Who is The Internet Traveler? Well, evidently you as you have found this website in your search for reliable information on how to plan and buy travel online.

The number of travelers like you who are booking travel online is staggering – more than 91 million made a travel reservation online in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
 
Half of all travelers now use the Internet to buy – not just research – travel, according to a November 2006 survey from market research firm J.D. Power and Associates, up from 46% in 2005. Online travel spending in the U.S. in 2006 will be $68 billion, up about 15% over the previous year, according to comScore Networks. 

Yet there are precious few resources to guide the growing ranks of do-it-yourself travel planners.


The Internet Traveler
aims to change that. It is a column dedicated to providing guidance and direction to consumers using the Internet as a travel resource written from a consumer’s point of view by James Gilden, an internationally published travel journalist who is also a veteran Internet traveler.


Below are links to recent columns:
Cell phones tips: Staying in touch while traveling abroad
States taking an interest in "green" hotels
Got your passport? You sure it's OK?
Keep summer storms and hurricanes from spoiling your trip
Airfares turning into a fee-for-all
European discount airlines may - or may not - be going your way
Europe's trains may be your ticket to fighting global warming
Check that cancellation clause or bookings could be costly

With websites' aid, groups can have their trips made to order

Online businesses take a page from the old media's playbook

It may be hard to hold hotels to their best-rate guarantees

Routes to the best deal may not always be direct

Upgraded map sites do more than route you from A to B

Cost of air travel measured in terms of pollution, not dollars

Amateurs' talent: Giving us a local perspective on the world

When flight trouble looms, travel sites spread the word

How a 34 cent ticket adds up to a $70 bill

Sites stake out, capture that elusive beast: the fare deal

Savings look minimal at best as AARP links with Travelocity

Check out the Web check-ins

When searching, remember what goes on behind the scenes

Your assignment: fly free with frequent-flier miles

Unlike Priceline, these sites name names

Did someone flub a fact? TripAdvisor lets you fix it

Looking for your true calling? Try broadband telephone service

Act fast, but act smart, when searching eBay for bargains

Remember that trip Maui? Soon your travel site will too

Price guarantees: Marketing gimmicks or the real deal?

Time to meet? Sites get e-daters from here to e-ternity

Planning to see Europe by rail? Get rolling online first

No room at the inn? Maybe, but keep banging on the door

Expedia glitch proves that the Web is one powerful grapevine

Click, pick and park: How to steer clear of airport chaos

Sure, that e-mail looks legit, but is it from a 'phisher'?

Tracking down a website's home can be a tricky business

Consumers' fact-finding mission: Locate the total fare

A feast of hotel guest reviews, but watch out for bad apples

On a high-tech hunt for fall's most glorious displays of color

Some sites zoom in on the lucrative gay tourism market

That fare you see may not be the fare you get - here's why

Audio tours on iPod that could be music to a tourist's ears

What's in a star? That depends on the hotel rating service

Brick by brick, click by click, a supply catalog firm grows

Group sites may offer boons to those needing multiple rooms

Sharing vacation photos is as easy as aim, shoot and upload

Alcohol figures into some young Americans' European plans

Idealist.org can help you arrange a vacation from apathy

Online hotel reservations are still subject to human error

Students: Do your homework to get European summer deals

Looking for a place to pitch the tent? Start the search online

Is that great offer legit? Before buying, do some research

Mouse cliques may help you maximize your Disney dollar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotels' special offers sometimes outdo their own 'best' rates

Baggage check: In search of better luggage prices on the Web

Read the fine print before booking on overseas websites

When the chill is on, crowds flock to snow sports websites

Making the Web more accessible for visually impaired users

Websites take the hassle out of researching, booking hostels

New search tools help bargain hunters cut their shopping time

There are no cancellations and no refunds -- no kidding

For good deals on cruises, your main port of entry is the Web

'Dynamic' packages allow versatility while they save money

Decoding hotel ratings: What's a star-crossed traveler to do?

To get the best rates, use all the resources at your fingertips

Short of cash and need a place to flop? Try couch surfing

Coming up with a quicker route to landing a good airfare deal

Find a drivable destination and then calculate your fuel costs

The mixing link between consumers and low-fare carriers

The Web can have a calming effect on summer turbulence

Hotel chains want websites to separate fees and taxes on bill

Special military websites stand ready to deliver discounts

'Best rate' is often not, so take advantage of that guarantee

Travelocity's new site design cuts clutter to ease navigation

The low-cost route to riding the rails starts by surfing the Net

In a Web search, some hotels pop to the top -- here's why

Website tools can help pry out new ways to find lowest fares

Internet maps can guide you or give you the runaround

Hotels doing their part to beat the online rate competition

Picks and pans for 2003

Spanish-language option may give sites jump on competition

Fraud crackdown highlights fears over booking trips on Web

Procrastinators, prepare to snatch a fare and run out the door

More snow sports enthusiasts are surfing before they ski

A behind-the-screens look at fleeting airfare availability

A little espresso, a pastry and Web access in Europe

Passengers aren't lining up yet for Web check-in

Mercy for the mercenary Cost-conscious bidders can get burned on auction sites such as Priceline and Hotwire, but there is recourse.

For frequent fliers, a Web of useful resources

Leafing through a Web of fall color

A Web of low European airfares

How two Web sites' search tools stack up 

Booking hotels online is more than just about prices 

Contact The Internet Traveler

NOW in the New York Times!

Waiting in Style

The Internet Traveler is your trusted source for reliable information on using the Internet to research and book travel.

  • Useful: Practical hints, tips and guidelines to help ease the traveler’s burden and anxiety about using the Web.
  • Comprehensive: The Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and New York Times are monitored daily for trends and news about the World Wide Web that affect travelers, in addition to press releases, local newspapers, magazines and other media outlets.
  • Completely independent: No freebies or press junkets. All trips are paid out of Gilden's personal funds to maintain complete objectivity.
  • Current: Timely topics taken right out of the news and given a consumer’s slant using personal insight into the psyche of the travel consumer.
  • Concise: The complex issues facing travelers are explained in a clean, crisp, easy-to-understand style.
  • Trustworthy: Gilden has published dozens of high-profile travel consumer pieces in major newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.
  • Accurate: The top travel experts in the world are consulted and all facts are double-checked.
  • Knowledgeable: Gilden has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles around the world using the Internet as a travel resource for booking flights, hotels and gathering information about destinations. This experience helps bring a consumer’s perspective and added authority to the reporting as well as a firsthand observation of the current issues facing travelers.  

Listen to me on NPR Morning Edition. Travel Conditions Likely to Deteriorate in 2007