The Folo by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly’s annual Power List is a massive undertaking to identify and rank the biggest sellers of travel. And when we say big, we mean big: The minimum for inclusion this year was agencies that sold at least $125 million in travel in 2024. But among the 70 travel agencies that made the cut, which ones grew the most? In this episode we look at Departure Lounge, which moved almost 10 plac...

It’s getting to be mid July, but as you’ll hear from this episode, the summer travel season – both booking and traveling – is far from over. With our guest Melissa Krueger, the CEO of Classic Vacations, we’re going to talk about all things summer-travel and summer-trend related: A comeback in Maui, traveling to Italy, a surprise getaway in the U.S. and, of course, wha...

It’s July, and despite what we’re hearing about close-to-home travel, Americans are still headed to Europe in large numbers and to tourism hot spots like Venice, Barcelona, Greece and Lisbon. Many of these places have also been the sites of protests over tourism – in Barcelona, for example, protesters were again using water guns to spray visitors in an attempt to make their conce...

It’s been an eventful year for Los Angeles tourism, but as we’re nearing the six-month mark from the devastating fires that tore through Pacific Palisades and Altadena, we wanted to look back at the hotels that were impacted or evacuated during the disaster – specifically in this episode one of a small group of luxury properties in Malibu: The 47-room Malibu Beach Inn. This area...

This week we’re talking about our annual "Focus on LGBTQ+" travel cover story. This year, the headline was “A chill in the air for Pride,” and the report by news editor Johanna Jainchill looked at why some international LGBTQ travelers are rethinking visits to the U.S. – both for Pride events and in general. With Canadian travel advisor Dean Nelson, of Departures by Dean, a...

Today is all about travel brands making an entry into Europe river cruising. We’ve been surprised this year by the number of established names moving in to the Rhine, Danube and beyond: Celebrity, Trafalgar and National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions among them.  With Lisa Fitzgerald, a river-cruise expert advisor and founder of Fitzgerald Travel, and river cruise editor Brinley Hinema...

We’re returning to a subject that we’ve talked about before on the Folo, but that just keeps continuing to grow and evolve, that’s cruise companies’ private islands and destinations. With us this week is Jay Schneider, the chief product innovation officer for Royal Caribbean International. And Royal Caribbean has been at the forefront of these discussions with its Perfect D...

The opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe park has created new opportunities for theme-park lovers for the first time in nearly 25 years. What’s so special about the new Epic theme park?  In this episode, retail editor Jamie Biesiada walks host Rebecca Tobin through innovations in ride technology, the queues and other Epic details – favorite or most surprising...

What is going on with summer travel? As Americans prepare to take to the roads and skies, we’ve heard a lot of mixed messages from travel companies about what this year might bring: Just a few weeks ago we spoke on the Folo podcast about “chop” and “noise” in projecting future booking patterns. In this episode Hopper lead economist Hayley Berg returns to talk about he...

The last two episodes have covered news topics like economic uncertainty and the troubles at Newark, so this week we’re going in a different direction: Literary tourism. That is, tours and travel based on a favorite book or character. Think Bath for Jane Austen or Prince Edward Island for L.M. Montgomery. London, Paris and New York .... any place a book club can dream up, there's probably a...

What the heck is going on at EWR? Undoubtably the biggest news in travel this past week has to be the mess at Newark Airport in New Jersey. What started as complaints of unusual delays on one day in April has unfolded into a huge story about air traffic control system breakdowns, controllers on leave and the DOT’s request for billions of dollars to be earmarked for upgrades and fixes. With a...

We’re still in first-quarter earnings season, but we’ve been watching travel company results closely, to give us some signs on which way the travel industry is heading. The conclusion? There’s not really one yet – as you’ll hear here, results and predictions are up, down and sideways. In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin, news editor Johanna Jainchill and hospitality e...

As you’ll hear in this discussion, it’s Earth Month, and we couldn’t not have an episode about sustainability efforts within travel. Here, host Rebecca Tobin speaks with Paula Vlammings, the chief impact officer of nonprofit Tourism Cares, and Travel Weekly hospitality editor Christina Jekski about some of the hot topics of 2025. Topics we cover: Solutions to overtourism; why tra...

It's still a niche trend, but maybe not for long: Younger travelers are increasingly seeking out alcohol-free tours. The rise of tour options for sober and sober-curious travelers comes as more people are cutting back on booze -- or eliminating it altogether. In this episode we’re examining the trend with Heather Leisman, the president of EF Ultimate Break, and tours editor Brinley Hineman....

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 Bi...

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 sh...

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 McKenzie McMillan, a travel advisor at Vancouver-based The Travel Group, abou...

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 se...

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 impac...

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...

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 w...

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: Do...

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 T...

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 reportin...

This week we’re featuring the second half of a special episode of Trade Secrets, a sister podcast to the Folo by Travel Weekly that is co-produced by Jamie Biesiada, a senior editor at Travel Weekly, and Emma Weissmann, the executive editor of TravelAge West. In this episode, Jamie and Emma take a rapid-fire look at 25 trends for 2025, starting in the mid-teens and working their way up to Nu...