2012 was a great year in travel for me personally and professionally. I started getting serious about turning my travel stuff into a business; which has been going great! I started doing a lot more press, writing and TV including a show on Travel Channel and a regular spot on Fox News. I also did other appearances on CNN, NBC and several other networks plus a few commercials and independently produced travel shows. Additionally, I have 3 different travel shows currently in discussions with cable networks and I am very excited to see where they go.

This year I also partnered and worked with many different brands including airlines, credit cards, hotels, clothing, beverage and even candy companies. I am very excited to see what 2013 brings in terms of partnerships.

It was a very different kind of travel year for me. Since I completed my goal in 2011 to visit every country in the world, I traveled to less different countries than I normally do and started doing trips for work. Previous to this year, I had never done a press or sponsored trip before. I also did a lot of road trips this year and traveled a lot around the United States.

Here are some highlights of my 2012 travel year and also some stats by the numbers.

Number of countries visited in 2012 according to the Travelers Century Club list: 35

Number of miles flown: 165,000 (this number is approximate because many airlines I fly do not offer frequent flier miles so it’s difficult to keep track-plus I don’t really pay too much attention to this type of thing)

Number of Miles Traveled: 200,000 (this approximate number takes into account miles traveled via ferry, yacht, horse, camel, bus, car, train, walking, etc.)

Travel Highlight of 2012: Sailing to Pitcairn Island and the remote islands of French Polynesia including the Marquesas and the Gambier Archipelago…also hiking around Greenland and Norway.

Other travel highlights of 2012: Japan, Panama, Bora Bora, Maui, Road trip around Southwestern Europe, Memphis, Avignon, Bulgaria, Singapore, Burma, Fort Worth, Bali

Random Travel Highlight of 2012: Throwing a Bachelor Party in Kiev, Ukraine for my friend Mike

Best Sporting Event Attended in 2012: SEC Football in Columbia, South Carolina…Georgia vs South Carolina…best atmosphere I’ve ever seen at a college game and I’ve been to hundreds

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