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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
BREAKING: Iceland To Open To Tourists Again On June 15th (With Conditions)
At a press conference held just moments ago, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir announced some up-coming changes to the travel restrictions to Iceland. As it stands now, no one from outside the Schengen Area may visit Iceland, and those visiting from within the Schengen Area must go into 2-week quarantine. However, from May 15th, nationals of the Faroe Islands and Greenland will be able…
— Reykjavík Grapeline
How to Pull Off the Ultimate Turkey Trip by Bike and Boat
The first thing you need to know is that I’m not a cyclist. My occasional rides are by bike share, a short two- mile trip to the office or maybe to a restaurant near my home. I don’t wear spandex, least of all out in public. Yet there I was, wiping the sweat from my face while standing on top of a Byzantine aqueduct not far from Bodrum, Turkey, with nine people I’d met only a few days before. Ahead…
— Travel+Leisure
Tours and Activities
Universal Orlando to reopen CityWalk
Universal Orlando announced on Tuesday that it will open CityWalk on Thursday. Select CityWalk venues are opening for guests starting Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Universal said all guests should follow recommended CDC guidelines. Self-parking is complimentary and valet parking in not available. Some venues will remain temporarily closed, including Blue Man Group, all…
— WESH 2
Yellowstone and Grand Canyon partially reopening
As US states gradually ease restrictions, access is also opening up at the country's vast national parks. Yellowstone National Park said Wednesday it will begin to reopen on a limited basis on May 18, almost two months after it closed to visitors, a statement from the National Park Service says. The park, which covers 3,472 square miles in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, has been closed to…
— CNN
Cacio e pepe: Italy's beloved three-ingredient pasta dish
Cacio e pepe is a dish of only three ingredients, two of which are evident at first glance to anyone familiar with Roman dialect. Cacio is Romanesco for sheep’s milk cheese. Along with pepe, or black pepper, the cheese – ideally Pecorino – unites with pasta (and a hefty dose of starchy cooking water) to form a rich, creamy sauce that is as delicious as it is difficult to perfect. According to legend, the…
— BBC
Cruise
Selling Cruises During a Lockdown? Here's How One Travel Agent Does It.
It’s sounds like an impossible task: Book people on cruises during a global pandemic. Mike Ziegenbalg has done it, though. He’s the owner of a Dream Vacations travel agency franchise in northern Georgia, and he has booked 28 people on a cruise so far. He expects to book many more. Because the way he sees it, lockdown isn’t killing the travel industry. It’s just creating pent-up demand. So how’d…
— Entrepreneur
Celestyal Cruises Reveals New Itineraries for 2021 and 2022 Including New Ports and Longer Stays
Celestyal Cruises has revealed its new 2021/22 itineraries including new ports of call, extended stays in popular ports and extra departures on its “Steps of St Paul” sailings. The line is adding a new island, Syros; swapping Heraklion for Agios Nikolaos (Crete) and adding Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, to its itineraries. Celestyal is also maximising time spent in Cairo by skipping a stop…
— CruiseCritic.com
Transportation
How expensive will air travel be after the Covid-19 crisis?
When the state of Florida began enacting stay-at-home measures and closing beaches in mid-March, in response to the threat of Covid-19, Miami-based real estate agent and artist Nadia Bouzid was in the middle of painting a mural inside a new hotel in Cancun, Mexico.
Putting down the paintbrush, she picked up her phone and began searching airfares to return home. "I watched a seat on the flight…
— CNN
Airlines Are Misleading Consumers on Refund Policies, Says DOT
Despite offering more flexible flight change and refund policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that airlines are still not being transparent with customers about when they are owed a cash refund. Federal officials are warning airlines once again that they must offer customers cash refunds when flights are canceled or significantly delayed. The new warning, officially called an…
— Conde Nast Traveler
Lodging
Karisma Hotels & Resorts Is Giving 150 Frontline Workers Free Luxury Vacations — Here's How to Apply
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers have tirelessly supported their communities, and now, Karisma Hotels & Resorts wants to show their appreciation for everything these everyday heroes have done. The luxury hotel collection is offering 150 all-inclusive resort stays to essential workers and their families as part of their recently announced Holidays for Your Heroes initiative.…
— Travel+Leisure
Battered By Coronavirus, Will Hotels And Airbnb Keep An Uneasy Truce?
Saying times are bad for both the hotel industry and Airbnb might be the understatement of the day. American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) data shows that a staggering 70% of hotel employees have been laid off or furloughed as eight in ten rooms remain empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile Airbnb just cut 1,900 jobs, 25% of its global workforce. CEO and co-founder…
— Forbes
Other and Odd
Bourdain to Buena Vista Social Club – readers reveal their travel heroes
Anthony Bourdain every time. He was not perfect, and some episodes of his TV shows are hard to watch given what we know now about his mental health struggles. But he showed the joys of travel: a drink and a chat with the table next door; eating street food at the stalls with the longest queues; and navigating the morals of travelling with humility and open eyes when you’re often richer…
— The Guardian
Call To Cage Cats In France Who Roam Too Far From Home
The Times reported that Willy Schraen, 50, head of the National Federation of Hunters (Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs, FNC) has made a call for cats to be caged if they strayed further than 300 meters (984 feet) from home, whilst also acknowledging that his scheme wouldn’t be popular. He told a shooting news website that cats were destroying biodiversity and that there were too many…
— Forbes
Today in History
The First Smallpox Vaccination
On May 14, 1796, physician Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox vaccination to 8-year-old James Phipps. Old wives' tales indicated that milkmaids who contracted the milder cowpox never caught the more deadly smallpox. Jenner's work was also preceded by Chinese and Turkish practices…
— Travel Research Online
Luxury Travel Tips
What You Can Learn from Successful Real Estate Professionals
by Dan Chappelle
Thursday May 14, 2020
I am an avid ad vocate for emulating successful companies and salespeople. My thought: ‘Why try to reinvent the wheel when someone else has already built the car?’
As the world SLOWLY begins to open back up, are you going to go back to the “same old, same old” you were doing before all this…
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Mike’s 1-Minute Marketing Memos
Let's Keep Things Simple
 Maybe it has something to do with my age, or perhaps I am just a bit naïve, but I do not see what all the fuss is all about. Who said that building a business has to be difficult? Certainly not me. Like everything worth pursuing, it is the fundamentals along with the basics that will get you to where you are trying to…
— Travel Research Online
Read the rest of this article »
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Upcoming Training Opportunities
The Blue-Roads Touring Difference
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
Join us to learn about what is new for the 2021 Season with Blue-Roads Touring. We will discuss the Blue-Roads Difference in tour that will entice your clients to want to travel with us. They will enjoy the company of a small group as our tours in Europe have between 14-18 passengers per coach.
Register Now ➠
Can You Rebuild Your Travel Business in Half the Expected Time?
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 11 am EDT/8 am PDT
Travel will likely begin again in a few months, but most likely years before the industry fully recovers to pre-virus levels.
Experience is a great teacher and after every major crisis, those who focus on the fundamentals typically recover much faster than those who don’t.
Why? Because over the years, we have made the business much more complicated than it really is.
Register Now ➠
Hungary - Hidden Traditions, Culinary and Nature Gems
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT
As you prepare for future travel, Hungary is committed to providing you exceptional unforgettable experiences, wide open spaces, delicious cuisine.
Hidden in the centre of Europe is a country where you can always find something historic or modern that touches your soul, and the atmosphere is vibrant and relaxing at the same time. Where the ”aszú” grape berries are harvested during autumn, from which beautifully balanced “gold wine” is produced. Where on hilltops, deep in the valleys and on endless plains, you find the hustle of small, centuries-old villages, charming towns, luxurious castles.
Register Now ➠
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