The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 230

Ml.ll-.lll.il. TV i M14 Travel Boston Sunday Globe APRIL 14, 2002 fM fc IT He travels free, courtesy of cyberspace 7 In return, he provides links to the companies involved on his Web site. All his clothes are provided by a sponsor, as are his laptop computer and digital camera with which he regularly updates his Web site. When you open up his Web site, a separate sponsor's site automatically opens. "Without sponsors, I'd be sitting here in the nude," he says, lighting a cigarette 1' 41 7 i 1 Vv from a pack given to him by a fellow backpacker.

Without sponsors, Stoppelenburg has become a France aims to stay tops in tourism Associated Press I i NEW YORK France, which hosts more tourists than any other country in the world, hopes to stay on top this summer with a new Jaime la France I Love France campaign. 1 Initiatives include a new summer high-speed train between London and Avignon, in southern France, increased Air France flights from US gateways to Paris, and additional offerings from Rail Europe, including new customize online packaging. Early indications suggest tourism is picking up from the doldrums it suffered after the terrorists attacks in September, according to representatives of both Rail Europe and Air France, speaking here recently at the launch of the new campaign. Despite the unrest and a faltering worldwide economy, France had 76.5 million tourists last year, 3 million of them from the United States, according to figures from the French government tourist office. It was their 1 1th straight year as the world's No.

1 tourist destination. Air France says it will have increased summer service between Paris and Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington. Meanwhile, Rail Europe's new customized allows travelers to fix their own itineraries, as well as add rail, plane, hotel, or car reservations. he wouidnt be sitting cyber celebrity in Sydney at all. A European back- WlthlliSWeD site on which he turn flight to anneals for gets free to stay on world ByMikeCorder ASSOCIATED PRESS SYDNEY From a tower room in a majestic Irish castle to a mattress on a Parisian student's floor, to a Sydney backpackers' hostel, Dutch traveler Ramon Stoppelen-burg's lodgings have one thing in common: He doesnt pay for them.

"Not a cent," he says, sitting next to his backpack on a recent stop in Australia's most populous city. Stoppelenburg has become a cyber celebrity with his Web site http:www.letmestayforaday on which he appeals for and gets free places to stay on his travels to the four corners of the world. His latest port of call is Sydney, but in the past year he has visited countries across Europe, been to South Africa, and stopped off briefly in Hong Kong, relying on the hospitality of strangers wherever he goes. Many, many people have called him a freeloader, Stoppelenburg admits. But more wish they'd had his idea first "I hear that maybe 20 times a day," he says after accepting a strawberry shake courtesy of The Associated Press.

It's not just a roof over his head that Stoppelenburg seeks. While in Sydney, he climbed the Harbor Bridge for free normally it costs $63, took a jet boat ride on the harbor and even went on a free pub crawl, all drinks paid for by a local travel company. 01 3 Caracas tn Guatemala tlij Belize tJTj Bogota Honduras tiijj Peru lBI Panama KJScosta Rica JJJ Brazil RTjEcuador Mexico City Eg Chile r8aManaguaraJEISalvadwS WORLD TRADE TRAVEL (800) 732-7386 Australia and Australian authorities in the Netherlands waived the $26.46 fee for his six-month tourist visa, Stoppelenburg says. A A and places his travels. In exchange for all this largesse, Stoppelenburg writes about his adventures in a regularly updated travel diary posted on his Web site.

The site provides information on where Stoppelenburg has been and for those who would like to offer him a bed where he's headed. It also gives biographical details, reviews equipment Stoppelenburg is using, like his digital camera, and even lists his favorite Calllornta. Ja-lergCpt 405 tNHrobiURO. 410 London 1 89 Uari.MJKrMk W. Africa, 390 rwMBmiOii WoSao 190 Rom.rui 199 Australia 48S re'scw 190 books: "On The Road" by Jack Ker-ouac is there, as is Douglas Adams's "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide." Stoppelenburg insists his life on the road is not always easy he endures an endless litany of questions from his hosts, providing the same answers to the same questions day after day.

He also has to put up with his hosts constantly wanting to entertain him. "Some nights I just want to stay in and watch a video," he says. Stoppelenburg insists his round-the-world jaunt and his widely read diary carry a positive message. "It shows, even after Sept. 11, that people dont need to be scared.

There are so many good people out there he says. Certainly, hospi tality is not a problem in Australia. After appearing on a current affairs television show, Stoppelenburg was flooded with e-mails offering places to stay. One year into his trip, Stoppelenburg has received more than 3,000 offers from 67 countries. It all adds up to a very cheap vacation.

So far, he claims to have spent just $35 on registering his Web site's domain name. And he's not done yet "New Zealand is pretty close to i.tii-M.'iiM.'i.j.fi.'i'ii -jy TtkyoAhskt 900 Blig32IVBMtU3Ti JohmjCaptrim Owwl PntM149SHIWt M1l7ltlCt)1H tmmmum in MMCMSOoiMOIflO Cm170ISMMttiM BnAlrwennl .290 WWW. 'WV 7 Day Rome from 899 5 Rome 9 Day by Rail 1399 2 Venice, 3 Florence, 2 Rome 8 Day Classic Escorted 1349 2 Rome, 2 Florence 2 Venice 8 Day Sicily Escorted -1439 raiermo, i Agrigemo, i laormina i-11 Day Enchanting Escorted ftm 2 Venice, 2 Florence, 3 Rome, 2 Sorrento Includes: Airfare from Boston, hotels, meals transfers. (7 day Rome only includes airfare hotel) For more details see vvwvv.gate1travel.com More of the world for less. 1 cs Ss 2 5rffl TRAVEL Call your travel agent or 800-682-3333 Boston Bermuda.com BlNORWEGIAN SS CIU1U UNI BLOWOUT SALE! J599 Save up to 50 on Sightseeing Shopping wour Exclusive Bermuda Card 2003 GROUPS CALL FOR EARLY BOOKING RATES AP PHOTO free milk shake in Sydney.

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