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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
Bruges (My Choice) Named One Of 50 Most Beautiful Cities By Travel Experts
Flight Network set out to name the World’s Best Cities© by asking the experts. In all, 1000+ travel writers, travel bloggers and travel agencies from around the globe were queried. I was one of them, and my nominee was Bruges, which came in at Number 26. Bruges thrived in the 14th and 15th centuries due to viable waterways and well-off merchants. By the 19th century, the aquatic lifeline…
— Forbes
India to lift travel advisory on Kashmir two months after crackdown
India on Thursday will lift an advisory asking tourists and pilgrims to leave Jammu & Kashmir, further rolling back steps taken during a crackdown launched before the government scrapped the special status of the Muslim majority state two months ago. But underlining the continued security risks after the state government issued its advisory late on Monday, police said on Tuesday that two…
— Reuters
Chicago named ‘Best Big City’ third year in a row by Condé Nast readers
Chicago has been crowned the country’s Best Big City for a record third year in a row in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The Best Big City category is a relatively new addition to the travel publication’s long-running readers’ choice awards, now in their 32nd year. New York City won top honors when the category first debuted in 2015, and the Big Apple repeated its win…
— Chicago Tribune
Tours and Activities
'World's first travel guide' goes on display
Its vivid pictures of far-off lands captivated audiences when they were first published. And followers were keen to replicate Erhard Reiwich's scenes of Venice and Jerusalem. Sound familiar? Not so fast. These pictures were published 500 years before Instagram. "Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam" ("Pilgrimage to the Holy Land") is said to be the world's first travel guide. Written by Bernhard…
— CNN
Brazil: The last frontier of gastronomy?
Chefs and researchers are stunned: those ancient tales of little-known South American flora with magical-sounding properties turned out to be true. Jambú, for example, a grassy-flavoured herb that traditional cooks pair with duck is also a tingling anaesthetic. “Here we say, ‘it makes you tremble’,” revealed Joanna Martins, head of the Paulo Martins Institute for the study of indigenous…
— BBC
Cruise
The Rhine river cruise that deserves a Michelin star
Akettle seemed a prosaic request to make of a butler but it was soon sitting in my suite along with a selection of teas. Only later, considering the boutique nature of Crystal Bach, and our location – afloat on the Rhine, did I wonder it must have been a tall order to secure a spare. Crystal has many American guests, hence Nespresso machines rather than kettles as standard. Butler service…
— Telegraph (London)
New Ports Lure Asia’s Biggest Cruise Ship to the Philippines
The Philippines, a country of more than 7,600 islands where you’re rarely more than a few miles from the sea, wants a bigger slice of Asia’s growing cruise-tourism industry. For years the Southeast Asian nation has lagged behind its neighbors in attracting cruise visitors, partly because of spotty infrastructure. That’s bound to change as more ports are built and officials look at cruise tourism as…
— Bloomberg
Transportation
How face recognition is taking over airports
Instead of scanning her boarding pass, the airport gate scanned her face. In April 2019, traveler MacKenzie Fegan was left surprised and confused when she boarded a JetBlue flight from the United States to Mexico, without handing over her passport, or travel documents. "There were plastic barricades across the front of each lane, I look to my right, and the gate opens," she tells CNN…
— CNN
Boeing taking $20 million stake in Virgin Galactic, with a vision of commercial hypersonic travel
Boeing’s venture arm HorizonX will take a $20 million minority stake in Sir Richard Branson’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic once it goes public later this year. Virgin Galactic is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange, through a merger announced in July with Social Capital Hedosophia. The space tourism company is in “the final stretch” of testing, CEO George Whitesides told…
— CNBC
Lodging
If You’re A Foodie Who Loves To Travel, You Better Be A World Of Hyatt Member
As travel brands incentivize loyalty with increasingly attractive rewards programs and credit card offers, Hyatt continues to stand apart as a leader in savvy partnerships and experiential perks that appeal to today’s traveler. Gone are the days when airline miles and hotel points were happily exchanged for magazine subscriptions and countertop appliances, as modern travelers prefer to cash in…
— Forbes
Chip and Joanna Gaines Are Opening a Boutique Hotel
An important message for all “Fixer Upper” fans who regret that Chip and Joanna Gaines never transformed their homes: It’s now possible to spend the night in a space created by the design stars. The couple announced their plans to open a boutique hotel in Waco, Texas come 2021. In a blog post last week, the Gaines family announced that their next project will be a boutique hotel…
— Travel+Leisure
Other and Odd
How We Learned to Love Traveling with Our Families: Women Who Travel Podcast
Family travel comes in all shapes and sizes these days: Women Who Travel contributor Priya Krishna takes an annual trip with 20 of her extended family members; editor Megan Spurrell travels each July 4 with her sisters and mom; and editor Corina Quinn heads south, to coastal South Carolina, where her slew of nieces and nephews will be endlessly entertained. Truly experts when it comes…
— Conde Nast Traveler
Rick Steves Self-imposes $1 Million 'Tax' to Help Offset the Environmental Impact of the 30,000 People Who Take His Tours Each Year
Rick Steves feels bad about the impact his travel company has on the environment. And in a Twitter post last week, the travel TV host and tour operator announced his new “self-imposed carbon tax” meant to offset the environmental impact of bringing people to Europe every year. Tourism is responsible for about eight percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study…
— Travel+Leisure
Thomas Cook collapse was 'a failure of corporate finance', says travel boss
The collapse of Thomas Cook was “more a failure of corporate finance than a failure of travel”, according to the chief executive of Abta. Speaking at the travel association’s annual convention in Tokyo, Mark Tanzer said: “Thomas Cook paid £1.2bn in finance charges over the past six years, plus goodness knows how much in advisory fees to the City. “Those were profits from its holiday…
— The Independent
Today in History
The Great Chicago Fire
One fine night when we were all in bed, Old Mrs. O'Leary left the light on in the shed... The Great Chicago Fire burned from the evening on Sunday, October 8 to the early morn on Tuesday, October 10, 1871. Legend has it that the fire started in a shed owned by Catherine O'Leary, and was instigated by…
— Travel Research Online
Editorial Musings
On second thought, sweat the small stuff
by John Frenaye
Monday October 07, 2019
“Don’t swea t the small stuff.” We’ve heard that adage a million times. And there is some truth to it. But in my experience, the small stuff does deserve sweating over; because often it is the small stuff that will trip you up. Let me explain!
First impressions count. Without a good first one, there is little chance for a second one. If you come off sounding like a buffoon to the prospective client, that client will continue looking. And that also applies (perhaps even more) to the written word.
We live in an industry based on details. Payment dates, complex itineraries, airline routings, credit card numbers, confirmation numbers, GDS codes, and more fill our days; and being accurate is critical for success. Screw it up and send…
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Mike's Morning Missives
Why Treat Customers Like Dogs?
 I love today’s analogy. And so will all of you who have a special relationship with your pets.
It has been said that the primary purpose of any organization is to create customers. I endorse this objective whole heartedly. After all, it is the person carrying the wallet who is literally driving the bus.
The “dog” analogy the title of today’s reminder makes all the sense in the world if you pause long enough to reflect on behavioral characteristics of individual pet…
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Upcoming Training Opportunities
Australia & New Zealand Guided Vacations: AAT Kings NEW 2020-2021 Brochure, Product and Destination Update
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
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Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 3 pm EDT/12 pm PDT
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