TRO Travelgram: Travel articles influencing your clients, from top consumer publications... Sponsor

Thursday July 18, 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

10 of the best things to do in Vevey, Switzerland
On 18 July, the peaceful town of Vevey, on the shores of Lake Geneva near Montreux, transforms into party central as it hosts one of the world’s biggest (and rarest) wine festivals. The Fête des Vignerons – which was granted Unesco intangible cultural heritage status in 2016 – was founded in 1797 to honour the wine-makers of the Lavaux wine region, one of Switzerland’s premier wine…

A Journey Through the South of Mexico, Where Craftsmanship Meets Colorful Style
Despite having been a finalist for the National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year in 2016 (and also receiving the PDN World in Focus prize that same year), for Philip Nix, every assignment abroad still feels like an opportunity. In the New York–based lensman’s eyes, travel photography is more than an in-and-out job: It comes with a responsibility to let the environment percolate,…

Please support TRO and our Suppliers! The FREE resources and tools available to you are paid for by supplier sponsorship.

Tours and Activities

Area 51: A travel guide for the person who signed up for the raid but isn't ready to storm the gate
Everyone's talking about Area 51 because of a satirical Facebook page where a million actual people signed up to storm the Nevada site to "see them aliens." It was all a joke! Storming a classified government site en masse is kind of a big lift and also very dangerous and illegal ... right, guys? But whether it's the location's secretive aura, the trendiness of conspiracies and…

Museum of underwater art to open on Australia's Great Barrier Reef
From a colour-changing figure warning of warming seas to a sunken skeletal greenhouse encrusted with coral, a new museum of underwater art in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef marine park aims to raise awareness of the threatened ecosystem – and rehabilitate parts of the reef. Created by British sculptor and environmentalist Jason deCaires Taylor, the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA)…

Please support TRO and our Suppliers! The FREE resources and tools available to you are paid for by supplier sponsorship.

Cruise

Princess Cruises Is Adding High-tech Escape Rooms on Board
Travelers taking a cruise with Princess Cruises will soon be able to experience the world’s first digitally enhanced escape room as the cruise line is introducing a new gaming experience on its Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess ships. The experience, which is called Phantom Bridge, combines the adrenaline-pumping elements of an escape room challenge with digital features to fully…

Civil unrest in Puerto Rico forces multiple cruise ships to alter routes
Civil unrest in Puerto Rico is forcing multiple cruise ships to alter their itineraries. Royal Caribbean canceled stops in San Juan on at least two of its cruises, affecting passengers on Empress of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas. Some passengers took to Twitter to complain, while others praised the cruise line for taking the safety of their passengers so seriously. Residents in Puerto Rico,…

Carnival Vista Cruise Ship Repairs to Happen On First-Ever Floating Dry Dock; Ship to Return to Service Early
More than a week ago, propulsion issues caused Carnival to alter and cancel cruises onboard Carnival Vista. Now, the cruise line has released details of how Vista will be repaired: a first-of-its kind floating dry dock. Netherlands-based Boskalis, a marine solutions company, will load Carnival Vista onto Boka Vanguard, a semi-submersible transport vessel capable of lifting 117,000 tons. This…

Please support TRO and our Suppliers! The FREE resources and tools available to you are paid for by supplier sponsorship.

Transportation

A Look Into the Incredible Process of How Airplane Food Is Made
Creating thousands of dishes each day, all while picking the right ingredients for the skies and adhering to tight timing can be an immensely complicated feat. To get the full scoop on what goes into creating the food that lands on our trays in the skies, Travel + Leisure stepped into Emirates’ sprawling catering facility in Dubai. The facility, where meals are made for the airline's flights,…

This is what traveling on Elon Musk's 700 mph Hyperloop could look like
It’s anyone’s guess how long it will take for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop dream of an ultra high-speed transit system to become reality. But with SpaceX’s annual Hyperloop Pod Competition taking place on Sunday — where teams from colleges and universities around the world compete with their prototypes of high-speed transportation pods — at least one group of designers is already offering…

Please support TRO and our Suppliers! The FREE resources and tools available to you are paid for by supplier sponsorship.

Lodging

The hotel with a view of Egypt's pyramids
Egypt has been attracting tourists for nearly as long as the pyramids have been around. The ancient Greek author Herodotus, the spiritual father of travel writing, called it "the gift of the river" Nile. Roman travelers carved graffiti into paranoiac tombs in the Valley of the Kings, leaving comments similar to what you might find on Yelp or TripAdvisor today. "There had always been a trickle…

Miami Beach's No. 1 Hotel, By Travel & Leisure's World's Best Awards
For the second year in a row, the ultra-luxurious Setai hotel has taken home the top honored award in the region, receiving the prestigious No. 1 spot on Travel + Leisure‘s World’s Best Awards. Operating for 15 years, the hotel, which has attracted the rich and famous since its inception, excels in all areas of luxury hospitality with personalized, five-star service; well-appointed and…

Hotel Peter and Paul
This evocative and discreet conversion has transformed a church and its buildings into one of the few hotel options in the Marigny neighbourhood. The result is a mix of bucolic and ecclesiastical chic in memorable surroundings, with an impressive food and beverage offering plus tranquil public spaces to boot. This evocative and discreet conversion has transformed a church and…

Please support TRO and our Suppliers! The FREE resources and tools available to you are paid for by supplier sponsorship.

Other and Odd

Yalitza Aparicio: "Traveling Is the Greatest Gift 'Roma' Has Given Me"
A little over a year ago, Yalitza Aparicio was preparing to become a teacher in her hometown of Tlaxiaco, a small mountainous city in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, when a casting call for Alfonso Cuaron's film Roma changed her life. Until then, she had never acted, she had never traveled outside the country, and Mexico had never seen an indigenous woman star in a major film. Aparicio's life…

'Cow Cuddling' Is When You Pay to Spend Time in a Field with Calming Bovine
If visits with a therapy dog just aren’t cutting it anymore, you can now pay to spend time with a cow. A 33-acre bed-and-breakfast in New York’s Finger Lakes region is charging guests $75 per hour for “cow cuddling,” a therapeutic practice which involves brushing, petting and chatting with bovine, according to The New York Times. Mountain Horse Farm is home to two cows named Bonnie…

Today in History

Rome Burns
On July 18, in the year 64 AD, a fire began in the shops and residences surrounding the Circus Maximus in Rome. Because many of the structures were wooden, they quickly caught fire and burned with a fury. Soon, the fire spread completely out of control and burned for, by some accounts, six days. The…

Mike's Morning Missives

Failure May Be The Answer To Your Future Success

We are taught from a very early age to avoid failure. I am one of the few who spotted the folly in this advice years ago and as a result, have been preaching the benefits of failing for over 30 years.

I am not suggesting that “failures” are the real winners. Far from it. I am saying that the fastest way for you to know what you don’t know is to fail. The writing on the wall then becomes clear, and you know exactly what you need to learn to move forward. Failure leads to success.

It is true that if you are not failing, you are not reaching outside your safe zone. No failure… no progress. And contrary to popular belief, although failure may prove to…

  — Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »

Upcoming Training Opportunities


Coming to Australia? First Stop Melbourne!

Coming to Australia? First Stop Melbourne!

Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT

Australia is a country that is always on the North American traveler’s bucket list. The question is always where to start.

Register Now ➠







Use TRO every day to find travel guides, e-postcards, and other resources you can personalize and send to your clients.

TRO Travel Specials

Western Australia - Explore Extraordinary Places

Christmas in Costa Rica Limited Time Offer

Greek Island Hopping & the Eastern Med - 7nt all inclusive cruises with Celestyal

Air Canada: the Gateway to Western Europe

Join us for the Essential Industry Event for Travel Agency Professionals!

Order the full range of Tourism Australia brochures and guides online

Have a Harmonious Holiday with American Cruise Lines

Experience Melbourne and more from $899*

ORDER YOUR 2019-2020 PREFERRED SUPPLIER BROCHURES TODAY!

ASTA Membership: Grow Your Business and Boost Your Credibility

Save 10% on Blue-Roads Touring Europe 2020 Itineraries

What's Hot At CIE TOURS!

FAM PLUS Up to $300 commission!

FREE Virtual Reality Headsets and Videos!

Your Answer to Finding More Europe Tour Clients

South African Airways Vacations Travel Partner E-News - July 2019

Independent Travel Advisors, this is the conference for you!

A Star May Be Born

Earn 5X Cash-In Club points on weekend rentals through July

There's Still Time

Indonesia - Three Amazing Tours

Lions and Tigers and Non-Commissionable Fees OH MY!

Learn more about Brussels Airlines new Premium Economy Class!

Order the 2019-2020 AAT Kings Australia and New Zealand Travel Planner

Join a host agency where you're not just a number!

Work at home...but don't be home alone!

Peru Odyssey - Small Group Tour, Private Guide