News and Deals

United Upends Loyalty Program to Prioritize Dollars Over Miles Skift A new era of airline loyalty programs has arrived. United Airlines announced this week that the criteria for elite qualification … Read More

New Report From Safety Experts Slams Boeing, FAA Over 737 MAX Travel Pulse A long-awaited report from an independent group of international aviation safety experts blasted both the Boeing Co. … Read More

Venice Sets Date for New Tourism Tax Implementation Travel Pulse Travelers concerned about paying the new taxes for visiting Venice should be aware of the new rules and regulations going … Read More

MSC Cruises goes in big on the U.S. market Travel Weekly The MSC Meraviglia arrived here on Monday from Europe, with MSC Cruises executives noting more than once that it … Read More

Southwest Pilots Sue Boeing Over Lost 737 MAX Income Travel Pulse Disgruntled Southwest Airlines pilots, frustrated by the grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft, have filed suit against Boeing Co., … Read More

G Adventures Launches Enhanced Official Animal Welfare Policy Travel Pulse Leading small-group adventure operator G Adventures announced today the enactment of its first official animal welfare policy, which builds upon … Read More

United Adds 3 New Flights To Washington Dulles Travel Pulse United Airlines is adding three new routes to the nation’s capital as the carrier looks to grow its mid-Atlantic hub … Read More

Federal Judge Wants Carnival Cruise Line to Fix Pollution Issue Faster Travel Pulse Executives from Carnival Cruise Line were reprimanded in court Wednesday by a judge who has demanded they … Read More

American Express, Delta to Relaunch SkyMiles Credit Card Travel Weekly Delta SkyMiles American Express Card members will be able to earn more miles and access additional travel perks starting January … Read More

Radisson Hotel Group Signs Groundbreaking Deal to Enter New Zealand Travel Pulse Four agreements with subsidiaries of NZ Horizons Limited and Remarkables Hotel Limited, the privately-owned companies specializing in hotel … Read More

Global Luxury Travel Market Looks to Reach $1,615 Billion by 2026 Travel Pulse Allied Market Research has published a new report on “Luxury Travel Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry … Read More

Thomas Cook customers say hotel in Tunisia stopped them leaving Reuters British tourists in Tunisia said their hotel stopped them leaving for several hours on Saturday night over concerns about … Read More

Seoul to clamp down on taxi drivers overcharging foreign tourists The Korea Herald The government of Seoul on Thursday announced a plan to crack down on taxi drivers who overcharge … Read More

Disney parks to serve vegan dishes at all restaurants Travel Weekly It’s a vegan world after all, at least at Disney’s U.S. theme parks. Disney said Tuesday that plant-based meals … Read More

Salt Lake to Unveil U.S.’ First New Hub Airport of 21st Century in 2020 Travel Pulse Salt Lake City, Utah is known for its accessibility and the remarkable speed and … Read More

Customers Already Feeling Pinch of “Thomas Cook Situation” Travel Pulse As Thomas Cook, the legendary British travel agency, desperately tries to secure further private investment or government assistance to save … Read More

Marriott International Signs Agreement to Introduce Ritz-Carlton Brand to Montenegro Travel Pulse Marriott International, Inc., today announced the signing of a milestone agreement with Northstar D.O.O. to bring The Ritz-Carlton … Read More

Delta Flight Drops Almost 30,000 Feet Before Emergency Landing Travel Pulse Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight were terrified as an unknown issue caused the plane to drop almost … Read More

US Visitation to Cuba Plummets Amid Embargo Travel Pulse New data from the National Office of Statistics and Information of Cuba shows a sharp decline in tourism activity to the … Read More

Wow Air, the bankrupt budget airline, will make a comeback in October The Verge The last we heard of the Icelandic budget airline Wow Air was in March 2019 when … Read More

Travel Agent Charged for Fraudulently Earning $1.75 Million Worth of Frequent-Flyer Miles Travel Pulse The managing director of a Chicago travel agency has been indicted for carrying out $1.75 million … Read More

Virgin Galactic’s Plan: Send Tourists to Space Every 32 Hours Futurism Virgin Galactic, the space tourism enterprise owned by entrepreneur and investor Richard Branson, has plans to seriously ramp up … Read More

Viking Expands Privileged Access to Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle Travel Pulse Just in time for the release of the new full-length film, Downton Abbey, based on the Emmy Award-winning MASTERPIECE … Read More

British Airways Grounds Hundreds of Flights Ahead of Pilot Strike Travel Pulse British Airways has grounded nearly all of the 1,600-plus flights scheduled to fly to and from London’s Heathrow … Read More

Travel Slumped During What is Typically a Peak Season Worldwide Travel Pulse Tariffs, trade wars and Brexit are all taking a toll on the travel industry. New data surrounding air … Read More

Whimsical new luxury hotel puts spotlight on Vietnam’s mountainous north CNN Once a sleepy town famous for its rice terraces and ethnic tribal cultures, Sapa — a five-hour drive from … Read More

Courtyard by Marriott Celebrates NFL Fans With Super Bowl Sleepover Contest and Exclusive NFL Moments Travel Pulse Now entering its ninth year as the NFL’s official hotel partner, Courtyard by … Read More

Bahamas Officials Coordinating Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts Travel Pulse Bahamas government officials continued to track Hurricane Dorian as they coordinated rescue and relief efforts focused on the archipelago’s northwest region. … Read More

Prince Harry Is Trying to Teach Tourists to Be More Eco-Friendly Bloomberg Prince Harry wants you to think a bit harder about whether your next vacation abroad risks harming the … Read More

TSA Reverses Decision on Banning Disney’s Star Wars Coca-Cola Bottles Travel Pulse Star Wars fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Two days after the Transportation Security Administration ruled that … Read More

Former Silversea Cruises CEO Takes Over at Luxe Travel Giant Abercrombie & Kent Skift Abercrombie & Kent has a new CEO following a recent change in ownership. In February this … Read More

Survey: Cost, safety concerns key reasons travelers avoid U.S. Travel Weekly Expensive flights, long distances and unfavorable exchange rates are three of the top reasons international travelers are not visiting … Read More

Tropical Storm Dorian Impacting Flights, Cruise Itineraries in Caribbean Travel Pulse Tropical Storm Dorian continues to build strength as it moves toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Florida. According … Read More

Adventures by Disney Launches First Disney Themed Rhine River Cruise Travel Pulse Walt Disney Co. is expanding its cruises to one of the great bodies of water in the world. … Read More

Disney Unveils New Star Wars Hotel Experience, New Attractions Centered Around Avengers, Moana and More Travel Pulse To build excitement and anticipation for this weekend’s D23 Expo 2019, Disney Parks, … Read More

Tourism to Cuba plunges after tightening of travel ban Reuters Tourist arrivals to Cuba plunged 23.6% on the year in July, official data showed on Wednesday, confirming the blow dealt … Read More

US Extends Ban on Americans Traveling to North Korea Travel Pulse United States President Donald Trump and his administration have extended the ban on passports for travel to North Korea … Read More

Lufthansa Launches Groundbreaking Carbon Offset Program Travel Pulse Lufthansa is making it even easier for globetrotters to offset the climate impact of their travels. The German airline has just announced … Read More

Americans Let a Record Number of Vacation Days Go Unused in 2018 Travel Pulse A record 768 million vacation days went unused across the U.S. last year, with more than … Read More

Cathay Pacific CEO resigns after tumultuous week Travel Weekly Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg has resigned in the wake of anti-government protests that roiled the airline and closed Hong Kong … Read More

Disney World Introduces ‘Mid-Day Magic Ticket’ Travel Pulse Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort launched a new ticket offer for fall guests Thursday. The Mid-Day Magic Ticket allows guests to enjoy … Read More

Indonesia Wants to Create 10 More Balis Travel Pulse Apparently being home to Bali, a wildly popular destination that attracts more than six million people annually, isn’t quite enough for … Read More

Seabourn Introduces Luxury Private Air Service Travel Pulse Seabourn announced Tuesday it has introduced Seabourn Private Air, a new private chartered jet service available for private transportation to-and-from ports of … Read More

Delta to Become Largest US Carrier Serving Tokyo-Haneda in 2020 Travel Pulse Under a final decision announced by the U.S. Department of Transporation today, Delta will become the largest U.S. … Read More

New Orleans Passes Measure to Restrict Airbnb Rentals Travel Pulse The New Orleans City Council passed a sweeping ban this week on short term rentals in the historic city. The … Read More

Venice to Begin Rerouting Cruise Ships Away from Historic City Center Travel Pulse Venice has taken a huge step toward banning large cruise ships from entering the crowded grand canal … Read More

JetBlue Plans to ‘Drastically Lower Fares’ to Europe Travel Pulse While travelers will have to wait until at least 2021 to fly JetBlue from the U.S. to Europe, the low-cost … Read More

Disney park attendance falls despite Galaxy’s Edge debut Travel Weekly Attendance at Disney’s domestic parks was down 3% in the company’s fiscal third quarter, even though the ballyhooed Star Wars: … Read More

Royal Caribbean Cruises Adds Vegan Menu Fleet Wide VegNews On August 1, cruise company Royal Carribbean added a three-course vegan menu in the main dining rooms across its fleet. The … Read More

Venice Asks Other Cities to Join in Effort to Curb Cruise Ships Travel Pulse Venice officials have asked several of Europe’s other popular cruise destinations, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dubrovnik and … Read More