11 MAR 2019: 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

Doha-bound passengers on Qatar Airways’ flights from Montreal will soon be able to experience the airline’s new business. Qsuite features the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private cabin, a first of its kind in the industry. The product will be offered three times weekly beginning March 31 and four times weekly from May. Qsuite is currently available on select Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A350-900 and the airline’s newest aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000.

EL AL Israel Airlines’ new in-flight Wi-Fi service will leverage the advanced ViaSat-2 satellite to bring high-speed, high-quality internet to key EL AL routes flying to and from major North American destinations, including: New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Miami, as well as San Francisco and Las Vegas when flights to these destinations begin in May and June 2019 respectively.

TravelBrands is now providing air and hotel packages to multiple destinations worldwide through SIREV, a solution managed by Softvoyage and their preferred GDS. This product line expansion comes after TravelBrands began offering hotels through SIREV back in June 2018.

DEALS

Through March 15, Sunwing’s “Bring on the Sun” sale is offering its lowest prices of the winter on select March and April vacation packages to top-rated resorts across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. For example, the tour company reports that Canadians can score a five-star vacation for “a fraction of the cost” at the newly-modernized Riu Ocho Rios, while families can save at the Grand Memories Punta Cana. Other options include the PlayaBachata Resort and luxury resort Grand Sunset Princess All Suites and Spa Resort.

Early booking savings of $400 plus an extra $200 per couple reduction on all flights upgraded to Executive Class are featured perks in Air Canada Vacations’ latest luxury promotion, which also includes free perks such as room upgrades, resort credits and more. The offer is valid on new bookings made by March 24 for travel May to October departures to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Go to aircanadavacations.com/agents, set the Class of service as “Business Class only,” and search for an applicable hotel within the applicable travel dates. Perks will differ according to hotel and travel date.

During the month of March, travel agents will be able to pass along a 15% discount on select G Adventures Active style tours with promo code: 19GA015ACT03. They can also earn extra cash and prizes for bookings when registered with the G-Normous incentive in Sherpa. The North American agent incentive program offers more than $100,000 in prizes and runs from January through April.

Through March 16, Paul Gauguin Cruises is offering savings of up to $3,000 p.p. off select sailings of its Society Islands & Tahiti and Tahiti & the Society Islands seven-night cruises aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin. Roundtrip airfare between Los Angeles or San Francisco and Papeete, Tahiti, is also included.

TOURS

For 2020, Avalon Waterways is inviting travellers to chart their own course before or after their cruise with its new YourWay program, which enables travellers to book a cruise and then add-on an Avalon Waterways land extension with guided sightseeing; a Monograms independent vacation package that comes with hand-picked hotel accommodations, city sightseeing and the on-site services of a Local Host; or a Globus escorted touring vacation. Canadians booking select 2020 Europe river cruises soon can also take advantage of the Suite Life Sales Event, which offers $499 p.p. from select Canadian gateways.

Trafalgar has announced 100% definite departures on its Europe & Britain trips for the 2019 summer season. “We know it’s been a challenging sales year for our agent partners with high consumer interest, yet a later booking window, so as part of our AgentsFirst commitment, we are going 100% definite to help our valued partners close the sale and reassure their clients that now is the best time to book,” says Gavin Tollman, Trafalgar’s Global CEO.

Royal Scenic’s new 2019/20 Asia & The World brochure offers 100 Asian destinations, along with bucket list tours in the Middle East, South America and South Pacific. With six product lines – Royal Value Collection, Royal Cityscapes, Royal Soft Adventure, Royal Prestige Collection, AsiaRibbean, and Royal Romance – the tours cater to all budgets and interests, from beaches to city escapes, lovers’ getaways, best value collections and five-star luxury. Through May 31, Royal Scenic is offering a double Royal Scenic Reward Points (RSRP) to agents on bookings, plus up to $100 off per couple on selected tours.

HOTELS

With a presence spanning more than 76 countries, Hard Rock International will continue the expansion of its hotel portfolio, with the opening of Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American in April 2020. Located on the lively Leidseplein Square, the property will bring to life one of the city’s most famous Art Nouveau style buildings, built in 1900 and formerly known as the American Hotel. Showcasing 173 rooms and suites and newly-renovated interiors, the hotel will keep all vintage decorative features intact throughout, from stained-glass windows to vibrant paintings on the interior walls, which will also be adorned with signature Hard Rock memorabilia.

OPEN

Inspired by the surrounding Flower District in New York, Marriott’s Moxy NYC Chelsea was developed with a collection of public spaces designed to meet the community’s dining, drinking, and co-working needs—while providing guests access to New York City at a neighborhood level. The 349-room hotel riffs off the neighborhood’s retro-industrial style and feels harmonious with its location, in the heart of the Chelsea Flower Market and features a soaring three-story glass atrium revealing the vertical gardens within.

RESORTS

AMResorts has announced two new resort brand management deals in partnership with Oasis Hotels & Resorts in Mexico. The resorts are conversions of two existing resorts, which will undergo renovations and re-open on June 1: Grand Oasis Sens in Cancun will be rebranded as Now Emerald Cancun, offering guests 427 rooms; and Grand Oasis Tulum will reopen as the 360-room Sunscape Akumal Beach Resort & Spa, the first hotel for the brand in the area. AMResorts’ Mexico expansion will continue later in the year with the opening of Now Natura Riviera Cancun, to be followed by additional properties in 2020 and beyond.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the acquisition of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, which currently manages 16 hotels and resorts in locations such as the Maldives, the Seychelles, Yao Noi in Thailand, Zighy Bay in Oman, and Portugal’s Douro Valley, and more on the way. The deal is designed to round out IHG’s position in the luxury segment and takes IHG’s portfolio of open and pipeline luxury hotels to 400 hotels (108,000 rooms) globally.

Pelican Grand Beach Resort, one of the only true beachfront, boutique hotels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has completed a $7-million dollar guestroom renovation. The eight-month chic transformation honours the existing property’s old Floridian charm while introducing modernized design and boho-inspired elements, such as coastal artwork, spa-inspired fixtures, freestanding soaking tubs, walk-in showers and quartz countertops. The resort also features private balconies, onsite restaurant and spa and the city’s only lazy river.

CRUISE

MSC Cruises welcomed its new flagship, the MSC Bellissima, to the fleet in a gala ceremony in Southhampton, UK, on March 2. Christened by film legend Sophia Loren, the ship will spend her inaugural season in the Mediterranean before moving to the Emirates for Winter 2019/20. Following that she will be deployed in Asia in 2020.

Tauck has eliminated the single supplement on its Category 1 European riverboat cabins in 2019. The offer applies to 200 Tauck river cruise departures for the coming year. In addition, Tauck is also reducing the single supplement by $1,000 on other selected cabin categories on 54 departures of 17 different river itineraries and up to $600 on 175 departures of 56 land tours visiting five continents.

Based on the belief that the best way to sell Carnival is to experience it, the cruise line is offering an ambitious product-education program with 150 ship tours across 24 ships and nine Seminars at Sea, so travel advisors can see firsthand the results of the line’s US$2-billion Fleet Enhancement Program. Hosted by Carnival business development managers, the ship tours are free, while travel advisors sailing on a Seminar at Sea receive a special price plus casino, shore excursion, and spa benefits. Register by visiting GoCCL.com or contacting a Carnival BDM.

THEME PARKS

Disney’s long-awaited Star Wars attraction is set to open ahead of schedule in Hollywood. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will welcome guests at Disneyland beginning May 31 and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort on Aug. 29.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has announced that all 12 of its theme parks have removed polystyrene foam dinnerware products, including bowls, plates and trays, from all of its dining operations.

A new dimension of sorcery at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is in the offing at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort with the introduction of the “Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle,” projection experience. The limited time experience will cast “a mesmerizing display of light, music and special effects, unleashing the darkest creatures and villains, including the powerful Dark wizard Lord Voldemort,” will take place at USH nightly April 13-28 and again May 25-27 and will debut at UOR later this year (date TBA). In Hollywood, visitors can also get attend special preview events on April 11 and 12 before the general opening. Ticket details HERE.

EVENTS

More than 200 tourism professionals turned out for the Destination France 2019 tradeshow at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto recently. Organized every year by Atout France, the trade show allows travels agents to meet with French and local exhibitors and be updated on the destination. This year’s theme was 500 years of Renaissance in the Loire Valley. The show also presented an opportunity for Atout France to give out its France Product of the Year Award, as voted on by Canadian travel agents. The winner was Paris and the Chateaux of the Loire Valley by Kensington Tours. Meanwhile, Partner of the Year was Connaissance Travel and Tours, whose Vincent Veerasuntharan (photo, centre), accepted the award.

FAMS & INCENTIVES

March is Iberostar month at Sunwing. Agents making new bookings this month for travel April 1 to Oct. 31, 2020, will earn 4X STAR Agent Reward Points.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Royal Irish Tours (RIT) has launched an incentive sure to have agent eyes smiling. Throughout March, agents booking a 2019 RIT trip to Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales with a minimum spend of $3,000 will be entered to win a trip for two to Ireland including Air Canada flights; a trip on an RIT fam trip next November; and a $500 travel voucher and prize pack. All qualifying bookings earn agents a Cineplex movie voucher for two. RIT notes that consumers can still save with EBB offers through March 17.

PEOPLE

Joe Demarinis is retiring. The move comes after Demarinis, who, with brothers Frank and Enzo, sold Red Label Holdings – the parent company of Redtag.ca, itravel2000.com, The Travel Experts, and TravelBrands – to H.I.S Acquireco Inc. on March 1. He can be reached at Joe.demarinis@hotmail.com.

Alfonso DiPlacido from Travelpoint Enterprises Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ont., is the latest agent to win $500 in the “Sandals Cash Splash” promotion, which launched in October and will continue to award monthly cash prizes of up to $1,000 to agents who make a Sandals or Beaches booking for three nights or more directly with Unique Vacations Inc. through Sept. 30. Multiple prizes are awarded each month.

DESTINATIONS

Switzerland has reached new peaks in popularity in Canada. According to tourism data from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, Canadian arrivals and overnights increased in 2018 compared to the previous year, resulting in a record year. The latest numbers show an increase of 9.6% in Canadian arrivals for a total of 126,198. The number of overnight stays was 270,959, an increase of 9.4% compared to 2017. The most popular destinations were the Zurich Region with 76,344 overnights, the Geneva Region with 50,982 and the Valais with 24,244. With 33.6% more overnights in 2018, the Basel Region (photo) recorded the biggest growth in Canadian visits. The overall growth from Canada is mostly in the big cities, followed by the mountain regions.

After five years of planning and construction, New York’s long-awaited Hudson Yards begins to come to life this week with the opening on March 15 of The Shops & Restaurants alongside the broader neighborhood. Hudson Yards will include two hectares of gardens and public plazas on its Eastern Yard. The Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards is designed to become a new gathering place for Manhattan’s West Side, including, at the centre of the square, Vessel, a new kind of interactive public landmark. The Shed, the cultural centrepiece of this new city within the City, opens its doors on April 5.

Washington, DC’s colourful cherry blossom festival will take place March 20-April 14. The 107th annual National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates 107 years of the gift of trees from Tokyo to the U.S. capital.

Send your news to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com