Travel in city Seoul, South Korea

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Hallie Bradley, the 39-year-old founder of the travel site The Soul of Seoul. She shares what she's learned after living in Seoul, South Korea since 2006. It's been edited for length and clarity. 

In April 2020, United MileagePlus removed its partner award chart. Partner awards continued pricing at the lowest Saver level from the last-published award charts for a while. But over time, United Airlines has slowly raised its unpublished partner award rates. Last month, United devalued first-class partner redemptions, increasing award prices up to 100%. Now, the loyalty program has struck again with another devaluation.

Close to 8.5 billion passengers took a plane trip last year, according to Airports Council International (ACI) World’s just-released list of the top 10 busiest airports worldwide for 2023.

Summer travel is about to heat up, and flight prices may be downright scorching this season.

Shohei Ohtani is possibly MLB’s biggest star and Japan’s most popular athlete: He’s twice been the American League’s MVP and has now moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of MLB’s biggest brands and most valuable franchises.

AirAsia Malaysia (flight code AK) celebrates another milestone for its second biggest hub in Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu, with its inaugural flight to Seoul, South Korea, which took flight with 100 percent passenger load factor.

Europe is home to 63 of the top 100 city destinations in the world, according to a new ranking.

Global market research company Euromonitor International has released its annual rankings of city destinations based on tourism, sustainability and economic performance. Europe dominates the field. Paris was crowned the most attractive city destination in the world in the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023, with seven European destinations landing in the top 10 and the continent owning 63 spots in the top 100 overall. Nadejda Popova, Senior Manager (Loyalty) at Euromonitor International, said: “Paris has retained the title of the world's leading city following exceptional performance across the Tourism Policy and Attractiveness, Tourism Infrastructure and Tourism Performance pillars.” Paris was followed by Dubai in second place, Madrid in third, Tokyo in fourth and Amsterdam in fifth. The top 10 was rounded out by Berlin (6), Rome (7), New York (8), Barcleona (9) and London (10).  

The arrangement with Korean Air is ITA Airways’ 32nd codeshare agreement, a result achieved in just over two years since the company’s inception.

The World's 50 Best Bars have just been announced—and you can consider this your official bucket list of exceptional drinking dens around the world.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Rowena Shek. It has been edited for length and clarity.

The 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2023 (ITE HCMC 2023) is scheduled from September 7 to 9, 2023, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), District 7. Themed “Connectivity, Growth, and Sustainability,” ITE HCMC 2023 aims to propel Vietnam’s tourism industry, ensuring sustainable development while showcasing its allure globally.

The Google pages of many hotels — including premier properties — in the Himalayan hill towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal have been defaced for fraud ahead of the holiday travel rush. Anybody looking for hotels in Darjeeling using the search engine will come across prominent photographs containing the hackers’ phone numbers over a section displaying pictures of rooms and amenities. “We have been lately facing incidents where fraudsters are posting their mobile numbers with payment options to book not only our properties but also several others in the region. We are continually monitoring this and flagging all such posts as ‘spam’ for Google to review and have them removed,” said Viraj Oberoi, director of Elgin Hotels & Resorts, a luxury heritage hotels chain with properties in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim. Cyber miscreants are removing hotel details and creating their own profiles with personal contact details, said Sandipan Ghosh, general secretary of regional travel trade body Eastern Himalayas Travel and Tour Operators’ Association. “Surprisingly, they’re also luring customers to pay in advance while knocking off the goods and services tax charge,” Ghosh said. In India, the goods and services tax on hotels range anywhere between 12-18 percent, depending on the pricing. Customers, while trying to book hotels online for Darjeeling, have been duped to pay advance amounts to bank accounts which don’t belong to the owners of the accommodations. “We’re in touch with the cyber cell department to track such incidents closely and take action accordingly,” Ghosh added. 

Editor’s Note: For the latest version of this story, see The World’s Most and Least Expensive Cities, Ranked.