North American tourism to Switzerland has doubled since 2019 and the demand for increased transportation has been answered. Convenient and culturally immersive, Switzerland has given the North American tourist, and diligently planning travel agents, a giant transportation high five. There are now three new and noteworthy options for entering this picturesque, storybook country. For business or leisure tourists, getting to Switzerland has never been easier or more culturally immersive Read the rest of this entry »

The month of March has come and gone. In addition to heralding in Spring, March holds another exciting event for me. For us sports fans, it features March Madness. For those of you scratching your head, MM is a collegiate basketball tournament where 64 college teams compete in a “one and done” shootout where local betting is only surpassed by wagers during the Super Bowl Read the rest of this entry »

Jerusalem — Maybe it’s because I respect war correspondents, who risk their lives to cover the story, and sometimes wish I was one. Maybe it’s because, since Covid, I appreciate the privilege of being among the first visitors to support a tourism industry in distress. Maybe it’s because my roots are here, in the only place on earth where Jews are not a minority.

Or maybe I’m just another Baby Boomer looking for a “safe adventure,” excited to push the boundaries and get my heart pumping a little, all the while knowing I really am likely to survive unscathed.

Last year, I wrote this note to AmaWaterways during a time that I was feeling grateful. As I embark on a new chapter, and another set of change, I am feeling grateful once more. So, I thought I’d share this note again. You see, Ama gave me my first introduction to river cruising way back in 2009, but that’s just the beginning. Since then, I’ve had many unforgettable journeys with Ama – and they deserve a big thank you Read the rest of this entry »

Scott Wiseman has led a charmed life. He’s one of those people who knew what he wanted to do from an early age, and his career path, though varied, has remained consistent with his early aspirations.

After a career that has included top positions at Accor; Abercrombie & Kent; Cox & Kings, The Americas; Travel Impressions and Apple Leisure Group, Wiseman is now chief executive officer of Nocturne Luxury Villas, a position he took in March 2023 Read the rest of this entry »

Why rent an Airbnb or go glamping when you can stay in a private pod of your own at the all-inclusive Hyatt Dreams Resort on Curaçao?

When it opens on June 1, the new adults-only section at Dreams will debut a whole new look in hospitality, with 52 private home-sized modular units. Hyatt promises that the units will offer more privacy than a hotel room, and each will open directly onto the beach.

The fiberglass rooms will be on the smaller end of the property’s accommodations, in two sizes measuring either 377 square feet or 436 square feet, vs. the 350 to 715 square feet of the other rooms. But each will have a king bed, a dual vanity bathroom, and a furnished terrace. Guests will have exclusive access to a new infinity pool, bar, and Mediterranean restaurant being built in Il Mare, the new adults-only area.

Guests also will still have access to the rest of the Dreams resort, including three complimentary eateries, three à la carte restaurants, three pools, four bars, tennis and kayaks.

But Hyatt will charge a premium for its foray into modular construction; the cabins start at more than $600 a night.

The modular hotel cabin is not a totally unique idea, though Hyatt is the first major hotel brand to give it a try. New York-based Moliving plans to launch its own modular resort in the Catskill Mountains, about two hours from Manhattan, this summer.

Dreams, meanwhile, is one of three all-inclusive Hyatt brands on Curaçao. Located on Piscadera Bay, it is about 10 minutes from Zoëtry and 20 from Sunscape. There also are two all-inclusive Hiltons.

Despite its long-standing reputation for inclusiveness and its focus on accommodating guests with disabilities—or perhaps because it has been so successful in promoting them—Disney is now revisiting its Accessibility Services program and adjusting the program’s qualifications, registration procedures, and length of validity. The goal, it says, is to make sure guests with legitimate special needs receive the accommodations they need.

The Accessibility Services websites for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland this week unveiled new resources, but also modifications to some of the services and options they offer. The goal is to cut down on the misuse of the program, as the number of guests using it tripled over the past few years.

“Disney is dedicated to providing a great experience for all Guests, including those with disabilities, which is why we are so committed to delivering a wide range of innovative support services aimed at helping our Guests with disabilities have a wonderful time when visiting our theme parks,” the company said.

Effective May 20 in Florida and June 18 in California, the Disability Access Service, which holds a place for guests with disabilities without making them stand in line, will be limited to those with autism or a similar developmental disability. And rather than accepting a doctor’s note or an Americans with Disabilities Act card, Disney now will be using a third-party service, Inspire Health Alliance, to evaluate guest eligibility. DAS parties also will be limited to immediate family members only, or a group of four if they are riding without family.

Guests are encouraged to enroll in the program in advance via a virtual video chat system, where they can talk to the Accessibility Services team about their individual needs and the services they might require. On-site options will remain available, however. At Disneyland, there will be designated windows at the esplanade between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure; at Walt Disney World, guests can make same-day arrangements on-site through a virtual chat.

As I often do, when I find myself in need of a little reading material, I open up a cabinet over my desk and grab the closest book that catches my eye. I have no intention of rereading the book itself, but to turn a few pages and focus on the highlighted passages earmarked from my initial reading.

On this particular day, I picked up The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. I was immediately reminded of the necessity in today’s competitive environment to properly differentiate yourself from the myriad of choices today’s buyer has at their fingertips Read the rest of this entry »

Wave season may have come and gone, but the world of river cruising still offers plenty of savings to sail into. Let’s explore some of today’s top river cruise deals to make your dream voyage a reality Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a boutique host that acts like a consortium, in its laser-focus on preferred suppliers. It doesn’t really want to add new-to-the-industry advisors. And rather than duplicating the marketing and technology its members get from Signature Travel Network, it gives 100% of its commissions back to top sellers.

In short, Oasis Travel Network is a unique kind of host for a unique kind of travel advisor. Its top advisors on our Avalon Panorama Tulip Time cruise in Amsterdam say it’s the perfect model for them Read the rest of this entry »

The American Economic Liberties Project released its white paper on how to fix the airline industry in late January. It was co-written by Ganesh Sitaraman of Vanderbilt University, author of Why Flying is Miserable and How to Fix It, and William McGee, author of Attention All Passengers: The Airlines’ Dangerous Descent and How to Reclaim Our Skies.

The paper is called “Economic Liberties and Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator Release Blueprint to Fix the Airline Industry.”

I was able to talk to William McGee recently, and that’s an accomplishment itself, because it seems lately that nearly everyone wants to hear what he has to say about the airline industry. And that fact itself points to a sea change Read the rest of this entry »

“We see the future and we think this is the right focus—and obviously, we want to secure the spots before our competition does,” Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. president and CEO Harry Sommer told investors on a call announcing the biggest ship order in its history this morning.

Betting big on the next decade of big-ship cruising, NCLH announced orders for eight new ships across its Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, plus the construction of a multi-ship pier at Great Stirrup Cay. The new build order will add nearly 25,000 berths and new classes of ships for each brand over the next decade. Beginning in 2026, NCL will add four Prima-Plus class ships, each holding about 5,000 guests; Oceania Cruises will add two Allura Class ships holding 1,450 guests, and  Regent Seven Seas Cruises will add two Explorer Class ships, each holding 850.

By 2036, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. plans to grow its fleet by more than 40%, from the current 32 ships, with approximately 66,500 berths, to 45 ships with more than 100,000 berths.

“This strategic new-ship order across all three of our award-winning brands provides for the steady introduction of cutting-edge vessels into our fleet and solidifies our long-term growth. It also allows us to significantly leverage our operating scale, strengthen our commitment to innovation, and enhance our ability to offer our guests new products and experiences, all while providing opportunities to enhance the efficiency of our fleet,” Sommer said.

NCLH is “super-passionate about delivering a great guest experience; it’s something we talk about a lot internally. We have lots of ships, we know what guests enjoy, and we are super-focused on delivering on those.” With Breakaway Plus and Prima, “we think we can take the best of both and create something that’s really world-class.”

These are not jumbo ships or incredible jumps in size, he noted, but NCL thinks they will make it possible to focus on costs, increase efficiency and “give our guests a great product that they will enjoy.”

About $150 million worth of work on the pier at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas will allow for two ships to park simultaneously. It is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed by late 2025. The new pier will be constructed to accommodate two large vessels of the company’s current and future ship classes. Only a small piece of the island currently is being used, Sommer noted on the investor’s call this morning, and guest counts to the island are expected to grow over 50% in the first 12 months. In a typical 12 months about 400K guests so about 600K starting in 2026.

NCLH CFO Mark A. Kempa said the ships are expected to “secure our growth trajectory, significantly boost our earnings profile, and enhance shareholder value well into the future. With a favorable payment structure that includes pre-delivery financing and modest initial installment payments for these ship orders, we still anticipate a strong Net Leverage reduction of 1.5 turns by the end of 2024, relative to 2023, and expect the Company to continue reducing Net Leverage each year for the foreseeable future.”

“We really want to build something special and there’s a tremendous advantage to designing things so many years ahead. We’re not going to settle; this product will be truly extraordinary, and we are going to take the time to deliver it right,” Sommer said.

Before elaborating on this most important topic, I would like to get something straight right from the git-go. If you are currently playing a role in the travel industry, you are probably up to your eyeballs in competitive situations along with a whole boatload of problems, issues, decisions, and challenges that affect your future well-being. Summing up this conundrum in a single word, I welcome you to the zany world of entrepreneurship Read the rest of this entry »

As we navigate through 2024, the travel industry landscape continues to evolve rapidly. We need to adapt or die as an industry.  And for the life of me, I do not understand why some agents can’t see this.  I am not sure how, but last week I stumbled upon an agency website that offered this cringeworthy message on their front page! Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Dubai, where tradition meets innovation, offering a blend of old-world charm and modern sophistication. Join AmaWaterways on a journey to this dynamic city, before or after your Secrets Of Egypt & The Nile river cruise Read the rest of this entry »

Amsterdam — It’s always fun to usher in springtime with a Tulip Time cruise to Europe. And there’s something extra special about being on the very first sailing of river cruise season, as my husband and I were, with a group of top travel advisors aboard the Avalon Panorama in Amsterdam.

Off a red-eye that landed at 6 a.m., we arrived in time to watch the Panorama glide up the river and into the harbor in the early morning light. We were the first couple onboard the newly refurbished ship, a charter by Oasis Travel Network for its annual Member Appreciation Cruise. Instead of having to wait for the previous group cruisers to disembark, we boarded at 9:30. By 10:00, we were sound asleep in our stateroom Read the rest of this entry »

Type “world’s greatest city” into Google and what do you think will come up? Guess. If you guessed New York you would be correct. It’s the answer you will get from the overwhelming majority of people. There are many great cities in the world, many larger than New York, many older, many that have their own distinguishing features that New York does not have. But when you say “world’s greatest city,” most people will think of New York, and for good reason Read the rest of this entry »

I was recently reminded of this sage advice when I came across a travel-related Facebook post while doing some research for an upcoming presentation. This particular “poster” was venting to some degree relaying to anybody who would listen (read) how unfair life was as she muddled through this particular situation from hell with the client from hell. That was two “hells” in the same sentence so no wonder this post caught my attention Read the rest of this entry »

Viking® today announced its newest ship for the Nile River—the 82-guest Viking Hathor—was “floated out,” marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. Set to debut in August 2024, the Viking Hathor will join the company’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships for the Nile River and will sail Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary Read the rest of this entry »

In a major merger that underscores its faith in business travel, American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) is acquiring CWT in a $570 million deal.

Amex GBT is the world’s largest travel management company, with 20,000 global customers and about $2.5 billion in annual revenue from travel, expense, meetings and events software and services. Its longtime rival CWT is expected to generate about $850 million in revenue in 2024, for a combined revenue of more than $3 billion.

In an investor call, Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott said that “global business travel spend represents a large under-penetrated opportunity of $1.4 trillion in 2024. So we see significant opportunity to continue to drive share gains and growth.”

CWT’s 4,000 clients will help Amex GBT penetrate industries like energy, media, entertainment and sports, life sciences, and defense and government, Abbott said, and grow its reach into small- and medium-sized companies, which make up about 35% of CWT business.

The company noted that CWT clients will gain access to Amex’s professional services, including travel and expense software, meetings and events services, consulting and sustainability solutions.

CWT CEO Patrick Andersen said joining forces with Amex GBT “helps accelerate our vision of a tech-enabled future for business travel, where people and technology combine to deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

This is Amex GBT’s third huge acquisition in five years. It acquired Hogg Robinson Group for $575 million in 2018, and Expedia’s corporate Egencia business in 2021.

CWT is a private company, majority owned by funds affiliated with Redwood Capital Management and Monarch Alternative Capital.

My first interview with Lisa Watson went great. She was easy-going and her dedication of work to the creation of FyndTravel was obvious. However, a dead computer on my end took all text and recordings with it to the scrapyard. Chaos happens, I suppose.

We tried again and, as expected, I found the conversation just as enjoyable and informative.

Lisa started our conversation by pulling up a screen share Read the rest of this entry »