Accommodations
‘The Sound of Music’ turns 60 this year. Salzburg has plenty in store for fans
In Salzburg, Austria last spring, I skipped around the fountain outside Mirabell Palace. Others did too. Some 60 years earlier, Maria and the von Trapp children danced around the palace’s Pegasus Fountain, singing “Do-Re-Mi,” one of most famous songs from “The Sound of Music.” The movie recounts the story of the von Trapp family, and […]
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Rome’s Jubilee is expected to attract 32 million people. Here’s why — and how to avoid the crowds
Vatican City is the world’s smallest country by size and population. That’s not stopping an estimated 32 million travelers from visiting this year for Jubilee 2025, a year-long global celebration among those of the Catholic faith. The Jubilee is a time of pilgrimage, prayer, reflection and a renewal of faith, said Jubilee spokesperson Caterina Rigoni. […]
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The world’s most powerful passport has a clear winner this year — in 2024 it was a six-way tie
Singapore has the world’s most powerful passport, according to the 2025 Henley Passport Index. The nation-state was one of six countries which tied for the top spot in 2024 in the list produced by the migration consultancy Henley & Partners, which ranks passports by the number of destinations that holders can access without needing a […]
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‘Unprecedented’: The most punctual global airline last year was ‘absolutely’ a surprise, analytics firm CEO says
Aeromexico was the most punctual global airline in 2024, according to a report published by aviation analytics company Cirium. Some 86.7% of its tracked flights arrived “on-time,” defined as arriving within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival times. This result was “absolutely” a surprise, Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen told “Squawk Box Asia” Friday. “They’ve had a […]
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The world’s top hotels and restaurants are changing how they serve water
You can ask for a bottle of Evian or San Pellegrino at Singapore’s three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Zen. But you won’t get one. The restaurant, which charges nearly $500 per person for dinner, only serves water from the Swedish company Nordaq, said Executive Chef Martin Öfner. Dishes and drinks at the restaurant are made from the […]
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‘Noctourism’ is expected to be a big travel trend in 2025
Rebecca Douglas has been to Iceland 29 times. And she’s already booked her 30th trip. The goal of every trip is the same: photographing the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. Douglas has been photographing this spectacular phenomenon since 2010. It’s colors — which can paint the sky a dazzling array of green, purple, yellow and […]
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Macao is becoming a city of sports and entertainment, Sands China CEO says, as President Xi urges diversification
Sands China CEO and President Grant Chum said Macao was diversifying its economy away from gaming to become “a city of sports and … a city of entertainment,” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city that concluded Friday. In an interview on “Squawk Box Asia,” Chum cited a deal announced in early December […]
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Luxury safaris are changing — here’s what affluent travelers want now
Luxury safari-goers were once all about spotting lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and rhinos — albeit while staying in nicer tents and dining on gourmet food. But that’s changing. “Safaris are not just about the ‘Big Five’ anymore,” said Lori Cohen, a writer who covers luxury safaris. “People have got limited time off in their lives, […]
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Indian outbound travel will be ‘the story’ of the next decade, says Hilton executive
Indian travelers spent $34.2 billion on outbound travel in 2023, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. But the current level of Indian travel is “minuscule” compared with what’s to come, Alan Watts, Hilton’s Asia-Pacific president, told “Squawk Box Asia” Monday. “The story for India is before us,” he said. “India outbound will be […]
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Travel is finally back — and an era of huge growth is upon us
The global travel industry is set to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic this month, according to U.N. Tourism. During the first nine months of 2024, international arrivals worldwide reached 98% of pre-pandemic levels, compared to the same period in 2019, it said. The remaining 2% gap will close this month, according to the organization, […]
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