made trade and travel faster cheaper and easier

7 travel hacks I've learned as a parent I tell everyone to use for easier and cheaper vacations

• As a long-time traveler and travel editor, I always considered myself savvy at hitting the road.
• But it wasn't until I became a parent that I found my best tips and tricks for travel.
• Joining loyalty programs, arriving early, and asking for help will all make for better vacations.

Before having kids, I always considered myself a savvy traveler. And not just because I'm a travel editor .

I was adept at packing light , finding great deals , and leveraging points and miles into luxury getaways.

But now that I'm a parent of two young children, I realize it was less that I was really good at the process and more that I had it easy.

Traveling with kids is difficult , but I still do it. For practical reasons, such as to see family, and also because it's intrinsic to who me and my husband are, and makes us feel connected to our pre-baby selves.

I also want to instill a love of travel in my kids, just like I experienced as a child, making me who I am today.

We've traveled internationally and domestically as a family, and, in the process, found ways to make arduous journeys a bit less chaotic.

While I recommend these practices to all my parent friends, most are useful to travelers whether or not they have kids. Here are seven things I always do that can help anyone be a bit savvier on the road.

Show loyalty wherever you go.

Hotels, airlines, trains — you name it, most major hospitality and travel brands have loyalty programs that are free to join.

In my experience, the best benefits are often reserved for ultra loyal members or those who hold a branded credit card, but all memberships come with perks, even at basic entry-level tiers. Simply creating an account before staying on property is a passive way to earn points or miles to redeem toward a future stay.

And even if you don't want to commit to building long-term loyalty with one airline or hotel, it's still worth joining for cheaper prices and freebies.

For example, my family typically books Marriott or Hilton hotels since I hold credit cards for both brands. But this past summer, I spotted a great last-minute deal for a hotel I'd always wanted to visit, the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach . The price was exclusive to World of Hyatt members. I activated my dormant World of Hyatt account and locked in a price of $397 per night, which I'd never seen for the beachfront property. Typically, it costs double that, especially in the summer. The front desk also had lines reserved for World of Hyatt members, which sped up in-person assistance.

Additionally, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors offer complimentary in-room Wi-Fi to all members, which is an easy way to save money as they otherwise charge a fee, in addition to discounted hotel rates.

Ask about checking in early. Even if you can't, most hotels and resorts will let you use the facilities while you wait.

These days, it's rare to see a hotel posted check-in time earlier than 3 or 4 p.m. But that doesn't mean you have to wait that long to arrive or enjoy the hotel amenities.

Often, that time is just a guarantee of when your room will be ready. If occupancy is low, or housekeeping is working ahead of schedule, your room will very likely be ready before then — but only if the hotel knows you're waiting around on-site.

You can also try calling ahead to ask what time your room might be ready if the hotel doesn't have amenities you would want to use while you wait, such as a pool or beach.

But now that I have kids, I always go straight to the hotel upon arriving in my destination. Dragging them around in limbo waiting for a 4 p.m. check-in is not fun for anyone, and where I previously might have added sightseeing in between, those extra stops with young kids can be stressful.

We showed up at noon when we recently stayed at the iconic Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego, well known as the inspiration for Disney's famous Grand Floridian Resort .

We handed over our bags to the valet and kept a separate tote filled with swimsuits. Right after check-in, my toddler was swimming in the pool with my husband and I laid on a lounge chair and let my baby snooze on my chest. We had full use of the property, and were even able to charge food back to our room even though we hadn't set foot in it.

We didn't have to wait until 4 p.m. for our room to be ready, either. Our keys were handed over once the hotel knew we had arrived, and I was so glad I didn't wait to check-in and waste away time somewhere else. We would have missed a lovely day at the pool, and I'll continue to do this whether my kids are with me or not.

Always ask for a late checkout if you need it, too.

Unless I have an early flight, I always ask for a late checkout. Even if it's high season, a hotel is almost always willing to tack on at least an extra hour at no added charge. On travel days with long periods between checking out and heading to the airport, this can make a big difference in keeping comfortable — especially with antsy kids.

The Hyatt Huntington Beach extended our checkout from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. after I asked, while the Hotel Del Coronado provided an extra hour. And when I visited Miami a few years ago, I was able to keep my room for two hours past checkout at the Loews Miami Beach , and two-and-a-half extra hours at 1 Hotel South Beach for free, simply by asking.

Last year, while staying at Conrad Punta de Mita , my flight home was delayed well ahead of time. When I told the hotel, they first offered me an extra hour in my room for free, but when it was clear my delay would last several hours, rather than wait at the airport, I asked about a day rate to keep it longer.

I paid $80 to keep the room for an extra three hours, which I deemed worth it rather than sitting at the airport all that time trying to entertain my toddler. I'd have paid the fee even if she wasn't with me for a few more hours in paradise.

If late checkout isn't available, you can still hang out in the hotel. You can also ask if there is a hospitality suite where you can shower or relax.

Sometimes, there's no choice but to vacate your room. But before you load up into a car to leave, remember this: You don't usually have to.

One option is to store your belongings with the front desk while you head back to the pool, or before another day of sightseeing.

Another is to inquire if the hotel offers guests a hospitality suite.

This was an unadvertised perk at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, on Oahu, Hawaii. I would have never known to ask had I not walked by a room on the grounds with a sign that said "Luana Lounge. Limited access for late departures."

I asked the front desk about it and was told this was a hospitality suite offered to guests on their day of departure on a first-come, first-serve, limited basis.

To use it, I had to request access on the morning I was checking out, after which I was given a special room key for the suite. My family was able to spend the morning at the beach and pools, and then head to the suite to relax, change, and shower, before leaving.

This was a huge help considering checkout was 11 a.m. and our next hotel wouldn't give us our room until 4 p.m. I was able to let my child continue swimming and playing rather than trying to kill time with nowhere to go.

For smaller activities that don't need to be booked ahead of time, don't commit until you're at your destination.

When my family visited Honolulu last summer, beach chairs cost extra at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort . I debated pre-booking them for my family to guarantee a prime spot on the sand.

I was glad I didn't.

When we arrived, my daughter refused to go to the beach in favor of the pool. We would have wasted money on chairs and umbrellas .

When we visited Hotel Del Coronado, beach chairs also required a reservation. We made one this time, as our daughter was a year older and asked specifically to swim in the ocean.

However, the weather was cold and gray despite being late summer, and the beach was closed for swimming due to pollution. My daughter and husband spent an hour or so by the reserved chairs to play in the sand because we had them, but she lost interest quickly without the option to swim.

I, meanwhile, was stuck in the room while our baby napped and didn't use them at all.

Now, I always wait to arrive on-site to make certain reservations based on weather and what we want to do in the moment.

Do the math on car rentals vs. transfers. Sometimes you'll be surprised which is cheaper.

When my family visited Hawaii, we booked a car rental so we'd have the freedom to explore the island at our leisure, and transfer between multiple hotels on our own time without worrying about reinstalling car seats.

I thought it would also be more affordable, but I failed to factor in the cost of hotel parking, and that my child would just want to stay at the hotel to play and swim, leaving our rental car parked and unused.

Now, I always consider the goal of a trip. Is it to stay on-site and lounge by the pool, or to be out and about all day? For the former, I say skip the rental and just book airport transfers.

But the best way to be sure is to research all the possible costs — rental, gas, and parking versus transfers and tips — and decide which one will likely come out lower.

It's inevitable when you travel that problems will arise. Sometimes, there's an easy fix — but only if you ask.

During our vacation to Hawaii, we capped the trip at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel .

We booked a junior suite in the historic wing of the hotel, a two-room accommodation, paying extra so we'd have a separate room for our toddler.

When we arrived, we realized that her room had no air conditioning. It was extremely hot and on the one night we stayed in the suite, no one slept.

The next morning, I went back to the front desk and asked for a new room with AC.

The front-desk clerk had a solution: a gorgeous suite in the renovated Mailani Tower . It had a downstairs bedroom with two beds, a loft upstairs with a king-size bed, a half bath downstairs, and a luxury one in the loft, as well as a wet bar area and a large patio overlooking the pool.

It was one of the nicest rooms I'd ever stayed in, and was offered at no added charge for the second and last night of our stay simply because it was unoccupied and to remedy the situation.

According to an online search, the junior suite I originally booked starts at around $500 nightly. While I couldn't find the bi-level suite available to book in the coming months, smaller suites in the same tower range from $3,000 to $7,000 per night .

The moral of the story: If you have a problem, ask nicely for a solution. You'll likely end up in a much better place than where you started.

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99 Travel Hacks To Make Your Next Trip A Little Easier

I’ve never cared about brand-name purses or clothing, much less cars or makeup. Instead, I spend whatever leftover money I can on travel. Traveling has exceptional “memory dividends” long after the money’s gone and is the best way to experience all the world has to offer (at least, in my humble opinion).

I’ve now been to 30+ countries and hundreds of cities—from rural northern Thailand to Moorea in French Polynesia to most of the United States—so I’ve picked up quite a few hacks here and there to make traveling the best experience it can be. Below, I’m sharing 99 of my best tips so you can spend less time planning and questioning and more time experiencing and enjoying. Got more? Share them in the comments; we don’t gate-keep here!

Wherever you’re heading—whether by plane, train, or bus—safe travels and happy exploring! 🌍

1. To save time, only pack a carry-on ; no more waiting at baggage claim! 

2. If you decide to check a bag in, throw an Airtag into your suitcase, so you can always track where it is and ensure it’s reached your destination.

3. For the best possible travel deals, be flexible on your destination and dates. I’ve scored deals to multiple European cities for under $200 by leveraging that flexibility.

4. Perhaps the most important tip of all: Always buy travel insurance . Always.

5. Allocate all your spending on a credit card that racks up points which can later be redeemed for travel—my preferred option is Chase Sapphire Reserve or the AmEx Gold.

6. Sign up for credit card bonuses that offer up to 150,000 points once you hit a minimum spending bonus—I like to check Nerdwallet’s top credit card offers (updated monthly) to see the best bonuses.

7. Search for flights leaving at off-peak times (for example, mid-week, red eyes, or with a layover) if you’re trying to save money.

Prioritize early morning flights; they’re the least likely to be delayed or canceled.

8. If convenience is more important than money, prioritize early morning flights; they’re the least likely to be delayed or canceled.

9. Use Google Incognito or a VPN to search for flights. Searching on the same browser and internet connection tells the airline that you’re looking to book and allows them to hike the price up. 

10. Once you find a flight you like—if you’re not ready to book—set up an alert to be notified if the price changes. If it drops, great! If not, you’ll know to book soon or keep an eye on it in case it comes back down.

11. Not sure when to go? Check out apps like Skyscanner or Hopper to find the best prices and times of year to head to your destination.

12. Sign up for loyalty programs with every airline you can; you never know when you’ll need to use them, and you can rack up miles for later use.

13. If you’re used to one specific airline, see if they have an airline-specific credit card for additional bonuses and perks. For example, United Airlines has major hubs in both our hometowns and our current cities so we have the United MileagePlus cards, which offer early boarding, free baggage, and 60,000 points each.

14. Keep an eye out for points sales , like Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals, 30% off transfer premiums, and more. (This is always a good option to keep in mind if you just need a few more points for a mostly-free flight!)

15. Look into mistake fares (deeply discounted fares mistakenly shared by an airline). They can sometimes be canceled or refunded, but many times, airlines will honor them anyway. One time, I was able to travel to Milan, Prague, and Amsterdam for $197 one-way from New York.

16. Subscribe to real-time alerts from The Points Guy , The Flight Deal on Twitter, and more.

17. If you have a few bucks to spare, sign up for flight deals from Going (previously known as Scott’s Cheap Flights). You’ll share your departure airports of choice, and you’ll receive deals right in your inbox.

18. Sign up for TSA PreCheck, CLEAR, or Global Entry to expedite the security process.

19. Once you’re past security but before you get to the gate, check out the Priority Pass, which will give you access to hundreds of lounges around the world. Both Chase and AmEx offer cards with Priority Pass access, and once you get to a lounge, you can stock up on free food, drinks, WiFi, and more.

20. Heading abroad? Use a third-party encrypted program like WhatsApp, Viber, or Signal for international texts and calls—you can avoid extra data and call charges!

Alert your credit and debit card companies about your travel so you don’t get flagged for fraud.

21. If you need access to international calls, buy a SIM card locally—you can usually find kiosks in the airport after arrival, or sometimes your carrier will offer a global SIM card for temporary use.

22. Alert your credit and debit card companies about your travel so you don’t get flagged for fraud.

23. Get a no-fee ATM for international destinations; my favorite is the Charles Schwab.

24. Only ask for ATM withdrawals in the local currency, not your native one.

25. Same for credit card charges; if you’re in Italy, pay with your card in Euros, not USD (for example). Then you’ll avoid fees and often score better conversation rates.

26. Download the airline app before you fly for easy access to your boarding pass, checking in, and seat or meal selection.

27. While you’re at it, you can check out the seat map on most flights to see what’s open and change seats accordingly.

28. You may even find an open seat in First or Business Class—consider politely asking for an upgrade. You never know if they’ll say yes!

29. If your travel plans are flexible, volunteer for a later flight when they’re offering compensation to offset the cost of the airfare.

30. If you decide to volunteer, try and wait to see if they’ll increase the compensation before you agree. Sometimes, you can get thousands of dollars in flight vouchers if you hold out long enough.

31. Buffer in extra time for delays—always.

32. Have a connecting flight? Aim for at least a 90-minute layover in between to avoid missing your flight in case of delays, security issues, etc.

33. Travel during shoulder season (i.e., not quite peak time yet). For example, if June-August is the best time of year to visit Greece, consider going in May or September for lower prices but still preferable conditions.

34. Don’t cut costs over convenience either, though—if you know you suffer from insomnia and back pain, taking a red eye in economy to save $100 may not be worthwhile. Similarly, don’t go for the cheapest hotel without thorough vetting; you don’t want to be stuck three miles from the beach without a bike because you didn’t know how far it was!

35. Check out alternative modes of transport besides the typical plane or car: Trains, bikes, public transportation, buses…the list goes on. These are often cheaper, better for the environment, and more accessible.

Create a default packing list for yourself that you can copy and tailor for each trip.

36. Create a default packing list for yourself that you can copy and tailor for each trip. This way, you’ll know you’ve included all the necessities most important to you, like specific medications, chargers, and toiletries.

37. Wear layers while in transit—it’s easier to pack your luggage, and you can stay warm (or cool) as needed.

38. If you suffer from swollen ankles or potential blood clots when sitting in one place for hours, get a pair of compression socks. There’s a reason many travel pros swear by them!

39. Another must? A reusable water bottle. Perfect for refilling inside the airport after security, carrying with you on tours, and having in case of emergency.

40. Heading to a place without clean, potable water? Don’t forget to bring a water filter or purifier for when you’re on the go.

41. Easily organize your suitcase (and save space!) with packing cubes .

42. If you’re really in need of space, consider vacuum bags to compress all your clothes.

43. If you know you’ll want to shop or bring back many souvenirs, get a secondhand suitcase at your local thrift store for cheap and fill ‘er up.

44. Don’t bring too many valuables. Many women travel pros will wear fake wedding rings to avoid burglaries or attacks.

45. Always tell someone at home what your itinerary is and where you’ll be. Even better if you can tell someone you trust locally in case of an emergency. #safety

46. Turn on location services and sharing, too, for good measure.

Print out extra copies of your passports and travel docs; keep digital copies in your email as well.

47. Print out extra copies of your passports and travel docs; keep digital copies in your email as well. Losing your passport is all too easy! 48. Need to drive worldwide? Don’t forget to pick up an International Driver’s Permit , which are readily available at most AAA locations.

49. Want to save money or avoid excess noise? Stay slightly away from downtown city centers and tourist spots—usually going even two or three blocks away can make all the difference.

50. Another way to cut costs is to consider house-sitting or couch surfing, depending on your level of comfort. 

51. Hostels are another great budget-friendly accommodation option; it’s also a wonderful place to meet like-minded people and organize local tours.

52. Weigh the cost of laundry versus the cost of a checked bag. Sometimes packing light and doing laundry will be far cheaper than paying for an extra suitcase.

53. Pack a capsule wardrobe for easy mix ‘n matching for your daily #lewks.

54. Think about items you may need at a destination that you’ll end up paying a premium for later and see if you can get them beforehand. For example, sunblock at a tropical destination will be far more expensive than getting it in the off-season in the Midwest.

55. Pack an essentials kit in case you need certain toiletries or accessories while in transit—for example, a small bag with spare underwear, ear plugs, eye mask, tampons, and charging wires.

56. Carry a purse or travel bag that you can keep close on your body, closed with zippers rather than buttons or flaps. This will help stop pickpockets!

57. Pack extra snacks. Just trust me on this one! You never know when you may need sustenance and can’t find anything worthwhile.

If you can, take the day off after you get home so you can ease back into everyday life.

58. If you can, take the day off after you get home so you can ease back into everyday life. Then you can finish up any chores or errands like laundry, grocery shopping, and more without worrying about rushing back into the office.

59. In your carry-on backpack or purse, keep an extra set of clothes, a toothbrush, and undies in case your luggage gets lost. (Which is another reason why you always want travel insurance!)

60. If you’re not using data and/or are heading to a remote area, download offline versions of Google Maps and take screenshots of any information you need.

61. If you’re heading to a foreign country and the local language isn’t one you speak, download the Google Translate app. You can then converse with locals, take photos of written text to translate, and more. (This was an invaluable tool when I was stranded in northern Thailand during a downpour once!)

62. Download media a day or two before you leave, so you can access it while traveling—think audiobooks, ebooks, Netflix, etc.

63. Get the best portable charger you can afford if you know you’ll be relying on your phone throughout the trip. You’ll never regret it.

64. Pack a universal adapter so you can use your electronic devices around the globe.

Pack a universal adapter so you can use your electronic devices around the globe.

65. Don’t forget a converter too, if your electronics’ voltage doesn’t match up to the outlets abroad.

66. Getting a rental? Book the reservation on a credit card like Chase or AmEx, which offers auto insurance and collision insurance for rentals.

67. If that’s not an option, it’s well worth getting auto insurance from the rental company. 

68. Take photos of everything important: The condition of your rental when you pick it up/drop it off, receipts if you’re going to be reimbursed or splitting costs, WiFi passwords, and so on.

69. Make sure you’re up-to-date on your vaccinations and shots , which vary by country. (And don’t wait until the last minute to book your appointment!)

70. Read. The. Reviews. Make sure you look for any bots or planted reviews, and keep an eye out for any red flags, whether you’re searching for accommodations, a tour, or restaurants.

71. Similarly, seek out vetted tour groups if you’re traveling alone. A few of my favorites for women include El Camino Travel , Stellavision Travel , and G Adventures .

72. Sometimes DIYing a trip can be helpful, but other times, a good travel agent is the most valuable. They’ll get access to exclusive discounts, tours, or accommodations that you couldn’t leverage otherwise.

73. If you’re considering traveling with a friend or partner, ensure your travel priorities are aligned before leaving. Nothing will be more frustrating than having a companion sleep in when you’re a morning person or dealing with a racket first thing in the morning if you’re a night owl.

74. In the same vein, learn many of your destinations’ cultural nuances and customs—it’s important to be considerate and mindful of the communities you’re visiting.

75. Heading to a faraway destination? Try pairing nearby cities together on this trip so you knock out two at once.

76. Stay hydrated, especially when traveling. We’re already adjusting to new environments, time zones, etc., and hydration is key for our bodies to adapt.

Get sunlight as early as possible when you’re in a new time zone to help reset your circadian rhythm. 

77. Get sunlight as early as possible when you’re in a new time zone to help reset your circadian rhythm. 

78. Napping to adjust a timezone is okay, but try staying awake the whole day and sleeping at night to beat jet lag once and for all.

79. Chew gum while taking off or landing if your ears pop while in flight.

80. Invest in a quality skin mask or moisturizer, lip balm, and lotion during and post-flight when our skin is driest.

81. Luggage scales can be clutch—if your baggage is overweight and you can’t rid yourself of any items, you’ll be on the hook for hefty excess fees.

82. Traveling with kiddos? Bring a “busy bag” to keep them entertained throughout the day, stocked with coloring books, toys, a tablet, snacks, and whatever else your little one prefers.

83. If you’re dealing with long-haul travel, you’ll want a quality neck pillow—this is mine and I’m obsessed.

84. If you can , opt for a backpack over a suitcase or duffel. There’s a good chance transportation carriers won’t bother to weigh your backpack!

Whatever you’re budgeting for your trip, add another 10-20% in case of emergency.

85. Whenever you get samples like shampoo, moisturizers, or sunscreen, throw them in your travel toiletry bag. That way, you don’t need to bring the bulk items or worry about the liquid limit.

86. Throw a lavender satchel or a dryer sheet in your bag to keep things smelling…fresh. 🙂

87. Pack at least two extra large plastic or ziplock bags for shoes, dirty clothes, etc.

88. Opt for a bright-colored suitcase so it’s easy to spot at baggage claim or while in transit.

89. If you’re flying with another person and can book your seats in advance, one of you can take the window and the other can take the aisle. That way, the middle seat will likely be left open for you both to enjoy.

90. Always keep a spare pen on you, especially if you know you’ll have to fill out customs forms or write down directions.

91. Take a picture of your car or write down where it is in your notes app so you don’t forget where you’ve parked, whether at an airport parking lot or a new hotel.

92. Bring extra wipes or a sanitizer spray for when there’s no washroom or when things need some tidying…like your tray table.

93. Whatever you’re budgeting for your trip, add another 10-20% in case of emergency.

94. Check out local walking tours in big cities; they’re often free or pay-what-you-can and are a great way to see the most important sights and get acquainted.

95. Some businesses offer deals if you book with a partner company—for example, United MileagePlus members earn savings if you book a car rental through Avis or Budget.

Travel is one of the most valuable experiences there is in life. Enjoy every moment, be mindful and respectful, and explore as much as you can.

96. Don’t forget to check if you’ll need a visa for specific countries! Or, prioritize countries where you won’t need one for ease of access and to save money.

97. Eat street food (as long as it’s cooked in front of you and looks safe!). It’s often one of the best ways to enjoy a local culture.

98. Make lunch your biggest meal—it’s usually cheaper than dinner while being just as filling.

99. Most importantly, remember: Travel is one of the most valuable experiences there is in life. Enjoy every moment, be mindful and respectful, and explore as much as you can.

Henah Velez  (she/her) is a Contributing Editor at The Good Trade. She is the Executive Producer at  Money with Katie  at Morning Brew, a personal finance brand for women including a chart-topping podcast, blog, and newsletter. She’s also a long-time writer at The Good Trade. Henah holds a Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship and is a proud Rutgers grad. Originally from NJ, Henah’s now in Atlanta where she loves shopping small, hanging with her pets, or traveling.   Say hi on  Instagram !

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How Innovation is Revolutionizing Global Trade

Innovation in trade is proving revolutionary for so many.

Studio concept/Shutterstock

WASHINGTON, DC, January 30, 2023 –  Global trade, in many ways, makes the world go round. Think of any electronic good, clothing item, or perhaps a chocolate bar; all everyday items which are in consumers hands and homes because of global trade, providing countless jobs. 

Mona Haddad , the Global Director for Trade, Investment and Competitiveness at the World Bank Group , explains:  "Trade is an engine of growth that creates better jobs reduces poverty and increases economic opportunity.” 

Mona adds that trade liberalization increases GDP, and that it has, “lifted more than one billion out of poverty since 1990."

But for these benefits to be shared more equally, trade needs to be efficient, and this is not always the case.

The complexity and interconnected nature of global trade was laid bare during supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shipping delays, and shortages, meant unprecedented issues for many exporters, importers, businesses and consumers. 

But for  Miishe Addy,  the co-founder and CEO of  Jetstream Africa , headquartered near the Ghanaian port of Tema, COVID-19 also led to an opportunity for rethinking the system itself. 

“It’s one of the largest container ports in West Africa. Despite technology that could have been applied, when we started the business, there was almost no technology. It was mostly cash and mostly manual.” 

Miishe saw the moment to create her business. 

“Covid accelerated digitization in Africa. It was difficult to move around, including at the port, the old fashioned manual methods of clearing and moving cargo were really inefficient.” So Jetstream created a technology platform which effectively takes on a supply chain for a customer’s cross border trade. 

Miishe says this is important because slower trade means more expensive goods for consumers. 

“Even though incomes are generally lower here and profits are lower, supply chains are the slowest in the world. Every day African families are effectively paying a tax on the goods they consume.”

Alina Antoci  is a Senior Trade Facilitation Specialist at the  World Bank Group .

She has worked with dozens of countries looking to introduce digital systems for trade, such as Electronic Single Windows, and Trade Information Portals. 

“Technology and digitization makes trade faster, cheaper, easier and more predictable” she says, adding that “automation makes things more efficient at borders and ports.” 

Alina also says that taking the human out of some of these processes also reduces corruption, and makes access to information equitable and reliable. 

Advancements in technology are not the only ways trade is being revolutionized. Global Trade has a huge carbon footprint, and this is something that the world’s largest container shipping firm,  Maersk , is planning to not shy away from addressing. 

“Moving goods around the world emits between 3-4 billion tons of co2 a year. “

Morten Bo Christiansen , Head of Decarbonization at A.P. Moller - Maersk explains that the industry needs to rethink the way goods are transported. 

“We have a commitment to become net zero by 2040.”

One of the big issues is of course, the burning of fossil fuels to power ships which traverse the world’s oceans making trade possible. But this, says Morten, needs to be entirely rethought. He says it’s currently a kind of “chicken and egg” issue for the industry.

“There are green fuels available, but you have the situation where there are no green ships. So nobody’s building the green ships because there are no green fuels but there are no green fuels because there are green ships.”

His company have developed a new fuel, based on methanol, which they see as the future. But of course, this will also depend on global infrastructure for refueling and supply. 

Climate and trade, says the  World Bank Group’s   Vicky Chemutai , are interconnected in many ways, particularly for developing countries. 

“In an increasingly climate change affected world, trade will gain even more importance,” she says. 

“Food insecurity is very high and the effects of climate change are very high in these countries… so the sustainable trade of food will be crucial to maintaining food security." 

She adds that other issues such as increasing heat can have impacts on trade. “Heat impacts worker productivity… and that impacts export sectors - in countries like Bangladesh.”

Vicky says that improving the way trade is done is key.

“Addressing trade facilitation concerns at border points could in turn reduce food waste for example.” 

She says there are a raft of ways that trade facilitation can improve the relationship between trade and climate.

“The trade policy solutions exist, and most of them are a quick win…. All of the solutions need to be done at scale, but they exist, they really do.”

The world of trade is not a simple one, and there are pressing issues to address, but innovation in so many areas is proving revolutionary for so many. 

Support for the initiative was provided by the World Bank Group with funding from the  Trade Facilitation Support Program  (TFSP). The TFSP is funded by nine donor partners: Australia, Canada, the European Commission, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The program provides assistance to countries seeking to align their trade practices with the  World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement  (WTO TFA).

Trade Tips Podcast

To learn more, listen to  Trade Tips  – the World Bank Group’s new podcast that tackles the big issues in the world of trade and explores solutions.

WEBSITE: The World Bank Trade Tips Podcast

WEBSITE: Trade Facilitation Support Program

WEBSITE: The World Bank Trade

WEBSITE: World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA)

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Traveling Made Easier

Understaffed hotels, airline delays, and car rental shortages may be common now, but this advice can help your trips go smoothly, sharing is nice.

We respect your privacy . All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.

If you thought summer travel was challenging, you may want to brace yourself for the holidays. You can expect service lags and interruptions as airlines and auto rental companies continue to struggle with a shortage of pilots, planes, and vehicles. Many popular hotels are also booking up fast for fall and winter, according to travel experts, and long lines at check-ins are likely because of understaffing.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause disruption at home and abroad, forcing many destinations to tighten rules in the face of fresh outbreaks. For travelers, this means staying on top of frequent changes.

And if you end up needing travel assistance before, during, or after your trip, you may feel like taking another vacation just to make it through the  phone wait times. To put a fine point on it, if you're traveling these days, "you need patience and flexibility," says Scott Mayerowitz, executive editor of the Points Guy, a travel website.

Still, there are ways to minimize hassles. Here are expert answers to nine key questions that can help prevent problems and cushion you from the bumps that may crop up.

What Can You Do to Make Travel Easier Later in the Season?

Make sure your driver's license, passport, and other important documents are current. If not, fill out renewal forms ASAP, but expect extra-long delays: Routine passport service can now take up to 18 weeks, and expedited requests up to 12 weeks.

Consider enrolling in Clear, Global Entry, or the Transportation Security Administration's TSA PreCheck, which will let you fast-track through security . Some premium credit cards may offer membership, as well as airport lounge access, where you can wait comfortably for your boarding call, have a snack, and get help with same-day scheduling changes, says Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com.

If you'll need a rental car, reserve now (see " Are There Good Ways to Get a Rental Car? " below). Download airline and other travel provider apps, and save their contact info.

Do You Need to Take Health Precautions for U.S. Travel?

Yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises Americans to delay travel until two weeks after their final COVID-19 vaccination. If you're unvaccinated and must travel, the CDC recommends a COVID-19 test one to three days beforehand; a mask on public transportation, including airplanes, and as otherwise required; and social distancing. Get tested three to five days after returning, and self-quarantine for seven days.

Even if you're fully vaccinated, the CDC advises masking up in certain areas and on public transportation, and some business and community rules require it. (Get info on the  CDC's Travelers Health  page.) And take your vaccine record, in case any venues ask for it.

3 DAYS BEFORE

Reconfirm reservations. This should include those for airlines, car rentals, hotels, tours, and restaurants. Recheck digital tools. Make sure you can log in to your provider apps and other travel apps. Add any missing customer service numbers to your phone contacts.

Sign up for travel-provider alerts. This way you'll get immediate info on changes.

Give credit card issuers your contact info. They can contact you if any charges are flagged for fraud.

THE DAY BEFORE

Check in online. Doing this 24 hours before departure can help you skip lines.

Print your boarding pass. It's wise to have a backup for your digital pass. If you have TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and it's not indicated on the pass, call the airline and provide your Known Traveler Number.

Gather documents. Put your passport, driver's license, boarding pass, and other essentials in a folder or an envelope, so they're all together.

Scroll key websites. Check CDC , State Department , and other websites for news that might affect your plans.

Pack only TSA-approved items. The checklist on the TSA website can guide you.

EN ROUTE TO THE AIRPORT

Check your phone for notifications such as gate-change announcements.

Make sure your travel documents will be easy to grab when they're needed.

Give a heads-up. Alert friends and family at your destination that you're on the way to see them.

What If You Want to Go Abroad?

First, figure out where you can and can't go. "The important thing is to not rely on what an airline rep tells you on the phone when you book a flight," says Wendy Perrin, whose website, at wendyperrin.com, offers personalized travel rec­om­men­da­tions. Check the  State Department website , which has advisories for other countries and links to their COVID-19 entry rules. Monitor this regularly until your trip date.

Have a plan for coming home, too. The CDC requires that airline passengers returning to the U.S. get tested no more than three days before flying and present a negative result or proof of COVID-19 recovery. (Consider packing home COVID-19 testing kits. Results from certain kits can be used for reentry and may also fit the rules for your destination.)

Will a Travel Agent Make Your Trip Easier?

Working with a good travel agent, aka a travel adviser, is a smart move, says Charlie Leocha, president of the nonprofit Travelers United. Advisers can not only plan and book your trip but also alert you to changing COVID-19 rules and disruptions, and they can typically rebook you faster if a flight is canceled.

Costs vary: Some premium credit card benefits include travel services, and some agents offer services gratis to consumers and get a commission from travel providers. Others charge a fee, perhaps $35 to several hundred dollars. Before signing on, ask about an adviser's services, fees, and membership in professional groups, such as the American Society of Travel Advisors, says William McGee, aviation adviser for Consumer Reports. Note: Consolidator sites, such as Orbitz and Priceline, may net you a cheaper package, but if you use one and your plans change, you'll have to rebook through the consolidator, which can be complicated.

Should You Get Travel Insurance?

It's wise right now, especially for pricey trips. Standard travel insurance reimburses fully for certain expenses—these vary by policy—if your plans are interrupted by unforeseen events (think medical emergency, earthquake, airline strike). It doesn't cover COVID-related disruptions, such as a destination barring travelers, says Megan Moncrief, chief marketing officer at the comparison site Squaremouth. The same holds true if you don't receive a passport in time to travel or if you simply decide to cancel.

Standard coverage usually costs 4 to 10 percent of your trip's total amount. But your credit card carrier may provide free coverage, so check first. Or get price quotes at a website such as InsureMyTrip or Squaremouth, or through your travel agent.

Cancel for Any Reason coverage reimburses for events that standard insurance doesn't, such as COVID-19-related disruptions. It generally costs 40 percent more than a standard policy and reimburses up to 75 percent. You can buy standard insurance almost until departure, but you must buy CFAR coverage typically within 14 to 21 days of booking.

Are There Good Ways to Get a Rental Car?

The rental car shortage (and the resulting high prices) is likely to continue into spring, Leocha says. So book your rental car ASAP, ideally before making other plans. Look beyond the national chains, too: Local car rental agencies, private limos, and peer-to-peer rental firms such as Turo may have availability. Or focus on destinations with good public transportation, such as Chicago and New York City, says Dani Johnson, vice president of Coastline Travel Advisors in Garden Grove, Calif.

Will Hotels and Resorts Be Fully Up and Running?

Because of worker shortages and COVID-19 restrictions, many establishments have cut back services such as hot breakfast buffets and daily room cleaning. So for these, or amenities such as gyms and restaurants, call and ask whether they'll be available. Too few perks? Consider a bed-and-breakfast or a vacation rental. "If your [hotel] breakfast is a wrapped-up muffin, how is that better than staying in an Airbnb?" says Brett Snyder, president of the Cranky Concierge air travel assistance service.

Who Can Help With Flight, Car Rental, or Hotel Problems?

It depends on the specifics. But you'll need to be polite and persistent, and you might need to try multiple channels. Flight delay? Call the airline or use its app, even if you're in line for the gate agent—this may enable you to schedule a flight change or connect with help faster, Snyder says. You can also tag the travel provider on social media and request assistance.

If the car rental agency doesn't have the vehicle you reserved, ask for a different car—perhaps an upgrade—or for one at a nearby location. For a room glitch, ask the manager about availability at other hotels. Or check bed-and-breakfasts and vacation rental websites. Ask the providers for refunds or credits if they don't come through.

How Do You Handle Issues That Linger After Your Trip?

For problems such as an incorrect charge, phone the provider's customer service. (For airline issues, call before East Coast business hours begin, to get to the head of the line, says Willis Orlando, a flight expert at the website Scott's Cheap Flights.) Email the business, too: State the problem and desired resolution, and enclose documentation.

If you used a credit card, you have 60 days after receiving the bill to dispute errors by sending a letter. The bank has 30 days to respond. If the issue involves the quality of the purchase, you must first attempt to get resolution from the merchant. Check with the bank for details.

Editor's Note:  This article also appeared in the October 2021 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Penelope Wang

I cover everything from retirement planning to taxes to college saving. My goal is to help people improve their finances, so they have less stress and more freedom. What I enjoy: walks through the city, time with family, and reading mysteries, though I rarely guess who did it. Follow me on Twitter (@PennyWriter). 

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5 Simple Ways to Make Travel Easier in 2024

Caroline Morse Teel

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline .

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

The Handy Item I Always Pack : "Earplugs. A good pair has saved my sleep and sanity many times!"

Ultimate Bucket List Experience : Hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

Travel Motto : "Don't be boring."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat : "Aisle (when the first class private suite isn't available)."

E-mail her at [email protected] .

Travel Smarter! Sign up for our free newsletter.

Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or a first-time traveler, you can follow a few simple tips to make your next trip go significantly smoother. These free and easy hacks will take just a few minutes to do but will have a big impact on your travel experience.

Make a Tiered Packing List

If you’re like us, you can drive yourself crazy by double-checking everything you’ve packed to ensure you didn’t forget your cell phone charger or passport. Give yourself peace of mind by creating a tiered packing list in your notes app on your phone.

Divide everything you need to pack into two categories: essentials (anything that would ruin your trip if you forgot it, like your passport or credit card) and everything else (things that would be an inconvenience but not a trip-ender if you left it behind because you can go without it or buy it at your destination, like sweaters or toothpaste.)

Use the checkbox feature in the notes app to check off each item as you pack it. Tell yourself you’re only allowed to double-check the items in the “essentials” category, as you can easily see at a glance that you checked off and packed everything else. 

The Only Packing List You’ll Ever Need

Create a Critical Info Document for Your Trip

Create a Google doc containing a detailed itinerary for your trip and share it with all your travel companions. This document should contain all the critical information that you will need so that you can access everything quickly. Be sure to save this doc offline in case you don’t have WiFi or cell service when you need it.

This doc should include:

• Flight numbers, flight times, airports, and confirmation codes
• Hotel check-in and check-out dates, confirmation numbers, reservation information, and payment information
• Rental car reservation details and phone number of rental car agency
• Confirmation numbers and contact details for any tours booked
• Directions to and from the airport to your hotel

Keep Your Toiletry Kit Ready

Make packing go much faster for your next trip by always keeping your toiletry kit packed and ready. Unlike your regular suitcase, your toiletry kit is likely stocked with mini items you only use for travel. After each trip, refresh your travel-sized toothpaste, shampoo, etc., so that your kit is ready to go and simply be thrown in your carry-on the next time you travel. You’ll have one less thing to worry about packing for your next trip.

Download Key Apps Before You Leave

Before your next trip, research which apps you’ll need while traveling and download them beforehand. This way, you’ll have them preloaded and logged into and don’t need to worry about data usage or finding WiFi on the road.

We recommend downloading the following: 

• The apps of any airlines you’re flying on
• Local rideshare apps, like FREENOW in Europe or Alto in Dallas 
• WhatsApp for international trips

5 Smartphone Essentials You Should Never Travel Without

Screenshot All Your Important Documents 

If you’ve ever stood at the gate to your flight frantically swiping through your phone for a screenshot of your mobile ticket, this tip is for you. Screenshot any important documents or QR codes that you need (like tickets, confirmations, or directions), and save them to an easily accessible photo folder on your phone.

Now, crucial travel information that you need will be organized and easily accessible at a moment’s notice.

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How to Make Holiday Travel Easier, Cheaper and Faster

Holidays are the busiest season for travel. With so many people on the road and in the air, we thought we’d share some of our favorite tips for how to make holiday travel easier, cheaper and faster .

Consider flying on the actual holiday

We’ve found some great airfare deals by being willing to travel on Christmas Day and even New Year’s Day. Most people want to be at their destination early, meaning that ticket prices for flying on the actual holiday are often lower than days leading up to it. We’ve flown on Christmas day several times over the years when trying to see both sides of our family during the holiday break and have found it to be one the quietest times to fly. As a bonus, oftentimes companies will include holiday perks like special snacks and holiday themed meals.

Book in advance

Booking early is a hard one for us, as we’re the kind of people who like to keep our options open. However, when it comes to holiday travel, it definitely pays to book early. During the holidays, flights and hotels book up quickly, so it’s smart to grab a good rate well in advance before rooms get booked up and prices increase. With an influx of holiday travelers booking their time off, sometimes years in advance, it’s never too early to plan accordingly.

Take advantage of cancellation policies

This is a tip that surprisingly few people use. If you’re like us, and your travel plans are a bit uncertain, book in advance to lock in a good price, but make sure that your hotel and flights have a clear, no cost cancellation policy. Then, mark the cancellation dates on your calendar, with a reminder set. If your plans change, you’ll be able to cancel without penalty, and if they don’t change, you’ll have grabbed a good early booking discount.

Watch prices after you book

If you book in advance, keep an eye on prices until you fly. If you see the price drop, call and see if you can be refunded the difference. Some hotels and airlines have a price protection guarantee, and will reimburse you the difference without question. If your airline or hotel won’t refund the difference, check your cancellation policy. If you can cancel without penalty (or for a small fee) you always have the option of cancelling the initial reservation, and re-booking at the cheaper price.

Use loyalty programs

Many hotels and airlines have good loyalty programs. Not only can you get points toward future purchases, but signing up may give you free upgrades and even alerts for sale offers. Depending on your card, some of the best times to redeem your points are during peak periods like the holidays where standard costs are higher than normal yet the amount of points redeemed remain the same.

Take advantage of holiday bonuses on rewards programs

Many loyalty programs offer seasonal bonuses and rewards. Look into them early, check deadlines carefully, and loyalty programs may save you a fortune. Loyalty programs often even band together to give extra bonuses over the holidays.

Don’t wrap gifts before you fly

If you’re bringing gifts, don’t wrap them before you get on a plane. With increased security, you may just find yourself being asked to unwrap your presents so airport security can see what’s inside. Instead, bring tape and wrapping paper, and secure scissors in your checked baggage. We always carry child safe scissors for this reason. Buying gift bags is another great option when traveling instead of wrapping presents. That way, if security needs to go through your luggage you simply need to open the bag instead of unwrapping it. You can find cheap gift bags at nearly every dollar store in North America and the nicest part about them is that they’re easy to reuse for future presents.

Confirm your flight and hotel

With the busy holiday season, it can be easy to let little things slide. Check your flight status ahead of time, and call the hotel to confirm your booking before you leave. It’s much easier to iron out any issues that arise early. We use the FlightTrack app to keep track of our flights. It gives up to the minute updates letting you know if you’re flight is still on time as well as useful info about the plane, airport and gates.

I haven’t thought of watching the prices after I book. Thanks for the suggestions!!

Great tips – and the more we save money, the more we can travel!

Oooh, good to know about the Double Stay, Double go site! I’m a big fan of holiday shopping online earning miles for my AA account! 😉

Great tips! We have definitely flown on holidays before…it has made a big difference!

The flying on a holiday part is so true, but I’ve found the issue can be getting a ride from the airport if you arrive on that same holiday you left on. This year, it was a chore getting my son to his grandparents for Christmas because the flight back put him there ON Christmas day and nobody could go get him because they would be out of town with family, or having family there and couldn’t make the hour long drive, or any other host of reasons. It has been horrid trying to work around others schedules to make it work on a holiday. If you’re flying solo I don’t suppose it matters too much, but with a family it can be such a pain.

Great share and tips for people who love travelling from one place to another.

By following these tips I really found great difference in my budget. Thanks a ton for helping 🙂

It really helped when you said that we should book accommodation and our flights in advance to get a good rate before the rooms start to get booked and prices increase. My husband and I plan to go on a trip to Busselton for the first time on our anniversary. Since it is still on December, we still have enough time to find a holiday park to book for ourselves and still stick to the budget we have in mind.

It really helped when you described the importance of confirming our flights and hotel room before leaving for our vacation. My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon trip, and we’d love to book tours, accommodations, and flights well in advance, so we’ll definitely follow your tips. Thanks for the information on how to save money and stress when planning a trip.

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7 Easy Ways to Make Solo Travel Affordable

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Traveling solo seems like a far-off dream reserved only for hippies and Instagram influencers. But these solo travel bloggers have tactical money tips for any traveler to help you think less about money, and more about exploring your destination.

1. Be flexible

Drew Binsky, who has been to 140 countries and counting, says flexibility is key for cheap travel. “You simply can’t be constrained on exact days and times to travel, because you can get killer cheap flight deals by being flexible,” he writes. For solo travelers, it can be easier to be flexible since there is only one schedule to accommodate.

2. Consider the high and low season

Along with flexibility, be willing to shift destinations based on their off-season. James Kelley of Escaping Abroad has swum with dolphins, turtles, and other wildlife. On these excursions, he warns travelers to try to avoid busy times of the year to get up close and personal with wildlife. Another plus? Traveling in the off-season tends to be cheaper, and travel points or miles may go further, too.

3. When eating out, opt for the deals

Stephanie Raley of Pearls and Passports recommends taking advantage of food and drink offers when dining out. Think happy hours, daily specials and coupons. Pro tip: Use a credit card that gives bonus points toward dining .

4. Choose a travel card carefully

Kate McCulley, the blogger behind Adventurous Kate, recommends selecting a credit card that has no transaction fees if you plan to travel abroad. Berna Anat, who has been living out of a backpack since January 2018, wrote in Young Adventuress that she has used large travel credit card sign-up bonuses to cover tickets to New Zealand and Bali.

But Alex Berger from Virtual Wayfarer reminds travelers to evaluate spending and debt behavior . Understand how your credit card spending and debt can affect rewards, and pick a card that works for you and your money habits.

5. Get creative with accommodations

Sabina Trojanova of Girl vs. Globe uses Hostelworld to find reviews and locations. Cailin O’Neil from Travel Yourself says to consider booking an apartment rental if you'd like a little more space to spread out than a hostel room.

6. Plan your budget

To keep your travels as stress-free as possible, set yourself a realistic budget and stick to it . Keith Jenkins of Velvet Escapes reminds travelers that if you overspend early on in your trip, it can lead to a headache later.

7. Prioritize travel (If that’s how you want to spend your money)

A common theme of these solo travel bloggers is to make travel a priority in your budget. Finding ways to reduce costs in daily life leaves income for travel. Shivya Nath from The Shooting Star writes that she loves most of the work she does, but also says that the work she doesn’t love “pays for exorbitant flights and my student loan.”

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024 :

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice: The top 5 budget-friendly U.S. cities for solo travel How I flew for free: Round trip NYC to India using Chase Ultimate Rewards This strategy is how I started earning major travel rewards

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-5% Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Up to $300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

We can make travel faster, safer and more affordable. It starts by tearing down walls

Image:  REUTERS/Miro Kuzmanovic

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“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”

The world is on the move. People from across the globe are travelling more than ever before. By 2030, a global population of 8.5 billion people will take nearly 2 billion international trips . Most of the growth will come from outside the United States – in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Travel drives economic growth and job opportunities – it’s good for my company’s business – and it promotes peace and understanding across cultures.

But all this increased travel is taking place in an antiquated system built in the 1960s – and the strain on the system shows. Today, more than 1.2 billion international travellers go to great costs and lengths to obtain a visa, waste time waiting in lines, all with old-fashioned paper documents in hand. We face new challenges that can’t be addressed by legacy systems. The real threats – like terrorism and disease – go beyond borders and the ability of any one country to control.

We cannot confront these modern challenges with medieval tactics like building walls to separate us. With modern technologies and the right tools, we can construct a new framework for the future of travel to keep us connected and make us all safer.

The right to travel should be based on who you are, not where you were born or the colour of your passport. The current system is outdated; it’s not just unfair, it’s inefficient. Over the past decade, we’ve seen would-be terrorists travelling with passports from countries long seen as low risk.

We are beginning to move to a future where travel is facilitated by your digital identity, built with unique biometrics and “pushed” out to governments and companies, with permission, to ease travel. The private sector can – and already is – helping to build these capabilities, through innovative companies working on completely digital passports and visas. But we need to move faster.

Biometrics need to be regularly collected so that global citizens can travel and engage more seamlessly in countries around the world. India’s ambitious countrywide biometric collection programme passed the 1 billion mark in April 2016 and is beginning to serve as a model for other forward-thinking countries.

Privacy is paramount and customers have the right to “own” their digital identity and decide which governments and companies to share it with, and in exchange for sharing more personal data, travellers will experience safer, more streamlined travel.

Governments will also need to adopt new policies that enable greater information and data-sharing across national borders. Building these digital bridges will enable security agencies to integrate many disparate national systems and better protect their borders and citizens by allowing them to focus resources on the true threats. Many countries have already taken steps to increase information-sharing with trusted allies and partners. We need to build off of the success of existing bilateral and regional verified traveller programmes (like the UK’s Registered Traveller Service or TSA Pre-Check in the United States) to create a truly global system. Governments would have access to more and better information through a new integrated platform.

Such digital integration will also allow countries to use the data to assess a traveller’s level of “risk”, perhaps through a system similar to how a credit score assesses a borrower’s financial risk. More accurate information will enable governments to more effectively pre-vet the majority of passengers and devote more resources to identify and vet travellers who require further investigation. According to Interpol, between 2002 and 2013 almost 40 million travel documents were reported as lost or stolen. False and stolen passports are often linked to terrorists and criminals. Moving to a fully digital process built on biometrics will help to protect and verify a traveller’s identity and significantly reduce the risk of stolen papers falling into the wrong hands.

Revolutionizing the way we travel beyond our national borders won’t be easy. It will require governments working together with the best the private sector has to offer in order to build a secure, successful system that citizens will use and trust. But if we’re going to get the world ready for 1.8 billion international travellers in a little over a decade, we’ll need to disrupt the status quo and work together to erect smart bridges, not outdated walls.

Read the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 here .

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Effects of Transportation on the Economy

The construction of roads, canals, and railways in the 19th century accelerated the rise of the massive United States economy.

Geography, Social Studies, U.S. History

Train Governor Stanford

The locomotive revolutionized commercial transportation with a durable, faster, cheaper way to move goods. The Governor Stanford was the first train on the Central Pacific, the first transcontinental line in 1869 when joined with the Union Pacific.

Photograph courtesy of CSU Archives/Everett Collection

The ability to transport goods and human beings safely and efficiently across long distances is fundamental to economic life in modern societies. A brief look at the early United States illustrates this principle dramatically. In the first half of the 19th century, Americans built a robust transportation network through new technologies and heroic engineering ventures. These investments in infrastructure , often described as “internal improvements” in the political debate of the time, rapidly transformed the North American continent into a patchwork of overland roads, canals, and railways. These expanded transport links laid the foundation of a bustling nationwide economy of commercial agriculture and industry. During the colonial and revolutionary periods, most of the nonindigenous population of North America lived near the Atlantic coast. Eighteenth-century America depended chiefly on water transportation to link small-scale farming and the artisan industry with transatlantic trade. Farmers living near the Hudson River or other river systems could float their crops downstream to the port cities. Upstream travel was slow and arduous . Post roads between the colonies had been built by the mid-1700s, but they were poorly built and not suitable for commercial transport. As a rule, the movement of agricultural produce and other goods was costly and took a great deal of time. In 1794, a new road opened between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was the country’s first toll road, financed and built privately by a corporation, which was chartered by the state. Soon, other groups of merchants were incorporating to pave more turnpikes , especially in the northeast. By the early 1820s, thousands of kilometers of graded paths crisscrossed the region. The toll roads usually failed to turn a profit for their investors, but they provided a major boost to regional commerce. The federal government paid for one major highway during this era, heading westward from Cumberland, Maryland, at the inland headwaters of the Potomac River. The Army Corps of Engineers began building the Cumberland Road, also called the National Road, in 1811. By 1818, it had crossed the Appalachian Mountains and reached Wheeling, West Virginia, permitting overland travel between the Potomac and Ohio rivers. Meanwhile, river transport was aided immensely by the application of steam power. While American engineer Robert Fulton did not invent the steamboat, he was the first to make an unqualified success with the technology. In 1807, his paddle-wheeled vessel, the  Clermont , achieved the astonishing speed of eight kilometers per hour (five miles per hour) on its first voyage up the Hudson River from New York City, New York, to Albany, New York. Steamboats made two-way river traffic a viable proposition—and they could haul a large amount of freight. Before long there were dozens of them, then hundreds, steaming along the Mississippi River and other major rivers. Canals gave the maritime transportation system still greater reach. The largest and most important was New York’s Erie Canal, approved by the state legislature in 1817 and completed eight years later. Extending from Buffalo to Albany at a width of 12.1 meters (40 feet) and a depth of 1.2 meters (four feet), this mighty engineering feat created an artificial waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, which empties into the Atlantic. The Erie Canal drastically reduced both the travel time and the cost of shipping commodities such as grain and lumber from the Midwest to the eastern seaboard. It led to an immediate and dramatic increase in the shipment of such goods, and the state’s investment in the monumental project paid off handsomely. Incoming toll revenues surpassed the entire cost of the canal’s construction within 12 years. By the 1840s, New York City had become the nation’s leading commercial port and well established as the country’s financial and trade capital. The rest of the state of New York—especially cities along the canal route, such as Rochester and Syracuse—also prospered. Other state governments hoped to replicate New York’s success, leading to a furious round of publicly financed canal projects. By 1840, the United States had dug more than 4,828 kilometers (3,000 miles) of canals. Both Ohio and Indiana built systems connecting the Ohio River to Lake Erie at Cleveland and Toledo, respectively. The Illinois & Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, established a water link between the Mississippi River Valley and the Great Lakes. It spurred the city of Chicago, Illinois, to rise to prominence as the great Midwestern transport hub . It was yet another innovation in transportation, the steam-powered locomotive, that ultimately had the furthest-reaching impact. Trains were a heavy-duty, fast, year-round transport solution, and in time they became the preferred option for commercial shipping. The earliest U.S. railroads covered only short distances, providing portage between two waterways. In 1827, a group of Baltimore, Maryland, businessmen formed a chartered corporation to build the first major railway between their city and the Ohio River. Many more private railway enterprises followed in the decades prior to the Civil War. Between 1840 and 1860, the nation saw a ten-fold increase in the amount of track laid, from 4,828 to 48,280 kilometers (3,000 to 30,000 miles). The majority of this development was in the northern states. Because competing companies built railways, the different lines used different rail gauges and track widths and were not interoperable until rails were standardized years later. The first transcontinental line was established in 1869 when the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines met. Once their infrastructure was completed and initial problems resolved, the railways lowered the cost of transporting many kinds of goods. Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation’s industrialization. The development of steamboats and the canal system made it possible for farmers to settle in the fertile lands of the Midwest and Southwest, while still having an efficient and relatively inexpensive means to deliver their goods to market. The resulting growth in productivity was staggering. Between 1829 and 1841, for example, the amount of wheat delivered along the Erie Canal rose from 3,640 bushels to one million bushels. Busy transport links stimulated the growth of cities, especially New York and Chicago, but also strategically located towns like Buffalo; Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and St. Louis, Missouri. The transportation system allowed Americans to take advantage of the continent’s vast territory and natural resources, and to build an industrial economy on a national scale.

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How international travel will get easier in the future

In the coming years, our international travel system is going to get even cheaper and more accessible.

If you love traveling for pleasure, or if regular travel is a part of your career, you’re in for some good news. In the near future, international travel is going to get much, much easier.

Just 100 years ago, international travel was incredibly expensive and difficult, with ocean liners being the only viable method of long-range, large-scale transportation. Today, often for just a few hundred dollars, you can get a plane ticket to almost anywhere in the world. In the coming years, our international travel system is going to get even cheaper and more accessible.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and similar systems The visa waiver program (VWP) is already making it easier for some people to travel internationally. In the United States, the VWP is a program that allows people from countries all over the world to travel to the U.S. quickly and conveniently; these travelers can visit the U.S. for tourism, business, or transit for up to 90 days without needing a visa. Currently, there are 39 countries named in the VWP, with more being added on a near-constant basis; Croatia is set to join the VWP in September 2021 .

Of course, the VWP isn’t the only such program in existence. The U.S. is making inbound travel easier in other ways, and countries all over the world are attempting to make it easier for people to travel there. Once these programs take hold and become more widely known and accessible, people are going to find it much easier to get from one country to another.

Globalist culture The internet has connected the entire world. Thanks to social media, widely translated news sites, and general interconnectedness, people all over the world are aware of what’s happening in other countries. Citizens of the world get access to news, pop culture, and individual opinions from people from many different backgrounds. On top of that, most developed countries are trading relatively freely with each other and attempting to build stronger relationships.

This culture of globalization is making other countries more welcoming to foreigners and is encouraging more people to venture into new physical territory.

Smoother language options In the United States, we don’t especially value speaking multiple languages; only 20 percent of the population is bilingual . But in most areas of the world, people are expected to be proficient in multiple languages; for example, 56 percent of Europeans are bilingual or multilingual. As international discourse and travel become more important, these numbers are set to grow.

On top of that, new language translation apps and similar technologies are beginning to emerge, capable of instantly translating spoken text to another language. No matter where you travel, you should soon have an option to communicate with the locals.

International currencies Currency exchange is a relatively small inconvenience for international travelers, but it can still be a deterring factor. In the near future, we may see the rise of a decentralized international currency that’s widely accepted around the world. Currently, Bitcoin is a promising candidate, but any kind of digital, blockchain-based currency could take its place.

Efficient, inexpensive travel options We’re also seeing the rise of more efficient, inexpensive travel options. Skilled engineers and creative problem solvers are creating new aircraft that can carry more people, in more comfortable seating, while consuming less energy. The end result is lower costs for travelers.

Additionally, we’re seeing the development of cheaper, more accessible ground-based transportation for when you arrive in your destination country. For example, in many countries around the world, you can use a ridesharing service like Uber to get from point A to point B inexpensively.

Demand and innovation In the United States, we have a culture that highly values travel . Young people are told to travel regularly to gain more experience and familiarity with the cultures of the world, and older people envision a life of travel as the ultimate luxury. In other countries, similar travel-centric cultures are emerging as well. In total, millions of people are eager to travel as much as possible.

This high level of demand is a powerful market force that is likely to inspire innovation and development for decades to come. With millions of people clamoring for inexpensive, efficient, and accessible modes of international travel, it’s only a matter of time before entrepreneurs create new products and services to fill this demand.

Whether you’re looking to travel for work, for pleasure, or a little bit of both, you have significant reason to be optimistic about the future. In just a few years, international travel is going to look much easier and more attractive than it’s ever looked before. And it stands to get even less expensive and more convenient from there.

Stavros Andriopoulos

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21 Useful Things That Make Travel Easier

To support this website, at no extra cost to you, we may earn revenue on links within this post. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Are you ready to travel? I know I am. After a year of not knowing if it’s safe to travel, where to travel, what the travel restrictions are, I know that I need everything I can get my hands on to make travel easier. Are you with me?

The following is a list of items that we use to make travel easier. It includes items that are perfect for travel during a pandemic so that you can travel more safely. Plus, with so many things to think about, why not make it as easy on yourself and your family but adding a few of these items to your packing list?

This list includes things the whole family can use. Plus, I’ve added items that work for camping, road trips , and air travel.

I am recommending items both at Amazon and REI . With REI , you can order online or order and pick it up in the store.

Table of Contents

Shampoo Sheets

Do you know what shampoo sheets are? They are handy wipe-like clothes that dissolve when wet to use as shampoo. You can also find a conditioner, hand soap, shaving sheets, and body wash.

These work great for air travel when you can only pack 1 oz of liquids. However, I like them for camping and road trips too because they take up a lot less space. Each pack in these sets here comes with 50 sheets.

Shampoo Bars

Similar to shampoo sheets for traveling, shampoo bars also get around that 1-ounce liquid limitation. I like these better than the sheets, to be honest, but they do take up a bit more space because they are similar to a bar of soap. I would also recommend getting a soap dish box for each shampoo bar or conditioner bar you buy also.

Packing Cubes

Oh, packing cubes. When I remember to use them, I love them. I have bought so many over the years and I really like the packing cubes that are compression, allowing me to squeeze in more, as well as color coordinate for each member of the family. I’ve never quite figured out how and why to use the packs that come in a variety of sizes, other than the small for underwear.

Sunscreen wipes

Have you seen sunscreen wipes? I’m all for the lotion normally, but sometimes that’s just not feasible when you’re packing. Sunscreen wipes work like a wipe with lotion to wipe down with sunscreen instead. Easy to use on kids, easy to pack, these babies are perfect to keep in the car all the time. Sunscreen wipes are another way to make travel easier by getting around that airline liquid restriction, as well as saving space when you’re camping.

Bug repellant wipes

Just like the sunscreen wipes above, bug repellant wipes or bug spray wipes also save space and make it easy to apply.

Sand Free towel

I’m in love with my sand-free towel from Tesalate . It’s a quick-dry, sand-does-not-stick, towel that folds up nicely and lives in my car. We use it for the beach, picnics, camping, you name it. It also makes a great blanket on the plane as it folds down nice and small.

Waterproof phone case

If you have any travel activities that involve water, a waterproof phone case is a must. I like getting waterproof cases that are a waterproof bag for my phone. Yes, I could get a case that allows my phone to be submerged (although most newer phones are water-resistant for a certain depth anyway. However, with the bag style, I can also throw my keys in the bag, with the phone, and secure the string to my kayak. This way, it won’t accidentally drop to the bottom somewhere and be lost forever.

Motion Sickness Relief Band

Do you get airsick or car sick? Maybe you are doing theme park adventures with the kids. This motion sickness anti-nausea wristband works to reduce all of that. Be sure to read the reviews, as it works for most people. I have not tried one of these myself. However, from what I’ve read these work better than the simple bands and there’s no need to take medication.

Portable Clothes Line

This is one of those really simple, but invaluable things to make traveling easier. A portable clothesline is great for hotels to hang your wet bathing suits. Same for washing and drying clothes at the campsite. This one is perfect because there are no clothespins needed. Simply thread your clothes through the braided cord which will grip them.

RFID wallet

One thing that you don’t want to happen when you’re traveling is to have your identity stolen. Make travel and day-to-day easier with an RFID-blocking wallet. I’ve been very happy with my wallet from Travelon and this style works as both a clutch and a wallet. Plus it has space for your phone.

Noise Canceling Headphones

Whether you’re on a plane or your kids are watching movies in the back of a car for road trips, noise canceling headphones make a world of difference in escaping the noise around you. Use to watch shows, or put on meditation music to get some sleep.

You can certainly spend a lot of money on Beats or Bose Headphones , but the link below is listed as one of Amazon’s best buys and has a lot of great reviews. for the money, these make a great starter pair, especially for kids.

Headphone Splitter

Want to listen or watch the same thing on one device, get a headphone splitter. This one works for the newer iPhone jacks with traditional headphone jacks.

Amazon Echo

Yep, I like to travel with our Amazon Echo. You can read more as to why here , but it’s a handy thing to have in the hotel room or at the campsite. Play music, set reminders, check the weather and so much more. I think the 3rd Gen version is easier to travel with.

CrazyCap Travel Water Bottle

You may think that any travel water bottle will make your life easier. But the CrazyCap Travel Water Bottle is my favorite because of the built-in UV technology that disinfects the water and surfaces. Worried about germs when you travel, take this water bottle and use the cap to pass the UV light over doorknobs and frequently touched surfaces for better peace of mind. You can read my full review here .

Since you’re going to be in new surroundings, or even in your car or on a long flight, it’s helpful to have an eye mask. Block out unwanted light with an eye mask. Especially if you’re traveling somewhere like Alaska during the summer or you haven’t fully adjusted to the time change, an eye mask will help you get some rest. Treat yourself to a luxury silk eye mask like these at Etsy .

Lanyard for Masks

Did you know they make lanyards for masks? Especially useful for kids, these mask lanyards work great when you’re traveling. Making a lot of stops when you drive, simply pull down your mask but always have it with you when you hop in and out of the car. If you’re wearing a face mask during your travels, this is helpful.

Travel Pillow

I am not a huge fan of those travel pillows. You know, the bulky things that go around your neck? Enter a packable camping pillow. To start, this folds down a lot nicer than those bigger pillows and takes up less space in your luggage. Hello easy! It’s compressible, machine washable, and weighs next to nothing. The best part, however, this supports your neck in a much better position than those other pillows. If you want to take a snooze as a passenger in a car, this works too.

Essential Oil Roll-ons

Sometimes you just need something that takes the stress away. That’s why I like the essential oil roll-ons from Revive Essential Oils. They are small enough to fit in a bag, less than 1 ounce. Revive is comparable to Young Living and doTerra and has been held to the same testing. Better yet, they are more affordable and offer free shipping.

My favorites for traveling are:

• Anxiety Ease
• Breathe Easy
• Immunity Boost
• Stress Easy

Never be without a charged cell phone or tablet when you have a power bank. Better yet, do one better and never need to charge your power bank when you use a solar charging power bank. Make sure you get one that’s powerful enough to charge what you want it to. This one recharges both by solar or any USB port.

Power Converter

Have you been on a long trip in the car and needed to plug your laptop in? Do it with a power converter. These are handy little converters that plug into the car plug and allow you to use regular 3-prong plugs as well as additional USB ports.

Have you ever lost your keys? What about your luggage? I am in love with our Tiles that we have on our keychains and can attach to our luggage, allowing us to track and ping where the items may be. I like the essentials pack, as you could use the slim card to slip inside your luggage or wallet.

What are your favorite items to make travel easier? Did I miss any? Drop me a comment below and I’ll be glad to add.

Tonya Denmark of Detail Oriented Traveler's Favorite Resources

✈️ my favorite way to check flights.

Skyscanner is a great way to check all flights and create watch lists for a change in flight prices.

🏩 My choice to check hotel prices

Booking.com has the most extensive list of hotels.

🏠 My go to for the Best Home Rental site

VRBO has better support for home rentals. I recommend using them.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 My absolute Best Tour Booking Site

Viator allows you to book now and pay later, plus has free cancellation.

🎠 My Go to for the Best Attractions Pass

Go City all inclusive passes provide extraordinary value

Read my review of Go City Here.

Best Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance Master gives you quotes from a variety of insurance policies so you can pick the best one for you.

Best way to store your luggage

Luggage Hero is the perfect way to find storage options when you are touring a place for the day.

What's the best way to check rental car prices?

Discover Cars is my choice for trusted ratings and no hidden costs.

Best Travel Planning Guide

I have a comprehensive travel planning guide that you can buy here. Use code: WELCOME for 25% off.

About The Author

Tonya Denmark

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Effects of Transportation on the Economy

The construction of roads, canals, and railways in the 19th century accelerated the rise of the massive United States economy.

Geography, Social Studies, U.S. History

Train Governor Stanford

The locomotive revolutionized commercial transportation with a durable, faster, cheaper way to move goods. The Governor Stanford was the first train on the Central Pacific, the first transcontinental line in 1869 when joined with the Union Pacific.

Photograph courtesy of CSU Archives/Everett Collection

For a country to grow, it must be able to move people and goods. Such transport must be done cheaply and easily. The early days of the United States show why. During this time, Americans built new roads, canals, and railroads. This transportation network grew fast. It made economic growth possible. In the 1700s, most of the people of European descent in North America lived near the Atlantic coast. The roads there were narrow. They were not big or smooth enough for wagons full of goods. Commonly, rivers and boats were used to move big shipments. However, river transport was slow. It was also expensive. Farmers and traders found it hard to get their goods to town. Roads Pave the Way for Success In 1794, a new road opened in Pennsylvania. It was the country's first toll road. In other words, people paid to use it. It was built by private businesses instead of the government. This road was bigger and better built than others of the time. It soon proved successful. Traders and farmers could now get their products to market more easily. By the early 1820s, more such roads were built. Thousands of kilometers of roadways soon crisscrossed the region. The national government paid for one major highway during this era: the Cumberland Road. Began in 1811, it extended westward from Cumberland, Maryland. By 1818, it had crossed the Appalachian Mountains and reached Wheeling, Virginia. Goods Flow from East to West Canals made water transport easier and faster. The largest and most important was the Erie Canal. New York State lawmakers approved its construction in 1817. Work crews dug it across the state. It was 12.1 meters (40 feet) wide. It was only 1.2 meters (four feet) deep. The Erie Canal connected Buffalo to Albany. Lumber and crops could be moved from west to east easily now. Other products could travel from east to west. The canal opened new opportunities for farmers and traders. Other states tried to copy New York's canal. They began digging their own. By 1840, the United States had more than 4,828 kilometers (3,000 miles) of these waterways. Cities along the canals grew. Railroads Crisscross the Country Railroads were the next big step in a national transport system. Trains were fast. They were powerful and could haul big loads farther and faster. In 1827, the first railway in the United States was built in Maryland. It only went a short distance. That quickly changed. More and more railroad track was laid. Finally, in 1869, a railroad crossed the entire country. It was the first transcontinental railroad. People could travel across the continent easily. Products could move faster and more cheaply. New towns and cities sprung up wherever the railroads went. The economy of the country grew. This system of roads, canals, and railroads made it possible.

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Related Resources

What made transportation faster and cheaper?

River Canals

Add your answer:

What is cheaper and faster transportation mean?

More than likely cheaper and faster transportation is referring to mass transit like trains and subways.

How did the steam engine change transportation in the America?

people could travel faster and cheaper : Nova Net

What prouduct was made faster and cheaper in Alabama than Pennsylvania?

a product that was made faster and cheaper in alabama than in pennsylvania

How did airplanes change transportation?

Airplanes made transportation easier. They have made transportation faster. The disadvantage is that they are costly.

How did the steam engine transportation in America?

How did the steam engine change transportation america, why would national leaders support large transportation system.

It was a way to get goods to markets faster and cheaper, which would help the economy.

How did improvements in transportation affect the price of goods?

Roads made it possible for cheaper domestic transportation of goods

What provided cheaper and faster transportation to the great lakes area?

the Erie canal

What did the steam engine do for us?

made shipping goods faster and cheaper

How did steamboats change travel?

it made trade easier and it was faster transportation

How did the steam engine change transportetion in America?

It made travel faster and cheaper.

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