Travel and Tourism Industry News

Love is in the air, and for the latest bachelor, it happens to be in St. Lucia… Although we won’t know who will get the final rose until the show’s season finale next Monday, we have seen the bachelor fall in love with the last two women in beautiful St. Lucia. With private beaches and relaxing resorts, its no wonder why this island is constantly voted the Caribbean’s most romantic honeymoon and wedding destination.

Now, for travel from March 16 – March 23, CheapOair is offering cheap St. Lucia flights and deals so you don’t have to be given a rose to make the trip.

CheapOair’s special cheap St. Lucia deals to romantic, four star hotels and resorts include the Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort starting at $239* per night or the Royal By Rex Resorts, starting at $273* per night. Cheap flights to St. Lucia are also available on CheapOair. Sample fares start at $318 RT* per person from Chicago or $327 RT* per person from New York City.

Just as the Bachelor himself has said, “There is no better place to fall in love than Saint Lucia!” so why not book it at a great rate?

* Airfares include all fuel surcharges, ad valorem tax and CheapOair service fees. Fares exclude government taxes. Sample airfare listed; additional cities spanning the U.S. are available. Fares and rates are subject to change based on availability. All hotel average nightly rates displayed are USD excluding taxes and fees.

EL AL, the national airline of Israel, was selected by more than 25,000 readers of Global Traveler (GT) Magazine as the airline with the world’s best security.

This honor has been given to EL AL for three consecutive years (which is how long the category has been recognized).

In response to a survey conducted by Global Traveler readers, the best in business and luxury travel for 2009 were selected. The GT annual awards are one of the most sought-after in the industry. GT Publisher/CEO Fran Gallagher stated, “Our award winners continue to set the bench mark for service in the industry and our readers know quality.

EL AL Airlines Voted Best Airline Security

Year after year, the winners they vote for emulate those high standards. EL AL’s dedication to security keeps it tops in the Best Airline for Security category.”

“We are proud to be recognized as the airline industry leader in security,” commented Offer Gat, CEO, EL AL Israel Airlines, North/Central America. “Security and safety remain a top priority for EL AL and we are proud to provide an uncompromised level at all times.” Read the rest of this entry »

Part of the Three? Ride for Free! Do you live in Manhattan and you’ve never been to the top of the Empire State building, Top of the Rock or Central Park? Maybe you’re from Connecticut or New Jersey and have never been to Harlem or Brooklyn?

So many of us get so caught up in our daily lives that we often don’t even get a chance to explore our own backyards.

Gray Line New York is making exploring New York City easier than ever for local residents and gives you a chance to really show your New York to visiting relatives and friends.

Gray Line New York Sightseeing Double Decker bus - Lincoln Center

Gray Line New York is introducing for the first time ever, a brand new promotion for anyone with a New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut drivers license or ID card, purchase one ticket * and receive a second ticket for free. This promotion is available, starting March 1st. Read the rest of this entry »

Wedding abroad experts, Tropical Sky, are in ‘oar’ of their latest newly-wed couple. Neil Ward and Louise Robertson ‘tide’ the knot at Almond Beach Village in Barbados over the Valentine’s weekend after Neil rowed a mammoth 2,500 miles across the Atlantic for the ceremony!

Avid adventurer, Neil (38), and his team left the port of San Sebastian La Gomera in the Canary Islands on the 4 January 2010 on board the Britannia III as part of the Atlantic Rowing Race. After 39 gruelling days at sea, Neil was forgiven for failing to show on time for the original wedding date.

Tropical Sky quickly rescheduled the ceremony which took place on Saturday 13 February on the beach at Almond Beach Village, a day later than planned.

Row-Mantic Wedding - Photos courtesy of Colorbox Ltd. Caribbean

Louise wore a traditional white wedding dress. Neil’s crew formed a ‘guard of honour’ for the newlyweds with their oars.

Ski instructor, Louise (29), commented “We had no idea where or how we wanted to get married. Read the rest of this entry »

South Korea’s Incheon International Airport (IIAC) has been voted the world’s best airport by the Airport Council International (ACI) for the fifth straight year, the airport said in a statement Tuesday.

The IIAC scored the highest marks in the ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award, receiving the top honor in three categories to become the Best Airport Worldwide, Best Airport in Asia-Pacific, and Best Airport with annual passenger traffic between 25 and 40 million, according to the IIAC.

The IIAC scored 4.99 points out of a perfect five, which was the highest points ever awarded in the survey’s history, by way finishing at the top spot from 2005 to 2009, the longest winning streak ever as well, the statement said.

“Winning the top honors in the ACI survey as the best airport for five consecutive years is the result of the combined efforts of the government and 35,000 airport employees who have consistently delivered excellent service every year,” C.W Lee, president and CEO of IIAC said in a statement.

Singapore’s Changi International Airport and the Hong Kong International Airport were second and third respectively in the ranking, which was based on 250,000 responses from passengers that rated 34 airport services worldwide last year.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the 5th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Hainan, China on May 13th this year.

Thailand has been named the world’s Best Tourist Country by a leading Swedish magazine, marking its eighth consecutive year for winning the award, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Stockholm, the Swedish capital.

Thai ambassador to Sweden Thanarat Thanaputt and TAT Stockholm office assistant director Anchalee Kumwong last week accepted the Best Tourist Country Award presented by the Swedish publication “Travel News” in its 2010 annual Grand Travel Award ceremony.

The kingdom was voted as this year’s winner from seven other nominated countries, Australia, Egypt, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the United States.

The Thai envoy said the country won the award because of its unique and wide-ranging tourist attractions.

Not only tropical environment — sun, sea and sand, but also various cultural and beautiful tourist destinations are the strength of Thailand’s tourism.

Due to the diversity of tourist attractions, tourists can experience the “3Vs” — value for money, variety and very Thai (Thai-ness), while enjoying their holidays in Thailand, Mr Thanarat said.

Meanwhile, national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) won a second place award for the Best International Flight in 2010.

The annual Grand Travel Award ceremony, the Sweden’s largest travel-related event, has been held by Travel News, a leading Swedish travel publication since 1993.

The awards also feature other travel-related categories, including tourist countries, airline and cruise services.

Online Hotel Reservation is one of the most helpful innovation that internet has provided to every traveler across the globe.

With so many hotel reservation websites nowadays, a good way to scout for your accommodation is to use a hotel search engine like HotelCalculator.

By using Hotel Calculator, you can save time since its engine can automatically search multiple hotel reservation sites and will compare the prices for you. This website will also check the room availability and the payment options to help you decide on which hotel are you going to book and stay.

A whole new way to Book Hotels Online

HotelCalculator.com helps you find your accommodation with total ease by employing the fastest search process in the internet. For example, users can search for a hotel in Paris that has the amenities that you specifically need. The site also provides several photos for you to completely appreciate the hotel before completing a reservation.

By using the hotel comparison feature, you can easily narrow down your options until you get a shortlist of hotels for you to choose from. The hotel search engine interface also supports seventeen international languages which includes spanish, french and italian.

With Hotel Calculator, you can also view hotels on a Goolge Map, see its distance from the city center and destinations in nearby towns. You now have the freedom to compare prices from different hotel reservation websites like ActiveHotels.com, Agoda.com, AlphaRooms.com, Booking.com, HotelClub.com, OctopusTravel.com and others.