Destinations
Espacio Extends Invitation For Luxury Suite Stays
The new Espacio, a luxury resort by Aqua-Aston Hospitality that opened in Waikiki in the fall, is offering an accommodation style that will appeal to big spenders. The hotel has nine stories, and each floor is occupied by just one very large suite. The luxury suites each measure 209 square metres, including two or three separate bedrooms with king beds and 3.5 bathrooms. Decor is defined by globally inspired furnishings, such as handmade carpets from China, Italian marble details and metalwork from Morocco. Gourmet meals can be created in modern kitchens with Thermador and Miele...
Spotlight on Toronto
Tourism Toronto is inviting people to embrace Old Man Winter. The tourism promotion body on Wednesday unveiled its Toronto Spotlight, a promotion that offers 2-for-1 admission at some 35 city attractions and features four “Spotlight Weekends” touting the likes of city cuisine and culture. “This is an open invitation to visitors to explore, discover and enjoy Toronto at an incredible time of year when the city celebrates brighter lights and longer nights,” said Scott Beck, president of Tourism Toronto. “We're turning up the volume on winter and showcasing that Toronto is a...
Vancouver Tourism Growth Spurs Need For More Hotel Rooms
With annual overnight visitations to Vancouver predicted to climb again – by 2.8% in 2019 over 2018 – the tourism business for the city is in good shape. This increase will bolster visitor arrivals of 10.67 million recorded in 2018. Vancouver’s tourism success story is confirmed by a robust average hotel room occupancy rate of 81% that is predicted for 2019. That means the city is ripe for an expansion in hotel room inventory, says an industry observer. But instead, the hotel room inventory has declined in volume over the past eight years, says the CBRE commercial real...
Antigua And Barbuda Celebrate 300,000
Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Officials began ringing in the New Year early at the V.C. Bird International Airport, as visitors arriving into Antigua and Barbuda on Old Year’s Eve, helped to push Antigua and Barbuda’s total stay-over arrivals in 2019 to the 300,000 milestone. It was a festive afternoon, as cultural masqueraders, and dancers in colourful costumes, begun celebrating by partying on the band stand and greeting passengers in an extravagant cultural display complete with the sounds of melodious steelpan music. Below in the airport’s VIP Lounge, Antigua and Barbuda’s...
Support Australia
“All across the world, people stand in solidarity with Australians in the midst of the heartbreaking bushfires that have spread across parts of the country,” Goway Travel said in a statement updating the bushfire situation in Australia. The operator's statement continues: “At Goway, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and communities affected. We hope for an end to the fires and a speedy recovery for the impacted townships and natural landscapes. We also commend the fearless efforts of first responders who are combating the fires and working to restore their...
Get In The Pink With Bermuda
Bermuda has launched its annual Pink Sale, which offers up to 50% off at select hotels. But agents will need to work fast as the booking window runs from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21, 2020 and the travel window is open from Jan. 8 to April 30, 2020 and from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. Rates start from US$129.50 and for a list of participating hotels, go to https://www.gotobermuda.com/pink-sale . As for highlights of a visit to Bermuda, consider the following: Food Culture – Bring the bold flavours of Bermuda to your table. A culinary diamond in the rough, Bermuda serves up tastes...
Intrepid Foundation Helping Out In Australia
The Intrepid Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Intrepid Travel, has a new campaign to support the Red Cross Bushfire Emergency Appeal. Australia’s bushfires have already burned over 6 million hectares of land, taking the lives of millions of animals and over two dozen people. The scale of the crisis is unprecedented, and as a result, Intrepid pledged to match all donations up to AU$100,000, doubling donors' impact. After massive support from the Intrepid community, the company increased the target to AU$200,000 since the previous goal was hit in the first few days. To date,...
Saint Lucia Set To Introduce Accommodation Fee
After consulting with its industry stakeholders, the Saint Lucia government will be introducing a tourist ammommodation fee to be used for destination marketing and development. Beginning April 1, 2020, stay-over visitors to Saint Lucia will be required to pay an accommodation fee on their nightly stay on the island. All accommodation providers on the island (hotels, guest houses, villas, apartments etc.) will be required to collect from their stay over guests US$3.00 and US$6.00 respectively on a nightly rate below or above US$120. The fees will be paid by the stay-over visitor...