Below are items of interest to business travelers.

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Airline Tests Retail Sales at 35,000 Feet
“Anytime you have customers who are captive, who have nothing better to do, they’ll shop,” says a marketing professor. And who’s more captive than an airline passenger?

A Constitutional Case in a Box of Cash
A traveler used his iPhone to help his case against what he considered overzealous airport screeners.

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And a human interest story…

Even in a Terror Attack, Seeing the Best of India
In the midst of a terrorist assault, a traveler sees the selflessness and humanity that draws her to India, the land of her parents’ birth.

Most of my business travel writing is pretty practical; I don’t “wax eloquent” very often, but on this most historic day, I must share a few words with you.

I’ve been privileged to travel to 32 countries so far, and I think the thing that startles me most about interacting with people from other cultures is how closely they watch the USA. Never was this more evident than tonight when the new president-elect was named. That news was front page on nearly every newspaper across the globe. Here are headlines just from Europe:

London – Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk
Paris – Le Monde: http://www.lemonde.fr
Deutche – Die Welt: http://www.welt.de
Italian – Il Sole 24 Ore: http://www.ilsole24ore.com

We learned so dramatically in September how intertwined we are as a global community, and the days following have been dark and uncertain. The restoration of hope and re-establishment of business success will be a person-to-person effort. Business travelers are de facto ambassadors of this effort — the front-line troops, if you will, building relationships face-to-face across town and across the globe in the everyday activities of commerce.

I, for one, choose to take the optimistic view, to draw inspiration from the example of our “most unlikely candidate” turned “president-elect.” Fellow travelers, I invite you to recognize and participate in the opportunity to rebuild our global economic community; to endure the airport delays, marginal food, and tired feet, knowing that what you do every day contributes to a greater whole. We have challenging days ahead, but we also have each other.

Be kind. Share a smile. Have a good trip, and come home safely.

Blessings,

Toolie®

I have been trying to figure out how to communicate an important concept in my monthly newsletter, and I realized that “showing’s better than telling” so I let my Flip Video camera do the talking…er….filming. 

My monthly business travel newsletter covers travel techniques, technology for travel, and intelligent thinking about cross-cultural issues like this one. Wanna subscribe? Visit www.tooliethetravelguide.com to sign up.

Toolie®