As hard as it is for me to believe, this is my 400th column about travel. As a result, I am taking this opportunity to look back at those columns.

In October 2011, I told Current publisher Brian Kelly that I was about to leave for South Africa and we talked about some of the countries I had visited. He invited me to write a travel column and I agreed. My first column was published on Feb. 22, 2012. The subject was international toilets, a subject I promised never to write about again. In July 2013, I began writing every week and have continued to do so since. The columns have not always appeared in all Current print editions, but all have been on the Current website. All the columns are on my website, donknebel.com., organized by country and searchable.

In the 399 previous columns, I have written about places of interest in 40 countries. Thirty-six columns have been about India, which I have visited three times. I have written 33 columns about Egypt, my favorite country outside the United States. Thirty columns have described sites in Israel and another 11 have been about Jerusalem. Twenty-five columns have talked about Syria and 32 have explored places in the United States. The word tomb appears in 54 columns and the word body can be found in 38. The word church is in 127 columns, the word temple in 96 and the word mosque in 43. Seventy-nine columns mention Jesus and 14 mention Muhammad. More than 100 columns mention God or gods. Three mention Satan.

In my first column (the one about toilets), I promised to try to relate lessons I have learned in my travels. As I continue to write, I will try to maintain that promise. I cannot wait to resume traveling.

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Column: Reflections of columns and world travel - Current in Carmel

Accor manages Singapores iconic Raffles Hotel. Getty Images

Shares in Frances Accor and U.K. rival InterContinental Hotels Group rose on Friday, after reports the two companies had explored a merger that would create the worlds biggest hotel group with a combined value of $17 billion.

French newspaper Le Figaro said Accor AC, -0.48% had not made a formal approach to IHG IHG, +0.53% which owns brands including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and Regent Hotels.

Accor, the worlds fifth-largest hotel chain by rooms, owns a portfolio of brands, including Ibis and Mvenpick, as well as high-end chains such as Raffles and Sofitel.

The French group was downgraded to junk status by ratings agency S&P Global earlier this week, as the hospitality sector has been hit hardby the coronavirus crisis. Earlier in August, Accor said it would cut 1,000 jobs worldwide in a bid to save 200 million in costs by 2022, as the coronavirus pandemic saw its revenues fall by more than half.

Read:How Hotel Companies Are Surviving the Coronavirus

Shares in Accor, which have fallen by 43% so far this year, rose 3.21% in early morning European trading. IHGs stock, which is down 23% in the year to date, was up 2.06%.

Le Figaros report said Accors management board was in favor of a deal, but the groups chairman and chief executive Sbastien Bazin was more cautious about pursuing talks. The paper said Bazin has set up an internal task force to look at a potential merger,

Bank of America analysts said a potential combination would have some geographical merits, scale and costs benefits. Accor has market leading positions in Europe and many emerging markets, while IHG has strong positions in North America and is the leading international operator in Greater China.

Accor currently operates 748k rooms (as of June 2020) and IHG 883k rooms. A combination between both companies would create an industry giant with 1.6 million rooms in the system, the BofA analysts said in a research note.

Marriott International MAR, +2.75% is currently the worlds largest hotel group, following its $13 billion merger with Starwood in 2016.

Read: Marriotts stock drops after wider-than-expected loss and revenue falls below forecasts

The impact of prolonged travel restrictions could wipe out $5,543 billion in the sectors contribution to global gross domestic product, according to research published in June by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Under our worst-case scenario, prolonged travel restrictions could put more than 197 million jobs under threat and cause a loss of more than $5.5 trillion to global Travel & Tourism GDP, the WTCC said.

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Shares in Accor and IHG rise on merger speculation a combination would create the worlds biggest hotel group - MarketWatch

Ariana Taylor, The Detroit News Published 3:43 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2020 | Updated 3:58 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2020

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Aretha Franklin's legacy is being memorialized with a portion of the Lodge Freeway dedicated to the late singer.

The stretch of M-10from Livernoisto Interstate 94 was revealed as the Aretha L. Franklin Memorial Highway on Monday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and other state and city leaders.

The dedicated stretch of freeway was markedwith asign located on the Lodge near Pallisterin the New Center area that will be visible for those going north and south.

The Aretha L. Franklin Memorial Highway sign was unveiled Monday.(Photo: Robin Buckson)

"The people of Michigan are proud to claim Aretha Franklin,"Whitmer said."Now as people from all over the world travelto Detroit on the Aretha Franklin Memorial Highway, they will be reminded of the profound impact that she had on the city and on the state."

Franklin's hit songs including "Freeway of Love"blasted through speakers at the unveiling ceremony. Pink Cadillacs lined the side of theInternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 38 union building where the ceremony was held

The granddaughters of Franklin, Victorieand Grace Franklin, sung the Black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice." Son Edward Franklin also sung two selections at the ceremony.

"I would just like to say how proud I am of my mother today," said KeCalf Franklin, heryoungest son. "We just want to say from the family... thank you for all the great support over the last two years it has been very gratefully appreciated by the family."

Along with Franklin's family, community leaders such as Mayor Mike Duggan, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib were also in attendance, including theRev. Robert Smith, who is now pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, which was Franklin's father's church.

"Unlike others who came from the city and left, this freeway actually tracks the extraordinary course of her life," said Duggan. "Anybody who passes through this city, no matter how briefly, is going to be reminded that the queen of soul came from the city of Detroit."

The dedication ceremony comes over a year afterWhitmersigned the House Bill 4060 that officially declared the portion of the freeway to be named in Franklin's honor.

The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Leslie Love, D-Detroit, who introduced the measure in January 2019. It cleared the House in a 101-6 vote two months later. The Senate signed off 32-5 in June of that year.

"I am honored that we get to drive down this M-10 and see those signs whether you're going northbound or southbound. It is significant and it is relevant because I know people here think this was easy... this was not easy," said Love.

A handful of Republicans opposed the measure in each chamber, arguing highway designations should be reserved for military veterans and first responders.Love pointed out that no taxpayer dollars were used in the designation of the freeway.

Franklin, who who was born in Tennessee but lived most of her life in Detroit and got her start in her fathers New Bethel Baptist Church, died in 2018after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

"I'm so honored that I met you and that I'm the person to do this to honor you in this way... Sister Franklin we just thank you for your legacy and your love," Love said tearfully while looking towardthe sky.

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Aretha Franklin memorialized with section of Lodge Freeway - The Detroit News

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions in place worldwide, we launched a series The World Through a Lens in which photojournalists help transport you, virtually, to some of our planets most beautiful and intriguing places. This week, Mnica R. Goya shares a collection of images from the Spanish island of Lanzarote.

Situated some 80 miles off the southwest coast of Morocco, Lanzarote with its stunning coastline, desert-like climate and plethora of volcanoes is the easternmost of Spains Canary Islands. Major volcanic activity between 1730 and 1736, and again in 1824, indelibly altered the islands landscape and helped pave the way for an improbable sight: a vast expanse of otherworldly vineyards.

In recent years, Spain has devoted more land to vines than any other country in the world. And while the Canary Islands, more broadly, have a longstanding wine tradition the archipelagos wines, for example, were mentioned in several of Shakespeares plays nothing could prepare me for the uniqueness of Lanzarotes vines.

The most remarkable wine area on the island is La Geria, a 13,000-acre protected landscape which lies at the foot of Timanfaya National Park, one of Lanzarotes main tourist attractions. It was here in Timanfaya that volcanic eruptions buried around a quarter of the island (including La Geria) under a thick layer of lava and ash, creating a breathtakingly barren scene and eventually leading to a new way of growing vines.

Many of the vines on Lanzarote are planted in inverted conical holes known as hoyos, which are dug by hand to various depths, each one made in search of the fertile soil underneath the ash and lapilli. In a counterintuitive twist, the ash plays an essential role in the vineyards success: It protects the ground from erosion, helps retain moisture and regulates soil temperature.

Low semicircular rock walls protect the vines from the merciless winds. Together with the hoyos, they contribute to an inventive growing method that might easily be mistaken for a network of sculptural art.

La Geria is a superb example of humans working hand-in-hand with nature. In a way, the immense if desolate beauty of this area is evidence of human resilience in the face of adversity: For hundreds of years, inhabitants here have managed to extract life from volcanic ash on an island often plagued by drought.

But changing weather patterns (including scarcer-than-usual rainfall) and harsh economic realities are persistent threats. The traditional hoyos system can yield about 1,200 pounds of grapes per acre. Other less traditional (and less time intensive) cultivation systems on the island can yield up to 6,000 pounds per acre by utilizing higher-density growing techniques and some forms of mechanization.

An economist by trade and environmentalist at heart, the winegrower Ascensin Robayna has a strong connection to Lanzarote and a serious commitment to conservation. For years she has tended high-maintenance and low-yielding organic vineyards, adamantly asserting that this unique landscape, and the traditions embedded within it, must be kept alive.

Growing vines in hoyos means that farmers adapted to the special circumstances of soil and climate, creating the most singular of the agrarian ecosystems, she said.

Theres an obvious sparkle in Ms. Robaynas eyes whenever she descends into the lava fissures, called chabocos, where trees and grapevines especially muscat grapes, among the oldest of varieties are grown. (Puro Rofe, a winery founded on the island in 2018, recently released a wine made exclusively from her chaboco-grown grapes.)

In the late 19th century, a pestilent aphid, phylloxera, decimated grapevines throughout mainland Europe. (The wine industry there was salvaged by grafting European vines onto American rootstocks, which were immune to phylloxera.) By contrast, phylloxera never reached Canarian shores. As a result, vines here can be planted on their own roots a relative rarity in the wine world.

Hundred-year-old vines and unique grape varieties are a common sight across the islands. Malvasia Volcnica is arguably the islands most well-known grape variety; others include Listn Negro, Diego and Listn Blanco.

Once, while visiting a set of vineyards near Uga, a small village in southern Lanzarote, I followed the winegrower Vicente Torres as he climbed barefoot the traditional way of working here up the hillside to inspect his vines. With the lapilli tickling my feet, and while sinking slightly with each step, I found the ascent more arduous than Id anticipated. Growing anything in this soil, I learned, is hard work.

According to regulatory data, this years harvest is expected to be less than half of last years, with a forecast of about 2.6 million pounds of grapes.

The oldest men around here say they dont recall a year as bad for vineyards as this, said Pablo Matallana, an oenologist who grew up on neighboring Tenerife but has family roots on Lanzarote. We have been enduring two years of extreme drought. Some plots have debilitated considerably, and the vigor of the vines has decreased, he said.

Rayco Fernndez, a founding member of the Puro Rofe winery and a distributor praised for having been one of the first to showcase quality Canarian wines, agreed. The drought is ruining vineyards, he said, adding that the ash, where there is a thick enough layer of it, has been a lifeline.

But Lanzarote faces other threats, too. Tourism accounts for a significant portion of the islands gross domestic product. And, despite a relatively low number of confirmed coronavirus infections, this economic sector has largely evaporated.

According to a Covid-19 economic impact study conducted at La Laguna University, Lanzarotes G.D.P. is projected to drop by 21 percent.

With the number of winegrowers falling, and climate change wreaking havoc, the future of winemaking on Lanzarote appears more challenging than ever.

Theres no doubt, though, that the island holds a kind of mythical sway over its visitors. Its been almost a year since my last trip to Lanzarote, yet I continue to revisit certain images in my mind: of vines emerging from the majestic hoyos at the foot of Timanfaya a splendor still to be treasured there, at least for now.

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Roaming Through Lanzarotes Otherworldly Vineyards - The New York Times

On a dark and damp winter morning just before sunrise, the kitchen staff at Ryokan Adumaya, a traditional Japanese inn located in the small village of Yunomine in Wakayama prefecture, was preparing a local specialty for their guests.

In one corner of the brightly lit kitchen, Jitsuo Shinka was stirring a large pot of rice porridge, nimbly scooping it in his ladle and gently letting it spill back into the mixture. As the porridge came to a boil, a thick, slightly yellowish foam built up that threatened to spill over the rim of the metal pot.

We have to let air into the porridge to keep it cool enough so that it does not boil over, Shinka said, letting the yellow foam rise just short of the pots rim before stirring the mixture over and over again. It takes about 12 to 13 minutes for the rice to cook and then it needs to steam in the pot for another 15 minutes. The foam gets thicker as it cooks and the porridge becomes stickier. The best time to eat it, I was told, is about 15 minutes after it has been cooked.

Its renowned for being the worlds only hot-spring bath located in a World Heritage site

The ryokans rice porridge wouldnt require so much attention if regular water was used. But this is not your ordinary rice porridge: it is made with water from Yunomines ancient onsen (natural hot spring).

Of the more than 3,000 onsen bubbling throughout Japan, Yunomines, which was discovered roughly 1,800 years ago, is said to be the oldest. It is revered as an integral part of the sacred, Unesco-inscribed Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route that passes through Yunomine, and for centuries, pilgrims walking the 1,000-year-old trails have come to Yunomine to cleanse themselves after their long journey.

Traditionally, pilgrims would soak themselves at a spot where the Yunotani Rivers cool current mixes with the piping-hot, sulphur-rich waters that flow up from underground before praying at the nearby Kumano Hongu Taisha (one of the three grand shrines of Kumano). These days, this part of the Yunotani River has a covered natural-stone bathtub, known as Tsuboyu. While many of the countrys onsen are luxurious spas complete with cedarwood tubs and beautifully tiled floors, Tsuboyu is simply a rustic, one-room cabin set atop a river but its renowned for being the worlds only hot-spring bath located in a World Heritage site.

You may also be interested in: Japan's most remote onsen Japan's naked art of body positivity Meet Japan's first female bathhouse artist

In addition to being a popular place for pilgrims to wash, the villages hot spring has long been popular place for locals to cook. Just a few metres downriver from Tsuboyu, villagers have turned a second pool fed by the Yunotani River, known as Yuzutsu, into a kind of communal kitchen. Records show that locals have been cooking with the springs 90C water since at least the Edo period (1603-1868), according to Yoshiki Kobuchi at the Kumano Hongu Tourist Association.

As a result of Yunomines age-old onsen culture and cuisine, this tiny village has started experiencing a wave of fame.

Yunomine itself is little more than a smattering of wooden houses built on the banks of the narrow, ditch-like Yunotani River. There is just one street with 26 households and a total of 50 residents. Five years ago, few foreign visitors came here. But word of the villages unique onsen has spread, and there are now 14 guest houses and ryokans to accommodate the growing number of tourists (more than 35,000 in 2018) who come from all over the world to bathe in its medicinal waters. Ryokan Adumaya, which dates back to the Edo period, has even welcomed members of the imperial family.

Stand anywhere on the short strip along the Yunotani River between Tsuboyu and Yuzutsu and it is possible to survey most of the village. As visitors arrive, some buy eggs and vegetables at a nearby shop to join locals who cook them in Yuzutsus steaming-hot water, while others visit the small Toko-ji shrine in the middle of the village.

On the day I visited, sexagenarians Yoshifumi Takeshita and Takashi Nakamichi were huddled around the Yuzutsu pool, cooking potatoes in a net they had hung on one of several hooks that are placed just above the hot-spring water. The two friends are frequent visitors to the areas hot springs but were bathing in Yunomine Onsen for the first time and were finding it particularly appealing.

This place is very secluded, like a hidden onsen. There are no new buildings, so its very atmospheric, said Takeshita.

Later that day, Hiroko Kikuchi, Yoshiko Wada and Takeko Kuraya, three members of the villages association of ryokan and guest-house owners, gathered around Yuzutsu to show me what wonders cooking in onsen water can do to fresh vegetables.

We also drink the onsen water every morning, because it is said to be good for the stomach

See how beautiful this green colour is? said Kuraya, giving me a piece of broccoli she had boiled in Yuzutsu. Even in the dim light of the street lamp at night, the bright-green hue was clear to see. Cooking in onsen water takes the bitterness out of vegetables, Kikuchi added.

When I bit into the crunchy floret, I was surprised to find that it tasted slightly sweet, with no hint of the strong sulphuric smell usually associated with hot-spring water. Using onsen water makes everything taste milder, explained Wada. In addition to vegetables and eggs, tofu cooked in onsen water is another local favourite.

We also drink the onsen water every morning, because it is said to be good for the stomach, said Kuraya. All three women encouraged me to try coffee made with onsen water.

These days, its increasingly rare for local residents to cook in Yuzutsu, since hot-spring water is piped directly into their homes. Yet, everyone goes there to cook takenoko (bamboo shoots) when they are in season, said Yosuke Tamaki, proprietor of Ryokan Adumaya.

Its called the takenoko traffic jam, he said, smiling.

In spring, locals will dig for bamboo shoots, soak them in Yuzutsu and head off to work. When they return in the evening, the bamboo will be cooked and the bitterness of raw bamboo shoots will have vanished.

It was not bamboo shoot season at the time of my visit, but later that evening, I settled down to a sumptuous dinner at Ryokan Adumaya, where I was served several dishes prepared with onsen water. Truth be told, I could only detect a slight difference in their texture and flavour.

However, the onsen-cooked steamed kabocha (pumpkin potage soup) had a pungency that is not normally associated with the vegetable and tasted less sweet than most kabocha. The beef shabu-shabu hot pot made using onsen water tasted slightly more minerally though not sulphuric than ordinary shabu-shabu. And while the onsen-steamed rice retained the same flavour as normal short-grain rice, it was noticeably stickier.

According to local residents, cooking with onsen water does not radically alter the taste of food, but it does make it milder in flavour. Unlike regular tap water, it also has the benefit of keeping meat tender, even if you cook it for a long time.

It was mild and flavourful and possibly the best coffee I have ever had

Yunomines onsen water happens to have the right balance of minerals for cooking, explained Tamaki. If there is too much iron or sulphur, it would be impossible to cook with it, much less drink it, as locals do.

The next morning, I was treated to one of the highlights of my visit: tasting the rice porridge I had witnessed being prepared in onsen water in the Adumaya kitchen. It was very sticky and yellow and in contrast to the dishes served for dinner it had a distinct, though not overpowering, sulphuric smell. It took a bit of getting used to, but after a few mouthfuls, I was hooked. Plain porridge is not something I would normally relish, but I found onsen porridge tasty enough to enjoy on its own.

However, it was the onsen coffee, which the inn owners had encouraged me to try, that was the biggest treat of all. It was mild and flavourful and possibly the best coffee I have ever had so good, in fact, that I did not want to dilute its flavour by adding milk. I normally drink just one cup of coffee in the morning, but I easily finished the first pot they brought me and could not resist asking for another one.

In addition to possibly being the oldest onsen in Japan, Tsuboyu may be one of the smallest, too. The tiny hut sits directly above the river and can accommodate just two to three people at a time. Because of its popularity, theres often a snaking queue outside the wooden cabin, and after taking a ticket, bathers are only allowed to sit in its soothing waters (which are said to change colour seven times each day) for 20 minutes.

There may be more tourists than pilgrims passing through Yunomine these days, but whether through cleansing or cooking, Tamaki said that people are now coming to this tiny village to consume its onsen from within and without.

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The Japanese village that cooks in a hot spring - BBC News

(CNN) Great news for Japan-based muggles in need of a bit more magic in their lives -- a new 30,000-square-meter Harry Potter attraction is coming to Tokyo.

Warner Bros. Studio Tours and Warner Bros. Japan have just signed a deal to bring the famed series' permanent studio tour, "The Making of Harry Potter," to Japan.

Attractions include the recreation of famous film sets such as the Great Hall inside Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest and Diagon Alley. There will also be original props and costumes from the movies. In addition to Harry Potter, the Tokyo attraction will also cover the "Fantastic Beasts" spin-offs.

The half-day tour will take visitors through the facility and the exhibition space's "sound stage" and "backlot" areas.

Now for the bad news. It's not opening till 2023.

Warner Bros has teamed up with Itochu Corporation, one of the largest general trading companies in Japan and the majority owner of Family Mart, to create the new attraction.

"The Studio Tour Tokyo will be the second facility of its kind in the world, after London, and will offer a new type of experiential entertainment in Japan," says a statement from Itochu Corporation.

Opened in 2012, the London version has received more than 14 million visitors.

Saying goodbye to a 94-year-old park

For many Japanese, the news is significant for another reason.

The Making of Harry Potter will be located on part of the current grounds of historic Toshimaen Amusement Park.

Set to close at the end of August, the 22-hectare attraction celebrated its 94th anniversary this year. It's home to a century-old carousel, one of the oldest in the world.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will reportedly lease a large part of the remaining land from Seibu Railway Co. Ltd, which owns and operates Toshimaen, to build a public park.

It's hoped the new Harry Potter attraction will lure people to the fading area once again.

Toshimaen sits in the Nerima ward in the northwestern part of Tokyo. It's about a 45-minute train ride from central Tokyo districts Chuo and Shibuya.

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Japan to open world's second 'Making of Harry Potter' attraction - CNN

CNN Travel's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy.(CNN) For more than a century, Bulgaria has had little trouble enticing people to its beach resorts scattered along the Black Sea coast. City-breakers head to its main cities -- including Sofia, the capital, and Plovdiv, the 2019 European Capital of Culture -- for an enjoyable blend of culture and hearty Bulgarian gastronomy. Rila National Park -- the country's largest -- has a well-trodden path to its glacial lakes and colorful monastery. And Bulgaria's ski resorts of Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo have long ago found fans of affordable vacations.

But there's so much more to discover in Bulgaria, including the natural wonders of its Black Sea coast, towering mountain ranges and fascinating historic cities.

Due to the global pandemic, entry restrictions are in place in Bulgaria until at least August 31. Citizens of the European Union are currently allowed to visit, as well as other approved countries, but not the United States. Restaurants, bars and entertainment venues are open and operating with restrictions on capacity and social distancing.

Burgas Lakes

Thanks to its airport, Burgas is commonly used as a jumping-off point for the nearby Black Sea resorts of Sozopol and Sunny Beach. But the coastal city has a few sights of its own that will appeal to nature lovers and birdwatchers, namely the half-moon of three lakes curving around it.

At the vast saltwater Lake Atanasovsko, pink waters lap the southeastern side, the vivid color created naturally by microscopic shrimp in the water. People covered in mud are a common sight -- the lake's rich nutrients have turned the place into a large open-air mud bath and spa.

Lake Burgas to the south is home to the Vaya Ecopark, whose trails get you close to the region's hundreds of bird species. And at Lake Mandrensko, visitors can rent a kayak for a gentle ride across the waters before popping into the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Deultum in Debelt, just beyond the western shore.

In Burgas itself, wilderness has been tamed in the form of the neatly designed landscapes of the coastal Sea Gardens.

The mud beneath the pink waters of Lake Atanasovko is believed to have healing properties.

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images

Pirin National Park

The wild majestic mountains of Pirin National Park have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1983, and easily rival the rugged landscapes of the bigger Rila National Park to the north.

Sprawling across 403 square kilometers (155 square miles) in southwest Bulgaria, the park's peaks soar up to 2,914 meters (9,560 feet) at Vihren, the second-highest in the country.

Hikers will be drawn to Pirin's segment of the E4 European long-distance footpath that starts in Spain and eventually finishes in Cyprus -- although there are 19 other marked trails that don't require quite that level of commitment.

Some of the most popular trails start from the city of Bansko and lead conveniently to rustic mountain huts, hostels and campsites.

Anyone who's skied in Bansko will have already been introduced to Pirin's mountains. But they're unlikely to have come across the park's 118 glacial lakes, whose sparkling waters shimmer throughout the mountain range.

The biggest and deepest is Popovo Lake, which also happens to be one of the most beautiful. Its waters easily tempt visitors to dive in, but even at the height of summer they'll need to be prepared for a 16 C (60 F) shock.

Veliko Tarnovo

Rising steeply from the banks of the winding Yantra River, the narrow cobbled streets and stacked houses of Veliko Tarnovo look like something out of a medieval fairy tale.

Indeed, it was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire which existed between the end of Byzantine rule in 1185 until the Ottoman invasion of 1396. Centuries later, in 1879, it was where Bulgaria's first constitution was signed.

Wedged into its hilly old town are attractive examples of the architecture that sprang up during Bulgaria's National Revival of the late 18th and 19th centuries.

There's more than a hint of the Ottoman style of protruding upper floors, mingling with intricately carved wooden balconies and deep-red tiled rooftops. The old market street, Samovodska Charshia, is one of the town's prettiest and most atmospheric streets, with its collection of food shops and boutiques.

For a crash course in the history of the National Revival, it's possible to visit the museum in the 1858 Hadji Nikoli Inn -- which, handily, includes a restaurant, a wine bar (just the spot to sample Bulgarian wines), a coffee shop and a summer garden.

Lording it over the town is one of Bulgaria's great emblems, the hilltop Tsarevets Fortress. Rebuilt and wrecked numerous times since about the fifth century, this forbidding fortress was partially restored during the communist era, and its renovated tower is worth the climb for superb views of the town.

In the evenings, sound-and-light shows make the night sky glow. They can be viewed for free in Tsar Asen I Square outside the main gate, or tickets can be bought to watch inside from the panoramic viewing terrace.

The fairytale town of Veliko Tarnovo.

Shutterstock

Nessebar

Nessebar is hardly a secret to tourists in Bulgaria. During July and August, visitors from nearby Sunny Beach flock to this tiny ancient town that sits at the end of a narrow isthmus.

It's a different story for the other 10 months of the year. That's the best time to wander the cobbled streets and take in centuries of history and discover the fascinating legacies from ancient Greece and the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

Seemingly wherever one walks in this UNESCO-listed town there's a Byzantine church in picturesque states of ruin. One, the 14th-century Church of Christ Pantocrator, now houses a museum of antique maps. Meanwhile, the Church of St Stephen contains dazzling 16th-century frescoes and icons.

To delve further into Nessebar's story, there's the Archaeological Museum, which, despite being built in the 1990s, has been designed sympathetically in honey-colored stone.

Artifacts going back to ancient Greek and Thracian times can be found here. Visitors will also discover that back in 5th century BCE, Nessebar was on the money -- it was one of the first cultures in the world to use coins as currency rather than goods.

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Bulgaria: Wild majesty in one of Europe's oldest countries - CNN

At the beginning of the year when few could have predicted a future defined by travel restrictions, border closures, changing visa regulations and social unrest Ernest White II was preparing for the kind of year most travel media professionals dream about. Whites first TV show, Fly Brother With Ernest White II, was set to premiere nationally on public television in January (it debuted locally in May); his crew was gearing up to start filming season two in April. The docu-series focuses on the power of human connection as he explores 11 global destinations including Namibia, Sweden, Tajikistan and Colombia with a personal friend as local guide.

While the show did air as planned, season two is on hold indefinitely, and White has been (mostly) stuck at home in San Francisco like the rest of us. We spoke with White to discuss how the world has changed for a professional traveler and what the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement might mean for the future of global travel.

Q: How have the last five months affected the way you think about travel and where you see the future of travel going?

A: As spring turned to summer, we decided that we would stick a pinkie toe into the pool to test the temperature, so I ended up going to Mexico for the month of July to see how airlines were handling it. In my experience flying to and from Mexico on Aeromxico, I felt like they were incredibly careful in terms of their own procedures and protocols, making sure everyone had PPE on the plane. Their flight attendants wore face shields as well as masks, everyone had to slather themselves in hand sanitizer upon boarding, they kept service to an absolute minimum, and they stayed on people who let their masks slip. I did not see that same type of care on the U.S. carrier side, unfortunately.

I did recognize my role as a journalist, and as a pioneer in some ways, in going out and seeing what it was like on the ground or in the air because I knew that I would be looked to for guidance and understanding. As we are experiencing a major shift economically, people are still concerned about finances, but theyre more concerned about their health. Be it an airline, a hotel, ride share, home-sharing situation, everyone is going to be concerned about how those companies are putting the health and safety of customers and employees ahead of every other consideration.

Q: What was it like having a travel show during a time when everyone is stuck at home?

A: This is in no way to minimize the traumatic effects of the pandemic and social transformation, (but) when it comes to a television series debuting when people are stuck at home and production has shifted or slowed or shut down completely, it did help boost our viewership and splash into the industry because the field was less crowded.

The focus of the show, which is friendship and connection, is more necessary than ever at this time, from the perspective of a health crisis from which no one is immune to a societal reckoning thats global in scope from which none of us is immune.

Q: What is in store for the second season, given how the world has changed?

A: The themes friendship and connection will always be the same for this particular project. In that regard, we will never be at a loss for phenomenal people to connect with and amazing experiences to have. Now we just have to put more thought into how we can make it work in a way that is sustainable and scalable. I dont believe any barriers are permanent; weve seen that in our lifetimes. Weve seen just as many positive forms of transformation and human connectivity as weve seen new barriers go up.

Q: What do we lose out on when we cant travel?

A: Were losing out on short-term gratification. In the midst of the pandemic, we're seeing behavior that indicates a lack of awareness regarding how our actions impact others, be it not wearing masks or disregarding local customs and regulations in the few places U.S. citizens are even allowed to travel.

Still, I'd like to think that many more people are aware and are becoming aware of how connected we all are on this planet. We are being called to think deeper about ourselves, our own lives, our space in the world, our immediate environment, our global environment. Once we do start engaging again, we will then be more aware of how were engaging with other people.

I believe the world will remain isolated for as long as it takes to engage again safely. 2020 may be challenging, but are we just going to give up? Thats not something my internal constitution allows me to do. What I can do is do my research, follow safety guidelines and honor what I feel compelled to do: the work of connecting with people and sharing those stories. As much as I feel like theres no replacement for physical contact and face-to-face engagement with people, we do have other ways of connecting with people everywhere. Now is a time we can lean into that as well.

Q: Will the protest movement in the United States and around the world have a tangible impact on how it feels to travel as a Black person?

A: Its something thats incredibly nuanced its the way that race, class, color, heritage and culture come together in their various ways in every single country on the planet. Black Lives Matter is not something that is relegated to the United States; its global in scope, as it always has been, just as slavery was global in scope.

I believe I will probably be having more conversations with people than ever before who want to know more and are more aware, who recognize there is a problem with the way people have been treated based on their race, sexual orientation, gender, physical ability, age or mental capacity. People want to do better, so I believe that people will be engaged in more conversation. But as a Black American traveler and as a journalist and educator, thats been something Ive been engaging in for the last 20 years.

Q: When things open back up, where do you want to go first?

A: I would love to see my parents and my family in Jacksonville (Fla.). Thats one of those things you take for granted until youre not able to do it.

Valerie Stimac is a freelance writer based in the Bay Area. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com

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Ernest White II launched a travel show during the pandemic. He says its message is more relevant now than ever - San Francisco Chronicle

Heading west out of Rotterdam I walked along red-brick pavements, past crooked townhouses and pellucid canals, past fragrant Surinamese restaurants and out-of-town supermarkets, until I got to the port. And thats when I saw them: the cows, a herd of them, at sea, chewing the cud on a floating farm.

Moored up in a murky marina, the offshore farm looked more like a barn. It had a curved roof that reminded me of waves, and a gangplank that gave the cows access to an uninviting strip of grass on the dock. The see breeze brought with it wafts of manure. In the distance, cranes loaded cargo onto ships and barges cruised by laden with petrochemicals. The herd looked incongruous in the industrial landscape.

A life raft for the dairy industry in a changing world, Rotterdams floating farm was designed to be adaptable to rising seas and to reduce dairys sizeable carbon hoofprint, hence the solar panels and rainwater-harvesting roof, which provides drinking water for the cows.

The animals themselves are also unwitting recyclers; their diet consists of grass cuttings from parks and golf courses, and potato peelings from Rotterdams frites industry, which churns out the chunky chips Dutch people like to eat at almost any time of day, ideally slathered in mayo.

Our cows eat the biomass residue from the city and upcycle it into fresh and healthy milk, explained Minke van Wingerden, a partner in the project.

Since opening last year, the floating farm has become a curious attraction in Rotterdam. Believed to be the first of its kind, the project continues two longstanding Dutch traditions: conquering the ocean and dairy farming, which between them have not only helped shape the Netherlands, much of which was stolen from the sea, but also its people, whose appetite for dairy has fuelled their remarkable growth.

God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands

A land of giants, the Netherlands is the loftiest nation on Earth: the average height of a Dutch man is 182.5cm; a Dutch woman 168.7cm. By comparison their American counterparts measure 177.1cm and 163.5cm respectively. It wasnt always this way. A review of Dutch military records for a study published by the Royal Society of London found that in the mid-1800s, men in the Netherlands were actually among the shortest people in Europe.

In 1860, Dutch military men were about 165cm tall, said Professor Louise Barrett of the University of Lethbridge, Canada, who was part of the study. At that time men in the US were around 5cm taller. This, added Barrett, made Americans the worlds tallest people.

Since then, however, there has been a remarkable role reversal: in just 160 years, Dutch men have shot up by 20cm, soaring past their American counterparts, who have grown just 6cm.

Thats too fast for it just to be a genetic effect, said Barrett, although she believes natural selection played a part. Indeed, her study found that the most fertile couples in the Netherlands those who have the most children are tall men and average-height women. And the most fertile American couples? Short women and average-height men.

You may also be interested in: Where Dutch directness comes from The newest piece of land on Earth? The endless Dutch war on water

Environmental factors have also sent the Dutch soaring, added Barrett, citing the Netherlands world-leading healthcare system, low levels of income inequality and excellent social welfare system as another explanation for them overtaking the Americans. [In the Netherlands] everything is geared towards producing high-quality babies that then dont suffer any of the kinds of things that reduce height, she said. Every time you mount an immune response it costs you energy that otherwise you would have put into growth.

Then theres the Dutch diet: people in the Netherlands have a voracious appetite for dairy, and studies suggest this has contributed to their increased height. Calcium builds bone and growth is dependent on having a good supply of that, Barrett explained.

The Dutch love of dairy is a result of the countrys manmade geography.

Built on marshes previously only coveted by seabirds, the Netherlands has been fighting the tide for centuries, pegging back the ocean with water-pumping windmills and water-channelling canals, and keeping it at bay with dykes. And on the reclaimed land, they built a nation that went on to rule the very waves it defeated. A popular local saying immodestly sums up this achievement. God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.

The biggest single Dutch landgrab came with the construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a mind-boggling engineering project that saw the Netherlands steal another 1,620 sq km of land in the heart of the country. Work on this sprawling network of dams and dykes started in 1920 and many Dutch people never lived to see it finished, as it wasnt completed until 1997.

According to Mewis Hettinga, a retired cheese scientist from the city of Woerden, which lies 40km north-east of Rotterdam in the so-called Cheese Valley, the silty reclaimed land was too acidic for growing vegetables or grains. But it was very good for grass, he said.

Consequently, as the sea was pegged back, Dutch farmers turned not to cash crops like wheat, but to cows, which grazed merrily on what had once been the ocean floor. Hettinga, who runs cheesemaking workshops in Woerden and, by his own admission, likes to talk about cheese, says the pastures were particularly abundant in the northern province of Friesland, birthplace of the eponymous Friesian cow, now ubiquitous in the UK and Ireland. The breed has even left its hoofmarks on the White House lawn US president William Howard Taft kept a Friesian named Pauline.

Calcium builds bone and growth is dependent on having a good supply of that

On reclaimed land, the countrys dairy industry boomed and sent milk consumption soaring, along with the Dutch themselves. They remain among the biggest consumers of milk in the world.

What the Dutch didnt drink, they turned into cheeses like Gouda and Edam, which are sold in giant, wax-covered wheels and take the name of the Dutch cities where they were created. Those eponymous cities, along with Woerden and beautiful Alkmaar, are amongst the best places to witness the Dutch love affair with dairy at its most ardent.

They host the most famous cheese markets in the Netherlands, where traders and farmers indulge in the time-honoured Dutch tradition of haggling animatedly over wheels of cheese, before settling on a price and sealing the deal with a handshake. In Woerden, farmers bring their wares to market on antiquated tractors and clip clop across the market square in their wooden clogs which have chunky heels that add another couple of inches to their height, as if they needed it.

Someone who could do with that boost is me: topping out at 176cm, just shy of the average American, I do feel short in the lofty Netherlands, and at the floating farm I wondered if van Wingerden was trying to tell me something when she offered me a bottle of milk, produced on the water by her offshore herd.

It was too late for a growth spurt, I conceded, but I accepted with grace and downed it in one.

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Global business travel has largely ground to a halt during the pandemic. Experts have been raising the alarm that this is the death of business travel as we know it, arguing that it will be a long time before the virus is really gone and that business people have become used to meetings on the likes of Zoom and MS Teams. As a result, many of them no longer see the need for constantly crossing the globe and living out of a suitcase.

We want to urge caution here. There have been similar predictions before, and they were proven wrong. The 9/11 attacks had a negative effect on global business travel, for example, but it found its feet several years later. There was a similar downturn and revival in business travel after the global financial crisis of 2007-09.

In 2015, the International Air Transport Association found that it takes at least five years for the industry to recover from substantial short-term shocks. But despite those bumps, global airline traffic has shown stable long-term growth since the 1970s. Clearly, the longer the pandemic lasts, the longer the recovery may be, but it will probably come.

It takes at least five years for the industry to recover from substantial short-term shocks

Image: International Air Transport Association

A revival in global business travel is likely to vary across sectors and the required location of travel. One sector that is centre stage right now, and arguably more insulated from the pandemic than others, is life sciences.

Medical device companies such as Medtronic and Roche have been benefiting by selling equipment to help fight the virus, such as ventilators and testing kits. Pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer are banking on producing a vaccine before 2021.

So this is an industry that has stayed active during the crisis and is likely to be a big winner over the next couple of years. It is also a sector that engages its employees in substantial business travel around the world. For these reasons, it is arguably the ideal sector in which to carry out research into the future of business travel.

Will aviation ever be the same again?

Image: Mizkit

We interviewed 15 global managers in major medical devices firms, before and during the pandemic, to explore the importance of business travel in carrying out their global work. They resoundingly agreed that although their travel schedules are for the most part on hiatus, they expect to be back in the air as soon as they can.

At least in the short term, however, they expect global travel to proceed differently for them. Their companies will focus on sending executives to countries that are part of regional travel corridors where flights are permitted and there are not quarantine requirements at either end.

Our interviewees report that some firms have already increased their travel in cars or trains where convenient, particularly in Europe. Intercontinental business travel is expected to be the slowest to return, with North and South America likely to be the last continents to open up again. Companies we talked to have planned their first face-to-face global gatherings for October 2020, based within their home region.

In parallel, the travel industry is keen to remove restrictions and open up travel routes, particularly within and between Europe, the Middle East and east Asia. We are also witnessing a rise in the use of individuals and organisations hiring private jets as short-term solutions to avoiding airport delays. Some UK universities have also pursued this route, chartering private jets for incoming international students as a way to ensure a steady flow of income.

In the medium term, our study suggests that life sciences companies will continue to expand, particularly in developing countries, and view travel as a vital channel for maintaining existing and securing new business in these markets.

Our interviewees insist that doing business in developing markets requires overcoming complex cultural issues, and that you build up trust by meeting face to face. Sealing a deal with a new customer, training a local physician on a new product, or solving a problem in a global team can only be done in person.

Our research, therefore, makes us sceptical that global firms will replace travel with virtual substitutes over the longer term. The companies of our interviewees have been relatively slow to adjust to virtual meetings. So far, managers have received little training on global remote working or building virtual skills, and commonly have been left to their own devices.

People are getting frustrated of zoom calls.

Image: Karelnoppe

We found that global remote working was not the escape from the intense conditions of business travel that you might think. Managers found that it still meant extended workdays in order to connect across time zones. They were generally bored of Zoom meetings and eager to get back in the air, despite the intensive lifestyle it creates and work-family conflicts. It appears that global travel is ingrained in the culture of their companies, and will remain part of these managers DNA.

Having said all that, our research also raises significant concerns over how these companies are managing the wellbeing of their business travellers. Our findings corroborate recent work by the International SOS Foundation revealing that frequent business trips lead to physical and mental challenges ranging from stress and depression to poor sleep and a bad diet.

Worryingly, most company wellbeing initiatives related to flexible working, mental health, or training and development do not account for the trials that frequent fliers face. And as business travel returns after the pandemic, it is likely to be more stressful than before. Despite the desire to return to the way things were, the world may look quite different and may add further, unanticipated pressure points.

This evidence may be an early indicator of where other industries might get to after the pandemic has ended. Above all, the much discussed new normal may apply less to business travel than many believe.

Original post:

How COVID-19 could affect business travel and the aviation industry - World Economic Forum

To those who may feel consternation over what I wrote on the manner in which the term "white privilege" is used, I'd like to offer some amplification and references to my own experiences as a white man traveling the world.

The injustice visited upon Black Americans, brought here in chains, enslaved and then subjected to the institutional racism of the Jim Crow period is not a matter for debate. It is an undeniable part of our history. My mother was from the South, and I saw vestiges of this first hand.

What is also undeniable to me is that since the 1960s the nation has been increasingly focused on equal rights for all and there has been a lot of progress bringing disadvantaged Americans into the mainstream. I believe this aspect of the problem requires our full attention. Most of us living today had no hand whatsoever in these events.Yes, we need to learn from past mistakes but it does no one any good to continue reliving them, no matter the degree of remorse or guilt people may feel. Simply stated, ill will toward those different from us, racial, ethnic and religious discrimination has existed from the dawn of our species, and it will continue to exist far beyond our time on this earth. We need to work around that with effective policies to lift people up and a more personal appeal to change what people carry in their hearts.

The challenges of disadvantaged Americans are best met through expanding opportunities across the board. Those whose circumstances have resulted in a lack of opportunity or the perception thereof need our help, as a society, to ensure a level playing field for all. We should endeavor to provide this assistance to those who live trapped in high crime areas, to the many victimized by failed schools denying their children a quality education, to those who are uninformed and unprepared for the life choices available to them, and to those whose energy is diverted in order to keep their families fed, roofed, and alive. Yes, this group disproportionately includes Black Americans, but these challenges do not always directly correlate to skin color.

The way white people are often characterized is also a concern. This is why I object to the term "white privilege" being applied to all white people and assumed to victimize all non-white people. The world is much more nuanced than that.

Some people will automatically characterize me as a privileged white man because they see the amount of world travel I have experienced as prima facie evidence of privilege. I am appearing on these pages with increasing frequency, so perhaps you may find a bit of my personal history is appropriate. If you will kindly bear with me, I will tell you a little bit about how my life of travel got started.

My first trip outside of this country was in the early 1970s. Having dropped out of school at 19, I scraped $2,500 together from working dead end jobs and formed a business enterprise with two friends focused on imports from Asia. We were pioneers and it was the classic shoestring operation. I went off to India with a partner for three months while another stayed behind beginning to refurbish a run down house where we planned to open a shop.

In India we lived on $5 per day each. That had to cover all our meals, accommodation, local transport and a lot of other expenses we incurred trying to find sources for merchandise we wanted to buy. If you never traveled to the third world 50 years ago you cannot imagine what that was like. For the next three years our typical hotel room cost $3 per night and we spent 2 - 4 months per year on the very rough edges of Asia. We suffered all sorts of food poisoning and other serious diseases including dengue fever and amoebic dysentery. We were ripped off by unscrupulous merchants and other foreign tourists. There was zero entitlement underlying any of what we did.

When we got home our inexperience proved to be a big issue. We made every dumb mistake you can imagine. For four years we lived in shabby rooms above our little shop and took $20 per person per week out of the cash register to eat.

Slowly, driven by persistence and an unshakeable belief in our dream, we managed to move things forward. Over the next 20 years we built up a thriving wholesale business. Gradually we were able to upgrade our living standards. Only when the business was fully established were we able to travel with any degree of comfort.

I feel the greatness of our nation is grounded in the will of our people to work hard, make sacrifices, and demonstrate integrity in the pursuit of our dreams. Listening to the way many people talk today, their efforts to divide us into racial groups with broad brush characterization applied to all strikes me as counter productive. Instead we need to go back to our roots and ensure more and more people are able to pursue their dreams in the manner many of us have done. Telling them they are doomed because they are not white and hanging responsibility for that on our whiteness is not going to do anything positive for anybody.

Ken McCord of New Castle is a retired small business owner with a keen interest in contemporary affairs. His education is a result of visiting 80-plus countries in a lifetime of world travel. The views expressed are those of the writer.

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Opinion/McCord: Reflections of a privileged white traveler - Seacoastonline.com

In Xian, a city in northwestern China, Jing Mingzhu, who works in the food service industry, recently started traveling and going to the gym again. During a recent trip to southern China, she said, she realized the importance of feeling free and relaxed.

I took travel for granted, Ms. Jing said. After it was taken away, I felt I should cherish it.

Chinas leaders, hoping to bolster the economy, are eager for people to get back to work and start shopping and traveling again.

But they are also taking a cautious approach, requiring movie theaters and tourist sites, for example, to operate at half capacity. To get into banks, restaurants and other public venues, residents must submit to temperature checks and show digital codes verifying that they are healthy and have not traveled recently to areas where there have been clusters of new cases.

The authorities continue to restrict travel in the Xinjiang region in western China, where an outbreak last month prompted a lockdown. China still prohibits most foreigners from entering the country, for fear that they could bring the virus.

There have been outbreaks in recent months, but in each case the response was swift. When Wuhan reported six coronavirus cases in May, breaking a streak of more than a month without any confirmed infections, the city launched a plan to test all 11 million of its people. And when a new cluster emerged in Beijing in June, the authorities quickly reimposed some lockdown measures to contain it.

While China is not the only place where restrictions have eased Taiwan, for example, has kept the virus under control for months the semblance of normalcy has become a point of national pride and fodder for the countrys vast propaganda apparatus.

The state news media is pointing to the return of large gatherings and classes as evidence of Chinas superior response to the virus, especially compared with the United States and other Western countries whose officials are still dealing with large outbreaks.

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In China, Where the Coronavirus Pandemic Began, Life Is Starting to Look Normal - The New York Times

DUBLIN, Aug. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ResearchAndMarkets.com published a new article on the travel industry "Staycations Give Boost to Domestic Travel Amid COVID-19 Pandemic"

There are signs of recovery within the domestic tourism sector. As lockdowns and travel restrictions were lifted, customers have sought to act on their pent up desire to get out of the house by focusing on staycations within their own local area. Choice Hotels has seen a surge in revenue from domestic travelers, some of whom come from within 25 miles of its hotels while AirBnB has also seen a significant increase in bookings for close to home trips. The company has seen the percentage of bookings within 200 miles grow from one third in February to more than fifty percent in May.

The World Travel and Tourism Council has called for European governments to adopt uniform policies to help ease tourists' fears over traveling internationally. WTTC research shows each 2.7% increase in travel traffic can generate one million jobs in the tourism sector. However, different measures applied after the easing of travel restrictions could discourage cross border travel and delay recovery in the sector. According to the WTTC, adopting a coordinated approach to measures like the wearing of face masks in public could increase travel by 27% and recreate 10 million jobs in the travel and tourism sector.

To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit "Staycations Give Boost to Domestic Travel Amid COVID-19 Pandemic"

About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [emailprotected]

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SOURCE Research and Markets

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Tourism in 2020 and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Signs of Recovery Within the Domestic Tourism Sector - PRNewswire

Ernst and Young LLP on Aug. 17 announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Mid-Atlantic award.

The award is one of the most competitive business awards for entrepreneurs and company leaders. It has celebrated entrepreneurs from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia for 34 years, honoring business leaders who deliver innovation, growth and prosperity through their companies.

Award winners will be announced during a virtual event in October. This year, entrepreneurs who have supported their communities, employees and others during the COVID-19 pandemic will also be recognized.

The 2020 Mid-Atlantic Finalists are:

Imran Aftab, 10Pearls

David DeWolf, 3Pillar Global

Mick Arnold, Arnold Packaging

Juan Pablo Segura, Babyscripts

Dr. Kurt Newman, Childrens National Hospital

Geoff Turner, Choptank Transport Inc.

Tom Matzzie, CleanChoice Energy

Dave Gallagher and David Fratkin, Dominion Payroll

Ozzy Jimenez, Driven, Inc.

Andy Maner, E3/Sentinel

Kestrel Linder, GiveCampus

Mike Volk, GuidePoint Security

John Mazur, Homesnap

Jeff Grass and Shy Pahlevani, HUNGRY Marketplace

Harish Chidambaran, iLearning Engines

Jared Shepard, Intelligent Waves

Jennifer Bisceglie, Interos

Steel Liu, JACS Solutions, Inc.

Jan Adams, JMA Solutions

Dan Chard, Medifast Inc.

Steve Sidel, Mindoula Health

Kevin Bennett, MotoRefi Inc.

Gloria Bohan, Omega World Travel

John Swigart, Pie Insurance

Nick Culbertson, Protenus

Tripp Donnelly, REQ

Dave Dacquino, Serco Inc.

Chris Ripley, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

Ikenna Okezie, Somatus

Jessica Moseley, TCS Interpreting Inc.

Adam Vincent, ThreatConnect

Chris Greamo, Two Six Labs

Lorne Greene and Emily Greene, VIVA Creative

James Foster, ZeroFOX

Finalists were evaluated using six criteria including overcoming adversity, financial performance, societal impact and commitment to building a value-based company, innovation and talent management. They were selected by a panel of independent judges.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards, which will be held virtually in November. The national award winner will move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award in June 2021.

More here:

Here are the Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Mid-Atlantic Finalists - WashingtonExec

LONDON, 25 August 2020: Visa service provider Official-esta.com has looked into which countries have suffered the biggest revenue loss, alongside the highest percentage of GDP lost to reveal the financial impact of Covid-19 on world tourism.

As the country with the most reportedCovid-19 cases, the USA (5.7 million cases) suffered the biggest drop inrevenue with a loss estimated at USD30,709 million.

With a reported drop of 98% ininternational tourist arrivals in June, Spain has the second-largest revenueloss of USD9,741 million.

France is the worlds most visited country,with over 89 million tourists each year, but the impact of Covid-19 hasresulted in a revenue loss of USD8,767 million.

The Caribbean islands make up 50% of thosewho have suffered the highest percentage loss in GDP, with the Turks and CaicosIslands, Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and Grenada all ranking in thelist of the top 10 worst affected.

Combining each countrys loss in revenue,the financial impact of Covid-19 on world tourism has resulted in a revenueloss of USD195 billion worldwide so far.

In 2019, global travel and tourismcontributed USD8.9 trillion to the worlds GDP, yet due to the currentpandemic, the financial impact of Covid-19 on world tourism has resulted in arevenue loss of USD195 billion worldwide in the first four months of 2020.

Official ESTA director of internationaldevelopment Jayne Forrester commented: Taking into account how travel andtourism contribute USD8.9 trillion to the worlds GDP alone, it is devastatingto see a total loss of USD195 billion worldwide in the first four months of2020 alone.

As travel bans have started to ease offfrom July, we only hope that we see no more significant losses to one of thelargest growing sectors in the world.

MethodologyData drawn from the World Travel and Tourism Council report on the impact Covid-19 has had on the travel industry. GDP data are taken from The World Bank. Data correct as of July 2020. Data available here

About Official ESTAOfficial ESTA is an online visa application and assistance processing firm, founded in 2011. It offers a simple step by step process for people to apply for their ESTA visa waiver that is required by anyone visiting the United States.

The countries with the biggest tourism revenue loss due to COVID-19:

The countries which have lost the highest % of GDP due to loss of tourism:

Read more here:

Covid robs tourism by the billion - TTR Weekly

Leipzig, Germany (CNN) Ever since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered clubs, bars and concert halls around the world, music fans have been dreaming of the day they can once again visit a busy, sweaty venue to enjoy a gig with friends.

With infection rates rising in many European countries, this dream could be far off for now. But some music fans in Leipzig, Germany, have been given the chance to rock for a day in the name of science -- with the help of some glowing hand sanitizer and electronic trackers.

Researchers in the German city of Leipzig staged a 1,500-person experimental indoor concert on Saturday to better understand how Covid-19 spreads at big, busy events, and how to prevent it.

At the gig, which featured a live performance from musician Tim Bendzko, fans were given respiratory face masks, fluorescent hand gel and electronic "contact trackers" -- small transmitters that determine the contact rates and contact distances of the individual experiment participants.

Participants wearing FFP2 protective face masks took part in the Covid transmission risk assessment study in a concert setting in Leipzig, Germany.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Using data from the contact trackers, scientists from The University of Halle will monitor the number "critical contacts" had by each participant during specific times and locations, while the residue left by fluorescent hand gel will identify frequently touched surfaces. Researchers hope to use the data to find ways to bring big events, including sports, back safely.

Professor Michael Gekle, the dean of the university's medical faculty and a professor of physiology, told CNN the experiment was being conducted to better prepare authorities on how to conduct events in the upcoming autumn and winter seasons.

Participants wore FFP2 protective face masks during the performance.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

"We cannot afford another lockdown," he said. "We have to gather the data now in order to be able to make valid predictions," he said.

"There is no zero risk if you want to have life. We want to give the politicians a tool in order to decide rationally whether to allow such an event or not. That means they have to have the tool to predict how many additional infected people such an event will produce," he said.

Researchers directed volunteers to run three scenarios -- one that simulated a concert pre-coronavirus, a second simulating a concert during the pandemic, with improved hygiene measures in place, and a third, with reduced participants. Scientists will gather the data, apply a mathematical model, and evaluate the hygiene interventions, with conclusions ready by the end of the year.

Singer Tim Bendzko performed for volunteers during the study.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Researchers believe this is the first time an experiment of this scale has taken place in Europe, but say that different considerations would have to be applied depending on the type of event, the behavior of concert goers and whether patrons were allowed to consume alcohol.

"Of course, a concert with Rammstein would be different," he said.

Gekle told CNN that due to a low prevalence of the virus in the states of Saxony and Lower Saxony, participating in the study was low risk for volunteers, who underwent coronavirus testing 48 hours before participation, and were wearing masks during the show. "It's safer than flying to Majorca," he said.

The number of coronavirus infections in Germany has been climbing again since the end of July. On Saturday, the country saw its highest number of daily infections since April 26, with 2,034 new cases of Covid-19, according to Robert Koch institute, the country's center for disease and control.

The experiment may have been controlled, but for some in the crowd -- despite the lack of alcohol -- it felt like a return to normality.

Participants took a coronavirus test before being allowed to enter the study, and were temperature checked on arrival.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

"This was our first real applause from the audience in months," Bendzko told CNN. "The atmosphere is surprisingly good -- it almost felt like a real concert.

"I wish that it will be possible to play at big concerts again someday soon," he said. "But we all understand that we now have to live with the virus and we have to take a certain risk."

Elli Blesz, 20, from Leipzig told CNN: "The atmosphere was really great, we all enjoyed the music -- it was nice to listen to live music after six months."

And Kira Stuetz, a 26-year-old student who attended the concert with her husband, said: "It was a little crazy." Recalling one of the pre-coronavirus simulations, where audience members sat together, she said that "at first it almost felt wrong all people came so close together. We thought this 'is a dream' because it's not allowed to be sitting together so close! But then it was really cool. I could not believe it that we were at a real concert again!"

Organizers around the world have been dipping their toes into the water to see when and how live events can be brought back in a world still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic -- in the UK, event organizers trialled concerts at an outdoor, purpose-made socially distant concert venue, where patrons sat in small groups on distant, raised platforms.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of people who participated in the experimental indoor concert. It was 1,500.

Nadine Schmidt reported from Leipzig, Germany. Amy Woodyatt wrote from London.

More:

Fans crowd into an indoor concert in experiment on how to return to normality - CNN

Americans who regularly cross the border from Mexico reported long wait times to re-enter the US on Monday after US officials imposed new Covid-19-related restrictions on cross-border travel by US citizens and permanent residents.

The US government closed lanes at select ports of entry on the border and began conducting more secondary checks to limit non-essential travel and slow the spread of the coronavirus, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Friday.

According to CBP data, wait times at some border crossings have since doubled or tripled. Many crossing points now have only one or two lanes of traffic open. On Monday, border-crossers reported up to 5-6 hour wait times.

Jess Herr, 30, a US citizen who lives in the Mexican border city of Tijuana and works at a restaurant in San Diego in southern California, said she usually wakes up at 4 am and crosses by car in about an hour to make her shift.

When she saw the long line of cars on Monday, she decided to cross by foot, although she still had to wait five hours to cross the border.

At the Cordoba bridge joining the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez with El Paso in Texas, only two lanes were open to motorists. Border-crossers who usually waited about 45 minutes told Reuters they had waited more than three hours to cross, and some were late for work.

Melissa Reyes, general manager for a nonprofit organisation, said she had waited 4 and a half hours to cross the border back into the United States over the weekend after going to Puerto Palomas in Mexico to do some shopping. Normally the wait time would be 15-20 minutes.

The new restrictions announced last week would prove challenging for people who live lives that span both sides of the border, she said. Its gonna be pretty devastating, she added.

The US-Mexican border is the worlds busiest land border.

Before coronavirus restrictions at the border began in March, over 950,000 people entered the US from Mexico on foot or in cars on a typical day.

US president Donald Trump has implemented a series of sweeping policies to curb legal and illegal immigration in recent months, saying the moves are necessary to limit the spread of the coronavirus or preserve jobs for American workers.

In March, the US, Mexico and Canada agreed to bar non-essential travel across their shared borders, but the restrictions still allowed US citizens and permanent residents to return to the United States.

Read more:

Germany issues travel warning for Paris and Cote d'Azur as it happened - The Guardian

Webjet aims to transform its WebBeds accommodation distribution/saler business into the #1 B2B player globally, overtaking the long-term bed bank market leader HotelBeds, when the world finally emerges from the COVID crisis.

But what are the metrics and how will Webjet make that happen?

Neither of these key points was addressed by Melbourne-based company in its announcement.

So lets look at the numbers as they currently stand.

At this point WebBeds is claiming 350,000 hotels and 44,000 customers (distribution network).

Based on past Webjet ASX announcements, between 30,000 to 40,000 of these properties are directly contracted with WebBeds.

The remaining 300,000 plus would therefore be supplied by third-party providers, who own the hotel relationship and take a commission cut along the way.

Meanwhile, HotelBeds, which calls itself the worlds leading bed bank, says it has 180,000 hotels an estimated 75% or 135,000 of which are contracted, three times more than WebBeds and 66,000 customers.

HotelBeds, which is headquartered in Palma, Spain, also (currently) has a much bigger contracting team than WebBeds, giving it a key advantage.

The importance of having a direct relationship cannot be overstated higher commissions per transaction, greater flexibility in terms of partner pricing and distribution, better data and ownership of the client.

So the question remains and it has been put to Webjet today on what metric are they aiming to be #1?

No answer yet, but one thing is for sure, WebBeds is the now the major profit engine of Webjet, which announced its annual results late last week.

Webjet registered a net loss of $143.6 million for the year to June 30, 2020.

This included a $40 million debtors write-off, $14.6 million associated with the closure of Webjet Exclusives and $20 million in impairments arising from the closure of Online Republic Cruise.

The company has cut operating costs by around 50%; reduced staff numbers by 22% (515 jobs) and introduced four day weeks for most employees.

Meanwhile, Webjet raised more than $500 million in April and July to see it through the tough times.

Faced with a significant fall in bookings and nominal revenues in all our businesses, we focused on what we could control, said Webjet MD John Guscic.

We materially reduced our costs and fortified our balance sheet.

We are starting FY21 with a strong capital position offering significant financial and strategic flexibility.

As for WebBeds, 3.2 million bookings were made through the platform during the year and earnings before tax came in at $15.3 million despite a terrible second half in which it lost -$42 million.

Following the results announcement, Guscic told the Australian Financial Review he believes a COVID vaccine is the only antidote to travel woes.

As soon as a vaccine is either announced or goes into widespread implementation across a significant population, we would think that six to 12 months beyond that date we would see a significant improvement in the underlying travel industry sentiment, Guscic said.

I think very few travel businesses will thrive without a vaccine. Were no different. Our business is predicated on consumers having confidence getting on an aircraft and consumers having confidence arriving at a hotel.

Thats paramount and fundamental to our industry. There are other alternatives if there was a prolonged period without a vaccine that would ensure that we would survive.

ends

Read the original post:

WebBeds world's top bed bank post-COVID? That's the Webjet plan - Travel Trends

Outbound Travel Service Market Report aims to provide an overview of the industry through detailed market segmentation. The report offers thorough information about the overview and scope of the market along with its drivers, restraints and trends. This report is designed to include both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry in each region and country participating in the study.

Key players in globalOutbound Travel Service market include:Expedia Group,Corporate Travel Management,Booking Holdings (Priceline Group),China CYTS Tours Holding,American Express Global Business Travel,China Travel,Fareportal,BCD Group,AAA Travel,Travel Leaders Group (ALTOUR),JTB Corporation,World Travel Holdings,Ovation Travel Group,Travel and Transport,Omega World Travel,World Travel,Abercrombie & Kent Group,FROSCH Travel,Direct Travel,TUI Group,Butterfield & Robinson,InnerAsia Travels and more.

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Read more:

Outbound Travel Service Market is Projected to Expand at a Steady CAGR over the Forecast by 2025 - The News Brok