Richard Branson Touts His New Cruise, But What Is it Like, Asks Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/13/2019, 4:00 AM
You can count on Sir Richard Branson to market his new ocean-going cruise ship, the Scarlet Lady, in an utterly unique fashion—and that’s what he has now done. Springing the funds for a costly, full-page New York Times ad, he has used that extravagant space to appeal to residents of South Dakota, of all places—because, he claims, South Dakota is the only state in America that has not yet supp...
Arthur Frommer: It's Smart to Make Sure Your Airbnb Host is at Home
Posted on 06/11/2019, 4:00 AM
A massive battle is being waged in courtrooms all over the world between supporters of short-term apartment rentals and cities wanting to put an end to those uses. The cities claim that such companies as Airbnb are worsening the availability of housing for permanent residents; that these permanent residents are unable to stay in a growing number of apartments illegally rented by landlords, wh...
The Aviation Industry is Asked to Do Something About Emissions, Writes Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/06/2019, 3:00 AM
If humankind is to survive into the next century, something will have to be done about the drastic climate change currently experienced on earth. Though narrow-minded politicians may find it easy to call such reports a “hoax,” hundreds of eminent scientists are virtually unanimous in urgently drawing attention to that danger. Other irresponsible people claim that the problem is only for o...
A Website Called Fairbnb Has Flung an "Ethical" Challenge to Airbnb
Posted on 06/04/2019, 4:00 AM
Although it has successfully helped millions of travelers to find overnight accommodations in an apartment or home, Airbnb is still mired in controversy and fending off attacks. It has been challenged by (and remains embattled against) numerous city governments which claim that Airbnb has worsened the housing situation in their jurisdictions and reduced the available accommodations for perman...
Arthur Frommer: Seaweed is Invading the Mexican Caribbean, But There's a Bright Side
Posted on 05/30/2019, 3:00 AM
Among the current important news of travel is a sudden and mysterious drop in tourist traffic to the so-called “Mexican Caribbean” (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, the Mayan Riviera), an area which usually accounts for half of all tourism to Mexico. After several speculative guesses as to what is happening, scientists and Mexican officials have agreed that the cause is “sargass...
Arthur Frommer: Add Austria to the Nations Where Neo-Nazi Extremists Are Gaining Power
Posted on 05/28/2019, 3:00 AM
Turns out I was too limited in recently listing the western European nations partially or wholly controlled by neo-Nazis. You can now add Austria (for reasons set forth below) to the countries whose current government will cause progressive people all over the world to cease visiting them. Although the new ruling party in Austria is not itself far right-wing, they have apparently formed a...
Arthur Frommer: Is a Travel Boycott Ever Justified? Do They Even Work?
Posted on 05/07/2019, 11:00 PM
Is a travel boycott ever justified? A controversy over that claim is currently raging in the travel trade press. I had an aunt, now deceased, who was one of the world’s gentlest creatures. She tolerated every person, found worth in every person, treated everyone with respect. But she made one exception: for the population of Poland. She could not forget the times, as a child, wh...
Arthur Frommer: Travel in Europe is Getting Harder, Yet Still We Must
Posted on 05/06/2019, 5:00 AM
Let’s be frank: Traveling to Europe this summer will be more difficult than in recent years. Which is all the more reason to consider, and then overcome, a number of obstacles. What has resulted in these problems? First, the initial cost of flying to various European capitals will undoubtedly be higher than before. That major champion of low-cost transatlantic air travel, WOW Airlines, h...
Arthur Frommer: Are We Hypocrites to Visit the Statue of Liberty?
Posted on 04/24/2019, 5:00 AM
On an island in the waters off New York, is a giant statue inscribed with the immortal words of Emma Lazarus: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” It—the Statue of Liberty—is visited each year by three million American tourists who often weep when they read those words. In the months ahead, those same tourists, by their political inaction, will have r...
This Website Gets You Free Room and Board in Many Countries, Says Arthur Frommer
Posted on 04/22/2019, 6:00 AM
When I first learned that a granddaughter of mine was planning to spend three months in Japan earning her room and board through work performed as a volunteer, I was concerned and suspicious. It was only after we had heard from previous volunteers of this sort that I grew calm about this partial use of her “gap year” from college. The organization that plans such volunteer work in countries all...
