all the stuff needed to start a new career in this industry and they are termed as Online Travel Consultant or Online Travel Booking Agent. One site I saw provided me some hints on how to do this even in your own home. One company that really got my attention is The Personal Travel Group. Here is what they told me:-

First, you must watch their informative video which explains the business opportunity to you. After this you complete an online registration application on their web site. You will then be invited to one of their information centres for a full explanation. Once accepted and signed up, they will provide you with access to their system, your own web site and a password.

Once they have issued you this, you can access their booking engine through your site. You are then able to search, place a booking on hold for 24hrs or book and pay immediately. Once you start making bookings, you will start receiving commission from your own pre-set margins!! (interesting…….).

I did a search on their site and they are an accommodation supplier and even other services such as to make transfers, car hire, golf and insurance and these products are exclusively available online.

They even have a full team of professional, experienced support agents who are standing by for any queries or questions. Bookings can be made either on line or over the telephone and you can ask your support team any questions or doubts you have. I think this is very important for self-starters.

The most interesting part is how you can earn money from this. They take online bookings in real-time and payments are made through their web site. They even offer different payment methods that will suit your business and that can be stated in the contract given to you by their company.

To cut things short, they handle everything and everything is automated. Your task is to expand your clientele and let all the tasks be handled by them. Take note, once it is set up, the running costs are very low. It is a really great idea. No need for customers to go to a travel agency, everything is online. That is the power of The Personal Travel Group technology today.

But be also aware that there are other companies or sites that offer similar start up packages, but I found that there were some details that were not quite clear, unlike the one I have discussed above, and the commissions seemed to be much less.

The important thing here is that a career as an Online Travel Agent or Consultant is one of the best alternatives to increase your income. This could be the best year to get started in the Travel Industry and it is one of the best options to generate a first or second income. With a small investment and your TIME and EFFORT, you could make a great success of this type of business. The objective here is to share this information so that it will be helpful to my readers.