• 15
  Jul
  2009

• Expats and Recession

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: Blog Contributor
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The economic recession has had an impact on expat communities across the globe. Dubai’s expats are fleeing, the American expats are being forced out for lack of work and the stock markets have sent expats in the Far East running for cover. Expats living in the Netherlands are having their contracts unceremoniously chopped as their employers feel the pinch of recession.

There is also a growing number of laid off expats in Singapore who are choosing to stay put rather than head back to their Western home countries. The reason: recession is global, and the prospect of a banker getting a job in New York or London is just about as slim as them landing one in Singapore. So, rather than uprooting and flying halfway around the world a second time, many are waiting it out. Also, this year has marked a significant decline in enrollment at more expensive expat-run international schools in Singapore. The laid-off have pulled their children out of the more expensive schools in favor of the more affordable ones.

While rents in both Beijing and Shanghai are dropping, foreigners are increasingly squeezed by layoffs, reductions in living allowances, and currency devaluations. Buying a house, once considered a good investment, is also dicey, as economic uncertainty affects both the price and the pool of potential buyers. Middle management expatriates who are new to China are getting a smaller housing package, down 40 to 50 percent from their predecessors. Even foreign managers who are already in China are facing cuts. A middle manager who had been receiving 30,000 yuan per month might be asked to get by on 15,000 or 20,000 yuan, he said.

• 14
  Jul
  2009

• Switzerland

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: Blog Contributor
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Situated in the south of Central Europe, Switzerland is mainly a mountainous country. Its landlocked position, with no direct access to the sea and once a commercial disadvantage, is compensated for by its location in the very centre of the Alps and thus in the centre of Europe itself. The 4000 m/13,000 ft peaks of the High Alps and the lesser summits of the Pre-Alpine regions began to attract the first modern tourists - mainly British - during the 19th c. Since then Switzerland has developed into a Mecca for tourists of every nationality and age.

Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states, called cantons. Bern is the seat of the federal authorities, while the country’s economic centers are its three global cities, Geneva, Basel and especially Zürich. Switzerland is multilingual and has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

Known as a summer and winter sports paradise, Switzerland is where people first skied for fun. Illustrious names evoke all the romance and glamorous drama of the mountain high life: Zermatt, St Moritz, Interlaken, Gstaad, the Jungfrau, Verbier and more. The grandeur of the finest churches, such as the cathedrals in Lausanne and Bern, contrasts with sparkling but lesser-known treasures like the frescoes of Müstair or the abbey complex of St Gallen (both World Heritage sites). Whether visiting the remotest Ticino villages or sampling the finest of Valais wines, you’ll find Switzerland a chocolate box bursting with unexpected flavours. For all those tennis fans, its the land of Roger Federer.

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• 13
  Jul
  2009

• Travelling without Insurance

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: Blog Contributor
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“Penny wise, pound foolish”, that’s the simplest way to describe a tourist or a visitor who wants to holiday without insurance. Most people now realize the importance of a good travel insurance policy, but there are still a minority who trust their luck and hope for the best.

A new survey by Home & Overseas showed that over 1.5 million holidaymakers were likely to travel abroad this year without taking out any insurance, despite understanding the serious implications. The Home & Overseas survey showed that one in ten regular holidaymakers frequently travel abroad without travel insurance and six per cent of people admit that they never bother with travel insurance despite being aware of the high cost of medical treatment and the risk of theft abroad.

Although the group travelling without insurance is a minority, the group that does take insurance cover but inadequate at that is the more worrisome segment. Only one third of holidaymakers take out additional insurance to cover them for participation in dangerous sports, despite the fact that their existing travel insurance policy does not provide adequate cover. For example, six out of ten rock climbers admit they do not take out additional cover before embarking on an expedition and yet standard insurance policies do not provide cover for mountaineering or rock climbing. Almost half of all skiers and a massive 85 per cent of snowboarders don’t consider additional travel insurance to be necessary.

Although this minority group is pretty small in percent terms the damage that can happen to them is pretty sizeable. Inadequate policy cover is a bigger problem that should be addressed immediately. The travel industry and the insurance industry as a whole must continue to educate the public about the importance of travel insurance.
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• 10
  Jul
  2009

• Space Tourism

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: Blog Contributor
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Space tourism is a fledgling industry, born out of necessity, yet driven by the same curiosity and ambition that took humanity to the Moon. In Russia, Europe and the United States, private companies are already vying to become space tourism leaders. Space tourism is a recent phenomenon where wealthy individuals or corporations are spending up to $25 million for a chance to travel in low Earth orbit (LEO) and beyond.

Californian multi-millionaire Dennis Tito spent $20 million on space tourism to become the first paying tourist, in 2001. Tito, the founder of Wilshire Associates and former JPL scientist, traveled aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, launched by U. S. company, Space Adventures, Ltd, where he spent 7 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Following Dennis Tito as the second to partake of the space tourism industry, in 2002 was South African millionaire, Mark Shuttleworth, who spent around $20 million to travel aboard a Russian Soyuz TM-34 and spend 8 days aboard the ISS. Following Shuttleworth in 2005, was Greg Olsen, who spent the same amount on tourism to travel to the ISS via a Russian Soyuz capsule. Olsen is co-founder and chairman of Sensors Unlimited Inc., a company developing infared cameras and sensors. In 2006, Iran-born American citizen Anousheh Ansari became the fourth in the ISS tourism lineup and the first female to buy a ticket in the space tourism industry.

Space tourism has been criticized as being a “playground for the rich.” And, while there may be some current truth to this, the vision for the future is to make space tourism affordable and available to the middle class in just a few, short years.