Travel trade shows are fascinating places. Thousands of people move between exhibition stands, hotel representatives exchange business cards, tourism officials promote destinations, and hospitality companies try to convince everyone that their particular corner of the world deserves attention. But if I own a small pension hotel with perhaps 10 or 15 rooms, should I spend my … [Read more...] about I Own a Small Pension Hotel. Should I Participate in Travel Trade Shows to Promote It?
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One Airline App, Two Carriers: oneworld Tackles the Check-in Gap
An airline alliance can look impressively connected on a route map and feel surprisingly disconnected on a phone. A traveler buys a journey involving two carriers, then discovers that the second flight needs another app, another website or a visit to the airport counter. oneworld’s October 12 announcement addresses that gap with expanded digital check-in across its member … [Read more...] about One Airline App, Two Carriers: oneworld Tackles the Check-in Gap
Clear Security in Sonoma, Take a Bus Straight to Your SFO Gate
The airport journey usually begins with the least enjoyable part of the trip: getting to the airport. For travelers in California’s North Bay, Landline is proposing a different sequence. Its Straight to Gate service, announced October 12 and scheduled to begin November 17, will let eligible passengers check in, hand over their bags and clear TSA security at Charles M. … [Read more...] about Clear Security in Sonoma, Take a Bus Straight to Your SFO Gate
Malta’s Trip.com Partnership Turns Tourism Diversification Into a Distribution Strategy
The Malta Tourism Authority and Trip.com Group have signed a strategic cooperation memorandum covering 2026–2029, with an emphasis on promoting Malta internationally and developing demand from China and other Asian markets. Announced following the World Travel & Tourism Council summit in Valletta, the partnership connects Malta’s destination-marketing efforts with … [Read more...] about Malta’s Trip.com Partnership Turns Tourism Diversification Into a Distribution Strategy
Royal Caribbean Buys 50% of Sandals Resorts for About $3 Billion, Bringing Cruises and All-Inclusives Together
Royal Caribbean Group is buying a 50% stake in Sandals and Beaches Resorts for about $3 billion. That values the Caribbean all-inclusive chain at roughly 10 times forward EBITDA. Morgan Stanley has committed the debt financing. The deal is expected to close in early 2027, subject to approvals, and Royal Caribbean expects it to add to earnings that year. It's the cruise … [Read more...] about Royal Caribbean Buys 50% of Sandals Resorts for About $3 Billion, Bringing Cruises and All-Inclusives Together
TOURISE Summit 2027: March 23-25, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TOURISE has unveiled the theme for its 2027 summit, "Alliances That Move the World." The event runs March 23 through 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. TOURISE positions itself as a global platform for the tourism sector, bringing together government officials, investors, and travel executives to talk about partnerships and funding for tourism projects. The 2027 theme points toward … [Read more...] about TOURISE Summit 2027: March 23-25, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Wrocław’s Market Square in Fisheye: Why I Kept the Distortion
I almost reached for the correction tool on this one. Old habit — see a curved horizon, straighten it out, make the building lines vertical again like a "proper" architecture shot. Then I looked at it for a second longer and just left it alone. This is the corner of Wrocław's Rynek where the brick tower of the Old Town Hall meets that wild, spiky roofline on the east … [Read more...] about Wrocław’s Market Square in Fisheye: Why I Kept the Distortion
Salamanca’s Stone Faces: A Photo Essay in Five Frames
SALAMANCA, SPAIN A city built out of sandstone and documents, and it never quite stopped writing itself. Photo essay · Five frames from the sandstone city Salamanca turns gold at the end of the day, when the sandstone quarried from the Villamayor hills catches low light and holds onto it for longer than seems fair. Stand in the Patio de Escuelas long enough and … [Read more...] about Salamanca’s Stone Faces: A Photo Essay in Five Frames
Europe’s Tourist Crime Belt: Pickpockets, Bracelet Scams, and Why the Same Offenders Keep Working
Nobody ties a bracelet on your wrist at the bottom of the Sacré-Coeur steps because they want €10 for a bracelet. They want your hand occupied and your eyes down for four seconds while somebody else works the bag on your shoulder. The bracelet is a tool. So is the clipboard petition, the ring supposedly found on the pavement in front of you, the stranger who insists on taking … [Read more...] about Europe’s Tourist Crime Belt: Pickpockets, Bracelet Scams, and Why the Same Offenders Keep Working
The Beach Racket in Italy, Greece and Spain: Turnstiles, Cheap Concessions, and a Shoreline You Can’t Reach
Every metre of Italian beach below the high-water mark belongs to the state. It's demanio marittimo, public property, and the law says you can walk to the sea and swim in it without paying anyone. Then you arrive in August and find a turnstile. The gap between those two sentences is where the money is. The rent nobody collects Start with what the state charges for the … [Read more...] about The Beach Racket in Italy, Greece and Spain: Turnstiles, Cheap Concessions, and a Shoreline You Can’t Reach