businesstrip1
Business, Travel,

Travel to Foreign Shores

International business travel is rapidly becoming common to work out deals and to organize international partnerships. The economy is becoming more global as the world becomes “flat” due to increased communications and the rise of the economies around the world. No longer are businesses deals assumed to occur only on a national scale. To look at the business community as an international neighborhood is in step with the markets of this century. And that means that you could easily find yourself flying overseas to conduct the business of your company. And international travel takes some preparation.

Long before you book your flights to travel overseas, you will need to get your documentation in order so you can pass through customs and get on your way. Due to increased security, and up to date passport has become essential to even travel to adjacent countries. Due to the increased requirement of passports, it takes longer to get that documentation together so plan early to secure your passport so you don’t come up short when it is time to conduct your overseas business.

Also, keep in mind that a visa is required to travel to some countries. So when you set up the business meetings, find out from your contact at your destination country what is required. To get a visa, you will need to have had your passport for at least six months. In addition, you will need an original copy of an invitation from your host in the destination country. Those documents will be taken to the local embassy of your destination country to get your visa issued to you. So plan these steps if a visa is necessary for your trip.

Next to the legal documents, health issues are second in priority to attend to for a successful business trip. You may need to get your vaccinations up to date for certain destinations of your trip. Consult your doctor so you are ready. Do some preparation for the unlikely chance that you will have a health emergency overseas. This is a place where travel insurance is a good idea. If you are hurt or have a severe illness overseas, you will need that kind of assistance to get medical care and to get moved back home for long-term care.

Also, be sure your medical documents are available and copied in several places should you become separated from them. You want to be able to access insurance information, emergency contacts, information about the medication you need and emergency contacts even if you lose everything overseas. One way to do that is to scan critical documents and store them on the internet in a folder that you can get to from anywhere in the world.

Use much of the same travel-savvy that keeps you safe traveling domestically when preparing to go to a foreign country. You probably do not have knowledge of the town you are going to and where the safe places are to stay and dine and what neighborhoods to avoid. You can use very current travel books and internet information to learn that kind of “street knowledge” before you leave. But nothing replaces a local contact. Use your business contacts on the other end of your travel plans to advise you on not only where to go but where to avoid when coming into town.

Your contact in the foreign country you are traveling to can also give you insights about how to handle transportation and security in his or her country. Hailing a taxi may not work the same over there as it does here. And you want to avoid getting into a vehicle that is not a legitimate carrier who may not take you where you want to go or should go once they pick you up at the airport.

Also, spend some time learning local customs and methods of communication. This is very important when it comes to doing business in a foreign country. Be aware of how you act, how you dress,  stand and use your hands as you could without knowing set off a dangerous situation. For example, the thumbs-up sign in western cultures means affirmation and success. But in the Middle East, a thumbs up is the same as showing the middle finger is to us. In Japan, try to avoid black attire because the color black is rare and regarded as bad luck. You don’t want to flip off a policeman in Saudi Arabia just because you didn’t know that.

 

 

 

 

businesstrip2
Business, Lifestyle, Travel, Uncategorized,

Your First Business Trip

The odd thing about business travel is to some extent, it is a mixture of what you know the very strange. The business you are going out to do you know how to do. Whether discussing a new business project, developing a software product or attending a seminar or conference, the business part of your business trip is probably not the hardest.

But if you are new to business travel, some aspects to it are very different from travel for leisure and ways to prepare for the trip that will make or break whether it goes well or you come home frustrated in your efforts. Just like any business venture, the keyword for success in this venture is preparation. Above all, have your business program well organized and ready to use when you get there. If you are giving a presentation, have it finished, the PowerPoint slides prepared and tested and all of your equipment ready to go when you set out. The sheer fact that you are prepared for the work you are going to this new city to do will relieve your tension tremendously. But preparation doesn’t stop just in planning for a successful business effort. Do your homework about the place you are going and how you will handle the trip once you get there. Here are some key things you should think well in advance to assure your trip goes well.

 

  • Your flight. As soon as you know your destination, book that flight. The earlier you nail that down, the more you know you will have a flight and that your choice of seats is assured. This can make business travel by air much less stressful.

 

  • Driving in a new town. If you are going to drive to a new town, be sure you have maps and know how to negotiate the roads. It’s a whole different world to drive in Boston compared to driving in Kansas City or Beijing to  Milwaukee. If you can avoid driving, make sure your ground transportation is arranged ahead of time. In some cities is better to use a taxi or public transportation.

 

  • Book your hotel well in advance to assure you will have a room when you get there. Only in situations where you are not sure where you will end up should you put this off. The last thing you want would be to need a room at 11 p.m. and everything in town is booked up.

 

  • Extraordinary needs. If you have medicines or other needs that are going to require special planning, get out ahead of that too. If there are business needs you will require upon your arrival, you can ship things ahead for yourself so that equipment is waiting in your destination office when you arrive.

 

  • Dealing with security. Remember that homeland security at airports is tight and the rules change from time to time. You can usually find the current restrictions and ways the airlines will allow you to travel on the internet. By knowing this in advance, you can avoid a lot of heartaches when you get to the airport.

 

  • You don’t want to have wads of cash with you when you travel but think ahead about how much cash and other monetary needs you should have. Travel with plenty of credit at your disposal. Emergencies on the road can be defrayed with good credit or you can find yourself in a real jam without it. If you are traveling overseas, become familiar with the monetary system you will be using there.

 

  • Things you take for granted. Little things mean a lot. If you have creature comforts you need in the hotel room, think about them and pack such things so you can feel as at home as possible. Something as small as your favorite pillow or a scented candle to relax you can make all the difference in your ability to rest and be ready for business the next day.

 

By doing plenty of good planning, you can assure yourself that you have what you need on the trip and nothing more. This will become more natural as you travel more. But take the time to prepare well and prepare early so as you venture forth on this big adventure, you know you have covered every base before you left home.

Oslo Opera House
Lifestyle, Travel,

Travel tips to European Countries: Norway

Norway, a Nordic country lying on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula is located in Northern Europe. It also borders Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Russia. Norway is an outstandingly beautiful country with a long coastline, snowy mountains, and breathtaking fjords. Oslo is the capital of Norway and also the largest city. The other largest cities are Bergen and Trondheim. Norway is bestowed with lots of natural beauty encompassing wild forests, historic towns, and beautiful fishing villages. The country is very hospitable to tourists and people are very friendly too. Many tourists are attracted by the famous midnight sun of the Arctic and northern lights in Northern Norway. All three big cities of Norway offer different experiences to visitors. Norway is a place to be for nature lovers and for cultural enthusiasts. Norway is truly one of the greatest tourist destinations in Europe.

 

Population & Languages  

The population of Norway is only 4.6 million and the official languages being spoken are Bokmal Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian. Other languages that are also spoken in Norway include Sámi and Finnish.   Electricity   The voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz. The types of plugs used are Round pin attachment plug and “Schuko” plug and receptacle with side grounding contacts.

 

Geographic Location

It is a Nordic country lying on the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula and located in Northern Europe. It also borders Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Russia. About two-third area of Norway is mountains, has around fifty thousand small islands along its coast. It also has one of the longest coastlines in the world.

Climate  

The climate of Norway can be termed as Temperate with hot summers and cold overcast winters. The highlands of interior Norway have an arctic-like climate with snow, severe wind chill and frost. Most of the rain is along with the coastal areas and comes down in winter quite heavily and frequently. Winters are mild too along with the coastal areas.

 

Local Customs  

Like any other country, Norway has its own customs too. It is customary not to drink until the host makes a toast. It is customary for guests to offer gifts to the host of a meal. Smoking is prohibited in most public areas. Casual dress is acceptable for everyday wear. Tipping taxi drivers is not customary. Tipping up to five percent is customary for service in restaurants. Porters at railway stations and airports charge per piece, while porters at hotels generally charge around NOK5-10 depending on the number of pieces of luggage.   The Norwegian currency is Kroner, most stores and restaurants do not accept Euro.

 

Attractions

Oslo – Old medieval buildings, churches, modern architecture, museums. Oslo Opera House, the Norwegian Folk Museum, art galleries, Vigeland Park, and Akershus Fortress.

Bergen – Numerous museums, galleries, aquarium, medieval age buildings, cable car to the top of Bergen’s hills and boat trips to fjords.

Fjordland – Geirangerfjorden is known for tiny S-shaped fjord, Sognefjord – the longest and the deepest fjord, beautiful villages such as Balestrand and Flam, old stave churches, Nærøyfjord – Narrowest branch of the Sognefjord and Plateau of Jostedalsbreen glacier   Tromsø – Arctic cathedral, Polaria, and Tromsø Museum

Aurora Borealis

Travel  

By Air – Many airlines operate to Norway like Braathens SAFE (BU) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK), a Scandinavian airline, Air France, British Airways, Finnair, Iceland Air, KLM, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryan air, and Swiss Airlines. Oslo International Airport (OSL) (Gardermoen) (website: www.osl.no) is the biggest airport in Norway which is located 30 miles north of Oslo.

Sea –The important passenger ports are Bergen, Kristiansand, Larvik, Oslo, and Stavanger. The main sea routes from the UK, operated by Fjord Line and DFDS Seaways respectively, are from Newcastle to Bergen and to Kristiansand.

By Rail – The country is part of the extensive network of trains connecting the European cities. If you are coming from the UK, the connections are from London via Dover/Ostend (via Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Sweden) or Harwich/Hook of Holland, or from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger. It is also connected to Sweden through two routes, with daytime and overnight trains from Copenhagen, Malmö, and Stockholm.

Duty-Free Items

  1. 200 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco products and 200 leaves of cigarette paper for EU countries.
  2. 400 cigarettes or 500g of tobacco products and 200 leaves of cigarette paper for Non-EU countries.
  3. 1liter of spirits and 1liter of wine or 2liter of wine and 2liter of beer for EU countries. 4. 1liter of spirits and 1liter of wine or 2liter of wine and 2liter of beer for Non-EU countries.
  4. 50g perfume or 500 ml eau de toilette
  5. Gifts, Food, fruits, medications and flowers for the personal use of value up to 3,500 kroner

 

Prohibited Items  

Un-canned goods, meat or dairy products, Narcotics, firearms, ammunition, weapons, eggs, plants, endangered species, fireworks and alcoholic beverages that contain more than sixty percent alcohol.