Checking In: How Dawson's Creek influenced my summer holiday

As this newsletter comes to you this week, my out-of-office will be on and I will be on a plane, making my way to Boston in the US. This is a holiday I have been looking forward to for months. Not only will I be going to visit some family members for the first time in a year, but my partner and I are making the most of the time away, with a few nights in Boston and Cape Cod planned, as well as time in Washington DC. I am sure that I will have plenty more to say about the trip when I get back, but in preparation, I have been getting all the Cape Cod fixes I can through pop culture. I have relistened to Anthony Bourdain's 2000 autobiography Kitchen Confidential . Bourdain's career as a chef started in Provincetown, Cape Cod, so his memoir has provided much culinary inspiration for our travels. I have also started reading Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur, a novel set on the Massachusetts peninsula, which I plan to finish on the plane. The popular summertime destination is essentially a main character in the book, thanks to Brodeur's indulgent descriptions of the fresh, salty Atlantic air and idyllic stretches of beach. I have made no secret of being influenced to travel by pop culture ‐ years of watching Dawson's Creek most certainly influenced this choice of holiday destination ‐ and I am not alone, it seems. Set-jetting , as it is dubbed, has been a key travel trend for several years now ‐ the phrase was coined by journalist Gretchen Wilson in a 2008 New York Post story. We have probably seen it peak in Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand with the White Lotus e ffect . However, before the Mike White HBO show, there was an onslaught of tourists in New Zealand , following in the footsteps of Frodo and co in The Lord of the Rings ; both Iceland and Northern Ireland saw a surge in popularity thanks to Game of Thrones ; and the Hungarian capital had a spike in interest following the release of Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Away from screens, theme parks are another major drive for tourism. Here in the UAE we have had some very significant theme park news in the past week: Disneyland Abu Dhabi has been announced. What do we know about the park so far? We know it will be on the water on Yas Island, we can expect a “distinctly Emirati” experience and it will be the most high-tech Disney destination to date. We can also expect a Disney hotel (or hotels) to open at the resort. We have rounded up everything we know so far here . Does this mean that we can also expect Universal Studios to open here in the Middle East? Perhaps! Read why here . Italian trips seem to be on the agendas of many UAE residents, as Etihad Airways has reported significant growth in demand between the European destination and Abu Dhabi. According to the airline, Italy has become one of its fastest-growing European markets, with point-to-point travel rising by 76 per cent compared to 2023. In response, Etihad has increased its service to triple-daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Milan Malpensa, and double-daily from Rome Fiumicino. Starting in November, the airline will offer more than 10,000 weekly seats in each direction. This week, I was also interested to read that there has been a notable increase in visitors from the Gulf region to Barbados, with a 31 per cent year-on-year rise. The UAE led the visitor numbers, followed by Saudi Arabia, with increases of 30 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively. There was also a significant jump in visitors from Oman, up 104 per cent compared to the previous year. The journey to the Caribbean island from the UAE is no mean feat, with no direct flights. Journeys take around 20 hours, going via London, Toronto, New York or Miami on Etihad Airways and Emirates, with a number of partner airlines. Despite the long trip, picture-perfect island scenes are proving to be quite the draw. Until next time, travel well. There is something truly romantic about long, slow, luxurious train journeys. As we wait for Saudi Arabia to launch Dream of the Desert , a high-end train which will allow travellers to explore the kingdom’s heritage and natural sites across 1,250km from Riyadh to Al Qurayyat in the north, there are plenty of slow-travel routes to explore around the world. From the La Dolce Vita Orient Express in Italy to the Maharajas' Express in India and Golden Eagle Silk Road Express in China, David Tusing rounds up some of the once-in-a-lifetime journeys to add to travel bucket lists here . The animals I could meet are a significant factor in my holiday planning. To this day, seeing humpback whales and southern right whales on a boat trip in Cape Town's False Bay is one of the travel highlights of my life. This summer, I am heading back to South Africa, this time to the east of the country for a safari, which I am already certain is going to be a high point of 2025 for me. Whales and safari aside, this week Evelyn Lau has rounded up some of the best global destinations for animal lovers. They range from Borneo, where you can spot orangutans in the wild, to Istanbul, which is known to many as the City of Cats. The destination that has most piqued my interest is Antarctica, where visitors following strict ethical wildlife tourism practices could well spot penguins, seals and whales. Read more about the wild and wonderful destinations here . High in the remote Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, where roads fade into rocky trails and herds of wild stock outnumber humans, Charukesi Ramadurai finds herself sharing tea, stories and silence with a Kazakh eagle hunter named Khaiyr. Welcomed into a yurt home by Khaiyr and his family, Charukesi gets an insight into their nomadic way of life. Read about her journey here . TRAVEL NEWS THIS WEEK Top travel tip Flying can be dehydrating so drink plenty of water during your flight. In-flight skincare is also important. Pack a hydrating serum and moisturiser − make hyaluronic acid your go-to ingredient for extra hydration. If you're flying long haul, a sheet mask could be worth considering for some low-effort travel pampering. The Dr Jart+ Dermask Water Jet Vital Hydra Solution (Dh85) is a personal favourite for long journeys.