Americans Are Planning to Take More Vacations, According to MMGY

Calling all job hunters: the city of Wellington, New Zealand, is welcoming Americans to move and work in the county's capital — touting its great work/life balance.

I'm an American originally from New York City. But for almost 10 years, I've been living in Italy. I also gave birth to my daughter here, almost five years ago. My daughter is bilingual and fully immersed in Italian ways of life.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Morgan Duram, a full-time content creator who moved from Michigan to Madrid. It has been edited for length and clarity. 

This month, ballet fans will have the rare opportunity to see the acclaimed Australian Ballet in London. As part of the company’s 60th anniversary celebrations, performances by The Australian Ballet at London’s Royal Opera House will be the only performances outside of Australia. The 2023 London Tour will be the first international tour for The Australian Ballet under the leadership of Artistic Director David Hallberg. It will be the company’s first return to the Royal Opera House after an absence of 35 years.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Justin Miller, a Tokyo-based DJ and English teacher. He shares what he's learned about Tokyo after living in Japan for 15 years. It's been edited for length and clarity.

Today’s announcement that Southwest has a new marketing relationship with a rideshare company was no surprise. As rideshare services have become an ever-larger part of the travel landscape, such tie-ups have proliferated. It won’t be long before every airline and hotel loyalty program has a rideshare company on its roster of points-earning partners.

Planning a road trip this summer? For the sake of safety and peace of mind, your own and others’, add this to the pre-departure to-do list: a review of your driving habits. After all, while there’s nothing you can do to change other drivers’ bad habits, you are at least in control of your own.

Enter the American Airlines “Your Vacation Spot” sweepstakes by April 1, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a $10,000 American Airlines Vacations travel voucher.

Enter the United Airlines “Billion Mile Giveaway” sweepstakes by September 30, 2016, for a chance to win one of 100 grand prizes of 1 million United MileagePlus miles, plus $750 to cover taxes, each. Runner-up prizes include smaller numbers of miles. In total, 1 billion miles will be given away.

When American Airlines merged with US Airways, American’s disgruntled unions were unanimous in their support for what amounted to a hostile takeover of the much-larger American by Doug Parker and his mid-sized US Airways.

North American travelers looking for bargain transatlantic fares will have lots more options this summer, as European-based low-fare lines expand their reach. Three lines have announced aggressive moves:

This coming August, all eyes will turn to the beaches and stadiums of Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Summer Olympics will be in full swing. The Games are expected to bring athletes and tourists from across the globe to Brazil, and now for Americans, a huge hurdle has been removed. In a move to stimulate the Brazilian economy, the Brazilian government announced that it will waive visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan.