There’s a new breed of spacey travel agent
About 45 agents in the US and 100 worldwide are getting certified to sell seats on SpaceShipTwo, the craft developed by Richard Branson’s commercial space travel company, Virgin Galactic.
A model of SpaceShipTwo was unveiled at a New York news conference. A working prototype is expected to be in test flights this summer, and commercial flights could begin in two years.
One of the participants was a Raleigh-based agent, Tony Maupin. He thinks he can sell space travel even if it costs $200,000 for a two-hour trip. He predicts that in 10 years, 50,000 people will have flown into space.
“I’ve wanted to go into space ever since I was a kid,” Mr Maupin said. He said the trips will be safe.
“If anything does happen, if the engine doesn’t work, you just glide back down to Earth,” he said. “It’s extremely safe, probably safer than you and I getting in our car and driving to the beach.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025