PRTravelwire iReport

Silver Airways Inc., a Florida-based operator of turboprop planes, said it put its planned Cuba flights on sale last weekend hoping to be the first airline to begin selling scheduled flights to the island nation in more than 50 years. It intends to operate its first flight Sept. 1.

American Airlines Group Inc. said it put tickets on sale earlier this week and plans to start flying Sept. 7 to two Cuban airports.

Last week, the Transportation Department awarded rights to six U.S. carriers to serve secondary Cuban airports. But it said it would wait until later this summer to apportion airline requests for flights to Havana, because it received three times more requests than the 20 daily flights that are available.

By NAN Travel Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 17, 2016: A new study shows that there is one Caribbean country more than any other that U.S. travelers wants to vacation on this year.

MMGY Global’s 2016 Portrait of American Travelers annual study recently released, say a whopping 26 percent of nearly 3,000 active leisure travelers with an annual household income of at least $50,000 online surveyed during February 2016, say they plan to vacation in the Caribbean island of The Bahamas this year.

                             2016 African Diaspora World Tourism Awards & Travel ExpoThe African Diaspora World Tourism (ADWT) Awards and Travel Expo, will once again take place on AUGUST 26-28TH, 2016 in Atlanta, Ga. (USA) at the Westin Atlanta Airport (4736 Best Road).  After the success of the inaugural awards that was attended by people from around the world, the prestigious ADWT-Awards event will again be presented by African Diaspora Tourism with publisher Kitty J. Pope as the founder/director and executive producer of the historical event.

Co-presenter is the AD King Foundation and its Co-Founder/CEO Dr. Babs Onabanjo who serves as ADWT-Awards producer. Also Co-presenter and producer of this year’s awards event is socio-economic developer Rev. Dr. Eugene Franklin, founder/president and CEO of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative. Lou D’Amore, founder/CEO of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is also partnering to help with the 2016 ADWT-Awards and Travel Expo.

Like the inaugural awards event, the 2016 week-end event will include the awards gala, cultural entertainment, a Hall of Fame Luncheon and the Travel Expo. In addition, this year’s ADWT-Awards event will feature two new components where event attendees can learn more about black cultural heritage tourism and also African culture.

Negril, Jamaica, W.I. (Tuesday, May 24, 2016). The one-day Spiritual Wellness workshop and practicum featuring keynotes Dr Glenville Ashby, Journalist & President of Global Interfaith Council, as well as, Dr Tony Vendryes, a certified medical doctor of complementary & alternative medicine, with expertise in hypnotherapy and yoga, has been postponed for 2017.

The public response for this conference has been pouring in from the Caribbean and North America. Spiritual wellness is the underpinning essence of who we are and encompasses our emotional, social, physical, mental and sexual health. The attention to this sub-sector of wellness is well understood, just stop and observe the pace at which we live our lives, the deadline-driven conditions under which we work. Is it any wonder that we are pushed to find outlets for our stress and to develop healthy lifestyle behaviours?

Dr Ashby, a prolific writer, is the author of Anam Cara: “Your Soul Friend and Bridge to Enlightenment & Creativity” offers readers a path “to travel back to the source and experience its magic in order to live authentically.” Moving from the philosphical and self-help venues, Dr Vendryes strongly promotes prevention through his weekly radio programme and newspaper column. His current book is entitled “An Ounce of Prevention Mainly for Men”.

                                                                                  Airline Black Box

Negril, Jamaica (May 22, 2016). An airline Black Box contains the DNA of a flight. During an airline catastrophe retrieving the Black Box ASAP is priority in order to reconstruct what took place.

I am suggesting that all future Black Boxes should be built with a casing that can only float, thereby making it easy to be located. The Black Box answers the questions of what-who- why-when & where relating to the accident.

Moms think they know best.And, you know what? We agree.

Source: Hotel News Resource

In addition to reminding us to clean our rooms, comb our hair, and be nice to our teachers, Moms love to shower us with sage advice and thoughtful quips to get us through any situation. And, it turns out that their advice is directly relevant to our work as hotel marketers as well.

First there were pillow menus, or maybe those came later, I can't be certain.

Then, someone thought of leaving some minty chocolates on those pillows. No sooner that was done and you would come back to the room at 6pm to find your bed neatly tucked in. Two slippers sit symmetrically positioned by the bedside, ready for you to strut your stuff in front of the 400 channel TV as you wait for that $40 salad to arrive . OK, there's no toothbrush within a mile of the bathroom, but those high-end brand conditioners sure take the frizz out of my hair, so dental hygiene be damned. That's just the beginning. Breakfast offers a decadent spread of food, with enough variety to have made an ancient Roman food orgy look bland. The orange juice is so smooth, it was probably squeezed by the delicate fingers of a concert pianist. Don't get me started on the carefully orchestrated and smile-infused table service. My serviette (because at this level it's not a napkin, please) gently draped over my lap, coffee ground just minutes ago and served in designer porcelain, only the spoonfeeding is lacking, lest I regress into a toddler I suppose. 

I love it. See, that is luxury. All of it.

By Diana McIntyre-Pike As a tribute to the pioneering work of Diana McIntyre-Pike in Community Tourism, the IIPT Caribbean and Countrystyle Community Tourism Network/Villages as Businesses (CCTN/VAB) have created an Academy for Community Tourism.  The Academy honours its President/Founder Diana McIntyre-Pike who is also President of the first chapter of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) outside the USA and Co-coordinator of the IIPT International Community Tourism Network.

The purpose of the Academy of Community Tourism (ACT) is to support CCTN/VAB's mission to lift up and energize communities through participation in tourism and contribute to peace and harmony among the peoples of the world.  The Academy is thus a core tool for implementing the philosophy of Community Tourism, empowering individuals through tourism and tourism-related skills and entrepreneurship and growing small and medium enterprises, the lifeblood of every economy.

In creating the Academy, the IIPT Caribbean and CountryStyle/Villages as Businesses have partnered with Etalon Global Solutions (EGS), an approved Pearson EDEXCEL Training and Certification Centre founded by Dr. Carolyn Hayle, former Executive Director of Jamaica’s National Training Agency.

(Flight Centre Award) NEW YORK, NY; April 7, 2016: Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (3rd right), was presented with a Telly Award by Brennan Quesnele, Flight Centre USA Inc’s  Operations Director eCommerce (3rd left), during a recent meeting at Flight Centre. The Telly Awards honour the finest film and video productions, web and TV commercials and was awarded to GOGO Vacations for their online video “Paradise Found – Jamaica”. The video featured Carey Dennis, member of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and Jamaica’s top attractions including the Rose Hall Great House, Green Grotto Caves, Martha Brae, Scotchies, Chukka Horseback Ride N’ Swim, Dolphin Cove. Minister Bartlett, who is visiting New York City to meet with strategic tourism partners to discuss his plans to drive new markets and forge new partnerships to grow Jamaica’s tourism, is accompanied by (from left) Christopher Dobson, JTB’s Business Development Manager; Donnie Dawson, Deputy Director of Tourism at JTB; Paul Pennicook, Director of Tourism; and Francine Carter Henry, JTB’s Tour Operators and Airlines Manager.

ContactL Alyssa Taffe Public Relations Officer Ministry of Tourism 64 Knutsford Boulevard Kingston 5 Tel: 920-4926-30, ext: 5989

DALLAS, TX - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is pleased to announce the Winners of the 2016 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The Awards, which were presented at a special ceremony during the 16th WTTC Global Summit in Dallas, Texas, USA showcase business leadership in sustainable tourism, celebrating ground breaking and inspiring initiatives across five categories.

The 2016 Winners are: Community Award: Expediciones Sierra Norte, Mexico Destination Award: Parkstad Limburg, Netherlands Environment Award: The Botswana Rhino Conservation Project by Wilderness Safaris, Botswana Innovation Award: Carmacal Carbon Calculator by ANVR - The Netherlands Travel Trade Association, Netherlands People Award: Youth Career Initiative, United Kingdom & worldwide Each year a group of independent judges from the private sector, academic institutions, non-profit organisations and government come together to select the Finalists and Winners of the Awards. The three-stage judging process is extremely rigorous and includes thorough on-site evaluations of all finalists.

This year it involved 36 judges and over 60 days of work in the field. David Scowsill, President and CEO, WTTC, says: “The 2016 winners of the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are truly inspirational examples of tourism that has a long term vision. In a world of shrinking resources, with increasing pressure on cultural heritage and local traditions, these organisations are living proof that Travel & Tourism can be a force for good. These companies are showing clear leadership in the industry.”

NEW YORK, NY - JetBlue today announced further expansion of Mint, its award-winning take on the premium experience, to two new Caribbean destinations – St. Lucia and St. Maarten – and on additional new routes.

The expansion brings Mint customers to more destinations than ever:

• New seasonal service between New York and St. Lucia

Negril, Jamaica, W.I. January 18, 2016. Over thirteen years ago, Garry Sowerby, a four-time world record holder, long-distance driving, columnist and global adventurer, set out on an odyssey. On Friday 13th of November, 2002 hedrove from Whitehorse, in Canada's Yukon Territory, in pursuit of Dawson City's 'sourtoe cocktail'.  “The 'sourtoe cocktail' is an obscure rite of passage in the Yukon and I wanted to do it,” Garry said. But bad luck prevailed that Friday the 13th in 2002, so we tried it again looking for good luck,” Garry said.

Thirteen years later, Friday, November the 13th, he set out to do the drive again with his wife and editor, Lisa Calvi, to launch his book “Driven Mind”. It was the first of seven pop-up global launches planned for the next eleven months in places of significance chronicled in the book.  This ambitious goal was well-within reach of a man known in his industry as an adventurous trailblazer and holder of four world records for long distance driving, while circumnavigating the world, crossing 75 countries.

During an interview with the epic world traveler, Sowerby revealed that in 2015 he decided on an unconventional approach to launching Driven Mind by using the next six (6) locations to stage events that are inspired by stories in the book.  

ATLANTA (January 11, 2016) – In a bold, unprecedented move, today Bronner Brothers, Inc. (BB) announced it has assembled a preeminent group of celebrity stylists, beauty schools and motivators for its 69th Annual Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show. Billed “The Trilogy,” three platforms will combine to offer access to top level educators, trendsetting artists and inspiring leaders in the multi-cultural beauty industry. Approximately 30,000 licensed professionals and students are expected to attend the three-day convention, which takes place February 20-22, 2016 at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta, GA. 

Widely regarded as the largest multi-cultural beauty show in the world, the Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show includes a highly anticipated 2016 Summer Trend Release featuring the celebrity stylists behind some of today’s most iconic looks.  A-list participants include Neal Farina (Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige), Sam Fine (Tyra Banks, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Iman), Takisha Sturdivant-Drew (Kerry Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Amber Riley), Andre Walker (Oprah, Halle Berry) and Johnny Wright (First Lady Michelle Obama).   

In addition to trend presentations, attendees can learn from an all-star panel of Men’s barbering, skin, shave and hair masters at the “Pass the Mic” Barber Forum moderated by James Wealthy. The Ultimate Beauty Competition will showcase the work of students at Aveda, Empire, Paul Mitchell and Pro Way Hair Schools. This friendly display of school pride will challenge students to innovate by pushing the boundaries of traditional concepts. Closing out February’s trilogy experience is a “Power Session “with renowned motivational speaker Dr. Les Brown and co-founder of PriceLine, Jeff Hoffman.   

The long-standing friction between hoteliers and OTAs was kicked up a notch last week as the trade associations representing each of those groups engaged in a war of words and data over “rogue” OTA websites.

The hallmark of such sites, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), is that they trick consumers into believing that they are booking directly on a hotel’s website. The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), the OTAs’ trade group, meanwhile, defended the trustworthiness of the distribution channel it represents.

The AH&LA said that U.S. consumers book as many as 15 million hotel rooms each year, totaling more than $1.3 billion in revenue, through “rogue” OTAs. And, citing a study compiled for it by GfK Custom Research, the trade group said such bookings often resulted in corrupted, inaccurate or nonexistent bookings.

A total of 10 spa therapy professionals recently graduated with their diploma in holistic massage from the Ocho Rios-based, Personal Body Health Care (PBHC) Clinic and School of Holistic Therapies, becoming the school's first ever graduating class.

This diploma is certified under the International Training and Examination Council (ITEC), which is a specialist examination board, renowned for providing certification in beauty and spa therapy, hairdressing, complementary therapies, sports and fitness training and customer service.

The graduation ceremony took place last Saturday night at the Sunset Beach Resort, Spa and Water Park in Montego Bay, with graduates being feted to a lavish dinner party by the hotel's management. The graduates who all achieved distinctions included, Sharon Parris-Chambers, Verona Warburton, Lance Rose, Audrey Bennett, Charisse Pink, Janice McLoud, Samantha McLeggon, Shawnette Montaque, Marry Daley and Dudley Malcolm, who currently works as a spa therapist at the resort.