How To Choose A Travel Tour Operator

By Carl Drotsky

The days of doing all the leg work for your vacations are thankfully coming to an end. You no longer have to spend months researching, inquiring and booking everything that is necessary for your adventure trip. All that's required now is to hire a professional travel agency, also known as a travel tour operator, to plan your entire trip. Depending on what you want your vacation to look like, there are many operators out there. The challenge is to find one that's right for you. A good place to start is to look at the members of an international travel association such as the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA). A travel group such as this has strict requirements and a code of conduct for members to keep; this type of accountability makes its members much easier to trust.

After making a list of travel tour operators that come highly recommended by an association such as SATSA, spend some time investigating them to see which one will work for you. The most thorough source we have today is the World Wide Web which has information on just about any established entity in the world. See what the travel tour operator says about itself on the company website as well as what others say about it. Aim to get a feel for the operator's validity and reputation. Store all of the information you gather in a notebook or a word document, so you can compare the advantages and disadvantages of various operators. After the internet, the best place to look for travel tour operators is a travel magazine such as National Geographic. By paging through the magazine, you'll not only find reputable operators, you'll be inspired to make the most out of your adventure vacation.

Because travel consultants can be so persuasive, it's important to know what you're really looking for in a vacation before you seek out their services. Allow yourself to dream a little, and write out a description of some specifics you're looking for in a holiday. What adventure activities do you want to experience, and where is your dream destination? Will you be traveling alone or with some friends and family? What time of year will you be traveling and for how long? What's your budget look like? By answering these questions before you even speak with an operator, you're speeding up the process and ensuring you get the experience you really desire.

Once you know all specifics of the adventure trip you're seeking, set up meetings with some of your top operators. Go to the meetings prepared with your dream vacation description as well as a list of questions for them to answer such as what credentials the guides and associates have as well as how many years they have been in the field. After explaining what you're looking for and the parts of your vacation that are non-negotiable, ask the operator to come up with an estimate of how much the vacation would cost with a basic financial breakdown of where the money will go. This will be helpful when comparing rates with other travel operators. Perhaps most importantly, find out what the daily holiday itinerary would look like. You may prefer lots of free time to explore on your own or, on the contrary, days filled with activities hour by hour. If there's anything that you're not happy with, see if an alteration can be made. At the conclusion of your meeting, ask how you can get in touch with a few of their former clients to get some personal experience feedback.

One other important area to check out before choosing a travel tour operator is its help line. Keep in mind that if a crisis occurs while you are abroad, you need to be able to reach the company immediately. See how long it takes to get a live person on the line. Also, take note of how helpful representatives are when you pose concerns or questions. If an operator repeatedly puts you on hold or rushes you through your phone call, it's not wise to put your confidence in him. Another way you can examine customer service is to see how quickly an operator responds to your email. If they value you as a customer, they will have a quick response system in place. Be sure to choose a company that not answers your questions but puts forth extra effort to make your vacation everything you dreamed it to be.

About the Author:

Want to find out more about holiday planning, then visit Echo 4x4's site on how to plan the best adventurous holiday for you.

Easy Ways To Improve Your Looks

By Beatrix Deville

Feeling great and looking beautiful at all times is essential for many women to be happy, but it's hard to be beautiful 24 hours a day, unless you know the right beauty tricks. Whether you want to be glamorous or prefer a natural look, this article contains the solid tips to help you stay gorgeous morning, noon and night.

Get fit. Whether you need to lose weight or not, starting a fitness routine will tone up your muscles and sculpt your body into an attractive sight. Someone who is in shape is generally regarded as more attractive than someone who is not. There are all kinds of fitness programs out there, so you should be able to find one you enjoy.

When choosing a lip liner, match the shade with the natural color of your lips instead of matching it to your lipstick. If your lipstick wears off, you won't be left with a ring of color around the outside of your mouth and you will only need one lip liner, instead of one to match each lipstick you use.

Believe it or not, as you age, your skin tone will change along with your hair color. If you continue to wear foundation, be sure to check it against your actual skin color to be sure that it's still a true match. Your skin will change in the same way that your hair changes - the melanin levels adjust - and in this way, you'll assure a true match as your skin matures.

Your hair color can determine every aspect of your makeup and color application routine. If your hair color is blonde, brown, or red, you should stick with eyeliner and mascara in brown or dark brown, but never black. Black eyeliner and mascara can appear far too unnatural and may make the skin appear washed out in those with light hair.

You can make your lipstick last a bit longer by taking an additional step when you are applying it. Simply blot your lipstick between applying the different layers and you will find that the life of your lipstick will be prolonged. You will find that you will not have to reapply quite as often.

Use a cleansing shampoo at least once a week. Your hair gets all sorts of buildup on it and the normal shampoo does help, but nothing really cleanses it better then a cleansing shampoo. After you do this, you will notice that your hair just feels softer and lighter. It also looks better too.

If you have fine lines around your eyes, mouth, and forehead, you should look for cosmetics with light-reflecting particles. These products, which are just more matte than shimmery, can reflect light in a way that appears to make the fine lines simply disappear. You can use this trick all over your face, or just in your laugh lines.

When applying winged eyeliner, extend the line at the outer edge of your eye so that it follows the natural curve of your lower lash line. This helps it blend with the shape of your eye so that it looks more natural. The eyeliner should be thickest at the outer corner of your eye and then taper to a point at the tip of the wing.

Now that you've gleaned some tips to help you stay radiant 24/7, it's going to be hard not to look in every mirror you pass. Enjoy your new confidence when you apply the advice that you've learned here, and get used to the constant compliments that you'll be receiving from admirers and envious others.

About the Author:

To get more helpful info, please go to Evening Gowns; optionally you should also visit right now.

Incredible Tips To Rev Up Your Mobile Marketing

By Lucy Wallis

In the mobile world, it is important to market your brand so that you stand out above your competitors. That is where smart mobile marketing comes in handy. This will help visitors find and remember you, which can result in more traffic and more profits. Follow these tips to make your business stand out above the rest.

Unless it is absolutely necessary, avoid large files such as photos in your mobile marketing message. When including a link in the message, make sure to use a URL shortener. These steps will help you keep your message short and concise, which greatly reduces loading time and helps to keep your customer interested.

Incorporate QR codes into your print material. These can be scanned by most Smart phones, and then they bring the user directly to your website. This is an effective way to increase traffic to your site and let your customers know about valuable promotions. You can also track QR codes so that you can get an accurate idea of cost versus profit.

Use your traditional site to drive a lot of traffic to your mobile platform. Urge people that visit your regular website or blog to visit you on their mobile phones when they are out and about. This will give you yet another way to stay close to your customers and potential customers.

The fastest growing category with mobile browsers and mobile apps are social networking websites. So business must accept social networking and go where the people are. Mobile marketing success will depend upon your business making a presence on the social networking sites and using it correctly to grow your business.

When undertaking a mobile marketing campaign keep in mind that most people look for businesses in their area. Include keywords in your campaign that let's a potential customer know your local business location and then target the largest audience possible.

The old rules of telephone marketing also apply to mobile marketing. The telephone call from a sales person during dinner time is one of the quickest ways to lose a sale and a customer. Time your marketing messages for mid-morning to early-afternoon. Do not send messages in the middle of the night or at dinner time.

Isn't creating your own mobile marketing plan exciting? There are so many possibilities. As you have seen in this article, there are a lot of ways this can be done and no two techniques will yield the same results. Customize your mobile marketing plan. Choose from the many options available to work with your business needs and budget.

About the Author:

To get more useful info, please visit ; as an option you can also check out for more details.

The Benefits Of Hiring A Shipping Management Firm

By Cindy Cortney

Trust is an essential ingredient of relationships and that includes business ties. Typically, when clients lose confidence in a product or service, the company-customer relationship ends. For any business entity, this scenario is not pleasant at all as this can mean lower revenue or worse, the end of the company's existence.

This is why it is important for business owners to do what they can to safeguard their clients' trust. If you're in the shipping business, be aware that for your clients to continue trusting your company and patronising your products or services, you should ensure that their packages or cargos are handled properly and delivered on time.

Understand that the products your customers entrust to you basically keep their businesses going. Your failure to deliver these items in excellent condition and on time can result in losses amounting to millions of dollars. An unfortunate situation such as this is enough to make wonderful business relationships turn sour. Moreover, you do not just lose a customer but also tarnish your company's good name.

Surely, you don't want the aforementioned things to happen to your company. Therefore, do everything that's necessary to avoid these undesirable scenarios. Ensure the safety of your vessel and hire a good crew. Better yet, get the services a reputable ship management company.

Nowadays, many ship owners and shipping firms are entrusting the management of their vessels to ship management firms. These management companies provide qualified and competent crew members to any kind of vessel. With their meticulous hiring process, you can count on getting crew members who are truly competent to manage marine ship at sea.

Ship managing firms also offer technical management services. Included here are maintenance services, specifically the regular monitoring and inspection of the ship's condition. Should there be problems with your vessels, you do not have to worry about its repair as these shipping management firms can handle it for you.

Being experts in this field, ship management firms can guarantee the efficient management and safety of your vessel. Definitely, enlisting their service is an excellent way of protecting your customers' goods and their trust.

About the Author:

Related articles on ship management company or visit www.amoe.com.sg

Clean As You Go: Better Than Fixing Permanent Damage

By Aaron Smith

The bathroom and kitchen of a house are subjected to more daily abuse than another room in it. Luckily, they tend to be the easiest rooms to keep, their extraordinary surfaces are created for quick and effective cleaning. Things to consider in a bathroom and kitchen preservation are the pipe system which is made of nickel alloy, the ceiling, the walls and the flooring which may be cemented or tiled. All of which must be maintained and properly cleaned.

While the cleaning of a bathroom or the kitchen is rarely a difficult job, patience, orderliness and time are essential to do it well. With a well planned cleaning strategy for the bathrooms and kitchen, it is possible to hold the upper hand in the endless war against dirt and grime that must be waged in these rooms. And with cleaning conquests in your bathrooms and kitchen, you can often curtail the frequency and scale of cleaning campaigns needed in other rooms of your home.

Adopt the practice of "cleaning as you go" for your bathrooms and kitchen, cleaning splashes, spills and marks off surfaces the moment they occur. If an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, then the little chores of keeping them clean are preferable to the major job of getting them clean.

Spot- and weekly- cleaning of your bathrooms and kitchen can reduce the staining of their special surfaces. This can also reduce the spread of germs. In this way, it is easy to ensure that your home and your family are free from sickness and other diseases which could be easily distribute in these types of rooms.

Cleaning the bathroom and kitchen is a must for every family because it ensures that health of every family member. It also helps the family to avoid the permanent stains in the ceilings, floors and walls of the room. You won't have to worry about expensive repairs and fixes with proper maintenance of these rooms.

About the Author:

Related articles on piping system or visit www.mechmarine.com