<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10024046" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="grayson-allen">Grayson Allen</keyword> guested on JJ Redick's podcast, "The Old Man and the Three," in an episode that was released on Monday.</li><li>The two <keyword id="6361805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> players reminisced about their time as stars — and villians — for the <keyword id="1738528" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Duke-Blue-Devils">Duke Blue Devils</keyword> and debated who was more hated during their college years.</li><li>Redick and Allen agreed that social media made the latter's interactions with hateful fans more difficult, but Redick acknowledged that his experiences at road games were ruthless.</li></ul><p>For Duke diehards, JJ Redick and Grayson Allen are bonafide legends. But for nearly everyone else, the former Blue Devils are two of the most hated characters in <keyword id="1737297" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="College-Basketball">college basketball</keyword> history.</p><p>In a guest appearance on JJ Redick's podcast, "The Old Man and the Three," released Monday, Allen reminisced about his four years playing for legendary head coach <keyword id="1055617" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mike-Krzyzewski">Mike Krzyzewski</keyword> and discussed his experience dealing with hateful fans after becoming a villain in the eyes of <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> fans across America.</p><p>"It's really funny now, but at the time, I was so annoyed by it, man," Allen said of hecklers on social media. "I was so annoyed by it."</p><div type="image" title="grayson allen duke.JPG" height="1816" width="2422" msid="78390806" hostid="261"></div><p>After breaking out as an unlikely hero during the Final Four of Duke's national championship run during his freshman year, Allen became <a href="https://www.insider.com/duke-grayson-allen-kicked-elon-player-2016-12">infamous for tripping opponents</a> in a string of games early in his sophomore campaign. He was even <a href="https://www.insider.com/grayson-allen-suspended-duke-kick-2016-12">suspended for a game</a> after one such instance against the Elon Phoenix.</p><p>Allen's reputation as a poor sport and a tripper followed him throughout his entire career in Durham and beyond. And even though he wasn't on social media at the time, Allen was acutely aware that he had was ridiculed on the internet.</p><p>"I became a meme for months," Allen told Redick. "I had friends send me all these videos ... They would photoshop me laying on the ground with my leg up and just sliding through all these different videos tripping random people and whatever."</p><p>When Redick asked Allen who he thought was hated more during their time as a Blue Devil, Allen credited social media as "the only reason I would say myself." Still, he acknowledged that "if you take out social media and you just go with crowds and the national media," Redick may have the edge.</p><div type="image" title="jj redick duke.JPG" height="1875" width="2500" msid="78390809" hostid="261"></div><p>"I've seen some of the videos of you," Allen said. "Some of the chants that the crowds had might've even — they were on par [with what I faced] or maybe even worse. If you just go game atmosphere, you might have me on that."</p><p>Redick — who played at Duke in the mid-2000s — agreed with Allen's line of thinking. He said he was thankful that he didn't have to deal with social media during his college days because "I don't know that I would have not been kicked off the Duke team." Then, he shared a particularly harrowing story of his experience at one road game during his sophomore year.</p><p>"I come out for warmups — there's a sign that says 'JJ drinks his own pee,'" Redick recalled. "Hilarious. There was also a sign that makes a reference to a lewd sex act with my 12-year-old sister. Then, there's a group of students sitting in the front row who have these custom T-shirts made, and it's a picture of me, and they 'When I grow up, I want to name my kid JJ Redick.' And then, on the back, it says 'And beat him every day.'"</p><div type="image" title="jj redick" height="1666" width="2222" msid="78390812" hostid="261"></div><p>But the harassment Redick, who was still a teenager at the time, faced away from Cameron Indoor Stadium extended beyond kids his age. Adults — even high-profile ones — joined in on heckling Redick during his days wearing blue and white.</p><p>"Then, the Baltimore Ravens owner starts talking shit to me," Redick said about that same game. "He's sitting courtside. He starts talking shit to me. I'm having a good game, so I start yapping back. This, of course, insights other people in the stands to start yelling things at me. And then at the end of the game, I'm hitting the game-clinching free throws, and the entire arena starts yelling 'F--- you JJ.' That was one game.'"</p><p>"That was pretty much every road game that I had at Duke," Redick added. "That was my experience."</p><p>Check out the clip of Redick's and Allen's conversation below, and you can listen to the entire "The Old Man and the Three" episode here:</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/duke-loses-kansas-grayson-allen-shot-miss-march-madness-2018-3">Grayson Allen's college career ended in brutal fashion when a game-winning shot just missed after rolling out</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/grayson-allen-suspended-duke-kick-2016-12">Grayson Allen has been suspended indefinitely from Duke basketball after kicking another opponent</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/doc-rivers-quits-clippers-donald-sterling-jj-redick-white-players-2020-5">Doc Rivers nearly quit his job as Clippers head coach when Donald Sterling refused to sign JJ Redick because the now-disgraced owner 'doesn't like white players'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/jj-redick-zion-williamson-pelicans-playoff-odds-2019-9">JJ Redick had a simple message for Zion Williamson about continuing his playoffs streak: 'Don't f--- this up for me'</a></li></ul>

JJ Redick and Grayson Allen debated who was more hated during their time as Duke villains

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong><keyword id="11895112" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="barcelona" source="Orion">Barcelona</keyword> has a wealth of cultural and historical sites that draw millions of visitors each year.</strong></li><li><strong style="color: #222222;">Here are some ways to escape the tourist crowds and discover a more authentic side of the city.</strong></li></ul><p>Barcelona is jam-packed with attractions, from incredible architecture to world-class museums, lively markets, and fabulous urban beaches. Even exploring the warren of narrow streets and pocket squares of the medieval old city can take a whole afternoon. </p><p>But as beautiful as my adopted home city is, it also suffers from over-tourism. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, this city of <a href="https://time.com/6072062/barcelona-tourism-residents-covid/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">1.6 million people saw nearly 12 million tourists</a> visit, plus many day-trippers arriving by cruise ship. Remarkable Gaudí landmarks — Sagrada Familia, Park Güell — and top sites like the Picasso Museum have become perpetually packed with tourists, especially in the summer high season.</p><p>Fortunately, there are ways to support responsible tourism and avoid major crowds. I've lived in Barcelona for five years, and the key to enjoying your time is to balance visits to major attractions with stops at lesser-known cultural sites and venture a bit farther from the center to discover local neighborhoods. Poblenou, for one, has trendy bars and restaurants, plus some of Barcelona's best beaches.</p><p>If you put some of my suggestions below onto your list of must-dos, I guarantee you will have a far more pleasant trip with fewer crowds, while also seeing a more authentic side of the city. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="A beige and white cathedral with a gate and trees surrounding the entrance" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104446" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Sant Pau Recinto Modernista</strong></p><p>A 10-minute stroll uphill from Gaudí's celebrated Sagrada Familia is the <a href="https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">world's largest Art Nouveau site</a>. Designed by Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner and completed in 1930, this former hospital complex stretches across nine city blocks and is made up of dozens of red-brick pavilions surrounding landscaped courtyards. </p><p>Since the complex is so large, it rarely gets crowded, so you can take your time wandering around and admiring the buildings' wealth of ornamental details, including colorful mosaic tiles, elaborate ceiling frescoes, and stained-glass windows. The highlight for me is the main administration pavilion with a grand marble staircase leading to hallways lined in multicolored stained glass — it's a very Instagrammable spot.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="People in a museum with gray walls. Two people look at painted and children are visible through an asymmetrical archway with mirrors on side" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104448" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>CaixaForum Barcelona</strong></p><p>There's always something interesting going on at <a href="https://caixaforum.org/es/barcelona" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this arts center</a> set at the foot of Montjuïc, just across from the National Museum of Catalonian Art. Traveling exhibitions put on by La Caixa Foundation run the gamut and are well-curated. I've seen retrospectives of Magritte and Warhol, the furniture designs of Jean Prouvé, and themed shows from opera to vampires. </p><p>It's also free to visit the building, a former textile factory, and a beautiful example of industrial Modernisme architecture. I always make it a point to go up to the roof terrace for views of the sprawling red-brick complex and its crenelated roofs, turrets, and filigreed towers. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="A view of the Barcelona city behind an abstract statue shaped like a fork in a small pond and a woman standing next to it" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104449" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Fundació Joan Miró</strong></p><p>Architect Josep Sert designed <a href="https://www.fmirobcn.org/en/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this gleaming all-white museum</a> atop Montjuïc to house the surrealist artwork of Joan Miró, a Barcelona native and one of the most celebrated 20th-century artists. Miró's bold, bright, abstract pieces, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and textiles from all periods of his life, are perfectly at home in the spare, light-filled space. My favorite spot is the rooftop, where his colorful, whimsical sculptures are set against jaw-dropping views of the city. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Two girls sit on a stone path with view of Barcelona downhill below them" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104656" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Turó de la Rovira/Bunkers of Carmel</strong></p><p>When I want to show visitors the best views of Barcelona, I take them up to <a href="https://www.barcelona.cat/museuhistoria/ca/patrimonis/els-espais-del-muhba/muhba-turo-de-la-rovira" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">these hilltop bunkers</a> located 900 feet above the city. From here, you have panoramic vistas of the mountains, sea, and the whole of Barcelona spread out below. It's a favorite weekend picnic spot for locals, but history buffs can study the plaques dotted around the site to learn how these bunkers helped defend the city from air attacks during the Spanish Civil War. Buses 22 and 24 run from Plaça de Catalunya to El Carmel, and from there it's about a 10-minute walk uphill to the site.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Pieces of wall and clay inside of exhibit with a pathway and a person standing next to it" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104660" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA Plaça del Rei) </strong></p><p>Most visitors focus on Barcelona's medieval architecture or the works of Gaudí, but the city actually dates back more than 2,000 years, when it was a Roman colony called Barcino. I love showing people its lesser-known ancient history, with a visit to <a href="https://www.barcelona.cat/museuhistoria/en/heritages/els-espais-del-muhba/muhba-placa-de-rei" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this mostly underground museum</a> located deep beneath the Gothic Quarter's Plaça del Rei. </p><p>Walkways stretch over the excavated Roman streets, which reveal the commercial life of the city from the first century BC, including a winery (with giant terra-cotta vats), a fish-salting factory, and a laundry area. As you go up, each level reveals a different era; for example, you can see the remains of the city's first Christian community dating from the fourth to the seventh centuries, and the formation of the medieval city in the 13th  century. It's an absolutely fascinating exploration of ancient Barcelona.</p><div type="image" title="A walkway with a white railing and beach with people lounging and swimming in the ocean in background" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104665" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Poblenou Beaches</strong></p><p>Instead of fighting for a little wedge of sand on the crowded beaches of Barceloneta, do as the locals do and head east to strands of the Poblenou district. The beaches of Bogatell, Mar Bella, and Nova Mar Bella tend to be less crowded than those closer to the city center, and the atmosphere is far more relaxed, with fewer drunk, rowdy tourists. (Do keep in mind that one section of Mar Bella is a gay nudist beach.) You'll find all the same amenities as in Barceloneta, including chiringuitos (beach bars), sand volleyball courts, lifeguards, and most importantly, toilets and outdoor showers. </p><p>After a few hours at Bogatell, I like to make my way to the neighboring Parc del Poblenou for a pit stop at the hip al fresco eatery <a href="https://campingcamping.onuniverse.com/home" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Camping</a>, which serves excellent snacks and sandwiches, and organic drinks. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="A variety of whole raw shrimp, raw fish, and prawns on ice on a table and in baskets at market" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104670" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Mercat de Sant Antoni (Sant Antoni Market)</strong></p><p>Tourists swarm the stalls of the famous La Boqueria market on the Rambla, but very few locals actually do their shopping there. For a more authentic market experience — in a building that's even more beautiful, in my opinion — stop by <a href="https://www.mercatdesantantoni.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this vast indoor market</a>, occupying an entire block in the Sant Antoni district. </p><p>Inside an elegant iron structure that dates back to 1882 is just about everything a foodie could want, like fresh produce, seafood, meat, cheese, bread, Spanish olives, olive oil, and wine. And of course, there are multiple stalls where you can watch vendors expertly slicing a leg of Iberian ham. I don't cook but I love coming to this market to soak in the atmosphere (and pick up some lovely local cheeses and wines). On Sundays, while the interior is closed, a market of secondhand books sets up shop on the periphery.  </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Many people seated in red chairs and wire frame tables and chairs under yellow umbrellas beside apartment homes under large trees" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104672" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Plazas of Gràcia </strong></p><p>One of my favorite pastimes is going café-hopping among Gràcia's pedestrian plazas (or plaças in Catalan). This district to the north of the city center was once a separate village and it counts around 15 squares — shady spots where residents come to mingle and catch up over coffee, wine, or vermouth. </p><p>My top three picks are Plaça de Virreina, Plaça de la Rovira i Trias, and Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia — all within a short stroll of one another. Virreina, framed by elegant residential buildings and tall trees and anchored by the 19th-century stone church of Sant Joan de Gràcia, is a wonderfully peaceful spot. There are several cafés in the plaza, and a couple more alongside the church, so you can usually find a table if you're patient.</p><p>Nearby is Rovira, which has some of the better dining and drinking options, including La Rovira, which specializes in local beers and good pub-style food. One of the largest, liveliest squares is Vila de Gràcia, marked by a tall clock tower at its center. Families love to gather here and let kids run freely around the plaza. If you're lucky, you'll find a seat on the terrace of <a href="http://nabuccotiramisu.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Nabucco Tiramisu</a>, which serves excellent Italian coffee and pastries.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Three bronze statues of Spanish figures on a display with a red background" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104677" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Museu Frederic Marès </strong></p><p>Adjacent to the Barcelona Cathedral is <a href="https://www.barcelona.cat/museufredericmares/eng/museum" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this fascinating museum</a> holding the eclectic collections of sculptor Frederic Marès (1893–1991). Skip the lower levels with their seemingly endless parade of medieval-era Madonnas and Jesuses, and make a beeline for the marvelous Collector's Cabinet on the top floors. Here, you'll find 17 themed rooms packed with hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of whatever struck Marès's fancy — everything from medieval armor to walking sticks to ladies' fans and pipes and cigarette cases. Pouring through the matchbook collection alone could take hours.</p><p>I love perusing the many wonderfully weird items, like Victorian-era needlepoint portraits crafted from human hair and a whole section of bouquet holders, carried by the most fashionable 19th-century European ladies.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="A woman holds her phone and takes a picture of many multi-colored lights in a room illuminated in purple and green" height="3840" width="5119" msid="91104679" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Moco Museum Barcelona</strong></p><p>When I lived in Amsterdam, I regularly visited this museum focusing on contemporary and street art, so I was excited when <a href="https://mocomuseum.com/moco-museum-barcelona-en/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">the new outpost opened in Barcelona</a> last October. Set in a 16th-century palace in El Born, just a stone's throw from the Picasso Museum, it displays a small but stellar collection of works across two levels.</p><p>Downstairs are modern and contemporary masters like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Julian Opie, while upstairs features pieces from street artists like Kaws and Banksy. Several rooms are dedicated to experiential and digital art, including an awesome immersive light-and-mirror installation by Studio Irma. And this is one museum where you won't want to skip the gift shop filled with cool prints, postcards, tote bags, T-shirts, and limited-edition merch.  </p><div type="image" title="Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain lit up at night." height="2391" width="3188" msid="91104681" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Magic Nights at Casa</strong> <strong>Batlló</strong></p><p>I'd always avoided visiting <a href="https://www.casabatllo.es/en/online-tickets/visit-magic-nights/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">this masterpiece of Gaudí</a>, chiefly because of the long lines no matter the season. But then I discovered Magic Nights. Instead of queuing up with the daytime crowds, you can spend a bit more than the regular 35 euros admission for an intimate evening that also includes a live rooftop concert — plus free cava!</p><p>Doors open to Magic Nights ticket holders at 8 p.m. for a tour of the house (with a free audio guide), followed by the concert starting at 9 p.m. There are three ticket levels — blue, silver, and gold — with the latter (priced at 59 euros) netting you a front-row table to the concert, plus an extra drink. But the blue tickets (49 euros) also give you the full experience, including a visit to the new Gaudí Cube, a spectacular immersive video-and-sound installation in the basement. What really makes it worth the extra cost is seeing the house without the throngs of tourists — there are times that I had the rooms nearly all to myself. Magic Nights runs seasonally, from April to November.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-traveling-to-barcelona-spain" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>View Insider's comprehensive guide to visiting Barcelona</em><em>.</em></a></p>

10 places to go in Barcelona beyond what you'll find in most guide books, according to a local travel writer

<p class="enhanced-subtitle">The entire infrastructure of <keyword id="12143528" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="macau" source="Orion">Macau</keyword>'s success has been built on casinos. But under Beijing's regulatory crackdowns, gaming operators will have to abide by new rules — or risk losing their licenses.</p><p>At 32 square kilometers, Macau is just 5% of Singapore's size. It's about half the size of Manhattan. Yet it has more than 35,000 hotel rooms, 30 Michelin-star restaurants, and 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And it clocks gaming revenues that are six times that of the Las Vegas Strip.</p><p>It's also one of the wealthiest places in the world.</p><p>Alidad Tash is an expert in gaming operation and strategy who worked for 10 years in Vegas and Macau with the Sands organization. He said Macau's gaming revenue was $36 billion in pre-pandemic 2019, while the Vegas Strip raked in just $6 billion.</p><p>"Gaming is 70-80% of Macau's GDP. It's shockingly high," said Tash, who now runs his own consultancy firm, 2NT8 Macau.</p><p>But the wealth rests in the hands of a few — and that, in turn, is at odds with the government's "common prosperity" messaging. In September, officials announced a regulatory overhaul. Gaming licenses in Macau expire in June 2022.</p><p>The timing of the announcement is in line with Beijing's regulatory crackdowns, and it means gaming operators will have to abide by new rules or risk losing their licenses. There were also hints of Chinese officials supervising the world's largest <keyword id="11994893" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gambling" source="Orion">gambling</keyword> hub. All this caused <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-17/bets-are-off-after-casino-owners-get-hit-on-china-s-crackdown">shares</a> of casino companies, particularly American operators Sands <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword> and Wynn Macau, to plunge.</p><p>Getting Macau to amp up the non-gaming elements of the island will be a challenge, according to casino development strategists and hospitality consultants Insider spoke to. For one, Macau is tiny. But mainly, it's a victim of its own success for focusing on gaming as its sole cash cow.</p><div type="image" title="Macau at night with illuminated fountains and a Wynn resort in the background" height="2721" width="3628" msid="87775909" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>More money, but not for everyone</strong></h2><p>Victoria Fuh is the vice president of Macau Meetings, Incentives and Special Events Association. Fuh told Insider that when she arrived in Macau 16 years ago, most meeting planners didn't know where Macau was. Today, it's on the list of venue options for <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="international" source="Orion">international</keyword> conferences that rotate globally.</p><p>"Year after year, Macau adds new hotels and attractions, so it's always fresh for our clients," said Fuh.</p><p>Since 1962, Stanley Ho — the late "King of Macau" — and his family held a monopoly over Macau's gambling industry as the only licensee for casinos. When Macau broke the monopoly in 2002, five more casino operators entered: Sands China, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Entertainment, and MGM China. Collectively, they now operate 41 casinos.</p><p>With the casinos came a lot of money. Macau is the only place in China where gambling is legal, and casinos have had a strong 20-year run.</p><p>"Macau's GDP per capita shot up from a low of $12,352 in 1992 to $71,974 in 2020," said Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management &amp; Consulting. "However, most of that wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few."</p><div type="image" title="Cityscape of Macau shows run-down buildings in various states of disarray" height="2235" width="2981" msid="87775910" hostid="261"></div><p>The government started a one-off annual cash handout to residents in 2008. In 2020, the amount allocated to residents was 15,000 patacas ($1,870).</p><p>Lee, who has lived in Macau for 16 years, told Insider the annual lump sum is "nominal."</p><p>"China sees how this creates social problems in Hong Kong and probably wants to avoid the same outcome in Macau," Lee added.</p><p>Were it not for subsidies and welfare benefits like these, Macau's Gini coefficient — which is used to measure inequality — would have been 0.4% in 2017-2018, hitting the high inequality mark, according to the 2020 Statistics and Census Bureau survey as reported by <a href="https://www.macaubusiness.com/what-gini-has-to-say/">Macau Business</a>.</p><p>And while the government <a href="https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-macau/">reports</a> a low poverty rate — 2.3% in 2017 — the percentage is based solely on income and ignores the growing cost of living that accompanied the casino boom.</p><p>Wealth inequality isn't the only issue in Macau. For one, there's crime: According to a <a href="https://www.macaubusiness.com/special-report-con-more-crime-and-corruption/">paper </a>from the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, since the liberalization of casino licensing in 2002, crime has "increased drastically."</p><p>There are other social problems, such as a whole generation of young people dropping out of studies to work in the gaming industry because of its financial rewards, according to Robbert van der Mass, director of APAC Hospitality Services Macau. This in turn affects small retail shops and restaurants, many of which have disappeared as they couldn't compete with salaries offered at casino resorts.</p><div type="image" title="Aerial view of Macau city" height="2300" width="3066" msid="87775912" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>One-trick pony</strong></h2><p>Macau is well positioned for tourism: At its feet is the massive mainland market and neighboring Hong Kong, which together accounted for 90% of Macau's 39 million arrivals in pre-pandemic 2019, Macau Statistics &amp; Census Service, locally known as DSEC, shows.</p><p>In 2019, there were 60 times more tourists than locals in Macau, per DSEC figures. But the average length of stay in Macau is just 1.2 days, compared with 2.7 days in Singapore and 3.3 days in Hong Kong. That's partly due to a high number of day-trippers, which accounted for 53% of arrivals in 2019, DSEC data shows.</p><p>Macau's gaming liberalization in 2002 was meant to make the city a world center for tourism, while Hong Kong became an international financial center, said Lee. That didn't exactly happen.</p><p>"Instead, Macau became China's center for gambling," Lee said. "And despite the anti-corruption campaign [in 2012] and a series of anti-gambling edicts subsequently, casinos' non-gaming revenue never really got off to any significant volume, staying at about 5% of their gross revenue on average."</p><p>This compares with 50% in Vegas and 30% in Singapore, experts interviewed said.</p><p>However, non-gaming creates more jobs than gaming does — and it benefits small- and medium-sized suppliers more, said some of the experts.</p><p>"When casinos make money, no supplier gets rich," said Tash. "If I spend money in a hotel room, there is a lot more labor involved. Non-gaming supplies wealth for the overall community far more than gaming."</p><div type="image" title="Casino and resort in Macau lit up against night sky" height="3586" width="4782" msid="87775913" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>Keeping Macau relevant</strong></h2><p>With its gaming licenses expiring in eight months, Macau now has a chance to reframe its gaming history.</p><p>"This isn't a renewal, it's a new open tender and anyone can bid for a new concession," said Lee. He said the government will likely offer prescriptive terms and demand clear non-gaming plans that extend beyond restaurants and retail.</p><p>"They want to see real non-gaming, such as the development of meetings and conventions, entertainment, art, and other attractions that go towards building a healthy tourism industry," Lee said of the government's approach to Macau 2.0.</p><p>A shift to more non-gaming could be beneficial for Macau tourism, said some of the tourism experts Insider spoke to. Some even see it as a chance for the city to redefine itself in line with newer travel trends.</p><p>Van der Mass of APAC Hospitality Services opened the MGM Grand Macau in 2007. He said that over the years, he has noticed a "huge shift" in Chinese travelers' behavior towards culture and experiences in food, retail, and entertainment.</p><p>"Integrated resorts are under pressure to adapt their offerings here in Asia, because these customers are increasingly exposed to leading trends in the world. To build more retail and meeting facilities without evolving these segments is no longer acceptable," said van der Mass.</p><p>Macau is facing increased competition for Asian customers as the gaming industry develops elsewhere in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, he said.</p><p>The demographics of gaming travelers are also changing. "Younger travelers are inclined towards gaming online, and the pandemic only drives more of this behavior. I think we'll see a transition in Asia towards more non-gaming," said Ian Wilson, who worked six years at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and now runs Wilson Innovation Lab.</p><h2><strong>Attempts at moving beyond gaming</strong></h2><p>Casino operators in Macau appear to be heeding the push for more non-gaming.</p><p>Sands runs two casino resorts in Macau: The Venetian and The Parisian. The Venetian is the largest casino floor in Asia. Sands also tries to attract leisure visitors with attractions like Venice's canals and a replica of the Eiffel Tower. It's now remodeling the former Sands Cotai Central into a new resort called The Londoner, which will include replicas of London landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and London-themed suites by David Beckham at one of the four hotel towers.</p><div type="image" title="Exterior shot of London-inspired resort in Macau" height="1462" width="1950" msid="87775916" hostid="261"></div><p>The project, opening in phases this year, has 351,000 square feet of gaming space and 369,000 square feet of meeting space. That's in addition to a 1,700-seat theater and enough retail space to fit 130 stores and 40 restaurants.</p><p>While the move does reflect a diversification out of gaming, it does not address another missing element in the island's development: Macau's Euro-Asia history and heritage. </p><p>"Gaming has overshadowed the development of other potential attractions and eclipsed some of the original character of Macau, such as its Euro-Asian heritage, in both tangible and intangible forms," said Leonardo Dioko, a professor at Macao Institute for Tourism Studies and a director of a tourism research center in Macau.</p><h2><strong>A thinly veiled power play</strong></h2><p>Some skeptics believe the regulatory overhaul is a thinly veiled power play for China to gain more control over the yuan's outflow and to strong-arm Macau — and the casinos — into adopting a digital currency, which is traceable.</p><p>"It's no coincidence that the target date for the implementation of the PRC digital yuan is 2024. China just wants to make sure that Macau is ready for the conversion when China wants it to be," said Ben Hirasawa, founder of BH21, a firm that advises hospitality and real-estate clients on project development in Asia.</p><p>While the review's timing may be opportune for China, it's a setback for Macau tourism, which has been battered by the pandemic. In the first nine months of 2021, Macau had six million arrivals, a fraction of its 39 million visitors in 2019, according to DSEC.</p><p>"Although there have been times throughout the year where we can see a glimmer of hope and travel recovering, it swiftly changes when there is an outbreak somewhere close by or locally," said Janet McNab, who heads Sheraton Grand and St Regis in Macau.</p><p>Ultimately, what's at stake is the entire infrastructure upon which Macau's success, unequal though it is, has been built. What's also in question is whether the niche it carved out for itself 20 years ago as Asia's gambling haven will still exist.</p><p>"Macau kind of exists for gaming," Wilson said. "But with gaming options continuing to increase around the world, Chinese nationals might even rather gamble in Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, or the Philippines, where they won't have quite the same level of scrutiny as they would in Macau."</p>

Casinos made Macau one of the wealthiest places in the world — but they also brought heightened inequality and crime. Now, China is cracking down.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> has disrupted how travelers want to spend their money.</li><li>As lockdown restrictions ease, industry experts expect <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-will-change-vacation-travel-ceos-whats-next-2020-5">travelers to stay closer to home</a> and take <keyword id="1600077" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Road-Trips">road trips</keyword> rather than flights.</li><li>RV dealers are seeing <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-26/-covid-campers-rv-motor-home-and-travel-trailer-sales-shoot-up?srnd=premium&amp;sref=BLKWHazcHazc">an influx of new customers</a> who want to buy or rent. </li><li>Traveling by RV is inherently socially distanced because travelers are in self-contained units and can control their surroundings, the chairman of the RV Industry Association told Business Insider.</li><li>Roadside <keyword id="4910849" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="motels">motels</keyword> may also see a surge in popularity because their design allows guests fewer opportunities to be exposed to other people indoors, hoteliers say.</li></ul><p>The coronavirus has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-will-change-vacation-travel-ceos-whats-next-2020-5">disrupted travel in unprecedented ways</a>, grounding airlines and emptying out hotel rooms.</p><p>But as lockdown restrictions begin to lift around the world, people are once again thinking about <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> — and the best ways to do it during a pandemic.</p><p>Travel experts expect the summer of 2020 to be <a href="https://www.insider.com/summer-vacation-travel-future-predictions-2020-5">the summer of the road trip.</a></p><p>"As home isolation orders are lifted yet physical distancing remains top of mind, we anticipate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-will-change-vacation-travel-ceos-whats-next-2020-5">road trips and personal auto travel will rebound faster</a> than group travel," Andre Haddid, the CEO of car-sharing company Turo, recently told Business Insider. "Travelers will prefer the privacy and comfort of traveling in their own car with close family and friends."</p><p>This desire for control over how many people travelers interact with could result in some unexpected side-effects: The unassuming roadside motel may find itself more popular than a luxury hotel, and <keyword id="1984123" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="rvs">RVs</keyword> may become the go-to mode of <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword>.</p><p>Here are the unexpected ways travelers will be spending their money differently this summer.</p><h2><strong>Everyone might be traveling by RV this summer</strong></h2><p>Travel experts expect that as people venture out again, they'll start by traveling closer to home instead of hopping on flights. And that could make the summer of 2020 the summer of <keyword id="9293858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rv-travel">RV travel</keyword>.</p><p>"There's some indication that as we settle into a new normal, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-will-change-vacation-travel-ceos-whats-next-2020-5">folks will forego air travel, cruises, and overseas trips</a> in favor of destinations that are closer to home," Bob Wheeler, the CEO of travel trailer company Airstream, recently told Business Insider. "RVs are the perfect vehicle for that kind of mindset. You can move at your own pace, and bring along your own environment in which to live and cook and relax."</p><p>RV dealers across the US are already seeing a surge in inquiries, per the The <a href="https://www.rvia.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RV Industry Association,</a> the national trade association for RV makers and suppliers.</p><p>Mike Regan, the president of Crestview RV, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-26/-covid-campers-rv-motor-home-and-travel-trailer-sales-shoot-up?srnd=premium&amp;sref=BLKWHazcHazc">told Bloomberg last week</a> that floor traffic at his two RV dealerships outside Austin, Texas, was up 30% compared to last May. The biggest group of interested buyers and renters are people who are looking to travel by RV for the first time because of the pandemic, he said. </p><p><div type="image" title="El Monte RV" height="1200" width="1600" msid="76247565" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"Interest in the RV lifestyle — because it's so Americana and the desire for people to get out and explore their immediate surroundings and visit some of the iconic places in the country — it is literally off the charts now," Garry Enyart, chairman of the RV Industry Association, told Business Insider.</p><p>RV travelers are in self-contained units and can control their surroundings — obvious benefits in a pandemic, Enyart said.</p><p>Regan told Bloomberg that he may soon even run out of RVs due to the skyrocketing demand.</p><p>"The minute the campgrounds opened on May 1 and the governor turned everyone loose, our business went through the roof," Regan said.</p><h2><strong>The humble motel may be in a high demand</strong></h2><p>But not everyone taking road trips will be traveling by RV, and the increase in people traveling by car could have an unexpected side-effect: The unassuming roadside motel may see a surge in popularity, according to hoteliers.</p><p>Tenaya Hills, the design director at Bunkhouse Group, a hospitality company <a href="https://skift.com/2019/10/11/iconic-boutique-hotelier-liz-lambert-out-at-standards-bunkhouse-group/">known for revitalizing roadside motels</a> in Texas, California, and Mexico, said that a boost in road trippers will also influence where travelers choose to rest their heads.</p><p>"The classic motor court style hotel — like the Austin Motel in Austin and the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco — pairs perfectly with [road trips], especially now when travelers are looking for a low-contact, but still memorable experience," Hills told Business Insider. </p><p>The majority of Bunkhouse's properties have exterior corridors and rooms that guests enter from the outside — an aesthetic choice that happens to be particularly beneficial when traveling in a pandemic, Hills said.</p><p>"In the time of COVID the motel model is light touch — you're not spending time in a lobby and fresh air is just outside your hotel room's front door," she said.</p><p><div type="image" title="Phoenix Hotel" height="1665" width="2220" msid="76247567" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, which operates brands like Super 8 and Days Inn, is already seeing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/06/travel/coronavirus-travel-questions.html">rising demand for its properties with exterior corridors,</a> per The New York Times. And the owners of these motels are finding the lack of interior hallways and large social spaces to be a benefit, limiting guests' exposure to other people and lowering the risk of infection, Dave DeCecco, Wyndham's vice president of global communications, recently told Business Insider. Guests can also often park directly outside their room, which further limits their exposure to strangers.</p><p>Erik Warner, the hotelier behind <a href="https://soundviewgreenport.com/">Sound View</a>, a boutique property with exterior corridors in Greenport, Long Island, not far from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamptons-ny-real-estate-guide-eat-shop-stay-party">the Hamptons, the favorite summer vacation spot</a> of New York City's elite, told Business Insider they've been experimenting with how to make guests feel as safe as possible.</p><p><div type="image" title="SOUND VIEW motel greenport" height="1702" width="2270" msid="76247570" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Check in at Sound View has been made completely contactless: Guests can park right in front of the door to their room and open it with a smartphone app. Clear signage has been placed throughout the property to encourage social distancing measures, such as flags planted in the sand to designate reserved beach areas.</p><p>Upon booking, guests at Sound View are asked to sign a pledge to follow the rules of social distancing and mask-wearing while within six feet of another person — or else they are asked to leave the property without a refund.</p><p>"We're just trying to think ahead as to what a traveler who has been living under these conditions would feel comfortable stepping into as their first trip outside of a shelter in place restriction," Warner said.</p><p>Beyond their inherent social distancing and aesthetic benefits, many motels are lower-budget than traditional hotels, which could be a key factor at a time of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-today-may-jobs-report-nfp-unemployment-rate-2020-6-1029284688">historic unemployment rates</a> in the US.</p><p>New York Magazine reported in April that across the US, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/are-hotels-still-open-and-do-they-have-customers.html">economy hotels lost less business</a> and maintained a higher occupancy rate during the pandemic than upscale hotels. From May 3 to May 23, economy hotels in the US averaged almost 45% occupancy, more than double the average occupancy of luxury hotels, which was just over 19%, per data from analytics company STR.</p>

The coronavirus has reinvented what people want when they travel — and it's bringing 2 classic Americana staples back into style

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lambert/ullstein bild via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images;  Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list" data-stringify-type="unordered-list" data-indent="0"><li>Asgardia is a non-governmental organization that wants to become the first kingdom and nation-state in space.</li><li>On Saturday, the group's 150 elected representatives met for Asgardia's first parliamentary session in Tallinn, Estonia.</li><li>Asgardia chairman Lembit Opik told Business Insider the group has considered approaching Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to help them get into outer space. The two tech billionaires founded space companies SpaceX and Blue Origin respectively.</li><li>More than 300,000 people are already paying Asgardia's annual "residency" fee, although UN rules suggest Asgardia's ambition to set up a true space nation won't be realized for some time, if ever.</li></ul><p>A self-declared space nation that wants to operate a fully-functioning society in space has started laying out its vision for establishing an off-world colony. </p><p>The Space Kingdom of Asgardia is a genuine project to set up a nation entirely in space, with hundreds of thousands of members paying "residency'" fees and a parliament that is in the process of forming the foundations for its society.</p><p>Asgardia's goal is to transport thousands of people to an enormous space station by 2043, beyond Earth's jurisdictions, to "build a new democratic society."</p><p>Ambitiously, the space nation is looking to the likes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to get them there. Both billionaires have also set up commercial space firms.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters / Mike Blake</span></p><p class="caption">Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The project, founded by billionaire Russian scientist and politician Igor Ashurbeyli, is currently chaired by former British politician Lembit Opik.</p><p>"The obvious candidates are SpaceX and Blue Origin," Opik told Business Insider, citing Musk and Bezos' respective ventures in interstellar travel. "They're the best game in town in terms of space launches. Their rockets are the taxis that can take us where we want to go." </p><p>But can the dream of Asgardia ever become a reality? In an interview with Business Insider, Opik showed a passion for statecraft, detailing every facet of his space-based society, including an overview in foreign policy, banking regulation, business opportunities, and the creation of a new digital currency called "Solar."</p><h2>Asgardia wants to become a fully-fledged trading nation - although Lembit Opik doesn't plan on living there</h2><p>Although Asgardia is currently registered as a non-profit organization in Vienna, Austria, Opik sees opportunities ahead for trade. Starting small, there is already an <a href="https://starshop.space/product-category/living/">online shop</a> selling mugs, badges and T-shirts "for the discerning Asgardian", but Opik insists there will be much more to come for his "fully-functioning capitalist economy."</p><p>"First, there will be the businesses operating within Asgardia itself, and we've already got a small list of candidates there, who could provide us with goods and services, such as ballpoint pens designed to be used in space, specific types of insurance for space-dwellers - whatever," he said.</p><p>"Then of course, there will be businesses who want to sell us things, like Mr Musk or Mr Bezos... If you've got a big rocket and can take us into space, we might buy it off you," he added.</p><p>Asgardia was founded by Ashurbeyli in 2016 - or "Year 0" in the Asgardian calendar - and it now boasts an elected body of 150 members from all over the world, after online elections last year. Its incumbent Prime Minister is Ana Diaz, a lawyer from Venezuela, and its chief justice is Zhao Yun, a fellow lawyer from Hong Kong. Opik was voted in last year as head of parliament.</p><p>Ashurbeyli is understood to have invested around $12 million of his own money into the project to date, while another $2 million has been paid in by members of the public.</p><p>At present, Asgardia has three tiers of members: "followers", "residents", and "citizens."</p><p>According to Opik, more than a million followers have already signed up for free worldwide, while another 300,000 are paying an annual €100 ($110) residency fee. This weekend, he and his colleagues in the Asgardian parliament will debate how much to charge for citizenship (i.e. those eligible to live on Asgardia when it is launched).</p><p>"We are planning for the long-term," he said. "So we've got to make sure we get everything absolutely right." </p><p>Opik added that he doesn't plan to permanently reside in Asgardia himself, should it come into being, though he would visit.</p><p>"I'd rather be a day-tripper than a homesteader," he said. "My job is to help the settlement of space but probably not settle there myself."</p><p>In 2017, the kingdom <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asgardia-1-satellite-first-country-exist-space-2017-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">sent its first satellite into Earth's orbit</a>, making it, in its own words, "the first nation to have all of its territory in space".</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://asgardia.space">Asgardia/James Vaughan</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of Asgardian satellites.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The tiny satellite, Asgardia-1, is currently floating around Earth and about the size of a loaf of bread. It contains a 512GB hard drive loaded with "the nation's constitutions, national symbols, and the personally-selected data of the Asgardian citizenship". </p><p>Under the rules of the United Nations, Asgardia could technically qualify for recognition as a state, as more than 100,000 people look set to apply for citizenship. But it's unlikely it will be acknowledged as a sovereign nation any time soon. </p><p>Business Insider previously contacted the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/index.html">United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs</a> (UNOOSA) to clarify whether current space law would permit the existence of a nation or territory in space. They directed us to the text of five UN treaties that govern activities in space. </p><p>Article II of the first and most important part of that legal framework, called the Outer Space Treaty, prohibits "national appropriation" of anything in outer space "by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means". </p><p>But Opik remains optimistic despite the opposition, telling us the project has "taken up so much of [his] life". Once established, he insists Asgardia will take a neutral stance on all Earthly matters. "We will not interfere in Earthly matters, and we hope they would not interfere in ours... We want what any sovereign nation wants: recognition."</p><p>Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, declined to comment.</p><p>Elon Musk did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-2"></a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-used-the-motorola-droid-on-its-10th-anniversary-2019-11">I used the 10-year-old original Motorola Droid for a week</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A self-declared space nation called Asgardia is planning a fully functioning space economy and wants help from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">Private plunge pool? Yes please.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>I visited Cartagena and stayed two nights on an island off the coast at <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Apple Beach House</a>. Most people come for the day, but staying the night offers an authentic taste of Cartagena 's vibrant culture and spirit.</strong></li><li><strong>Blue Apple is an eco-friendly boutique hotel with just 10 rooms built using repurposed materials. They bolster the economy by hiring and supporting local talent and artists. </strong></li><li><strong>I splurged for a stand alone bungalow villa for $225 a night. There are five of them, and five smaller, less expensive rooms in the main house. </strong></li></ul><p>I often daydream about what it would be like to purge my belongings and trade the big city for a sun soaked simpler life on a deserted island, sipping coconuts under a thatched hut as a warm breeze laps my face. <br /><br />But truthfully, I'm just not that rough and tumble.</p><p>In <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cheap-hotels-under-100-dollars-around-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I still aim for a certain sense of luxury</a>, and the closest I've come to marrying those ideals was spending two nights at <a href="https://www.blueapplebeach.com/">Blue Apple Beach House</a>. Located on the island of Tierra Bomba, it's a 30 minute speedboat ride from the beating pulse of Cartagena's walled city.</p><p>A laid-back retreat, it's where easy-going locals and in-the-know visitors mingle by cerulean-hued infinity pools. A DJ spins tunes, and the kitchen churns out innovative food and drinks.</p><p>With white sand beaches and swaying palms, Blue Apple makes for a popular day trip, and many don't consider devoting nights to staying offshore. Doing so would be a mistake.</p><h2>Keep reading to see why I was so impressed by Blue Apple Beach House</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">There are only five villas, for a true deserted island feel.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Blue Apple proudly claims it is neither resort, nor hostel. Rather, an immersive destination that's both luxurious and sustainable. The hotel is located near Bocachica on Tierra Bomba, a largely undeveloped area with high unemployment, limited access to education, unpaved roads and scarce running water or electricity. Blue Apple works hard to be respectful of such surroundings.</p><p>While you won't see any of that when your boat pulls in, it's enough to warrant a strong dose of traveler's guilt. Indulging in a massage and ordering another mimosa while surrounded by poverty can feel unsettling. <br /><br />Blue Apple counters that by creating an experience that supports the local economy. Most Blue Apple employees are area residents, and the hotel subsidizes their English lessons. Only locals are hired to lead activities like snorkeling, dirt bike tours, or massages.</p><p>Of course, the walled city of Cartagena shouldn't be missed, and is home to unparalleled food and culture. And while I savored the fiercely fresh ceviche and streets teeming with art and history, I was turned off by squares overrun by tourists, and vendors aggressively hawking tours, t-shirts, and sunglasses. Going out to dinner, I felt surrounded by more North Americans than South.</p><p>Retreating to Blue Apple was a welcome respite. ​</p><h2>What it's like to stay overnight</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">Take a dip in one of two pools flanked by day beds and plush loungers.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>With just 10 rooms, Blue Apple became impossibly intimate when daytime revelers left on the last boat around 5pm.</p><p>There are standalone bungalows with private plunge pools (my pick), or rooms in a main house with terraces. The private pool came in handy when day trippers got a bit rowdy.</p><p>Rooms range from $125-$300 a night depending on your choice and season. My rate of $225 ($265 with tax) was more than I typically pay for a hotel, though it's worth noting my hotel for the rest of the week in downtown Cartagena - the lovely <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=6776&amp;awinaffid=257137&amp;clickref=biip_091119_blueapplebeach&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fco%2Fhyatt-regency-cartagena.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hyatt Regency</a> - was paid for entirely by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chase-sapphire-reserve-credit-card-review" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chase Sapphire Reserve card points</a>, so splurging for a villa was something I was able to afford.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">The king size bed was super comfy and the private patio was a great spot to read as the sun sets.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Villas are simple but stylish, with custom linens, handwoven hammocks, and outdoor bathrooms.</p><p>But these are no outhouses. Most bathrooms include an outdoor rain shower made from smooth neutral wood and stone under a thatched awning. The newest villa features a deep soaking tub made from recycled bottles.</p><p>During my stay, I did share an outdoor shower with a friendly lizard, who was quite polite about the whole thing.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">The outdoor bathroom attached to the villa was my favorite part. Rustic yet luxe at the same time.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>All rooms have WiFi, air conditioning, a balcony or terrace, minibar, cable TV, and breakfast included, as well as transportation from Cartagena for two people. If you visit for the day, the transfer will not be included.</p><p>Artwork was abundant, produced by local artisans and Blue Apple's own artist-in-residence program. Previous participants contributed murals, films, photography, essays, as well as social media content and yoga instruction.</p><p>One of the best parts of bunking were the VIP perks. I was greeted with fresh-squeezed mango juice, and reserved my sunbed of choice every day. One day I took a cabana by the beach, the next, a plush central pool lounger. Each had a placard bearing my name, and I slept in knowing there would be no race to secure it. If you know what you'd like on the day you arrive, ask for it ahead of time. I came on a later boat, and by that time the best options were taken.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">The area in between the pool and beach was my favorite place to sunbathe.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Like decor, all food was sourced sustainably. Tasty too, which was a good thing considering the island is not well prepared for tourists. Blue Apple is meant to be a place to relax and disconnect. There's no village to explore, or local restaurants to try. As such, expect to take all meals and drinks onsite. Prices are reasonable, but pool drinks add up, and you won't realize it until check out.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Blue Apple Beach House</span></p><p class="caption">Food onsite was tasty - a good thing since there aren't other places to eat while staying here.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>I ate fresh sandwiches for lunch and just-caught fish with delicious coconut rice and beans for dinner. Cocktails served in coconuts with plenty of Colombian rum were at the ready, but standouts were more original, like a concoction of fresh watermelon, ginger and vodka.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Emily Hochberg/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">My beloved watermelon cocktail.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>I indulged in a massage, and truthfully, it was not worth it. While I was happy to put my dollars towards supporting locals, the massage felt more like a light coating of moisturizer. I would skip it next time.</p><p>At night, everyone gathered on the beach as the skies revealed the greatest show I've ever witnessed.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><p class="source"><span>Emily Hochberg/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">No filter, sincerely.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In the two nights I stayed there, I bonded with servers who did so much more than just help me secure a coveted daybed. They told me about their lives and we sang along to music together. When it was time to leave, I felt compelled to say goodbye and thank you to each staff member. I've never had that feeling at any other hotel.</p><h3><a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/6415797/type/dlg/sid/biip_091119_blueapplebeach/https://www.expedia.com/Cartagena-Hotels-Blue-Apple-Beach-House.h16272500.Hotel-Information" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stay at Blue Apple Beach House starting at $125 a night for a standard double, and $185 a night for a bungalow villa.</a></h3><p class="tagline"><p><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a><br><br>Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>.<br><br>Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.</br></br></br></br></p></p>

I traveled to Cartagena and the best part of the trip had nothing to do with the popular ancient walled city

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matt Rosoff/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">The first Airbnb I stayed at with my family was on the 20th floor of a doorman building with this view.</p></div><p></p></div></div>I hate hotels.</p><p>It's one thing to stay at the Ritz, or a vacation resort with a pool and spa and multiple bars. But the mid-range hotels used for most business <keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> depress me.</p><p>The rooms are usually small, generic, and impersonal. There's often fluorescent lighting that makes everything look weird. The air conditioner is always too loud. And other travelers are stumbling in and out of the elevators at all hours. I never get a good night's sleep, and end up going into work bleary-eyed.</p><p>So for my last trip to New York, I decided to stay in an Airbnb for the first time. I used Airbnb twice on the trip, once in a two-bedroom apartment with my family, the other time in a studio by myself.</p><p>I loved it. </p><p>The two-bedroom wasn't in perfect shape, but it was comfortable and the location and view were amazing. It was also way cheaper than getting two hotel rooms in Manhattan. (In Manhattan, you can't quadruple up in a double-queen room like you can with young families in some hotels - there's no room for a rollaway bed, and the space is just too small for four people, even if two of them are little kids.)</p><p>The studio near Gramercy Park was beautiful, with leafy trees outside and great amenities - Perrier water in the fridge, free day passes to local museums (which, sadly, I couldn't use because I was on business), funky decorations, and one of those cool electric window shades. </p><p>I slept fantastically at both places.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matt Rosoff/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Gramercy Park on the corner. Sadly, the Airbnb didn't come with a key to the park.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>From Airbnb's end, the website worked great. I was able to communicate easily with the hosts through texts and the Airbnb email remailer, and the pictures and descriptions were accurate. </p><p>Overall, a big win.</p><p>With one exception: check-in and checkout.</p><p>The first night we got in really late from the airport, so there was a $50 cash surcharge because the cleaning woman had to stay late to give us the keys and show us the place. It seems unfair to have to pay extra just because our plane got in late. With a hotel, we would've just had them hold the room.</p><p>For the second place, there was a miscommunication about where to send the keys, and I ended up having to wait at a FedEx for half an hour with my bags over my shoulder to grab the envelope with the keys.</p><p>Check-out was also a pain. At the first place, my family was going to wait in the lobby while I picked up a rental car to drive out of the city. But the woman checking us out told them they couldn't hang out in the lobby and sent my wife and two young children to stand on the curb with all their luggage instead. </p><p>For my solo trip, the checkout itself was no problem. But one of my bags was heavy, and I needed to work part of the day before leaving for the airport. So I had to carry it a few blocks to the office. It gave me my workout for the day, but wasn't much fun.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matt Rosoff/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">These bags were a lot heavier than they look.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>I've never missed the bell service so much. </p><p>If Airbnb can solve the problem of getting travelers easier access to places and giving them some kind of way to store heavy bags for a few hours, I think the mid-range hotels that cater to business travelers and inexpensive vacation trippers - think visits to family or to friends who don't have guest rooms - will be in real trouble in a few more years. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/great-barrier-reef-apartment-airbnb-australia-2016-6">Airbnb's new floating apartment has unreal views of the world's largest coral reef</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="pzdmoyNDE6ODJjqAb1oy4cZqh5MQl21B" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

I just used Airbnb for the first time on a trip to New York and mostly loved it -&#160;except for one big flaw

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Susan Sarandon has spoken openly about her love of&#xa0;Burning Man and it appears the 68-year-old actress is back for another round of the festival this year.<p><div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">"These boots were made for Burning Man," she captioned the above photo.</p><p class="embed-spacer">Sarandon has already survived a dust storm:</p><p class="embed-spacer"><div></div></p><p>And tech writer Nellie Bowles even spotted the Oscar winner helping out on the playa during the first day of the week-long festival:</p><p>But Sarandon is no stranger to Burning Man.<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">The actress first went to the festival two years ago. After the experience, she spoke to <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/24/susan-sarandon-on-woody-allen-s-creepiness-her-love-affair-with-david-bowie-and-psychedelics.html">The Daily Beast</a>&#xa0;about why she loved it:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>It's </span><em>fabulous</em><span>. I went all around on a Segway and a bicycle, which was great, and even though people sometimes recognized me and said, 'Oh, it's so cool you're here!' it wasn't like walking the streets of New York. The art was amazing. You'll find fantastical stuff like four-story women, and when the light comes up, a half-naked woman with a parasol. Despite the fact that there was more of a police presence there, it was a lot of fun and I'd definitely go back.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Sarandon had to opt out of the festival last year because her daughter was due to give birth at any moment. "I don't think I'd feel very free to indulge if I was waiting for a message to see if she's gone into labor," she explained.</span></p><p><span>But when Sarandon is free of responsibility, she <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/24/susan-sarandon-on-woody-allen-s-creepiness-her-love-affair-with-david-bowie-and-psychedelics.html">told the Beast</a>&#xa0;she definitely lets loose and experiments with drugs:</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Well, it's pretty psychedelic to begin with. But, yeah, I'm not new to the idea of mushrooms. I don't really like chemical things, really... But I've done Ayahuasca [psychedelic tea] and I've done mushrooms and things like that. But I like those drugs in the outdoors - I'm not a city-tripper.&#xa0;<span>My attitude about marijuana or anything is, 'Don't be stoned if you have to pretend you're not,' so I'd never do drugs if I was taking care of my kids. I like doing it in the Grand Canyon, or in the woods. It does remind you of your space in the universe-your place in the universe-and reframe things for you. I think you can have some very profound experiences.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Sarandon isn't the only Hollywood celebrity to attend Burning Man. Last year, Will Smith was spotted performing a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2744421/Will-Smith-gets-Jiggy-With-It-Segway-parties-Burning-Man.html">choreographed dance on a Segway</a>&#xa0;in the middle of the desert.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-smokes-up-announces-presidential-bid-at-vmas-2015-8">Kanye West 'smokes something' and announces his presidential bid at MTV's big awards show</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BrN2Vhdzrzsp2mqrVnYJVt-I0PiaNjOm" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Here's why 68-year-old Susan Sarandon loves going to Burning Man

How to drive through the Florida Keys on a socially distanced road trip according to experts, plus what to pack, recommended activities, the best hotels along the way, and what to do if someone gets sick

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>For a view of Houston's economy, get in a car. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">At the intersection of the Loop and Freeway 225, two motorways in the south-east of the city, you drive over a high, tangled overpass. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">To the east, where the port of Houston sits on Buffalo Bayou, the skyline is an endless mass of refineries, warehouses and factories: Houston is an oil town. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">To the west, glistening skyscrapers and cranes puncture greenery. In between, the landscape is a sprawl of signs advertising motels and car dealerships.</span></p><p>Houston is not pretty, but it thrives. In the decade to 2010, the population of its metro area grew more than that of any other American city. Between 2009 and 2013 its real GDP increased by 22%, more than twice as fast as the American economy as a whole. Its growth infuriates new urbanists who insist that dense, walkable places such as Manhattan or San Francisco are the future. The question is, can Houston continue to thrive in an oil bust?</p><p>Over two-thirds of the growth in crude oil production in the United States between 2009 and 2014 took place in Texas. As well as refineries and drillers, oil brings office jobs: ConocoPhillips and Halliburton both have their headquarters in Houston, as does BP's America division. Exxon Mobil is building a huge new campus near The Woodlands, a wealthy suburb north of the city. In the past, oil-price gains and job gains have kept in close step (see chart).</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The slump is hitting some businesses already. In Houston, when prices fell, "it was almost like the lights just went out," says Peter Wyatt, the boss of Micron Eagle, which makes hydraulics for drillers. Last year the drillers' main concern was simply to get their rigs running as quickly as possible, for which they paid hefty prices.</p><p>Now, instead of demanding speed, they want discounts. Across America the number of drilling rigs pumping oil has fallen by 38% since December, according to Baker Hughes, an oil-services firm.</p><p>With reduced demand, many small manufacturers and suppliers are sure to go bust, says Patrick Jankowski, an economist with the Greater Houston Partnership, a local business lobby. But the real question is whether a more general slump follows.</p><p>Multinational oil-related firms based in Houston--including Halliburton and ConocoPhillips--have announced job losses in the past few months. If high-paying corporate posts go, the effect on the rest of the Houston economy could be dramatic.</p><p>Yet there are signs that, this time, Houston's spectacular growth will be slowed rather than stopped by the oil slump.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Much investment, such as in Mobil Exxon's new campus, is committed, and will not stop now. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Mr Jankowski estimates that Houston could still add as many as 50,000 new jobs this year.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">That is far less than the annual average of 100,000 or so in recent years, but still enough to hold down unemployment.</span></span></p><p>The city's economy has diversified since the 1980s. At the Texas Medical Centre, a collection of hospitals, medical colleges and research institutions about a 15-minute drive from downtown Houston, new office blocks glisten in the spring sun. Over 100,000 people work there.</p><p>Day trippers flock to the museums and students to the universities nearby. More foreign goods now flow through Houston's port than any other in America; some 51m people a year now fly through its two airports, one of which, Hobby, is being expanded by Southwest Airlines. And some people and industries will benefit from falling oil prices: commuters, as well as plastics and chemicals firms.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Paradoxically, perhaps the city's biggest strength is its sprawl. Unlike most other big cities in America, Houston has no zoning code, so it is quick to respond to demand for housing and office space. Last year authorities in the Houston metropolitan area, with a population of 6.2m, issued permits to build 64,000 homes. The entire state of California, with a population of 39m, issued just 83,000. Houston's reliance on the car and air-conditioning is environmentally destructive and unattractive to well-off singletons. But for families on moderate incomes, it is a place to live well cheaply.</span></p><p>Some wonder if a bubble is inflating. "We have overbuilt the apartment market already and we are well on the way to overbuilding the office market," says Jim Noteware, a property developer. In recent years the ratio of house prices to incomes in the city, long lower than in the rest of America, has crept close to it. A property slump could hit Houston's core city--which relies heavily on property taxes--hard. It is already running a hefty deficit and carrying a heavy pension burden.</p><p>If disaster is avoided, it will be because Houston has reached a critical mass where employers keep moving in because others are already there. Joel Kotkin of Chapman University in California argues that thanks to cars, even over its vast size, Houston creates the same possibilities for people to meet and share ideas that generate wealth in denser cities such as New York. Sprawl may not be pretty--but it seems to work.</p><p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist</p><p>This article was from The Economist and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

America's fastest growing metropolis isn't pretty - but it's thriving

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>The sleepy fishing villages of Portugal's Herdade da Comporta have always been where the fashionable European crowd goes off the grid. Now that new hotels and rental villas are emerging among the dunes, <strong><a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/contributors/maura-egan?mbid=synd_bi">Maura Egan</a></strong> finds that this hush-hush coastal retreat has become more open to visitors-without losing its under-the-radar cool.</p>
<p>For most drivers, the ride from Lisbon to the seaside village of Comporta clocks in at just over an hour, but Isabel de Carvalho can do it in about 45 minutes. "My father raced cars," explains the restaurateur as she expertly pilots her Peugeot station wagon down the highway and chats on her phone-to staffers, to dinner guests in from Seville, and to her husband and partner, Toze´, who is driving right behind us, transporting food and supplies from the city. We are late to arrive at the Museu do Arroz, the restaurant she opened 18 years ago and which is now the center of Comporta's nightlife, and it is obvious that the party doesn't start without De Carvalho.</p>
<p>Housed in a former rice-husking mill, the Museu do Arroz feels like an extension of De Carvalho's home: The lounge area is filled with overstuffed velvet couches, a disco ball hangs from the rafters, and there's a colorful Indian welcome banner above the bar. (Originally from Portugal, De Carvalho started out as a programmer for Texas Instruments and IBM in Europe before moving to Brazil and becoming an interior designer.) It's 10 p.m. and the start of the summer season, so De Carvalho shifts into hostess mode, navigating through the rooms, offering up kisses and menu recommendations (the salt cod fritters are excellent), and signaling waiters to refill water glasses. Toze´ works the other side of the room. "We never get a vacation," he says with a fake exasperated sigh, but you can tell that they both love the work. In the far corner, I see a table of people I'd met when I came to Comporta four years ago. They casually wave as if I'm here every Friday night. "Nothing really changes in here," says Joa~o De Vasconcellos, a businessman who also happens to make wine and breed sport horses. (Comporta is packed with multi-hyphenate hobbyists.) "Nothing has really changed in Portugal in 900 years!"</p>
<p>During my last visit, the local chatter was all about the Aman resort coming to the Herdade da Comporta-the official name of the swath of coastland in the south of Portugal that comprises seven small villages-but it sounded far-fetched. The area is a protected nature reserve in the country's rural Alentejo region, and it seemed a most unlikely place for a luxury resort. I was mistaken: Come next summer, Aman will indeed open a hotel with 40 suites. The imminent arrival of the Asia-based luxury resort chain has led to the development of more hotels. But the official mandate is to keep them all low-impact and architecturally sensitive. "No one wants this to become the Algarve," says Mandy de Azevedo Coutinho, a villa rental operator, referring to the stretch of coast farther to the south that has long been a package-holiday destination. While much of Europe's beachfront has succumbed to developmental sprawl, Comporta has remained untouched. "People come here because it reminds them of St-Tropez in the '70s," says De Azevedo Coutinho-or Ibiza in the '80s, or the Hamptons in the '90s. "My husband grew up in Angola," says De Carvalho. "And the first time he came here, he told me it reminded him of Africa."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Some say De Carvalho put Comporta on the map when she arrived in 1992, but really, you have to look further back. The Espi´rito Santo family-one of Portugal's, if not the world's, biggest banking dynasties-began visiting this rural backwater in the 1950s and bought a plot of land about one and a half times the size of Lisbon. The family fell in love with the untrammeled landscape-the miles of empty beaches, the dense forests of umbrella pines and gnarled cork trees, the endless patchwork of rice fields-and transformed it into their private playground. Clutches of fishermen's thatched huts were turned into unassuming compounds, with sandy paths leading from one family member's home to the next. Comporta became their summer retreat, not unlike the way parts of Maine and the Adirondacks were colonized by a handful of patrician American families.</p>
<p>In 1974, after the "Carnation Revolution," which overthrew Portugal's authoritarian Estado Novo regime, all of the country's banks were nationalized and the Espi´rito Santo group lost much of its fortune. Having been banned from doing business in Portugal, different factions of the family moved abroad to rebuild their empire. In 1991, when they returned to develop Comporta, the land was overgrown, the houses were derelict, and abandoned cars were strewn about. After they restored the area and installed a true infrastructure (roadways, electricity), they decided to diversify their interests by investing in agriculture-namely wine and rice-and quietly parceling out land to individuals beyond the family and board members.</p>
<p>This first wave of friends and foreigners brought the likes of decorator Jacques Grange, shoe designer Christian Louboutin, and artist Anselm Kiefer, who built elegant hideaways in the same humble style as the Espi´rito Santo originals. While Grange is known for his opulent designs for clients like Franc¸ois Pinault and Ronald Lauder, he kept his Comporta property spare, outfitting his cabanas with Moroccan rugs and rattan furniture. The region's more modern properties-many of them summer rentals-have a casual boho vibe, with little furniture and plenty of outdoor areas for taking in the landscape.</p>
<p>RELATED: <a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/readers-choice-awards/europe/best-cities-europe?mbid=synd_bi">The 10 Best Cities in Europe</a><span> </span></p>
<p>"Princess Caroline comes here every summer because her parents were friends with the family-not that you would notice her in flip-flops and caftan," says De Azevedo Coutinho. The French aristocrat and garden designer Louis Benech supposedly does away with shoes altogether and walks around town barefoot. Comporta is where the fashionable crowd goes off the grid, and they don't necessarily want to talk about it-particularly after a Portuguese magazine quoted someone as saying, "Comporta is where rich people go to play at being poor."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"></div><p></p></div>While you can't deny the socioeconomic divide between the locals (there are 3,500 full-time residents) and the summer crowds, no one seems to be treating this place as their private Petit Trianon. Perhaps because Comporta is in the Alentejo-the breadbasket of a country that is stillseen as the poor man of Europe-there's a certain strain of humility among even the wealthiest people here. "The early family members were always close with the locals. Like the fishermen and the farmers, they saw themselves as self-made and self-reliant," says Stefan Harzen, an environmental researcher who first came here from his native Germany in the '80s to study dolphins at the Sado estuary. This summer he's shuttling between here and Jupiter, Florida.</p>
<p>Then there's Jose´ Ribeira, who gave up his real estate career in Lisbon to live here full-time and lead horse rides on the beach. "I came because the economy was in bad shape and I was getting a divorce," explains Ribeira, who maintains 20 or so polo ponies at his handsome stables perched above the rice fields. In his rugged leather vest and dusty jeans, he handles his horses like a master but is quietly dismissive of his riding skills, vaguely telling me he "grew up on a farm." I later learn that Ribeira comes from a prosperous Portuguese family.</p>
<p>"We call him Jose´ of Ribeira," jokes Gonc¸alo Pessoa, a pilot for TAP Portugal who opened the hotel Sublime Comporta in May. Surrounded by piney forests, the peach-colored property is discreet but state-of-the-art: The 14 rooms and suites are equipped with oversized tubs and heated concrete floors, with fireplaces in some rooms; the grounds include a massive fire pit, an organic garden, and an infinity pool. Pessoa, who bought his land here ten years ago, gives me a casual primer on the area's social strata: The smartest family members are tucked away in the village of Brejos; Comporta Beach is the destination for day-trippers from Lisbon; Pego Beach is more exclusive; and Restaurante Sal, known simply as Sal's, is the unofficial clubhouse. Still, the Portuguese have an open-door policy when it comes to visitors. Despite the small-town feel, you don't sense any insularity or exclusivity. "We're often compared to the Irish," says businessman and horse breeder De Vasconcellos.</p>
<p>One afternoon, I receive a text from Isabel de Carvalho: "I have a friend who came by helicopter to Sal's and I'm joining him for lunch. You should come!" On my way to Sal's, I drive through the village of Carvalhal, where old men sit in plastic chairs at an outdoor cafe´, drinking espresso, as they've probably done every afternoon for decades, and then through a suburban-style neighborhood of anonymous white stucco houses (built by the government during the family's absence in the '70s), where a woman is collecting snails at the side of the road.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Lunch starts late in Comporta, around 4 p.m., so by the time I arrive, De Carvalho has left to oversee the evening's dinner shift at her restaurant. Still, there are plenty of families on the deck, lingering over their grilled fish, squid ink rice, and half-empty bottles of local rose´. For most of these multi-generational families, dining at Sal's is a weekend ritual. They dress in their Sunday beach best: polo shirts and Top-Siders for the men, flowing caftans and straw hats for the women. One grandfather is slumped over on a beach chair, the newspaper shielding his head, while his grandson plays in the sand on the nearby dunes.</p>
<p>On weekends, during the siesta between lunch and cocktail hour, the main intersection of Comporta village becomes clogged with BMWs, Range Rovers, and the occasional dune buggy. You might see a group of older ladies sitting on a stone wall, eating ice-cream cones, while others are stocking up on goods at the tiny supermercado-Porto wine, canned sardines, straw baskets. There are a handful of different lifestyle boutiques in town where you can pick up Moroccan pottery and Jack Rogers sandals, including De Carvalho's shop, A Loja do Museu do Arroz. In addition to caftans and printed bikinis, manager Marcello Rangoni has amassed an eclectic mix of antique garden furniture and retro light fixtures. "You wouldn't believe who comes in these days," Rangoni tells me during a cigarette break in the courtyard. "Last summer, Isabelle Adjani came, and the guy from the Rolling Stones... Ron Wood." He sounds more amused than starstruck.</p>
<p>The British artist Jason Martin came to Comporta after seeing a TV show about the region. "It felt like the last frontier," says Martin, who spends about ten days of the month at his atelier in an old rice factory next to De Carvalho's restaurant. "It's not that different from finding a place with cheap rent in one of London's industrial sections, but here it's rural." Martin says that the surrounding landscape has informed his painting and sculpture, and that his two young sons love spending their holidays at the beach, but he also feels the need to be part of this community. To that end, he's working on a project in Melides, a village 18 miles south of Comporta, that will include a farm, a vineyard, and a sculpture park. "You have to bring employment to the community, make the best use of the land," he says. "I spend so much time traveling on the art circuit that this feels like a very genuine life. And as long as this place doesn't get screwed up like the Algarve, it's Europe's hidden treasure."</p>
<h3>More From Condé Nast Traveler: </h3>
<p><a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2014/08/the-12-best-apps-for-international-travelers?mbid=synd_bi">The Best Apps for International Travelers</a> </p>
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