TRAVELHotNews.com Magazine

Awards of merit 2007

HERE ARE THE FINALISTS...
Last week to determine the winners!

You have until February 10th, 2008
to vote for the candidates.

AWARDS OF MERIT – FINAL VOTE!

Three finalists in each category – vote for your top pick!
The voting will soon end for the first annual Awards of Merit at TRAVELHotNews.com. We’ve tallied up the votes, determining the top three candidates for each category. Remember, you’re voting for individuals and companies who did and achieved something exceptional for the year of 2007. If you’re not sure how to make your decision, click on each candidate or company’s name. You’ll find a series of comments from other readers, which will remind you how special each candidate is – and our readers have a lot of great things to say, so don’t forget to scroll down and read all the comments. Get started and vote today! Voting ends on Feb. 10, 2008, so don't delay. [Full text and pictures]

FOURTH ANNUAL TRAVEL EXPERT ROUNDTABLE

Senior travel industry experts discuss travel trends including green travel, impact of high fuel costs, and impact of U.S. economy on travel
Charmaine Pang

Chris Jones, VP, Tourism Industry Association of Canada; Mark Kozicki, VP of Commercial Products, MasterCard Canada; Dorothy Dowling, Senior VP of Marketing & Sales, Best Western International; Tanya Racz, President of the National Business Travel Association Canada

On Thursday afternoon at Biff’s Bistro in downtown Toronto, media participated in the fourth annual Best Western Travel Expert Roundtable. Over lunch, an open discussion panel spoke of new trends and current issues affecting the leisure and corporate travel market. Read on for the details. [Full text and pictures]

FUN SUN MAKES FEBRUARY FUN

Fight the winter blahs with Fun Sun’s new contest: win a trip or win $500 cash!

Fun Sun Vacations aims to put a little spark in travel agents’ February with a brand new contest which gives agents the opportunity to win one of two trips or a cash prize. Bookings made from Feb. 1-29, 2008 are automatically eligible for prizes. On February 15 and on March 3, the tour operator will be drawing for one travel agent to win a great travel prize, where the winner gets to choose their destination Choose form California, Hawaii, Las Vegas or Florida. On February 9, 16, 23 and March 1, agents will automatically be entered to win $500 cash if they make a booking with Fun Sun from Feb. 1-29, 2008. If the agent is a subscriber to Fun Sun’s e-newsletter, that agent’s cash winnings will be doubled to $1,000. Read on for more details. [Full text and pictures]

TRANSAT’S ‘LOVE’LY CUBAN SPECIAL

Valentines Day three-night packages to Cayo Santa Maria start at $499

Occidental Royal Hideaway Ensenachos

Transat Holidays is offering a Valentines Day special to Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. The following packages are available for 3 nights departing from Toronto on February 14 making for a perfect romantic getaway. Transat offers a choice of three resorts - the Melia Cayo Santa Maria, the Melia Las Dunas and the Occidental Royal Hideaway Ensenachos. The Melia Cayo Santa Maria for $499 per person in Junior Suite accommodations. Read on for more details and deals. [Full text and pictures]

TRAVEL TREND: CULINARY TRAVEL IN CALIFORNIA

California launches ‘Land of Wine & Food’ campaign, website to attract more culinary travellers; great niche for agents
Charmaine Pang

The new website, LandofWineandFood.com

Travel agents looking to satisfy their discerning clients can try introducing them to the multi-sensory delights of culinary travel, which is attracting an increasing number of travellers. To help attract these travellers, a new and fully interactive website, LandofWineandFood.com, has been launched. It features information about the best California wine regions and varietals, wine and food itineraries, blogs, videos and tips from locals. According to the Travel Industry Association, 20 per cent of leisure travellers have engaged in culinary or wine-related activities while travelling. The state of California is capitalizing on this trend in order to attract increasing amounts of culinary travellers. Read on for more info. [Full text and pictures]

UNITED AIRLINES ADDS CANADIAN DESTINATIONS

Airline will begin service to Quebec City and Victoria; adds other regional U.S. destinations

Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C.

United Airlines will start flying to two new destinations in Canada - Quebec City and Victoria, B.C. - and will begin service to Helena and Kalispell, Montana on June 5. United will also add service between Los Angeles and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sample fares from Chicago to Quebec City start at $220 each way, $214 from San Francisco to Victoria, and $139 from Los Angeles to Tulsa. "We are pleased to give our customers what they want - new, convenient nonstop service to more places in the U.S. and Canada," says Kevin Knight, United's senior vice president - Planning. "We welcome customers in these new cities to United's global network." Read on for schedules and other details. [Full text and pictures]

AIR CANADA VACATIONS & SANDALS IN JAMAICA

ACV sales staff, Sandals staff meet up for national sales conference

The Air Canada Vacations sales team

Air Canada Vacations entire Sales team and Sandals staff recently met in Jamaica at Sandals Dunns River as part of a national sales conference outlining the team’s new vision and mission for 2008. "Our number one goal is to better serve our agency partners. By aligning our sales force, this retreat has put us in the position of moving our company to another level. We are very excited and looking forward to a promising 2008,” said Senior Director, Sales, Nino Montagnese pictured above at centre, surrounded by the Air Canada Vacations sales team.