Traveling for work can be fraught with delays, mechanical difficulties, and missed connections as a new study by the Global Business Travel Association recently found. Here are some tips from one association professional and travel pro to help make your next trip go as smooth as possible.

For anyone who's traveled this winter, you've probably experienced at least one travel delay due to the weather and realized what a headache that can be.

For business travelers, weather-related delays were the most frequently reported issues disrupting travel last year, according to a recently released study by the Global Business Travel Association. Other frequent travel issues included delayed departures, airplane mechanical issues or late plane arrivals, and missing a connecting flight.

The study also found that 75 percent of business travelers had encountered a mishap while traveling over the last year.

While pretty much nothing can help alleviate the pain of weather delays, here's some travel advice from seasoned traveler and association professional Lowell Aplebaum, CAE, senior director, membership and professional development, at the Society for Neuroscience, who up until this year was on the road three out of every four weeks a month.

What was a top concern or pet peeve when you were traveling so frequently?

Once you travel a lot you get your routine down: How soon you need to get to the airport, how much time you need for security, where you need to go after security to get the best cup of coffee or be ready for your flight.

I'd say a pet peeve would be anything that happens that messes up that routine. It could be people who are in the wrong line for security, people who still don't realize you need to show ID to check in, any of the small things you know are going to mess up your usual pattern.

Just like when people go to the office in the morning and they have their routine-they like to set up their computer, get their cup of coffee, check the news-it's the same for a traveler.

What time of day or days of the week did you prefer to travel?

In terms of when to travel, my philosophy is I want to be away from home as little as possible, so I'd rather get the 5 a.m. flight and get there and have a full day to work in hopes that when it comes time to leave I don't have to stay the extra day or the extra night because I've spent the whole day working.

But if you get the 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. flight that means you're up at 3 a.m. in time to get there, so I'm not saying that's for everyone. There's give and take and wear and tear on your body, and are you going to be awake and vibrant when you get to your first meeting?

I happen to be a morning person so it works for me, but I'd much rather do the early morning flight and get the full day in than leave at noon and try to start meetings at four or five in the evening.

What about choosing a hotel?

I think my advice would be location, location, location. People have brand loyalty and earning points and perks will definitely make your hotel experience better. But, in general, if you know where you have to be for a conference, staying five, 10 minutes farther away to save 10 or 20 bucks isn't worth it.

When you're traveling, your hotel room is your home base. It's the place you have that you can work. It's the place you have that is quiet. It's the place you have that you have all your stuff organized and you can lay everything out and no one's going to touch it. You don't have an office. You don't have a home. But you have the hotel room. … It's worth the investment to be close to that home base.

What advice would you give a newbie business traveler?

You quickly learn that the perks of loyalty programs-whether it's boarding first and getting your bag on the plane, or having access to a lounge that has breakfast in the morning-whatever the perks may be, for business travelers who are on the road all the time, they become part of what helps you do your job better.

If you travel a lot, being able to board first so you can take your bag [and not run out of space on the plane to store it], means that much less time that you're waiting at baggage claim so you can go and get to your meeting. The lounge in the hotel in the morning, which may seem first class, is really a quiet place you can go, spread out, and do some work before your meetings.

Any other advice?

Any day that you are traveling somewhere new, even if you're booked from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., you're still somewhere different, you're still somewhere new, there's always the possibility to try and get a little bit of the local flavor, whether that's the food, the people you talk to, or maybe there's a beautiful outdoor environment you can go out and appreciate.

Yes, business travel is business first and travel second, but it shouldn't mean that you don't pay attention to where you are and try to experience a little of where you are even though it may not be the primary reason you are there.

Johannesburg - I had an interesting discussion once with a fellow parent at my son's junior school. He was horrified that we didn't have a computer in the house (this was the mid-1990s) and said I was handicapping my children's future progress.

I was reminded of that recently by two things. The first was that my son came top of his class at Toulouse University for his Master's in International Trade Law (after an LLB in South Africa). Holidays at Newport International Group .

The second was a report saying school pupils these days feel themselves grossly disadvantaged if they don't have an iPad.

There can be no doubt that, in these competitive times, parents must become involved in the education of their children, and that education should not be left only to digital devices. That's because, I believe, computers and the Net, far from expanding a person's view, often give them tunnel vision. Case in point: Twitter. Those who use it tend to think the points of view they see comprise the entirety of human thought - yet they are only a fraction of the tip of the iceberg.

I still believe that good, old-fashioned, hands-on, "analogue" experiences are what true education is about.

Another example. When my son was about 18 months old and his friends' parents would sit their kids in front of TV to watch Barney the Dinosaur videos, in Household Seery we had the "Third World Video". This consisted of a sheet of white plastic, board markers and two kiddie's chairs. I would then sit next to my son and we would do "drawing stories". It didn't matter that I couldn't draw. He didn't know. Also I stuck to things like planes and boats. And he would sit, entranced, hanging on every word out of Daddy's mouth. So when he was barely three years old, my son told my sister one day: "Auntie Carmel, did you know the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg?"

Travel, they say, broadens the mind - and there is no better way to stimulate a young child's brain than by exposing it to the experiences travel brings.

When our kids were small we noticed huge improvements in the way they spoke, they reasoned and the questions they asked after a holiday at the coast.

When their developing brains have to cope with major additional stimuli, they grow additional neuronal connections - or so a friend who has studied this sort of thing assures me.

So how do you incorporate travel into a child's life? And how do you travel with a child?

First, simple is best… and often cheapest. When children are young, they don't yet know the value of things and appreciate the basics, like splashing in the sea and searching for fish in tidal pools. So beach holidays are perfect.

Driving there is also the most logical way to go. You have more control of yourself, your child and the situation when you're in a car as opposed to travelling on a plane or a train. Also, plan your journey with frequent "wee stops" and with games to play. Identifying specific cars is an old one but it still works. Try to incorporate quizzes on the way, too.

When all else fails and the "are we there yet?" chorus starts to grow in intensity, have an audio book or look into installing a DVD player with screens for the rear-seat passengers. Remember to limit the time devoted to the videos, though.

It's also a great idea to get the kids to put together scrapbooks (or digital albums on their iPads) about their experiences and to get them to share them with you or in class.

Taking children to the bush sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Often our kids would get bored quickly in game reserves and did not have the patience to sit quietly at a waterhole. Game drives tend to be short and frustrating - but if there is an opportunity for them to experience nature first-hand, they'll love it: I showed my son how ant lions capture and kill their prey and, on a trip to Zimbabwe, showed him how to fish a "camel worm" out of its hole in the ground.

My son was never one for the great outdoors, though, and his most famous teenage comment, on reaching Swakopmund in Namibia, was: "Why would you want to travel 2 500km just to look at nothing?" He then sat and watched Euro soccer on DStv while my daughter and I climbed the world's highest sand dune.

Yet he was entranced by Europe even though his first visit there was in the teeth of an awful winter. The history and culture - and the thousands of people his age (21) - appealed to him. And now he's there.

My daughter, by contrast, quite liked the bush and animals. No surprise that she's now training to be a vet.

I don't think it is a good idea to take young children on an overseas trip - rather wait until they're in their teens and can appreciate it (and you might be able to afford it by then, too).

And school tours (if you can afford them) are a great mind expander.

Just remember when travelling with older children not to let your guard down in terms of security and things like drink, drugs and sex. Just because you're out of the city doesn't necessarily mean those things aren't there. They may whinge but while they're minors, you're still in charge.

An important thing to remember when you travel is family. Kids need to see granny and grandpa. They need to meet suckers who believe they're little angels - and they need to know they're part of a bigger family.

Spring is the season hope is rekindled, when broken blades are renewed, and light washes the shadows. We can go barefoot in the grass, pluck the charms of flowers, whistle in the warming breeze, and hit the winding road.

But, as with any venture, travel can have its pitfalls and pitsprings, if the traveler is not rightly attuned to or aware of warning signs. Many, and I include myself, celebrate uncertainty, mystery, and well-planned trips gone wrong. But it is just to a point, as nobody wants to go over the cliff of recklessness.

For many years I've tested the parameters of travel, and have made discoveries, and mistakes. I've learned equally from both.

Take me there: Formentera

Why go?

It's a refuge for hippies, clubbed-out Ibiza veterans, Italian tourists by the boatload and the occasional supermodel, yet Formentera manages to hang on to its bohemian, below- the-radar charm. The sugar-soft beaches and psychedelic sunsets are among the best in the Med.

What to do

Hire a bike or scooter and set about finding your perfect beach: Illetes for people-watching, Migjorn for dazzling white sands, Llevant to escape the crowds (and your clothes). Wade out to the deserted isle of Espalmador to wallow in the natural hot mud springs. Shop for jewellery and clothing at El Pilar de la Mola artisan market (Wednesdays and Sundays).

Where to eat

Formentera has no shortage of beach-front restaurants, but Es Caló, in the little fishing village of the same name, is one of the best, serving up paella, seafood platters and grilled fish a pebble's throw from the ocean (restauranteescalo.com) .

Where to stay

Fall asleep to the sound of the waves at Talaya, a collection of 10 simple-but-stylish studios and bungalows behind the dunes at Migjorn beach (from €140 a night, talayaformentera.es).

Insider tip

"It's magical to watch the sunset from the lighthouse at Cap de Barbaria," says Jax Lysycia, who runs the wildly popular Formentera Yoga retreats (formenterayoga.com). "On a clear day you can see all the way to Algeria."

Give me a break

Home: getting to know Lincolnshire Attractions across Lincolnshire will be offering free admission or special discounts as part of the Discover Lincolnshire Weekend, 22-23 March. Attractions taking part in the promotion include Lincoln's open-top sightseeing bus, the medieval manor house Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincoln castle and cathedral, and the Museum of RAF Firefighting (visitlincolnshire.com)

As she paged through Viking River Cruises' glossy brochure one recent afternoon, Diane Moskal noticed a new way to save money: If she booked the Waterways of the Tsars itinerary sailing from Moscow to St. Petersburg with something called an e-check, the cruise line promised to knock $100 off the fare.

An e-check is an electronic debit to your checking account, and it's billed as a quick, convenient way to pay for your vacation that is "as easy as providing your credit card number," according to Viking.



But like any smart traveler, Moskal wasn't content with that explanation. "I see that the cruise lines advocate consumer savings if you pay by e-check," she says. But she also found several complaints online, which made her, hesitate. She wondered: Are e-checks safe?

As airlines, hotels and cruise lines offer new ways to pay for their products, Moskal's question resonates across the entire travel industry. On several airlines, including American, Southwest and United, you can book a ticket through PayPal. Virgin Galactic made a splash late last year when it announced that it would accept Bitcoin for its spaceflights. One hostel in San Francisco, the Pacific Tradewinds, famously offers a 30 percent discount to guests who pay with the digital currency.

Newport International Group Corporate Travel

While Viking River's e-check option isn't new - it's been available since 2008 - the concerns raised by Moskal and others are. It turns out that there are several important differences between paying by e-check and paying by credit card. And given the popularity of new electronic payment choices, it's a good time to understand how they work.

Americans made 22.1 billion electronic payments using options such as e-checks in 2012, the most recent year for which numbers are available, according to a recent Federal Reserve study. The number of transactions grew at an annual rate of 5.1 percent from 2009 to 2012, the Fed reports. By comparison, consumers conducted 26.2 billion credit card transactions in 2012, and those numbers grew at a somewhat faster 7.6 percent annual rate.

The benefits to companies are obvious: They avoid paying any fees associated with credit cards and they receive the customer's money right away, deposited directly into their merchant bank. But consumers have an advantage, too, at least according to companies like Viking.

"Guests who pay via e-check receive a discount of two percent, which reflects a savings that Viking passes on to the guest by not having to pay a fee to a credit card company," says Viking spokesman Ian Jeffries. He says that the company also recommends payment via e-check as an alternative to a credit card so that you can avoid any interest rates or fees that some credit card companies may charge.

Viking is hardly alone. One recent study found that a quarter of airlines worldwide offer some form of alternative electronic payment option. As companies try to escape the high merchant fees charged by credit cards, these payment choices are bound to become more common in the near future.

"Conventionally, the discounted pay-by-e-check transactions are processed through the traveler's bank, given the customer's bank routing numbers and checking or savings account numbers," says Oliver McGee, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of transportation for technology policy and a professor at Howard University.

E-checks come in two basic flavors: Check21 electronic payment processing, which is more flexible but also more expensive, and the more restricted ACH wire deposit payments, which are commonly used for handling direct deposits for employees and for paying bills.

As a practical matter, setting up an e-check involves giving the travel company basic bank information, typically gained through the bank's routing numbers, as well as your account number, and authorizing the transaction.

But you also sacrifice something when you're paying with an e-check. As with paper checks, once the money is deposited into the company's account, your ability to reverse the charges is limited. Your right to dispute an e-check travel purchase is governed by the ACH or Check21 terms and conditions as well as the electronic fraud protection conditions of your financial institution.

By comparison, a credit card purchase is protected by federal law under the Fair Credit Billing Act, which, among other things, lets you dispute charges for products you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed, and which can quickly fix a billing error.

"You have more leeway to dispute a purchase made with a credit card," says David Bakke, who edits the personal finance Web site Money Crashers (www.moneycrashers.com).

If an e-check booking goes wrong - say, for example, that your cruise line files for bankruptcy protection and you want a refund - you may lose your money. Bakke says that e-checks can be reversed in only three cases: if you didn't authorize the purchase, if the e-check was processed on a date earlier than authorized or if the amount of the processed transaction is different from what was authorized. Otherwise, the money is as good as gone.

While complaints about e-checks are rare, grievances with companies over wired money appear to be increasingly common. Not a week seems to go by that someone doesn't ask me to help retrieve money that had been wired to a company or an individual. These transactions are difficult, if not impossible, to undo. Generally, if you're dealing with a small local company or an individual, you can kiss the cash goodbye.

After I explained the differences in payment methods to Moskal, she consulted her travel agent, who booked her on the Viking riverboat cruise to Russia this fall. "She never raised the question of paying by anything other than credit card," says Moskal.

Here are some of the more interesting deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently:

During Hotel Week Boston, Feb. 16-23, participating hotels will offer rooms with rates at least 30 percent off best available rates.

Liberty Travel has a three-night getaway to Cancun, Mexico, priced from $625 per person double occupancy. Included is round-trip air from Miami and three nights' lodging at the all-inclusive Oasis Cancun. 877-823-8888

It doesn't get much cheaper than this. The Online Vacation Center has seven-night eastern Caribbean cruises on Holland America Line as cheap as $499 per person double occupancy for travel this winter. At that price, you might as well splurge and get a balcony for $250 more. The cruise is round-trip from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with port stops in the Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and Half Moon Cay. 800-780-9002

Austin Adventures, which Travel + Leisure selected as No. 1 in Family Travel in its 2012 World's Best Awards, has family adventures in the U.S. and Canada, as well as around the world.

Gray Whale Watching in Baja, Alaska Bear Viewing & Safari and Walking Holiday in Scotland is among the trips offered on the new website of Adventure Women, which for more than three decades has been offering adventure trips aimed at women over 30. 800-804-8686,

"Slaves and Slaveholders of Wessyngton Plantation," which looks at the lives of the slaves and their white owners on the 13,000-acre plantation in Robertson County, Tenn., will run Feb. 11 to Aug. 31 at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.

The Vancouver International Wine Festival will be Feb. 24 to March 2 in the British Columbia city.

SmarterTravel.com lists 27 inspiring places to travel at tinyurl.com/q8bxvkk.

Essential Travel, a U.K.-based online travel-insurance provider, has tips on choosing a ski helmet.

Check out Insight Vacations' new Exotics Collection of trips.

FamilyVacationCritic.com lists its picks for best ski resorts for families.

Presidents' Day weekend, Feb. 15-17, will be fee-free for national wildlife refuges.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10592656/Scam-City-a-taxi-ride-from-hell-in-Mumbai.html

En spanings-reporter for svindel byen ble filmet tar en drosjetur i Mumbai med en uoppfordret passasjer som hevdet å være hans reise agen

Conor Woodman er en undersøkende journalist som besøkte ti av verdens byer å avsløre turist feller for et nytt program svindel byen.

For denne siste serien oppdaget han en livstruende spillet russisk rulett i New Orleans; opplevde en taxi svindel i Mumbai; filmet pickpocketers i New York og møtte gjenger i red light district i Amsterdam.

Mumbai taxi svindel

I Mumbai møtte han en svindler som hoppet, uninvited, til hans taxi, som sett i videoen ovenfor. "Det var to av oss i taxi, meg og kameramannen," forklarte Woodman, og han stopper og denne fyren får i og sier "Oh, jeg er ditt reisebyrå".

"Hvis han ikke var, han var hovedmannen i denne mest omfattende svindel. Det involvert ham tar oss galt - vi var omringet av denne høytid og måtte betale en bestikkelse- og tok han oss til feil hotell.

"Vi var i hovedsak kidnappet i dagslys. Jeg var i det taxi for ca to timer, var det ingen air-con, og han holdt ber om mer penger. Det ble morsom for en stund, men det flyttet fra komedie til skrekk.

"Denne fyren gjør dette hver dag, han har en avtale med noen drosjer, de slutter og han får i. Det var interessant, snakket til ham etterpå for å se hvor mye han virkelig liker å få i sin karakter."

Andre svindel Woodman i India inkludert overtalt til å sette i falske medisinsk forsikring krav om penger og bli konfrontert av noen representerer en politimann.

"Ingen vil være i et fremmed land da plutselig politiet bust i og dere gjør alle slags ulovlige aktiviteter som du ikke engang vet var ulovlig," sa han. "Vi kom over denne gang i Mumbai og en annen gang i Amsterdam."

Tips for turister

Etter å ha sett mange svindel stund forskning programmet, er Woodmans generelle råd til turister å ikke la vokte ned i utlandet.

"Når du er på ferie og alt ser ut som paradis, noen mennesker handler på en måte som de ville hjemme," sa han. "Sunn fornuft som du bruker når du går rundt din hjemby i Storbritannia er den samme fornuft du vil bruke når du drar på ferie.

"Du ville ikke gå ut med venner hjemme og la din veske drapert over stolen, du ville ikke sette iPad i en ryggsekk som ikke var pakket opp og gå rundt på røret med den og likevel folk går til Barcelona og gjøre akkurat. I hotspots-pakket tog, pakket turist gatene-bør du holde verdisaker foran deg.

"Jeg har brukt mye tid med lommetyver og de ser etter den letteste ruten, hvilke vanligvis betyr poser på ryggen, lommebøker i folkets rygg lomme. De skal ikke ønsker en konfrontasjon. Så når du er i slike situasjoner, bare hold vesken foran deg."

Han advarte at fylliker også gjøre enkle mål. "De er alle ser for folk som har hatt en for mange. Bedre å få en taxi hjem."

Les Mer:
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ABOUT OUR FOUNDER

Newport International Projects Company, Inc., a California Corporation, was founded by M. Esat Kadaster in 1985.

Mr. Kadaster received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Duke University and his M.S. in Civil Engineering from Clemson University, where he majored in Structures and Engineering Mechanics.

He subsequently earned his Master of Management With Distinction at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, majoring in Marketing and Finance.

Prior to incorporating Newport International Projects Co.,

Mr. Kadaster held top management positions in engineering, consulting, and commercial companies in the United States and in Europe. Additionally, he has served overseas as an Advisor in the Capital Development and Engineering Division of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

M. Esat Kadaster has been active in several "think tanks", has participated in televised discussion programs, has taught graduate-level university classes, and has been a featured speaker at national conventions of industry associations.

Source: http://www.newportinternational.net/Projects/Exporting/Company.htm