USTOA Travelers Assistance Program
For smarTours

Turtles, Trash, and the Power of Responsible Travel    By Melissa Snape  Two young men crouch over a blue bucket, kneeling in the sand on a beach in Kilifi, Kenya. The sun is setting behind them, and the air is hazy with mist rolling in on the tide. They look inside the bucket and smile at one another.   The bucket is full of […]

Astrotourism around the world in 2026: solar eclipse, meteor showers, Northern Lights, and stargazing  By Gina Bang, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer – Avanti Destinations  People always ask me what it was like growing up in Kodiak, Alaska. I know what they’re really asking — the remoteness, the cold, the dark. And yes, all of that is true. But here’s what I actually […]

Walking with Words: Keeping Ancient Languages Alive  By Classic Journeys Languages are the true soul of a culture. They are living vessels of tradition, history, and identity, yet many of them are now on the brink of extinction. Of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, at least 40% are endangered, and on average, one disappears every two weeks, taking with it generations of knowledge.  Why […]