Is Recreational Marijuana Legal in Mexico? What Travelers Need to Know About Mexico's Weed Laws

Hidden cameras have been a hot topic in the headlines.

It’s been yet another rocky year for the airlines amid a parade of troubling headlines ranging from problems with Boeing aircraft to concerns about cancellations and delays as we head into what could be a record-breaking summer for air travel. So, it may come as little surprise that fliers have mixed feelings about the airlines these days.

Could the summer air travel season be impacted by a potential Congressional amendment?

Los Angeles, California — The United States has “serious problems” when it comes to international inbound travel that must be resolved if the country is to regain its competitive edge.That’s the assessment of the U.S. Travel Association and its leader Geoff Freeman, the organization’s president and CEO.Freeman delivered his sober take on the problems plaguing inbound travel to the United States during a press conference today in Los Angeles, California where a travel industry convention is taking place.“The United States remains the world’s most desired nation to visit, but at the end of 2019 we had 79 million visitors internationally and in 2023 we had 67 million international visitors," Freeman told the media gathered for the IPW 2024 convention. “That’s only 84 percent of pre-pandemic levels.”“When you look at travel as an export - before the pandemic we had a 12 billion [person] travel trade surplus. At end of last year we had about a 50 billion [person] travel trade deficit,” Freeman added.There's a handful of challenges that the United States currently faces when it comes to attracting international visitors and significantly ramping up inbound numbers, said Freeman. And some of those challenges are within the country’s ability to fix, while others are not.There’s not much that can be done, for instance, about the strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes this country very expensive to visit from many other parts of the world. Similarly, there’s not much U.S. officials can do about the current prohibitions surrounding flights over Russian airspace, which pose a major obstacle for airlines coming to this country from China.However, visa wait times continue to be a significant roadblock for international visitors — and that’s an issue U.S. officials can — and should — be able to fix, Freeman said.“On the visa side, I checked this morning — if you're a Columbian and want to come to the U.S. the wait times are over 600 days to get an interview at a U.S. consulate,” said Freeman. “If you’re in Mexico, the wait times are over 800 days.”By contrast, for visitors from India the wait timeline for visa interviews has recently been reduced to a somewhat more reasonable 150 to 200 days. Similarly, wait times for those visiting from Brazil have been reduced drastically — from what was once 500 days down to just 21 days, according to the U.S. Travel Association.“It shows us that it can be done. When the State Department uses their ingenuity and gets creative and puts resources in the right places, this problem can be solved,” explained Freeman. “But it’s been going on for far too long. It needs to be solved now.”

Nayarit is a land of natural beauty and incredible cultural and historical experiences for travelers to enjoy. If you’re not familiar with this destination, then this is the guide for you. 

On Friday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed into law landmark legislation (SB 2919) that grants local governments the power to regulate short-term rentals to meet the needs of their communities. 

Amid the fanfare of a press conference about the growth of inbound United States tourism, Brand USA Today officially introduced its new president and CEO and bid goodbye to its longtime leader after a dozen years of service.Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, welcomed Fred Dixon into the DMO’s top role. Dixon is the current president and CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions.He will take over in July for Chris Thompson, who announced his retirement from the role last year. Thompson held the role of Brand USA president and CEO from 2012 until 2024.

I'm a big fan of Mobile Passport Control and have been a loyal user for many years. It's my entry expediting program of choice when I return to the U.S. from overseas and want to avoid long lines at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Hawaii is imposing more regulations on short-term rentals, allowing each county to set their own rules when it comes to these homes.

The Big Easy might be known for its festivals and easy, musical atmosphere, but it’s also home to a lively river and ocean port for leisure cruising. 

The U.S. government's agreement on a final bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) presents a mixed bag for travel agencies and advisors across the country, according to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA).The organization was successful in its efforts to secure a provision that streamlines offline disclosures surrounding air travel and establish the Passenger Experience Advisory Committee within the Department of Transportation (DOT) to advise the Secretary and the FAA Administrator on improving the passenger experience in air transportation customer service."This will reduce frustration with the air ticket purchase process and lessen the unnecessary burdens on our members' business operations while keeping critical consumer protection intact," said ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby about the offline disclosure victory.However, ASTA expressed frustration with DOT's new airfare refund rules that could negatively impact agencies by leaving them on the hook to issue a refund as the "merchant of record" even if they've already passed the funds over to the airline."We were thankful when the House originally recognized this important distinction. Unfortunately, the final compromise between the House and Senate kicks this issue back to a DOT that has shown a clear lack of understanding of how travel agencies book air travel," added Kerby.

Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast!