Onward We Go!

Iknow you’ve been traveling, as you frequently reach out with pictures and tales from your journeys. A recent study indicated business travel is back to 52 percent of 2019 levels. However, that number includes all businesses, and we know smaller businesses travel at a more robust level. Industry trackers tend to focus on large companies, as they can easily gain statistics from their movements. But, in fact, small- to medium-sized businesses, which comprise the majority of Global

Traveler’s readership, represent the largest-growing segment of business travel. I am pleased to announce Global

Traveler will host a river cruise this fall on Amawaterways’ Amamagna, departing Oct. 8, 2023, from Vilshofen, Germany. The itinerary includes Passau, Germany; Linz, Grein, Melk and Vienna, Austria; and Budapest, Hungary. Travelers can visit Salzburg, ancient villages, fortresses and abbeys. The eight-day cruise includes evening events and dinners with your fellow subscribers and the Global Traveler team. Learn more at amawater ways.com/globaltraveler.

As you know from my previous letter, I sailed on

Amaprima last fall through Bavaria and had a wonderful time. Amamagna is a much larger ship and offers comfort and style. Yours truly will host the trip, and I look forward to spending time with you.

As we present the first issue of 2023, we look forward to a robust year filled with travel and events. On April 13 we return to Kimpton Monaco Washington DC to host the Wherever Awards as voted by the readers of

Whereverfamily. Now in its fifth year, our sister publication, whereverfamily.com, focuses on all aspects of family travel. Alongside the reader-voted awards, we’ll award innovators in family travel by category: airline, hotel, resort, rental car, travel provider and destination.

Lastly, we’ve added the Fxexpress Traveler of the Year award to the honors to be celebrated April 13. The contest is open to all subscribers. Please reach out to any member of our team for submission requirements; winners will be entered to win two business-class tickets.

The categories are

Airlines: Most trips in the last year or most interesting airline flights

Hotels: Most stays or most interesting stays

Destination – Leisure: Most interesting vacation trip Destination – Business: Most interesting business trip Airline Mileage: Best use of mileage on a trip

Hotel Points: Best use of points on a trip

Affinity Credit Card Usage: How a card program helped you plan the trip of a lifetime

Looking forward to a great year of travel and to reading your Fxexpress Traveler of the Year submissions!