Wayne Hall is a travel journalist for The Traveler, specializing in travel news, aviation updates, and destination impacts.
The White Lotus effect is steering high-spending set-jetters from Thailand to France’s Côte d’Azur, where soaring luxury bookings and Riviera palace waitlists are reshaping how affluent travelers plan 2026 escapes.
Thailand taps Blackpink star Lisa as “Amazing Thailand Ambassador” in a US$16 billion tourism push, aiming to harness her global fandom to boost high value travel through 2026.
Met Office yellow warnings for heavy rain and strong winds threaten flooding, travel chaos and power cuts across southern England and south Wales, prompting urgent safety advice for tourists and residents.
Costa Serena’s January 4 Nha Trang call, Vietnam’s first cruise ship arrival of 2026, signals a confident cruise tourism rebound powered by upgraded ports, richer shore experiences and strong early season bookings.
AIDAdiva’s landmark world cruise call in Busan opens South Korea’s 2026 global cruise season, spotlighting new East Asia routes, upgraded terminals and immersive temple, market and coastal excursions for international travelers.
Freezing rain and black ice on January 13, 2026 severely disrupted flights and trains across Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Prague, stranding travelers and exposing the fragility of central Europe’s winter transport networks.
Heavy rain and flood alerts for Scotland and Northern Ireland threaten road, rail and island travel, with visitors urged to monitor Met Office warnings, expect disruption and prepare flexible, weatherproof itineraries.
Canada’s expanded “avoid all travel” warnings for Iran, Venezuela, Somalia and more than fifteen other hotspots are reshaping winter trips, flight routes and insurance coverage for Canadians worldwide.
United States eases border experience for Canadians with streamlined registration, softer screening and biometric fast lanes, aiming to revive cross border tourism as travelers tire of stricter, slower rules at home.
Canada faces backlash as internal records reveal ministers slowed a plan to make airlines, not taxpayers, fund complaint handling, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers stuck in a costly backlog.
New 2026 airline water study finds widespread contamination in U.S. inflight tap systems, calling out American and several regional carriers and urging travelers to avoid coffee, tea, ice and unsealed water.
Mass cancellations and delays at Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey stranded thousands, exposing Aeroméxico Connect and VivaAerobus schedule weaknesses and warning travelers to expect ongoing disruption across Mexico’s busiest air hubs.
