Travelers want deals — here’s where to find them, says HotelPlanner CEO

It’s been a stellar year for the travel industry, according to Morning Consult. The market research company, in a new report entitled “2023 Holiday Travel Trends,” summarized the year by stating: “leisure volume soared, airplanes were packed, and hotel bookings were high.” But heading into the year-end peak travel season, consumers are showing increased price … Read more

A new holiday cruise brings you to 20 Christmas markets in one trip

Rows of twinkling lights and the sweet aroma of mulled wine — ’tis the season that Christmas markets come alive. But if visiting one Christmas market isn’t enough, a new cruise explores 20 markets in a single trip. Luxury river cruising company European Waterways’ new “Christmas Markets Cruise” departs from Strasbourg, France and sails through … Read more

See the top 20 list

Paris is, once again, the best city to visit in the world, according to Euromonitor International. The city topped the market research company’s annual list of the “Top 100 City Destinations” which compares cities using 55 metrics across six categories: economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, … Read more

A new luxury hotel with rooms made from buses opens in Singapore

The resort hotel has 20 rooms which will be open for stays from Dec. 1, 2023. Source: The Bus Collective It only costs a dollar to ride a Singapore bus — but 398 Singapore dollars to sleep in one. The Bus Collective is Southeast Asia’s first resort hotel to repurpose decommissioned public buses into luxury … Read more

Pack your jerseys. The era of ‘sports tourism’ is here

Start your engines. From Formula One races to the Summer Olympic Games, traveling to attend major sporting events is on the rise. Sports tourism, as it’s called, is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.   The market is massive, and only stands to grow, … Read more

Fear driving Chinese travelers away from 2 of Asia’s most popular places

Japan and Thailand are two of the most popular places to visit in Asia. But both are losing ground with Chinese nationals as safety concerns rise among younger travelers. Both countries were the top choices for Chinese holidaymakers earlier this year but fell in the third quarter — Thailand to No. 6 and Japan to … Read more

A UNESCO World Heritage site with thousands of people living inside it

I strolled through the tawny labyrinth-like halls — past quirky cafes, curious tourists, men on motorbikes carrying groceries to their homes, and veiled women ringing temple bells. It’s life as usual in Jaisalmer Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that thousands of people call home. Jaisalmer Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Rajasthan, India. … Read more

Mandarin Oriental, Oetker and Auberge

There are rankings of the best hotels in the world. But a new list, released by the members-only group LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence, ranks hotel brands rather than individual properties. The ranking analyzes many hotels within a brand in “granular detail,” using more than 100 “touch points” to evaluate “a brand’s ability to deliver,” … Read more

Man buys into small town to draw more travelers

For the past two years, property developer Matt Rogatz made a weekly five-hour round trip from his home in northern Chicago to Green Lake, Wisconsin — population 1,005. Before that, the only thing he knew about the small town was that his high school buddy had family there, he said. But after a 30-year career … Read more

Is your hotel sustainable? Not if these two things are in your room

Many hotels claim to be eco-friendly.   But are they?   A quick-and-easy test is to look for two items, said Sonu Shivdasani, founder of Soneva and Six Senses hotel brands. First, sustainable hotels should not have branded water of any sort, he told CNBC Travel.   “When you have incredible filtered water, and where … Read more