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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
Postcard from the future: ‘I dream of Berlin's pristine lakes’
At home in locked-down Dorset, I look out of my study window. Beyond the horizon I imagine launching myself on wild journeys: trekking Nepal’s high Annapurna trail or paddling a canoe across the dark mirror of a Canadian lake and leaving a trail of twisting whirlpools in my wake. In our changing new age, and with the need to limit long-haul air travel, I know that I’ll never reach many of my fancied, far…
— The Guardian
In China, finding hope amid coronavirus
In early February, as the novel coronavirus gathered force, it was impossible to ignore the heartrending news coming out of Wuhan, China. I was about 945km away in Taiwan, where I started keeping a close eye on WeChat, the do-everything messaging and social-media app that rules China. Among unsettling accounts of people collapsing on the street and bodies being carried out of apartment…
— BBC
Tours and Activities
10 of the best road trips to take … by audiobook
Least Heat-Moon dodges America’s freeways and cities in his van, known as Ghost Dancing, in favour of back roads and one-horse towns, deliberately making detours to places such as Love Joy, Tennessee; Gassaway, West Virginia; and Intercourse, Pennsylvania, to discover how they got their names. Actor Joe Barrett provides the perfect narrator’s voice, encapsulating the inquisitiveness, humour and, at…
— The Guardian
Love the national parks? Thank oft-forgotten President Benjamin Harrison for the treasures
Benjamin Harrison’s presidency is sometimes dismissed as a failure. Even his preservation of millions of acres of land and forests is often overlooked and a surprise to conservation experts. Harrison, the only president to come from Indiana, served from 1889 to 1893. One visit to America's first national park, Yellowstone, established in 1872, can intensify one’s love of nature and conservancy. That’s what…
— USA Today
Cruise
Nearly 150 Total Coronavirus Cases Confirmed on Cruise Ship in Japan
Nearly 150 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed among crew members of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan after health authorities finished testing everyone on board, an official said on Saturday. The Nagasaki prefecture official said 57 more crew had tested positive, bringing the total infections on board the Costa Atlantica to 148, roughly one quarter of the vessel's 623 crew…
— New York Times
'Seaface': Royal Caribbean Cruises hopes to trademark face mask as coronavirus spreads
Dying to get back on a cruise ship when the CDC's no-sail order expires but nervous about the potential spread of coronavirus on board? Royal Caribbean is looking for a solution. On April 8, the cruise company filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark their very own sanitary face mask, aptly named "Seaface." “Right now, it’s just an idea,” Royal Caribbean…
— USA Today
Transportation
5 reasons why you should buy a plane ticket for travel later this year — and 7 reasons why you shouldn't
Enticing flight deals for the fall are tempting quarantined travelers to consider life beyond the pandemic despite the lingering uncertainty of the global situation. Airlines, in their attempt to re-inspire confidence, have implemented numerous passenger-friendly strategies to get consumers back on planes including waiving fees. The potential dangers of booking travel months in advance when the virus is not…
— Business Insider
Flight Attendants Warn: The Airlines Need To Stop Flying Now
Should the airlines stop flying during the coronavirus pandemic? America’s flight attendants think so. In recent days, scenes of packed airplanes with passengers not wearing masks have made the news. And while major carriers are allowing passengers to switch seats to help with social distancing, they are not requiring passengers to wear masks or stay six feet away from each other. The risky situation…
— Forbes
Lodging
9 Incredible Private Villas in the Maldives That Hardly Seem Real
A vacation paradise for the ultra-rich, celebrities, and honeymooners, the Maldives is one of the world’s ultimate luxury destinations. With more than 100 properties, many of them five-star, there are plenty of places to choose from. But only a select few have truly over-the-top private residences that come with exclusive perks. Take a private yacht to your multi-bedroom overwater estate? They can do that.…
— Travel+Leisure
Pay now, book later: Hotels sell credits, offering deep discounts for future stays
Hotels need immediate cash as stay-at home-orders due to the coronavirus have left rooms empty. Deal-hungry travelers know the lockdown won't last forever, and they're anxious to hit the road when it's deemed to be safe. What to do? Tech-savvy entrepreneurs and hotel groups have come up with the idea of selling credits that can be bought at a discount to be used for future room nights, food and…
— USA Today
Other and Odd
11 Travel Photographers Share the Photos Helping Them Take a Mental Vacation Right Now
Travel + Leisure reached out to a handful of professional photographers to see how — in this time where they may not be able to travel and work — they are learning to connect with and use their photographs taken on recent travels as a form of armchair escapism. The power of an image can be deeply transporting, and in this time when we all need an escape from reality, we can turn to them to find…
— Travel+Leisure
50 Million Travel Industry Jobs May Be Lost, 50 Percent Of Travel Cut — Due To Coronavirus
Tourism has been a tireless, growing economic engine, an $8 trillion industry based on a rosy future whatever the world’s setbacks. And it has surmounted challenges in the past, such as after 9/11 when it shrank by 31.6%. “The impact on travel is six or seven times greater than the 9/11 attacks,” says Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, an industry that generates $2.6 trillion…
— Forbes
Many Americans ready to travel once lockdown lifted, polls show
Americans are chomping at the bit to get the heck out of home and hit the road again — even if they have to share their medical history to do it, two new survey show. Nearly half — 46% — of 30,787 Americans nationwide surveyed by polling firm PiplSay said they will travel immediately after any lockdown is lifted. About a fifth, 19%, will wait two and six months and another 18% aren’t planning any travel.…
— New York Post
Today in History
The Death of Magellan
Fernao de Magalhaes, better known in English as Ferdinand Magellan, convinced the Spanish King to finance the quest for a western route to the Indonesian Islands. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail. It took him over a year of sailing the Atlantic and then southward along the coast of South America before he…
— Travel Research Online
Editorial Musings
So, what does flying look like in 2021?
by John Frenaye
Monday April 27, 2020
 There is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. I am seeing it here in my home state where they are beginning to look at plans to ease restrictions and move forward to a new normal. I don’t there there will ever be a normal as we defined it in January 2020 and I have already laid out my thoughts on what cruising might look like. But air travel is another huge component of what we do and it is going to be vastly different…
— Travel Research Online
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Publishers Corner
Creativity as an Essential Skill
by Richard Earls
Monday April 27, 2020
“Creativity is intelligence having fun!”- Albert Einstein
Much of advice on building a travel practice stresses the importance of positioning and differentiation – setting your travel practice apart from the crowd. However, it’s clear that it’s not always easy to really BE different. Where do the ideas arise that will energize your travel practice in such a way that travelers will choose you over another agency or booking on their own? We all have a bit of extra time now to develop new and different approaches to our marketing, but where to begin?
The most important thing is to lead with your personality. You are the one thing that is truly unique about your travel practice. You are the one thing not duplicated online, in your office, or at another agency. You are the human element with which people want to engage. Learn to infuse your creative thinking with your own personality…
— Travel Research Online
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Mike’s 1-Minute Marketing Memos
People Are Watching You
Today’s reminder involves a man who was picking up his family’s dinner on a Friday night from a take-out Italian restaurant in Boynton Beach, Florida. I don’t know the man personally but I found him to be a breath of fresh air.
I arrived at the restaurant only to see 20 people milling around the parking lot waiting for their take-out order to be called. My first thought was how pleased I was that this establishment was busy during this time of crisis…
— Travel Research Online
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