Travelblather

So I got the editor of a national newspaper's weekend magazine to take a feature... better still it was about driving Route 66 in a classic American car. This is a trip I did a year or two back, so the research is done, I have the pics and I even have a rough draft. Better still she pays a decent amount! Just need to update and add some sparkle to the copy... then I submit it and...

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Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says his company's profits have been hit nearly 30% by the economic downturn and rising fuel costs. (Down to £26 million so he's hardly going bankrupt.) When asked about the economic situation he told the BBC "We can't keep bailing ourselves out with these
artificial interest rate cuts... We need to
tighten the belt and focus on reducing costs."

It made me smile. If anyone knows about shaving costs he does. There aren't even pockets in the seatbacks on his planes these days.

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This time of year there are several big consumer travel shows taking place in the UK. Destinations is one of the biggest. If you're a bog standard punter you have to pay to get in which always strikes me as remarkable. You pay for the privilege to buy a holiday? Go figure.

Anyway... as a member of the media I get in FREE. I get a shiny badge with PRESS written on it and access to a special room with stale-looking sandwiches. (And NO goddamn coffee!) Of course I have to prove I really AM a travel writer. I pre-register - I'm on the right email lists.

But lots of people think they can blag it... and the best thing about the whole day is sitting there watching the old blaggers trying to get a press pass. It goes like this:

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Here
in the UK low cost airline Thomsonfly has
started flights to Tel Aviv and Bmi starts them on March
13th.

Hardly
the most obvious of weekend break destinations - with the never ending friction
between Israel and Palestine right on the doorstep.

"A
world-class destination, ringed by beaches, the city has chilled out sun and
sea life, chic shopping, swanky hotels and lively nightlife," runs the
blurb on the press release from the PR agency that handles Thomsonfly. (And
people chucking bombs at each other within an hour's drive... they missed that
bit out.)

So... should I go?

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I took me a while, but I've decided to throw my opinions into cyberspace and see what comes back. As a freelance travel writer most of what I'll cover will be about travel. Please feel free to comment!