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SEPTEMBER 2017

$4.95

Creative Seats Designing business class Keys to the Kingdom Saudi tourism transforms

Galley Gourmet Winning the hearts and taste buds of premium passengers

lifestyle

Savor Japan Money on the Move The Opulent World of Yachts

Discover our Business class.

Aerolineas Argentinas offer more services and benefits for all our passengers at great prices.

CLUB CÓNDOR Our long-haul, international business class. The seats recline 170 degrees, and have an “on demand” audio/visual entertainment system with a touchscreen, noise canceling headphones. Equipped with special mood-lighting.

CLUB ECONOMY Our premium economy class which is offer on all domestic and regional flights, with business class benefits. There are only 8 seats with 38 inches between them.

SALÓN CÓNDOR Strategically located in Terminal C at Ezeiza, our VIP lounge provide and ideal atmosphere where our passengers can relax. Our Salon Condor can be used by Club Condor (Business class) and Club Economy passengers as well as Aerolineas plus Platinum, Aerolineas Gold members and Sky Team Elite Plus members.

More than 10.000 square feet, business center, free WIFI, rest areas allows our passenger be relaxed and enjoying light menu and drinks.

For more information go to

aerolineas.com/clubcondor

n Inside September 2017

On The Cover 30 Galley Gourmet Airlines are in a fierce food fight to win the hearts – and the taste buds – of premium passengers

Special Report 12 Creating the Perfect Seat From double beds to private suites, a new generation of business class seats is taking to the skies

Destinations 18 Boston Uncommon An extraordinary town mixes history and the future

26 Keys to the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is transforming its take on tourism

Departments

30

08 Upfront One on One with Jennifer Gribble, VP of Holiday Inn Express brand.

Sharp increase in travel costs forecast. TSA toughens screenings on electronic devices. W debuts on the Bund in Shanghai.

16 Loyalty Update Airline and hotel rewards programs news and promotions

22 Take Offs & Landings Connections Aloft – Technology makes inflight WiFi more available than ever. Plus new route news.

36 Tried & Tested Condor Airlines Business Class Frankfurt – Minneapolis Hotel de Rome Berlin

18

On the cover: Singapore International Airlines Choice Beef Fillet

Intermedia Travel Group

Eleven Ryerson Avenue, Suite 201, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444 P: (973) 839-6200 F: (973) 839-4390 www.businesstravelerusa.com

lifestyle

Group Publisher Jerry Allison – (973) 839-6200 JAllison@businesstravelerusa.com Principal/Chief Content Officer Ross Atkinson – (703) 395-7145 RAtkinson@businesstravelerusa.com Subscriptions – (973) 839-0620 subscriptions@businesstravelerusa.com Advertising Sales – (973) 839-6200 advertising@businesstravelerusa.com Jim McGinley – (818) 712-0672 Mike Shevlin – (847) 749-0168 Editorial Director Dan Booth – (336) 766-1961 editorial@businesstravelerusa.com Editorial Assistant – Ralf Walters Contributors

Craig Bright Mark Caswell Tamsin Cocks Lark Gould Valerian Ho Tom Otley Ramsey Qubein Freddy Sherman Erica Stevens

Designer & Art Director Michele Cameron ML.Cameron @comcast.net

48 40 Lifestyle News Dr. Oz advises travelers to ‘Fly Good, Feel Good.’ New Palladium Instagram team surprises and delights.

Wardman Park seeks its memorabilia. Bid for business class on Fiji Air. Lyft and Taco Bell satisfy riders’ munchies.

56 4 Hours In Guangzhou

58 World Wise Staying in Touch – Searching for perfection in the imperfect world of travel

40

42 Technology of Things Production Marylee DeFerrari mdeferrari@businesstravelerusa.com Business Traveler® North America is published ten times a year at our address as above. The magazine is independent of commercial interest. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be accepted for publication. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers who cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of the text, photographs or illustrations without permission is prohibited.

Money on the Move – The future of travel payments includes lots of discarded plastic

46 The Scene We round up some top events in the upcoming months.

48 Escape To Uncharterted Waters – The opulent world of yachts comes to the Pacific

52 The Good Life Savor Japan – Foodie adventures in Japan’s regional cuisine

52 48

I ARRIVE AS RECHARGED

A S MY CELL PHONE .

Imagine it more convenient, more efficient. The speed you expect and the experience you deserve.

With 10 weekday departures between Boston and New York. The time for imagining is over.

Amtrak and Acela are registered service marks of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

SEE WHERE THE TRAIN CAN TAKE YOU. AMTRAK.COM

n Talking Point

Heads Up

Some say the zombie apocalypse has begun

B

y now you probably have seen the news reports: “Honolulu targets ‘smartphone zombies’ with crosswalk ban,”blares the Reuters headline.

Hawaii’s largest city has passed an ordinance which goes into effect Oct. 25 that prohibits pedestrians from looking at their mobile phones or texting while crossing the street. If the police catch them, they can be fined something between $15 and $99. The aim, say city leaders, is to reduce the number of injuries and deaths from “distracted walking.”

While some scoff at the new law as “government overreach,”the problem is apparently quite real – and growing. According to a 2015 University of Maryland study, more than 11,000 injuries have resulted from phone-related distracted walking accidents in the US between 2000 and 2011. No word on the number of near misses.

And remember, in 2011 only about a third of the US population owned smartphones; today, according to Pew Research, that number is north of three-quarters of adult Americans (77 percent).

So the opportunity for small screen-induced distractions has almost assuredly risen as well. Interestingly a later Pew study found the same percentage – 77 percent – thought it was “generally OK” to use a cellphone while walking down the street. (Of course the survey also found four percent who thought it was“generally OK” in a church service, too, which tells you something about die-hard cellphone users.)

What all this research tells us is that these little devices have pretty much revolutionized life in our post-industrial hyperconnected world. It also tells us that the problems associated with smartphone use are not limited to the US, or even the developed world. The penetration of mobile usage is a rising tide in virtually all parts of the globe, so smartphone distractions are probably going to rise as well.

For travelers this means increased vigilance – not less – wherever they go. In part, this is a matter of personal safety and security; we can’t let our smartphones divert attention from what the security people call ‘situational awareness,’ that is, keeping track of what’s going on in our immediate surroundings.

But there’s another, more insidious pitfall for the traveler, which is the risk of missing out altogether on the experiences our journeys

can offer us. We seem to be more concerned with checking e-mails than checking out the wonders of the places we visit; we take foodie pictures while the food gets cold; we spend our time looking for places to plug in chargers instead of places to plug in our minds.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love my smartphone; as both a work tool and a fun appendage to my life, it’s indispensable. I can’t imagine being on the road – or anywhere else – without it. I would truly be lost without having in my hand the ability to stay up to date on e-mails, consult navigation, google stuff at an moment’s notice, take super high quality photos with a multi-bazillion pixel camera and follow friends, family, co-workers and the rest of the world anytime I like.

So as an ardent smartphone user myself, I’m generally OK with people using their phones while walking down the street. But generally speaking, I’m generally not OK with people who aren’t paying attention to what’s happening. Not when they bump into me, snarl sidewalks to take pictures, hurt themselves walking into lamp posts or step out zombie-like into traffic.

The world we live in has enough distractions of its own. So my advice to travelers whatever their destination: Look up, see what’s around you. Appreciate where you are.

And watch where you’re going. BT

— Dan Booth Editorial Director

Keep In Touch Stay Informed: sign up for the Business Traveler weekly newsletter at www.businesstravelerusa.com

6 n September 2017

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on ONE N E n Upfront

Value Proposition Jennifer Gribble, VP of the Holiday Inn Express brand, outlines what’s in the works for road warriors

BT: Intercontinental Hotels Group has a large portfolio of hotel brands that cater to business travel, including extended stay, meetingsfriendly venues, and both select and full-service options. How does Holiday Inn Express fit into that portfolio?

GRIBBLE: We view Holiday Inn Express as the ideal option for road warriors looking for solid value on price without skimping on the amenities.

There are a lot of options out there, but we have some really great benefits like our new breakfast buffet with healthier choices, redesigned guest rooms and new bedside tables on wheels that raise up and down so that guests can work on laptops from bed.

BT: You have relaunched your partnership with comedian and actor Rob Riggle. What does that involve?

GRIBBLE: Rob is the perfect storyteller for our brand, and people recognize him from The Daily Show and movies like The Hangover. He’s able to deliver our message in a way that resonates with travelers and shares our story in a light-hearted way.

Customers are already loyal to our IHG loyalty program, and Riggle adds that funny hook to keep our guests connected. Our goal is to help our guests “Be The Readiest” (the brand’s latest campaign) wherever their travels take them, whether 8 n September 2017

that’s our hot breakfast buffet helping them to be ready for a day of meetings or a fitness center that readies them for their exercise goals.

BT: Speaking of being connected, your guest rooms have recently undergone a redesign. How are these changes working for the modern traveler?

GRIBBLE: We are adding more power and USB outlets throughout the room. These include in the bathroom, on either side of the bed, near the desk and coffeemakers, and even by the room’s entryway. Customers tell us being connected is the most important thing to them, and we want to make sure they are powered up and ready to go.

BT: You mentioned IHG’s loyalty program. Certainly for today’s business travelers, earning loyalty points across many brands is an important bonus. Do you find that they also redeem them with Holiday Inn Express?

GRIBBLE: It depends where they are going, but we just opened the largest Holiday Inn Express in the Americas on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.

This is sure to be a popular spot for business travelers who want to take their families on vacation. The hotel has a great swimming pool with cabanastyle seating and panoramic views from its 44 floors facing the mountains and Waikiki Beach. Holiday Inn Express is the largest hotel brand in the world in its segment, and we’re excited to add another property to the Hawaiian Islands.

BT: What makes the Waikiki property different from others in the system?

GRIBBLE: Besides being the largest Holiday Inn Express in the Americas, it also showcases the latest hotel design including increased power outlets in rooms and community work spaces in the lobby.

This new room design is being rolled out across the system. The hotel also has plenty of recreational amenities like a 24-hour fitness center.

BT: We hear you’re planning some changes to the Express Start breakfast buffet. What’s driving those changes and what can we expect to see there?

GRIBBLE: We get a lot of compliments from guests about the free morning buffet, and we are always looking for ways to improve. New egg white omelets and oatmeal options, Chobani Greek yogurt, and whole wheat English muffins have been added to the lineup.

We have also created a new flavor for our famous pancake machine, and based upon customer demand, there was even a small window added so people can watch their breakfast being made from scratch. Another exciting addition for many will be the new cinnamon roll we are launching in partnership with Cinnabon, which will be available in most properties by next year.

REPORT PREDICTS SHARP INCREASE IN 2018 TRAVEL PRICES Travel prices are expected to increase sharply in the coming year, rising nearly 4 percent in some sectors, according to the 2018 Global Travel Forecast, produced by the GBTA Foundation in partnership with Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

The report showed that global airfares are expected to rise 3.5 percent in 2018; hotel prices are expected to be 3.7 percent higher; and ground transportation prices are expected to rise only 0.6 percent, less than the 3 percent inflation forecast for 2018.

Learn more at gbta.org.

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Upfront n

TSA TOUGHENS SCREENING ON ELECTRONIC DEVICES The Transportation Security Administration has announced it will impose tighter screening procedures at US airports. The agency says passengers will have to take tablet computers and other large electronic devices out of carry-on bags for inspection as the government phases in the new checks .

Most passengers already had to remove laptops from their bags when going through security, and now will need to remove e-readers, tablet computers and other devices so they can be X-rayed separately. TSA said the new measures will be imposed in the“weeks and months ahead.”

Find details at tsa.gov.

PROPERTY PIPELINE AND OPENINGS n The Jeremy West Hollywood Joins 1 Hotels Brand – Starwood Capital Group has acquired the newly constructed 286-key, The Jeremy West Hollywood. Over the next year, The Jeremy will be transformed into the 1 West Hollywood.

Visit 1hotels.com. n Hyatt Place Breaks Ground in Sandestin, FL – The Howard Group has broken ground on an 84-room, five-story Hyatt Place hotel in Grand Boulevard at Sandestin, opening in late 2018.

Visit hyatt.com.

Delta, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic Combine Partnerships Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic have taken steps toward combining their partnerships into a single joint venture. As part of the arrangement, Delta is investing €375 (about $440 million) to acquire 10 percent of Air France-KLM. At the same time, Air France-KLM will acquire Virgin Group’s 31 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic; Delta already has a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic. Ultimately, the deals would bring the two preexisting joint ventures – Air France-KLM, Delta and Alitalia; and secondly Delta and Virgin Atlantic – within a single joint venture. Details are pending and the deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Learn more at delta.com, airfranceklm.com and virginatlantic.com.

Hotel Del Coronado Joins The Curio Collection The Curio Collection by Hilton has landed one of America’s most iconic luxury resorts, the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.

The property sits on one of the country’s favorite beaches and offers 757 guest rooms including villas and cottages. This year “The Del” will celebrate its 130th anniversary as it becomes part of the Curio Collection by Hilton.

The property offers dining options from the renowned 1500 Ocean with its stunning views to clambakes on the beach.

For more information, visit curiocollection3.hilton.com.

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IATA and A4A Launch Lost Baggage Initiative The International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America (A4A) have launched a year-long global campaign to boost baggage handling and tracking. The goal of the initiative is to reduce the number of mishandled bags in addition to increasing efficiency in baggage operations.

By June 2018, airlines have committed to being able to track a bag when it is accepted at the airport, loaded onto the aircraft, transferred to the arrival system or put into the transfer system for carriage by another airline.

Airlines should also be able to share this tracking information with interline carriers as needed.

“Implementation of baggage tracking is a collaborative effort between airlines and airports to improve the passenger experience,” said Patty Edwards, managing director of passenger services at A4A.“Airlines and airports are working together to ensure the infrastructure is available to provide this enhanced service.”

n Dubai Welcomes Swissôtel & Swissôtel Living AccorHotels has partnered with Al Ghurair to rebrand the 428-room hotel and 192-apartment property at Al Ghurair Centre Complex.

Both will be managed by AccorHotels as it transitions to Swissôtel & Swissôtel Living by end of 2017.

Visit accorhotels.com. n Park Hyatt’s First Caribbean Property to Debut in St Kitts – St. Kitts’s first luxury beach resort and the first Park Hyatt hotel in the Caribbean region is scheduled to debut on November 1, 2017. The 126-room resort will host three restaurants, a spa and wellness center, and indoor and outdoor event spaces.

Visit hyatt.com. n Canopy Portland Pearl District Topped Off – A topping off ceremony was held to celebrate completion of the first construction phase of the 153-room Canopy by Hilton Portland Pearl District, scheduled to open in first quarter 2018.

Visit canopy3.hilton.com.

September 2017 n 9

n Upfront

POLL What is your most popular social channel for travel info?

Twitter

33%

W Debuts in Shanghai Marriott International has announced the opening of W Shanghai The Bund, the brand’s first in Shanghai located on the historic riverfront. The hotel offers 374 guestrooms, 35 of the which are suites.

The property has 65,000 square feet of meeting space including a 20,000-square-foot Great Room, the largest in western Shanghai. Amenities include a spa, 24/7 fitness center and swimming pool.

Visit starwoodhotels.com for details.

Facebook

20%

Instagram

0%

Depends

47%

For more survey ratings visit businesstravelerusa.com/polls

Marriott Opens Five in Japan Marriott International has announced the opening of five distinct Marriott Hotels across Japan. The five hotels are gateways to exploring Japan’s culture and beauty.

The 142-room Karuizawa Marriott Hotel is located only 70 minutes away from central Tokyo. The Izu Marriott Hotel Shuzenji offers 128 room in the densely wooded hills of the Izu Peninsula. The 105-room Fuji Marriott Hotel Lake Yamanaka features views of iconic Mount Fuji.

Located close to Kyoto, Lake Biwa Marriott Hotel showcases the beauty of Japan’s largest lake from its 274 guestrooms. And the 182-room Nanki-Shirahama Marriott Hotel is home to mountain trails and white sandy beaches.

For more information visit marriott.com.

Hotel de Crillon Reopens in Paris Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel has reopened its doors following a comprehensive four-year multi-million dollar renovation. The historic Paris property first opened in 1909 in an 18th-century mansion on Place de la Concorde. It was taken over

by Rosewood Hotels and Resorts in 2013.

The number of guestrooms has been reduced from 147 to 124 and includes 36 suites and ten signature suites. In addition, the hotel offers four distinctive food and drink venues plus three event spaces which are all listed heritage landmarks.

There is also a new 12-meter swimming pool, as well as a spa, gym, barber and hair salon.

Visit rosewoodhotels.com/crillon for details.

AccorHotels Unveils Ibis Styles at LGA AccorHotels has introduced the first ibis Styles hotel in the US and the brand’s flagship hotel in the country, the ibis Styles New York LaGuardia Airport. Located at the former site of the LaGuardia Airport Hotel, the 93-room property has undergone a major renovation.

Located just across Grand Central Parkway from LaGuardia, the hotel offers a buffet breakfast, unlimited WiFi internet access, street-inspired snacks at the Metrocard Lounge and NYC Subway card packages.

Find details at accorhotels.com. BT 10 n September 2017

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n Special Report

Creating

Pictured: Designing Acumen’s Optima seat

12 n September 2017

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Special Report n

the perfect seat From double beds to private suites, a new generation of business class seats are taking to the skies

By Tom Otley

T

he fully-flat bed is deemed essential by corporate travelers able to afford business class. They want to maximize their productivity by sleeping on night flights so they can hit the ground running at their destination.

For those travelers lucky enough to fly business class on long-haul routes, it’s a fascinating game to compare and contrast the range of seats on offer. There are forward-facing seats that recline fully flat. There is the forward/backward-facing “yin-yang”

configuration of British Airways. Then there are the various forms of “herringbone”– which takes its name from the appearance of the seating when viewed on a plan from above. Virgin Atlantic still has this, and other carriers have adopted versions of it.

There has arguably never been such a wide choice as there is today. But what all these forms of seating are trying to achieve is a fully-flat bed in the smallest amount of space.

Meanwhile, the airlines recognize that the“real estate” on an aircraft is extremely expensive, and the more room each seat – and each passenger – occupies, the more they will have to charge for the ticket. And everyone shops on price to some extent.

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September 2017 n 13

n Special Report

Of course, there are other factors involved, but in terms of the seating, airlines want to offer a fully-flat product with direct aisle access, so you don’t have to climb over the aisle passenger next to you when they are reclined. They also want to strip out as much weight as possible from the design, since every extra pound adds to the fuel bill of flying these aircraft around the world.

Not every airline follows this – Emirates, for example, has introduced a new business class seat in a 2-3-2 configuration, meaning the person in the middle has to climb over an aisle seat. Still, by and large, most carriers are looking to seat designers to come up with something that is lightweight, fully-flat and with hassle-free direct aisle access.

Installing a new cabin is an expensive exercise, not only because airlines have to ground the aircraft to fit the new product, but also because the number of seats is usually reduced as a result. Air France, for instance, has seen the number of seats it can fit between the first two exits on a 777 reduced from 35 (in a 2-3-2 configuration) to 28 in its new 1-2-1 layout. It’s good for travelers in terms of comfort, but the airline will invariably try to pass on the extra cost and charge more per seat, since it has a significant seven fewer business tickets to sell.

Cross-fleet Consistency UK design studio Acumen Design Associates is responsible for United’s new Polaris seat, currently being flown on its 777-300ER but destined to be rolled out across most of the airline’s wide-body fleet – with some 5,000 of the seats being installed. The project also involved design consultancy Priestmangoode and United’s own inhouse team, along with Zodiac Aerospace, the manufacturers of the seat (in this case, from its UK factory in Cwmbran in Wales).

The term Polaris applies not only to the seat but a whole new class of service on board United. The new seat had to be flexible enough to work on aircraft of varying widths, yet also offer a consistent passenger experience. This highlights another truth of the 14 n September 2017

business class world – while aircraft differ in width and in interior design, an airline wants to achieve uniformity across its fleet, both in terms of the advantages to be gained during procurement and servicing, but also because passengers prefer to know what they are getting when they step on board.

In the case of United, this was particularly acute, since the market is currently segmented between high-density business class and “super-business”class. No one is kidding themselves that there is one seat that can satisfy the entire business class arena.

Qatar Airways’ new QSuite, which made its debut between London and Doha in June, is definitely super-business class. In fact, seeing it unveiled at the ITB trade show in Berlin, it could easily rival some airlines’ first class offerings, providing sliding privacy doors and what the carrier says is the first-ever double bed in business class.

According to Qatar Airways’ chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, the airline was“never satisfied in what it offers passengers” and “always wants to be better and [to] improve so that passengers always feel we are above competitors.” He even said that the QSuite would be Visit businesstravelerusa.com

Special Report n

Delta’s A350 cabin will feature 32 seats split across eight rows, configured 1-2-1. The carrier will primarily use the aircraft on flights between the US and Asia, although the intention is to retrofit the new product progressively to its 777 fleet.

A Delicate Balance For other carriers, the aim is to improve their products while not pricing themselves out of the market. Ian Dryburgh, chief executive of Acumen, says:“A lot of airlines are struggling to make any money at all, and it’s vanity for them to be flying around some of the seats they are doing. What they need are seats that give them a chance of differentiating themselves but at the same time have a fighting chance of making some money.”

Acumen aims to have its Optima seating – the basis for United’s Polaris seat – adopted by more than a dozen airlines in the coming years. To that end, it has teamed up with Zodiac Aerospace to market it both directly to airlines looking to improve their seating, but also to Boeing and Airbus so that it will be offered as a catalogue option to those buying new aircraft.

“We want to sell it en masse,”Dryburgh says. The Optima’s design is therefore modular, allowing it to be adapted according to what airlines might want without adding too much extra cost or requiring new certification.

Lastly, business class can’t be considered in isolation. The improvements in this cabin, and the extra seats added to economy

enhanced in another five years.“We will always get ideas of how to give more space, more comfort, more interaction between groups who want to travel together, but also so they can feel they are in their own territory,” he said.

Yet when asked whether the seating was sustainable across a large wide-bodied fleet, Al Baker’s answer showed how focused the airline was on efficiency.“We try to make sure that we don’t lose numbers,” he said.“So, to give you an example, this seat that we are introducing on the A350 and 777 will still accommodate the same number of passengers. The existing [layout can seat] 42 passengers, and in the same space we will put 42 passengers with this product, so we are not losing on revenue. And we will not raise the ticket price to pay for it.”

Delta Air Lines has also announced a new super-business class suite with doors for its A350 aircraft. Billed as the“world’s first allsuite business class” product, and conceived by Factory Design of London, each new Delta One seat has a sliding door. JetBlue is the only other carrier to offer sliding doors, in its Mint business class, but this feature is only available in select seats.

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Top row: The Optima seat; Bottom row: United Polaris, Qatar Airways QSuite; Delta One

class as airlines take advantage of new slimline seating to accommodate more passengers at the back of the plane, have led to the widespread introduction of a premium economy option.

For travelers either unable or unwilling to purchase business class seats (many corporations won’t pay for their travelers to fly business), it’s an attractive option, but for the airline, premium economy also runs the risk of cannibalizing business class. They therefore need to be careful not to offer too much in business – and risk pricing out valuable customers – or offer too little and drive people to opt for premium economy instead.

Whichever cabin you choose to fly in, seat technology holds out the promise for a more comfortable journey. While business class is seeing the biggest improvements, the airlines are also hoping that our sky-high expectations will continue to be accompanied by a willingness to pay a premium for the experience. Better have that glass of champagne after all. BT September 2017 n 15

n Loyalty

WYNDHAM REWARDS UNVEILS LOYALTY AUCTION PROGRAM

Enterprise Expands Loyalty In Latin America and the Caribbean

Car rental brands Enterprise and National have announced the expansion of their loyalty programs Enterprise Plus and Emerald Club in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Both programs now allow members to earn rewards and free rental days at locations in Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica, Peru and Suriname. Enterprise Plus members can also enjoy benefits in Turks and Caicos.

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brands are owned by Enterprise Holdings Inc., which operates in more than 90 countries, including 30 in Latin America.

Find more information at enterprise.com and nationalcar.com.

Wyndham Rewards has announced a new facet to its loyalty program built on an auction model, similar to eBay. Customers can use their loyalty points as a currency to bid for accommodations and experiences rather than “paying”a pre-determined “price”in points.

The new program, which will exist alongside more traditional point redemption offers, is intended to reward members with lower rates than would otherwise be available.

Visit wyndhamrewards.com.

JetBlue Offers Status Matching For Mosaic Members

Jet Blue has announced that its Status Match program will extend Mosaic membership for the remainder of 2017 to travelers currently enrolled in another airline’s premium loyalty program. To qualify, travelers must be enrolled in Jet Blue’s True Blue program and provide proof of membership in one of the following programs: • Virgin America: Elevate Silver or Elevate Gold • Alaska Airlines: Mileage Plan, MVP Gold, or MVP Gold 75k • American Airlines: AAdvantage Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum Pro, or AAdvantage Executive Platinum • Delta SkyMiles: Medallion Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond • Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred or Companion Pass • United Mileage Plus: Premier Silver, Gold, Platinum or Premier 1K Those who sign up will also be enrolled in the Mosaic Challenge, which will extend Mosaic membership throughout 2018 to travelers who earn 3,750 True Blue base points within 90 days of signup.

Mosaic benefits include up to two free checked bags and no fees for flight cancellations.

Visit trueblue.jetblue.com for details.

16 n September 2017

Get Social, Get Points At Marriott Rewards Program

Marriott Rewards is offering members a chance to earn up to 45,000 points annually by participating in its social media campaigns. You earn 250 Marriott points each for connecting your account to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – a total of 750 point.

Then earn another 125 points for following Marriott Rewards on Twitter and on Instagram.

By following @MarriottRewards on Twitter you can earn points when you complete qualifying actions on your social media accounts. Three to four #RewardsPoints campaigns will be announced each month.

To register and connect your social channels to your Marriott account, visit mrpoints.chirpify.com/rewardspoints/register. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

n Destinations

BOSTON I

n 1858, writer, physician and self-described Boston Brahmin Oliver Wendell Holmes penned a story in which one of his characters called the Massachusetts State House “the Hub of the solar system.” Holmes meant the comment to be satirical, but the epithet stuck and Bostonians soon not only adopted it, but expanded it; today, one of the city’s many nicknames is The Hub of the Universe.

While assuming such a grandiose title may seem a bit pretentious to outsiders, Boston is a city that can carry it off with a certain easy charm. Although Boston ranks as one of America’s oldest cities, dating back almost four centuries – the city celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2030 – there is a definite sense of youth and vitality; over a third of the population is under the age of 25.

Part of that phenomenon can be attributed to another of the city’s sobriquets, “The Athens of America.”Both Boston University and Boston College are in town, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are just across the Charles River in Cambridge, and another 100 or so well-known institutions of higher learning are scattered throughout the Greater Boston area.

But the presence of these hallowed halls has done far more than inject youth into this historic town; these institutions have been a continual well-spring of innovation in the fields of science, medicine, technology, financial services and the arts.

18 n September 2017

First, A Bit of History Much of this intellectual wealth comes from the sheer weight of history. For example, Massachusetts General Hospital is over 200 years old, being the third-oldest general hospital in the US and birthplace of the Harvard Medical School. MIT was founded in 1861 and has gone on to see its alums play roles in the development of computers, the World Wide Web, the transistor and mapping the human genome.

Even further back, Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the country, was founded in Cambridge a mere six years after Boston itself was chartered. And the two have grown closer together with time – literally.

At first, Boston and Cambridge were separated by the Charles River and what was then the Back Bay. Not a neighborhood, as it is today, but an actual body of water. In fact, the original Boston itself was situated on the Shawmut Peninsula, surrounded by the harbor and the Charles. The only thing that kept this promontory from being an island was a narrow spit of land called the Neck.

By about 1820 enterprising Bostonians set about “making land,” scalping the once-proud hills of the city to fill in the harbor and the bay. The process, which continued through much of the 19th century, more than doubled Boston’s landmass and created the neighborhoods of the South End, Back Bay, and Fenway-Kenmore.

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Special Report n

This extraordinary old town is still young and hip – a vibrant mix of history and the future

By Dan Booth

Uncommon

Clockwise: Washington Street is the first street that connected peninsular Boston to the mainland; Historical re-enactor at Old South Meeting House; Quincy Market; Seaport World Trade Center; USS Constitution in Boston Navy Yard

This development accounts for some of the city’s ‘crazy-quilt’ street layout. In the older parts of town, streets were created as needed. Roads change names and zig and zag seemingly at random. As the landfill expanded, the city streets that were added later in Back Bay, East Boston, the South End and South Boston followed a grid system.

The entire system was open to traffic in 2006, nearly a decade behind schedule and five times over budget. And while traffic here is not the nightmare it once was, it’s still hardly a dream. However in the decade since its opening, the Big Dig has made the harbor and downtown areas of Boston more accessible and created a whole new vibe on the waterfront.

Digging the Big Dig Which brings us to Boston’s next major makeover, the Big Dig. As the city grew and automobiles began to take to the streets, the resulting traffic snarls became legendary.

By the 1950s, when construction actually began on an elevated roadway called the Central Artery, it was clear that the arteries were already clogged and things were getting worse. Thus, beginning 1982, a massive public works project was launched that would change the face of Boston as profoundly as had the monumental landfill undertaking the century before.

Officially the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, the venture was soon dubbed the Big Dig. It buried the traffic underground in tunnels, crossed the Charles with the iconic Zakim Bridge and added the 17-acre Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, a linear park on the land once occupied by the now-demolished elevated expressway.

Get There, Meet There To begin with, the project has elevated the convenience quotient of Boston’s Logan International Airport by a factor of about ten. The airport is located just across the harbor in East Boston, only about three miles as the crow flies from downtown. But in pre-Dig days, the taxi ride could be expensive and fraught with delays.

Now with three tunnels under the harbor, the trip to or from the airport either by car or subway is relatively speedy and hassle-free, making Logan one of the nation’s most convenient major airports to a large metropolitan downtown. This, along with billions spent on facility improvements, is boosting air connections across the country and all over the globe.

Boston has long been a focus city for JetBlue which operates some 200 flights daily. Delta is running something that looks like ‘hub lite’ with 83 peak-day departures, and the other legacy carriers connect to their networks from here as well. Altogether BOS

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September 2017 n 19

n Destinations

The Big Dig notwithstanding, traffic is still generally horrible

reaches about 75 destinations in the US, but the real growth story has been international.

According to the Massachusetts Port Authority, during the past decade the number of international nonstop destinations from BOS has nearly doubled from 27 to 53. The lift is provided by some 30 international carriers, the most recent addition being Avianca’s service to Bogotá which launched in June. As a result, Massport unveiled a $30 million renovation to Logan’s international Terminal E, adding 95,000 square feet and reworking three gates to accommodate larger aircraft like the A380.

What the completion of the Big Dig and these upgrades and new services at close-in Logan have done is propel the Boston Harbor waterfront into a new era of development. The crown for this South Boston Waterfront District was the opening in June 2004 of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

With more than half-a-million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, the BCEC is one of the newest and largest convention complexes in the US. A few blocks away on the waterfront, the Seaport World Trade Center offers 118,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Although much older and smaller than the new harbor front venues, the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in the Back Bay area can also accommodate thousands of attendees. Plus it has the advantage of being convenient to hotels, shopping malls, and the city’s best concentration of fine dining.

More to Discover Of course, nothing is very far from anything in Boston, unless you’re planning to drive there. The Big Dig notwithstanding, traffic is still generally horrible. Fortunately, the city’s compact layout means it’s walkable, or for greater distances you can take the convenient ‘T,’ Boston’s subway.

Should you find yourself at an event at the Hynes, you’re not far from Huntington Avenue, Boston’s ‘Avenue of the Arts.’ It’s home to the Museum of Fine Arts with more than 450,000 works, including pieces from ancient Greece, Egypt and Asia, and paintings by European masters such as Monet, Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

The Hynes Center itself is located on Boylston Street. A walk up Boylston brings you to Copley Square, home to some of the city’s most historic buildings, such as Boston Public Library, and Trinity Church, a striking Romanesque structure built in 1877. Across from the church is the John Hancock Tower, at 60 stories Boston’s tallest skyscraper built in 1976.

Farther up Boylston is the Boston Public Garden, established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden in the US. On the other side of the garden and across Charles Street is the Boston Common. The street marks the intersection between new and old Boston, where the Back Bay landfill stops and the original Shawmut 20 n September 2017

Clockwise: Boston at sunset showcasing its mix of modern and historic architecture at Back Bay; Zakim Bridge Tunnel at The Big Dig; Beginning of The Freedom Trail; Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall

peninsula begins. The public garden used to be marshland, but the 50-acre Common dates back to 1634.

At the northeast corner of the common you’ll see the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House. This part of the common is also near the beginning of the Freedom Trail. The two and a half-mile hike takes you from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument, with a side excursion to the USS Constitution, ‘Old Ironside.’

The trail is marked in red, often red brick, and is dotted with markers explaining 17 sites important to the early history of the United States. How much of the trail you choose to follow will depend on your time and interest, but it’s a good route to follow to Faneuil Hall, the 11th stop.

This historic spot was built as a marketplace and meeting hall in 1742 and was the site of key speeches by patriots such as Samuel Adams whose statue stands on the Congress Street side. That’s where some of the daily Freedom Trail walking tours originate ($12 for adults, thefreedomtrail.org) – others depart from the Boston Common Visitor Information Center on Tremont Street.

Today Faneuil Hall, along with Quincy Market next door, caters more to the tourist trade. This cluster of restored market buildings – bounded by the Waterfront, the North End, Government Center, and State Street – is the city’s most popular attraction.

For something a little more evocative, a few steps away is Union Street. Laid out in 1636, this short street was once close to the waterfront. It’s home to several excellent bars and restaurants, but for a real taste of history, the Union Oyster House (41 Union St, unionoysterhouse.com) which opened in 1826, stands out as the oldest continuously operating restaurant in America.

Like the rest of Boston, this is a street cloaked in history, but it wears the cloak lightly as it shoulders its way into the future. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

n Take Offs & Landings

Connections Aloft Satellites and technology are making inflight WiFi more available than ever

By Mark Caswell & Craig Bright

I

nflight entertainment as a concept goes back to the earliest days of commercial aviation; the very first inflight movie was called Howdy Chicago and it was screened on an Aeromarine Airways flight in 1921.

However it would be decades and many more or less unsuccessful attempts to bring inflight entertainment and connectivity to its present technological state of the art.

Today for the business traveler, the most critical development is connectivity – which means the ability to surf the web, take phone calls, send e-mails, and have an online experience similar to one they would expect on the ground. So increasingly inflight systems have turned to satellite technology – both to provide the kind of speed and reliability users expect, and to provide coverage over those long transoceanic routes where ground-based systems are simply not feasible.

In the world of satellites, there are two different wavelength spectrums that deliver broadband to the aircraft from orbit: Ka and Ku. There’s a debate about which is best, and pros and cons for both. However for travelers, the choice is largely academic – both power the WiFi onboard, and there 22 n September 2017

is unlikely to be differences in price as the market will determine this.

The dominant players in the inflight connectivity market (both satellite and air-to-ground) are Gogo, Panasonic, SITA, Global Eagle Entertainment and ViaSat Inc. Market researchers Provisions Networks says these top five players own about 65 percent of the market. Pioneer Gogo – heretofore known for its air-to-ground technology – has recently ventured into the satellite market with the launch of its next generation 2Ku satellite technology, which it says will deliver speeds of up to 100 Mbps to the aircraft – compared with Gogo’s current offering which limps along at speeds reportedly as slow as 3 Mbps.

However the move hasn’t kept Gogo customers such as American and United from drifting toward a multi-provider strategy using one system on part of the fleet and a different one on other aircraft.

Of course, the driver in all this is market demand; the providers’ customers, the airlines, are feeling the squeeze from their customers, the passengers, to provide faster and more reliable inflight connectivity.

Here’s a roundup of what the world’s airlines are working on to keep you online while you’re on board.

British Airways BA has launched its new long-haul WiFi service, with the technology initially being offered on one 747 aircraft, and a second due to be fitted in July.

Access is available across two connection speeds – Simply Connect for basic web browsing, and Connect Plus which can handle video streaming.

Prices range from £4.99 ($6.50) to £23.99 ($31) depending on type and duration of connection. n ba.com Air France KLM Air France now offers inflight WiFi on its newest 787-9 aircraft, two of which have been delivered since the start of this year. Air France’s sister carrier KLM already offers WiFi on its fleet of Boeing Dreamliner aircraft.

The group also plans to roll out the technology to 124 A330 and 777 aircraft, starting from the end of 2017. n airfrance.co.uk, klm.com Lufthansa The German carrier is gradually expanding its FlyNet WiFi offering across its short-haul fleet (and those of Visit businesstravelerusa.com

Take Offs & Landings n

AIRLINE NOTES

subsidiaries Austrian and Eurowings), with the technology being rolled out to “an ever growing number of flights within Europe and on flights to and from North Africa and the Middle East” through to the middle of 2018.

Lufthansa also offers WiFi on many of its long-haul aircraft, including the latest A350-900s, three of which have been delivered since the start of this year. n lufthansa.com, austrian.com Cathay Pacific The flag carrier launched its new inflight WiFi offering on its new A350 aircraft last year, with 14 of the widebody aircraft now in service on routes including Hong Kong-Gatwick.

Price range from $9.95 for one hour’s access, to $12.95 for connectivity throughout the flight (on routes of six hours or less) and $19.95 on routes over six hours. n cathaypacific.com Qantas The Australian carrier has begun free inflight WiFi trials on one of its domestic 737-800 aircraft, with Qantas stating the service offers speeds “up to 10 times faster than conventional on-board WiFi.” Inflight testing is expected to be completed by the middle of the year, with the carrier’s fleet of 80 A330 and 737 aircraft fitted with the technology by the end of 2018. n qantas.com.au Finnair Wifi is now available on all of Finnair’s new A350s, as well as “most of our A330s,” according to the carrier.

Access can be purchased for €7.95 ($9) for one hour, €11.95 ($14) for three Visit businesstravelerusa.com

hours or €19.95 ($23.50) for the full duration of the flight. Business class passengers and Finnair Plus Gold members get one hour’s complimentary Internet access, while Finnair Plus Platinum enjoy free access throughout the flight. n finnair.com Swiss WiFi technology is fitted to Swiss’ fleet of Airbus A330-300s, as well as the carrier’s fleet of 777-300ER aircraft, of which eight have so far been delivered.

Prices range from nine to 39 Swiss Francs depending on data usage, with the carrier stating that “the speed is similar to all public WiFi connections on the ground.” n swiss.com Air New Zealand The Kiwi carrier is expected to start rolling out its inflight WiFi service beginning in the second half of this year. Flights between Australia and New Zealand will be the first to see the service, followed by Tasman, Pacific Island and long-haul services from the end of 2017, and domestic services starting in 2018.

The technology will be supplied

by Inmarsat’s new global GX satellite constellation, and integrated with ANZ’s Panasonic Avionics system. n airnewzealand.co.uk Air Canada The Canadian flag carrier has announced plans to extend its inflight WiFi offering to the airline’s wide-body fleet, with connectivity being provided by Gogo’s 2Ku satellite technology.

Air Canada already offers WiFi on all of

n United To Begin Daily Singapore - LAX Nonstop This Fall – United Airlines has announced a new nonstop service between Singapore and LAX starting Oct. 27. This new route will operate the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and will set the new distance record for any airline operating a flight to or from the US, at 8,700 miles.

In addition, United is also planning new seasonal service from Denver International Airport (DEN) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) beginning March 24, 2018 operating through Oct. 26, pending government approval for the 4,663-mile route.

Visit united.com for more information. n Delta Adds Nonstop Shanghai Atlanta Service – Delta Air Lines has announced a new service between Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) beginning July 2018, pending government approval for the 7,654-mile route. The daily service will operate aboard a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft.

Delta has also added a new nonstop from LAX to Mexico city beginning in December, the carrier’s seventh daily flight between these two cities. The carrier will operate an Airbus A319 on this route.

For details visit delta.com. n Norwegian Launches Denver to Paris Service – Norwegian has announced new service from Denver to Paris - Charles de Gaulle beginning April 9, 2018. The twice-weekly route will fly on Mondays and Fridays year round operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Learn more at norwegian.com. n Fiji Airways Offers Year-round Direct Service to San Francisco – Fiji Airways has announced the launch of direct service from San Francisco to Fiji. Flights will be operated twice a week year round and three times per week June through August. The 10-hour flight will operate aboard an Airbus A330.

Visit fijiairways.com for details.

September 2017 n 23

n Take Offs & Landings

its 129-strong narrow-body fleet serving North America, including Embraer jets and the carrier’s fleet of A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. n aircanada.com

the flight, regardless of class of travel, while all Skywards members traveling in first and business class also get complimentary service. n emirates.com

Virgin Australia The carrier began a three-month trial of inflight WiFi on one of its 737-800s in April operating on domestic routes.

During the trial period passengers were able to connect for free.

Virgin Australia said that it plans to install WiFi across its fleet of 737-800s, Airbus A330s and 777s operating domestic and international services following the completion of the trials.

The carrier says following the test period and listening to customer feedback, it would “finalize its business model” for the service. n virginaustralia.com

ANA All Nippon Airways’ inflight WiFi offering gives fliers in all classes access to functions such as web browsing and e-mail functions. Video streaming is not supported, and image loading is likely to burn through your data quite quickly.

For travelers flying on ANA’s 777300ER and 767-300ER, the service is only available when flying over transoceanic airspace and countries that permit the use of satellite activity, while 787 and A320 inflight connectivity is available in all airspaces. n ana.co.jp

Emirates Emirates has restructured its inflight WiFi offering, doubling the amount of free data for economy passengers and nonSkywards members to 20MB. The 20MB of free data must be used with the first two hours of logging on and additional usage will cost.

Skywards Platinum and Gold members now get unlimited data usage throughout

China Airlines Inflight WiFi on China Airlines has no data limit and while the overall speed may make certain functions difficult, this does provide reassurance for those who tend to quickly eat through data that they won’t be prematurely cut off from the service.

Purchasing WiFi can be done on the flight or ahead of time via the airline’s website. The service costs NT$350

AIRPORT REPORT

n Delta Tests New Boarding Technologies – A three-month Delta pilot program aimed at making boarding more efficient has kicked off at Concourse T at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. It features mobile pods that open more space for customer seating, boarding pillars and “e-gates,” which enable passengers to self-board by scanning their smartphones or boarding passes.

Handheld devices will allow agents to make seat changes and check bag status without being behind a traditional gate counter. Delta rolled out similar features at the airport’s Concourse B in March and says that phase two of the current project at Concourse T will include experimentation with biometric boarding.

In addition at Washington, DC’s Reagan National Airport, Delta has also included biometric options for passengers who are SkyMiles members enrolled in CLEAR. The airline launched the process in May at the DCA Delta Sky Club and has now integrated this into the boarding process.

Visit delta.com to learn more. n JetBlue Launches Facial Recognition Boarding – JetBlue is working with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and SITA to create a paperless boarding process using biometrics. The launch will begin in June of this year at Boston’s Logan International Airport on flights departing to Aruba.

Customers do not need to pre-register for the program. If they opt in during the trial, a quick photo will be taken and matched to the CBP database with passport, visa or immigration photos. JetBlue crewmembers will be available at the counter to monitor the process and assist as needed.

For details visit jetblue.com.

24 n September 2017

($11.60) for one hour, NT$500 ($16.50) for three hours, or NT$650 ($21.50) for 24 hours. n china-airlines.com Eva Air It is worth noting that Taiwan-based Eva Air’s service provider is currently applying for an operating permit with the Chinese government, however until then Internet connectivity, unfortunately, gets temporarily disconnected when flying over mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau with the carrier.

On the plus side, however, for longer journeys across multiple segments, travelers can conveniently reconnect to Eva Air’s WiFi network using the same account information, provided the ensuing leg is also operated by an Eva WiFi-enabled aircraft. n evaair.com Japan Airlines Japan Airlines offers inflight WiFi based on overall duration used, with its 24-hour offering also including connecting flights for 24 hours from the initial log-in. Data caps are also not present regardless of payment category.

Check the JAL website for a full list of the routes on which WiFi is offered; many are only available until/from certain dates. The airline’s fleet of 787s is also not fully equipped with WiFi, so connectivity is not guaranteed, though travelers on these aircraft can check whether inflight WiFi will be available on their flight the day before they travel. n jal.co.jp Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines has a somewhat complicated pricing structure regarding its inflight WiFi, owing largely to its partnership with two different providers, Onair and Panasonic. As such, price plans come in two variations, depending on provider and the type of aircraft – volume based or time based.

What’s also worth noting is that volume-based plans are only valid for the leg on which they are purchased.

An onward journey, even if it is on the next sector of the same flight, requires another purchase. Time-based purchases, however, can be transferred across multi-sector flights. n singaporeair.com BT

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WE’RE FLYING HIGH! Service is its own reward, but awards are nice, too. We’re honored to be named Best Airline for North American Travel by Business Traveler.

Thank you— we couldn’t have done it without you!

To learn about our corporate programs visit jetblue.com/corporate or email us at salesteam@jetblue.com

n Destinations

Keys to the

SHUTTERSTOCK

Kingdom

M

uch as a woman attired in burqa and veil may show her face for a flash before disappearing into the dark of all her robes, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may be ready to reveal its face to tourism again, although efforts remain fleeting and mostly obscure

for now.

Travelers have long looked on the Kingdom as a bucket-list destination to visit, given that the world’s most iconic tourism spots are increasingly teeming with Instagrammers and selfie enthusiasts.

But the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to remain off limits for all but the most hardy corporate travelers. Wary of Western influence, KSA ensconces itself in a world of its own.

Yet the times may be changing. The current US president made a visit to the Kingdom on his first foreign foray in office and IMEX Frankfurt recently concluded a conference that for the first time featured the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a key exhibitor for MICE topics and concerns.

26 n September 2017

“The worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, IMEX in Frankfurt, has been the perfect place for us to meet thousands of influential event and meetings buyers face-to-face and to show them the opportunities in Saudi Arabia and many superb facilities that we could offer them,” says Tariq A. Al-Essa, executive director of the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau.

And in the latest, and perhaps most definitive development, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who also chairs the Public Investment Fund, announced at the end of July the launch of an international tourism project along the Red Sea coastline between the cities of Amlaj and Al-Jawh. Working in cooperation with the world’s largest hotel companies, the development – dubbed the Red Sea Project – aims to create new coastal resorts in a 13,000-square-mile area that encompasses more than 50 natural islands.

The Red Sea Project is part of the Kingdom’s National Transformation Plan, the centerpiece of its coveted Vision 2030.

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Destinations n

Saudi Arabia is on the verge of transforming its take on tourism, but the door is still far from wide open

By Lark Gould

Under the plan the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTH) is currently investing some $7 billion in tourismfocused initiatives around the country.

Thus the West waits, wondering if Saudi Arabia is signaling a renewed interest in seeing visitors from North America and Europe.

Business First However, if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is taking these initiatives a bit further and opening up for leisure or group tourism, the results are not immediately apparent. Few Western companies have been running scheduled departures into Saudi Arabia in recent years. The border seemed to close around five years ago when the KSA stopped issuing tourist visas.

“It’s been very difficult to do tourism-focused business in Saudi Arabia,”says Klaus Billep, president of Los Angeles-based Universal Travel Systems (UTS).“You can still go if you are a corporate traveler and can prove you have business there. However, even if this is so, if you try to go through a consulate to get your visa you will find yourself getting very frustrated and making repeated trips back to the consulate offices. They are very, very strict.”

UTS still handles business visa requests for clients who do not want to be burdened with this task and the travel company knows its way around visa concerns. But Billep notes he has not taken a leisure travel group there for several years.

One US-based tour company still does work with Saudi Arabia, providing one or two pricey tours annually through a long and hard-won relationship. Mountain Travel Sobek, known mostly to adventure travelers for running, hiking and rafting trips in farflung corners of the world, takes one or two groups a year to the Kingdom, and is the only US-based company able to do so.

Those trips involve small collections of ten or so participants four-wheeling into the mountains and Empty Quarter to visit treasures protected over the many centuries by dry air and a dearth of visitors. One amazing take-in is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site at Madain Saleh. Here some 140 monumental tombs as intricate and magnificent as the Treasury at Petra in Jordan are spread out over 10 miles. The most imposing of the tombs is Qasr Al Farid; carved from a single sandstone monolith, it was originally discovered in 1876 by British explorer Charles Doughty.

For business travelers from the US who may already be headed to Saudi Arabia for meetings or company matters, the Kingdom is

Above: An Nabawi Mosque, the mosque was founded by Prophet Muhammad; Right: UNESCO proclaimed Mada in Saleh as a site of patrimony, becoming Saudi Arabia’s first World Heritage Site

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September 2017 n 27

n Destinations

Left: Riyadh airport is home port for Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Below: Aerial view of Riyadh downtown

Other pipeline projects that could drive tourism include a Six Flags-branded theme park in Riyadh. That city is also looking at the opening of two new major shopping malls: Mall of Saudi, with 3.2 million square feet of retail and entertainment space, a large snow park and hotels; and The Avenues Riyadh, a $1.9 billion shopping complex. Meanwhile, Jeddah is busy planning Jeddah Tower, which will become the world’s tallest building when completed in 2018, at 3,307 feet.

Finally, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently announced the building of Al-Qidiya, a new entertainment mega-city just outside of Riyadh. The project, to start next year with completion slated for 2022, will actually be nine cities or sections focused on entertainment and educational experiences, perhaps a Disneyland of sorts, if that park ran from Los Angeles to San Diego. wide open for visiting and touring. As a guest within these borders, the corporate traveler should set out to take in the top wonders of the country knowing it could be difficult to come this way again.

Arrangements can usually be made through the concierge desk at international hotels.

Jeddah & Riyadh Saudi Arabia has a large and fast-growing population, which is forecast to reach 37.6 million by 2025. Tourism efforts are more focused on getting Saudis on the road locally than bringing in curious Westerners. While 18 million foreign visitors came last year, nearly all came on pilgrimage to Mecca, rather than to experience the country’s other sights.

The primary cities of commerce and government in Saudi Arabia also have their notable high points. These are the capital city of Riyadh and commercial hub Jeddah.

Riyadh has proclaimed its intention to attract 88 million tourists to this city by 2020. However, some 85 percent of them would be local or from the neighboring Gulf countries.

Riyadh is increasingly investing in becoming a regional hub for business and logistics. Jeddah, renowned for its influx of pilgrims, is positioning the city as a key cultural center.

Local construction overview reports show Saudi Arabia will see a record 68 new hotels open by the end of 2017, adding 29,033 hotel rooms to the current 175,000 across its major cities.

Brands include Rocco Forte, TIME, Nobu, Swiss-Belhotel and the highly anticipated Abraj Kudai Towers, which will become the world’s biggest hotel when it opens its 10,000 rooms in Mecca in the fourth quarter. Recent openings include properties by Movenpick and Hilton.

28 n September 2017

Touching Down in the Kingdom Getting to Saudi Arabia usually means a ride on Saudia, the Kingdom’s royal airline. The carrier boasts regular and frequent non-stop schedules from New York, Washington/Dulles, Los Angeles and Toronto aboard some of the youngest fleets in the business. The flights have first class cabins made up of a dozen fully private suites, a new business class in diamond configuration with fully lie-flat seats and amenities, and an economy class that has won awards for its generous passenger space designs.

The flights take 15 hours, give or take, and landing is about to get a lot easier with new airport construction in Jeddah and Riyadh.

King Khaled International Airport, about 22 miles north of Riyadh, will have five terminals (it currently has four and is building a fifth), a very large mosque, one of the world’s tallest control towers and a new Royal terminal for royalty, heads of state and VIPs. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is nearing the completion of a new airport that will be a far cry from what currently ranks first place on a CNN survey of the world’s worst airports. The project allows the city to receive 80 million passengers a year, up from 13 million, and will have a dedicated Hajj Terminal set up specifically for handling pilgrims, including access to direct rail service to Mecca and Medina.

The airport facility is expected to be cutting edge in design and offerings – able to handle the thousands of transit or“sixth freedom” passengers that come through the airport each year with a variety of comfort amenities, shopping and entertainment.

On Saudia flights from the US, business travelers can expect to have plenty of company. Except for Saudi students (there are some 80,000 or more in the US) heading home for vacation, the primary passenger will be other corporate travelers. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

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n Cover Story

Galley Gourmet Airlines are in a fierce food fight to win the hearts – and the taste buds – of premium passengers

By Lark Gould

30 n September

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Cover Story n

I

f there was ever a Golden Age of Air Travel, surprisingly, that time may be now. Well, maybe not for those flying in economy class, where seat inches continue to disappear with perks that were once considered part of the plane ticket. But in business class and upward (yes, there is now a “beyond first class” on some airlines), the inflight experience has never been so elevated and dining might be considered the key ingredient.

Dining during a long-haul flight is no longer a mere diversion.

In the hallowed front cabin areas, it is dinner out at an in-demand restaurant, along with a movie or two and even a kind cabin attendant to tuck you in. It is a choice of dishes, a choice of topname chefs, a choice of diet preferences, a choice of award-winning wines, and a choice of when and how to take that meal.

And the competition is fierce.

Main image: Singapore Airlines

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Booking the Cook Take Singapore Airlines, for example. Decades ago the airline broke the Styrofoam ceiling by offering a choice of meals and complimentary beverages to economy class passengers. More recently they set the bar in their Suites Class, first class, business class and premium economy services by enlisting The International Culinary Panel, a semi-annual assemblage of the world’s top chefs to chime in on what should be served, how it should be prepared and presented, and on what routes.

Through an ongoing program called“Book the Cook,” the resultant menu selections can be prepared for these premium classes with advance notice. Customers departing from various SIA gateways can order meals up to 24 hours in advance from a choice of dishes for flights of four or more hours (typical favorites for US passengers include Lobster Thermidor and ribeye steak – and these are always in the menu selection on designated routes).

Passengers can choose when they wish to dine and the meal service is then customized to each passenger’s preference, allowing them to skip courses and dine whenever they wish. All first class meals are served on fine bone china and crystal specially designed

by Wedgwood.

And into those crystal goblets go wines curated by seasoned sommeliers that choose the labels from a vast wine cellar of some 194,000 bottles, possibly the largest airline-owned wine cellar in the world. Prized selections, such as Grand Cru Red Burgundy, 2004 Dom Perignon and King Grand Cuvée, are poured for the asking.

“Instead of comparing ourselves to other airlines, we like to compare ourselves to fine dining experiences,” says James Bradbury-Boyd, vice president of public relations for Singapore Airlines.“Each chef on this panel is very well recognized for their specific takes. Consider the “luxury comfort food”of Susan Goin, for instance. The chefs each present us with two sets of new concept dishes every year and we work with them to stay current with fine dining trends. The new dishes we introduce are based on what trends they are seeing in their restaurants. That is a principle source of inspiration for us. We want to create a form of fine dining as you would see in, say, a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York.”

Often flight attendants possess coveted and hard-won sommelier certifications from various prestigious institutes to assist passengers with their tasting and pairing choices. Menus and wine lists change frequently, as seasons and trends change. And menus also must account for changes in aromas, appetites and metabolism at 35,000 feet.

“We work closely with airline manufacturers on the inflight environment. For instance the cabin interiors are pressurized at September 2017 n 31

n Cover Story

Above: Air New Zealand; Below: Turkish Airlines

6,000 feet, verses the 8,000 feet measure that most airlines use,” explains Bradbury-Boyd.“The lower altitude enhances a passenger’s ability to even taste a meal (altitude dulls the olfactory senses). And then there is the lighting and finding the optimum illumination formulas for sleeping after the meal.”

Middle Eastern Hospitality The Gulf carriers are also in the running for top airlines to book if meals matter. Eithad brings five-star restaurant dining to its Residence and first class passengers, using input from more than 100 classically trained international chefs. Guests can choose a meal from the menu or, if they are craving something else, chefs will work to accommodate their requests, either on board or with advance notice.

Etihad Airways inflight chefs prepare dishes within a galley stocked with prime cuts of meat, sauces, par-cooked items, spices and freshly chopped vegetables, allowing them to personalize dishes much as do chefs in a restaurant kitchen. Tools not typically seen on an aircraft, such as a whisk and foamer, are at their disposal.

On board Emirates, first class passengers can order from an extensive à la carte menu created by top international chefs at any time during the flight. Business class passengers are served a five-course lunch and dinner. The airline takes pride in its wine collection that has seen an infusion of more than $690 million over the past decade to purchase top wines from a dozen wine regions around the world.

Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines not only brings its “Flying Chefs” aboard for business class service on its long-haul flights, it also brings the candlelight. The precious plastic flames flicker inside cute form-fitting paper bags to set the cabin aglow in a romantic

32 n September 2017

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n Cover Story

candlelight hue as the chef brings a cart of mezes, dolmas and appetizers. Steak, sea bass, shrimp and salmon are often on the entrée list, topped off by two types of chocolate soufflés for dessert.

Austral Adventures Air New Zealand has tabbed Kiwi star chefs Michael Meredith and Peter Gordon to design their business class menus. Samoanborn Meredith is widely known for his adventurous approach to food and degustation menus at Auckland’s legendary Merediths, while Peter Gordon is known for SkyCity’s Sugar Club and The Providores in Auckland, and The Tapa Room in London.

Forget the muttonchops. These menus mix creative Indian masalas, New Zealand lemon kelp, or coconut cream into their fish, chicken and braised short ribs options. Even the tomato soup starter breathes exotic touches. A wine menu brings top New Zealand wine choices in whites, aromatics, sparklings, syrahs and pinot noirs.

Of Ketchup and Catch Up US airlines have not been so fast to bring chefs aboard and experiment with wine lists, however. Most passengers are surprised enough just to see food on board domestic routes.

“We find, overall, that there is a lack of history and airlines are pretty far behind the times when it comes to presenting trending food choices and wine choices to passengers,”says Suzy Badaracco, a toxicologist, certified chef, and registered dietitian who consults with airlines over their food programs.“But at least in wine and cocktails, that is where the scene is and where many of the airlines start. Airlines are beginning to get beyond 2008 chardonnays and might be featuring regional selections each quarter – an up-andcoming South African wine, say. They are beginning to look at the petit verdots and sauvignon blancs and malbecs, for instance, and they surely must do this if they are looking at banking money on a designer food program.”

In her observations as a consultant to the airline industry, Badaracco notes that most US airlines are not putting their money where their passengers’ mouths are and most passengers combat this problem by bringing their own meals.

“9-11 changed everything about the US airlines and suddenly airlines stopped serving food on board,”says Badaracco. Now they are trying to catch up and have no idea what they are doing or which way they are going, she adds. While one airline decides to serve pizza on board, another will try to put food truck kiosks near the departure area in a hodgepodge of efforts.

However, one trend that has emerged recently is a wider choice of menu types that passengers who are actually receiving meals can conveniently select ahead of time – beyond the usual kosher, halal or dietetic options.

“Airlines are not competing with each other; they are competing with the airports. And if these airlines want to sell food on board or sell seats with food, they need to start looking at food trends and take this service seriously,”she says.

“So often you board a plane and feel like you have stepped into a time machine,”she says.“There are random pockets of fantastic items to eat but it’s all mixed in and not cohesive. There is a flat-out lack of healthy dining and snack choices on board – you get items that belong in a 5th grader’s lunch box. In test kitchens, cooking methods are way out of date. Say, 2018 is about grilling and barbecue technology and what shows up is fried or stir-fry. Most people don’t even think about this element when it comes to airline food, but it is a trend unto itself.”

For business travelers, these factors crop up in studies that show choice of airlines and routes based on what kind of food can be found at airports, she says.

While most airlines cannot compete with long-haul international carriers that brand themselves according to the inflight experience, Badaracco says they can offer healthy choices that will not cost them a lot: an apple, a banana, small containers of hummus with pretzel sticks.

On a recent campaign aboard Turkish Airlines, medical expert and television host, Dr. Oz suggested some basics to practice at 35,000 feet – eating simple Mediterranean style meals of fresh vegetables and legumes, and drinking lots of water.

Other frequent fliers find another practice useful; since the body’s digestive track slows down significantly in those altitudes, skip the meal and go right to sleep. BT

Below: Air New Zealand

34 n September 2017

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rewarded. be one.

As a ONEworld® traveler, wherever you go, your rewards follow. ONEworld extends many of the exclusive benefits of your preferred ONEworld airline’s frequent flyer program. Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby ONEworld tiers each offer specific benefits which align automatically with your preferred ONEworld member airline benefits. Make a smart choice in traveling with any of our 14 airlines and take advantage of benefits you already have.

Learn more at oneworld.com

an alliance of the world's leading airlines working as one. airberlin American Airlines British Airways Cathay Pacific Finnair Iberia Japan Airlines LATAM Malaysia Airlines Qantas Qatar Airways Royal Jordanian S7 Airlines SriLankan Airlines ONEworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a ONEworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a ONEworld member airline’s flight number on your ticket). For information on ONEworld, visit www.oneworld.com. airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and ONEworld are trademarks of their respective companies. LATAM Airlines (Paraguay) is currently not a part of ONEworld.

n Tried & Tested

Hotel de Rome Berlin

BACKGROUND: Hotel de Rome occupies an historic 1889 landmark that was once the opulent head office of once-powerful Dresdner Bank.

The structure itself survived both World Wars and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall.

Rocco Forte Hotels, a portfolio of 11 luxury hotels and resorts known for imaginative design and impeccable service, has restored the old building to create a remarkable five-star property.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? The hotel entrance itself has an understated grandeur, not at all glam or flashy – it was a bank, after all – but impressive nonetheless. From the rather staid entry we made our way to the lobby, which opened up in magnificent fashion with marble columns, oversized seating and, in the middle, an incongruous red neon bird cage that sets the design tone throughout.

36 n September 2017

More impressive was the personal service. Somehow the staff discovered the date I arrived was my birthday (I certainly didn’t tell them). But they had prepared a special treat – cake and champagne – awaiting me in my room when I checked in.

WHERE IS IT? The Hotel de Rome is located in Mitte, the youngest and hippest section of what used to be called East Berlin. Just across the Bebelplatz in front of the hotel is the famous boulevard Unter den Linden, and it’s just a short walk to the iconic Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag where Germany’s parliament meets, and that favorite fixture of 1960s spy thrillers, Checkpoint Charlie. There’s more of course, and Hotel de Rome seems to be right in the middle of it.

ROOM FACILITIES: Citycenter hotels are not known for their expansive accommodations; however my room

in the Hotel de Rome was surprisingly spacious. In addition it was elegantly appointed with a plush king bed and plenty of comfortable seating.

The bathroom was almost as large as the sleeping area, with heated floors and towel racks.

I was surprised however that with all that space, the shower, though more than adequate, was relatively small.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS: La Banca, the hotel’s lobby-level restaurant, serves up an impressive breakfast buffet, as well as a midday prix fixe menu and a la carte selections for lunch and dinner. La Banca Bar offers an exceptional variety of wines, imaginative cocktails and, naturlich, beer. The rooftop terrace is a summertime treat for Berliners and hotel guests alike with spectacular city views, light bites and beverages, while the Opera Court in the old bank’s lobby holds forth every afternoon with a traditional English tea from October through March.

MEETING FACILITIES: A real treat for the eyes, the historic ballroom is a brilliant adaptation of the former cashiers’ hall, with natural light beaming through the glazed roof 30 feet above and reflecting off the original mosaic floor.

Five other first-floor meeting rooms are adjacent to the ballroom and all are equipped with state-of-the-art meeting technology. Perhaps most intriguing is the bank’s original walk-in safe which can be booked for a special event, as a dining space or a spa room.

LEISURE FACILITIES: The Spa de Rome is housed in the original bank vault, complete with 20-meter swimming pool.

The spa features six treatment

TESTED BY Dan Booth HOW MANY ROOMS? 108 rooms and 37 suites.

PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS Plenty of history and grand design wrap spacious guest rooms with luxurious baths.

PRICE A mid-week stay in September starts at €392 ($463) with complimentary Internet.

CONTACT Hotel de Rome, Behrenstrasse 37 10117 Berlin, Germany +49 30 460 60 90, roccofortehotels.com.

FACILITIES ✓ iPods and iPads ✓ WI FI ✓ MINI BAR ✓ 24hr CONCIERGE ✓ MEETING ROOM EXECUTIVE FLOOR ✓ RESTAURANT ✓ BAR ✓ SPA ✓ POOL ✓ GYM

rooms and a Finnish steam and sauna. The hotel’s fitness room has a lineup of equipment by TechnoGym. VERDICT: More than just a luxury property, the Hotel de Rome boasts a unique venue that takes ‘adaptive reuse’ to a new level. Everywhere you look there are surprising elegant design elements.

But more important is a staff dedicated to delighting guests at every encounter. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

Tried & Tested n

Condor Airlines 767-300ER Business Class Frankfurt (FRA) – Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) CHECK-IN: Frankfurt airport is one of the busiest in Europe, so as expected, the experience can be frenzied. Fortunately Condor offers both online check-in and premium lanes at the airport. An important note for business travelers: If you’re originating in Frankfurt and you check in online, you still need to stop by the ticket counter for a lounge pass.

Otherwise, the lounge staff will turn you away until you produce one. On connecting flights, there’s a workaround that allows lounge access with your inbound boarding pass.

BOARDING: Condor now uses both the B and C terminals at Frankfurt meaning its flights are interspersed with Lufthansa flights. This is especially helpful for travelers making connections both on Condor and its interline partners including Lufthansa.

Boarding was pleasant; the first greeting included an offer of magazines and either water, juice or sparkling wine.

THE SEAT: Condor offers two business class products, one with 16-18 seats and another with 28-30 seats. The lie-flat seat is angled but unlike some angled seats, I didn’t really feel like I was sliding down in this one; the way it is positioned, you can cradle yourself comfortably in the hard-shell cocoon, insuring a solid night’s sleep (if you can pass up the impressive dining offer). Amenity kits feature the basics like eye shades and socks; in each direction of travel, the airline offers a different style of kit.

THE FLIGHT: Once at cruising altitude, menus were distributed showing off the multi-course service that Condor has become famous for.

For starters guests are treated Visit businesstravelerusa.com

TESTED BY Ramsey Qubein PLANE TYPE 767-300ER SEAT CONFIGURATION 2-2-2 SEAT PITCH 60 in SEAT WIDTH 19 in

to welcome cocktails and nuts plus a refill before even the first tray makes an appearance offering three choices of appetizer and salad. The tray is dressed simply in a fine white linen and meals are served atop chargers in true restaurant style. I loved the nori salmon fillet served on fennel and apple slaw.

But that was just one of the appetizers. The restaurant-like experience continued with the main course. Mine was ravioli stuffed with ricotta and red pesto served piping hot.

There were other options too, like Brazilian grouper with curry cream sauce and ripe artichokes. German breads

added to the European flavors.

The cheese and fruit carts offered regional cheeses or sweet treat desserts and after-dinner coffee and tea service comes with cordials. Prior to landing, a cart rolled out once again dishing up hot vegetable soup and salad, which was a perfect punctuation to the meal service.

Entertainment options included a variety of premium entertainment with the a selection of movies and TV shows.

It’s complimentary in business class and premium economy, and those in economy class can pay a small fee to unlock the entertainment content on their screens.

SEAT RECLINE 170 degrees PRICE Roundtrip midweek fare starts at $2,050 plus tax CONTACT condor.com

ARRIVAL: Following the second service, the flight touched down in Minneapolis/St. Paul (one of the airline’s especially popular destinations among business travelers). With such a small business class cabin, I was off the plane and through immigration in less than 20 minutes.

VERDICT: Condor surprises with its business class product and inflight service in all cabins that exceeds expectations.

While not a household name in the US, the carrier serves 23 destinations across North America and is developing even greater presence thanks to a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. BT September 2017 n 37

lifestyle 40 News 42 Money on the Move 46 What’s On

48 Uncharted Waters

52 Savor Japan 56 4 Hours in Guangzhou

42

52

58 Staying in Touch

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September 2017 n 39

n Lifestyle News

Palladium Hotels Launches Instagram Surprise Team Palladium Hotels & Resorts has launched a new concierge department dedicated solely to surprising guests and capturing memories in videos and pictures. The Smile Services team creates experiences to celebrate a special occasion or even play a joke – all in good taste, of course.

Along with creating the moment, Smile Services records videos and takes photos to make shareable memories. The service is complimentary and the team executes as many requests from its guests as possible, averaging about two or three surprises a day.

It’s available at Palladium’s all-inclusive properties in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Riviera Maya and Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, and Lucea, Jamaica.

Visit palladiumhotelgroup.com for details.

Century-old Wardman Park Seeks Hotel Memorabilia Have you ever stayed at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park?

To celebrate its 100th year in 2018, the property is in search of memorabilia from the past century. If you might have walked out with a towel or a teacup, the hotel will offer a “no questions asked” return policy if you share your story about the item. Plus you’ll get a chance to win a return trip to the hotel and more.

Selected winners will receive a two-night weekend stay in the Langston Hughes suite, as well as 500,000 Marriott Rewards points.

A display of the collected items will be on view in the lobby. Submit your memorabilia and your stories before Dec. 31 to the hotel’s executive office at: Washington Marriott Wardman Park c/o Marriott Wardman Park Amnesty 2660 Woodley Road, NW Washington, DC 20008 See all the terms and conditions at deals.marriott.com.

40 n September 2017

Dr. Oz and Turkish Airlines Explore How to ‘Fly Good, Feel Good’

On a recent Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York, Dr. Mehmet Oz, producer and host of The Dr. Oz Show, led an exploration of the principals behind his ‘Fly Good, Feel Good’ project. The popular television host educated the 300 passengers and crew while filming segments for his show.

The reality is happy passengers are healthy passengers and vice versa. Dr. Oz shared his healthy lifestyle tips to help frequent fliers stay healthy and feel good while flying. For more information visit flygoodfeelgood.com/en and follow #flygoodfeelgood on social media.

Bid for Business Class On Fiji Airways Fiji Airways is offering economy class passengers an opportunity to bid for an upgrade to Business Class on its international flights. The feature is called Bula Bid and it uses the Upgrade Now auction system.

Passengers place their bids on the airline’s website, by entering their last name and booking reference number.

They can then enter the amount they would like to pay for the upgrade. Successful bids will be confirmed by e-mail 24 hours prior to departure.

To learn more visit fijiairways.com.

Taco Bell and Lyft Satisfy Riders’ Munchies with Taco Mode One of the downsides to ride sharing is not having the option to drop by a fast food restaurant before you reach your destination – until now, that is. Taco Bell has partnered with Lyft to create ‘Taco Mode.’

The feature was tested in Orange County in July and August. Passengers who order a Lyft could select Taco Mode on the app in Lyft mode options between the hours of 9:00 PM and 2:00 AM Pacific Time. The plan is to expand markets after the test run with a national rollout in 2018.

“We realized that for every person who has asked their Lyft driver to make a pit-stop at Taco Bell – and we’ve seen many – there are likely those who weren’t sure if this was possible,”says Marisa Thalberg, chief marketing officer of Taco Bell Corp. The partnership, she says,“will erase any lingering uncertainty and celebrate the ability to ‘ride-thru’ in Taco Mode.”

Visit lyft.com to learn more. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

n Technology of Things

Money on The future of travel payments includes mobile wallets, virtual numbers and lots of discarded plastic

By Erica Stevens

42 n September 2017

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Technology of Things n

the Move T

he popularity of mobile wallet apps – such as the ones

by Apple, Samsung, and Google – seems predestined to grow. Convenience and smartphones are consumers’ two big loves, and no one can argue with the benefits of using a device that’s already glued to our palms for all sorts of other purposes to pay for goods and services as well.

But the advantages of mobile payments go beyond ease of experience. With added safeguards against fraud and the improvements in reporting they could make possible, business travelers stand to benefit from mobile payments at least as much as average consumers, and maybe more.

Despite their obvious attraction, mobile payments are still a novelty in North America. Jennifer Petty, head of global corporate card for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates that less than ten percent of all consumer payments are made via mobile devices, and adds that corporations aren’t using mobile payments at all.

“Processing systems and things are getting ready,”she explains.

“It’s just not what clients are screaming for, so that’s not what we’re investing in yet.”

Perception vs Reality In part, security concerns are fueling the choice to use plastic, even where mobile payments are accepted. Amid all the well-publicized security breaches at large retailers, consumers recoil from technology they believe could present new opportunities for fraud. And corporations have voiced worries, too. A survey of managed travel buyers in 2012 by AirPlus International found that 30 percent thought mobile payments were less secure than plastic.

But in reality, according to security specialists mobile payments use a tokenization process that makes them more secure than plastic, not less. None of the three major mobile wallets shares the buyer’s real credit or debit card number with the merchant during a transaction. Instead, the wallet creates a virtual code to represent the real number, and sends this“token”to the merchant’s terminal.

The user pin or thumbprint required to authorize the transaction, along with features like Android device manager, which allows the user to disable a phone from anywhere, add additional layers of security.

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September 2017 n 43

n Technology of Things

By contrast, swiping a credit card sends true account information to the merchant. Even with reputedly more secure chip and PIN technology, fraud can be a serious threat.

It can even happen to people who work in the card business.

Clive Cornelius, senior director, global card products at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, relates that on a recent trip to Texas, he received a call from his bank asking whether he had also used his credit card in London that day (he hadn’t). Which, Cornelius says, underscores the advantages of tokenized transactions.“Not having a physical card that can be cloned, or somehow fraudulently used, there’s nothing to really intercept,”he says, which makes mobile payments inherently more secure.

Today’s mobile wallets still require that a traditional credit card exist somewhere, however, even if only to be loaded onto the phone. And, notes Michael Boult, vice president of business travel resources at Travel Leaders, a corporate travel management company,“The idea that a permanent number is still available is a problem.” It’s not hard to imagine a mobile wallet security threat in the form of a virus that finds its way onto the phone, say through phishing e-mails. Cornelius cautions that“the trouble with anything that anyone declares as secure, is that then those rather lovely people out there – hackers, etc. – take it upon themselves to try and prove how it isn’t.”

Enter the single use virtual credit card number (VCN).

Living in a Virtual World Virtual payments have made huge inroads in business, says Dave Lukas, vice president and co-owner of travel data solutions provider Grasp Technologies, because of the greater control and protection they offer. With mobile payments, he says,“it’s basically your credit card on a phone. So, not to get morbid, but if somebody cuts your finger off, they can open your phone and go spend your $10,000 credit line.” Conversely, a single use VCN can be limited to use for a defined duration, with a specific kind of merchant, for a transaction of a specified amount.

The logical next step, then, would be mobile single use VCNs.“I don’t think anybody has cracked that code yet,”says Lukas. But he predicts that mobile single use VCNs would work much the way single use VCNs do now.“Instead of having that full credit line accessible from a credit card on your phone, it becomes basically a mechanism in your phone that generates a card at the time of purchase.”The whole transaction – communication between phone and terminal, VCN generation, and payment – would take place in an instant.

According to both Boult and Cornelius, there’s no question that mobile single use VCNs would be more secure than traditional plastic cards, because they would all but eliminate fraud. Lukas agrees. The question, he says, is not how hackers would breach the technology, but why they’d want to. “What are you going to do?

Steal the card for the Hilton Toronto and go impersonate someone and stay there for two nights? Why waste your time?”

Technology providers are actively working on bringing mobile single use VCN products to market. In fact, Boult notes that travel payment provider AirPlus already has a prototype for sale in Germany and Australia: mobile AIDA, which generates a single use VCN to pay for hotel stays and other select travel purchases.

Minimizing fraud is paramount, but mobile single use VCNs would also facilitate filling out those pesky expense reports. Not only can this help the company with back office processes, but mobile payments could improve traveler satisfaction. Instant recon44 n September 2017

Mobile payments use a tokenization process that makes them more secure than plastic, not less ciliation would free up time travelers previously spent on expense reports. Mobile payments will allow travelers to use technology at work they’re already happy to use at home.“Time is a precious commodity,”explains Lehi Mills, senior vice president of technology at Corporate Travel Management.“The more I get back, the happier I’ll be.”

Get Ready, Get Set Mobile payments might be a real boon for business someday.

Unfortunately, few merchants in North America have the near field communication (NFC) technology to accept them, and the rest aren’t rushing to get it. Mobile payments are much more prevalent in Asia and the UK. With so many players in the value chain – Apple, Android, credit card networks, banks, merchants, and payment terminal providers – Boult says it’s not yet clear who will make money from this process. The lack of alignment leaves a fragmented marketplace, where a merchant might accept Android but not Apple Pay; Android Pay works with some banks but not others; and Samsung Pay works only on select devices. The end goal, of course, is a set of standards that benefits everyone: providers, banks and consumers.

Clearly we’re not there yet. But with the recent shift of credit card fraud liability, merchants continue to update their terminals to accept safer chip and PIN cards. Awareness of mobile payments’ superior security could spur them to upgrade even further.

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Technology of Things n

The end goal is a set of standards that benefits everyone: providers, banks and consumers Any such transition could take around two years or so. In the meantime, companies need to start thinking about how to adapt their travel policies for mobile payments. For example, if travelers currently use their personal phones for business, Petty says companies must ask: “Are we OK with a corporate card account being tied to a personal phone?”

In many cases, for a variety of reasons the answer to that question might be no. If that’s the case, a corporate card loaded onto a personal phone could require limits on how the phone can be used, which could cause friction.

When choosing a mobile payment provider, Petty says, the corporations will want to select one that is accepted in all locations.

The alternative, implementing a patchwork of solutions, would negate some of the efficiencies that mobile payments are supposed to provide.

Companies are looking at what causes them pain today, and how mobile payments might alleviate the suffering, Cornelius advises.

“A lot of them, it might be fraud. I’m sure they’ll read up on it themselves, but for me, mobile is a much more secure method of payment,”he says.

Or, he adds,“it could be the fact that their travelers are calling for it. It’s uncanny how people’s lives revolve around their mobile devices. They use it for everything in their personal life, so they want that same capability in their corporate life, as well.” BT

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September 2017 n 45

n The Scene

What’s On

Around The World

Rhine in Flames

We round up some of the top events in the months ahead from all over International Kite Festival

Along the Rhine River, Germany September 9 – 16 Rhein in Flammen is actually a series of events in five cities along the Rhine River. Each summer the valley dazzles with illuminated fleets of ships, picturesque ‘burning’ fortresses and amazing fireworks culminating in the September celebration.

Visit rhein-in-flammen.com.

Scheveningen, The Netherlands September 23 – 24 The 38th annual International Kite Festival takes place on the beach in the charming town of Scheveningen in The Netherlands. Over 100 kites will take to the skies including the Megabyte, the world’s largest monster flier at 217 feet long.

For more information visit vliegerfeestscheveningen.nl

Gelato Festival Final

Visa Street Food Festival

Florence, Italy September 14-17 Now in its 8th edition, the Gelato Festival is a series of tastings that recognizes the best Italian and foreign gelato artisans and the flavors they create.

During the Florence finals votes of experts and the public determine the winners.

Visit gelatofestival.it.en

Venice Marathon

Cape Town – September 2-3 Johannesburg – September 10 The fourth annual street food festival is a great way to get a taste of the culture and cuisine of South Africa. First Cape Town hosts the event September 2 3, then the festival experience moves to Johannesburg on September 10.

Visit streetfoodfestival.co.za.

Sumo Autumn Basho

Venice, Italy October 22 About 8,000 runners will hit the streets of Venice to compete in the 32nd annual Venice Marathon. The starting line is right in front of Villa Pisani and the route is filled with stunning architecture and cheering crowds.

Visit venicemarathon.it/en.

Tokyo September 10 –24 The Sumo Autumn Basho is an annual 15-day grand tournament of sumo, the last professional sumo tournament of the year in Tokyo. Each day of the tournament is an all-day event at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, Japan’s foremost sumo stadium.

Visit sumo.or.jp/en.

Austin Revolution Film Festival

Gardens of Light

Austin, TX September 19 – 23 The Revolution Film Festival, in its 5th year, captures the indie film vibe of Austin showcasing unique and truly independent productions with a focus on story first. The 5-day event screens some of the coolest indie films from around the world, in some of the coolest venues in town.

Visit austinrevolution.com.

Montreal, Canada September 8 - October 31 The dragon, representing China, stars in the 25th lantern festival in Montreal’s Chinese Garden.

The dragon’s offspring protect the garden’s newly restored pavilions and the flying cranes symbolize the long friendship between Montréal and Shanghai.

Visit calendrier. espacepourlavie.ca. BT

46 n September 2017

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n Escape To

Uncharted The opulent world of yachts looks toward the Pacific for the next great adventure

By Tamsin Cocks

48 n September 2017

Waters

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Escape To n

W

e’re sitting aboard a Beneteau Oceanis 55 in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Harbor. Even to a complete landlubber like myself it’s clear this is a beautiful boat. From the smooth, streamlined hull to the spacious, tan deck and buttery cream sofas, the design resonates with classic French elegance in every detail.

A quick snoop below reveals smartly appointed cabins and a surprisingly luxurious living space. Three double-bed cabins feature glossy mahogany paneling and en-suite bathrooms, while the main galley boasts a fully functional kitchen and adjacent, large entertaining area.

With a flurry of activity the crew hoists the anchor and we ease out of the marina past the harbor’s iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant. High up on our left, the brightly colored roller coasters of Ocean Park cling to the rocky mountainside, while in front lie verdant islands surrounded by calm, lilting seas. Out of the channel, the sails are released and a gentle breeze guides us in a few lazy loops around the bay, a profound sense of peace and freedom instantly washing over us.

Assembled aboard is a motley crew of prospective buyers, sailing enthusiasts and representatives of Simpson Marine – Asia’s leading yacht broker. I’m enthralled by the escapades being recounted, of families who have gone traversing the globe for months at a time,

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living on a healthy diet of fish and fruit, interacting with different cultures away from the tourist trail and even keeping up with school or e-mails via 4G in the middle of the ocean.

Conversation turns to the bulging calendar of events in the sailing world: demanding races, glittering social events and notto-be-missed shows. In Hong Kong, the latest buzz was the 2017 Aberdeen Boat Club & Beneteau Four Peaks Race held in January, a grueling overnight challenge that saw 21 crews take part.

“This race is not easy,” warns Ewa Stachurska, group marketing manager of Simpson Marine.“It takes place over two days, with four mountains that you have to run as well as sailing between locations and finding a landing spot. Sometimes you have to take a kayak and get wet. And of course, you’ve got to be quick, so that might mean running at night,”Stachurska adds.

“It really takes a lot of planning and preparation. The teams go around all the peaks in advance and make contingency plans – what happens if there is no wind?; which is the best path up the mountain? – so there are a lot of tactics, which is part of the appeal and the fun of it all.”

Winds of Change The craze for yachting in Asia-Pacific burst onto the scene just 15 years ago, brought by the expatriate communities from the US and

September 2017 n 49

n Escape To

Europe. According to Andy Treadwell, managing director of the Singapore and Thailand Yacht Shows, there has never been much of a cultural affinity with the sea in Asia, but this is changing rapidly.

“The majority of the world’s yachts spend the summer season in the Mediterranean, going west to the Caribbean around October.

But increasingly, yacht owners are interested in heading to Asia.

Not only does it offer premier cruising grounds, stunning beaches, rich cuisine and world-class hospitality, but the infrastructure is rapidly improving.”

The region also has the added allure of being“uncharted territory,”with a vast aquatic playground approximately five times the

The craze for yachting in Asia-Pacific burst onto the scene just 15 years ago size of the Mediterranean and destinations only a few hundred miles’ sailing apart.

Within Southeast Asia, Stachurska reveals Hong Kong is the most mature market, particularly for day or weekend sailing thanks to a combination of beautiful islands, good winds and a receptive audience.

For longer excursions, Thailand is the destination of choice, where you can sail all year round exploring the Gulf of Thailand or the magical karst topography on the Andaman Sea. Like Hong Kong, the yacht scene in Thailand is supported by solid infrastructure and friendly government initiatives, meaning first-rate marinas, easier rules and registration and lower tax.

In Taiwan, though it has a long history as an important yacht producer, it was illegal to sail in its surrounding waters until 2010 – a slight impediment to the growth of a yachting lifestyle. Since then, however, the industry has flourished, with a number of premium facilities and notable events such as the annual Penghu Regatta, which sees enthusiasts cruising around the archipelago of 90 islands in the Taiwan Strait.

China has also been slow off the mark, with constraints such as the well-documented anti-corruption drive and, again, regulations hampering the market. However, given the country’s penchant for luxury goods, industry insiders are confident this is still a lucrative market, with reports suggesting the number of leisure boats and yachts in China will reach 100,000 by 2020 from just 3,000 in 2012.

Elsewhere in the region it’s a story of untapped potential.

Indonesia’s 17,508 islands offer amazing draws for avid mariners, though there is a cumbersome amount of red tape and high taxes to overcome. Both the Philippines and Myanmar’s Mergui archipelago are emerging hot spots for the adventurous, but lack of service support centers turn off many casual sailors. After all, as Stachurska points out – if you were driving a car, you’d want to know there was a garage nearby.

Supersize Me In Asia, like the rest of the world, powerboats are by far the most popular option for luxury cruising, the preference being for motorized vessels that require fuel – versus wind – to jet around the ocean. They’re easier, quicker and usually more comfortable to live aboard, though noisier, more expensive to run and less ecofriendly.

Catamarans in particular are extremely popular, the twin hulls providing stability and extra topside space for entertaining.

However, another big trend at the moment is the extravagant world of super yachts. For the ultra rich, it is the ultimate accessory.

Broadly categorized as anything above 100 feet, these superb ves50 n September 2017

Clockwise from above: A flyboard demonstration at the Singapore Yacht Show (SYS); the sun sets on the ONEº15 Marina Club; and crowds explore the latest yachts at SYS

sels display the highest levels of craftsmanship and come with all the bells and whistles.

According to a joint report by yacht specialists Camper & Nicholsons and Wealth-X, the global authority on wealth intelligence, there are 4,476 individuals in the world who own a super yacht, with the average price coming in at a cool $10 million. Of course, there is no upper limit.

Another big trend at the moment is the extravagant world of super yachts Visit businesstravelerusa.com

LifeStyles n

Chartering has surged in popularity and caters to all segments and budgets

Stachurska reveals some figures from the premium Sanlorenzo brand in Simpson Marine’s portfolio (five of which they’ve sold in the last few years). One explorer-type super yacht costs a casual €20 million ($23.4 million), while another 172-foot super yacht, fully customised with a steel hull, will set you back an eye-watering €30 million ($35 million).

But no super yacht would be complete without its accessories – and we’re not talking inflatable noodles. The range of luxury water toys has exploded to James Bond levels, with miniature planes, jet-propelled flyboards, submarines and sonar systems all being demanded by these ultra-high net worth mariners.

Visit businesstravelerusa.com

Learning the Ropes For us mere mortals, the best chance of boarding such a craft is through a yacht charter. Chartering has naturally surged in popularity as a leisure-time option with the growth of the industry, and caters to all segments and budgets.

On any given weekend, Hong Kong’s numerous bays are dotted with junk boats, hired for the day by groups of party revelers looking for a taste of the high life at sea. Companies like Simpson Marine provide more luxurious experiences, offering bareboat or fully crewed charters – complete with onboard chef – for longer voyages. It’s also an ideal way to dip your toes in the water and test a range of boats before committing to skippering a vessel and taking to the high seas.

Another way to ease oneself into the life of a sailor might be to attend one of the various exhibitions that occur throughout the year.

“There is no better way to discover the yachting world than visiting a prominent boat show,”says Treadwell.“You will meet a range of industry experts and fellow yacht enthusiasts who will be able to provide you with valuable advice.”Ship builder Beneteau sponsors boat shows, test drive events and owner rendezvous events to showcase their yachts.

These industry events offer docks bursting with the latest yacht models, attracting diverse crowds, from casual admirers to avid sailors. And while the yachts are the main attraction, attendees can also expect a presence from all other sections of the luxury market, from watches and jewelry to cars and fine dining, alongside glamorous parties and high-end entertainment. In fact, the social aspect is an integral part of the yachting experience.

“Of all the luxury segments, what is nice about this industry is that it’s kind of laid back,”says Stachurska.“Whether someone owns a small yacht or a massive super yacht, most of the time they’re very approachable people who share a passion for boats, for water and for relaxation. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about – relaxation and pleasure.” n simpsonmarine.com; beneteau.com BT September 2017 n 51

n The Good Life

Savor Japan A foodie adventure through three of the five regions recently certified as ‘Savor Japan’ by the Japanese government

By Freddy Sherman

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PHOTOS BY FREDDY SHERMAN

n an effort to appeal to the palates of foodies and food travelers around the world, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has launched an initiative called Savor Japan. To encourage tourism and to promote areas not normally on the tourism route, the government has begun to provide an official certification process for these regional areas, similar to the AOC process for wine, cheese and agricultural products in France.

The hope is by certifying the areas and then promoting their unique assets and food products, travelers will venture beyond Tokyo to visit them and get to know a more authentic Japan.

Over fifty cities and regions applied for the honor but only five were chosen for the initial certification. Those first five certified areas are: the Tokachi region on Hokkaido, Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi in Iwate prefecture, Tsuruoka in Yamagata prefecture, the Maze region in Gifu prefecture and the Nishi-Awa region in Tokushima prefecture.

I had the opportunity to join a group of other travel and food writers as we explored three of those five regions. Welcomed and hosted by the local government officials in each area we visited, it was a perfect introduction to Japan for me, as I had never visited before.

That first taste happened to be the annual “child-walking” ceremony. Part of the yearly harvest celebration, toddlers are dressed in traditional outfits and loaded with mini sacks of rice on their backs. The toddlers, who can barely walk without help, are guided (mostly pushed) along a short track, while family members cheer from the sides.

After the kid races, we visited the Honederamura Shoen Iseki estate site. This preserved rural estate shows the landscape of feudal Japan as it existed 800 years ago and serves as a cultural and educational center for the region. Ichinoseki is all about mochi (pounded rice cakes) and we had a chance to do some“mochitsuki”or rice cake pounding in the traditional manner, with a huge mallet and barrel.

FIRST STOP

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With its unique culture and cuisine, Tsuruoka is now part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for gastronomy

ICHINOSEKI AND HIRAIZUMI

After a three-hour ride on the bullet train from Tokyo Station, we arrived in the city of Ichinoseki. The mayor himself headed the welcoming committee at the train station and then we headed to the Genbikei Roadside Station for our first taste of rural Japanese culture.

52 n September 2017

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The Good Life n

2 shop, Polano Gelato, for some freshly made ice cream – freshly made as in the milk is obtained several times a day from the cows in the pasture behind the shop.

After our adventures, we arrived at our hotel for the night, a very cool, local inn called the Kajiya Annex Ramakko Wildcat.

This provided my first experience sleeping in Japanese bedding, with a series of mats and cushions placed on the floor. Although tiny, the room had its own mini hot tub, a small, square bathtub that was very deep.

We had dinner in the hotel’s dining room/restaurant and it included the local brand of Wagyu, Iwate Minamigyu Beef.

Large, tender, buttery-smooth chunks of meat, which we cooked with some leaves in a cast iron bowl which was held over an open flame. One of the guests at the dinner was the owner of a local brewery and we had a chance to do a beer tasting with four different types of his locally brewed lagers and ales.

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1. Iwate Minamigyu Beef, a local variety of Wagyu; 2. Sushi and sashimi in Ichinoseki; 3. shojin ryori temple dinner at the Dewa Sanzan temple in Tsuruoka. 4. Fresh scallops in Hokkaido

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The rice flour is placed into the barrel and one person hits it with a huge mallet while another (brave) person sprinkles water on the doughy blob between impacts. We then gathered for a formal mochi lunch, consisting of almost 20 different preparations and flavors (ranging from sweet to savory) of the rice cakes, served in bite size portions. Dessert was a treat as we stopped at a local ice cream Visit businesstravelerusa.com

NEXT STOP MOUNTAINS AND MONKS IN TSURUOKA

Traveling by bus, we made our way from Ichinoseki in Iwate prefecture up into the mountains of Yamagata prefecture to Mount Haguro, one of the three sacred mountains of Dewa. It was there we would learn the ways of the yamabushi or mountain priest.

The area is considered sacred to the Japanese people. Visitors can stay in a traditional Shinto temple and sample vegetarian temple food, which we did.

After being fitted with proper mountain priest headgear (an elaborately tied white headscarf) we headed for a hike through the forest to a shrine called the Five-story Pagoda, a Japanese national treasure. With the cool mountain air, chanting yamabushi priest, huge trees around us and snow on the ground, it was an invigorating experience.

After all the hiking, we gathered in the communal dining room of the Dewa Sanzan temple for an elaborate vegetarian meal known as shojin ryori. Following a very serious introduction to each dish by the very serious chef, I was happy to see some of the priests join us for dinner. I was also happy to see the copious amounts of sake and beer we began to pour for each other and how the priests were drinking us all under the table to the shouts of “ukettamo!”

The ancient vegetarian meal, as traditionally eaten by the priests and monks, has no meat nor fish. It’s made up of fresh mountain vegetables, rice and mushrooms, served raw and cooked in various ways. Since it was the wintertime, many of the vegetables were pickled or otherwise preserved. There were probably 30 different servings of various things over the course of the meal.

The local sake came from the seven sake breweries in Tsuruoka, which use the rice grown on the Shonai Plain and the local pure mountain spring water to make the rice wine. With its unique spiritual culture and temple-based vegetarian cuisine, the area is now part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for gastronomy. There are only 18 cities in the world in the network and Tsuruoka is the only one in Japan.

LAST STOP WINE AND CHEESE ON HOKKAIDO

Our last few days on the Savor Japan food tour would be spent on the island of Hokkaido. After flying back to Tokyo from Shonai, we hopped a flight to Obihiro to visit the Tokachi region of the island prefecture of Hokkaido.

In the winter, the mountainous area is a ski resort, popular due to its unique September 2017 n 53

n The Good Life

powder-like snow. We stayed at a spa hotel called the Tokachigawa Onsen Daichi, which features hot springs and onsen, or Japanese mineral baths. The highlight was the mini onsen we each had on our balcony. The small, natural hot spring bathtub was great to use with the falling snow coming down around us.

Dinner in Tokachi was an awesome feast, featuring an amazing range of beef, pork and seafood, all fresh and local. Hokkaido is known for its seafood, especially outside of Japan, but I was amazed at the quality of the meat and dairy products and the care and attention to detail that goes into their production.

The next day started with a visit to a cheese factory. Tokachi is known for its dairy products and the high fat raw milk makes excellent cheese. The cattle eat the area’s unique vegetation, further influencing the flavor of the milk and products made from it. We sampled a delicious Tokachi raclette moor wash cheese that’s washed in crystal clear, hot spring water. It also uses a fermentation extract produced from local vegetation to give it a very distinctive flavor.

It was finally time to taste some Japanese wine. The Ikeda Wine Castle is the main large municipal vineyard, winery, wine cellar and wine store in Obihiro. It was granted the country’s first license to make wine and Hokkaido is still the only place in Japan where wine is made.

Producing wine since 1975, they have a range of reds, whites, rosés along with sparkling wines and brandies. After almost 50 years the vines and the wine production are just now starting to make an international impact. The area does grow great grapes due to the huge temperature differences between the day and night and the winter and the summer.

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After the wine and cheese we visited the Obihiro Racecourse to learn about banei horseracing. A modern interpretation of farmers seeing whose drafthorse can pull more, the horses, pulling several tons of weight on sleds, race on a 660-foot-long course with two hills in the middle. Like the child-walking races we attended on the first day of our adventure, it was another fascinating look at rural Japanese culture.

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FINALLY, TOKYO FINE DINING

After my wonderful adventures in Iwate, Yamagata and Hokkaido, I spent another few days exploring Tokyo and its fine dining food scene. I had an excellent Italian dinner at Piacere, the restaurant inside the Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, where I stayed.

Executive Chef Andrea Ferrero strives to offer an authentic casual Italian fine dining experience. They take the farm-totable concept seriously as the hotel has a food and beverage project called“Going to the Source”where they send Chef Ferrero around Japan to meet with his suppliers. It allows him to connect directly with farmers

After almost 50 years the vines and the wine production are just now starting to make an international impact 4

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and providers, some of whom will only sell to people they know.

Another foodie highlight in Tokyo was a fantastic lunch at MOTIF, the French restaurant at the Four Seasons Tokyo, Marunouchi. MOTIF provides an authentic contemporary French menu, in the tradition of “Esprit Terroir,” or Spirit of Earth. I thought having a Japanese Head Chef, Hiroyuki Asano, running a French restaurant worked perfectly, especially his attention to detail. Culinary Advisor Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi is considered one of the great modern Japanese chefs and his French restaurant Moliere in Sapporo holds three coveted Michelin stars.

The menu at MOTIF featured some classic French dishes, but the stand-out was a steak from Shodo Island.

The island, located in the inland Sea of Japan, is covered with olive trees and the beef cattle on the island mainly eat olives. It makes the beef so tender and flavorful, I’ve never eaten anything like it.

Japan is a vibrant and exciting country.

Visitors owe it to themselves to take some time to get out of Tokyo to explore some of the areas now certified as Savor Japan.

Visit the Savor Japan website at en.savorjp.com. BT 1. The cheese factory in Obihiro on the island of Hokkaido; 2. Wine in the Ikeda Wine Castle in Tokachi, Japan; 3. Smoked foie gras at Piacere, the Italian restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo; 4. Beef from Shodo Island at MOTIF at the Four Seasons Tokyo

54 n September 2017

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The World Around Everen T. Brown photographs all that he sees, for life is meant to be lived in 360 degrees!

The Wave — Arizona

Easter Island — Orongo

Seychelles 360

South Georgia Island - Sub Antarctic Island

North Korea — 360

Everen gave us the spectacular preview of August’s total solar eclipse (Business Traveler July/August 2017). He’s visited and photographed over 170 countries in his quest to create the soon to be launched 360° World Atlas software program. This interactive software allows viewers to travel the world in Virtual Reality – along with geographic and historic information that interprets these incredible destinations.

Learn more at 360atlas.com and check out his 360 VR Video WalkThru featuring solar eclipses around the world at 360worldatlas.com/360eclipses.

n 4 Hours

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Guangzhou China’s city on the Pearl is a rich fusion of taste, culture and heritage

By Valerian Ho

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JIANG BY CHEF FEI No journey should start on an empty stomach, so first head to the Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou for lunch in one of its outstanding dining outlets.

For a local flavor, Jiang by Chef Fei serves Cantonese cuisine directed by Chef Fei, voted the “Best Chef in China”in 2015 by Lifestyle Magazine. The restaurant has a contemporary design with a palette of grey, brown and cream, while wooden floors, patterned carpets and exquisite Oriental artwork add a sophisticated touch.

389 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510620; mandarinoriental. com/guangzhou

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CANTON TOWER From the hotel, take a ten-minute taxi ride to the 1,969-foot Canton Tower – the third tallest tower in the world – and enjoy sprawling views of the city and Pearl River. There is an outdoor observation deck at 1,600 feet, or hop into 56 n September 2017

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one of the crystal cabins of the Bubble Tram for a 360-degree ride around the top of the tower. If you overindulged at lunch, then burn off the calories with the Sky Walk – the world’s longest spiral staircase – which stretches from levels 32 to 64 and offers interesting architectural views. You can learn more about the building and how it resists hurricanes and earthquakes in the Science and Technology Marvel Tour Hall on levels 109 and 110. Meanwhile, adrenaline junkies can try the heartpumping Sky Drop, a “standing” free fall experience.

Tickets start from RMB150 ($22); Open 9:30 AM – 10:30 PM daily; cantontower.com/en

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GUANGDONG MUSEUM OF ART Leave the tower and cross Zhujiang River (Pearl River) via Guangzhou Avenue – a 10-minute walk will bring you to Er Sha Island. Walk west along the island’s southern riverbank to reach the Visit businesstravelerusa.com

4 Hours n

Guangdong Museum of Art built by Rocco Design Architects. The museum, one of four cultural landmarks, has 12 exhibition halls showcasing large- and small-scale works ranging from oil paintings and sculptures to ceramic work and calligraphy from both local and international artists.

Remember to bring your passport as you need to go through a security check before entering the popular museum.

Free admission; open daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM except Monday; 38 Yinyu Road, Er Sha Island, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou; gdmoa.org

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THE MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF GENERALISSIMO SUN YAT-SEN’S MANSION Jump in a taxi for a ten-minute zip back across the river to learn about the “Father of the Nation” Sun Yat-sen. The Memorial Museum of Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen’s Mansion, built in 1917, was once Sun’s house and office, and an important military facility due to its close proximity to the river. In 1999, the city government

3 conducted a RMB15 million ($2.2 million) renovation of the building and it was reopened as a museum in 2006. There are two buildings – North and South – depicting the original setup during Sun’s brief residence. There are also exhibitions

talking about Sun’s life and the history of Guangzhou.

Free admission; open 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM except Monday; 18 Dongsha Street, Fanzhi Road, Haizhu district, Guangzhou; dyshf.com

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BAR 5 Cross back over the river once more and head to Yanjiang Middle Road, where you will find LN Hotel 5. The hotel recently joined the Small Luxury Hotels collection and has a fabulous rooftop bar on level 7, called Bar 5. Skilled bartenders practice molecular mixology alongside classic cocktails. Try the signature Baijiu rice wine cocktail, relax on the comfortable couches and enjoy fantastic 180-degree river views that encompass the iconic Canton Tower – a perfectly fine way to finish off the day.

Open 5:30 PM – 1:30 AM; 277 Yanjiang Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou; lingnanhotelfive.com BT

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September 2017 n 57

n World Wise

Staying in touch The search for perfection in the imperfect world of travel goes on… and on

By Dan Booth

I SHUTTERSTOCK

t is not too much of a stretch to say that the defining feature of our 21st century culture – at least for the moment – is the pervasiveness of digital mobility. Not only is this technology to be found in practically everyone’s hand, it has fundamentally changed the behavior of practically everyone it touches; the way we act and the way we interact.

This is especially so in travel. Technology on the go for people on the go is about as perfect a fit as one could conjure up. But there’s more than mere convenience at work here. These little devices have the capability to actually learn our travel, bypassing such repetitive, routine functions as trip planning and purchasing. With such power in our palms, it’s no wonder the travel business is going out of its way to automate processes and minimize possibility of human error in the equation.

Now this is all well and good, especially when you consider that the number of people who move through global aviation system every year is equivalent to half the world’s population. When the passenger count is this huge, not only is technology desirable, it’s absolutely necessary; in fact, most of us would be happier if more automation and less error were already baked into the system.

But (and you knew there was a ‘but’ coming) what’s the cost when things goes wrong?

On a recent trip to Europe, I got a chance first-hand to reflect on that question when my return flight was cancelled. It’s a situation we’re all familiar with; the schedule breaks down and all the well58 n September 2017

laid plans, all the automation, all the ‘touchless’ passenger/airline interaction designed for perfect conditions, goes kaput. Then the real cost of the breakdown begins to reveal itself.

For whatever reason, such technological niceties as trip disruption and auto-rebooking didn’t kick in for lots of people. The queue of passengers stretched from one side of the terminal to the other standing in line for probably two and a half hours or more.

Behind the counter a bank of airline people manned the terminals, and who knows how many support personnel were scrambling behind the scenes in IT and the like.

To while away the time, I tried to calculate the losses – lost productivity for business travelers, lost vacation hours for leisure travelers, lost revenue for the carrier, lost efficiency among airline employees. But there was no way to put a dollar (or a euro) amount on the chaos.

We may wish that the system always functioned perfectly. And frankly, it does about 99 percent of the time. Technology – mobility, artificial intelligence and all the rest of it – certainly makes huge contributions to that success. But technology alone won’t diminish the demand for well-trained people; indeed, it enhances it. When things don’t go according to plan, travel providers need to have the right people ready to step in, to set the system aright and get travelers on their way.

Because ultimately the business of travel is the art of people reaching people. BT Visit businesstravelerusa.com

ANCHORAGE

HELSINKI VANCOUVER SEATTLE

STOCKHOLM TRONDHEIM

EDMONTON

PORTLAND

ICELAND

OSLO GOTHENBURG COPENHAGEN BERGEN STAVANGER BILLUND HAMBURG FRANKFURT MUNICH ABERDEEN AMSTERDAM GLASGOW ZURICH BRUSSELS MANCHESTER MILAN BELFAST BIRMINGHAM LONDON PARIS GENEVA HEATHROW ORLY & CDG & GATWICK

DENVER

BARCELONA

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL

MADRID CHICAGO TORONTO MONTREAL BOSTON WASHINGTON D.C. PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK

HALIFAX

JFK & NEWARK

TAMPA

ORLANDO

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This year, Icelandair celebrates 80 years above the clouds, offering three cabins of service, gate-to-gate Wi-Fi access and faster elapsed times.

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