World Traveler

It's been a tough January, following an even tougher 2009 for tourism, but for airlines like American, Delta and Continental, the numbers are looking better. Photo courtesy of K50 dude/Wikipedia Commons.

Yes, it’s true. Even though it’s only January, it’s been a hard, heavy winter rife with terrorist threats, failed security, crackdowns on security, gloomy hotel-stay news and just about everything bad a beleaguered travel sector could wish for—if it were masochistic, depressed and generally ready for the end.

But surprise, surprise, despite it all, these clouds do have a silver lining. Or better put, there does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel, simply because you, the traveler—or more specifically, the business traveler—has refused to be put off.

In short, with fourth quarter results beginning to trickle in, not only have the airlines beat Wall Street, but some airlines, such as U.S. Continental, have even turned in a profit at a time when the general world of hurt facing the industry would have seemed to make this unfeasible. Likewise, perennial favorite in the U.S. market, Southwest Airline, also posted a profit, and major airlines, such as Delta and American noted less-than-expected losses based on increased travel and rising ticket prices.

Of course, no one is saying that the road to recovery is going to be easy—or paved with gold. This is still an industry bruised not only by world-wide security issues, high fuel prices and a very cold winter, but also by a world-wide recession triggered by a nightmarish and, at least in form if not style, unprecedented banking meltdown.

On the other hand, the tiny bounce back is definitely better than you might think.

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The Maldives typically exceed even the highest expectations. Photo courtesy of KingKurt22/Wikipedia Commons.

As part of a service to World Traveler fans, here are WorldTraveler.Biz’s top picks for January—a month when you just might need a break from all of that cold weather. Destinations are ranked by two factors. First, they must live up to the hype and second, these are the kinds of places that could disappear or see more limited access in the future, thanks to global warming and increased tourism regulations.

1. The Maldives. Believe it or not, wintertime is the perfect time to visit this island nation. Summer vacations can lock you into monsoon season, and frankly, The Maldives, which consist of about 1,190 coral islands, are not to be missed. Think white sands, crystal clear waters, unreal snorkeling and the sense that you are living on your own private island. Unfortunately, The Maldives are in danger thanks to global warming and rising tide levels, and eventually the nation will go the way of Atlantis. This is not going to happen tomorrow, but plans are under way to buy land in Sri Lanka, India and Australia and eventually move the entire population to other climes should waters continue to rise. In the meantime, however, it is still the dream vacation spot and thus No. 1 on our January list. Plan on arriving at Male International Airport on Hulhule Island and then a boat ride to your destination. If you’ve got the cash, for the Baros Maldives Hotel, but even if you don’t the Maldives are a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Kuramathi Resort also ranks high on our list.
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Just to prove that non-stress flying is indeed still possible. Photo courtesy of Mila Zinkova/Wikipedia Commons.

Just when you thought that we would get back to happy, warm travel blogs, a story regarding explosives and failed security services comes out that we just cannot ignore.

As impossible as it seems, a Slovak man was wrongly incriminated as a terrorist suspect Monday, Jan. 4, when Slovak security officials planted explosives in his bag in order to test bomb-sniffing dogs—prior to a flight to Ireland—according to a report by the Associated Press.

Unfortunately, the dogs did not find the explosives, and the unknowing Slovak tourist (no, we are not making this up), actually flew to his destination in Ireland without being detected for anything by anyone. Worse, he only learned of the explosives when called by Slovak security upon arrival. Still worse, in what may have been a linguistic misunderstanding, Slovak officials in the meantime tipped off Irish authorities to the possibility that the man could be carrying a bomb.

And worst of all, he was then promptly arrested. In Ireland.  As a terrorist.

Unbelievable.

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TSA Behavior Detection Officers at a checkpoint in Boston Logan International Airport in Boston. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons/the U.S. TSA.

One week following a series of bizarre comments by the U.S. government regarding a failed terrorist attack by Nigerian would-be bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and both comforting and troubling facts are still coming to light.

First, the U.S. government, led by President Barack Obama, finally stepped out of its woeful damage-control mode and admitted that the security apparatus meant to nip such terrorist attempts in the bud still has a long way to go. The administration also seemed to be facing the hard facts of combating terrorism instead of simply coming up with ways to clamp down on a passenger’s (assumed) right to not only have a carry on but have access to a carry on during a flight.

Now U.S.-bound Passengers from “countries of interest,” such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, will now go through extra screening processes. Random screening will be enforced on U.S.-bound passengers. Such screening will include full-body pat-downs, searches and the use of full-body scanning and explosive detection technology, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

Such moves were a far cry from previous announcements that had both irritated the general public and worried the travel industry. In one tumultuous week, the administration had announced “stay-in-your seat” policies as well as possible “no-carry-on” rules or rules that would limit access to carry-ons or rule it out altogether during flight.

Needless to say, the business traveler accustomed to using his laptop was not pleased. Neither was the traveling mother with diapers in her bag. Neither was your favorite airline.

Neither was—well, neither was anyone when you really thought about it.

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