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Travel2020: Top airport amenities fly beyond duty-free
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementThink your airport is just a place to board planes? Think again. Airports, where the average traveler spends 137 minutes per trip lining up, sitting down, pacing, waiting … and waiting for their plane to start boarding, are now becoming destinations in their own right — hubs of shopping, stylish dining, entertainment, exercise, even pampering. According to Dolby & Holder consulting group, passengers are wasting 47 percent of this “dwell time,” resulting in some $6 billion in lost revenues for airports. Some airports are getting wise to ways of entertaining this captive audience.
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4 new attractions open in Times Square
Dave G. Houser Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementOften described as the "Crossroads of the World," New York City’s Times Square is one of the planet’s best-known and busiest pedestrian areas. But for decades, it was a seedy, crime-ridden space, most notable for its go-go bars, peep shows and adult theaters. A major cleanup of the neighborhood, led by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a local business alliance, began turning things around in the mid-'90s. Just when the thought was that Times Square had it all, four major themed attractions have opened in this Midtown tourist mecca within the last year, vying for visitors’ attention with a variety of immersive and interactive experiences.
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Can the US do ‘slow’ urban development?
Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building MaterialsThe Cittaslow ("Slow City") movement, launched by a group of small Italian towns in the late 1990s, professes to "do for urban planning what the Slow Food movement has done for agriculture." It calls for a slower form of city- and town-making based on values of environmental sustainability, craft, seasonality, and the revaluing of local history and heritage. As their manifesto states, the movement strives for "towns where men are still curious of the old times."
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RV habits that transferred home
Cindy Belt Recreation & LeisureWe were full-time RVers for four years, along with part-timing it for several years. Life is a bit different when traveling full-time in an RV. Now that we’ve returned to a house, I have found some habits from RV life have continued. For example, in the RV, I had a foot of hanging space, two drawers, and a piece of carry-on luggage that stored my business clothes. I found that I didn’t need nearly as many pants, blouses, and other clothes as I had in the closet at the last house.
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Natural disasters collide with airports in Japan
Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & AutomotiveIt’s been a challenging start to September for airport operators in Japan. The country has faced the effects of a typhoon and a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. Neither are unusual phenomena in the Land of the Rising Sun. However, in these particular instances, major airports and their travelers were severely impacted by the events. Typhoon Jebi hit the eastern part of the island nation on Sept. 4 and was the worst experienced in 25 years. It caused damage to buildings and infrastructure, loss of power supplies, and towering seas and storm surges along the shoreline.
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Travel2020: Dark tourism now a magnet for families
Lark Gould Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementDark tourism, a term more recently associated with quirky destinations associated with death and dying thanks to a trendy Netflix series, is now becoming popular with an unlikely fan base: families. That’s because the term is taken for its more literal locution as a place where light is at its slightest and dark skies full of stars are at their brightest. Also known as "astrotourism," the concept is taking over in some spots, according to John Barentine, director of public policy for the International Dark-Sky Association.
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6 surprising fall foliage destinations
Dave G. Houser Recreation & LeisureIt’s a New England tradition as the weather cools and the leaves begin to change. Leaf peepers come out in droves to watch Mother Nature change her clothes. But the Northeast is far from the only region in the country to exhibit brilliant fall colors. Some places you might never associate with fall colors present dazzling foliage displays. Here are six of them.
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Get ready for Gen Z in hospitality
Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementIt felt like yesterday that we discussed the expectations of millennials and what can be done in responding to their needs. Today’s update is about Gen Z, also known as "post-millennials" or "iGen," the generation that will soon surpass millennials in 2019. As it applies to hospitality, Gen Zers are more likely to accept automatic service or services provided by machines as they tend to find solutions on their own and rely less on a salesperson, among other unique characteristics setting them apart from recent generations.
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Customer satisfaction stays high for American hotels
Bambi Majumdar Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementThe latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Travel Report shows that hotel guest satisfaction has remained steady, a year after a 2.7 percent jump in 2017. Hotels received an overall ACSI score of 76, which is quite a feat for hotel operators who have had a hard time competing with online hospitality brokers like Airbnb. With rent and space sharing options on the rise, hotels are revisiting their customer service and price options. Per the ACSI report, among chains, Hilton guests are the most satisfied, followed closely by Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood and InterContinental.
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Outdoor hobbies to do while RVing
Cindy Belt Recreation & LeisureTraveling the country and staying in state and national parks allows us to spend more time with our hobbies and try new hobbies. With the great outdoors close by, we can get out and enjoy it. Hiking is probably the best hobby you can experience when RVing. There are trails everywhere that take you to a gorgeous view or to just enjoy the walk. All you need are comfortable shoes and a trail map from the park or from an app. However, there are several other great outdoor hobbies you can take part in while on the road.
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