Forget 2023 — Travel Agents Are Booking for 2024 on Inflation Worries

Travel agents are loudly telling their customers time is of the essence in regards to booking. There's no telling how expensive travel will become as fuel prices show no signs of falling yet. -Rashaad Jorden

The travelers who created their own cozy campervans

The van life community keeps growing, with more travelers making the decision to buy a van and convert it themselves. But how difficult is a campervan conversion? We talk to travelers who've taken the plunge.

Canada Will Keep Mask Mandate for Planes

Not wanting to toe the U.S. line, Canada decides to retain its mask mandate on planes, calling it a layered approach to keeping travelers safe. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Aquatic bliss: 10 of Europe’s best holiday sites with natural pools

From a treehouse camp in France to an organic farm in Ibiza, the author of new guide The Green Traveller picks 10 places to stay with eco swimming pools There’s nothing like lounging around a pool on holiday – especially if it’s one of a growing number of eco-friendly “natural pools”. While designs vary, the basic premise is that beyond the swimming area there’s a “regeneration zone”, where aquatic plants and sand act as a natural filter for oxygenising and cleaning the water, also providing a habitat for wildlife and insects – expect to see dragonflies and butterflies flitter across the water. With no chemicals or electricity for driving large pumps they’re good for wildlife – and your skin too. Here are some not to miss. Continue reading...

Masks and flying: Everything you need to know about new US rules

Air passengers in the US have been ripping off their Covid-19 masks and face coverings thanks to a new ruling announced on Monday. So what are the new rules? Do they apply to international travel? How safe is flying maskless? Here are the answers to some of the key questions.

Japan Finally Shows Signs of Recovery: Skift Travel Health Index

Poor travel performances in Russia and China, which did not come as a surprise, suppress an otherwise strong continuation of travel’s recovery in March 2022 that finally saw Japan make some gains, according to our Skift Travel Health Index. -Wouter Geerts

China’s Thriving Domestic Tourism Now Suffers From Extended Covid Restrictions

Local tourism companies are using every trick in the book: tax breaks, cut-price tickets and "consumption vouchers" because lockdowns and mass testing are starting to hurt inter-province travel. -Matthew Parsons

The world's most over-the-top cruise ship cabins

What's it like sailing the seas at the very height of luxury?

Beyond the Biennale: Venice’s ‘secret’ Sant’Elena island

While most of La Serenissima will be heaving with visitors during the art fair, which starts this week, this tiny island at the city’s eastern tip is a world apart Venice welcomes back its prestigious Biennale, the art world’s oldest and biggest gathering, from 23 April, after a three-year absence. From that day, vaporetto no 1 water bus, which chugs up the Grand Canal and past Piazza San Marco, will be packed with art lovers, who will stream off at the Giardini boat stop for the Giardini della Biennale, where 30 international pavilions present the latest cutting-edge creations. But one stop further, just before the vaporetto steams off across the lagoon to the Lido, is little-known Sant’Elena, a tiny island, separated just by a canal from the rest of the Castello district. Overlooked by most people, it’s an oasis of peace at a time when weekend city centre visitor numbers to the are topping 130,000, significantly more than before the pandemic. Continue reading...

United, Delta, American, Other U.S. Airlines Quick to Drop Mask Mandates After Judge’s Ruling

A Florida federal judge and Trump appointee has liberated the U.S. airlines from the tyranny of having to enforce mask mandates. The five largest U.S. airlines didn't wait long, dropping their mask requirements within hours of the judge's ruling. -Madhu Unnikrishnan

South Korea Lifts Most Covid Restrictions But Keeps Rules for Inbound Travelers

As Covid cases on Monday fell to a two-month low, South Korea will be lifting restrictions within the country. However, mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated inbound travelers and negative PCR tests for the fully vaccinated continue to remain. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Daily Podcast: Business Travelers Booking Hotels Over Airbnb

Good morning from Skift. It's Monday, April 17, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

A local’s guide to Rennes, France: Brittany’s medieval but vibrant capital

Chef Arnaud Guilloux leads the way to the best street food, galleries, music haunts Rennes is a great place for foodies. The speciality is a galette-saucisse – Breton street food. It’s a sausage wrapped in a buckwheat galette, maybe with onions, but strictly no sauce (if you’re Breton). It’s sold in the main market in Place des Lices, in smaller Les Halles market, and by the many food trucks outside the football stadium on match days. My restaurant, Coquille, is on rue Nantaise, which has become a little gastronomic hub close to the city centre. We serve dishes using local produce, such as fish, seafood and vegetables from small market gardeners, but the cuisine is influenced by my time working in Asia. Also on the street is the very traditional Café Breton, a real institution with an extensive menu of classics and modern dishes. There’s also a super Thai restaurant, Chawp Shop Kphet. Pierre Restaurant de Copains, run by a friend who was a finalist in Top Chef [the French version of MasterChef], is a lively, trendy place to hang out. You could spend days eating on just this street. Continue reading...

Demand for Off-Peak Travel Rises in Post-Pandemic Recovery

Pent-up demand is so strong that off-peak travel bookings are higher for both pre-summer weeks and midweek days. During the first travel industry earnings call for 2022, Delta Air Lines said yields for off-peak travel are improving as travelers move from the most popular travel times. Expect to hear more of that from travel executives this year. -Ted Reed

Companies Still Snub Airbnbs for Biz Trips: New Deloitte Study

Don't underestimate the power of big chain loyalty points, which business travelers will be keen to start collecting again to fund their next vacation. -Matthew Parsons

China Eastern Resumes Boeing 737-800 Flights After March Crash

A month after a fatal accident involving one of its Boeing 737-800s, China Eastern has put the aircraft type back into commercial service. The airline said its Boeing 737-800 fleet has been rigorously checked for faults and cleared the aircraft for passenger flights. -Madhu Unnikrishnan

10 of the best places in Britain to see bluebells in bloom

Woodland, meadows and parks are about to be carpeted by these beautiful spring flowers. Here’s where to head for a rush of azure The woodlands at Blickling are carefully managed through the winter months to ensure plenty of sunlight reaches the ground, producing a glorious show of bluebells in late April and early May across the Great Wood, under the towering plane trees and along Temple Walk. The estate stretches over 4,600 acres offering wonderful, dog-friendly walks, as well as cycle hire (including e-bikes and trailers), and fishing in the summer months. The nearby Buckinghamshire Arms is a cosy, 17th-century coaching inn offering classic pub dishes (bucksarms.co.uk). nationaltrust.org.uk Continue reading...

Chinese Cities Join Shanghai on Lockdown as Covid Cases Rise

China is sticking to its no-Covid policy despite rising case counts across the country, including in the economic powerhouse, Shanghai. The risk of global economic repercussions rise the longer restrictions last. -Edward Russell

Google Picks Prince Harry’s Travalyst for Emissions Data and More Top Stories This Week

In Skift's top stories this week, Google joins global partnership Travalyst, backed by Prince Harry, in an act towards sustainability, Europeans are set to make record summer travel numbers, and loyalty programs are being revamped across major and minor travel brands alike. -Mary Ann Ha

Can I cycle 200 miles around Puglia in six days? I can on an e-bike

Italy’s heel offers sun, saints, olives and wineries galore. And cycling round it with a local non-profit group means helping the region’s economy, too It was only as I wiped a hunk of bread around my plate that it dawned on me that the lunch we’d just eaten was entirely vegan. A plate of beans slowly stewed in a ceramic pot with onions, herbs, tomato and a whack of peperoncino (chilli) came with a slice of focaccia rustica (crusty pie filled with wild greens) and the world’s tastiest salad: fresh leaves, celery, carrots and tomatoes made toothsome with fennel flowers, capers, more fresh chillies, chives, gherkin and fruity olive oil. But far from being some hip, plant-based city joint, the Caroppi cafe in the Puglian village of Specchia Gallone is an old-school bakery, run by the sort of large, welcoming family that might feature in your dream version of Italy’s south. Talkative Donato Caroppi showed us around – letting us peek at a sourdough “mother” more than 20 years old – then explained that in this region with too little rainfall for pasture, a mainly vegan diet was the norm for centuries. Continue reading...

Where the magic happens: 10 of Britain’s most mystical sites

From healing wells to sacred stones, the author of a new guide to Magical Britain selects his favourite wild and enchanting places In a remote location beyond Loch Lyon (seven miles west of Cashlie in Glen Lyon), a twice-yearly seasonal ritual has taken place at the shrine of Tigh Nam Bodach since time immemorial. A low, turf-roofed stone structure houses a number of river-worn stones of vaguely humanoid shape, and these are brought out and placed in front of the shrine on Beltane (1 May). There they stand and keep watch over the land until they are returned to the shrine’s interior at Samhain (1 November) for the winter. The figures are said to represent the Bodach (“old man”) and the Cailleach, the Celtic crone goddess who presides over the land and brings the changing seasons. Open all year and free to access. Continue reading...

Canada Indigenous Tourism Gets Big Nod for First Time in National Budget

After all, Indigenous experiences can play a critical role in Canada's reconciliation process, as well as in drawing the deep-pocketed international traveler back to Canada. -Lebawit Lily Girma

Her train broke down. Her phone died. And then she met her future husband

For 33-year-old Sarah Richard, life has long revolved around scuba diving. As the founder of Girls that Scuba, billed as the world's largest scuba community for women, she traveled nonstop to host dive trips and events before the pandemic.

A great walk to a great pub – The Old Post Office, Ingleton, Yorkshire Dales

A beautiful old hotel stars alongside a quirky village microbar on this stroll amid epic limestone scenery People are always saying how such-and-such-a-village used to have a dozen pubs, and now has only a Spar. Well, Ingleton, which has a population of about 2,000, has three pubs, an ex-servicemen’s club and a “microbar” called the Old Post Office, which is doing what canny little boozers all over the country do now – providing a warm environment for real ale and friendly chat, while conserving a historic building. There’s also an excellent pub – Masons Freehouse – on the main road, the A65, just 10 minutes’ walk from the centre. I would recommend having a pint in any or all of these before setting off if it weren’t for the fact that dehydration could be an issue for the classic uphill walk that starts in the centre of Ingleton. Continue reading...

Hospitality Managers Group Expresses Frustration About Labor Shortages

Despite the worst of the pandemic being behind the hospitality industry, executives largely don't see a full recovery this year. It's hard for them to do so when the industry hasn't still solved its labor shortage problem. -Rashaad Jorden

Luxury Hotels Turn to Unlikely Tech to Fight Bedbugs

No one wants to pay ultra-luxe prices and be forced to think about bugs when they’re on vacation. That’s exactly why Valpas hopes it's created a better bug trap to allow guests to have a pest-free stay. -Mary Ann Ha

Americans Keep on Traveling, Undeterred by Economic Concerns

Despite the spring break, 41 percent of Americans traveled in March 2022, little changed from January. However, it’s 5 percentage points higher than March last year, signaling a somewhat healthier start as we inch towards summer season. -Haixia Wang

Israel Red Sea Resort City Draws Scrutiny for Paying Airlines a Subsidy to Come

Keen to feature the resort city of Eilat in the international tourism map, Israel has reintroduced the plan that allows airlines to avail $65 subsidy for every arriving passenger. However, it may take more than this for the government to woo tourists to the expensive city. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Hong Kong Sets April 21 for Finally Easing Covid Restrictions

Reticent Hong Kong is finally taking baby steps to ease its Covid restrictions, but have these relaxations come a little too late? -Peden Doma Bhutia

My big, fat, Greek Easter: food and spectacle on Crete, Corfu and Tinos

Ditch the chocolate eggs and daffodils – Easter tradition in Greece means firecrackers, processions and flying clay pots Breathing the incense-scented air and listening to the priest’s plaintive chant, we sat in darkness, lit only by the glimmer of the “eternal flame” – ferried over from Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre earlier that day. At midnight, the black-clad priest brandished the lantern aloft: “Xristos anesti!” “Christ has risen!” he cried. As if on cue, bells pealed wildly and firecrackers fizzed through the darkened streets of Palekastro in east Crete. Continue reading...

The world's top city destinations in the Covid era

The Covid pandemic overturned the travel landscape. These are the tourist destinations that adapted best to the challenges during 2021 -- and most of them are in Europe

Hotels and Short-Term Rentals Blur Lines in New U.S. Accommodation Market

Short-term rentals outshone hotels during the pandemic years in the U.S. accommodation sector. However, the boundaries between hotels and so-called STRs are blurring and it is still to be seen how the two segments will compete to define the market landscape. -Varsha Arora

Never-before-seen Venice landmark opens to the public

St. Mark's Square in Venice is one of the most iconic public spaces in Europe. Now, the 16th-century Procuratie Vecchie, running along one side of the square, has opened to the public for the first time in history.

Resort Owners Watch Dubai for Ban on Gambling to Be Lifted

Gambling is currently banned in the UAE. However, as the oil-dependent economies in the Middle East pivot towards tourism, speculation is rife that gambling in some form may be permitted in the country. Will casinos hit the Dubai jackpot? -Peden Doma Bhutia

Where tourists seldom tread, part 2: five great UK towns left out of the guidebooks

From Cumbernauld to Guildford, we celebrate more unheralded but revelatory areas • Where tourists seldom tread part 1 In the 1996 essay Tierra del Fuego – New York, French cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard juxtaposes Ushuaïa with Manhattan. “After the ends of the earth, the centre of the earth,” he writes. “But each gives the impression of being on another planet.” The UK’s forgotten towns have an analogous relationship with its celebrated, over-touristed ones. They copy big-city retail concepts but fall short. They emulate tourist honeypots but can’t deliver the goods. Many lesser-loved places are botched simulacra of London, while also existing in opposition to it – for the capital’s prosperity is rooted in their broken dreams, dashed hopes, spent retail and extinct services. Scotland is the Tierra del Fuego of the UK and has many Ushuaïas. Ayr, Stranraer, Thurso and Montrose all qualify as “ends of the earth”. But Cumbernauld, more even than these, has found itself the butt of nasty jokes, snidey mock-prizes, and general putdowns for half a century. Continue reading...

Share a tip on great places in the UK to see bluebells – you could win a holiday voucher

The woods are about to turn blue in one of the UK’s great natural spectacles. Tell us your favourite places to see bluebells and perhaps you could win a £200 Sawday’s voucher Woodlands and glades across the UK are currently spangled with white anemones, the yellows of primroses and celandines and deep pink of campion, but from this week these will pale into insignificance as swathes of bluebells begin to flower, remaining in bloom until mid-May. Tell us the best places in the UK – the country with the highest density of these flowers – to see amazing carpets of bluebells, whether it’s on a National Trust or English Heritage property or in your local woods. Ancient woodlands provide the best conditions for these extraordinary plants. Continue reading...

Europeans Plan to Vacation and Fly at Record Levels This Summer

Backyard tourism continues to dominate as predicted — most Europeans will stick even closer to home this year. But their increased preference for air travel versus train, according to the report, is concerning and comes just as the European Union aims to crack down on emissions. -Lebawit Lily Girma

Full Video: Booking.com’s Top Europe Executive at Skift Forum Europe 2022

Booking.com is on track for a strong summer, but Carlo Olejniczak acknowledges his company faces fierce competition from rivals such as Airbnb. He explains his company's strategy in areas such as short-term rentals in the video. -Rashaad Jorden

That’s swell: why north Devon has just become a World Surfing Reserve

The celebrated UK coastline has joined the likes of Malibu and the Gold Coast as a global surfing hotspot. We pick five of its finest beaches for riding the waves North Devon has long been a mecca for British surfers, drawn to the variety of waves that break along its golden beaches. However, last week, it gained international recognition when it was declared a World Surfing Reserve, one of just 12 places on the planet. It shares the title with globally renowned sites including Malibu in California and Australia’s Gold Coast. Stretching for 19 miles, the north Devon reserve encompasses eight high-quality surfing spots including Croyde, one of the finest beach breaks in England, as well as family-favourite Woolacombe, and longboarding paradise Saunton Sands. But what does it mean to become a World Surfing Reserve? Climate change and overdevelopment threatens to disrupt the carefully balanced geophysical ecosystem at these surf spots. If the cliffs, dunes and sea bed shift significantly, the swell cannot shape into the perfect crescent waves needed to surf. By achieving this protected status, local surfers are given a more prominent voice when it comes to challenging decision makers on environmental matters affecting the coastline. This ranges from fighting sewage dumping in the ocean, safeguarding the shoreline from encroaching development, and conserving wild spaces for wildlife such as bottlenose dolphins, grey seals and basking sharks. In north Devon this will give surf spots comparable levels of protection to nearby Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks. The area’s surfing history and culture was also a key feature in the award of WSR status. Continue reading...

Startups Are Turning Hotels and Rentals Into Shops for Retail Goods

Weirdly, airlines are the upselling masters. But spacious hotels and short-term rentals have much more to cross-sell to travelers than any flying tin cans have. Calling all consumer brands and local artisans: Here's the new "product placement." -Sean O'Neill

Full Video: CitizenM CEO at Skift Forum Europe 2022

Business still may not normal for citizenM, but the company is moving forward with its growth plans. CEO Klaas Van Lookeren Campagne explains in this video how the company is planning to make the most of the $1 billion it raised. -Rashaad Jorden

Orlando Rides Leisure Travel Wave Onto World’s Top 10 Busiest Airports List

No coincidence that Orlando International Airport, a key theme park gateway, has cracked this latest Airports Council International ranking. Leisure travel within the U.S. is now racing ahead compared to other regions around the world. -Matthew Parsons

Daily Podcast: Business Travelers Are Ready to Travel

Good morning from Skift. It's Monday, April 11, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

A coracle ride down the River Severn – and back in time

A family test drives a new project through Ironbridge and into the Industrial Revolution, when the little, basket-shaped boats plied the river A gleaming adventure playground where smaller visitors can hurl themselves down a super-size coal chute. Gentle shire horses. An old-fashioned sweet shop… Blists Hill Victorian town, the open-air museum in Shropshire, easily captures my sons’ attention, but it’s a different exhibit that makes me pause. In a hangar-like space I spot the beefy black hull of the Spry. The only complete surviving Severn trow – these distinctive barges once shuttled stone, coal and iron downriver to Cardiff and Bristol, and in shallow waters were hauled back up with ropes. It’s a vivid reminder of what this stretch of the Severn might have looked like 150 years ago, when up to 70 boats a day worked this riverine route. If the Spry has magicked me back to Victorian times, however, I am about to rewind much further. Before the Industrial Revolution – and, in many cases, long afterwards – local people crossed, and fished from, the river by coracle. These little round boats, traditionally made for just one person from foraged wood and a cow or bull hide, were used for everything from poaching to ferrying goods during floods. In a nod to this more rural heritage, Shropshire Raft Tours plans to start hiring out coracles on the river from Easter, and my boys and I are in Ironbridge to test them out. Continue reading...

Why Private Equity Firm Certares Is Dabbling in Travel Venture Investing

Chantal Noble Haldorsen appears to be one of the rising stars of travel tech investing. Savvy entrepreneurs will note her insights. -Sean O'Neill

Spirit Willing to Talk With JetBlue About Its $3.6 Billion Bid

Well, this means JetBlue's bid isn't going hostile — at least for now. Spirit wants the best deal it can get so sitting down with the JetBlue brass clearly means it is looking to put a premium on top of the premium offer. -Tom Lowry

The 10 sweetest days out for chocolate lovers for Easter and beyond

From workshops and tasting tours to exploring the history of the UK chocolate industry, these themed breaks are choc-full of fun Treat the kids to a sticky-fingered, mouthwatering morning at Blenheim Palace with one of the many hour-long chocolate workshops, run by Hotel Chocolat, that take place in the Palace’s walled gardens (12-18 April). Continue reading...

A local’s guide to Valencia: home of paella, one of Europe’s best food markets and a unique green space

Architect and graphic artist Juan Suay on the city’s rainbow-coloured market, bistros, bars and its unifying riverbed greenbelt The Valencia region is well known for its citrus fruit, seafood and rice, but “gastronomy” has grown fast here in recent years. Compared with my girlfriend’s home town in France, though, a great meal isn’t madly expensive. A huge shellfish fideuà – a Valencian paella made with pasta instead of rice – costs €10.50 at Restaurante Yuso in the old city. Continue reading...

Boston Sticks to Its Bold Diversity Push in Latest Tourism Campaign

As a traveler of color, I approve this message. As a tourism marketing effort, it's a smart one ahead of what's predicted to be a busier and more competitive summer than last year's. Way to go, Boston — and look out New York City. -Lebawit Lily Girma

They fell in love on a Greyhound Bus 35 years ago. They've been together ever since

Tiffany Woods met her wife-to-be Bridgette in line at Sacramento Greyhound Bus Station in February 1987. Over their decades-long relationship, Tiffany and Bridgette have navigated life side by side, including when Tiffany, who is trans, transitioned, as well as ups and downs with family and careers.