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Why the French have no time for restaurants, why airline etiquette is necessary on a flight to rein in annoying passengers and keep everyone happy. Read all about them in The Wrap.

The Wrap has been following with interest the reports on PATA from Travel Trade Report, in particular, speculation that the new CEO has already been chosen.

The Wrap sniffs out the week's more interesting travel stories.

HSMAI survey pinpoints sales and marketing concerns

The Wrap is on the trail of the week's more interesting travel stories

The Wrap looks at the week's more interesting travel stories, plus a report from our Beijing Olympics insider.

The Wrap’s world tour brings home some of the best travel stories on the Web this week.

The Wrap has whizzed the world again to bring you the best of the travel stories on the web this week.

The Wrap has whizzed the world to bring you the best of the travel stories on the web this week

The Wrap has scoured the world to bring you the best of the bizarre stories on the web this week.

The fuel price crisis will not only lead to more bankruptcies but a permanent transformation of the global aviation industry.

Ram Badrinathan, Senior Director, Research, PhoCusWright Inc, believes agents should use this opportunity to innovate.

Yeoh Siew Hoon says the UNESCO heritage listing of George Town must provide the impetus to give Penang a fresh start.

The Wrap filters this week's news coverage of the Starbucks cutbacks and discovers why insiders at the coffee shop chain always go Short.

Forbes magazine this week released a list of the 25 Most Influential Women in Travel but there’s one writer in the UK who may put all these notable women out of a job if her idea of stay-at-home holidays catches on. The Wrap packs his fake suntan lotion and goes to investigate.

What makes a good travel blog? Is it a compelling account of a writer’s experiences on the road? Or is it the offer of insider info on great deals with airlines and hotels, frequent flyer redemption tips or destination updates? The Wrap has been taking a look at the best of the blogs.

New travellers with new needs will create new dynamics that will drive rates and the shape of hotels to come in Asia. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

What’s around the corner? No one knows. Let’s just hope it’s not a train coming at full speed. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports on the sentiments expressed by hoteliers at a conference recently.

JLL Hotels' Hotelier of the Year Koos Klein reflects on his early days in Australia and talks about the new times facing Hilton International. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

The Wrap has been casting a quizzical eye over some of the stories that have been making headlines around the world this week.

The Wrap takes a look at some of the more unusual travel stories that have crossed our desk this week: Lost kids, toilet travel and cheating airlines. It’s been quite a week.

Whether it's sneaking away for a cheeky weekend, battling the pests in New York City, fighting for the meaning of Lesbian, or winning polls in New Zealand, the Wrap is there - and on the case.

From street eating in New York, to street dwellers in London heading to the airport, The Wrap has the global word on the street this week. From Melbourne, a tell-all travel writers faces critical reviews. While in Beijing, the word on the Olympics is slightly different to what we're reading - but the city this year is even more intriguing.

Looking for respect? Aretha Franklin was, and The Wrap has found a some who'd like a little more – Lonely Planet, following a brush with an American travel writer; Chinese politicians "demonised" by the Olympic Torch’s protests; and a group of young girls in India, on the road to Jaipur.

Sit back, relax, and let The Wrap bring you a selection of the week’s best travel stories. this week's adventures range from confessions of a London concierge; to a new mega-travel in India; African tribesman runners "addicted" to British tea; and a plan for chastity belts on Javanese massage workers.

How much is your entire life worth? And what would your starting price be? A man in Australia is just about to find out by auctioning everything he owns on eBay. Some are trashing his proposal, while others are making him proposals of their own. Ian Jarrett waits for the bidding to start.

Ian Jarrett, back after a driving trip from Sydney to Melbourne, likes what he sees - a glorious view of Twofold Bay and the Pacific Ocean - but not all that he eats. His verdict? Yes, this is Australia, but it's the country's Asian restaurants winning the battle for a bite.

Blessed be those attacked by the British media over summertime. Luke Clark looks at the impact of some very public apologies in Britain's media industry.

Ian Jarrett grew up in a popular English seaside resort that, in its heyday, seemed to be the home of endless golden summers. It fell into a hole but now, thanks to travel pattern changes encouraged by the green revolution, its time may have come again.

The Wrap wonders if a new Air France-led global airline will ever take off… or pass the censors.

It was a sorry week in Australia but many Australians, black and white, are feeling a lot better for it, says Ian Jarrett.

Ian Jarrett bemoans a tough week for the more mature among us.

When the captain of Thai Airways flight TG 998 to Bangkok announced this week that there would be a slight delay leaving Perth, The Wrap wondered what could be going on the cockpit.

The stand-off in the Southern Ocean between Japanese whalers and protestors has landed the new Australian government with its first diplomatic challenge.

There was a time when the game of cricket was all about the gentle sound of leather on willow, cucumber sandwiches and the local vicar bowling his googlies on the village green. Not any more, says Ian Jarrett, a spectator at a wretched week for the sport.

It’s been a sizzling start to the New Year Down Under, and at least one lucky dog lived to tell the tale.

Sometimes PayPal might not be your true pal – but only when it is used fraudulently and you’re asleep at the computer. Let The Wrap explain:

The Wrap continues this week’s Incredible India theme by recalling a nightmare experience in Nagpur.

The Wrap studies last week’s most popular stories in the world’s press – and finds them an oddly diverse bunch.

The Wrap runs an eye over some unsavoury events of the past seven days

As The Wrap writes this week’s column, there is a seven-week-old puppy under the desk trying to relieve me of my shoelaces.

The Wrap returns to a subject he has visited more than once in this space: mobile phones in public places. "Arrgh!" Get him out of here…

Ian Jarrett wrestles with the ticket touts to get front row seat at the Rugby World Cup in Marseille.

After a month-long sojourn in France, The Wrap has come to the conclusion that If only the French would clean up after their dogs, get a grip on graffiti and ban smoking in all restaurants, France would be the world’s most perfect country. Well, almost.

Business boosters for Hong Kong, hunks in Malaysia and the grumps in Singapore - our Asia Wrap covers it all.

The Wrap has been watching - and relishing - the giant-killing acts at the Rugby World Cup.

Along with paper tickets, a total of more than 16,000 species are on the endangered species list. Plus, say goodbye to a parrot who knew more words than any bird on earth.

The Wrap’s into dreams this week – of environmentally-friendly rubber, airports with no staff and a couple of world firsts.

As rugby's World Cup kicks off late tonight, and The Wraps wings his way to France, we bring you a learner's guide to the World Cup.

Want some help to become an Australian citizen? Follow The Wrap’s guide to Australian etiquette and you’ll shoot through the test faster than a Bondi tram. Ridgy-didge.

Friend or foe? Who goes there? The Wrap offers some cautionary advice.

Are you sitting comfortably? Or has your favourite airline been taking a few short cuts to shore up its bottom line? The Wrap argues that as profits soar, service standards are slipping.

The Wrap is considering going into the property business in France. If he’s lucky, he’ll be feasting on truffles and foie gras before too long.

From a mile high to a smoke Down Under, The Wrap finds Sir Richard Branson likes to get his own way…most especially with British Airways.

The Wrap has been grappling with alarm clocks in Melbourne hotels and eavesdropping on the bosses of low cost carriers in Sydney.

The wrap has good news and bad, when it comes to mid-air communications. And if you get mad with the whole thing? Here's one way not to vent your rage.

Delegates attending the Asia Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney later this month will be looking out for headless chickens.

The Wrap finds that everyone is having a smashing time in Europe – except the French who are failing to live up to expectations.

The Wrap has a deep-seated problem with flyers who put the squeeze on fellow passengers, but he has some remedies in mind.

There is nothing quite like the Paris Air Show to bring on an outbreak of hyperbole, leaving The Wrap to unravel a mystery.

Who are you going to trust when you want to book a hotel in Pudukkottai? A travel agent or a complete stranger? The Wrap goes looking for answers.

A night alone – well almost – with Catherine Deneuve leaves The Wrap in raptures.

What do you do if you don’t like the underwear of your fellow passengers? You buy your own plane, of course.

Badly-dressed Americans, ever-so-polite Swiss, Russians with sackfuls of cash, and boisterous Brits find their way into The Wrap this week.

The foreign correspondent is given a new twist in California, leaving The Wrap to consider his options.

Could The Wrap be wrapped up or outsourced to India or China? A Princeton professor feels it is a distinct possibility.

The Wrap discovers that Dubai has everything you could possibly want. Even a taxi – if you’re prepared to wait.

The Wrap drops into Kuala Lumpur to hear CEO Tony Fernandes say that AirAsia is going to grab a lot more of want it wants: low fares across the globe.

We’ve been there before with media fam trips but The Wrap has uncovered new evidence that some tourism organisations may not be listening to writers’ grievances.

Ever been lost on the Internet, not sure where you are or how you got there? Don’t panic, you’re in good – or maybe bad – company.

This must be World Survey Week. How else can The Wrap account for a tsunami of surveys that have landed on his desktop in the last few days.

Who says a Greyhound bus is not romantic? Or a National Express bus from London to Brighton? Even an Aeroline coach to Kuala Lumpur may get the heart beating.

Ian Jarrett goes on a wine tour from Nuits St Georges to Karnataka. stopping on the way for a glass or two in Margaret River and Martinborough.

Ian Jarrett discovers that taking a quick snooze at work can be good for you – and your boss.

The Wrap was drawn like a homing pigeon to a story this week that scientists in eastern China say they have succeeded in controlling the flight of pigeons with micro electrodes planted in their brains.

In a time long ago, when The Wrap worked for national daily newspapers in London, he left a middle-of-the-road title...

The meetings industry could save a lot of trees if it cut back on the amount of promotional material it produces for trade shows. The Wrap fights his way through the waste paper at AIME to bring you this report.

The Wrap, in the name of research checked out Singapore’s Crazy Horse Paris revue on Clarke Quay last week.

No apologies. The Wrap is feeling its age this week. But that won’t stop us catching Peter O’Toole’s Oscar-nominated performance as a drooling lecher in the film, Venus.

This week the Big O dominates The Wrap, and we’re not talking about one of this column’s all-time favourite performers, Roy Orbison. (If you’re under 40, you may not know who he is anyway).

A new year, a new beginning for The Wrap, and a new dilemma for major tourist destinations caught in the pincer movement of increased airline surcharges and a No-Fly-Far philosophy.

The Wrap goes around the world for its stories this week. India, Turkey and Zimbabwe for starters. And don’t leave this space without Looking on the Bright Side of Life.

The Wrap is getting it all off this week. There’s a plea to end the rash of nude charity calendars in the UK, a win for over-taxed strippers in Norway, and a Chinese actress who has exposed the perils of the casting couch. Welcome to The Wrap UnWrapped.

The Wrap has a distinct Golden Oldie flavour this week: from seniors on seesaws in Germany to round the world flyers, it all goes to show you’re never too old to have fun.

Have you ever told a lie to get a job? Promised to get back to someone and not meant it? This week The Wrap is all about deception – and that’s the truth.

From the Land of the Long White Cloud, to a time when travellers will walk around wearing strange sunglasses, The Wrap gets to grips with some taxing issues.

The Wrap has been in London for World Travel Market, encountering steel bands, exotic dancers, green dreams and wretched service.

It’s been a big week for the environment as a former World Bank chief links economics to science and forecasts that unless we try a lot harder, we’ll either be swept away in floods or die of thirst and famine. The Wrap also drops into Harvard Medical School to check out why mice are getting a taste for red wine.

The Wrap has a certain Gallic flavour to this week’s column. Gone are the days when we would light up a Gaulloise, sip Pernod and sit at a café in Montmartre pretending to be someone famous.

The Wrap is staying well away from the United States for fear of being set upon by nervous passengers – or being picked out for interrogation by the feared SSSS security squad.

The Wrap is turning green and blue this week. The green machine is gathering momentum. And blue? We've left the video tapes, serial killers, lawyers and Brazilian housekeepers til last.

The Wrap hasn’t gone far this week – only as far as the television and laptop to watch events unfolding in Bangkok. Which, after the early excitement of the tanks rolling into town, became a bit – shall we say - ho-hum.

Showgirls, strippers and restaurants with a lifespan of a couple of weeks. Welcome to this week’s The Wrap, where we bare all.

It’s been quite a week for The Wrap exploring Lost Cities, listening to frank talk by a Tourism Minister and trying to keep up with the hacks on a day and night tour of Kuala Lumpur.

There is something of a deathly shroud over The Wrap this week. But we’re making no apologies. Whether its Hollywood endings, Paraguayan dictators or wonderfully weird websites, we hope we’ll satisfy your morbid curiosity.

The Wrap this week goes into bat for cricket’s code of conduct, discovers why cows in England speak with regional accents and suggests that if you want to do something really stupid, why not run up a Swiss mountain backwards?

This week The Wrap is big on breasts. From those fondled by Prince Harry and King Edwy, to those being touted by Jessica Simpson. As a diversion, we escape to check out how bat is challenging boules in France, and why airports should hit the bottle for six.

The Wrap this week discovers that while the sky over Brazil may be blue, the French are being rude about Saint Tropez, British men are tossing out their sarongs and Sydney gets a bashing from a 10-second tourist.

Feel like you've been hit all week with a dead eel? The Wrap has a sport for you.