‘A new page of Afghanistan’: Students studying tourism want to show another side to their country

Hello from Scotland! I'm Jordan Parker Erb, filling in for Joi-Marie.

What better time to try new restaurants, bars and shows than springtime in New York City? We’ve said goodbye to the winter cold and the sweltering summer heat is still a few weeks away, making it the ideal season to explore. Whether you’re local or visiting the city from abroad, here are some great venues and experiences to try.

For those who love to visit the poshest places on earth, a new study by Optimos travel ranks Aspen, Colorado as the most expensive vacation destination in the United States. According to the survey, visitors can expect to spend more than $761 a day in Aspen—although that amount fluctuates by season and how large you live. Rounding out the top three destinations are Park City, Utah and Maui, Hawaii.

When I was a little girl – I dreamed, dreamed, dreamed of going to Paris. I grew up in a very non-wealthy part of Connecticut, and I never thought I would get there. Part of my inspiration was seeing the movie Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, the acclaimed 1957 film about a beautiful model who is photographed in France. Oo la la! It was a dream. And I even actually came very close to getting to Paris when I was in sixth grade – I won first prize in a Singer Sewing Company dress-making fashion competition – but alas, I did not make it to the nationals. I only wound up with a portable phonograph – it wasn’t until a few years later that my family and I actually made a three-day trek to Paris after visiting our family in Poland. (and it wasn’t until I became a luxury travel writer that I frequented gorgeous places such as the Four Seasons George V and the Shangri-La hotels).

Despite post-pandemic growth, the global tourism sector still faces complex challenges, with recovery varied by region; only marginal overall score improvements since the 2021 edition.

Kickstart your summer with a free trip from one of these travel-themed contests and sweepstakes to exciting destinations like tropical islands or the Paris Summer Olympics. None has a cost to enter, and for just a few minutes of your time, you could be off on an all-expenses-paid getaway with friends or family with airline tickets, concert tickets and even some spending money.

United Airlines has premiered its new pre-flight safety video. The company says it has been designed “to capture and keep the attention of even the most frequent travelers.”

Lonely Planet associate editor Ann Douglas Lott recently traveled to Newport Beach, California, for a sunny coastal getaway. Here, she shares some tips and insights for anyone planning a similar trip.

Fiji has seen increased interest from UK and global tourists for the first quarter of the year, with UK visitor numbers rising by 20 per cent in February 2024 versus 2023.

As the local saying goes, Fiji is a place “where happiness comes naturally.” Travel buyers and journalists at this past week’s annual Fiji Tourism Exchange event learned details of how much happiness has been coming here in the past year. Visitor numbers for 2024 are already up 11% compared to 2023, and the nearly one million visitors last year reached a new record for the island nation, representing nearly $1.5 billion U.S. Dollars in revenue to the country.

India is a key source market for the neighboring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. In February, India was the biggest source market for Nepal, accounting for more than 25% of foreign tourist arrivals in the country.

When it comes to the world's best airlines for business class, the same names and products have long dominated the conversation, especially when it comes lie-flat products on Middle Eastern routes. But these days, with new technology for a post-pandemic travel era coming to fruition and the elevated-class competition strong, travelers would do well to pay attention to newer business products that are emerging to compete with those major players—particularly on smaller routes, where the service is more focused and the airport less-crowded, no less.