In case you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a quick look at some of last week’s need-to-know travel news:
AIR
On the weekend of Jan. 4-5, Swoop, welcomed it’s two-millionth passenger since taking flight in June 2018. To commemorate the milestone achievement, the WestJet ULCC presented an unsuspecting guest on-board a flight from Edmonton to Las Vegas with a round-trip flight to anywhere Swoop flies, as well as giving out cookies, champagne and Swoop swag to all passengers.
The Wall Street Journal has ranked Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport as the No. 1 one airport in the US The winner was determined by examining 14 different categories and surveyed more than 2,500 subscribers. Among other categories, the facility ranked especially high in short taxi-to-takeoff times, restaurants and fast WiFi. The airport underwent major renovations within the past year, including the modernization of Terminal 3 and the addition of local restaurants and shops in all terminals. The final phase of the renovation plan, extension of the PHX Sky Train to the Rental Car Center and a new eight-gate concourse to be occupied by Southwest Airlines in Terminal 4, will finish at the end of 2020.
With passengers set to exceed 60 million annually, Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha, Qatar has revealed plans for its second expansion phase which will feature a spectacular 10,000 sq. m. indoor tropical garden in a central concourse (rendering shown) as well as a 268 sq. m. water feature which will be the focal point of the expansion project. Construction is to commence early this year and be completed after 2022. The expansion plan also includes landscaped retail and F&B space, which will house a world-class art collection, leisure attractions, additional spas, gymnasiums, restaurants and business centres as well as other passenger facilities.
DEALS
Great deals are available for booking through Jan. 22 with Air Transat’s latest seat sale. The promotion applies to several destinations in Europe, the South, the United States and within Canada with full details and prices available on the web site.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise and U River Cruises have extended their sale in celebration of parent company The Travel Corporation’s 100th Anniversary to Feb. 29. Guests will save up to 30% off select 2020 sailings across most itineraries and room categories, with additional sailings included.
Bermuda’s annual Pink Sale runs through Jan. 21 for travel until April 30. Clients can receive up to 50% off select hotel stays with rates starting from US$129/night.
TOURS
A new vegan friendly adventure around Europe is being served up by Contiki in response, the tour operator says, to growing demand from travellers seeking animal-free alternatives. Guided by experts on all things plant-based, the one-off, eight-day “Vegan Food Europe Explorer” starts in Berlin on Aug. 16 and will visit Prague, Vienna and Budapest, with extra stops along the way. Activities include a vegan cooking class in Budapest; food tour and dining experience with locals in Berlin; and a dinner cruise along the Danube river.
Key West Food Tours now offers a Hemingway Experience tour for groups of eight to 30 people. The 3.5-hour tour covers a mile of walking and retraces author Ernest Hemingway’s steps around Old Town with two food tastings, two cocktails and a rum sampling. The tour includes guided entrance into the legendary author’s former home, now the Hemingway Home & Museum, Hemingway Rum Co. distillery to sample Papa’s Pilar Rum, El Meson de Pepe to sample Cuban food, Old Town Bakery to sample Key lime pie, and Sloppy Joe’s Bar. Hemingway lived and wrote in Key West during the 1930s.
Blue Hawaiian Helicopters has debuted a Heli-Whale Experience Tour on Maui and the Island of Hawaii. The Maui tour combines breathtaking views of the West Maui mountains and central valley with aerial peeks at ocean locations frequented by Hawaii’s annually visiting humpback whales (Dec.-May, peaking in February). The company says viewing from the sky means passengers spot more whales than they would from the ocean surface and is more respectful of the whales’ space and environment.
HOTELS
Designed to be a bold new cultural hub celebrating female empowerment through provocative art, design and exciting and relevant programming, the Hotel Zena (photo) will debut in Washington D.C. this spring. Situated in Logan Circle, at the beginning of the vibrant 14th Street corridor and adjacent to the downtown business district, the Viceroy Hotel Group property will be “an ode to feminine strength, celebrated by all genders, races and sexualities, and a haven for the liberated forward thinker.” It will be one of two Viceroy properties to debut in US capital in 2020.
Many Las Vegas hotels typically go all in on Chinese New Year. To celebrate the Year of the Rat in 2020, the MGM Grand plans to transform into a Lunar New Year spectacle (Jan. 15-Feb. 4) with vibrant displays of over 4,000 live plants, including 1,400 yellow chrysanthemums grown specifically for MGM Grand, with each plant selected for its special meaning in Chinese culture. The resort will be adorned with yellow and red-colored flowers, bamboo for good luck and money trees offering blessings of wealth and good fortune.
Now Open:
Virgin Hotels is the newest entry on the Dallas hotel scene. The 200-room hotel in Dallas’s hip Design District is an US$80-million lifestyle property aimed at “the new, savvy traveller,” with such amenities as free Wi-Fi, cancellation and late checkout and a complimentary social hour for guests. The hotel has three dining venues, including the Funny Library Coffee Shop with communal workspace.
RESORTS
Mexico’s Grand Velas Los Cabos resort will host its annual Wellnessing Getaway Feb. 19-21. Hosted by experts in health, nutrition, and wellness, the three-day lineup of wellness-focused activities includes a number of yoga and fitness classes, healthy cooking and nutrition workshops, session on skin care, sonotherapy, ancestral dinner, traditional Mexican rituals, and more. All Wellnessing Getaway activities are included in the nightly rate.
Set to open in 2022, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo San Lucas at Cabo Del Sol will be located in the centre of Los Cabos Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. The new-build 80-key resort with 40 private residences will sit on more than 20 oceanfront hectares within Cabo Del Sol’s new private beachfront community, The Cove Club. It will be the second Four Seasons on the Baja peninsula and fourth in Mexico.
Now Open:
A sixth Marriott International has opened in Aruba. The Courtyard by Marriott Aruba Resort is located in the heart of Palm Beach and is newly rebranded after a US$45-million renovation. It is the first Courtyard property in the Caribbean and Latin America and has 148 guest rooms that are centred around tropical gardens and two saltwater pools and also steps from the beach. The hotel is pet-friendly and has a state-of-the-art fitness centre with top-of-the-line equipment, and a newly renovated Spa.
CRUISE
The newest ship for Crystal Cruise Line is a step closer to its maiden voyage later this year, touching water for the first time just before Christmas. The polar class Crystal Endeavor expedition ship will accommodate 200 guests in all-suite, all-verandah, butler-serviced guest rooms a feature a seven-guest submersible for deep-water exploration. Worldwide itineraries through early 2023 are now available for booking, including the first one out of Tokyo on Aug. 10.
According to the newly released CLIA 2018 Global Economic Impact Analysis, passengers spend US$376 in port cities before boarding a cruise and spend $101 in each visiting port destination during a cruise. North America accounts for the highest rate of cruisers with 14.2 million North Americans cruising in 2018.
The latest marketing campaign for Carnival Cruise Line is called “The Fun Ones,” celebrating “the playful spirit of Carnival’s guests, how they choose fun, and the unique bond they have with their fellow cruisers who are shamelessly true to themselves.” The campaign is an evolution of the brand’s “Choose Fun” campaign that launched in 2018 and which introduced former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal as the company’s “Chief Fun Officer.”
ATTRACTIONS/THEME PARKS
Disneyland is set celebrate the Chinese Year of the Rat at Disney California Adventure Park Jan. 17 through Feb. 9. During the 24 days of the multicultural “Year of the Mouse” celebration, guests will experience themed live entertainment and musical performances, including “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession” and the return of the “Hurry Home – Lunar New Year Celebration” prior to the “World of Colour” nighttime spectacular.
FAMS/INCENTIVES
Both agent and consumer incentives mark the return of G Adventures’ annual “G-Normous” promotion. For the seventh consecutive year, G is offering over $100,000 in trips, cash, prizes and extra commission for bookings made by April 30. For agents, there will be weekly and monthly prizes, plus a $5,000 jackpot for the top seller (based on number of bookings) as well as other booking incentives; also, 2% bonus commission in February when quoting “GNORMOUS” on their bookings. The incentive program will also be supported with consumer offers, such as 15% select Marine-style adventures in January and active and wellness style tours in March. For full conditions and info, click HERE.
PEOPLE/APPOINTMENTS
Vision Travel, the leisure travel division of Direct Travel in Canada, recently receive the Virtuoso award for top year-over-year revenue growth for 2018-19. Pictured here with the award are Lynda Sinclair, Sr. VP of Vision Travel and Stephen Smith, Sr. VP leisure marketing for Direct Travel.
Nathalie Tanious and Diane Lattavo have earned new titles at Red Label Vacations: Tanious being officially named RLV’s Chief Operating Officer and Jackson promoted to Executive Vice President.
NEWS
Goway Australia update: The tour operator says it’s relocating its travellers affected by the devastating bush fires in Australia, at the same time advising that, “while the seriousness of the bushfires has not been overstated, many of the parts of the country of interest to international tourists are unaffected and remain open for travel.” Goway reports that some key regional areas in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, including western Kangaroo Island, have been affected and are currently not recommended for travellers, and further recommends that prospective visitors check out the Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology only for up-to-date information and to follow Goway Agent for company news.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sonoma County, Ca., reports that it is back in business after the recent devastating Kincaid wildfires. Authorities report that the fires damaged less than 8% of the area’s 450,000 hectare-land mass – about 31,000 hectares – which were largely in unoccupied wilderness areas in the northeast. Cal Fire reported 374 structures were destroyed, 60 more damaged, but no fatalities. The 2019 wine grape harvest was 92% complete at the onset of the fires, while an additional 3% was harvested before evacuations took place a few days later. Only two winery tasting rooms reported damage.
DESTINATIONS
In addition to his German homeland, Vienna is also celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Van Beethoven in 2020. One interesting feature is an interactive audiobook developed by the city’s tourist board that discusses the great composer’s life and connection to the Austrian capital. It is available on Google Home or Amazon Alexa via simple voice activation. The Vienna and the Austrian National Tourist boards have also developed a smart audio guide integrated into a pair of special sunglasses where Beethoven takes wearers on an acoustic tour of Vienna with the help of Bose frames featuring integrated loudspeakers and the new #RelatedToAustria app. In Vienna, visitors can borrow the glasses for free from the tourist information office on Albertinaplatz.
The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to fall into enemy hands when they were occupied by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945. Jersey Tourism reports that a number of events and experiences will be organized through 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the island’s liberation following occupation during WW2.
Said to be the largest of its kind in the world, ‘Ukulele Festival Hawaii’ will celebrate its 50th edition this year on July 19 in Waikiki, Oahu. The festival now attracts thousands each year and has become a summer tradition in the islands, featuring guest artists from around the world and an ukulele orchestra of over 800 students. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand and features a free five-hour concert.