For the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, just about every aspect of the storied liner – from safety issues to class differences among passengers – is being explored, analyzed and celebrated. 

But little attention is being given to another group of Titanic travelers: the dogs that made the voyage.

A new exhibit at the Widener University Art Gallery, in Chester, Pa., that opened Tuesday hopes to change that by including stories of the dogs and their owners who sailed on the Titanic, said J. Joseph Edgette, professor emeritus of education and folklorist emeritus at Widener University, who produced and curated the exhibit.

“I wanted to include things that people don’t normally run across,” Edgette said, noting that there were no Titanic-related exhibits that he was aware of that focused on the famed ocean liner’s canine passengers.

“Everybody knows about the iceberg, how the ship went down, and the heroic stories, but it doesn’t go beyond that, yet there are hundreds of other aspects that we need to give attention to,” said Edgette, who based much of his findings on eyewitness accounts of the evacuation, ship’s records and his own research. “Until recently, most scholarship has not covered the dogs.”

Twelve dogs set sail on the Titanic, according to Edgette, although other researchers have come up with differing accounts. Only three survived, he said.

Those that were saved included a baby Pomeranian, owned by Margaret Hays of New York City, who kept the puppy in the cabin with her, Edgette said. When passengers were evacuated, Hays wrapped it in a blanket. Crew members allowed her to get in a lifeboat with the puppy.

Others that lived were Sun Yat-sen, a Pekinese belonging to Henry and Myra Harper (of Harper & Row publishing fame), also of New York City, and a small Pomeranian owned by Elizabeth Rothschild from Watkins Glen, N.Y.

All surviving dogs were small and were kept in the first-class cabins of their owners, Edgette said.

Two of the dogs that perished were owned by William Carter, a coal magnate. Carter’s children were worried about their pets, but their father assured them the dogs were safe and encouraged his children to get in the lifeboats, Edgette said. The family survived, and later received insurance reimbursement from Lloyds of London in the amount of $100 for daughter Lucy’s King Charles spaniel and $200 for son Billy’s Airedale.

Other dogs that died included two Airedales, one named Kitty, owned by John Jacob Astor IV and his wife, and a fox terrier owned by William Dulles, an attorney from Philadelphia.

The exhibit features photos – some authentic, some representative -- of the dogs and their owners. One  photo depicts a group of dogs tied to the rail on the Titanic’s deck, which perished, and another shows crew members walking several dogs.

In addition to the dogs, the exhibit focuses on several Philadelphia-area families who sailed on the Titanic, including the Widener family, for whom Widener University is named. Three Widener family members sailed on the Titanic, but only one survived.

The exhibit also includes displays about the company that built the Titanic, details about the ship, information about the recovery of bodies after the sinking, how local families memorialized members who lost their lives after the tragedy, as well as Titanic’s impact on popular culture.

Free and open to the public, the exhibit runs through May 12.

Correction: In an earlier version of this post, we published several photos from a Widener University Art Gallery exhibit that depict dogs who sailed on the Titanic.

Msnbc.com has learned some images featured on our story and in the exhibit are not authentic, but rather were intended as representations of the breeds on board. Rebecca Warda, collections manager at the gallery, said the exhibit will be updated with signs clearly indicating which images are historically accurate and which are representations.

The photos have been removed from msnbc.com.

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Courtesy Doug Mack

Doug Mack, shown here in Venice, traveled through Europe using a 47-year-old edition of Arthur Frommer's classic travel guide "Europe on Five Dollars a Day" while researching his new book, "Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide."

Most of us are not like Indiana Jones, and do not want to travel like we are. And that’s the premise behind a new book that pokes fun at the current trend for travel writers and travelers to seek out the road less traveled.

To research "Europe on Five Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide" (Perigee/Penguin), to be released April 3, author Doug Mack traveled through Europe, visiting many major cities and sites, using a 47-year-old edition of Arthur Frommer’s classic travel guide "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." Along the way, he may have spent far more than five dollars a day, but he discovered the beaten path offered some unexpected surprises.

Mack answered a few questions for msnbc.com:

Why did you write this book?
The back-story is that I was at a book festival in Minneapolis with my mother, and I happened across a copy of "Europe on Five Dollars a Day," which I initially found interesting only because the title was so laughably outdated. When I showed it to my mom, she got all excited: she’d been LOOKING for that! For YEARS! It turned out she had used that book during her own Grand Tour in 1967; she also mentioned that she had all of her letters from her trip.

At first, I was just interested in the family-history angle, but as I dug through the letters and paged through the book, it also struck me that they offered intriguing big-picture views into travel and life in a very different era. I decided go to Europe guided by those letters and that book, both because it seemed like a fun adventure but also to see for myself how the tourist experience had changed in the last generation.

Did your journey turn out to be what you hoped at the outset?
Yes, in the sense that I generally had a great time and found lots of interesting comparisons between then and now.

That said, I had also naively hoped that in every single restaurant and hotel, I'd find an aged proprietor who would instantly recognize my 1963 guidebook and start regaling me with stories about Arthur Frommer, and we would become fast friends, and share many bottles of wine and hours of lively conversation until the wee hours, just like in a movie. Alas, it was not like that all day, every day — more often, I got blank stares from jaded young employees when I pulled out my book. But those awkward experiences also made for amusing stories.

What’s your personal favorite story or experience that you wrote about in the book?
In Rome, I stayed in a place called the Hotel Texas. Frommer's 1963 description runs nearly half a page and raves about its “glamorously-decorated” spaces and sophisticated guests. When I got there, though, it was essentially an archetype of deteriorated grandeur. When I showed my book to the desk clerk, he got very excited and told me he remembered "Europe on Five Dollars a Day," remembered that quote, remembered the glory days. He pulled out a hotel brochure from that era, and pointed out all the praise from other guidebooks and magazines. I had a fantastic time chatting with him over the next few days and hearing all of his stories. 

How do you think the book will contribute to travel writing memoirs?
I hope that it helps encourage other writers to take a second look at the so-called “beaten path” and realize that there are still plenty of stories left to tell there. There are two classic archetypes of travel memoir writers: the swaggering adventurers who cheat death on a daily basis, and the corporate dropouts who go to a rustic, charming village to learn “what really matters in life.” Those are all fine and good, but it's interesting how these sorts of books have become cliches in their own right; the road less traveled is actually a bit tediously familiar when it comes to travel writing.

How can readers use your book for better travel experiences?
I was about to make a joke that my book really only serves as an example of what not to do: Don't travel with a decades-old guidebook, or you will get very, very lost. But, actually, getting lost was one of the unexpected and revelatory joys of my unpractical travel method. I don't advocate total ignorance, and there were certainly times when I really wished I had been better prepared and better informed. On the whole, though, I found that getting lost and having to rely on my wits rather than a smartphone or a stack of Lonely Planets ultimately made for a more delightful, interesting, and immersive experience.

I enjoyed reading your descriptions of Arthur Frommer’s early years and his transition to travel guide writing. What were his main contributions to the field, then and also more recently?
Before Arthur Frommer came along, the major guidebooks were aimed at well-off travelers, what one might call the steamer-trunk crowd. Frommer's book had much more populist, middle-class appeal; it was essentially a manifesto for budget tourism, starting with the forthright, catchy title, almost like something from a self-help book: "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." I liken Frommer to Julia Child: they both provided the template and encouragement for the typical American. 

The general layout and style of Frommer's book was also different, more clear and concise and intuitive to use: chapter per city, each one divided into neighborhoods, all the recommendations in bold type — it's a template that basically all guidebooks follow today, but which was innovative at the time.

In the 1990s, Frommer's was one of the first guidebook companies to have a major Internet presence, and Frommers.com remains one of the most prominent travel web sites. Arthur Frommer himself has a blog there.

What do you think are the main ways travel guides have changed since the original edition of “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” came out?
The biggest thing is just that there are so many more of them — Frommer's now publishes something like 470 different guidebooks, Lonely Planet has even more, and there are many other publishers. Today’s guides also tend to be more specialized, focusing on a particular city or activity or demographic. I have not yet found a book titled The Extreme Athlete's Guide to the Vatican, but it probably exists.

The coming change, of course, is that guides are going digital. All of the major guidebook publishers also have material online, plus their own smartphone apps, and then there's all the competition from the likes of TripAdvisor and other crowd-sourced sites.

And have they changed for the better or for the worse?
Mostly for the better — planning is easier when there’s so much more information available. However, I think it's a shame that most guidebooks today don't give you a sense of the personality and specific writing voice of the author. Frommer wasn't trying to fit a specific institutional voice or style manual, so reading his book is sort of like hearing tips from a trusted friend, just because of the conversational tone of his writing.

How did “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” hold up?  Did your view of it change AFTER you traveled with it?
As you'd expect, most of the hotels and restaurants listed in the book were closed. Others had gone upscale, way out of the range of a budget traveler. Oh, and five dollars a day? Not a feasible daily budget nowadays, shockingly. Some cities were virtually unrecognizable from Frommer's descriptions — Berlin has changed tremendously since the 1960s, obviously — but some, like Rome and Paris, felt basically the same. And in every single city, there were at least a few hotels and restaurants and attractions that were still around and seemingly unchanged since Frommer's day. It held up enough for me to get by.

What is an example of how using “Europe on Five Dollars a Day” got you in trouble, and an example of how it was surprisingly rewarding?
In Paris, "Europe on Five Dollars a Day" led me to a restaurant called Le Grand Colbert, which Frommer says is really cheap and off the tourist path. Well, it turns out that it was featured in the movie “Something's Gotta Give” a few years back, so now it's a huge tourist magnet, and definitely not cheap. I walked in and the maitre d’ gave me this horrified look that basically said, “Sacre bleu, not another one of those Diane Keaton groupies. . . .” It was a spectacularly awkward meal.

There were other times, though, when Frommer's book led me away from the crowds. Like in Munich, there’s this lesser-known neighborhood that he compares favorably to Greenwich Village. I went there and it was still quiet and funky and charming, as Frommer promised; if anything, I think it was less touristy now than it was back then.

Did you send a copy to Arthur Frommer? 
Yes, my publisher sent him a book. And I was so nervous about what he would think! I have tremendous respect for him and his legacy, of course, and I trust that comes through in the book, but I also knew that the very nature of the project was probably off-putting to him: I'm a young, upstart writer doing this goofy experiment and also telling his story. But just recently, I heard Mr. Frommer on the radio show "Rudy Maxa's World," and he gave the book a glowing review — he said it was erudite and amusing and he thinks it will be a best-seller. His words, not mine. Here's hoping....

Are you still a committed non-adventurer?
Mostly. I still like to go to seemingly familiar places and find the unfamiliar thing; I really love finding the stories hidden in plain sight. But I'm certainly more adventurous than I was, so we'll see. Maybe my next book will involve using an outdated guidebook to climb Mount Everest.

What is the next travel experience you have planned?
My fiancée is trying to convince me that we should go on a hitchhiking trip in Asia. (As you will have guessed, she's quite a bit more adventurous than I …) I'm still dubious, but she's doing a good sales job, so it might happen. I'm also hoping to spend some time exploring some of the forgotten communities and cultures right here in the United States.

What’s the big message of the book you want readers to walk away with?
My message is basically the same as Frommer's underlying point all those years ago: No matter where you travel, make it your own. What's important isn't following the crowds or even not following the crowds but appreciating a place and a culture on your own terms. Don't be afraid to be a cliché and follow the masses to something really cool; don't be afraid to get totally lost and away from the crowds and out of your comfort zone. Find your own path.

More on Itineraries

• Europe travel: Best money-saving tips
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• Events mark 100th anniversary of Titanic's sinking

Slideshow: Titanic Belfast

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

The Titanic Belfast Experience is a new £90 million visitor attraction location in Belfast's Titanic Quarter, on the original site of the Harland and Wolff shipyard -- birthplace of RMS Titanic.

Launch slideshow

For Titanic buffs, life is about to get a whole lot better.

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the storied ship is quickly approaching , and cities on both sides of the Atlantic are ramping up efforts to commemorate the April 15 centennial with an extensive array of events and celebrations — from museum openings and special musical and theatrical performances, to recreated meals and graveyard tours. “Anyone with a connection to the Titanic seems to be doing something to mark the anniversary,” said Charles Weeks, professor emeritus of marine transportation at the Maine Maritime Academy and a member of the Titanic International Society.

Here’s a roundup of some of them: 

Ireland
“Titanic Belfast” is scheduled to open March 31 in a new six-story structure overlooking the slipways where the Titanic was built. The venue will feature nine galleries of interactive exhibition space that explore a range of stories, from the people who built the ship to the technology and science that located the wreck. A few of the exhibits include: recreations of the ship’s decks and cabins; an undersea exploration center; and the Shipyard Ride, which uses special effects, animations and full-scale reconstructions to recreate shipbuilding in the early 1900s. 

“It is the largest Titanic experience in the world,” said Bernard McMullan, a communications and public relations executive for Tourism Ireland. Several weeks of events in Belfast's recently developed Titanic Quarter will be held in conjunction with the attraction’s opening.

Photoblog: Inside Titanic Belfast

Just outiside Belfast is "TITANICa The Exhibition," currently at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Cultra, which features more than 500 objects recovered from the Titanic's wreckage. Other Titanic tributes launched in Ireland include a yearlong series of events and activities in Cobh, County Cork, the ship’s last port of call. Only four of the 123 people picked up there survived. “Titanic 100” includes a memorial, Titanic-themed trails and boat tours, exhibitions, concerts and tours of local pubs “where people enjoyed a farewell drink before they boarded the doomed liner,” according to Tourism Ireland. 

England
The city of Southampton, where the Titanic began its fatal journey, will open the SeaCity Museum on April 10. The disaster had a devastating effect on the people of Southampton, as most of the crew lived there and more than 500 households lost at least one family member, according to the town’s website. Exhibitions will focus on themes such as the hidden history of Titanic's crew and the international fascination with the story of the Titanic, and will feature a “disaster room” and hands-on activities. 

France
La Cité de la Mer, a center in Cherbourg dedicated to deep-sea adventures, will open a new permanent exhibition on April 10, 100 years to the day the Titanic sailed there to pick up passengers. “Titanic — Return to Cherbourg” aims to recreate life onboard the ship through the testimonies from survivors and witnesses, along with exhibits, concerts, theatrical performances and guided tours. 

Canada
Nova Scotia, which boasts some 20 Titanic-related sites, will hold commemorative events on April 14 and 15. “Titanic Eve - Night of the Bells” is an evening walking procession featuring stops at Titanic-related landmarks, interpretative presentations, live performances and a moment of silence at the exact time the Titanic began to sink. Flares will be set off to symbolize the ship's call for help. The Titanic Spiritual Ceremony, an interfaith memorial service, will take place at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, with musical performances and a wreath-laying in honor of the 121 Titanic victims buried there. The Nova Scotia Archives has set up a new “virtual archive” where people can pull up Titanic-related files. Some events, including exhibits at The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, will extend into summer and autumn.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s easternmost province and the closest to where the ship went down, will host exhibitions, concerts, film showings, re-creations, music events, theatrical performances, lectures, tours with Titanic experts, and visits to Cape Race, where the Titanic’s distress signal was received. Local dishes that the lighthouse keepers and residents dined on in 1912, and music inspired by the Irish immigrants and musicians who perished, will also be featured. 

Atlanta
The St. Regis Atlanta will pay tribute to St. Regis founder Col. John Jacob Astor IV, who died in the sinking along with his butler. Throughout April, the hotel will serve a signature cocktail and afternoon tea menu created for the occasion, and offer a special package in the Empire Suite, for $3,300 a night, the same price in 1912 for the crossing in one of two deluxe parlor suites aboard the Titanic. On April 10, a complimentary cocktail reception will offer guests and the public hors d’oeuvres inspired by the last dinner served on the Titanic, and will feature sabering (a ceremonial opening using a sabre) of 100 bottles of Heidsieck Champagne, a label served on the Titanic.

Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Titanic Museum Attractions will host “A night to remember: An original musical tribute to Titanic,” on Saturday, April 14. Musical performances and appearances by descendants of passengers and crew will highlight the production. Both museums are in the shape of a ship, and boast hundreds of artifacts and exhibits that detail the story of the ship’s history and fate, to let visitors “experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and grand staircase of the Titanic.”

Denver
The Molly Brown House Museum, named for the American human-rights activist and philanthropist who survived the sinking, is holding guided tours, musical performances, special teas, lecture series and a special exhibit, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown: Denver’s Heroine of the Titanic,” which runs through Dec. 31. The “Steerage Class Shindig” will recreate the experience of third-class passengers with “a hearty meal, a rollicking band and a fine pint.” 

Orlando, Fla.
“Titanic The Experience” takes visitors back in time through live interactive interpretations by storytellers in period costume, full-scale room re-creations, memorabilia and artifacts recovered from the wreck site, including a 3-ton portion of the ship's hull, the captain's wheel and personal belongings from Titanic passengers and crew.

Springfield, Mass. 
The Titanic Historical Society will host a Titanic Centennial Memorial Weekend (April 20-22) to unveil and dedicate a new memorial. It will also feature guest speakers, visits to the nearby Titanic Museum, a raffle with collectibles, and a gala dinner and costume contest. “We’ve been doing these types of events for many years before the movie,” said Karen Kamuda, vice president of the society. 

St Louis, Mo.
Titanic Centennial Weekend (April 13-15) will include an Edwardian Champagne reception, an exhibit of Titanic-related artifacts, and a screening of the 1958 film "A Night to Remember." The signature event, “The Last Dinner on the Titanic,” will recreate the 11-course meal served on the Titanic’s last night. Between courses, guests will be entertained by live period music, and will receive a boarding pass and an envelope with the name and historical biography of an actual first-class passenger. Guests will experience “the elegance, grandeur and luxury of the R.M.S. Titanic, while enjoying a gastronomical extravaganza from another era,” organizers say.  

New York metro area
A trolley tour on April 7 will take visitors through Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, the final resting place of some passengers on the Titanic.

At the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, the world premiere of “Titanic Tales: Stories of Courage and Cowardice” will be performed on April 12 at 8:30 p.m., part of the Center’s Target Free Thursdays series. The original piece weaves together survivors’ recollections, taken from testimony given at the American and British boards of of inquiry, with music of the period, including works performed by the Titanic’s band on that fateful night.

The Jane Hotel in the West Village welcomed surviving crew members from the Titanic by offering care and dry clothes, though in 1912 it was the American Seaman’s Friend Society Sailors’ Home and Institute. To commemorate the centennial, the hotel is offering two signature cocktails until April 18 in the Jane Ballroom: the Bourbon- based “Unsinkable Molly Brown," and the Champagne-based "ST-705," named in honor of the 705 passengers who survived. 

NYC Discovery Walking Tours will offer a two-hour “Titanic History Tour” in Greenwich Village, with stops at The Seaman’s Lodge, where survivors took shelter, the Titanic Memorial Arch, and sites associated with passengers John J. Astor, Isidor Straus and others. The public tour is offered on April 14 at 1 p.m. and April 15 at noon for a cost of $20. Call 212-465-3331 for reservations, meeting place and information about private tours.

The Titanic International Society will host a weekend of remembrance April 27-29 in Secaucus, N.J. It includes a candlelight memorial service, with readings and music, and a luncheon cruise around New York Harbor that will pass the intended destination of the Titanic and the pier where the rescue boat Carpathia docked. Charles Haas, the society’s president, said there was a general sense that after the centennial, interest in the Titanic might wane, but he does not concur. “I’m especially optimistic about the number of young people who are fascinated by the Titanic story,” he said.

Related stories

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• Full Titanic wreck site mapped for the first time
• Cruise tragedy conjures memories of doomed Titanic 
• Relatives of Titanic officer seek return of letter

Tom Wallace

Floodwaters rush into Vernazza's harbor after an intense rainstorm ripped through the Cinque Terre region of Italy on Oct. 25, 2011. Monterosso, another Cinque Terre town, also was devastated.

For the residents of the Cinque Terre, a region of five quaint coastal villages nestled in cliffs overlooking the Ligurian Sea on Italy’s northwestern coast, the arrival of spring may be especially sweet this year.

Last fall, torrential rains, massive flooding and mudslides, some more than 13 feet high, devastated the area. Homes, businesses and trails were damaged. In the aftermath of the violent Oct. 25 storm, there was concern about how the storm would impact the tourism season, which typically begins in spring.

But preliminary reports are positive.

The Cinque Terre is ready to receive tourists, according to a representative in the Italian Government Tourist Board in New York, who said that by Easter, the region hopes to have all the paths open. The famous “Via dell’Amore” (“Love’s path”) trail is open, but others sustained damage and were closed due to safety issues. The Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, the national park, provides regular trail updates on its website. 

About 400,000 tourists visited the region in 2011, about half of whom are Italian and some 60,000 Americans, the representative said, quoting data from the regional office in Liguria of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat). 

Edward Piegza, president and founder of Classic Journeys, who spoke by phone with his company’s local tour guides as well as business owners in the Cinque Terre before being interviewed by msnbc.com, said many shops and restaurants are open in Monterosso, one of the two towns damaged by the storm. And those that are not “are working quickly to rebuild by tourist season, the beginning of April,” he said.

Classic Journeys has offered its “Tuscany and the Cinque Terre Cultural Walking Tour” since 1996.

Classic Journeys

A group of tourists walks to Vernazza in Italy's Cinque Terre region in 2005.

The Cinque Terre is known for distinctive pastel-colored homes, seaside charms, and its network of walking and hiking trails along cliffs, linking the towns and winding though terraced hills of vineyards, and olive and chestnut groves, offering dramatic views and ample opportunities for much needed espresso and gelato breaks.

The Cinque Terre, Piegza said, “captures a different time and place.” And much of the draw is its “real sense of authenticity, when people lived more simply.”

Beth Rubin, manager of custom travel planning for Select Italy, a company specializing in travel to Italy, said tourism to Cinque Terre had “exploded” in recent years. “It’s very outdoorsy and offers an active vacation that’s not too expensive. People who are traveling on a budget really like to go there.” Select Italy plans to offer its full range of tours, and its local suppliers “are going to find a way,” to work around any potential problems, she said.  

Other tour companies are reporting similar determination to proceed.

“We would never consider canceling our tours,” said Carolyn Walters Fox, who handles marketing and media relations for Country Walkers, “as long as it’s safe.”

Country Walkers specializes in active travel and has offered guided walking and hiking tours to the region for about 15 years. Currently, six tours are planned from May through the autumn. The local people “have been so good to us,” Fox said. “Tourism is an opportunity to give back.”  

Melanie Morin, who manages tours to the Cinque Terre region, is not worried if trails the company used in the past are not open in May. “The alternative routes still make a spectacular tour,” she said, and the local residents “are really trying to do everything they can to be ready for the season.”

Piegza, of Classic Journeys, recounted how one of its tour groups had been dining at Al Pozzo, a restaurant in Monterosso last October when the rain started. The group was able to leave the area before the storm became dangerous, but the restaurant was severely damaged.

Restaurant owners Jolanda and Gino Barilari, told Piegza by phone earlier this month that Al Pozzo recently reopened, and some American tourists had just finished eating lunch.

“They were able to complete their restaurant almost a month early,” Piegza said, noting that for more than four months the extended Barilari family “worked from sunrise to sundown, seven days a week, to rebuild. They were so exited. They said ‘wow’ we made it through.”  (“Rebuild Monterosso” provides updates for businesses and activities.)

Slideshow: Italian dreams

Franco Origlia / Getty Images

Tourists in Italy can learn about history, architecture, art and much more.

Launch slideshow

“We encourage people to come,” said Michele Sherman, an American expat living in Italy, and executive director of Save Vernazza, a nonprofit created after the disaster to raise funds and awareness to rebuild, restore and preserve the town. Vernazza was the town most impacted by the storm. “A lot has been done, but a lot still needs to be done,” she said. 

The group’s website Travel Advisor page lists updated information about what local businesses and trails are open or scheduled to reopen, and what is off limits. “We’re in constant contact with all the local business owners and we’re in the loop about the status of trail repairs,” Sherman said. “We’re always walking around with a camera.”

When UNESCO added the area to the World Heritage List in 1997, it cited “the harmonious interaction between people and nature to produce a landscape of exceptional scenic quality.” But through the years the surrounding terraced hills were neglected as the local economy shifted from agriculture to tourism, Sherman said. “The focus in Vernazza changed.” But finding a balance between maintaining the territory and sustainable tourism is critical to moving forward, she said, “not only to prevent further disasters, but also to preserve Vernazza’s cultural heritage. It's still beautiful,” Sherman said. It’s not what it once was, “but it can be that way again.”

Related stories:

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• Secrets to eating well in Italy
• A wine geek's ultimate road trip
• Not your mother's Eurail Pass

Frank Ockenfels / AMC

The Season 5 premier of AMC's "Mad Men" is March 25.

It may be impossible to time travel back to 1960s-era New York, but that hasn’t stopped some "Mad Men" fans and haunts featured on the TV show from trying.

"Mad Men," which premiers its fifth season on Sunday, is filmed predominately in Los Angeles, but nostalgia for the fictional advertising world of Don Draper and his fellow Madison Avenue executives has spawned a wave of tourism in Manhattan, where the drama is set.

The show “is as quintessentially New York as yellow taxis and pastrami on rye,” writes NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for New York City.

“New York City is the center of media and pop culture — visitors are drawn here partly because they see the city portrayed in film and television and it feels familiar to them,” said Kimberly Spell, chief communications officer for NYC & Company. Shows like “Mad Men” “accentuate the unique vibrancy, style and glamour of the city.”

Related: Will Don Draper finally be happy this season on 'Mad Men?'

Leading up to the premier, the city is boasting special hotel packages, "Mad Men"-themed cocktails, walking tours, and ample opportunities to dress up in period attire and turn back the clocks to soak up the retro style and glamour of the 1960s.

Here is a round up of some of them:

NYC Discovery Walking Tours offers fans a chance to stroll through midtown, taking in the history and architecture of the era. On “The World of Mad Men: NYC During the Early 1960’s,” stops include the Summit Hotel, the Seagram Building, the Pan Am Building, and the Lever House, and other places Don Draper might have seen when he leaves his office to buy a “35 cent pack of cigarettes and meet a client for lunch.” The public tour, which costs $20, is offered on Saturday, March 24, at 2 p.m. and Sunday, March 25, at 4:30 p.m. Call 212-465-3331 for reservations and meeting place. Tours by private appointment are also available.

Richard Anthony, one of NYC Discovery Walking Tours’ historians, said he and colleagues were impressed with the show’s authenticity. The scripts “are very well-researched, they aren’t at all arbitrary.” In recent months “there’s been a big buzz about 'Mad Men'; it’s led to this birth of interest in New York” during the early 60s. The private tour was given about four times in recent weeks, Anthony said. “People are always looking for that part of New York history they want to escape to.”  

Several companies offer general tours, including NYC Discovery Walking Tours’ “Famous Movie Sites of the East Side” and the guided bus tour “New York TV & Movie Sites,” given by On Location Tours, that pass or point out "Mad Men" locations, like the Time & Life Building and the Ziegfeld Theatre.

The Roosevelt Hotel NYC, the setting of several episodes and where Don Draper lived in Season 2 after his wife Betty threw him out, offers a “Mad Men in the City” package. Included are a stay in a newly renovated room, 1960s-inspired mixers at mad46, the 19th floor rooftop bar or at Madison Club Lounge, one of Draper’s frequent hot spots in the hotel’s lobby: two tickets to The Paley Center for Media; and copies of "Mad Men" Season 4 on DVD and the newly released “Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook” to take home. The package starts at $425 a night for a minimum three-night stay, and is available from March 1 to June 30.

The Pierre, a Taj Hotel, which has appeared in previous episodes, offers guests the chance to sip classic cocktails from the early 60s and “dress up in their favorite 'Mad Men'-inspired garb and embrace their inner Don Draper and Joan Holloway” beginning on March 27 and on every Tuesday throughout the season. The offer is part of the regular weekly complimentary jazz music series from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Two E Bar/Lounge. Cocktails on the special drink menu cost $14 and include Irish Coffee, one of fictional character Roger Sterling’s staples, and the  Bikini Martini, “the most voluptuous drink in town,” inspired by Christina Hendricks, who portrays Joan Holloway, made with Hendrick’s Gin, Peach Schnapps and Blue Curacao.        

The Paley Center for Media will host a “'Mad Men' Season Premiere Viewing Party” on Sunday, March 25, at 8 p.m. The fifth season premiere will be shown on the big screen, “all the better to soak up that gorgeous period detail.” Before the screening, there will be an era-appropriate cocktail party and a "Mad Men" Trivia contest. Guests will receive a Season 5 "Mad Men" poster, and are invited to “break out the sharp suits, pocket squares, and kicky frocks.” During the screening, commercial breaks will show actual ads from the early sixties, featuring Sterling Cooper clients like London Fog and Lucky Strike. Tickets cost $30.  

Though three-martini lunches and desk-side scotch cabinets may be largely gone in the 21st century, according to NYC & Company, its website invites prospective visitors to plan a self-guided tour by viewing a slideshow that features sites that appeared in the series or are tied in to the time period, like Sardi’s Restaurant and P.J. Clarke's, a vintage watering hole where patrons can still drink “frosty mugs of beer and hear Frank Sinatra on the jukebox, while the dining room serves up mouthwatering comfort food (including, according to Nat King Cole, ‘the Cadillac of burgers.’” But one word of advice from the slideshow: do not waste time looking for 405 Madison Avenue, the address of the fictional advertising agency: it doesn't exist. 

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Last year's deadly earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent disaster at Fukushima nuclear power plant took a toll on Japan's tourism industry, but a year later, the country's travel landscape is rebounding. 

"We started to see small numbers of guests returning to Japan in September of last year," said Duff Trimble, president of Wabi-Sabi Japan, a Toronto-based company that creates customized trips for private groups. "Inquiries really started to increase last November and there was the usual surge of requests immediately following the holiday season. Quite frankly, I was surprised how busy we were."

“I’m seeing a bounce back,” said Jack S. Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations. “It’s not huge, but it’s back on people’s radar.” 

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake shook Japan, and the tsunami that followed killed nearly 16,000 people, wiped out entire towns, slammed the Fukushima power plant and triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Ezon has noticed a change over the past four or five months, and said seasoned travelers are among the most likely to visit. "They may be a little more intrepid," Ezon said.

Colleague Jessica K. Levy, a travel concierge with Ovation, said a few clients went to Japan recently, but “no one expressed any concerns.” One man in his 60s loved it so much, she said, “he extended his stay.”

Levy also recently visited Japan, and noticed discrete collection buckets for victims in some areas and a general sense that people are "quietly rebuilding their lives," but it didn't seem like a country that had experienced such a severe tragedy, she said. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce, which tracks U.S. flights to and from Japan, including connections, said there was an initial dip in Japan-bound air traffic immediately following the earthquake and tsunami last March, but it rebounded to pre-disaster levels by June.

For 2011, the number of people flying from the U.S. to Japan dropped 4.5 percent compared to the prior year, according to data from the Commerce Department.

The decline in travel to Japan from other parts of the world was sharper over the same period, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

There are other variables that may account for the modest downturn, said Richard Champley, a senior research analyst for the Commerce Department. For example, fewer Japanese citizens have been visiting the United States in recent years, and there are more direct flights from the U.S. to other Asian destinations beyond Tokyo, which has been a major hub. 

Price sensitivity due to the strong Japanese yen and the ongoing global economic uncertainty may have hurt the rebound as much as the aftermath of the nuclear accident, added Trimble of Wabi-Sabi Japan. 

But business travelers are taking the lead in the current rebound.

Initially, business travel to Japan experienced a sharper decline than leisure travel, said Stacey MacAlister, managing director for the Americas for JTB, a travel management company. Now, the increase is greatest among business travelers, she said.

“The rebound business-wise happened fairly quickly,” said Ron DiLeo, executive director for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. “I’ve had conversations with major carriers serving the Japan market, and the load factors are all strong.”

Since last March, DiLeo said many companies have conducted education sessions that stress the importance of putting into place better procedures to ensure that employee whereabouts are more easily tracked in crisis situations. “Travel managers are telling business travelers that they need to be able to communicate through any number of ways,” he said. “But flights are full.”

Michael Steiner, executive vice president of Ovation Travel Group, said the first six months following the earthquake and tsunami were rough, with business off about 50 percent. “But it is slowly rebounding, and in recent months, is pretty much back,” Steiner said, noting that most of the travel was to Tokyo, quite far from the areas impacted by radiation.

A recent spending forecast noted that Japan had been struggling with its economy even before the earthquake and tsunami, but construction and manufacturing are among the areas that are expected to lead business travel growth over the next five years. The report was prepared by the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association, a trade group for corporate travel managers and suppliers.

“It’s one of those odd cases,” said Joe Bates, senior director of research for GBTA Foundation, where redevelopment due to the earthquake “is actually going to spur business travel,” both inbound, outbound and within Japan. Export demand is also thought to be a major factor impacting business travel growth, according to the report.

Johnson Yip, president of Pacific Protour, a tour operator that caters to leisure travelers, said until recently, his company had no business since the earthquake. “There are a couple of bookings going there in May and another few tour groups that I'm working on for June and October departure,” Yip said. “Hopefully this is an indication that travel to Japan is coming back, ever-so slowly, but it’s still a good sign.”

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At Disney Fantasy's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, aspiring young princesses receive the full fairy-tale treatment by their very own Fairy Godmother-in-training who transforms them with magical makeovers.

NEW YORK — The Disney Fantasy, a 130,000 ton, 1,115-foot-long addition to the Disney Cruise Line, arrived at Manhattan’s Terminal’s Pier 88 last week from Germany, where the ship was built.

The christening was held on Thursday night. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the evening, leading the ship’s production cast in several song and dance numbers that poked fun at Disney’s over-the top tendencies and commercial prowess. The lyrics “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” from the classic “Mary Poppins,” song were replaced with "super splashy synergistic glitzy celebration." Another song “At the Buffet” was sung to the tune of “Under the Sea.”

An opening film sequence was a tribute to the long-standing Disney-New York connection. (Mickey Mouse was first introduced to the public in New York in 1928, and the song ”It’s a Small World” debuted at the World’s Fair here in 1964.) Actors sported T-shirts with the heart in the “I Love New York” slogan replaced by a red Mickey Mouse-shaped heart.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld delivered an edgy, self-effacing, New York-centric, Jewish humor-laced monologue. "Oh my god, I'm on a boat. Finally, I get to see what the end of my career will be like. It’s not so bad,” he said, joking about his future retirement. 

Harris worked the crowd, which included Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “I want to take a cruise, but I can’t afford it,” Bloomberg joked, because his salary is only $1 dollar a year. After the show, singer Mariah Carey (assisted by Mickey Mouse), led the christening. A human-size faux champagne bottle was popped, dispensing confetti to the crowd.

The Disney Fantasy, the line’s fourth ship, is similar to sister ship Disney Dream, which launched in early 2011. But how different are they? The ships are the same length and footprint, with 1,250 staterooms and suites and a capacity for 4,000 passengers. They share many features, like “rotational dining,” during which servers stay with families throughout the voyage as they change restaurants. But many enhancements — everything from entertainment and expanded kids' programming to dining and nightlife — are new on the Disney Fantasy.

Courtesy Disney Cruise Line

Disney's newest cruise ship, Disney Fantasy, embarks on its maiden voyage March 31 from Port Canaveral, Fla.

Here is an overview of some notable differences:

Itinerary 
The longer cruising time of the Disney Fantasy, which sails for seven days compared to three- and four-day cruises on the Disney Dream, is a main difference. More time on the ship allows guests a greater opportunity to do more activities, which is why the creators have enhanced a number of features. 

Atrium
One of the main differences is the overall design concept, said Joe Lanzisero, senior vice president, creative, for Walt Disney Imagineering, who oversaw the design elements for both ships. Art deco is the main decorative theme for the Disney Dream, while it is art nouveau for the Disney Fantasy. The style is the connective tissue throughout the ship and strongly reflected in the ship’s three-deck open atrium, where peacock-inspired designs and colors — blue, green, pink and gold — appear in the chandeliers, tiles, carpet and other details.

“It’s a balance of Disney whimsy and elegance,” said Lanzisero. “No detail was overlooked.” The art nouveau colors, soft shapes and motifs are subtle and layered, he said. “They do not jump out at you; the deeper you dive, the more you see.” 

Dining
The Royal Court, a new restaurant, serves French continental cuisine and features décor elements inspired by a number of Disney films. The chandeliers, chair backs and columns are inspired by “Beauty and the Beast,” and the main chandelier, wall scones and decorative patterns of the bread baskets, throne-style chairs and circular floor plan are modeled after the coach in “Cinderella.”

The Animator’s Palate includes a new dining experience called “Animation Magic,” during which guests become animators for the night by drawing their own characters on placemats, which are taken by the staff. Later in the evening, each drawing becomes animated and incorporated into the presentation shown on a number of screens throughout the dining room.  At the end of the show, each guest name appears in the credits.

Europa entertainment district
In this European-themed, adult-only nighttime entertainment area, a collection of clubs, pubs and lounges — each named and decorated in honor of night spots in Italy, France, Ireland and London — provide adult-only escapes. Ooh La La, an elegant French champagne bar inspired by a jewelry box and decorated like a boudoir from Versailles, with velvet-tufted walls and ornate mirrors, serves a private label champagne by Taittinger. The Tube, a London underground-themed nightclub, recalls the city’s mod and pop-culture period. At Skyline, the bar has windows with changing views of nine city skylines on 65-inch LCD screens.

Water activities
Like the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy has the AquaDuck, a 765-foot water coaster that is cantilevered over the edge of the ship, but it also has several new elements including AquaLab, a 1,800-square-foot water play area for families boasting pop jets, geysers and bubblers, and Satellite Sun Deck, an adult-only area with Satellite Falls, a water feature with a circular splash pool with benches and a rain curtain.

Entertainment
Two new original live stage shows will be performed in the 1,340-seat Walt Disney Theatre: “Wishes,” a short musical about three best friends and the importance of staying connected to one’s inner child, and “Disney’s Aladdin — A Musical Spectacular,” based on the animated film “Aladdin.”

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Children can be transformed into princesses and pirates at this new feature. 

Enchanted Art
A new interactive scavenger hunt, detective-type, self-paced game, “The Case of the Stolen Show,” featuring The Muppets, can be played through Enchanted Art — wall art that animates when guests approach. As guests move around the ship, they uncover clues via more than a dozen pieces of Enchanted Art and physical “evidence.”

In some circles, the new ship seems to be garnering a warm welcome.

“Disney ships are considered among the most attractive cruise ships afloat,” said Dennis Nienkerk, a luxury cruise specialist with Strong Travel Services in Dallas, “reminiscent of true ocean liners of years gone by.” 

And the Disney Fantasy “is a natural evolution of the Disney quality and theme,” Nienkerk said. Along with the Dream, it will “set a new standard for family cruising. There really isn’t anything quite like it. They eclipse all other cruise lines when it comes to extensive programs for kids,” devoting more space — by a wide margin — to activities for children and teenagers.

In recent years Nienkerk said he has seen a steady increase in the demand for Disney cruises. “They offer very high-end service that keeps children fully occupied and enthralled, and parents can escape all day if they wish” he said, adding that the cruises are ideal for family and even multigenerational bonding. “They cost a little more, but parents feel it is worth every penny.”

Taking a Disney cruise “is a wonderful experience for adults. It’s not just for children,” said Kimberly Wilson Wetty, co-president of Valerie Wilson Travel in New York. Some couples will take a Disney cruise and leave their kids at home, she said, crediting the company’s constant innovation and penchant for “transporting you to a happy place.” 

“I think what Disney does so well is that they always want to improve the experience. Disney truly listens to what customers want,” said Wetty. “Each ship has gotten a little bit better.”

The Disney Fantasy’s maiden voyage is scheduled for March 31, from Port Canaveral, Fla., which will be the home port. Itineraries will alternate between eastern and western Caribbean destinations. Rates start at $959 per person for a standard inside stateroom. The Disney Cruise Line recently announced that cruises will be sailing from new ports, including New York, Galveston, Texas, and Miami, and new itineraries and destinations, like Venice, Italy, and the Greek Islands, will be offered. 

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Kacper Pempel / Reuters

Tourists ride in horse carriages Nov. 12, 2011, in the Old Square in Krakow, Poland. If you're planning a trip to Europe this year, Krakow is one of the best bargains.

Budget travelers of a certain age may remember guide books of some years ago that helped them plan vacations in Europe on $5 and $10 dollars a day. But the 21st century may have its own version: the European Backpacker Index 2012, an online listing in its second year that rates 40 major European cities by price.

Released earlier his week, the new 2012 listing rates Sofia, Krakow and Budapest as the cheapest major tourist cities in Europe, while Zurich, Oslo and Stockholm are rated as the most expensive.

“At least right now, Europe is a little bit cheaper than the last few years,” for Americans, said Roger Wade, who researched and complied the list. With a strong U.S. dollar and favorable exchange rates, budget travelers can save even more on their next European trip.

Wade is founder and editor-in-chief of Price of Travel, a website and database of travel costs launched in 2010 to help travelers compare typical expenses in more than 110 cities around the world to ascertain the best values.

Wade began the site because he couldn't find any comprehensive resource that rated cities based on affordability. “Websites and books tend to not list prices because they fear they will be out of date soon,” and will be a burden to update, said Wade, who insisted the list is not just for college-age students and 20-somethings. 

“I’m always looking for value,” said Wade, who is 47 years old and has been traveling for the last two years, and spoke to msnbc.com in a phone interview from Kas, Turkey. The same amount of money for a three-night stay at a higher-end hotel could cover two weeks at a lower-cost hotel or hostel. “That’s what I’m going to do every time,” Wade said. The trade-off is worth it, he said. If you go cheaper, you can go for longer.

The list is not meant to discourage travel to certain cities, but to help figure out which cities to hurry through or linger in. Based on this year’s list, visitors could spend five times longer in Sofia, Bulgaria than in Zurich, Switzerland. The Daily Backpacker Index daily rate for Sofia is $23.71 a day; for Zurich, it’s $118.78 a day.

(This list will be updated when currencies fluctuate, the site states, but the most current information will always be on the city-specific pages; links are at the bottom of each city listing.)

Any surprises on this year’s list?

“Poland in particular seems to be gaining in popularity, especially Krakow, which has become a hotspot,” Wade said.

Ratings are based on average costs for accommodations, public transportation, attractions, food and drink in each city.  “It’s quite scientific,” Wade said. “Most are exact prices, except for food, which can be variable.” Those estimates are based on “the cheapest meal you can get.”

Here are the detailed criteria: 

• One night in the cheapest bunk at the least expensive hostel with a good location and good reviews. (The rating must be over 80 percent, Wade said.)
• Two public transportation rides per day.
• One paid/famous attraction per day. (Every city is loaded with free things to do for budget-conscious travelers, but the average cost of a major attraction in each city for each day is used.)
• Three “budget” meals per day. (The minimum meal price, plus 20 percent to make it more realistic for a longer trip.)
• Three cheap, local beers (or wine) each day as an “entertainment fund.” Non-drinkers might have dessert and coffee or attend a local music performance instead, so this is a general benchmark that should be proportional for each city.

Are lists like the European Backpacker good predictors?

Slideshow:

Experience the grand cities, amazing architecture, cultural attractions and natural beauty of the Old Continent.

Launch slideshow

For Americans, it’s a great time to travel to Europe, said Reena Aggarwal, professor of finance and business administration at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. “I think the dollar will continue to be strong for the next few months, and tourists should take advantage of the opportunity.”

Aggarwal said she did not expect the exchange rates to change markedly anytime soon, but other factors should also be considered when planning an international trip.

“Obviously it is not all about dollars,” said Aggarwal, as things like safety are also important. But lists like the European Backpacker Index, which help travelers have a better understanding of comparative costs, “are a good starting point.”

For budget-minded travelers, a critical factor will also be the price of airfare and availability of low-fare seats between the United States and Europe, said Henry H. Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and co-founder of the Atmosphere Research Group, a market research company.

“We're seeing some expansion of budget airlines entering the U.S.,” Harteveldt said. “XL Airways of France just announced it will add summer season Paris-San Francisco flights, and carriers like Air Europa and Air Berlin tend to up frequencies and capacity in the peak summer season. Air France, however, has announced it will suspend flights between Paris and Newark, to focus instead on its service in/out of JFK.”  

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Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

Elvis is shown in front of the castle gate in Bad Nauheim, Germany, in June 1959. He was stationed at Friedberg, Germany, while serving in the U.S. Army but maintained an off-base residence in Bad Nauheim.

For Elvis Presley fans, 2012 promises to be a good year. There are exhibits, tours, special events, concerts, promotions and celebratory cruises in the works to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the King’s death, who would have celebrated his birthday on Jan. 8.

And a new museum housing a large private collection of memorabilia opened to the public last month in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf is possibly one of the largest such collections outside of the United States, according to the museum.

“People love it. They all go out with a big smile on their faces,” said Andy Schroeer, one of three collectors who founded the museum, which has already welcomed visitors from Europe and the United States.

Slideshow: The life of Elvis Presley

The approximately 1,500 items that form the permanent collection reflect Presley’s professional and personal life, and include writings, letters, photographs, records, jewelry, furniture, clothing and documents, like the performing artist’s first order for a single and his transfer papers from Sun Records to RCA Victor in 1955 for a fee of $40,000, “an astonishing amount at the time and a move that contributed to his becoming a superstar,” the museum said in a statement.

A number of items never before been shown in public will be on display for the first time, Schroeer said, like the signed shirt that Elvis donated in 1959 to the German magazine BRAVO for a contest.

The winner kept the shirt unopened in the original package for more than 30 years. "He was no Elvis fan and was kind of disappointed when he learned that he had won the Presley Sports shirt," Schroeer said.

By 1958, Elvis had a promising musical and acting career but joined the Army after receiving his draft notice and served active duty in Germany until 1960. The museum owns many items from that period.

The exhibits are intended “to show the more private side of Presley’s life,” Schroeer said. “There are really no big stories.” For example, the records Presley had shipped from the U.S. to Germany reveal his personal taste in music at the time, which was a mix of gospel and other spiritual music, as well as rock 'n' roll. “Elvis was very much into the Jordanaires. He loved those guys to death.” Also included are personal notes Presley made in “The Prophet,” by Khalil Gibran, his mother’s journal entries and the personal appointment book he kept in 1959 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.

J. Keilwerth / Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

At left, Elvis' black Isana Guitar with case and amplifier. At right, the bicycle he received at the age of 13.

Displayed items do not have explanatory text next to them, as visitors come from so many different countries that text would need to be in many languages, which would take away from the experience, Schroeer said. Rather, visitors are given a listing of items with text in their own language.

The idea for the museum came about 10 years ago. Schroeer and the other two collectors, Oskar Hentschel and Michael Knorr, who have been friends since meeting at a local Elvis Presley fan club in the mid-1980s, wanted a home for their collections and the ability to share them with a larger audience. But each started his collection independently.

Schroeer began collecting in 1975 at age 10 when he received “Elvis Forever,” a double LP for Christmas. “Elvis could drive fast cars ... he was like a personal hero. You wanted to own something he held in his own hands,” recalled Schroeer, who wrote “Private Presley: The Missing Years – Elvis in Germany,” with his fellow collectors.

About 600 items will be exhibited at a time, but the collection will rotate regularly. Beginning Jan. 8, which would have been the King's 77th birthday, the museum will feature live music and new items, including a gold record on loan for four months that was engraved with Presley’s name misspelled — Presly instead of Presley — which was kept by the engraver after the mistake was discovered, Schroeer said. Photographs of the new and original gold records will also be on view.

J. Keilwerth / Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf

Elvis' favorite shirt in 1957, monogrammed with his initials, EP. In background, a Sun Records advertisement in the Nov. 26, 1955, Billboard Magazine for his single, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget."

It’s all for a simple goal, Schroeer said. “To keep the memory of Elvis Presley alive. That’s what people appreciate.”

Scott Williams, vice president of marketing and media for Elvis Presley Enterprises, said the opening of a new museum featuring Presley memorabilia was not unusual. “There is not a country where there isn’t some Elvis activity going on. There are fan clubs all over the world; that’s one of the ways fans celebrate their love for Elvis.”

Williams said much of the reason is due to the performer’s broad appeal. “He was a one-of-a-kind entertainer,” whose personal story of working his way up from poverty, as well as his musical range, provide “something to relate to, no matter what your tastes are.”

“Every year is a big year for Elvis,” Williams said, “but for whatever reason, the 5th year benchmarks have become historically larger.” Graceland in Memphis is planning a year-long series of activities to honor the 35th anniversary of the late singer’s death, which will kick off with an annual birthday celebration Jan. 5-8, followed by a cruise from Jacksonville, Fla., to Nassau, Bahamas, on Jan. 12-16. “It’s an entire ship of Elvis fans,” said Williams. “It’s nothing but Elvis.”

There will also be new exhibits, touring tribute concerts and “the largest exhibit outside Memphis of Elvis artifacts” will take place in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2012 featuring hundreds of items on loan from Graceland, including the performer’s gold phone and red MG, Williams said.

If you go
The Elvis Presley Museum Düsseldorf, presented in conjunction with the Official German Elvis Fan Club, can be visited daily in the historic old town center.See www.elvis-duesseldorf.de.

For information about hotel and travel packages in Düsseldorf, home to the “longest bar in the world” (260 bars, pubs, and breweries in under a mile, according to the city’s tourism office), see www.visitduesseldorf.de.

For more information about Graceland-sponsored celebrations, visit www.elvis.com.

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Paul Margolis for Big Apple Greeter

Greeter Todd Cherches in New York's Chinatown with visitors from England.

The most luxurious hotel, the friendliest city and most seamlessly planned vacation can often be impersonal without some familiar touches of home.

But the Global Greeter Network, an association of programs around the world that pairs local residents with travelers, aims to change that. Greeters informally share favorite local haunts and undiscovered neighborhoods, much like they would for friends or family members.

Where did such homespun hospitality start? In New York City, of all places.

“When I traveled, people would often say ‘Oh, we’d never go to New York.’ They felt it was too dangerous, too unfriendly,” too overwhelming, said Lynn Brooks, a native New Yorker, who founded Big Apple Greeter as a way to soften the city’s image problem.

That was almost 20 years ago. The group has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors over the years. In 2011, the group welcomed about 7,000 visitors.

“I like to think of New York as a great, big small town” said Gail Morse, director of programs and volunteers for Big Apple Greeter. “Every neighborhood is a little world,” with great food, unique mom-and-pop stores, and friendly residents.

Globally, there are almost 30 programs from Argentina to the Serb Republic. Melbourne, Australia, was the first city to form a similar program, Brooks said, before the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. France has eight programs. In the United States, in addition to New York, there are programs in Houston and Chicago.

Greeters sometimes prove more than hospitable faces for a city. Morse recalled that a New York greeter once helped locate a beautiful backdrop for a couple from Toronto so they would not have to marry in an impersonal space. And after 9/11, a greeter took some French firefighters to meet firefighters at her local firehouse. “It was a great big love fest,” she said.

Some volunteers are invited to visit tourists’ hometowns. One greeter spent part of 9/11 in New York with a German visitor. The two have stayed in touch, and reunited in the city recently to spend the tragedy’s 10th anniversary together. 

Laurie Kiernicki, a hospice nurse from the Atlanta-area, has explored several cities with greeters. This past summer, a greeter in Paris shared her neighborhood on the edges of the city, showing Kiernicki and her family an old train track that had been made into a park, and a lovely, small farmers’ market. “It was off the beaten path,” Kiernicki said, “and not full of tourists,” like many Parisian neighborhoods in August.

On a “girls getaway” to Chicago earlier this month, Kiernicki and her traveling companion took in the restaurants, boutiques and Victorian architecture of the Wicker Park neighborhood. “It was tailored to us,” said Kiernicki. She had been to Chicago before, but enjoyed connecting with a local “because we had some of the inside scoop.”

What makes a good volunteer?

“We look for people who are friendly, outgoing, who can draw visitors out, with a natural curiosity and a wealth of stories to tell,” said Morse. “If they speak another language, that’s a plus.”

For greeters, volunteering provides an opportunity to give back to their city, can help with public speaking, offers practice speaking a foreign language, and is an excellent way to remain engaged if unemployed. The programs attract all ages, and retired as well as working people, the organizers said.

Milan Stevanovich, a retired IT professional, has shared Chicago with visitors for about five years, three to five times a month, and enjoys discovering new things and neighborhoods in a city where he has lived since the early 1950s. 

“I specialize in bike tours,” he said, but once, on a particularly cold day, did an entire tour without going outside, by focusing on the city’s underground walkway system, with its stores and restaurants. He takes pride in the fact that a former visitor from Florida actually moved to Chicago. “She now lives in a neighborhood I showed her,” Stevanovich said. 

“People love to show off the city they love. They act as ambassadors,” said Katie Law, manager of greeter and volunteer services for the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture. And “visitors have said it is so comforting to know someone is waiting.”

Each city handles logistics a bit differently, Law said. Through Chicago Greeter, for example, visitors can choose from 40 different interest areas to explore, ranging from architectural history and ethnic Chicago to culinary hot spots and family-friendly destinations.

The program, which welcomed more than 5,500 visitors in 2011, a 26 percent increase from 2010, also offers specialized InstaGreeter programs, free one-hour walks that do not require pre-registration during select times year, like in Pilsen, the Mexican American neighborhood; Hyde Park, President Obama’s former stomping ground; and a Magnificent Mile program focused on holiday shopping.

But for all cities, the programs are free, are composed of groups of up to six people who know each other, and require pre-registration online a few weeks in advance. Greeters frequently get in touch before hand in order to personalize visits.

What happens when the greeter becomes the greeted? “They are treated like royalty,” when they visit other cities in the Global Greeter Network, said Morse of Big Apple Greeter. “We make the planet earth a smaller place.”

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Most people have heard the adage “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” But apparently it is not true for breakfast – at some hotels at least.

Vijay Dandapani is president of Apple Core Hotels, a company that owns five New York City hotels, all of which serve free breakfast and have for more than a decade.

“The mid '90s, like today, was a time of economic contraction,” he said. “[Free breakfast] built tremendous customer goodwill as not only did it save guests money, but it helped start the day off on the right note.”

What started out as a simple complimentary cup of coffee and a doughnut has transformed into a kind of one-upmanship, said Chris Quilty, director of hotel operations for Hersha Hospitality Management, which owns and operates about 80 properties nationwide, representing all the major U.S. brands. About 70 of them offer free breakfast.

There's anecdotal evidence to suggest that it's not just paying guests who enjoy this perk; it's not uncommon, say hotel experts and staff, to see people walk in from the street and serve themselves at the buffet.

“If you are savvy and need something to eat, it’s an easy thing to do,” said Bobby Bowers, senior vice president of operations for STR, a hotel research company.

STR does not track how many non-guests take advantage of free breakfasts, but “I don’t doubt that it occurs,” Bowers said. “I would say it’s probably more of a problem now because economic times are tough.” But nine out of 10 times staff won’t say anything unless the person is a regular offender or “looks tough and dirty,” he said.

The concept of free hotel breakfasts began in the early 1980s. Research at the time showed that many people did not want to pay for a full service breakfast, wanted something fast and convenient, and “it was a good way for the brand to offer added value,” Bowers said.

About 55 percent of hotels offer complimentary breakfast, according to the most recent data available from the 2010 Lodging Survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The survey was conducted by STR.

“The Breakfast Wars,” have escalated in the last 5 years, Quilty said. Hotels now offer everything from custom omelets and fresh oatmeal to make-your-own waffles. Some offer special items every day, said Quilty, who has seen everyone from savvy travelers to cab drivers drop in at Hersha Hospitality properties for a quick free cup of coffee and a bite.

“I’ve seen people pull up in their cars, get out, wearing blazers and carrying briefcases, walk into the hotel, say ‘Hi,’ sit down and eat breakfast, read their newspaper, walk out and say, ‘Have a nice day,’ Quilty said. “If you can carry yourself like you belong, no one will ever question you. If a person seems out of place, often we will ask them to leave.” Staff will also remind them that the free breakfast is for guests. But Quilty said he generally didn’t mind if they grabbed a coffee as they could be former customers or future ones.

In addition, it is tough to determine who is a guest and who is not. At the company’s Hampton Inn & Suites property in Hershey, Pa., in the middle of summer there are sometimes 400 guests. “Our complimentary breakfast is like Grand Central Station for three hours every morning,” Quilty said. “You can’t monitor that. We don’t have the staff to do that.”

Quilty does not believe the buffet freeloading is widespread, nor is it the result of a bad economy. “It may occur more in cities than other places,” he said. But is there a large influx of people utilizing free breakfasts as a soup kitchen? I haven’t seen or heard that.”

“Like wedding crashers, freeloaders are few and far between,” said Joseph A. McInerney, president and chief executive of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, a hotel industry trade group. “It’s not a big deal. We don’t even track it,” he said. “The cost to track it would be much more than the savings.” Costs to the hotels from people eating free food are “miniscule,” said McInerney.

Not all experts concur that the problem is minor.

Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University, said buffets set up outside of hotel meeting rooms are even more of a draw than breakfast buffets.

There is often limited security as the buffets are in public areas. “Some hotels are very strict about this and look for name badges,” Hanson said. "If people do not have them, hotel staff will often ask people to present them or ask that they go back to the hotel room and get them. “This is an increasing problem for hotels,” he said.

Dandapani, of Apple Core Hotels, said that an equally important concern was the impact that non-guests can have, “including sometimes denying seating to the guests.”

In that case, Dandapani will remove the individuals “as discreetly as possible ... but almost never mid-way through the meal.”  The hotel staff “let them finish what they are eating.”

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