More Cruise Ships Are Coming—And the Industry Needs Travel Advisors to Help Fill Them

Traveling in Greece is always an adventure — even for a local like me.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tony Fernandes, a 60-year-old founder and CEO of UEGroup based in San Francisco, about his experience working remotely on a cruise ship. It's been edited for length and clarity.

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.

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 But over time, United Airlines has slowly raised its unpublished partner award rates.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.

Travel advisors report that the luxury travel market is booming. Among the top travel trends for these high-end clients are those that focus on spending time with loved ones, including Family travel (immediate family), Celebration travel, and Multigenerational travel, according to the 2024 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Active/adventure trips are also among the top trends reported in the study. In addition, travel advisors are booking more off-season trips and are seeing requests for cultural immersion. The desire for personalized amenities and services is also important to upscale travelers, say advisors.

A flat tire. A medical situation. A tour that runs overtime. Any of these delays could prevent a shore excursion operator from returning guests on time to a port of call and risk the ship departing without them.

Luxury villa company Rental Escapes is celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month with a bonus commission of up to $5,000 for eligible bookings made by travel advisors throughout the month of May. 

As industry insiders, it goes without saying that travel advisors have the scoop on all things travel-related. That includes the hotels and resorts that are truly worth their steep price-tag.And if we’re being honest, what globetrotter likes splurging on a hotel only to be disappointed? There’s nothing worse than discovering upon check-in that a property you were eagerly anticipating is not exactly worth what you paid for it. With that in mind, we decided to reach out some of the industry’s top advisors to gather their insider’s opinion on hotels that are worth every penny…and then some. So be sure to bookmark this page for your next vacation, because here are the hotels that you can feel comfortable splashing a little cash on.

In honor of Global Travel Advisor Day, coming up on May 1, Riviera River Cruises is rolling out a series of booking incentives throughout the entire month of May.

Windstar Cruises is rolling out new perks to say “thank you” to travel advisors.

Cruises are increasingly popular but not the most environmentally-friendly option for travelers keen to keep carbon emissions low. It's also true that cruise companies need to meet goals of being carbon-neutral by 2050—one possible solution then, would be to start building nuclear-powered cruise ships.

Traveling puts your feet to the test. It often means walking longer, over greater distances, and on more uneven terrain than usual. Enter BIRKENSTOCK, the brand that seamlessly blends practicality with style.