Destinations
Baku: F1 comes home to the city of bling
Vrrrooomm! Motor racing is coming home. For when the sport that burns more oil and rubber than any other takes to the streets of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the first time tomorrow, it will be in a setting awash with black gold and the wealth it generates. The city centre, where the Formula One circuit will loop and screech, has more bling than Lewis Hamilton – towers! neon! bigger! higher! – while out in the suburbs there are endless oilfields of blue nodding donkeys with red, skull-like heads. Drill down through this surreal urban fabric and you find a layered story – one that remains largely untold in the West…
— Telegraph (London)
What to do with 48 hours in Doha, the next Dubai
Doha may be under the radar of many Australian travellers but the Qatar capital is poised to become the next Dubai or even Hong Kong or Singapore — a place to regroup and shop while on a long-haul flight to Europe. Qatar is a peninsula jutting into the Persian Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia, with Iran across the Gulf and sharing water borders with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates…
— Escape
Tours and Activities
4 Roller Coasters That Put the Theme in Theme Park
When roller coasters made their way from Russia to France nearly 200 years ago, they quickly outshone the more routine amusements at park promenades. They are no less central to modern American theme parks, which by definition seek to unify the thrills under a setting or idea (or commercial brand). But do roller coasters ever stick to an actual theme?…
— New York Times
A bumpy bus ride through treacherous mountains in Sri Lanka
We decided that the best way to visit Sri Lanka would be a three-stage process. The first stage would consist of settling into the culture and time zone. That came to be on our first night at a nice hotel in Colombo. The second was to be our adventurous stage, where we would explore the island nation on the cheap and constantly on the move before we began phase three at a relaxing beach resort…
— Globe and Mail
Cruise
Another Royal Caribbean ship to get massive makeover
It's makeover time for another Royal Caribbean ship. The world's largest cruise line by passenger capacity has announced plans for a $61 million overhaul of the 3,114-passenger Adventure of the Seas -- the most its ever spent to upgrade a vessel…
— USA Today
AmaWaterways Christens Newest River Cruise Ship in Germany
AmaWaterways christened its newest ship, AmaViola, Wednesday, in the Bavarian town of Vilshofen. Despite the partly cloudy skies, everyone was in a celebratory mood as Godmother Jackie Friedman, president of Nexion travel agency, smashed a bottle of champagne on the river boat's hull…
— CruiseCritic.com
Transportation
Airlines With The Most Hidden Fees
Airline fees - every traveler’s nightmare. Getting hit with extra charges when you check a bag, finding out you have to pay to print your boarding pass and the shock of realization, when the airline tells you that you have to pay extra to travel with your sports equipment…
— The Huffington Post
Why no one's flying first class any more
"How often do you fly first class?" That was one of the questions I took from a listener on morning radio recently. "Not very often," was my reply. I've flown first class on international flights about five times. In the old days, 15 years or so ago, first class wasn't quite as swish as it is now. Service standards were high, and the sense of space in the front of the cabin was luxurious, but chairs didn't lie flat and the entertainment systems weren't as sophisticated as now…
— Sydney Morning Herald
Lodging
What to do at Colorado's Beaver Creek Resort in summer? Hike, dine, get a massage
The Osprey at Colorado’s Beaver Creek Resort is the closest hotel to a ski lift in North America, which is great for a winter visit. (It’s literally within spitting distance, if you are so inclined.) But there’s also good reason to visit in summer…
— LA Times
Cool Place of the Day: The Salutation Inn, Devon
Pubs may be closing by the dozen across Britain, but what sometimes gets forgotten is that many of them re-open, often as greatly enhanced incarnations of their former selves, and South Devon’s Salutation Inn is just such a place: a 17th-century pub that had hit hard times and was taken over and reopened as a restaurant with rooms – some might say fulfilling its original remit as a country inn, offering weary travellers shelter for the night along with a morsel of food and sustenance…
— The Independent
New London hotel offers artistic sensibilities at affordable prices
The Green Rooms hotel and creative space in north London will act as a low-cost base for visiting artists and encourage collaboration on projects…
— The Guardian
Other and Odd
An Antidote to Hatred After Orlando Attack
The recent terrorist attacks in Orlando, and before that, Paris, Istanbul, and Brussels, to name a few, are a collective assault on our prized freedoms to love, live, express ourselves, and worship as we choose. When I heard the tragic news on Sunday, I happen to have been re-reading Gloria Steinem’s autobiography, My Life on the Road. In it she so poignantly writes about the importance of travel as the surest means of getting outside of our own experience, of shedding prefixed notions and finding common ground with other people and cultures:…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Disney rep says company plans to 'thoroughly review' alligator signage after attack
A Disney official said Wednesday the company plans to “thoroughly review” its alligator warning signage around a resort where a 2-year-old boy was killed by a reptile that snatched him out of shallow water. The company official spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because Disney has yet to prepare a formal statement on the matter…
— Fox Travel News
If Zika May Derail A Trip, Look At 'Cancel-For-Any-Reason' Travel Insurance
Consumers worried that health issues might thwart a planned vacation may want to look into travel insurance that allows them to cancel the trip for any reason…
— NPR
Today in History
Abraham Lincoln Accepts Illinois Republican Nomination for Senate
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." With these words, Abraham Lincoln accepted the Illinois Republican Party nomination for Senate. The now famous quote was a fitting beginning to the well-publicized and dramatic Lincoln-Douglas Debates between Lincoln and Democratic nominee Stephen Douglas…
— Travel Research Online
Reading Between the Lines
Become the Exception: Myth #4 – Stress is Inevitable
 Another myth in our profession is that stress, like rejection, is inevitable. In truth, the two often do travel together, weighing down the carrier. But is this condition necessary? Most definitely not!
During my live presentations I ask people in the audience if stress plays a role in their everyday work environments. Without exception, everyone nods in agreement and the room is salted with giggles and laughter. (Ask the same audience if they have some disease, and you get a very somber response. Yet stress can become very debilitating. So, why do so many people take stress so lightly?)
It’s obvious that a lot of sales professionals feel stress. But stress does not have to rule your life; you were not born with stress. It is something…
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
|
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!
|
 |
|
