After the new Department of Government Efficiency began making cuts to the federal workforce, Travel Weekly began looking at the effect of those cuts on travel advisors, particularly those who are Washington-based and may have clients who are employed by the government. 

And we decided to go further with a reader survey about the effects of government cutbcks on travel. Retail editor Jamie Biesiada and host Rebecca Tobin talk about the results of that survey today, which included overall concerns our survey respondents had about travel, and whether their clients are feeling anxious about traveling abroad.

This episode was recorded Friday April 4 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links:

Travel advisors voice their concerns about federal job cuts and the economy https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Travel-agents-voice-concerns-federal-job-cuts

After tariff turmoil, there’s concern that Trump’s policies will hurt travel https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Government/Tariff-turmoil-causes-worries-about-travel

Federal job cuts affect official and leisure travel https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Federal-government-layoffs-affect-travel

From Travel Weekly’s archives (2001): Camouflage passports https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Reality-Bytes-A-new-identity-in-a-crisis

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With Seatrade Cruise Global opening this week, it’s the industry’s time to hear from the biggest voices in cruise, and we’re adding our voices here. Host Rebecca Tobin, cruise editor Andrea Zelinski and news editor Johanna Jainchill look at a wrapup to Wave season, whether tariff talk or stock market convulsions have impacted the business and what to expect from two big cruise ship debuts this week.

And we say farewell to Andrea: We talk about our favorite stories from her three years at Travel Weekly, and where she’s headed next – and her serendipitous “trail name” of Water Girl.

This episode was recorded April 4 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links

There’s tariff talk and stock market unease, but Carnival Corp. says its brands are thriving https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/tariff-threats-stock-volatility-Carnival-thriving

Latest on Cruising’s Wave: Analyst says 2025 is a ‘strong’ year https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/analyst-says-strong-wave-season-2025

Carnival Corp.’s private-destination update: Update, build and promote https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Carnival-private-destination-plan

Norwegian Aqua preview: Many pluses for the Prima-plus ship https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Many-pluses-on-the-upcoming-Norwegian-Aqua

 Alaska’s cruise conundrum: How Juneau is managing the crowds https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Alaska-cruise-conundrum

Next-gen Internet at sea (from 2022) https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Nextgen-internet-at-sea

Andrea Zelinski’s Instagram: @adventuresofwatergirl

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In this episode we talk about a phenomenon that has surfaced after President Trump took office: A cooling of travel demand to the U.S. from Canada. And as we’re seeing now, the demand drop may be deeper than originally thought.

On this discussion, Natasha Lair-McKenty, the managing editor of TravelPulse Canada, and McKensie McMillan, a travel advisor at Vancouver-based The Travel Group, about what some Canadian travelers are thinking and why, the importance of the Canadian market to the U.S. travel businesses, where they’re going instead of the U.S. and how advisors are coping with the change.

Episode sponsor: 

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links:

Canadians stay away from U.S. travel amid political backlash https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Canadians-stay-away-from-US-amid-political-backlash

Canada-U.S. air bookings down over 70% through summer, OAG says https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Air-travel-from-Canada-drops-for-key-summer-season

Tariff talk seems to chill some travel from Canda to the U.S. https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Tariff-talk-effect-travel-Canada-to-USA

Arnie Weissmann's column "Welcome to Fortress America!" https://www.travelweekly.com/Arnie-Weissmann/Welcome-to-Fortress-America

Travel Pulse Canada https://www.travelpulse.ca/

 

 

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This week we’re talking again about Southwest Airlines, which shocked some of its loyal customers about two weeks ago by getting rid of its long-advertised “bags fly free” perk. But that’s just one in a series of changes Southwest is making that make it seem, well, less like Southwest and more like traditional legacy airlines: Adding extra-legroom seats, eliminating open seating and updating its loyalty strategy.

In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin, airlines editor Robert Silk and Hospitio founder Brad Beakley break down some of the changes and ask -- why? How will flyers benefit? What else does Southwest need to do to compete with the Big Three? And what will it take for Southwest to retain the “love?” 

This episode was recorded March 21 and has been edited for length and clarity. 

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links:

Southwest CEO: No competitive advantage from free checked bags https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-scraps-free-checked-bags-analysis

Southwest quietly reduces reward points for lowest fareshttps://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-quietly-cuts-reward-points-for-lowest-fares

Frontier taunts Southwest with free-checked-bags promotion https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Frontier-taunts-Southwest-checked-bag-promotion

The Dallas Observer op/ed on Southwest: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-southwest-airlines-gets-worse-with-end-of-free-bag-policy-21906895

Is Southwest's planned ascent too slow for key investor? https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Is-Southwest-planned-ascent-too-slow-for-Elliott

Brad Beakley's consultancy firm Hospitio https://www.hospitio.com/

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How has the Trump administration has been impacting hotels and travel? One might look at the visitation numbers in the Palm Beaches area of Florida, where President Trump's Mar a Lago estate is located, to see one impact of a “Trump bump” on visitation. Another aspect is the immigration crackdown -- and whether the administration's plans to deport illegal workers has had any impact within the hospitality business.

In this episode, Travel Weekly hotels editor Christina Jelski and Peter Ricci, the director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Florida Atlantic University, talk about both topics.

In our first section: How the Palm Beaches has surpassed Miami-Dade in key hotel metrics and why Trump's presence might be drawing visitors to the region. In the second half of the episode: Whether hotels should be concerned about the specter of mass deportations, and the continuing scarcity of hospitality workers. 

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links

Palm Beach's presidential presence gives the area's tourism a 'Trump bump' https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Palm-Beach-presidential-presence-gives-area-tourism-Trump-bump

Hospitality grapples with the specter of mass deportations https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Hospitality-grapples-with-specter-of-mass-deportations

Immigration policy concerns take center stage at the ALIS conference https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Immigration-policy-concerns-at-ALIS

Peter Ricci's bio https://www.fau.edu/experts/profile/?expert=peter.ricci

 

 

 

 

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Travel advisors are often encouraged to seek out the more stable, and more lucrative, luxury market. But one question you might not have asked yourself is: What if you can’t speak the language? There’s definitely a right way to communicate with luxury-market clientele, both obvious and subtle.

On this episode host Rebecca Tobin and senior editor Jamie Beisiada talk with travel experts from Embark Beyond: CEO Jack Ezon and advisor Laura Worth, who have identified this challenge – and created a series of training modules to help advisors follow the Billionaire’s Calendar; converse beyond travel in art, fashion and yachts; how to read luxury-brand tea leaves; and ways advisors can “fake it till they make it.”

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links: 

Learning the language of luxury https://www.travelweekly.com/Luxury-Travel/Learning-the-language-of-luxury

The surge in the six-figure vacation https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/The-six-figure-vacation-surge

Embark Beyond on Travel Weekly's Power List https://www.travelweekly.com/Power-List-2024/Embark-Beyond

Laura Worth of of Art & Travel https://www.artandtravel.net/

 

 

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Nearly everybody gets travel inspiration from the social media accounts they follow, or from accounts that are shown on their feeds. Today we’re looking at the people who have charted a path down food and travel influencing – or, as they like to be known, content creators – but specifically by and for Black food and travel businesses and travelers. And we’re mingling this with a new study from MMGY that talks about the size and scope of the Black travel market, now up to a spend of $145 billion in 2023, mostly on transportation and food and beverage.

Talking travel and content creation today are the author of our cover story on the subject, Mariette Williams, and Richmond, Va.-based Dominic Brown, who created and manages the account and website Tall Travel Eats. 

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links

Black food influencers explore and inspire https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Following-Black-influencers

MMGY’s latest report on Black travel spending: https://mmgyintel.com/u-s-black-travel-market-is-now-a-145-billion-audience-according-to-new-research/

Dominic Brown https://talltraveleats.com/

Mariette Williams https://www.instagram.com/mariettewrites/

Instagram accounts for influencers in this episode

Dominic Brown aka @talltraveleats https://www.instagram.com/talltraveleats/

Sierra Redmond aka @Iamsierrared https://www.instagram.com/iamsierrared

Mitzie Lewis aka @Frencht0asty https://www.instagram.com/frencht0asty

Avyana Chapman aka @Goodeatsonlyyy https://www.instagram.com/goodeatsonlyyy/

Journeys With Kris aka @journeyswithkris https://www.instagram.com/journeyswithkris/

Martinique Lewis aka @marty_sandiego https://www.instagram.com/marty_sandiego/

Black Foodie https://www.instagram.com/blackfoodie.co/

Shakeema Smith, aka The Passport Abuser https://www.instagram.com/thepassportabuser/

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Last week, Cruise Planners CEO Michelle Fee and Norwegian Cruise Line sales exec John Chernesky joined cruise editor Andrea Zelinski and host Rebecca Tobin to talk about the new cruise-ship class of 2025. This week, they're talking about Wave season, the industry’s period of big sales and good deals, and general trends. 

Is year’s Wave a wave or a tsunami? Other topics of note: Does Wave start in January, or has it moved backwards into the holiday season? And what’s the story with onboard spending?

This week, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings will report its Q4 and full-year 2024 results, and that will provide additional color into how this year’s Wave is going. We’ll try to provide an update to that in our upcoming Folo episodes. This episode was recorded Feb. 5, nearly three weeks ahead of NCLH's earnings call. The episode has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Riverside Luxury Cruises: https://www.riverside-cruises.com

Related links:

Andrea Zelinski's reporting on the 2025 Wave season: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Early-report-2025-Wave-season

Royal Caribbean Group's record start to Wave: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Caribbean-Group-reports-record-start-to-Wave-season

Carnival Corp. sets company record for full-year revenue: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Carnival-Corp-earnings-Q4-2024

Our previous episode with Michelle Fee and John Chernesky on new ships in 2025: https://www.travelweekly.com/Podcasts/Folo/the-importance-of-new-cruise-ships-of-2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back with new episodes of the Folo, and we’re kicking it off with two back-to- back episodes about cruise. And why not -- it’s Wave season. 

In this first episode we have three cruise industry experts talking about the new ships coming out in 2025: Cruise Planners CEO Michelle Fee; Norwegian Cruise Line senior vice president of North America sales John Chernesky; and Travel Weekly cruise editor Andrea Zelinski. From big ships to small, in the luxury and contemporary categories, what drives cruisers to these ships? Is big better? How have these new cruise ships evolved to cater to customer demand?

This is part 1 of a two-part series. Next week: Early signs of Wave season. 

This episode was recorded Feb. 5 and has been edited for length and clarity. 

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Riverside Luxury Cruises

https://www.riverside-cruises.com

Related links

Cruising’s new-ship class of 2025, parts 1 and 2 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/new-ship-class-of-2025-part-1 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/new-ship-class-of-2025-part-2

Many pluses on the upcoming Norwegian Aqua https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Many-pluses-on-the-upcoming-Norwegian-Aqua

Cruise Planners: https://www.cruiseplaners.com

Norwegian Cruise Line: https://www.ncl.com

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One trend we've noticed taking shape recently is the rising popularity of women-only tours. From on-the-ground adventures in far flung destinations like Saudi Arabia and Morocco to a luxurious river cruise in France’s wine country, there are options galore for today’s so-called “queenagers.” 

In this episode, reporter Tom Stieghorst shares his insights and his reporting, and Shirnett Fleet, the chief marketing officer of Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, talks about what women-only tours offer, where the trend is headed and why it's moved from niche to mainstream.

This episode is part of our annual Winter Series, where we feature some of our favorite recent Folo by Travel Weekly discussions. This episode was recorded Nov. 21 and has been edited for length and clarity. 

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Riverside Luxury Cruises https://www.riverside-cruises.com

Related links

Women-only tours: A niche that is going mainstream https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/The-growth-of-women-only-tours

A women-only cruise leans into luxury https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/women-only-river-cruise-uniworld-luxury

Uniworld: https://www.uniworld.com

Background on the term 'queenager' https://eleanormills.substack.com/p/eleanors-letter-what-is-a-queenager

 

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