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How to Revive Your Tourism Business

SHIRAKABA Nature guide tour.

Image via Wikipedia

Many reasons exist for why businesses experience ups and downs. New competitors, better products and services and cheaper prices all have a great deal to do with why customers leave. Fortunately, tools exist such as kissinsights.com and other Internet tools, allowing you to gather information and repair a struggling business. Here are a few ways to address a struggling tourism business.

1. Determine if your tourism business struggles are isolated events. In other words, are the other tourism businesses struggling as well? If not, what about the businesses that offer the same types of service that you provide? Figure out what factors are leading to the decreased revenue.

2. Interview existing clients. Use kissinsights.com to gather the input of existing customers. Formulate questions that address the value of your service. For example, you may be offering daylong tours to visitors complete with lunch and a thorough explanation of the flora and fauna of the vacation spot. You might ask former clients and new website visitors to comment on the schedule of the tour, the lunch menu, the quality of the tour guide and so on.

3. Partner with other organizations or services. For example, if you offer guided tours, you might build a partnership with the local taxi company and ask them to mention your service each time visitors ask about the availability of tours.

4. Try something new. You might redesign your business website or change your lunch menu. Alternatively, you might encourage your tour guides to be more vivacious and entertaining during the events. When people enjoy your service, they will spread the word, leading to greater revenue.

Filed Under: Advancements, General, Travel Tagged With: , ,

Alternative Fuels

Symbol used for vehicles powered by compressed...

Image via Wikipedia

The vehicles we drive can be outfitted to run on so many things. The standard is gasoline, but engines can be modified or designed for any number of other fuels. Here’s a few, including some you may not have heard about.

  • Air – the pistons in the engine are driven by compressed air instead of combustion. And naturally, the only emission of an engine running on air is air.
  • Ammonia – with minor modifications, engines, even jet engines, can run on ammonia. It’s renewable and emissions are mostly nitrogen and water vapor.
  • Battery / Electric – battery run electric cars are well known. Energy is stored in the battery instead of being generated via combustion or some other method.
  • Bioalcohol – methanol, ethanol, and biobutanol are all bioalcohols. Generally, they are alcohols derived from the fermentation of renewable biological materials like corn, grain, straw, and more.
  • Biodiesel – biodiesels are derived from vegetable, animal, or nut oils. With minor modifications, many diesel engines can run on vegetable oils.
  • Biogas – biogas refers to the gas emitted by the breakdown of biological matter in an anaerobic environment. Compressed natural gas engines can run on compressed biogas.
  • Charcoal – this one is limited to China and probably just the early half of the 20th century. A Chinese inventor converted a car engine to run on charcoal.
  • Natural gas – the combustion that drives the engine is derived from compressed natural gas.
  • Pedal-assisted electric hybrid – these are small engines that derive power partly from human power – peddling. Emissions probably include sweat and chafing.
  • Steam – the engine is run on steam under pressure produced by boiling water. Like a tiny steam boat with wheels.

Gasoline engines probably aren’t going anywhere for a long time. But the technology is around if people want to run their cars on something a bit cleaner and more exotic…like air.

Filed Under: Advancements, General Tagged With: , ,

How to Increase Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency

With gas prices so high and the likelihood of higher prices on the horizon, people are looking for ways to stretch their gas money and get as much out of a tank of gas as possible. While many of us probably can’t give up our petrol addiction all together, there are some things that can be done to make those tear-jerking trips to the gas station less frequent.

Watch your speed

A hefty fine shouldn’t be the only reason to observe the speed limit. As a car’s speed increases, so does the engine’s effort to maintain those speeds and fight against friction, drag, and other forces. The engine has to work harder at higher speeds and this uses more gas. Mileage decreases at higher speeds.

Remove excess weight

The more a car weighs the harder the engine has to work to move it. Avoid storing a bunch of stuff in the trunk or back or wherever. This affects smaller cars even more. An extra 100 pounds of stuff in the car can reduce mileage by around two percent. That’ll add up.

Avoid unnecessary idling

A car sitting still with the engine running gets zero miles per gallon. Idling burns gas and excessive idling burns a lot of it. Turn the engine off if the car is going to be immobile for a while. Maybe even at long stoplights if possible or road construction or stop-and-go traffic. If trying to save gas, excessive idling is just a waste.

Keep up on maintenance

A well-tuned car is a more fuel efficient car. Air and oil filters are important and should be changed regularly. Tires should be at proper inflation. Underinflated tires can increase drag and cause the engine to work harder.

Drive calmly

Aggressive driving, sudden stops and accelerations, uses more gas.

Any of these can improve fuel efficiency, but, ideally, they should all be done to boost efficiency as much as possible.

Filed Under: Advancements, Modes of Transportation Tagged With: , ,

The Top Alternatives to Gasoline

Gasoline gets a bad rap, and partly for good reason. It’s fairly reliable and still abundant and not likely to run out in the near future, but it pollutes, drilling for it can be messy, and it seems to get more and more expensive with each passing year or political hiccup in oil-producing nations. We need viable alternatives to gasoline. Here are a few.

  • Alcohol fuels. Ethanol, methanol, and biobutanol are all alcohol fuels. They are produced by fermenting grain, corn, straw, corn stalks or some other biomass into a combustible liquid that can be used in appropriate engines. They all burn cleaner than gas.
  • Electricity. Instead of getting power from an internal combustion, electric engines store power in battery. This power can come from coal burning plants (which, ideally, isn’t the cleanest option) or renewable sources like wind or solar power. Also: zero emissions.
  • Hydrogen. A pure hydrogen engine is an electric engine that gets it power from a chemical reaction called electrolysis. This power is stored in a special fuel cell. Such an engine has just one emission: water.
  • Biodiesel. Biodiesel engines can run on vegetable, animal, or even nut oils. Its energy output is comparable to gasoline and it burns cleaner with less emissions.
  • Biogas. Biogas is the gas given off by the breakdown of biological matter in a typically anaerobic (oxygenless) environment. Compressed biogas can take the place of compressed natural gas in natural gas engines.
  • Misc. Modified engines can run on liquid nitrogen, compressed air, and even ammonia. These engines are emission-less and fueled by renewable substances.

None of these alternatives can currently fill the role of gasoline. The technology doesn’t exist or it’s still in a very expensive or inefficient early stage of development or can’t feasibly be used on a large scale. With time and effort, we can wean ourselves off petroleum and onto something cleaner, cheaper, and renewable.

Filed Under: Advancements, Modes of Transportation Tagged With: , ,

Traveling On A Budget

You need to take a trip, or your want to take a trip. Maybe it is a business trip, maybe it is a family vacation. Either way, in this time of making every dime count, you want to find the most economical way to take your trip. If work is paying for the trip, saving them some money may get you noticed by the boss. If you are paying for the family vacation, who doesn’t want to save money on the trip, freeing up some more spending money for the vacation.  So break out your laptops and do a little research online to save valuable time and money.

The truth is, at any given time, different forms of travel may be the most economical choice. We immediately think that by taking our own car we will save the most money. Once you factor in stopping for food, stopping to sleep for the night, as well as the toll the trip will take on the car itself, driving may not be the most economical or practical way for you to go.

Obviously there are times when you must fly. That being the case, keep an eye on the airlines. See who is offering the best deal. Believe it or not, the fare can differ quite substantially from airline to airline, depending on where you are going, what day of the week you need to travel, and what time of the year you are traveling.

Taking your car is not always the best choice for the environment. Can you take that business trip with another associate, thus car pooling, saving money for both of you and doing your part to keep the environment a little safer. If you are traveling with one or two business partners, is a bus trip in order? With the amount of cars one bus trip can keep off the road, another form of environmentally sound travel. A little diligence goes a long way in preparing your trip.

Filed Under: Advancements, General Tagged With: , ,

Train Travel On A Budget

An interior view of a restaurant car onboard a...
Image via Wikipedia

You have decided to leave the car home this time. This trip will be by train. Maybe it was a price issue, maybe it was an accommodation issue, maybe you just want to see the country by railway. Whatever the reason you have chosen to travel by train, there are ways to make this form of travel fit into your budget. You take your luggage on with you, thereby avoiding extra baggage charges, as airlines are now charging per bag, and the fees can add up. You certainly don’t have the expense of the gas, and with the current gas prices it can actually be more cost effective to travel by means other than an automobile. If it is a long trip, you can choose to have a bunk on the train, or you can just sleep in your seat. The choice is yours. Sleeping on the train saves the expense of stopping when you are tired and having to get a hotel room for the night, possibly in a town where you have no idea where to get the best deal.

If you are traveling with children, you can always pack a bag of snacks. There is a dining car on long train trips, and you will want to go there for dinner, but during the day if the kids just need something to hold them over, you can have a variety of snacks ready, saving you the expense of the dining car.

Each trip and each family needs to decide what is the best way for them. It is just a really good idea to check out each form of travel and what would be best for you and your family for this particular trip. Sometimes it makes sense to take the car, sometimes it may be necessary to fly, but sometimes the good old American railways can take you where you need to go.

Filed Under: Advancements, General, Safety, Travel Tagged With: , ,

Being Prepared for Anything

First Aid Sign/Label
Image via Wikipedia

When traveling, whether you are going down the street or thousands of miles away, you should be prepared. Emergencies, while infrequent, do happen and can happen at any time to anyone. Being prepared for all types of emergencies will ease your mind as you make plans for your trip.

You can have an emergency kit, “first aid for your car” if you will. Some car emergencies can easily be fixed by a handyman with the right equipment. Someone on the trip should know how to change a tire. If you don’t aware about that process need not worry, because we can easily learn from some short term health care online classes. Someone on the trip should also know how to check the oil and other fluids in the car, as well as knowing how to replenish them if needed. Your first aid kit should also contain a flashlight, flares, water, as well as a white flag if you need to leave your car abandoned.

It probably is not a bad idea to have available a personal first aid kit as well. Even a fender bender or a slip off the road can cause someone to have a minor cut or scrape that needs attending. You can stay focused on your trip if you don’t have to stop just to bandage a cut.

Make sure you have emergency numbers at your fingertips. We can all use 9-1-1 if needed, but if you know your destination, you can have the phone numbers for local help available if needed. Also, if your destination is with family members, keep them abreast of where you are on your trip. Let them know when they should be expecting you, and notify them if you should get held up, or are not be able to get there exactly as planned. They can keep an eye out for you as well, thus being keenly aware if you do not show as expected.

Now you can enjoy your trip as much as everyone else, knowing that you have prepared well.

Filed Under: Advancements, General, Safety, Travel Tagged With: , ,

The Hybrid And The Environment

Since the first hybrid car, a car running on both gas and electricity, hit the US market on May 27, 2006, we have had a fascination and a curiosity as to whether this car is actually better for the environment. Being that the hybrid is so new to the market, and there are only a few automobile manufacturers who have made hybrid cars, it is an expensive investment. Is the investment worth it? Will the hybrid car really help the environment, is it truly a “green” car?

There are a few factors as to why the hybrid car is good for the environment. A long known problem with a solely gasoline-powered car is obviously the air pollution of the emissions. Cars are not going away, our highways are packed with gas guzzling, pollution emitting automobiles. Cars that run on gas emit large amounts of chemical fumes, polluting the air. The hybrid car has fewer and cleaner emissions, as part of the time the car runs on electricity. Reduction in smoke and chemical fumes on a large scale has been said to improve the plight of global warming.

As far as noise pollution is concerned, the hybrid is a much quieter ride, being virtually silent running when switched over to running on electricity. The hybrid car engines do not produce excessive noise when turned over or accelerated. The hybrid car also outperforms the gasoline-powered cars by 20 to 30 percent, making it much more fuel efficient.

While these steps are small on one car, they are huge on a large scale. If everyone considered the planet that we are leaving to our children and grandchildren being completely overrun by pollution, maybe we would think to do something about it now, while we still have a chance to contribute to a cleaner, safer world. Is the hybrid the right choice for you?

Filed Under: Advancements, General, Travel Tagged With:

Budgeting For Your Vacation

We all need to get away once in a while. There is a large percentage of people in this country today who feel they cannot afford to take a vacation. Our pockets are stretched to their capacity just trying to feed our families and keep our houses. We are pinching pennies at every turn and there is nothing extra at the end of the month. More than ever, people need to get away from the daily grind of their jobs and just sit back and take a breather.

A lot of families today are doing the day trip vacations. Take a day off here and there and visit a local, or not too far away, amusement park or attraction. This type of vacation is a little less expensive in the fact that you only have to save up for one day, not a whole week of hotel bills and restaurant checks. The price of entrance into a particular attraction may seem exorbitant, but if you are just splurging for the day, it can be done.

There are plenty of things to do for next to no money at all. A day at the park with the kids is, for the most part, free. You can pack a lunch and small children think a day at the park is about the best thing anyone can do. For older children, a museum or two is always an education as well as a vacation. If it is just the adults, you can pick and choose where you would like to go. You can take the car or join one of the many bus trips available throughout most cities.

Whatever decision you make, the important part is being together, putting down the telephone and spending some quality time with family. Just getting away from the grind, even if it is for just one day, can rejuvenate your soul.

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That Big Bird In The Sky

S7 Airlines Boeing 767-300.
Image via Wikipedia

Air travel has increased exponentially in recent years. More and more people are taking advantage of flying. Flying has never been more economical. In a fragile economy, such as the one we are currently in, airlines are fighting for your business. There are all kinds of discounts being offered, buy one get one flights and other savings to attract customers back to the airways.

There is a large percentage of our population who are afraid to fly. They just don’t trust that the large airplane is safe in the air. Statistically air travel is much safer than land travel. This is sometimes not enough to convince someone to place their bags on the belt and present their ticket.

While many adults have chosen not to fly, the first time on an airplane for a child can be as scary an experience as it is exciting. If you have chosen to fly, and your child is apprehensive, there are things you can do to ease the anxiety. Take a small child to the airport. Maybe they have been to the airport before and just glancing at the huge airplane has made them a little frightened. Show them all the different planes and take your time to walk around the airport so that they can see how many people have chosen to travel by plane. If you know someone who is a pilot, maybe they can talk to them about their many adventures in the sky.

The most important thing to assure your child is that you will be right there with them. If mommy and daddy have chosen this way to travel, well then it must be okay. We carry a lot of weight as parents. Dismissing their fears will only make a child more resistant to getting on the plane, however addressing their fears and doing everything to calm them could open up their world to the wonders of air travel.

Filed Under: Advancements, General Tagged With: ,
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