Sitting on Uranus in our newly opened news bureau, it occurs to me
that 2035 was quite a year for the industry.
The recently opened Disney theme park on Pluto was but the
culmination of many auspicious events this past year.
Who would have thought when Disney began operating theme parks
in the mid-20th century that less than a hundred years later, we
could see Pluto on Pluto?
True, the planet is a long way from the sun and you have to
bundle up, but it's worth it.
Among the other memorable events of 2035 was Carnival's
introduction of the first airstrip on a cruise ship. Carnival's
"fly-on, fly-off" option makes cruising more attractive to that
portion of the potential cruise market that is easily bored.
And kudos to Hertz for improving the navigational systems in its
new car rental fleet.
The enhanced technology to provide renters with better driving
directions should reduce the number of cars that don't come back
because the old navigational systems were faulty.
The year 2035 was another banner year for technology, especially
for virtual travel. Smart travel agencies have learned how to use
virtual travel as a substitute for travel in the physical
world.
The new kiosks set up by agencies allow people to go anywhere
without spending the kind of time and money required to travel in
the real world.
I enjoyed my recent virtual trip to Paris. The Air France flight
was smooth, the room at the Meurice splendid, and I especially
enjoyed dinner at Tour d'Argent. To be able to do this all in 12
minutes without the old headaches of packing and unpacking,
passports, crowded airports, etc., was great.
At Travel Weekly, 2035 was another outstanding year. Although a
small percentage of our readers continue to request the paper
publication we've produced for 78 years, the great majority now
prefer our Internet edition, which can be received on your home
television screen.
Readers tell us that they enjoy the flexibility of switching
seamlessly to the Internet Travel Weekly during those endless
commercial breaks on ER-2000.
As for our staff, the ability to communicate on line has reduced
the need for physical offices even further. Our editor in chief now
works from her home in Sitka, Alaska, and our production editor
supervises each issue from her retreat in Zaire.
I continue to come to the old office in Secaucus but being there
alone is becoming a little depressing.
As 2036 dawns, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of
our readers for their continued support and express a particular
thanks to the team of nurses who keep me going.