Travel advisors are encountering travelers with new priorities -- race and inclusivity. Some want to patronize black-owned businesses, stay at Black-owned hotels, visit historic sites related to race or use the services of Black travel advisors.

What mode of travel have your clients been requesting lately (plane, train, cruise, automobile, foot, etc.)? Email Katie Parks with your responses and we'll present a selection of them next week.

JetBlue still plans to begin service between New York and London in August, but has cut its flight schedule due to continuing restrictions on travel from the UK. "We've all been very frustrated that the corridor hasn't opened," said CEO Robin Hayes, contending that "it's not data-driven, because there are many other countries where there are lower vaccination rates that are open."

The new JW Marriott Las Vegas is expected to open by October 2023 with a casino, 3,700 rooms, a spa, event space, retail and restaurants. The resort, which will also include a 900-plus-key Edition, will connect by pedestrian skybridge to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Two travel tech companies, Revinate and Navis, have merged, but details of the deal were not disclosed. The merger will enable the companies to consolidate the services they offer to hoteliers and vacation rental managers.

European destinations are busy this summer and officials are using the opportunity to encourage tourists to get vaccinated. The unvaccinated in France are restricted from some sites, while Italy has a mobile effort to take the vaccines to beaches and other popular spots.

Several travel and consumer groups appealed to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to do more to protect the traveling public, including preserving travel vouchers. Members of the group said they were impressed with Buttigieg's "transformational vision for protecting consumers' rights, increasing airline competition and safeguarding passenger health and safety while flying on commercial airlines through US airports."

The Small Business Administration has told banks it will launch an online portal by Aug. 4 that lets most Paycheck Protection Program recipients apply for loan forgiveness directly with the agency, Forbes and Politico reported. The portal is part of an initiative to speed up the forgiveness process for PPP recipients of $150,000 or less, a group that accounts for more than 90% of loans made through the nearly $800 billion program.

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I've had the pleasure of editing numerous travel-related newsletters at SmartBrief for nearly 10 years, including those covering hotels, casinos and amusement parks as well as spa industry news.

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