Destinations
Vietnam Leads At ASEAN Tourism Forum
Three days of intense destination selling and information gathering wound up last week in Vietnam at the 38th annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), reports Press Today's Ted Davis, who was in attendance at the show. The ATF was held in Ha Long City – the gateway to scenic Ha Long Bay. About 1,500 delegates descended on the new Quang Ninh Exhibition of Planning and Expo Center (QNEPEC), most of whom participated in the Travex travel trade mart as destination seller reps and B-to-B travel product buyers. The sellers set up shop from the 10 member countries of ASEAN, including Brunei,...
Kung Hei Fat Choy
The Chinese New Year is the highlight of the Hong Kong Cultural calendar. It's a time of lavish fireworks, a world-famous night street parade, elaborate banquets and glittering illuminations. Symbolizing prosperity and unity, while invoking good fortune for the year ahead, this festival is cherished and celebrated across the city. In the weeks leading up to the event (which takes place Feb. 5-8 this year, ushering in the Year of the Pig) Hong Kong is abuzz with activity as people prepare for the holiday and visitors can catch the atmosphere. Visitors do not have to look hard (or...
JTB Appoints Rose To New Post
Philip Rose has been named as the regional director of tourism, Northeast USA for The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). Rose is a leader in sales and marketing in the tourism sector with over 20 years experience and brings to the new post a wealth of industry knowledge. He served recently as the JTB's Canadian regional director for seven years and prior to that district sales manager for the Western and South Western USA. Donnie Dawson, deputy director of tourism, The Americas, commented: “We wish to thank Philip for his role in helping to grow the Canadian market and look forward to...
Travel On The Itinerary For Canadians
In its Travel Markets Outlook report, the Conference Board of Canada is projecting that the number of overnight visits from both within Canada and international markets will increase by 2.0% in 2019. While Canadian households are expected to face growing economic and financial challenges heading into 2019, domestic travel volumes are still projected to increase. According to the Conference Board's travel intentions survey, a growing share of Canadian households plan to take a winter vacation, and among those, a slightly higher share plan to stay in Canada for their longest-duration...
Canadian-American Days Are Back
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is gearing up to celebrate its Canadian visitors for the 58th year in a row as part of the Annual Canadian-American Days, which feature some hefty discounts to help offset the difference in Canadian exchange rate. And while the 58th annual Canadian-American Days lasts only one week – March 9 - 17, 2019, select Myrtle Beach area hotels, merchants and attractions are offering discounts from January through April 2019 for travellers with a valid Canadian passport. Ranging from 25% to as much as 55%, the discounts are designed to help Canadians “make up”...
Long Night, Good Cause
The Long Night winter tour of the Yukon for travel professionals from across Canada was an “incredible experience” that raised over $11,000 for worthy charities and non-profit organizations in Yukon and NWT, said organizers. The Long Night brought over 80 travel industry specialists from across Canada to participate in a two-night, event-filled celebration in the Yukon from Jan. 4 to 6. The principal sponsor and organizer was Air North, which provided the flights for the trip. “Nothing like this has been tried before,” says Nicole Petersen of Air North, who conceived,...
A Milestone For LA
Los Angeles reached a historic milestone in 2018, welcoming 50 million visitors for the first time ever and accomplishing the destination's ambitious tourism goal two years early. The new record is 1.5 million visitors higher than 2017's total -- a 3.1% increase -- marking the eighth-consecutive year of tourism growth for Los Angeles. In surpassing 50 million total visitors, Los Angeles set new tourism records for domestic and international visitation, hosting an estimated 42.5 million domestic visitors (3% increase) and 7.5 million international visitors (3.6% increase). LA's...
Chicago Posts Record Tourism Results
Chicago welcomed over 57.6 million visitors in 2018 – a 4.3% increase over 2017. Commenting on the record results, Chicago mayor, Rahm Emanuel said that: “When it comes to attracting tourists and business travellers, Chicago can go toe-to-toe with any city in the world.” The mayor noted that: By continuing to set new tourism records and bringing millions more people to Chicago every year, we are creating jobs and economic opportunities that reach every neighbourhood.” Annual visitor projections released by Choose Chicago were fueled by a growth of 4.4% in domestic...