Passport Q

Hong Kong’s Queer Cinema Season Makes the City an Under-the-Radar LGBTQ+ Destination

A breathtaking view of Hong Kong's skyline and harbor at sunset.Photo Credit: Jacky Chiu

Chris Tremblay Sep 23

5 MIN READ

Chris Tremblay Sep 23

5 MIN READ

The 37th Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, held from September 4th through the 20th, brought international and local queer storytelling to cinemas across the territory while connecting travelers with Hong Kong’s dense neighborhoods, food traditions, nightlife, and creative communities.

Hong Kong’s appeal for queer travelers is less immediately visible than the nightlife districts of Bangkok, the Pride infrastructure of Taipei, or the beach resorts of Thailand and the Philippines. Its welcome is often found instead in cinemas, independent cultural venues, neighborhood restaurants, and a community accustomed to building visibility through art.

That cultural welcome was especially clear during the 37th Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, which ran from September 4-20, 2026. The festival presented 37 feature films and 38 short films at Broadway Cinematheque, Premiere Elements, and Palace ifc, making it one of the most substantial recent queer cultural programmes in the city.

For visitors, the festival offered more than a schedule of screenings. It provided a practical way to encounter Hong Kong through the people and places that sustain its LGBTQ+ cultural life. Opening and closing events were held in partnership with Soho House Hong Kong, while the cinemas placed audiences in markedly different parts of the city: Broadway Cinematheque in Yau Ma Tei, Premiere Elements in West Kowloon, and Palace ifc in Central.

A festival that doubles as a city guide

The geographic spread of the festival mirrors Hong Kong’s character. A traveler can move from the neon-lit streets and market lanes of Yau Ma Tei to the polished towers of Central and then across to the museums, performance spaces, and waterfront promenades of West Kowloon. Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway provides connections between Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories, making it possible to build an LGBTQ+-focused itinerary without limiting a trip to one nightlife district.

Yau Ma Tei and nearby Jordan are particularly useful bases for travelers interested in the city’s everyday textures. Temple Street’s food stalls, herbal shops, small restaurants, and crowded sidewalks provide a sensory contrast to the festival’s darkened theatres. The area is also close to the waterfront and to the cultural institutions of West Kowloon, where visitors can pair a film screening with galleries, museums, or an evening walk.

Kowloon City offers a different kind of cultural itinerary. The Hong Kong Tourism Board describes the district as a place where historical layers can be explored through sites including Sung Wong Toi, the archaeological display at Sung Wong Toi MTR Station, and Kowloon Walled City Park. The neighborhood is also known for its Thai food community, giving travelers a chance to move beyond the conventional Central-and-Tsim Sha Tsui circuit.

For queer travelers, that combination of cultural depth and public transport is significant. A destination does not have to advertise itself exclusively as an LGBTQ+ resort to offer meaningful access to queer life. In Hong Kong, film festivals, bars, cafés, bookstores, arts venues, and social groups can form a network that is dispersed rather than concentrated.

Visibility through storytelling

The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival’s longevity is itself a marker of continuity. The 2026 edition was the festival’s 37th, and its programme was reported as its largest in recent years. It included films from across the world and used multiple thematic groupings to organize stories around different moods and experiences.

The programme also demonstrated how queer communities use cultural events to create public space. A festival screening is comparatively accessible: visitors can attend alone, with a partner, or with friends; listen to local audience reactions; and meet people in a setting organized around queer stories rather than around assumptions about identity. That makes cinema a particularly useful bridge for travelers who may not know Hong Kong’s community networks.

The festival’s official celebrations also extended beyond the theatre. The Beat Asia reported that the opening party took place at Soho House Hong Kong in Sheung Wan on September 4th and that the closing party was scheduled for September 19. Those events gave visiting audiences opportunities to participate in the social side of the festival while remaining connected to established local venues.

Other queer cultural activities were taking place during the same period. The Beat Asia listed the 2026 Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival alongside Margarita Mile, a citywide cocktail trail running from 9/1 to 9/16 across 10 bars. Although Margarita Mile was not itself an LGBTQ+ event, its presence illustrated the city’s broader bar and hospitality infrastructure, which can give queer visitors options beyond explicitly LGBTQ+-branded venues.

A welcome with important limits

Hong Kong should not be presented as an uncomplicated LGBTQ+ haven. Its legal environment remains incomplete. The Equal Opportunities Commission has reported that Hong Kong does not have comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation covering sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status, and that same-sex couples cannot marry there under local law.

At the same time, Hong Kong’s courts and public institutions have recognized some rights and benefits for same-sex couples in particular circumstances. The Community Legal Information Centre states that overseas same-sex marriages may be regarded as valid for certain purposes, including immigration visas, inheritance, public rental housing, tax assessment, and parental rights, while emphasizing that same-sex couples still cannot marry in Hong Kong.

That distinction matters to travelers. Cultural visibility, social ease, and legal equality are not the same thing. A queer visitor may find a welcoming festival audience and an active creative scene while still needing to understand the limits of local legal recognition. Transgender travelers should also consult current official travel and identity-document guidance before departure, particularly if documentation does not align across bookings, immigration records, and identification.

The festival therefore matters not because it proves that every LGBTQ+ traveler will experience Hong Kong in the same way, but because it offers evidence of a durable public queer culture. Its 37-year history, international programme, and cooperation with multiple cinemas show a community able to claim space through storytelling and collective attendance.

Why Hong Kong is emerging as a hidden gem

Hong Kong’s strength as an emerging queer destination lies in its layering. A visitor can attend a lesbian and gay film screening, eat noodles or Thai food in Kowloon City, explore the history of Kowloon Walled City, ride the MTR across the harbor, and end the night in a community-linked bar or cultural venue. The experience is not built around one parade, one resort strip, or one officially designated LGBTQ+ quarter.

That makes the city especially attractive to travelers seeking queer culture alongside history, architecture, food, and cinema. The Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival provides a timely anchor, but the deeper appeal is the network around it: audiences, filmmakers, venues, neighborhood businesses, and community organizers who keep queer stories visible.

Travelers planning a future visit should verify festival dates, venue locations, ticket availability, and local legal guidance directly with organizers and official institutions. The 2026 festival has ended, but its recent programme shows why Hong Kong deserves consideration as a culturally rich, less predictable destination for LGBTQ+ travelers in Asia.

by Chris Tremblay

Sound of Music Museum Opens Where the Von Trapp Story Met Hollywood

In this photo taken with a smartphone, records with the film score of the musical film "The Sound of Music" are displayed in the exhibition of the new "Sound Of Music Salzburg" museum in Salzburg, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.Photo Credit: Philipp-Moritz Jenne

Philipp Jenne Sep 21

2 MIN READ

Philipp Jenne Sep 21

2 MIN READ

An Austrian museum is now alive with “The Sound of Music.”

SALZBURG, Austria — An Austrian museum is alive with “The Sound of Music,” a first-ever venue devoted to the classic 1965 singalong movie starring Julie Andrews.

The Sound of Music Salzburg museum, situated in an Austrian city famed for music and perhaps best known as the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, opened Sunday.

The attendees included Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Georg and Agathe von Trapp, whose family story inspired the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical and Hollywood blockbuster. She continues to give guided tours of movie sites in Salzburg today.

“It is intimate enough so you really have a beautiful sense of the storyline of both the Sound of Music and the Trapp family singers — my relatives. I’m very proud of that,” Elisabeth von Trapp said of the new museum.

Her father, Werner, was one of the original Trapp Family Singers — although moviegoers know his character by another name. “My father is depicted in the movie as Kurt; his name was Werner von Trapp. Just to set the record straight,” von Trapp said.

Housed in the 17th-century Hellbrunn Palace, where many scenes from the film were shot, the museum distinguishes the real-life story of the von Trapp family from that of the 1959 Broadway musical and later the Hollywood blockbuster.

Set against Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, the story centers on a governess named Maria who teaches seven children in the von Trapp family to sing and love music — before falling in love with their father and her employer, widower Georg von Trapp.

Museum officials note the real von Trapp, a submarine commander in the Austro-Hungarian navy, was “not a strict paternalist” — as he was depicted by the film’s leading man, Christopher Plummer — but “a considerate, albeit much-burdened, father.”

Visitors are treated to nearly 450 objects including props and costumes from the film, cinema posters and recordings of the music. A centerpiece is the gazebo where teenagers Liesl von Trapp and her suitor Rolf sing the courtship duet “Sixteen going on Seventeen.”

Fans of the film — which collected five Oscars including best picture — have long flocked to Salzburg: Several hundred thousand visit the city each year.

John and Terry Combs, a couple from Dayton, Ohio, were accompanying von Trapp on her walking tour through Salzburg.

“I love the combination of it being much about the movie, of course, but about the real von Trapp family, which I’ve read much about over the years,” said Terry Combs. “And having met and known Elisabeth a little bit — it just brought it full circle.”

The new exhibition is open daily until Nov. 1. After a brief bidding of “So long, farewell” to visitors late this year, the museum is scheduled to reopen next March.

by Philipp Jenne

Fiji Declares National HIV Emergency as Diagnoses Surge

Photo Credit: China Photos

Chris Tremblay Sep 21

2 MIN READ

Chris Tremblay Sep 21

2 MIN READ

Fiji has formally declared HIV a national emergency after a sharp increase in new diagnoses, with health authorities estimating that approximately one in 60 adults is living with the virus.

Fiji formally declared HIV a national emergency on September 15, 2026, following a rapid rise in new infections and a government assessment that the existing outbreak response was no longer sufficient. Health and Medical Services Minister Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said the declaration recognized “the seriousness of the epidemic and the urgent coordinated response our country now needs.”

The declaration followed a Cabinet decision on September 9 and was made under Fiji’s public-health emergency framework; the World Health Organization described the country as experiencing one of the sharpest increases in new HIV infections globally.

Fiji reported 2,016 new HIV diagnoses in 2025, a 27% increase from the previous year, according to figures cited by Reuters from a government statement. The 2025 total was 16 times the number recorded in 2019, according to figures reported by Fiji media from the Health Ministry’s emergency declaration. UNAIDS estimates that about 9,100 people in Fiji were living with HIV in 2025, compared with an estimated 760 people in 2010. The estimate means that approximately one in 60 adults in the Pacific island nation is living with HIV.

The recent increase has drawn attention to multiple routes of transmission, including sexual transmission and the sharing of injecting equipment. According to UNAIDS figures cited by Reuters, more than half of cases with a known transmission route were associated with sexual transmission, while more than 42% were linked to injecting-drug use. The figures do not mean that any particular community is responsible for the increase, and public-health agencies have emphasized access to prevention, testing and care rather than blame.

UNAIDS estimates that only 39% of people living with HIV in Fiji knew their status in 2025, while 22% were accessing treatment. Antiretroviral treatment enables people living with HIV to remain healthy and, when the virus is maintained at an undetectable level, prevents sexual transmission of HIV.

Government Response

The government has announced free, voluntary and confidential HIV testing, prevention medicines, harm-reduction services and treatment for people diagnosed with HIV. The planned measures include wider access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, which is medication that reduces the risk of acquiring HIV for people who may face substantial exposure. Fiji also plans to establish a needle-and-syringe program for people who inject drugs.

Authorities have said that services are available nationwide and that discrimination against people living with HIV is illegal.

by Chris Tremblay

Kauai Small Businesses Ask Tourists to Return After Hurricane Lowell, With Aloha and Some Patience

This photo taken with a smartphone, People walk past damage caused by Hurricane Lowell on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026 in Poʻipū on Kauaʻi's south shore, in Hawaii. Photo Credit: Guy Miller/Honolulu Civil Beat via AP

Gabriela Aoun Angueira Sep 18

4 MIN READ

Gabriela Aoun Angueira Sep 18

4 MIN READ

In the days after Hurricane Lowell, officials asked tourists to stay away from Kauai to let island residents recover and responders clean up

Watching her staff happily hand out free meals for hundreds of residents outside their Wailua commercial kitchen, food truck co-owner Kelly Kakalia felt fulfilled.

It was the day after Hurricane Lowell finished knocking out power, washing out roads and felling trees across Kauai, and Kakalia was focused on her community, not sales. The island where she was born and raised needed time to get back on its feet and put locals first.

But now The Musubi Truck, Kakalia's family-run business with three locations, has had to lay off half its 50-person staff and shut down one truck. Since the Sept. 7 storm, there is simply not enough demand for their poke bowls, spam musubi and bento boxes.

Officials and some residents asked in the wake of Lowell for tourists to reconsider plans to visit Kauai, an island that can see over 28,000 visitors on a given day. Tourists might exhaust limited resources and clog roads needed for utility restoration and aid delivery, and some hotels and vacation rentals were badly damaged.

Kakalia is grateful would-be visitors heeded calls to give the island space to recover, work that continues since the storm. But she and other small business owners across the island worry too long a pause will wreak economic havoc, forcing more layoffs and creating financial gaps too big to recover from.

“Now that power and water is being restored, we should start to switch the narrative before many of us go out of business,” said Kakalia, 36. “People are canceling their trips in November.”

When visitors should return is a familiar dilemma on Hawaii, where tourism injected $21.75 billion into the economy last year, according to state data. After disaster, crowds of sometimes less-than-conscientious tourists can be logistical and emotional barriers to recovery. At some point, however, they are key to jump-starting much of the economy.

That tension was especially pronounced on Maui, after wildfires wiped out the historic town of Lahaina in 2023, killing more than 100 people.

On Thursday, Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami said Kauai is now “welcoming visitors back,” while asking them to respect the ongoing recovery. “Come with patience, spend local, and help us recover,” he said.

Amid cleanup, revenue dries up

More than 3,000 Kauai households and businesses still lack power, with some areas still required to conserve water. Affected residents need generators, financial assistance, food, and help removing debris and mucking out property.

The community has led recovery efforts, donating supplies, setting up relief hubs, distributing gas and generators, and offering up tools and vehicles to move trees and clean up damaged neighborhoods.

As the work progresses, some businesses feel ready to at least partially open to customers, but foot traffic is slow.

“It’s scary out there,” said Kristal Scott of Kauai Juice Co., the business she has run for 16 years. “Other businesses are already shutting their doors.”

Scott’s three juice bar locations and warehouse went dark after Lowell, and one store remains without power. Most of the fresh product spoiled, though Scott held on to her frozen goods by running a freezer off generators filled with pricey fuel.

All her shops sustained minor damage, but not enough for Scott, 41, to receive a meaningful insurance payout despite paying for business interruption coverage.

With sales down 85%, Scott had to let go of half of her 45 employees, though she hopes they return when things improve. “I beg them,” she said. “I'm like ‘Please, please, this is temporary.’ ”

The effects ripple beyond storefronts, spreading to farmers and fishermen who supply the hospitality industry along with the local food supply chain.

“It’s not just about the money, or me, it’s about all the fishermen we’re supporting and their families and their livelihoods,” said Cadena Ragsdale, owner of Kauai Fresh Fish, a seafood supplier that sources 100% Hawaii-caught fish from local fishermen for hotels and restaurants. “Without us, where are they going to sell fish?”

Ragsdale's “heart sank” when she saw video of the terrible damage sustained at her largest client, a seaside restaurant on the south shore. Interrupted air cargo prevented her from shipping interisland. She laid off all but one of her eight-person team this week and is selling two vehicles to fill the gaps.

Even though the experience has been “eye-opening” for some small business owners about how much they rely on tourism, Ragsdale, 41, said the immediate focus is just staying afloat. If an area is closed, she said, “Don't go there.” But, “Please come ... be patient, have respect and aloha.”

Ways to help while the state awaits support

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green requested an expedited major federal disaster declaration for Kauai and Maui counties in response to Lowell, the latest in a series of climate disruptions this year including major flooding, Hurricane Lala and Tropical Storm Moke.

A disaster declaration would unlock the opportunity for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration, though President Donald Trump has not yet approved the request. The state has made small business grant funding available for earlier disasters.

Mayor Kawakami said returning tourists should check with their accommodations and activity providers about possible interruptions, and cautioned that some beach parks, as well as communities on the far north shore, remain closed.

Those who do visit Kauai can help not just by spending locally, Kawakami said, but also by signing up for volunteer opportunities listed on a county website.

Even those off island can find ways to support, like buying online gift cards from local shops.

The Musubi Truck already collected money online for its Feed Our Keiki program, which distributes free meals in the community. Now the program serves a double purpose.

“It helps us feed the kids, but it also supports our business,” Kakalia said, “keeps us cooking.”

by Gabriela Aoun Angueira

Chef David Chang Hits the Road Across the US in New Food-Centric CNN Travel Series

This image released by CNN shows David Chang in a scene from the new CNN travel series, "The Detour with David Chang." Photo Credit: Alanna Hale/CNN via AP

Mark Kennedy Sep 17

4 MIN READ

Mark Kennedy Sep 17

4 MIN READ

Chef David Chang's new CNN travel series, “The Detour with David Chang,” explores America's culinary landscape

In an episode of his new CNN travel series, chef David Chang is cruising down the highway on his way to Las Vegas when he stops at a humble truck stop off Interstate 15.

The town is Hesperia, California, and the producers wanted Chang to try an Indian restaurant near a windshield repair store. But Chang spots a Mexican cantina that looks promising.

He naturally chooses to eat at both, freaking out his camera crew.

“I just wanted to taste things. When I see something, I’m like, ‘Oh, that looks interesting. I would like to taste that,’” he says in an interview. “To the dismay of the producers and the team, they’re like, ‘No, no. We got to go here.’ I was like, ‘You don’t understand. I told you guys that if we’re going to do the show, everything’s on the table.'”

“Everything's On the Table” might be a good alternative title for the six-part “The Detour with David Chang,” where the famed founder of the Momofuku global restaurant chain pairs with a companion and hits the open road, eating his way through America. It begins airing Sunday.

What's the show about?

Chang chows down on Filipino food in South Las Vegas, bites into a traditional Czech puff pastry in Texas and tries Haitian food for the first time in Miami. The show's motto is: “All we’ve got is a destination. Everything else is a detour.”

He's paired by friends and strangers alike, from “American Fiction” director and writer Cord Jefferson to comedian, actor and writer Cristela Alonzo, who shows him her Texas. In Tennessee, he rides with Christina Tosi, the Milk Bar creator, who is almost a surrogate sister.

The show is about exploring and connecting with locals to find hidden gems, like the spot that serves killer Cuban fritas at a laundromat. Or the chefs who take barbecue and combine Asian flavors, creating oak-smoked pulled pork with Penang curry. Or the family serving Honduran food truck breakfast that helps heal Chang's terrible rum hangover.

“I love going out to eat, but as I get older, staying inside, not doing as much, is also nice. And I think that over the past few years, I’ve certainly been calcified,” says Chang. “Anytime you get out of your comfort zone or your little bubble, I think it’s a good reminder that there’s so much other stuff out there.”

Eating choices don't follow the algorithm

Chang joins a crowded field of celebrity travel hosts, which includes Daniel Dae Kim, Tony Shalhoub, Rainn Wilson, Eugene Levy, Stanley Tucci,Orlando Bloom, Zac Efron, José Andrés, Chris Hemsworth, Will Smith, Eva Longoria and Ewan McGregor. Awkwafina is on deck.

All owe a debt to Anthony Bourdain, who inspired millions to share his delight in food and the bonds it created. Bourdain died in 2018. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, notes that Chang is the first chef to host a CNN original series since Bourdain.

“Dave isn’t setting out to define American food or find the ‘best’ restaurant in every city. It’s almost the opposite,” she says. “He gets in the car, talks to people and follows recommendations that take him somewhere he didn’t expect to go. At a time when an algorithm can tell you where to eat, where to stay and what to see, there’s something really appealing about just getting a little lost and seeing what you find.”

The seed of the series was planted when Chang and executive producer Morgan Neville were chatting one day about what it was like to discover new indie rock bands back in the old days before the internet and influencers, and the joy when you found one.

“I felt like that was sort of how I felt about food as well,” says Chang. “Listen, it’s easier to eat than ever before. But, in some ways, it is harder to find something that is meaningful to you.”

He finds twists on brisket and Ethiopian food

One show highlight is the delightful way he ends up at an Ethiopian restaurant in Las Vegas after listening to the recommendation of a taxi driver. Eating slow-cooked chicken and injera — the sour, spongy flatbread — reminded Chang of how good that cuisine is.

“I will die on the hill that Ethiopian food is one of the world’s greatest cuisines. There’s nothing like it, and it’s a singular approach to texture, flavor, and the kind of food that everyone loves these days — communal dining, where everyone can eat the same thing but customize it themselves.”

He learns that in Texas the Holy Trinity is brisket, ribs and sausage, but some local chefs are also putting their own spins on classic dishes. Like pitmaster Chuck Charnichart at the eatery Barbs in Lockhart, who adds serrano glaze on her ribs and zests fresh limes over them. “It feels like I have a front-row seat to Dylan going electric,” Chang says in admiration.

Throughout the series is Chang's gentle humor and willingness to try and do anything, dropping references to the painter Rothko, musician John Coltrane and director Terrence Malick along the way. And, of course, always popping corn nuts.

“When you think about it, I’m getting paid to go eat and hang out with friends,” he says, laughing. “I have nothing to complain about. And it’s a nice reminder that this is literally a dream job.”

by Mark Kennedy

Travel Scams Are Getting Harder to Spot. Here's How to Stay Safe

Travelers queue up to pass through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airport Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Denver.Photo Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File

Adriana Morga Sep 10

4 MIN READ

Adriana Morga Sep 10

4 MIN READ

If you're booking a trip soon, you need to watch out for travel scams

Pickpockets were once the biggest worry for travelers heading to new destinations on vacation.

But travel scams have become more sophisticated, and scammers using new artificial intelligence tools have become better at creating fake websites and using stolen data to their advantage, said Florent Silve, an executive at Engine, a corporate travel management platform.

“What used to look like a fake website now becomes much harder to spot by consumers,” Silve said.

According to a Federal Trade Commission report published in June, Americans last year reported losing $3.5 billion to scams in which impostors contacted them through text, email, phone, social media and search engines, though those weren't all travel scams. Nearly 1 in 3 fraud reports were about impostor scams, making it the most reported fraud category.

Travel scams can happen before you even hop on a plane, with scammers posing as your hotel or airline to take advantage of the fact that you're expecting to receive communications from those companies.

“In the past, people were like ‘Oh if I receive a scam that is completely out of place, that's how I know it’s a scam.’ But now, the most dangerous scams don’t look suspicious; they look expected,” said Iskander Sanchez-Rola, a scam expert for Norton, a cybersecurity company.

If you’re planning a trip soon, here are some expert recommendations to stay safe from travel scams:

Beware of reservation hijacking

A new common travel scam is reservation hijacking, Sanchez-Rola said. In this scam, imposters send you an email or text, pretending to be your hotel. They pretend that something went wrong, such as a failed payment, and say you need to take immediate action.

What makes these scams particularly difficult to spot is that scammers often use real information to make you believe they are legit, Sanchez-Rola said. Scammers target hotel systems by phishing hotel staff to get login credentials and then accessing legitimate information from hotels or booking services. Using this information, scammers send you an email with your actual reservation dates or the exact cost of your hotel stay, hoping to convince you they're with the company you used to make the reservation.

“The main thing is that this isn’t a fake booking confirmation, it’s a real reservation that is weaponized against you," Sanchez-Rola said.

If you encounter this type of scam, Sanchez-Rola recommends that you don’t rush to make a payment through the provided link and instead call your hotel directly. Don’t call the number attached to the email or text you received because it might have come from the scammer. Instead, go to the official hotel website and call the number listed there.

Be wary of flight cancellation notifications

Another popular scam involves flight cancellations, Sanchez-Rola said. Scammers contact you with an urgent message saying your flight has been canceled or delayed, then pretend to help you rebook your flight for an additional cost.

“You're going to a place, and one day before that happens, they tell you that the flight was canceled," Sanchez-Rola said. “So in that moment, there is an inherent urgency.”

If you receive a text saying that your flight has been canceled, don’t panic. First, go directly to your airline’s portal and verify the information. If you need to rebook your flight, do so directly with the airline or third-party booking system you originally used. Above all, don’t click on any links sent to you through a text message, Sanchez-Rola said.

To help keep yourself safe from being scammed in the first place, don't post photos of your plane tickets and other travel documents on social media. Even if you cover your flight number with emojis, the ticket can reveal more than you think.

“The QR codes or the barcodes that are there include a lot of information," Sanchez-Rola said. “Sometimes they even include information about returning flights.”

Beware of QR codes

In recent years, QR codes have become a popular way to pay your bill at your restaurant table. This may be convenient, but it can also make you a target for scams, said Alissa Abdullah, Mastercard’s deputy chief security officer. Scammers paste a new code overlapping the restaurant’s code and direct customers to a fraudulent payment system.

“You may be sitting at a coffee shop and have a real QR code with a fake one that’s a sticker laid right on top,” Abdullah said.

If you’re suspicious of the payment page or notice a sticker laid on top of another at a restaurant, Abdullah recommends that you speak with a staff member and find a different way to pay, such as cash or a credit card.

Be careful when using public Wi-Fi

It’s very common to connect to a public Wi-Fi network to find your way around a new city or download your plane tickets at the airport. While free Wi-Fi can help during travel, it also carries some cybersecurity risks.

“Sometimes cyber criminals will create a network that looks close to the name of a legit network to dupe you into logging onto their network,” said Brian Cute, chief executive officer and director of the capacity and resilience program at Global Cyber Alliance, a nonprofit focused on reducing cyber risk.

If you access a scammer’s network, they can steal personal information, damage your system, or gain remote access to your devices. If you need to use public Wi-Fi, Cute recommends that you stick to basic searches, like how to get to your hotel, rather than accessing websites such as your bank or email.

by Adriana Morga

Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum Opens a Major Yayoi Kusama Exhibition After Her Death Last Month

Flowers and reflective balls are seen at a major retrospective of works by recently deceased Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mike Corder

Mike Corder Sep 9

3 MIN READ

Mike Corder Sep 9

3 MIN READ

Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum is hosting a major exhibition of Yayoi Kusama's work, two weeks after the celebrated Japanese artist's death at 97

Yellow tentacles decorated with rhythmic patterns of dots swirl around a room, the patterns echoed on the floor and the walls. Reflections bounce off mirrors, blurring the boundaries of the space at Amsterdam 's Stedelijk Museum.

The installation — specially created for an exhibition of the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who died Aug. 14 at age 97 — is titled “Infinity Mirrored Room — The Hope Of The Polka Dots Buried In Infinity Will Eternally Cover The Universe.”

The room is at the heart of the exhibition at the Stedelijk that opens this week, just two weeks after her death. What was to have been a retrospective has turned into a posthumous celebration of one of the globe's best known contemporary artists, who depicted her world splashed with polka dots and other repetitive motifs.

“We heard about her passing,” exhibition curator Leontine Coelewij told The Associated Press. “We decided to make it really a tribute. A tribute to her life. Tribute to her work, so that everybody can see what she is ... to us. So many wonderful works.”

Kusama's signature dots greet visitors before they even get into the museum in Amsterdam — they are plastered across its facade and even on red fabric wrapped around trees on the adjacent Museum Square.

Coelewij said that painting the dots was a way for the artist to process hallucinations she had from a young age. Among the works on display is a huge pumpkin made of fiber-reinforced plastic and polyurethane paint, its yellow skin covered in lines of black dots of varying sizes.

“So a lot of her work comes from these mental issues that she had,” Coelewij said. “And I think she made something beautiful out of it for her. It was also a way to explore ideas about infinity, for instance, like, how do we relate to the universe, to the cosmos, to the world around us?”

Kusama had long-standing links to the Netherlands and the Stedelijk. She was active in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities in the freewheeling 1960s, and her work was closely aligned to the ZERO movement established in the late 1950s by German artists, Heinz Mack and Otto Piene.

She was part of a landmark exhibition by the movement, also at the Stedelijk, in 1965. A photo from that Amsterdam exhibition shows Kusama, wearing a white kimono, standing among artists from the movement — mostly men in suits and ties.

In a famous “happening” in 1967, Kusama covered the naked body of Dutch artist Jan Schoonhoven with painted dots in the chapel of the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam near Rotterdam.

“She really liked the whole atmosphere in the Netherlands, which was rather open and tolerant, liberal,” Coelewij said. “She was also part of the counterculture of that moment, the hippie culture. You know, Amsterdam was the magical center, and she felt very much at home here.”

The new exhibition spans through several rooms before going up an escalator lined with mirrors to reach the infinity room installation one floor up.

It's Coelewij's favorite part of the show, created for the exhibition that was previously staged at Museum Ludwig in the German city of Cologne.

“There’s a lot of mirrors, there’s tentacles, there’s a lot of color, and it’s a ... you can say hallucinating world. You really step into her mind,” Coelewij said.

It's a fitting tribute to the artist who said 10 years ago that she felt her life was nearing its end but she was “still fighting to the death for my art.”

“I am giving all I have so that many people will continue to be interested in my art, even after I am dead,” Kusama had said.

The exhibition at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk opens on Friday and runs through Jan. 17.

by Mike Corder

Ancient Rome's Biggest Fresco and Mosaic Opens to Visitors Three Decades After Discovery

Reporters film the "The Painted City" fresco, discovered during 1990s built as foundations for the Baths of Trajan that has been restored, in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.Photo Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Nicole Winfield Sep 8

2 MIN READ

Nicole Winfield Sep 8

2 MIN READ

Authorities in Rome have unveiled what is believed to be the largest fresco and mosaic complex of ancient Rome

Authorities on Tuesday unveiled what is believed to be the largest fresco and mosaic complex of ancient Rome, a 1st-century AD depiction of a maritime city in what became the largest bath complex in the world.

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri presented the recently restored “Painted City” fresco and “Great Mosaic” that were discovered in an underground gallery during excavations in the 1990s of the Baths of Trajan on the Oppio hill near the Colosseum.

The works are opening to the public for the first time, initially in small groups of 15 and during a trial period of weekend access starting this month. The aim is to determine how the delicate works respond to increased humidity and climactic impacts before allowing more general access.

Gualtieri said the fresco, which features images of a walled port city from a birds-eye view perspective, was the largest wall fresco of its kind from ancient Rome and as such needs to be open to the public. After being hidden undergound for centuries, its blues and terra cotta colors are still clear but faded.

“They are truly unique in the world, both from the point of view of artistic beauty and the historic and documental importance,” he said at the unveiling.

Rome’s cultural superintendent, Claudio Parisi Presicce, said the grandeur of the port city as depicted in the fresco, with buildings, a theater and temple, public piazzas and towers, was particularly well conserved. The restoration work included techniques to preserve and improve visibility, remove surface deposits and consolidate the grouting to keep the decorated surfaces intact.

“We don’t know what city it refers to, but it must have been a particularly well-known one,” he said

The mosaic, for its part, measures some 15 meters (yards) high and features intricately decorated columns and architectural elements and figures over four different levels. The top levels are up-close images with people that are almost like theatrical scenes, while at the bottom are views of the port city’s layout from above.

The Baths of Trajan, which were dedicated by Emperor Trajan in 109 AD, extended over six hectares (15 acres) and were at the time the largest bath complex in the world. They incorporated an earlier baths complex, the Domus Aurea, and were designed on a different trajectory to take better advantage of the water temperatures to optimize the thermal experience for users.

The complex now open to the public includes a grand semicircular upper-level “library” which archaeologists believe was part of the baths complex and allowed users not only to practice sport and bathe but also to participate in cultural activities.

by Nicole Winfield

Robotaxi Service Debuts on London's Busy Streets As Europe Weighs More Self-Driving Vehicles

An Uber driver has his hands ready for intervention as he sits in an autonomous car in London, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026 as Uber officially launches the first hailable autonomous cabs in London.Photo Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein

Kelvin Chan Sep 3

2 MIN READ

Kelvin Chan Sep 3

2 MIN READ

Uber and Wayve are launching a robotaxi service in London on Thursday, marking the city's first self-driving taxi service

Uber and British tech company Wayve are launching London's first self-driving taxi service on Thursday, giving residents a chance to use technology that's already available in many U.S. cities and other parts of the world.

The two companies said they're starting with a small rollout of Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles outfitted with Wayve's autonomous vehicle technology.

Compared with the U.S. and China — countries where robotaxis operate autonomously in several cities, with no human driver — Europe has been taking a more cautious approach on self-driving cabs.

In London, there will still be a person behind the wheel overseeing the trip who can grab the wheel or tap the brakes if there’s a problem.

Under the U.K. government's pilot framework, self-driving taxi operators like Uber and Wayve still need approval to operate without a human safety driver. “That process is still playing out,” and it’s not clear how long it will take, said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s head of autonomous mobility.

Robotaxi companies have been testing their vehicles on London streets as Britain moves to adopt national regulations. Waymo and Chinese tech company Baidu are also gearing up to offer commercial passenger service in London, which poses unique challenges to robotaxis because its narrow and famously convoluted roads are frequently congested with cars, buses, bicycles and electric rental bikes.

Pedestrians also pose a bigger challenge in London because jaywalking is not against the law.

Many countries in Europe are still in the testing phase. Uber said last month it launched its first European commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, in partnership with a local operator and China's Pony.ai, but human safety drivers are still required.

Meanwhile in the United States, Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, now operates fully autonomous taxi service in 14 cities, while Amazon's Zoox and Tesla are catching up.

In China, Baidu, WeRide and Pony.AI operate robotaxi services in multiple cities. They've also been expanding into the Middle East in partnerships with Uber or local fleet operators in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

The deployment in London will start with under 20 vehicles and expand from there, Maredia said.

Uber customers won’t be able to specifically request a robotaxi, but they could be matched with a Wayve vehicle when they hail a ride on the app, which they can accept or reject. Prices won’t be any different from a regular Uber ride. Passengers won’t be prompted to tip at the end of a robotaxi trip, the company said.

by Kelvin Chan

Food Halls Have Become a Destination in Their Own Right, and the Closest Luxury Hotels Are Just Minutes Away

Hotel guests are skipping the rooftop bar this year for something far more delicious nearby. Photo Credit: Photo credit: MingPhoto, Depositphotos Via AP

Jennifer Allen Sep 2

4 MIN READ

Jennifer Allen Sep 2

4 MIN READ

A two-minute walk in San Antonio separates a converted 19th-century brewery from a former glass factory that now holds two Michelin-starred restaurants. Five minutes away in Edinburgh, a 19th-century church-turned-hotel sits close to a room full of Scottish cheese counters and chef-led kitchens. Food halls have become destination dining in their own right, not just a stop between sights, and in cities across the United States and the United Kingdom, a number of luxury hotels now put travelers within an easy walk of one.

The food hall used to be a stop on the way to dinner. Now it is dinner. A seat at a chef's counter, a glass of something poured by the person who imported it, a plate carrying a Michelin star a few minutes from where guests are sleeping: these used to mean a special trip across town. Now they're a short walk from the room. That pairing is showing up in cities from San Antonio to Newcastle, each one a luxury hotel within walking distance of a food hall.

A market that grew nearly 25% in 2 years

There's a number behind the trend: the U.S. now counts 458 operating food halls, up 24.89% since 2023. That's exactly why hotel groups on two continents are chasing a five-minute walk instead of a rooftop bar or a spa menu. The food hall isn't a niche amenity anymore; it's infrastructure.

San Antonio: A former glass factory holding 2 Michelin-starred restaurants

Pullman Market sits inside a former glass factory in San Antonio's Pearl District, and two separate Michelin-starred restaurants share the building: Isidore, which also holds a Michelin Green Star, and Nicosi. There's also a specialty market, a wine shop, a bread baker and a chef's corner.

The property's own description: "Michelin-star restaurants and nose-to-tail butchers share the same space." Fair enough. Hotel Emma, a 19th-century brewery turned hotel, is two minutes away. San Antonio is one of two American cities with a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation.

London: An Italian marketplace with 2 ways to stay

More than 6,000 products fill Eataly London 's 40,000 square feet at 135 Bishopsgate: cured meats and cheeses, handmade bread and focaccia, air-dried pasta and rice. The property also offers what it calls the U.K.'s largest selection of boutique, single-estate extra-virgin olive oil, plus an on-site cooking school, La Scuola, that runs public classes.

Andaz London Liverpool Street is one minute away. Pan Pacific London, a five-star, 237-room hotel, is three minutes the other direction. Either address puts guests inside the same marketplace.

San Francisco: Oysters, caviar and a century-old bread company

Inside a restored terminal on the Embarcadero, nearly 50 artisan food merchants make up the Ferry Building Marketplace, among them the oyster bar at Hog Island Oyster Company, the charcuterie counter at Fatted Calf, organic loaves from Acme Bread Company and hand-crafted American caviar from Tsar Nicoulai, which has been at it since 1984. The walk from the Palace Hotel runs about 15 minutes.

London, again: Selfridges Food Hall on Oxford Street

Selfridges Food Hall, on Oxford Street, is the store's answer to the Harrods food halls a few miles away in Knightsbridge: Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon and Moët & Chandon on the shelves, Charbonnel et Walker and Venchi at the chocolate counter, a full sit-down meal at Brasserie of Light inside the hall itself.

Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill is five minutes away on Portman Square. It's close enough that the hotel calls itself one of the closest luxury stays to a food hall in London, with the added draw of the square's private garden.

Edinburgh: A National Chef of Scotland runs the kitchen lineup

Scotland's National Chef, Gary Maclean, was part of the opening kitchen lineup at Bonnie & Wild Scottish Marketplace, a room of kitchens and street food stalls with Scottish cheese counters, artisan bakers and seafood stalls stacked with West Coast oysters and langoustines. So were El Perro Negro, a two-time winner of the UK Burger Awards, and Kochchi, a Scottish street food award winner. The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection, a five-star hotel built into a 19th-century church with views over Calton Hill, is five to 10 minutes away.

Newcastle: A department store food hall stocking the same labels as London's

On Northumberland Street, Fenwick Food Hall carries the same names found in London's grandest halls: Dom Pérignon, Charbonnel et Walker, Moët & Chandon, Lanson, Dalmore whisky. There are artisan cheese counters too, fresh pastries, premium seafood, a proper delicatessen. Hotel Gotham, an Art Deco building, is a five-minute walk down Pilgrim Street.

More food halls are coming, not fewer

At least 114 more food halls are in the U.S. pipeline: 18 opening within six months, 96 more slated for 2026, led by Florida, California, New York, Texas and Georgia. The report counts them as pipeline projects, not operating food halls. San Antonio, London, San Francisco, Edinburgh and Newcastle already have theirs.

What's changing is not yet how hotels book but what counts as a destination. A Michelin-starred kitchen inside a former glass factory, a National Chef of Scotland running a street-food lineup, a department store's champagne counter: these used to be a side note in a hotel's marketing copy. As more food halls open, that side note is getting harder to leave out.

by Jennifer Allen