Lonely Planet

The big story in travel is that it's picking up robustly. Finally.

The rebound follows some grim times -- as this photo of top travel editors gathered for a lunch at the Plaza Hotel in New York earlier this year inadvertently underscored.

The photo appears in Travel Weekly, the very lively weekly trade publication for travel agents. Travel Weekly had invited leading editors in the travel-media biz to a roundtable lunch to discuss the state of the industry, including "emerging trends, destinations and global travelers."

Thank God the emerging trends are looking better since that event -- and hopefully for the Plaza as well.

At the roundtable, according to this article in Travel Weekly last month, were "the chief editors of Afar, Budget Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure and the travel editor of USA Today," who all "convened in New York earlier this year for the fifth annual Travel Weekly Consumer Travel Editors Roundtable."

Added Travel Weekly, "The event was held in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, which recently completed a three-year, $450 million restoration. Lunch was provided by Plaza partner CPS Events' Liz Neumark."

OK then. Onward and upward!

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