Latest news with #BrinleyHineman
Travel Weekly
02-06-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
ASTA's Zane Kerby addresses key issues for travel advisors
ASTA CEO Zane Kerby sat down with tours and river cruise editor Brinley Hineman at the Society's Salt Lake City conference last month, where they discussed AI and the impact it will have on travel advisors, the organization's key priorities for advocacy efforts and how members' businesses are faring amid an uncertain economy. Zane Kerby Q: What are some key advocacy efforts underway? A: We have really important touchpoints with the Department of Transportation and with Congress to try to get our members from under this onerous provision [about merchant of record refunds] that was written into the FAA [reauthorization bill]. It doesn't affect a whole lot of our members, but for the ones that it affects, it is extraordinarily dangerous, so we want that fixed immediately. We also have written to DOT secretary [Sean] Duffy, who reached out to groups like ASTA to ask them which regulations were no longer in the public's interest. Q: How is AI impacting things for members? A: I talked to the ASTA board about this the other day, and I feel like I'm the most concerned about it of any of the 15 advisors that sit on our board. They're still looking at it as a really good research assistant. The reason that our profession is sturdy is because of the trust that exists between consumers and travel advisors. I'm not sure that AI is going to supplant that trust with a bunch of haphazard recommendations. It doesn't feel to me like it's replacing the trust at all that exists between consumers and travel advisors. Q: There's a lot going on, with economic uncertainty and with the U.S. projected to lose $12.5 billion in inbound travel. What's on your mind? A: I'm really thankful that my job is not inbound tourism to the United States. The vast majority of our members are executing and planning trips that are outbound from the United States, and that business is very, very good. We certainly understand that public policy decisions that affect Americans' willingness to travel abroad is important to keep our eye on. As we have talked to our members, both here and in surveys beforehand and anecdotally over the last several months, so far -- touch wood -- business is going very, very well for members. Obviously, it's something we want to keep an eye on, and we try to be proactive. But it's certainly not helpful to opine on every public policy decision that's made. When public policy decisions that are made affect our members' businesses, we will react and act appropriately at the time. Q: So it's not affecting advisors planning outbound travel? A: That's largely the case. Now, there are pockets: We're in the D.C. area, and so when I talk to advisors in the D.C. area, on the luxury side, everything is going gangbusters. But for those who are affected -- there's a large federal workforce in the D.C. area, and so some of that uncertainty [that comes] with layoffs and proposed layoffs has affected some travel in that sort of midtier range. Q: What about members planning domestic travel? A: Members are getting a lot of questions around the national parks this year, for obvious reasons. I think that it is having some effect, but it's not [having a big impact]. Even the domestic business is good -- pockets of stress, but nothing I'm worried about.
Travel Weekly
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Opening the book on literary tourism
Clockwise from top left: Brinley Hineman, Travel Weekly's tours editor; Gaby Cecil of Active England Tours; and Folo by Travel Weekly host Rebecca Tobin talk about the appeal of literary tourism. The last two episodes have covered news topics like economic uncertainty and the troubles at Newark, so this week we're going in a different direction: Literary tourism. That is, tours and travel based on a favorite book or character. Think Bath for Jane Austen or Prince Edward Island for L.M. Montgomery. London, Paris and New York .... any place a book club can dream up, there's probably a literary tour (or could be one). In this episode we talk about why literary tourism is growing in popularity with tours editor Brinley Hineman and Active England's head of commercial, Gabby Cecil. Episode sponsor This episode is sponsored by the Globus Family of Brands Related links True story: Literary tourism grows in popularity Active England Tours
Travel Weekly
13-05-2025
- Travel Weekly
Dispatch, Xcaret Park: Nature lover's paradise in the Mexican jungle
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — As I floated on my back in the refreshing water, I watched a colony of bats congregate, hanging upside down on the ceiling of the cave I was swimming through. I was in Xcaret, a sprawling 200-acre ecological park that includes swaths of jungle, on an excursion day with Pleasant Holidays. I was invited to spend four days in Mexico for Pleasant Holidays' Elite Experience program, an annual event the company holds to celebrate the accomplishments of the top 50 producing travel advisors for Pleasant. The experience included three nights at the Dreams Sapphire Resort & Spa and an excursion day for advisors and their guests. Xcaret Park includes a cemetery with examples of pre-Columbian elements and Mexican folk art to highlight how close the culture feels to its dead. Photo Credit: Brinley Hineman The park, which opened in 1990 and is attached to a resort, is part of Grupo Xcaret, which also owns nearby park Xplor, which focuses on adventure tourism and requires visitors to wear a helmet during their visit. Xcaret, which has aspects of an adventure park, includes some relaxing options, too, such as a lagoon and the underground river I was swimming through when I paused to study the bats clinging to the ceiling, evoking childhood memories of watching bats swoop through the twilight sky. Your Xcaret ticket grants you access to 50 excursions, featuring natural pools, an aquarium, jungle trail and children's section. You can opt to purchase add-on experiences, including swimming with sharks, participating in the ancestral ritual of temazcal (a sweat lodge) and parasailing. Tours and river cruises editor Brinley Hineman feeds and pets a manatee at Xcaret Park. The park is home to two rescued manatees. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Brinley Hineman Manatees and cultural exploration I didn't choose any add-ons, instead opting to experience the basic access to the park, which included more than I could dream of accomplishing in a single day. The park is a nature lover's paradise, full of trails that lead you into the jungle and spit you out next to an excursion you didn't know was available. That was the case when I was wandering down such a trail and observed a sign that said "manatees" with an arrow, so off I went in pursuit of the sea cows. There were two of them, Pompom and Nohoch, who the park says were rescued. The employee monitoring them told me they were mother and baby. A vibrant scarlet macaw sits on a branch at Xcaret Park. Photo Credit: Brinley Hineman To my delight, I was allowed to feed them treats, which they greedily devoured, pushing their hairy snouts into my hand and chowing down. History and culture were on full display at the park and the highlight of our tour. Led by one of the park guides, we embarked on a walking tour on the Pueblo Prehispanico Route. We visited a chapel dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, the protector of nature and animals, and a traditional Mexican cemetery, which includes pre-Columbian elements and Mexican folk art — though no one is interred there, our guide said. The park's inclusion of a cemetery is to underscore how close the culture feels to its dead. As we walked, I caught a glimpse of four men flying in the sky from a 98.5-foot pole while another man on top played a flute. They were performing a ritual called Danza de los Voladores de Papantla, an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony where men spin down in a controlled descent using ropes. The ritual is believed to summon rain. A curious coatimundi relaxes in a tree at Xcaret Park. Photo Credit: Brinley Hineman Coatimundi encounter Finally, after traipsing through the aviary where we saw vibrant parrots and toucans, we concluded the tour with a dip in the river, which hovers at an average temperature of 72 degrees. It took more than half an hour to swim down the long waterway, passing through caves, a mangrove forest and a waterfall. There were moments when I had stretches of the river entirely to myself, making for a magical and serene experience. The rest of the time I spent exploring the jungle, marveling at the wildlife. Having grown up with a forest as my backyard in West Virginia, I love a good nature walk, especially those that feature animals. It was my goal to see a coatimundi up close, which was a delight the last time I was in Mexico and watched baby coatis play at the Tulum ruins. My wish was granted when I came face-to-face with one relaxing on a tree branch. Not long after, I heard jarring screeches and looked over a ravine to see flashes of color shoot past me: two scarlet macaws soaring, their vibrant colors illuminated by the sun.
