ASH CASH
Part of me thinks that it is great that the Icelandic ash cloud has downed flights for a week or two. Another part thinks - what a disaster for the bank account!
It was nice not to see planes in the sky or their white vapour streams. There was an eerie calmness and lack of bustle that was quite refreshing. However, planes may be polluting noisy beasts but they do bring tourists over here and the more people we carry the more we earn in terms of tips, commission and the other extras that we need to make a living. My other half Leena was due to take 43 people on her first tour and ended up with 18, increasing to 20 when the last two eventually caught up with them half way through the tour.
I was extremely lucky in that my tour starting last weekend had the 32 I was expecting, they were goodish tippers and we had a very nice tour. I did some extra drop offs and took them into London past Windsor (thanks Swlavek, driver) and everything worked well.
If I had been working the previous week we may have been in single figures (some tours were) and I would have had a week's work for very little. That is the curious thing - a large group is often easier to handle than a small one where you have to give more individual attention.
Frightening really that we are so dependent on the extraction of oil from the ground. Married to it, really....
It was nice not to see planes in the sky or their white vapour streams. There was an eerie calmness and lack of bustle that was quite refreshing. However, planes may be polluting noisy beasts but they do bring tourists over here and the more people we carry the more we earn in terms of tips, commission and the other extras that we need to make a living. My other half Leena was due to take 43 people on her first tour and ended up with 18, increasing to 20 when the last two eventually caught up with them half way through the tour.
I was extremely lucky in that my tour starting last weekend had the 32 I was expecting, they were goodish tippers and we had a very nice tour. I did some extra drop offs and took them into London past Windsor (thanks Swlavek, driver) and everything worked well.
If I had been working the previous week we may have been in single figures (some tours were) and I would have had a week's work for very little. That is the curious thing - a large group is often easier to handle than a small one where you have to give more individual attention.
Frightening really that we are so dependent on the extraction of oil from the ground. Married to it, really....
posted by tourguideddie at 1:42 PM
2 Comments:
Hi Eddie,
Sorry to hear how the volcanic eruption in Iceland effected your business.
It certainly has effected the travel business in Iceland as well. Many, about half of those expected in April and May, have cancelled their trip to Iceland because of the eruption.
There's two reasons why people shy away.
First - it is unsafe, the country is about to explode. This of course is rubbish. Everyone is 100% safe.
Second - it is uncertain if it is possible to land in the country, and more importantly - if it is possible to leave at the right time (I guess people really do not want to spend one extra day on holiday when work waits).
Both reasons based on perception which sadly are incorrect.
The eruption is on a mountain away from all buildings and people. Some ash has fallen, about 4 cm in a valley nearest to the eruption.
International airports have been open every day since the eruption started. Our main airport, used by Icelandair and Iceland express, was closed for a couple of days last week because of airborn ash high up in in the sky. Akureyri airport was used instead for those couple of days, and we have a third international airport in the East of the country.
The closure of Keflavik airport, 50 km away from Reykjavik, meant that most people had to take a 5 hour bus trip from Akureyri to Reykjavik (provided for free). This is of course inconvenient but can be at best looked at as a free sightseeing trip accross the country (without a tourist guide of course).
No ash has fallen in Reykjavik as of yet but the city is about 90 km away from the eruption.
Last week we had absolutely no guests on our guided Reykjavik Bike Tour.
http://www.icelandbike.com
Let's hope the worst is over and the travel business goes back to normal soon.
Good luck with the rest of the summer.
Hi Eddie: Alisa and I (the guy with the tweed jacket), just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time on our trip to Britain, thanks to you! I (David) just finished your book "Walk This Way" and enjoyed it very much. Hope to start the other one tonight. Also thanks for suggesting the Pitkin guides. We bought several of those and are working our way through them. Loved seeing Hadrian's wall. Got home and built a dry wall (24lbs/block X 85) planter in the front yard. We call it Hadrian's planter. We both threw our backs out, but are now recovered. ha ha All the best to you. And tell Swavic "hi" if you ever see him.
Regards,
David and Alisa Burrous d303burrous@msn.com
Post a Comment
<< Home