Welcome And Show Purpose

Todd Carlson 0:15

Explore your world. It's the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 0:49

It is time to talk travel. Welcome to the weekend and welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Hello there. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will be here in the studio here in just a moment. And if you are brand new to the show or you are a listener every single weekend, either on the radio, around the country, or part of the podcast, the entire purpose of this show is to help you plan and book your next vacation. And if you don't know where to go, we're going to give you ideas of where you may want to consider next. And we are presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. And thank you, truly thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Let me bring in my co-host and friend Mark Faldmo. I haven't talked to you again all week. How was the week? Week's been good. Good. Yeah, just looking forward to talking travel. We've got a jam-pack show. I think the headline for this one was the Disneyland season of the Force. The Force is strong with Disneyland. Man, they can market.

Mark Faldmo 1:55

They can really market it, and it looks like an interesting event that they're doing.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:59

We'll get to that here in just a second, but let's start off with the travel news headlines.

Europe Travel Shifts Beyond Hotspots

Patrick Wiscombe 2:03

And I think this is good news. Travelers are branching out. That's the headline. Europe is going to have another busy summer.

Mark Faldmo 2:12

Europe has been really strong the last few years. Your traditional places like London, Parish, Rome, are always going to be strong. But a recent study which looks at air travel bookings, hotel bookings, has found that travelers are starting to branch out to some of the less known and less visited destinations. That's kind of one focus of this show is to really help people branch out in some of those lesser-known destinations.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:39

What are some of the lesser-known destinations that our listeners should consider?

Mark Faldmo 2:44

In Europe, the country of Slovenia has had a 473% spike in bookings. For that small country, that's a pretty significant increase in the number of travelers. A few weeks ago, we actually did Slovenia, I think was the destination of the week. It is a country that's north of Croatia in the very north part of the Adriatic Sea. It has beaches, mountains. It's very rich in cultural history, as a lot of those kind of Central European countries are. So that's the country that's seen the largest increase. But other countries, Croatia, I don't know why they're counting this as a lesser known destination, because it's been big for years. But then Malta that we talked about last year, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, and also the country of Montenegro have all seen double digit growth this year in the number of bookings.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:38

So what I'm hearing you say is because we featured on the show, you can expect double to quadruple bookings. That is how much power we have.

Mark Faldmo 3:47

Yeah. Another region is Scandinavia. Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway have all seen about a 200% increase in booking. So some of those lesser known, and then the region of Scandinavia has seen a large increase, which is good. That means it's kind of spreading the travelers out among Europe. The last probably two years, maybe three years, if you went to Italy in the summer, it was just back-to-back people. So this is spreading those people out to some of the lesser-known destinations, which I think is good for travel in general. And people should branch out. While we've always wanted to visit London, Paris, Rome, some of these other places are fascinating to visit.

Mexico Spring Break Safety Reminder

Patrick Wiscombe 4:31

A little bit closer to home, I saw that the US Embassy in Mexico is issuing a warning for spring break travelers. What is the warning?

Mark Faldmo 4:41

This is a standard warning that kind of comes out this time of year. They actually have not changed the travel warning to Mexico. It still stays the same, which is level two. Exercise level two, exercise increased caution. But this time of year, a lot of people for spring break are going to Mexico, and they just want to remind people to be smart in their travel, remain vigilant, especially in some of the downtown and more congested areas. Crime like pickpockets and robberies can happen in these places. And so just be vigilant. They're not saying don't travel there. It's just a reminder, as you should anywhere in the world, to be vigilant to your surroundings and protect yourself from some of the crime that can happen all over the world.

UK ETA And Criminal Record Issues

Patrick Wiscombe 5:28

I should have tied this into the Europe story. If you have a criminal record, UK's new electronic travel authorization system is denying some travelers.

Mark Faldmo 5:39

Yeah, and this is interesting because before criminal backgrounds were not checked, but now the ETA, so that new electronic travel authorization, is flagging some people and asking either denying them entry or asking them to go to the secondary step, which is applying for a visa. We often run into this issue with people trying to go to Canada, particularly Alaska cruises. Canada is very strict. Like if you've had a DUI or any type of offense, it can be hard to get into Canada. And so it's always good to check the country you're going to if you have had some type of conviction. This ETA says it's been flagging people with things that are several years old, if that's something that that applies to you. So you don't want to book a whole vacation and then not be able to travel.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:31

This feels like it's fairly new. Normally, if you just got a passport, you just travel, you just take off. But now countries are putting this electronic travel authorization system in place and kind of screening people.

Mark Faldmo 6:43

They are, yeah. And and this electronic travel authorization for the UK is only what about two months old now. Yeah, from when it started. I think it was January 8th when it started. This is just an extra layer of screening. Before most countries do have restrictions on who can get a passport. And so they've just said if you have a passport from your country, you're okay to come in. But now they are screening that a little bit more strictly. And then also if you're going on an Alaska cruise or into Canada, I've seen this situation come up the most, and that's been for years. I think as long as I've been in travel, that's been an issue for traveling to Canada. Now it is popping up more and more in other destinations.

Why Fiji Is Surging

Patrick Wiscombe 7:27

That is a perfect segue into our destination of the week, which is Fiji. And it has had a record-breaking year for tourism last year, 2024. So the reason we're going here is Mark received an email a little bit earlier this week from Joe. Joe is planning a friends getaway and wants to know the best time to visit Fiji. That's his question, and it's also our destination of the week. So let's talk Fiji for a second. And you and I should be down there sometime between now and the end of the year.

Mark Faldmo 7:58

Yeah, we're hoping to get a trip down there. We we've been invited by Fiji Tourism to do the podcast and radio show from Fiji. Tourism in Fiji has really gone well in 2024. For the first time ever, they welcomed over a million visitors to the country. Wow. Um, so that was just under a million by air and about a hundred thousand by cruise ships. So it is becoming more and more of a popular destination. Fiji Airways has increased their flights. They added a new route from Dallas, a new route from Seattle. So we have actually lots of ways we can get there from the US to Fiji. Getting to Joe's question, I think Fiji is a great destination for a friend's getaway, for a couple's getaway, for any type of getaway. I think a few weeks ago we really highlighted Fiji, but Joe's question was when is the best time to travel to Fiji?

Best Months To Visit Fiji

Mark Faldmo 8:54

So May through October is Fiji's dry season. That would be the best time to go when you have the most sunshine, temperatures a little bit cooler, lower humidity.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:06

Which I'm a fan of.

Mark Faldmo 9:08

It's still humid, but it is lower humidity. The actual peak season is July through September. This is when you kind of get a mix of Americans traveling for summer vacation and Australia and New Zealand people traveling for their winter breaks. The off-peak season is May, June, and October. November through April is the wet season. So if you travel November through April, you'll see probably a little bit of rain on your vacation. Now, when I've traveled, I've always gone in January to Fiji, and it's always been amazing weather. But technically, November through April is the wet season in Fiji.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:53

What deals do we have this week for going

Fiji Flight Deals And Packages

Patrick Wiscombe 9:56

to Fiji?

Mark Faldmo 9:57

So Fiji Airways from Los Angeles or San Francisco has a $799 per person airfare. That's round trip. One thing going to Fiji from here is you lose a day crossing the international dateline. So if you go a seven-night package would actually be five nights hotel with how that works out. Okay. So you go Wednesday to Wednesday, but it'd be five nights hotel. And these fares just this past week have been extended into 2026. So that is for travel now through the 31st of July and then August 1st through the 28th of February of 2026. It's pretty much any time when you can get that 7NA9 airfare. Now that obviously is based on availability and certain other things, but I did just a quick look for a May departure date. So you can get airfare from Los Angeles and Five Nights Hotel is a four-star hotel starting at $12.99 per person. They're serious about getting people over there. They are. Yeah. In years past, a good price to Fiji was $1,600, $17, $1,800 in there.

Speaker 1 11:12

Right.

Mark Faldmo 11:12

And so now with Fiji Airways really making a push to get people there, it's open this up. And Fiji, as we've talked about in the past, I don't think you'll find any friendlier people than the Fijians. It's one of my top destinations I'd love to visit. And that is mainly because of the people. They're so friendly. It's a wonderful destination to visit. On top of the good beaches and all the fun things you can do. They do have the Mamanuka Islands. You can stay at a little 50-room resort on your own little island there and just sit on the beach, enjoy the water sports. It's a wonderful destination.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:08

I'm just excited to go. And I'm sure Joe is now too.

Mark Faldmo 12:11

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:12

Well, and and really, if you stop and think about, I'm not saying that prices that we're talking are chump change. When it comes to travel, it's one of those things that you just have to kind of accept, but then you will have a lifetime of memories just thinking about what you did. And it's not necessarily about the price, it's about the common bonding experience of going with friends, family, whoever you want to go with, just go. Quit thinking about it. Just do it. Call Mark at his office. It sounds like I was scolding. Sorry, I wasn't scolding anyone. Call Market's office during the break to get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717.

How To Start Booking With Mark

Patrick Wiscombe 12:57

Mark will also post this on BluePlanetVacations.com. And when we come back, we've got Legend of the Seas Royal Caribbean's new ship is on sale. If you've always wanted to go cruising or you want to get on a new ship, which Patrick will be doing and Nikki, you can now purchase those cruises starting now. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 13:36

Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back. Now, back to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravel Talk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:47

Welcome back inside of the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe alongside Mark Faldmo,

Back From Break And Questions

Patrick Wiscombe 14:57

and this show is presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. And all we do is talk about travel. We love to travel and we want to share that passion of getting out and exploring the world with our listeners. So if you have questions, travel-related questions, text the show right now. We want to answer your questions. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We don't care if you feel like it's a silly question or if it's an overwhelming question. We just want to help you get out and explore the world. Here's the studio and the text number again, 801-649-3700. And coming up in this segment of the show, this is always the hot travel deal of the week. And we are talking about season of the force at Disneyland. The force is strong with Disneyland. It is. But let's start with the travel news headlines. Last month, actually, you know what? I forget that it's March now. Two months ago, technically, January 2025, there was a five percent sales increase.

Airfare Sales And Average Prices

Mark Faldmo 16:11

January 2024 compared to January of 2025, there was a five percent sales increase of air tickets. There were 9.3 billion dollars of air tickets sold in the month of January. Wow. So there's a lot of people traveling out there. Yeah, that actually marked the seventh straight month of year-over-year gains for air ticket sales. The one thing that was good that came out of this report is the average ticket price was actually down about 1% month over month. So the average ticket price, and this includes everything. This is domestic international, this is everywhere, but the average ticket price was $557. It's amazing that air travel is as cheap as it is. It is. And if you look at that $557 mark, that includes all tickets, domestic and international. So that's lumping in flying to Europe, flying to Asia, flying to the South Pacific. That's just the average of every airline ticket purchased in the United States, actually.

Patrick Wiscombe 17:17

It really is a miracle that we can just so casually just hey, I'm gonna go to the airport, I'm gonna fly to Florida or wherever you're flying to, and just get there within really just a matter of hours.

Mark Faldmo 17:28

I love waking up in my bed, but then being in Hawaii in about six hours, seven hours. Yeah, exactly. So I'm okay with it. Yeah, it's nice to be able to have that luxury of travel and to actually have it be so affordable.

Patrick Wiscombe 17:42

Speaking of air travel, let's go from Salt Lake City, which is where we are broadcasting from Salt Lake to Universal Orlando, or just Orlando in this case. Universal Orlando will hold nighttime events at Volcano Bay Water Park.

Mark Faldmo 17:58

All of these theme parks have these little kind of special events, and so this

Universal Volcano Bay Nights

Mark Faldmo 18:02

is called Volcano Bay Nights, where they're opening up the water park at night. It's a limited capacity event. It's $99 per person, and it will be open April 12th, April 26th, May 3rd, May 10th, and May 17th for these special ticketed night events. And so they're gonna have some of their attractions open. They're gonna have special meet and greets with DreamWorks characters, you know, like Shrek, Fiona, Donkey. Donkey. It's one of the special things that you can do in some of these theme parks. Universal, more and more, is kind of becoming my go-to park. My wife and I are going to Miami here in a few months to go on the inaugural of a cruise. My god, let's just take an excursion to Epic Universe.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:50

Let's head to the West Coast now. Let's talk about Disneyland's Season of the Force.

Mark Faldmo 18:55

What is that? Season of the Force is a special time in Disneyland

Disneyland Season Of The Force

Mark Faldmo 19:01

where they do some special things related to Star Wars. They have a new show called Shadows of Memory, a Skywalker saga, which debuts March 28th. They have a new experience called Fire of the Rising Moons, which is a nighttime experience that showcases a Disneyland firework display from a special place in Galaxy's Edge with a special musical accompaniment, which they're bringing in a lot of the John Williams, the Star Wars themed songs into that, into the fireworks. They are also converting Space Mountain and the Hyperspace Mountain, which they have a ride overlay, and so it will be Star Wars themed through May 11th. And then they also have some additional merchandising. One thing I'm looking for, they have a Wookiee cookie and then a few other uh food and drink things that you can get that are Star Wars themed. A Wookiee Cookie. A Wookiee Cookie. Sounds good. That sounds hairy. Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:04

Still think one of the best lines from the show is get this walking carpet out of my way.

Mark Faldmo 20:08

Yes. Yeah. What are the dates on it? So that will run March 28th through May 11th. Okay, so a good six-week run, basically. Six-week run. Yeah. So if if you're a Star Wars fan, that's a good time to go. And price-wise and crowd-wise, that's also a great time to go to Disneyland. And they're probably doing this promotion because that's a slower time, and they're doing it to get people into the park.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:36

See, this is what I love about America right here: innovation. Get people in the doors, keep innovating, and you'll stay relevant. So that naturally leads into the hot travel deal of the week, which is just Disneyland. What are the promotions that we have for listeners this week?

Mark Faldmo 20:51

They have save up to 20% on select rooms at Disneyland Resort Hotels.

Disneyland Hotel Discounts Explained

Mark Faldmo 20:57

So these are stays Sunday through Thursday night. So Friday and Saturday are a regular price, but Sunday through Thursday nights are up to 20% off for travel March 23rd to May 15th. So this falls right along in line with the season of the force there. How it breaks down is it's save 20% at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, save 15% at Disneyland Hotel, or save 20% at the villas at Disneyland Hotel. The one that's right in downtown Disney is called There's the Disneyland Hotel, which is the main one. Right. And that's on the west end. And then Grand Californian, which is the closest to the park.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:40

Okay, Grand California. That's the one I was thinking of.

Mark Faldmo 21:43

And then there it was it's called Pixar Place Now. It was Paradise Pier. So Pixar Palace, it celebrates the Pixar films and Pixar animation studios.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:56

That's a great hotel. The rooms are huge there. Yeah. Well, and so are Disneyland Hotel, really.

Mark Faldmo 22:02

Yeah, and it the thing I like about all three of those is they're within walking distance. Grand Californian actually has park access on one side of the hotel. I've always liked the Disneyland Hotel since I was a young child. We stayed there and I was just so fascinating with walking out of the hotel, getting on the Monorail station, and being in Disneyland. That was that was one memory from my early childhood that I can remember. That was obviously before the downtown Disney.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:36

So the promotion is 20% off of select hotels on select days.

Mark Faldmo 22:43

On select days. Yeah. For travel March 23rd to May 15th.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:48

And you can do that, right? You can book that stuff. I can book that. Yeah. The reason I'm asking that question is Disney's kind of particular who they uh work with. So that's why I was asking. You can do that.

Mark Faldmo 22:59

Yeah, yeah. I can do that with full packages with park passes, park hopper passes, and some additional add-ons as well. Can you just sell tickets? I can. Yeah, I can just sell tickets if people want to buy just park tickets from me. I have the ability to do that.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:16

Can't really ever go wrong with Disney. And especially Disneyland. Book a flight or just drive down there. The drive down there is kind of fun too. But to book the vacation to Disneyland, call Mark in his office during the break just to get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And he will also post this on BluePlanet Vacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the Just Cruising segment, the infamous Just Cruising segment. Legend of the Seas, the new ship from Royal Caribbean, is now on sale. And we're also going to be talking about repositioning cruises.

Cruise Segment Teaser And Savings Tip

Patrick Wiscombe 24:04

Just to give you a quick heads up, if you want to know how to get the most for your money on a cruise, repositioning cruises is how to do it. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be back after the break.

Todd Carlson 24:24

You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. That's 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at Inside Traveltalk.com. We'll be right back.