Destinations
36 Hours on Oahu
Every day, planeloads of visitors arrive in Honolulu, ready to make a beeline to Waikiki and other iconic spots around Hawaii’s capital: places like Diamond Head, Chinatown, Pearl Harbor and urban beach gems like Kapiolani and Ala Moana…
— New York Times
Five hidden vacation gems from across Canada
From paddling with beluga whales as the sun sets over Hudson Bay to camping out on an Atikamekw reserve in a romantic teepee, Canada offers extraordinary variety and astounding natural beauty…
— Globe and Mail
Roadtripping through Croatia and beyond
It’s hard to find, but tucked into Ban Jelacic Square, crowded with pedestrians and old-fashioned tram cars, is Europe’s shortest funicular. Grand funiculars typically take you high into the air, but this little one is like an old subway car on inclined tracks. After one minute, it lets you out at a spot overlooking the city and rows of red-tiled roof tops and stucco buildings…
— The Boston Globe
Tours and Activities
Need a digital detox? Places to go to really unplug (no cheating allowed)
If you can't stop Instagramming or texting on your next trip to the great outdoors (and apparently you cannot), you may need help. Outfitter Camp Grounded, billed as a California summer camp for adults (they're motto: "disconnect to reconnect"), and international tour operator Intrepid Travel offer "digital detox" adventures that simply prohibit computers, cellphones and digital cameras…
— LA Times
Architecture Tour of Beverly Hills (plus West Hollywood)
Tour buses take loads of visitors around Beverly Hills, a city synonymous with the lifestyles of the rich and famous, to gawk at mega-mansions where stars allegedly live or once did. Far more interesting and far less visible to the naked eye is the landscape master plan for “the most fabulous six square miles on earth,” which attracted celebrities the long 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles, where the movie palaces were in the 1920s…
— The Huffington Post
Cruise
Holland America Line Releases Name for Next Pinnacle-Class Cruise Ship
The second Pinnacle-class ship in Holland America Line's fleet, slated to arrive in fall 2018, will be called Nieuw Statendam. The 2,650-passenger ship will be the sixth vessel in the line's history to bear the name Statendam. Construction will begin this summer at the Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Italy…
— CruiseCritic.com
The happiest cruise on the sea
I know I'm on a good ship when I return to my cabin on my first day and find a bookmark tucked into the book on my bedside table. I'm ridiculously pleased with this attention to detail, feeling it bodes well – and I'm not wrong. Over the next few days, I notice signs of excellent service everywhere. Waiters wrap my teabag string around the handle of my cup so the label doesn't fall into my tea. The housekeeper notices that I don't have enough hangars and volunteers to supply more…
— Sydney Morning Herald
Transportation
American Airlines paying $4 million to hire help for TSA
American Airlines is kicking in millions of its own dollars to hire workers to help manage – and hopefully speed up – airport security lines. “We will spend an additional $4 million to provide contract staff at our U.S. hubs and gateways,” Robert Isom, American’s chief operating officer, said in a Wednesday letter to employees. “The money will fund contract staff to relieve TSA officers from non-screening functions, like bin running and queue management, so that TSA officers can focus solely on the screening and security aspects of their jobs.”…
— USA Today
EgyptAir crash likely to have been caused by struggle in the cockpit
One man is certain about what caused the loss of EgyptAir flight MS804 and the deaths of the 66 people on board. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said: “If anyone thinks it wasn’t blown out of the sky, you are 100 per cent wrong.” But no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the loss of the jet from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cairo. Investigators are considering a wide range of possible causes of besides a terrorist bomb…
— The Independent
Lodging
How can hotels justify single supplements?
I received an email recently from a particularly irate reader, asking if I could “kick the proverbial backside” of hotels and tour operators (and also, no doubt, cruise companies) that impose “horrendous” surcharges on single travellers…
— Telegraph (London)
How You Can Stay in an Eiffel Tower Apartment This Summer
Gustave Eiffel famously put a small, private apartment inside the 984-foot tower he built, for those moments when he wanted to really lord it over the city. (Only the lucky few had access—Thomas Edison was one such VIP.) If you've ever dreamed of following in Eiffel's footsteps, HomeAway has outfitted a 2,000-square-foot apartment (not Gustave's) inside the Eiffel Tower, which one lucky winner can have access to for a night. (Better still: The contest is timed to the UEFA Euro 2016 soccer championship, in France this June.)…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Other and Odd
'Coachella For Dogs' is Coming to New York
Who says humans get to have all the fun? BarkFest 2016 is a festival just for dogs that is taking place in New York City on May 22 and will feature a main stage of music and celebridog appearances…
— Travel Leisure
How to turn your next vacation into a once-in-a-lifetime expedition
Way to go, millennials! Kudos to your parents for passing on their love for travel. Now, though, you aren't waiting to take your kids on adventures -- even to places like Antarctica, once the purview of senior citizens…
— Fox Travel News
Stay at a Trump hotel? Survey says no
Donald Trump could be in trouble. Not Trump the presidential candidate. It's Trump's hotel brand that may be hurting, according to a recent Skift survey. Travel site Skift polled 2,028 U.S. adult Internet users using Google Consumer Surveys, asking them just one question: Are you more likely or less likely to stay in a Trump Hotel because of Donald Trump's presidential campaign?…
— CNN
Today in History
The First Council of Nicaea
Roman Emperor Constantine wanted to unify the Roman empire. His plan depended in part on unifying the emerging Christian religion. He convened a council of nearly 1800 Christian bishops in Nicaea to solidify Christian doctrine…
— Travel Research Online
Reading Between the Lines
Launch: The Power is in the List
“The first step in your seed launch is to build some type of micro list.”
Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams — Jeff Walker, page 120
Amazon was the first company who saw the value in building “the list.” Look at them now. “The Power Is In The List.” That holds true in my business and it holds true in your business.…
— Travel Research Online Read the rest of this article »
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TRO and The Travel Institute Scholarship Program
TRO believes ongoing training is important to the health of the travel professional. Therefore, we have partnered with The Travel Institute to assist travel agents to earn their Certified Travel Associate designation. TRO will be awarding a $100 scholarship to at least one attendee of TRO webinars each webinar. If you want to be considered for the scholarship you need only to register here:
http://www.thetravelinstitute.com/troscholarship/
…and then attend TRO’s webinars. Winners will be selected and notified immediately after each webinar!
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