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America’s Best Ecotourism Destinations ranked

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Ranking series of “America’s Best Ecotourism Destinations” were released today.

Whether it is strolling along a beach in California or spotting alligators in the Everglades, traveling is an exciting experience. Caught up in all of this excitement though, few people stop and think about the impact they are having on the environment and the local communities they are visiting. In response to the carelessness of many tourists and money-sucking tourist magnets, a movement known as “ecotourism” is becoming increasingly popular. The staff at RAVE Reviews is a fan of both sustainable living and traveling. It just made sense to find the best Ecotourism destinations that people can sustainably visit and enjoy.

Ecotourism is essentially sustainable travel that focuses on supporting untapped natural beauty instead of massive tourist machines. No more buying overpriced souvenirs in Times Square and throwing the plastic wrapping on the ground. Ecotourism would have you animal spotting along Virginia’s Birding and Wildlife Trail, or maybe even immersing yourself in a Native American living history experience at Colorado’s Indigenous Roots LLC. This ranking plans out the perfect ecotourism road trip across the country. For convenience, RAVE also included recommendations for activities and lodging near each destination.

In determining which destinations to feature, the experts compared reviews from sources across the internet and took into account multiple factors such as the number of eco-tourist attractions in the region, availability of eco-lodging near the destination, degree of community support for ecological initiatives, and if the destination made sense in the routing of the trip.

The full list of featured destinations includes:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Georgia

Asheville, North Carolina

Chicago, Illinois

DownEast Acadia, Maine

Half Moon Bay, California

Hawley Earthfest, Pennsylvania

Indigenous Roots LLC, Colorado

Kasha-Katuwe National Monument, New Mexico

Lake Erie, Ohio

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, New York

Portland, Oregon

The Everglades, Florida

The Ozarks, Missouri

Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail, Virginia

Washington D.C., District of Columbia

World Birding Center, Texas

Yellowstone National Park, California

Yosemite National Park, California

Zion National Park, California

Travel News | eTurboNews

Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event yields over $630 million in contracts for local entrepreneurs

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett yesterday revealed that his Ministry’s Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event has resulted in local Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) negotiating contracts valued at over $630 million, over the past three years.

Speaking at this year’s staging of the Speed Networking event in Montego Bay, the Minister said, “I am pleased to share that Speed Networking 2016 resulted in contracts valued at some $181 million; while the 2017 event saw suppliers benefitting from over $200 million in contracts; and in 2018, the value of these contracts grew to over $250 million. That is over $630 million in contacts for local SMTEs from just three one-day linkages events.”

He also noted that among the top beneficiaries of the event, were Boss Furniture and Tortuga Rum Cakes.

Boss Furniture won a contract valued at $30 million to provide bedding and furnishings to Montego Bay’s new S Hotel while another $10 million in contracts with that property is in the pipeline.

In addition, Boss Furniture CEO Omar Azan is also in negotiation with the Sandals and Hendrickson Groups to supply their properties with locally made bedding and furniture. Tortuga Rum Cakes also negotiated a $500,000 contract with Half Moon Hotel, from their participation in the event.

Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, (right) converses with (from left) Princess Hotels and Resorts’ Rafael Millán, President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (JMEA), Metry Seaga, and Director of the Tourism Linkages Network, Carolyn McDonald-Riley at the fifth staging of the Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event.
Princess Hotels and Resorts, ranked eighth in the Spanish market has 19 hotels. They will construct 2000 new rooms in Hanover, to the tune of some USD500Million. The business-to-business initiative took place on March 20, 2019 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“This event is a tremendous help to local manufacturers, farmers and service providers. In creating these linkages, it helps us to grow our business, provide jobs for our people, provide revenue for the government, and in the end grow our economies. Two years ago, I attended the event and got a big order from a hotelier and it can be like that for any supplier,” said Mr Azan.

The Minister noted that the event is a key initiative designed to offer support to SMTEs and helps to strengthen the linkages between tourism and other sectors of the economy, and in so doing, increases the economic impact of the sector.

“The strategy must be to increase the capacity to supply the demands that tourism consumption patterns require and find creative ways of building entrepreneurship among our local stakeholders to fill these requirements. In this way, we will retain more of the revenue generated by tourism in the local economy and stop leakages,” he said.

The Tourism Linkages Speed Networking event took place on March 20 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. It is a core initiative of the Tourism Linkages Network in close collaboration with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Jamaica Manufacturers’ Exporters’ Association (JMEA), Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC).

The event format features fifteen minute pre-scheduled meeting appointments between Managing Directors, General Managers or CEOs of local supplier companies of products and services with Owners or Managers of properties, restaurants, attractions and other tourism entities throughout the course of one day.

Additional representatives from core areas within the hotel’s operation such as Purchasing, Food and Beverage and Maintenance who are in a position to make purchasing decisions also attend.

For this year’s staging organizers targeted suppliers from areas such as: Digital marketing, Content capture services, Maintenance providers and Entertainment. Other suppliers included areas such as furniture, fresh produce, craft, chemicals and cleaning products, cosmetics and spa products, training, electrical services and construction.

“Last year we had 56 supplier companies and 33 tourism entities in attendance. This year we have 110 supplier companies and 57 tourism entities, proof that this event is gaining traction because participants are seeing results,” said the Minister.

Travel News | eTurboNews

The rebirth of luxury

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Located on two miles of the picturesque shores of Rose Hall, not far from the famous great house known for the legends of Annie Palmer, is Half Moon Jamaica, a resort that has offered over sixty years of premium hospitality service to both locals and foreigners.

But after so long being in existence, chairman of Half Moon Jamaica Guy Steuart III, having reminisced on the hotel’s legacy, started under the stewardship of his grandfather, decided it is one worth protecting, and so he embarked on ensuring the future of the world-renowned facility.

“Since opening our doors in 1954, Half Moon has been known for its warm Jamaican hospitality infused with superlative comfort and luxury, and now it is time for our legacy to be reborn,” Steuart is quoted in a release earlier this year. “It’s time to build anew and to continue to express ourselves in ways that are elegant in the 21st century.”

As a result, in March 2017 he announced that the hotel would undergo a transformation to the tune of US$75 million — to be unveiled this month, just in time for the 65th anniversary. Ground was broken in May of last year.

“This period of development will be an exciting time for Half Moon, which has been the chosen retreat for royalty, presidents and generations of loyal guests,” Steuart stated at that time.

“The resort is evolving so that the best of Half Moon will remain,” added General Manager Sandro Fabris, “and  this constant evolution is the key to a luxury hospitality experience.”

The development to which the chairman referred is the addition of a great house comprising  57 new guestrooms and suites and new welcome lobby with private check-in; these following the 2015 refurbishment of the award-winning Sugar Mill Restauran, golf course and Lester’s Café.  And to complete the  transformation of the resort, an adults-only swimming pool, two restaurants, three bars  and cafes are now included.

Fabris believes that the new additions, complemented by the property’s architecture and landscape, can only elevate the tourist experience and rekindle interest in the hotel.

On the outskirts of resort city Montego Bay and just seven miles from Sangster International Airport, Half Moon sits on 400 acres of beachfront property. Yet only 20 acres of the property have undergone renovation — to be called the “East Cove” — as part of the US$75-million master plan.

The resort still boasts another 153 hotel rooms  and 10 original West Cottages which one hosted the Queen, Prince Rainer of Monaco and US President John F Kennedy — not all at the same time. And it remains a boon for those with an active lifestyle  with facilities for watersport, tennis, golf, yoga, and equestrian, to name a few.

Still the hotel is adding new activities such as a music academy, dance studio and, possibly, a swimming academy. While announcing these at a press conference in Manahattan in March, Steuart disclosed that he had considered creating  two over-water-bungalows.

“With all the new offerings coming on board, we are further enhancing one of the best characteristics of the villas — the private atmosphere of each individual villa within a neighbourhood, complemented by nearby resort experiences, which are offered by Half Moon,” Steuart noted in  recent release which announced the renaming of its villas as Rose Hall Villas.

The existing 28 villas — available as four-,five-, six- and seven-bedroom accommodations — are an excellent choice for families and groups, with each featuring a living and dining room, outdoor living space and private pool, the travel news website states.  Each villa comes with a butler, housekeeper and a cook.

Asserting that formality has been lost in the luxury sector Fabris explained that, “What people want is top-quality; it’s the little attentions that people remember.”  With a 32 per cent repeat client rate, the general manager is hoping not only to wow clients with an unforgettable experience, but to have more coming back, even for the food.

As such Half Moon has revamped its menu, “reinventing Jamaican cusine” with dishes like breadfruit gnocchi in coconut milk, yam risotto, and oxtail ravioli in sweet potato dough.

“The transformation of Half Moon will refresh, reposition and ready the resort for the next 60-plus years and we are thrilled and we are thrilled to welcome future generations of guests as we extend our history,” Steuart said.

Half Moon will officially unveil its renovations this month.