‘Tourism has reached its limit’: Barcelona votes to raise tourist tax from October

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, July 26, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Planning and booking a fall or winter getaway just got cheaper. Southwest Airlines recently announced a new Wanna Get Away fare sale with airfares as low as $49 one-way to popular destinations. Best of all, travelers can snag discounted tickets to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and other warm destinations throughout the winter. The fare sale ends on July 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST, and is valid on travel through January 29, 2025.  The sale may be especially helpful for anyone planning a vacation to Hawaii, as inter-island travel is also discounted. Passengers can score $49 one-way flights from Honolulu International Airport to Hilo (Hawaii Island), Kahului (Maui), and Kona. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of the $49 one-way fares available including:

The holidays came early for deal-seeking travelers.Frontier Airlines recently revealed a “Christmas in July” airfare sale that provides discounts on flights around the United States for as low as $19 one-way.Travel + Leisure spotted deals available from major airports including Atlanta, Nashville, Cleveland, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, and more for as low as $19 one-way, as listed on Frontier’s website The fare sale ends on July 25, 2024 at 11:59pm ET, and is valid for tickets through November 13, 2024. However, travelers are advised of several restrictions on when they can use the tickets — such as only flying from Monday through Thursday, and Saturday. There are also time periods where the promotion does not apply, such as select weekends.  While many of Frontier's fares are lower in the promotion, the $19 one-way promotional fares are exclusive to members of the airline's paid membership program, Discount Den. The program provides members access to lower prices, free flights for kids, and other perks.  One exciting part of the deal is it also includes discounted airfare to popular international routes. Travelers can score $89 flights from either Miami, FL or Atlanta, GA to Cancun, Mexico. The fare sale also offers $109 flights from Dallas, TX to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  Other popular one-way flight routes in the promotion include:

Venice, Italy, trialed a tourist tax earlier this year by charging day-trippers 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the city on 29 days. Now, the City of Bridges is planning to continue the tax next year and possibly increase the fee.

The results of Venice’s tourist entry fee for day trippers are in. For a total of 29 days between April 25 and July 14, Venice mandated that day trippers pay a fee of 5 euros before entering the city. The system targets day trippers from nearby Italian regions.

Step aside, Icon of the Seas — there's a new giant cruise ship in Florida. And it's already attracting weekend warriors with a new ultra-long slide, food truck, and omakase dinner.

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Is the era of ever-larger ships at Royal Caribbean coming to an end? Comments that the line's CEO, Michael Bayley, made this week are sparking renewed speculation on the topic.

It’s never too early to plan a vacation, and flight deals to popular spring break destinations are on the horizon. United Airlines recently published several discounted fares between February and April 2025, which can help travelers save extra money and get a jumpstart on planning a spring break vacation.  For travelers from the New York City and tri-state area, the airline is offering a variety of deals on flights from their Newark (EWR) hub to Orlando, FL (MCO) for as little as $137 round-trip throughout February, March, and April 2025. The flights are a significant savings as other round-trip prices for the same month reach as high as $625 round-trip.  From United's hub at Chicago O'Hare, travelers can find spring break deals to Miami, FL (MIA) for as low as $323 round-trip in March and April 2025, which is also a considerable savings from some of the most expensive round-trip flights that month which top at $670. Orlando, which is the home to many popular theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld, is often ranked as a top spring break travel destination.

Travel credit cards are hotter than ever, with over 41% of Americans having a card that provides travel rewards.  However, with many cards offering lounge access, statement credits, and travel insurance, some cards' annual fees have climbed to nearly $700 a year. 

While Amazon’s Prime Day may have deals for just about everything, travel brands are jumping in on the excitement with deals of their own. Frontier Airlines recently introduced a “Primetime Deals” fare sale with a fun nod to the shopping extravaganza. Travelers can take advantage of the fare sale by purchasing tickets on Frontier's website and using the promotional code PRIME.  Travelers can save 75 percent on base fares of tickets through August 18, 2024, and then also save 50 percent on base fares for flights through November 13, 2024, which makes it a great option for booking a fall or early winter getaway.  The fare sale ends at 11:59pm EST on July 18, 2024, and the fare sale has limited days that the tickets can be purchased for, such as travel only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Frontier also excluded several popular routes from the promotion including Atlanta to/from Las Vegas, Dallas to/from Seattle, Fort Lauderdale to/from Philadelphia, and others listed on the sale's page.Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of deals when using the promotion code including:

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