Passportable | Frommer's

One Year After Paris Terror Attacks, French Tourism Still Struggling

Posted on 11/17/2016, 12:00 AM

November 13 was the first anniversary of the Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people—and France's tourism industry is still struggling to recover. After a promising start to the year, incoming flights to the country dropped a little over 1% in the second quarter, while flights to Paris were down about 4%. Though final figures for the third quarter aren't available yet, analysts estimate ...

Fewer Human Beings Will Be Manning Security Lines At Airports Soon

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 11/16/2016, 12:15 AM

So the question becomes: is that a good or a bad thing? Sure, it's fashionable, and even bi-partisan, to hate TSA Agents. They've been accused of everything from feeling up grandmothers to stealing Iphones to allowing weapons to float right by them and onto planes. Sometimes these complaints are fantasy, and sometimes they're dead on. But as someone who's noticed that we haven't been hit wi...

Luxury Tour of "Outlander" Locations in Scotland

By Zac Thompson

Posted on 11/16/2016, 12:00 AM

We can't help you follow in the exact footsteps of Outlander's Claire Randall Fraser. After all, she toggles between the 20th and the 18th centuries on that hit Starz show, and, unfortunately, time travel is the one type of travel Frommer's hasn't mastered yet. But for superfans of the series drawn to the beauty of its Scottish filming locations, luxury travel company Artisans of Leisure has ...

Basic Fares Come to United Airlines: You Must Pay to Use Overhead Bins

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 11/15/2016, 6:30 PM

Hello Middle Seat! United Airlines announced today that they were following Delta's lead and would be offerring so-called "Basic Economy Fares". When Delta started offering similar fares in the summer of 2015, they offerred a savings of between $10 and $25 per flight, on average. So they're definitely cheaper, but boy can they be ugly. Buy one and you'll be assigned a seat, with no choice w...

Venice Protests Dwindling Population Amid Tourist Congestion

By Zac Thompson

Posted on 11/15/2016, 12:00 AM

Venice might be one of the world's most beautiful places, but you wouldn't want to live there, according to the Venetians who staged a demonstration in the Italian lagoon city on Saturday. Waving maroon and yellow flags and carrying empty suitcases, dozens of residents participated in a symbolic procession out of the city—otherwise known as "Venexodus"—meant to draw attention to Venice's fal...

Artist Paints Portrait on Rapidly Melting Arctic Ice Floe

By Zac Thompson

Posted on 11/14/2016, 8:15 AM

(photo: Instagram / @the_hula) For his latest work, Hawaiian-born artist Sean Yoro traveled to the Canadian Arctic to paint the portrait of a local Inuit girl on a rapidly melting ice floe. Titled "What if You Fly," the project was documented by photographer and filmmaker Renan Ozturk—whose work will be the only lasting record of the piece, due to the speed with which the ice floes in t...

Canada's Capital City Planning Yearlong Celebration of Country's 150th Birthday

By Zac Thompson

Posted on 11/14/2016, 8:00 AM

Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday next year, and the country's capital city is going all out. A yearlong event dubbed Ottawa 2017 will feature a slew of concerts, museum exhibits, sports tournaments, and fireworks shows—including a showstopping display on Canada Day, July 1. The city's Canadian Museum of History and the National Gallery of Canada are both getting upgrades for the o...

Turkey Issues U.S. Travel Warning Following Anti-Trump Protests

By Zac Thompson

Posted on 11/14/2016, 7:30 AM

Turkey—a frequent subject of travel advisories issued by the U.S. government—has released a warning of its own, alerting Turkish citizens to the dangers of visiting the United States. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry cited a wave of anti-Donald Trump demonstrations following the presidential election last week as a reason for the warning. The agency noted that the protests "occasionally ...