Travel warning issued for LGBTQ+ tourists in Greece. Where in Europe is safest for queer people?

It’s not uncommon for many folks to start their vacation with a celebratory cocktail or glass of wine: at the airport lounge, on board the flight, or as a welcome nip at the hotel check-in counter. This ritual can also flow throughout the day with meals and as a night cap before bed. Many sober-curious travelers are thinking about holidays in a newfangled way, eschewing alcohol for a “dry tripping” experience, which enables them to revel on a getaway without the inevitable dreaded hangover, fully lucid for the next day’s activities.

A Japanese town, known for its near-perfect views of the iconic Mount Fuji, is fighting back against hordes of tourists.

Nikos Chardalias, Governor of the Attica Region, Greece, has hailed the role played by the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai in bringing together all tourism and travel companies, airlines, and industry stakeholders from around the world under one roof.

Los Angeles, California — The United States has “serious problems” when it comes to international inbound travel that must be resolved if the country is to regain its competitive edge.That’s the assessment of the U.S. Travel Association and its leader Geoff Freeman, the organization’s president and CEO.Freeman delivered his sober take on the problems plaguing inbound travel to the United States during a press conference today in Los Angeles, California where a travel industry convention is taking place.“The United States remains the world’s most desired nation to visit, but at the end of 2019 we had 79 million visitors internationally and in 2023 we had 67 million international visitors," Freeman told the media gathered for the IPW 2024 convention. “That’s only 84 percent of pre-pandemic levels.”“When you look at travel as an export - before the pandemic we had a 12 billion [person] travel trade surplus. At end of last year we had about a 50 billion [person] travel trade deficit,” Freeman added.There's a handful of challenges that the United States currently faces when it comes to attracting international visitors and significantly ramping up inbound numbers, said Freeman. And some of those challenges are within the country’s ability to fix, while others are not.There’s not much that can be done, for instance, about the strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes this country very expensive to visit from many other parts of the world. Similarly, there’s not much U.S. officials can do about the current prohibitions surrounding flights over Russian airspace, which pose a major obstacle for airlines coming to this country from China.However, visa wait times continue to be a significant roadblock for international visitors — and that’s an issue U.S. officials can — and should — be able to fix, Freeman said.“On the visa side, I checked this morning — if you're a Columbian and want to come to the U.S. the wait times are over 600 days to get an interview at a U.S. consulate,” said Freeman. “If you’re in Mexico, the wait times are over 800 days.”By contrast, for visitors from India the wait timeline for visa interviews has recently been reduced to a somewhat more reasonable 150 to 200 days. Similarly, wait times for those visiting from Brazil have been reduced drastically — from what was once 500 days down to just 21 days, according to the U.S. Travel Association.“It shows us that it can be done. When the State Department uses their ingenuity and gets creative and puts resources in the right places, this problem can be solved,” explained Freeman. “But it’s been going on for far too long. It needs to be solved now.”

Governor Gavin Newsom and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta just broke the news that California still retains the largest market share of tourism in the entire United States. According to new data released today, travel spending in the Golden State reached a record high of $150.4 billion in 2023, outstripping the previous record amount of $144.9 billion seen in 2019.

As we get ever closer to jetting off on summer holidays, it’s sadly important to remember that not everyone you meet on your travels will be well-intentioned.

Chinese tourists aren’t rushing to get a U.S. visitor visa like they did before the pandemic, according to a State Department official speaking Saturday at IPW, a travel trade conference focused on international inbound travel.

This series of articles about credit cards, points and miles, and budgeting for travel is brought to you in partnership with The Points Guy.

The U.S. Department of State has just raised its travel advisory for Germany to Level 2: Exercise Increase Caution due to the risk of terrorism. “Terrorist groups keep planning attacks in Germany,” says the State Department’s advisory. “Terrorists may attack with little or no warning. They target tourist locations and transportation hubs.”

Almost two thirds of UK adults are unaware of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) which is scheduled to launch later this year.

I was born and raised in Athens, so I've seen a lot of tourists.

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.