Destinations
Booze, bison and babushkas – 25 things you didn’t know about Belarus
To mark 25 years since an independent Belarus was formally recognised, here are some remarkable facts about it…
— Telegraph (London)
36 Hours in Belgrade
Epic night life, thriving cafe culture, hearty meals and emerging, design-conscious industrial districts: Belgrade has a gritty, distinctive appeal…
— New York Times
Tours and Activities
The 9 Most Scenic Hot-Air Balloon Rides in the World
Revel in 360-degree views of Earth's most scenic landscapes, hovering high and low on a thrilling hot-air balloon ride. Only the adventurous need apply…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Can Girls Travel To India Alone?
“You absolutely can’t go to India alone.” I heard this sentence nearly every day for months before ignoring multiple people’s opinions and boarding a plane to Bangalore. Two weeks ago I returned to England. Feeling safe, happy and more independent than ever before…
— The Huffington Post
Cruise
'Frozen' musical on Disney Wonder will embrace puppets, lasers
We know the songs that will be in the new "Frozen" musical coming to the Disney Wonder cruise ship this fall, but it's the technology Disney Cruise Line hopes will set it apart. While remarkable puppetry isn't new to the cruise line's on-board productions, "Frozen: A Musical Spectacular" will have much more than any other including major characters Olaf the snowman and Sven the reindeer…
— Sun Sentinel
Where luxury meets danger: Inside the first Northwest Passage cruise
Cruise captains usually don’t celebrate icy waters. But thanks in large part to climate change, Captain Birger J. Vorland is confident he’s about to make history sailing through Northwest Passage. Like his predecessor, Roald Amundsen, Vorland is Norwegian. But unlike Amundsen, who took three years to complete the first successful all-water crossing in 1906, Vorland will do it in 32 days…
— Fox Travel News
Carnival Adds 14-Night Alaska Cruise to Carnival Journeys Sailings
As part of its series of Carnival Journeys enrichment voyages, Carnival Cruise Line will offer a 14-night Alaska sailing on Carnival Miracle, traveling roundtrip from Los Angeles' Long Beach on September 2, 2017…
— CruiseCritic.com
Transportation
Report: 'Blame the airlines for flight delays, not the weather'
“Blame the airlines for flight delays, not the weather.” At least that’s the take from Bloomberg News, which crunched federal data and came to the conclusion that “airline miscues” such as mechanical issues and crew scheduling are now the leading cause of U.S. flight delays…
— USA Today
When will the airport liquids ban end?
It's 10 years this month since the “liquid bomb plot” was uncovered, leading to the current draconian rules that limit individual liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) to 100ml containers, all within a clear, resealable bag…
— The Independent
Lodging
The World’s Most Remote Hotel Gets a Luxury Makeover
White Desert’s Whichaway Camp, a boutique hotel with six specialized pods in the Dronning Maud Land region in Antarctica, sits tucked away in a remote terrain hosting a stunning scenery of ice waves and frozen lakes…
— Travel Leisure
Notel is the latest urban glamping to set up on a Melbourne rooftop
It’s a caravan park, but not as you know it. Six shiny Airstream trailers, perched on a Melbourne rooftop, have been refitted as designer urban accommodation to add some serious glam to the growing urban camping trend…
— Escape
Derelict luxury hotels around the world
When it comes to ruined buildings, it's hard to match the poignancy of an abandoned luxury hotel. Once they were places where the wealthy came to play or the less fortunate came to experience a glamor beyond their usual means…
— CNN
Other and Odd
Is everyone really naked? 10 common misconceptions about Burning Man festival
Burning Man kicks off this weekend in Nevada. You know the one. It's that festival where all the stoned hippies run around naked in the desert setting bonfires. Or wait, is it the one where P. Diddy and Mark Zuckerberg wear costumes and pop champagne bottles while dancing to EDM? Whatever you think you know about Burning Man, here are some common myths dispelled…
— Sydney Morning Herald
This man is on a mission to run 26 miles through all 59 national parks
Bill Sycalik recently ran a little over 26 miles through the jagged peaks, flat grasslands and gently sloping valleys of South Dakota's Badlands National Park. The week before, he successfully avoided two bison herds at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota…
— NBC
Woman survives month in New Zealand mountains after partner died on hike
A Czech woman found alive in a remote mountain cabin in New Zealand has told police she spent a month there alone after her partner fell and died on a hiking trail. The woman was found on Wednesday at a warden’s hut on the famous Routeburn track, which winds through a spectacular gorge in the mountains of Fiordland national park in the South Island…
— The Guardian
Today in History
The Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation reached its climax in late August, 1944. Nazi Germany had occupied and administered Paris since June, 1940 in collaboration with the puppet Viche regime…
— Travel Research Online
Reading Between the Lines
Black Book of Connections: Are You Friendly?
 “Do you consider yourself a friendly person?”
The Little Black Book of Connections by Jeffrey Gitomer, page 138
If you do not answer this question in the affirmative, then I will become instantly flabbergasted. We all think/believe we are affable teddy bears.
The hard truth is… many of you are not. In golf the phrase is, “Feel vs Real.” What you feel is happening may not be what is really happening…
— Travel Research Online
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TRO SMITH
Social Marketing Habits You Can Adopt and Ditch This Fall
by Catherine Heeg
Thursday August 25, 2016
 What’s so special about 21 days?
Experts say that’s how long it takes for us to form a habit. At the beginning of summer it sure seemed simple to fall into ‘easy livin’. Now that fall is nearly here, what social marketing habits can you start or reform? Which ones can you leave behind permanently? The start of a new season is a great reason to rethink some old habits to see if they’re still working for you…
— Travel Research Online
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Luxury Travel Tips
The Chicken or the Egg?
by Dan Chappelle
Thursday August 25, 2016
 I had an interesting conversation with a student of my online program a few weeks ago. She lives not far from me, so instead of the usual phone consultation I asked if she would meet me for coffee. It was a beautiful Seattle morning and as we talked, part of her story had a familiar ring to it. In fact, I hear it so often, I have come to expect it.
She has been in business for about a year and has done everything her host/franchisor instructed. She wrote a marketing and branding plan, built a website, became active in social media, and participated in numerous product webinars, but something was missing. That something is “Sales”. They trickled in here and there, but not enough to…
— 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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