What Exactly is Taxable by the IRS When it Comes to Free Travel?

Are travelers required to report their frequent flier miles as income? If so, what about press trips? There seems to be some confusion among those who have never before reported their frequent flier miles as income. What is all the confusion about? Citibank recently sent their customers, who were given American Airline miles for opening[…]

Is Apple About to Change the Publishing World by Launching a Sort of GarageBand for e-books?

With the current process of publishing an e-book clearly harder than it needs to be, Apple might be getting ready to change the publishing world forever by making the process “as easy as creating a song in GarageBand.” Travel bloggers are often looking for ways to make money and one way that they have done[…]

The ‘Influencers in Travel’ Site – A Look Back From the Inside Out

For DataArt and Brilliant Travel Media, creating a site simply dedicated to hosting a number of ranking lists of those in the social media travel space, based solely on the vanity metric Klout, was both an experiment and an opportunity. As the Influencers in Travel site is now a memory, I thought it would be[…]

International Travelers Beware: iPhone 4S is a Real Gas Guzzler When it Comes to Data

If you plan to travel abroad this year with your iPhone 4S, make sure you have a clear idea of how much it will cost you in terms of data. A new study released this past week by mobile network monitoring firm Arieso reveals that the iPhone 4S commands twice as much data as the iPhone[…]

“Yamete!”: Japan Reneges on Offer of 10,000 Free Flights to Foreign Visitors

Last October, in an effort to bolster the country’s reputation following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the Japan Tourism Agency announced that it would give away 10,000 free flights to Japan in 2012. However, the day after Christmas, officials announced that the flight giveaway will be a no go. After initially reporting the story about[…]

Travel Brands Starting To Explore Instagram in Their Latest Social Media Marketing Efforts

If you are a travel brand seeking a platform for spreading awareness and cultivating relationships, here is a space for you to play in 2012.  Earlier today I saw a Tweet that included a link to an article entitled “23 Brands Using Instagram And What They’re Doing Right” along with a reference to the lack[…]

Four Ways Your Mobile Device Can Change How You Travel

A few days ago Patrick Kiger from National Geographic contacted me to discuss how I thought travelers could benefit from using their mobile devices while traveling. His piece, 4 Ways Your Phone Could Change How You Travel in 2012, includes thoughts from myself and others on new apps that untie foreign tongues, decode airports, evade[…]

Expedia Everywhere: President Scott Durchslag Says They’re Open For Business with Travel Bloggers

This past Monday, Expedia hosted Blogger Day 2011 in Seattle which was designed to bring a group of travel bloggers together with a group of key executives from Expedia in order to delve into a range of topics and discuss how some of Expedia’s recent initiatives could be beneficial in tackling some of the bloggers’[…]

Jordan Tourism Launches Innovative Marketing Collaboration with Bloggers

In 2011 the Jordan Tourism Board has gone “all in” with their effort to work with travel bloggers and they are not about to end this alliance. Yesterday, the Jordan Tourist Board continued its foray into digital media by announcing a unique marketing collaboration with a group of eight travel bloggers. The concept, called iAmbassador,[…]

Lonely Planet Launches Zulu Style Gowalla Replacement for Travelers

The day after Gowalla announced it is to become a part of Facebook, Lonely Planet has launched the unique Wenzani mobile travel guide. As I mentioned earlier today, social travel is a space waiting for a break out star and Wenzani is the latest to use socially generated recommendations to create a personalized travel guide.[…]