Parctel Travel News

www.Parctel.com: The Harry Potter Black Taxi Private Tour of London is conducted in a licensed London Black Cab by an expert taxi driver/guide who will take you to the sites made famous by the Harry Potter series.

First stop Diagon Alley where Harry and his friends visit at the start of every school year to pick up their supplies of spell books, Robes, wands and other items in preparation for their return to Hogwarts. Step inside the Leaky Cauldron for a Butter Beer and visit Gringotts bank, the Wizarding bank operated by Goblins.

Walk into the wall to get to platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station where the Hogwarts Express departs. Watch the time on the clock on the bridge and walk the bridge that Harry and Hagrid march across.

See the site where Harry and Ron stole Ron's fathers flying car. Stand on the bridge where the Knight bus crossed from the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban. And visit the all new Leaky Cauldron.

New and Exclusive to Viator - Visit the locations of the new movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"!

Follow Harry's flight to London with Dumbledore's Army and see the bridges, buildings and ships they pass along the way. Enter the telephone box that descends into the Ministry of Magic below. Stand right where Harry and Voldemort come face to face for the first time since the Triwizard tournament in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.

Last stop is the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, which is also home to Harry's beloved God father Sirius Black.

This is your chance to put yourself in the shoes of Harry Potter and Friends as you see the sights of London.

Find out more about the Harry Potter Tour

Visit the locations of the movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"!

www.Parctel.com: Now, you can be the pilot of a single-engine, four-seat airplane, soaring over the Southern California landscape with an unbelievable view of the city and homes below. Best of all, there's no experience necessary!

While you're in the pilot's seat, a certified flight instructor will be guiding you every step of the way, from takeoff to landing. It's a memorable, exciting and fun experience. Plus, the time is FAA-logable as an actual flight lesson, if you bring a valid US passport or birth certificate. This adventure includes a pilot's logbook, "First Flight" certificate and souvenir photo.

Your hour-long experience includes pre-flight and post-flight briefings, and 30 or 60 minutes in the air.

Find out MORE here

www.Parctel.com: We at Parctel are still in two minds as to whether Hamish McNeilly from the Otago Daily Times was having a slow news day or just wanted to highlight a strange aberration that airport parking attendants in the booth at Dunedin International Airport display:

The latest driving hazard could be the humble car parking ticket.

Tired of handling saliva-laden tickets presented by drivers, an attendant at the Dunedin International Airport ticket booth decided to do something about it and placed a sign in the ticket booth reading: "Please do not put the ticket in your mouth.

Your co-operation is appreciated."

Dunedin International Airport operations manager Richard Roberts investigated the issue and discovered an estimated one person per flight put their ticket in their mouth before handing it over.

It was unclear whether the sign - which had been up for more than a year - had deterred serial ticket biters, he said.

A wet ticket had the potential to spread germs and also jam machines that read tickets, a spokesman for New Zealand's largest private car parking operator said.

"But I think that would be unlikely.

"You see the odd person with a ticket in their mouth but besides from being a bit gross, it is not a big problem," Wilson Parking NZ South Island operations manager Daniel Bundy said.

People perhaps put tickets in their mouth because they were "multi-tasking" and that was one way of keeping it nearby, he said.

Citifleet team leader Brent Bachop said the Dunedin City Council had the potential problem licked.

Council-controlled parks used an automated system.

The only problem council experienced with the parking tickets was when people bent their tickets, he said.

As to which body part has the most germs, it seems to be a toss up between the mouth and fingernails with most people saying fingernails - so it seems to be a situation of damned if you do and damned if you don't for the poor airport parking attendant.

WikiAnswers votes for the Mouth as carrying the body part carrying the most germs.
Whereas Yahoo Answers and Answer Bag both vote for the fingernails.

I suppose the best solution would be to issue the queasy germ phobic attendant with latex gloves and a mask - wimps!

www.Parctel.com: The winner of the escalating battle for Raleigh-Durham International Airport's lucrative parking business may be determined by people such as Wayne Eakes.

The manufacturing engineer always chooses to park in the airport's sprawling seven-story parking garage because it's convenient to RDU's terminals. But Eakes said lower fees and amenities such as free bottled water and newspapers might persuade him to switch to a new lot two miles from the terminals.

"With gas prices being so high, any kind of savings helps," said Eakes, who lives in Snow Camp and flies out of RDU on business about six times a year. "And you wouldn't have to wander around looking for your car."

The lot, owned by Cincinnati-based FastPark, ups the ante for the RDU parking business, worth about $40 million a year.

The lot, which has its grand opening today, adds 2,000 spaces to RDU's parking mix. To attract customers, it is offering free parking through Aug. 9. After that, daily fees will be $6.36 a day, or $5.45 for customers who download a "frequent parker" card from company's Web site.

That's cheaper than RDU's parking deck, which costs $10 for the daily lot. But it's on par with RDU's remote lots, which cost $6 a day and shuttle passengers from about a mile away.

Two other private parking operations already shuttle passengers to the terminals, but FastPark's lot is more than twice as large as the largest competitor, the 920-space Preflight Airport Parking on Lumley Road. The I-40 Park & Fly on Airgate Drive has about 250 spaces.

FastPark's parent company, Chavez Properties, began buying land for the site in 2005 and now has 27.9 total acres, according to Wake County tax records.

Airline ticket prices are rising, and travel is predicted to decline with a slowing economy. But Manuel Chavez, the company's vice president, said amenities including free car washes, covered parking spaces and shuttles that take passengers from their cars directly to terminals will draw the customers who are still flying.

"You can pull into those big garages and get lucky and find a space, and if you do, then you've got lug your bags to the terminal," Chavez said.

The family-owned company also has airport parking operations in Austin, Baltimore, Cleveland, Houston, Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Miami, Memphis and Tucson. It's developing sites in Milwaukee and Orlando.

But luring customers from RDU's lots may be difficult. The airport has the advantage of more spaces -- 20,000 total, including 11,000 in the garage adjacent to terminals A and C. Even though RDU's prices are higher, location matters most to some travelers.

"If I'm getting here at 10 at night, I don't want a shuttle, I don't want to wait around," said Jessica Unger, a Raleigh sales consultant who takes weekly business flights and always parks in the RDU deck.

"Even if the shuttle is there waiting when I land, my car is right here," Unger said Thursday. "It's convenience. I don't care if [the other lot] is free."

Source: Dudley Price, News and Observer

www.Parctel.com: Budapest Airport has sharply reduced its long-term parking fees and introduced new fares for the holiday season, the Ferihegy airport operator announced Thursday.

One-day parking at the airport will drop to Ft 2,500 from Ft 4,000, the three-day rate falls to Ft 6,200 instead of Ft 10,000, while parking for eight days will cost Ft 9,500.

A parking fee calculator is available on the airport website at www.bud.hu. Ferihegy Airport has 2,533 parking spaces, of which 234 are guarded.

Source: caboodle.hu

www.Parctel.com: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched two digital activities to encourage tourists around the world to participate in the "Amazing Thailand" campaign, and to attract more visitors to the Kingdom.

Tourists can win 200,000 baht of prizes by uploading video clips of their most amazing experiences in Thailand in TAT's amazing Experience Video Contest. The aim is to inspire other travelers to visit Thailand.

Thailand Portfolio Project features uploaded photographs and stories from journalists focused on the Amazing Thailand theme. Contributions are ranked by the site's visitors to generate a list of the most popular posts. This seeks to encourage more users to upload their experiences.
TAT will upload all submitted video clips on to social media networking sites such as www.youtube.com, www.crackle.com in order to create an inspiration for the online tourists around the world to visit Thailand.

TAT believes that Thailand Portfolio project and the Amazing Experience Video Contest will provide excellent first-hand tourism information to social networking site users.

TAT expect that within one year these clips will be viewed by more than 100 million visitors, which will help promote tourism in Thailand and will let people world wide have a better understanding of Thailand.

www.Parctel.com: JTB Corp. proudly announces the launch of Japan Travel Guide JTB on 3D virtual world “Second Life”.

JTB provides information in English language about how to enjoy a Japanese-style Inn (Ryokan), Japanese Foot Bath (Ashiyu) and Japanese garden for worldwide visitors to Japan.

* JTB is the biggest travel company in Japan
* JTB has launched an English version, which hardly find in Japanese companies.
* JTB provides an entertaining space where visitors can feel the atmosphere of Japanese traditional dance (Bon dance) and enjoy dancing to original “JAPANiCAN dance music.”
* Through a 3D virtual world, JTB draws the visitors’ attention to real websites of JTB Group companies, while introducing Japanese culture.

JTB has proudly launched the Japan Travel Guide JTB in English version with 3D virtual world “Second Life”.

JTB has started the Japan Travel Guide on a 3D virtual world “Second Life” supported in English for non-Japanese speakers, which is unique in Japan. As Second Life introduces a multilingual language support, the number of users is expected to significantly increase. Therefore, Second Life has the potential to replace a web browser as a new business market.

Based on this experience, JTB is actively researching the likelihood of world demand and expansion into new businesses in the virtual world. The main objective is to build a new business model.

As part of the plan, JAPANiCAN, one of our group companies running a site for non-Japanese visitors to Japan, shows how to enjoy a Japanese Inn (Ryokan), Japanese Foot Bath (Ashiyu) and Japanese garden. The outline is as follows.

Name of SIM (Name of island): "Japan Travel Guide JTB"

Contents: It consists of three areas - Japanese Inn (Ryokan), Japanese Foot Bath (Ashiyu) and Japanese garden.

1. In the Japanese Ryokan area, five kinds of Japanese culture such as how to take a Japanese bath, eating manners, etc. are shown using streaming videos in English. In the large hall, an amusing *camping spot is provided where visitors can feel the atmosphere of Japanese traditional dance (Bon dance) and enjoy dancing to original “JAPANiCAN dance music.”
2. In the Ashiyu area, a 3D feature is used, where a map-of-Japan-shaped virtual Ashiyu introduces real Onsen-Ryokans from all over Japan, guiding you to further local information on “JAPANiCAN.com” supported by JAPANiCAN.
3. In the Japanese garden area, JTB provides a garden of spectacular beauty for users around the world to be impressive for the first time they see.

Note: The term *camping is an activity in Second Life where visitors can get Linden Dollars by staying at one spot for a while.

www.Parctel.com: RALEIGH – FastPark & Relax, an off-site airport parking company, is opening its first North Carolina facility at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport in June and offering travelers free parking during the company’s first 60 days of operation.

As part of the company’s continued growth throughout the country, FastPark & Relax strategically chose Raleigh to open its 18th off-site airport parking facility. “Raleigh is a smart decision for us,” said Manual Chavez III, chief operations officer for FastPark. “It’s a strong market with job growth, educational levels and housing starts all remaining above national averages. Plus, the location of our facility is perfect for quick delivery of customers to and from the airport.”

The Raleigh facility incorporates several green initiatives, including the use of geo-thermal energy in the facility’s office building and a water reclamation system in its car wash service.

“We’re focusing on what we can do as a corporation to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Manual Chavez III. “We’ve adopted several green initiatives into our construction process for new and remodeled facilities throughout the country.”

FastPark & Relax is one of the three largest off-site airport parking companies in the United States. It controls 18 facilities situated on more than 18,500,000 square feet of land. FastPark & Relax’s Raleigh facility, located on Fast Park Drive, sits on more than 25 acres.

FastPark & Relax’s unique approach to customer service is its formula for attracting and retaining loyal customers. “Door-to-door service, free newspapers and bottled water, limited shuttle stops and covered parking are just a few of the perks our regular customers come to count on,” said Melanie Chavez, chief marketing officer for FastPark. “We’re also a very family-oriented company which is why we offer all passengers free luggage assistance and even free coloring books to children.”

FastPark shuttles operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each facility provides complimentary jump starts and flat-tire assistance as well as cashier greeters that instruct travelers where to park for speedy shuttle pick up. The Raleigh facility will also provide free car washes later this summer.

Raleigh FastPark & Relax will open June 9, 2008 and will celebrate its grand opening on Friday, June 13. Travelers have access to free parking between June 9 and August 9 by downloading a free parking coupon from the company’s Web site, fastparkandrelax.com.

Area travelers signing up for FastPark’s Relax for Rewards Program receive additional incentives, such as: free valet service when facilities are full; customer cards for ticketless entry and exit; reward points redeemable for free parking and online account management and receipt-printing capabilities.

FastPark, headquartered in Cincinnati, is an off-site airport parking company operating 18 facilities in 12 markets throughout the country. Business units of FastPark include Airport Fast Park, FastPark & Relax and Park Place. Airport Fast Park facilities are located in Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Baltimore (two facilities); Cincinnati; Cleveland (two facilities); Memphis, Tenn.; and Miami. A Park Place facility is located in Cleveland. Fast Park & Relax facilities are located in Cincinnati; Houston (three facilities – two under different name); Milwaukee; Orlando; Raleigh, N.C.; and Tucson, Ariz. The self-serve parking service is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with instant shuttle service transporting customers to their specific terminal.

www.Airport-Carpark.co.uk: Shoppers can save more than £700 a year by tracking down hidden discounts on the internet, as experts say that consumers are increasingly seeking out unusual bargains to beat the credit crisis.

Everything from buying disposable contact lenses and medicines, to sending a parcel or paying for car parking can now be done online – all at a substantial discount to paying for the same goods or services in the offline world.

People looking to cut back because of the credit crisis can make substantial savings in even less obvious areas, such as airport car parking and sending parcels.

A week at Heathrow's NCP car park costs £66.50 if you pay when you arrive at the airport. However, if you book in advance over the internet you can save a full £25.

The Daily Telegraph has calculated that on just seven unusual products and services – pet medicines, pet food, contact lenses, airport parking, a magazine subscription, smoking cessation medicines and sending a parcel – the savings for a family reach £405 if they use the internet.

Read the FULL story on the Daily Telegraph
Book UK Airport Parking HERE

www.Parctel.com: As part of the Amazing Thailand campaign, tourists worldwide can now gain access to a huge variety of hotel, resort and travel options in Thailand by visiting the new Amazing Thailand mini site, http://amazingthailand.tourismthailand.org, presented by the TAT.

The new site presents all the tourism products and services of Thailand that are part of the e-marketing campaign for Amazing Thailand 2008. This great new online channel aims to attract travellers through e-marketing tactics such as search engine marketing, online PR, e-mail, and e-CRM.

The mini site consists of over 2,000 Thailand tourism products including hotels, tours, attractions and restaurants and a travel agent directory. There are hundreds of direct links to websites covering a wide range of hotels, tour options, attractions, travel agencies and more. The new site provides over 300 exclusive travel deals for inbound travellers.

The new site also offers Web 2.0 capabilities with user ratings and reviews of hotels and tours. The various comments from online reviewers will help visitors choose the right travel option and enable TAT to enhance its customer relationships. The feedback will also help travel suppliers in Thailand to constantly improve the quality of their services

After only ten weeks of online operation, the new site has attracted over 110,000 unique visitors who have made over 422,000 page views in total. The TAT expects to massively boost visits through additional e-marketing campaigns during the rest of 2008.

http://amazingthailand.tourismthailand.org has been created to promote deals in each of the seven "Amazing Wonders of Thailand" themes: Thainess, Nature, Treasures, Health & Wellness, Beaches, Trendy activities, and Festivities.

===============================

eNews 2 | Link AMT | Deal Alert March 08
Email : amazingthailand@borndistinction.com
Contact name/person : Tourism Authority of Thailand

www.Parctel.com: EXORBITANT airport parking fees are about to come under scrutiny as the Government directs the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to examine charges at the nation's five major terminals.

Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the Government must ensure that airport monopolies did not lead to exploitation.

Parking at Sydney was now twice as expensive as New York's JFK and London's Heathrow airports, he said.

"If anti-competitive conduct is found, the ACCC can prosecute airports in the Federal Court," he said.

"Under formal price monitoring, individual airports will have a light shone upon their prices.

"There are genuine public concerns about airports using their monopoly position to exert significant market power and charge higher prices for the various periods of stay, particularly short-term stays to drop off and pick up passengers."

Visitors have been shocked by the fees at Sydney's main gateway, owned by the Macquarie Bank-linked Macquarie Airports, with $70 million in revenue taken last financial year.

All Australian airports generated up to $206million from parking over the same period. Revenue has grown by as much as 77per cent since 2002, far outstripping the increase in passenger numbers.

"We welcome the ACCC inquiry," Australian Airports Association chairman John McArdle said. "We feel they will be happy with the choice and the variety of pricing options for parking, which is fair and equitable. You can't satisfy everyone and we move 121 million passengers a year."

A Macquarie Airports spokeswoman said a comprehensive review by the Productivity Commission concluded that car parking charges were reasonable and, in some cases, lower than Sydney CBD charges.

"The commission has previously reported that both short and long-stay charges are about one-third less than in the CBD," she said.

"Sydney Airport was privatised in 2002 and since then car parking charges, in general, have only increased in line with the CPI."

Source: Heath Gilmore, The Sydney Morning Herald

www.Parctel.com: Ampco System Parking, a wholly owned subsidiary of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM), has been awarded a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract with Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport’s Terminal Link. The contract covers Terminal Link shuttle bus operations utilizing CNG equipped vehicles that transport passengers and guests between all DFW terminals.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with DFW’s Terminal Link,” said Rich Kindorf, president of Ampco System Parking. “Our extensive expertise in managing airport parking operations enables us to provide dependable, efficient and environmentally friendly ground transportation services to meet the needs of one of the busiest airports in the nation,” he added.

“Ampco has and continues to provide excellent service to passengers needing transportation from one terminal to another,” said Armin Cruz, vice president of the parking business unit for DFW. “We are excited about our partnership with Ampco and look forward to working together to provide service that exceeds guest expectation.”

DFW's Terminal Link service provides free transportation between terminals using a fleet of new passenger shuttle vans. The service may be used for passengers needing to transfer to another terminal after they have exited security, and it is ideal for terminal parkers who need to get back to a vehicle parked at another terminal.

Located halfway between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW International Airport is the world's third busiest airport, offering nearly 1,900 flights per day. Serving more than 60 million passengers a year, DFW provides nonstop flights to 133 domestic and 36 international destinations worldwide. For the latest news, real-time flight information, parking availability or further details regarding the services provided at DFW International Airport, visit www.dfwairport.com.

Source: Business Wire

www.Parctel.com: Travelers planning to fly from the Buffalo Niagra Airport are advised that at the present time all of the airport’s parking lots are operating at or near capacity. Until further notice, please consider an alternative method to travel to the airport. You are advised to either have some one drive you or arrive by taxi.

Passengers departing from Buffalo Niagra should plan to be in the terminal two hours before their scheduled departure, particularly during the exceptionally busy times of 5-7:30 a.m., 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 3:30-5:30 p.m.

www.Parctel.com: From the Sports by Fletch blog:

I was picking up the Bride-to-be from the airport last night and I was doing the circle thing in the terminal parking lot until she called and then I told her where to meet me as I parked to get her in the car. Well as she was walking up, an "Atlanta Police Truck" came up behind me and started honking for me to move. Even though it was obvious I was waiting on the Bride-to-be to get to the car. I was the only car around and she was walking straight towards me. Anyways, this tool bag kept honking and honking, then as I got out to open the trunk and I was FULLY in the pull over lane, I left the door slightly cracked, he honked again, and was pointing towards the AGAIN, SLIGHTLY opened door.
Well of course I had to make a production out of it. I walked around to the door, but before shutting it, I stepped in front of his car to see if he could have KEPT GOING IN HIS LANE without hitting it, and SURE ENOUGH, he could have. I also made a point to look in the other lane that he could have gone into to pass me, and it was empty. I made the swirving motion with my hands so he could see me, and he honked again. What a loser.
Here is my point. He wasn't going to do anything except honk. Really? Is that the ATL Police (airport parking detail)'s best strategy? Honk? That will put people in a good mood. At NO POINT did it appear he was going to get out and do anything. Then I started to think. What could he have done? Given me a ticket for being parked in a temporary parking spot? Give me a ticket for doing NOTHING illegal? Nope. All he COULD Do was honk.
And that got me thinking....who, besides this guy THINK they are so important, but really they DON'T have the power they think they have?

Read the Full list HERE

www.Parctel.com: When handing your vehicle over for valet parking set your odometer to zero. Many vehicles have different trip meters so set the second one to zero. At least you will then have peace of mind that you can check your trip meter for any unauthorised 'joy riding' that may take place whilst your vehicle is safely in the airport parking lot.