• Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

For Immediate Release | Official News Wire for the Travel Industry

Where press releases are breaking news

  • Home
  • Post a press-release
  • Visibility packages
  • Subscribe email updates
  • Event Calendar
  • Contact

New sales leader at Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC & Kimpton George Hotel

April 19, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC and Kimpton George Hotel announced the hire of Katherine Saad-Loman as director of sales and marketing for both boutique hotels in Washington, DC. Saad-Loman brings a strong resort, catering, and luxury hotel background to the position, as well as nearly 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

In her new role, Saad-Loman will drive all sales and marketing activities for Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Washington DC and Hotel George. Saad-Loman’s day to day as director of sales and marketing for the two hotels will be spent with an emphasis on working with key corporate accounts while also leading the hotels’ expert sales, catering, and events staff. Under her guidance, the team will continue to create ridiculously personalized meetings, weddings, and creative event experiences, offering seasonally-inspired food and beverage in partnership with the hotels’ talented restaurant teams. Saad-Loman will also spearhead strategy for all sales segments and oversee the approach toward revenue, digital marketing, advertising and public relations efforts for the hotels.

Saad-Loman joins Kimpton with varied and impressive experience. She began her career at Hilton Singer Island Ocean Front Resort where she increased catering sales 350% across her three year term. After learning the ropes of a conference hotel, Saad-Loman gained experience as a director of food and beverage at Imperial Lake Golf and Country Club in Mulberry, Florida. She then cut her teeth in a number sales and operations roles throughout central Florida and Baltimore before joining the team at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort as a senior sales and catering manager. She continued to advance her career at top hotels in the Florida market before returning to the Mid-Atlantic as a director of sales and marketing at Bethany Beach Ocean Suites in Delaware. Prior to joining the team at Kimpton, she was task force director of sales and marketing with Crestline Hotels & Resorts in Fairfax, Virginia.

A world traveler and graduate of Catham College in Pittsburgh, Saad-Loman has called the greater DC area home for the past seven months. Outside of work, she can be found planning her next trip, finding places to use her fluent French and recommends everyone live abroad at least once in their lives. Saad-Loman is a member of Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) with a passion for mentoring those looking to hone their sales and leadership skills, and she also volunteers, teaching financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to first graders through Junior Achievement of Greater Washington in her spare time. Saad-Loman brings a stylish sense of leadership and a wide range of sales and marketing experience to both Hotel George and Hotel Monaco Washington DC.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, amp, and, announced, area, association, Atlantic, Baltimore, beach, beverage, boutique, boutique hotels, Breaking Travel News, Career, catering, Central, Central Florida, club, College, conference, continue, continued, corporate, country, create, creative, cut, D.C., day, Delaware, digital, Digital Marketing, director, director of sales and marketing, Disney, Disney World, drive, efforts, entrepreneurship, event, Events, experience, experiences, expert, financial, finding, first, Florida, food, force, found, French, George, golf, graduate, Grand, Grand Floridian, greater, guidance, Hilton, hire, home, hospitality, hospitality industry, Hospitality News, hotel, Hotel Monaco Washington, Hotel Monaco Washington DC, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, HSMAI, impressive, in, increased, Industry, inspired, International, island, joining, joins, junior, key, Kimpton, Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington, Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC, leader, leadership, leading, learning, live, looking, Luxury, luxury hotel, manager, Market, Marketing, meetings, member, mentoring, Monaco, months, nearly, New, new Sales, News articles, number, ocean, offering, operations, outside, oversee, partnership, passion, past, People in Travel, pittsburgh, places, planning, position, public, Public Relations, range, recommends, relations, resort, resorts, restaurant, Revenue, role, roles, s, Saad, SaadLomans, Sales, sales and marketing, segments, senior, seven, singer, skills, staff, strategy, strong, suites, task, task force, teaching, team, teams, term, through, time, to, top, top hotels, Travel Destination News, Traveler, Travelwire News, trip, use, Virginia, volunteers, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, Washington, Washington DC, weddings, work, working, World, year, years

Hard Rock International announces Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore

April 18, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

With a portfolio spanning across 75 countries, including 27 unique hotel properties with 37 projects in different phases of development, Hard Rock International continues intensifying its international presence with the announcement of Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore, slated to open in Fall 2020. Joining Hard Rock Hotel Goa, the second Hard Rock Hotel in India will be located in the bustling city of Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India.

“The city of Bangalore is full of culture and beauty and is the perfect location for our second property in India,” said Todd Hricko, senior vice president and head of global hotel development for Hard Rock International. “We are pleased to work with Convention Hotels India Private Limited who share in our vision, integrity and dedication to quality.”

Hard Rock Hotel Bangalore will feature Hard Rock’s signature musical design, highlighting the roots of the local culture with one-of-a-kind memorabilia placed throughout the 210-room hotel. The property, which will be licensed by Hard Rock International and managed by Convention Hotels India Private Limited, will also feature an array of signature brand offerings.

“We are so excited to be a part of bringing the Hard Rock brand to Bangalore,” said Prataap Wadhwa, managing director of Convention Hotels India Private Limited. “This project will provide an economically invigorating addition to the area, creating new jobs and catering to the IT professionals in the city.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, announcement, announces, area, Bangalore, beauty, brand, Breaking Travel News, bringing, catering, city, continues, convention, Corporate News, countries, culture, design, development, different, director, fall, Feature, free, full, Global, Goa, Hard, hard rock, Hard Rock Hotel Goa, Hard Rock International, head, Hospitality News, hotel, hotel development, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, in, including, India, India Travel News, International, International Travel News, IT, Jobs, joining, known, Limited, local, location, Luxury Travel News, Managing, managing director, musical, New, new jobs, News articles, offerings, open, opening, portfolio, presence, president, private, professionals, project, projects, properties, property, quality, Resort News, rock, room, roots, s, said, second, senior, Senior Vice President, Share, signature, Silicon, slated, to, TO BE, tourism, Tourism Investment News, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, unique, valley, vice, vice president, vision, We, WHO, work, World News

Treatment and rest in one place: Resorts that help overcome addiction

April 17, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

There are millions of people that need treatment for drugs addiction across the world. Many resources are currently available for people that need help to beat their addiction and mental health disorders. For most people, recovering from drug addiction is generally intimidating.

When a person is not sure whether they can overcome addiction, they find the idea of entering an ordinary rehab downright unappealing. As such, they may opt to enter a resort that helps people overcome addiction. This facility is different from a low-end clinic where people might share bathrooms or have small beds. It’s a resort-style rehab center that features luxurious amenities.

Many celebrities with addiction problems as well as stress, fear, and worry of visibility go to these facilities. Even executives that have trouble beating addiction go to these centers.

What is Resort-Style Rehab?

A drug rehab resort is a facility at provides treatment for drugs addiction in a luxurious surrounding and a vacation-like ambiance. The goal of establishing such a facility is to make recovering from drug abuse and alcoholism as easy and enjoyable as possible.

In addition to offering behavioral therapies and detoxification, residents in these centers participate in fun activities with an aim of promoting healthy living. A resort-style rehab can combine high medical care level with luxury amenities, a welcoming setting, and extracurricular activities that enhance addiction recovery

What are the Benefits of Rehabilitation Resorts?

When battling addiction, some individuals, like celebrities and executives, are concerned about their social status. Research indicates that social factors play a crucial role in recovery from addiction. The social status of some individuals is one of the reasons why they opt to go to resort-style rehabs.

What’s more, resort-style rehabs are situated in beautiful places like at the beach, desert, or mountains. This makes them hospitable and welcoming. Essentially, the focus is on the overall experience and comfort of the individuals undergoing treatment.

When a person has been struggling with addiction every day, going to a rehab in an idyllic, scenic location is more welcoming. It also offers a glimpse into the sobriety life’s beauty. Confidentiality and privacy are also protected in a rehab resort.

What Facilities Do They Offer?

Resorts that help individuals overcome addiction offer more than the amenities of the ordinary rehab centers. They go beyond creating the therapeutic atmosphere required to relax individuals into a recovery mode. Some of the facilities offered at these resorts include swimming pools, spas, gourmet restaurants, and first-class fitness centers.

Swimming pools provide a refreshing and revitalizing midday dip or downtime lounging. Spas provide aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture, hair and nail styling which help with personal hygiene and tension prevention. Gourmet restaurants provide chef-curated menus, health-conscious cuisine, seasonal and local ingredients, while catering for special dietary needs of patients. First-class fitness centers have different equipment, enough space, group classes, beautiful views, and personal trainers.

These facilities are important because they make undergoing treatment for addiction enjoyable. Individuals also get a chance to rest while undergoing treatment in one place. Things like nutrition and exercise are also important for addiction recovery. They give patients something to look forward to every day.

How Resort-Style Rehab Improves Treatment

Resort rehabilitation centers put the body and mind at ease. Inpatient treatment for drug addiction is generally a challenging process. It involves intensive schedule that needs the best efforts of the patients. Many people face withdrawal insomnia in the early sobriety stages. Getting sleep hygiene back on tract is therefore important.

Resort-style addiction centers provide treatment and rest in one place. This is very important for the overall recovery process. Intensive therapy work and fitness training are both important.

Resort-style facilities provide accommodation that is stylish and comfortable. This contributes to the recovery of patients by making the rehab a restful sanctuary. At the end of the day, patients have a place to relax and recharge.

Popular Destinations for Resort-Style Rehabs

Research shows that residential rehabilitation is considered the last resort for individuals with serious substance abuse problem. But, with so many resources for addressing and even overcoming addiction available, this should not be the case. Today, there are many locations with resorts that help with addiction treatment.

Popular destinations for these rehabs include Wickenburg in Arizona, Malibu in California, Crossroads in Antigua, and London in England. If you or a loved one wants to recover from addiction at a resort-style facility, visit one of these places.

About the Author

Frederick Moore is a columnist who focuses on drug use/abuse in the sport. His works aim to prevent athletes from improper drug use showing the consequences of abuse.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, Antigua, Arizona, author, bathrooms, beach, beating, beautiful, beautiful places, beauty, beds, benefits, best, body, Breaking Travel News, California, case, catering, celebrities, center, Centers, Chance, chef, class, classes, combine, comfort, contributes, CROSSROADS, cuisine, currently, day, desert, Destinations, detoxification, different, dip, Drug, drugs, early, ease, efforts, end, England, equipment, even, executives, exercise, experience, face, facilities, facility, factors, fear, Features,, find, first, fitness, Forward, fun, getting, GO!, goal, gourmet, Group, HEALTH, healthy, help, helps, high, Hospitality News, Hotel Travel News, hygiene, important, in, IT, last, life, like, Living, local, location, locations, London, low, luxurious, Luxury, Make, Malibu, May, medical, medical care, mental health, menus, millions, mind, most, mountains, need, needs, News articles, offer, offering, offers, participate, patients, People, personal, Place, places, play, popular, prevention, Privacy, problem, problems, promoting, protected, provides, recover, recovery, rehab, rehabilitation, rehabs, relax, research, residential, residents, resort, resorts, resortstyle, resources, restaurants, role, s, sanctuary, scenic, schedule, seasonal, serious, setting, Share, showing, shows, sleep, small, social, space, spas, Special, sport, status, stress, Style, sure, swimming, The World, therapy, things, to, today, tourism, training, Travelwire News, treatment, trouble, use, vacation, views, visit, welcoming, WHO, Why, withdrawal, work, works, World, worry

Somatheeram, world’s first Ayurvedic resort, will join anniversary 25th edition of OTDYKH Leisure 2019

April 17, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Somatheeram will, once again, participate at the leading B2B travel exhibition OTDYKH Leisure, which will take place September 10-12, 2019.

Held in Moscow each year, OTDYKH leisure is a perfect start for the upcoming winter season on the Russian inbound and outbound market.

Somatheeram Ayurveda Group in Kerala, India is the foremost resort group in the world for authentic Ayurvedic treatments, Yoga and Meditation.

Founded by Baby Matthews in 1985, today Somathreeram has five deluxe Ayurvedic resorts in Kerala and enchanting houseboats in the backwaters.  The mission of the Group is “to offer the essence and soul of the ancient medical science of Ayurveda and the art of Yoga and Meditation.”

AYURVEDA is a 5000 year old Indian traditional system of medicine. The healing power of Ayurveda has the answer to almost every known ailment.   It is considered to be the oldest form of health care in the world. Ayurveda maintains good health and corrects unstable health. It ensures an honest balance between you, your body and nature.  Ayurveda medicines and supplements are composed only of substances taken from nature. Because they have no side effects, patients do not become physically or psychologically dependent on them.

Somatheeram offers all Ayurveda clinical treatments and treatment packages.  You can choose from rejuvenation therapy, detoxification/body purification, slimming/weight reducing, anti-stress/stress management and beauty care.

Somatheeram is one of over 900 companies participating in the exhibition from every corner of the globe. Once again, OTDYKH team is expecting an outstanding Indiana exposition. In 2018 the expo welcomed India with a record-breaking number of companies. The country was represented by the collective stands of India Tourism and by regional stands of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation as well as by private resorts, hotels, hospitals and companies such as Caper, Sita Somatheeram etc.

Every year Somatheeram is using its presence at OTDYKH International Travel Market to showcase its wide and varied spectrum of Ayurveda treatments procedures.

Somatheeram team is looking forward to meet you at OTDYKH Leisure 2019, Moscow, Expocentre Fairgrounds, Pavilion 2, Hall 1.

Download a Somatheeram brochure.

If you are considering attending the show from September 10-12, 2019, please register free of charge online.

For information on exhibiting please contact Ms. Anna Huber at [email protected], International office: +43 1 230 85 35

eTN is a media partner for OTDYKH.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: ancient, and, anniversary, art, authentic, Ayurveda, Ayurvedic, Ayurvedic resorts, Ayurvedic treatments, balance, BB, beauty, body, breaking, Breaking Travel News, Brochure, catering, charge, collective, companies, contact, corner, Corporation, country, deluxe, detoxification, download, edition, effects, etc, eTN, exhibition, exhibition OTDYKH, Expo, exposition, first, form, Forward, free, Globe, Goa, good, Group, Hall, healing, HEALTH, health care, held, hospitals, Hotels, houseboats, in, inbound, India, India Tourism, Indian, Indiana, information, International, international travel, IT, join, Kerala, known, leading, Leisure, looking, management, Market, media, media partner, medical, Meditation, meet, meetings.travel, MICE Industry News, mission, Moscow, Ms, nature, News articles, number, offer, offers, office, online, only, Otdykh, OTDYKH International, Otdykh LEISURE, outbound, outbound market, outstanding, over, packages, participate, partner, patients, pavilion, Place, power, presence, private, procedures, railway, record, regional, rejuvenation, represented, resort, resorts, Russia travel news, Russian, s, science, season, September, show, showcase, SITA, Somathreeram, Soul, stands, start, stress, system, team, The World, therapy, TN, to, TO BE, today, tourism, traditional, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travel Destination News, travel exhibition, travel market, Travelwire News, treatment, treatments, using, Vienna, weight, welcomed, winter, winter season, World, year, yoga

Luxury boutique cruise line launching coastal fleet

April 11, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Scheduled to begin full operations in November 2019, an explorer class vessel will serve three new destinations with year-round departures. The full announcement on vessel name, facts, destinations and itinerary details will be released globally on May 8, 2019.

Boutique luxury cruise line, Aqua Expeditions, is set to enter the coastal cruise market in the fall of 2019, after operating as an Amazon and Mekong River cruise line for the past twelve years.

A month ago, Aqua Expeditions finalized the purchase of a long-range 200-foot explorer yacht originally built for Britain’s Royal Navy; the vessel is now undergoing a complete refurbishment designed to transform it into an ultra-modern luxury expedition cruise ship catering to affluent explorers.

The May 8 announcement will also unveil a brand-new, state-of-the-art, luxury river cruise vessel to consolidate Aqua Expeditions’ position as one of the leaders in the river-cruise market. Once this and the recently-purchased expedition vessel are in operation, Aqua Expeditions will have doubled its fleet from two to four vessels by mid-2020.

“Even as we grow, as an owner, I remain deeply involved in every aspect of the new vessels – from the minutiae of the design details to the intricacies of the itineraries — just as we did when we started out in 2007,” says CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro, “and, as with all Aqua Expeditions vessels, we are partnering both with renowned designers and critically acclaimed chefs to provide a world-class experience.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, announcement, Aqua, Aqua Expeditions, Aqua Expeditions vessels, art, begin, boutique, brand, Breaking Travel News, Britain, built, catering, CEO, chefs, class, Coastal, complete, consolidate, Cruise line, cruise market, Cruise ship, Cruise ship news, Cruise,, departures, design, designed, designers, Destinations, even, expedition, expeditions, experience, explorer, facts, fall, finalized, fleet, foot, full, globally, grow, in, IT, itineraries, itinerary, just, launching, leaders, line, Luxury, luxury cruise, luxury cruise line, luxury expedition, Market, May, Mekong, Mekong River, modern, month, name, navy, New, new destinations, News articles, November, Operating, operation, operations, out, owner, past, position, purchase, purchased, range, refurbishment, released, river, river cruise, river cruise line, rivercruise, Round, royal, Royal Navy, s, says, scheduled, serve, Set, ship, started, State, to, tourism, transform, Transportation News, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, ultra, unveil, vessel, vessels, We, World, world-class, yacht, year, year-round, years

Boutique Venice Beach, Hotel Erwin, announces new GM

April 9, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Boutique hotel in Venice Beach, California, Hotel Erwin, recently announced the appointment of new General Manager, Derek Haug, to oversee all hotel operations and management.

Mr. Haug comes to Hotel Erwin with more than 20 years of hospitality experience and a well-rounded understanding of all facets of hotel management. Most recently, Derek held leadership roles with Loews Hotels for the past twelve years and comes to Hotel Erwin from Loews Santa Monica Beach. There he oversaw all food, beverage, conference, catering and spa operations for the resort, creating and launching new restaurant and bar concepts. He has more than six years of experience in Southern California in addition to hospitality experience in Tucson, Arizona, Snowmass Village, Colorado. Derek holds a degree in hospitality management from the University of Minnesota.

With his extensive knowledge and experience with lifestyle brands and resorts, Derek is a great asset to Hotel Erwin’s dedicated team of associates as they undergo concept changes and renovations to the unique property with unparalleled rooftop and signature restaurant. Derek strives to continue to provide guests with a memorable Venice experience and uphold the standards of excellence and effortless Venice beach culture Erwin himself has infused into the hotel.

“Hotel Erwin never gives the ‘normal’ experience. I am excited to join a team who truly embodies the colorful culture of Venice Beach. A team who is pushing the boundaries of what we can do to make a guest’s experience above the ordinary,” Derek said. “It’s evident that the dedicated team at Hotel Erwin takes pride in the mission and values of the culture ownership has created.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, announced, announces, appointment, Arizona, bar, beach, beverage, boutique, boutique hotel, brands, Breaking Travel News, California, catering, changes, Colorado, concept, conference, continue, created, culture, Derek, Erwin, evident, excellence, experience, extensive, food, general, general manager, gm, guests, held, hospitality, hospitality management, Hospitality News, hotel, Hotel Erwin, hotel management, Hotel Travel News, Hotels, in, IT, join, knowledge, launching, leadership, Lifestyle, Make, management, manager, minnesota, mission, most, Mr, New, new General Manager, News articles, normal, operations, oversee, ownership, past, People in Travel, Pride, property, renovations, resort, resorts, restaurant, s, said, Santa, signature, Southern, southern california, spa, standards, team, to, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, unique, university, Venice, Venice experience, village, We, WHO, years

UNWTO Convenes Cities in Lisbon to Cooperate on a Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Tourism Agenda

April 8, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The first UNWTO Mayors Forum for Sustainable Urban Tourism, co-organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ministry of Economy of Portugal and the Lisbon Municipality concluded Friday in Lisbon, Portugal. The event gathered Mayors and high-level city representatives from around the world, UN agencies and the private sector, to design a shared leadership aimed at ensuring that tourism helps creating cities for all.

Under the theme ‘Cities for all: building cities for citizens and visitors’, the forum explored issues and solutions for developing and managing tourism in cities in a way that promotes economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

In a time of intense debate over the growing number of tourists and the livability and sustainability of cities, the forum exchanged ideas and good practices on urban tourism and destination management, discussed innovative tools and public policies on urban tourism at the national and local levels and way of promoting the integration of tourism into wider national and local urban development agenda.

“The income generated from tourism contributes significantly to the socio-economic and cultural development of many cities and its surroundings. Yet, the growth of urban tourism also creates important challenges in terms of the use of natural resources, socio-cultural impact, pressure on infrastructure, mobility, congestion management and relationship with host communities. Tourism policies should thus be designed as integrated urban policies that promote a well-balanced city economically, socially and environmentally” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili opening the event.

The Portuguese Minister of Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira, acknowledged that “tourism is a major driver for the Portuguese economy. Portugal welcomes this first Mayors Forum as an international stage for discussing the challenges that urban tourism faces and how local communities can benefit the most from tourism. The Lisbon Declaration is a firm commitment from all participants so that tourism contributes materially to the Sustainable Development Goals”.

The Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, added that “social sustainability in tourism is one of the main priorities in our 2027 Tourism Strategy. We launched a Sustainability Program for the development of projects by the civil society that involve local populations and tourists so that tourism leaves value in the territories”.

The Mayor of Lisbon, Fernando Medina, said “The growth of tourism has important and positive economic impacts. Yet for managing such growth, ensuring sustainability and safeguarding the quality of life of Lisbon’s citizens requires more investment in infrastructure. In Lisbon, we are implementing measures such as increasing transport capacity and investment in urban infrastructure catering for residents and tourists.”

Issues discussed include big data and innovative solutions, new business models, creative cities and events, infrastructure, resources and planning, local community engagement and empowerment and how to ensure the full inclusion of tourism in the wider urban agenda.

Participating in the Forum were Gustavo Santos of Argentina, Secretary of State for Tourism of Argentina, Ana Mendes Godinho, Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal, Isabel Oliver, the Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, Mayors and Vice Mayors of 16 cities around the world (Barcelona, Bruges, Brussels, Dubrovnik, Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow, Nur-Sultan, Paris, Porto, Prague, Punta del Este, Tbilisi, Sao Paulo and Seoul), UNES>CO, UN Habitat, the World Bank, the European Committee of the Regions as well as Amadeus, Airbnb, CLIA, Expedia, Mastercard and Unidigital.

The Forum adopted the Lisbon Declaration on Sustainable Urban Tourism, in which participants reinforced their commitment to align urban tourism policies with the United Nations New Urban Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 11 – ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.

The Lisbon Declaration on Sustainable Urban Tourism will be presented at the twenty-third session of the General Assembly of UNWTO, to be held this September in St. Petersburg, Russia.

During the event, UNWTO Secretary-General and the Mayor Bakhyt Sultanov of Nursultan (Kazakhstan) signed an agreement for the hosting of the 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism, to be held on 9 to 12 October 2019.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: ANA, and, Argentina, around the world, assembly, bank, Barcelona, benefit, big, big data, Breaking Travel News, Brussels, building, Business, business models, capacity, catering, challenges, cities, citizens, city, CLIA, commitment, Committee, communities, community, concluded, congestion, contributes, creative, cultural, Cultural Travel News, Data, debate, declaration, design, designed, Destination, Destination Management, development, driver, Dubrovnik, economic, economic growth, Economy, empowerment, engagement, ensuring, environmental, European, event, Events, Expedia, explored, firm, first, forum, full, general, general assembly, Global, global summit, goal, good, Government Affairs, Growing, Growth, held, helps, Helsinki, high, host, hosting, Human, ideas, impact, impacts, important, in, inclusion, inclusive, income, increasing, infrastructure, innovative, integrated, integration, International, Investment, issues, Kazakhstan, launched, leadership, life, Lisbon, local, Madrid, Main, major, Make, management, Managing, MasterCard, mayor, mayors, measures, Medina, minister, ministry, Moscow, most, national, nations, natural, natural resources, New, News articles, number, October, Oliver, opening, organization, over, Paris, participants, Petersburg, planning, policies, Pololikashvili, Porto, portugal, Portugal travel news, portuguese, positive, practices, Prague, pressure, private, private sector, program, projects, promote, promotes, promoting, public, public policies, quality, quality of life, regions, Relationship, residents, resilient, resources, Russia, s, safe, said, Sao Paulo, Secretary, secretary general, sector, Seoul, September, signed, significantly, social, socially, society, socio-economic, solutions, Spain, Spain travel news, St, St. Petersburg, State, strategy, sultan, summit, Sustainability, sustainable, sustainable development, Tbilisi, terms, territories, The Ministry, The National, The World, theme, time, to, TO BE, tools, tourism, tourism strategy, tourists, transport, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travelwire News, UN, UN agencies, United, United Nations, UNWTO, UNWTO Secretary, urban, urban tourism, use, value, visitors, way, We, welcomes, were, World, World Bank, World Tourism, World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili

Peacock Aviation taking legal action against Gambia carrier

March 29, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Nigerian Peacock Aviation company that worked as General Sales Agency (GSA) for the Gambian Mid Africa Aviation Company Ltd. that traded in Nigeria under the name Fly Mid Africa has petitioned the Gambian Government over the non-payment of passengers’ air ticket refunds before it exited Nigeria.

The petition which was dated February 12, 2019 and also copied to the Nigerian High Commission in the Gambia through its legal counsel Abrahams Ayobami  & Co. stated: “We are Solicitors to Peacock Aviation and Allied Services Ltd. [henceforth referred to as ‘Our Client’], a company duly registered under the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with its registered address situate at No. 19, Mojidi Street, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria and on its instructions and behalf we write you this petition.

“Our client was appointed the General Sales Agent [GSA] of ‘MID AFRICA AVIATION LTD’ trading under the name ‘FLY MID AFRICA’ on 24th April 2017 when the said company commenced its Airline operations in Nigeria.”

According to the counsel, “Our client, among other things was to manage and operate a city office to sell tickets to customers, a task our client was able to achieve within a record time of four weeks of operation.”

The petition stated further that, “Upon commencement of operations of the Airline, the cash sales in our client’s custody was used to take care of operation fees such as Air Landing, Parking Fees, Passengers’ Service Charges, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority [NCAA] Fees, Catering, and Crew Hotel Accommodations.”

“With the above looking promising, the Airline ran into issues with their flight schedules which led to the cancellation of February and March 2018 flights and finally suspension of operations until further notice.”

While the suspension was still on, the airline got instructions to commence refund of issued tickets to customers which was carried out until exhaustion of all the funds at hand by the GSA according to its counsel.

“Our client then made a request for funds to be released to liquidate the outstanding refunds but same has remained hitherto unmet by the management of Fly Mid Africa Airlines for over one year now.”

The petition also has it that, there is still an outstanding refund of about Eleven million one hundred and fifty six thousand, six hundred and one naira fifty one kobo [₦11,156,601.51] and our client’s unpaid International Air Transport Association [IATA]/Billing Settlement Plan [BSP] Sales Overriding Commission of about Seven Million Naira [₦7,000,000] only with customers showing their grievances in all manners including laying siege to the GSA business premises and disrupting its activities.

Meanwhile, some have even threatened to commence legal actions against it; more so as customers are aware that tickets issued on the IATA BSP platform have been refunded and therefore query the reason for non-payment of their refunds.

Despite several email communications between our client and the said Fly Mid Africa Airline with reconciliation and adjustment of account settled between the parties, still the Airline has refused to release funds to pay innocent travelers their well-deserved refund even after leaving them stranded, disappointed and uncompensated, according to Chief Segun Phillips, Group Executive Chairman, Peacock Travels and Tours Limited.

However, in a bid to settle the matter amicably, the GSA wrote to the Nigerian High Commission in The Gambia to wade into the matter but was referred back to the Gambian Commission in Abuja as the right channel for resolving such issue.

As it stands, there is the total outstanding refund of about Eighteen million one hundred and fifty-six thousand six hundred and one naira fifty-one kobo [₦18,156,601.51] amounting to tickets refunds and GSA unpaid IATA BSP Sales Overriding.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: amp, and, appointed, April, association, authority, aviation, Aviation News, aviation-website, Aware, bid, Breaking Travel News, BSP, Business, cancellation, carrier, cash, catering, Chairman, Channel, charges, chief, city, civil aviation, civil aviation authority, commence, commission, communications, company, crew, custody, customers, Email, even, executive, federal, fees, flight, flight schedules, flights, fly by, Fly Mid Africa Airlines, funds, Gambia, Gambian, general, General sales agent, Got, government, Group, GSA, hand, high, hotel, hundred, IATA, in, including, instructions, International, International Air Transport Association, issued, issues, IT, Lagos, landing, laws, leaving, LED, legal, legal action, Limited, looking, Manage, management, march, matter, million, name, NCAA, News articles, Nigeria, Nigeria travel news, Nigerian, Non, notice, office, one year, only, operate, operation, operations, out, outstanding, over, parking, parking fees, parties, passengers, pay, payment, Peacock, petition, plan, platform, reason, reconciliation, record, refund, refunds, refused, release, released, remained, republic, request, right, s, said, Sales, sell-off, service, services, settle, settled, settlement, seven, seven million, stands, State, stated, stranded, Street, suspension, taking, task, The Gambia, things, thousand, threatened, through, ticket, tickets, time, to, TO BE, total, Tours, trading, transport, Transportation News, travelers, travels, Travelwire News, unpaid, used, We, weeks, worked, wrote, year

Five challenges confronting Meetings Industry in 2019

March 25, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Tight meeting budgets, time pressures, organizational issues, a lack of creativity from hotels, increasingly complex and costly mandates in catering, a need for more dynamic and enriching experiences and resistance to change – these are among the major challenges confronting the meetings industry in 2019.Teneo Hospitality Group surveyed 150 meeting planners and hoteliers on the challenges they faced in effectively competing in today’s changing and complicated marketplace. Interestingly, some of the challenges planners faced are internal, within their own organizations. All identified limited meetings budgets, lack of time and somewhat inflexible corporate cultures that gave rise to additional problems such as a lack of innovation and poor cost control.

“‘Many of these challenges – and their solutions – are interdependent,” says Teneo President Mike Schugt. He notes that meeting professionals are saying that they have concerns within their organization and corporate cultures which contribute to resistance to change, resulting in budgets that are impacted negatively. Planners are also saying that these challenges, coupled with the many demands on time, inhibit creative strategies that could otherwise help solve the obstacles pointed out in Teneo’s most recent survey.

“Teneo and its hotel and DMC members have a unique opportunity to step up and help solve the challenges of our planner partners,” says Mike Schugt. “We can introduce creative, time-saving offerings that can also meet their bottom line. By understanding the needs that go beyond rates, dates and space, hotels can provide innovative, solutions to the challenges planners face behind the scenes.”

Challenge #1 Budgets. Inadequate budgets headed the challenge lists for all survey participants. Planners cited rising costs, especially concerning food and beverage, with no comparable increase in budgets. The complexities of gaining budget increases from various corporate departments impact every aspect of the meeting process from training staff to negotiating contracts. Despite a strong economy, some planners reported budget cuts. Respondents noted that the inability to obtain adequate funding reflected a lack of understanding of the profound changes in the meetings industry that demanded more, not less, investment. Needs of attendees are very different today, especially among Millennials and Generation Z who require a high degree of technical services, greater engagement and entertaining activities – needs that are difficult to meet on a tight budget. Yet management and attendees had extremely high expectations.

Suggested Solution: The fundamental way planners can achieve their budget is to be transparent and in open communication with a property. Though the tendency may be to play one’s cards close to the vest, transparency from the beginning of negotiations is key to effective planning and keeping costs in check. While many planners feel they must keep back some of their budgetary concerns until further on in the planning process, an honest and comprehensive view of the meetings objectives and resources will enable hoteliers to present a realistic budget.

Challenge #2 Lack of Time. Time pressures impact every business and organization, but some concerns have particular ramifications for the meetings industry. Virtually all respondents cited a lack of time and identified challenges that could have far-reaching consequences. With sweeping advances in technology impacting the industry, hoteliers and planners noted that they often lacked the time to keep up with technical developments. This problem was amplified when attendees were ahead of the planners and hotels in their own use of technology. Training a new generation of meeting planners and hotel staff is key to the industry’s progress. But few had time to develop effective programs, tailored to meet the different viewpoints and technical skills of a new generation. Most significantly, respondents worried that the overwhelming details of day-to-day work left little time for long-term, strategic planning. And the top time waster? Too many unnecessary e-mails.

Suggested Solution: Hotels are often inundated with leads and may not always be able to reply in 24 hours. Planners are encouraged to indicate their timeline for response up front so hotels and resorts can offer a higher quality of response. For planners, they can then gather their lead responses all at one time and be assured that the quality of response is going to be higher if a little more time is allocated to the properties of interest. Planners that source more than 6 or 7 hotels per lead and in multiple cities will tend to be taken less seriously by a hotel. So planners can save time and drive up quality of response by reducing the number of hotel sources they contact.

If planners can share flexibility with dates early in the process, they will save time and the hotels can provide multiple options, which will likely have differences in pricing leading to greater value with the budget. Giving the hotel as much information as possible saves everyone time and can save on the budget.

Challenge #3 Keeping Up with Technology. In a technological environment that is moving at lightning speed, staying current and knowledgeable of technology’s impact on meeting productivity can be daunting. Realizing that millennial attendees may be way ahead in their technical knowledge, technology applications and expectations can be intimidating. Even leadership within select organizations don’t always seem to grasp how technology is revolutionizing the meetings experience today.

Suggested Solution: Staying current and out front with technological progress is critical to the successful outcome of every meeting, conference or social gathering. Yes, some long-term practices are still prized such as white boards and LCD players. But engaging with attendee devices puts the meeting’s learning literally in the hands of conferees in a way that resonates within a generation who grew up on texting, social media posts, interactive apps and more. These are the tools they use for their everyday living, and should be the tools they can expect to use within meetings important to their and their employer’s success.

Challenge #4 Lack of Creativity. Big brand hotels’ corporate bureaucracy partially accounts for planners’ demand for greater creativity in the meeting process, and a far more flexible business environment. Larger hotel brands often have corporate policies that may place limits on pushing the boundaries of creating the ultimate meeting experiences for planners. But the need for innovation and original events, imaginative use of technology, effective teambuilding exercises, new experiences in even the most tried and true destinations, and diverse, sustainable and healthy food cannot be ignored.

Suggested Solution: Partner with a hotel or resort that creatively works with planners and groups to construct a meeting itinerary customized to a specific group and set of meeting objectives. Independent and small brand properties, by the very nature of their independence, have proven to be expert in creatively discovering and helping plan for achieving meeting goals of professional planners and groups, doing so with out-of-the-box thinking, highly unique group initiatives, and far from run-of-the-mill teambuilding programming. Private destination management companies can also be an important resource, and Teneo suggests partnering with them to help make a city or destination come alive for meeting guests by maximizing local resources and attractions in a way that is meaningful to the group.

Challenge #5 Increasing Complexity and Rising Costs of Food & Beverage. As the population becomes more diverse, food preferences and dietary requirements have become more complicated. Growing awareness of wellness and sustainability issues add to a mix that could become more problematic and costlier. Paleo, keto, pescatarian, vegan and religious dietary requests are among the newest trends in conference dining in 2019. Respondents also called for better management of food ordering to keep costs down and eliminate waste.

Suggested Solution: This is an area where independent and small-brand hotels can get ultra-creative for the planner as they are in a more entrepreneurial and creative mode, less restricted by big-brand requirements and constraints. They can typically offer a more creative product with reduced costs. By working with chefs and banquet managers from these properties at the beginning of the planning process and being candid about budget constraints, it’s possible to obtain serious savings on food and beverage while achieving maximum creativity.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, applications, apps, area, Assured, attendees, attractions, Awareness, better, beverage, big, boards, bottom line, Box, brand, brands, Breaking Travel News, budget, budget cuts, budgets, Business, cards, catering, challenge, challenges, change, changes, check, chefs, cited, cities, city, close, come, Communication, companies, complex, concerns, conference, contact, contracts, control, corporate, Corporate News, cost, costs, creative, creativity, critical, cultures, current, cuts, day, demand, demands, Destination, Destination Management, Destinations, developments, devices, differences, different, dining, dmc, DMC members, doing, down, drive, e-mails, early, Economy, employer, encouraged, engagement, environment, even, Events, everyday, expectations, experience, experiences, expert, face, far, food, free, funding, gathering, giving, GO!, greater, Group, groups, guests, healthy, help, Helping, high, hospitality, hospitality group, hotel, Hotel brands, hoteliers, Hotels, hotels and resorts, hours, ignored, impact, important, in, increase, increases, increasing, independence, independent, Industry, information, initiatives, innovation, innovative, interactive, interest, International Travel News, introduce, Investment, issues, IT, itinerary, keep, knowledge, lack, LCD, LCD players, lead, leadership, leading, leads, learning, less, lightning, Limited, limits, line, Living, local, Make, management, managers, marketplace, May, media, meet, meeting, meeting planners, meeting professionals, meetings, meetings budgets, meetings industry, meetings.travel, members, MICE Industry News, Mike, millennials, more time, most, moving, nature, need, needs, negotiations, New, new generation, News articles, notes, number, offer, offerings, open, opportunity, options, ordering, organization, organizations, original, out, participants, partner, partners, Place, plan, Planners, planning, play, players, policies, poor, population, posts, practices, preferences, present, president, pricing, private, problem, problems, product, productivity, professional, professionals, programs, progress, properties, property, quality, rates, recent, recent survey, religious, reported, requests, require, requirements, resort, resorts, resource, resources, respondents, response, rise, rising, rising costs, s, save, savings, saying, says, serious, services, Share, significantly, skills, small, social, social media, Solution, solutions, Source, sources, space, staff, strategic, strategies, strong, success, successful, suggested, survey, Sustainability, sustainable, Technical, Technology, Teneo, Teneo Hospitality Group, Teneo President Mike Schugt, term, texting, time, timeline, to, TO BE, today, tools, top, tourism, training, transparency, transparent, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travelwire News, Trends, tried, ultra, unique, up, use, value, vegan, view, waste, way, We, wellness, were, white, WHO, work, working, works, World News, worried

Puerto Princesa City in Philippines worried about Chinese Tourists and illegal gambling

March 24, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Puerto Princesa is a popular tourist city with many beach resorts and seafood restaurants. It has been acclaimed several times as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.  The city is located in the western province of Palawan, and westernmost city in the Philippines and has about a quarter of a million people living there.

Many in this town feel the town is overrun by Chinese nationals, mostly tourists. There are many newly organized establishments catering to tourism forms the backdrop of this seeming trend which has prompted City Hall officials to call for an investigation.

In Manila and other major cities, the reported involvement of Chinese nationals in online casino gambling has come to a head and has enforcement agencies having their hands full trying to curtail cybercrime activities.

The recent growth of tourism in Puerto Princesa City has been fueled by unprecedented waves of arrivals of Asian visitors, mainly from Korea and China. What has been otherwise a slumping sector has recently become a vibrant business to local establishments catering to tourists.

It is not certain what has triggered such sudden boost, particularly in Chinese arrivals, but it is well worth noting that all these have happened within the backdrop of the present administration’s diplomatic pivot towards Beijing.

There are certain red flags that needed to be raised concerning this trend, particularly because of the unique situation of Palawan being the territorial doorstep to the disputed West Philippine Sea. With Beijing aggressively maintaining its physical dominance over the region, and with Manila displaying a laissez-faire foreign policy stance, Palawan needs to take care of its own backyard.

As City Hall is set to conduct a probe on illegal Chinese gambling activities, in the wake of recent arrests of certain Chinese nationals, these broad questions of national security also need to be raised.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, arrests, arrivals, Asian, Asian visitors, backdrop, beach, Beijing, boost, Breaking Travel News, Business, casino, casino gambling, catering, China, Chinese, Chinese arrivals, Chinese gambling, Chinese nationals, Chinese tourists, cities, city, come, Cultural Travel News, diplomatic, dominance, enforcement, flags, foreign, foreign policy, forms, full, gambling, gambling Puerto, greenest, Growth, Hall, head, illegal, in, investigation, IT, Korea, Living, local, Manila, million, million people, national, nationals, need, needed, needs, newly, News articles, officials, online, over, Palawan, People, Philippine, Philippines, Philippines travel news, physical, policy, popular, present, Princesa, probe, province, Puerto, quarter, questions, raised, recent, Red, region, reported, resorts, restaurants, s, sea, seafood, sector, Security, situation, the Philippines, The Region, times, to, TO BE, tourism, tourist, tourist city, tourists, town, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, trend, trying, unique, visitors, waves, West, Western, worried, worth

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Search




Recent Articles

  • Jordan to host 1st edition of City Talk Gathering next October
  • IMEX America opens registration and focuses education program on ‘Pathways to Clarity’
  • Bahamasair Relaunches Nonstop Service from Orlando to Grand Bahama Island
  • Milestone moment: IMEX America honored at AEO Awards
  • Tourism businesses broaden their knowledge of growing online platform, ParrAPI
  • Overseas mission successful in reconnecting with over 100 trade partners
  • TUI invests in Jamaica with educational program and increased airlift
  • Looking for Remote Hiking Adventures? Songtsam Offers Hikers Opportunities to Discover the Natural Wonders of Tibet & Yunnan
  • Where Amazing Comes Together: A Splash of Color, a Dose of Culture, and the Return of Carnival to Curaçao Mark the Grand Opening Celebration of Sandals® Royal Curaçao
  • Corporate events professionals invited to tap into insights from Google Experience Institute at new IMEX online event

Copyright © 2022 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in