Marriott And MGM Resorts International On Monday, it announced a partnership to connect its loyalty programs and give customers more options to take advantage of.

Under the deal, MGM guests in the US can earn Marriott Bonvoy Rewards points and Bonvoy members, in turn, will have access to 17 MGM properties when they spend their points.

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The 40,000 rooms MGM offers will increase Marriott’s global portfolio by 2.4%.

The partnership seeks to take advantage of frequent or business travelers, who can be fiercely loyal to certain hotel brands in an effort to cash in on the rewards. These loyalty programs are driving businesses and helping to differentiate themselves from competitors at a time when travel continues to recover from a pandemic shutdown.

“The value is in the quantity and quality of the customer,” MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle told CNBC in an interview Monday.

Bonvoy has more than 180 million members. If members want to use their rewards points for stays on the Las Vegas Strip, currently, their only hotel option is Hotel Cosmopolitan, which MGM bought in 2022.

When the new partnership launches this fall, Bonvoy members will be able to redeem their rewards at 12 more resorts in the strip and five more MGM resorts nationwide.

Marriott CEO Tony Capuano said MGM Resorts brings a wealth of intellectual property to the portfolio in addition to entertainment, upscale culinary options and other one-of-a-kind experiences.

“It is really an exciting opportunity for our members,” said Capuano.

Capuano said last month that the global hotel chain raised its revenue per available room forecast based on a 26% increase in group business this year.

The convention business has yet to fully recover from the lows of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the conference calendar is packed, and there is optimism that teamwork, along with increased international visits, may push the results even higher.

Las Vegas is one of the top destinations in the United States for conferences, conventions, and meetings.

When asked if the Bonvoy program would give MGM a competitive edge in the syndicated business against competitors such as CaesarHornbuckle said, “The answer is unequivocally yes.”

Meanwhile, casinos face tough year-over-year comparisons in the second half of 2023, and a partnership with Marriott could give MGM a competitive edge in sports betting business BetMGM, which is jointly owned. get.

MGM sportsbook customers will earn Bonvoy points on certain transactions, and Bonvoy members will see marketing of MGM sportsbooks on the Marriott website.

Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, stated in a press release announcing the deal that it would create “a truly powerful rewards program that connects our players and Marriott guests to the comprehensive omnichannel BetMGM experience.”

— CNBC’s Don Gil, Jessica Golden and Casey O’Brien contributed to this report.

People said the pandemic made them want to travel more responsibly in the future.

New data now suggests that they do.

According to a report published in January by the World Travel and Tourism Council and Trip.com Group:

• Almost 60% of travelers have chosen more sustainable travel options in the past two years.
• Almost 70% are actively looking for sustainable travel options.

Finding companies that are serious about sustainability isn’t easy, said James Thornton, CEO of tour operator Intrepid Travel.

“You see hotels saying they’re sustainable, and then you use these little travel bottles for shampoo and shower gel,” he said.

It’s all just “greenwashing,” he said, referring to the term that describes companies’ efforts to appear more environmentally sound than they are now.

The term has risen in popularity along with the increased demand for sustainable products and services.

The result is a mix of those who are truly dedicated to the cause—and those who sprinkle environmental buzzwords, photos of seedlings, forests, and other “green” images in their marketing materials, with no real action to back up their claims.

Be wary of these tactics, Thornton said.

“For a company to say it is ‘100% sustainable’ or that it is ‘environmentally conscious’… doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I would urge travelers to be very careful when they see these words, to really look up and to look in more detail.”

Thornton said that consumer interest in sustainable travel has changed dramatically in the past two decades. “People were looking at us like we were a little crazy,” he said when he joined Intrepid Travel 18 years ago when the company talked about sustainability.

Now, many companies are doing this, whether they are serious or not.

Thornton said he believes the travel industry is currently divided into three categories. A third have “incredibly good intentions,” and [are] They are very actively working on addressing the climate crisis…and they are making good progress.”

Another third have “good intentions” however [aren’t] Actually taking action yet. And often… they’re not quite sure how to take action.”

The final third “completely buries its head in the sand and hopes this thing will go away, and the fact of the matter is, it isn’t.”

To identify companies in the first category, Thornton recommends that travelers look for three important things.

To ascertain whether a company might jump on the environmental bandwagon, Thornton said, examine its history.

He advises searching for “a long history of being associated with sustainability issues, or is this something that just came out?”

If the message is new to the company, he said, it’s not a deal breaker.

“But that would probably encourage the customer to dig into a little bit more detail to see if what the company is actually doing has a rigor behind it,” he said, “or if this is just something that is done for the sake of marketing – thus greenwashing.” .

Next, travelers should see if the company measures greenhouse gas emissions, Thornton said.

“The honest truth is that every travel company ultimately contributes to the climate crisis,” he said. “So the best thing any travel company can start doing is measure their greenhouse gas emissions.”

To do so, Thornton advised travelers to check out the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

“The Glasgow Declaration website lists organizations that have agreed to effectively reduce their emissions … and already have a climate plan outlining how they do this,” he said.

He said signatories should publish their climate plan, which is monitored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

“Consumers can use this as a way to check if the company they’re booking with is serious about decarbonization,” he said, adding that more than 700 organizations are on the list.

Travelers can also check out the Science-Based Targets initiative, Thornton said, a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Its website contains a dashboard detailing emissions reduction commitments made by more than 4,500 companies worldwide, including American Express Global Business Travel, UK-based Reed & Mackay Travel and Flight Center Travel Group.

Finally, travelers can check out independent credits, Thornton said.

One of the most rigorous and impressive, he said, is the B Corp certification.

“It took Intrepid three years to become a B Corp,” he said.

Other companies with B Corp status include Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, and Aesop – and Patagonia, which Thornton called “the most famous B Company in the world.”

To obtain it, companies are audited by the nonprofit B Lab and certification lasts for three years, Thornton said.

Christine Graf, director of sales and marketing for Boah Reserve in Indonesia, agreed that B Corp is the “most widely respected” certification.

“The other is the World Council for Sustainable Tourism,” she said. “These actually do a review and are legit.”

Other environmental certifications for travel, Graf said, are less accurate.

“A lot of them are just rackets to make money,” she said.

Bawah Reserve began the process to become a certified B Corp in November 2021, Graf said. “We expect it to take about a year,” she said.

B Corp uses a sliding scale for certification fees, which start at $1,000 for companies with less than $1 million in annual income.

“The cost is fairly minimal, especially if you’re serious about sustainability,” said Thornton.

He said Intrepid pays about $25,000 a year to get certified.

Thornton also advised travelers to ask questions such as:

• Do you use renewable energy sources?
• Is the food locally sourced?
• Are the employees from the local communities?
• Who owns the hotel?

He said There are places that are perceived as sustainable but are “virtually casino owned”.

Finally, Thornton recommends that travelers check reviews online.

“Often a little bit of Googling… will give you a really good indication of whether a hotel or travel experience is doing what it says it is doing – or whether it’s actually being environmentally friendly.”

The Kingdom of Bhutan reopened its doors to tourists on Friday with a significant increase in the daily tourism tax.

Before the country closed its borders in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers to Bhutan were required to pay a minimum daily package of between $200 and $250 – depending on the time of year. The price often includes costs for hotels, food, transportation, and a tour guide as well as a mandatory $65 sustainable development fee.

But in late June, Bhutan passed a tourism tax law that eliminated the minimum daily package rate in favor of increasing the sustainable development fee from $65 to $200 per person per day.

Travel costs – for hotels and food, for example – are not covered by the fee.

Raju Rai, CEO of Heavenly Bhutan Travels, said the state is offering a fee discount to families.

50% for children between 6-12 years [old] And .. free of charge for children aged 5 years and under.

Bhutan, and proponents of the new policy, say the move is in line with the country’s continued goal of attracting “high-value, low-volume” tourism.

To experience the country — famous for providing travelers with a rare glimpse of authenticity in a world full of tourist traps — visitors must “make an effective contribution to Bhutan’s economic, social and cultural development,” according to the company’s website for the Bhutan Tourism Board.

The tourism board said the fees will be allocated to developing infrastructure, training workers in the travel industry, preserving cultural traditions, protecting the environment and creating job opportunities that provide fair wages and working conditions.

Sam Blyth, president of the Canada Bhutan Foundation and founder of Trans Bhutan Road, said the fees would go directly to helping local communities.

The money he collects [the] Then the government will be directed back to the local communities and support health and education, which are free for all Bhutanese.”

Travelers will also benefit from the increased fee, according to the Tourist Board. He said standards and certifications for hotels and tour operators will be reviewed, which will improve travelers’ experience. In addition, travelers will have greater flexibility in planning and booking their trips.

The Tourist Board notes that the minimum daily rate “has its limitations. Tourists, for example, often have to choose from bundled tours offered by tour operators, which control the travel experience for them. [it] …Tourists will be able to communicate with the required service providers directly, and pay for their services accordingly.”

Tour guides are no longer mandatory for all trips, but are required for travelers planning to take a trip or bypass the cities of Thimphu and Paro, according to the council.

Travel agencies, which can obtain visas for travelers, also collect sustainability fee payments, said Sarah Lee Shenton, marketing director for travel agency Red Savannah. “All departments are handled by our team, and our customers will not have to make payments locally.”

Critics argue that the increased taxes on tourism in Bhutan are “elitist”, by closing the door further to budget travelers who dream of visiting Bhutan.

More continues to say that the new policy will disproportionately affect travel agencies that cater to budget travelers.

Others are critical of the timing, saying the new rules will discourage travelers from visiting at a time when the country’s tourism industry is grappling with a 2.5-year border closure.

However, the Bhutan Tourism Board said the pandemic provided the time to “reset the sector”. It also hinted that it might welcome a slow return of travelers, saying that “the gradual return of tourists will allow for the gradual modernization of infrastructure and services.”

Wendy Maine, Trip.com’s head of government affairs for Australia and New Zealand, said she feels the need to pay exorbitant fees to “clear travelers and keep things in check”.

“For a small country, it wouldn’t be ideal for them to open up completely because you don’t want to be the next Punakha, or any of these cities, Kathmandu,” she said. “I totally understand why people are disapproved of the price, but everyone is different and looking for their experience and memories.”

The fee increase was described as the “new normal”, citing Venice, with Italian officials noting that daily hikers will need to pay between 3 and 10 euros ($3 and $10) to enter from January 2023.

For now, the increased fees will not apply to Indian tourists, who before the pandemic made up about 73% of all travelers to Bhutan, according to a report published by Bhutan in 2019.

But this may also change. The Bhutan Tourism Board said the $15 daily fee paid by Indian travelers will remain in effect for two years, noting that it “will be reviewed at a later time”.

Blythe, who began visiting Bhutan in 1988, said he did not expect the new fees to negatively affect interest in Bhutan once travelers understood them.

“Tourism in Bhutan has been restructured so that travelers do not have to book through tour operators and travel agents and can deal directly with providers such as hotels, restaurants, guides and carriers,” he said. “These services are inexpensive and … result in a total cost, even with the new tourism fee, which is still reasonable.”

Travelers wondering what it is like to visit Thailand now may be interested to know that the country “allows almost everything” again.

This is according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which is the government entity responsible for promoting tourism in the country.

Masks are no longer needed, and the country’s color-coding system — which placed various limits by county on dining, gatherings and travel activities — is also a thing of the past, according to TAT.

It’s also easier to get to Thailand now, too.

Unvaccinated travelers who appear in Thailand without a negative test result, within 72 hours of travel, will be required to pay for an on-site Covid-19 test and take a Covid-19 test, according to TAT. Travelers who test positive for the disease must pay their own medical expenses, according to a TAT representative.

Foreign travelers are still required to show passports and visas, if required, to enter.

Travelers no longer need to apply for a “Thailand Card” to enter. It was introduced in May, and travelers are required to provide proof of vaccination, medical insurance and other documents before departure.

It didn’t take tourists long to respond to Thailand’s relaxed travel rules.

The day after the “Thailand Pass” was canceled, tourist arrivals at Phuket International Airport rose 20%, with an estimated 9,000 people arriving on Friday, according to a report by Thai Public Broadcasting Service.

On the same day, the number of people crossing the border into Thailand at various checkpoints along the borders with Malaysia and Laos also rose, according to the article.

Number of searches online Michael Marshall, chief commercial officer of Thailand-based hotel operator Minor Hotels, said hotel reservations were also up as of July 1.

“Although it has been early days since all restrictions were lifted, we have seen nearly 10,000 new searches on our website for Thailand destinations from different markets en masse since July 1, which is a very encouraging sign of things to come. “

Even before the rules changed, Thailand’s tourism industry was getting stronger.

The number of international arrivals nearly quadrupled from January to May this year, according to the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports. More than 1.3 million foreigners arrived during this period, compared to less than 35 thousand during the same period in 2021, according to the ministry’s statistics.

“We expect the momentum to continue… [now that] “The Thai government has lifted the final restrictions imposed on international travelers,” Marshall confirmed.

He said the number of tourist arrivals increased this year to Phuket, Koh Samui and areas in northern Thailand.

Thailand’s tourism recovery may go in the right direction, but the road to recovery is expected to be long as inflation, rising travel costs and rising Covid rates worry travelers around the world. Losing travelers from its largest source market, China, won’t help matters this year either.

Given these headwinds, Thai officials expect between five and 15 million international tourists to arrive this year — a huge increase from 428,000 foreign arrivals last year, but a far cry from the nearly 40 million tourists who arrived in 2019, according to Reuters.

International travelers may prioritize visits to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre when visiting France.

But the French population has other ideas.

Border restrictions during the pandemic have largely given locals a chance to explore their country without foreign tourists, which in 2019 numbered nearly 90 million.

The French did not miss the opportunity. More than two-thirds of the French population traveled in 2021, with 84% of the French capital’s residents choosing to stay within the country, according to French tourism marketing research firm Raffour Interactif.

With the growing desire for nature and outdoor activities during the pandemic, several regions have emerged as major destinations among domestic travelers, said Maud Bailly, CEO of Southern Europe for multinational hospitality company Accor, which owns more than 1,600 hotels in France.

Local travelers were drawn to the coasts of Brittany – or Brittany in French – because of the “sea” [and] View the landscape.” The northwest province is home to charming coastal towns, such as Cancale and the walled port city of Saint-Malo, which are famous for their gastronomy and history.

On the south side of the country, the famous French Riviera – particularly the elegant coastal areas near Cannes and Nice – have attracted local visitors for the same reasons.

While the Covid virus has hit tourism in French Polynesia, some islands close to the mainland have attracted many local tourists, Bailey said. Ile de Re, off the west coast of France, did well due to its proximity to Paris — less than a five-hour drive, she said — while visitors also went to the “famous and very beautiful” island of Belle Ile in the north, as well as Corsica in the south.

“When people go to Corsica…they text me [saying] “There is no point in going to the Maldives because the water looks the same,” she said. She spoke to CNBC from Molitor Paris-MGallery where, she said, many Parisians were enjoying their vacations.

From skiing in the Pyrenees to diving in the Mediterranean, it’s the diversity of landscapes and experiences in France — twice the size of Colorado — that makes it so popular, says Bailey.

“I think the richness of this small country, with so many different possibilities for leisure and vacation in just one place – is a bit unique,” she said.

Bailey said most places loved by the French eventually became popular with foreign tourists as well.

But the only exception, at least for the time being, is the Alsace wine route.

“You can just go to Strasbourg and then start the car and jump from one village to another, taste and discover the wine, the castles … the landscape,” she said. “It’s a very confidential matter.”

The secret has been revealed in places like Beaune and Macon in the world-famous wine region of Burgundy. She said both were popular with domestic travelers last year.

Before the pandemic, nearly 60% of French wine tourists were domestic travelers, said Martin Lhuillier, head of wine tourism at the tourism development agency Atout France.

One of his top “insider tips”, he said, is to visit the Jura, one of France’s smallest wine regions, to visit the village of Château Chalons. There, visitors can experience the region’s “heart and soul” – Vin Jun, or yellow wine.

Bailey and Lhuillier both recommend the French Dordogne section. It is located between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, and contains “unspoiled natural gems” such as Bergerac and Doras, said Lhuillier.

Although it’s less elegant than other parts of France, the Dordogne is a place “where you can really enjoy French art of life, gastronomy and nature,” says Bailly.

The ‘art of living’ in France – literally ‘the art of living’ – is part of the reason why for decades France has been among the most popular destinations for international travellers. The focus on enjoying life is everywhere – along the streets of Paris, inside the rooms of the Palace of Versailles and inside the country’s restaurants, which collectively have more Michelin stars than any other country in the world.

But Bailey said that in “the most discreet and secret places” travelers can really “rest and reconnect with the French way of living”.

Another place in the Dordogne, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, is one of the newest villages on the “Most Beautiful Villages in France” list.

The list, which began 40 years ago, includes 168 villages of exceptional heritage and beauty. Each is evaluated against 30 criteria, including heritage sites and architecture as well as smaller details such as hidden electrical wiring. There’s less than a 1 in 5 chance that the list will make, according to the list’s website.

The south of France has the highest concentration of these villages, with more than 75% in provinces such as Nouvelle Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur.

The TV show “Le Village Prefere des Francais” – or “The French’s Favorite Village” – also draws visitors to the country’s lesser-known spots. Fourteen villages are shortlisted each year – one in each region of France – and the winner is crowned by a public vote.

Last year’s winner attracted even more tourists: the small hilltop town of Sancerre, which is one of the most popular appellations for French Sauvignon Blanc.

The same is likely to happen for the village of Bergheim along the Alsace Wine Road, which crowned this year’s winner on Wednesday.

Bailey said travelers can build an entire journey around these villages.

“It’s a more special, local, cultural way of looking at France,” she said. “It is not Saint-Tropez, not Mont Saint-Michel or the Eiffel Tower, but it is also France with the richness of its history.”

Talking about summer travel is definitely not what it used to be.

Instead of sun, sand and surf, many travel discussions now focus on inflation, rising fuel costs and flight cancellations, a situation that could derail the much-needed return of summer travel in 2022.

Travel conversations on Twitter fell 75% from April to May, while discussions about gas prices and travel — half negative — rose 680% on the site from the winter months through spring, according to social media analytics firm Sprout Social.

However, despite potential problems ahead, the outlook for summer travel remains strong, industry insiders said, with many travelers saying they are concerned but unwilling about their upcoming plans.

No, said James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, a Melbourne-based travel company focused on small group adventure vacations around the world.

He said the company has not seen higher cancellation rates this summer.

“In the past few months, global concerns about shortages, sanctions and rising costs have prompted economists to sound the alarm,” Thornton said. “Despite the higher costs, travel bookings doubled.”

Higher prices will not deter travelers this summer, especially in parts of the world that have recently reopened, such as the Asia Pacific region, said David Mann, chief economist at the Mastercard Institute of Economics.

“Literally think of it like a pressure cooker where you lift the lid and the steam comes out hot,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” in May. Inflation “is important, but that’s only after we have some of that released from pent-up demand.”

A new survey suggests that Singaporeans, for example, are not willing to sacrifice their summer travel plans in the face of rising costs. Although 77% said they were either “extremely” or “extremely” concerned about rising costs, nearly 40% of people are planning to travel this summer compared to last year, according to Tripadvisor’s Travel Index released in May.

Nearly two out of three Singaporeans said they would like to spend less on eating out and clothes to finance their travel as well.

Conversely, travel elasticity may be less robust in places where pent-up demand has dissipated some, such as Europe and North America.

According to a survey published in March in the State’s Financial Security Index Report, nearly a quarter (23%) of Americans have indicated plans to cancel or postpone travel plans in response to inflation.

However, Americans are expected to travel in droves this summer. More than half (55%) said they travel for the Fourth of July holiday, according to a survey by travel website The Vacationer — an 8% increase from last year’s survey, the company said.

“More people are focusing on their plans to absorb price hikes and additional costs, rather than canceling [travel] Eric Bamberger, senior vice president of hospitality at marketing technology company Zeta Global said.

Demand for “pampering” travel, such as spas, is on the rise, while interest in “educational” travel to museums and national parks has fallen by more than 50%, according to a representative of Zeta Global.

Car rents are on the decline, with rental rates dropping as fast as they can in the United States in places where gas prices are rising, such as California, Oregon and Washington, according to Zeta Global.

“Hotels are burning,” Bamberger said however. “Occupancy rates at some hotels in Las Vegas are as high as 95%, and this past Memorial Day was the best day ever recorded – in terms of revenue – for many of the top hotel chains in the US”

Higher costs are affecting travel expenses this summer, as 74% of American consumers are actively looking for ways to save on travel, according to Zeta Global. Nearly one in four say they are looking for cheaper transportation, hotels or vacation destinations, according to the company.

But Expedia CEO Peter Kern told CNBC that other travelers are willing to spend more to travel.

“We all know there is a lot of pent-up savings and underspending during Covid on services and travel,” he said. “So far it seems to be impressive, that people are interested in spending – and if anything, spending more.”

When asked about Reporting that people are choosing cheaper vacations, he said, “We haven’t done that yet…especially at the middle and upper end of the market.”

Kern said that if inflation began to affect travelers, he agreed that they would likely change their plans, but not eliminate them.

“If anything, travelers might give up a little bit about their ambition – where to go or what they’ve been staying at – but they’re still traveling,” he said.

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said the company, which operates in nearly 140 countries according to its website, is now seeing strong demand not only from leisure travelers, but also from group and business travelers.

“We think it’s going to be a gangster summer,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” in May. “We feel good about this summer.”

After two consecutive months of negative demand, interest in business travel in the United States increased 365% in May, according to Zeta Global, which tracks website usage as well as location and transaction data from credit card and loyalty program purchases.

The company said interest in international travel from Americans also rose in May, with interest in going to Asia, Europe and South America up more than 200% from the previous month, according to the company.

That was before the Biden administration dropped pre-departure Covid testing requirements to enter the US, a move expected to begin travel to and from the US

“Removing the testing requirement eliminates a source of stress for travelers that may have been holding them back,” said Melanie Fish, head of global public relations at Expedia Group. “We expect demand to only grow from here.“

Many people travel occasionally for work.

But for some, travel is at the heart of their jobs.

CNBC Travel spoke with people from four industries about occupations where working from home — or an office for that matter — is not an option.

Name: Sebastian Modak
Job: The New York Times, formerly “The 52 Places Traveler”

Modak was one of 13,000 people who applied for a position that sent one person to each destination on the New York Times’ “places to go” list in 2018 – the first year the newspaper was appointed to the position.

He didn’t get the job.

“A year later,” he said, “I thought, ‘Why not give it a chance again?'” “This time it worked!”

As the “52 Traveler” of 2019, Modak traveled to a new destination each week – from Bulgaria to Qatar and Uzbekistan to Vietnam – in a year he described as exciting and stressful.

He said, “I often say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life…but it was also the hardest.” “I haven’t had a day off for an entire year, and the constant pressure of deadlines has been hard to deal with.”

Modak said the job requires someone who can “do everything,” from writing articles and posting on social media to taking photos and videos, he said.

“It was too much!” He said. “Besides their storytelling skills, they were looking for someone with stamina to spend the whole year.”

He mostly credits his luck with getting the job, but he said he believes his upbringing and enthusiasm for travel helped. Modak’s father is from India, he said, and his mother is Colombian, so “as a cultural compromise, they basically decided to move constantly.” As a result, he said, he grew up in places like Hong Kong, Australia, India and Indonesia.

Modak said the job – heralded as the quintessential “dream job” – was stressful, stressful and even intimidating at times, but one characterized by growth and constant adventure.

“I won’t give it back to the world,” he said. “It opened my mind wide, introduced me to people on the six continents…and solidified my love for going somewhere and looking for a story.”

Name: Sandra Black
Position: Communications Specialist at the United Nations

Black’s job doesn’t take her to typical travel spots, and her business trips are nothing but overnight trips.

Since 2008, she has lived and worked in Senegal, East Timor, Central African Republic, Iraq and, most recently, Mozambique, in roles that lasted from several months to years.

“all [place] It has its cultural attractions and its warmth,” she said, noting that living “where movement is restricted due to security concerns” is the most difficult part.

Since October 2021, Black has been managing external communications for the Mozambique office of the United Nations Population Fund, a United Nations agency focused on reproductive health and rights that is funded entirely from donations, according to its website.

“Personally, I feel driven to support those who need it most,” she said.

Black has written about people displaced by Cyclone Idai in 2019 – one of the worst recorded cyclones to hit Africa – while working for the UN’s International Organization for Migration. She recalled meeting a woman named Sarah who climbed a tree with her child after her home collapsed in a flood. The woman said she was rescued after seven days.

Originally from New York, Black speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese and a basic level of Wolof, the national language of Senegal, and Tetum, a language spoken in East Timor. She said her language abilities are partly why she is so urgently deployed to cover humanitarian crises.

“At night, I write until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer, then start over at 6 a.m. the next day,” she said in an interview with the UN campaign “Humanitarian Champion” in 2014.

“The most important part of humanitarian communication is providing a platform for people affected by conflict and natural disasters to tell their stories,” she said. “Many sincerely want the world to know what happened to them and their communities.”

Name: Tony Stewart
Position: yacht captain

Stewart said he expects to travel for nine months in 2022 on top of the 130-foot All-N yacht. He has already moved from the Caribbean to Central America and Mexico. From the west coast of the United States, he’ll go to the inland passage of British Columbia and to southeast Alaska, then fly to Florida and finish the year in the Bahamas, he said.

This is a little longer than a “normal year,” he said, in part due to an increase in charter businesses this year.

Stewart said he started in the yachting industry as a chef in 1998, and “immediately fell in love with the lifestyle, work and travel.” After a year and a half of cooking, Stewart changed his job.

“I decided I wanted to work for my license and become a captain, at which point I got a job. [a] Decand and my journey began.”

Stewart said the job requires strong problem-solving skills, organization, and a high stress tolerance. He said the captain “does a little bit of everything,” from trip planning and accounting to “human resource duties” for the crew and golf reservations for guests.

“It certainly is,” Stewart said regarding whether it was a dream job.

““We put up with long days, sometimes weeks without days off,” he said, but “I couldn’t imagine doing that…and I don’t like it.”

Noun: Amy Rubner
Job: Head of Villas at UK-based luxury travel company Red Savannah

Of the 300 villas Red Savannah operates in, about 120 are in Italy, Rubner said. She estimates that she visited about 80% to 90% of them.

She said she is traveling from London to Italy to evaluate the company’s collection of “exceptionally high-end” villas and to evaluate new homes to add to the company’s listing. On her last trip, she said, she traveled from Milan to Lake Como, down to Tuscany, and then south to the towns of Amalfi and Positano. She said her next trip is to Puglia, “because it’s beautiful and rugged and really popular right now.”

About 90% of the homes are privately owned, Roebner said. She meets the owners and analyzes everything from the size of the pool decks to the beds (“there’s a difference between a British king and an American king”).

Most bookings include children, so you check that the stairs and balconies are safe for all ages; If not, the company makes a note of it on the site, she said.

“we need to [know] “Whether there are cats on the farm, whether it’s on a dirt track … it obviously takes a little longer to get to … where the sun rises, where the sun goes down,” she said.

She said Rubener often stays in villas that rent from $5,000 to $200,000 a week. She also explores local areas, she said, so she can offer advice on restaurants, boat rentals, and new services like e-bike trips and gelato-making classes.

“I think people think everything is magical [but] “It’s a lot of work,” she said, noting that she once saw 50 elephants in one trip.

“He’s charming, but he can also be tiring,” she said.

With countries across Asia reopening to international travelers, Japan – one of the continent’s most popular destinations – remains tightly closed.

That may change soon. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Thursday at a press conference in London that Japan will ease border controls in June.

Locals often celebrate the easing of border restrictions related to the epidemic, but some in Japan say they are fine with keeping the measures in place.

Even before the pandemic, many locals preferred to travel within the country, with domestic tourism totaling 21.9 trillion yen ($167 billion) in 2019, according to the government-backed Japan Tourism Agency.

Dai Miyamoto, founder of travel agency Japan Localized, said that while Japanese are currently allowed to travel abroad, many “do not want to travel abroad” and are choosing to “travel within the country” instead.

Izumi Mikami, CEO of Japan Space Systems, visited Kyushu Island and Okinawa Island, two important tourist areas before the pandemic. He said he felt safer with fewer tourists around.

Some people take the opportunity to take a walk in the fresh air after spending a lot of time at home.

Shogo Morishige, a college student, has made multiple ski trips to Nagano – the prefecture that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics – and said it was “surprisingly crowded” with locals.

“Everyone like us hasn’t traveled for a long time… right now, it’s as if [Covid-19] Not really here, Morishige said. “I don’t think anyone is afraid of that anymore.”

Others ventured to new destinations.

“After moving to Yamagata Prefecture, I started going to places I wouldn’t normally go to, like ski resorts…hot springs in the mountains, fishponds, and sandy beaches,” said Shion Ichikawa, Risk Management Officer for Internet Line company, Shion Ichikawa.

The number of international travelers to Japan dropped from about 32 million in 2019 to just 250,000 in 2021, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

With a clientele of nearly all locals, some tour companies have redesigned their tours to match local interests.

Miyamoto said Japanese travelers shy away from visiting big cities and opt for outdoor experiences that they can “discover on foot.” So Japan Localized — which offered its tours to English-speaking foreigners before the pandemic — teamed up with local tour operator Mai Mai Kyoto and Mai Mai Tokyo to offer walking tours in Japanese.

People all over Japan also spend time at camping sites and onsen – or Hot Spring – Thanks, said Lee Xian Jie, Senior Developer at Craft Tabby Tour Company.

“The camps are becoming very popular,” he said. “Caravan rentals and outdoor equipment sales are doing very well because people go outside a lot.”

Luxurious onesense that’s popular with young people is “doing really well,” he told me, but traditional people are suffering because older people are “too afraid of Covid” and don’t get out very often.

Craft Tabby used to run walking and cycling tours in Kyoto, but she moved online when the pandemic hit. With countries reopening their borders, “online tours haven’t been working well” and participation has dropped to almost zero, Lee said.

He said tourists’ appetites are changing and people are looking for “specialized” activities in “rural areas where they are not densely populated”.

Lee now lives south of Kyoto in a village called Ryuginmura and plans to take tours of the rural city once the tourists return.

“We need to think about tours and activities here where people can explore new things,” he added.

Japan welcomed nearly 32 million international visitors in 2019 – up from just 6.8 million just ten years ago, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

The rapid increase in the number of tourists has caused major attractions, such as the culturally rich city of Kyoto, to suffer with overtourism.

Kyoto residents now said “silence has returned,” said Miyamoto, who recounted instances where foreign tourists spoke loudly and were rude to locals.

Likewise, Lee said, “A lot of people who were utterly upset about Kyoto’s over-tourism” are now saying “it feels like Kyoto was 20 years ago—good old Kyoto.”

But this may be coming to an end.

Prime Minister Kishida’s announcement may not be welcome news to segments of the Japanese people.

More than 65% of respondents to a recent survey by Japanese broadcaster NHK said they agreed with the border measures or thought they should be strengthened, according to the New York Times.

Local reports suggest that international travelers may need to take multiple tests for Covid-19 and book a combined tour to get in, though JNTO told CNBC they haven’t had any word on this yet. However, this may not be enough to calm some residents.

Shintaro Okono, partner and chairman of Bain & Company Japan, said, referring to why the country has remained closed.

Ishikawa said the latest decision is likely to be unpopular with elderly Japanese citizens. Nearly 1 in 3 are over the age of 65, making Japan home to the largest proportion of elderly people in the world, according to research organization PRB.

“Old people tend to be more prejudiced than young people because Covid-19 comes from foreigners,” Ichikawa said. “It is understood that in Japan – the country of the elderly – politicians must tighten boundaries to protect them both physically and psychologically.”

When the epidemic was at its height, the Japanese were wary even of people from other parts of Japan visiting their hometowns.

“I saw signs in public parks and tourist attractions that said ‘No cars outside of Wakayama,'” he told me. “People were very afraid of others outside of the prefecture.”

However, residents who live in cities may feel differently.

Mikami, who is based in Tokyo, said “Japan is very strict and conservative” in controlling Covid-19.

Miyako Kumai, a teacher who lives in Tokyo, said she is ready to move on.

“We need to invite more foreigners” so that the Japanese economy can recover, she said. “I don’t agree that we want to step up measures… we need to start living a normal life.”

Entrepreneurs are out and about again. They are looking for places to stay.

More people are traveling for business meetings and industry events now than at any time in the past two years. A full recovery could take a few years, but Deloitte expects 55% of business trips to return by the end of this year.

That’s why CNBC International surveys business travelers for their favorite hotels across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. We want to know the names of the hotels and individual amenities — like room service, conference rooms, and a great coffee maker — that you value most when you travel for work.

If you’re feeling strong about what makes a hotel great for business trips – and we bet it – now is the time to comment. Click below to take our short survey:

The results will be tabulated along with research conducted by our partners at market and consumer data firm Statista.

The winners will be announced later this year in special reports on CNBC.com and beyond.