Open the World
Itrust you had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year’s celebration. I took the opportunity to visit a few locations on the way to Sarasota, Florida, where we established an office a year ago. With two Dalmatians in tow, we stopped in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and then made our way to Savannah, Georgia, for a few days. We walked the beach and toured the historic district (you voted Savannah Best Weekend Destination in our Leisure Lifestyle Awards). If you’ve never hit the Savannah bar scene with two big dogs, I recommend it! The staff at Zunzi’s on Drayton Street offers lots of treats to pups, including South African sausages.
After an exciting 18th GT Tested Reader Survey awards event at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, I am pleased to say we launched voting for 2022; you can complete a ballot with your choices in this issue or at globaltravelerusa.com. The event was a great success, with heartfelt and inspiring addresses by Scott Linebrink, former MLB pitcher and current partnership director of Water Mission, and Luc Bondar, president, United Mileageplus, and vice president, Marketing & Loyalty, United Airlines. We will feature a recap of the awards in the March issue.
Water Mission focuses on building water, sanitation and hygiene solutions so everyone has access to clean, safe water. Currently, 2.1 billion people lack access, and COVID-19 greatly disrupted efforts at a time when clean water was more valuable than ever. Scott emphasized the importance of safe and close water access. The dangers are unimaginable when people are forced to travel long distances to haul water. We encourage you to help Water Mission through donations; please see its advertisement in this issue.
As we continue to move through this new world of travel, I encourage you to #Opentheworld (the theme for the GT Tested Reader Survey awards event) and travel to the destination of your dreams. I firmly believe the aviation, lodging and cruise industries have done their utmost to make your travel experience safe. I would say you are safer traveling than going to the local grocery story or gas station … that’s my impression after my recent travels.
We have to learn to live through this, and once the omicron surge subsides, I can only assume things will improve. But either way, shutdowns and lockdowns seem to have little positive effect. Start planning your trips! I have friends who took six cruises last year and booked several this year. Testing and vaccinations worked, and they had no issues with any of their voyages in 2021.
Open the World — I hope to see you on board soon!
Francis X. Gallagher Publisher and CEO fran.gallagher@globaltravelerusa.com