Talking Travel: Everyone's Flying to Boston, New Renaissance, and It's Cheap to Fly to Beijing on United

It's been a week of travel pornography here at the Talking Travel desk. I'll add one place to the list of last-minute destination choices for October 1 week: Sri Lanka. I mentioned it earlier in this column and it may end up on my travel calendar later in the autumn. The civil war is over, the tsunami is past, and by most accounts it's a beautiful country that isn't a hassle the way India is. Citizens of many nations may apply for visas electronically. 

Also mentioned in that column was Hainan Airlines' commencement of its service to Boston. I'm going to look at Hainan Airlines as an aviation trendsetter from now on because suddenly everyone else and their sister is flying non-stop to Boston. That includes Cathay Pacific Airlines, which flies via Hong Kong, and United Airlines, which is now offering pretty nice fares from Boston to Beijing, although not the other way necessarily.

As anyone who has been in Beijing for longer than a year knows, the autumn is absolutely the best time to visit Beijing, and United is helping out. It's currently offering roundtrip fares from Boston for USD 959, from Chicago for USD 724, and from Houston for USD 951, all including tax. See the screen shot above. 

For all the press that the Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing and the Rosewood Hotel Beijing are getting, you would think that Beijing didn't have any hotels. Still, it's good news that in the face of decreasing tourist arrivals, the hospitality industry continues to build in Beijing. 

If you're looking for somewhere to go for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, read Tuesday's column. 

Wishing everyone traveling for the upcoming holiday weekend one road flat safe.

Photo: United Airlines/Steven Schwankert/the Beijinger