Holidays
5 major trends set to shape travel in 2026
Traveling is no longer just about the destination – or even the journey. It’s about the experience you walk away with. Since the end of Covid, experience‑led travel has continued to evolve, shifting away from checking off landmarks and more towards meaningful trips that help travelers connect with the people and places they visit. CNBC […]
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Tanger CEO says retailers are ‘discounting to meet the consumer’ this holiday season
U.S. shoppers are willing to spend this holiday season — despite falling consumer confidence and anxiety over prices — but only if the deals are there, Tanger CEO Stephen Yalof told CNBC on Tuesday. “Retailers are discounting to meet the consumer, and the consumer is responding by shopping,” Yalof said on CNBC’s “Money Movers.” Yalof said […]
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Holiday retail spending rose 4.2% this season, driven by e-commerce and electronics: Visa report
Shoppers at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., on Dec. 20, 2025, the final weekend of Christmas gift buying. Myung J. Chun | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images U.S. consumers showed resilience this holiday season, driving retail spending up 4.2% year over year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by Visa. The report from […]
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Why the chocolate in your holiday candy could be ‘fake’ this year
Planet A Foods’ ChoViva chocolate alternative Planet A Foods If you’re unwrapping chocolate this holiday season, it might not contain any actual cocoa. Market turbulence, ethical concerns and sustainability questions have sparked a movement among some chocolate makers to scrap cocoa in favor of alternative ingredients — prompting calls that the real deal could soon […]
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‘To sustain the ride, they started to dilute it’: How Black Friday became a retail letdown
Black Friday early morning shoppers rush in as the doors are opened at a Walmart store in Fairfax, Virginia, Nov. 28, 2008. Gerald Martineau | The Washington Post | Getty Images Black Friday has long been defined by massive crowds, rock-bottom prices and rabid consumers willing to bite, scratch and claw their way to the […]
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Millennials are driving a sports tourism boom — and spending big to do it. Here’s why
Vince Nguyen, a 39-year-old entrepreneur based in Vietnam, spends a few hundreds almost every month traveling to other countries to play pickleball. The sport, which began as a pastime after injuring himself in American football, has since become central to his lifestyle, as he plays it for two to four hours almost daily. Since he […]
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U.S. moves to tame the skies as disruptive passenger incidents reach new highs
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday launched a nationwide campaign urging travelers to improve their behavior at airports and on flights, as disruptive incidents remain far above pre-pandemic levels. The effort, called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” aims to restore civility in the skies and address a surge in disruptive behavior. […]
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‘Hassle’ and ‘humiliation’: What it’s like traveling with a weak passport
Alex from South Africa lives in Singapore and frequently travels overseas for business and pleasure. But her passport is a big deterrent to free-and-easy travel — so much so that she is willing to “gladly” trade it for another. “If someone offered me a different passport, or my children a different passport, I would grab […]
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Fewer burritos, more bargains: Consumers flash holiday warning signs
Shoppers walk through Manhattan on Nov. 7, 2025, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images High-income consumers are trading down, Gen Z is spending less, and low-income shoppers are still struggling, according to many consumer companies that shared their latest quarterly results in recent weeks. Those trends may not bode well for the […]
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Sonder announces bankruptcy plans; tells guests to vacate hotel rooms: ‘People were scrambling’
Short-term rentals company Sonder on Monday said it plans to file for bankruptcy, a day after Marriott International said a licensing agreement between the two companies had ended. The deal, signed in August 2024, allowed Sonder hotels to be booked via Marriott’s Bonvoy website and was widely considered a lifeline for the San Francisco-based company, […]
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