Travel And Leisure | "Luxury Travel reaches new levels of responsibility at ILTM Asia 2012"

By: Ozgur Tore   
Category: Travel And Leisure
Source: http://www.execdigital.com

The increasing demand for a high-end travel product that restores confidence to responsible luxury travellers has prompted a surge of representation at the world’s most important event for luxury travel professionals in Asia.

Taking place in Shanghai, 4 – 7 June ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) Asia profiles the very best the world of luxury travel can offer for the benefit of luxury travel buyers from across the diverse Asia Pacific region.

Affluent travellers from across the Asia Pacific are seeking new horizons, new experiences and unforgettable memories. Increasingly, from Japan to Australia, China to India, Korea to Thailand, luxury travellers also seek a reassurance that their trips are responsible, caring for local communities and culture as well as wildlife conservation and the environment.  

Alison Gilmore, Exhibition Director of ILTM Asia commented, “Luxury suppliers invited to take part in ILTM Asia are committed to their natural environments, be they marine conservation programmes in Borneo or Cambodia, heritage resorts in the Australian outback, wildlife excursions in South Africa, exploration trips to the North Pole or local community projects in India or Thailand. Luxury travellers look to learn from and contribute to their leisure trips and ILTM Asia is delighted to present a range of the very best of environmentally responsible tourism for the benefit of agents from across the diverse Asia-Pacific region.”

Such high-end suppliers taking part in ILTM Asia 2012 include once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to voyage to the North Pole and the Russian Arctic with Poseidon Arctic Voyages. Working to ensure the continent and its wildlife are protected and not eroded by increased visitor activity, Poseidon also welcoming naturalists and scientists on board to conduct investigative research of this ever-changing Arctic land mass.

Located on a coral reef island off the coast of Borneo, Gayana Eco Resort is designed to indulge all the senses. Its overwater villas enhance the sounds of the sea below and each are positioned to capture the views of Mount Kinabalu on the horizon. Taking part in ILTM Asia 2012 for the first time, Gayana is the only property in the world with an on-site Marine Ecology Research Centre for guests to take part in marine ecology programmes such as re-introducing baby clams into the wild and restoring natural coral reefs.

Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas have pioneered luxury travel experiences that also benefit the environment and local communities for many years and ILTM Asia 2012 will profile their '365 days of good deeds' sustainability programme. From rescuing street elephants in Thailand, protecting marine turtles in Phuket, supporting local farmers in Indonesia or even coral rejuvenation in the Maldives, with at least one good deed taking place every day of 2012, the indigenous surroundings and experiences that Anantara's exotic resorts offer are a compelling reason for luxury travellers to want to help preserve them forever.

The compelling beauty of Australia attracts an ecologically sensitive traveller. Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in New South Wales boasts a carbon neutral certificate and is committed to actively protecting its surrounding habitat and indigenous wildlife species. Activities range from the established - horse riding, guided walks, fly- fishing, golf, regional food & wine tours - to the specialised: botany, bird watching and wildlife tours.

With a range of geographical locations designed to give Asia Pacific luxury travellers an insight into cultures, communities and environmentally sensitive properties across the world, discerning travel agents should visit www.iltm.net/asia to find out more.

 

Source: http://ftnnews.com/mice/16511-luxury-travel-reaches-new-levels-of-responsibility-at-iltm-asia-2012.html

Travel leisure | "Six cheapest summer vacation destinations"

By: Rick Seaney
Category: Travel leisure
Source: http://travel.usatoday.com

Is any destination cheap this year? 

Yes, but not in the conventional sense. Certainly not like some of the deals we saw in the summer of 2009 such as San Francisco to Honolulu for a round-trip total of $284. This year, your goal is to find the best of the not-so-hot deals.

That said, some destinations are cheaper than others and here are six of the less expensive spots:

•Boston

•Denver

•Florida (panhandle and southern beaches)

•Los Angeles area

•Orlando

•Washington, D.C.

What do these destinations have in common?  

A lot of competition - but somewhat less demand from business travelers (think New York and Chicago). Washington, D.C., makes my list because Reagan National is expected to see a lot more competition for leisure travel now that several discount carriers have applied for slots to that city-close airport including JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America. All hope to begin flying there later this summer - and don't forget about the competition from nearby Baltimore (BWI). As for Orlando, thank Mickey and Harry Potter (Disney World and Universal, respectively) for making this an automatic tourism-draw, one that several airlines compete fiercely over.

Flying to the Los Angeles area 

There are a bunch of Southern California airports that can be cheap to fly to, depending on your departure city. As a huge hub, Los Angeles International (LAX) will have relatively reasonable fares - often the cheapest - but some of the best deals we've seen recently are in-and-out of Long Beach (LGB) which is just south of LAX and a focus city for discounter JetBlue. We recently saw JetBlue flights in July from San Francisco to Long Beach for just $67 each-way. And don't forget the looming presence of Southwest Airlines at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank (BUR). John Wayne Airport in Orange County (SNA), the nearest airport to Disneyland, offers legacy carrier flights plus Frontier, Canada's WestJet and, starting in June, AirTran.

Flying to the Florida panhandle region 

The upper northwestern part of the state has about 200 miles of beaches - a lot of them covered in picture-perfect white sand - surrounded by hotels to fit any budget. Fly into Pensacola (PNS) which is served by the legacy carriers and AirTran or Northwest Florida Beaches International (ECP), a fairly new facility called a 'relocation' of the old Panama City Airport manned by Delta and Southwest.

Anything else I should know? 

I'll say it again: Don't wait until the last minute to buy airfare this year! You should be shopping early - within three months of departure. We do not expect to see last-minute steals. Could some crop up? Anything's possible - but take that gamble only if you're okay with sitting at home in case those last-minute bargains do not materialize.

Source: http://travel.usatoday.com/experts/seaney/story/2012-04-17/Airfare-Expert-Six-cheapest-summer-vacation-destinations/54320258/1

Travel leisure | "China airport tarmac protests prompt service plea"

By: Press Release
Category: Travel leisure
Source: http://www.timescolonist.com


 Chinese regulators have urged better service in the rapidly growing aviation industry following incidents in which angry passengers stormed onto the tarmac at airports, state media said Monday.Last week, 28 passengers travelling on Shenzhen Airlines who were angry about an overnight delay in Shanghai rushed onto the tarmac, disrupting the arrival of an incoming Emirates flight, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Two days later, several Hainan Airlines passengers at the international airport serving the southern city of Guangzhou took to the tarmac in anger over a weather-related delay, it said.
Police had to be called in to bring them back to the Guangzhou terminal, the report added.
Officials have launched probes into the "illegal" incidents, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has urged the industry to improve service to avoid routine delays escalating into such incidents, the Global Times newspaper said.
The CAAC was not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP.
China’s domestic aviation market has grown exponentially in recent years as rising incomes have put leisure travel in reach for millions.
But flights are frequently delayed as major airports run at almost full capacity, causing exasperation among passengers and leading to sometimes violent brawls.
CAAC chief Li Jiaxiang was quoted by state media in March as saying airlines themselves were responsible for 40 percent of delays by arranging schedules too tightly.

Source: http://www.timescolonist.com/travel/China+airport+tarmac+protests+prompt+service+plea/6465395/story.html

Travel News | "Fewer trips, more spent"

By: Michael McCormick
Category: Travel News
source: http://www.upi.com

The U.S. business traveler is not getting around quite as often as he or she used to, a Global Business Travel Association study indicates.The study said business travelers are traveling less frequently, which has forced them to stay longer on business trips to get more work done.

The group reported Monday that business trips have declined 22.7 percent from 2000 to 2011, but spending on business trips has increased 3.3 percent.In hard numbers, U.S. business travelers spent $242.9 billion on more than 576 million business trips in 2000. By 2011, that became $251 billion spent on 445 million trips.The average amount spent on a trip rose by 33.6 percent, climbing from $422 to $564 during the decade.

"This trend makes sense. We're seeing road warriors taking fewer trips but making the most of them, making more stops and spending more on the road," Michael McCormick, BTA's executive director, said in a statement.

source: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2012/04/16/Business-travel-Fewer-trips-more-spent/UPI-28451334617173/

Event News | "Indiana Dunes State Park Memories Relived at Historical Society Event"

By: Press Release

Source: http://www.chestertontribune.com

Category: Hotels Event News

 Jim Ton wore his uniform from when he worked at the Indiana Dunes State Park when he joined Mark McKibbon and Brad Baumgardner to reminisce about the park for the Duneland Historical Society on Thursday, March 15 at the Library Service Center.

Ton worked summers from 1968 until 1973 at jobs which included gate attendant, park patrolman and campground manager. McKibbon first worked at IDSP as a seasonal naturalist and lived in the back of the closed grocery store. He was later hired as the youngest-ever assistant property manager and after eight years at Clifty Falls State Park became the property manager of the IDSP from 1985 until 1989. Baumgardner is the current Park Naturalist.

The park was about forty years old when Ton worked there and there have been about forty years since. He spoke of many changes taking place, the biggest being the removal of politics from the parks. Prior to that employees including the superintendent were appointed by the party in power.

During his time as a gate attendant admissions went from $1.00 per car to $1.25. Patrolmen carried flashlights and firearms and had arrest powers, but no radios, phones or bulletproof vests. They had to check the parking lots each night at 11 p.m. and often had to break up beer parties on the beach. An unsolved case concerned three girls whose car was found but no clues as to their disappearance.

The Dunes Park Patrol was replaced in 1972 by conservation officers and Ton became campground manager. He remembers many buildings in the park being torn down with some of the work done by Chesterton High School football players.

Uniforms for park employees were changed in 1969 to avoid confusion with uniforms worn by Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore rangers. Many employees lived in the park and lifeguards lived in the pavilion penthouses.

Baumgardner showed pictures including a park map from 1932, an early photo of a pageant in the dunes which took place before the park became a reality, people such as Governor Jackson for whom Mount Jackson is named, the pavilion and hotel. One picture showed the elegant dining room in the pavilion where guests at the hotel were served meals.

The Dunes Arcade Hotel built in 1931 was designed by John Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, and had 88 rooms. Bathrooms were at the ends of the halls and rooms were small. The arcade was on the first floor. It was torn down in 1971.

During McKibbon’s tenure as property manager the Dune Park South Shore Station opened, the park hired its first full-time naturalist, a bird tower was constructed, a new camp store was built and inmates from Westville worked in the park. He said that ended soon after one of the inmates escaped only to be captured in Fort Wayne.

He reported a good relationship with the National Lakeshore.

Gang fights in the park led to an alcohol ban and the park was closed when the parking lots filled up. In earlier years cars were often parked along the road outside the park as far back as U.S. 12.

The speakers and members of the audience recalled the Tremont entrance to the park and the nearby Duneside Inn, Prairie Club Beach House, Wilson Shelter built by the Wilson Meat Company as a retreat for employees, the Jens Jensen Fountain, the large boulder at the entrance from Turkey Run State Park which has been moved twice, work done by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the depression and the Governor’s Cottage.

Ton and Baumgardner are working on locating the footprints of the cottages and other buildings from the past.

Duneland Historical Society will next meet April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Library Service Center when the program will be presented by author Harry Mark Petrakis.

source: http://www.chestertontribune.com/Local%20History/320123%20indiana_dunes_state_park_memorie.htm

Hotels Patent News | "The UK’s oldest tour operator is still stuck in the past"

By: David Crow
Source: http://www.cityam.com
Category: Hotels Patent News



DISASTER has been averted. Just a few months ago, many thought that Thomas Cook was not long for this world. It is clear the firm will live to fight another day. The imminent sale of its Indian business, which is expected to net £130m, along with a stabilisation in trading, means its debt repayments no longer seem so onerous.
As far as the good news goes, that’s about it. Thomas Cook holds the title of Britain’s oldest tour operator – and it is hopelessly stuck in the past. It specialises in the kind of travel that is dying out, what the Association of British Travel Agents describes as “bucket and spade in Spain-type holidays”.
Yesterday, management were keen to trumpet a 14 per cent rise in bookings at its specialist and independent division, which sells individual components like flights and hotel rooms rather than package holidays. Anyone who has observed the huge success of Expedia or lastminute.com in recent years will know that this is the way the travel sector has been going for some time.
Nobody seems to have told Thomas Cook. Summer bookings might be up, but sales in this division accounted for just a quarter of revenue last year. The firm is still far too reliant on bland package holidays to Costa Del Somewhere, which generated three quarters of revenue and yet hardly a single penny of underlying profit in 2011.
The digital revolution also seems to have passed it by. According to Ipsos Mori, 68 per cent of Britons now book their holidays on the internet, yet online bookings accounted for just 25 per cent of Thomas Cook’s sales in 2011. That puts it well behind its closest rival Tui Travel, which takes around 40 per cent of its bookings in this way.
Instead of investing in a better website, former chief executive Manny Fontenla Novoa brokered an ill-judged merger with Co-operative Travel last year, landing the firm with 1,200 old-fashioned shops.
Whoever ends up occupying the empty chief executive’s office has an awful lot of work to do.


source: http://www.cityam.com/latest-news/bottom-line/the-uk-s-oldest-tour-operator-still-stuck-the-past

Plainfield Indiana Hotels | Powered by Youtube Video

By: Press release
Category: Plainfield Indiana Hotels

 The Homewood Suites by Hilton® Indianapolis-Airport/Plainfield hotel is the ideal place to stay for business travelers, leisure guests or anyone looking for temporary housing in the Indianapolis Metropolitan area. Conveniently located just four miles from the Indianapolis International Airport, and 15 minutes away from the vibrant downtown, our prime location and abundant amenities will make you feel so comfortable, you may never want to leave!

Source: youtube.com