Melanie Flavin of the Adventure Travel Expo in Seattle had some great news to share as a follow up from the show; 

New Traveler Survey Shows over 70% will maintain vacations in 2009

“Now, more than ever, the tourism industry needs to strengthen its ties with buyers while nurturing new prospects and investing in new tourist markets.

Like most of us I am sure you’re thinking about how new economic realities will affect your ability to maintain a strong customer base. 

Just this week we surveyed consumer attendees of the 2008 Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE) and found some surprising results.

First and foremost, the ATE attendees are a hearty travel bunch.  Over 90% declared that their vacations are “Extremely Important” or “Very Important” to them, with 94% stating they will not forego their vacations in 2009 despite the economic downturn.

ATE Attendees are also very well traveled with over 63% taking 2-4 trips in the last year.

Strikingly, 70% will be taking the SAME number or MORE vacations in 2009.  

And, only 2% of our surveyed consumers have no plans to travel over the next year.

That’s good news for the travel industry and Adventures in Travel Expo’s Exhibitors!

However, the current economic climate will affect how and where these travelers will take their vacations.

76% of respondents are more likely to take less expensive vacations with 64% looking for better travel deals to help finance their vacations.

So what does this new information mean to Travel Providers?

Firstly, there will still be plenty of U.S. consumers looking to take great vacations in 2009!

But, successful travel marketers will need to stress quality and value.  Seasoned travelers will continue to spend on trips, tours and vacations, but they will increasingly examine all aspects of their itinerary and look to maximize value with economic AND emotional return.

The most important thing travel marketers can do to solidify their business in the coming economic turbulent times is to make sure they stay in front of these high value travelers.  Marketing dollars need to be selectively spent on reaching those consumers that are most likely to buy a trip.

Adventures in Travel Expos are America’s travel shows.  Over 375,000 active and adventure travelers have attended our shows over the past five years in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle.  ATE attendees spend over $273 million on travel each year.  These are proven result oriented events and the largest series of shows in the USA.  In fact our Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show is the largest show in the country!

As a matter of fact, Ruth Daly at Travelscene said about our shows recently:

“Adventures in Travel Expos have done it right again!  We made a booking worth over $50,000 for a family we met at the Seattle Show in September!  Another winner in our books!”           

If history is a teacher, then we can expect consumers to tighten their expenditures and increase their demands for high value.  But one thing is clear, even in economic downturns people still take their vacations!

Where will these resilient travelers go in 2009? 

That’s up to you. 

So the question is…is a $273 million dollar travel marketplace worth your time?”

Adventure Travel Expo-Seattle

September’s trade show adventures started in Seattle with the Adventure Travel Expo. This is a one stop marketplace where consumers and the travel trade find thousands of travel providers offering unique vacation options and travel opportunities.

Attending the show representing Adventure Sports Online and OutdoorMind gave me the opportunity to look at not only what is new and exciting in the travel industry, but a chance to speak with many of the exhibitors to see if they had any marketing or website needs! I actually ran into a few of our clients while I was there.

One of the other aspects of the show is to attend the many seminars with world renowned speakers. I was able to attend the seminar that Philippe Cousteau, Co-founder, President & CEO of EarthEcho International held on Saturday. Not only is he a great spokesperson, but his dedication to his foundation is inspiring!

Another great seminar was “Extraordinary Adventures for Anyone” by Shannon Stowell,
President of Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). Shannon was promoting his new book
Riding the HulaHula to the Arctic Ocean, a Guide to 50 Extraordinary Adventures (I am excited to say that I have a signed copy and can’t wait to read it!).

The third seminar I thought sounded interesting was “Wandering Women…Planning Your Next Great Adventure!”
The Moderator was Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick and the on the panel were 3 really well traveled women; Pam Mandel (Nerd’s Eye View), Mary Jo Manzanares (The Seattle Traveler / Fly Away Café), and Chris Mackay of Crooked Trails. They all spoke of women’s traveling solo in foreign countries and not to be afraid. They offered great tips and advise!

As the show ended on Sunday I also had the opportunity to take some of the above mentioned women’s advice and spent some time discovering Seattle. It was an incredibly beautiful day there and I had no problem being a single women explorer for the day…..I’ll add a few pictures of my day’s adventures!

           The trade show season is upon us and I decided to do some traveling over the next 2 months to see what’s going on in the outdoor industry. Outdoor Retailer is held each summer and winter in Salt Lake City. Outdoor Retailer is the trade show venue of choice for the Outdoor Specialty Industry. Companies both large and small converge to show off their new products for the year. If you’ve never been, it can be overwhelming!

I arrived mid day the first day of the show and took my time wandering the aisles wondering where to begin! I started by visiting one of our clients Byer Of Maine in their booth. Byer Manufacturing is the oldest supplier of folding cots in the country and have been supplying comfortable camping furniture for over a century.

Next, a stop to say hi to Tim Rosenhan who owns Innova Kayaks. These, inflatable, folding colorful kayaks are really cool and portable. Visit his website http://www.innovakayak.com and check them out!

The next day I decided to get down to business and visit the section where all of the new product companies were displayed…well, not really a section. There are so many new companies they had to put them in the old Delta Center (where the Utah Jazz play). I found some really great new products…..ChicoBag, Rickshaw Bagworks, BornFit, Mistymate, GoGaga (my favorite), BagGames, Spibelt and Adventure Babe just to name a few.

Evenings are spent at Industry parties networking and having fun. The Industry party was held at the Energy Solutions Arena, formerly known as the Delta Center where Rusted Root performed. There was a Badminton Tournament, food, wine from Redwood Creek (this is the coolest website!) and lots of fun was had by all. The next day it’s back down to business and a flight back home.

Next up….Adventure Travel Expo in Seattle.

According to a blog post over on the California Mountain Report, the American Rivers are flowing well… there is still plenty of great whitewater rafting now through the end of October.

The Middle Fork American (Class IV) will have flows suitable for whitewater rafting through September 27, 2008. At that point no flows are guaranteed as the engineers will be do maintenance on the dam.  If you are interested in going rafting on the Middle Fork this is your last chance. To get you started, here is a list of Middle Fork American rafting outfitters.

The South Fork American on the other hand is expected to run through the to the end of October. The later you go the more peaceful the canyon will be. If you’re interested in going rafting on the South Fork here is a list of South Fork American rafting outfitters.

Hello fellow cyclists!

I just returned from my 15th year participating in this great, bicycle fundraising event! The ETBT is held every year the weekend after Labor Day and is a 3 day “bicycle vacation”.

We departed on Friday, September 5th to Sunday, September 7th, touring in the beautiful Napa Valley with 3 days cycling and 2 nights camping at the Napa County Fairgrounds which is located in Calistoga. This year the weather was a bit harsh, with temps in the 100 degree mark!

Friday’s ride took us north of town into the Alexander Valley which is quite beautiful. The day started out nice and cool, but by noon it was HOT! Fortunately, we rode at a good speed and were back to the fairgrounds by 1 pm. We showered and spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade, re hydrating, getting massages from the many volunteer massage therapists and sharing our tales from the ride.

Saturday started with another hearty breakfast provided by the catering staff and an eartlier ride time to get out and beat the heat! (I have to say that my new bike was making the work so much easier this year!). Today’s route included a stay on the Napa Valley floor for minimal climbing or choosing to ride up to Pope Valley. We had lunch at Conn Dam (short and middle routes) or at Damonte Hubcap Ranch. Well, we didn’t really have lunch, as my cycling buddie and I got to the lunch stop by 10:15 am and it wasn’t even set up yet! So…we just got back on the bike and off we went! We returned to camp and decided to have iced coffee instead back in downtown Calistoga…a great decision Saturday nights festivities also include a dance…let me just say that all ‘trekkers’ look forward to this night of the event and go ALL out with costumes, blinking lights, outrageous props…well, you get the picture. I really never understood how all these crazy trekkers can get up and ride again after Saturday night!

Sunday, we had the option to again stay on the Napa Valley floor (minimal climbing which we were all for!), take a challenging climb up towards Angwin, or a major climb (experienced cyclists only, this includes a 16% grade) to the Petrified Forest area. The ride was pretty straight forward and we pushed along, back in camp in 2 1/2 hours. There was a BBQ finale in camp at the fairgrounds and much to our delight the shower trucks were still onsite, yeah!

 Anyway, another successful year and many thanks to those of you who have continued to support me each year…I couldn’t do it without your sponsorship

West Virgina has some great whitewater rafting and kayaking.. but the best is only available for short window each year know as Gauley Season. The Upper Gauley is world-class Class V boating, while the Lower Gauley is a litte tamer.. Class IV.

The Gauley River is backed up by Summersville Dam near Fayetteville, WV, and will begin releasing flows for whitewater rafting and kayaking starting September 5, 2008 through October 19, 2008. Flows are scheduled to release Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday through October 6, then select Saturdays and Sundays for the next couple of weekends. Visit Boating Beta for complete release details.

For a list of Gauley River whitewater rafting outfitters, visit the Adventure Sports Online Gauley River Rafting Directory.

Read more…

Greetings everyone!

We’re safely in port, having arrived on Friday, August 29 to a rousing group of friends, family and well wishers.  A surprising, and unexpected arrival party to say the least.  But I’m getting ahead of myself …

The last four days of our journey contained the highest of highs and lowest of lows so far.  It tested and challenged ourselves, made us question our motivations and verified our place in the natural world.

Three days out found us approximately 250 miles of the California coast in a favorable position for a beam reach to the Gate.  We were looking forward to finishing the trip and having a cold one with family and friends.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the expected 30-knot winds were going to be difficult, but we knew we’d get through them fairly quickly.  Well, little did we know the full extent of our weather.  Yes, the winds were 30 + knots (actually, they topped out at 35 sustained with gusts to 37) but it was the combined swell and wind waves that made for the roughest water for the whole trip by far.  The swell was coming from large low-pressure systems off the Oregon coast.  These “rollers” were conservatively 30 feet from crest to trough (later in the bar I overheard the number had grown to 40 feet).  Throw another 5 feet of wind wave on top of the swell and you have the makings of a maelstrom that I hope to not repeat soon.  The sail configuration at this point had been reduced to a triple reef in the main and zero jib.  That is less than 20% of our full sail area.  Later, I learned that it was the worst seas the skipper had experienced in his 40 years … Needless to say, for two days life on board was difficult.  The boat was being tossed around like a cork.  The incessant howl in the rigging foretold more long hours of this torment.  Cooking was masochistic due to the motion.  Pam braved it all and delivered wonderful meals to some equally beat-up sailors.  Around this point you might have seen a deviation in our track away from the Gate, like towards Monterey.  This change was an effort to “run off” from the gale to achieve a safer, more comfortable ride and get into an area of lower winds to the south.  Around the latitude of Half Moon Bay things settled down with winds in the teens and diminishing waves.  By early Friday morning the seas were flat and we were ghosting along in 8 knots of breeze.

Being the rookie, the watch system was designed to sandwich me between the two experienced hands.  That way an overlap of sorts wouldn’t be too much of a burden for the skipper or first mate.  Hence, my 0200 to 0500 watch slot was pretty well established and something I loathed but accepted.  For those that know me, I’m not a late night person.  Early morning, say 0500 or later is just fine.  Well, for once I was thankful for that 0200 slot, as that early Friday morning was simply magic.  To set the scene, we had a sky that was absolutely filled with more stars than you can imagine.  The Milky Way was so bright that it created its own reflection on the water, like a full moon would.  Of course, the moon was nowhere to be seen.  Add to this the bioluminescence in the water that created its own “milky way” trailing behind the boat.  This phenomenon is a result of millions of tiny marine organisms that emit light when excited by movement.  While I was perfectly content to ponder the meaning of life in this environment, the arrival of a pod of dolphin simply bordered on surreal.  They were like torpedoes, trailing bioluminescence through the water, diving under the boat, riding the bow wave and occasionally breaking the surface with their exhalations.  They were gregarious, with their squealing dolphin sounds and their seeming invitation to come out and play in the neighborhood.  Pam and I watched them for hours, feeling a connection to the sea unlike anything we have experienced the whole trip. 

By the time the sun rose on the horizon before us, the Farallon Islands were in view and we were motoring with zero wind.  We still had approximately 35 miles to the gate, so with the fog closing in around us, it was all hands on deck to keep watch for other vessels.  Soon the foghorns of the headlands north of the Golden Gate Bridge led us into the bay with Pam having the honor of driving the boat under the famous span.  The fog lifted enough to provide a postcard view of the City and enough wind to carry us through the bay without the motor.  Closing in on Vallejo, we were faced with one last trick from Murphy.  While the cell phones were getting warm from all the non-stop activity, the wind diminished to near nothing.  We needed to motor the last few miles.  No problem, just fire up the motor like we did countless times.  Unless it’s the last time.  Turn the key, hit the switch.  Nothing.  Silence.  No time for a beer and cigar, even if we had them!   After some discussion about a solution (which included a tow from a yacht club boat) I relied on the old hotwire method by shunting the starter solenoid with a screwdriver.  It worked!  We motored in to Vallejo Yacht Club to a surprisingly large reception.  Those first few steps on the dock were a bit difficult, as there seemed to be a permanent motion going on, although nobody else seemed to notice it.  I’m also convinced someone secretly placed gimbals on the house foundation while we were gone as it too seems to have a permanent motion that only Pam and I notice.  Hmmm.

In closing, I came up with three things I learned from this trip:

1.         Hawaii is a really long way from San Francisco.

2.         You hear people say all the time what a small world it is.  I’m convinced these same people are not offshore sailors.

3.         As much as you may feel alone out there, the cruising community is a surprisingly tight-knit group.  One of Pam’s responsibilities was helping the skipper with the evening “roll call” of returning boats.  Her 12:00 midnight shift consolidated the position and condition information for a handful of boats.  This information was then sent via e-mail to the Pacific Cup organization for posting on their website.

Fair winds,

Pam and Roger

ps: There were many, many more wonderful and interesting experiences that do not appear on these pages.  If you want to learn more you’ll have to buy us a drink.

Pam Burns…Ready to set
    sail!
and Roger Hunter…Ready for
    the adventure!

Bequia (Beck-we)… Ready
    to go!

Skipper Dennis…..Last call to his wife!

RH, hard at work

Beautiful Moon over the Pacific Ocean

Happy Anniversary!

Tres Amigos…

The Hitchhiker

The “Cookie”

Through the Gate!

Family and Friends:
This will be our final communication until we return.  We will fill in some of the blanks over the weekend, in between sleeping and eating a whole bunch of salads!  The ocean has been rather lumpy the past 48 hours, with 30ft swells and gale winds of up to 36k.  We’ve had waves hitting the sides, trying desperately to come inside, but we’ve done well in keeping out the water.

Our engine overheated this morning again, so we are currently dealing with that, but we think we can just do what we did before.
 What we’ve learned in the past two days has rounded out our whole experience.  I believe there are some bets going on at the yacht club as to when we will actually hit the GG Bridge.  As for Roger and I, this has been another epic experience for the two of us.  With 160 miles to go, give or take a few, we are certain there will be winds, just hopefully in the direction we need them to get us back to land.
 Love to the fam.  Pam

No word from the sailors in the last few days, but you can easily track their progress…here’s how;

Go to http://www.pacificcup.org. Next, click on the link that says “Satellite Tracks for Returning Yachts“, click on Boat Selector and the arrow that say’s Return 1. Check the box next to Bequia and click on Boat Selector again…..you can zoom in and see the tracking right off the coast of San Francisco.

Here are the links to the location as well;

8-28-08

 They should be home soon now!

Greetings all:
Well, we’re heading for the stable with the bit in our mouth!  Our current position is N37deg 36′ X W134deg 00′.  Just about 550 miles out.  The plan is to head up to latitude 38 and then hang a right for the Gate.  This allows a nice, slightly downwind angle coming in which will be good for crew comfort and easier on the boat.  The forecast is for winds in the 30 knot range out of the north, which is pretty typical as I understand.  The crew and skipper are all looking forward to getting home and seeing family.  No predictions yet on arrival time.  There are just too many variables. I will say, however, that we have been enjoying a stiff breeze out of the north at 15 -20 knots all last night and today.  This has given us the second highest daily average of 150 miles.
An update on the engine cooling problem:  the last few days have seen us using the engine without a drop of added coolant.  Gremlins you say?  I still think Murphy will find a way if there is an opportunity, but for now the problem seems to have subsided.  All other systems on the boat are go.
That’s it for now …
Roger & Pam
P.S. Love to all our family!  We miss you all!  Happy 90th Dad!!