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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
Europe promises to reopen for summer tourism in wake of coronavirus
The world's biggest tourist playground has been roped off since it became a coronavirus epicenter, but as summer looms Europe is desperate to lift restrictions to get visitors pumping much needed cash into stricken economies. Across the continent, various nations currently sitting behind the firewall of quarantines or sealed frontiers, are figuring out how they can once again…
— CNN
Where states are reopening after America’s shutdown
Most states and U.S. territories have begun to ease restrictions on businesses and social activity, moving to reopen economies battered by the novel coronavirus pandemic and weeks of stay-at-home orders that affected some 315 million Americans. Public health experts warn that this increased activity is likely to cause a surge of new infections. “There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak…
— The Washington Post
These Lesser-visited European Cities Have the Culture Without the Crowds
“Bucharest blends three major types of architecture like no other city in Europe,” says regional specialist Jay Ternavanof the Romanian capital’s 19th-century Belle Époque, 20th-century Communist, and contemporary buildings. Tour the Palace of Parliament, a “symbol of the tumultuous Soviet period,” he says; but leave an afternoon free to explore Europe’s biggest spa, Therme, which has a…
— Travel+Leisure
Tours and Activities
Walt Disney World Warns Guests That They “Voluntarily Assume All Risks Related to Exposure to COVID-19” In New Liability Disclaimer
With the reopening of some retail and dining locations in Disney Springs set for this Wednesday, May 20 (with more to follow on May 27), Disney had added language to both the Walt Disney World travel information website and the Disney Springs reopening information website stating that guests assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 by visiting the resort. On the Walt…
— WDW News Today
Gay-Listers Guide: Provincetown With Jackie Cox
In this edition of Gay-Listers Guide, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12’s contender, Jackie Cox, the proud Persian who self-identifies as the season’s “nerdy queen,” takes us to one of her favorite summer getaways, Provincetown, Massachusetts. Why have you chosen Provincetown? Provincetown is a magical gay destination where it feels like almost anything can happen, and it usually does!…
— Forbes
Cruise
Trip of a lifetime with no end in sight -- life on small boats stuck at sea
While 38-year-olds Leslie and Andrew Godfrey enjoyed a five-day, 750-mile sailing passage from Sri Lanka to the Maldives, the whole world changed. Without internet access, the couple had yet to learn that Covid-19 had continued to spread, becoming a pandemic.
From March 7 to 12, as they sailed across the Laccadive Sea toward the iridescent blue water of the northern Maldives, ports…
— CNN
Florida man says he's been stuck on cruise ship in Italy for 8 weeks after testing positive for COVID-19
This family just wants their son to come home. A cruise ship worker says that due to positive test results for COVID-19, he’s still stuck on a cruise ship that’s docked in Italy. According to the Florida resident, he’s been waiting on the ship for about eight weeks now and doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be there. Taylor Grimes was working at a cruise ship jewelry store when the coronavirus…
— Fox Travel News
Transportation
3 Ways COVID-19 Could Change How We Book Plane Tickets
Countries are slowly reopening for domestic travel, and airlines and governments are looking at ways that potential future cases of COVID-19 could be tracked and contained more efficiently. The air travel industry has been one of the gateways for outbreaks, and public health officials worldwide are grappling with new ways to trace travelers, ensure they are adhering to quarantine regulations,…
— Conde Nast Traveler
Is the Covid-19 crisis the catalyst for greening the world's airlines?
“The political moment is now” to address the climate risks posed by the aviation industry, analysts, insiders and campaigners say, as governments across the world weigh up bailouts for airlines grounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Rescue packages need to come with green strings, such as reduced carbon footprints and frequent flyer levies, they warn, or the sector will return to the path that…
— The Guardian
Lodging
Get Away From Everything — and Everyone — in These Secluded, Minimalist Cabins
The world may still be mostly on lockdown, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start daydreaming about what a socially-distanced vacation may look like in the future. And these secluded treehouses may be the ideal solution. Tucked away in the Norweigan wilderness, future travelers will find two Birdbox tiny homes. The homes — one located in Fauske and the other in Langeland —…
— Travel+Leisure
Pandemic Will Spur Hotel Industry Consolidation, Real Estate Conversions
Airlines have gotten a lot attention when it comes to the stunning economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Airline passenger revenue is likely to drop by 55% this year compared with last year, the International Air Transport Association said last month, for example. Yet the hotel industry, another travel-related business, is also facing upheaval. Shares in international chains like Marriott…
— Forbes
Other and Odd
After Years in a Long-Distance Relationship, These Couples Are Quarantined Together
When I moved to Rio de Janeiro at age 22, other American expats warned me there was a pattern most foreigners fell into—nearly everyone fell in love. Many, I was told, returned home with someone on their arm, and some even stayed in the city for good.
Four months later, over caipirinhas on a sticky April evening, I spotted Henry, a Peruvian who was also temporarily living in the city.…
— Conde Nast Traveler
My dad's little piece of Wales in his Canadian lakeside cottage
Adecade ago, my father, Terry Lee, found a wooden sign behind our cottage’s boathouse. He guessed it had once hung above the door, naming this Ontario lakeside property: Brynmorwydd. Dad, who grew up in Cardiff and emigrated to Canada in the 1970s, knew right away it was Welsh. But the cottage, which originally belonged to my stepmother’s family, was actually an exercise in Canadianness…
— The Guardian
Today in History
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens had been largely quiet since the late 1850's. Some minor explosions occurred in the early part of the 20th century, but were quickly forgotten by all but a few scientists. However, a two-month series of seismic episodes in 1980 caused concern that the mountain was becoming highly…
— Travel Research Online
Press Releases of Interest
Collette Details Traveling Well Experience Initiative
Pawtucket, RI (May 15, 2020) – Collette, global tour operator, announced today, a commitment to an expanded health and wellness initiative through a branded Traveling Well Experience. Focused on the guest experience, the initiative hits on key points in the customer journey– financial protection through…
— Travel Research Online
Editorial Musings
72.4% of statistics are made up. But what about travel surveys in a post COVID world?
by John Frenaye
Monday May 18, 2020
Over the past f ew weeks, the news has been filled with survey after survey about the travel industry in a post-COVID world. Will the cruise lines survive? Will people want to travel? Should we have bailed out the airlines? The list goes on. But with every survey, there is an inherent bias based on your audience and I wonder what the real truth is.
Value Penguin says that 47% of the people have cancelled their summer travel…
— Travel Research Online
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Publishers Corner
Accentuating the positive
by Richard Earls
Monday May 18, 2020
Several years b ack, Psychology Today ran an article on what it termed the human "negativity bias." It seems that our brains have a heightened sensitivity to unpleasant news. We focus on the negative. Very likely that capacity kept our knuckle-dragging ancestors out of harm's way. Today, however, it serves to allow politicians to manipulate us with negative messaging and gives the news media a portal through which they can drive advertising. The impact can be seriously harmful to our sense of well-being. Our clients are certainly affected by the same influences. Anyone who has spent any time at all on social media of late no doubt has been exposed to a bit of untempered anger. With a political season at hand,…
— Travel Research Online
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Mike’s 1-Minute Marketing Memos
Discipline
 I recently read an article from a marketing professional, whose book I once read and immediately connected with. He listed ten reasons why most people fail. For the next few days I want to focus on just four of his…
— 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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Neetu Singh is the Marketing Director at Sky Bird Travel & Tours’ headquarters in Southfield, MI. Born in Shimla, India and raised in Michigan, Neetu earned her undergraduate degree in psychology followed by an MBA with a marketing concentration from Walsh…