TRAVELHotNews.com Magazine

BOOMERANG COVER CONTEST - LAST WEEK

Last week to vote for your favourite brochure cover; you could win a $5,000 trip to Australia!

Sydney's famous Opera House

Time is running out...TRAVELHotNews.com and Boomerang have teamed up to offer you a chance to win a trip for two to Sydney, Australia. Boomerang Tours is asking Canadian travel agents to choose one of the seven brochure covers for the next edition of the South Pacific brochure. A name will then be picked at random from all the travel agents that have voted for the most popular cover. The winner will earn a trip for two for Sydney, Australia A prize valued at $5000 and includes: airfare from any major Canadian city with an international airport, to Los Angeles or Vancouver and Sydney (Australia) with Air New Zealand, five nights hotel accommodation in Sydney and two excursions in Sydney with APT Australian Pacific Touring amiability of Boomerang Tours. The trip must be completed before September 30, 2008. The contest will end on Sunday April 6, 2008. Read on for more details and a link to vote now. [Full text and pictures]

LAS VEGAS IN 72 HOURS: PART 2

Canadian travel trade fam to Las Vegas from Mar. 24-31
Charmaine Pang

Welcome to Las Vegas! Photo, LVCVA

Today, TRAVELHotNews.com brings you Part 2 of our three-part story on Las Vegas. Last month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (LVCVA) and WestJet hosted a fam trip for the Canadian travel trade media. Learn more about some of the new additions to the Strip, including Palazzo, the sister hotel to the Venetian, and the newest project, CityCenter, which will make its first appearance in 2009. The MGM Grand offers visitors a taste of old Hollywood glamour (and a world of gourmet delights). The flash and dazzle of nouveau Hollywood is apparent at the revamped Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino (formerly the Aladdin). Read on to learn more about these properties. [Full text and pictures]

TRANSAT EXTENDS EUROPE EBB

Europe trips: Save up to $400 per couple for bookings made by Apr. 15, 2008

London, England

Transat Holidays has extended their Early Booking Bonus on packages to Europe. Early Booking savings of up to $400 per couple is available for bookings made by April 15, 2008 for departures April 01 to October 31, 2008. The EBB is applicable on package holidays to Europe in conjunction with a flight. The Early Booking Bonus is not applicable on air only bookings. Save on some great packages such as a 7 night City Package to London, England staying at the Royal National for $1,049 per person or stay at the President Hotel for only $1,099 per person departing on April 11 or 13. Plus all city packages to London include a hop-on hop-off cruise. Read on for more deals and savings. [Full text and pictures]

KIDS FLY FREE WITH SUNWING

Fly your kids for free across Canada and to Florida with Sunwing Airlines

No need to call the babysitter: thanks to Sunwing Airlines' weeklong “Kids Fly Free” promotion, one child will fly free for each two adults booking roundtrip flights on the carrier’s Coast to Coast and Florida flights on selected dates. The sale, which is in effect for bookings taken by midnight, Friday April 4, applies to flights taken between May 1 and June 21 as well as September 5 to October 31. Applicable routes include Toronto to Orlando, Florida; as well as all flights on Sunwing’s newly-expanded domestic service linking 13 cities across the country from Victoria to St. John’s. Sunwing Airlines includes complimentary inflight entertainment with yours-to-keep headsets as well as light lunches. Florida-bound travellers also enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne. On all flights over 3 ˝ hours, passengers also receive a complimentary meal including a choice of hot entrees served with red or white wine.

NCL SAVINGS WITH ENCORE CRUISE ESCAPES

‘Best Value of the Season’ promotion; earn double Holiday Points and a chance to win a cruise

NCL's Norwegian Spirit

Effective immediately, Encore CruiseEscapes is launching a ‘Best Value of the Season’ promotion on select NCL itineraries, with the lowest price guaranteed in three categories, as well as a number of other perks. Along with getting a great deal on their NCL cruise, your clients will also receive a complimentary bottle of champagne in their stateroom, pre-paid gratuities, and free transfers when they book Encore CruiseEscapes air for sailings departing out of Canada or the United States. As agents, you will receive double Holiday Points on all booking, as well a chance to win one of three prizes of a 7-day NCL cruise in the Caribbean for two including air. With every NCL booking you make, the more ballots you will receive (the ballots will be automatically entered into the draw on your behalf). There will be a total of three draws – one in April, May and June. [Full text and pictures]

JAMAICA VISITOR BOOST IN 2008

Tourists in Negril

A 12.5% increase in Canadian visitors for Q1
The Jamaica Tourist Board has reported a strong start in tourism arrivals for 2008, with preliminary statistics for the period January 1 - March 21 showing an increase of 12.5 per cent over the same period in 2007. Jamaica had a 27.1 per cent increase (29,025 visitors) from 2007 (22,843 visitors) in Canadian arrivals in January. Overall, Jamaica welcomed 142,861 visitors in the first month of this year, an increase of more than 10 percent over January 2007, and preliminary figures for February 2008 show an increase of 17 percent. Unofficial airport arrival numbers for March 1 - 21 are trending higher than last year, with a 13 per cent increase over the first three weeks of March 2007. Read on for more information and statistics. [Full text and pictures]

CUBA TOURISM NEWS

New boutique hotel in Old Havana; new music festival to hit Varadero from June 11-15, 2008

Cuba tourism news includes the opening of a new hotel in Old Havana – the Marques de Prado Ameno – and the addition of a new music festival in Varadero, called The World Music Festival. In hotel news, Habaguanex Hotels will open the Marques de Prado Ameno boutique hotel in Old Havana. This 4-star property is a refurbished 19th century colonial mansion with 16 rooms (including 3 suites), decorated with restored paintings from the 18th and 19th century. Another 30 hotels in Cuba will be added from now until 2010, with investors from Spain and China. Ten will be in Havana and the rest in the cayos and the eastern part of Cuba. Similar plans to build golf courses, marinas and theme parks are also underway. Read on for more details.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE IS MOOSE COUNTRY

Moose spotting season is underway; tours available

It's moose-spotting season in New Hampshire! The state has an estimated 10,000 moose for your clients to come see up close. There are a number of tour companies which get your clients up close and personal - but not too personal - with their Moose Spotting tours. Most of the moose live in the Great North Woods section of the state, near the Quebec border. It is in this region that people travel to see some of North America’s largest wild animals. So plentiful are the moose that some naturalists offering moose spotting Tours claim a 97 per cent success rate in seeing the animals, which can weigh as much as 1,500 pounds. Read on to learn more about the companies offering moose tours, and other moose-spotting information for independent travellers. [Full text and pictures]