I’m leaving Insight Vacations for pastures and interests new at the end of August, so I was proud and pleased to be invited to attend both the Insight Vacations and The Travel Corporation (TTC) conferences in London last week. On Thursday night, at the kind invitation of Stanley Tollman and with the lyrics of Jimmy Ruffin’s … More Farewell is a lonely sound… honing your goodbyes
You will recall our family adventures thus far on our summer journey to the south of Italy (see Road to Apulia 1 if you don’t). Well, from hereon-in our tale steps up a pace as we get down to the business of our Puglia vacation proper. It’s 09.30 in the morning and it has been a … More Road to Apulia 2
As the sickening news unfolded yesterday, and then through the night as the incident expanded, the world seemed to be heaving a collective sigh of resignation amid the shouts of outrage. Another beautiful city and its wonderful people caught up in a modern-day madness perpetrated by seriously misguided individuals. As the internal email of reassurance … More …and now, Barcelona.
As CEO of a major tour operator, I took few summer holidays over the last 20 years. My responsibilities were across the business, so from May through October I worked closely with our teams as we knuckled down on the tough but intoxicating mix of developing and finalising the following year’s programs: the routes, guest experiences, final accommodation … More Road to Apulia 1
I’ve always been a bit rock ‘n’ roll at heart. The golden era of Disco in the 1970s saw me spinning records for my first entrepreneurial venture, a bona fide mobile disco replete with strobe, coloured floods and liquid oil wheel lighting. Each week I bought four or five new singles (or 45s as we called them … More Smoke on the water… and jazz in Montreux
So I just read yesterday that Google is funding a new software project that will automate the writing of local news. Hmm. As a newly signed up blogger and, ahem, travel writer, I thought to myself: ‘John, you’ve got really poor instincts when it comes to timing; just as you launch ‘Travelling Man’, along comes a … More Robots at dawn… will journos and agents survive?
Oh for the days when ‘jet travel’ meant ‘exotic’, ‘style’ and ‘fast’. In terms of air-speed, since the demise of Concorde we’ve not moved forward one iota, your average plane still trundles along at around 400-500 knots (about 550mph), as it did in 1960. The truth today is that a flight feels less of a pleasure … More Travelling well… coping with long haul flights
I have to thank Ann Ruppenstein and the Canadian Travel Press for my blog title. We chatted only informally some while ago, so I was subsequently surprised and honoured when they published a three page article titled ‘Travelling Man’ in June this year – see link below. The headline pretty much summed up my career … More The origins of my blog title
First blog post excerpt:
Every once in a while a life changing opportunity comes along and, with a screech of brakes and a squealing of tyres, parks itself slap in your driveway… … More On the road again
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