• 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

Greater Fort Lauderdale appoints Agnes Zaranski as New England Regional Sales Executive

June 18, 2019 by PressEditor

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) continues to expand its convention sales presence in critical market areas with the addition of Agnieszka Zaranski as Regional Sales Executive. Ms. Zaranski will be responsible for sales opportunities and business development in the New England region.

“New England is an important growth market for us and Agnes brings more than a decade of sales and business experience and tremendous knowledge and contacts to make certain that we have a strong presence there,” said Ed Simon, Senior Vice President, Convention Sales & Services, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Having built her career and professional network both in South Florida and the Northeast, she is very qualified to represent us and ensure we are pursuing the best opportunities for our hotel partners and future convention business.”

Prior to joining the Greater Fort Lauderdale’s convention sales team, Ms. Zaranski held various roles in sales management within organizations including Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort by Hilton, and Marriott International Global Sales.

Ms. Zaranski earned a Master of Science in Hospitality Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

About Greater Fort Lauderdale

From the seagrass to the sawgrass, Greater Fort Lauderdale, located in Broward County, boasts more than 34,000 lodging accommodations at a variety of hotels, luxury spa resorts, and Superior Small Lodgings reflecting a vibrant cosmopolitan vibe. Visitors enjoy 23 miles of Blue Wave certified beaches, discover 300+ miles of inland waterways that run from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Everglades, dine at thousands of restaurants and eateries, get immersed in a thriving arts and culture scene and indulge in top shopping.

For more information, contact the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 22-SUNNY or visit www.sunny.org . Get social and engage with Greater Fort Lauderdale on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @visitlauderdale.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ivonne MacMillan, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB – 954-767-2408 / imacmillan@broward.org , Finn Partners – 954-368-9807 / gfl@finnpartners.com

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Travel & Tourism Tagged With: bureau, Fort, greater, Master, New England, Sales, Sunny

Indian travelers expected to spend $136 billion by 2021

April 24, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018, on around 2 billion domestic and international trips, helping the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale.

The momentum is expected to continue and the industry will grow at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report, ‘How Does India Travel’. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses till 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing. The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travellers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalised marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorised each against their online research behavior:

Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.

Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.

Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.

Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.

Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, authentic, Bain, base, based, behavior, billion, book, booked, Booking, bookings, brand, Breaking Travel News, budget, Business, business and leisure travel, business traveler, businesses, CAGR, channels, choices, CITES, come, company, concerns, conditions, consumers, consumption, continue, cost, cost of travel, country, customer, customers, decision, decisions, digital, director, display, diving, domestic, early, end, engagement, existing, expected, experience, experiences, Family, flyers, food, free, frequent flyers, friends, Google, Google India, Group, grow, Growing, Growth, Helping, high, Hospitality News, Hotels, impact, in, includes, India, India travel, India Travel News, Indian, Indian travelers, Industry, influence, interest, International, International Travel News, IT, journey, key, lack, Leisure, leisure travel, lodging, loyalty, Make, Market, Marketing, maximum, media, momentum, moving, nearly, network, New, News articles, ongoing, online, online travel, online video, only, opportunities, options, order, out, outlines, over, partner, past, payment, payments, People, percent, percent growth, perception, personal, planning, plans, platform, players, positive, potential, Preferred, premium, premium customers, price, pricing, purchase, recreation, relationships, report, research, role, said, Sales, scale, search, Share, sharing, shopping, significant, social, social media, Source, spending, states, talking, TAP, terms, through, time, to, tour, tourism, Tourism Industry, transport, Transportation, Travel, travel and tourism, travel and tourism industry, travel bookings, travel businesses, Travel Destination News, travel plans, Traveler, travelers, travellers, Travelwire News, trips, up, use, video, visiting, websites, were, World News, years

Barbican beefs up sales team

April 24, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The Barbican, a conference and international arts venue located in London, has appointed Jenny Waller as head of sales. The expanded role will see Jenny managing the growing sales team, which includes a renewed focus on international and association markets. Jenny will be supported in her role by the newly-appointed deputy head of sales, Charlie Smith.

Jenny has been promoted from the role of senior account manager within the Barbican team, where she has already achieved a number of significant wins for the world-leading arts and conference venue. These include major corporate and association events due to take place over the coming 24 months. Prior to working at the Barbican Jenny spent four years developing industry knowledge and expertise at Park Plaza Hotels.

Charlie returns to the Barbican, where he worked as an account manager for two years between 2016 and 2018. Other experience includes time developing sales skills at both Dreamland and HMS President.

“The Barbican is going from strength to strength,” commented Jackie Boughton, head of business events at the Barbican. “Last year we opened and showcased our new cinema offering, comprised of two cinemas and supporting food and beverage, as well as exhibition or networking space capable of seating up to 150 for conferences, meetings and private screenings. When added to our wider offering it makes the Barbican one of Europe’s most comprehensive venues. This in turn has led to an increase in both association and international bookings. Jenny has been instrumental in that success over the last year and was therefore the perfect choice to take on the demanding role leading our sales team. It is also a real pleasure to welcome Charlie back to the team – his in-depth knowledge of the venue is already having a significant impact on new business development.”

Jenny responded by saying: “This is a new and exciting challenge for me. Over the course of the next year I am particularly looking forward to working alongside our association specialists as we develop that market, whilst supporting our work with a strong presence at major international trade shows and events. The UK of course remains our core market and we are delighted by the ongoing support we receive from domestic clients booking direct or via our agency partners. However, there is still significant opportunity for us to develop internationally – particularly given our ability to partner with the Barbican International Enterprises team to deliver truly inspiring content and theming. The addition of Charlie to the team ensures we have the ongoing experience and depth of knowledge needed to deliver to the highest standards for our clients.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, appointed, Arts, association, Barbican, beverage, Booking, bookings, Breaking Travel News, Business, Business Development, business events, challenge, Charlie, choice, cinema, clients, coming, conference, conferences, Content, corporate, course, deliver, deputy, Deputy Head, development, direct, domestic, due, Europe, Events, exhibition, expanded, experience, expertise, food, Forward, Growing, head, head of sales, highest, Hotels, impact, in, includes, increase, Industry, inspiring, International, international trade, internationally, IT, knowledge, last, leading, LED, located, London, looking, major, manager, Managing, Market, markets, meetings, MICE Industry News, months, most, needed, networking, New, newly, News articles, number, offering, ongoing, opened, opportunity, over, park, Park Plaza, particularly, partner, partners, Place, pleasure, presence, president, private, promoted, real, receive, remains, responded, returns, role, s, Sales, saying, seating, see, senior, shows, significant, skills, space, specialists, standards, strength, strong, success, support, supported, supporting, team, The World, time, to, Trade, trade shows, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, turn, UK, UK Travel News, up, US, venue, venues, We, welcome, work, worked, working, World, year, years

Thomas Cook selling its travel business: Chinese investment fund interested

April 22, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Thomas Cook is the world’s oldest tour operator and was founded in Market Harborough in 1841 by businessman Thomas Cook. It started off with organized railway outings for members of the local temperance movement.

The travel company received approaches for parts of its business and the company as a whole, according to reports. The business put its airline up for sale in February and it said last month it would close 21 stores across the country and cut more than 300 jobs.

Chinese investment firm Fosun International could be a bidder for the company’s tour operating business, which runs a joint venture with Thomas Cook in China. It could be months before any formal offer is lodged, and there is no guarantee one will be made.

Thomas Cook now has annual sales of £9bn, 19 million customers a year and 22,000 staff operating in 16 countries.

In September, Thomas Cook said profits would be hit after the summer heat wave saw many take their holidays in the UK. It issued a second profit warning in November, when it said winter bookings were also down.

The shop closures will take the number of Thomas Cook outlets down to 566. It said a consultation with staff and unions had begun.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, annual, bidder, bookings, Breaking Travel News, Business, businessman, China, China Travel News, Chinese, close, closures, company, Cook, countries, country, customers, cut, down, firm, fund, guarantee, Heat, heat wave, hit, holidays, in, In February, interested, International, Investment, issued, IT, Jobs, joint, joint venture, last, local, Market, members, million, million customers, month, months, movement, News articles, November, number, offer, Operating, operator, Outlets, profit, profit warning, profits, railway, received, reports, s, said, sale, Sales, second, selling, September, Shop, staff, started, stores, summer, The World, Thomas, Thomas Cook, to, tour, tour operator, tourism, Tourism Investment News, Travel, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, travel business, travel company, Travelwire News, UK, unions, up, venture, warning, wave, were, winter, World, year

Drink like a New Yorker

April 20, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

If you live in New York, work in New York or are doing business in New York – there is only one appropriate drink to order…New York State wines.

New York State of Wine

The New York grape, grape juice and wine industries generate more than $4.8 billion in economic benefits annually for New York State. There are 1,631 family vineyards, over 400 wineries, producing 175,000,000 bottles of wine, generating $408 million in state and local taxes (www.newyorkwines.org). New York’s wineries also contribute to New York State’s exports and in 2012, 19.8% of the wine produced in the state was exported.

Wineries and satellite operations attracted more than 5.9 million tourist visits in 2012, spending $401+ million. The tourism industry (including wineries, hotels, restaurants, retailing, transportation) contributes over 6400 jobs to the state, for a total of $213+ million in wages. The tourist is particularly important to the farm wineries, with sales direct to consumers representing approximately 60 percent of total wine sales volume.

The winery industry directly employs approximately 62,450 people and generates an additional 14,359 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries which supply goods and services to the industry and whose sales depend on the wine industry’s economic vitality.

In excess of 101,806 jobs can be linked to the wine industry and these positions average $51,100 in annual wages and benefits. The total wages generated by direct, indirect and induced economic activity driven by the wine industry – $5.2 billon.

New York State Wines and Wineries (Curated)

At a recent Rockefeller Center/ Rainbow Room wine event sponsored by the Wine & Grape Foundation, Sam Filler, the Executive Director of the organization stated, “New York is home to the first bonded winery in the United States, making our state one of the oldest wine regions in the country.” The objective of the NY Drinks NY Grand Tasting, “…is to showcase the diversity, artistry and accessibility of New York’s wine and food landscape.”

The 8th Annual NY Drinks NY Grand Tasting offered access to over 200 wines from approximately 50 wineries across the state.

  1. Keuka Lake Vineyard. 2017. Turkey Run. Vignoles (Finger Lakes)

Located on the slopes above the southern end of Keuka Lake this winery showcases young vinifera and old hybrid plantings that range from 3-years (representing Cabernet Franc and Vignoles), to vines over 50-years of age (representing Leon Millot and Delaware vines).

Thanks to the Finger Lakes, the vineyard produces excellent fruit. The heat of the summer is retained by the lakes and moderates the extreme cold temperatures of the vineyards in winter. As spring approaches, the frigid waters moderate the warming air temperatures and act as a delay for bud break and lower the risk of frost damage.

The terroir is a glacial mix of glacially laid rocks, sand, silt and clay that has been deposited on the lower slopes above Keuka Lake providing for water drainage that is essential for vine balance and health.

Staci Nugent

The owner is Mel Goldman and the winemaker is Staci Nugent. Nugent attended Cornell and did graduate work in California in genetics. Making a career switch, she enrolled in the wine program at the University of California at Davis, receiving a Master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology. Nugent has worked with highly regarded wineries that include Ornellaia, Italy; Hardy’s Tintara Winery, South Australia; and William Selyem, Sonoma, California. Before joining Keuka Lake Vineyards (2008), she was a winemaker at Lamoreux Landing Wine Cellars.

Sustainable farming practices brings the Vignoles to our attention. The grape is made by crossing Seible and Pinot de Corton, is associated with the Finger Lakes and grows well in the gravel soils (glacial till).

Notes: Keuka Lake Vineyards. 2017 Turkey Run Vignoles

Light bright blonde to the eye, the nose is rewarded with lemons, honey, green grapes and sweet oranges, (lemons and oranges) while the palate enjoys citrus and other fruits with the sweetness tempered by a light acidity. Pair with seafood curry, Buffalo chicken wings, pepper and Swiss cheese.

  1. Red Newt Cellars. 2006. Legacy. Niagara Cream Sherry (Hector, New York)

Located on the east side of Seneca Lake (Hector, NY) in the Finger Lakes region, the winery started in 1998 by David and Debra Whiting and the 1998 vintage produced 1200 cases of Chardonnay, Riesling, Vida, Cayuga, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The first white wines were released in July 1999.

Whiting is considered to be one of the top winemakers in the Finger Lakes Region. Current production of Red Newt Cellars is apprximately 20,000 cases with a white wine focus on aromatic varities: Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. CIRCLE Rielsing is the most popular and widely distributed wine, made in a classic Finger Lakes style, with hints on tangerine and honeysuckle, citrus and peach on the palate.

Kelby Russell

Kelby Russell is the head winemaker at Red Newt and considered an expert in the art of cold-climate white wines. Thanks to the variable climate of the East Coast, he recognizes that the search for the “perfect wine” is a “false idol, “ finding that the role of the winemaker is to, “…artfully direct what comes into the winery into the best thing and the  most honest expression of the year that you possible can.”

At Harvard (Class of 2009) Russell majored in government and minored in economics, was a member of the Glee Club and thought his career would follow a path that would lead to orchestra management. During a study abroad experience in Tuscany he discovered the art and science of making wine.

After graduation, when a job with Jazz at Lincoln Center did not materialize, he visited Fox Run Vineyards and thought he had an interview. The staff was busy with the harvest so he was handed a shovel and offered the opportunity to help on the “crush pad.” This was the begnning of his unpaid internships and he got to spend winters in New Zealand and Australia and autumns in the Finger Lakes as an intern.

His first salaried position in 2012 was with Red Newt as an assistant winemaker. David Whiting, the co-founder and winemaker, promoted Russell to head winemaker and the rest is history. He currently directs the Red Newt house styles and reserves and develops his own Kelby James Russell label with a focus on small-batch wines, from dry rose to Australian-style dry Riesling.

Notes: Red Newt Cellars. 2006 Legacy. Niagara Cream Sherry (Niagara grapes)

The Niagara grape develops into a long-aged solera sherry, creating a complex palate experience.

Bright golden yellow to the eye (think daffodils) with the nose picking up hints of honey, raisins, oranges, apricots, yellow apples, and spices. The finish to absolutely delicious, delivering honey, lemons and spices. Perfect as a dessert course or pair with Blue cheese and pate.

  1. Damiani Wine Cellars (DWC)

DWC was started by Lou Damiani, a Cornell engineer specializing in energy conservation, and Phil Davis. Damiani had an interest in winemaking and his education started in the field of food science before switching to engineering. In the 1990s he returned to study winemaking and mentored under Phil Hazlitt.

In 1996 Damiani wanted to plant Cabernet Franc and Merlot and visited an old friend and college friend, Phil Davis, who was also a viticulturist. They started the project and in 1997 Hazlitt pulled out a hybrid vineyard and planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot. When their vineyards started producing in 2003 the next step was to make world class red wines.

Damiani was the head winemaker from 2003 – 2011 and he trained Phil Arras to continue and improve the DWC tradition. In 2007 Glenn Allen joined as a Business Consultant and later became a partner in the enterprise. Today DWC has four main vineyard sites with approximately 40 acres of land under vine and a new tasting room that hosts events and is the retail outlet.

Phil Arras, originally from Philadelphia, moved to the Finger Lakes in 2003 to attend Cornell University and majored in philosophy and political science. Inspired by a class on wine appreciation, Arrras changed his career focus to winemaking. He was hired by Damiani Wine Cellars in 2009 as the assistant winemaker and began “on the job” training. In 2012, Arras became head winemaker.

Notes: Damiani Wine Cellars. NV Marechal Foch “Vino Rosso” Finger Lakes. (Varietal may be a cross between Goldriesling and a Vitis riparia/Vitis rupestris or a cross between Gamay Noir and Vitis riparia – Oberlin 595).

Deep ruby color to the eye, an undertone of tomatoes runs alongside notes of plums and apricots and the tannins are so soft as to be obscure. Pairings might include pasta, barbeque and smoked gouda cheese.

  1. Thirsty Owl Wine Company. 2017. Traminette

Ted Cupp purchased 150 acres of frontage on Cayuga Lake from Robert and Mary Plan, trailblazers who started the Cayuga Wine Trail in 2001. During 2001 and 2002 he began construction on the winemaking facility and tasting room for the Thirsty Owl. In 2002, in cooperation with Shawn Kime, he planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir and Malbec. When the doors to the winery opened in 2002, Thirsty Owl had produced 1200 cases.

Jon Cupp, President

Today, the Thirsty Owl is synonymous with award winning wines, including the Governor’s Cup and the John Rose award for Rieslings. The Pinot Noir had the highest rated North American Pinot at the Taster’s Guild International Competition. Thirsty Owl produces Malbec and Syrah as well as blends, reds, whites and ice wine.

Shawn Kime

The winemaker and vineyard master, Shawn Kime, is originally from Romulus, New York and attended Morrisville College and Cornell University. Kime started to work in agriculture at the age of 14 and started winemaking after spending 2 years working with one of the earliest Finger Lake Vinifera growers.

The goal of the Thirsty Owl is to “…make changes in the vineyard and winemaking based on the year to produce wines that not only reflect our region but the growing season…. As a Finger Lakes native, I am proud of the fact that we are producing cool climate varietals that are on par with any region in the world.”

Notes: Thirsty Owl Wine Company. 2017 Traminette (cross between Gewurztraminer and Joannes Seyve 23.416).

To the eye, highlights of golden yellow. The nose finds apricots, peaches, pears, honey and fresh lemons as well as florals (especially roses and tulips) and a bit of spice. The palate is entertained with citrus and lemons, oranges and a bit of earth. The finish brings light acidity making it an interesting dessert wine.

Pair with spicy/sweet and sour sauces on chicken, pork and veal and Cheddar, Fontina and Gruyere cheese.

  1. Benmarl Winery. 2015 Baco Noir. Hudson River Valley

Benmarl (slate hill) Winery is located in Marlboro, NY and covers 37-acres and is considered to be the oldest vineyard in America (it holds New York Farm Winery license no.1). It was owned by magazine illustrator turned vintner Mark Miller from 1957 -2003. In 2006 Victor Spaccarelli purchased the vineyard and Matthew Spaccarelli is currently the winemaker

In the 17th century, wine was being made by the French Huguenots in New Paltz, New York. Andrew Jackson Caywood started his vineyard in the early 1800s. The community was incorporated as the Village of Marlborough, a cluster of grapes carved in its seal commemorated its major crop (1788).

Caywood became an important viticulturist and leading authority in the development of new grape varieties. The Miller family bought the Caywood property in 1957 and renamed it Benmarl. It was purchased in 2006 by the Spaccarelli family. They replanted many abandoned vineyards, refurbished the estate and carry on the tradition of experimentation, planting new hybrid varieties like Traminette as well as Old World vinifera.

Notes: Benmarl Winery. 2015 Baco Noir. Hudson River Valley

The Baco Noir, made from estate-grown fruit, brings dark plum hues to the eye, and delivers the aromas of dark plums, cedar and sage to the nose. On the palate are flavors of blackberry with hints of spice.  Tannins give it a structure that is delicious and the finish delivers spice and black berry fruits. Benmarl has been producing Baco Noir for 50 years.  Pair with pork roast, pasta with meat sauce, beef burgers with blue cheese.

The NY Drinks NY Event

The elegant Rainbow Room @ Rockefeller Center was the venue for the New York Drinks New York event. As an important wine trade events, many hundreds of wine buyers, sellers, sommeliers, wine educators, and writers convened to experience a wine-range of quality wines produced in New York State.

Wines of Distinction included:

Brotherhood Winery

Brotherhood Winery is the oldest continuously operating winery in America, producing wine for 180 years in Hudson Valley. It features one of the most modern bottling facilties for wine on the East coast, with a capacity of 1.5 million cases er year. A wine current featured focuses on low calories (approximately 90 calories per glass).

Glenora Wine Cellars

Glenora Wine Cellars produces award-winning Finger Lakes wines for over 40 years with a focus on sparkling wine and Riesling, sourcing grapes from 13 growers across four of the Finger Lakes. Glenora opened the first winery on Seneca Lake (1977).

Saltbird Cellars

Robin McCarthy is the owner and winemaker at Saltbird Cellars that started in 2014 and, based on the unique maritime terroir, developed Stainless Steel Sauvignon Blanc, Migratus Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc and Stainless-Steel Chardonnay.

Hosmer Winery

Hosmer Winery is located on Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes. Grapevine plantings date back to the 1970s and early experiments with plantings of classic Vinifera started in 1985. The 70-acre estate includes Rieslings, Chardonnays, Cabernet Francs as well as French-American hybrid varieties.

For additional information: @NYWineGrapeFdn and NYWineGrapeFdn

© Dr. Elinor Garely. This copyright article, including photos, may not be reproduced without written permission from the author.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, amp, ancillary, and, annual, appreciation, art, Assistant, attend, Australia, Australian, author, authority, average, award, award-winning, balance, based, benefits, best, billion, Bit, black, BlackBerry, break up, Breaking Travel News, Business, busy, buyers, California, capacity, caption, Career, carry-on, center, Century, changed, changes, cheese, chicken, Circle, class, classic, climate, club, Cluster, co-founder, coast, cold, College, Color, community, company, competition, complex, conservation, construction, consultant, consumers, continue, contributes, cooperation, Cornell, country, course, crossing, crush, current, currently, curry, damage, dark, date, Delaware, delay, Delicious, Dessert, development, direct, directly, director, diversity, doing, Dr, drink, drinks, Drinks NY, early, Earth, East, east coast, economic, economics, Education, elegant, end, energy, energy conservation, Engineering, enterprise, ER, essential, estate, event, Events, Excellent, excess, executive, Executive Director, experience, expert, exports, extreme, facility, false, Family, farming, Feature, Features,, finding, first, follow, food, Food Travel News, foundation, founder, FOX, French, Fresh, Friend, fruit, glass, Glee, goal, golden, goods, Got, government, Governor, graduate, graduation, Grand, grapes, green, Growing, Harvard, harvest, head, HEALTH, Heat, help, highest, highlights, history, home, hosts, Hotels, house, Hudson, Hudson River, ice, ID, important, improve, in, included, includes, including, indirect, Industries, Industry, information, inspired, interest, International, Interview, IT, Italy, Jazz, job, Jobs, John, joined, joining, Land, landing, landscape, later, lead, leading, legacy, license, light, like, linked, live, local, located, low, lower, magazine, Main, major, Make, malbec, management, maritime, Master, materialize, May, meat, member, million, modern, most, most popular, moved, New, new york, New York State, New Zealand, News articles, Niagara, North, North American, notes, NY, NY Drinks, only, opened, Operating, operations, opportunity, order, organization, out, over, owner, PAR, particularly, partner, path, People, percent, permission, Phil, Philadelphia, philosophy, photos, plan, plant, planted, political, popular, position, positions, practices, president, production, program, project, promoted, property, proud, pulled, purchased, quality, range, rated, receiving, recent, recognizes, Red, refurbished, region, regions, released, renamed, representing, reserves, restaurants, retail, Risk, river, Robert, rockefeller, rocks, role, Romulus, room, rose, s, Sales, sand, satellite, science, seafood, search, season, services, Sherry, showcase, sites, slopes, small, South, South Australia, Southern, sparkling, spending, Spice, spring, staff, started, State, stated, states, structure, study, Style, summer, supplier, supply, sustainable, Sweet, SWISS, switch, tasting, taxes, TED, temperatures, the United States, The World, think, to, TO BE, today, tomatoes, top, total, tourism, Tourism Industry, tourist, Trade, tradition, trail, training, Transportation, Travel Destination News, Travelwire News, Turkey, Tuscany, unique, United, United States, university, unpaid, up, valley, venue, victor, village, vine, vineyards, vino, visited, visits, wages, warming, water, waters, We, were, white, whites, WHO, wine, Wine News, Wine Trail, Winemakers, winery, wines, Wings, winter, work, worked, working, World, writers, year, years, Yellow, York, young, Zealand

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

Top Easter season destinations for US travelers revealed

April 18, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom are among the most popular destinations for travelers in the U.S.1 this Easter period, according to analysis conducted by travel experts.

As of 7 April 2019, more than 95,000 advanced bookings had been made2 in the U.S. through all global distribution systems (GDS) for return flights to Mexico scheduled between 16 April and 22 April 2019. Flight bookings to second placed Canada and third placed U.K stood at 44,975 and 32,515, respectively.

Amongst the top 10 most popular destinations, the ones which had seen the greatest year-on-year increase in Easter flight bookings were Spain, up 33.6% (+4615 bookings in 2018), Canada, up 25.7% (+9198 bookings in 2018) and a close third, Puerto Rico, up 25.6% (+4279 bookings in 2018).

Global distribution systems (GDS) are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items.

“Mexico remains by far the most attractive destination in terms of volume, for travelers in the U.S. over the Easter period. A big reason for this is the proximity and great weather all-year round. The proximity, and some great tourist attractions land Canada at the second place. Breathtaking festive celebrations and shopping sales in U.K, boosted by affordable flight options, definitely make it a top destination.

Top Easter season destinations for travelers in Spain booked through global distribution systems

Destination Flight Bookings

Mexico 96,451
Canada 44,975
United Kingdom 32,515
Dominican Republic 32,229
Italy 25,311
China 24,636
Puerto Rico 21,008
France 20,780
Jamaica 19,215
Spain 18,369

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, April, attractions, attractive, Aviation News, big, book, booked, bookings, Breaking Travel News, Canada, Canada Travel News, cars, celebrations, China, close, companies, Destination, Destinations, Distribution, Dominican, Dominican Republic, Easter, experts, far, festive, flight, flight bookings, flights, flights to Mexico, France, free, GDS, Global, greatest, Hospitality News, hotel, hotel rooms, Hotel Travel News, in, increase, International Travel News, IT, Italy, items, Jamaica, Kingdom, Land, Make, management, Mexico, Mexico travel news, most, most popular, most popular destinations, networks, News articles, options, over, period, Place, popular, Puerto, Puerto Rico, reason, related, remains, rental, republic, reservation, Resort News, return, revealed, RICO, rooms, Round, s, Sales, scheduled, search, season, seats, second, second place, shopping, Spain, tech, terms, through, to, top, top 10, top destination, tourism, tourist, tourist attractions, Transportation News, Travel, travel agents, Travel Destination News, Travel Experts, travel management, travelers, Travelwire News, U.S, UK Travel News, United, United Kingdom, up, US, US travelers, weather, were, World News, year

Fly Leasing completes sale of a $295 million portfolio of 12 aircraft

April 18, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Fly Leasing Limited announced that it has completed the sale of a portfolio of 12 aircraft for an aggregate price of approximately $295 million. The portfolio was comprised of Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 narrow-body aircraft with an average age of over 10 years.

“This portfolio sale accomplishes several strategic objectives; including generating free cash, reducing leverage, reducing our lessee concentration, and lowering the average age of our fleet,” said Colm Barrington, CEO of FLY. “This is another example of how FLY has consistently sold aircraft from its portfolio at premiums to book value, underscoring the strong value of our fleet.”

Three sales were recognized in the fourth quarter of 2018, eight sales were completed in the first quarter of 2019, and the final sale was completed in April. The sales were at a premium to net book value. FLY will be reporting its first quarter results on May 9th, as previously announced.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: and, announced, April, average, Aviation News, aviation-website, B737, body, Boeing, book, Breaking Travel News, cash, CEO, Colm Barrington, completed, Corporate News, eight, first, first quarter, fleet, fly by, FLY Leasing Limited, free, in, including, International Travel News, Ireland travel news, IT, Leasing, Leasing Limited, Limited, lowering, May, million, narrow, net, News articles, over, portfolio, premium, price, quarter, reporting, results, said, sale, Sales, sold, strategic, strong, to, Tourism Investment News, Transportation News, Travel Technology News, Travelwire News, value, were, World News, years

How does India travel? Let us count the 94 billion ways

April 17, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Bain & Company and Google India are together launching a report on “How Does India Travel.” According to the report, the Indian traveler has come of age, spending approximately $94 billion in 2018 on around 2 billion domestic and international trips. This has helped the Indian travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale, and the momentum is expected to continue with the industry growing at a 13 percent CAGR to $136 billion by 2021, according to a report.

Fueled by digital, Indian travelers are expected to spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next 3 years. The report outlines how India spends on travel, the influence of online channels in their purchase journey, and potential growth opportunities for travel businesses until 2021.

Deep diving into the $136 billion spends, the report cites a 12 percent growth in transportation ($50 billion), 13 percent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption, which includes spends on shopping, recreation and food, to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration improves and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that Indian travelers will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2021.

Online is a significant source of research

Elucidating the planning journey of Indian travelers, both for business and leisure, the report calls out five phases of a customer journey – Interest, Research, Booking, Experience and Sharing.  The report states that during key research-heavy phase of interest, research and experience, digital plays a pivotal role with over 86 percent of consumers being influenced by online channels. During this phase, travelers spend their maximum time on search, travel tour provider websites, price comparison websites, and travel articles. Online video too plays a significant role with 21 percent of travelers being influenced by this platform. In the booking and sharing phase, the report states that nearly 60 percent of customers book transport and lodging online, and over 50 percent share feedback online with social media being the dominant platform.

Talking about the market opportunities for online travel players, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “New users perceive that online channels are geared towards the more frequent flyers and experience-oriented travelers; and existing travelers research online but the lack of trust in payments and booking experience make them end up booking offline. If travel players tap these online users through personalized marketing, messaging and travel plans, they can further augment online travel bookings. This can be done by adopting digital technologies to influence customers early in the journey and moving from one-time engagement to ongoing relationships to have a positive impact.”

“There is a perception amongst consumers that online channels are geared towards premium customers, along with a marked distrust around payment and pricing terms. It is imperative for businesses to address these concerns in order to effectively tap into the growing base of users.” Arpan Sheth, partner Bain & Company said.

Decoding the Indian travelers

The report further identified the five cohorts of travelers in India, across business and leisure travel, and categorized each against their online research behavior:

  • Frequent flyers: Nearly 70 percent of them booked online, cumulatively spent $17 billion in 2018. They make their choices based on convenience, availability, brand preference and past experiences.
  • Budget business traveler: 86 percent of them researched online whereas only 60 percent book online, cumulatively spent $20 billion in 2018. This cohort makes their decisions based on cost of travel, availability and consultation amongst their personal business network.
  • Experience-oriented traveler: Around 70 percent of their bookings were done online. and cumulatively spent $22 billion in 2018. They extensively research both online and offline for ‘authentic’ experiences and convenience of options; display high loyalty towards preferred brand of airlines or hotels and actively share experiences.
  • Budget group traveler: 90 percent researched online and 55 percent booked online, cumulatively spent $29 billion in 2018. They make multiple decision-makers in the process and take the final decisions based on minimal cost.
  • Occasional travel visiting friends/relatives: 92 percent researched online but only 60 percent booked online, spent $6 billion in 2018. They maximize family convenience within a budget and believe online terms and conditions are restrictive.

However, challenges remain in meeting the expectations of these travelers. Customers perceive online channels geared towards premium cohorts (frequent flyer and experience-oriented traveler), while mass cohorts, with $55 billion in spending, remain underpenetrated. There are about 160 million non-transacting active Internet users in India with only 5 percent of online travelers from Tier-2 or Tier-3 cities. There is a significant (20 percent) difference between the booking rates of premium cohorts and mass cohorts, the latter being also dissatisfied with online channels (~33 percent satisfied) vs. premium cohorts (~42 percent). The second challenge is in penetrating existing users who exhibit a marked distrust in use of online channels to make bookings, especially around payment and pricing terms and booking experience compared with offline channels. Consequently, their online usage drops between the research (>86 percent online influence) and booking phases (~40 percent offline bookings).

How travel businesses need to adapt to the needs of online consumers

The report cites five major shifts that marketers need to make to market to the online travelers – First, alleviate consumer concerns by improving the booking and payment experience to build a trusted brand and increase adoption. Second, they need to address the negative customer perception issues by mass customization to drive higher share in the segment. They also need to utilize consumer technology to penetrate mass segments (standardize, enable sharing), reach non-transactors (build offline presence), and create new user access.  Moreover, they need to find innovative and frugal ways to package the experience to increase both adoption and retention.  Finally, they need to create a robust digital backend to adapt to customer needs across the purchase journey.

“The contribution of travel and tourism’s spend in India has reached developed market levels, from 6.7percent of GDP in 2013 to 9.4 percent in 2018. This growth, combined with a rapidly growing internet user base and adoption of online bookings will lead to $24 billion in incremental revenues through online channels by 2021. In order to benefit from this trend, businesses need to actively increase new user adoption and increase penetration in the existing user base across the purchase journey.” Joydeep Bhattacharya, partner Bain & Company said.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: amp, and, authentic, Bain, base, based, behavior, benefit, billion, book, booked, Booking, booking rates, bookings, brand, Breaking Travel News, budget, build, Business, business and leisure travel, business traveler, businesses, CAGR, challenge, challenges, channels, choices, CITES, cities, come, company, compared, concerns, conditions, consumers, consumption, continue, contribution, cost, cost of travel, country, create, customer, customers, decision, decisions, digital, director, display, dissatisfied, diving, domestic, drive, early, end, engagement, exhibit, existing, expectations, expected, experience, experiences, Family, find, first, flyer, flyers, food, frequent flyer, frequent flyers, friends, frugal, GDP, Google, Google India, Group, grow, Growing, Growth, high, higher, Hotels, impact, in, includes, increase, India, India travel, India Travel News, Indian, Indian travelers, Industry, influence, innovative, interest, International, Internet, issues, IT, journey, key, lack, launching, lead, Leisure, leisure travel, Let, lodging, loyalty, major, Make, Market, Marketing, mass, maximum, media, meeting, million, momentum, moving, nearly, need, needs, negative, network, New, News articles, Non, ongoing, online, online bookings, online travel, online video, only, opportunities, options, order, out, outlines, over, package, partner, past, payment, payments, People, percent, percent growth, perception, personal, planning, plans, platform, players, positive, potential, Preferred, premium, premium customers, presence, price, pricing, purchase, rates, recreation, relationships, report, research, revenues, role, s, said, Sales, scale, search, second, Segment, segments, Share, sharing, shopping, significant, social, social media, Source, spending, states, talking, TAP, Technology, terms, through, Tier, time, to, tour, tourism, Tourism Industry, transport, Transportation, Travel, travel and tourism, travel and tourism industry, travel bookings, travel businesses, Travel Destination News, travel plans, Traveler, travelers, Travelwire News, trend, trips, up, US, use, video, visiting, ways, websites, were, WHO, years

Diamond Live Concert Series honored by American Resort Development Association

April 17, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Diamond Resorts was recognized by the American Resort Development Association with one of the vacation ownership industry’s top awards for its groundbreaking Diamond Live Concert Series.

Mike Flaskey, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts, and Chris Brock, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, accepted the award during the annual ARDA World Awards Gala in Orlando, Fla.

“To say I am proud of our talented team members is an understatement,” said Mike Flaskey, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts. “Our team is consistently pushing the envelope and developing innovative ways to enhance vacation experiences for our members, owners and guests.”

“The Concert Series began several years ago as a little idea and our team has taken it very far, growing the platform into a full series of private concerts with some of country music’s top artists,” Flaskey added. “I am very grateful that our industry has recognized our team’s innovation.”

ARDA, the Washington D.C.‐based trade association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries, annually recognizes resorts and industry members at the ARDA World Convention & Expo in categories that include overall professional excellence, outstanding sales and marketing accomplishments, product design, advertising and staff.

Diamond Resorts has won awards each year, and was named finalists in 23 categories ahead of the 2019 event.

In addition to the ACE Innovator Award, Diamond took home 11 other awards:

•Sales Verification Loan Officer/Quality Assurance Officer – Annette Stultz
•Business Administration Manager: Finance & Accounting – Yash Dubal
•Training and Development Manager or Team – University of Excellence and OD Team
•Call Center Leader – Kayla Czapla
•Activities Program Team – Virginia Beach Activities Team
•Safety/Security Manager/Team – Edwin Brooks
•Resort Assistant Manager – Leonardo Olachea
•Newsletter – The Club Newsletter
•Multi Media Campaign – All Access Pass Sweepstakes
•Social Media Campaign – #DRIGolf Campaign
•Refurbishment: HOA – Liki Tiki Village Lobby

Attracting more than 1,700 participants from more than 35 countries, ARDA World offers companies prime exposure to vacation ownership industry professionals and provides quality networking opportunities and expert insight on the latest industry trends. Strengthen relationships with your current customers and seek out new opportunities to expand your business and increase your company’s visibility in the ARDA World Marketplace.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Press Release Tagged With: American Travel News, and, annual, artists, Assistant, association, assurance, attracting, award, Awards, based, beach, Breaking Travel News, Business, c, call center, campaign, center, chief, chief executive, chief executive officer, club, companies, company, concert, Concert Series, concerts, convention, Corporate News, countries, country, Cultural Travel News, current, customers, design, development, Development Manager, Diamond, Diamond Resorts, envelope, event, excellence, executive, expand, experiences, expert, Expo, far, finalists, Finance, free, full, gala, Global, groundbreaking, Growing, guests, home, honored, Hospitality News, in, increase, Industries, Industry, industry trends, innovation, innovative, innovator, insight, IT, LATEST, leader, live, Loan, lobby, manager, Marketing, marketplace, media, Media Campaign, members, Mike, music, named, networking, New, News articles, newsletter, offers, officer, opportunities, Orlando, out, outstanding, owners, ownership, participants, pass, platform, president, Prime, private, product, professional, professionals, program, proud, provides, quality, recognizes, refurbishment, relationships, representing, resort, resort development, Resort News, resorts, s, Safety, said, Sales, sales and marketing, Security, seek, senior, Senior Vice President, series, social, social media, staff, sweepstakes, team, to, top, tourism, Trade, training, Travel & Tourism Organizations News, Travelwire News, Trends, university, vacation, vacation experiences, vice, vice president, village, Virginia, Washington, ways, won, World, year, years

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Search




Recent Articles

  • Hotel Arts Barcelona Unveils Summer Experiences with Launch of Marina Coastal Club – the Ultimate Summer Destination Complete with Cocktails, Food and Live Music
  • Sandals Foundation Preserves Caribbean Crafts, Culture and Lives
  • Sandals Resorts Foundation Empowers Caribbean Youth
  • Minister Bartlett Welcomes Return of Reggae Sumfest 
  • Partners from Turin Win Experiences in Seychelles in an Italian Trade Event
  • Western Air Makes Inaugural Flight Between Nassau and Fort Lauderdale
  • A Sea of Flowers Meet Snow-Capped Mountains
  • The Bahamas Joins CARICOM Member States for Agri-investment Forum and Expo
  • IMEX in Frankfurt returns May 31 – June 2
  • Tourism Seychelles Tells its Travels Tales at the 2022 ATM in Dubai

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