As you read this I'm winging my way to see my family for the holidays...and by 'holidays' I mean the Christmas and New Year holidays - of 2019. Having spent those days elsewhere with other relatives and not with my own immediate lineage, it's finally family time. Can you relate? (Ha! 'Relate'!) There is a lot going on relative to travel (see what I did there?), and there are always issues making the rounds, some factual some fictional, that raise travelers' questions, fears, and doubts. Some can be ignored, some not. Remember this newsletter from last September? Well, it' is time for another issue like that. Here are links to all sorts of interesting, important, or maybe irrelevant-to-you information. 1. Top of the list - novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Yes that's what they're calling it. The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) has provided guidelines to travel advisors for dealing with clients' specific travel situations, and Virtuoso has provided training for us on the subject. Additionally, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization are our sources, NOT the news media. Aside from info that's specific to your travel plans, here is an article from ASTA's public-facing website. 2. If you have upcoming Marriott hotel reservations in the Far East, you'll find this helpful. On to other topics of interest: 3. Wildfires are still burning in Australia, but are under control, according to authorities. So, is it okay to move forward with your once-in-a-lifetime travel plans Down Under?
4. This article with helpful hints about planning a trip was in my email box. Some of these are taken care of by your travel advisor, but many are up to you. Pay particular attention to #25! 5. Last October, I wrote about the Real ID Act which goes into effect this October 1. According to the Department of Homeland Security, two-thirds of driver's licenses in the US are still not compliant, so they have announced some streamlining measures for aiding the process, including electronic applications to take the pressure off of DMV's. 6. The new buzzword in travel is 'sustainability', and rightly so. The January 2020 issue of Virtuoso Life has an article on this travel trend. If there is ever a travel-related topic you'd like to see addressed here, please let me know. As always, my goal is to keep you informed, inspired and interested. You're encouraged to forward this to friends, family, and even people you don't like, since they probably travel too. If you first received this as an email, then the buttons beneath the logo in that email make it easy for you to do that, as well as to post to your social media (which I highly encourage and hugely appreciate). If you're reading this on my website, then copy and paste the link in an email, send it out, and your friend will be able to subscribe. You will have done your good deed for the day! Alrighty then. I'm done for now. 'til next week.