News travel tips

Government officials in The Netherlands revealed that the new tourist tax increase scheduled to take effect next year in Amsterdam would make the city’s fee the highest in Europe.

At some point in the mid-Cretaceous period, a cartilaginous fish—an early ancestor of a ray or shark—was having a really bad day. For some unknown reason, it became beached on shore, unable to get back in the water. In addition to that, parasitic tapeworms were feeding in its intestines, meaning it had likely been experiencing discomfort even before it washed up on land.

When it comes to luxury travel, there are an unlimited number of possibilities — but that might just be the problem.

An easyJet passenger who appeared to be drunk was restrained and later escorted off the plane by police after he became aggressive and attempted to kiss another passenger.

An image of a young polar bear napping on an iceberg is focusing minds on vanishing polar habitats.

Want to get a jump on planning next year’s vacations? OvationNetwork, a luxury travel agency that’s part of the Virtuoso group of travel advisors, recently revealed its list of the 24 best places to travel in 2024. Among the destinations recommended are Sardinia, Italy; San Sebastián, Spain; Jeju, South Korea; and Ha Long, Vietnam (above), a UNESCO World Heritage site where a junk boat voyage is a must.

You're not imagining it, cruisers: Fares for cruises have been jumping this year — to record levels. And it looks like cruise pricing is only going higher, barring some sort of economic downturn that causes a significant dent in demand.

It's October, which means the leaves are changing, giant skeletons are taking over suburban lawns and people are apple-picking pretty much anywhere an apple grows.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, spending a few days in Los Angeles can often feel like a vacation, thanks in part to its many luxury hotels. The editors at Forbes Travel Guide have compiled the 29 best hotels in L.A. based on empirical data. Each property is visited by incognito inspectors, who have a three-day, two-night stay and perform hundreds of tests to exacting standards.

Voted BEST SKI RESORT IN THE WORLD again at the 2022 World Ski Awards. Verbier, in Switzerland, draws legends, royalty, pop stars (James Blunt has a chairlift named after him) and, yes, us ordinary folk too. Part of the largest ski area in Switzerland, “Four Valleys” has 410 kms of slopes that cater for all levels of skiers and boarders. These include the Medran with its cruisy blues, Les Savoleyres with lovely sweeping reds, and the more challenging black runs of Mont Fort. The resort is also known for its off-piste skiing – particularly the testing Mont Gelé – and each year Verbier hosts the finals of the Freeride World Tour. The mountain views are spectacular, particularly from the 3,300 metre high Mont Fort peak, one of the few places in the Alps where you can see the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc mountains simultaneously. 

Skift Global Forum is the most anticipated event for the travel industry insiders and travel enthusiasts alike. It’s half thought leadership conference, half essential networking opportunity, and all around way to connect with the ideas and people who are defining the future of travel.

As high season in the Caribbean approaches, it’s never too early to start planning a winter getaway. From Cancun to Aruba, here are five luxurious Caribbean resorts for families, foodies, adventurers and more.

“My family is safe,” our tour guide Sara Chakir said as we huddled in the streets outside Fez’s medina, waiting for aftershocks until the early hours. Morocco’s 6.8 magnitude earthquake had struck last Friday, 350 miles away in the Al Haouz region of the High Atlas mountains at just after 11pm. It was enough to send our riad swaying, but there was no apparent damage to people or place. It was only in the morning that the scale of destruction elsewhere was clear. Another tour guide, Hossain ait Mhand, said: “My family is fine, but others in their town are not so lucky – homes have been flattened.”

As the travel industry continues to recover from the pandemic, one sector remains undeniably healthy—the six-figure vacation. According to several leading luxury tour operators, the ultra-rich are booking more trips that cost upwards of $100,000, including around-the-world excursions and extended journeys to Asia and Africa. Says Justin Huxter, cofounder of Cartology Travel, “the focus is shifting to spending more on the experiences rather than the primary focus being on the accommodation.”

An American Airlines flight attendant used "psychological tricks" to convince a teen girl there was nothing strange happening as he tried to spy on her in the bathroom, her family says.

Those who love to be the among first guests to experience a new hotel have one thing going for them—the world keeps opening more. From the Maldives to Milan to Manhattan, here are the top new luxury hotels to check out (and into) this fall.

If you're a Swiftie like I am, the melancholy lyrics, "August slipped away like a bottle of wine" are probably dancing around your head right now. They certainly are for me.

Most popular tourist destinations try to increase the number of visitors every year. But that’s not the case on the glamorous Spanish island of Mallorca. Faced with the prospect of losing their paradise to the growing swell of tourism, local activists have taken an innovative approach to keep its azure waters less crowded—fake warning signs posted on some of Mallorca’s most popular beaches. Seemingly ordinary to passersby, these signs bear disturbing messages in English such as “dangerous jellyfish” or “falling rocks.” While tourists are led to believe they face physical dangers, the messages actually make with bold statements such as: “the problem isn’t a rockfall, it’s mass tourism,” or the satirical note that the beach is “open—except for foreigners and jellyfish.”

It’s the classic coin flip of a great beach vacation: Do you prefer to swim in the ocean or a pool? Thankfully, some resorts in Europe or Australia don’t require such a choice because they offer natural swimming pools replenished with fresh seawater. Now the first natural swimming pool has opened in the Caribbean. Wymara Resort + Villas on Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos features a 3,900-square-foot-pool on Sunset Cove. The ocean pool is part of the property’s Villa Beach Club and is accessible for all villa guests and available to all resort guests for a small fee.

Earlier this week we did our first event on LinkedIn live, and we think it went pretty well. You can watch a recap of the discussion about what travel marketers should expect in 2023 on LI or back on Skift, too.

When we said Skift is committed to our coverage of short-term rentals, we meant it. Ahead of the sold-out Short-Term Rental Summit in New York City, we’re launching the Skift Short-Term Rental Report, a premium newsletter that will hit your inbox three times a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) starting June 13.