Summer Travel travel tips

There is no worse feeling at the end of a perfect beach day than having to lug a heavy, sandy, soggy beach towel back to your car. Thankfully, beach towels have come a long way over the years, with features like sand-resistant fabric and roomier dimensions that mean your legs won't be dangling onto the hot sand.

Indian online travel agency MakeMyTrip will be resuming its attractions and activities product for travelers, a feature it had paused during the Covid pandemic.

As the airline industry enjoys an enduring surge in demand for premium and international travel, JetBlue is taking a hit. 

Delta announced Monday that it plans to give its employees 5% raises and increase the minimum starting wage for frontline employees to $19 an hour.

Even as the grounding of the Max 9 prompted Alaska Airlines to cancel thousands of flights in January, the carrier came out relatively unscathed in the first quarter. And that’s partly because its business travel fully recovered to 2019 levels. 

Travel brands are busy preparing for the upcoming summer season, and travel demand is xpected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. What are the major trends for this summer?

If you are planning a trip to Japan this summer, you’re not alone. New research has revealed the most popular destinations for the coming peak travel season – and there are a few surprises.

Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, one of the busiest aviation hubs in Europe, announced Thursday that it is expanding flight capacity for the summer travel season.

In addition to booming tourism numbers worldwide, travelers this summer have experienced scorching temperatures. That blistering heat has made travel difficult and could potentially create chronic health problems.

Ryanair on Monday posted its largest ever after-tax profit for its key summer season and said it expected very strong passenger and fare growth for years to come as customers switch from higher-cost rivals.

Global airports expect smoother travel this summer as staffing improves, but surging passenger demand during peak periods in Europe and North America could still bring long lines, baggage piles and delayed flights, an industry group said.

A shift in family holiday experiences and longer booking windows for tours are just some patterns shaping the upcoming peak summer season.

Urs Kessler, who runs Jungfrau Railways, a train that takes tourists up the highest mountain in Switzerland, was excited for the return of Chinese tourists after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted late last year.

All that talk of slowing air travel demand and a potentially weak summer? Throw it out the window, Delta Air Lines executives said Thursday.

Ryanair will likely trim some flights in August due to delivery delays from Boeing but there will be no material impact on customers, senior executive Eddie Wilson said in an interview on Tuesday.

Online travel company Cleartrip has observed a significant surge in summer bookings, with a 200 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The rise in bookings is a result of the customer-centric approach that the company has adopted, that instills greater confidence in people while making their reservations, claimed Prahlad Krishnamurti, Cleartrip’s chief business officer. Krishnamurti also said that features such as no-cost equated monthly instalment (EMI) options under a travel now pay later scheme offers customers greater flexibility and has fueled the demand even further.

Nearly 92 percent Indians intend to explore domestic destinations during the summer, making coastal state Goa and Manali in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh as their top beach and hill vacation spots respectively, according to Oyo’s Summer Vacation Index 2023. “India’s favorite mountain destination is Manali, followed by Kashmir, Mcleod Ganj, Ooty and Coorg. Oyo hotels in Manali continue to see an uptick in demand as summer travel gains pace,” the company said in a statement. Respondents to the survey also showed a strong inclination towards exploring offbeat and lesser-known destinations. “Mawlynnong in Meghalaya and Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh stood out as the top offbeat choices. Following closely behind was Valiyaparamba in Kerala,” Oyo added. The survey also found that 13 percent of respondents wished to travel to pilgrimage destinations, with Kedarnath occupying the top spot followed by Vaishno Devi and Varanasi. “This surge in travel demand is a promising sign for the growth and development of the Indian travel and hospitality industry,” said Oyo’s Chief Service Officer Shreerang Godbole. A noticeable trend that emerged in the aftermath of Covid is the preference for shorter trips and rejuvenating staycations of 1-3 days, he said. The survey is based on responses of over 15,000 people across India via the Oyo app. 

The summer of travel is here — despite the murmur of “booking slowdown.”

After two successive summers of travel chaos, U.S. airlines are going all out to prevent large-scale flight disruptions in the face of rising demand.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, June 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

With Covid-related restrictions easing and schools closed for summer vacations, Indians are embarking on adventures that will have their friends scrolling through envy-inducing Instagram feeds. Summer vacations in India typically coincide with the school holidays, making it an ideal time for families to plan their trips.