About 40 million foreign tourists have recently traveled to Thailand every year, including more than 800,000 Germans. Particularly popular with European guests is the free time around Christmas and the turn of the year, when many escape the uncomfortable winter weather at home. But due to the Corona pandemic, everything is different this year: Tourism has come to a standstill, the holiday regions, for example in the south of the country, have to do without millions of guests from abroad. This has far-reaching implications: directly for the local economy and the people working in the tourism industry, but subsequently also for the countless stray animals that have their home in holiday resorts such as Phuket or Ao Nang as well as on the island archipelagos and are also dependent on tourism.

Dogs and cats suffer from hunger

Animal rights activists like Helen Guy are very concerned about this development. Guy came to Koh Lanta as a tourist in 2014 and started working as a veterinarian for the animal welfare organization Lanta Animal Welfare the following year. As part of a project with the World Animal Welfare Society (WTG) from Berlin , she is working not only on Koh Lanta, but also on other islands in the region as well as in the coastal towns on the mainland to treat, vaccinate and neuter stray animals.

Guy is therefore well aware of the consequences of the tourism crisis for dogs and cats in the holiday resorts: “Many strays live off the leftovers on the streets and in front of the hotel restaurants. With many hotels, resorts and restaurants now closed, the animals are likely to become increasingly hungry in the coming months, and some may even starve.”

Income for animal welfare work fails to materialize

According to Guy, the consequences for local animal welfare work are already being felt: “In addition to our own donations and the support of the World Animal Welfare Society, we also finance our work through donations from visitors to the inpatient clinic and the animal shelter.” This income would currently be missing without international tourists. In addition, many international volunteers who normally help out in the clinic stayed away. All this currently makes it difficult to carry out animal welfare work on site to the usual extent.

“The government is now increasingly promoting national tourism and in fact, more Thai tourists are coming to the islands again at the moment – but nowhere near the number that is usual for the time of year,” says Helen Guy. “On the islands like Koh Lanta, many people depend on tourism in the high season and will probably perish economically if it fails to materialize.”

Abandoned animals

The lack of main tourism thus exacerbates the plight of many Thais employed in tourism, who abandon their animals more often or leave them on the islands. This can also result in uncontrolled reproduction if these animals are not neutered. That is why, from Helen Guy’s point of view, it is so important that animal welfare work on site can continue uninterruptedly and that dogs and cats are neutered as part of the mobile missions and that the population is sensitized to animal welfare problems.

Animal welfare activists also know from many examples: With the plight of people, animal suffering also increases because people’s frustrations lead to violence against animals. Helen Guy is therefore afraid that attacks on animals will continue to increase. Just recently, on the way back from a mobile clinic in Sikao, she and her team picked up a dog on the side of the road that had an extremely large head wound. His injury was most likely a burn caused by hot oil, which was already eaten through by maggots at the time he was found. “It was a gruesome sight,” Guy recalls. “We immediately took him to the clinic, gave him veterinary care and sterilized him.” The dog, which was named Edward, was able to recover on Koh Lanta and become completely healthy again. It is cases like these that give Helen Guy the strength to carry on – even in the current difficult time for animal welfare work in Thailand.

In order to alleviate the suffering of the stray animals on Koh Lanta and the neighboring islands, the World Animal Welfare Society the work of Helen Guy and Lanta Animal Welfare. The association is dependent on donations from animal-loving people. During the Christmas season, there is the opportunity to save the lives of stray dogs with a gift donation. Further information at: https://welttierschutz.org/spende-verschenken/

Surely every time you travel, you ask yourself how environmentally friendly it is. On the one hand, environmental awareness increases by using your bike rather than the car or switching from plastic bottles to glass, and on the other hand, you would of course like to travel. Knowing full well that a long-haul flight causes as much emissions per person as if you were to drive a car all year round.

Don’t worry: You don’t have to stay at home to avoid any emissions as much as possible.

You can do a lot for the environment. During your travels, make sure that you cause as little waste as possible and leave no other traces. When traveling, avoid plastic bags as much as possible and, above all, leave stones, plants and shells where they come from.

What is eco-friendly travel equipment?

On the one hand, you can buy many things second-hand or use a mail order company that ships in a particularly environmentally friendly way. When it comes to equipment, you can use a mosquito net instead of chemicals and your backpack should be made of a recycled material. If you can’t use the mosquito net, then rely on an organic mosquito spray. Instead of plastic cutlery, simply use camping cutlery that you clean after each use. The situation is similar with your drinks. Instead of plastic bottles, use a reusable thermos bottle. You can also be environmentally friendly when it comes to care products by using a biodegradable detergent and biodegradable shower gels on your trip. Even for your clothes, you can use merino wool or organic cotton. You can get very nice outfits at Soulcover. Here you can also get the practical FAIR travel package, which is equipped with everything you need for your trip. At this point it should be mentioned that Soulcover ensures that a tree is planted for every FAIR travel package sold. Thus, the FAIR Travel Package is the sensible alternative to the conventional plastic travel package.

This is how you can pack your suitcase sustainably

At first glance, this does not seem so easy, because many of the outdoor products are chemically impregnated to stay dry. However, this in turn harms the entire biosphere. Here you can find out how you can sustainably pack your backpack or trolley made of a recycled material, so that you can travel the world without a guilty conscience.

As already mentioned, you reach for a recycled product. Maybe you can also rent the luggage you need and don’t have to buy them new. Furthermore, you should make sure that you take as little as possible with you when packing, because every kilo more increases CO2 emissions because more energy is consumed. Your underwear should be suitable for outdoor use, but preferably made of merino wool, as this smells much less even after prolonged wear. When it comes to outerwear, it’s best to use organic cotton. If possible, your toiletry bag should include a bamboo toothbrush as well as biodegradable shampoos and shower gels and an environmentally friendly mosquito repellent. Your sleeping bag should also be as ecological as possible. The same applies to drinking bottles and dishes. With a camping stove that you fire with twigs or pine cones, you can easily prepare your own meals and leave hardly any traces in the environment. Provided you take your garbage back with you and don’t leave it carelessly in nature.

This year, unfortunately, the well-deserved vacation has been cancelled for many people due to the Corona crisis. After all, the borders were closed for a few months due to the epidemic and due to the travel warnings, many people refrained from vacationing to other countries. In some cases, the various regions in Germany experienced a boom, which were able to enjoy a large influx in the phases without lockdown. Next year, however, a particularly large number of people will certainly go on a trip again during the school holidays . For this reason, it could well happen that things could get particularly tight in some popular holiday regions at home and abroad. Therefore, it is highly recommended to start thinking about holidays in 2021 now. After all, it is not particularly pleasant when the holiday destination is totally overcrowded during the most beautiful time of the year and the holiday fun is considerably clouded as a result.

Germany will certainly be popular again in 2021

Already in the recent past, a clear trend towards vacationing in one’s own country has emerged. This is actually not surprising, because more and more people are realizing how beautiful and varied their home country is. When planning for your next holiday, you should definitely take a close look at the calendar. After all, for example, you can take up to 10 days off directly in January with a clever use of bridging days and only have to use four days of vacation in some federal states. This allows you to plan a longer vacation right at the beginning of the year. Depending on your taste, you can then travel to the German coast or the mountains, for example. If the situation around the Corona crisis improves significantly, a more carefree holiday abroad may be possible again.

Travelling during the summer holidays 2021

This year, many people have cancelled their summer holidays for well-known reasons. For this reason, it can be assumed that even more people will probably want to travel on their holidays next year. For this reason, it is advisable to start planning your next holiday as early as possible. Because in many regions it could be quite crowded in 2021, especially during the summer holidays. But nevertheless, with early planning, it should not be a problem to fulfil your wish for a relaxing holiday. It is important at this point that many tour operators are working with extended cancellation options due to the events this year. From the customer’s point of view, this has the advantage that it is much easier to cancel an already booked holiday trip in 2021 if travel restrictions are still ongoing. Due to these options, it makes sense to deal with the upcoming vacation early on and book your own trip.

Travel to Southern Europe could be in demand again

For their next vacation, many people are already setting their sights on the countries in southern Europe again. This is understandable, because in Spain, Portugal and Italy, for example, the prospects of a great holiday with appealing temperatures are relatively high. It remains to be seen what the situation will be for long-haul destinations in the coming year. Here, too, there could be a strong increase in bookings if the epidemic can be brought under control in a timely manner.

Whether it’s a business trip or a pleasure, preparing for a vacation is never easy. Despite pages of packing lists, there is always something you forget to pack. However, frequent flyers and experienced travelers have gained a lot of expertise in recent years when it comes to efficient and best packing. In addition to essential things such as the passport and the right clothing, there are also some technical devices that travel experts should not miss on any trip.

Noise-cancelling headphones

There are few things more annoying than screaming babies on an airplane, loud conversations in a packed coach or the loud noises of an older model of a regional train of the railway. Luckily, nowadays there is a wide range of different headphones available, which ensure that instead of nerve-wracking noise, you can listen to soothing classical music or the latest pop hits according to your taste. One of the best models is the Bose QuietComfort 35.

Power Bank

An external battery is something you should never travel without. Whether for charging a smartphone or other technical devices, such as wireless headphones or a tablet, so-called power banks offer the possibility of keeping the mobile phone alive thanks to the strong integrated battery. In addition, many portable chargers can charge several devices at the same time through several USB ports. For regular travelers, it is therefore worthwhile to invest in a quality product here. Among the best devices are the models from Varta and Ansmann.

Laptop

Computers are now more integrated into our lives than ever before. Whether a laptop is used for work, university or playing video games, it should also be with you on every trip. Because in the age of Netflix, there is nothing better than making yourself comfortable on your hotel bed after a long day and watching the latest episode of your favorite series. With an HDMI cable, this can also be easily connected to the TV. But be careful: Especially when traveling to other countries with different sockets, not only a simple travel adapter should be used to charge the device. Often, technical requirements are not the same in different countries. That’s why leading suppliers in the electronics industry, such as RS Components , recommend investing in a suitable power cord. This way you can be sure that the expensive laptop is not damaged or even short-circuited.

E-Book Reader

Gone are the days of wasting a large part of the allowed weight of luggage on air travel by packing several books. Today, e-book readers are considered an alternative for the diligent reader, because the digital versions of a book are often cheaper. For example, the purchase of the Amazon Kindle or a similar device can even save money in the long run and the latest part of a crime series can be downloaded on the go.

If you’ve ever been on vacation with a dog, cat, guinea pig, ferret, or other pet, you may know that things don’t always go as smoothly as you might have imagined. To make the trip with your four-legged friend as relaxed as possible, we have summarized 10 simple tips for you.

Prepare well for the trip

If you are traveling with your pet, the amount of preparation depends on several factors. Especially within Europe, you can travel with your pet very easily with a Pet Passport. However, in other countries it may be different and there may be additional requirements if you are entering with animals. Therefore, you should plan every trip with your pet well, find out about vaccinations and quarantines and plan your destination early on.

Before the big trip, if possible, make a smaller one

Some animals tolerate travel better than other animals. If you have never been out with your pet for a long time, it therefore makes sense to plan a small trip in advance. Longer journeys by car, train, ship or plane can cause stress for sensitive animals. Therefore, try to take breaks whenever possible, avoid large temperature fluctuations, excessive use of air conditioning and also make sure that the animal has enough space in a transport box that is as large as possible. If you do a small one for testing purposes before the big trip, you can learn how it beats your pet and how well it handles transport.

Choose the destination carefully

Think carefully about which destination is most suitable for you and your pet. A beach holiday with the hamster or a skiing holiday with the cat are certainly not common destinations when it comes to a holiday together with the animal. However, especially for cats and dogs, there are many ways to design the holiday in such a way that it becomes a positive experience for everyone involved. This can help ensure that your pet continues to have a positive attitude towards travel in the future.

Make your companion as comfortable as possible

Don’t just grab your pet and take it with you. It is better to deal with how you can make the holiday as pleasant as possible for your pet. There are various ways to do this. For example, a dog ramp for the car can help make it easier to get in and out of large cars. A dog coat , on the other hand, can ensure that man’s best friend feels comfortable outdoors even on cold or rainy days. For small animals, cages that are as large as possible are recommended, even on vacation, and so on. Think about how you can make the stay pleasant for your companion.

Take advantage of pet-friendly hotels and vacation rentals

In most holiday regions, there are hotels and holiday homes that specialise in the requirements of pet owners. There are sometimes excursion options for you and your pet or special care or accessories such as food bowls, dog salons and so on. Even if you are on holiday without a pet, it is good to know that your dog, cat, mouse and co. are in good hands and looked after while you are on the road.

Know all the regulations for pets in the destination country

Before you embark on your trip or plan your trip, it’s important to take a close look at your destination’s pet policies and regulations. This includes quarantine policies, laws, and other policies. This way, you can prevent mistakes and severe penalties if you don’t follow the guidelines.

A sense of home for your pet

If you take beloved items such as blankets, bowls or toys with you, you can help ensure that the animal does not feel like a stranger in the distance. We therefore recommend taking some familiar items from home with you on holiday.

Inform airlines and car rental companies

You should check with airlines and rental car rental companies before you travel to find out what regulations apply to your pet, breed and destination country. Different providers, countries and service providers deal with pets differently. So make sure that you know all the regulations exactly.

Maintain familiar rituals

Even on vacation, you should keep the rituals that the animal has become accustomed to. This includes, for example, the times for walks or eating. The more familiar routines you can maintain, the easier it will be for the animal to settle in.

Let your pet share in the holiday

Don’t just take your pet with you, look for activities that you can experience together with your pet. Of course, this is especially true if you are traveling with dogs or cats. Also, try not to leave the animal alone in the unfamiliar environment for too long, as this can cause stress.

It is not so easy to find the perfect case, because other cases are correspondingly more recommended for different areas of use. Of course, it also depends on your personal taste, after all, a suitcase should not only be durable, but also look good and be clearly visible on the conveyor belt at the airport.

In the following, we would like to help you with five tips to narrow down the offer and to be able to find the best suitcase quickly, regardless of its appearance.

1. The right volume

Before you just blindly buy a suitcase, we recommend that you put all your travel utensils, clothes and accessories together and pack them as compactly as possible on one surface. This allows you to measure the minimum volume you need quite easily – albeit without additional pressure.

Of course, how big a suitcase should be also depends on your usual travel time. Typically, suitcases for a weekend trip have a volume of between 20 and 40 liters. Suitcases for a one-week trip, on the other hand, should already have a volume of about 50 to 70 liters. For longer trips of 10 days or more, we recommend a suitcase with a capacity of 70 to 90 litres. Very large XXL suitcases are also available with a volume of up to 140 litres. Such models are then also suitable for three- or four-week trips.

2. Listen to experience and tests

Since new models are constantly coming onto the market, it is practically impossible to keep track of them. Therefore, it is advisable to find out about current models and recommendations via comparison portals such as https://10toptest.de . Reviews from other buyers can also help to distinguish a bad suitcase from a good one. You should not be guided solely by product photos, because you can hardly see the quality, workmanship and handling.

3. Hard shell, soft core

When it comes to suitcases, a distinction is made between hard-shell suitcases and softshell suitcases, i.e. suitcases with a soft shell. The latter are much more flexible, softer and can be deformed a bit, which is interesting if you want to store them frequently in the trunk. In addition, they can stretch outwards, so that a little more fits in than is actually indicated.

Hard-shell cases, on the other hand, are much more solid, the contents are usually better protected from water and they are often more solid, especially if wheels are installed, which can simply be fixed better to the hard-shell case. Sensitive clothing that wrinkles easily can be transported much better in a hard-shell suitcase and sensitive objects are also better protected here. Hard-shell suitcases are usually made of a combination of polycarbonate and/or ABS. Prolypropylene or aluminum are also common. Soft-shell suitcases, on the other hand, are made of flexible materials such as polyester, nylon or leather.

4. Trolley, travel bag or suitcase?

Most suitcases sold today are trolleys because they have wheels, making them easier to move around without having to carry them all the time. However, you should always pay attention to high-quality wheels, because they can be a weak point in cheap suitcases.

Compared to trolleys, you have to carry travel bags all the time and you can’t use them as a seat, which can be quite handy for a suitcase when you’re standing in a queue. Classic hard-shell suitcases without wheels are now becoming less and less common, as they can neither be wheeled nor carried with a shoulder strap. With trolleys, you can pull out a telescopic handle and pull the suitcase or bag comfortably behind you. The big advantage of a travel bag is certainly that you can also use it as a sports bag or for other purposes, for example.

5. The maximum weight of the airlines

Especially if you want to take the suitcase with you on air travel, you should consider how much extra weight you can take with you without additional fees before buying. Especially with large hard-shell suitcases, the dead weight of the suitcase also plays a major role.

Lightweight wide-shell suitcases allow you to take significantly more clothing and other things with you before you reach the maximum weight. Most airlines allow an additional 20 kilograms of weight for checked baggage. On cheap flights, on the other hand, you are often not allowed to check in baggage at all without paying a surcharge. In these cases, it may be advisable to look at the maximum dimensions of hand luggage. However, only very small suitcases will fall within the maximum size of the carry-on bag.