Passport rankings are a lagging indicator of something travel companies should watch in real time: how easily — and where — a country's citizens can move.
The World Cup delivered real, rate-driven gains for hotels and short-term rentals. But the impact was barely noticed by U.S. airlines, and the international visitor boom is falling short of expectations.
The ski industry is racing to fight the impacts of climate change mainly with snowmaking. But the irony is hard to ignore: the very systems keeping many slopes open also burn energy and emit greenhouse gases.
Although the U.S. has a top-10 passport ranking again, its increasingly tougher entry rules suggest a country moving against the global openness trend.