Video: If Australia doesn't cut it, try Tasmania

By Sean O'Neill
October 3, 2012

The clever tourism officials who are promoting travel to Tasmania have created a trailer for an imaginary new movie, Tasmania. (In case you need a refresher, Tasmania is an island that's part of the Australian Commonwealth.)

While this spoof of the movie Australia isn't trying to be laugh-out loud funny like, say, the Simpsons' spoof of Apple, it's one of the more clever things we've seen from a tourism office this season. Enjoy:

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Pop Quiz: What's the largest airline in Russia? (Hint: It's not Aeroflot)

Aeroflot has just lost its place as Russia's largest airline. The government has merged 11 companies into Russia Airlines, which now flies twice as many planes as Aeroflot, says the International Herald Tribune. Russian Airlines is so new that its website isn't in English yet. Both carriers are owned by the state. In the meantime, Aeroflot continues to control most of the international flights from the U.S. to Russia. So if you're visiting the country in 2009, you'll likely still be flying Aeroflot. Meanwhile, Moscow's two international airports, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo, are competing with each other to offer better service. Domodedovo has modernized with new stores and restaurants, while Sheremetyevo has built a speedy train line for transfers to downtown Moscow, says the Wall Street Journal. (Domodedovo has had a high-speed rail link since 2002.)

Zagat rates the airlines and IBM (oddly enough) checks for rip-offs

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, here are two new surveys about the airline industry to give you food for thought. Earlier this week, Zagat Survey released its list of top airlines, based on the experiences of nearly 10,000 frequent fliers. The top economy-class airlines are: 1. JetBlue 2. Southwest 3. Continental 4. AirTran 5. Delta See the full results at zagat.com/airline. Some of my favorite Zagat quotes: "The Rhett Butler of airlines: they just don't give a damn"; "Bathrooms smell like a lion house at the zoo on a hot day"; "Hot food in coach—so retro!"; "Would rather flap my arms than book this airline"; "Gets you where you're going…sometimes." Oddly, IBM also has gotten in the business of doing travel surveys. According to its latest phone survey of about 1,000 people, about 78 percent of travelers think baggage fees are the biggest airline rip-off. Other rip-offs? Additional charges for redeeming frequent-flier miles: 76 percent Food and non-alcohol drink fees: 52 percent Fuel surcharges: 47 percent (a tie—another 47 percent think fuel surcharges are reasonable) The study also asked people what were the travel mishaps they experienced in the past year: About 20 percent said they had missed a connecting flight due to airline delays, while 8 percent said they had been bumped from a flight. About 16 percent say they had lost their luggage. Researchers also found that 26 percent think the airline industry can learn from cruise lines in terms of offering better customer service, whereas some 10 percent think the airlines should model themselves after the banking industry (only when it comes to customer service—not when it comes to making stupid investments).

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This weekend: Downtown Indianapolis lights up

For the 46th year, Indianapolis will celebrate the Circle of Lights this Friday. The entire lighting ceremony and display is centered around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown, a late-19th century structure. Fifty-two garland strands of lights (that's 4,784 colored lights total) hang from the top of the monument to its base. Monument Circle is also adorned with 26 toy soldiers and sailors, huge peppermint sticks, and a Santa's workshop scene. With 56,700 more lights in the surrounding area's trees, it's quite the sight. The flipping of the switch happens at about 7:45 p.m., but live entertainment, chosen from open auditions around the state, starts at 6 p.m. Indy leaves it to the pros for this spectacle: Circle of Lights is sponsored by Contractors of Quality Connection and Electrical Workers of IBEW 481. Are you going to a lighting ceremony in your city? Leave a shout-out in the comments! Free, Monument Circle, Indianapolis. Editor's note: If you Google map Monument Circle, you can easily get directions. MORE Indianapolis' new, $1.1 billion airportFind local bloggers at Indianapolis Bloggers PREVIOUSLY How To Travel During the Holidays