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| THN.COM SITS DOWN WITH JTB |
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Wayne Sterling, Sales Representative, the Jamaica Tourist Board Montego Bay, says “they have rooms to fill and more being built”
Lisa Raffaele
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| Wayne Sterling | | While in Jamaica, TRAVELHotNews had the opportunity to sit down with Wayne Sterling, Sales Representative, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Montego Bay, to discuss the state of the economy and what the JTB is doing to get through the economic downturn. Sterling said that he has noticed that people are being careful when travelling, but the JTB has created massive efforts to make sure that they are continuously on the minds of perspective travellers. “People are being careful when they travel, so we have taken massive PR and marketing strategies with regards to the U.S., and have added a lot of added advertising, [i.e.] with taxi ads in New York and a big presence in Penn Station on January 5,” he told TRAVELHotNews. “With regards to Canada, added PR is always good, targeting both the consumer and trade. The Jamaica Tourist Board has really partnered with agents. They are our huge supporter. [By organizing] a lot of FAMs we will see the fruits of our labour.”
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| WARM UP WITH TOUR EAST |
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Your clients can escape the winter cold with the 16-day Best of Indochina tour from $5,400
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| Laos | | Canadians looking to escape the harsh weather for an extended period this winter need look no further. Tour East Holidays has found three hot destinations where warm days and lots of sunshine are an everyday occurrence in the winter months. Your clients can spend 16 days wearing shorts and sandals when they hop aboard Tour East Holidays' Best of Indochina tour that will take them to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, where the average winter temperature hovers around 30°C, on a 16-day, 14-night tour. This tour is scheduled for Feb. 10 to 25, 2009. The Best of Indochina tour includes airfare from Canada with Cathay Pacific, all intra-Asia flights, four and five-star hotel accommodations, most meals, transfers and sightseeing with English-speaking guides and many more additions for less than $340 a day. Keep reading for more itinerary details.
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| JAMAICA’S NEW LOOK: PART 1 |
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The Jamaica Tourist Board, and WestJet host press trip to Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios; highlight what’s new on the island
Lisa Raffaele
As part of an initiative to showcase Jamaica’s newest developments, The Jamaica Tourist Board, and WestJet hosted a media trip to the island from Dec. 13 to 18, 2008. The trip highlighted some of the newest expansions and enhancements including: the new spa at Half Moon, Mystic Mountain and the emergence of Spanish all-inclusive chains, along with long-standing favourites such as the Rose Hall Great House, Rick’s Café, Scotchie’s jerk stand and Green Grotto Caves. The trip aimed at celebrating the expansion of WestJet Vacations’ in Jamaica. WestJet, which began flying to Jamaica in 2007, began daily service from Toronto to Montego Bay starting November 2008. WestJet also announced that it will continue to offer non-stop service to Montego Bay this summer with four weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) from Toronto beginning May 3, 2009.
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| FUN SUN’S HAWAII WINNER |
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Carolyn Andrychuk from AMA Travel wins a trip to Hawaii with Fun Sun Vacations
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| Waikiki Beach | | Fun Sun Vacations has announced that Carolyn Andrychuk from AMA Travel is the lucky winner of Fun Sun Vacations’ “Win a Trip to Hawaii” contest. Andrychuk booked a Hawaiian package for her clients with Fun Sun Vacations before December 31, 2008 and, as a result, won the random draw contest. Andrychuk won airfare for two, plus seven nights accommodation at the Hawaii Waikiki Prince Hotel on Oahu.
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| ICELANDAIR FUEL SURCHARGE DROPS |
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Icelandair reduces fuel surcharges from all Canadian gateways
Effective immediately, Icelandair is reducing fuel surcharges to all destinations from its Canadian gateways. Round-trip fuel surcharges to Iceland have been lowered by $30CAD, and to the U.K., Scandinavia and Continental Europe by $50CAD. This reaction is in light of a recent drop in oil prices and Icelandair’s continued effort to offer the most competitive rates and highest quality service to Iceland and beyond. These changes are currently viewable to all travel agents, tour operators and consolidators. Additional information about fares and packages is available at icelandair.ca or by calling (877) I-FLY-ICE.
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| CLUB MED’S 2009 SPECIALS |
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Exclusive 2009 offers now available, including Kids Stay Free and Half Off Your Better Half
Club Med is offering several exclusive offers for your clients when they book by Feb. 28, 2009. The Kids Stay Free offer allows one child or teen (aged 0 to 15 years) stay free per one full-paying adult. Couples enjoy ‘Half Off Your Better Half’ and can save 50 per cent on the second person’s stay. New, solo travellers can enjoy a double occupancy room at a reduced price. Call 1-800-465-6633 for more details.
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| CANADIAN AIRLINES STILL FULL |
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WestJet, Air Canada fill more seats in December despite economic uncertainty
Canadian Press
Canada's two major air carriers say they flew fuller planes in December in spite of the recent economic gloom, but an airline analyst warned significant headwinds remain for WestJet and Air Canada. Calgary-based WestJet said its load factor was 80.9 per cent last month, up 1.6 percentage points from December 2007. WestJet's capacity grew 10.6 per cent in what the airline called ``one of the toughest Christmas travel seasons in Canadian history.'' Air Canada reported a load factor of 81.7 per cent, taking into account regional capacity purchased from Jazz Air Income Fund. That marked an increase of 2.9 percentage points from the same month a year earlier as it cut capacity by 9.9 per cent. Airline analysts say that fuel prices will not be rising significantly this year, and that passengers can expect better prices in the months to come due to the troubled economy.
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