Virgin Voyages is targeting a new type of traveler: remote workers. In March, the Miami-based cruise line owned by Sir Richard Branson introduced a month-long cruise called the “Scarlet Summer Season Pass.” It’s essentially four week-long cruises packaged together to appeal to remote workers who want to spend a month at sea in southern Europe. … Read more
The travel industry is largely back on track. But high prices in the luxury sector, which rose in the wake of the Covid pandemic, aren’t returning to normal. In fact, they’re growing higher by the month. Luxury hotel rates reached “peak levels” this year, with average daily rates up 70% compared to 2019, according to … Read more
“The tourists love to see the cute bambis and feed them and I’ve never seen them attack a person or bite,” said Tsutomu Harada, a tour guide who has visited Nara several times. “For us, they are sacred animals that must be respected but they are also one of the most important tourist attractions in … Read more
Reservations for Italy’s new “La Dolce Vita Orient Express” train open Tuesday. Luxury train enthusiasts may want to lock in the current rate now — before it climbs any higher. Starting rates for a one-night journey on the luxury train increased from 2,000 euros ($2,168) per person in December 2022 to 2,500 euros per person … Read more
After missing out on Taylor Swift’s world tour, Thailand has sealed deals to host Summer Sonic and Tomorrowland music festivals as it pushes event-driven tourism to propel Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Summer Sonic will come to Southeast Asia for the first time in its second venture outside Japan, with dates set for August 24 and … Read more
Heli-skiing on virgin snow in Antarctica for a cool $2.2 million. A polar bear safari in an “off-limits” area of Norway’s Svalbard for $300,000. How about tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas with renowned explorers for $100,000? Big-ticket travel experiences like those are indicative of the “quiet luxury” trend which began in the world of … Read more
Two officials from southern China’s Guizhou province are being investigated for corruption weeks after the province started looking into the arrest of a businesswoman who tried to recoup millions in back payments for projects carried out under the duo’s watch. Hou Junran, the deputy Communist Party secretary of the political and legal affairs committee of … Read more
Singapore made global headlines last year when the government announced that biometric processing will replace travel document verifications at Changi Airport in the first half of 2024. But the city-state is going “passport-free” in another area: its land border with Malaysia. From Tuesday, people traveling by car between Singapore and Malaysia can show self-generated QR … Read more
Japan is launching a new high-speed bullet train, or shinkansen, extension on Saturday that will make an under-the-radar prefecture far more accessible to travelers. The coastal Fukui Prefecture is some 185 miles west of Tokyo. The new train will pass through the city of Fukui, the town of Awara and other places guidebooks rarely mention, … Read more
Data released by Statistics Canada shows Chinese tourism is far behind pre-pandemic levels, reaching barely a third of those numbers last year as tensions remain fraught between Ottawa and Beijing. An industry spokesperson told Global News the visits had brought in billions of dollars in 2019. Statistics Canada figures show a rising number of visits … Read more
