Marriott is bringing its new affordable brand to Japan

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.”

Ariane Gorin’s first day as Expedia Group CEO was Monday, and she has moved to the home base in Seattle after living in London and Paris for the past 23 years.

The U.S. dollar is going strong relative to many foreign currencies right now, which translates to international travel bargains for savvy shoppers. One of the easiest way for American travelers to grab a “deal” on an overseas trip is to choose a destination where the comparatively strong dollar delivers a built-in automatic discount for on-the-ground costs like hotels, dining and attractions.

Today, on May 12, 1954, the Relais de Campagne is born: eight properties located between Paris and Nice unite under the slogan ‘La Route du Bonheur’–The Road to Happiness. They would write the first chapter in the history of the Association, a meaningful movement that inspires its guests to discover the world in the most beautiful of ways. Starting in 1960, Relais de Campagne expands outside of France with its first European properties.

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.

A Japanese town, known for its near-perfect views of the iconic Mount Fuji, is fighting back against hordes of tourists.

A brand new helicopter and hiking tour has launched in Shizuoka, exploring Japan’s captivating Southern Alps. Offering exhilarating views of majestic Mt. Fuji and its surrounding peaks, the tour includes stops at a rejuvenating mountain onsen, a traditional ryokan and Japan’s most remote whisky distillery.

A Japanese convenience store in the northern foothills of Mount Fuji has turned into an unlikely tourist attraction in recent years thanks to a popular viewpoint of the iconic volcano.

Flying on Japan Airlines has always been, well, delightfully Japanese. Think of it as an introduction—or if departing from Tokyo, a bid farewell—to the country’s characteristic tenets of respectful, nearly differential service; seafood-forward and fresh cuisine; and commitment to cultural traditions. (Onboard oshiburi, anyone?) Add in comfortable seats across all cabins—yes, even decent economy ones with 34 inches of recline—and you have an experience worth writing home about. Or at least not complaining to someone about.

A Taliban-run institute is training tourism and hospitality professionals to attract visitors to Afghanistan.

It would be easy to read Evil Does Not Exist as being anti-travel—or, at the very least, anti-glamping. The new film from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is set in the tranquil (and fictional) village of Mizubiki some two hours outside of Tokyo. Locals live in deference to the nature that surrounds them, collecting water from the forest’s crystal-clear spring with quiet care. But, when COVID-era economic incentives drive a Tokyo consulting firm to erect a glamping site upstream of the village, without considering the environmental consequences on the community, a high-drama town meeting ensues, wherein villagers poke hole after hole in the hastily-drawn plan. Over the course of the film's two hours, it continues to meditate on topics of man and nature, framing stunning countryside scenery for so long, and with such focus, that you emerge refreshed as though from a cold plunge.

Virgin Voyages will introduce its fourth ship next year on a tour of North America with stops in iconic destinations from New York City to Los Angeles, Alaska, the Panama Canal, and beyond.