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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
Places 26 and 27: Summer in France, in Two Very Different Ways
Megève is known, the French and Swiss I met told me, somewhat derisively, as the Aspen of France. In other words: exclusive and expensive, where clientele seem to care as much about their Prada ski outfits as ripping down the slopes. Indeed, the reasoning for Megève’s entry on the 52 Places list had been the opening of a new Four Seasons Hotel on the…
— New York Times
What No One Told Me About Visiting Tulum, Mexico
‘What is that awful smell?’ I wondered. I was walking into beachside restaurant La Zebra in Tulum, Mexico for lunch and had just gotten a whiff of a strong fishy stench. A few steps further and I saw it. There, in the distance on the white sand, were piles and piles of thigh-high seaweed. Tulum’s famed clear-to-cyan water was a murky grey. Despite the glorious weather, not…
— Escape
Tours and Activities
History, Hollywood and Voodoo All In a New Orleans Cemetery
If you’ve heard about New Orleans’ famous cemeteries with their above-ground tombs, chances are you’ve heard about the gravesite of the so-called voodoo queen. Her name was Marie Laveau and she is buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. But visitors looking to visit her grave need to know a couple of things. First, you can’t sightsee there on your own. Since…
— Vancouver Sun
Thomas Cook to Stop Selling SeaWorld Tickets Over Killer Whale Captivity
Thomas Cook, one of the UK’s largest tour operators, will next summer stop selling tickets to animal attractions that include killer whales. The new policy announced over the weekend means SeaWorld in Florida, one of the world’s best-known attractions, and Loro Parque in Tenerife will be removed from the holiday firm’s site and brochures. Thomas Cook chief…
— Telegraph (London)
Cruise
Carnival Cruise Line Plans Massive Makeover of 19-Year-Old Carnival Triumph
A Carnival cruise ship that dates to the 1990s is about to be reborn. The 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph next spring will undergo a makeover so big the line plans to rechristen the vessel with a new name: Carnival Sunrise. Announced on Tuesday, the overhaul will take place over two months at a dry dock in Cadiz, Spain and cost $200 million — one of the priciest cruise…
— USA Today
See the Plans for Virgin's New Adults-Only Cruise Ship
The burgeoning Florida-based Virgin Voyages offered new images in recent days that reveal some of what one of its upcoming cruise ships will offer in terms of amenities and style. The new cruise liner, The Scarlet Lady, will be the company's first and is due to hit the water in 2020, sailing from the Miami area with a 2,700 passenger capacity and space for 1,150 crew members. Virgin Voyages, which comes from music…
— NOLA.com
Transportation
The Journey is the Vacation on This 35-hour Train Trip
It was late Friday night and we were scouring the usual sites touting the top things to do in Los Angeles. Uninspired by our options and facing a long weekend without obligations, my husband and I made a last-minute booking on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Ten hours later we’re settling in for a 35-hour train trip spanning 1,377 miles (2,216 kilometers) up California’s…
— The Washington Post
Delta and United Are Hiring Bilingual Flight Attendants
If you’ve ever dreamed about having a career that lets you fly around the world on a regular basis, you’re in luck: Delta and United are both currently hiring flight attendants. Most positions are for bilingual candidates, though United also has general flight attendant openings in Chicago. Those who speak Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian,…
— Travel+Leisure
Lodging
Caribbean All-inclusive resorts: Maximum Fun for the Money
With unlimited eating and drinking the hallmark of a one-price holiday package, you can amp up the all-inclusive meter by sniffing out add-ons that come without additional price tags. Check out our suggestions and get a big bang for your buck at a Caribbean all-inclusive resort. On Maxwell Beach, Sandals Royal Barbados is the new side-by-side sibling to Sandals Barbados.…
— USA Today
‘Like Sleeping on a Bed of Nails’: What to Do When Hotel Mattress Hype Doesn’t Match Reality
Hotels claim their beds are amazing. Not all of their guests agree. At least that’s what two recent surveys and some of this column’s readers say. Hotel beds are average at best, and plenty of guests complain about bad sleep when they’re on the road. The fix: You have to be really picky about where you stay if sleep is a priority. A new hotel guest survey by…
— Seattle Times
Other and Odd
Astrologer Susan Miller on Where to Travel This Summer, According to Your Zodiac Sign
Regardless if you’ve traveled everywhere or nowhere, there’s nothing quite like the warmth and romance of summer to entice you to hit ‘book’ on that plane ticket. But just like every country has different customs, each zodiac sign seeks a variety of activities and experiences from their vacation. Before you decide on where you’ll land, take the advice of renowned astrologer…
— Yahoo
Best Foot Forward: The World's Most Striking Pedestrian Bridges
A golden bridge held up by two enormous stone-coloured hands has opened in the Ba Na hills, near Da Nang in central Vietnam. It is the latest in a series of statement footbridges around the world. Cau Vang (meaning gold bridge) opened in June, is 150 metres long and 1,400 metres above sea level, with views across the green mountainscape. It took just under a…
— The Guardian
Today in History
Columbus sights Trinidad
According to legend, on his third voyage to the New World, Columbus vowed that the first land he saw he would name for the Holy Trinity. He considered it a miracle when the next sighting of land was three peaks rising over the horizon, supposedly Trinidad's Trinity Hills. Though this was the…
— Travel Research Online
60-Second Geography
The Natural Heart of Jinan with ChinaTour.com
by Joseph DeLoach
Tuesday July 31, 2018
In the northeas t of China lies a Jinan, the capital of Shangdong province. It has been called the “City of Springs”, due to the numerous artesian springs around the city and outskirts. It is a mix of nature and cityscape, with parks and temples alongside a minimal skyline. Thanks to ChinaTour.com, you’ll learn all about why Jinan is the perfect stopover when touring the Shangdong district of China.
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Mike's Morning Missives
Mental Trigger #7: Scarcity
 Why is it that we seem to always want what we don’t have? I found this phenomenon to be true years ago when a dance club in New York City became the “in” thing. Studio 54 had a reputation to be extremely difficult to gain entry, if not down right impossible.
The fact that it was so hard to get in only made it more intriguing. (I tried on numerous occasions to “bust a few moves on the Studio 54 dance floor” but never managed the secret to gaining entry.) I remained “outside the ropes.”
Scarcity is a force that only makes our desire more intense. We might not even be interested in the subject, but if we can’t have it, “we want it.” This seems to…
— 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 ➠
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