https://www.scmp.com/rss/521370/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Travel trends in 2026 include immersive, experiential, mindful and off-peak travel, and a strong focus on authenticity, nature and cultural engagement. Add one more to the mix: the skillcation. Skillcations blend skill and vacation. While a regular holiday tends to focus on relaxation or sightseeing, a skillcation adds some structured learning or practice to the equation. The “why” of this type of holiday has to do with travellers looking for personal growth and relaxation combined, where they... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349116/latest-skillcation-travel-trend-blends-relaxation-self-improvement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349116/latest-skillcation-travel-trend-blends-relaxation-self-improvement?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Las Vegas is – by definition and mission statement – an immersive experience. It wants all of you – your eyes, your ears, your stomach, your imagination and, of course, your wallet. It offers giant resorts with so many amenities and attractions that, once inside one of these complexes, you never really need to leave for the length of your stay. It is the type of place that comes at you the moment you enter the city limits. And then it just keeps right on coming – with concerts, roulette tables,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349135/5-las-vegas-best-immersive-hi-tech-attractions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3349135/5-las-vegas-best-immersive-hi-tech-attractions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Los Angeles will debut four new major arts complexes this year, with three more likely to open in advance of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Immerse yourself in a psychedelic explosion at Meow Wolf, plan an afternoon liaison with Van Gogh at the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), inhale the scent of nature inside Refik Anadol’s AI arts museum Dataland, or simply geek out over George Lucas’ jaw-dropping collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Whatever your arts... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3348359/7-new-major-los-angeles-arts-complexes-set-open-2028-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3348359/7-new-major-los-angeles-arts-complexes-set-open-2028-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:15:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump said he would sign an order to pay Transportation Security Administration officers in a bid to alleviate disruptions at US airports with lawmakers in Congress deadlocked on how to end a partial government shutdown. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullen, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump declared in a social... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348061/trump-says-hell-sign-order-pay-tsa-during-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348061/trump-says-hell-sign-order-pay-tsa-during-shutdown?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:54:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump ⁠on Saturday threatened to ⁠deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement ⁠agents to US airports if congressional Democrats do not immediately agree to fund airport safety. “I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one ‌has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a social media post. Transportation Security Administration personnel are set to miss a second full pay cheque on March 27 amid a partial government shutdown... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347448/trump-threatens-put-ice-agents-airports-amid-tsa-funding-clash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347448/trump-threatens-put-ice-agents-airports-amid-tsa-funding-clash?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 17:27:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Dear tourist: the flowers in the bright-purple lei you received on your Hawaiian holiday almost certainly were not grown in the Aloha State. The vast majority of those odourless orchids are imported from Thailand, where it is cheaper to grow and string them into the garlands synonymous with Hawaiian culture. Some Hawaii lawmakers think the US state should be doing more to help the producers of lei made with locally grown flowers. Ideas include labelling requirements that would identify... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3346343/lei-you-got-hawaii-flowers-probably-came-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3346343/lei-you-got-hawaii-flowers-probably-came-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2026 11:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service I am getting a brain massage – and it is sublime. I am lying on a heated massage bed, cocooned in a soft, weighted blanket, as Kayla Faraji caresses my cheeks with billowy, pink goose feathers. She slides them down the sides of my neck and around my bare shoulders, sending chills up my spine. “Now I’m scratching, scratching your chest,” Faraji whispers into my ear, especially breathy. “These are golden nails.” She drags long, prickly iron nail tips up my arms and along my collarbone, filling my... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3345075/paying-head-orgasm-asmr-spas-are-taking-united-states-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3345075/paying-head-orgasm-asmr-spas-are-taking-united-states-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:15:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters An immersive new exhibition devoted to Ponyo – Hayao ⁠Miyazaki’s hand-drawn 2008 ⁠fantasy film about a goldfish-like girl yearning ⁠to be human – invites visitors, especially children, into his world through more than 100 original materials and hands-on animation tools. The show, which opened on February 14 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, showcases rare artwork and production sketches from Studio Ghibli, ‌the animation house Miyazaki co-founded, along with an interactive... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3343694/ponyo-exhibition-invites-visitors-hayao-miyazakis-ocean-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3343694/ponyo-exhibition-invites-visitors-hayao-miyazakis-ocean-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:15:08 +0000 David Dodwell David Dodwell As Hong Kong braces itself for the Lunar New Year tourist surge, and perhaps long-awaited evidence of a return to the tourism heydays of 2017 and 2018, spare a thought for the US and mounting evidence of a “Trump slump” in US tourism this year. While UN Tourism data shows that international tourism was up by 4 per cent globally in 2025 – back to levels not seen since the Covid-19 crash in international travel – the US stood alone worldwide, with at least a 4 per cent fall. US President Donald... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343362/will-tourism-slump-force-trump-rethink-his-unilateral-approach?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3343362/will-tourism-slump-force-trump-rethink-his-unilateral-approach?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Today, California’s Disneyland – the first ever – is so fully formed that it is taken for granted. People debate ticket prices and crowd calendars, strategising the optimal time to visit. The new documentary Disneyland Handcrafted hits pause on all of that. Culled from about 200 hours of mostly unseen footage, director Leslie Iwerks’ film takes viewers back to the near beginning, tracing the largely impossible creation of the park from a year before its opening. “Can you imagine LA without... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3341351/disneyland-handcrafted-shows-crazy-year-building-worlds-first-disneyland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3341351/disneyland-handcrafted-shows-crazy-year-building-worlds-first-disneyland?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Snoopy, probably the world’s most famous beagle, is having another moment. Created by US cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, the character from the Peanuts comic strip has lately been adorning all manner of merchandise, from pimple patches to luxury handbags. The spike in Snoopy products has been especially pronounced with the 75th anniversary of Peanuts, aka Snoopy’s 75th birthday, in 2025. But the grip Snoopy has on pop culture and the retail industry runs deeper than anniversary buzz. According to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338275/75-snoopy-has-conquered-gen-z-market-and-collaborates-global-luxury-brands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338275/75-snoopy-has-conquered-gen-z-market-and-collaborates-global-luxury-brands?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 23:15:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Lately, each passing year feels like an entirely new era of travel as trends shift with the speed of a centrifuge. A decade ago, independent media recommendations were made after unearthing new, cool things all over the world and bringing them to light. Today, it is just as much about testing all the things everyone on social media is buzzing about and determining whether they pass the sniff test in real life. Reflecting on it all, here is a report on the state of travel now, packed with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3338095/7-travel-tips-2026-play-board-games-locals-skip-michelin-restaurants-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3338095/7-travel-tips-2026-play-board-games-locals-skip-michelin-restaurants-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 23:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service We were well into our journey from Los Angeles to Chicago, surrounded by cornfields and grain silos, when the train halted and a voice rang out. “All right, folks,” said a man on the PA system. “We’ve come to a stop in what appears to be the middle of nowhere.” To a traveller in a hurry, this is the stuff of nightmares. To a seasoned passenger on the train known as Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, it is just another day. When you board an American long-distance train, you are trading the airport... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337987/desert-sunsets-delays-and-dining-car-treats-43-hour-train-journey-la-chicago?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337987/desert-sunsets-delays-and-dining-car-treats-43-hour-train-journey-la-chicago?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:15:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Christmas at Pemberley Manor and Romance at Reindeer Lodge may never make it to Oscar night, but legions of fans still love these sweet-yet-predictable holiday movies – and this season, many are making pilgrimages to where their favourite scenes were filmed. That is because the US state of Connecticut – the location for at least 22 holiday films by American cable networks such as Hallmark and Lifetime – has been promoting tours of the quaint Christmas-card cities and towns featured in this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337309/tours-visit-christmas-movie-locations-us-state-connecticut-prove-huge-hit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3337309/tours-visit-christmas-movie-locations-us-state-connecticut-prove-huge-hit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service The status of Unesco World Heritage site is bestowed on places that possess outstanding universal value for humanity in terms of cultural, historical, scientific or natural significance. Such sites are also designated for protection and preservation under international treaties. As of October, a total of 1,248 Unesco World Heritage sites are located across 170 countries. Some of the most popular and well-known sites include the Great Barrier Reef, the Pyramids of Egypt and the Taj Mahal. The US... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3334836/11-best-unesco-world-heritage-sites-us-grand-canyon-yellowstone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3334836/11-best-unesco-world-heritage-sites-us-grand-canyon-yellowstone?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 04:45:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Europe’s Airbus said on Friday it was ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States and disruption worldwide. The setback appears to be among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most delivered model. At the time Airbus issued its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3334593/airbus-issues-major-a320-recall-threatening-global-flight-disruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3334593/airbus-issues-major-a320-recall-threatening-global-flight-disruption?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:13:25 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press An interactive museum dedicated to the Shroud of Turin, which some Christians claim was Jesus’ burial cloth, opens its doors to the public this week at the Christ Cathedral campus in Southern California. “The Shroud of Turin: An Immersive Experience”, a US$5 million exhibition in Garden Grove featuring 360-degree projection rooms, Shroud of Turin replicas, interactive kiosks, and a life-size sculpture of Christ, was conceived over three years and funded through private donations. The content was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3333623/interactive-museum-dedicated-shroud-turin-opens-southern-california?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3333623/interactive-museum-dedicated-shroud-turin-opens-southern-california?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 09:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Sometimes, the best place you can go is a dead end, especially when that dead end is surrounded by crashing surf on empty beaches, dramatic cliffs and lonely trails through forests thick with redwoods. That is the situation along Big Sur’s South Coast, in the US state of California, right now. A chunk of the cliff-clinging highway has been closed for landslide repairs since January 2023, and the classic, coast-hugging, 98-mile (158-km) San Simeon-Big Sur-Carmel route is not expected to reopen... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3332185/why-now-best-time-explore-peaceful-beautiful-big-sur-california?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3332185/why-now-best-time-explore-peaceful-beautiful-big-sur-california?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2025 04:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Nostalgia for Pan American World Airways, an aviation pioneer born in South Florida, has reached the high seas. Cruise line Holland America and Pan American World Airways are teaming up to offer a 28-day cruise to the Caribbean and Latin America that retraces the original flying Clipper routes. The voyage, timed for the 100th anniversary of Pan Am’s founding, will depart PortMiami in the US state of Florida on October 30, 2027, and return the following month. The MS Zuiderdam will visit 18... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3331720/new-caribbean-and-latin-american-cruise-follows-old-pan-am-clipper-route?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3331720/new-caribbean-and-latin-american-cruise-follows-old-pan-am-clipper-route?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Nov 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Nathaniel Whitfield’s friend from a climbing gym in Los Angeles recommended checking out the “Merry Go Round” the next time he was in the quaint mountain community of Lone Pine. So the 33-year-old found himself eating fried noodles 200 miles (322km) north of the megalopolis in a restaurant shaped like a merry-go-round. Inside, dainty horse figurines painted in pastels peek out from nooks and crannies. Buddhas, too. A vintage neon sign out front advertises steaks, barbecue and lamb chops, but the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3330470/chinese-restaurant-california-sierras-looks-fairground-attraction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3330470/chinese-restaurant-california-sierras-looks-fairground-attraction?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Divia Harilela Divia Harilela When it comes to booking the ultimate luxury hotel stay, there is a list of go-to brands or hotel groups that seasoned travellers tend to look for, from Belmond and Four Seasons, to Mandarin Oriental, The Peninsula and Rosewood. These tried-and-tested names are popular for a reason and promise the best experience money can buy. While these hospitality behemoths continue to dominate the market, seasoned travellers sometimes yearn for more intimate, less cookie-cutter hotels that still feel... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3327727/independent-luxury-hotels-offering-more-intimate-local-feel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3327727/independent-luxury-hotels-offering-more-intimate-local-feel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 02:11:22 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Hair. Human hair. Hair woven into jewellery, wreaths, keepsakes. Michael Jackson’s hair. Marilyn Monroe’s hair. Hair as art, hair as spectacle. It was Leila Cohoon’s world, and she showcased it all at Leila’s Hair Museum, located in an otherwise unremarkable free-standing building on Noland Road in Independence, in the US state of Missouri. Cohoon died in November at the age of 92, and as of last week, her family has decided to close her surreal attraction – the only museum of its kind in the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3328468/michael-jacksons-locks-hair-woven-art-us-museum-had-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3328468/michael-jacksons-locks-hair-woven-art-us-museum-had-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Oct 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Dressed in torn cargo trousers and beaten-up Vans, architectural designer and DIY influencer Ben Uyeda is stretched out by the pool in a rare moment of repose on a recent Tuesday evening at Reset, his new hotel in the city of 29 Palms in California. “This is the best time to watch the mountains,” he says, looking south towards Joshua Tree National Park. “Right now they look really jagged, but they’ll turn soft and orange as the sun sets.” Sitting next to him are his collaborators Emi Kitawaki... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3328094/elon-musks-first-colony-mars-us-hotel-pure-desert-luxury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3328094/elon-musks-first-colony-mars-us-hotel-pure-desert-luxury?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Let’s just get this out of the way: hiking through California’s Yosemite Valley, whether it be to the Vernal and Nevada falls or through Cook’s Meadow, is a mesmerising and special experience. The hulking granite walls will remind you how small you are – and how remarkable our world is. Listening as waterfalls thunder down the mountain can place you in a meditative trance if you let it. The beauty of the valley is the best kind of sensory overload. It’s the reason that, at times, Yosemite can... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3326466/hiking-yosemite-along-lesser-known-trails-where-wildlife-epic-views-and-solitude-abound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3326466/hiking-yosemite-along-lesser-known-trails-where-wildlife-epic-views-and-solitude-abound?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:15:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service The Cortez family piled out of their car and stretched their legs. After a 90-minute drive from their home in Long Beach, California, they had made it to the One Piece Cafe in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighbourhood. “I was just sitting in the car like, ‘I’m going to be at the One Piece Cafe,’” said Cammy Cortez, who was introduced to the popular manga and anime franchise by her older brother and now runs a One Piece fan account on X. “It’s going to be a good day.” Timed to open during last... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3321660/love-one-piece-inside-new-viral-us-cafe-based-hit-japanese-anime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3321660/love-one-piece-inside-new-viral-us-cafe-based-hit-japanese-anime?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Payal Uttam Payal Uttam New York has long been synonymous with stellar museums. From Staten Island to the Bronx, more than 170 of all kinds are scattered across its five boroughs. Now, after years hidden behind scaffolding, three of the city’s most iconic art institutions – The Frick, the New Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem – will all finally reopen by this autumn. Each is offering expanded public spaces and ambitious inaugural exhibitions, reaffirming their contribution to the city’s cultural landscape. One of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/article/3320460/3-newly-revived-new-york-art-museums-get-excited-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/article/3320460/3-newly-revived-new-york-art-museums-get-excited-about?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:00:12 +0000 Daniel Allen Daniel Allen It’s just before sunrise in Yellowstone National Park and the ground is encrusted with frost – a reminder that autumn will soon succumb to the frigid embrace of a Wyoming winter. Here in the American West, it can snow as early as September. The distinctive, far-off yipping of a coyote reverberates off the hillsides, the undulating outlines of which are still shrouded in semi-darkness. Despite the early hour, a small but growing group of people gathers on a bank overlooking the silvery ribbon of... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3314134/yellowstone-americas-first-national-park-heeds-call-wild?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3314134/yellowstone-americas-first-national-park-heeds-call-wild?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:11 +0000 Cat Nelson Cat Nelson This week’s main feature is a lesson in how almost every quotidian – might I say, boring – detail actually holds a fascinating story. You’ve been to many a cha chaan teng, but how often have you given any thought to the mismatched tiles plastering the walls? For artist Adrian Wong Ho-yin, Hong Kong’s off-kilter tiles became the inspiration for his current show at Oil Street Art Space in North Point. He describes how these ceramic pieces evoked the feeling of “looking through a wormhole into the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3314280/week-postmag-art-tiles-getting-lost-translation-and-marathon-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3314280/week-postmag-art-tiles-getting-lost-translation-and-marathon-star?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jun 2025 22:15:07 +0000