In mid-July we mailed a survey to 1,000 ITN subscribers. By mid-August we had just about 800 responses. To show our appreciation, we’re giving out $800 worth of prizes. The prizes are sixteen 50-dollar gift certificates for the travel-supply company Magellan’s.
We don’t know who returned the surveys, so, at random, selections were made from the list of those to whom the surveys were sent.
My mantra being “pack light,” I used to be against packing electronics of any kind. But now I bring my laptop, iPod, digital camera and mobile phone to Europe. With hotels retiring their fax machines in favor of e-mail and with mobile phones getting cheaper and easier to buy and Wi-Fi hotspots popping up everywhere, it’s never been simpler to get connected.
If you want to save money while traveling, consider hosteling. Several thousand hostels provide beds throughout Europe — in cities, towns and the countryside — for $20 to $40 per night.
In response to consistent requests for expanded coverage in ITN, we asked our readers if they wanted the magazine to also cover Mexico and the Caribbean.
Here is a small sampling (in the order received) of the answers. Then follows the prizes awarded.
Given the economy, the number-one question I’ve gotten lately from people is whether to go to Europe or not. It’s true that many people will put off their trips for another time, but millions of globetrotters — who see exploring our world as a way of life — will find a way to keep on traveling.
Fun and games at ITN!
I took 10 pieces of paper, each 2 inches by 3 inches, and wrote on them, individually, the numbers 0 through 9. Folding them, I put them in a box and, with my eyes closed, drew them out, one at a time.
Out came 8-3-4-1-7. The ZIP code closest to that belonging an ITN subscriber was 83406, home to Stephen Marano in Idaho Falls, ID. Out next came 0-2-5-9-6. The ZIP code of an ITN subscriber closest to that was 02601, held by Joseph Sposta in Hyannis, MA.
To the right are pictured (slightly reduced) Magellan’s “retriever tags.” You place your itinerary in the pouch and, with the furnished strap, attach it to the handle on your luggage.
While updating my guidebooks for 2009, I found plenty of changes in Britain and Ireland.
• Fortunately, one of my favorite offbeat sights in London — the Bramah Museum of Tea & Coffee (www.teaandcoffeemuseum.co.uk) — will reopen later this year. It had closed following the death of its founder, Edward Bramah. He believed that the tea bag, invented in the 1950s to let Brits brew tea during a TV commercial, spelled the death of a good “cuppa.” Aficionados of tea or coffee will find this small, quirky museum fascinating.
As promised, here is a list of destinations, in order, where ITN readers went in year 2008. We mailed out 1,000 surveys and had an 87.7% response. Of those, 81.2% traveled overseas last year.
The point of this exercise is so you may run your finger down the list and say something like, “Look at all the people who have been to_________, and we haven’t! Let’s think about that one.” Hope this inspires new plans.
Every year when I update my guidebook series, I find out what’s new in Europe. Here’s a review of what Americans can expect the next time they cross the Atlantic.