Conde Nast Traveler December 2020

So where will travel take us in 2021? With our single global eye focused on the current pandemic, it has been nothing short of fantastical to see how misinformation, massaged stats, inverted realities, and plainclothes lies have blossomed almost as fast as the disease. Where travel will actually take us next year is an impossible question, because both COVID-19 and the rules around it are like unmanned hoses flying chaotically around our garden. Where should travel take us is the pertinent inquiry. To the people doing good work. To the operators benefiting those around them. To the pioneers thinking beyond the short-term toward a more mutually sustainable business model. And yet just as the environment has never been so threatened, there are those who wish to take advantage by putting a…

This month, Condé Nast Traveler will launch a new platform that takes its name from the 1 in 10 people worldwide who work in jobs connected directly or indirectly with tourism, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. These are the concierges and the taxi drivers, the bush guides and the sommeliers, the flight attendants and the housekeepers we all encounter every time we take a trip. Without them it would be nigh impossible to go anywhere or do anything, of course, but they’re also the key to why we love travel. When we think back on what made the journey great, it is so often their kindness, their wisdom, and their good humor. These folks’ lives and livelihoods have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as…

In late September the legendary editor and writer Sir Harold Evans passed away in New York City at the age of 92. Evans was responsible for the some of the most important investigative journalism of the second half of the 20th century in his role as editor of the Sunday Times and other titles in the U.K. and the U.S. He also left an enormous mark on the craft of travel writing by founding Condé Nast Traveler in 1987. Its philosophy was to “tell the truth, be honest, mediate, try and make people’s travel experiences enjoyable and good, and do it from the point of view of an informed traveler,” as Evans said three years ago in an interview to mark the 30th anniversary of the magazine. To articulate this…

“In the European narrative of food, you’d never assume French and Italian chefs cook the same dishes,” says Marcus Samuelsson. “But for Black food in America, it often boils down to one thing”—a set of heavy Southern dishes. In his new cookbook, The Rise, the Swedish Ethiopian chef who modernized soul food with his Harlem restaurant, Red Rooster, rips that idea to shreds, with the help of James Beard Award–winning writer Osayi Endolyn. The book contains profiles of the country’s leading chefs of color along with their recipes, spotlighting the range and nuance of Black and other BIPOC cuisines. Here, three of its subjects share their feelings about where they fit in the culinary scape of their cities and other local chefs of color they admire. Edouardo Jordan, Seattle The Florida native…

The influential 2003 book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and the 2007 movie The Bucket List both contributed to the travel trend that has dominated this century: the manic race to visit as many places as possible. This imperative has been spurred on by the proliferation of competitive airfares, the growth of the global middle class, and, during the last decade, Instagram envy. But more recently countervailing forces have emerged, like flight-shaming and restrictions imposed by destinations suffering from over-tourism, like Iceland and Angkor Wat. Then came the reset of COVID-19. As travelers made do with cocktails on Zoom and Duolingo Italian lessons, the air in India became clear enough to see the Himalayas again and Barcelonians reclaimed the usually thronged Las Ramblas for themselves. Now, as the world…

Nothing about last summer was typical, including the delayed opening of several much-anticipated beachfront properties until the season was just winding down. But there’s a silver lining: All are worth hitting up during a midwinter break. Think of a cozy long weekend taking in stormy Atlantic views from a gigantic, warm bed; unwinding by the fireplace; and seaside restaurants frequented by locals who know the special magic of the area outside the tourist crush. If you need an extra nudge to visit the beach when the weather isn’t beachy, remember how meaningful it is to bring business to these communities, which were so hard-hit by the loss of the summer season. Hammetts Hotel, Newport The late-August opening meant summer sunset drinks on the patio were only briefly possible this year. But the…