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Hurricane Matthew: Airline Change Policies

With Hurricane Matthew scraping across the Southeast U.S. coast, the airlines serving the region have issued change fee waivers to help travelers get out of the way.These…

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Cruise Lines Ban Galaxy Note7 Use

A few weeks ago, the FAA issued an advisory that warned airlines about a surprising tendency for newly released Galaxy Note7 phones to catch fire.The problem still isn't…

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Backstreet's Back in Las Vegas Residency

Everybody! (Yeah!)The biggest boy band of all time, a group that has sold over 130 million albums, is the latest throwback act to announce a residency on the Las Vegas…

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Petition: Chinese Theatre Footprints at Risk

Concerned preservationists took the TCL Chinese Theatre to task for dragging souvenir stalls over its prized collection of celebrity footprints in concrete.The furor began late…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

How You Book Rail Is About to Change

Train travel is a $300 billion market. Globally, more than twice as much was invested in high speed rail as it was in air transportation last year. And that’s how it should be.…

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Science: Noise Makes Airplane Food Awful

An academic named Professor Barry Smith, who founded something called the Centre for the Study of the Senses in the Philosophy department of the University of London, had an idea on…

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Terrible Person Vandalizes Death Valley

Some awful human being has defaced a precious and panoramic dry lake bed in Californian’s Death Valley National Park by taking a swerving, 10-mile joyride across the thin crust of…

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Alaska Cruising at a 7-Year High

Alaska is hot!Increased demand has put cruises to America's northernmost state on the boil again. This summer, reports the Associated Press, the millionth passenger cruised to…

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NYC Landmark Carnegie Deli to Close

New York City's world-famous Carnegie Deli survived nearly eight decades. But it won't survive its current owner.The deli, which opened its doors in 1937, had been having a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Though the Timid Tourist is Frightened by a Number of Adverse Travel Conditions, the Value of the U.S. Dollar is Not One of Them. The Dollar is Today Unusually Strong

Perhaps the biggest travel news of the current season is that the U.S. currency remains unusually strong against virtually every other currency. When you travel abroad in the coming…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Its Currency Selling at Unprecedented Low Levels, Its Drug-Related Violence Subdued, Mexico is Positioned to Enjoy Heavy American Tourism this Coming Winter

There no longer seems any doubt that the Zika scare has wrought havoc with tourism to Florida. In a study conducted by Allianz Travel Insurance, advance air bookings for the coming…

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Report: Marriott-Starwood Marriage Means Higher Rates

A carefully orchestrated spin campaign (including some paid partnerships with major travel bloggers) has meant that much of the news coverage surrounding the new Marriott-Starwood…

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Cell Phone Coverage to Invade National Parks

"It's a real drag at Artists Point," one Yellowstone National Park tour operator told the Associated Press. "While people are trying to enjoy themselves, somebody's on their phone…

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See a Guy Moonwalk Across Europe!

Just what we need on Friday this week: Something blissfully non-partisan.We give you a masterful video compression of young Travis DeRose's recent two-month, 22-city trip through…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A New Hotel Booking Engine Emerges for the "Text Only" Crowd

Today, more than ever, the medium is the message….as much as the message itself. If you have a friend (or child) who refuses to talk on the phone, but wants to have every interaction…

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SeaWorld Enters an Alternate Reality

SeaWorld Orlando is breathing new life into its oldest roller coaster by adding virtual reality.The Orlando Sentinel reports that starting next year on its steel Kraken…

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Scientists: Disney World Helps Pass Kidney Stones

A patient suffering from kidney stones passed a stone after each of three consecutive rides on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.Word of…

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Air Rage Takes Off

The International Air Transport Association, a trade group representing 83 percent of world air traffic, says incidents of air rage have shot skyward.There were 10,854 cases…

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What Kinds of Therapy Animals Should Be Allowed on Airplanes?

At the moment, there are very few regulations limiting the kinds of animals that can be carried onto commercial airplanes, as long as the given dog, pig, hamster, rooster, capuchin…

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West Elm to Open Boutique Hotels

Furniture seller West Elm is getting into the boutique hotel business.Partnering with hospitality management and development company DDK, the retailer (which is part of…

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The World's Biggest Bouncy House

A company called V-Formation has created what's being billed as the world's largest bouncy house.Dubbed The Beast, the inflatable behemoth stretches across a length of 893…

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Marriott Finalizes Purchase of Starwood, Creating World's Biggest Hotel Chain

On Friday, Marriott International's $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide was finalized, having been delayed for months pending approval from U.S.,…

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Weather Forecast for Fall: Warm Everywhere

Remember when September was autumn? It sure doesn't feel like that this year in the United States—you'll search in vain for a nip in the air pretty much anywhere you travel in the…

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Passenger Suing Airline Over "Spillover" from Overweight Seatmate

A passenger is suing Emirates because he says a nine-hour flight operated by the airline was ruined by the "spillover" of an overweight person seated next to him.The guy doing…

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Great Wall Repairs Spark Outrage

(Photo: CNN/Twitter)An effort to restore a 700-year-old portion of the Great Wall of China has sparked outrage on social media after photos of the project were posted…