Category: Travel
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Golden Coastlines and Their Underwater Treasures
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Indiana Jones should learn how to scuba dive. Technological advances in recent years, coupled with the political opening of once secretive and reclusive regimes, is enabling archeologists to unlock the secrets of the world’s formerly forbidden waters. And for treasure hunters, the rewards are worth millions. A recent article from the BBC chronicles the efforts of…
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Seeing Red: Moldova’s Wine Industry Thunders Forward
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When I think of the Eastern European country of Moldova, I see red. That is not to say that images of this country shaped like a bunch of grapes is somehow infuriating. Quite the contrary. What I see are swirling glasses brimming with bold, dark, ruby-red wine. The only thing I find disconcerting is that very…
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Tourpreneur Profile: Constantin Furtuna
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Once a year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) sets aside a special day to recognize tourism’s contribution to economic growth around the world. For today’s celebration, the theme focuses specifically upon how tourism promotes community development. Over the past few weeks, my wife and I have been working with a brilliant and driven…
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Branding Hvar Island: A Mediterranean Gem of UNESCO Delights
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The Mediterranean Sea has always sparked my imagination. Visions of full-sail triremes slicing through sapphire-blue waters, clay amphoras brimming with wine and olives, and stone walls that have stood for thousands of years fill my mind when someone mentions ‘The Med.’ In the European Union’s latest member country, Croatia, where national tourism brochures are emblazoned…
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3,000 Years of Wine History in Spain’s Rioja Alavesa Region
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When contemplating why someone would want to visit or invest in a destination, the answer should include the destination’s competitive advantage. For the Basque wine region of Rioja Alavesa, that competitive advantage is history and people. With a history dating back to the Phoenicians 3,000 years ago, and a population that speaks a language that predates all…
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The Successful $150M Gamble: Bilbao’s Brilliant Bet
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Once described as ‘Coketown’ after the fictional industrial city illustrated by Charles Dickens in his book ‘Hard Times,’ Bilbao was a grimy, blackened city in the early 1990s. Heavy industry was once the backbone of the region’s economy, but after the steel mills and shipyards shut down in the face of relentless competition from East Asia…
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Tourism Development in Belgrade, Serbia
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On a recent visit to Belgrade, Serbia, my wife and I had a chance to experience the tourism offerings of this capital city. Situated at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers on the Balkan Peninsula, Belgrade is emerging from the turmoil of the late 1990s and early 2000s as a regional center of…
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A Tasting of Real Parmesan Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar near Modena, Italy
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Every Italian dish tastes better with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. We had a chance to visit a producer of this distinctly Italian cheese, together with a family-run balsamic vinegar maker, just outside the city of Modena in Italy. A plate piled high with spaghetti, a piping-hot dish of lasagna, or a slice of your…
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Create Your Own Virtual Tours with Google Street View
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Have a look at this photo sphere of the San Marino Fortress in Europe: http://goo.gl/nFf09y Unfortunately, you’re locked inside the photo sphere and cannot explore further. Now, have a look at a Google Street View photo sphere taken a few meters away that enables you to explore more of San Marino: http://goo.gl/HNBhza As you can see, Google…
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Google Maps Enters the 4th Dimension
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Facebook’s recent acquisition of Oculus VR, the ongoing evolution of wearable computing like Google Glass, and the increasingly immersive experience of Google’s Street View, suggest that most travelers in a few years will have already visited a destination in virtual reality before arriving in person. Thus, for the successful tourism entrepreneur, enticing visitors will require…