Destinations
Love Is In The Air
From a volcanic backdrop or a majestic waterfall in Iceland to the iconic Colosseum in Rome, many newlyweds-to-be are looking for unique settings for their destination weddings, reports Ann Ruppenstein in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. While tropical destinations will always be a popular choice, Megan Velez, vice-president, Product at Destination Weddings Travel Group, says the company has seen couples venturing more off the beaten path for their celebrations. In particular, she says Iceland and Italy are emerging as popular locales for couples looking for something...
New York Welcomes New Hotels
February has been a busy month for hotel openings in New York City, with two properties up and running and a third set to come onstream before the end of the month. Properties include the Whitby Hotel in midtown Manhattan (http://www.firmdalehotels.com); the sustainable waterfront property 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge in downtown Brooklyn (http://www.1hotels.com); and the 612-room DoubleTree by Hilton New York-Times Square West (www.doubletree.hilton.com). New York City has the most active hotel development pipeline in the country. With over 112,000 hotel rooms currently available...
Montreal Pens MoU With Shanghai
Tourisme Montreal and the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding. The two cities have enjoyed close ties for 30 years and this relationship has only grown stronger over time, with several missions being carried out to both Montreal and China. Numerous business sectors, including tourism, constitute areas of opportunity for the cities. Tourisme Montreal and the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration have agreed to discuss strategies for increasing tourist numbers, promoting urban tourism and developing the business...
Content Is The New Travel Currency
“Content,” observes Brad Miron, “is the new travel currency.” Miron, the founder & CEO of TripXpertz, sat down with Canadian Travel Press recently to talk about the launch of TripXpertz, which he described as a virtual agency website network of “destinational-focused sites that have high engaging content to address the gap between utility-based sites and where consumers really want to go.” That network – of which MexicoXpertz is the first of the sites to come online – is focused on the user experience and has been designed to drive brand and demand to...
What Are They Thinking?
Plans by Florida's House of Representatives to cut funding for VISIT FLORIDA by 67% has earned a sharp rebuke from the state's governor, Rick Scott. A statement released by Jackie Schutz, communications director for Governor Scott said: “The Florida House is proposing a 67% cut to tourism marketing. More than a million Florida families rely on jobs in our tourism industry and are threatened with this massive cut.” The statement continued: “Unfortunately, some politicians in the Florida House think fighting for jobs is simply hysteria and don't understand that jobs are...
Great News For Canada
The Canadian tourism industry is in celebration mode as Destination Canada released the final numbers for 2016 which show that Canada welcomed 19,979,334 travellers last year – that's the highest number since 2002 and second highest ever. International arrivals increased by 16% in Destination Canada's overseas markets, and 10% in the US market, for an average of 11% growth across the board. The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, said: “Congratulations to the Canadian tourism industry on an...
‘Summer of Heroes’ Coming to Disney California
Disney California's newest attraction – Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! – will make its debut at Adventure Park on May 27, giving guests a chance to join legendary Super Heroes in all-new experiences through Sept. 10. Disney's “Summer of Heroes” inaugurates an ever-expanding universe of Super Hero stories at Adventure Park. Guardians of the Galaxy will take guests through a fortress-like museum of the mysterious Collector, who is keeping his newest acquisitions, the Guardians of the Galaxy, prisoners. Guests will board a gantry lift which launches them into an...
Goway’s Cradle of the Incas A Holiday of a Lifetime
With the “promise of something special,” Goway is offering travellers a special nine-day “Cradle of the Incas” tour – an itinerary that is ideal for those seeking to experience the very best Peru has to offer. According to officials, to journey into the Cradle of the Incas “is to step back into the grand Incan Empire, as the remnants of this once mighty civilization dot the path from Lima to Cusco, continuing into the Sacred Valley, onward to the magical city of Machu Picchu.” Led by Goway’s own expert tour director, the nine-day escorted tour is the crown jewel of...