This is part of our series "The Changing Face of Travel"...exploring specific topics and trends affecting travel in 2021 and beyond. To read more articles click here

UNPLUG TO RECONNECT: UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE MEANING OF CONNECTION 

Even before the coronavirus changed the workplace, the average American spends 17 hours a day looking at screens from smartphones to computers to televisions. With the pandemic shifting whole industries to working from home with countless hours of Zoom meetings, it is estimated that people are spending an additional two hours glued to the screen. With no sports, recreation facilities closed, and stay at home orders, even children are spending more time than ever looking at screens, too. YouTube, Tik Tok, and all the other social media platforms are designed to keep kids engaged for as long as possible while you work or do chores.

This is part of our series "The Changing Face of Travel"...exploring specific topics and trends affecting travel in 2021 and beyond. To read more articles click here

Rediscovering the Magic Close to Home: The Drive-To Vacation

Walt Whitman, one of America’s most prolific poets, once said “I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me.” While Whitman may have lived before the birth of the automobile, he certainly would have embraced it. By 1920 the idea of the road trip had begun to take shape. As costs of automobiles fell and their reliability increased, people began using the automobile as a “vacation agent” into America’s countryside.

This is part of our series "The Changing Face of Travel"...exploring specific topics and trends affecting travel in 2021 and beyond. To read more articles click here

According to a recent U.S. Travel Association report, more than half of working Americans don’t use all of their paid vacation days. They forfeit an average of 212 million days, which is equivalent to about $62.2 billion in lost benefits. Most Americans struggle to disconnect from the daily demands of their work. Research shows that taking vacation time actually increases your productivity by making you more resilient, improving cognitive function, creativity, and problem-solving.

This is part of our series "The Changing Face of Travel"...exploring specific topics and trends affecting travel in 2021 and beyond. To read more articles click here

Changing consumer behavior and the evolution of an industry 

In just over 25 years the internet has transformed nearly every aspect of our lives. It has revolutionized communication, entertainment, education and almost all business operations and has provided access to the world’s library of information with the click of a button. Companies like Netflix, Amazon, Uber, Airbnb and Carvana have completely upended entire industries and in the process, altered our very behavior as consumers. The way we think about purchasing goods and services has been forever changed along with the way these new companies communicate and deliver their product.

This is part of our series "The Changing Face of Travel"...exploring specific topics and trends affecting travel in 2021 and beyond. To read more articles click here

While sipping champagne and awaiting the countdown for the clock to strike midnight, many of us were making grandiose travel plans for the new decade. 2020 was the year we’ll finally take that romantic getaway to Aruba or take the entire family to Disney World for the first time. But, 2020 had other plans for us. For the first time, the travel industry nearly came to a screeching halt across the planet due to a global pandemic.

There’s nothing that makes me cringe more than sales. Once upon a time before I really became an experienced traveler, I went to the Boston Travel Show and got sucked into a sales pitch. All I had to do was spend a “free” night at a new hotel in western Massachusetts then I’d get roundtrip tickets and a three-night stay in San Diego. It sounded like a no brainer to me!

You’ve read the headlines – Millennials are just entitled, lazy, and ruining the economy because they can’t afford to buy houses, cars, or anything with so much student loan debt. But those are just headlines created to get people to click on an article. Sure, millennials are managing life with tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt, but they are working just as hard as the previous generations to create a career that is meaningful to them and earn a living.

The White Mountains have attracted seasonal guests for centuries with its pristine natural landscape and refreshing mountain air. Historic luxury hotels, like the Mt. Washington Resort and The Balsams, have left a long legacy of innovation, luxury, and a high-level of customer service. The RiverWalk Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire is a newcomer to the scene but has been working hard to redefine modern luxury.