Radio & TV Show Host Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams Announces
2008 Plans to Take Shows on the Road with January Broadcasts from USVI

Berkshire County, MA – December 2007 – Travel expert radio and TV show host Stephanie Abrams announced today the schedule for 2008 remote broadcasts of the nationally syndicated radio shows Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams and Traveling Feet and TV’s JetSet411. January 2008 kicks off with six broadcasts from the US Virgin Islands with two shows each from the Westin St. John, St. Thomas’ Marriott’s Frenchman’s Reef and Bolongo Bay Resort. The three properties were chosen to highlight the wide array of accommodations and facilities, uniquely different locations and appeal to various budget capabilities, requirements and needs of different niche market sectors. Other 2008 broadcasts are scheduled for Boston in conjunction with the Boston Globe Travel Show, New York City in conjunction with the NYTimes Travel Show, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and Jamaica. Additional broadcasts from France, Monte Carlo and long-distance Amtrak experiences roundtrip Montreal and cross-country are in the planning. Programming details, remote broadcast locations, travel tips, archived audio of all radio shows going back to July 2002, and a comprehensive photo gallery associated with Abrams’ travels and Hotel Monthly feature are easily located at www.sabrams.com.

Westin St. Marten Hotel

Abrams’ January programming includes broadcasts from St. Thomas and St. John in the US Virgin Islands. “We’re going to broadcast four shows from St. Thomas and two from St. John in which we will feature three very different properties in three very different locations, each with its own unique appeal. “There is a very special place in my heart for the US Virgin Islands,” says Abrams. “It’s America’s own, unique tropical paradise which I think has become completely misunderstood. We’ll be broadcasting from the Westin St. John which is a luxurious resort for people who value seclusion in a beachcomber’s paradise with every possible luxury, amenity and activity in the perfect place to shake off the tensions and challenges of the world. In St. Thomas, we’ll do two broadcasts from Marriott’s Frenchman’s Reef and two from Bolongo Bay Resort, each uniquely different and each appealing to a very different segment of travelers. I think it’s very important for my audiences to learn about this variety of locations and styles of accommodations and know that there is a place that appeals to their taste, strives to exceed expectations, and that there is something for every budget and age group from singles to couples and families and also for those who are looking for the perfect place for their next conference, convention, reunion or destination wedding,” Abrams notes.

When asked why she chose the USVI to kick off 2008 programming for her nationally syndicated radio shows, Abrams responds, “I think the US Virgin Islands is a misunderstood destination and I want travelers to have insights into this destination that they are not going to get from any other media source. What we do is bring the destination to life for my audiences on the air and at my award-winning website, www.sabrams.com, to give them a true picture of what the destination really has to offer the traveler. Not enough travelers have ever stayed in the USVI! We are so blessed to have this incredible island group as our own tropical paradise and yet most people who boast that they’ve been to the USVI have come in by ship, gone shopping, which you can’t blame them for since the shopping is fantastic and the US Customs allowance is $1600 per person, compared with $800 per person from elsewhere in the Caribbean, and left without ever seeing these glorious islands.

What’s more tragic,” Abrams continues, “is that these cruise passengers now think they have seen the USVI! The hors d’oeuvres of stopping for a few hours before running back to a cruise ship cannot give the traveler the sense of wonderment that comes from really spending time in the USVI, exploring the islands’ beaches, mountaintops, and historic sites, and immersing one’s spirit in this glorious destination. When I hear people talk about the USVI only from its one-dimensional facet of its extraordinary shopping opportunities, it is clear to me that they didn’t stay long enough to go anywhere, do anything, or see anything. It reminds me of the story of the blindfolded man standing next to an elephant and being asked to describe what animal he was next to. When the man put out his hand, he grabbed the elephant’s tail and was certain he was standing next to a snake.

To a large degree, the person who never leaves the shopping areas of St. Thomas only touches the “tail” of this elephant-sized bundle of reasons to spend extended periods of time in the amazing USVI which are filled with indescribable natural beauty, pampering hotels, resorts and restaurants, historic sites and an overall experience that is bound to exceed the expectations of the most sophisticated travelers when they actually give the USVI a chance to interact with the them. That means that visitors need to spend more than 5 hours before cruising off and thinking they’ve actually been there! Personally, the part I hate about the USVI, in general, and St. Thomas, in particular, is leaving! And it’s all-American so, for the US citizen, you don’t even need a passport!” Abrams concludes.

“The wonderful thing about radio,” Abrams explains, “is that we can broadcast from anywhere with a telephone line and an electric outlet! We bring all the electronic equipment that creates broadcast-quality transmission, plug it in, and connect to the networks to take my audiences to meet destinations and suppliers that I believe travelers will return from uplifted, enriched, inspired, enhanced and know that they are better people for the experience!” Abrams explains. When not traveling, Abrams broadcasts from her radio studio at the Berkshire Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pittsfield, MA which she describes weekly on the air as, “The beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts.”

Since Abrams went on the air with Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams, now in its sixth year, the show has broadcast from such exotic destinations as Hawaii and Hong Kong as well as such glamorous locations as Monte Carlo, and, in France, the Intercontinental Carlton in Cannes, Chateau Divonne in Divonne-les-Bains and Hotel Du Palais in Biarritz, in Ireland from Dublin’s Merrion Hotel, Galway’s Glenlo Abbey and the Galway Bay Hotel, The Sandhouse in Donegal, Ashford Castle and Lisloughery Lodge in Cong, Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis, The Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle and the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, Dalhousie Castle in Bonnie Rigg and Cringletie House in Peebles, Scotland. Caribbean destinations from which travel expert Abrams has broadcast both radio shows include: Westin Casuarina in Grand Cayman, Westin Dawn Beach in St. Maarten, The Body Holiday Le Sport and Jalousie Plantation in St. Lucia, and, most recently, from the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.

“We literally have broadcast from just about everywhere including: the beachside restaurant at the Aruba Marriott, the casino in St. Maarten and in Las Vegas, a terrace behind Diamond Head in Hawaii, a board room in Cannes and in Monte Carlo, the lobby of the new Intercontinental Boston Hotel, the pool bar in St. Maarten, the library of a chateau, Continental Airline’s Presidents Club at Newark Airport, American Airline’s Admirals Club at JFK, the library of the 10th Duke of Roxburghe in his castle home, the lobby of the Flatotel in NYC, and from Patsy’s Italian Restaurant, known as the restaurant that Frank Sinatra made famous, on 56th Street in NYC, with Keely Smith as a special guest. Being able to go places is a wonderful asset for our audiences to get the facts from the people who deliver the travel experience,” Abrams notes.

“I’m continually disappointing authors and journalists who want to share their opinions of destinations on the air with my audiences because I’d rather provide a forum for those who really know the product and deliver the destination and who invest their lives and passions providing special experiences to travelers. I choose destinations and suppliers carefully to provide insights into unique travel opportunities, for the business and leisure traveler, to educate them on the charm, magic and mystique of places they may know little about,” Abrams states. “The US Virgin Islands is a perfect fit for my mission.”

In addition to being heard on radio, all shows are archived at www.sabrams.com.