After the recent chopping of magazines like Gourmet, it's safe to say that print media is beyond shaking in their boots; they're already cleaning out desks. The latest magazine closure scare came at Budget Travel, formerly under Arthur Frommer's wing but now controlled by the Washington Post Co.

On Friday, rumors began that the magazine would announce its closure on Monday (today). NY Mag reached Editor-In-Chief Nina Willdorf for comments only to receive a cryptic "heading out town"-type response.

Instead of closing today, it was only reported that "it's business as usual," but execs did hold a meeting to discuss the future of the magazine. Although it looks like no one lost their jobs today, employees in ad sales were told to hold on the February issues. Will the scythe of death fall on Budget Travel in January 2010, or—even worse—around the holidays? Rest assured that we'll continue to follow this story.

Related Stories:
· Magazine Deathwatch: Budget Travel [Mediabistro]
· Budget Travel Shuttering? [NYMag]
· Travel Magazines [Jaunted]

[Photo: Kenn Wilson]]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-16T17:34:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/26/111138/690

The modern travel guidebook genre is usually traced to Arthur Frommer's seminal 1957 book Europe on 5 Dollars a Day, but tips on making the most of your time abroad have been published in some form or another for centuries. A 13th century Viking travel guide, for example, highlights some of the potential pitfalls of visiting Scotland. A nifty story in the Telegraph points out that the Norse Vikings, as fierce as they may have been, were no match for some of the rougher tribes of Scotland and Ireland, who were said to butcher invaders on arrival. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-09-26T11:11:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/10/73113/6457

Despite Arthur Frommer’s feelings about the Grand Canyon State, people seem to be ready to head out to Phoenix this fall. It is possible that his opinion might not have made it through to everyone yet, or it’s possible that nobody cares what Frommer thinks. Even though things are slow due to the economy, the Valley of the Sun appears to keep drawing the crowds into town.

According to the 2009 Travel Leaders Fall Travel Trends Survey—catchy name—the Phoenix and Scottsdale area sits just outside the top ten at number 11 among destinations booked throughout the rest of the year. People must want to avoid the cool crisp days of autumn at any cost. About 75 percent of those asked said that trips were down compared to last year overall, and about 60 percent said they had a good feeling about the strength of the fall travel season. Let's just hope the travel season isn't too strong, we're getting used to all the great deals. ]]> kjb 2009-09-10T09:13:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/2/113230/3157
Topless shenanigans in New York City's Washington Square Park fountain

Last week, travel guru Arthur Frommer announced that he's boycotting travel to the state of Arizona on account of their lax gun laws.

Because of such (lack of) laws, protestors at an Obama speech were allowed to carry guns, including assault rifles, and Frommer worried about safety. Even some commenters piped in to talk about machete spotting in Arizona and another boycott of a rude and scam-ridden town in France.

Inspired and equally creeped out, we've compiled a Top Five list of some other states you can add to the boycott list on account of their crazy rules. While they might not be as disturbing as Arizona, there are nude boobs (SFW) and dead Senators involved. Enjoy and be sure to let us know if you've got a few more juicy ones to add.

Top Five States Travelers Should Avoid Due To Crazy Laws, after the jump.]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-02T12:23:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/27/213623/732

Travel guru Art Frommer proclaimed on his blog recently that he's putting a moratorium on vacationing in Arizona because of its lax gun laws. To clarify his position, Frommer said he was alarmed that the state's gun statutes allowed about a dozen armed people, including one toting an assault rifle, to sit outside a place where President Obama was speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He said:

I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks and as a means of political protest. I not only believe such practices are a threat to the future of our democracy, but I am firmly convinced that they would also endanger my own personal safety there. And therefore I will cancel any plans to vacation or otherwise visit in Arizona until I learn more.

We can't make up our minds about Art Frommer. Does he like the internet or not? On one hand, he has his own blog and he owns a Kindle. On the other hand, he's not a big fan of other online travel sites, especially review sites where amateur travelers detail their experiences.

His latest victim is TripAdvisor, a site with "some of the looniest opinions about travel." That's because TripAdvisor released a survey in which travelers said :

London has the worst food, Paris is the most overrated and Brussels is the most boring, according to a survey of what travelers think about European cities.

The report also said Prague was a bargain destination which practically made Frommer throw his typewriter in disgust. But you wanna know what? We agree with Frommer. Not necessarily because we think TripAdvisor is full of "loonies" or anything (their hotel reviews are always helpful) but these opinions of European cities are really off-mark.

Paris--overrated? Never. Prague may have been a bargain destination 10 years ago before people "rediscovered" it, but it's a bit of a tourist trap these days. Not to mention that one of the newest hotels there opened with rates starting at $444 a night. As if!

And London having the worst food also doesn't make sense. What about the gastropub invasion? The city has good mix of Michelin Stars and more affordable but still tasty options too. We're so angry we're about to throw our typewriter in disgust...if we hadn't thrown out our typewriter back in 1996.

Related Stories
· So What Makes a Place Overrated? [Jaunted]
· To find some of the looniest opinions about travel, head to TripAdvisor.com [Jaunted]
· Grazing on the Cheap in London [Jaunted] ]]> juliana 2009-05-07T11:21:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/2/16/165442/870

With so much travel news raining down on us, we don't always have time to give every story its own forecast. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Arthur Frommer Hits Up the LA Times Travel Show: On the heels of the NYT Travel Show, the LA Times held their event. Frommer and Samantha Brown were just some of the big travel names discussing traveling in these depressing times. [LA Times]

· It's Not Pretty When You Miss a Flight: A woman who misses her flight in Hong Kong; YouTube "translates." [YouTube]

· Legoland's Inauguration Scene: Comedian Dave Barry has some snaps of Legoland's awesome inauguration setup which includes Aretha Franklin's hat. [Dave Barry]

· Who Wants to Go on Sea Cruise?: Lucky for you, the NY Times Travel section has just put out their Cruise Issue and there's some good news as cruises are getting cheaper. The bad news? You're on a cruise. And now we await your hate comments. [NY Times]

· Salma Hayek Will Always Have Paris...And Billions: Salma Hayek and on-again, off-again baby daddy and heir to the LVMH fortune, Francois-Henri Pinault, got married in quickie service in Paris on Valentine's Day. [AP News]

[Photo: NY Times]]]> juliana 2009-02-16T16:59:05-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/