The Folo by Travel Weekly

Just outside of Pride month we’re bringing together two reports on the latest in LGBTQ+ travel. In this year's Focus on LGBTQ+Travel cover story, editors Jamie Biesiada and Emma Weissmann spoke to four travel advisors who identified four key trends in this market: expeditions, traveling with family, resilience and going beyond gay-friendly destinations. And on the hospitality side, there's b...

We recently published an episode about the exciting opportunities around travel in the U.S. – travel surrounding the 250th anniversary celebrations, traveling along route 66, Americana and more. We bring that episode back to you today, but as a bonus, we’re including a discussion with two of our reporters about more recent stories about U.S. travel trends. In this segment, our tours ed...

This new crop of ultra luxury cruise lines is fascinating, not just because many of them are associated with well known hotel brands, but because they’re appealing to a newer, younger demographic; one that might not have cruised -- or thought about cruising. What’s the appeal for them? In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin and cruise editor Teri West talk with Christina Schlegel, the own...

You might be surprised to hear it given some of the economic and geopolitical news this year, but the big news from the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Forum was a presentation from Jan Freitag, the national director of hospitality analytics at CoStar Group, and Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, that significantly revised upward their 2026 U.S. hotel forecasts from earl...

Our theme parks reporter Jamie Biesiada was at Walt Disney World twice last month, and host Rebecca Tobin cruised on Disney Cruise Line's Disney Wish -- making it the perfect time to dig in on theme park changes, additions, Cool Kid Summer and our own personal recent experiences, from rides to resort restaurants, plus an update on Universal’s updates.  This podcast was recorded June 4 a...

Travel Weekly cruise editor Teri West has been reporting on various developments in the industry, and many of them seem to have one thing in common: They’re taking place in the Bahamas. The country has invested in cruise port development and is courting ultra-luxury lines; meanwhile, the private island experience continues to expand and lines like Royal Caribbean International are putting it...

We’ve been keeping a close eye on travel demand to Mexico. Tourism was rocked earlier this year after cartel-related upheaval in the state of Jalisco, particularly in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalejara. The U.S. embassy in Mexico issued shelter-in-place alerts, which were briefly expanded across Mexico to places like Cancun, Tulum, Baja California and Oaxaca. Disturbances were soon quieted, but...

One big question for North America travel is: how strong travel demand will be for the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in just a few weeks. This year the matches are being played in cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and at the beginning of the year expectations among destination marketing organizations and hotels was very high -- and then it seemed to taper off a bit.  In this ep...

We’re devoting this episode to the two stories on the front page of this week’s Travel Weekly: The Spirit Airlines shutdown and a megadeal to acquire American Express Global Business Travel.   First we’ll talk with aviation editor Robert Silk about the closure of Spirit Airlines, which has been a fascinating company to watch and cover over the last two decades. From sma...

The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is being celebrated this year -- and many Americans are celebrating by traveling. There are lots of places and ways to mark the great American birthday, from guided tours to road trips, from amazing fireworks displays to stays in big cities and small towns. In this episode, Darley Newman, the creator and host of the PBS series...

This week we’re looking at how online travel search is evolving and how AI is changing the game. For a long time travel sites have been interested in mimicking how travel advisors qualify clients: How to present travel options and ideas to people who are at the very top of the booking funnel and don’t know when or where they want to go. But some sites are now able to facilitate a conve...

Egypt’s travel industry is no stranger to ups and downs, but the country, which was expecting a banner year for tourism in 2026, was thrown a curveball during the start of the Iran war, when a social media post by an assistant secretary in the Department of State directed Americans in 14 countries – including Egypt – to depart immediately.  Visitors left, several tour and ri...

We’re continuing with our catch up on major news events of the past two months, and in this episode host Rebecca Tobin talks with our editors: Christina Jelski, who covers hotels; Teri West, who covers ocean cruising; and Brinley Hineman, who covers tours and river cruises. What is on the radars of our editors as we move into the spring season? Some of the themes you’ll hear: What&rsqu...

Welcome back to the Folo by Travel Weekly. We are back – this is the first in all-new episodes on the latest travel trends and news, brought to you by our team of reporters and expert guests and hosted by director of editorial strategy Rebecca Tobin. This week and next we’re talking to all our reporting team on the biggest stories in travel right now – what we’ve been watch...

In a so-called k-shaped economy, higher earners head up on an upward angle, but lower earners, on the lower leg of the “k” drop behind. This bifurcation is also playing out in some corners of the travel industry as ultrahigh-net worth travelers spend to snap up the top level suites, but travelers with less resources are slower to book entry-level rooms. In this episode, host Rebecca To...

Last summer, Folo host Rebecca Tobin got the opportunity to cruise Mitsui Ocean Cruises, a line that’s based in Japan and created for and curated for and sold to Japanese travelers – but is also now marketing to North Americans. On this episode, Anthony Kaufman, a cruise veteran who is now Mitsui’s head of commercial strategies, talks about how to take a cruise experience devoted...

On this episode we’re going to tuck in to a portion of the flying experience that you might be surprised to hear about: food. In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin, aviation editor Robert Silk and Joe Leader, the CEO of the International Flight Services Association, talk about the growth of good eating in all cabins, tech developments that make food service more efficient and more interesting,...

We're focusing on an emerging branch of artificial intelligence called agentic AI – that is, an AI tool that can, essentially, act like a booking agent, all the way up to making a reservation on the traveler’s behalf. It acts like an agent – but is it a threat to human travel advisors? And what does agentic AI mean for the OTA model, supplier customer service and travelers themse...

This week we’re talking about a story that came to be after unveiling of Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ upcoming Skyview Regent Suite. It's a veritable mansion-at-sea with a private gym, sauna, bar and dining room that seats 12. And what's more surprising than the price? The fact that it was booked within one minute on 10 of 13 itineraries. Or perhaps that's not a surprise. Advisors tell u...

This week we’re talking about destination management companies, or DMCs, which are companies embedded in specific locations that give travel planners an ultra-boost when it comes to planning a vacation there. Insider knowledge, special tours, recommendations, an expert shoulder to lean on – that’s what a DMC can provide. DMCs aren’t new, but a recent story by Jamie Biesiada...

We look back at the first quarter-century and the biggest events that had an outsized impact on the travel business, from mega-events that changed the world to milestone product launches and business decisions that portended major shifts to come. In this episode, our top editors unpack the list and some of the decisions behind it, as well as those reminisces about the old times and what’s ha...

We're taking an in-depth look at our annual Travel Industry Survey of travel agency business with then-editor in chief Arnie Weissmann and news editor Johanna Jainchill. In this episode we delve into survey data: Advisors’ use of AI – how they use it and what they’re concerned about; which travel categories are growing; advisors’ use of social media; their relationships wit...

It's tradition for travel publications and others to pull together inspirational lists for travel, and late last year Power List travel company Chase Travel published a list called "26 Trips to Take in 2026."  On this episode, Karen Magee, president of Valerie Wilson Travel, and Hillary Reinsberg, head of content for card and connected commerce at Chase, talk about inspiration for the list an...

In a so-called k-shaped economy, higher earners head up on an upward angle, but lower earners, on the lower leg of the “k” drop behind. This bifurcation is also playing out in some corners of the travel industry as ultrahigh-net worth travelers spend to snap up the top level suites, but travelers with less resources are slower to book entry-level rooms. In this episode, host Rebecca To...

Many tour companies that specialize in faith-based travel, or tourism with a religious element or focus, have historically focused on trips to the Holy Land. But with the ongoing conflict in Israel, companies have shifted and pivoted, growing their portfolios elsewhere.  After tours editor Brinley Hineman reported this story in December, we decided to re-engage here with David Welch, the vice...