Daily Podcast: Post-Pandemic Puerto Rican Promise

Good morning from Skift. It's Tuesday, June 21 in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

Share a tip on a favourite campsite in France – you could win a holiday voucher

France is well known for its superb camping options. Tell us about your favourite – the best tip wins £200 towards a Sawday’s stay With the cost of living crisis putting a bit of a dampener on family holiday plans for this summer, bookings for campsites are soaring. A cheaper alternative to hotels and villas, there are thousands of sites to choose from in France, always a popular camping contender for Brits because of its proximity to the UK. Whether you are heading to an inland site with a lake, hills and countryside to explore, one with a sea breeze and a view of the Atlantic or Channel, or are tempted by the sunshine on the Cote d’Azur, we want to hear about your favourite French campsite. If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your words that will be judged for the competition. Continue reading...

How WhatsApp Is Helping Brands Personalize Travel in India and Middle East

Looking to offer hassle-free and personalized experiences for customers, travel companies have integrated WhatsApp as an effective communication platform. But troubleshooting cannot always be left to bots. Brand also need human beings to chip in at critical moments. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Notes from a tranquil island: slow walking in the Orkneys

With its mesmerising seascape, the long, low green isle of Shapinsay is perfect for mindful exploration The wind is fierce, making it weather to move fast in, but Louise Hollinrake and I are moving as slowly as we can along the deserted Bay of Furrowend on the island of Shapinsay. I say deserted, but now that we’re doing virtually nothing, save concentrating on our slow walking (a Buddhist meditative tool, says Louise), it’s clear how busy the place actually is. I’m aware of a cacophony of sound from a flock of long-tailed ducks, the crash of the waves and the sound of Louise’s dog’s paws on the sand. The blues and greys of the sea and sky seem more pronounced, and the wind’s power is awesome (it’s not unknown in Orkney for gales to tear car doors off). Shapinsay is one of Orkney’s more than 70 islands: it’s seven miles across, with a population of 300. It has no pub, no restaurant, no cafe, and there’s only one place to stay. But it may soon have more tourists, thanks to a new guide to mindful travel called Shapinsay Reflective Routes, written by residents including Louise who want to share the island’s peace, wildness, nature and space for contemplation with visitors. Continue reading...

What sitting in economy on Qantas' 20-hour flights will be like

New ultra long haul flights between Sydney and New York and London will break aviation barriers. But what will passengers in the cheaper seats have to endure?

Airline Group Chief Rips Government Covid Responses as ‘Shambolic’

Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, has a point. Do better next time. Way better. -Tom Lowry

EasyJet to cut more flights over summer holidays

Airline says it is reducing services after London Gatwick and Amsterdam announced caps on flights EasyJet is cutting thousands of flights over the summer, after government orders designed to avoid further travel disruption at airports. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority told airlines last week to review their schedules and ensure flights were deliverable, after post-lockdown staff shortages left airlines and airports unable to keep up with an increase in travel as Covid restrictions lifted. Continue reading...

Boeing unveils new 777 'ecoDemonstrator' test jet

US aircraft maker Boeing has just revealed its new 2022 ecoDemonstrator plane -- a converted, 20-year-old 777-200ER that will be tasked with testing new technologies aimed at making air travel more sustainable and safer.

U.S. Seeks Aid Deal With Marshall Islands as China Eyes Tourism Opportunities

The South Pacific Islands are of huge strategic interest to both the U.S. and China. The United States is scrambling to ink a deal that would deliver new economic assistance to the islands ahead of China making investments, particularly in tourism. -Tom Lowry

Yellowstone Park to Partially Reopen Wednesday After Historic Closing

Good news for local tourism in Wyoming and surroundings, as Yellowstone pushes ahead with a partial reopening after unprecedented flooding. Climate change can't hold back this determined destination. -Tom Lowry

From Paris to Galway: expert foodies reveal the very best places to eat on holiday

Fred Sirieix’s guide to Paris, Girorgio Locatelli on Sicily, plus hidden gems in Copenhagen, Seville, Cornwall, Limassol, Amsterdam and Lisbon Broadcaster and maitre d’ Continue reading...

Qantas, Airbus to Spend $200 Million to Speed Up Australia’s Sustainable Fuel Business

Qantas is currently sourcing its sustainable fuel from outside Australia. This partnership with Airbus will give it much greater control at home to meet those super-aggressive targets for converting to more environmentally friendly fuel. -Tom Lowry

10 of Europe’s most enchanted off-the-radar islands

Find unspoiled nature, uncrowded shores, peace and tranquillity on these small islands Côte d’Azur too hectic? Try peaceful Porquerolles, one of the Îsles d’Hyères islands that lie just a ferry-hop away from Hyères on the French mainland. With no cars allowed, the only way to get around this densely wooded island is on foot or bike, and the only sound is the crackle of fragrant pine needles under your wheels. The best beaches, such as Plage d’Argent, hug the north coast. They’re busy during high season, but once the daytrippers have left, peace reigns again. Right in the heart of the village, Hôtel Résidence Les Mèdes offers rooms and apartments. From £138 per night, hotel-les-medes.fr Continue reading...

16 World Cup 2026 Cities in North America Ready to Host a Soccer Revolution

FIFA president Gianni Infantino predicts a soccer frenzy will spread through the U.S., with the sport eventually surpassing baseball, football, basketball and hockey. -Matthew Parsons

Choice Hotels’ Play for Radisson Americas and Other Top Stories This Week

In Skift's top stories this week, Choice Hotels buys Radisson Hotel Group Americas, India's most famous landmark faces a murky future, and rising prices drive U.S. consumers to alter their summer travel plans. -Rashaad Jorden

Hidden France: where to stay and what to do off the beaten track

If you dream of salt pans and chalets on stilts, wild heather-clad hillsides and car-free isles … Hidden … Greece | Croatia | Italy | Portugal France, the world’s most popular tourist destination, is getting back on track this summer with a focus (and a €50m government investment) on eco-friendly holidays, slow travel and sustainable tourism. That means going beyond the usual hotspots to an unexplored France of bamboo forests, pink salt pans, chalets on stilts, prehistoric horses and maybe a weekend as a lighthouse keeper. Continue reading...

Daily Podcast: Tourism’s Big Summer Rebound

Good morning from Skift. It's Friday, June 17, at airport gates along the U.S. east coast (where Skift editors’ flights are delayed). Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

Glass bar dangles over canyon in Georgia

A 240-meter-long (787 feet) glass bridge with a "diamond-shaped" bar suspended in the center was unveiled at Dashbashi Canyon, located around two hours drive from capital city Tbilisi, in Southern Georgia earlier this week.

Jessica Nabongo: 'What traveling to every country in the world taught me'

As her plane began its descent into the Seychelles on October 6, 2019, Ugandan-American travel influencer Jessica Nabongo peered out of the window, preparing herself for the momentous occasion about to take place.

How 'bland' tofu became one of the world's hottest foods

There's a curious scene taking place inside what appears to be a run-of-the-mill Hong Kong industrial building.

Home Swapping Platforms Return With Strategies Targeting Remote Work

Growing numbers of remote workers and soaring travel and accommodation costs represent favorable conditions for house exchange platforms to thrive in, but are people ready to trust strangers during a time when confidence is low? -Matthew Parsons

Half of the Biggest Tourist Economies Close to Full Travel Recovery

The "100 Club" now consists of seven members — seven countries where the travel industry performs at par or above 2019 levels. Another four countries are following closely behind. Things are starting to look almost "normal." -Wouter Geerts

Daily Podcast: U.S. Guns Scare International Tourists

Good morning from Skift. It's Thursday, June 16, in Puerto Rico (where the Skift Team is meeting). Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

This European airline just ordered a fleet of airships

As the quest for less environmentally damaging aviation continues, one Spanish airline has thrown its hat into the ring by ordering new hybrid airships -- which pack as much of a punch visually as they are said to do environmentally.

‘Bursting with colour’: readers’ favourite UK gardens

Our tipsters highlight brilliant spaces great and small, featuring Arts and Crafts design and eco-sensitive planting to adapt to the changing climate The Walled Garden of Scampston, near Malton, offers so much: it’s a series of contemporary garden rooms within the walls of the 18th-century kitchen garden, and has a beautifully restored conservatory, a garden cafe and a plant shop. In 2003, Dutch designer Piet Oudolf (who co-designed New York City’s High Line) created contrasts in structure and form: from yew pillars, box squares and pleached limes through amber drifts of molinia grasses to the perennial flower meadow. Scampston Hall is the Legard family home and in its grounds you can explore trails through the 18th-century Capability Brown landscape, passing mature trees, follies and an ornamental lake. Gardens-only ticket adult £9, child £5, scampston.co.uk Susanna Callaghan Continue reading...

And breathe … a mindful walk on south Wales’ beautiful Gower Peninsula

By combining walking with therapeutic exercises and socialising, one charity aims to restore mental wellbeing naturally I’m standing on a grassy slope, looking over the three-mile-long curve of Rhossili Bay, on the south-western tip of the Gower peninsula in Wales. Alongside eight others, I’m taken through a breathing exercise. It is rhythmic: we take one big breath in, slowly exhale, then repeat. We’re told to focus on the present, just the things around us, and my gaze settles on the timber carcass of Helvetia, shipwrecked in 1887, which protrudes from the wet sand on the beach below. Next, we close our eyes, shifting our attention to only what we can hear. We’re asked to identify the different noises, and I find myself relaxing as I unpick them: there is the wind and, further away, the sea’s waves. It’s mid-April and I’ve joined Mind Over Mountains, a charity using outdoor experiences to support people’s mental health. Set up in 2018 by friends Alex Staniforth, 26, and Chris Spray, 49, who met at a village fete in Cheshire, events range from “walk and talks” – which is what I’m on – to weekend residentials. These are hosted in places of natural beauty, with other locations including the Peak District, the Lake District and the Brecon Beacons. Routes are guided, graded from “easy” to “challenging” (today’s is “moderate”), with participants being shown mindfulness techniques, given the opportunity to share their stories, and offered support from trained counsellors. Continue reading...

Higher Prices Now Changing Summer Travel Plans for Americans: New Skift Research Travel Tracker

Nearly 47 percent of Americans traveled in May 2022, 6 points higher than March, signaling a strong start as we get closer to the summer season. However, with the mounting anxiety about an economic downturn. the number of consumers who expect to cut down on travel spending rose sharply. -Haixia Wang

Daily Podcast: Look at These Tourism Websites

Good morning from Skift. It's Wednesday, June 15, in Puerto Rico (where the Skift Team is meeting). Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

Thailand’s Marijuana Sellers Tip Tourism Rush After Cannabis Decriminalization

As the first Asian country to legalize the growing of marijuana, Thailand gets a headstart in the region in welcoming backpackers back to its beaches. -Matthew Parsons

Canada to Drop Vaccine Requirements for Domestic Travel

A huge step forward for a country that was particularly strict with Covid protocols, coming during a week in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tested positive for the virus for a second time. -Tom Lowry

I took the train to Trieste – here’s my guide

Next stop in our series marking the rail pass’s 50th birthday is the Italian city of Trieste, where literary past meets cosmopolitan present – and everyone goes to the seaside Grandiose buildings, coffeehouse culture and a central square big enough to parade a small army in … there’s a reason this city at the end of the Adriatic is called “little Vienna by the sea”. Since the 14th century, when it asked the House of Habsburg for protection from the covetous reach of Venice, Trieste has spent more time as an Austrian city than as an Italian one. The imposing facades were built during its heyday as a major seaport of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and even today the mittel-Europeans who come here on holiday can’t help but feel at home. There’s little shipping trade left – on the waterfront beyond that huge square, Piazza Unità d’Italia, cruise ships look down benignly on the swaying masts of tiny pleasure yachts – but what remains reveals another Austrian legacy. For 300 years, Trieste has been where the bulk of Italy’s green (unroasted) coffee beans arrive, and it’s rumoured that Triestini drink twice as much of the brew as their countrymen. They certainly like to linger over it, in contrast to the rest of the country’s standup espresso habit. All day long you’ll see people chatting over a capo in b (a mini cappuccino in a glass) in the central Borgo Teresiano area, named after the empress under whose reign many of its now-pedestrianised streets and squares were built. Continue reading...

Corp Travel Giant CWT’s Secret to Managing the Labor Shortage

Travel management firms face challenges helping their customers deal with widespread travel disruption this year, the inevitable knock-on effect from the wider industry's own struggles with labor shortages. CWT needs to staff up as quickly as possible. -Matthew Parsons

Choice’s Grab for Radisson Americas Leaves These Unanswered Questions

Choice Hotels should be able to make good use of Radisson's Country Inn brand. Odds favor this transaction's long-term success. But the pact between frenemies Choice and Radisson is not without risk. -Sean O'Neill

CDC adds 3 destinations to 'high' risk list, including Mexico

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday placed three new destinations in its "high" risk category for Covid-19, including a North American travel behemoth.

Taj Mahal: A Wonder of the World in Peril

The Taj Mahal is many things to many people. However, some sectors in India are now keen to rewrite the monument's history. Already beset by problems of overcrowding, pollution, apathy and infrastructure, the Taj can do with some rewriting of its present, not its past, to secure its future. Much of India's tourism trade is riding on it. -Peden Doma Bhutia

Wild swimming with a backpack? Welcome to cross country swimming

With the help of some innovative kit, these adventurers have easily negotiate both land and waterways The public footpath lay barely 20 metres from where I stood, promising a stroll along the river, passing fields and through woodland, well away from any road. Yet there was something in my way blocking access to it. The very river it meanders alongside – the Thames – flowed between me and this legally designated right of way. I checked my Ordnance Survey map of this part of Berkshire to see how to reach the path, but there was no other footpath that would legally lead me to the island on which it sat (a bridge I spotted was not a right of way, with a closed gate). This was a permitted pathway that no one could actually access, unless they had a boat. Continue reading...

Analysis: Choice $675 Million Acquisition of Radisson Americas Would Spur Flurry of Brand Decisions

Despite all the pessimism on Wall Street these days, plenty of companies are still out there looking and moving forward on deals. The hotel sector will remain in the spotlight. -Dennis Schaal

Daily Podcast: Hotels Slow Their Price Hikes

Good morning from Skift. It's Monday, June 13, in New York City. Here's what you need to know about the business of travel today. -Jason Clampet

A local’s guide to Hossegor, France: sand, surf and the best sunsets in the world

Surfer and board maker Damien Marly suggests food, walks, bike rides and nights out in the breezy Atlantic resort Eating out in Hossegor can be a surprise. With so many surfers and watersports and health fanatics living or holidaying here, it can be easier to gert a nutritious acai bowl than a plate decent steak-frites, with most places serving vegan and vegetarian dishes. That said, Bistrot Balnéaire, overlooking the lakeshore, offers classic, meaty Landaise specialities, such as foie gras and a juicy magret de canard. Continue reading...

Highgate’s New CEO Goes On the Hunt for Luxury and Lifestyle Hotels

Highgate's name hasn't been associated with luxury and lifestyle until now. But the company, which is the second-largest hotel manager in the U.S., is making some distinctive moves that will likely broaden its footprint among high-end, full-service properties. -Sean O'Neill

Transforming an A330 into a yacht-like luxury experience

The fact that the mega rich go to great lengths to customize their private planes to fit their lifestyles is not new.

Finnair to Shift Focus From Asia and Shrink After Russian Airspace Closure

Finnair's shift in strategy is a sign the company doesn't see the flights between Europe and Asia that drove its pre-pandemic profitability returning anytime soon. -Rashaad Jorden

Revamped and revitalised: 10 of the UK’s best hotel makeovers

With a gleaming new spa here and a slick redesign there, these old hotels have never looked fresher A multimillion conversion has turned what was a nondescript London hotel into an affordable, chic base for city visits. The lobby is dotted with contemporary artworks, with rooms livened up by vibrantly coloured armchairs and sumptuously comfortable beds. Bao Yum on the ground floor is ideal for a quick pre-theatre or post-shopping bite, serving everything from cheeseburger or curry cauliflower to custard baos, salads, soup and breakfast. The hotel is a minute’s walk from the Thames, and nearby Pimlico station has fast tube connections to the West End. Doubles from £190, hilton.com Continue reading...

With six weeks to save summer, can easyJet climb out of the chaos?

Delays and cancellations spoiled half-term for many, but those flying with our biggest airline had it worst. Now the firm is scrambling to tackle problems with staffing, IT and more On the tarmac at Gatwick at the start of half-term, thousands of miles from the Cyprus seaside destination where their plane should have already landed, a cry that spoke for countless passengers filled the cabin: “I don’t need this … It’s out of my control, completely out of my control.” The cry came, worryingly, not from a passenger but from the pilot of the Wizz Air plane, and was captured on a TikTok video that went viral. Now, with chaos gripping the industry, airline and airport chiefs seem to be floundering victims of circumstance just as much passengers and pilots. So where do the problems lie – and will they be fixed in time for summer? Continue reading...

Hopper’s New Leave-For-Any-Reason Option and Other Top Stories This Week

In Skift's top stories this week, Hopper's decision to allow customers to leave for any reason will have consequences, hotels are increasingly accommodating electric vehicles, and Denver is becoming a new tech hub. -Mary Ann Ha

Hidden Portugal: where to stay and what to do off the beaten track

Hauntingly beautiful villages, thermal springs, unspoilt beaches, fairytale castles ... Portugal has so much more to offer than the bustle of the Algarve Hidden … Greece | Croatia | Italy Britain’s love affair with its oldest ally is set to be reignited this summer. The UK is Portugal’s biggest overseas tourist market, and it became the first EU country to allow Britons fast-tracked entry, post-Brexit, via electronic passport gates. Thanks to the easing of Covid travel restrictions, hundreds of thousands of British travellers are expected to head back there this summer, drawn mainly by its sunny south coast. But Portugal has so much more to offer than the beaches and bars of the Algarve. Continue reading...

Asia’s Jet Fuel Prices Continue to Soar Along With Travel Demand

Don't bet on airfares coming back to Earth any time soon. -Dawit Habtemariam

Rooms with a sea view: 10 of the UK’s best seaside hotels

Where to stay for blue skies, beach walks and sea breezes If you’re looking for somewhere to decompress, this sleek spa hotel, overlooking the golden sweep of Saundersfoot beach, would be an ideal choice. Treatment rooms and relaxation areas surround an outdoor, infinity-edge hydro pool that looks directly across to the sea, while the treatment menu includes Caudalie and Voya therapies. Most of the 34 rooms have great views, and the Gallery Bar terrace is the perfect spot for a sunset cocktail. Chefs in the Cliff restaurant make the most of the local fishing boats, while vegans have their own menu. Doubles from £200 B&B; stbridesspahotel.com Continue reading...

Thrifty summer: 20 great free family days out in Britain

Gardens, mills, beaches, galleries: there’s a wealth of cheap thrills to be had, if you know where to look … Get your hands dirty at this working farm near mainland Britain’s southernmost tip, where you can watch how Roskilly’s famous organic ice-cream is made from the farm’s Jersey cows. Take a wildlife walk, feed the ducks and try a cone or two. Continue reading...

The world beneath the waves: how to get the most out of rockpooling

Expert tips on discovering the secret world that exists between low and high tide Rockpools are like little windows on the world. You never know what you’re going to find. It’s always exciting to spot a St Piran’s hermit crab. They disappeared from Britain in the 1980s, but are starting to come back. They have bright red antennae and eyes with a white and black chequerboard pattern. We’re finding more and more in the southwest now as they return to our shores. The shanny is sometimes known as a sea frog and has large, smiling lips. You’ll often find it tucked into crevices when the tide retreats, as it can survive out of water. Dog whelks might look innocent, but are pretty vicious, drilling through other shelled animals then releasing a digestive enzyme and drinking their victim like soup. Velvet swimmer crabs are known as devil crabs, due to their red eyes and feisty behaviour, thought to compensate for their softer shells. Continue reading...