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Daily Archives: September 10, 2012

Top city for taxing travelers? Chicago

September 10, 2012 admin No comments

Courtesy GBTA

Planning a trip? Yellow stars refer to cities with the lowest total tax burden for travelers. Red flags refer to cities with highest total tax burden.

The only certain things in life are death and taxes, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin. But when it comes to taxing travelers, at least, all cities do it differently.

Those are the findings of a new report that lists the best and worst travel taxes of the top 50 U.S. destinations.

“A traveler spending a night in Chicago can expect to pay an average of 81 percent more in taxes than when visiting Fort Lauderdale, Fla., all else being equal,” said Joe Bates, vice president of research for the GBTA Foundation, which released the 2012 annual report on Monday.

The GBTA Foundation is the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), a trade group for corporate travel managers and suppliers based in Alexandria, Va.

This year’s report, “Travel Taxes in the US: The Best and Worst Cities to Visit,” found that taxes targeting travelers impose an average cost of 57 percent more than general sales taxes. Taxes on travel-related services, called discriminatory travel taxes, are for things like hotel stays, car rentals and meals at restaurants. These travel taxes are above and beyond the general sales tax, are borne largely by travelers, Bates said, and are often used to fund local projects unrelated to tourism and business travel.

Bates said the goal of the report, which highlights the hidden costs of travel, is to help travel managers make informed decisions on behalf of their companies about where meetings and events could best take place, as well as to assist local convention and visitor bureaus, eager “to make their cities as attractive as possible.”

The findings could also be valuable for independent travelers. “It’s very, very challenging for the average consumer,” Bates said. Travel taxes “are not typically published and can really add a significant cost to your trip if it’s not something you budgeted for.”

The top 50 markets are ranked two ways: by overall travel tax burden (general sales tax and travel-related taxes combined), and by travel-related taxes only. Portland, Ore., for example, has no general sales tax but a very high travel tax. The report also includes separate data for central city and airport locations, as the tax structures are often distinct.

This is the fifth year that research has been conducted. In general, the average travel tax rate and the cities with the highest and lowest rates have remained fairly consistent, Bates said. Chicago, for example, has been on the top of the list for all five years for cities with the overall highest rates. However, compared to 2008, when the first report was issued, the percentage difference from highest to lowest travel tax rate has shrunk. “Cities over time have tended to be more competitive, so that’s good news,” Bates said.

Courtesy GBTA

Bjorn Hanson, dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University, applauds the report.

“It is very difficult for most travelers to find out this information,” he said.

Meeting and convention demand, followed by nonprofits, are the most affected by these taxes, Hanson said, as both groups have travel professionals to be aware of these expenses and often have large numbers of travelers to accommodate, so costs are especially important when choosing a location.

Leisure demand will be less affected, as destinations are chosen based on a variety of factors, and leisure travelers are generally less aware of these taxes or do not know whom to ask about them, he said. And business travel demand is the least affected because those travelers often must go to specific destinations.

However, Hanson noted that the total cost of the trip should be factored in when making travel plans. For example, a city with high travel taxes might be a better bargain overall due to lower costs for things like airfare, hotel and restaurants. Conversely, a city with modest taxes might be more expensive overall.

Due to the need for revenue in some municipalities and states, discussions were ongoing among officials regarding increasing or adding taxes, especially hotel occupancy taxes, and travelers are at a disadvantage, because they do not take part in the process. “It’s taxation without representation,” Hanson said. But while tax rates may be on the rise in some areas, because it is an election year, “I don’t think it will be a dramatic change.”

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5 family cruises not on your radar

September 10, 2012 admin No comments

Courtesy of Tauck

Young passengers learn to make Viennese strudel onboard a Tauck ship as they cruise through Austria.

When families think about cruise vacations, the big cruise ships often come to mind. All have fantastic programs for kids, but there are many more lines offering family experiences that go beyond the typical all-you-can-eat buffets and shore excursions, instead offering bird watching, scavenger hunts and guided tours with certified naturalists.

“Kids get immersed in rainforest ecology,” says Jacquie Whitt, who heads U.S. operations for Adios Adventure Travel, which offers a family cruise in Ecuador. “They’re not just looking at wildlife, but the wildlife in context. They see the system that supports wildlife, how important it is to have fresh water, a food source. Kids gain insights and get a travel experience they can’t get on an ordinary family trip.”

Rainer Jenss, founder of Smart Family Travel, recently took his family on a cruise of Alaska’s Glacier Bay with Alaska Dream Cruises. “We were able to go to the bridge anytime. My son, Tyler, even had the opportunity to steer the ship. You can’t do that anywhere. The captain spent time talking to him about how the ship operates. He got an education in seafaring,” he says. He also noted that a small ship makes the location the main event, while on larger cruise ships, it can be more of a side show.

Here are five cruises that should be on your radar when planning your next family cruise:

Mountain Travel Sobek – Galápagos Islands
See the Galápagos from a 16-passenger yacht as part of the Galapagos Wildlife Adventure Cruise along with top guides, including a geographical ecologist and a professional nature photographer. Take a volcano hike on Bartolomé Island, investigate tide pools on James Island and learn about giant tortoises, land iguanas and blue-footed boobies from naturalist guides. Then get in the water for a look at marine life in the Pacific Ocean. Prices start at $4,595 per person for an 11-day trip (eight days of cruising).

Alaska Dream Cruises – Alaska
Hop aboard the Admiralty Dream, which caters to no more than 66 passengers. Enjoy up-close glacier viewing, even bear watching, and keep your eyes open for whales, sea lions and sea otters. Daily programs on where you’ll go and what you’ll see expand on the marine life, geography and geology of the area. Spend time getting to know the crew as you explore towns out of reach of larger ships, like Wrangell and Petersburg. Prices start at $1,516 per person for an eight-day cruise.

Adios Adventure Travel – Ecuador
Float down the Napo River on a 30-passenger riverboat as you take in the jungles, wildlife and river communities of Ecuador aboard the Smart Voyager. Experience Ecuador through the eyes of local guides who take guests bird watching and on hikes to learn about medicinal plants. Children even learn first-hand how native communities support themselves with fruit and coffee plantations. Prices start at $1,672 per person for an eight-day cruise.

Tauck Bridges – Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Germany
On the Blue Danube Family Riverboat Adventure, you’ll sail through Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Germany on a 118-passenger river cruise. Go on an interactive scavenger hunt in Slovakia, visit a traditional palace in Austria and giggle at the trick fountains that spray at random at Hellbrunn Castle. Even try your hand making marzipan candy and strudel. Prices start at $3,490 for an eight-day cruise.

American Safari Discoveries – Hawaiian Islands
Climb aboard the 36-passenger Safari Explorer for snorkeling in coral gardens, exploring organic macadamia nut farms and making ti leaf leis. Sail in a hand-carved voyaging canoe like early Polynesian warriors and learn about the history of Moloka’i and Kailua-Kona from local guides eager to share tales about the islands. Prices start at $4,995 per person for an eight-day cruise.

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Video: Door falls off flying Boeing 767

September 10, 2012 admin No comments

tonight investigators are trying to figure out why a landing gear door the size of a refrigerator fell from the sky off a boeing 757 crashing into a neighborhood near seattle. no one was hurt but it gave a lot of folks there quite a scare. we have more from charles hadlock.

reporter: it is a mystery of sorts.

and this big part landed behind that red car over there.

reporter: how a landing gear door from a passing jetliner ended up crashing into a seattle area neighborhood.

it was a big flap of metal.

reporter: neighbors say they saw a low flying plane just before the door slammed to the ground.

i came back and there was a part of an airplane sitting here.

reporter: a tag on the door indicates it came from a boeing 767 .

they are going to look at the maintenance of it and then also whether the airplane, whether the gear was extended at the proper speeds.

reporter: it is not the first time airplane parts have rained down. last may in toronto chunks of metal from an engine peppered a neighborhood with debris smashing car windows . in florida the door from a stairwell ripped away and landed on a golf course . in 2009 an engine exploded on takeoff in brazil. the plane landed safely but bum barded a neighborhood with parts.

when you think of the amount of flights we do per day both with the airline airplanes as well as general aviation there are thousands of airplanes that fly every day and it is very rare to have something come off of them.

reporter: back in washington state john hanson is holding on to part of a plane's door.

a souvenir.

reporter: charles hadlock, nbc news.

Las Vegas tries to clean up X-rated litter

September 10, 2012 admin No comments

LAS VEGAS — Some tourists try to dissuade them by directing icy glares their way. Others stare, zombie-like, into the Las Vegas Strip's ubiquitous video screens and light displays in an effort to ignore the pushy handbill distributors.

But some tourists accept the pamphlets and glossy cards that advertise all-but-nude exotic dancers. Then, more often than not, they toss the material in the trash. Or if a trash can isn't nearby, onto the sidewalk — creating an endless X-rated litter problem that Las Vegas officials are now trying to clean up.

A new ordinance requires handbillers to pick up litter within a 25-foot radius on the sidewalk. But there's a hitch: The law might run afoul of the First Amendment.

"If someone takes some material, regardless of what it is, and then walks down the street and decides to drop it, that's the person who is littering. That's the person that is responsible, not the person who gave it to them originally," said Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union.

Las Vegas police aren't enforcing the ordinance yet. The ACLU has been meeting regularly with the exotic dancer businesses and police to talk about how that will happen, as well as encourage handbillers to help keep the Strip clean. The group has not yet challenged the law in court.

Meanwhile, handbillers — they're also called "card-slappers" for the noise they make to get people's attention — are as in-your-face as ever.

"They're totally annoying," John Marquez, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, said on a recent evening. "I pretty much take them and toss them in the first garbage can I see."

One card he'd just grabbed near the Monte Carlo advertised a nearly nude woman named "Giesele" and a "$35 Special" but offered no other details on what the deal involved.

The legions of handbillers on the Strip on any given day include about 25 who work the Strip for Hillsboro Entertainment. They hand out some 50,000 handbills a week, according to the company's owner, Vincent Bartello.

Sure, he could probably get the law overturned, he said. He doesn't want to.

"We're not actually littering. It's the tourists, the people who come here. But if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here. And I want to be able to make something better for them," Bartello said.

Hillsboro Entertainment always has picked up after itself, he added. And his dancers absolutely are not prostitutes.

"We do not condone that. We send out dancers, entertainers, to entertain for customers that call," he said.

Prostitution is legal in most of rural Nevada but illegal in metropolitan areas like Las Vegas and Reno. Still, the sex trade flourishes in Sin City.

Las Vegas tried directly to prohibit handbilling in 1997. The ACLU intervened in court and won. Subsequent court rulings have established that sidewalks along the Strip are public thoroughfares where the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, Lichtenstein said.

Lately, rather than keep going after the handbillers, Clark County has been focused on a clean-up-the-Strip effort that also will examine where to put trash cans and whether handbillers are impeding pedestrian flow in some areas.

"People are having to wade their way through some of that stuff," Clark County Manager Don Burnette said.

To Lichtenstein, how police will enforce a law that requires handbillers to clean up their area no less than every 15 minutes is an obvious problem.

"I'm not sure the police even understand what they're supposed to be enforcing," he said. "Depending on what happens, we may be back in court again."

Police Capt. Todd Fasulo said the law is straightforward and, as with any crime, enforcement will be a matter of police priorities.

At least one visitor was more concerned about the use of so much paper than the sultry images being thrust at her husband.

"It's a waste of trees," said John Marquez's wife, Kaye. "There's got to be a better way to do advertising."

Or how about recycling? Last time they were in Vegas, they collected dozens of exotic dancer cards and stuffed them into birthday gift bags for friends back home.

"They thought it was hilarious," she said.