Issues in Tourism

Issue in tourism: a volcano erupts over Iceland disrupting air traffic for days to much of Europe, inbound and outbound. Meanwhile, certain trains in France are also on strike. Chaos ensues. It takes FIVE days for the transport ministers of the various countries to all speak together. Every world leader scheduled to attend the funeral of Poland's leader, one among many killed on a flight to Russia that was meant to recognize the peace found between these countries, is not able to fly in. The issues, the impacts for tourism, meetings, conferences, festivals, honeymoons continue seeming without end. The trains that are running are full, and even those without tickets ride, sitting in the aisles for hours across countries. Car rentals when available are at astronomical rates (2000 euros for two days...), hotels some remain fair, many gouge, airports become filled with mattresses as flyers await news. There is NO planning, no risk management, no contingency to allow for this type of natural disaster. Consumers are all out of pocket for expenses. Airlines are losing an estimated 200 million euros a day. chaos. no recovery will be enough. From 9-11 when humans caused chaos and disruption, nothing like this can be ammortized and insurance companies won't let the airlines take the risks. It is unthinkable and impossible to imagine.

We are the lucky ones. We have accommodation with friends and they continue to let us stay. We can shop at the market for meals, and we have, if they start flying again Tuesday, a confirmed flight for Wednesday. On Friday, Wednesday seemed ridiculous, impossible, so far away, and now we have one day left. The weather has finally warmed up, the family is finally all healthy, and we have enjoyed our "bonus" days very much. So we wait, in comfort and relaxed and able to work on line and meet all our needs, if not able to make all our meetings. Sometimes, life catches us up and we are forced to abide by new timelines, such is this time.

it's all about Mii

I have got to be mii, me, mii! Oh to watch the next generation and c them gro. to see how their virtual world collides with the real world. it is gr8. i (heart) the generation growing up so quickly and rapidly catching us and I long to b so quick to embrace change. and 2 send all my thoughts in 140 characters. definitely not yet!

We need to embrace the opportunities in SMS and tweeting and learning new ways to connect with our colleagues, peers and participants in programs - it is no longer about the keynote presenter's message but about the response to the keynote's message AS IT IS HAPPENING. Our audiences are now texting each other, updating their facebook statuses and tweeting their thoughts from the minute the speaker starts.

The only differentiator we truly have is to be able to deliver the best experience in real time! This is the je ne sais quoi that keeps us fascinated by this challenging industry in this interesting time - the belief that we can create an experience that inspires positive tweets, texts, blogs and pictures that show the beauty and magic that we create with environments and events that are gr8, and deliver to the individual needs of our many mii's! We (heart) this industry!