Travel Innovators, Parks Vs. Overtourism and China's Senior Travelers

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, September 10, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Vacations ... aren't they great? There's nothing like heading to a beautiful tropical island in the Caribbean, Florida or the Gulf Coast in the summer or fall. Vacation can be wonderful — that is, until a seasonal tropical weather event or hurricane hits your destination. Then a vacation can become a huge headache or something even worse.

South Africa has its sights set on two of the world’s fastest-growing tourist markets — India and China. In a strategic bid to attract more visitors from these nations, the country is easing travel restrictions, including a proposed 90-day visa waiver. The tourism ministry says it recognizes the untapped potential of Indian and Chinese tourists.

Growing up in Singapore, I thought I'd seen most of my country — a city-state just slightly smaller than the size of New York City.

China was a booming opportunity when United Airlines launched flights to Chengdu a decade ago.

Skift Global Forum will return to New York this month, and — as always — it will feature travel industry leaders in exclusive interview sessions. The theme of this year’s event is “Travel’s Great Renewal” as the the industry takes the next step coming of the pandemic.

An autumn/winter fashion shoot is all about layers—lots of rich textiles, hues, and textures to match the landscape, not to mention the trends noted back at the February shows. This year, Condé Nast Traveler headed to the Faroe Islands, with its wild and windy conditions, to bring the collections to life. The theme? The Great Outdoors. Below, fashion director Martha Ward takes us on location and shares how the shoot came together, from seeking out unforgettable scenery to the most memorable look.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, September 5, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

In China, gender equality remains elusive, with progress in women’s labor force participation advancing at a pace that makes a sloth look speedy. However, Jane Sun, the CEO of Trip.com Group, is shaking up the status quo.

Thailand expects nearly 36 million foreign tourists this year, surpassing its initial target of 35 million. This growth is a positive sign for the country’s tourism economy, with foreign tourism revenue projected to reach THB 1.8 trillion ($53 billion).

Koji, the mold that transforms soy beans and wheat into soy sauce and rice into sake, is so beloved in Japan that it has its own holiday. And lately, chefs have been finding new uses for the fungus, which has a fruity aroma and an ability to make “anything it touches better,” says Jeremy Umansky, 41, the owner of Larder deli in Cleveland. He uses koji for almost everything: to cure pastrami; to ferment Chinese-style black beans, which are ground and swirled into chocolate babka to embolden the chocolate; and to sprinkle over salads and fries in the form of what the restaurant calls Special K, a seasoning of dried ground koji. “It’s a harmonizer,” he says. Bartenders, too, are taking note. At Nancy’s Hustle in Houston, the bar manager, Zach Hornberger, 32, adds it to the nonalcoholic Silver Brining cocktail, a sweet-sour-salty mix of pickle brine, grapefruit and lime juices, koji and tonic. “It brings this umami background to beverages, and it plays well with citrus, taming the high acid notes and rounding the drink as a whole,” he says. At the restaurant Fête in Honolulu, the bar manager, Fabrice McCarthy, 41, infuses rum with shio koji (a slurry of koji, water and salt) and shakes it into a mai tai to add salinity — the effect, he says, is similar to how salted peanuts make you want to drink more beer. Ryan Chetiyawardana, 40, the owner of the bar Lyaness in London, experiments with koji in multiple forms — for one cocktail, he ferments parsnips with koji, which he says unlocks the sweetness and delivers “a huge tropical brightness.” While koji often plays a supporting role, at Paradiso in Barcelona, it wraps around the entire lip of the glass used for the Fleming, named for Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, another influential mold. For this fungus-inspired cocktail, which includes grapefruit, tequila and miso, the manager of Paradiso’s research lab, Matteo Ciarpaglini, 30, one-upped a classic salt rim with a fluffy cloud of koji, its floral fragrance accompanying every taste. —

Nearly 80% of people across Asia don’t want to travel with any cash to their destination, according to Prateek Sanghi, head of Visa Consulting and Analytics for Asia Pacific.