Beyond Borders

The Total Eclipse is coming to the United States on August 21st with hotels from South Carolina to Oregon welcoming travelers from around the world. Jamie Carter of When Is The Next Eclipse shares a beginner's guide to the growing business of astrotourism.

The travel industry is changing. People want more local, authentic experiences and there is no shortage of buzzwords being thrown around, like ecotourism and sustainable tourism, to lure in well-meaning tourists. So when it comes to animal welfare, traveling in an environmentally-friendly way, and simply being a conscious traveler -- there’s a lot of confusion out there. So, is there a right way to travel like a local?

Today, we’re going to answer that question with the help of Bruce Poon Tip, founder and CEO of G Adventures, Emily Bernard from PlacePass, Graeme Jackson with The Travel Foundation, and Stephanie Altwassi of the community tourism project, A Piece Of Jordan.

Music courtesy of RTB45, freesound.org: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policy say that the influx of people is a drain on the country's resources. Others, however, see refugees as a source of untapped talent, ready to take their destiny into their own hands. trivago founder and tech entrepreneur, Rolf Schrömgens, offers his reasoning for why he believes this crisis will turn into a positive for Germany and Gabriela Sonnleitner opens the door to the magdas Hotel in Vienna where they hire refugees for the hotel staff.

It's Pride season and the gay travel industry is booming around the world. First, a story from trivago's own Lachlan Probyn on how traveling to Rome as a gay man surprised him. Scott Gatz from Q.Digital joins to share his thoughts on how gay travel has changed over his lifetime and Kike Sarasola walks us through the Room Mate Óscar hotel in Madrid where the city is hosting World Pride 2017. Finally, we end with Grindr's new Editor-In-Chief, Zach Stafford, talking about how gay travelers are really using the app, beyond what you'd already guess.

Travelers are tracing their roots and following their DNA to their ancestral homelands in search of memorable experiences that will last a lifetime. Hotel Roter Hahn in Germany shares their legacy of hospitality as one of the world's oldest hotels. Denise Hill at Visit Scotland talks about ongoing efforts to help travelers reconnect with their Scottish ancestry and find their clan. Then we turn toward Italy and talk to Sean Finelli, who heads The Roman Guy travel company. Sean shares his story of following in his grandparents' footsteps in a small Italian town.

Billions of dollars go into voluntourism, but is there a right way to give back? Kerry Rodgers of Give A Day Global and David Bowen at the Grace Bay Club in Turks and Caicos share their experiences.

Susan Garrett of Say Yes! Dog Training delves into how pet owners can make sure getting their furry loved ones from point A to B can be a painless experience and Hotel deLuxe in Portland, Oregon has gone above and beyond when it comes to pet-friendly accommodations.

Keith Bennet from Scottish Brewery BrewDog is working on opening the world's first craft beer hotel and Andy Sparhawk from the Boulder-based Brewers Association and CraftBeer.com has traveled the world for craft beer.

Mikah Meyer is an LGBTQ activist on a mission to become the youngest American to visit all 417 United States National Parks and Teri Marshall from Rush Creek Lodge shares how the new resort is helping travelers of all types experience Yosemite National Park.