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Arthur Frommer Online

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Medellin, Colombia, A City Once Infamous for its Frequently-Violent Drug Battles, Has Become a Touristic Magnet Now that the "Narcos" Have Been Ousted From It

In a recent column, I wrote about the surprising emergence of the South American nation of Colombia as a hot new tourist destination  (and one that also has the fastest-growing…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Peaceful at Last, The Important (and Easily Reached) South American Nation of Colombia is Finally Attracting the Tourism It Deserves

The recent making of a peace treaty (with amnesty provisions) between the government of Colombia and its longtime insurgent guerillas (a movement known as "FARC") has brought about…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

From A.F.: I, Too, Have Drawn Up a List of a Dozen New Year's Resolutions for Travel in 2016, Hopefully Meant to Maintain and Improve My Vacation Trips

Most of us make New Year's Resolutions to correct human failings in our daily activities.  I do something of the same, but limited to the times when I leave my home for a trip.  Here…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer's Top (Travel) Resolutions for the Coming Year

It’s that time of year and let’s be real, those three inches padding my waistline aren’t coming off anytime soon. Instead of doing the usual “lose 10 pounds” resolution, my top 7…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Counting Down the Top 6 Travel Stories of 2015—And Looking Ahead to 2016

(Photo by Zach Dischner/Flickr)Unusually dramatic events and trends shaped the way we traveled in 2015 and should continue to impact our wanderings in 2016. Counting them down,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Numerous Parts of the Travel Industry are Rapidly Being Dominated by Monopolies—and Relief Does Not Seem at Hand

It is slightly more than a year since final Justice Department approval of the merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways, but most of the travel industry is still dazed and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Some Pre-Christmas Musings About the Current State of Travel

The major news in travel continues to be the amazing strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes travel cheaper for the American tourist.  And that strength continues despite…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Department of Transportation Is Getting Serious About Airlines Compensating Passengers for Damaged Luggage

If you think passengers are being treated disrespectfully by the airlines—what with ever shrinking seats and ever growing fees—consider what their luggage is going through. Recently,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Current Prices Charged for a Trip to Cuba Show that Neither the U.S. Tour Industry Nor the Cuban Government Has Yet Gotten Serious About American Travel to That Island

Tours to Cuba, offered by the nation's best-known tour operators, continue to be priced at outrageous levels, confirming that both the Cuban authorities and the U.S. tour operators,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

There is Increasing Evidence that the River Cruise Industry has been Over-Built, and that Discounts are Now Widely Available from all the Usual Sources

Two years ago, the sudden popularity of European river cruises seemed to catch the entire travel industry by surprise.  River boats, and their itineraries, became totally sold…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Airlines Changes Its Frequent Flyer Program, Making It Near Impossible for Average Joes to Earn Miles Just from Flying Any Longer

And then there were none.Did you hear a loud groan last week? That was the members of American Airlines' frequent flyer program—well, all but the business travelers—reacting to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Why I, Personally, Will Continue to Travel Abroad, Despite the Latest Global Travel Alert

This morning I told my daughter I was going to write about the worldwide travel alert and she gave me a worried glance. "Mom if you tell people to travel and then something happens,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Controversial New Documentary Film Will Supplement American Travelers' Impressions of European Life and Politics, Both Pro and Con

Market, Helsinki, FinlandWe Americans travel to Europe primarily for cultural reasons—to view great art at famed museums, to encounter history in the form of monuments,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Churchill Museum Has Now Joined the List of London Must-Sees

In a city whose major museums are among the largest and most impressive of all such places, the Churchill War Rooms were always a compelling exhibit but a secondary one.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

25.3 Million People Will Fly Over Thanksgiving: 10 Airport Strategies If You're Going to Be One of Them

The industry group Airlines for America is predicting that 65,000 more people PER DAY will fly this year than last, between November 20 and December 1. That's an uptick of 3%, and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

French Polynesia's Fun New "Passenger Freighter" Tours the Spectacular South Pacific Islands

There was a time when it was relatively easy to take an around-the-world trip using nothing but freighter ships. Accommodations were never plush, but at least they took…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Airfares to Hawaii are Dropping Fast Thanks to New Competition in the Skies

Black Rock, Ka'anapali Beach, MauiIt used to be that getting to Hawaii from the United States' West Coat required a major cash outlay. Even earlier this year, round-trip fares…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In Recommending 10 Lightly Visited Destinations for Your Next Vacation, I Avoid the Unknown Places That May Deserve Their Lack of Notoriety

This is the season for the publication of travel lists: the "10 Best of This", the "10 Best of That". Travel journalists disclose their 10 Best travel destinations for…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

There's No Better Time for a Quick Trip to Paris than the Autumn

To those Americans lucky enough to enjoy an autumn vacation (or the ability to take off a week at that time), a trip to Paris is a perfect choice.  When Parisians return from their…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

And Now: Here are Three New Possibilities for Your Next Vacation

Convento do Carmo, LisbonTired of the same old trip? The travel industry is constantly creating the means for an entirely new vacation experience, as witness the following…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

American Airlines to Sell An Even More Basic Ticket Than it Does Now

Call it the Spirit Effect: American Airlines will be the latest major carrier to offer a no-frills, stripped-down, bare-bones version of its ticket.Starting next year,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Airfares Are Dipping Once Again (and Two Other Pieces of Good News for Flyers)

Overly chatty seatmates, cramped seating and long security lines: these unhappy byproducts of airline travel aren’t going away anytime soon. But this week, several news events…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

JetBlue Announces It Will Offer Free Wi-Fi

It's no secret that the major airlines act like lemmings. One adds a baggage fee and the next follows. One throws a sale, and soon the whole pack is in.But for once that may be…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

An Order of Nuns in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, is Using Travel to Further the Aims of Pope Francis

The recent, repeated emphasis by Pope Francis on concern for the poor has brought renewed attention to the outstanding travel program operated for that purpose.  It is…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Will Foreign Travel to the U.S., or Even American Travel Within the U.S, Be Lessened by the Apparent Increase in Gun Violence?

Are parts of the United States unsafe for vacation tourism?  A number of Australian activists have answered Yes to that question, advising their fellow…