HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! The Travelgram will resume on Tuesday, May 28th, 2019.
Editor’s Note — TRO wants to remind its 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
19 best places to travel for summer 2019
If you're still deciding where to take your summer vacation, 2019 brings major anniversaries, new flight routes, buzzy museum openings and more. In no particular order, check out our picks for where to travel this summer: The Salar de Uyuni, or Uyuni Salt Flat, is a vast expanse near the Bolivian Andes that resembles ice. The surreal landscape is…
— CNN
Is it safe to travel to Indonesia?
Jakarta has been rocked by violent demonstrations and political unrest following the announcement of the general election results on 21 May. As the protests continue, is it safe for UK tourists to travel to Indonesia? Here’s everything you need to know. Following the election commission’s announcement on Tuesday that President Joko Widodo had beaten…
— The Independent
Tours and Activities
The Best Beaches for Camping in the U.S.
Grab your tent and your swimsuit. When it comes to making weekend travel plans for the summer, you have a lot of options. Perhaps you want to sit in the sun with a beach chair, sunscreen, and a good book and just take in the surf. Or, perhaps you’d like to get your fill of the great outdoors and pitch a tent in the wilderness while the weather is still…
— Travel+Leisure
10 best US beaches for 2019
Summer's right around the corner, and the top beaches in the United States are beckoning. For the No. 1 beach in the USA, travelers will need to book a trip to Oahu. Kailua Beach Park is the best US beach for 2019, according to coastal sciences professor Stephen P. Leatherman. Also known as Dr. Beach, Leatherman has been releasing an annual list of the…
— CNN
A Road Trip to Vermont Reminded Me the Best Travel Is Here in the U.S.
Made in the USA is an OprahMag.com series that celebrates exploring America's top destinations. While social media makes it seem like real travel means escaping to far-flung locales, this series is an ode to the best places to road trip-or staycate!-right in our own backyard. After I graduated from college and moved to New York on my own, the city kept me in…
— Yahoo
Cruise
American Queen, an old-fashioned paddlewheeler, returns to the mighty Mississippi
The hour is 11:30 on this Saturday night aboard the American Queen, somewhere south of Natchez, Mississippi. The dance floor in the Grand Saloon is deserted, and a lone man sits in the 24-hour Front Porch lounge, reading a paperback novel. The evening’s holdouts, perhaps 30 people who — like most of the passengers — appear to be 55 or older, are in…
— Miami Herald
What Cruisers Need to Know
After two consecutive years of above-normal seasons resulting in catastrophic hurricanes, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration's prediction of a near-normal 2019 Atlantic hurricane season might have you wondering what's in store and how it might affect cruises -- especially if you plan to take one in the next five months. The forecast…
— CruiseCritic.com
Transportation
If you're traveling by car this Memorial Day, here's a road trip checklist
Like millions of Americans, Caroline and Jesse Wasson are taking their kids on a road trip for Memorial Day weekend. In preparation for the two-and-a-half hour drive to camping grounds, the Wassons spent the week loading up their 1970 Airstream RV with clothes, groceries and fishing supplies. Caroline says she has the entire trip plotted out from start…
— USA Today
China unveils 600km/h maglev train prototype
A new floating bullet train capable of hitting speeds of 600 kilometers per hour (about 372 miles/hour) is one step closer to reality in China. On Thursday, the body prototype for the country's latest high-speed magnetic-levitation (maglev) train project rolled off the assembly line in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao. Developed by the state-owned China…
— CNN
Qantas Is Hiding First Class Seats As $20 'Cabins in the Clouds' on Airbnb
First class seats are the thing of travel dreams. Being able to get on a plane and actually get comfortable for a flight is something most people can only dream of — but Qantas is making the dream a little more attainable by hiding first class seats on Airbnb. Over the next two weeks the airline will release several discounted first class tickets listed…
— Travel+Leisure
Lodging
See plans for Virgin Hotels New Orleans set to open in 2021
Billionaire Sir Richard Branson was in New Orleans Thursday (May 23) to break ground on a new $80 million Virgin Hotel, which will go up on a former surface parking lot in the Warehouse District. The hotel is expected to open in 2021. Branson, who had flown in from Ethiopia Thursday morning, stood alongside Mayor LaToya Cantrell and project leaders in a…
— NOLA.com
9 of the best hotels in Hanoi
Hanoi’s chequered history has created a beautiful mess of contrasting neighbourhoods. There's the labyrinthine Old Quarter; tree-studded French Quarter; lake-filled Tay Ho District; and the glistening modernity of the rapidly developing Westside precincts. Fortunately, accommodation options are spread throughout the city so you can pair your…
— The Independent
Other and Odd
10 common travel scams — and how to avoid them
Earlier this spring, I watched a young, solemn man dressed like a Buddhist monk approach a tourist on the Mall. He showed him a petition to build a temple and slid a bracelet made of prayer beads onto his wrist. The visitor was pulling money out of his wallet when I intervened and told him the truth: He had fallen for a scam. When we are on our own turf, the…
— The Washington Post
Is Artificial Intelligence Really Disrupting Travel?
We have been hearing for months that AI will kill millions of jobs — that technology will take over all aspects of the travel industry and so on. Let’s take this onslaught of information and clinically dissect it to get a clearer view of how the travel industry will be affected. We can broadly define the core aspects of the travel industry in three main…
— Forbes
Today in History
Peter Minuit Buys Manhattan
Peter Minuit was the Director-General of the Dutch New World colony of New Netherland. Seeking to claim a legitimate title to the land the colony desired to rule, Minuit entered into negotiations with the local Native Americans. Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan on…
— Travel Research Online
Deck Plans
Single Supplements For Solo-Travelers (2019 Update)
Doing a river cruise alone was one of the most fulfilling travel experiences of my life. There is something about traveling solo that makes me feel fiercely independent and unstoppable. The only downside to traveling solo, however, is the cost. Well … sometimes.
Solo passengers often have to pay single supplements, meaning that they usually must dole out what a couple would pay for the same stateroom. Though single supplements can run high, some companies waive these fees. Some river cruise operators also have solo cabins, or, in Riviera’s case, a waived solo supplement for a certain amount of travelers on every departure. But more on that in a minute. First, let’s talk about what cruising alone is really like.
— Travel Research Online Read the rest of this article »
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Mike's Morning Missives
“I Know” Are My Two Least Favorite Words
If you are over the age of 35, and happen to have children, nephews, or neighbors over the age of 10—you know exactly what I am about to say. Young people seem to “know” it all. This trait, I am sad to say, is not limited to just young people. For my money, there are too many adults who seem to “know” everything they need to know.
But knowing and doing are two entirely different things. They know what to do, what to say, what to think, what to try, what not to say, what not to do and what not to think. It appears that “they already know” what needs knowing.
A while back, I suggested to those who registered for my weekly marketing message to…
— Travel Research Online Read the rest of this article »
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Upcoming Training Opportunities
Groups with ShoreTrips
Thursday, June 6, 2019 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
Listen into this presentation on how to do groups with ShoreTrips. If you haven’t done a group with them before, you will come out a pro! And if you have done groups with them – you will likely learn about some advanced features you did not know about before.
Register Now ➠
Best Fall Vacations
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 12 pm EDT/9 am PDT
The recipe behind a great fall tour is vibrant colors, historic sites and memorable rail excursions. Join Vacations By Rail for an informative session on autumn rail tours and heritage trains that showcase the best fall foliage in North America.
Enjoy an overview of these historic railways and Vacations By Rail’s new and popular autumn rail trips in the USA and Canada. This webinar will inspire new fall vacation ideas and give you the knowledge and tools to sell rail vacations with confidence and make this unique travel style a part of your business.
Register Now ➠
Airline Consolidation: The Sky Bird Advantage
Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
Sky Bird's Business Development Director, Michael Dunne, shows agents the advantages of working with an airline consolidator. Agents will explore the many benefits offered including: assistance booking large groups, low net fares, and customizable land packages through Sky Bird's tours division, and how to navigate the WINGS booking engine, available exclusively to agents who register for free with Sky Bird.
Register Now ➠
ACCELERATE YOUR UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
With new attractions, new hotels, and so much more, your clients may not be aware of all we have to do – or that they’ll need multiple days to see and do it all. Be sure to register to take our webinar course so you can stay an expert on everything going on at Universal Orlando Resort™.
Register Now ➠
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