Category: News

  • News: ABTA responds to Government consultation on night flights

    ABTA has responded to the Government’s consultation on night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted emphasising that any system must strike a balance between the commercial benefits of meeting demand and the impact of night flights on local communities and the surroundings.

    ABTA states that it’s essential for airlines to work closely with local communities and continue to speculate in newer, quieter aircraft and to further improve their environmental performance. However the contribution of night flying to the economy, particularly the local area ought to be recognised.  At Heathrow in 2011, night flights contributed £543m to the economy directly, supporting 6,800 jobs and generating £102m in tax revenue¹.

    Luke Pollard, ABTA Head of Public Affairs said: “Night flights may be an emotive subject because noise specifically may be particularly disruptive for local communities. quite a lot of progress have been made in reducing noise that is especially important at night or early within the morning,  and we encourage airports, airlines, the govt. and native communities to continue to make further improvements.

    Airlines must be encouraged to speculate in quieter, more efficient aircraft instead of punitively restricting the extent of night flights particularly on the capacity- constrained airports around London, which might only lead to higher prices for consumers and more delayed or cancelled flights.

    Night flights contribute significantly to the economy and enable thousands of holidaymakers and business traveller to fly every year. ABTA believes a balance should be struck between the massive economic contribution of those flights and the impacts they’ve on local communities. The aviation industry must also continue to take steps to cope their environmental impacts in order for solutions are located that work for the industry and native communities alike. “

  • News: Hilton Long island renamed as Ny Hilton-Midtown

    On the eve of its 50th anniversary, Hilton Manhattan today adopted a brand new name, Ny Hilton-Midtown, as a tribute to its storied past and a fashion of helping business and leisure travelers more easily identify its Manhattan neighborhood.

    When Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton opened the hotel in June 1963 on Sixth Avenue between West 53rd and 54th Streets, he named it the brand new York Hilton at Rockefeller Center, envisioning a midtown Manhattan where the world’s most successful businesses, exceptional entertainment options and legendary Hilton hospitality would converge.

    “As the hotel celebrates its 50th anniversary on June 26, we now have decided to come back to rename it Big apple Hilton-Midtown,” said Mark Lauer, hotel general manager. “The connection with midtown inside the new name provides the hotel with a locator for guests and helps to spot the neighborhood the hotel is situated, that is very important to both business and leisure travelers visiting Ny city.”

    Being on the epicenter of midtown Manhattan, the hot name celebrates the long-lasting sites and attractions that midtown has to present including Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Museum of recent Art (MoMA), Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Fifth Avenue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, to call a number of.

    “We’re extremely happy with our new name, which pays homage to our stellar location within the heart of midtown,” Lauer said. “As we approach our 50th anniversary, this is a fitting tribute to revive the name that our founding father, Conrad Hilton, provided. The hotel have been a vital part of the dynamic fabric of midtown Manhattan for the last 50 years, and we glance forward to the following half-century.”

    The 1,981-room Ny Hilton-Midtown is well-liked by savvy sophisticated international and domestic travelers. The hotel, that’s a quick walk from Times Square, Broadway theaters and the renowned Fifth Avenue shopping district, can accommodate large conferences and conventions, smaller meetings and stylish banquets.

  • News: Royal Caribbean announces 2014-15 short Caribbean and Bahamas cruises

    Royal Caribbean International today announced a whole lot of short three- to 5-night Caribbean and Bahamas cruises throughout 2014-15, sailing from Tampa, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and Miami, Florida. The vast majority of these Royal Caribbean ships have recently undergone extensive refurbishments, offering guests as much as 10 onboard dining options, spectacular entertainment and onboard features that provide greater convenience and connectivity.

    On all ships except Majesty of the Seas, guests also can enjoy an outsized outdoor movie screen beside the major pool, new staterooms featuring flat-panel televisions, bow-to-stern Wi-Fi service, interactive digital signage and masses more. For a brief webisode about the whole innovative enhancements that guests are already enjoying, please see http://tinyurl.com/c3au67b. Royal Caribbean’s 2014-15 short Caribbean and Bahamas cruises at the moment are open for booking.

    From Port Canaveral and Miami respectively, Enchantment of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas will continue year-round three- and 4-night Bahamas cruises, calling at Nassau and CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island paradise within the Bahamas. On Majesty of the Seas’ four-night sailing, guests also call at Key West, Florida. At CocoCay, guests enjoy a personal island with watersports options, lots of beautiful beaches to take in the sun, sip refreshing cocktails and luxuriate in a barbeque lunch by the ocean.

    Throughout the summer 2014 season, holidaymakers may also choose a Caribbean getaway from Port Everglades aboard Vision of the Seas. A four-night itinerary takes guests to Cozumel, Mexico, whilst two five-night itineraries take guests to Cozumel and Roatan, Honduras, on one, or Key West, Florida, and Grand Cayman. Guests may even have access to the spectacular high-flying, acrobatic musical production overhead inside the four-deck high Centrum, while others can enjoy a cocktail on the new retro-chic R-Bar below.

    Also from Port Everglades, Liberty of the Seas will sail four- and five-night Western Caribbean cruises for the winter 2014-15 season, offering the broadest range of innovative and popular features and entertainment that were first introduced onboard the arena-acclaimed Oasis-class and Freedom-class. Guests benefit from the FlowRider surf simulator, the four-bedroom, four-bathroom Presidential Family Suite – that could accommodate as much as 14, in addition to the exclusive DreamWorks Experience, featuring DreamWorks Animations’ lovable ogres Shrek and Fiona, Po the Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar’s Alex the Lion and Gloria the Hippo; a three-D cinema showing a number of the latest DreamWorks Animation films; Broadway-musical Saturday Night Fever, and more. Liberty of the Seas’ four-night cruise calls at Cozumel, Mexico, and its two five-night itineraries call at Cozumel and Belize City, Belize, on one and Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination, at the other.

    From Tampa, Brilliance of the Seas will also offer four-night cruises to Cozumel, and two five-night Cozumel itineraries, with the intention to additionally call at Key West on one, and at Grand Cayman on another.

  • Atoll Paradise wins three World Travel Awards

    At the Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony for the area Travel Awards, which came about at Paradise Island, a non-public resort within the Maldives, on May 12, 2013, Atoll Paradise emerged once more as a pacesetter within the region, winning three of the coveted awards, for ‘Indian Ocean’s Leading Travel Agency’, ‘Maldives’ Leading Tour Operator’, and likewise within the newly established category ‘Seychelles’ Leading Luxury Tour Operator’.

    Atoll Paradise is incredibly happy with this accomplishment, especially because the company only added the destination Seychelles in late 2011 to its exclusive luxury resort portfolio and has already been recognized because the Leading Luxury Tour Operator of this gorgeous island nation!

    “It is an honor to were selected for the second one year now as a pacesetter inside the travel industry of the region! We base our success at the inside knowledge our Travel Consultants have of every resort in our collection, and naturally at the top-notch personalized service we offer! All of our team members are very devoted to their work and to the corporate, and we fully embrace our motto to always exceed our customers’ expectations. My team, as an example, is on call 24-hours an afternoon for our clients on location, and we ensure no hick-up will disturb your holiday serenity!”, says Jenny Vettiger Mufeed, Guest Experience Manager at Atoll Paradise.

    The elegant award ceremony occurred on Paradise Island inside the Maldives, and the ambience was fitting for this dream destination – chic, yet laid-back, elegant with a tropical touch! The outlet speech was given by Mr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, the President of the Maldives, and he was followed by Mr. David Falcon, Senior Vp WTA, who gave a brief background on WTA’s 20-year history. Attendees included the crème-de-la-crème in travel of the Indian Ocean region, and entertainment came with compliments of Unoosha – an impressive singer who mixes traditional Maldivian sounds with modern beats – and native Bodu Beru groups.

    The Indian Ocean Award ceremony also recognized the Maldives as an entire, awarding this gorgeous island nation the elite status of Indian Ocean’s Leading Beach Destination, Indian Ocean’s Leading Cruise Destination, Indian Ocean’s Leading Tourist Board, and Indian Ocean’s Leading Destination – awards were received by the Minister of Tourism himself, Mr. Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor, who was also named Indian Ocean’s Travel & Tourism Personality of the Year. The winners within the resort categories included a lot of our partner resorts, with LUX* Maldives being named Indian Ocean’s Leading Beach Resort, Ocean Haven at W Retreat Maldives won for Indian Ocean’s Leading Hotel Suite, Frégate Island Private within the Seychelles was awarded Indian Ocean’s Leading Private Island Resort, and Hilton Mauritius received a statue for Mauritius’ Leading Spa Resort! We congratulate all of our partners who were recognized as leaders in luxury travel, and are proud to be working with every one of them!

    The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to recognize and recognize excellence within the global travel and tourism industry. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, it’s thought to be the very highest achievement that a travel product could hope to receive and their aim is to spotlight and reward those travel brands which have made the best contribution to the industry over the last year. Votes are cast by greater than 700,000 travel professionals and consumers in over 170 countries around the globe.

    Atoll Paradise is busy with plans for further expansion, on the brink of move into their new state-of-the-art office complex by next month, where they’re going to make the most of the very best that technology has to provide, to make certain customers can lie back and relax worry-free while on vacation.

    Atoll Paradise extends a heartfelt Thanks to its customers, business partners, and employees – only in the course of the dedicated collaboration of all three components can a tender company like this achieve such heights of success!

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  • News: Global Travel Agency Network Virtuoso® brings its International Symposium to Buenos Aires

    Virtuoso®, the worldwide network renowned for its ability to create exceptional luxury travel experiences for clientele, welcomes its travel agency owner members and preferred travel providers to Buenos Aires for its Symposium.  Attracting greater than 400 people from 33 countries, the Symposium came about 21-25 April 2013.  Symposium meetings serve to deepen the relationships of the network’s agency owners with the foremost senior executives from the world’s leading luxury travel brands and unique providers, in addition to with the host destination and its curated Virtuoso travel providers; the result’s the elevation of Virtuoso client experiences.

    Virtuoso selected Buenos Aires from a considerable number of potential host cities following a written invitation from the President of the Argentine Nation, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner – an instantaneous results of the group’s successful relationship with the Argentina National Institute of Tourism Promotion (INPROTUR). With the connection now in its second year, Virtuoso has seen sales to Argentina rise by seven per cent year over year, with sales to numerous cities seeing substantial growth. Additionally, Argentina was named within the top-five hottest international destinations for 2013 in Virtuoso’s Luxe Report, an annual survey of the network’s member agencies at the latest travel trends. 

    “Since 2011, Virtuoso has enjoyed a successful relationship with INPROTUR, and we were deeply honored to receive a non-public invitation from President Fernandez de Kirchner to carry our Symposium in Buenos Aires,” said Matthew D. Upchurch , Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso. “Buenos Aires is a terrific destination, with its extraordinary culture, amazing cuisine and a stunning lifestyle that actually resonates with worldly travelers. INPROTUR and travel providers that belong to Virtuoso in Argentina came together to showcase their destination. This level of collaboration is the important thing to our selection process because it leads to our network’s ability to deliver richer experiences to our clients and offers our agencies’ advisors the deeper contacts to make it happen.”

    During the four-day event, attendees will enjoy a personal cocktail reception and dinner on the Bicentennial Museum, a film premiere on the Faena Art Center, city tours, private shopping excursions, culinary experiences, tango lessons or even an inside have a look at Argentina’s favorite sport – polo.  Virtuoso preferred travel providers proudly hosting this prestigious group include Alvear Palace Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Faena Hotel Buenos Aires, INPROTUR, Mai10, and Abercrombie & Kent.

    This is the primary time Virtuoso has held its Symposium in South America.  Buenos Aires joins a majestic list of host cities, including Madrid, Spain (2011); Mexico City, Mexico (2010); Sydney, Australia (2009); Athens, Greece (2008); St. Petersburg, Russia (2007); Singapore (2006); and last year’s cruise from Rome to Monte Carlo aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Mariner (2012).