Americans aren't always greeted with open arms when traveling abroad. That could be because open arms aren't polite in that particular country, or it could be that we're perceived as louts and the people there don't want to hug us. It's your mission to find out.The travel Web site Vayama.com surveyed U.S. travelers, about half of whom said they have committed social sins in other countries, and about the same number said they simply force their American customs on others, not bothering to find out if you're supposed to let the oldest guy in the room start eating first (Kenya).To help you prepare, we've culled some tips from the site's etiquette section,www.vayama.com/etiquette: Read more

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SITE VAYAMA.COM HELPS TRAVELERS AVOID COMMON ‘FAUX PAS’ WHEN ABROAD

New Survey Shows Majority of Americans Incorrectly Follow U.S. Customs When Visiting Other Countries

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (May 13, 2008) Even though Americans enjoy traveling abroad, many neglect the local customs of other countries and make common faux pas that can lead to confusion and embarrassment, according to a new survey conducted by international travel site vayama.com. To help travelers avoid cultural misunderstandings on future voyages, vayama has added country specific etiquette guides that cover everything from dining practices to appropriate attire, available at www.vayama.com/etiquette.

Vayama’s survey focused on U.S. adults’ know-how of appropriate etiquette in other countries and found that 95% of travelers say they typically learn about the places they visit outside of the U.S. However, they don’t educate themselves on local customs as much as they could. In fact, over half of travelers (54%) said they typically stick to U.S. customs when traveling abroad, and nearly half (47%) said they did something when traveling outside the U.S. that they later learned was inappropriate behavior in that country.

"The results of this survey paint a bleak picture of how Americans are behaving in other countries,” said Tony Hanseder, General Manager of vayama. “To help travelers overcome some of the common obstacles outlined in the survey, we added country specific do’s and don’ts to vayama.com so people can brush-up on correct protocol before they travel.”

Launched today, vayama’s etiquette guides provide a quick and easy snapshot of a country’s culture and customs, including tipping practices, dining etiquette, appropriate attire, how to greet someone, gift-giving, cultural taboos and more. Vayama currently has guides for more than a dozen of its most popular destinations and expects to have more than 50 guides available in the next couple months.

Vayama’s survey revealed that, overall, travelers are not very knowledgeable about the customs of the places they visit. With Europe, over half of travelers (56%) say they have no or limited knowledge of European customs even though the same number of travelers (56%) have been to that region of the world. Nine out of 10 travelers (91%) are somewhat to not at all knowledgeable about the culture of Africa, and over three-fourths admit the same lack of knowledge for South America (83%) and Asia (82%).

Vayama’s survey found that travelers’ lack of knowledge is most apparent when it comes to table manners in other countries. For example, about half (48%) think it’s appropriate to tip when they travel outside the U.S. regardless of the local customs, and a quarter of travelers (26%) learned afterward that it was inappropriate that they tipped a waiter/waitress. One in five travelers (19%) found out it was inappropriate that they waited for a waiter/waitress to bring them a check, and one in four think that forks and knives are used around the world so there’s no need to learn other forms of dining.

Americans are oftentimes misunderstood as disrespectful in other countries when it comes to greeting locals and other nonverbal communication. Two in five of travelers (42%) typically shake hands with someone they meet outside of the U.S. even if it’s not that country’s custom to do so, and about one in five travelers (17%) incorrectly think it is a generally accepted practice outside the U.S. to gesture to someone with a “thumbs up” sign or the “OK” sign.

“Unfortunately, certain stigmas of Americans abroad ring true. We are typically too informal in our interactions so we end up being perceived as rude or uncivilized,” said Syndi Seid, etiquette expert to vayama.com. “When traveling, people need to know that they can’t behave in Madrid the way they would in Miami so vayama has included this type of helpful information in its etiquette guides.”

The survey also compared the habits of those who travel abroad for business to those who travel for leisure and uncovered that business travelers surprisingly make more mistakes than their leisure traveling counterparts. For example, almost a quarter of business travelers (22%) kept their shoes on in someone’s home without knowing it was inappropriate to do so, compared to just 13% of leisure travelers, and 13% of business travelers incorrectly addressed someone as Mr./Mrs./Ms. versus just 8% of leisure travelers.

When it comes to learning about the places they visit, about four out of five travelers (84%) learn about the country they visit by reading about it on the Internet (75%) or in books/magazines (66%), and about two-thirds (62%) ask someone such as a friend, relative or business associate who has been there before. Only one third (34%) ask the locals when they arrive.

For more information on the vayama survey and its country etiquette guides, go to www.vayama.com/etiquette.

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About the Survey

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Airtrade International between March 13 and March 17, 2008, among 2,552 adults (age 18 and older) of whom, 834 travel outside of the United States at least once per year. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated. A full methodology is available.

VAYAMA HELPS TRAVELERS SAVE ON FLIGHTS WITHIN EUROPE THROUGH INTEGRATION OF 75 LOW COST CARRIERS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (May 12, 2008) –Vayama (www.vayama.com), the industry’s only Web site dedicated exclusively to international travel, today announced its expanded airline inventory and ability to help travelers book 75 low cost carriers across 43 European countries through a new partnership with booking engine wegolo.

Since its June 2007 launch, vayama has featured several global low cost carriers (LCC’s) on its site, including Air Berlin in Europe and Kingfisher Airlines in India. By partnering with wegolo, vayama customers will now be able to search the schedules and prices of dozens of popular European LCC’s such as Ryanair and EasyJet.

As a result of the partnership, travelers who use vayama can now access wegolo’s inventory of low cost carriers. Wegolo aggregates search results in to one easy-to-read screen where users are able to mix and match different airlines and flight times to best fit their needs.

"The majority of low cost carriers only allow reservations to be made directly on their own Web sites versus through traditional booking platforms," explains Matt Radack, vayama's Sr. Manager of Airline Content. "Vayama's partnership with wegolo will allow our customers to quickly search over 75 low cost carrier Web sites in seconds so they can book their travel to Europe with us and then book their travel within Europe through us."

Vayama customers can access wegolo’s low fares by selecting the “low cost carriers” option under the “in the air” drop-down menu on vayama.com, or by entering the following URL: www.vayama.com/low-cost-airlines.

In less than a year, vayama.com has become the leading North American site focused exclusively on international travel. Vayama’s success is the result of its commitment to offer American and Canadian travelers the widest selection of airlines and discounted airfares, many of which are unavailable on other travel sites.

Vayama.com spotlighted in two CNN segments

Vayama.com was recently featured on CNN television and cnn.com.

Top 25 Travel Sites

CNN On-the-go Travel Segment

TRAFFIC TO VAYAMA, INDUSTRY’S FIRST AND ONLY DEDICATED INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WEB SITE, EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Beta Site Attributes Growth to New Passport Laws, Surge of American Interest in Traveling Abroad

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (September 26, 2007) – New international travel site, vayama (www.vayama.com), announced today that site traffic has exceeded expectations for its first four months of business. The company attributes some of its growth to the surge of Americans interested in traveling abroad amidst new passport laws.

Since its beta launch in June this year, vayama has had more than one million unique visitors to the site.

"The site, which is still in beta, is performing well. Thousands of people are visiting vayama.com every day and responding to the interactive world map that makes booking our wide selection of low international fare offerings easy," said Tony Hanseder, General Manager of Vayama.

The deluge of business is likely attributed to the fact that seventeen million Americans are expected to receive a new passport this year, according to the U.S. State Department, as a result of new passport laws that take effect on October 1.

"A new passport is an invitation to explore the world beyond just North America so American travelers are looking for ways to do this in the easiest and most cost effective way. As the industry's only dedicated international travel Web site with the largest selection of international airlines, flights and fares, vayama is helping to satisfy travelers' desire for adventure, savings and convenience,” adds Hanseder.

Vayama also attributes its growth to travelers who are taking advantage of current low airfares during Europe's shoulder season and Asia's low season. Sample fares on vayama.com include travel from Los Angeles to Bangkok starting from $659, New York to Venice from $438, San Francisco to Singapore from $659 and New York to Athens from $458. Sample fares do not include taxes and fees, and other rules and restrictions apply. Details can be found on the Deals page at vayama.com.

Launched in beta four months ago, vayama is 100% focused on international travel in order to give Americans the best prices and most schedule options to 191 countries, including specific fare and route combinations that have never been online before. Vayama also provides travelers with the following detailed insight about every aspect of their trip: airline factoids such as fleet size and age; ground transportation (from airport, within city, to other parts of the country); health, visa and safety information; detailed city maps; and travel blogs with personal insight from other travelers.

Surge in international travel spurs online battle

USA Today, 08/23/2007

Chicago-Surging growth in international travel is driving revenue increases at the foreign units of U.S. online travel agencies and... Read more

New bookings website shows you the world, then lets you book

Frommer's, 07/31/2007

Vayama's (www.vayama.com) name might not yet be familiar to you, but it will be soon. Read more

Finding Empty Seats on Busy Routes

The New York Times, 07/15/2007

Though it's never fun to be stuck on a crowded plane, it can be excruciating on long-haul flights like the ones to Europe that so many vacationers are about to take.Read more

Have It Your Vay

Daily Candy, – 06/20/2007

Some travel mysteries, you're happy to solve. Which Turkish islands to visit. How many extra days to stay on the Riviera Maya. The number of T-shirts you can squeeze into a carry... Read more

Vayama.com niches global travel

USA Today, 06/14/2007

A new airfare booking site is targeting international U.S. travelers with promises of savings by tapping into inventory that its creators say hasn't been available online before. Read more

Vayama.com emerges as new option for planning international travel

Eye for travel, 06/07/2007

Vayama, described as the "only dedicated international travel website that allows consumers to search from the largest selection of international airlines, flights and fares, has been launched. Read more

Vayama Launches as First-of-Its-Kind Web Site Dedicated Exclusively to International Travel

CBS 2 Palm Springs, 06/07/2007

Most Flight and Fare Options to 191 Countries MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Vayama (http://www.vayama.com) today launched publicly as the industry's only dedicated international travel web site that allows consumers to search from the largest selection of international airlines, flights and... Read more

Travel Sites Offer More Options to Book Online

The Wall Street Journal, 06/07/2007

As airplanes continue to get fuller, consumers' options for booking flights and travel packages online continue to get broader.

Vayama.com, a booking site dedicated to international travel, officially launched today, claiming to offer a greater selection of international flights and fares than the more established sites. Orbitz.com this week announced the launch of Orbitz Insider Deals, a downloadable desktop application that gives users access to special offers and deal-searching and tracking tools. And AMR Corp.'s American Airlines has enhanced its Web site, AA.com, offering a tool that allows customers to search for flights by price and schedule combined, not just one or the other.

The new offerings come as the airline industry enters what's expected to be a record summer travel season. The Air Transport Association, the industry's trade group, recently forecast that approximately 209 million passengers will travel globally on U.S. airlines between June and August, a 3% increase over the same period last year.

Vayama is a unit of Airtrade International Inc., a subsidiary of BCD Holdings NV. The company charges $10 for online bookings and $25 for those by phone.

VAYAMA LAUNCHES AS FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND WEB SITE DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

Most Flight and Fare Options to 191 Countries

Easier Booking with Industry-First Interactive Map and 3-D Features

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (June 6, 2007) – Vayama (www.vayama.com) today launched publicly as the industry's only dedicated international travel web site that allows consumers to search from the largest selection of international airlines, flights and fares, many never previously available online, to find the best prices and most schedule options for all international travel.

Consumers will also enjoy the fast and easy flight search features on Vayama thanks to an interactive world map and innovative 3-D seat maps.

"If you look at the world of online travel, most Americans are comfortable booking their own domestic trips, but international travel remained a complicated puzzle that now has been solved, " said Andre Hesselink and Wim Butte, Co-CEOs of Vayama. "That's why Vayama was built; we are 100% focused on international travel in order to give Americans the best fares available with access to the most flight and fare options to 191 countries and airlines and routes that they never knew existed.”

With Vayama, travelers will be able to book specific fare and route combinations that have never been easy to book online before such as Iberia from New York to Rome, China Eastern from Los Angeles to Ho Chi Minh or Hawaiian Airlines from San Francisco to Sydney. To offer travelers further cost-savings and convenience, Vayama also allows people to book flights to other cities and countries beyond their original destination.

"Forrester research reveals that seven out of 10 international travelers are poised to book more online if given an easier way to plan,” adds Hesselink. "In addition to providing travelers with more international airfare options, Vayama harnessed the latest in online technologies to also make booking international travel simple and fun by using an interactive map.”

By incorporating powerful Ajax technology, flight comparisons on Vayama can be made in the blink of an eye and travelers can narrow search results in real-time based on personal preferences such as total travel time, connecting airports and price. In addition, Vayama's technology connects people to sources that other travel web sites don't have through a combination of direct agreements with the airlines, Global Distribution Systems and consolidators.

Vayama, which means "Go, enlightened,” takes away the mystery of international travel by empowering people with information they can trust. On Vayama.com, travelers can get detailed insight about every aspect of their trip: airline factoids such as fleet size and age; ground transportation (from airport, within city, to other parets of the country); health, visa, safety information; detailed city maps; and travel blogs with personal insight from other travelers.

Vayama Launches as First-of-Its-Kind Web Site Dedicated Exclusively to International Travel

Boerse.de – 06/06/2007

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Vayama (http://www.vayama.com/) today launched publicly as the industry's only dedicated international travel web site that allows consumers to search from the largest selection of international airlines, flights and fares, many never previously available online. Read more