Newest Travel Tips

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

Jul 25, 2024 • 7 min read

Tourism is an important part of life in Alaska. In fact, last year, tourism brought in nearly $158 million in revenue for the state.

I've traveled around the world, but even after a dozen visits, Paris remains my favorite city. I never tire of its cafés, restaurants, parks, or opportunities to practice my French.

Jul 25, 2024 • 5 min read

France's rail network has been thrown into chaos today following a series of arson attacks, just hours before the nation officially opens the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As we were preparing to land at Orlando International Airport (MCO) during a recent Delta Air Lines flight, a friendly attendant handed me and a few other passengers a card with a handwritten thank-you note on the back. I had never received such a note, nor had I known they existed. I immediately texted my trusted co-worker and fellow frequent flyer Clint Henderson for some insight.

Sylvain Saudan, who was widely known as the “skier of the impossible” for his audacious and potentially life-ending descents down some of the steepest, most inaccessible slopes in the world, died on July 14 at his home in Les Houches, France. He was 87.

This summer has been tough for vacationing travelers, with overcrowding, heat, hurricanes, fires, you name it. But if you’re still looking to get away, there are places where the weather right now is great, the crowds palatable and the destination itself is at its best. Here, six off-the-beaten-track spots around the world for an end-of-summer vacation.

Southwest Airlines just announced a monumental shift in its passenger experience. The Dallas-based carrier said on July 25 that it plans to soon introduce seat assignments, as well as premium extra-legroom areas on board its fleet of narrow-body aircraft.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom outlined numerous steps the airline is taking to “course correct” after abandoning a direct distribution strategy it embarked on in 2023.

Hyatt Hotels on Thursday entered a new alliance with Under Canvas, a brand that runs 13 luxury outdoor resorts. This move enables Hyatt to tap into the growing trend of upscale nature-based travel experiences, particularly near U.S. national parks.

Whether it’s something you “luv” or hate, the absence of assigned seats on Southwest Airlines has become a decades-long fixture. However, the more than 50-year-old legacy of open seating for the Dallas-based carrier will soon end.

Hyatt wants to take you on a luxurious camping adventure — almost like a safari.

Before Australia’s East Coast burnished its reputation as a haven of sun, sand and sea, it was the temperate climate of Tasmania, the country’s largest island, that lured visitors from across the British Empire. Sometimes called the “sanitarium of the south,” it was noted for its salubrious climes, which were considered an antidote to havoc wrought on delicate constitutions by tours in the equatorial colonies. Some two centuries later, the heart-shaped landmass 150 miles off the mainland’s southeast coast is still seen as a place of invigorating isolation.

As the Olympics take over Paris, the hospitality scene is expanding in the city — and beyond — with a handful of new hotel openings worth bookmarking for a visit once the crowds have died down. Le Grand Hôtel Cayré opened in the Seventh Arrondissement earlier this month with 123 rooms, all with handcrafted wooden beds and mustard yellow velvet chairs, some with balconies and views of the Sacre Coeur or Eiffel Tower. In Carry-le-Rouet, a seaside village outside of Marseille, L’Hôtel Bleu’s design follows its name with 44 harbor-view rooms decorated in shades of blue. The property’s restaurant offers three seafood-heavy, Mediterranean-inspired tasting menus, while a private cinema room can be reserved when the weather calls for some indoor time. Further east toward Cannes, in the commune of Mougins, Hôtel Le Mas Candille was recently redesigned by the architect and decorator Hugo Toro, whose hand-painted patterns appear on the curtains and carpets in the 46 rooms. Its Glow House spa has four treatment rooms, each with its own terrace, and a private swimming pool overlooking Provence. In Nice’s old town, Hôtel du Couvent opened last month within a 17th-century convent surrounded by two-and-a-half acres of gardens. The former nuns’ herbal shop has been revived and now offers personalized remedies, some made from herbs grown on the property. There’s also a bathing area with pools of varying temperatures inspired by the nearby Roman baths.

Southwest Airlines will start assigning seats to passengers, ending its longstanding policy of allowing passengers to pick their seats once they have boarded, the airline said on Thursday.

Jul 25, 2024 • 7 min read

Jul 25, 2024 • 8 min read

Jul 25, 2024 • 8 min read

The proposed $3.9 billion Wynn Al Marjan has caused a development frenzy in Ras Al Khaimah, the once-quiet man-made island– located about 70 minutes drive from Dubai International Airport. Just about every major hotel operator has a project underway, and as Bloomberg reported last month, developers have snapped up every available plot.