Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin reached out to Lillian to see if she’d be interested in letting our blog community hear what winning was like, and she agreed. So we set the call up, and jumped on the phone. Lillian filled Caitlin in on where she’s traveled before, what she likes to do, and what she’s most looking forward to seeing when she travels to Peru.
Listen in on their conversation below. You can also right click on this link, and select “save link as” to download it to your computer, so you can save it to your mobile device and can listen on the go.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us Lillian. We’re looking forward to hearing about your trip to Peru when you come back!
CHINA CHAMPION: One of our 16,000 Facebook fans has won a free trip!
Even though it’s Tuesday (I personally consider it the worst day of the week — Friday is still so far away!), it was a treat coming into the office today. You probably don’t even have to ask why, since I’m sure you’ve also been looking forward to the announcement of the third winner in our “Win the World” Facebook sweepstakes.
The excitement is killing me, so I’ll just go ahead and say it. The winner of our Taste of China tour is Shari Ashley. Congrats!
I called Shari to let her know that she was our winner. Listen in to her excitement! And click here to download the audio to listen on the go!
So who is Shari taking with her on her trip, what does she want to see, and what is she most looking forward to in China? We’ll be posting a podcast that Friendly Planet Travel blogger Caitlin conducted with her soon, so stay tuned for those details and more.
Our “Win the World” Facebook sweepstakes will be kicking off for a second round on May 1. We’re wiping the slate clean, and starting fresh. Starting in May, every Facebook fan will have the opportunity to enter again, whether they’ve already submitted their name yet or not. So it will be a whole new ball game — fans will enter again, and of course, refer their friends for more chances to win.
I’m looking forward to giving away three more amazing trips to our loyal fans. Congratulations to Shari and I’ll be back at the beginning of June to announce the next “Win the World” Facebook sweepstakes winner! I already can’t wait!
This time, the winner of our Amazing Peru tour will get an all-expenses-paid trip for themselves and a guest to see all the wonders Peru has to offer. We randomly selected our winner on March 1 from over 13,000 entries and just got in touch with her.
That’s right, Lillian Mayes from Colorado is the winner of our Amazing Peru tour. Congratulations!
Want to be our next winner of a free trip for two to China? Enter on the Friendly Planet Travel Facebook page. We’re giving away a trip per month until the end of June! If you put your name in the running in January or February, your name is automatically entered for our next giveaway to China. But you can increase your chances of winning by referring your friends on Facebook. For every friend you refer who enters, your name gets entered again — you could have your name in there 100 times, or more! So what are you waiting for? Good luck travelers!
If you ever need a pick-me-up, try telling someone they’ve won a trip to their dream destination. The excitement is contagious!
Jamie and Kaye in Taormina, Sicily a few years back
Before we launched our Win the World sweepstakes, I could only imagine the excitement that came with telling someone they were the lucky winner. That excitement came true when I got to make the call on Feb. 1 to tell someone they won a free trip to South Africa.
And Jamie Barlett, the first winner of our Win the World sweepstakes, didn’t let me down. When I made the call to Jamie to tell him that he and a guest were headed to South Africa on an all-expenses-paid vacation, it was impossible not to join him in his excitement. After things calmed down, we got to talking, and I found out that Jamie and his life partner Kaye are no strangers to adventure. In fact, they’re seasoned travelers.
I asked a member of the blogging team, Caitlin, to make a call to Pelham, Ala., to catch up with Jamie and Kaye to hear about their plans for their visit to South Africa in October. Listen in on their conversation below. You can also right click on the link above and select “save link as” to download it to your computer, and save it to your mobile device so you can listen on the go.
We picked Jamie from a pool of over 9,600 entrants. So if you’re one of the travelers who entered and didn’t win, don’t worry — we’re only 10 days away from announcing the next winner. This time, we’re giving away a trip to Peru for a getaway that’s valued at $6,500! Go to our Facebook page, like us, and enter. And don’t forget to refer your friends for more chances to win. Stay tuned — my next call could be to you!
posted: Feb 1, 2012
by: Peggy Goldman
with: No Comments
Over 9,000 of you entered the “Win of World” sweepstakes on our Facebook page. We’re giving away six trips for two on six different Friendly Planet Travel tours. The first was our Best of South Africa tour. Time has run out to enter, and now we’ve picked a winner!
I know you’re dying to know, so here it goes …
The winner is Jamie Bartlett from Pelham, Alabama!
Congratulations to Jamie, who will go on a trip for two to South Africa for free, courtesy of Friendly Planet Travel. Look out for an email from me soon!
Didn’t win? Don’t worry! We’re giving away a trip a month for the next five months! One entry covers you for the next two trips, so if you entered for Best of South Africa, you’re automatically entered for the next two — Peru and China. If you want to increase your chances of winning, refer your friends on Facebook. For every friend you refer who enters, your name gets entered again. Good luck travelers!
We asked you to leave a comment on the original blog post telling me what places you want to see before you die, and why, to be entered to win.
It was a joy reading the destinations people wanted to visit. I wish I could give every one of you who entered a signed copy of the book, but I only have one. So let’s get to the winner.
The winner of the autographed copy of “1,000 Places To See Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz is SerenityLife! Congrats! We’ll be e-mailing you shortly to confirm your address to ship you your book. Thank you to everyone who entered!
Marybeth Kelman of New Jersey claimed the free trip she entered to win at The New York Times Travel show. Congrats Marybeth!
The Taj Mahal Express is one of the most amazing cultural experiences of a lifetime. Its sights, sounds, and smells are among the most phenomenal in the world. Marybeth, I hope you enjoy every second of your trip!
posted: Mar 3, 2011
by: Peggy Goldman
with: No Comments
It took me a little longer than anticipated to get caught up after coming back from The New York Times Travel Show. But things have settled down, and I want to tell you all about the premier travel show in the U.S.
When the show came to a close on Sunday, I randomly selected three names from the Friendly Planet Travel globe, where attendees dropped in their names. I pulled three names out, and I’m thrilled to announce that Katy C. Li was the winner of the Kenya Safari Express! Congrats Katy!
You’re going to love Africa’s sweeping vistas, teeming cities, and magnificent wildlife. To see more details about the trip Katy won, flip back to my previous post. We’re still trying to reach the other winners to claim their prize. So, check your e-mail and voice mail, as you might be one of our winners! When the winners do claim their prizes, we’ll announce them on the blog.
Thank you to all the travelers who stopped by our booth last weekend and to those who saw my presentation on the “Five Exotic Locations for the Price of a Vegas Weekend.” I’ll be posting the video of my presentation in the coming weeks in case you missed it.
The Friendly Planet Travel blogging team was on the ground at the Travel Show talking to travelers all weekend too. They even got a handful of attendees to take Friendly Planet Travel’s trivia quiz. Melissa, one of our bloggers, quizzed travelers all weekend. I’ll post the video soon so you can see how much these travelers know about the globe they love to trek.
We also got the opportunity to talk with Kate Appleton, Senior Editor of Budget Travel. Melissa talked to Kate about the state of airport security, her favorite destination (hint: it has a canal running through it), her thoughts on whether you should choose the better deal over the better value when booking a trip, and much more.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting videos from the show, so keep your eyes peeled to the blog. But if you can’t wait, here are a few photos we snapped from The New York Times Travel Show.
Friendly Planet Travel’s booth
Welcome! Attendees arrive at the Travel Show
A life-size passport making the rounds on the show floor
Hundreds of attendees entered to win our great giveaways
Dancers performing on one of the many stages
A South American band providing a soundtrack for attendees
When we were at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show, we got the opportunity to interview Arthur and Pauline Frommer, two of the BIGGEST names in the travel industry. They were so gracious. Not only did they give us a few minutes of their time (when everyone wanted a few minutes of their time), but they also signed a few of their travel guidebooks for us.
Instead of keeping them all for myself, I bundled “Ask Arthur Frommer” and “Frommer’s Costa Rica 2011” together to give two sets away to two lucky Friendly Planet Travel readers. You then told me why you wanted to win these great (and autographed) books by commenting on the original post, and today we randomly selected two winners.
And the winners are … Kellie Cereola and Kelvin! Congratulations! Both of you will be receiving copies of the books signed by Arthur Frommer. We’ll be contacting you shortly to confirm your address to send you books. In case you didn’t see them the first time, here are photos of Arthur’s sig.
Thanks to everyone who entered. I loved reading all the comments and I’m so happy to see that like me, Arthur Frommer not only inspired you to travel, but has given you great travel advice along the way. I’d also like to thank Arthur again for talking with Friendly Planet Travel and autographing the books.
And if you didn’t win this time, don’t fret. I’ll be telling you how you can enter to win a copy of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” autographed by Patricia Schultz. And if there are any other travel writers you’d like to see us to feature on the blog, let me know in a comment.
On Sunday at 3:15 p.m., my special guest Corrine dug her hand into a fishbowl full of names and picked the three winners. For a trip for two on the Taste of China tour, we called out Larry Kleeman. Larry and his wife Wendy were in the crowd to accept their free trip!
Melissa, a Friendly Planet Travel blogger, interviewed them right after they got the news. I can’t put their excitement into words, so I’ll let them do it themselves. Watch the video below.
Congrats again Larry and Wendy! You’re going to have an amazing trip. We announced the winners of the Taj Mahal Express tour and the Nikon S8100 digital camera, but neither winner was there to accept their prize. So if you entered our drawing, check your e-mail and voice mail, we’re trying to reach you!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to enter to win and who showed up to my presentations on Saturday and Sunday. It was gratifying to see the room fill up to standing room only. I hope every one of you took something valuable away from “7 Exotic Locations for the Price of a Vegas Weekend” and “How to Compare Travel Offers for the Best Value.”
And in case you missed it, we have the video! I’ll post it in the coming days. I wasn’t the only presenter at the show. I was in the amazing company of Arthur and Pauline Frommer, which was very exciting for me. After all, without Arthur Frommer’s “Europe on $5 a Day,” I might never have figured out that travel to the far corners of the world can be inexpensive as well as thrilling. Melissa interviewed Pauline and Arthur and got a few of their travel guidebooks autographed.
She also got a few minutes with Patricia Schultz, travel journalist and author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die.” When I post the interviews, I’ll tell you how you can win autographed copies of the Frommer’s travel guidebooks as well as Patricia’s book.
P.J. Thomas, Founding Editor of Pathfinders Travel Magazine and Travel Journalist Reid Bramblett stopped by Friendly Planet Travel’s booth for quick interviews too. Thanks Pauline, Arthur, Patricia, P.J., Reid, and the dozens of attendees who spoke to the Friendly Planet Travel blogging team.
Our blogging team found out what travelers thought about the TSA’s new airport security measures, airline ticket prices, as well as their favorite piece of travel advice, the #1 item they need in their carry-on bag, and much more. You’ll hear all their answers and a few fun surprises in the videos that are coming soon.
Friendly Planet Travel had a great time at The Philadelphia Inquirer Travel Show! Thanks again to everyone who attended. Stay in touch with the blog, videos and giveaways are on the way!
Peggy Goldman is a specialty tour operator and travel expert, who owns and operates Friendly Planet Travel, a full-service company that specializes in tour packages to exotic worldwide destinations at affordable prices. More about Peggy
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