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Montego Bay Convention Center hosts 2019 Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event

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In its continued effort to strengthen linkages and increase business between the tourism industry and local suppliers of goods and services from other sectors, the Tourism Linkages Network is collaborating with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and other partner entities to host its annual Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event. Numerous hotels and local businesses will participate in the venture.

It will entail a series of fifteen-minute meetings throughout the day between executives of supplier companies and managers of properties, restaurants, attractions and other tourism entities. It will enable them to place orders as well as discuss contracts, prices and other areas of interest with the producers and suppliers of a range of critical products and services used by the tourism industry.

WHO: The Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, CD, MP

WHEN: Wednesday, March 20, 2019, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: The Montego Bay Convention Centre, Montego Bay, St. James

MEDIA CONTACT: Alyssa Taffe, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Tourism, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: (876) 920-4926-30, Mobile: (876) 441-5055, Fax: (876) 906 1729

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Iberostar Hotels & Resorts launches voice bookings with ‘Google Assistant’

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Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has launched an innovative option enabling guests to book rooms through voice commands thanks to an integration with Google Assistant. This is a major step forward for customers, who, from now on, will be able to explore this option from their assistant-enabled devices using voice search. When a customer says, “Hey Google, I want to book a room at,” followed by the name of an Iberostar hotel, its location and the desired dates, Google will provide the details of that hotel’s availability and rates and finalize the booking using Google Pay credentials. In turn, the hotel will be notified of the booking via the channel selected by the user.

Voice bookings through Google Assistant is the latest addition to Iberostar’s innovation plan to provide its guests a great experience, even before their stay. The feature is already available in English for users in the US on Android and Apple smartphones, as well as household devices. During the initial stage, customers will be able to book the following Iberostar city hotels immediately with no advance reservation restrictions in various locations around the world: Iberostar Las Letras Gran Vía (Madrid), Iberostar Lisboa (Lisbon), Iberostar 70 Park Avenue (New York), Iberostar Paseo de Gracia (Barcelona), Iberostar Grand Budapest (Budapest), Iberostar Grand Mencey (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the Iberostar Berkeley (Miami).

“We strive to provide our guests not only with a platform to create great memories during their stay at any of the destinations where we operate, but also with services that cater to their needs,” said Javier Delgado Muerza, Iberostar Group’s Chief Digital Officer. “We are working on connecting with them and facilitating their experience with us. This is a step forward in the company’s current digitalization plan, which is centered on users and innovation, while remaining committed to providing an outstanding hotel experience”.

Iberostar has entered into a strategic alliance with Mirai for the development of this project, aimed at boosting sales thanks to multi-channel connectivity, which includes this cutting-edge voice recognition-based solution that positions the brand amongst the world’s leading international chains.

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Monaco Government Tourist Authority welcomes new President and Deputy Director

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A new team has been appointed, as head of the Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority. Mr. Guy Antognelli, former Deputy Director becomes the new President of Monaco Tourism and Mrs. Sandrine Camia, who has been serving as head of the Monaco Convention Bureau for the past seven years, becomes Deputy Director.

Mrs. Camia has a strong experience in tourism; she has been working for 20 years for luxury hotel brands including Hotel Lutetia in Paris and Hotel Martinez in Cannes, which were then both properties of Taittinger Family. She held the position of Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication for two independent luxury hotels, Hotel Royal Riviera in Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat and Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo. In 2011, she was appointed head of Monaco Convention Bureau and has been in charge of the promotion and development of MICE, while implementing new communication and marketing tools and ensuring the loyalty of the best customers.

Mrs. Camia about her appointment as Deputy Director: ” It is a new challenge and a recognition of the work accomplished at the Convention Bureau. These past seven years have been rich in experiences and successes.”

After a post-graduating in Finance Engineering at Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University, Mr. Antognelli started his career in a Monegasque subsidiary of a Swiss private bank, first in the back office then in the risk management and internal audit department.

During the next 10 years, he contributed to the development of an insurance company in Monaco, managing high end client portfolios using his financial expertise as well as his social skills.

In 2011, he has been appointed Head of Statistics Department of Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority. He has contributed to the development of this service and has extended his field of action to strategic and competitive intelligence.

In 2015 he took the position of Deputy Director and worked in closed cooperation with all services for promoting and developing tourism in the Principality.

Mr. Antognelli about his appointment as President: “This appointment is recognition of my work and a statement of trust from the Government. I especially look forward to working with the team who is dedicated to promote the destination and has achieved great results over the past years.

My aim is to lead all missions of Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority to ensure a high level of tourism throughout the year and maximize the economic benefits for the destination.

We have always been working closely with all partners in the Principality’s tourism sector.

We must deploy innovative tools within the framework defined for the promotion of the destination, in order to improve the good results of tourism in the Principality.”

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ILTM Latin America 2019: Record number of agents from new destinations

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ILTM Latin America 2019, regional event for the luxury travel industry, will welcome this year more of the most productive agents from Brazil and Latin America than even before, including many new faces.

A total of 370 buyers will attend the invitation only event in São Paulo in May, with 26% of these set to be new faces. They will attend from 14 countries – newly represented at the event are the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Guatemala – and 40 cities to meet with some of the best travel experiences from across the world. Agents from 22 cities in Brazil alone will be represented including Cuiaba and Uberlandia, also for the first time.

Simon Mayle, ILTM Latin America Event Director comments:

“We travel the continent far and wide, meeting and qualifying the most productive luxury agents in Latin America in order to bring an audience that can’t be found elsewhere and make the introductions that wouldn’t be made otherwise. We bring the world to Latin America, so that they can discover more of it.”

The 2019 edition of ILTM Latin America is defined by its theme of ‘Back to Life’ to highlight the value of Health and Wellness for both the luxury travel business and the consumer as well as our responsibility in taking care of and celebrating nature.

The event also welcomes over 90 new exhibitors in a total of almost 370 luxury travel brands from all four corners of the world who will attend to network and build business with the region’s wealthiest. They include AccorHotels Luxury brands, Aman Resorts, Baha Mar, Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort in Switzerland, Belmond, Dorchester Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Marriott Luxury Brands, Preferred Hotels, Portugal’s Quinta das Lágrimas, Rosewood Hotel Group, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, The Vines Resort & Spa in Mendoza and Vakkaru Maldives as well as destinations including Portugal, Georgia and Israel.

Media Contact: Orla Kelly, Junior Account Executive, London, UK, D: +44 (0) 20 8334 4005, [email protected]

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Allegiant Airlines’ ancillary revenue initiatives among most innovative in the world

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Allegiant is based in Las Vegas, but it has never relied upon the notion of “luck” as part of its business strategy. The airline was born in 1997 and immediately challenged all the rules of how to start an airline.

Allegiant maintains its industry leading margins by distancing itself from competitors, and by being very different from everyone else. This distinctive style includes innovative ways to generate ancillary revenue:

• Allegiant’s Sunseeker Resort development in Florida is projected to contribute ancillary revenue in excess of $6 per passenger on a systemwide basis.

• The carrier’s new family entertainment centers allow it to build deeper customer relationships and capture more leisure spending within Allegiant’s network of smaller cities.

• More than $16 per passenger is generated by baggage revenue policies, which include fees for large carry-on bags, and allow those without large carry-on bags to board first.

• The Allegiant World Mastercard provides a free inflight beer or wine for cardholders and is expected to generate annual earnings (EBITDA) of $50 million by 2020.

• The installment payment option (pay monthly) yields online shopping carts nearly 300% larger than those paid in full.

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Ethiopian Airlines launches direct Istanbul flight

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Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX certified Four Star Global Airline, is pleased to announce that it has finalized all preparations to launch a direct thrice weekly flight to Istanbul, Turkey as of April 1, 2019.

Istanbul is Turkey’s historic, industrial and financial capital.

The flight to Istanbul will be dispatched as per the schedule below:

Flight

Number Frequency Departure

Airport Departure time Arrival Airport Arrival

Time Sub fleet

ET 0720 MON, WED, FRI ADD 23:05 IST 4:35 ET 738
ET 0721 WED,FRI,SUN IST 1:10 ADD 6:40 ET 738

Regarding the upcoming services, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “It gives us great pleasure to launch flights to Istanbul, connecting Europe’s largest city to the over 60 African destinations we serve, through our hub Addis Ababa. Turkey being one of the fastest growing countries among the emerging economies, availability of seamless connectivity options will facilitate the channeling of investors and enhance business ties between the two regions.

As we forge ahead on the path of growth and success as envisioned in Vision 2025, we will keep opening new routes to all corners of the world bringing Africa ever closer to the rest of the world.”

Istanbul marks Ethiopian’s 19th destination in Europe. Ethiopian is currently serving 119 international destinations across five continents with young aircraft with average fleet age of five years. It will also bring the number of passenger flights the airline operates to European cities to 57 per week.

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Hilton University of Florida Conference Center at Gainesville joins Benchmark Resorts & Hotels portfolio

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Benchmark has added the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center at Gainesville to the company’s Benchmark Resorts & Hotels brand portfolio. The recently renovated, 248-guest room property is located on the University of Florida campus, close to Gainesville’s Central Business District. The property serves a growing market of visiting alumni, parents and students, academics, and guests affiliated with the university. Its IACC-approved conference center, with 25,000 square feet of meeting space, attracts a significant number of meetings and events. The Hilton University of Florida Conference Center at Gainesville is Benchmark’s tenth property in Florida, and the third hotel located on a major college campus within the United States.

“We are honored to be chosen by Hilton Hotels & Resorts to manage this exceptional property,” says Benchmark CEO Alex Cabañas. “We are also delighted to again expand our presence in Florida, where both our Gemstone Collection and Benchmark Resorts & Hotels brands are represented throughout the Sunshine State,” he said. Benchmark recently added two hotels in St. Pete Beach to its portfolio, expanding its presence to Southwest Florida.

Mr. Cabañas also noted the growing importance of conference center hotels to a university. “These hotels serve as a campus ‘guest house’, providing an authentic, on-campus experience while sharing ideas and resources,” he said.

The non-smoking, pet-friendly hotel includes 248 guest rooms and suites featuring HDTV, desks for work/study-related activities, and complimentary WiFi. Guests can enjoy the property’s outdoor pool and whirlpool and a 24-hour fitness center.

The University of Florida is a prominent research university, set on 2,000 acres in Gainesville, in North Central Florida. It offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in law, medicine, business and engineering.

The University of Florida campus offers an array of services and attractions, including an art museum, concerts, lectures, theater, libraries and sports events. Guests can enjoy collegiate football at the nearby Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, home of the Florida Gators. Other local attractions include the Butterfly Rainforest, the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Gainesville Raceway. The surrounding region offers opportunities for biking, canoeing, paddle boarding, swimming and wildlife viewing at one of seven nearby Florida State parks.

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Swiss-Belhotel International appoints new General Manager for Swiss-Belinn Muscat

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Swiss-Belhotel International has appointed Paul Uglesic as the General Manager for Swiss-Belinn Muscat in Oman. Paul has ten years of outstanding experience in the hospitality industry working with some of the world’s leading brands.

Making the announcement, Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India, Swiss-Belhotel International, said, “We are delighted to welcome Paul Uglesic to lead the team at Swiss-Belinn Muscat in Oman. Paul has a decade of strong knowledge and understanding of the hospitality sector as well as excellent pre-opening expertise targeted at achieving operational excellence and guest satisfaction. We are confident under his leadership this superb property, that is in advanced stages of development, will provide outstanding facilities in the 3-star category.”

Paul started his executive career in the industry at Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Croatia in 2009. In 2015, Paul moved to Dubai taking up the role of Executive Assistant Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek and performed a task force role as the acting General Manager at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Dubai Downtown. His most recent posting was at the Park Inn by Radisson Dubai Motor City as the opening General Manager.

Upon joining the Swiss-Belinn Muscat Paul said, “I am truly proud to take up the position at the fantastic Swiss-Belinn Muscat in Oman. It is an exciting adventure for me since Swiss-Belhotel International is a great brand to work for. Together with my team, I am looking forward to launching the hotel and positioning it as a preferred address for both regional and international travellers.”

Paul holds a bachelors’ degree in economics from the University of Adelaide in Australia along with several certifications and professional diplomas in hospitality management, hotel revenue management, and general manager’s program from the acclaimed Cornell University.

Expected to open this year, Swiss-Belinn Muscat is a superb 3-star hotel enjoying an outstanding location in close proximity to Muscat International Airport. Equipped with 128 rooms and suites, the hotel is being developed to offer its guests a comprehensive range of facilities including an all-day-dining restaurant, meeting space, gym, Wi-Fi access and 24-hours room service. Given its fantastic location near the airport, the hotel will serve as the perfect abode for transit passengers looking for stop-overs and airline crews as well as corporate travellers on a short visit to Oman or those facing unexpected flight halts.

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Brazil announces visa-free entry for US, Canadian, Australian, and Japanese citizens

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Brazil is open for you! The Brazilian Government announced that Brazil would allow visa-free entry for citizens of The United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan, effective in 90 days (June 17th). Until then, the current e-visa will be required.

Citizens of those countries wishing to visit Brazil will no longer need to apply or pay for a visa. They will be able to stay in Brazil for 90 days from the date of first entry in the country, extendable for an equal period, provided that it does not exceed one hundred and eighty days, every twelve months, counted from the date of the first entry into the Country.

These developments come as part of a series of measures that Brazil has taken to facilitate visitor access to the country. Last year, the government launched an e-visa platform through which travelers could apply for visas with more efficiency and ease.

Brazil has already seen extremely positive results with an increase of about 35% in the visa application in less than a year since implementing e-visa. These four countries are considered strategic for the development of tourism in Brazil.

According to the Foreign Ministry, in 2017, 169,910 visas (either for business, tourism or transit) had been issued to citizens of the four countries. With the implementation of e-visa, the number rose in 2018 to 229,767.

“This is one of the most important achievements of the Brazilian tourism industry in the last 15 years and we are confident that it will be extremely beneficial to the country,” said Marcelo Alvaro Antônio, Minister of Tourism. “This decision of the Brazilian government proves that we are living a new moment and that tourism is being seen as a vector of economic and social growth of the entire nation. This is the first step; we still have much to celebrate,” explained Minister Antônio.

“The United States was very receptive to the issuance of electronic visas. The World Tourism Organization says that when adopting an electronic visa, visa issuance increases by 25%, so we have exceeded that mark,” said Teté Bezerra, president of Embratur (Brazil’s Tourism Board, a federal agency and part of the Ministry of Tourism).

Now, with a strong Dollar and dozens of daily flights, experiencing Brazil is just a matter of desire and grabbing a plane. From the Amazon in the North to the wines in the South; from the exotic Pantanal in the Midwest to the lush beaches of the Northeast; amazing cities like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador and hundreds of hidden gems are just a few hours away.

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Strong interest in Guam grows at travel fair in Malaysia

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GVB

Guam continues to generate strong interest in Malaysia and was one of the newer and popular destinations featured at the country’s top consumer travel fair.

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair is a bi-annual travel fair that ran from March 15-17, 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. Over 1,300 booths took up about 95,000 feet of exhibition space in seven halls at the Putra World Trade Centre. Guam was among the 272 organizations that were present to include travel and tour agencies, national tourism organizations, hotels, resorts, theme parks, cruises and other businesses. Organizers estimated this year’s fair to exceed over 110,000 visitors and sales of over $51 million. This is Guam’s second time having a presence at the event.

Mayor Robert Hofmann, committee chairman of the Guam Visitors Bureau’s North America and Pacific Market, noted that as an emerging market for Guam, Malaysian visitors are intrigued they can travel to the island visa-free.

“I think there’s huge interest in Guam from not only the Malaysia population, but also people that travel to Malaysia from countries like Singapore, the Middle East, and India,” said Hofmann. “It’s great to see they’re excited about Guam. It’s exotic to them and it’s a new destination they’re looking forward to seeing. They don’t know much about our history, but they are a culture similar to ours. We should start to learn more about their culture because we have so many commonalities and could retrace some of our steps to Southeast Asia where the CHamoru people came from.”
GVB
North America and Pacific Marketing Manager Mark Manglona conducts a Guam product presentation to Philippine Airlines and travel agents in Malaysia.
GVB
Team Guam takes a group photo at the Guam booth in the 2019 MATTA Fair.
GVB
A look at some of the 1,300 booths that were at the 2019 MATTA Fair in Kuala Lumpur.


A culture at the forefront

Fairgoers witnessed multiple performances from Guma Taotao Tano at the three-day event as they shared Guam’s unique CHamoru culture through song and dance.

“Malaysia is a very rich cultural place,” said Guma Taotao Tano musician Vince San Nicolas. “I believe that our 4,000-year-old history is vital to share with them in person. Bringing out the re-identification and resurgence of the CHamoru culture is very important to share with the rest of the world so that we’re known as the CHamorus from Guam and the Marianas.”

Airline and travel agents create Guam packages

While in Kuala Lumpur, GVB met with Philippine Airlines and other travel agents for a Guam product presentation to further develop the Malaysia market.

Philippine Air offered special fares from Malaysia to Guam via Manila during the MATTA Fair.  Travel agents, such as Apple Vacations and Golden Tourworld Travel,  have also been promoting six-day packages to Guam.  The agents have already confirmed Guam is scheduled to welcome group travelers from Malaysia in the coming months.

“We’ve been making great leads and strides in promoting Guam in the region,” said GVB North America and Pacific Marketing Manager Mark Manglona. “We’ve developed key partnerships with travel agents who have put up all-inclusive travel packages and we also have a very good relationship with Philippine Airlines. They’ve been very supportive and connected us with travel agents.  There is a tremendous opportunity to promote Guam in Malaysia and we look forward to growing and developing this new market.”

The next MATTA Fair will be in September 2019.

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