Whereas Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie might be our Super World Travelers, there's no doubt that President Obama is our Super Business Traveler. After wrapping up a summer of whirlwind around-the-world meetings and appearances with his family in tow, autumn is marked by his huge solo visit this week to China.

Over the weekend, Obama landed in Shanghai after a quick visit to Japan and Singapore. Already in China, he has hosted a town hall-style meeting with Chinese students to discuss freedom of information—with a small nod to Twitter, saying: "Well, first of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter...my thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone." This came in response to China's past ban on Twitter, although access to the website was re-opened at university campuses for this special event. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-11-16T09:37:47-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/5/133237/840

Last time we tried to visit Haiti, we were turned around on account of safety concerns surrounding a presidential election in the country, and it probably doesn't help that a friend's entire family fled the country years ago. These are the type of negative views on Haiti that former president Bill Clinton seeks to reverse in his position as a special envoy to Haiti. He made another visit to the struggling country and specifically addressed the need for tourism. So, are you ready to head to Port-au-Prince for a weekend away? But what we really should be asking is if Haiti is ready for you.

In his goodwill trip to encourage tourism, Clinton didn't exactly take the most tourist-friendly route: ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-05T14:00:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/1/91115/5381

Tomorrow is the big day! On October 2, the Olympic Committee will announce the host city for the 2016 Olympics, and it's a hot race right down to the last minute for finalist cities Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Madrid. These final 24 hours have been particularly important to the decision-making process, as each city flew their star-power spokespeople to Copenhagen, Denmark to make final pleas before the Committee.

While soccer star Pelé did what he could for Rio's case, Chicago's representation was a bit more impressive with both Oprah and Michelle Obama stepping up to the podium to pitch The Windy City. Oprah might rule it these days, you see, but Michelle was born there and remains a Second City gal, even if her residence is now the White House. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-01T09:36:05-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/25/93122/0686

President Obama might be making his first presidential visit to Pittsburgh today for the G20 Summits, but before heading off for some serious work-time, Mr. and Mrs. Obama hit up New York again for a couple days, creating mass traffic confusion, but some actual excitement when Michelle lunched at the famed Gramercy Tavern restaurant.

In all fairness, Michelle had to eat alone since Barack was not in town for tourist activities like usual, but instead addressing the United Nations. Gramercy Tavern is an excellent choice for the First Lady, even if she may have gone because the chef behind the restaurant also catered the UN activities. It is upscale, rather exclusive and hard to get reservations for, and is known for being a cheerleader of American cuisine.

She didn't make reservations... ]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-25T09:31:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/18/132653/326

Washington D.C.-bound travelers hoping to celebrate Christmas with the Obamas may already be out of luck. With its twinkling lights and a new family occupying the world's most famous address this year, snagging holiday tour tickets to the White House is a feat that rivals landing floor seats to a Springsteen concert.

As the Richmond Times Dispatch reports, tour requests are accepted up to six months in advance, but whether you're the lucky winner of tickets isn't disclosed until three weeks before the scheduled date, or thereabouts.

The formal request process and the lottery-like submission for tickets are a result of post-September 11th security measures. Before then, tourists could show up the morning of and fall in line to get same-day admission. Now, ticket requests must be made "through the office of a member of the House of Representatives or Senate." ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-09-18T14:13:55-05:00 38.8987480 -77.036562 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/23/21120/0428

We have truly entered the family vacation portion of summer, what with last week's National Parks free day and the anxiety of squeezing in trips before Labor Day. Although President Obama, Michelle, Malia and Sasha have spent their summer traveling around the world and taking in various tourist sites, they have also been working all the while. Thus, it's even time for the first family to call it quits for a bit and head to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts for some deserved rest and relaxation.

They'll even be renting a summer vacation home for the week-long break, but this isn't some cottage with a leaky canoe; it's the 28-acre, $35,000-a-week Blue Heron Farm on the island's southern edge. With the arrival of the Obamas, Martha's Vineyard has become the late summer celebrity vacation hotspot, as it's reported that the likes of Jay-Z, Beyonce, Oprah, Spike Lee, Pele (the Brazilion soccer star) and even the Clintons are also in town. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-24T09:34:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/17/02625/0644

With vacation destinations like Miami Beach or Las Vegas, one wonder if American families are still game to take in natural sights at the once-popular National Parks. Well, there's at least one family that kicked off their summer vacation with little good old road tripping out west, and that's the Obamas. Before they head to Martha's Vineyard for some well-deserved down time, the first family spent this last weekend admiring the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.

Alright, so it wasn't exactly a road trip in the traditional sense, since the family took the Marine One helicopter from the White House to Air Force One to reach the west, but they did hop from one park to another in one weekend, and Obama even brought along his half-sister and her family. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-17T09:30:52-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/