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2019 Anguilla Cup upgraded to the Caribbean’s only ITF Grade 3 Tournament

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The Anguilla Tourist Board is pleased to announce that the fourth annual Anguilla Cup, an exhilarating week of outstanding tennis, will once again take place at the beautiful Anguilla Tennis Academy (ATA) from November 4 – 9, 2019. Sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Anguilla National Tennis Association, (ANTA), and the Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC), this exciting tournament is part of the Caribbean Cup Tennis Series, organized by Sports Travel Experts, and hosted by the Anguilla Tourist Board, the Department of Sports and the Social Security Board.

The ITF has upgraded this year’s tournament to a Grade 3 event, the first and only event of its kind in the Caribbean.  The decision was made based on the recommendation of the ITF Supervisor, who gave a glowing report on the outstanding facilities and smooth organization of the 2018 event.

The upgrade will enable the tournament to attract more participants, playing at a higher level, for a bigger and more prestigious event. Anguilla has also been designated as the first Caribbean Cup Training Center for camps, and Sports Travel Experts will begin coordinating world-class coaches to train players in the region at the Anguilla Tennis Academy.

“We made a commitment to The Anguilla Cup as we believe that it delivers on all our strategic objectives — growing our visitor arrivals, expanding our tourism product, dispersing our tourism dollars and empowering our local athletic communities,” said the Hon. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism. “We congratulate all those involved with staging the event, and in particular the hard-working team at the ATA, as your combined efforts have resulted in our event being upgrading to a Grade 3 Tournament,” he concluded.

This year’s Anguilla Cup is comprised of the Junior Under 14 and Under 18 ITF championships from November 4 – 9; Adult championships from November 6 – 9; a world-class exhibition match with two leading tennis pros; and a free tennis clinic with the pros for young Anguillian enthusiasts. As in previous years, the possibility of a wild card entry into the professional women’s year-end Master Final Tournament in Curacao at the end of November is an added incentive to attract more and better U-18 women players to the event.

The official tournament hotels are the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa and the Anguilla Great House, located just a few kilometers from the Anguilla Tennis Academy in Blowing Point. Special packages are available for both players and spectators, with additional options available at select properties on island.

The tournament week is the result of a partnership between the Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB), tournament management Sports Travel Experts, the Anguilla National Tennis Association, (ANTA), the Anguilla Tennis Academy (ATA), the Ministry of Tourism’s Department of Sports and the Social Security Board. 

The Caribbean Cup circuit currently includes Anguilla, Jamaica, Cayman, Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda, the US Virgin Islands, Curacao and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Anguilla will take her turn as the Caribbean’s tennis capital when she welcomes players, coaches and their families from around the globe, to participate in the 2019 Anguilla Cup. 

Please visit the tournament website – anguillacup.com – for registration information and how you can come out and experience a week of spectacular beaches and world-class tennis. For information on Anguilla, please visit the official website of the Anguilla Tourist Board; follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/AnguillaOfficial; Instagram: @Anguilla_Tourism; Twitter: @Anguilla_Trsm, Hashtag: #MyAnguilla.

About Anguilla

Tucked away in the northern Caribbean, Anguilla is a shy beauty with a warm smile. A slender length of coral and limestone fringed with green, the island is ringed with 33 beaches, considered by savvy travelers and top travel magazines, to be the most beautiful in the world.

Anguilla lies just off the beaten path, so it has retained a charming character and appeal. Yet because it can be conveniently reached from two major gateways: Puerto Rico and St. Martin, and by private air, it’s a hop and a skip away.

Romance? Barefoot elegance? Unfussy chic? And untrammeled bliss?   Anguilla is Beyond Extraordinary.

About the Anguilla Cup

The Anguilla Cup is a part of the Caribbean Cup Tennis Series, created by Karl Hale – CEO of Sports Travel Experts and Tournament Director of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.  The event is sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Anguilla National Tennis Association (ANTA), and the Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC), sponsored by the Anguilla Tourist Board, and hosted at the Anguilla Tennis Academy, with support provided by Anguilla’s Department of Sports in the Ministry of Tourism and the Social Security Board.

About the Caribbean Cup Tennis Series

The CCTS features 10 events in 9 countries throughout the Caribbean. The 2019 Circuit will feature events in Antigua, Anguilla, Barbados, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Jamaica, the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Vincent. Each event is centered on Local Youth Development, Caribbean Travel and Charity, and each tournament offers participants a chance to challenge top ranked players from around the globe.

Media Contact:

Shellya Rogers-Webster

Manager, Corporate Affairs

Anguilla Tourist Board

[email protected]

Russia to use Fan-IDs (again) as visas for 2020 UEFA Euro Cup visitors

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Upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, have passed on Monday a bill allowing foreign tourists with Fan-IDs to travel to Russia without entry visas for matches of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup.

Last week, the bill was passed in the third and final reading by lawmakers from the State Duma, the parliament’s lower house, and following today’s approval by the senators, it must be signed into law by the Russian president.

“Within the period, which begins 14 days prior to the first match of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup in Saint Petersburg and ends on the day of the last match [in St. Petersburg], the entrance to Russia for foreign citizens and stateless persons, who come to Russia to watch 2020 UEFA Euro Cup matches, will not require issuance of visas based on identification documents,” according to the explanatory note.

Addressing a government’s session in mid-March, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the country planned “to employ the same mechanism we used in the past regarding the issuance and operational rules of Fan-IDs.”

Russia came up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with an innovation, which was the so-called Fan-ID and was required for all ticketholders. This innovation was successfully tested during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia and earned high marks from the world’s governing football body of FIFA.

The Fan-ID played an important security role during the major football tournament in Russia as it granted admittance to the stadiums and also served as visa for foreign visitors to enter the country.

A Fan-ID holder was allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of the global football tournament. Fan-IDs were obligatory, in addition to purchased tickets, in order to attend matches of the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia.

2020 UEFA Euro Cup

The matches of the 2020 Euro Cup will be held at stadiums in 12 different cities across Europe, namely in London (England), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), Baku (Azerbaijan), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Dublin (Ireland), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg was granted the right to host three group stage matches and one of the quarterfinals of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup.

The decision to hold the 2020 Euro Cup, which will be celebrating its 60th anniversary that year, in various European countries instead of in one or two hosting countries was made at the UEFA Executive Committee’s meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 6, 2012.

A total of 24 national football teams will be playing in the final tournament of the 2020 Euro Cup. All 55 UEFA national member teams, including 12 teams from the hosting countries, will have to play in the qualifying matches to vie for the berth in the final 24-team lineup of the quadrennial European football championship.

It is possible that some of the national teams from the hosting countries of the 2020 Euro Cup will not be playing on home soil in case they fail to clear the qualifying stage.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Antigua and Barbuda launch new global summer campaign: #WhatCoolLooksLike

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The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority has unveiled its new global summer campaign, #WhatCoolLooksLike, which is expected to convey the trendiness of the destination and its appeal as the ideal summer vacation spot for visitors looking for enjoyable experiences. The campaign draws on what makes the country special and seeks to depict in a creative and engaging way the “coolness” of the destination.

Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Tourism & Investment, The Honorable Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez has high praises for the creative team, adding that the new campaign is timely and reinforces the messages the islands have been promoting in recent years. “Antigua and Barbuda’s weather during the summer is so much cooler than in other regions, our beaches are serene, and while there are numerous events to enjoy, the pace remains unrushed. The #WhatCoolLooksLike summer campaign brings to life what we have been saying for years, and we thank the team for helping us convey this message in a vivid and imaginative way to potential visitors across the globe. The campaign is being executed in all our major source markets with consumers being enticed to visit Antigua and Barbuda to take advantage of the cool summer savings on offer, as well as the destination’s cool climate,” notes Fernandez.

The multi-faceted summer campaign includes a combination of traditional and digital media and will utilize a variety of tactical trade and consumer activations to ensure the success of the initiative.

The #WhatCoolLooksLike Summer Campaign offers consumers major savings on their vacation to Antigua and Barbuda for travel during the periods April-October 2019.  The savings will be available at participating tour operators, airlines and hotels.

A key element of the campaign is the #WhatCoolLooksLlike Ambassador Program, which comprises a carefully curated selection of local influencers who the Authority believes encompass what “cool” looks like. These Ambassadors have been commissioned to utilize their social media presence and their country, Antigua and Barbuda as their backdrop during the six-month run of the campaign, to share the wealth of awe-inspiring experiences provided in the twin-island state.

Another initiative is the Global Sweepstakes launched today which runs through May 21. Entrants will be asked to opt-in by location in order to upload a video or photo that depicts what cool looks like. At the end of the two-month contest, two random winners will be chosen: One from our overseas source markets will win a complimentary 4-day/3-night stay at the Verandah Resort and Spa in Antigua; while one local will win a 2-night, 3-day stay at the Harbour Island Residences in Jolly Harbour. The local element of this campaign was so designed to allow for local participation and engagement, creating a platform where local Antiguans and Barbudans become advocates for the destination.

The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Tourism and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority will host a variety of events, including The Antigua Sailing Week, The Optimist World Championships, The Antigua and Barbuda Sportfishing Tournament, Antigua and Barbuda Restaurant Week and Antigua’s Carnival: The Caribbean’s Greatest Summer Festival, providing additional enticements for visitors to travel this summer.

Antigua (pronounced An-tee’ga) and Barbuda (Bar-byew’da) is located in the heart of the Caribbean Sea. Voted the World Travel Awards  Caribbean’s Most Romantic Destination, the twin-island paradise offers visitors two uniquely distinct experiences, ideal temperatures year-round, a rich history, vibrant culture, exhilarating excursions, award-winning resorts, mouth-watering cuisine and 365 stunning pink and white-sand beaches – one for every day of the year. The largest of the Leeward Islands, Antigua comprises 108-square miles with rich history and spectacular topography that provides a variety of popular sightseeing opportunities. Nelson’s Dockyard, the only remaining example of a Georgian fort a listed UNESCO World Heritage site, is perhaps the most renowned landmark. Antigua’s tourism events calendar includes the prestigious Antigua Sailing Week, Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, and the annual Antigua Carnival; known as the Caribbean’s Greatest Summer Festival. Barbuda, Antigua’s smaller sister island, is the ultimate celebrity hideaway. The island lies 27 miles north-east of Antigua and is just a 15-minute plane ride away. Barbuda is known for its untouched 17 mile stretch of pink sand beach and as the home of the largest Frigate Bird Sanctuary in the Western Hemisphere.  Find information on Antigua & Barbuda at visitantiguabarbuda.com and follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

For information on our #WhatCoolLooksLlike Ambassadors, go to visitantiguabarbuda.com.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Hawaii Tourism: Los Angeles Rams to play Dallas Cowboys at Aloha Stadium

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The Los Angeles Rams will host the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 4PM HST at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, it was officially announced today. Tickets are now available on TheRams.com/Hawaii and can be purchased on-site at Aloha Stadium.

The preseason matchup will be the first time the NFL has played an exhibition game at Aloha Stadium on Oahu since 1976. Before moving to Orlando in 2016, Aloha Stadium served as the host site for the Pro Bowl every year with two exceptions since 1979.

Through the support and partnership of Hawaii’s tourism industry, the Rams will provide various community engagement opportunities for youth in the islands. In advance of the preseason matchup, Rams players and staff will host an 11-on-11 Tournament & Skills Competition that will feature 16 Hawaii high school football teams. The event will include a character education session and will aim to build camaraderie and promote the game of football in Hawaii. During the week leading up to the game in August, Rams cheerleaders and mascot, Rampage, will visit local schools to host PLAY 60 events and create lifelong memories while encouraging youth to be active for the recommended 60 minutes every day.

In addition, as part of the Rams’ year-round military appreciation efforts, the team will bring its PLAY 60 Military Base Tour to the islands to support the military community and to honor, empower, and connect with Hawaii-based service members, veterans and their families.

In November 2018, the Rams began partnering with Hawaii’s tourism industry, which included a special Hawaii-themed presenting sponsorship of the Rams-Seahawks game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Travel News | eTurboNews