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Editor’s Note — TRO wants to remind it’s Travelgram readers the articles presented here are meant to assist you in remaining informed and prepared to discuss travel news of the day with clients.
Destinations
10 Cool Destinations for When You Just Can't Take the Summer Heat
Summer is heating up, but not everyone is so eager to head to the beach. The season can mean laying in the sand, soaking up rays, swimming in the surf, and lots of ice cream on the boardwalk for some people. For others, summer means sweat, sunburn, and fighting to find the nearest fan for just a moment of relief. Hey, not everyone was built to withstand the sweltering heat. And…
— Travel+Leisure
The Trending Travel Destinations According to a Travel Instagram Account
Travel media Instagram account, @earth. have revealed their top ten trending travel destinations The millennial-focused account has over a million followers and it developed the list using an algorithm based on two variables. The first was through answers submitted by over 100,000 of its followers to the question: “if you could go anywhere on earth, where would it be?” The second was through…
— Lonely Planet
Tours and Activities
The Ferguson Fire, Here's What You Need to Know About What's Open, What's Closed and How to Get a Refund
If you were planning to visit Yosemite Valley this weekend, it’s time for Plan B. The valley as well as the Wawona area of Yosemite National Park closed Wednesday to support firefighting operations in the Ferguson fire. Visitors who had reservations for hotels, tent cabins, campgrounds and visitor activities inside the southern and western parts of the park Wednesday to Sunday will be eligible for rebooking or…
— LA Times
Using Data to Help shift Tours and Activities From Mobile-friendly to Mobile-optimised
The go-to statistic when discussing the potential of tours and activities comes from research which says the sector will be worth “$183 billion by 2020.” That sum represents a vast opportunity – for B2B tech providers, B2C distributors, wholesalers and aggregators, the businesses providing the tours or hosting the activities, the investment community and more. The valuation from Phocuswright came…
— TNooz
Cruise
Celebrity Cruises to Revamp Fleet While Moving Forward on Celebrity Apex
Celebrity Cruises is set to debut its first new ship in more than a decade when Celebrity Edge makes its way to Florida this fall, but the cruise line isn’t slowing down after that. This past week, the second of four Edge-class ships, Celebrity Apex, moved forward with a steel-cutting ceremony at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France. And earlier this month, Celebrity announced it…
— Sun Sentinel
Cruise Lines Are Trying to Win Over Millennials - With Trampolines and Sky Bikes
Major cruise operators are making big updates to the on-board cruise experience to target millennials. Royal Caribbean just spent $120 million transforming the Mariner of the Seas cruise ship as part of the $900 million "Royal Amplified" program to renovate and upgrade 10 ships in four years. Among the updates? The Sky Pad, a bungee trampoline experience that integrates virtual…
— CNBC
Transportation
Spirit Passengers on Fort Lauderdale-bound Flight Sickened by 'Dirty Socks' Stink
What’s that smell? That’s what passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight bound to Fort Lauderdale Thursday night had to wonder. Whatever the odor was — passengers likened it to the smell of “dirty socks” according to CBS 4 News in New York — it caused the flight to be diverted to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. According to CBS, 220 passengers were on board Spirit Airlines Flight 779 that…
— Miami Herald
So You’re a Lunatic Who Is Taking Your Toddlers on a Long-Haul Flight
I embarked on my solo drive from Brooklyn to Washington D.C. with three kids in tow feeling delusionally smug. The Amazon Prime order had been placed in the nick of time, and so I’d obtained a robotic-looking arm that would attach to one of the front seats and suspend the iPad in the air between the two back seats. Screen set-up and territorial disputes—sorted. It wasn’t pretty, but it was…
— Vogue
Lodging
Paris Hotels: Top Picks in 10 Popular Neighborhoods
The question isn’t if you should go to Paris, but rather when to visit and where to stay. With such a wide variety of hotels – from top-of-the-line luxury stays to charming and trendy boutiques – it can be hard to choose the right one for you. That’s why we rounded up Oyster.com’s favorite property in 10 popular Paris neighborhoods, including touristy hot spots near landmarks like the Louvre and…
— USA Today
These New Hotels Can Actually Compete With Airbnb
It’s one of the most divisive questions for road warriors: hotel or Airbnb? Don’t agonize over your answer. Thanks to a new, hybrid concept that’s taking the hospitality world by storm, it’s possible to get the best of both worlds. Meet the boutique apart-hotel. It’s half-apartment, half-hotel, but 100 percent ready for your Instagram feed. These kinds of accommodations generally bring to mind the…
— Bloomberg
Other and Odd
Disney to Eliminate Plastic Straws at Its Parks, Cruises
Disney is eliminating plastic straws and plastic stirrers at all of its properties, the company announced Thursday morning (July 26). It also is scaling back the number of plastic shopping bags at its parks and cruises. The Walt Disney Company said it plans to eliminate single-use plastic straws and stirrers by mid-2019. It estimates it uses more than 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers…
— NOLA.com
Ways to Keep Your Devices Safe While Traveling
Gadgets break when you travel. I wish I’d known just how fragile my technology was when I visited St. George, Utah, on a one-week tour of the state’s national parks. In a grocery store parking lot, my son accidentally knocked my new Pixel 2 phone out of my hand, sending it flying onto the hot pavement. The case failed to protect my device, and the screen shattered. A 2016 survey by Verizon…
— The Washington Post
Today in History
The de Havilland Comet
July 27, 1949 saw the inaugural flight of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner. Manufactured by British company de Havilland, the craft was a high point in early aeronautical design and was powered by four jet engines. Unfortunately, early models suffered…
— Travel Research Online
Deck Plans
Emerald Harmony Will Cruise The Mekong
Emerald Waterwa ys soon will have a new ship on the Mekong. Featuring authentic Asian design fused with modern amenities, Emerald Harmony will navigate the waters of the Mekong River between Vietnam and Cambodia beginning in August 2019 with 13-, 17- and 21-day cruise and tour packages.
Emerald Harmony. Courtesy of Emerald Waterways
Carrying 84 guests in 42 staterooms and suites, Emerald Harmony features spacious cabins, including 32, 273-square-foot Panorama Balcony Suites with drop-down windows; four, 398-square-foot Grand Balcony Suites; and two, 450-square-foot Owner’s Suites with wrap-around terraces and private hot tubs. The ship also has a pool located on the ship’s aft, an Asian-themed Horizon Bar & Lounge, and a 2:1 guest to crew ratio. The…
— Travel Research Online
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Mike's Morning Missives
Mental Trigger #5: Likeability
 It has been said that all things being equal, people will do business with people they like. This became crystal clear to me some years ago when I was selling meeting services for a large company in the Midwest. We had scheduled a meeting with the Ricoh Corporation, the Japanese copier firm, and upon entering the conference room we spotted a cake adorned with colorful balloons. We assumed there was a birthday celebration in the works. This was a logical assumption at the time. We were wrong.
As it turned out, their current supplier had just won an award for creative excellence. This is known in the business as “bad timing.” Our competition was taking bows and patting themselves on the back while we were cooling…
— 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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Upcoming Training Opportunities
Small Group Touring through Europe
Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
Do you have clients interested in the concept of an escorted tour but no desire to travel long days in a large bus? Look no further! Join us for an informative webinar about Back-Roads Touring Co and give those clients an option they will love! Back-Roads Touring Co, a London based tour company, has specialized in leisurely paced scheduled departures through the UK, Europe, and Asia for the last 28 years. This webinar will cover their touring portfolio, including their newly released 2019 schedules, all the selling features you’ll need to know to sell their destinations, and give a more in depth look into the unique travel experience provided to your clients.
Register Now ➠
The Best Kept Secret in River Cruising
Tuesday, August 7, 2018 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
You’re invited to come learn about the Best Kept Secret in River Cruising with The SCENIC Group and Travel Research Online! In this session we’ll hear a bit of backstory of this amazing organization, how it’s grown to such incredible size with their diverse offerings no matter the type of client, and hear secrets culled from top-producing travel professionals of ways they’ve been Successful with SCENIC! The SCENIC Group owns SCENIC Luxury Cruises, SCENIC Eclipse, and Emerald Waterways. This webinar will focus primarily on the Luxury Brands of the company’s river and ocean going ships.
Register Now ➠
Super Value Tours presents 2019 in Japan, Vietnam and Beyond
Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT
Join Roy Liao, VP of Product Development, on July 31st for an insight on popular 2019 tour itineraries and dates!
Register Now ➠
DESTINATION: ARGENTINA With Aerolineas Argentinas, Inprotur and Delta Airlines
Monday, July 30, 2018 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
There are many reasons why you should sell Argentina with Aerolineas Argentinas:
Register Now ➠
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