A Japanese resort town named Atami is peddling vacations for players of an online game called Love Plus, populated with virtual women whom the players chase.

It was sad enough when it was just a game, but now Konami Digital Entertainment, the game’s creator, has tied up with the town of Atami, which is 60 miles from Tokyo.

Way it works is that the company is using Augmented Reality (AR) to insert the girls in the game into 13 physical locations in the town of Atami, so that the players can use their smartphones to see themselves with their favorite Love Plus virtual girls in these locations.

The town has cottoned on to the fact that this is big business, since busloads of iPhone toting young men have started landing up to have vacations with their virtual girlfriends.

Atami now has shops selling everything from Love Plus trinkets to Love Plus food.

There’s a hotel in Atami which is also one of the 13 AR locations, so there are two beds to offer a night’s stay to the ‘couple.’ In the hotel, the virtual girls appear in kimonos. Alas, the only thing allowed in the game, as far as physical intimacy is concerned, is a kiss. 

More info: www.konami.jp/products/loveplus/info.html

Posted on September 1st, 2010 by PLing
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Story 1: Justice Department says it has no more anti-trust concerns about the $3 billion Continental-United merger, which makes the joint company the world’s biggest airline.

Justice Dept signs off on United-Continental deal - AP
Continental, United pilots seek to end outsourcing - WSJ

Story 2: Mexicana Airlines has suspended operations indefinitely, as of 12 noon Saturday, Aug 28, 2010. A Mexican investor group called Tenedora K bought the troubled airline, but was unable to work out a new labor contract.

Mexicana says adios, perhaps - Dallas News 
Passengers scramble after bankruptcy grounds Mexican - WFAA

Here’s the rest of the week’s travel news:-

Boeing delays 787 Dreamliner after test engine breaks apart - LA Times
Boeing fires head of delayed jet effort - UPI

Glitch tells BA passengers they’re about to land in the North Sea - Daily Mail
BA launches great big sale - BA.com

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas joins Autograph Collection - Marriott
Algonquin Hotel to open in Sept under Autograph Collection - Marriott 

Holiday Inn pays back guests for checked bag fees - IHG
Holiday Inn helps IHG to positive territory - AJC

Obama doesn’t travel light, even on vacation - AP
Men may travel light, but some pack teddy bears - CNN

Posted on August 29th, 2010 by PLing
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Story 1: President Obama finally got his 10-day Martha’s Vineyard summer vacation at the Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, MA.

Apparently the leader of the free world is shopping for freedom (Jonathan Franzen’s book Freedom). 

Barack Obama’s vacation a real page turner - Boston Globe
Obama spends vacation day shopping and golfing - NY Times
Blue Heron Farm rents for $50,000 a week - LA Times

Story 2: The race for private space tourism and exploration hasn’t even begun yet, but the controversy has.

Virgin Galactic WhiteKnight II landing gear collapses during test launch - Space.com
Ex-Okla space tourism company files for bankruptcy - Chicago Tribune
FAA to regulate space flights - Mercury News

Here’s the rest of the week’s travel news:-

Top 50 destinations for Labor Day - Priceline
Top 10 Labor Day weekend destinations - Orbitz

Cuba Libre? Hold off booking that ticket for now - NPR
Boulder City lifts Arizona travel ban - MyFox

AA moves you to the front, for a price - Dallas News
Heat, poor health killed 7 puppies on AA flight - Sun Times

Facebook Places could spark new privacy fire - Reuters
Zagat-to-go gets Foursquare integration - PC World

Plans for greening hotels stalled by recession - NY Times
NASA plans to hold green aviation summit - NASA

Photo - Pete Souza (WhiteHouse)

Posted on August 22nd, 2010 by PLing
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Crowne Plaza hotels in Glasgow and London have laid out fresh green grass - for real - inside conference rooms.

The grass is meant to foster creativity by offering an unconventional setting for business meetings.

The grass-filled meeting rooms are available Aug 16-20 on a trial basis at Crowne Plaza London Docklands, Crowne Plaza Glasgow and Crowne Plaza Dublin Northwood.

Angela Whitlock, author of Walk on the Grass, says that ”The look and feel of the grass is said to remind guests of their childhood and therefore free them of societal barriers that restrict creativity. Everybody should kick off their shoes once in a while and walk barefoot on the grass to rekindle the creativity that was allowed to flow freely in childhood before too many rules got in the way.”

While commendable and innovative, this grass room thing looks like another episode in a series of slick Crowne Plaza PR initiatives.

Case in point being the evening ‘wake-up calls’ at 7 pm reminding guests to turn off all electronic devices and get ready for bed.

Another such initiative was the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen offering guests free meals in return for generating electricity by pedaling on an exercise bike.

Photo - Peter Allen

Posted on August 16th, 2010 by PLing
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Story 1: Julia Roberts’ new travel movie Eat Pray Love hit the silver screens and is on it’s way to a $25 million opening weekend.

The book and the movie have changed many lives, including those of author Elizabeth Gilbert & Julia Roberts.
Minding the store with Elizabeth Gilbert - NY Times
Eat Pray Love changing stars’ lives - ABC

Story 2: Working as a flight attendant isn’t as glamorous as it used to be. Stuck between security precautions, low wages, delays and prickly passengers, airline job stress is showing up in strange ways.
Turkish Air: Lose weight, or lose your job - Jerusalem Post
Steven Slater and workplace stress - Washington Post

Here’s the rest of the week’s travel news:-

British Airways offers free London hotel stays - BA.com
Sir Richard linking together the Virgin Airlines - WSJ

BP stops paying claims made by lower Gulf Coast Hotels - NaplesNews
BP pays for tv special with Baywatch star David Hasselhof - Gulflive

NYC expects 47.5 million visitors in 2010 - NY Post
Statue of Liberty to get new staircase - AP

Delta Air Lines launches Facebook flight booking - Delta.com
Man uses Twitter to travel world for free - Telegraph

Cisco makes futuristic touch keys for Caesars Palace - Bloomberg
Cisco & Sabre team up for telepresence distribution - Sabre  

Liz Gilbert photo -Eric Charlton; Julia Roberts photo - public domain (source)

Posted on August 15th, 2010 by PLing
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VisitBritain has updated its ‘Market Profiles’ which offers tips in dealing with people from different cultures.

Apparently an effort to help hoteliers, taxi drivers, etc. be more culturally sensitive to the flood of international visitors expected in London for the 2012 Olympics.

It’s a wee bit hard to say if the tips are intended to be serious or sarcastic. Either way, they’re funny. Take a look:

A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy.

Be careful how you pour wine for an Argentinian.

Avoid winking at someone from Hong Kong.

Remember Arabs are not used to being told what to do.

Do not be alarmed if South Africans announce that they were held up by robots.

Don’t ask a Brazilian personal questions.

Avoid physical contact when first meeting someone from India.

When meeting Mexicans it is best not to discuss poverty, illegal aliens, earthquakes or their 1845-6 war with America.

Never call a Canadian an American.

Do not take offence if an Australian or a New Zealander makes a joke about ‘Poms.’

Avoid saying ‘thank you’ to a Chinese compliment.

When accepting thanks Koreans will typically say ‘No,no.’

Don’t snap your fingers if you are with a Belgian. It may be interpreted as impolite.

Never imply Poles drink excessively.

Explanations for these tips can be found here.

Posted on August 13th, 2010 by PLing
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Jetblue flight attendant Steven Slater (age 38) used the intercom onboard JetBlue Flight 1052 after it landed at JFK to curse out a passenger, pulled the emergency hatch, slid down the chute and ran off home.

The reason that Slater went nuts was because he got into an argument with a passenger who got up too early to extract his bag from the overhead bin.

JetBlue Flight 1052 had just landed at JFK after a flight in from Pittsburg, and the attendants had not yet allowed the passengers to get up.

When Slater told the passenger to sit down, the passenger refused, and accidently bumped Slater on the head with his bag.

Slater asked for an apology. Instead, the passenger cursed at Slater. Slater responded by using the plane’s public-address system to curse back.

He then pulled the emergency hatch and exited, but not before grabbing a beer on the way out. He ran from the plane to the employee parking lot and drove to his home in Queens.

Steven Slater was arrested at his home and has been charged with reckless endangerment.

Photo - MySpace

Posted on August 10th, 2010 by PLing
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Story 1: A survey by Hotels.com shows that London taxis are the best in the world.

New York and Paris tied for first place for the rudest taxi drivers.

Rome’s cabbies were voted as the worst drivers in the world.

Story 2: A survey by Mainstay Investments shows that 50% of all Boomers think that taking a vacation once a year is a need, and not a luxury.

46% of Boomers think weekend getaways are a necessity, domestic travel is a must-have for 35% and dining out is a necessity for 38%.

In order to pay for these must-haves, the survey says Boomers are willing to postpone retirement or downsize their home after retirement.

Here’s the rest of the week’s travel news:

Lonely Planet launches travel ebooks for iPad - BlackbookMag
Lonely Planet founder recalls worst publishing mistakes - HuffingtonPost

Travel industry courting Eat, Pray, Love fans - AP
Six travel writers who didn’t make it home - World Hum

State Dept scrubs racist travel warning for First Lady’s visit - Daily News
Michelle Obama criticised over expense of Spain trip - Telegraph

Feds admit storing checkpoint bodyscan images - CNet
Radiation questions over a body scanner - NY Times

Priceline soars after strong 2Q results - Businessweek
Travel industry roars back to life - CNNMoney

Photo - Brian Hillegas

Posted on August 8th, 2010 by PLing
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A new study by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) looks at how much tax a traveler pays in the top 50 cities with the most air passengers.

On a 3-day business trip, travelers can pay up to $101 in sales, hotel, car rental and other taxes.

Portland, OR was found to be the most tax-friendly city for travelers, with a low $52.49 tax tab for a 3-day, 2-night visit.

Also on the tax-friendly list for business travelers are Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu and Detroit - all with a total tax bill below $55.

Chicago, which topped the chart with $101.27, is the worst city for travel related taxes, followed by Seattle, Minneapolis, New York and Boston, all of which hit travelers with taxes in excess of $85.

Photo - Travel Portland

Posted on August 5th, 2010 by PLing
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First Lady Michelle Obama and 9-yr old daughter Sasha have a 4-day stay planned at a luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in the resort town of Marbella, Spain.

The mother-daughter duo are accompanied on their retreat (Wed-Sun) by a few of Sasha’s close friends.

The group, accompanied the First Lady’s staff and secret service, have apparently booked 30 rooms at the 5-star Hotel Villa Padierna.

The hotel is located on the shores of the Costa del Sol with the mountains of Marbella in the backdrop, and offers 129 luxury guest rooms, suites and villas.

Facilities include three 18-hole golf courses, a racquet club with six paddle courts and two tennis courts, and a 21,000 sq ft spa with 12 treatment rooms, an outdoor pool and another indoor heated swimming pool.

The hotel has five restaurants and bars/lounges offering Andalucian, Mediterranean and international cuisine.

Guests get to use a hotel shuttle to Puro Beach, a 10 minute drive from the hotel. Hotel Villa Padierna’s guests get a special 20% discount on sun beds at the beach.

Marbella photo - Axel Schwenke; More info - ritz-carlton.com 

Posted on August 3rd, 2010 by PLing
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