Category: Top Three Stories

In 2018, the Philadelphia region saw record-breaking visitation and economic impact: The area welcomed 45 million visitors from the U.S., 88 per cent of which visited for a leisure purpose. And 2018 marks the ninth consecutive year of record visitation to Philadelphia, which means more and more travelers are making Philly their destination of choice every year — visiting attractions, staying in hotels, dining at restaurants, shopping in boutiques and so much more. In 2018, 45 million people visited Philadelphia from the U.S. — the ninth consecutive year of record visitation. All of this visitation delivers major economic impact to ... Read more

Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is deepening its foothold in the Indian market with the appointment of Seema Kadam as it’s first-ever Regional Director, India. In 2018, Los Angeles welcomed 130,000 visitors from India, an increase of 5.1% making India the third-highest year-over-year international growth market for Los Angeles. In her role, Kadam will develop and support air service for Los Angeles International Airport, spearhead strategic travel trade engagement including the implementation of a robust training program, using the L.A. Insider Program; and attend key industry trade shows in the region. “We established a travel trade presence in India ... Read more

With an experience of over 8 years in the wellness industry, Jyoti Rathore has joined Quan Spa, the award-winning Spa facility at JW Marriott Chandigarh, as its Spa Manager. Having an extensive experience in Spa Operations and Business and Customer Service Management, her primary responsibilities include managing Spa operations and budgets, enhancing Spa sales, Spa revenue management strategy, executing marketing as well as ensuring and delivering exceptional customer service. Prior to joining JW Marriott Chandigarh, Jyoti was working as the Manager – Cedar Spa by L’Occitane & Warren Tricomi Salon at JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, Mussoorie ... Read more

The Government has opened 137 mountain peaks for foreigners desirous of obtaining Mountaineering Visa (‘MX’) for mountaineering and trekking. These peaks are located in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. While the highest number of 51 peaks have been opened to foreigners in Uttarakhand, 15 peaks of Jammu and Kashmir have also been included in the list. The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), Prahlad Singh Patelhas expressed his gratitude to the Home Minister, Amit Shah for acceding to the request of Tourism Ministry to open up more peaks to foreigners. It is ... Read more

AKARYN Hotel Group, the Thailand based luxury boutique resort specialist, has appointed Demeiter Vaubell as Group Director of Sales and Marketing. A seasoned international hotelier with more than 25 years of experience, the Australian national, Demeiter, has extensive experience driving international sales, partnership marketing and managing customer relations across Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Having completed Hospitality Management & Tourism studies at both the College of Tourism & Hospitality (QLD) and Victoria University in Australia, Demeiter started her hospitality career in Hong Kong where she was part of a successful team that ... Read more

World Architecture Travel (WAT) a global network for guided architectural tours brings to you a unique tour to the multicultural and cosmopolitan city of Auckland, New Zealand. A self-driven WAT Connect intends to take participants on a quality holiday, traversing through the Glaciers of New Zealand, The Hobitton Movie set, Whakarewarewa and transcending through the mouth of River Hokitika. From soaring high above the city of Auckland on a paraglide to riding on a ferry between the North and South Island, WAT aspires to give the best experiences by encompassing the best locations in New Zealand making the trip a ... Read more

Cinnamon’s Bring A Friend Home (BAFH) introduces an exclusive initiative to spearhead tourism in Sri Lanka and also to overcome challenges faced by the tourism industry. BAFH encourages fellow Sri Lankans living in the island nation and overseas as well as expats living in Sri Lanka to nominate foreign friends to visit the island through an array of attractive packages. The key objectives of this campaign are to communicate a sense of urgency to visit Sri Lanka and create user-generated content to spread the message that Sri Lanka is safe to visit. The campaign is developed to generate much needed ... Read more

After eight months of renovation work, Dan Hotels is re-launching Dan Caesarea under a unique concept. The iconic Dan Caesarea Hotel, established in the 1960s by Baron Rothschild, has now become an updated innovative resort at an investment of NIS 80 million. The entire complex, comprising of 116 guestrooms and suites; lobby; dining room; children’s Danyland club and all the public areas are renovated and upgraded and completely transformed. In addition, the property’s 62 verdant dunams have been newly landscaped. Salon Bocca replaces the lobby area, offering delicious cocktails prepared especially for the resort by the Suramare group, (an exclusive ... Read more

Club Med, the pioneer of premium all-inclusive holidays, announced its inaugural eco-music festival Green Beats, along with a slew of conscious activities across its APAC resorts for the year. Aiming to provide transformative holiday experiences that will leave guests inspired with new perspectives, guests can come together to explore new conscious habits through hands-on workshops organised by local eco organisations and celebrate the beauty of nature with stellar performances by international celebrities from Asia. “At Club Med, we are always looking to push the boundaries of travel, aiming to turn a getaway into a transformative experience,” Xavier Desaulles, Chief Executive ... Read more

Jellyfish Water Sports attempts to bring together people who love water and water sports to spread awareness about conserving water bodies through different kinds of paddling activities acting as a springboard for the cause. ‘Chaliyar River Paddle’ is the 6th edition of this annual event by Jellyfish Water Sports. The three-day paddling event held from September 20th to September 22nd, 2019 targets water sports enthusiasts, nature lovers, tourists, children and people from all walks of life. Promoting water sports like kayaking, SUPing, and canoeing will help build the connection, turning more and more youngsters and tourists into evangelists of clean ... Read more

The 12th edition of Conventions India Conclave, a premier international meet on MICE tourism, will be hosted at Grand Hyatt Bolgatty in Kochi from August 29-31, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala. Organised by India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism to promote the country as a global hub of conventions and exhibitions, the event will see convergence of major players of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and connected stakeholders from around the world for transacting businesses. The theme of the conclave ... Read more

Travel Money, with YES BANK, has launched Forex Card on Visa network. “YES BANK is pleased to partner with FCM Travel to provide highly secure digital payment solutions coupled with a completely seamless experience to customers while travelling abroad. Such partnerships are an extension of YES BANK’s A.R.T. (alliances and relationships driven by technology) philosophy and puts us firmly on the track to be the cutting-edge digital bank in India. As a Bank, we always focus on future-ready concepts and strategies and be ahead of the curve in implementing new age banking solutions for the ease of our customers,” said ... Read more

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, who is in Sao Paulo, Brazil to attend the Ministerial meetings of BRICS and BASIC countries, said that with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has renewed his appeal to the people, in his Independence Day speech, to make India free of one time use plastics. “In response to Prime Minister’s call on India’s 73rd Independence day, to make India free of single use plastics, a massive public campaign will be launched engaging all stakeholders. In this regard a series of meetings will be held with all ... Read more

Visit Orlando President and CEO George Aguel announced that industry veteran Michael D Waterman has been appointed Chief Sales Officer for Visit Orlando. Waterman will oversee the travel industry and convention sales teams for the official tourism association of the most visited destination in the United States, reporting directly to Aguel. With almost 30 years of experience in hospitality sales and marketing, Waterman’s background includes a 24-year tenure in multiple sales and marketing leadership roles at Marriott International and, most recently, as the President and CEO of Visit Houston. His industry service includes the boards of the U.S. Travel Association ... Read more

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, posted Africa’s highest average daily rate (ADR), according to the most recent 12-month data from STR. The market will play host to the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) on 23-25 September at the Sheraton Addis. From July 2018 through June 2019, Addis Ababa registered an absolute ADR of US$163.79 when measured in constant currency, which removes the effects of inflation. That figure was a 1.1% increase year over year. The next closest STR-defined markets in Africa were Accra Area, Ghana (US$160.34) and Lagos Area, Nigeria (US$132.51). “Addis Ababa continues to maintain high ADR levels when compared internationally,” ... Read more