With its distinctive whitewashed villages perched on rocky cliffs that overlook the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean Sea, Santorini is the quintessential Greek island, a stunning travel delight. Part of the Cyclades Islands group and located just north of Crete, Santorini is easily reached by ferry from Athens but still a world away from its…

By Paul Tavner . Monday November 9 marks the beginning of the 2009 World Travel Market, one of the travel industry’s most important annual events. While many people from around the world will be descending throughout the week on London’s ExCeL centre to meet, greet and do business, an increasing number will also be making…

Between the tsunami that ravaged the Samoa Islands, earthquakes in Sumatra and Typhoon Ketsana, the last week has been brutal in Southeast Asia By Diane Wuthrich and Ethan Gelber . It came as a triple whammy for which no one was prepared: Tuesday’s major undersea earthquake in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami that left…

The news from Samoa Islands is heartbreaking. On early Tuesday morning, triggered by a powerful undersea earthquake (8.0 in magnitude), a towering tsunami struck with disastrous consequences. Three surges were reported, with waves of up to five or six metres reaching almost two metres higher than sea level. “At this time [late afternoon on Tuesday…

whl.travel helps independent travellers book accommodation and tours in Samoa that really benefit the local community By Ethan Gelber . [Editorial note: Please read a post-tsunami update from Nynette in Samoa. If you would like to support relief efforts, follow the link to the Red Cross of New Zealand current appeals page.] Nynette Sass shows…

By Ethan Gelber . Clean Breaks, 500 New Ways to See the World, published in August 2009 by Rough Guides, wastes no time getting down to business. And why should it? In keeping with its title, it makes a clean break from so many things, including some guidebook conventions. After a mere page and a…

The joint authors of Clean Breaks share the reasons why they have written this worldwide guide to holidays that are good for local people and the planet . Richard Hammond Freelance Travel Journalist Founder, GreenTraveller . Key “ecotourism” or “responsible travel” into an internet search engine and you’re likely to find thousands of results, from…

Clean Breaks, 500 New Ways to See the World (read a review), published in August 2009 by Rough Guides, is a full-colour guide of the authors’ handpicked choices of the world’s best hotels, tours and activities run by people who are passionate about what they do in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Needless to…

On Thursday 4 June at 13:00 GMT, six leading global advocates of responsible tourism spoke and listened at a free public webinar (Web-based seminar) about the present and future of their fast-expanding industry. This inauguration of a regular series of online gatherings also served as a call for future discussion topics and guest speakers. The…