Destinations
Why You Should Visit Oman, the Gulf's Undiscovered Gem
In Oman, people like to tell you how wrong you are about the weather. They do so with a sort of grim triumph, as if reminding you that your bouncy American optimism doesn’t work here. “It’s a beautiful day!” you might chirp to Rashid, the man who’ll drive you in a Land Cruiser deep into the Wahiba Sands, the nearly 5,000-square-mile desert that abuts Yemen and where you’ll be camping in a goat-hair tent for the night…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Europe's artisan city that invented Ferrari's first engine
I watch mesmerised as three dust-covered sculptors use power tools to carve a 20-tonne block of dazzling white marble. One of them is wearing a hat made out of newspaper, the traditional headgear of choice for local artisans. Eventually, the block will be transformed into a six-metre-long sculpture of the Holy Mother, a scaled up version of a wooden model on a table nearby…
— Traveller
Tours and Activities
A Food Lover's Guide to Montreal
Somehow, despite years of innovative restaurants opened by up-and-coming chefs, Montreal is still quietly—emphasis on quietly—home to one of the most flourishing food scenes in North America. So while your friends wait in line at a hyped new restaurant in New York City's East Village, you can hop on a one-hour flight to Canada, on your way to a restaurant that’s actually worth the hype—without the wait…
— Condé Nast Traveler
Where to find the best classic Southern comfort food in New Orleans
A small crowd has gathered outside a corner restaurant in the New Orleans neighbourhood of Treme, waiting for its doors to open for lunch service. A young woman breaks the line to wiggle the handle and peer through a window, apologising for her impatience as she reclaims her position in the searing Louisiana midday sun…
— Traveller
Cruise
Cruising around the world in 115 days
What it's like to be aboard Holland America's Amsterdam on a 115-day world cruise, hitting 40-plus ports on five continents…
— Chicago Tribune
Chef Jacques Pepin to host cruise for foodies
Celebrity chef Jacques Pepin will host a special cruise for foodies next summer in the Mediterranean. Oceania Cruises says the well-known TV cooking show host and author of more than 20 cookbooks will lead a 10-day voyage from London to Copenhagen that kicks off June 2…
— USA Today
Transportation
Holy water and wedding dresses: the weirdest items left behind at UK airports
If you have ever left anything behind at an airport, it will be of some comfort to learn that you are one of many – and hopefully it wasn’t you who misplaced their wedding dress or that bottle of holy water…
— Telegraph (London)
I tried out 5 cheap airlines this summer. Here's what I found
Budget airlines are back and battling their way into the public's affections, in some cases. In other cases, they're the carriers we love to hate. But budget doesn't always mean bad…
— LA Times
Lodging
The original Ice Hotel in Swedish Lapland is cold comfort
“At 3.30pm there will be a lesson on how to sleep in your room,” said the glacier-blue-eyed blonde behind the desk. We laughed. The girl nodded knowingly, watching as we absorbed the gravity of sleeping in a room made of ice kept at a constant temperature of -5C…
— Escape
Chinese hotels reportedly ordered to reject guests from Muslim-majority countries
Workers at several budget hotels in Guangzhou said that they were ordered as far back as March to deny guests from Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan…
— Fox Travel News
10 of the best back-to-nature stays in England
Plant yourself in the midst of glorious English countryside in our pick of rustic accommodation, including hostels, cosy cottages and glampsites…
— The Guardian
Other and Odd
Walk the runway at the Fashion Week of travel
Chances are you’ve never heard of Virtuoso Travel Week. Well my friends, it’s time to change that. Think of the mammoth Virtuoso Travel Week trade show as the Fashion Week of travel. Every year, thousands of representatives from the luxury travel world — hotels, cruise ships, tour companies, and all things wanderlust — come to Las Vegas to reveal their latest and greatest to travel agents…
— The Boston Globe
20 New Fall Books to Look Forward To
As August rapidly comes to a close and kids zip up their backpacks and head back to school, it’s time to start looking forward to fall reading. This week, the book editors at Amazon released their 2016 Fall Books Preview, a list of the most anticipated books of the season…
— Travel Leisure
How To Make Time For Travel Without Quitting Your Job
I love my full-time job and I love to travel. However, I do not plan on quitting my job so I can travel full-time. That’s just not going to happen unless I’m retired. Why? I whole heartedly admit that I enjoy the stability of a routine pay check, having a home base, health insurance and other benefits that come along with my job…
— The Huffington Post
Today in History
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on this day in 1797. Her mother died 11 days after her birth, and she was raised by her father who provided her a somewhat eccentric, but rich, education…
— Travel Research Online
Travel Agent Diaries
Art of Travel - Summer is gone, time to reset the business
 Now that summer in Europe is almost done, we shift focus from our incoming Europe business to outgoing Southeast Asia. Not that we totally leave out our Europe business. There’s demand, albeit in lower numbers than in summer; but destinations like Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bali, Singapore and Hong Kong all offer a nice change of products to sell for the travel agents and their clients we serve from different parts of the world.
Southeast Asia provides a diverse cultural experience and warm weather year round. It’s highly sought after, especially considering the freezing temperatures we get in Europe during winter.
So in the coming weeks, from end of August to mid-September, I will again be attending several events as a hosted buyer. I will visit a private MICE…
— Travel Research Online
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Reading Between the Lines
Selling Your Services: Tell People You’re Not Dead
 “Many established service providers spend between 10 and 25% of their time on self-promotion. Beginners must devote even more effort to establishing a reputation and making a name in the local community.”
Selling Your Services by Robert W. Bly, page 25
Today’s quote is a good add-on to yesterday’s message. If not you, who? If not now, when?
I’ve always defined your biggest problem as a small business entrepreneur as being the fact that not enough people know you are alive. If I don’t know you exist, how can I decide whether to do business with you or not? Answer: I can’t…
— Travel Research Online
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60-Second Geography
Discover Ravishing Cienfuegos with Group IST
by Elizabeth Cody
Tuesday August 30, 2016
 Cienfuegos is not easily cowed by the popularity of her sisters, Havana and Trinidad; she has a unique identity and flavor all her own. Thanks to a hint of French thrown into the usual Cuban cultural suspects of Spanish colonial and South American influences, Cienfuegos stands apart from the rest on this warm island. From truly breathtaking architecture to a stroll through Cuban culture, Cienfuegos has as much to offer visitors as Cuba's larger metropolises, if not more.
— 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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