Houston’s Newest Luxury Hotel Celebrates Moms with a Special Room Offering

In honor of Mother’s Day, Blossom Hotel Houston, a luxury property in Houston offering guests an immersive experience deeply rooted in Bayou City, is pleased to debut a special room package to help pamper moms with a well-deserved, ultra-luxe getaway. Available to book now through Sunday, May 8, 2022, the Mother’s Day package includes a weekend stay over May 6 – May 8, 2022, with champagne upon arrival, gourmet chocolates, an indulgent breakfast in bed paired with a refreshing mimosa flight, and a 2:00 p.m. late checkout time, so mom can savor every last minute of her luxurious retreat.

“Blossom Hotel Houston is thrilled to celebrate moms and ensure this Mother’s Day feels extra special,” said Randy Nameth, Director of Operations of Blossom Hotel Houston.

“We hope this package spoils all the incredible moms we know and love and helps them create lasting memories with their loved ones.”

The 16-story hotel in the Space City features 267 non-smoking guestrooms with views of the city and are all equipped with complimentary Wi-Fi, top-of-the-line Samsung Smart TVs, Dyson hairdryers, Nespresso coffeemakers, Digital Newspapers with PressReader® and marble bathrooms with rain showerheads and exclusive Aqua Di Parma™ amenities. Guests can also indulge in a stunning rooftop swimming pool with panoramic views of the surrounding Houston cityscape, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a lobby lounge and event venues.  Conceived by Rongyi Creative Company, Blossom Hotel Houston integrates lunar-inspired elements into its design and curated artwork collections, creating a tranquil setting where guests can find respite from the fast-paced city life within an immersive environment.

To learn more or to book this Mother’s Day package, guests can click here.

About Blossom Hotel Houston

Blossom Hotel Houston offers an innovative international experience rooted deeply in Space City. The hotel puts guests just steps away from the largest medical center in the world and Houston’s top-notch businesses and entertainment venues, and as the closest luxury hotel to NRG Stadium, it is also minutes away from popular Houston attractions. Whether traveling for medical needs, business or pleasure, guests can enjoy the diversity of Houston, which is also reflected in the hotel’s chic nods to the city’s aerospace roots, while taking advantage of the hotel’s retail shopping, two chef-focused restaurants, unmatched amenities and services, luxury guestrooms and a plethora of event and meeting spaces. For more information, please visit BlossomHouston.com, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Media Contact: BlossomHoustonPR@glodownead.com

Potential MOU for Multi-destination Tourism between Jamaica and Cuba

Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, (see left in the photo) presents an autographed copy of “Tourism Resilience and Recovery for Global Sustainability and Development – Navigating COVID-19 and the Future” to newly appointed Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Fermín Gabriel Quiñones Sanchéz (seen right in the photo) during a recent introductory/courtesy dinner meeting at New Kingston’s Spanish Court Hotel. Looking on is the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Jennifer Griffith.

The book was edited by Minister Bartlett and Professor Lloyd Waller, Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre.

During the meeting, they discussed the activation of a Memorandum of Understanding for Multi-destination Tourism signed in 2016, implementation of which was delayed in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Tourism has intensified its efforts to activate multi-destination tourism agreements with key bilateral partners in the region, including Mexico, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Colombia, which will provide visitors with an opportunity to experience different destinations and satisfy their diverse passion points on one travel itinerary. Multi-destination tourism is considered a prime vehicle for the recovery and continued success of the tourism sector. 

The Jamaica Ministry of Tourism and its agencies are on a mission to enhance and transform Jamaica’s tourism product, while ensuring that the benefits which flow from the tourism sector are increased for all Jamaicans. To this end it has implemented policies and strategies that will provide further momentum for tourism as the engine of growth for the Jamaican economy. The Ministry remains committed to ensuring that the tourism sector makes the fullest contribution possible to Jamaica’s economic development given its tremendous earning potential.

At the Ministry, they are leading the charge to strengthen the linkages between tourism and other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and entertainment, and in so doing encourage every Jamaican to play their part in improving the country’s tourism product, sustaining investment, and modernizing and diversifying the sector to foster growth and job creation for fellow Jamaicans. The Ministry sees this as critical to Jamaica’s survival and success and has undertaken this process through an inclusive approach, which is driven by the Resort Boards, through wide-scale consultation.

Recognizing that a collaborative effort and a committed partnership between the public and private sectors will be needed to achieve set targets, central to the Ministry’s plans is maintaining and nurturing its relationship with all key stakeholders. In so doing, it is believed that with the Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development as a guide and the National Development Plan – Vision 2030 as a benchmark – the Ministry’s goals are achievable for the benefit of all Jamaicans.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Telephone: 920-4924,

Fax: 906-1729

Or

Kingsley Roberts

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30, ext.: 5990

Cell: (876) 505-6118

Fax: 920-4944

Collaborative initiative

After months of focus on virtual events and webinars, Tourism Seychelles hosted their first physical workshop in the cities of Madrid and Valencia in March 2022.

The event was a collaborative initiative with Tourmundial Tour Operator involving other partners namely,  Constance Hotels & Resorts, Anantara and Turkish airlines who organized a dinner in Madrid and a lunch in Valencia for business partners.

Present on behalf of Tourism Seychelles’ team in both cities was Mrs. Monica González Llinás, the representative for Spain and Portugal.

The workshop served as a platform to increase travel agents’ confidence in selling the destination by enhancing their knowledge of Seychelles and updating attendees on the current travel situation.

During the event Constance Hotel & Resorts and Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spa allowed participants to experience Seychelles as they offered several stays at their properties through raffles.

To increase the visibility of the destination in Spain, the Tourism Seychelles team will also attend another roadshow on May 5, 2022, in collaboration with Constance Hotels, Anantara, Turkish Airlines and Icarion Tour Operator.

Seychelles has reviewed its entry requirements to make travelling as stress-free as possible, whilst keeping the safety of visitors at heart.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tourism Seychelles, stbnews@seychelles.travel 

Back-to-back engagements in London

Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, and a high-level team are scheduled to arrive in London tomorrow (Saturday), which marks the start of a mega marketing tour to further boost growth in the island’s tourism industry.

Supported by Director of Tourism, Donovan White, and other representatives, the team will be locked in a series of back-to-back engagements in London over the next six days. “The UK is our second largest source market for stop over visitors and this visit is to initiate discussions aimed at boosting arrivals and earnings,” said Minister Bartlett.

The London blitz includes media exposure through interviews with several major media outlets and travel writers, as well as meetings with key stakeholders such as Virgin Atlantic. Mr. Bartlett will also address top UK tour operators who sell Jamaica at a special recognition dinner.

Other highlights of Mr. Bartlett’s London trip include his induction into the Global Travel Hall of Fame at a grand gala next Thursday. Inductees who are selected from among outstanding business leaders, are recognized for having created a lasting legacy in the travel, tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors.

Earlier in the week Mr. Bartlett will join his colleague Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon Olivia “Babsy” Grange at two events to promote Jamaica 60 independence activities among the Diaspora.

Mr. Bartlett stated:

“Celebrating 60 years of independence is significant, not just in terms of years, but Jamaica’s achievements.”

“Many members of the Diaspora either would have left here at a young age or were born in the UK and have not had the opportunity of seeing the strides being made in their homeland, and our message to them is to come see and enjoy the beauty, the culture, the music and cuisine in the land of Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley and all the great men and women who have contributed and are still doing so, to the development of our island home.”

The UK launch of the book, “Tourism Resilience and Recovery for Global Sustainability and Development: Navigating COVID-19 and the Future”, edited by Minister Bartlett and Executive Director of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), Professor Lloyd Waller will also take place on Thursday.

The marketing tour will then move on to New York, Africa, Canada, Europe and Latin America, with breaks in between.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Telephone: 920-4924,

Fax: 906-1729

Or

Kingsley Roberts

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30, ext.: 5990

Cell: (876) 505-6118

Fax: 920-4944

Milestone recorded earlier than anticipated

After only 111 days, the destination records its 100,000-visitor milestone, 5 months ahead of the 2021 dates, a high indicator of the successful recovery of the Seychelles tourism industry.

As per the data provided by the Seychelles National Statistics Bureau (NBS), Seychelles hit its 100,000 visitors mark on April 21, 2022.

With figures nearing pre-pandemic arrival numbers, the destination recorded 28, 685 visitors in March 2022, 7,685 more visitors than what was predicted for the month, which is also only 12,527 less than the figures recorded in 2019.

Speaking of the milestone, the Director-General for Destination Marketing, Mrs. Bernadette Willemin says that the numbers are very encouraging.

“It is truly a great satisfaction to see the visitor arrival numbers remain on the rise and to hear from our operators and service providers that business is booming again.”

“2020 and 2021 have been challenging years for our small destination and our local partners, we have invested much effort into reversing the situation. The current numbers indicate that we are on our way to reaching the minimum 182, 849 visitors received in 2021 and that is a milestone considering the current economic downturn the world is facing,” said Mrs. Willemin.

Impacted heavily by the pandemic, Seychelles‘ recovery strategy was centered around rebuilding visitors’ confidence pushing forward a robust nationwide vaccination campaign for its citizens and residents. The campaign was reinforced by its safe tourism certification policy through intensive training of tourism industry operators in health and safety measures.

Estimations from the Tourism Seychelles show that the destination is anticipating between 36,000 to 76,000 visitors more in 2021.

The top performing markets on the arrival chart since January 2022, remain France, Russia, and Germany.

SEEN IN PHOTO: Anse Georgette Seychelles – image courtesy of © Vanessa Lucas – Tourism Seychelles

MEDIA CONTACT: Tourism Seychelles, stbnews@seychelles.travel 

SAP, Bolt and an ex-Premier League footballer are part of a stellar line-up of global game-changers speaking at IMEX’s Exclusively Corporate. The dedicated event for corporate meeting professionals takes place on Monday, May 30, the day before IMEX in Frankfurt, May 31 – June 2.

From sustainability to sport

The program of case study-led education, peer-to-peer discussion and networking has been designed to support corporate event planners during a busy and pivotal moment, as they power their organizations to post-pandemic recovery.

The theme of the sessions – building back better – is explored by headline speaker Paul McVeigh who shares his perspective on business recovery from the world of elite sport. As a Premier League and international football player for Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and Northern Ireland, Paul competed with and against the best players in the world, which has shaped his understanding of high performance and the psychology of success. In his session, The psychology of thriving and surviving in 2022, he will explore techniques to achieve improved mental performance and thrive at work.

Performance Psychologist, ex-Premier League Footballer

Paul explains: “My intention is that everyone who comes to hear me will finally and fully understand how their psychology, their mindset and their habitual thinking patterns 100% dictate their lives. The truth and the shame is that most people only think about their psychology or mindset when they’ve hit rock bottom or had a massive setback. My philosophy is why wait for that moment? Why not try and improve your life now?”

Stefanie Dubois, Head of Global Event Operations at SAP, looks at the journey to net zero in 2050 – specifically what measures the industry can implement and how to measure and track impact in Building sustainable events for the future.

Count Me In Founder, Shane Feldman

As the founder of a youth-led leadership organization that has impacted 10 million young people in 104 countries, Shane Feldman knows a thing or two about creating communities. The founder of Count Me In will deliver the keynote at Exclusively Corporate – Relationship passport: Build better relationships and create engaged communities. He’ll advise on how to break out of the constraints of old models and learn how to use technology as an advantage to make customers an integral – and loyal – part of a company’s community and story.

The pandemic has given the industry an opportunity to reset and Tanesha Moody, Former Director Field and Events Marketing at Bolt Financial, details how planners can manage the moment by revamping skills, celebrating challenges and channeling creativity in Pivot, Change, Recreate – the Evolution of Corporate Events.

With dozens of corporate planners and industry leaders coming together, the emphasis is on shared discussions and debate. Two interactive breakout sessions invite contributions on harnessing new technology to deliver brand impact and delve into organizing innovative, sustainable and engaging experiences that deliver shared value.

Google continues the conversation in virtual follow-up

Exclusively Corporate is only the start of the conversation. Planners can progress discussions at a follow-up, virtual Exclusively Corporate. The session held on June 28 is open to attendees of the in-person event and will be led by a truly ground-breaking expert.

Megan Henshall, Global Events Strategic Solutions Lead at Google, will discuss Events Re-imagined, sharing how Google have been re-imagining analogue and virtual experiences to create opportunities for authentic human connection and transformation. Attendees can expect a (virtual) preview of her highly anticipated session as part of Exclusively Corporate on May 30.

Exclusively Corporate is sponsored by Los Cabos and Hubilo and takes place on Monday 30 May, the day before IMEX in Frankfurt. For more details on how to attend click here.

IMEX in Frankfurt takes place May 31 – June 2, 2022 – the business events community can register here. Registration is free.

eTurboNews is a media partner for IMEX.

MEDIA CONTACT: Emma Blake: emmablake@clareville.co.uk

Worldly marketing tour to boost arrivals

Elated by the rate at which Jamaica’s tourism industry is recovering from the devastating COVID-19 fallout, Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is all set to embark on a global marketing tour to boost visitor arrivals.

Arrival figures indicate that “this winter, closing at the end of April, is going to see in excess of a 70 per cent recovery in tourism in Jamaica,” Minister Bartlett disclosed at yesterday’s (April 20) ground-breaking for RIU’s seventh hotel in Jamaica – the 753-room RIU Aquarelle. Inclusive of cruise passengers, Jamaica is looking at just under one million visitors and earnings of about US$1.5 billion.

Additionally, “bookings for summer are now looking better than pre-COVID in 2019 and we’re just hitting the market,” said Mr. Bartlett as a prelude to disclosing that this Friday (April 22) he leaves the island with a team “to start a mega marketing campaign across the world.”

The first stop is in the United Kingdom this weekend when he will join Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange in promoting activities to mark Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of independence.

The tourism team will move on to New York to stimulate travel from the US Northeastern Seaboard, inclusive of New Jersey, Connecticut, extending to Boston.

“And then we leave from there and we hit the new market of the Middle East. We’re meeting with all the mega airlines, including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, S.A.L. and we’re going over to Riyadh as well to meet with King Khalid, their big aviation company, which wants to open 225 new gateways and we want Jamaica to be in that,” said Minister Bartlett.

The itinerary also includes a meeting with representatives of Royal Jordanian Airlines, as a plan is rolled out to establish Jamaica as the hub for the Middle Eastern market for the Caribbean and the Americas.

With breaks in between, the marketing tour will also go on to Africa, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

At the end of the global marketing blitz in October, Minister Bartlett expects to have agreements signed for an additional 8,000 new hotel rooms in Jamaica.

Delivering the keynote address at the ground-breaking ceremony, Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, lauded RIU Hotels for investing in seven hotels in Jamaica in 21 years, describing it as a remarkable achievement.

He invited the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Carmen Riu to explore building an eighth hotel on the south-eastern coast, which Jamaica is developing for a different kind of tourism experience.

“Tourism and hospitality have become very important to us here in Jamaica which, thanks to investments like (that of) the Riu family, our tourism product has become a sought-after destination in the Caribbean region,” expressed Mr. Holness. He said over the years the tourism industry had taken on increased significance “because the truth is that the government has focused on the industry, giving leadership and direction and emphasis to the industry.”

Señora Riu said the company currently has 3,500 rooms in Jamaica and employs 2,200 workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic induced shutdown, the RIU Montego Bay and RIU Ocho Rios hotels were refurbished, and all their hotels in Jamaica have now been updated with new services being offered.

SEEN IN PHOTO: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (center) introduces Chief Executive Officer of RIU Hotels, Señora Carmen Riu (right) to Prime Minister, the Most Hon.  Andrew Holness on his arrival for the ground-breaking ceremony for RIU Aquarelle, the company’s seventh hotel in Jamaica, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. – image courtesy of Jamaica Ministry of Tourism

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Telephone: 920-4924,

Fax: 906-1729

Or

Kingsley Roberts

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30, ext.: 5990

Cell: (876) 505-6118

Fax: 920-4944

International fair in Cape Town

Present at the World Travel Market (WTM) Africa event, Tourism Seychelles representatives and a small delegation of local partners were in Cape Town to reconnect with trade partners from the South African region.

The 3-day international fair, which took place at the (CTICC) Cape Town International Conference Centre between April 11-13, 2022, was the first in-person event for the region since the pandemic.

Tourism Seychelles team comprised of Mr. David Germain – Regional Director for Africa and Americas, Ms Christine Vel – Director for South Africa and Other Africa and Mrs. Ingride Asante – Marketing Executive for South Africa and African market.

Representing the local trade Ms. Amy Michel and Mr. Kevin Albert attended the event on behalf of Mason’s Travel and Summer Rain Tours respectively while Ms. Jordyn Erasmus and Ms. Gina Arntzen were present as Blue Safari Travel spokespeople.

The team met with several trade partners from all over the world, tourism professionals from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the rest of Africa visiting the Seychelles stand and had series of business to business (B2B) meetings with the exhibitors and Tourism Seychelles to discuss the features of Seychelles as a destination.

Speaking of the event Christine Vel, the director for South Africa said that the fair was a successful one for the destination.

“We are quite satisfied with the outcome of the WTM Africa as we have seen that our trade partners still had much enthusiasm and interest in the destination,” said Ms. Vel. 

As part of Tourism Seychelles’ participation at the WTM Africa, Mr. David Germain was chosen as a panelist for the live edition of the World Travel Market Africa moderated by Chris Mears, CEO of African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA). The panel composed of the CEO of Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa and Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, Chief Destineer: Destinate, discussed the revival of the African tourism sector after the pandemic.

Launched in 2014 under the Africa Travel Week umbrella, WTM Africa is a key trade Rendezvous for the travel industry. The 2023 edition of WTM Africa will take place between April 3-5, 2023.

MEDIA CONTACT: Tourism Seychelles, stbnews@seychelles.travel 

The post-pandemic world represents a markedly changed landscape for business event professionals with a greater focus than ever on the value of meetings and events in driving economic regeneration, reconnecting workforces and reigniting stakeholder relationships. There’s now a laser focus on how meetings can truly deliver success and impact across the realms of healthcare, scientific progress, and business and economic development.

The IMEX Policy Forum has been designed to address these issues head-on, with the aim of identifying and building consensus on the most critical advocacy issues. Taking place on Tuesday, May 31, the first day of IMEX in Frankfurt, the Policy Forum brings together policy makers, destination representatives, business events association executives and other thought-leaders for a half-day of intensive, perspective-challenging discussion.

The Forum aims to create a roadmap that benefits and unites both policymakers and industry leaders; to help set the agenda for future high-level conversations and in-depth research and to help build better partnerships and understanding of the value, relevance and impact of business events.

Dedicated discussions for local and national policy makers

With the emphasis on active discussion and input from all, the Policy Forum hosts two concurrent discussion groups prior to the Open Forum. One is a workshop designed for local, municipal and regional policy makers and destination representatives, facilitated by Professor Greg Clark CBE, Global Urbanist and leading advisor on cities and businesses. The other brings together national government ministers and representatives of travel and tourism and economic affairs to discuss the national agenda, chaired by Martin Sirk, from Sirk Serendipity.

During the Open Forum, where destination representatives and industry leaders join policymakers, interactive round table discussions will draw on innovative case studies, research studies and whitepapers, bringing everyone together to debate different viewpoints and challenge perspectives.

Destinations and policy makers unite

Over 30 destinations have already confirmed their attendance along with significant interest from policy makers.

Ray Bloom, Chairman of the IMEX Group, comments: “We invite all destinations joining us at IMEX in Frankfurt to invite their policy makers – whether local, regional or national – to attend the Policy Forum and the show.

“Never has it been more important for government decision makers and industry leaders to harness the power of the global meetings and events industry to bring about change and influence future business recovery and direction.”

“Business events are capacity builders. They are the main route to transfer of intellectual capital,” adds Natasha Richards, Head of Advocacy & Industry Relations at the IMEX Group. “The Policy Forum opens up a dialogue between our industry and policy makers to show them how to harness the sector to achieve their vision and aims.”

The IMEX Policy Forum takes place on Tuesday, May 31, at the Marriott Hotel in Frankfurt and is part of IMEX in Frankfurt held May 31 – June 2. The IMEX Policy Forum is organized in collaboration with City Destinations Alliance (formally European Cities Marketing), the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC), Meetings Mean Business Coalition, Destinations International and German Convention Bureau, under the auspices of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and Events Industry Council (EIC).

IMEX in Frankfurt takes place May 31 – June 2, 2022 – the business events community can register here. Registration is free.

eTurboNews is a media partner for IMEX Frankfurt.

MEDIA CONTACT: Emma Blake, emmablake@clareville.co.uk

Bath Fountain one of the tourism ministry’s eight public bodies

Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has expressed profound sadness at the passing of the General Manager of Bath Fountain Hotel, Mr. Desmond Blair, who had headed the St. Thomas attraction since 2001.Bath Fountain isone of the tourism ministry’s eight public bodies.

“I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mr. Blair. On behalf of the entire tourism fraternity, I would like to offer my condolences to his family.  He was a thorough and astute manager who used best practices that led to great improvements at Bath Fountain,” said Minister Bartlett.

“He was passionate about seeing improvements to the health and wellness facility that would cement its status as a world-renowned mineral bath and was looking forward to impending developments that would do so.  I am saddened that Mr. Blair will not see these changes come to fruition but very grateful for his many years of dedicated service to the local tourism industry. May his soul rest in peace,” the Jamaica Tourism Minister added.

The St. Ann native was a stalwart in the hospitality industry.

He honed his skills over the decades in management positions at various Montego Bay and St. Ann properties, including Quality Inn, Montego Bay Club Resort, the Gloucestershire Hotel, Americana Hotel and Runaway Bay Hotel.  From 1975-1981, he was the Hotel Inspector at another of the Ministry’s public bodies, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo).

In 1972, Mr. Blair was awarded a scholarship by the Federal Republic of Germany to pursue studies in hotel and tourism management at the Carl Duisberg Hotel & Tourism Institute in Munich, Germany.

SEEN IN PHOTO: Desmond Blair – image courtesy of Jamaica Ministry of Tourism

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: (876) 920-4926-30

Or

Kingsley Roberts

Senior Director, Corporate Communications

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30, ext.: 5990

Cell: (876) 505-6118

Fax: 920-4944