Visit Qatar is set to participate at ITB Berlin 2024, the world’s leading travel trade show. ITB hosts over 5,000 international exhibitors every year and is one of the most important events in the travel industry. His Excellency, Mr. Saad Bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al-Mawlawi, Chief Marketing and Promotions Officer at Qatar Tourism, along with a team of 28 delegates from travel and hospitality industries will be representing Visit Qatar this year. The ITB is a hub for informative, cultural, and inspirational B2B exchanges pertaining to travel, tourism, hospitality, and trade. Visit Qatar aims to foster several exchanges with key travel, trade, airline, and media partners to promote Qatar to key stakeholders in the European market. In addition, Visit Qatar anticipates fruitful discussions, trade meetings, new partnership deals, and opportunities.
Beware of this costly TSA PreCheck application scam
16.02.2024 - 17:05 / thepointsguy.com
The Transportation Security Administration's mission is to "protect the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce," but it has also taken up the mantle of protecting TSA PreCheck applicants from scams that can be costly and frustrating, and potentially put your identity and credit card information at risk.
A string of websites posing as official TSA PreCheck application processing providers are claiming to assist in checking your application for accuracy and finding an in-person appointment to complete your application. These scammers charge up to $100 on top of the TSA PreCheck application fee, which costs between $78 and $85, depending on which provider you use.
Related: Is TSA PreCheck worth it?
Not only do these dubious sites charge applicants unnecessary fees, but also there's no guarantee your data is safe or that they will actually pass your application through to the official channels. On top of that, the assistance they promise is already built into the application process.
In speaking with TSA Traveler Populations branch manager Anne Walbridge to learn more about why these sites are so dangerous and how you can ensure you are applying through official channels, TPG learned that the TSA has contracts with two private companies that conduct TSA PreCheck enrollments: Telos and Idemia; you can reach both through the TSA's website.
"One of the easiest ways to know if you are applying through one of our authorized enrollment providers is to see if the website ends in '.gov,'" Walbridge advised. "Another easy way to know is that if you are enrolling for the first time and you are asked to enter your payment information online, that is definitely not an authorized enrollment provider."
When you apply for TSA PreCheck through official channels, you will pay when you visit an in-person enrollment center to complete the registration process. Once you complete the in-person enrollment process, the authorized provider will also match the information on your identification documentation (passport, driver's license, etc.) to your application information. If there are any mistakes or errors, the authorized provider can assist you in correcting your application.
Related: Which airports and airlines use TSA PreCheck?
"Our enrollment providers also have customer service capabilities," Walbridge said. "If there is an error on your application, you can contact the enrollment provider you used to resolve any discrepancies."
As for finding an enrollment center, know that you should have plenty of options.
"The TSA PreCheck application program has over 600 enrollment centers and the majority have availability within two weeks," Walbridge said. "The online portion of
This Luxury Hotel Brand Is Opening Its First Hotel In Japan
With 23 hotels and resorts in 18 countries around the world and counting, Six Senses Kyoto will make its grand debut in Japan this April.
It Will Be Easier to Get to Portugal This Summer — Here’s Why
It will be easier to get to Lisbon this summer as TAP Air Portugal adds 10 more weekly flights to the popular city from North America.
Travel To BC, Canada This Spring For Peak Bird-watching Season
This spring, grab your binoculars and join The BC Bird Trail in celebrating the start of another amazing birdwatching season. As millions of migratory birds return to British Columbia, bird enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels have the incredible opportunity to observe these remarkable creatures complete another annual migration.
Sri Lanka Tourism is all set to give it’s best at the ITB Berlin this year
Sri Lanka Tourism is all set to give it’s best at the ITB Berlin this year, which will kick off on the 5th of March 2024 and continue till 7th March 2024 at Messe Berlin, Germany. The Island paradise will showcase all its Tourism Products to lure the International tourists to come and have an experience of a lifetime. Sri Lanka is seeing continuous increase in the number of Tourist arrivals since 2022 and is celebrating a remarkable comeback with 1.5million tourists in 2023. Sri Lanka is a regular participant of the ITB and as a result of its promotional efforts, the number of German travelers to the destination has doubled in 2023 compared to 2022. Germany is one of the top source markets for Sri Lanka Tourism, which has the second highest number of arrivals from Europe after UK. This time, Sri Lanka Tourism will have a myriad of travel and holiday opportunities to offer for the German counterparts, with new initiatives and projects rolled up on its sleeve, in order to highlight that Sri Lanka is still one of the most renowned travel destinations in the world. The number of Airlines to Sri Lanka have increased and several top Airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish airlines and Lot polish Airlines have resumed flights to Sri Lanka, as a result of the continuous promotional efforts carried out by Sri Lanka Tourism.
This Budget Airline Is Making It Easier to Fly to Puerto Rico From the U.S.
Spirit Airlines is adding new flights to Puerto Rico, making it easier to get to the island this spring.
This Simple Travel Hack Can Help You Save Big on JetBlue Flights
Finding the lowest price for a flight can be challenging, but one airline has a somewhat hidden tool to help travelers snag the best deal. JetBlue has a section of their website with a fare calendar that displays flight prices in grid view between an origin and destination airport, helping travelers plan a vacation to get the lowest cost airfare. The tool, called "Best Fare Finder," is located under the «Book» tab on JetBlue’s homepage. The page allows passengers to select how many children and adults will be traveling, whether they would like to pay in cash or TrueBlue miles, and then choose the desired destination from any airport. For example, the price of a flight ticket from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) in April 2024 varies widely. If a traveler booked it for April 18, they would pay $259, but if they can wait six days later, the price drops to only $70. The Best Fare Finder provides all of the prices in the calendar view.
How Does a Day Job Affect an Artist’s Work? This Exhibition Has an Idea
The Hawaii-born artist Toshiko Takaezu was known for her ceramic works that redefined the genre with their “closed forms,” as she called them — sealed vessels whose hidden interior spaces were meant to activate the imagination. Next month, Takaezu’s life and work will be the focus of a major retrospective at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens. “Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within” will present over 150 pieces from private and public collections around the country, co-curated by the art historian Glenn Adamson, the museum curator Kate Wiener and the composer and sound artist Leilehua Lanzilotti. (A 368-page monograph, published in collaboration with Yale University Press, will accompany the exhibition.) Visitors will be able to see a collection that spans seven decades of Takaezu’s career, from her early student work in Hawaii in the 1940s to immersive, monumental ceramic forms she produced in the late 1990s to early 2000s. “Takaezu was also a weaver and painter, and often constructed multimedia installations where her ceramics, textiles and paintings operated together,” says Wiener. To play off this idea, the curators organized the show chronologically, incorporating each of these media into various sections, inspired by Takaezu’s own installations. Sound will also play a role. In her ceramic pieces, Takaezu would often place a dried fragment of clay within her closed form vessels, creating a musical rattle. For this exhibit, Lanzilotti (a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in music) has developed a series of videos offering insight into the sonic elements of Takaezu’s work — and visitors can hear those rattles firsthand via an interactive display. .
This Florence Luxury Hotel Is The Best Easter Escape For Art Lovers
If you’re looking to escape for a long Easter weekend this year, Italy is always a great idea–especially Florence, where the dawn of spring marks an ideal time to visit the city before the summer crowds descend.
This NYC Boutique Hotel Has Opened An In-House Tattoo Parlor
Common hotel amenities often range from happy hours, a fitness center and in-room dining, to a complimentary shuttle and spa services. Imagine something different such as getting a tattoo during your stay.
The Case for Having Both TSA PreCheck and Clear
Nobody likes waiting in the security line at the airport—at best, it’s lost minutes that could otherwise be spent in a great airport lounge; at worst, it leaves you questioning if you’ll make your flight or not.
The list of airports where you can skip the TSA PreCheck line and use a facial recognition scan instead of your ID is growing
You won't need a boarding pass or an ID to get through security if you're using TSA PreCheck at some airports.