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Tips Or Identifiers To Verify About Professional Travel Businesses

A sobering article appeared this morning that should have never been printed. It is news of a N.C. travel agent arrested on fraud charges for accepting monies for deposits on Hawaiian vacations from consumers and then canceling the trips without refunding these dollars. (per the Baltimoresun.com 03/27/08)

Consumers have a way to prevent this by asking the correct questions and qualifying information about the companies they do business with. This does not always prevent mishandling of fees though. There are additional resources of further verifications in the travel industry like the seller of travel registration programs in such states of California and Florida.

In California and Florida, there is an additional protection known as the “seller of travel” registration laws which businesses need to participate in when they sell to residents of these states. Specifically, in California, as of 2007, all seller of travel businesses, including ground companies (examples: transportation over land – limousine, motor coach, charter tour), are required to register with the state of California.

Selling travel includes all types of travel – a fun trip with your group in a motor coach for the evening to your local downtown for entertainment AND week long vacations, cruises, and air – travel adventures you enjoy. Consumers may receive more information of the California seller of travel program at: http://ag.ca.gov/travel/ and the Florida seller of travel program at: http://www.800helpfla.com/sot.html.

Travel businesses in these states are required to renew their registrations annually and must follow certain highlighted procedures (and more):

1. Display this registration number on all advertisements, including business cards, flyers, and websites, “visible” to the consumer. You will recognize this as: CST (or FST) # XXXXXXX-XX.

2. Establish a bank account or trust fund to be used for consumer deposits only, until the trip or vacation has taken place. Businesses may not co-mingle funds received from consumers with regular business funds until after the completed travel.

3. Sellers of Travel businesses need to have the established liability insurance to be eligible for participation.

As a seller of travel business in the state of California, you are required to participate with the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation along with the regular Seller of Travel program. This is an additional agency where consumers who are residents of California may apply for refunds of monies that were not returned to them or failed to comply with the conditions stated in cancellation agreements.

Any business selling travel to consumers in California and Florida should acquire this registration in these states whether or not they are located in the respective states. Yes, even larger, household named corporations and organizations, need this identifier and sometimes fail to show this on their advertising materials.

Remember, there is another registration, a TCP license, a ground transportation company must additionally maintain with vehicles in California. Other states have additional procedures to comply with which your Travel Consultant should be able to provide information free of charge to you.

Additional information may be found at the named websites mentioned in the beginning of this article and if you have additional questions please ask your Travel Consultant and/or call these agencies as this only skims the surface of this issue. These programs have been in existence for many years – to protect consumers.

As mentioned earlier in this article, any professional seller of travel business in California and Florida will be delighted to offer free information to you about this protection. These business owners follow these procedures for any consumers in any state. And, these business owners rest peacefully at night knowing funds are set aside for the consumer to enjoy.

This article is written to increase awareness of the additional identifiers for the consumer to ask questions and should not be used as a legal document. Additional questions should be directed to designated agencies as mentioned. Owners of Seller of Travel businesses should be able to provide information and direct you to these agencies when asked.

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About the Culture of Risk

When analyzing risk with Google Trends it appears that the search for “Risk” declines lightly but the search volume increases at the same time. A first deduction is that the factor risk in our lives is quite stable, and even declining over the last years. It maybe something people get used to. One must take into account that risk is a very broad area.

More surprising was the number one country where the term Risk was used: Singapore.

For those who have been in Singapore know that this is a country or city-state that is organized until the very last end. There is no litter on the streets because the fines are very high.

This means at least that risk and strictly organizing are closely related; companies try to over-organize to reduce the risk of business-failure.

This has obviously a price. And the price is visible in the culture of companies: those that over organize and others where chaos and incidents are seen as opportunities, rather than risks.

Risk and insurance are also closely related. When people are more prone to risk-aversion they tend to insure themselves. A striking difference of two cultures in this sense are Spain and The Netherlands. In the area of car insurance, the Dutch follow a solid All-risk-culture, traffic accidents are fully insured, both for the driver as for third party risks. In Spain there is no such all-risk-culture; cars are most of all insured for third party risk and in exceptional cases rather than the rule in an all-risk-coverage. This is visible in the street; in Spain you cannot pass a single street without noticing cars that are damaged, in the Netherlands that is hardly the case.

Most visible is the culture of risk by these structural constructions: the type of contracts, the form of the organization in companies, the assignment of a special risk officer. But this gives only a type of profile information. How it really works is something that requires a thorough scrutiny: it would be a too high risk to leave some essentials out of the analysis… this means that analysis is also a means to reduce risk in decision making.

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Enjoy the Varied Sights and Attractions of an Atlantic Coast Road Trip

A thorough Atlantic Coast Road Trip starts in New York City, and ends down south, at the tip of Florida in the historically rich city of Key West. Be prepared to travel almost two thousand miles of two lane, nature-filled roads with scenery unlike anything you can find along the interstate highways. Along this route, not only will you see many miles of dedicated national seashore, you will also have the opportunity to visit many interesting and unique seaside towns and view various historical sites. This route, with its varied sights and attractions, is one that should appeal to almost anyone.

When making an Atlantic coast road trip, you can begin with a tour of the iconic Statue of Liberty. From there, you can travel to Atlantic City in New Jersey, which is full of brightly lit resorts known for their perpetual fun and games. If you long for Coney Island style attractions, you can find those in places such as Ocean City, located in Maryland and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. There you will find amusement park rides, old time confections and wax museums. These man-made attractions are sure to entertain all ages, if only for a moment in time.

For those tourists who are interested in sites of a historical nature, South of the Mason-Dixon line, which is between Pennsylvania and Maryland, will yield areas rich in history such as Roanoke Island in North Carolina. This is where the first English speaking colony settled over four centuries ago, and also disappeared without a clue in 1587.

Also in North Carolina, in the Cape Lookout Region, there are a multitude of sites related to the Civil War era. Plenty of lighthouses also dot the coast, and some are even open for tourists. Fort Sumter, located in South Carolina, is also well known as where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April of 1861. For a peek at historical naval battlegrounds, Hampton Roads at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in Southeastern Virginia is a good stop on your Atlantic Coast road trip. Make sure not to miss out on Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers took flight for the first time in history. End your trip in Key West, Florida and enjoy the botanical and architectural treasures you can find there.

Whether you are seeking the solitude on a naturally preserved beach, or you long to experience the sights and sounds of seaside towns, you can be certain that an Atlantic Coast road trip will satisfy your desires. Since it is a lengthy journey, it can best be enjoyed in a leisurely fashion. So be prepared to stop off at a roadside stand or historical home along your drive.