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    AdventureSmith Explorations Unveils Insider Tips for Securing Affordable Arctic Expedition Deals

    AdventureSmith Explorations’ small-ship adventure cruise experts offer cost-cutting tips to get the most value from popular Arctic trips and ships.
    With its unique history of expeditionary exploration, the Arctic has long been known as a destination that offers incomparable access to distinct wildlife and remote wilderness experiences. For those who want to get the most value from Arctic travel, AdventureSmith Explorations, the leader in small-ship adventure cruising, offers tips on how to get the best deals on an Arctic expedition.
    “There is no doubt the Arctic is a hot destination right now. We have already booked more travelers into 2024 Arctic expeditions than we did in 2023, and sailings don’t even begin in the region until April,” said Todd Smith, AdventureSmith Explorations founder and president. “Capacity has also increased in the Arctic with more expedition ships offering itineraries there. In fact, our Arctic expedition cruise itineraries have increased by 48% since 2019, giving travelers even more options when considering where to go and what to do.”
    How to Save Without Sacrificing the ExperienceGetting the best deal on an Arctic cruise is possible if you know what to keep in mind. Here are some of AdventureSmith’s “expert picks” for finding cost savings on Arctic expeditions:• Don’t count out higher-tier cabins before talking to AdventureSmith’s travel experts, who have been able to get travelers booked into higher-end cabins for the same amount, or less, than lower cabin categories due to higher percentage discounts occasionally offered on suites.• Traveling with others? Choose a triple or quad cabin for the lowest per-person price.• Consider where you stay on the ship. Cabins on the lowest deck with portholes often are most affordable. As an example, booking a Lower Deck Porthole cabin aboard the 128-guest Ocean Adventurer’s Introduction to Spitsbergen 10-day expedition can save travelers more than $700 versus a cabin on the Main Deck.• Traveling solo and want your own cabin? Look to options that have dedicated solo cabins that don’t require payment of a single supplement.• Always review inclusions and exclusions to factor in the total trip cost. Flights, plus hotel stays on the front and back end of a trip, can significantly add to the price of a trip.• To cut down total costs, consider a simpler itinerary that has the same embarkation and disembarkation point. An example offering great value is the 11-day Iceland Circumnavigation round-trip from Reykjavik that currently includes an offer of up to 15% off and a $1,500 air credit.• Book early for the best selection of ships, cabins and routes. You can often save with early booking deals and more readily find flight deals.• Leverage AdventureSmith’s team of experts to be on the lookout for Arctic cruise deals and “expert picks” related to best value, views from the ship, access and experiences.
    “In the Arctic, special charter flights can often be wrapped into expedition rates,” continued Smith. “An example of this would be the Svalbard In Depth expedition. In 2025, its inclusions change significantly with the addition of a charter flight and Oslo hotel into the base rate. In this case, the best value is to book a 2024 date unless the ease of those inclusions is preferred.”ADVERTISEMENTWhen to Book & GoThe region is vast, so when to go depends a lot on your preferred route and travel interests. A general tip is to book now and travel soon. May and June are often the best months to view polar bears on Svalbard cruises due to the abundant polar ice. A full circumnavigation of Spitsbergen is likely not possible, but early-season voyages often provide the best chance to see large ice floes and view wildlife.
    July and August are generally the warmest months to visit, with temperatures averaging in the mid40s. Greenland cruises and Arctic Svalbard cruises sail at this time not only for the weather but also because the sea ice is more broken up making land access increasingly possible. Ships have the ability to cover more territory and access less-explored regions during this time of year.
    In September and October, sailings are more limited, but nights are dark enough to witness the Northern Lights.
    AdventureSmith Explorations is currently offering up to 40% off select Greenland and Svalbard expedition cruises, and up to 15% off plus a $1,500 air credit on select Arctic expeditions booked by March 31.
    Learn more about the Arctic cruises offered by AdventureSmith Explorations, view current Arctic cruise deals, or contact their team of experts to find the best Arctic cruise deal at adventuresmithexplorations.com.

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    FlightsChannel Extends Business Class Discounts to Spanish-Speaking Travelers

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    FlightsChannel Extends Business Class Discounts to Spanish-Speaking Travelers

    FlightsChannel is online to help you with booking your flights to domestic and international destinations. They offer flights in all available cabins including economy, premium economy, business, and first class. They have recently come up with an offer for their passengers interested in Business class flights (Vuelos en clase ejecutiva). You just need to call them and mention the coupon code FCBUSINESS to avail of discounts of up to 25 percent on air ticket prices. This discount has been offered keeping their customers in Latin America in mind, who will be looking for cheaper alternatives for their flights.
    The amount you pay for airfare varies from one cabin to another. The seats in economy cabins are the cheapest and the ones in first class are the most expensive. In the middle, there are the business class seats. Business class and first class seats are not offered by low-cost airlines and these are available more on international routes than on domestic routes. There will be flights with business class seats but no first class seats which are much more expensive, so the airlines use their aircraft with these seats when they believe there will be enough passengers interested in them, like those over long-haul routes.
    The business class seats have most of the comforts that are offered in the first-class cabin. Usually, the air ticket cost will include baggage charges and you will have larger allowances for these. You will have large comfortable seats which can be extended into comfortable beds. You will have more attention from flight attendants with fewer seats in the cabin and you will be offered a menu to choose what you would like for meals and beverages. This also means that these don’t come cheap. So, FlightsChannel has come up with this discount offer, so you can experience this fine way of flying without paying excessively.
    Every time you plan a trip, you will find that the flights eat up a large part of your planned budget. So, if you can get your flights for less, you will have more to spend on other activities and items. It is widely believed that you will reach your destination more relaxed and refreshed when traveling in this cabin than in the cheaper ones. As the name suggests these seats are booked more by those in big business, as they will have the funds to afford these. Here they are lowering the rates through discounts so more of you can afford them.
    FlightsChannel has been in the air ticket-selling business for a few years and they know that most customers will prefer to fly for less, no matter what they can afford. They recently launched their Spanish site and these discounts can be considered as introductory offers for those who are using their website for the first time. Though their regular customers too can enjoy the benefits of this offer.ADVERTISEMENT

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    Carlton Hotel Singapore Receives Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Certification

    Carlton Hotel Singapore is excited to announce its recent achievements, having attained certification to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Industry Criteria for Hotels and Accommodation. This certification demonstrates its unwavering commitment to sustainable practices, aligning with Singapore’s sustainability roadmap. Additionally, the hotel has received the prestigious title of ‘Best Luxury Business Hotel in Singapore’ by the Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2024, recognising its dedication to excellence in service and creating memorable experiences for guests. These accolades mark a significant milestone for Carlton Hotel Singapore’s ongoing efforts to excel in sustainability and deliver unparalleled hospitality experiences.
    The GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels was established to champion the best sustainable tourism practices, focusing on effective sustainability management, mitigating environmental impact, maximising social and economic benefits for the local community, and enriching cultural heritage. Through obtaining this certification, Carlton Hotel Singapore showcases its continual efforts to curtail carbon emissions, prioritise sustainable management practices, and champion innovative solutions.
    “We are delighted to be recognised as one of Singapore’s latest GSTC-certified hotels. This certification marks the beginning of our sustainability journey,” said Mr Darren Ware, General Manager of Carlton Hotel Singapore. “We understand that sustainability is an ongoing endeavour requiring collaboration between the public and the hotel. We are committed to elevating sustainability standards and contributing to Singapore’s transition towards becoming a greener city that welcomes visitors from around the world.”
    To preserve cultural heritage in Singapore and enhance the guest experience, Carlton Hotel Singapore has launched #carltonexplores, inviting guests to explore nearby places of interest and engage with the local community. Guests are encouraged to share their experiences on Instagram with the hashtag #carltonexplores to win a staycation at Carlton Hotel Singapore, including exclusive access to the Premier Club Lounge.
    In addition to its sustainability efforts, Carlton Hotel Singapore has received the prestigious ‘Best Luxury Business Hotel in Singapore’ award at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2024. This accolade reflects the hotel’s ongoing dedication to excellence in service and creating memorable travel experiences for guests.ADVERTISEMENTAs Carlton Hotel Singapore continues its journey towards sustainability, it remains steadfast in leading the way toward responsible tourism practices and contributing to the preservation of Singapore’s cultural heritage.

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    The Chelsea Townhouse Announces Its Entry Into the Prestigious Relais & Châteaux Collection

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    Vermelho Melides, Christian Louboutin’s first hospitality project to join Relais & Châteaux

    Vermelho Melides, Christian Louboutin’s first hospitality project, is excited to join Relais & Châteaux’s handpicked collection of unique and independent hotels across the world.
    Opened in April 2023, Vermelho is an intimate 13-room hotel set in the village of Melides, deep in Portugal’s Alentejo region. Louboutin, who has a long-standing admiration for Portugal and the area, has spent many weeks designing his collections in the country inspired by the unique light and culture of the people. The name Vermelho, meaning red in Portuguese, is the perfect homage to his signature colour and the design is a tribute to the unique natural beauty and heritage of the region.
    The traditional sky-blue property is decorated with ceramics by sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot and features interiors that are both baroque and joyful, with décor designed by Madalena Caiado. Typically Portuguese, but inspired by Louboutin’s favourite colour, the red tiles lining the floor of the bar come from the famed Azulejos de Azeitao ceramic factory. The hotel’s 13 rooms and suites are decorated with furniture, antiques and objects taken from Louboutin’s own private collection, and most have their own terrace opening onto the garden and swimming pool. The Xtian restaurant serves tasty, bistro-inspired Portuguese cuisine using artisanal ingredients.
    Established 70 years ago, Relais & Châteaux is an association of 580 hotels and restaurants across 65 countries, owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs who are passionate about their craft and committed to forging long lasting relationships with their guest. Members protect and promote the wealth and diversity of the world’s culinary and hospitality traditions, to ensure they continue to thrive. The full list of the 12 new properties joining Relais & Châteaux’s collection can be found here. https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/magazine/the-concierge/news/new-properties-march-2024
    Rates from 400 Euros including breakfast https://www.vermelhohotel.com/ADVERTISEMENT

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    Munich Airport Emerges as Freight Transport Hub Amidst German Decline

    Munich Airport can look back on a successful year in air freight in 2023. According to data from the German Airports Association (ADV), Munich Airport was the only major German airport to record growth in freight transportation in 2023. With a volume of 284,000 tons, the airport registered a year-on-year increase of 6.6%, while the total volume in Germany fell by 7.1%.
    A significant share of this increase is attributable to belly cargo, i.e., goods transported in the cargo hold of passenger aircraft, which grew by as much as 11% at Munich Airport. The direct connections to China, which were resumed in the middle of last year, the new route to Bangalore in southern India, and the four weekly flights to Taipei have also been very well received, especially by the healthy Bavarian export industry.
    Freight volumes continue to soar in 2024: Compared with the same month of the previous year, freight volume increased by 6.5% in January and 10.8% in February. Overall, the volume of freight at Munich Airport is now back to almost 90% of the pre-pandemic level.
    The availability of freight capacity will continue to increase this year. New routes to Seattle, Johannesburg, and Vietnam, as well as additional flights on the schedule – including to Beijing and Osaka – offer industrial and logistics companies in the service area of Munich Airport additional opportunities to transport cargo directly via Munich.
    Munich Airport’s cargo area is particularly appealing with fast turnaround times due to its efficient infrastructure, which enables goods to be transported to the aircraft quickly thanks to short distances. This infrastructure continues to grow: DHL Express plans to open a new building for freight handling in the summer. The airport also has plenty of space for future expansion in the cargo area.ADVERTISEMENT

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    Swissport Joins Airbus’ OpenCargoLab to Shape Future of Air Cargo Handling

    Swissport International participates in Airbus’ OpenCargoLab, joining forces with industry leaders such as KLM Cargo, Kuehne+Nagel, CHAMP Cargosystems and Fraport, to develop data-driven concepts for the future of air cargo handling.
    Swissport International AG has joined the OpenCargoLab initiative, leveraging its expertise as the global leader in aviation services to contribute to the development of data-driven processes for air cargo handling jointly with a group of leading industry players. Launched by Airbus, the OpenCargoLab is as a platform to evaluate how digital innovation, including AI and sensor technologies, can pave the way for more efficient air cargo handling.
    “We are proud that Airbus has invited Swissport to represent the global air cargo handling industry in its OpenCargoLab initiative,” says Dirk Goovaerts, Global Cargo Chair and Head of Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa at Swissport International AG. “Being a key member of this initiative underscores our dedication to driving advancements in the air cargo sector, positioning Swissport at the forefront of industry innovation.”
    Swissport will bring its extensive expertise in air cargo handling to the table, supporting the OpenCargoLab group in understanding how to best collect and analyse data during the physical handling of cargo. The aim is to improve the efficiency of the overall process. The initiative extends to support the development of technology for the cargo holds of the new Airbus A350F cargo aircraft, aligning with Airbus’ vision of a “smart freighter.”
    “We are pleased to welcome Swissport to our OpenCargoLab initiative,” says Marvin Ehrmann, Head of Airbus’ OpenCargoLab. “With their in-depth knowledge of air cargo handling services, combined with the expertise of our experienced partners, we aim to drive the air cargo sector towards greater transparency, efficiency, and connectivity.”ADVERTISEMENT

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    IATA and Smart Freight Centre Collaborate to Standardize Air Cargo Emissions Calculation

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) announced a partnership to provide consistent and transparent CO2 emissions calculations for air cargo shipments. This is an important step for the global air transport sector to advance its decarbonization efforts.
    The two organizations will focus efforts on developing the cargo component of IATA’s CO2 Connect offering, which successfully launched its passenger version in 2022. The IATA CO2 Connect platform uses primary industry data to power highly accurate carbon calculations. The collaboration with the SFC Clean Air Transport Program will promote a common methodology in CO2 emission calculations and ensure accurate and consistent CO2 calculations are distributed to the industry’s biggest shippers and freight forwarders in air cargo, supporting them with pre-shipment and reporting purposes.
    “Our partnership with the Smart Freight Centre will help us to accelerate the development of CO2 Connect for air cargo as the most authoritative tool for carbon calculations. This is important for airlines, shippers and their customers who all need accurate calculations based on real data to support their contributions to global decarbonization efforts,” said Frederic Leger, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Commercial Products & Services, at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Hong Kong.
    “A key milestone has been reached and this has been a long time in the making. The need for unified emissions data is stronger than ever and this milestone will enable cargo transport service purchasers to make well-founded, long-term decisions. Transparency is key to drive decarbonization investments and activities, encouraging collaborative and synergetic action throughout the value chain. Our partnership with IATA will enable effective collaboration by building trust and exchanging information across the value chain which, in turn, will help in accelerating our ongoing efforts in decarbonizing the aviation industry,” said Andrea Schoen, SFC Director of the Clean Air Transport program.
    Pilot ProjectADVERTISEMENTIATA and SFC are working with Kuehne+Nagel as a pilot customer for IATA CO2 Connect for Cargo to ensure that the tool meets the needs and requirements of freight forwarders and their customers.
    “As a freight forwarder, we can attest to the value that this collaboration will bring to the industry and to our customers.” said Fabiano Piccinno, Global Head of Sustainability Air Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel. “We’re happy to bring our expertise to the table and we look forward to seeing this project paving the way for future sustainable solutions in aviation.”

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    PATA Unveils Comprehensive Visitor Forecasts for Asia Pacific 2024-2026

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    PATA Unveils Comprehensive Visitor Forecasts for Asia Pacific 2024-2026

    Following the release of the PATA Executive Summary Forecasts Report for the years 2024 to 2026 released earlier last month, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released a more comprehensive Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2024-2026 report, taking a deeper dive into growth projections, focusing on the source market-destination pairs from 2024 to 2026 for each of the three Asia Pacific destination sub-regions. This report covers 39 destinations within Asia Pacific forecasting from 2024 up to 2026 in a series of three possible scenarios.
    PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid points out that, “While most destinations within the Asia Pacific region are rebounding strongly and moving closer to pre-pandemic levels, this forecast report highlights the significant changes as experienced by the individual destinations. Therefore, it is important to understand this trend which will impact the future growth for respective destinations as compared to the overall region.”
    Under the medium scenario, international visitor arrivals (IVAs) to Asia Pacific are expected to increase from 619 million in 2024 to 762 million in 2026, with a recovery rate of 111.6% compared to the 2019 level. Asia will lead the recovery, with visitor arrivals reaching 564.0 million, followed by the Americas with 167.7 million and the Pacific with 30.4 million by 2026, highlighting the region’s resilience and growing potential as a travel destination.
    In interpreting the Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2024-2026 report, it is crucial to note that the data should not be viewed holistically, as destinations are undergoing recovery at varying paces. Each destination has its unique dynamics, contributing to diverse percentage changes in international visitor arrivals. For example, while numerous Pacific destinations are experiencing robust recovery, their numerical figures understandably differ in scale when compared to larger destinations globally. In analysing the forecasted growth, it becomes evident that understanding the nuanced recovery patterns of individual destinations is imperative for a comprehensive perspective on the evolving landscape of tourism in the Asia Pacific region. PATA emphasises the significance of observing the specific recovery rates and trends for each destination, as they shape the overall narrative of the region’s tourism resurgence.
    Out of 39 destinations covered in the report, 34 are predicted to recover to pre-pandemic levels, with Japan and the Maldives topping the fastest-recovering destinations chart. Japan is forecast to welcome 49.3 million visitors by 2026, which is 155% more than the 2019 number. The Maldives is expected to host 2.5 million visitors, indicating a 148% recovery rate to pre-pandemic levels. With this in mind, the visitor arrivals recoveries in the region call for appropriate destination management strategies.ADVERTISEMENTChina, the US, the UK, and Australia are expected to maintain their leading positions as major source markets of IVAs to the Asia Pacific region, all of which are forecast to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, fuelled by their economic growth potentials.
    Noor added, “The ramifications for destination marketing organisations (DMOs) to be more agile, flexible and robust to quick changes in the marketplace, especially output from the source market will play a crucial role on which destination will perform better than the other in the coming years. Destination marketeers and policy makers must understand that what they do in 2023, might no longer work from this year onwards, as the travel market shifts expeditiously while consumer buying power depends very much upon user-generated content (UGC). In this regard, understanding the PATA forecast report, which takes into consideration various key factors such as economic indicators, travel capacity, etc., will be crucial.”
    What you will learn from this report:
    Forecast international visitor numbers for Asia Pacific between 2024 and 2026 by destination region, sub-region, and destination, highlighting changing opportunities in the post-COVID era;Forecasts and growth patterns for 39 individual destinations facilitating the development of appropriate strategies over the next three years; andHighlights of the key source markets within each Asia Pacific destination region over the forecast period of 2024 to 2026.The PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2024-2026 is now available at www.pata.org/research-q1v63g6n2dw/p/asia-pacific-visitor-forecasts-2024-2026

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