Among life's pressing questions, which ice cream to have poses an eternal conundrum. There's coffee, obviously, and chocolate, but what about raspberry, pistachio, rum raisinand mint chocolate chip? Toppings are a further challenge sprinkles, whipped cream, hot fudge, the proverbial cherry on top?

So it's a relief to learn that Filipinos have an answer: halo-halo.

The name of the frozen dessert, also made in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, translates as mix-mix, explains Rachel Ozaeta, a barista at Leelin Bakery, in a district near downtown Los Angeles with a concentration of Filipino-American-owned businesses.

You can take mix-mixliterally. Ozaeta rattles off the list of today's ingredients as she fills a cup with them lecheflan, jackfruit, sugar palm fruit, coconut cream, mixed beansand Jell-O, topped with shaved ice and evaporated milk. It's the everything bagel philosophy applied to dessert, and it's crowned with ascoop of a gloriously purple ice cream called ube.

Ube, Ozaeta explains, is a tropical yam. It's sweet, slightly nutty andpurple. Prince purple. It's a staple inthe Philippines. In Los Angeles, it's a neighborhood hit, and not just for Filipino-Americans.

Latinos ... Indians, Koreans, they all love our halo-halo, Ozaeta says.

Immigrants and ice cream go way back. A French chef was churning it out in New York back in 1774.At Ellis Island in the 1920s, new arrivals made their own ice cream sandwiches.And at the 1904 World's Fair, it was an immigrant from Syria who rolled up a kind of waffle called a zalabia to make one of the first ice cream cones.

Indian immigrants did not invent the creamsicle, but they could have. India's traditional ice cream, kulfi, is creamy and solid, like a spiced caramel popsicle, without the stick. You can cut it with a knife and eat it with a fork.

You can put it back in the freezer and it's still kulfi, explains Smita Vasant, owner of the shop Saffron Spotin LA's Little India, located in a suburb of Artesia.

The difference with kulfi is how it's made. Compared to ice cream, which is churned to introduce air and a creamy texture, kulfi is frozen in molds. Vasant makes hers the traditional way stirring down a steaming pot of milk and cream on the stove for hours until it condenses, then adding sugar and spices like cardamom and saffron before freezing. It's a long, laborious process, she says.

Vasant grew up in Mumbai, eating ice creams made with tropical fruits and nuts, cardamom, saffronand fennel seed. In the US, she could never find ice creams that measured up.

We love vanilla, chocolate all of this ice cream here is delicious, she says.But you still have that memory of what you ate back home. So she left her job as a corporate health care consultant and started making her kulfi and ice cream with Indian flavors like mango, pistachio, lycheeand rose. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry are her shop'sleast popular flavors.

For centuries, ice cream and its sweet frozen relatives have been a global phenomenon. While the notion of freezing sweetened cream dates back to the 16th century, and the royal courts of India and Europe, the ancient Persians were making iced desserts at least 1,000 years earlier. Faloodeh, a Persian dessert made of frozen rice noodles, rosewater and cherry syrup, is said to date back to 400 BC. Later, Iran jumped on the dairy bandwagon too, and an ice cream maker named Akbar Mashti opened Iran's first ice cream shopin Tehran in the 1920s.

In Hollywood, Mehdi Shirvani and his brother Mashti are keeping Persian ice cream traditions alive at their ice cream shop, Mashti Malone, with recipes for faloodeh and ice creams like creamy rosewater, ginger rosewater and saffron gleaned from their uncle, who had an ice cream shop back in Iran.

Wielding ascoop, Shirvani leans into a freezer to make me one of his famous ice cream sandwiches Akbar Mashti-style saffron rosewater ice cream mashed between two thin crosshatched wafers, a memory of his childhood. He says he still eats one almost every day.

But there isso much more to taste: Mexican mango chile paletas, Korean bingsoo, or fine-shaved ice with sweet red beans, sesame and soybean powder, and Vietnamese avocado milkshakes. It is tough to get to them all, but there is one person who is an expert in the world of ice cream flavors and their availability in the US.Adrienne Borlongan is the founder and chief flavor master at Wanderlust Creameryin LA's San Fernando Valley, a shop that offers everything fromIcelandic rye bread ice cream and a Thai-style sticky rice and mango flavor to a Japanese-style Neapolitan with sesame and matcha.

I wanted to globalize people's palates, Borlongan explains. What better way to do that [than] with ice cream?"

It all comes back to ube. Borlongan is from LA, but her parents are from the Philippines, and she grew up eating the bright-purple Filipino yam.

But that is changing thanks toice cream makers serving up halo-halo, kulfi and Persian ice cream sandwiches. It makes me happy when I see a little kid and theyre eating a purple ice cream, knowing that theyre going to grow up and theyre going to know what ube is, she says.

However, ube would notbe the first imported tropical flavor to go mainstream. Check your freezer. If you havechocolateand vanilla, you can thank Mexico and Guatemala.

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Travel the world on an ice cream tour in Los Angeles - PRI

With a jackpot over $350 million, Mega Million and Poweball players are envisioning how their lives could change with a winning ticket. (WTOP/Jack Moore)

WASHINGTON With the jackpots for Mega Millions and Powerball each topping $350 million for the first time this week, people in and around the nations capital are willing to fantasize about life as a multimillionaire.

When you have that kind of money, you can do whatever you want, said Michael Kay, who envisions a ZIP code change if he and his wife hit it big.

We have a house in Gaithersburg, but wed probably buy a house in Potomac, he said. We would vacation and send our kid to a better school.

The Mega Millions drawing tonight has an estimated jackpot of $393 million, while Saturdays Powerball prize will be approximately $356 million.

The prizes are based on winners taking an annuity with the prize being paid out over 29 years. For an upfront cash prize, the jackpot would drop to $238 millionfor Mega Millions and $224 million for Powerball.

Thats a lot of money, actually, understated Tedessa, who is originally from Ethiopia.

If he won, he says he would build and runa learning center to help children develop knowledge about technology and science.

He says he wouldnt buy a fancy car.

Im quite simple, really, I dont think Id need that, he said. Perhaps a donkey, or a horse. But the center would have a bus.

A librarian from Gaithersburg (and yes, her name is Marian) said she would invest most of her winnings, help her children financially and buy a new town house.

Daniela Zeppos, a Montgomery County teacher, said she would travel the world and help students join her.

As for winning strategies, Michael Kay said he bought his ticket using a tidbit he learned in college.

I took a statistics course, and the professor said use random numbers, Kay said. That will give you a better chance of winning, as opposed to picking your own numbers every single time.

Ozzie, an orthodontist, said she would pay off her student loan.

Mike Waters wife said shed want to buy a beach house. He said hed travel the world and leave the beach house to his wife.

Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.

2017 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.

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$700M in jackpots spur dreams of Potomac mansion, world travel, donkey - WTOP

David Baron has been chasing eclipses for almost 20 years. His first total solar eclipse when the Moon fully blocks the Sun from sight, turning day into night was in 1998, in Aruba. The experience convinced him to travel the world to catch more eclipses. I really didnt know what a big deal it would be, says Baron, a science writer. It was so moving, almost psychedelic. I just decided I wanted to experience it again.

Since 1998, Baron has traveled to Europe, Australia, and Indonesia to witness five total solar eclipses. And on August 21st of this year, hell climb nearly 11,000 feet to the top of Rendezvous Peak in the Teton Mountains in Wyoming, to witness the first total solar eclipse crossing the US from coast to coast since 1918. Hes not alone: eclipse chasers all over the world travel wherever they can to get a fleeting glimpse of the celestial phenomenon. This months eclipse is expected to draw millions of people.

The experience can be addictive

The experience can be addictive, Baron says. A total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes just a couple minutes on August 21st, depending where you are but those few minutes can give you a feeling of incredible connection to the universe, he says. During a total solar eclipse, the day turns into night, and all of a sudden you can see the planets appear in the sky. You can also see the Suns wispy outer atmosphere, called the corona, the jets of light and rays shot into the surrounding universe. Its just the most breathtakingly beautiful, I daresay, glorious sight in the heavens, Baron says.

Eclipse chasers have been around for a long time, and we have good records of who attempted to catch more recent eclipses. In 1860, a group of scientists traveled by train, stagecoach, wagon, steamboat, and canoe for 47 days to witness a total solar eclipse in todays central Manitoba, Canada. (Unfortunately, clouds covered the entire eclipse.) In 1870, Frenchman Jules Janssen escaped Paris by balloon during a Prussian siege to reach Algeria and witness a total solar eclipse there.

Baron writes about these, and other, eclipse-chasing adventures in a new book, called American Eclipse. The book focuses on the eclipse of 1878, which crossed the US from Montana to Texas. Among the eclipse chasers this time were astronomer Maria Mitchell, who wanted to show the world that women could be scientists; and a young Thomas Edison, who yearned to prove his scientific worth. (He spent eclipse day testing an improbable instrument called the tasimeter, which was designed to measure the heat emitted by the Suns corona.)

The 1878 eclipse proved to be an important one for the US: it allowed a young country to prove that its burgeoning scientific community was capable of doing serious scientific research. And it inspired thousands of regular Americans to become interested in science: many flocked to Denver, buying blue or smoked glass to stare at the Sun as the Moon hovered over it; on Pikes Peak, Colorado, dozens picnicked as they waited for the eclipse. Crowds cheered loudly once the Sun became completely covered. Baron says hes experienced the same collective cheering while watching a total solar eclipse in Munich in 1999.

Eclipses, I find, connect the present with the past like few other natural events, Baron writes at the end of American Eclipse. For me, personally, they are life milestones. Each forces me to reflect on who I was the last time I gazed at the corona. For us, collectively as a society, a nation, a civilization they can have the same indelible, life-affirming effect. They afford a chance not only to grasp the majesty and power of nature, but to wonder at ourselves who we are, and who were were when the same shadow long ago touched this finite orb in the boundless void.

Ahead of this months total solar eclipse, The Verge talked to Baron about eclipse chasing, his book, and whether this years total solar eclipse will be as important as the one in 1878.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

We know what drives scientists to chase eclipses. But what about regular people?

It is just the most jaw-droppingly beautiful and spectacularly moving experience Ive ever had, and certainly a lot of people feel the same way. Even though it is so brief, its like nothing else youve ever experienced and so for a lot of folks, it can become an addiction. You just want to have that experience again, that feeling of incredible connection to the universe.

Whos your typical eclipse chaser?

A number of eclipse chasers are kind of the traditional group of amateur astronomers, folks who go with their telescopes and their solar filters and really like the scientific aspects of it. Theyre not studying it, but theyre taking photos with their fancy cameras and stuff like that. But then youve got other folks and I would put myself in their camp who just find it exciting and moving and beautiful. And that can be anyone who may have seen their first solar eclipse by accident, or they were just going along with a friend who really wanted to see it and were unexpectedly moved by the experience. There is a wonderful, wonderful video that was produced by some Australian TV program about this mother-daughter pair who chase eclipses. It just captures what Im trying to say: it makes you feel alive and part of the universe and something you just want to share with people you love.

Have you bumped into the same eclipse chasers over and over?

I havent personally, but its hard often, because if a total eclipse goes over a large section of land, people will be spread out. But when I was in Indonesia last year, I was traveling around with a Canadian eclipse chaser whom Id met online and we intentionally hooked up on the island of Belitung, Indonesia, and rented a car together. As we were driving around the island, he happened upon an American eclipse chaser whom he hadnt seen in 15 years, who he had last seen in Ghana at a previous total eclipse. And he recognized that guy. So it definitely happens; it has yet to happen to me.

Where did you meet the Canadian guy?

It kind of reminds me of what birders do.

There are a couple of places where eclipse chasers can kind of hang out or meet up with each other. Theres this very active listserv called SEML, Solar Eclipse Mailing List. Whenever a total eclipse or even partial eclipse is coming up, folks will be talking about where theyll be going. It provides tips on hotels or travel or the best place for clear skies. Its a way for eclipse chasers to kind of fuel each others enthusiasm. Theres also eclipse-chasers.com. The most interesting aspect is theres an eclipse chaser log. So after youve seen a total eclipse, you can have your own log entry and you can update it, marking on Google Maps precisely where you were, counting whether you had clear skies, cloudy skies, and how many minutes, seconds, and tenths of seconds you were in the Moons shadow. And it all gets added to the running tally, so if you go to the eclipse chaser log, you can see whos in first [place] in terms of total eclipses, or total time in the shadow of the Moon. Im way down the list somewhere.

It kind of reminds me of what birders do with their life lists. Im not part of the birding community, but I think theres both an aspect of collegiality and also competition in terms of whos got the longer life list. Theres a bit of that in the eclipse chasing, too. Everyone really wants success for everyone else, but you also kind of like the fact that youve seen more total eclipses or you had better success than somebody else.

What drove you to see your first total eclipse?

That was May 1994, when there was a partial eclipse that was going to cross the US. In the course of reporting on that eclipse, I interviewed the astronomer Jay Pasachoff from Williams College, and he was emphasizing that even a very interesting partial eclipse is nothing compared to a solar eclipse. And he said to me, Before you die, you owe it to yourself to see a total eclipse. And I took it seriously. I took a book out of the library or I bought a book about total eclipses, and I noticed that, in a few years, there was going to be one crossing Aruba in February, and it just seemed like a no-brainer that I should go to Aruba and see what he was talking about. Thats what got me to see my first total eclipse.

During that trip to Aruba, you got the idea to write a book about total solar eclipses. Why did you decide to make Edison such a central character in the book?

Really, my excitement for this story began with Thomas Edison. I was looking at various eclipses that might be worth writing a book about, but when I discovered that Thomas Edison in the very year right after he invented the phonograph, and immediately before he invented the light bulb had gone to Wyoming to see a total eclipse, I thought, well, theres gotta be a story here. This is a key year in Edisons life, and here he is out in the Wild West. Its been written about so little. If you read any Edison biography, it will mention maybe in a paragraph that, oh and by the way, in the summer of 1878, Edison took a vacation, went out West, saw a total eclipse, and then he came back.

If Edison hadnt gone West in 1878 to see the eclipse, it is quite likely he would not have been the one to invent the first successful light bulb. In his time in the West, he was with these other academic scientists who were encouraging him to take on the problem of electric lightning. But more than that, when Edison went West for the eclipse of 1878, when he was going to do his own experiments during the eclipse, he was mastering his skills at public relations. He had the newspapermen wrapped around his little finger. And that was a key skill that was critical to his success with the light bulb, to be able to keep the press on his side, to get investors excited about what he was working on during those long, hard months when honestly he didn't know what he was doing, but he was trying to tell the world that he had solved the problem of electric lighting. I just love Edison as a character. He was such a colorful, folksy genius.

I particularly love your descriptions of Maria Mitchell, and her struggle to be accepted in the scientific community. When did you first hear about her?

Im embarrassed to say frankly how little I knew of all of the characters in my book, except for Thomas Edison, prior to working on the book. Id heard of Maria Mitchell but I really knew very little of her. But as I discovered, she was very prominent back in the 19th century and even in the early part of the 20th century. When I learned that she had taken this all-female expedition to Denver in 1878, which obviously was quite remarkable for the time, I was immediately taken by her. I was able to find enough material, because a lot was written about her and her expedition. People were really impressed by what she did. And she gave lectures about that expedition. She brings a whole different context to the 1878 eclipse that this wasnt just a scientific event, it really was a cultural event, both in terms of America embracing science and deciding that science was something that this democratic nation should get behind, but also in terms of changing American culture in some way, about how we think about science and scientists. And Maria Mitchell showing what women could do was part of that.

Do you think this years total eclipse will be as important as the one in 1878?

Thats a good question. As important, I dont know. I do think it will be a bigger deal than anyone imagines right now. First of all, it will be a bigger deal in terms of just the press attention its going to get, and public attention and tourists going into the path of totality and the number of people who will find it a life-changing experience. I guarantee you, its going to be huge.

its going to be huge.

Its going to inspire some small but significant chunk of young people to want to become scientists. You reached me on my book tour. At one of my earlier stops in Philadelphia, I spoke at the library there, and after my talk, a young man in his 20s came up to me. In my talk, I had discussed my experience of the total eclipse in Aruba and what a dramatic, life-changing experience it was for me. He was five years old at the time of the eclipse, he lived in Venezuela and the same eclipse went over Venezuela. And the guy, he was wearing a T-shirt from the European Center for Nuclear Research CERN and he said, You know, that eclipse is what inspired me to become a physicist. He intentionally wanted to emphasize that the point I made in my talk, that this coming eclipse could really inspire kids to get into science, was absolutely true. Thats what happened to him in 1998.

Youve seen five total solar eclipses since 1998. Have you missed any?

Ive missed quite a few. Some I missed for very good reasons, because they just went over Antarctica. After I saw my first two in 98 and 99, I had other priorities for my life and I kind of put eclipse chasing on hold for a while. So for about 10 years, I was doing other things. And it was as I was getting older, as I was sort of coming to grips with my own mortality, that I decided to take it up again. My mother died very young, at age 48. Obviously that was very hard for me, I was in my early 20s at the time. But it was really surprising [that] as I reached my mid-40s, it really struck me hard. It just really put me in touch with how much of life she missed out and how I cant take for granted how many years I have left. And it was really because of that, I reflected on whats important to me. And looking back over the years on what was meaningful, I kept coming back to that experience in Aruba and how that really was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. And I decided, if Im going to every eclipse I reasonably can, Im still not going to see that many in the rest of my life. So I decided in my mid 40s that I was going to make eclipse chasing a priority. If I could reasonably get to a total eclipse with a reasonable chance of seeing it, that I would go. So I really picked it up again starting in 2012, when I went to Australia.

I cant take for granted how many years I have left.

Do you plan to keep doing this?

Oh yeah, absolutely. I definitely intend to go to South America in 2019 and 2020. Those total eclipses will both cross the middle of Chile and Argentina, one in the winter and one in the summer. And then, the next one after that I think its not a very convenient one, that one goes to Antarctica. But then after that, the one in 2024 will cross the US, so Ill definitely see that one. But the one Im really looking forward to so I hope Ill be around for it its August 12th, 2045. That one will cross Colorado. That will last over six minutes, and that would be just great. Thats a darn good one.

Its so far away in the future its hard to think about it.

Normally, in astronomical terms, we talk about next week, next month, next year, but total eclipses happen on a much more leisurely [time scale], and so when you think in terms of total solar eclipses you talk about many years into the future. Eclipse chasing makes you look at time in a whole different way.

Read more:

An eclipse chaser explains why the rare celestial event shouldn't be missed - The Verge

This striking yacht design, aimed at those with a strong passion for both sailing and aviation, could revolutionize the way we travel the sea.

The brainchild of Monaco-based artist George Lucian, Dare to Dream affords sufficient space for an airship to land on deck.

The airship itself is called 'Flying Diamond' and can accommodate two people, as well as a saloon for dinners, cocktails and relaxation.

At 140 meters in length, Dare to Dream has the space to host at least 12 guests, though there will also be entertaining and living spaces on board the airship.

"My concept is inspired from the yachting industry and military vessels design," Lucian says.

Lucian adds that the design was also inspired by his fascination for the zeppelins which transported passengers across the Atlantic in a luxurious and romantic manner at the beginning of the last century.

The airship is 100m in length and would offer the yacht's owner the chance to gain a different perspective while sailing the Mediterranean, for example.

The owner can leave the yacht and spend a couple of days flying above to ocean -- or have dinner floating above the bay of Monaco -- before returning to deck.

Lucian says the elegance and tranquility that cruise liners and airships offered at the beginning on the 20th century has been lost.

He wants Dare to Dream to give its owner a feeling of old-fashioned elegance.

How long before Dare to Dream takes to the high seas?

The rest is here:

Will 'Dare to Dream' superyacht concept revolutionize world travel? - CNN International

PHOTO: A Boeing 757 with TCS World Travel livery on the tarmac. (photo via Flickr/Alec Wilson)

Signature Travel Network announced a new partnership with TCS World Travel, which employs private jets to provide highly personalized travel experiences for travelers.

Alex Sharpe, Signatures president and CEO, said, "Signature is the only consortium to partner with the company on a national level. I am thrilled that our consultants have better access to private jet travel, and now we are focused on training and supporting our members as they market this luxurious experience to their clients."

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TCS World Travel was founded in 1991 as TCS Expeditions and launched its first around-the-world private jet expedition in 1995. Pioneers in the private jet travel industry, the company has developed and operated more than 240 expeditions to more than 200 destinations.

Signature Travel Networks current portfolio of preferred supplier partners includes 975 hotels and resorts, 30 cruise partners, 91 destination specialists, 50 tour and land operators as well as a variety of specialty suppliers, travel insurance providers and car rental companies.

READ MORE:The Home-Based Travel Agent's Keys to Success

We are excited to launch this partnership with Signature Travel Network to bring awareness to our expanded portfolio of seamless, all-inclusive journeys, saidSidhelley Cline, president of TCS World Travel.

Signature travel consultants understand the needs of high-end travelers and share our goal of providing luxurious once-in-a-lifetime experiences with the highest level of service, she added.

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Signature Travel Network Partners with TCS World Travel - TravelPulse

By Darla Guillen, Chron.com / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

>>See where to pick up these travel perks on nonstop flights out of Houston.

>>See where to pick up these travel perks on nonstop flights out of Houston.

Direct international flights out of Houston

Spirit Airlines and Southwest offer flights.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 45 minutes.

Direct international flights out of Houston

Spirit Airlines and Southwest offer flights.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 45 minutes.

United airlines now has direct flights from Houston.

Flight time:About 2 hours, 30 minutes.

United airlines now has direct flights from Houston.

Flight time:About 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Spirit Airlines launched a route to San Pedro Sula from IAH.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Spirit Airlines launched a route to San Pedro Sula from IAH.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Flight time: Just under 5 hours.

Flight time: Just under 5 hours.

Southwest Airlines added nonstop flights to Liberia, Costa Rica.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Southwest Airlines added nonstop flights to Liberia, Costa Rica.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Air New Zealand announced April 15 that it will add Houston as its North American destination with a flight to Auckland. Air New Zealand will fly a Boeing 777-200 from Bush Intercontinental "up to" five times a week.

Flight time: About 14 hours.

Air New Zealand announced April 15 that it will add Houston as its North American destination with a flight to Auckland. Air New Zealand will fly a Boeing 777-200 from Bush

All Nippon Airways flies to Tokyo; United already offers two flights there.

Flight time: Just under 13 hours.

All Nippon Airways flies to Tokyo; United already offers two flights there.

Flight time: Just under 13 hours.

Spirit Airlines launched service to Cancn from IAH.Southwest also offers flights.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Spirit Airlines launched service to Cancn from IAH.Southwest also offers flights.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Flight time: About 9 hours, 45 minutes.

Flight time: About 9 hours, 45 minutes.

Flight time: About 1 hours.

Flight time: About 1 hours.

United has increased to daily service.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 10 minutes.

United has increased to daily service.

Flight time: About 3 hours, 10 minutes.

MUNICH, Germany

Flight time: About 11 hours.

MUNICH, Germany

Flight time: About 11 hours.

EVA Air flies three times per week with its Hello Kitty-painted 777-300ER aircraft.

Flight time: About 15 hours.

EVA Air flies three times per week with its Hello Kitty-painted 777-300ER aircraft.

Flight time: About 15 hours.

Turkish Airlines launched a nonstop flight to Istanbul from IAH.

Flight time: About 12 hours.

Turkish Airlines launched a nonstop flight to Istanbul from IAH.

Flight time: About 12 hours.

Southwest and United fly direct from Houston.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Southwest and United fly direct from Houston.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Flight time: About 14 hours, 15 minutes.

Flight time: About 14 hours, 15 minutes.

Southwest and United fly direct.

Flight time:About 2 hours.

Southwest and United fly direct.

Flight time:About 2 hours.

Flight time: About 14 hours, 10 minutes.

Flight time: About 14 hours, 10 minutes.

Flight time: About 4 hours.

Flight time: About 4 hours.

Flight time: About 9 hours, 15 minutes.

Flight time: About 9 hours, 15 minutes.

Flight time: About 2 hours.

Flight time: About 2 hours.

Flight time: About 4 hours.

Flight time: About 4 hours.

Flight time: Just under 5 hours.

Flight time: Just under 5 hours.

TURKS AND CAICOS United offers Saturday flights this summer. Flight time: Just under 4 hours.

TURKS AND CAICOS United offers Saturday flights this summer. Flight time: Just under 4 hours.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Emirates now uses double-decker A380 planes for its IAH-Dubai itineraries. Read about fun things to do there beyond the shopping malls on houstonchronicle.com. Flight time: About 15 hours.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Emirates now uses double-decker A380 planes for its IAH-Dubai itineraries. Read about fun things to do there beyond the shopping malls on houstonchronicle.com. Flight time:

Southwest launched flights Nov. 1.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Southwest launched flights Nov. 1.

Flight time: About 3 hours.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Flight time: About 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Flight time:About 10 hours.

Flight time:About 10 hours.

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands

Flight time:Just under 3 hours.

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands

Flight time:Just under 3 hours.

Flight time:About 5 hours, 20 minutes.

Continue reading here:

US News & World Report reveals its best travel rewards programs for the 2017-18 season - Chron.com

Get out your bloomers and your mustache wax. On Saturday, the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum is hosting its Worlds Fair, inspired by the expos that took place in Chicago in 1893 and St. Louis in 1904.

Worlds fairs were not your average county fairs. Beginning in the mid-1800s, countries and cities vied for the honor of hosting them and spent millions in the name of civic and national pride, says Hayley Prihoda, the DAR Museums assistant curator of education.

They were kind of like the Olympics, in that they were an opportunity for the host country to show off, she says.

The Midwestern fairs at the turn of the 20th century were a particularly big deal, Prihoda adds. Over six months, the Chicago Worlds Fair attracted an estimated 27 million people, including nearly a quarter of the U.S. population at the time. The planners erected hundreds of temporary buildings for the event, a task that cost more than $46 million, the equivalent of about $1.2 billion today. The goal? To get Americans excited about the future at a moment of major social and economic change.

It was very much a transitional period, Prihoda says. A lot of people were scared about the rapid changes they were seeing, but they were also excited about the new possibilities opening up.

Demonstrations of new inventions, such as electricity and the Ferris wheel, encouraged people to see technology as wondrous and fun instead of scary and dangerous. Of course, modern Americans dont need to be convinced that electricity is useful and safe, so the DAR Museum educators will show how century-old innovations paved the way for the tools we use today.

For instance, the stereoscope which was among the tech on display at the Chicago fair presented viewers with two photos at slightly different angles in order to create an illusion of depth, presaging 3-D movies.

We bought a [replica] stereoscope that people can try out, and we are going to use some of our collection items to facilitate a conversation about how the zoetrope and the stereoscope and all these technologies helped people move toward what would later become film, Prihoda says. I hope [visitors] can get a taste of why people were excited about these things and I hope it gets them thinking about how the tools we use today are the product of hundreds of years of development.

Many iconic American foods were also popularized at these long-ago worlds fairs, and the DAR will be handing out samples of some of them, including cotton candy, puffed rice, Dr. Pepper and Popsicles.

Prihoda says the beaux-arts DAR Memorial Continental Hall is the perfect place to host a retro worlds fair, because it features an architectural style that was popularized at the Chicago fair. In fact, the DAR organization and its collection of colonial-era furniture (which is on permanent display in the DAR Museum) were born from ideas seeded at the Chicago and St. Louis fairs.

The worlds fairs were about embracing the future, but at the same time, people were looking back at early America and becoming nostalgic for our colonial past, Prihoda says. A lot of museums, including ours, came out of asking how we can maintain an American identity in turbulent times, and thats a question I think is still relevant today.

DAR Memorial Continental Hall, 1776 D St. NW; Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free.

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Time travel to a free, turn-of-the-century World's Fair at the DAR Museum - Washington Post

Marriott Rewards is No. 1 among the Best Hotel Rewards Programs due in part to the ease of earning points and its large network of hotels in popular destinations. The program offers complimentary Wi-Fi access and the ability to use points toward booking experiences such as sporting events and concerts. At No. 2, Wyndham Rewards continues to earn high marks for ease of earning a free night, member access to reduced room rates and the availability to earn points through two affiliated credit cards.

Soon to merge with the Virgin America Elevate program, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is the Best Airline Rewards Program for the third consecutive year. Its mileage-based earning structure makes it easier for travelers to earn miles at a faster pace than with revenue-based earning programs. Delta SkyMiles moves up to the No. 2 spot because of its competitive redemption rates for award flights and diversity of benefits, such as using miles for hotels stays, cabin upgrades, experiences and free flights.

"Today's travelers have so many rewards programs to choose from, comparing and contrasting them based on your specific needs can be a challenge," said Christine Smith, associate travel editor at U.S. News. "Our Best Travel Rewards Programs rankings emphasize the ease of earning points and miles, and redeeming them for free nights and flights, which everyday travelers identify as a top reason to join a loyalty program."

U.S. News ranks the Best Travel Rewards Programs in two categories: hotel loyalty programs and airline frequent flyer programs. The methodologies take into account membership benefits such as free amenities, program-affiliated credit cards and redeemable experiences network coverage and a strong emphasis on the ease of earning and redeeming free flights or nights. Additionally, U.S. News factors in property diversity for the Best Hotel Rewards Programs and Airline Quality Rating scores for the Best Airline Rewards Programs.

2017-18 U.S. News Best Travel Rewards Programs

Hotel Rewards Programs

Airline Rewards Programs

1. Marriott Rewards

1. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

2. Wyndham Rewards

2. Delta SkyMiles

3. Choice Privileges

3. JetBlue TrueBlue

4. World of Hyatt

4. Southwest Rapid Rewards

5. Best Western Rewards

5. United MileagePlus

For more information on the Best Travel Rewards Programs, visit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #BestRewards.

About U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. Focusing on Education, Health, Personal Finance, Travel, Cars and News & Opinion, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings, news and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 30 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-news--world-report-reveals-2017-18-best-travel-rewards-programs-300501516.html

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report

http://www.usnews.com

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US News & World Report Reveals 2017-18 Best Travel Rewards Programs - PR Newswire (press release)

PORTLAND, Ore. The Floyds Knobs All-Stars had everything lined up for their cross-country trip to the Little League Softball World Series.

After the teams final local practice session, head coach Travis Unruh had everyone stay over at his barn Sunday night. A bus arrived before sunrise the next morning to take the team to the Indianapolis airport.

We have four or five girls who had never flown before, but we coached them up and they all did a great job getting through the airport, Unruh said.

Getting off the runway would be another story.

The team had a change-over in Denver, boarding their flight smoothly only to find themselves sitting in place as the minutes rolled past.

We waited for about an hour for them to find a pilot, Cammie Unruh said.

The hiccup that no level of planning could solve.

After the brief delay, the plane touched down in Portland, and the team was picked up by a luxury tour bus for the 45-minute ride to the Alpenrose Dairy site for the World Series.

Its been a long day, but this is cool, assistant coach Chris Nolot said.

Its an older place. Theres a lot of tradition here, Travis Unruh said.

Shortly after arriving, the girls were fitted for their blue and orange uniforms as representatives of the Central Region, then it was off to the main field for a photo shoot. The day ended with a trip to Easton to get geared up with bats and bags for the Series before finally checking into the team hotel in downtown Portland.

The Easton Skills Competition is at 7 p.m. today with players competing in everything from base running and catcher throw downs to pitching through tires and a home run contest.

The round-robin phase of the Series begins Wednesday with Floyds Knobs opening against the Latin America champs from Puerto Rico at 7 p.m.

By game time, well have a party of 70 here. We should have those bleachers pretty packed, Cammie Unruh said.

Floyds Knobs is one a bye Thursday, often a chance for teams to explore the area sites. Plans were still up in the air Monday, but some were talking about a trip to the Northern Oregon coast.

We want to keep them grounded, Travis Unruh said. We remind them to be proud of what theyve done to this point but not to be satisfied.

LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

At Portland, Ore. (all times Eastern)

POOL B

Central Champion Floyds Knobs

Asia-Pacific Champion Bacolod City (Philippines)

Latin America Champion Coamo (Puerto Rico)

Southwest Champion Waco (Texas)

Oregon Champion TBD

POOL A

East Champion Bear (Delaware)

European Champion Prague (Czech Republic)

Southeast Champion Salisbury (North Carolina)

West Champion Cedar City (Utah)

Canada Champion TBD

POOL B SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Aug. 9

Texas vs. Oregon, 4 p.m.

Floyds Knobsvs. Puerto Rico, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 10

Texas vs. Puerto Rico, 1 p.m.

Oregon vs. Philippines, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 11

Floyds Knobsvs. Philippines, 1 p.m.

Oregon vs. Puerto Rico, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 12

Floyds Knobsvs. Oregon, 6 p.m.

Philippines vs. Texas, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 13

Philippines vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.

Floyds Knobsvs. Texas, 6 p.m.

ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

QUARTERFINALS

Monday, Aug. 14

Game 21 Pool A No. 2 vs. Pool B No. 3, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)

Game 22 Pool A No. 4 vs. Pool B No. 1, 4 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 23 Pool A No. 3 vs. Pool B No. 2, 7 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 24 Pool A No. 1 vs. Pool B No. 4, 10 p.m.(ESPN2)

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, Aug. 15

Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 6:30 p.m.(ESPN2)

Game 23 winner vs. Game 24 winner, 9 p.m.(ESPN2)

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Wednesday, Aug. 16

Semifinal winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

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LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL: Floyds Knobs in Portland for World Series after travel issues - Newsandtribune

The world is taking notice of one Savannah icon.

MSN listed the most beautiful cemeteries to visit in the world with Savannahs own Bonaventure Cemetery making the list. There are only three cemeteries from the United States on the list (including Bonaventure) with Brooklyns Green-Wood and the Arlington National Cemetery also being listed alongside the Savannah staple.

According to the site, the cemetery is the typical southern United States cemetery, with its moss-covered angels and large trees. It also mentioned that the location became famous after being featured on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Other international cemeteries on the list include the St. Andrews Cathedral Cemetery in Scotland, the Pere-Lachaise in Paris, the Waverley Cemetery in Australia, and the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

To see the other cemeteries, visit MSN.

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Best in the world? Travel site sees a Savannah icon as must-see location - Savannah Morning News

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it would team up with U.S. hotel giant Marriott International Inc. to expand its online-travel footprint as more Chinese venture abroad.

Chinese consumers will be able to use Alibaba's travel-service website and app to book rooms in the more than 6,200 hotel properties world-wide that Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott operates under such names as Marriott, Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Alibaba said Monday. They will also be able to use the same Alipay smartphone payment platform they use at home when they stay in Marriott properties abroad.

Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba, based in Hangzhou, is expanding beyond traditional retail categories such as clothing into entertainment and travel bookings as the Chinese appetite for world travel rises in tandem with income.

Alibaba's latest tie-up throws a challenge to China's largest travel website, Ctrip.com International Ltd, which in November acquired U.K. travel search engine Skyscanner Ltd. In the past year Ctrip has also invested in three U.S. travel operators and an Indian tourist search website, seeking to position itself as the first choice online for Chinese traveling abroad.

China's online travel-sales market this year will be worth 584 billion yuan ($86.9 billion), up more than 20% from 2016, forecasts industry researcher Euromonitor International.

Write to Liza Lin at Liza.Lin@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2017 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)

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Alibaba, Marriott Team Up to Serve Chinese Tourists Abroad - Fox Business

Even in these budget-stretched times, some families have miles to go -- and they're traveling for FREE! Anna Werner has a story that's "in the cards" (A version of this story originally aired on April 9, 2017):

When Werner caught up with Cincinnati residents Dan Miller and his wife, Carolyn, earlier this year, they were getting their six kids ready for a Spring Break trip to California. Sounds expensive, right? But Miller managed to fly his family of eight for $500.

In fact, the Miller family has been able to travel the world on a computer programmer's salary, all by using airline miles or credit card points. [He and his wife have about 40 cards between them.]

Points With a Crew

He's not your average card user, though. Miller got so good at this card game, he started writing a blog: Points with a Crew.

"You don't have to be as crazy as I am," Miller laughed. "I like to tell people if you do it right, really with one or two additional credit card sign-ups, you can take your family somewhere for free using those miles."

And guess what? The savings really add up.

Miller has saved, he's reckoned, "tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars over the course of the last couple of years."

No surprise to Brian Kelly, who told Werner, "You are literally throwing money away if you're not getting miles and points."

Kelly is The Points Guy, who turned a lifelong passion for travel into a website that gets more than 3 million views a month, from fans eager to learn his secrets.

"The first thing to do, if you want to have a good miles and points strategy, is to get the right credit cards," Kelly said. "These are not frequent flyer programs anymore; they're frequent spender programs."

The Points Guy

"So why is it worth it for the credit card companies to do that?" Werner asked.

"It's a huge business. The credit card companies charge merchants for every time you swipe your credit card. The merchant is paying the credit card issuer for the ability to process your transaction. And then the credit card company kicks you back a portion of that in the form of rewards."

The airlines make out, too, getting roughly half their profits by selling miles to credit card companies, who use them as incentives to get consumers to sign up for their cards, often with huge sign-up bonuses.

Generally speaking, the more you charge, the more points you get, and the more perks you accrue ... perks which are becoming vital for anyone who wants to travel comfortably.

Kelly said, "I view it as a way for the common person who can't afford that $10,000 first-class seat, but you can book it using miles and points. Everyday people can travel like millionaires."

On the other hand, both men warn their readers not everyone should play this game: if you're in debt, or don't pay off your card balances in full every month, this game will not deal you a winning hand.

"You absolutely have to have financial discipline," Miller said. "No amount of rewards that you're getting are going to offset the 25% interest that you're paying on your credit card balance."

But for Miller, it's been an inexpensive way to offer his kids a valuable lesson: "People are just people. Whether it's in another state, another city, another country, people are pretty much the same no matter where you go. And to be able to see that, I think, makes a big difference."

Good point!

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The secrets of earning rewards travel - CBS News

According to the company's website, the purpose of the epic interviewing process is to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Charles Grant Gordon introducing Grant's Whisky to the world and to recreate his year-long journey, which will even include some of the applicants staying in the same hotels he stayed in.

"The role goes way beyond being able to make great cocktails," Global Brand Director Oliver Dickson said in a statement. "We're looking for somebody to embody the 'Stand Together' spirit of the brand and who can spearhead Grant's into the next stage of its global journey."

As reported by Travel + Leisure, all applicants must be at least 25 years of age and fluent in English. The ideal candidate will be social media savvy, energetic and have previous experience in the drinks sector, although this isn't required.

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Don't miss: How George Clooney accidentally started the tequila company he just sold for up to $1 billion

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Apply for this dream job and you'll travel the world as part of the interview - CNBC

The Electric City Bombers 14-under travel softball team

The Electric City Bombers 14-under travel softball team

The Miss Shen Thunder 10-Under softball team

The Miss Shen Thunder 10-Under softball team

Softball teams travel to World Series tourneys

The Electric City Bombers 14-under travel softball team finished fourth out of 76 teams in the 14U-B USSSA Eastern World Series in Ocean City, Maryland. Pictured are, from top left: Angelise Montanez of Lansingburgh, Lauren Paul of Guilderland, Tia Snyder of Shaker, Jordan Sayward of Shenendehowa, Haley Earing of Columbia, Keana Guthier of Bennington, Vt. Bottom from left: Irene Dill of Guilderland, Katelyn Waltz of Guilderland, Angeline Montanez of Lansingburgh, Rachael Jones of Bennington, Vt. and Ryleigh Haynes of Troy.

The Miss Shen Thunder 10-Under softball team placed third out of 40 teams at the USSSA World Series in Salisbury, Maryland. Team members include, top row, from left: coaches Maura Kristel, Josh Kean and BJ Jourdanais. Middle row: Morgan Smith, Natalia Colone, Keeley Kristel, Mady Bitter, Emily Baumes, Kelsey Marin, Kayla Kean; front row: Mia Vazquez, Olivia Russell, Ella Kean, Taylor Jourdanais and Emmy Markowski.

Check out the Youth Sports blog at: blog.timesunion.com/youthsports To submit items, contact Joyce Bassett at jbassett@timesunion.com

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Softball teams travel to World Series tourneys - Albany Times Union

Barcelonas El Prat airport, where security workers have begun partial strikes. Photograph: Alejandro Garcia/EPA

Soaring temperatures, new security checks and the resumption of industrial action at one of Europes busiest airports are challenging passengers on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Travellers in many cities were taking heed of advice to arrive early on Saturday in order to allow extra time to pass through security following the introduction in March of European Union regulations in the wake of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks.

The new rules demand both entry and exit checks on passengers from countries including Britain outside the 26-nation border-free Schengen zone.

Delays have been particularly bad at Barcelonas El Prat airport, where passengers missed flights on Friday as security workers checking carry-on luggage began partial strikes at the beginning of one of Spains peak summer holiday weekends.

There were no strikes on Saturday, but passengers were still reporting long waits. Luke Hansell, who was travelling to Birmingham with his mother, said they had been prompted by news reports to arrive four hours before their morning flight.

He said: The queue for security was around 90 minutes to pass. It was functioning but seemed like there wasnt many staff. There were far more manning the security at Birmingham airport for example.

His experience of passport control was better than expected though, with little sign that the new checks were causing staff to take longer when checking documentation.

Robert Emerson, another passenger, said the airport was a mess, with many disgruntled passengers and few or no staff. He had barely reached the departure gate before a 10.30am boarding time following his arrival shortly after 8am, and the aircraft was then left sitting on the runway for an hour due to overbooking, with no passengers willing to get off.

After the failure of mediation on Friday evening, the series of hour-long strikes by staff who operate scanners, search passengers and control the queues at the airport will resume on Sunday. Others are scheduled for Monday, Friday and next Sunday.

A spokesperson for the travel trade organisation, Abta, said its members on the ground had yet to report travellers being adversely impacted by the new security checks, but it was still advising travellers to leave extra time when departing from Schengen countries.

People should also bear in mind that this is a particularly busy weekend and we have record numbers of Britons who are out in Europe at the moment, she said. People do need to factor in time. If they are concerned, then they should speak to their airlines. Certain ones will open check-ins three hours before but at some airports they will only open them two hours beforehand, for example.

In the UK, the Home Office announced that the process of filling in a landing card before arriving in the country will be scrapped for more than 16 million non-EU travellers.

The paper-based system was described as outdated by officials and will be replaced with a digital system. It is hoped the new process will help speed passengers through airports upon arrival while ensuring that security and immigration checks continue to be performed.

Non-European travellers have been required to fill out a landing card with basic information about themselves and their travel since 1971, a process which costs 3.6m a year.

This weekend also marks the start of three weeks of disruption on Britains railway network. Major stations in London, as well as services in Wales and in the north of England, are due to be affected by engineering work.

An 800m revamp to increase the capacity of Britains busiest station, Waterloo in London, is already under way and will result in fewer trains running from this weekend until 28 August. Services in south Wales and in Englands north-west and Midlands are also expected to feel the impact of engineering works this month.

Thick cloud and thunderstorms also led to long flight delays at Londons Gatwick airport on Saturday. A spokesperson said that a departure restriction had been put in place for a short time during the afternoon, which had a knock-on impact. Passengers told of being stuck on planes waiting to take off for up to two hours.

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Air travellers in Europe delayed by security checks and strikes - The Guardian

Otto Frederick Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang on March 16, 2016. Kyodo / Reuters

"Our doors are always open for all Americans who visit our country out of good will and wish to see our reality," the spokesman said.

The U.S. State Department said earlier this week the ban would take effect on Sept. 1, although some, including journalists and humanitarian workers, may apply for exceptions.

The ban will make reclusive North Korea the only country to which U.S. citizens are banned from traveling.

It follows the

Warmbier was in a coma when he was released by the North on humanitarian grounds and circumstances of his death remain unclear.

KCNA did not name Warmbier in Friday's report but said the North had delivered "just punishment" to some U.S. citizens who had carried out acts against the regime.

North Korea is currently holding two Korean-American academics and a missionary in addition to a Canadian pastor and three South Korean nationals who were doing missionary work.

"There is no country in the world that would let foreigners who commit this sort of crime be," the spokesman said. "Ruling criminals by the law is exercising our confident right as a sovereign state."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves at an undisclosed location in a picture released by the government on March 1. KCNA via KNS / AFP/Getty Images

The report said the ban reflects Washington's view of Pyongyang as an enemy and reiterated that President Donald Trump's administration should abandon its hostile policies towards the North.

Republican U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, who introduced the bill to ban Americans from traveling to North Korea this year, has said hundreds of Americans are among the roughly 4,000 to 5,000 Western tourists who visit the North each year.

Aside from the threat of incarceration, North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threat is perhaps Trump's most serious security challenge.

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North Korea Hits Out at US Travel Ban - NBCNews.com

Since its inception, Best Day Travel Group has grown to become Mexico's leading tourism company and one of Latin America's most influential. Today it announces it has partnered with the global hotel industry's leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, to provide hotels greater reach and growth within international markets.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) August 04, 2017

Best Day Travel Group, one of the leading companies focused on the tourism sector in Latin America, today announces it has signed a connectivity agreement with SiteMinder, the global hotel industry's leading cloud platform. The strategic partnership provides Best Day Travel Group's hotel clients greater reach and growth within international markets, with real-time delivery of reservations for hotels to meet the needs of the dynamic online booking market.

The partnership also forms part of Best Day Travel Group's strategy to enhance its leadership within Latin America and support its growth globally, by strengthening its offering to hotels.

"We love working with SiteMinder because of the opportunity to further expand our global presence. SiteMinder's platform allows us to connect our hotel partners to a worldwide network in a dynamic way, which means the benefit of more reservations and revenue as well as enhanced options for our hotel clients across Best Day Travel Group's different lines of business," says Rafael Durand, COO & Head of Global Product of Best Day Travel Group.

Rubi Perez, Director LATAM at SiteMinder, says, "The alliance between Best Day Travel Group and SiteMinder makes it easy to bring more travelers to the beautiful destinations that Latin America offers, and to experience the world-class accommodation provided by the region's hotels. It also represents the strength of the two brands in being able to bring the world to Latin America, and Latin America to the world through BestDay.com."

Travelers have used BestDay.com for nearly three decades to search for more than 18,000 of the best hotel, flight, tour, package and car rental deals across Latin America. The website complements Best Day Travel Group's vast network of trusted travel agents and wholesalers.

Today's partnership between Best Day Travel Group and SiteMinder follows close collaborations during the 42nd Tianguis Turstico trade fair in Mexico and the 5th World Travel Market Latin America conference in Brazil.

ABOUT SITEMINDER

As the leading cloud platform for hotels, SiteMinder allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests across the globe. We serve hotels of all sizes with award-winning solutions for independents and groups alike, wherever they are in the world.

SiteMinder's products include The Channel Manager, the industry's leading online distribution platform; TheBookingButton, a wholly-branded booking engine for direct bookings via the web, mobile or social; Canvas, the intelligent website creator for independent hoteliers; Prophet, the real-time market intelligence solution that takes the guesswork out of pricing rooms; and GDS by SiteMinder, a single-point of entry to a six-figure network of travel agents and the world's major global distribution systems. With more than 26,000 hotel customers and 550 of the industry's top connectivity providers as our partners, today we have presence in more than 160 countries on six continents.

For more information, visit http://www.siteminder.com.

ABOUT BEST DAY TRAVEL GROUP

Best Day Travel Group is the most important tourist company in Mexico and one of the most important in Latin America. Founded in Mexico in 1984, it now has offices in nine countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, US, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic). It is known for its technological innovations, personalized services and its passion for travel, giving customers the best day of their trip. Best Day Travel Group offers its clients more than 180,000 hotels worldwide, access to affordable and traditional airlines, and a wide variety of tourist services that are distributed throughout its six lines of business: BestDay.com (online travel agency), BD TRAVEL Solution (white label technology for partners), HotelDO (B2B services for traditional travel agencies and wholesalers), BD Travel (receptive travel agency services and DMC in Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos and soon in Punta Cana, Orlando and Cuba), NRG, which focuses on the youth market, and Gran Plan, a strategic alliance with AeroMexico tourism package sales.

More information can be found at: prensa.BestDay.com.mx, the BestDay Travel Blog and BestDay.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/SiteMinder/BestDayTravelGroup/prweb14566306.htm

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Best Day Travel Group Signs with SiteMinder, Strengthens Offering to Hotels - Benzinga

(CNN) Among the thousands of shops that line the labyrinthine alleyways of Tehran's Grand Bazaar sits the Haj Ali Darvish teahouse.

It's not the only teahouse in the bazaar, but having first opened in 1918, it's definitely one of the oldest. And according to some, it's also the smallest -- not just in the bazaar but in the whole world.

For those who find their way to this closet-sized, two-meter-wide cafe, owner Kazem Mabhutyan is on hand to serve up a wide range of teas and advice about their healing properties.

"I've traveled abroad and tested different styles such as English, Turkish and Arabic, but nothing matches Persian-style tea," he tells CNN.

Coffee and hot chocolate are on the menu, too.

Mabhutyan took over the business from his father, Haj Ali Mabhutyan, who bought the teahouse in 1962 from its original owner Haj Mohammad Hasan Shamshiri.

Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, the teahouse provided tea for many of the shops at the bazaar, Mabhutyan says. Since then, however, people working at the bazaar began to prepare tea themselves. But that hasn't stopped the shop from thriving.

Mabhutyan serves an increasing number of tourists. The number of foreign visitors traveling to Iran has boomed in recent years, rising from 2.2 million in 2009 to 5.2 million in 2016.

"I ask all my customers to leave a message in the visitors' book, and everybody who drinks tea here for the first time is presented with a souvenir coin."

He loves to post photos of everyone who visits. He says it's helped make his tiny teahouse into one of the most popular pit stops in the bazaar.

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Teahouse in Iran's Grand Bazaar may be world's smallest - CNN

Im always being asked how its possible to travel for free. Surely this is one of the biggest perks of cultivating a large social media presence. And most would assume that this is a privilege given only to those with hundreds of thousands of followers, but its actually possible to do even if you have a smaller following. Read on for the tried-and-true strategies that have worked for me and for other influencers, and get to seeing the world!

I recently met an Instagram influencer all the way from Panama, and I was surprised to find out that even before he had an online presence at all, he had started putting various projects together around different missions. His first goal had been to promote a waterfall near Panama, inspiring people to visit local sights. He sold the project to local tour companies and thanks to his relentless enthusiasm, the tour companies managed to pick up six car loads of people who wanted to see that waterfall. The brands paid for all travel-related expenses, and Andres reached his goal. And to top it off, more companies started approaching him, wanting to know if he had any more ideas like this one.

No matter how big of a community is behind you, its crucial to target a niche thats truly unique; this will set you apart from everyone else, even if with all your profiles combined you still have less than 10-20 thousand followers. If youre a lifestyle influencer, you could plan a 2-hour, elaborate program and offer it to a resorts guests on a chosen weekend. As a photographer, you could put together a portfolio and send it to hotels whose online profiles appear to use a lot of visuals, and perhaps like to work with bloggers. Contact them and offer a number of high-resolution photographs they can use freely in exchange for a nights accommodation. This is how one of my students got invited to a hotel in Cyprus for four nights.

As you can see, Ive given several examples of the give me a night and Ill post in return type of collaborations. Most of the above are about considering what works for the hotel, whats in their best interest, and how you can help them without having a massive follower base.

If you dont have the money to travel abroad, start exploring locally. Let people see that youre always on the road, that this is important to you, and show them the quality of content you can create and the narrative that this fits into. When you go on vacation, prepare in advance: look up local hashtags and familiarize yourself with places so that by the time you get there you waste less time trying to figure out where to take pictures. Youll discover lots of locations on your own anyway, but its worth preparing a few things in advance so that you have more time to enjoy yourself too. Post about these trips on your blog and publish them on all your channels.

You could also research all the sites and locations you want to see on your journey and collaborate with local businesses by posting about them and offering special discounts to your followers. If you can arrange a free welcome drink at a rooftop bar, you can tell your followers that youll treat them to your favorite cocktail. And those who go somewhere to grab a drink will surely stay for round two.

This platform will show you the hotels that are open to collaboration. After you register, youll see all the accommodations you can work with, based on the number of your followers. Its worth checking the places profiles to see what they ask for and what they can provide, as well as contacting them a month or two prior to your travels to make sure you get an answer. I definitely recommend this site, especially for shorter trips.

If you have at least 20-30 thousand followers backing you up, I suggest Googling various tourism boards and contacting them at random. Work out a thematic project concept, have a narrative supporting your trip, and pitch it to them.

Try these ideas and let me know which one works for you!

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

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How to Travel the World for Free: 6 Tried and True Strategies for Getting Companies to Pay you to Travel - HuffPost

The organization is circulating a travel advisory after the state passed a law that Missouri's NAACP conference says allows for legal discrimination. The warning cites several discriminatory incidents in Missouri, included as examples of "looming danger" in the state.

The NAACP says this is the first travel advisory ever issued by the organization, at the state or national level. The Missouri conference initially published the advisory in June, and it was recognized nationally at the NAACP's annual convention last week.

Greitens and other supporters of the bill have said it puts Missouri's standards for lawsuits in line with other states.

But that's not how the NAACP sees it. The Missouri NAACP State Conference called the legislation a "Jim Crow Bill."

"This does not follow the morals of Missouri," Conference President Rod Chapel Jr. told CNN. "I hate to see Missouri get dragged down deep past the notion of treating people with dignity."

Chapel said he met with Greitens about the Senate bill several times. After the bill passed, he said they had a "fair and frank discussion" about what the legislation would do. At a later meeting, Chapel said he brought several faith leaders in the community to talk with the governor about theology and morality.

"Ultimately, none of that worked," Chapel said.

Neither the governor's office nor the Missouri Division of Tourism responded to multiple requests for comment.

The advisory doesn't tell people to not go to Missouri. Rather, the NAACP wants minority travelers to be aware of what it says are potential risks.

"People should tell their relatives if they have to travel through the state, they need to be aware," Chapel said. "They should have bail money, you never know."

In the advisory, the NAACP urges individuals to "warn your families, co-workers and anyone visiting Missouri to beware of the safety concerns with travel in Missouri." These concerns, the organization writes, could include unnecessary search and seizures and potential arrest.

After SB43 passed through the Legislature, the initial travel advisory was supposed to last until August 28, when the bill would potentially go into effect.

That changed when Greitens signed it into law.

"We see this travel advisory remaining in effect for the foreseeable future," Chapel said.

He wants to see several changes in the state before the advisory is lifted, starting with the repeal of the law that prompted the advisory in the first place.

Chapel also said there should be a plan in place on how the state is going to address people of color being stopped by police at a disproportionate rate. He also wants to see a change in how Missouri prosecutors handle hate crimes.

"We need to have some basic ground rules for how human beings treat each other," Chapel said.

CNN's Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report.

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NAACP issues its first statewide travel advisory, for Missouri - CNN