Where would you like to travel in 2012? For people in the travel industry, it’s often easier to come up with a list of where they wouldn’t like to travel. So many destinations, so little time.

This time of year, travel lists abound, with each, naturally, subjective in its own way. Looking for top luxury spots? Budget destinations? Off-the-beaten-path spots? How about top ethical places in the developing world? There’s a list for you.

Mayan ruins at Tulum, Mexico.

Without reading a single one, a destination gambler’s best odds for this year would be to include London and its surroundings, home of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Not far behind should be locales in Mexico and Central America that were part of the Mayan world. That culture, after all, predicts that the world as we know it will transition into its next phase on December 21, 2012.

Many of the current 2012 travel lists do indeed mention one or both of these destinations/regions, namely CNN’s World’s Top Destinations for 2012 (the first four of which also include Chicago and Myanmar and happen to align with my personal list of where I’m likely heading this year) and Frommer’s Best Destinations for 2012.

The Frommer’s list is particularly interesting as it’s geared toward the hard-to-define traveler who simply loves to explore the world and runs the gamut from budget to luxury. Destination choices are all over the map, literally and figuratively, from Canada’s Bay of Fundy to Japan’s Fukuoka, Ghana to Girona, Spain, with Beirut, Curacao, Kansas City and Chongqing, China, rounding out the list.

Uptake’s own Yen Lee harnessed the social media power of Facebook’s friend graph to capture the most buzzed about places, based on more than 200 million comments, status updates, photo descriptions and check-ins. The list published on Huffington Post includes some classic Southeast Asian gems, including Hoi An, Vietnam, and Luang Prabang, Laos, along with Copacabana, Bolivia, and Portland, Oregon, stateside.

Lonely Planet has expanded its audience significantly beyond intrepid backpackers during the past decade, so its annual lists now seem to include more places that make one wonder “why there” as opposed to “where is there.” There remain, however, some great picks. For top U.S. destinations, LP editors recommend the always-enjoyable Chicago, the Four Corners region of the Southwest, California’s Gold Country and, perhaps more surprisingly than the other spots, Cincinnati. Ever hear of Culebra? No? It’s an island 17 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. The Caribbean tropics can be yours, no passport required.

Luxury lovers who turn first to picks from Travel & Leisure‘s Hottest Destinations of 2012 will find a variety of remote resort destinations from which to choose, including Sri Lanka, Xishuangbanna in China’s Yunnan Province, and Mozambique’s Northern Coast, along with Bentonville, Arkansas. That’s right—Arkansas, which made the list thanks to the Moshe Safdie-designed Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, opened in November.

Budget Travel magazine has a terrific list of value destinations, including Egypt—surely a bargain these days and desperately trying to rebuild its tourism industry; Atlantic Canada, which also appears on a variety of lists; and Taipei, a personal favorite, for its culinary scene and diverse topography. Stateside San Diego and San Antonio are the places to stretch your dollars.

Conscientious and green travelers can thank Ethical Traveler for its newly released list of the Developing Worlds 10 Best Ethical Destinations (press release), based on their accomplishments in the areas of environmental protection, social welfare, and human rights. The winners, in alphabetical order, are: Argentina, The Bahamas, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Latvia, Mauritius, Palau, Serbia and Uruguay.

The editors at The New York Times haven’t yet published their list for 2012, but they recommended 41 places to go in 2011. That probably was inclusive enough to last most people a good few years, or even a decade.

Photo: D.M. Airoldi

The first major hurricane of the 2011 season, Irene, has already been pummeling its way through the Caribbean and is now headed for the East Coast of the United States. If it stays on course, it will be the first hurricane to hit New York City and the Northeast since Hurricane Bob in 1991, and the first hurricane to hit the country since 2008.

To assist those who might get caught in the storm, Travel Guard North America has announced that it will provide free emergency travel and medical assistance to all U.S. and Canadian travelers impacted by Hurricane Irene, even those who had not purchased travel insurance policies. Services include flight rebooking, hotel booking, emergency cash coordination and message relay, as well as emergency medical assistance including referrals, and access to air ambulance and medical providers.

Travelers and their families seeking Travel Guard’s assistance services can reach the company directly by calling (866) 644-6811. Free assistance will continue to be offered so long as the storm is still classified as a hurricane, said a company spokesperson. The company also offered free services to all travelers last year during Hurricane Earl.

Typically, for hurricane-related losses to be covered, travel insurance must be purchased before a hurricane is named, said Carol Mueller, vice president, Travel Guard. Once a warning is issued, however, losses resulting from a named hurricane on, before or fewer than 14 days after the effective date of coverage are excluded.

Though Hurricane Irene is the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, it may not be the last. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) hurricane outlook for 2011 indicates an above-normal Atlantic season, which runs through November 30.

“We’ve had a few calm hurricane seasons, which can lead to complacency when it comes to travel planning,” said Mueller. “Hurricane Irene is a good reminder that major travel disruptions can arise quickly during hurricanes and other severe weather situations, so it’s important to be prepared. A travel insurance plan is one of the best ways for travelers to maintain confidence about their travel plans.”

Travelers also should keep in mind that even if their final destination is not affected by a hurricane, they may still experience trip disruptions due to hurricane-related airline delays and cancellations.

For more information about Travel Guard, visit www.travelguard.com or call (800) 826-1300.

Photo: Satellite image from NASA/U.S. Government

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Crystal Cruises food bank volunteers

The Los Angeles–based cruise line Crystal Cruises has announced new voluntourism opportunities for passengers traveling on its fall itineraries in New England, Canada and the Caribbean.

The fall 2011 programs and destinations in which they’re offered are:

- Cradles to Crayons, Sept. 16 and Oct. 8, Boston: Prepare vital winter items, from schoolbags to warm coats and shoes, for homeless and low-income children.

- Romero House, Sept. 30, St. John, New Brunswick: Provide kitchen aid for a housing community that assists less-fortunate locals and resettling refugees.

- Feed Nova Scotia, Oct. 20, Halifax: Help with food bank preparation and distribution.

- Donkey Sanctuary at the Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society, Oct. 31, Antigua: Feed, clean or walk the shelter’s stray donkeys, dogs and cats.

The activities are part of Crystal Cruises’ “You Care, We Care” program, which launched in January and offers volunteer options to passengers for free on all sailings.

“While we always seek unique adventures for our guests, we created this program as a very personal way for Crystal travelers to give back to the many destinations that have given us so much through the years,” says Thomas Mazloum, senior vice president operations. “We’ve already seen incredibly positive ripple effects in peoples’ lives, and we can’t wait to continue our efforts through the year.”

Crystal’s voluntourism efforts in 2011 already have helped orphans, animals and the environment. Current summer-sailings projects include caring for cats and birds at one of the oldest independent animal protection organizations in Norway, and rehabilitating an eco-friendly salmon hatchery and education facility in Alaska.

Photo: Crystal Cruises

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent their first overseas trip, from June 30 to July 10, 2011, in North America. The enormous interest in all things Will and Kate with 1,300 journalists following them around has brought the destinations they visited a windfall in free publicity.

Kate & Wills

But Will and Kate divided their time between Canada and California, so which “CA tourism” made the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

For starters, the California Travel & Tourism Commission (CTTC) and VisitBritain teamed up to push the royals’ July 8 to 10 stay in Los Angeles as benefiting both California and Britain.

“We consider the Duke and Duchess’s visit a true hallmark, once-in-a-generation event that will benefit the state with a halo effect for years to come,” said Caroline Beteta, CTTC president & CEO. “Their visit also highlights the enduring positive relationship our state has enjoyed with U.K. travelers.”

Karen Clarkson, VisitBritain’s vice president for North America, explained the view from the other side of the pond. “Their popularity in the U.S. helps to keep the spotlight on Britain and showcase all of the exciting reasons why Americans should visit now,” said Clarkson. “The U.K. offers travelers choice, value and unforgettable experiences, rooted in our rich history, heritage, arts, culture and sporting traditions.”

The CTTC also launched a Royal Summer campaign which includes hotel packages inspired by Will and Kate’s visit. In a matching move, VisitBritain is offering “Royal Summer” travel tips on visitbritain.us for inbound U.S. travelers.

But while the CTTC and VisitBritain are busy patting each other on the back, Canada looks to be the destination that ends up with the biggest slice of the royal-tourism pie.

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) set the ball rolling with a dedicated website and an accredited video crew, editor and two bloggers following Will and Kate around and producing daily “Royal Tour” material for website visitors and the media.

The regional tourism bureaus in Canada, whether by design or luck, ended up with great footage of the royal couple attending their most popular events and destinations.

They arrived in Ottawa on June 30, which happened to be Canada Day. The royal couple joined hundreds of thousands celebrating in the capital with fireworks and a rock concert, and the downtown core around Parliament Hill turned into a huge street party with Ottawa hotels completely sold out.

On July4, they were in Charlottetown for dragon-boat racing on Prince Edward Island. Kathy Hambly, executive director of the greater Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce, said it was fantastic to have Prince Edward Island showcased by the international media—not to mention the fact that images of Will and Kate competing against each other in a dragon-boat race will be useful as promotional material.

Banff National Park came into the limelight when the royal couple made a last-minute decision to spend the night of July 6 at the secluded Skoki Lodge near Lake Louise, which quickly had a $4,800 bathtub specially installed for the royal couple. Travel Alberta CEO Bruce Okabe noted that the lodge got more publicity in one day than it had in the last 50 to 60 years.

Calgary hotels likewise enjoyed a nice bounce July 7 and 8 for the 2011 Calgary Stampede, with iconic pictures of Will and Kate donning white cowboy hats. Tourism Calgary CEO Randy Williams said the 10 gallon hats they wore helped put Calgary on the map.

Alberta’s biggest markets just happen to be the United Kingdom and the United States, where interest in the royal tour of Canada was peaking at the right time when the couple were in Alberta, just before their arrival in Los Angeles. All said and done, it was a very well-timed royal tour, and the concerned destination organizations made the most of it.

Photo – VisitBritain

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