Conde Nast Traveler August/September 2020

Under One Sky is the first-ever shared initiative between Condé Nast Traveler and its sister publications in India, China, the U.K., the Middle East, and Spain. It is about connection, as travel has always been, about realizing that we must not act alone, that we are stronger together. Sometimes, when I’m in a small mood, I wonder about the loftiness of pushing vacations for a living. And yet right now our industry is on the brink. Tourism is one of the biggest employers on the planet—from South Africa to India, from Ireland to Peru, whether it’s tuk-tuk drivers or tour guides, lantern lighters or receptionists, waitresses or street hawkers, anti-poaching rangers or hotel doormen. Take a Maasai guide in the Mara, for instance, whose income supports 10 others in his community.…

We’ve been here before. Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. We pause. We say their names. We protest another Black life lost at the hands of police brutality. We eventually move on. But this time the pandemic has slowed the world down just enough for everyone—regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status—to take a long hard look at this country. Not only at police brutality, but at the institutionalized racism that exists here. And so this moment, while devastatingly late, has the potential to be different. Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched travel companies post solidarity memes on social media and issue statements promising more diversity, but it all feels too little, too late. I should know. I’ve been advocating for more diversity in travel for almost…

During a spring when travel was nearly impossible, I joined Melinda Stevens, our Global Editor in Chief, on a Zoom with the editors of our sister titles in India, the Middle East, China, Spain, and Italy. Together, we decided to mount Under One Sky, the shared editorial campaign Melinda wrote about in her Editor’s Letter. It was a way of acknowledging our global solidarity in these harrowing times—a kind of solidarity any traveler can understand. Some of our joint undertakings are represented here, like the tiny love letters by editors from each edition to their home turf. The Under One Sky idea also inspired our celebration, in Why We Travel, of the kinds of unsung travel experiences we miss more than ever right now (page 25), as well as The Lands…

Airports have gotten a lot more appealing in recent years, but the changes in store for us show that safety will always take precedence over fancy food courts and stunning waterfalls. With U.S. passenger volumes this summer at a quarter of what they were in 2019, airports have been adapting in real time. For now that has meant plexiglass shields at gates and restaurant seating dragged all over the concourse to maximize spacing among diners, giving airports the jury-rigged feel of the post-9/11 era. In the near future, travelers will likely begin saying their goodbyes curbside, as nonfliers won’t be allowed into the terminal. Passengers may have to carry medical records and reports of their recent whereabouts, perhaps along with an “immunity passport” attesting to the presence of antibodies in their…

If you hope to cruise in 2021, word in the industry is: Book now. Between the passengers who bumped 2020 sailings because of the pandemic and general interest in getting out to sea again, cabins on ships both small and large, river and ocean, are filling up fast. “Already, availability is limited,” says Linda Allen-Speer of Cruises by Linda. That’s a very different picture than the one that was being presented in March, and it reflects the work that the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) immediately began doing with the CDC to establish a revised set of safety standards. Those efforts have led to revamped HVAC systems, an end to the self-service buffet, and an emphasis on alfresco dining as well as in-suite room service. When sailings resume, cruisers can expect…

The hotel industry responded quickly to the threat of the novel coronavirus by introducing a blitz of safety measures, including electrostatic spray guns across all of Marriott’s 7,000-plus properties, U.V. germ zappers at Hilton, and all sorts of industry-wide adjustments to turndown service (treats in bags draped over the door handle) and new rules about pool decks (no shared chairs). Oh—and mandatory face masks for all hotel workers, of course. But the most lasting impact of COVID-19 may be a fundamental shift in how people interact in hotels even after the pandemic is over. “Hospitality at its core won’t change, but how we express it will,” says Phil Cordell, global head of new brand development for Hilton. At the 18 brands within the Hilton portfolio, this may mean leaving handwritten notes…