Thursday, June 23, 2022

443 - Astrotourism With Michael Marlin

Show 443

Show Notes

Astrotourism book front cover

Space tourism is all about looking down whereas astrotourism is all about looking up as Michael Marlin describes astrotourism in this podcast. We have lost a precious resource over the last twenty to thirty years and that is a dark sky where, with the naked eye, we can see the Milky Way and billions of other stars and galaxies. The vast majority of the world's population and eighty percent of North Americans have never experienced a dark sky. Our dark skies have disappeared due to street lights and the far-reaching artificial light thrown off by our large cities. In fact, most of the world's population lives in large cities or suburban areas where dark skies are all but obliterated with artificial light.

Astrotourism is growing by leaps and bounds because people want to experience the awe of observing the stars under a dark sky. A luxury resort, Clear Sky Resorts, offers luxury domes equipped with telescopes, private decks, modern bathrooms, pools, and best of all, expansive windows where you can observe the dark sky from the comfort of your indoor space.

Boy looking at the night sky

Our guest in today's podcast, Michael Marlin who goes by the name of Marlin, has written the book, "Astrotourism: Star Gazers, Eclipse Chasers, and the Dark Sky Movement." The book takes an in-depth look at what astrotourism means for the travel trade community. Michael and I give you an overview of astrotourism in today's show.

If you haven't experienced a dark sky then you owe it to yourself to make a trip to find a dark sky. This is an experience you will never forget and it may bring tears to your eyes to see what you've been missing. And, you may return from your dark sky adventure wanting to share this experience with your clients. If so, there are resorts like Clear Sky Resorts where you may find commissioned opportunities to build your business with astrotourism.

Pick up Marlin's book if you want to learn more. It's available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3n8Hvu9.

Michael Marlin

"There was a study done by a couple of PhD's out of Missouri State University…they calculated that over the next 10 years the Colorado Plateau would generate 5.2 billion dollars … from astrotourism and create an additional 10,000 jobs every year."

"Because 80 percent of North Americans can't see the Milky Way anymore, more and more people are traveling to take in the last few remaining dark skies. "

Links to Items We Talked About in This Show

The Mind of Marlin - Marlin's website

"Astrotourism: Star Gazers, Eclipse Chasers, and the Dark Sky Movement."

Marlin's phone number: (702) 274-8788

Podcasts Related to This Show

This podcast is the first of its kind!

The Fine Print

Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. Barry, or the Show, receives no compensation from the guests on our show, or from the companies they represent unless we state otherwise during the show. We invite guests to our show because they offer something of value to the travel trade community. The Home Based Travel Agent Show is funded from the resources of Barry Kantz.

Photo credit Photo by Erike Fusiki from Pexels



© 2022 All Rights Reserved

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Thursday, February 28, 2019

400 - An Amazing Antarctic Expedition

Podcast Number 400
SHOW NOTES
Rebecca Stacey, from Zegraham Expeditions, just returned from a three-week expedition to the Antarctica Peninsula, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia Islands.  Rebecca joins our show to talk about her expedition to Antarctica. You can sense the excitement and awe in Rebecca's voice as she describes what she saw and what she experienced. This is an expedition for the curious traveler, the lifelong learner client where they are exposed to guides who are geologists, ornithologists, naturalists, and historians. Your client will experience this trip aboard an all-inclusive small cruise ship with a capacity for 100 guests. The rewards for booking your clients on this expedition are great for your client and for you the travel advisor.
LINKS TO ITEMS WE TALKED ABOUT
Zegraham Expeditions
Description of the January 2020 Expedition
Email Rebecca Stacey at rebecca.stacy@thlnas.com
Rebecca's telephone number: (702) 981-1431
CONNECT WITH US
The Home Based Travel Agent Show Facebook Page
Sharp Tongued Consulting Facebook Page
Sharped Tongued Consulting - Lorene's Travel Agent Website
Barry's Facebook Page
Lorene's Facebook Page
Email Barry at barry@hometravelagent.net
Email Lorene at sharptongued@mac.com
Music Credits:
The song, "Hot Salsa Trip" is by Arsonist and can be found at FreeMusicArchive.org The song, "Team Work" is by Scott Holmes and can be found at FreeMusicArchive.org
The Home Based Travel Agent Show is available on your television through Roku in the Blubrry Channel. You can also find us on Blubrry at Blubrry.com.The Home Based Travel Agent Show is a proud affiliate of the National Association of Career Travel Agents - NACTA.Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast.
© 2019 All Rights Reserved

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Sunday, August 21, 2011

302 - A Down to Earth Tour of Hawaii

Podcast Number 302

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COHOSTED SEGMENT

In today's show we talk about very untypical tours of Hawaii. Earth Bound Tourswill give your clients a glimpse of the Hawaiian agricultural and culinary community. The tours are a learning experience that take

Lorene Romero and Jim Reddekopp

clients to interesting places like a sustainable mushroom farm, lavender farms, abalone farms and much more. Your clients engage in true learning experiences from the people who run the farms. The tours end with a meal that is a culinary experience linked to the farms. Jim Reddekopp, the founder of Earth Bound Tours, encourages travel agents and tour operators to contact him to arrange an unforgettable experience for your clients.

Jim and his family own the Hawaiian Vanilla Company that is the family's vanilla farm. The Hawaiian Vanilla Company has a great gift shop for your clients to browse through when they tour the vanilla farm. If  you would like to get a flavor for the gift shop without going to Hawaii, the shop is on line and accessed at www.hawaiianvanilla.com. You will find culinary delights and recipes at the on line gift shop.

Hawaiian Vanilla Company

Join us on the show and learn more about Earth Bound Tours and the Hawaiian Vanilla Company.




Travel News

Today in the travel news segment I depart from hard news and talk about a Google service that measures the public's interest in travel. The service is Google's Domestic Trends. There are several trends that are tracked including travel, luxury goods, air travel, mortgages, jobs and many others. Within the travel trends graph, Google tracks queries related to such terms as Las Vegas, hotels, airlines, car rental, flights and other travel related terms. The tracking is graphed over time so you can see patterns of when people are interested in travel. With this service you can overlay other trends on the travel trend graph and compare interest in travel to the rise and fall of the S&P 500, other major indexes or individual stocks.

One interesting trend I noted was that interest in travel drops significantly from October through December. This drop has occurred every year for the past five years. On the other hand, the searches for travel significantly increase beginning in May and continues through July. My guess is that people are traveling in the last half of the year and looking to book their vacations in May, June, July and August. This Google service is an interesting device that may help you time your advertising campaign to peak times of the year or to increase your advertising efforts based on other factors affecting travel.









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Gary at http://www.facebook.com/gary.ebels.

Join the Home Based Travel Agent Show Facebook Group.

On Twitter

Lorene’s Twitter name is lorener

Barry’s Twitter name is kantzb

Gary's Twitter name is gary222

Check out Lorenes travel agent website at www.sharptonguedconsulting.com.

Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. You can email me at barry@hometravelagent.net or email Lorene at sharptongued@mac.com and Gary at wdwgary@gmail.com.







 




The Weight Of Your HeartKites With Lights
"The Weight Of Your Heart" (mp3)
from "The Weight Of Your Heart"
(24 Hour Service Station)

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Saturday, April 04, 2009

199 - Eco Excursions and Unusual Travel Requests

Podcast Number 199


Eco travel is becoming popular but did you know that your clients can experience eco travel as an excursion? Learn about an eco excursion option you can offer to your clients when they reach their vacation or cruise destinations. Also, in this show learn about some of the unusual vacations requests your fellow travel agents have had to entertain.


Travel News


U.S. tourism to Cuba may soon become a reality

Travel agent card mills are ripping off consumers

Weird travel agent requests

Portland, Oregon visitor's bureau uses Twitter to answer tourist's questions




Learn, enjoy, produce and prosper!


Barry Kantz's Facebook profile


Keep up with us on Twitter.com Lorene's Twitter name is lorener, Barry's Twitter name is kantzb


Check out Lorenes travel agent website at www.sharptonguedconsulting.com.
Check out Blubrry. It's a great place to be a listener. You can comment on podcasts you listen to and you can sign up to be friends with the podcasters on the Blubrry Network. Go over to Blubrry, sign up and become my friend. I would like to get to know all of you!
Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. You can email me at barry@hometravelagent.net or email Lorene at sharptongued@mac.com


Haven't We Met?Emilie-Claire Barlow
"Comin' Home Baby" (mp3)
from "Haven't We Met?"
(Empress Music Group Inc)

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Sunday, March 02, 2008

145 - Chena Hot Springs Resort - An Unforgettable Destination for Your Clients

Podcast Number One-hundred-forty-five

Permalink


Bernie Karl, the proprieter of the Chena Hot Springs resort in Fairbanks, Alaska, give us an in depth look at the beauty of the resort. Chena Hot Springs resort is full of natural beauty where your clients will be surrounded by fascinating sights such as the wildlife of the area and the northern lights. Bernie describes how Chena Hot Springs Resort is nearly 100% self sustaining. That means the resort produces all of the energy it needs to operate. Bernie offers your clients the opportunity to learn about alternative energy sources and how Bernie and his team are creating an example for all of us to follow.

The Alaska Podshow produced a great short video about Chena Hot Springs. You can load up the video >>>>HERE<<<<<<. You 've got to watch this video. You will want to visit Chena Hot Springs after you see this video and listen to Bernie Karl, the proprietor of Chena Hot Srings Resort talk about his resort on the Home Based Travel Agent Show.


This podcast is sponsored by GoToMeeting

Check out Lorenes travel agent website at www.sharptonguedconsulting.com.

Check out
Blubrry. It's a great place to be a listener. You can comment on podcasts you listen to and you can sign up to be friends with the podcasters on the Blubrry Network. Go over to Blubrry, sign up and become my friend. I would like to get to know all of you!

Stop by my travel business site
Special Destinations where you can just browse or create your own account and blog. Would you like to get more information about the travel business, about life and about business in general? Check out my personal blog at http://www.hometravelagent.net/WordPress/ Thank you for listening to the Home Based Travel Agent Podcast. You can email me at barry@hometravelagent.net or email Lorene at sharptongued@mac.com



Share My AirShanti
"Wake Up to the Sun" (mp3)
from "Share My Air"
(HAYAMA)

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Buy at mTraks Download
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