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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
Old Stone Buildings and Trendy Cafes: The Port City of Jaffa
Just south of Tel Aviv’s glass towers and concrete houses are the white stone buildings of Jaffa, the ancient port town. Jaffa has existed for thousands of years, but today it is one unified city with Tel Aviv, which was founded in 1909. Both Jews and Arabs live in Jaffa, and that’s reflected in the flavours of the neighbourhood. Visitors will find a luxury hotel, the Setai, built out of a…
— Vancouver Sun
Florida Hit By Worst 'Red Tide' Bloom in Over a Decade
Red tide, the build-up of a toxic algae in oceans that's harmful to humans and marine animals, isn't unusual in Florida—in fact, it happens every year. But this time it's different: Now stretching into its tenth month is the biggest and longest red tide since 2006, the Miami Herald reports, and it is leaving beaches littered with dead fish and devoid of tourists. Affecting a popular…
— Conde Nast Traveler
Tours and Activities
The 10 Cheapest International Trips You Can Take Right Now
It’s suddenly August, and you’re nowhere near using up your vacation days. For many people, it’s because taking a real vacation just sounds too expensive. That’s where MONEY can help. We dug into our Best in Travel database to identify 10 fabulous spots to lure you not just out of the cubicle, but out of the country altogether. To find these cheap, excellent destinations, MONEY…
— Time
Andy's Backyard Comes Alive in Disney World's Toy Story Land
When Disney’s Hollywood Studios debuted in 1989 (then known as Disney-MGM Studios), it was Walt Disney World’s counter to the soon-to-open Universal Studios Florida. Both parks initially let visitors peer behind the curtain of the moviemaking process. But nearly 30 years later, they have largely abandoned the backlot tours, the soundstage presentations, and the special effects…
— USA Today
Cruise
The Best Small Ship Cruises in the Mediterranean
The handsome, nimble motor-sailing cruiser Galileo will whisk 49 passengers on a whistle-stop tour of the Cyclades, surely Greece’s most striking island group. Pairing popular stops such as volcanic Santorini and vibrant Mykonos with tranquil Antiparos and untouched Folegandros, the itinerary also blends sightseeing with sunbathing, swimming and hanging out in tavernas.…
— Telegraph (London)
American Song, New Orleans' First Modern Riverboat, is Nearly Complete
Construction on American Song, one of two modern riverboats set to debut in New Orleans over the next year, is nearly complete. The 190-passenger riverboat owned by American Cruise Lines this week sailed from its outfitting basin at Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Maryland to the yard's outfitting bulkhead, where it will receive final touches, according to a news…
— NOLA.com
Transportation
Korean Air: Boston-Seoul Non-Stops to Begin in April
Korean Air is coming to Boston, unveiling a non-stop route that will connect the city to its hub at the Seoul Incheon airport. The service will begin April 12, with Korean Air offering five flights a week on its new Boeing 787-9 “Dreamliner” aircraft. Korean’s new Seoul-Boston flights are part of a new joint-venture tie-up between Korean and U.S. partner Delta Air Lines. The pact allows…
— USA Today
American Airlines Passenger Kicked Off Flight
An American Airlines passenger was kicked off her flight due to the size of her cello, despite purchasing an additional seat for the instrument. In a Facebook post detailing the incident, Jay Tang explained that his wife Jingjing Hu, a music student at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, was flying to Miami to perform in a music festival. Tang purchased a return ticket for Hu…
— The Independent
Lodging
Airbnb Guests Accuse It of Deleting Negative Reviews and Boosting Bad Hosts
The two-bedroom condo that Donna Oakley arrived to in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in late June didn’t look much like the five-star property she’d booked on Airbnb. The windows in the living room were streaked and milky, hardly the clean, sunny room that was advertised. One window had a large cobweb in the corner and dead bugs inside the sill. There was mold in the…
— Quartz
Buying & Selling: Six Hotel Deals to Know
Who’s buying and selling? Here’s a look at the latest hotel deals made across the U.S. Noble Investment Group has acquired the Residence Inn by Marriott Secaucus Meadowlands. The all-suite, extended-stay hotel, which opened in March 2015, is located in Secaucus, NJ, is three miles from New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel. The Residence Inn by Marriott Secaucus Meadowlands…
— Hotel Business
Other and Odd
Travel No.1s: Record-breaking Experiences for Your Bucket List
Unless you’re a contestant on The Amazing Race, travel should never be seen as a competitive sport. But while we may not be chasing world records ourselves, we can still enjoy the thrill of knowing we’ve seen something that is the biggest, the tallest, the fastest, the most something-est in its class. With that in mind we’ve compiled a list of travel No.1s, with a mix of things you may…
— Escape
Wizz Air Named Least Punctual Airline at UK Airports in 2017
If you want your flight to take off on time, maybe give Wizz Air a miss. A Press Association analysis of the busiest airlines operating from UK airports revealed that the Hungarian carrier has the poorest punctuality record with flights departing on average 23 minutes late in 2017. Norwegian came in second for tardiness with an average delay time of 22 minutes, followed by…
— The Independent
Today in History
The Bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the crew of the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. An estimated 80,000 people died either immediately or shortly thereafter. By year's end, that toll reached closer to 140,000 people. 70% of the city's buildings were…
— Travel Research Online
Editorial Musings
When your customer service fails, you might lose $57,000
by John Frenaye
Monday August 06, 2018
My girlfriend u ses Sprint for her mobile plans (don’t judge). Her agreement was up and it was time to renew the four lines. She asked me to come along for moral support—you know that renewing a cell phone contract has now become about as pleasant as buying a car or selecting a cable and Internet provider. And the abhorrent experience at Sprint did not disappoint and offered a great reinforcing lesson for the travel industry.
We had already looked at Verizon and AT&T and to be honest, most of the deals and products were within a few dollars of each other. Apple does not discount the iPhones and gone are the days of the carriers subsidizing the phones. In a sense, it is pretty easy to…
— Travel Research Online
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Publishers Corner
5 Ways to Stay at the Top of Your Game
by Richard Earls
Saturday August 04, 2018
Wanna shoot som e hoops? Game of chess? Play Monopoly, anyone? Answer "yes" to any of these questions and, depending on who asked, you suddenly find yourself in a more or less competitive situation. Sometimes, a lot more competitive. Competition is a good thing. It keeps you sharp, it hones your skills.
It can also be tiring, draining and worrisome. Just try being a travel consultant.
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Mike's Morning Missives
Marketing Mistake #3: You Are Not Client Centered
 Most customers are getting tired of hearing companies chant the “CUSTOMER SERVICE MANTRA.” Based on my personal experiences in the marketplace, chances are pretty good that most companies are still full of baloney.
There are a great number of organizations out there who still don’t know how to spell customer service, no less deliver it on a regular and consistent basis. TOO MANY!
Allow me to clarify. You might be good at it – servicing your clients – now and then, when you feel like it. But how often is that? Again, based on my experiences, not often…
— 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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