Destinations
36 Hours in Valencia, Spain
It’s been several years since Valencia unveiled the last major structure in a complex of headline-grabbing architectural landmarks — among them a futuristic aquarium, opera house and science museum — collectively known as the City of Arts and Sciences. But don’t think that Spain’s third-largest city has been idling since then. Flashes of innovation have continued to transform every corner of this perpetually sunny metropolis, from creative restaurants reinterpreting culinary traditions to daring street artists animating historic lanes. Influences now range from Moorish to modern, yet some things in Valencia, like a perfect pan of paella,remain thankfully unchanged…
— New York Times
The Best Vacation Spot in Every U.S. State
Whether you’re planning a last-minute getaway or a serious vacation five months out, you don’t have to jet-set across the globe to get away from it all. As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to look much further than your own backyard. Here, the best vacation spot in every single U.S. state…
— The Huffington Post
Tours and Activities
Myanmar hill country tour focuses on villages, temples
See ancient Buddhist temples and visit tribal villages on a 12-day Mountain Travel Sobek tour of Myanmar. The tour focuses on the road less traveled, visiting the nation's rural countryside, where participants will hike on forested trails that will bring them to places such as Inle Lake…
— LA Times
An Ikea museum is opening in Sweden
Flat-pack furniture fans around the world have cause for celebration as the world's first Ikea museum is set to open in Sweden at the end of the month…
— Telegraph (London)
Where To Eat When Visiting Rome
When the weather turns nice, the sunset lingers and it feels like night will never come, you need to dine outside in Rome (or have breakfast or lunch) on a terrace or in a garden. Here are five lovely choices, recommended by natives or adopted Romans…
— The Huffington Post
Cruise
Want to cruise through the new Panama Canal locks? Here's how
Call it a new era for Panama Canal cruises. The official opening of the 48-mile-long waterway's massive new locks on Sunday will add a new twist to what long has been a bucket list item for cruising fans…
— USA Today
Cunard Line's QM2 Cruise Ship Arrives in Southampton Following £90m "Remastering"
Following a £90m 25-day dry dock "remastering," Cunard's Queen Mary 2 sailed into Southampton this morning ahead of its first post-refit Transatlantic crossing. QM2 left the Blohm Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday June 22, where the ship received its most significant update in its 12-year history…
— CruiseCritic.com
Transportation
This New Airline Will Give Majority of Profits to Charity
Donated miles and free flights occasionally make the news, but what if "charity" and "airlines" became words more often paired together? Thanks to a new airline looking to launch two direct routes out of London, that may soon change: POP, or People Over Profit, is in the midst of its crowdfunded launch, from which it hopes to raise some $7.3 million in order to begin flying to Indian cities Amritsar and Ahmedabad from London's Stansted Airport. Should the launch be a success, the airline would be the first carrier to offer non-stop services to both cities from the United Kingdom…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Alaska Air: Portland-Orlando latest in transcontinental expansion
Alaska Airlines will fly nonstop to Orlando from its hub in Portland, Ore., the carrier announced Tuesday. Starting March 16, the airline will offer one daily round-trip flight between the cities, becoming the only carrier to fly nonstop on the route. It also marks a resumption of a route Alaska Airlines discontinued in 2008, according to the Airline Route blog…
— USA Today
Lodging
Hotels bringing nature indoors
To help guests feel calm and closer to nature, hotels are bringing the outdoors inside. At Ellerman House in Cape Town, South Africa, the hotel’s wine gallery was influenced by the Japanese design principle of katei, which weaves the outdoors into architectural spaces; the gallery looks out at an extensive vertical garden featuring indigenous plants, a koi pond and a landscaped walkway…
— Globe and Mail
Hosteling in New England
Forget your preconceived notions about hostels (dingy, dirty, and dangerous). Today, hostels come with a variety of top-notch services and amenities…
— The Boston Globe
Top places to stay in Ubud for a different side of Bali
Most visitors to Bali make their base in the beachside towns of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. But the mountain town of Ubud, one hour north of Denpasar airport, attracts many Australians seeking a unique experience. “Ubud offers tourists a chance to see a different side of Bali,” says Dipak Kumar, managing director of Cantik Bali Villas…
— Escape
Other and Odd
What Brexit means for your holiday
With the peak travel season about to begin, millions of British holidaymakers are about to discover the immediate effects of the Leave vote in pushing up prices abroad. Longer term, there will be more big changes…
— The Independent
Top five: surviving long journeys with kids – in pictures
Holidays are great – if you survive the long car/plane/train journey to get there. There are only so many times you can answer the question ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ without going nuclear. Here are five toys to provide the odd moment of peace and quiet…
— The Guardian
Today in History
Dancing Mania Breaks Out in Germany
On this day in 1374, a severe outbreak of "dancing mania", also known as "St. John's Dance" or "dancing plague", occurred in Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany. This particular outbreak soon spread across the European continent, as far as Italy, Luxembourg and France…
— Travel Research Online
Agent Perspectives
No more shiny objects for you
by Laura Frazier
Friday June 24, 2016
 If you’ve been in this business for very long, it’s likely at some point you’ve found yourself completely overwhelmed with the things you’re supposed to do. Are you on social media? Do you have this app? What about this CRM? Have you done this online course? What about listening to this marketing pitch? It’s hard to know who to pay attention to, where to invest your money, and how to most wisely use the only asset you really have — your time.
There is certainly no shortage of companies offering some kind of service, training course, or certification designed to help you grow your business. The issue, of course, is that not every solution works for everyone. It’s easy to burn through hundreds of dollars and…
— Travel Research Online
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Reading Between the Lines
Become the Exception: 10-Step Selling System, Part 3
 Step #7: Collect
Once you’ve rendered the service and the customer is pleased with your efforts, quickly collect the monies that are owed you. If this sounds obvious to you, join the club. But, you’d be surprised how many people provide a service and never get paid for one of a zillion reasons. The most frequent reason is that they don’t have a system in place to automatically collect invoices. (There it is again, the need for a system.)…
— Travel Research Online
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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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