| Hey, Pursuits readers! It's Lily, from the travel team. If you're based in the US, you're likely ready to get going on the long July 4 holiday, safely I hope. Airports in the US and abroad are already experiencing some of their busiest days since the pandemic, as well as more cancellation chaos. Good luck to all out there! But just as millions of people continue to play "catch up" with travel, the industry continues to morph in the ways it invites us to go on adventure. Take the recent call from Finland tourism administrators for visitors to ditch their phones when visiting Ulko-Tammio, a protected nature island. I immediately thought back to my visit of the late designer Yves Saint-Laurent's Majorelle Garden in Marrakech, in Nov. 2022, when I found myself wishing fervently that this popular tourist site would ban photos. There's a two-acre botanical garden the designer turned to for serenity, our guide explained, and a home he built adjacent to it. The grounds are also where YSL's ashes were scattered. Serenity, alas, was nowhere to be found during my visit.  Tourists snapping photos for the 'gram at Yves Saint Laurent's Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech. Photographer: Lebawit Girma/Bloomberg The colorful buildings and lush landscape, including the fountains and reflecting pool, were obscured by tourists brandishing phones and posing in every nook and cranny. Was I contributing to the chaos by posing for a couple of photos as well? (In my defense, those lasted less than 15 seconds). Moving forward, I'd be up for more phone-free zones at tourist sights, just as some concert venues and spas have implemented, so we can get back to living in the moment as we experience places. The need to be more present and disconnected from the norm on trips with loved ones, away from the tourist crowd, was an underlying theme from my conversations at Limited Edition Miami. LE Miami is a fabulous, invitation-only travel conference hosted in South Beach. A gathering of hundreds of luxury hoteliers and tour agencies, from the well known brands—Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and African Bush Camps—to niche, boutique ones. Today's luxe consumer continues to seek more of the unusual and customized, whether in urban or rural locations. Places where they'll have access to community, nature and authenticity with their loved ones. It's not a new concept by any means, but the envelope is being pushed on digging deeper for meaning but also for comfort, plus value.  For instance, do you think Paris is France's most romantic city? Think again. Photographer: robertharding/Digital Vision It's time to see Morocco beyond Marrakech, said one family-run operator; Peru is much more than gastronomy and Machu Picchu, said another when I asked what stories she was tired of seeing about her country. And how about a stay in a secluded Mediterranean fishing town steps from a national park in southern France where AccorHotels' Chief Executive Officer Sébastien Bazin and European royals have reportedly vacationed? It's two hours from blingy St. Tropez. (You'll want to stay tuned to the stories inspired from those conversations.)  Hiking La Veronica in Peru's Sacred Valley where local entrepreneurs are taking a more measured approach to adventure tourism. Photographer: Peter Bohler for Bloomberg Businessweek In many ways, the thirst for building memories and connecting with our surroundings as closely as possible is what's driving the demand for underwater experiences in small submersibles for over a decade, even if few among us were familiar with them prior to the Titanic sub disaster. But is sub tourism pushing adventure too far, you might ask? Unlike the Titan, these leisure subs are certified, inspected yearly and they don't venture past their 1,000-meter depth rating. Their air-conditioned, roomy and transparent cabins allow for 360-degree ocean views of coral reefs, wrecks and sharks otherwise inaccessible to scuba divers. They've been toys of private yacht owners since the early 2000s, and luxury cruises are increasingly offering them to up the ante on their expedition yachts.  The new ultra-luxury Super Sub model from U-Boat Worx takes three people down to 300 meters (984 feet) beneath the waves. Source: U-Boat Worx If you think about it, submersible tourism is symbolic of the future of travel consumer demand: Next-level, expert-led immersive experiences that can't be found in many places—not necessarily as costly as a seat on the Virgin Galactic, which just completed its first flight, but memorable beyond the images we capture on our phones. Connect with Lily on Instagram or Twitter or via e-mail. From new train routes in Europe to the new generation of luxury airlines and a vineyard in Nagano, Japan, ideas abound for your next experiences. | 
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