After a year of being pent up, the Great Release is upon us, and now it seems sudden. Things are opening faster than predicted just a few months ago.

In March 2020, the COVID pandemic submerged us in the exponential growth of new infections and, before we could comprehend what was happening, we were virtually imprisoned, taking shelter to save our lives. We settled in and got used to being confined. Now the release is happening all around us. And it seems to be happening faster than almost anyone expected.

The demand for travel is, unsurprisingly, going through the roof. But to say “it’s complicated” is to vastly understate the circumstances. World travel now is an extremely tangled web. Read the rest of this entry »

Located directly on the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by mountains, at the end of Route 66, Santa Monica enjoys an average of more than 280 days of sunshine each year. With average temperatures in the mid to upper seventies year-round, this beachside city’s weather is one of its most attractive assets and being outside is a part of the city’s lifestyle. But there is so much more to discover in Santa Monica than great weather, and visitors to the Los Angeles area miss out if they don’t spend a bit of time in this eclectic community. If you are looking for a unique domestic destination to visit with iconic world-class dining, entertainment, and famous sites, Santa Monica is worth your consideration. Many of the attractions that make the beach-front city special have found residence in our collective conscience, and you may find yourself surprised at your osmotic familiarity with some of the key points of interest in Santa Monica.

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If some of your clients love cruises, they may have promised themselves that – if they got through the COVID crisis unscathed – they’ll find some new places to visit. Here’s how you can help them fulfill these promises. Suggest some new places to explore and provide them with enough information to turn their dreams into reality. Read the rest of this entry »

Its motto is ‘Jeddah Ghair,’ meaning ‘Jeddah is different.’ It is a historic port city with a different way of life than the rest of the kingdom. Serving as the gateway to Mecca, and with almost 68 miles of waterfront along the Red Sea, the second largest city in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia awaits the traveler. Jeddah is a leisurely getaway to enjoy the finer points of the Saudi Arabian coasts. Read the rest of this entry »

This year’s PGA golf tournament was both entertaining and historic. The winner, by the way, was a 200-1 longshot. Nobody in the history of the game has ever won a “major” golf tournament at his age.

The final day was an up and down seesaw of great shots, followed by less than great shots. As a matter of fact, I personally have hit a few more attractive shots than some viewed on television on that particular Sunday. What appeared to be a runaway at first glance came down to the final hole. In the end, it was Phil Mickelson who took the final bow at age 50 plus eleven months. Read the rest of this entry »

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Long ago, travel agents held the keys to the kingdom. The general public knew very little about the logistics of travel. Anyone wanting an itinerary of any complexity went to a travel agency for assistance. Travel agents had access to “hidden” resources like the GDS systems and access to travel specials not available direct to the public. But there were urban legends of people who knew tricks. Rumors of cargo ship travel, package couriers, backpackers and mysterious student discounts floated about, making many feel as though everyone in the know was traveling better and more cheaply than they. There were “secrets” out there and travel agents weren’t talking because they wanted the public to book with them.  Read the rest of this entry »

Lindblad Expeditions has announced it will be reactivating National Geographic Explorer for a series of voyages in Iceland this summer. Plans call for the 148-guest polar vessel to explore the mythical land of the midnight sun on two alternating itineraries, Wild Island Escape and The Circumnavigation of Iceland. On both expeditions, guests will discover why Iceland is known as the “land of fire and ice” as they journey through the country’s fjords, tundra, waterfalls, and geothermal hot springs. Read the rest of this entry »

ASTA’s annual Legislative Day brought a crowd of travel advisors and consortium executives to Washington to talk travel industry issues and concerns. I caught up with two of my favorite people, Alex Sharpe, president and CEO of Signature Travel Network, and Jackie Friedman, president of Nexion LLC, following their press conference there to talk about some of the biggest concerns of travel advisors.

Here’s what they said: Read the rest of this entry »

The tipping point for the cruise industry occurred last month when the CDC permitted cruise ships to sail, provided that 95% of the passengers and 98% of the crew were fully vaccinated. Since that time, cruise bookings have skyrocketed, and deep discount pricing is becoming increasingly rare. The CDC has also given cruise lines more freedom to determine the masking and social distancing safeguards that they will require onboard, if everyone is vaccinated.

Airline passengers deserve the same privileges. They could get them if airlines were permitted by the CDC and FAA to declare some flights “Vaccinated Passengers Only” (VPO). Read the rest of this entry »