The 2024 sporting calendar is out. The opportunities for luxury tourism are literally everywhere, with different events waiting to whisk you around the world and back, leaving lifelong memories along the way. Some events—Wimbledon and Formula 1 come to mind—have a history of providing luxury hospitality year after year. Others might not have the same long history, but their novelty is too precious to pass up. Olympic breakdancing in Paris? Check. Major League Baseball games in Seoul? Yes, that too.
Presented in chronological order, here are five one-of-a-kind sporting events that are worth the time and distance required to travel, regardless of your starting point.
Golf has a reputation for stodginess. The annual Pebble Beach event, nestled against the central California coastline, is both the most relaxed event on the PGA calendar and its most aesthetically pleasing. If you’re not a big fan of golf, serene ocean views, or perfect winter weather, the amateur half of the field is historically rife for celebrity stargazing during the tournament’s first two days (Thursday-Friday). Past participants include Justin Timberlake, Bill Murray and Clint Eastwood. Eastwood—among Monterey County’s most famous residents—lent his name to the best viewing spot along the course: Clint’s Saloon, a western-style shared hospitality venue overlooking the 15th hole. Can’t get enough of the Pacific Ocean? The tourist-friendly Carmel/Pacific Grove/Pebble Beach area is light on luxury hotels but teeming with luxury B&Bs (like Eastwood’s Mission Ranch) and vacation rentals, plenty of which overlook the Pacific.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres kick off the Major League Baseball season with the first regular-season games ever in South Korea. The “Seoul Series” actually begins with exhibition games in which the Dodgers and Padres will play local teams before their two head-to-head games. Tickets and hospitality packages are expected to go on sale later in January, but act fast: Gocheok Sky Dome seats a mere 16,744. Even if MLB is able to expand that capacity for the two games, seats will be tough to come by. The number of Asian-born players on both sides (Ha-Seong Kim, Yu Darvish, and Yuki Matsui for the Padres; Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers) is sure to attract fans from both Korea and Japan. There is plenty to see and do in Asia’s largest city, but this event promises to capture the soul of Seoul for two days in March.
There’s a grand slam tournament in Wimbledon, England every summer, but this one holds special intrigue. Novak Djokovic is gunning for his eighth men’s singles title, which would tie Roger Federer’s all-time record. Djokovic, 36, lost in the 2023 men’s final to 20-year-old
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Many of the issues that dogged the UK’s dining scene in 2022 did so throughout 2023 — particularly the high cost of food, which continues to have a big impact on how and what we’re eating. This is being felt most notably in the capital, where food costs are compounded by high and rising rents, contributing to what many food writers have cited as a sense that restaurants are playing it safe, at least within the city centre. As the Guardian’s food critic Grace Dent put it in her end of year review, ‘2023 seemed to be the year that London’s restaurant scene lost its edge. Outside the M25, I was eating far better’. This sense of caution can be seen among many of the trends widely cited for 2025, with humble ingredients and classic creations seeing a return in popularity. Perhaps this is why the martini is back in fashion and beans are more prevalent on the menus of hip restaurants — albeit both with fresh twists and interpretations. For all this, though, there are still plenty of exciting developments, such as the rise of music-led restaurants and fresh ingredients to explore, such as the fig leaf. Here’s what’s on the horizon for 2024.
South America’s largest country is keen to attract visitors from the UK, with an approach potentially including Fam and Press Trips, Strategic Partnerships and Creative Activations. Brazil’s ambitious start to the new year follows hot on the heels of a successful end to 2023, which saw the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) open its first office in Latin America in Rio de Janeiro. The office was inaugurated by Zurab Pololikashvili, the Executive Secretary of UNWTO at an opening ceremony taking place last 14th December, which was attended by the President of Brazil Luis Inacio da Silva - more commonly known as Lula - and the country’s Minister of Tourism, Celso Sabino.
In a step that airlines would likely never take, Amtrak bumped up certain riders who were close to reaching the next status level instead of making them reach it on their own.
American Airlines has just announced a series of AAdvantage program updates for 2024. The forthcoming enhancements are said to offer increased flexibility and exclusive benefits for American Airlines passengers. The updated AAdvantage program introduces new ways to earn, redeem, and receive rewards.
One silver lining of the COVID pandemic for the travel industry was that it gave many hotels the opportunity to take a break, rethink things, and take on renovation projects that might have otherwise been impossible when open and doing business as usual. As a result, a rash of “better than ever” re-openings have occurred the past two years, and in 2023 I was fortunate enough to visit several top tier Forbes 4 and 5-Star hotels and resorts that had finished or were wrapping up massive upgrades or expansions. I’m not talking about new carpets or un updated spa, I’m talking 8 and 9-figure reimaginings.
Many Americans are starting to plan spring break or summer trips. But travel presents new dangers, like volcanic eruptions in Iceland to wars in the Middle East.
Iceland has reinstated the tax tourists pay for hotel and alternative accommodation rooms this year. In another change, the tax will also apply to cruises.