WAV Travel News - Wednesday Edition
Bill Vervaeke, CDME
West Palm Beach, FL 33411
(561) 795-5912 (Office & Facsimile)
(561) 318-9089 (Cellular)
United to stop flying from JFK
United Airlines plans to cease serving New York Kennedy on Oct. 25, and will sell its slots at the airport to Delta, pending regulatory approval.
In return, United said it will acquire slots that Delta holds at Newark Airport.
United currently operates p.s., its premium transcontinental service, to San Francisco and Los Angeles from Kennedy. That service will fly out of United’s Newark hub instead.
The premium service’s features are lie-flat seats in business class and on-demand entertainment and power ports at every seat.
With the addition of premium service in Newark, United plans to fly up to 17 daily roundtrips to San Francisco and up to 15 to Los Angeles from the New Jersey airport.
United will move several Boeing 757-200 aircraft currently allocated to transatlantic markets to p.s. flights. As it does so, the airline will increase the number of widebody Boeing 767 aircraft on transatlantic flights, offering larger business-class cabins and, on many flights, first-class service.
A U.S. senator is trying to stop this hotel booking scam. Here's how you can avoid getting cheated
Before you lock in that hotel stay, you might want to take a closer look at the booking site. A scam has been going around lately, and it’s worrisome enough to raise red flags on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley recently wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission calling attention to third-party schemes that are made to look a lot like popular hotel-booking sites.
Here’s how to scam works: a flashy advertisement, social media mention, or email might invite you to access amazing hotel room deals. When you click through and book, it captures your payment details or takes your money. Even worse, the scam also operates through search engines. One of the top results for hotels in the city you’re researching might link through to a website that looks just like the one you intended to visit, but it’s actually a dummy site set up to rob you of your money.
If you’re worried about getting scammed, here are some quick tips:
1. Don’t click through on hotel emails. If the deal sounds incredible, call the hotel directly to see if the promotion is real. There are plenty of reasons to book with hotels directly, and this is just one of them.
2. Double and triple check all travel booking links to make sure they are correct. Often, scammers will misspell the URL or alter it in some way that’s hard to catch when you’re in a hurry.
3. If you were referred on social media, follow up with your friend to make sure that tweet he or she sent out was real and not the result of a hacked account.
4. Avoid booking engines you don’t recognize and stick with popular brands like Expedia or Kayak.
5. If you decide to place a follow-up call based on the email you received, ask specific questions about the hotel property, then use your intuition. If the person on the line doesn’t seem to know what’s up or comes across as shady, then don’t book the room.
If it’s a discount you’re after, there are always legitimate ways to score free upgrades and get discounts.
WAV: Oh, this is exactly what I want: to vacation with 6,599 perfect strangers.)
New cruise ships to hold a record 6,600 passengers
The parent company of Carnival, Holland America, Princess and seven other lines says two of the 180,000-ton vessels will be operated by its German brand, Aida. The company didn't say which brand would get the other two ships but suggested they would sail for one of its Europe-based lines.
Along with Italian line Costa Cruises, Aida is part of a Europe-based division of Carnival Corp. known as the Costa Group.
"These ships will expand our leadership position for the Costa Group, the market leader in all the major European markets," the CEO of the Costa Group, Michael Thamm, says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "These will be spectacular ships designed specifically for our guests who sail on our Costa Group brands."
The Costa Group also has a leading position in the rapidly growing cruise market in China.
The new vessels will be able to accommodate about 300 more passengers than Royal Caribbean's two Oasis class ships, which currently hold the record for maximum capacity with room for about 6,300 passengers. At 225,282 tons, the two Oasis class vessels will retain the record for cruise ship size.
All four of the new Carnival Corp. vessels will be built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft and are among nine new ships that the company has planned to order for delivery between 2019 and 2022.
In another notable development, Carnival Corp. says the new ships will be powered by liquefied natural gas -- a cruise industry first. Liquefied natural gas is considered cleaner than the bunker oil and other fuels now used to power cruise ships.
Carnival Corp. released few details of what it plans for the designs of the ships.
The four new vessels will be in addition to several new ships that already are on order for Carnival Corp. brands for delivery between now and 2019. Both the Carnival and Holland America brands are scheduled to receive new ships in 2016 and 2018, and a new Princess ship is scheduled to debut in 2017. Carnival's upscale Seabourn brand has two ships on order for delivery in 2016 and 2018.
Two Carnival Corp. brands unveiled new ships this year. The company's P&O Cruises brand debuted its largest ship ever in March, the 3,647-passenger Britannia. At 143,000 tons, it's the 11th largest cruise ship ever built. Aida also has a new ship out this year as well as one coming in 2016.
Cruise port harassment back in spotlight in Jamaica
Jamaican tourism minister Dr Wykeham McNeill has again called for an end to the harassment of cruise visitors, which he says is hurting small businesses.
Dr McNeill says cruise passengers are staying aboard due to the perception of harassment ashore at Falmouth and Ocho Rios.
"When you talk to visitors, they say when they walk out they feel harassed. What does harassment do? It stops the 1,000 people that would come off the cruise ship from doing so. It stops the benefits," he said.
Dr McNeill acknowledges a small minority are responsible but it has a huge impact on the tourism industry.
"The big businesses can organize the buses and move them in an organized fashion, but for the person walking off the ship, we have got to deal with that," the minister said, adding that the aim is to ensure economic benefits of more shore visits trickle down to local businesses.
Disney World will demolish speedway for parking expansion at Magic Kingdom
Disney World plans to demolish its speedway for an expansion of the Magic Kingdom parking lot.
Reedy Creek, the Disney-controlled taxing district, has filed paperwork with the state about its plans.
The speedway is currently home to the Richard Petty Racing Experience, which will be closing there this summer.
Disney would not give details about how many spaces it will add with the new parking area.
Ferris wheel disappears from Daytona Boardwalk
DAYTONA BEACH — The Boardwalk skyline just got a lot less festive and colorful.
The 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel bejeweled with a rainbow of LED lights that has overlooked the ocean for five years has come down. The hulking ride that could be seen from the tops of bridges spanning the Halifax River has been hauled off in pieces to an out-of-state ride repair shop for extensive improvements that will take about six months.
When those upgrades are complete at the end of this year, the Ferris wheel will either be perched back on the beach’s edge, or it could be headed to a new home in another city.
“I would like to bring it to Daytona,” said Ed Kennedy, one of the ride’s co-owners. “It’s kind of like a landmark there.”
The decision will rest largely on the outcome of a lawsuit that has reached the Fifth District Court of Appeal, Kennedy said.
That lawsuit stems from a dispute over part of the Boardwalk lot where Kennedy and his business partner, Stan Manousos, have their Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, go-kart track and other rides. Kennedy and Manousos, who also co-own Daytona Lagoon water park, rent the ride lot from its owners, George Anderson and his investors.
A mediated settlement agreement struck years ago promised the slice of the lot covered by the go-kart track to Boardwalk businessman Dino Paspalakis and his sister Lisa Psaros, who had planned to put a new arcade and gift shop on the property. But Anderson and his investors asked for conditions on that property transfer not included in the settlement agreement, according to court records, and the dispute wound up in front of a Circuit Court judge this spring.
Last month, the judge ruled in favor of Paspalakis and his sister, and Anderson and his associates appealed the decision.
If Paspalakis and Psaros prevail again and move ahead with their plans to put up a new building where the go-kart track sits, Kennedy said that would wipe out 35 percent of his ride revenue and position the new arcade right next to the Ferris wheel. That would put an end to the oceanfront rides, which “make very little profit,” Kennedy said.
Paspalakis, who helps run a Boardwalk arcade owned by his wife’s family, said he hopes the ride lot sees a Ferris wheel again, but he plans to continue his court fight that has dragged on for more than a decade.
Kennedy and Manousos are on a month-to-month lease with Anderson, who gets a percentage of their profits. So, for the moment, the other rides will remain open.
On Tuesday, all that remained of the Ferris wheel was a tall metal stump that had been the piece the wheel connected to and spun around. That stump will be gone by the end of next week, too, and a new portable ride might go in its place this summer, Kennedy said.
He said the Ferris wheel, which he bought for about $750,000, has held up well and has only required normal maintenance.
“There’s no problem with it,” Kennedy said. “It’ll go for (another) four to five years.”
Someone did complain about the ride in April 2014, state government records obtained by The News-Journal indicate, prompting an unannounced inspection that month by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which has a bureau that oversees ride inspections.
A one-page report on that April 30, 2014, inspection indicates one of the Ferris wheel’s gondolas and T-bars had been removed for repairs, and that a stop operation order was issued. Kennedy said he remembers finding a bad bearing and was in the midst of the repair when the inspector showed up and issued the routine stop operation order.
Kennedy said the ride was down about three days for that repair and opened back up for the rest of the summer. Kennedy said he stopped taking riding customers on the Ferris wheel at the end of last summer, but the ride had been lit up and spun to keep it functioning. The metal ramps and deck that customers walked over were safe but badly rusted and needed replacing, Kennedy said, so he did that last fall.
He and his partner decided last year they wanted to do more extensive work at some point, but didn’t decide to jump in until the May Boardwalk property court ruling cued them that their days on the lot could be coming to a close in a year or two.
About three weeks ago they started having the ride dismantled and hauled off in large trucks. They’re having the Ferris wheel galvanized and repainted with a brighter hue, and they’re replacing all the lights and bearings, Kennedy said.
“We decided we wanted to make it brand new,” he said. “It was our doing.”
Some beachside business owners aren’t happy to hear the Ferris wheel might not be coming back to Daytona Beach.
“People miss it already,” said Gary Koliopulos, owner of Beach Express. “That’s what people look forward to doing with their families. Some people just liked to see it coming over the bridges.”
Paul Politis, owner of Gator Beach & Sport, said losing the ride this summer is “not helping.”
“It looks like we’re shutting down,” Politis said.
Reed Berger, the city’s redevelopment director, was shocked Tuesday to hear the Ferris wheel was gone.
“I took a picture of the Ferris wheel two weeks ago,” Berger said.
The rides Kennedy and Manousos opened were the first significant cluster of beachside rides since the late 1980s. By 2006, all that remained was the slingshot ride and the sky ride over the pier. It was in May 2010 that the pair brought rides back to the Boardwalk lot between the pier and the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort.
Last year, a towering new slingshot ride was poised to be erected in a small lot off State Road A1A, but a lawsuit has that project in limbo. Jack Hively, who has acted as the landlord for the existing slingshot ride on Anderson’s Boardwalk property, sued the city arguing that the city didn’t properly rezone the tiny A1A lot for the new slingshot ride. In December a judge upheld the city’s action, but Hively has appealed.
South Korea to offer tourists free ‘MERS insurance’
South Korea is in the midst of a health-care crisis, with 16 people dead and thousands under quarantine because of an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In recent days, the government has mounted an aggressive response, including undertaking tests on an experimental plasma treatment.
However, the issue isn't purely a medical one — it's also a social and, in turn, an economic one. As The Post's Yoonjung Seo has pointed out, the panic about MERS may be just as damaging as the outbreak. People are staying out of public spaces, and that could mean a big loss for South Korea's tourism industry.
Thankfully, the government has a plan: MERS insurance.
According to the Korea Times, South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism is offering all tourists who enter the country free insurance that will cover all their medical and travel expenses should they catch the MERS virus on their trip.
The country will also provide hand sanitizers at tourist attractions, as well as a 24-hour toll-free number that concerned tourists can call, the Korea Times reported. The government is also taking the campaign online: The English-language Web site for the official "Visit Korea" tourism campaign contains a large pop-up that seeks to reassure tourists.
Will this be enough? The Strait Times reported that tourist arrivals dropped by 24.6 percent in the first 11 days of June, and South Korea could eventually lose about $900 million in tourism revenue if things don't improve. The government also announced Monday that it is planning to offer $64 million in loans to a number of troubled tourism sectors to help offset potential financial difficulties.
Some foreigners living in South Korea had complained of a lack of information from the government. "The [South Korean] government hasn't done anything to help foreigners," American Christopher Cashel Cordo told the Strait Times last week. Reports in the South Korean news media suggest that about 20 to 30 expatriates have been quarantined.
“We hope the measures will make foreign tourists feel that Korea is still a safe country to visit,” Vice Minister Kim Jong said during a news conference on Monday.
Skytrax names Qatar Airways best airline of 2015
Le Bourget, France (CNN)Qatar Airways has been voted the world's best airline at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards.
The awards -- decided by 18.9 million passengers in 110 countries across the globe -- judge airlines on everything from the quality of their food and the comfort of their seats to the friendliness of their cabin crew.
Qatar has won the top prize twice before, in 2011 and 2012, and twice been voted runner-up; the airline also took home prizes for best airline in the Middle East an best business class seat.
"It's a very clear accolade on behalf of the staff -- they are the real recipients, I'm just their leader!" CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNN after the ceremony, held as part of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.
The top 10 airlines -- in alphabetical order -- were: ANA, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, EVA, Garuda Indonesia, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines. (Skytrax has yet to announce the top 10 order).
AirAsia was voted best low-cost airline for the seventh year in a row, six months after one of its planes, QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea killing all 162 people on board.
'Sweet' victory
Co-founder and group CEO Tony Fernandes said the award "meant a lot, after all we've been through. I wouldn't normally say the airline industry is sweet, but today it felt sweet.
"We've won it seven times, but this one means the most, because of what happened in the early part of this year."
The airline also took the accolade for best low-cost airline in Asia, and subsidiary AirAsiaX won prizes for best low-cost premium cabin and best low cost premium class seat.
Garuda Indonesia's cabin crew were feted as the best in the world, while Air France was hailed as the "most improved" airline.
Last year's winner of the top prize, Cathay Pacific, took home the award for best transpacific airline, while Germany's Lufthansa won for the transatlantic route.
Taiwanese carrier EVA Air was recognized as having the cleanest aircraft cabins, while Asiana, Air New Zealand and Austrian Airlines took the prizes for in-flight meals.
Oneworld was rated the best airline alliance, and Emirates won for its entertainment system.
The Skytrax Awards were established in 1999. They are compiled from the world's largest airline passenger satisfaction survey, and operate "independent of airline involvement, sponsorship or third-party influence," according to Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted.
EasyJet Chief Leads Airline Through Turnaround
LONDON — Early in a May conference call with journalists to discuss easyJet’s first-half results, Carolyn McCall, the low-cost airline’s chief executive, seemed puzzled to find herself being grilled about toilets.
Was it the case, several reporters were keen to know, that a planned shift of easyJet’s lavatories toward the tail section would make the ceilings too low for some male passengers to, you know, stand up?
“We don’t believe customers will notice it,” Ms. McCall said of the change in easyJet’s fleet of Airbus A320s, which had just been announced that morning as a way to make room for a row of passenger seats. “We’re not going to do something that reduces customer satisfaction.”
Maybe a sitting-only toilet would cut down on “spraying”? another reporter — male — persisted, provoking nervous laughter.
“I couldn’t speculate,” Ms. McCall said, deadpan.
Five years after taking the helm of easyJet, as a rare woman among airline chief executives, Ms. McCall seems unfazed by such locker-room banter. “I don’t think of the gender issue — I’ve never thought like that,” Ms. McCall, a 53-year-old mother of three, said in an interview shortly after that conference call.
Nor to her was there any evident handicap in having never worked in the aviation industry, which is the case with Ms. McCall, who had built a long career in publishing and was previously chief of the Guardian Media Group, owner of properties that include The Guardian newspaper.
EasyJet, based near London, is second to the Irish airline Ryanair among Europe’s budget airlines in number of passengers carried. Together, the two airlines have led the democratization of European air travel, making the sun-drenched beaches of Spain and Croatia or medieval gems like Prague or Florence accessible to people of relatively modest means.
Ms. McCall has made her mark by turning easyJet from a company in chaos into one with steadily rising profits in Europe’s fiercely competitive airline industry. Part of that earnings growth has come from her efforts to expand easyJet beyond tourism into the more lucrative European business-travel market.
While many European airlines have consistently lost money since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, easyJet has reported record annual profits for the last four years, nearly doubling revenue during that time. Net income for the 2014 financial year came to 450 million pounds, or about $690 million, on revenue of more than £4.5 billion.
Ryanair also generates healthy profits, though revenue growth has been slower, rising 39 percent since 2011.
With the recent decline in oil prices leading to stiffer competition from its full-service rivals heading into the peak summer travel season, easyJet’s shares have slumped in recent weeks after hitting a high of more than £19 in mid-April.
But analysts say those are short-term issues, unlikely to slow easyJet’s momentum, which has come largely at the expense of Europe’s established full-fare carriers.
At a growing number of the 140 airports where easyJet flies, its A320s, with their distinctive orange tails, outnumber the jets of incumbent full-fare carriers like Air France, Alitalia, Lufthansa or Swiss. As easyJet has become the dominant carrier at major airports like London Gatwick, Geneva and Berlin Schönefeld, even some non-European fliers are starting to see easyJet as a kind of Eurail with wings.
While leisure travelers still represent the bulk of easyJet’s customers, one key to its success in recent years has been its ability to pull a growing number of higher-spending business travelers into its passenger mix.
“What Carolyn has done is to correctly recognize where the biggest market opportunity was given that they already had a certain cost base,” said Chris Tarry, an aviation consultant in Britain. “To drive greater returns, you need to look at improving the quality of the revenue. So appealing to more business passengers and everything that goes with that — better network, better frequency — has turned out to be a virtuous circle.”
When Ms. McCall joined easyJet in July 2010, the airline was in turmoil. Having expanded at a breakneck pace for several years, easyJet was struggling to mend a reputation for frequent delays — more than a third of its flights were late — and poor customer service.
Air traffic controllers’ strikes, volcanic ash clouds and other weather disruptions that year added close to £100 million, or about $153 million, in unanticipated operating costs.
In the months leading up to her arrival, Ms. McCall’s predecessor, Andrew Harrison, as well as the airline’s chairman, chief financial officer and several other top managers had all resigned in the face of public criticism from the airline’s billionaire founder and largest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
“She inherited a very difficult situation to align the commercial aspirations with the operational realities,” said Rob Bishton, who was head of operations for easyJet at the time and is now a senior official at Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority. “She was very clear about seeing things from a passenger perspective.”
Since her first days at the airline, Ms. McCall has made a habit of speaking with the pilots and assisting the cabin crew whenever she flies, which is generally several times a week. It is not uncommon for passengers to see the chief making her way through the center aisle with a plastic bag to gather the trash.
“Because they are so busy on the flight, it’s the easiest way to talk with the crew,” Ms. McCall said.
When she was hired, some rivals dismissed Ms. McCall as unsuited to such a complex, competitive industry.
Sustainable Travel on the Rise
With summer just around the corner, over half (52%) of all global travelers report that they are likely to choose a destination based on its social or environmental impact in 2015. Findings from a survey of 32,000 travelers across 16 countries by Booking.com reveal that attitudes towards sustainable travel are evolving, even as we continue to embrace vacation comforts.
While only 10% of respondents took a traditional sustainable trip in 2014 (defined as an eco-tour, a volunteering trip, a farm stay, a camping trip or a trip to learn about new cultures), this year will see the majority of global travelers being influenced by an intention to reduce their environmental impact, or to ensure that their tourism has a positive impact on the local community, when evaluating vacation destinations. Unsurprisingly, this trend is more marked in some countries than others.
- Brazilian respondents were most interested in sustainable travel, with 74% reporting that they would be likely to base a decision on these concerns.
- At the other end of the spectrum, only 36% of Danish respondents and 39% of Dutch respondents said their plans would be influenced by their potential social or environmental impact
- Australians (59%) and Americans (53%) were also among the world's top sustainable travel intenders
Modern Eco Warriors expect accommodations that pamper both them and the environment
While expressing the desire to travel more sustainably, survey respondents were not however prepared to forgo luxury while reducing their carbon footprint. When compared with other respondents, aspiring sustainable travelers were:
- 50% more likely to intend to book more luxury accommodations in 2015 than they did in 2014
- Three times as likely to plan to stay in more 'green' accommodations in 2015 than they did in 2014
- This combined interest in luxury and green stays creates a unique opportunity for accommodations to woo these travelers by offering high-end comfort paired with an eco sensibility.
Celebrating green accommodations that take the self-denial out of sustainable travel
As interest in sustainable travel increases, Booking.com assures travelers worldwide that it is easier than ever before to combine luxury and sustainability through the power of a well-booked accommodation.
"Sustainable travel is more than just 'going green' - it's also about helping to support and retain local cultures, economies and environments while traveling. Most people don't know how easy it is to weave sustainability into the types of trips they already want to take," says Todd Dunlap, Managing Director Americas.
"With our inventory of over 670,000 properties worldwide, there are many ways to be a conscientious traveler in 2015 without having to sacrifice comfort levels or relaxation. Guests may not realize that as they sleep on organic cotton sheets, washed with water heated by energy generated from the hotel itself, they are staying sustainably. Or that when eating a meal made from ingredients sourced within 20 miles of their accommodation, they are a sustainable traveler supporting local business.
"Many of the world's best accommodations already provide these stealthily sustainable amenities to make sure their guests can enjoy all the luxuries of a vacation guilt-free. In fact, you might already be a sustainable traveler and not even know it, that's how seamless sustainable choices in accommodation can be!"
The future: Airplanes that fix themselves?
(CNN) It may sound like a line from a sci-fi novel, but scientist believe that in the near future airplane wings will be able to fix themselves on the go.
A team from Bristol University in England has developed technology which could repair cracks on an aircraft in a similar way that human skin heals.
Their research has focused on carbon fiber reinforced composite materials which are commonly used to make sports equipment and, increasingly, the modern generation of aircraft. They have created tiny micro-spheres -- hollow capsules so small that several could fit across the width of the human hair -- which are filled with a healing agent and then planted into the composite material. On impact these spheres crack, and when the liquid comes into contact with a catalyst, which is also planted into the material, it causes it to harden and literally glue the crack together.
"Our approach here is to take the inspiration from the human body in that if we get damaged, we have the mechanisms to repair that damage," says professor Duncan Wass, the lead researcher on the project alongside professor Ian Bond and Dr Richard Trask. "If you cut your finger, eventually it will heal, so we thought, can we apply that sort of idea to these man-made structures? So that's what we've done," he adds.
At the moment, the technology can only help to fix very small cracks, rather than any significant structural damage. However it's precisely those tiny rifts that can often lead to bigger problems which can endanger an aircraft, if undetected. And rather than coating the entire airplane in micro-spheres, scientists say that they could use existing knowledge about aircraft structure to target areas which are deemed to be of higher risk.
Self-healing technology is not entirely new, and car paint which can self-repair fine scratches already exists. However, professor Wass warns that in the context of airplanes, it takes a lot more than just restoring the way a surface looks: "We're talking about structural materials here, it's not enough for it just to look the same, it's got to be strong," he says.
Scientists also have to find a way to make the technology work equally well across different environments: "The problem we have is that if an airplane is flying, it's very cold when you're at high altitude, or it might be on runway in Dubai and it's 40 degrees, and actually getting it to heal the same across those temperatures is the technical challenge that we have," says professor Watts.
Ironing out all the technical problems isn't the only requirement for self-fixing planes to enter the market, as it also depends on the airline industry's interest and willingness to bring them on board.
Boeing says that the company has spent a number of years researching self-healing coating and other related technologies. "However, it is too early to speculate how research in this area may be incorporated into any product or service," says a spokesman.
Professor Wass agrees that we won't be jumping on any self-fixing jets just yet. The technology, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and UK Catalysis Hub, is still five to ten years away from being developed enough to be implemented: "We had the concept early on but the devil is in the detail in getting it to work," he says. "For aerospace applications where safety is absolutely critical we're probably a long way off," he says.
However, other uses could come in the near future, such as in offshore wind turbine blades: "They're out in the sea, very high and difficult to reach, we can imagine applying there sooner" says professor Wass. "Many more consumer items -- sports equipment, bicycle frames, you can imagine in much nearer terms, maybe two years before we can start to see these things happening," he says.
Bill Vervaeke, CDME
West Palm Beach, FL 33411
(561) 795-5912 (Office & Facsimile)
(561) 318-9089 (Cellular)
Apple Vacations launches Cuba tours
Beginning July 9, Apple Vacations will begin offering five- and seven-night tours to Cuba under the U.S. Department of Treasury's People-to-People program.
Unlike Apple's standard FIT vacation packages, the Cuba itineraries will be guided group tours limited to 30 passengers each that will be operated by U.S.-based Cuba Travel Services, a Cuba-licensed operator that charters flights from Miami to Cuba with Sun Country Airlines and American Airlines.
With an onslaught of product coming onto the market in light of the U.S. easing travel restrictions to Cuba, Apple Vacations is hoping to differentiate its product by offering shorter itineraries than many of its competitors, Apple President Tim Mullen said during a media call on Tuesday to announce the Cuba launch.
"Demand for Cuba has been at an all-time high," said Mullen. "We're proud to be one of the first mainstream tour operators to bring portable, short vacation packages to Cuba."
Starting July 9, Apple will open bookings for two Cuba itineraries. The five-night Havana Getaway itinerary will include sightseeing tours, musical performances, a cigar rolling demonstration and Cuban meals, and will be priced from $2,233 per person, based on double occupancy, with departure dates set for Sept. 5 and Oct. 17.
There will also be a seven-night Colors of Cuba program, that in addition to the offerings of the Havana Getaway tour, will include two nights in the colonial town of Trinidad, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus. The Colors of Cuba itinerary is priced from $2,733 per person, double, with departure dates on Sept. 11, Sept. 25 and Oct. 8.
Mullen noted that as additional supply becomes available in line with additional demand, Apple Vacations will add more departure dates to the program.
Pricing includes Cuban health insurance, charter flights departing from Miami (connecting flights from other U.S. cities are available through Apple), Cuban tourist visa processing, U.S. taxes and fees. A Cuban departure tax of $25 per passenger will be collected upon check-in at the airport in Miami.
Travel to Cuba must be booked a minimum of 40 days in advance of the departure date to give Apple Vacations time to process the required documentation, according to the company.
"We've been asked by our travel agents when we'd be offering Cuba," said Mullen, adding that when Apple Vacations queried its agent partners about whether they would be willing to book a cultural Cuba tour product through Apple, as opposed to Apple's traditional FIT beach vacation package offering, the agents responded with a resounding "yes."
Carnival Corp. records $222 million in net income in Q2
Carnival Corp. reported $222 million in net income in the second quarter, up more than 126% from second quarter 2014. Revenue for the quarter, the company said, was $3.6 billion, compared with $3.63 billion in 2014.
Carnival said its net income in the quarter included unrealized gains on fuel derivatives of $34 million and $7 million on restructuring expenses.
Net revenue yields rose 4.1% in the quarter on a constant-dollar basis, beating the company's estimate of increases in the 2% to 3% range; gross revenue yield decreased 3.5% due to changes in currency exchange rates, it said.
Fuel prices declined 37%, to $411 per metric ton; the company spent $333 million on fuel in the quarter, compared with $527 million in Q2 2014. Net cruise costs, excluding fuel, increased 6.1%, which the company primarily attributed to an increase in drydock days.
Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said in the earnings statement that all company's North American brands "enjoyed strong revenue yield improvement”; he singled out the Carnival Cruise Line brand and said it "performed particularly well again this quarter."
The company said that fleetwide booking volume for the next three quarters was running "well ahead" of last year, at slightly lower prices due to transactional currency impacts. Donald said that the strong booking volume "clearly demonstrates strong consumer demand for our brands," and he added that Carnival Corp. would step up marketing investment for the remainder of the year.
Carnival said its third-quarter net revenue yields were expected to be up 2% to 3% in constant dollars compared with Q3 2014.
Construction at All Aboard West Palm Beach station marks a milestone
Construction crews on Tuesday began drilling the pilings that will serve as the foundation for All Aboard Florida’s $29 million station in downtown West Palm Beach — marking a milestone for the express passenger rail service.
A large crane has been set up at the station site, which is located just north of CityPlace between Datura and Evernia streets. Crews began the drilling work early Tuesday morning.
In January, All Aboard Florida permanently closed rail crossings at Datura and Evernia streets as part of the construction plan. The station’s 800-foot train platform is planned to rise where the streets once crossed the tracks.
This spring, crews began installing water, sewer and storm water piping at the site. Underground electrical work is also underway.
In addition to West Palm Beach, All Aboard Florida will have stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
The Coral Gables-based company will begin vertical construction this summer on its MiamiCentral station, which is expected to link to two other rail projects serving Miami-Dade County — Metromover, a 4.4-mile electrically powered transit system, and Metrorail, a 25-mile rail line with nearly two dozen stations.
In a YouTube video posted by the company last week, JC Freyre, All Aboard’s vice president of construction, said work has already begun at the site, which spans five blocks in downtown Miami.
“MiamiCentral is already underway,” Freyre said in the video. “We are already currently onsite. The piling contractor is on, so he is doing the foundation work. The problem is you don’t see it. At the end of the day it is all underground. Over the next couple months, the next phase will start and that will be the excavation where you will start to actually be able to see the shapes of the actual foundation, the shapes of the buildings. By the end of the summer you will see the first vertical elements coming out.”
The project includes five train tracks, which will be elevated 50 feet in the air. Underneath the train tracks there will be a mix of businesses and restaurants, Freyre said.
Above the tracks, the company is building three separate towers. Those buildings will include 850 apartments and 250,000 square feet of office space, according to Freyre.
“Getting all of that to dance together is challenging,” Freyre said. “But it is actually a lot of fun.”
All Aboard Florida plans to run 32 trains a day — 16 round trips — on the Florida East Coast Railway between Miami and Orlando. Service is expected to start in 2017.
New TAP Air Portugal owners vow expansion in US, Brazil
New TAP Air Portugal owners vow expansion in US, Brazil, and more passengers to Europe
LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- TAP Air Portugal's new owners said Wednesday they intend to expand operations to 10 more U.S. destinations and eight more in Brazil, while bringing more passengers from those countries into Europe.
David Neeleman, whose Gateway consortium is paying 354 million euros ($397 million) for a 61 percent stake in the flag carrier, said at the formal signing ceremony he intends to inject fresh capital into the airline, which has debts of more than 1 billion euros. The deal's value could rise to 488 million euros depending on TAP's 2015 performance.
The new owners, who this month won the bidding to buy TAP, also plan to renew TAP's aging fleet of aircraft.
Neeleman founded the JetBlue airline in the United States and is the CEO of Brazil's Azul carrier, which flies to Florida. He holds U.S.-Brazilian citizenship and is partnering with Portuguese bus company owner Humberto Pedrosa in the consortium.
Regulators' endorsement of the sale could take months.
The sale survived several years of legal challenges, labor strikes and one failed attempt to sell in 2012 when the sole bidder failed to provide required financial guarantees.
The government has set aside 5 percent of the company to sell to employees.
Some analysts say the company's 7,500-strong payroll is bloated after seven decades of government management, but the government negotiated a deal with most of the company's trade unions whereby the new owners won't be able to make mass layoffs for at least two-and-a-half years after taking control.
There's Another Huge Solar Flare Coming
A severe geomagnetic storm sparked by a solar flare swept the Earth Monday and a second is forecast to strike late Wednesday afternoon.
While that’s U.S. East Coast time, the impact has the potential to be worldwide -- everything from power being disrupted to radios blacking out to global positioning systems going a little off-course.
Monday’s event, which was still winding down Tuesday, doesn’t seem to have caused any failures or forced planes to reroute, according to industry statements. It registered as a G4 storm on the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center’s five-step Geomagnetic Storm scale and touched off auroras that were visible across northern Asia, Europe and parts of Canada and the U.S.
It also registered an S3 and an R2 on the Solar Radiation and Radio Blackout scales. Yes, there are three different scales for measuring the severity of a solar storm.
The Geomagnetic Scale gives us an indicator for the nice light shows in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres and the power that can knock out electricity to your house. A G5 storm could be a catastrophic event, with the complete collapse of some power grids, satellite navigation disrupted for days and “hundreds of amps” of current in pipelines.
Solar radiation can fry satellites, expose airline crews and passengers in high latitudes to radiation and keep astronauts from venturing out on space walks.
Radio Silence
The radio blackout component involves pretty much what you’d think. The effects of this are on the sunlit side of the Earth.
Using those scales as a guide, it’s apparent that Monday’s event posed the largest threat to grid operators and pipeline companies and not as much to airlines.
So what will hit the Earth on Wednesday?
We’ll know for sure about 30 minutes before it gets here.
“It looks like we’ll possibly be in a much similar situation,” said Brent Gordon, operations officer at the space weather center in Boulder, Colorado.
Using a coronagraph, forecasters on Earth can get a pretty good idea of the size of the sun’s the coronal mass ejection and extrapolate its potential from there. The CME is an explosion of magnetic fields and plasma from the sun’s atmosphere.
“You get a ballpark idea of how much matter is there,” Gordon said.
Warning System
However, it’s only when the CME reaches NASA’s ACE satellite, parked 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth, that the details of what’s coming will be known. The satellite is like the ocean buoys that warn of a hurricane.
The trip from ACE to Earth will take the CME about 30 minutes, Gordon said.
When the CME hits, it’s time to “finish battening down the hatches,” Gordon said.
The other thing ACE does, as will the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new DSCOVR satellite in a month or so, is measure solar wind. Gordon said the wind, made up of protons and particle matter streaming out of the sun, was one indications to forecasters that Monday’s event was winding down.
The wind speeds dropped to 567 kilometers per second for a time on Tuesday from about 800 kps Monday. On a quiet day, the solar wind is between 300 to 350 kps.
“Like the wind speed on Earth, it’s a good barometer of how much activity there is,” Gordon said.
So sometime later Wednesday it will be time to put up that umbrella and get ready for a second round.
Clinton Hotel sells for $29m in Miami, USA
The commercial division for the national real estate firm, lead in the South Florida market by David Restainer as Douglas Elliman Commercial Florida, was named exclusive broker to market this historic Art Deco property in 2014 and ushered the transaction to closing with a familiar buyer and Maryland-based seller.
The seller is East Coast Realty Ventures from Rockville, Maryland.
The buyer, Think Hotel Group, owns several hotels in the area at 21st Street in Miami Beach and closed in an all cash deal.
“This is the third hotel that Think Group has purchased with us in the last two years (The Plymouth and the Ansonia Hotels are currently under development),” said Restainer.
“It is a great pleasure working with Shawn Vardi and his team.
“They have great vision, a knack for unlocking value, are aggressive and get to the closing table.
“They are going to do amazing things to the hotel that will invigorate Washington Avenue.”
The Clinton Hotel is located on Washington Avenue at 8th Street, just two blocks from the pristine sands of South Beach.
It was originally built in 1934 with architectural design by Charles Neilder and recently underwent a meticulous refurbishment that restored the hotel to its former grandeur.
The restoration included the addition of two new stories and more than 5,500 square feet of retail space and upgraded food and beverage facilities.
Think Hotel Group will begin renovations and improvements immediately.
Travel spend grows, but at a slower rate
Travel and tourism spend decelerated in the first quarter of 2015, official figures show.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports first-quarter travel spend increased at an annual rate of 2%, substantially down on the 2014 fourth-quarter figure of 4.9%.
By comparison, real gross domestic product (GDP) turned down, decreasing 0.7% (second estimate) in the first quarter after increasing 2.2%.
Overall growth in prices for travel and tourism goods and services continued to decline in the first quarter of 2015, decreasing 9.1% following a decrease of 4.7% (revised) in the fourth quarter.
The continued decline was mainly attributable to a large decrease in 'all other transportation-related commodities', which includes gasoline; this commodity group decreased 33.4% in the first quarter after decreasing 23.5% in the fourth quarter.
Employment in the travel and tourism industries decelerated, increasing 2.3% in the first quarter of 2015 after increasing 2.9 percent (revised) in the fourth quarter.
This marks the 20th consecutive quarter of employment growth in the travel and tourism industries.
Total tourism-related output was $1.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2015. It consisted of $905.4 billion (58%) of direct tourism spending and $663.2 billion (42%) of indirect tourism-related spending.
(WAV : Q. What does a snack and
'Demand for more nuts' led to emergency landing
A court has heard the United Airlines flight that made an unscheduled landing in Belfast on Saturday did so because an unruly passenger kept demanding nibbles.
Almost all of the 282 passengers had to sleep on the terminal floor while they waited more than 24 hours to take off again because the diversion pushed the crew beyond their legal flying hours limit.
A court heard that the pilot of the flight from Rome to Chicago had decided to divert to Belfast after the crew became alarmed by Jeremah Mathis Thede's alleged increasingly aggressive behaviour.
He landed the plane after first dumping 50,000 litres (over 13,200 Gallons) of fuel over the Atlantic.
Thede, from California, was charged in a court in Northern Ireland yesterday with endangering the safety of the aircraft, disruptive behaviour on board and common assault against a stewardess. He denies the charges.
The court in Coleraine was told that Thede allegedly got up 15 minutes into the flight, while the seat belt lights were still on, and demanded to be served 'nuts or crackers'.
The court heard he was given a bag of nuts by one crew member but continued to demand more and became agitated, repeatedly getting up and down from his seat, opening the overhead lockers and making several trips to the toilets.
His behaviour prompted the pilot to perform a u-turn over the Atlantic and head to Belfast International Airport.
Thede told police the crew had overreacted and that he'd done nothing wrong. He was remanded in custody to appear before magistrates next week and in the meantime Judge Christopher Holmes had ordered him to undergo psychiatric tests.
Singapore low-cost airline targets gay and lesbian travellers
Singapore low-cost airline Scoot Airlines has signed up as a member with the tourism body, Gay and Lesbian Tourism Australia (GALTA).
The airline's general manager Dennis Basham said the decision was part of a move to differentiating itself from other low-cost airlines by focussing on creating 'a sense of fun and providing a warm welcome to all travellers'.
"As a relatively new airline, Scoot brings a lot of enthusiasm and energy in connecting our guests with some great Asian destinations and we see the gay and lesbian community as a key audience," he said.
"As frequent travellers with a tendency to take long-haul holidays to warm, beach destinations and countries with a rich, cultural landscape, the LGBT market is already choosing to fly with Scoot and our aim is to become the preferred airline."
Launched in 2012, Scoot now operates between Singapore and 13 destinations - Sydney, Gold Coast, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Tianjin, Shenyang, Nanjing, Qingdao, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Perth.
Melbourne will be added on November 1, and by August 2015 Scoot will operate an all-787 fleet,
GALTA works in close partnership with the international market via IGLTA, the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.
Allegiant Air cancels additional flight at St. Pete-Clearwater International
Allegiant Air's troubles continued Tuesday when it canceled a flight out of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport due to an unspecified "maintenance issue," the airline confirmed.
The Las Vegas-headquartered airline has now canceled about 14 flights arriving or departing at the airport since the emergency landing of one of its aircraft on June 17 due to a pressurization problem. That was the second Allegiant emergency landing at the airport this month.
One cancellation, Flight 893, pushed away from a St. Pete-Clearwater gate Friday at 8:17 p.m. but was forced to return before takeoff due to a "maintenance" issue that the airline refused to detail.
All the canceled flights appear to have been rescheduled within a day.
"With the summer heat, the extra demand on our aircraft and the pace of operations during peak travel periods comes commensurate mechanical issues and other unusual service interruptions," Allegiant said in a statement emailed to the Tampa Bay Times. "Our overall safety record continues to be one of the best in the industry, and we continue to operate every flight with the safety of our passengers and crew the number one priority."
The latest cancellation involved Flight 816, which was scheduled to depart St. Pete-Clearwater Tuesday at 7:40 a.m. and arrive at Huntington, W. Va., at 9:34 a.m. The flight will instead depart today at 3:40 p.m.
The return leg, Flight 817, which was scheduled to depart Huntington later in the day, was also canceled and rescheduled for today.
Allegiant said passengers of the flights will receive an $8 meal voucher, $100 toward a future flight and hotel accommodations if they do not live locally.
The budget airline has drawn considerable bad publicity in recent months. Allegiant has been involved in long labor dispute with its pilots. And in April, a report by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' Aviation Mechanics Coalition listed flights delayed by mechanical issues nationwide between September and March, nine involving St. Pete-Clearwater International.
Allegiant's fleet includes about 70 planes with an average age of 22 years, according to the report, making it among the oldest in the country.
St. Pete-Clearwater International isn't the only airport with Allegiant cancellations. The airline canceled 13 other flights Monday at airports around the nation, according to a travel advisory on Allegiant's website. But airlines cancel flights all the time, often due to bad weather, and the Allegiant website does not list the reason for Monday's cancellations.
One flight from Las Vegas to Montana was canceled Monday because of mechanical problems, according to a media report.
Bali Leads Indonesia Effort to Lure Tourists With Free Visas
Indonesia will focus on Bali and islands near Singapore rather than developing more remote spots in the world’s largest archipelago, as it seeks to double tourist numbers by 2020.
The government’s marketing budget has been increased fourfold to 1 trillion rupiah ($75 million) this year, a sign of President Joko Widodo’s commitment to the industry, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said in an interview on Tuesday. That money will be spent promoting Bali, Jakarta and the islands of Batam and Bintan close to Singapore, which generate about 90 percent of the country’s revenue from international tourists, he said.
“We cannot promote every destination in Indonesia as it’s very expensive,” Yahya said in Jakarta. “Our strategy is that tourism development follows infrastructure development.”
An archipelago of 17,000 islands that would stretch from Alaska to New York, Indonesia attracted less than half the international tourists than its smaller neighbors Malaysia and Thailand did last year. As growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy slows to the weakest in more than five years and the government lags its revenue targets, the president has pledged to double arrivals in his five-year term.
Indonesia this month granted visa-free entrance to citizens of 30 countries including the U.S., China and Germany.
New Airport
On Bali, known for its surf, Hindu culture and rice paddy landscapes, the aim is to spread tourism development more widely as it’s concentrated in the south near the main city Denpasar, said Yahya. The government is pushing ahead with plans to build a two-runway international airport at Singaraja in northern Bali and a toll road from Denpasar to Gilimanuk in the west of the island, he said.
Indonesia attracted 9.4 million international tourists last year, compared with Thailand’s 24.8 million and Malaysia’s 27.4 million, government data show. These countries made tourism a leading industry years ago, Yahya said. “In Indonesia this has just been decided now,” he said.
It’s a sensible approach to spend money on places that are already attracting guests, because many parts of Indonesia lack infrastructure, said Matt Gebbie, a Jakarta-based director at Horwath HTL, a hotel development consultancy.
“You’d have to spend a lot more to create a new destination,” he said. “There’s no point promoting Raja Ampat when no one can get there,” he said, referring to islands in eastern Indonesia renowned for marine life.
Catching up with its neighbors would also attract funds to help the country narrow a shortfall in its current account that has weighed on the rupiah.
Cheap Destination
“If Indonesia was to match Thailand in terms of receipts from tourism, its current-account deficit would be a problem of the past,” Ndiame Diop, the World Bank’s lead economist for Indonesia, said in a presentation in Jakarta earlier this year.
The rupiah, which has fallen 28 percent against the dollar over the last three years, should make Indonesia a more attractive destination. Indonesia came third out of 141 economies for price competitiveness in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2015. Other indicators were less positive, at 101 for service infrastructure and 134th for environmental sustainability.
Tourism Zones
While he’s keen on improving the country’s image for tourists, President Widodo has also sparked several high-profile diplomatic spats for rejecting pleas for clemency and executing foreigners for drug trafficking.
Australia, the Netherlands and Brazil have withdrawn their ambassadors this year and President Francois Hollande has warned of consequences if Indonesia proceeds with the execution of a French citizen.
Yahya, chief executive of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia before being appointed tourism minister last year, will spend about half the marketing budget on digital media including TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook, to garner interest from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan and Australia.
He aims to make it mandatory for developers to follow United Nations’ sustainable tourism criteria when building resorts. Yahya is also encouraging provinces to develop special zones for tourism where developers may lease plots from the government to overcome the challenges of land acquisition.
“Otherwise it’s too slow, developing this big country.”
(WAV: Director Colorado Tourism quote “This isn't about marijuana.” Yeah, right!)
Colorado tourism numbers set record in 2014
State, local tax coffers swell beyond $1 billion for first time from record number of tourists
A record 71.3 million visitors spent $18.6 billion in Colorado in 2014, marking a high point for the state's thriving tourism industry.
With Denver and high country resort communities reporting record performances in 2014, it's not surprising the state set new benchmarks for tourism last year.
The Colorado Tourism Office on Tuesday released a trio of reports showing the state outpacing national growth rates in every tourism category. It was the fourth year in a row that visitor counts and spending increased in Colorado.
"We are far outstripping the national average at getting our share of guests into Colorado," said Al White, director of the Colorado Tourism Office who soon will be taking on a role as senior consultant with the state's Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
This isn't about marijuana, White said.
"This is because we are doing a good job in Colorado. Is marijuana beneficial?" White said. "Marginally, yes I think it may be a decision influencer for some people coming."
White had research outfit Strategic Marking & Research Insights, or SMARI, ask travelers it polled whether marijuana played a role in their decision to possibly take a vacation in the state.
Sixty-five percent said marijuana didn't make a difference. Among the rest, 16 percent said they were more likely to visit because of legal recreational weed sales, and 18 percent said pot sales made them less likely to visit.
"So it's a double-edged sword," White said. "We have had records for the last four years in a row, and three years of those marijuana wasn't even legal. It may be a modest benefit to us, but it is not the reason we are seeing great records."
The highlights from 2014:
• Research firm Dean Runyan & Associates tallied direct spending by visitors at $18.6 billion, with 66 percent of that coming from overnight visitors who paid for lodging. That's a 7.4 percent increase over 2013, which also was a record year for Colorado. The national annual growth rate in visitor expenditures for 2014 was 4.5 percent.
• Runyan reported that the Denver metro area accounted for more than half of the state's travel spending, with mountain resorts making up the next largest chunk at 23 percent. But Runyan's survey showed mountain resorts accounting for 24.6 percent of all travel-generated earnings, versus 4.1 percent of all travel-generated earnings coming from the Denver metro area. (Explanation: Holidays are pricier in Vail than Lakewood.)
• Runyan's research showed the state's tourism-dependent businesses generating $1.1 billion in local and state taxes in 2014, surpassing the billion-dollar mark for the first time. That's about $215 in tax revenue for every Colorado resident.
• Tourism supported 155,300 jobs in Colorado in 2014, a 3.3 percent increase over 2013. Those workers earned $5.1 billion in 2014, a 7.1 percent increase over 2013.
• Longwoods International, which surveys 2 million travelers each year for its state and city clients, tallied a record 71.3 million visitors to Colorado in 2014. Overnight trips reached 33.6 million, an increase of 8 percent over 2013.
• Colorado remains the country's top ski destination with a 21 percent share of all overnight ski trips.
• Longwoods showed a record 16.1 million of 2014's visitors were influenced by the state's marketing campaign. Visits to friends and family climbed 11 percent in 2014 to a new high of 13.3 million.
• Overnight visitors to Colorado spent $12.5 billion in 2014, a 19 percent increase over 2013. Spending by daytrippers reached $2.7 billion, up 27 percent from 2013.
• Spending by overnight visitors in 2014 climbed in all five main business sectors of the state's tourism industry: lodging spending was up 18 percent to $3.4 billion, transportation spending rose 20 percent to $2.9 billion, food and drink spending climbed 24 percent to $2.6 billion, sightseeing and attractions spending climbed 14 percent to $1.9 billion, and retail spending climbed 21 percent to $1.7 billion.
• Longwoods showed that travelers staying in vacation rental homes contributed 21 percent to all travel expenditures, revealing the soaring role of rent-by-owner homes in the travel industry.
• The top out-of-state markets for Colorado vacationers were California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York. Colorado residents remained the top vacationers in their own state, making up 34 percent of all overnight leisure travelers in 2014, which marks a decline from 2013 and 2014.
The state's top tourism champions credited — not surprisingly — their work for the surge in visitors. The state's 4-year-old, $7.2 million "Come To Life" ad campaign generated 1.7 million additional trips to Colorado, according to SMARI.
That means the state's television, print and radio ads — $5.3 million for summer and $1.9 million for winter — stirred a $2.6 billion impact between April 2014 and March 2015, according to SMARI.
"It's a very strong campaign that makes a very close and personal connection with people and makes them want to visit Colorado," said Denise Miller, a vice president at SMARI.
Most important for tourism leaders who lobby state legislators for increased tourism marketing money each year, the ad campaign delivered $361 for every $1 invested, a return on investment that will certainly highlight next year's tourism lobbying efforts. That's up from a $228 return on each dollar invested in 2012.
"This is why the legislature likes to give us money," White said. "Because we give them back way more than they give us."
Layover breakthrough: TripAdvisor launches comprehensive airport pages
(CNN) Ever been in an airport waiting for a flight and opted for the first stale sandwich you could find, fearing it'd be the last you'd see?
Only to discover an amazing seafood bar right next to your gate?
TripAdvisor's staff must have felt that pain, too.
Something like that, anyway, must have inspired those indefatigable travel archivists to launch dedicated pages highlighting the attractions and amenities in 200 major airports worldwide.
"Over 3.1 billion travelers pass through airports each year, with the average traveler spending 150 minutes of airport 'dwell time' between arriving at the terminal to the doors of the plane closing at the gate," says Adam Medros, TripAdvisor's senior vice president, global product.
"We want to help them quickly find things to do on the site while they're waiting to catch a flight, or book an airport hotel when they need a place to stay."
The travel booking and review website says its airport pages will allow users to rate restaurants, hotels, attractions, duty free stores, boutiques and lounges while also giving them the ability to find the cheapest flights to that airport.
Chicago: Will John Hancock revamp bring double the visitors?
John Hancock sets sights on big numbers with revamped observatory.
A revamp of the John Hancock Center observatory represents the latest salvo in the intensifying aerial battle for visitors being waged by Hancock, Willis and Trump towers.
John Hancock's observatory — renamed 360 Chicago — has been spruced up and the wait for the elevators to the 94th floor made more inviting in an effort to double the number of visitors over the next five years.
Willis also plans renovations for its Chicago Skydeck that it declined to reveal.
"We are planning a major upgrade of the retail and the observation deck, but it is too early to go into specifics yet," said Peter Rose, senior managing director in charge of public affairs at Blackstone Group, which recently bought the tower.
The Chicago Skydeck and 360 Chicago are fighting it out 1,000 feet or so above city streets.
Not to be outdone, Trump Tower said it has refreshed the food and bar menu at its 16th floor lounge and aims to boost the number of guests to 90,000 this year from 74,185 last spring/summer.
Changes at John Hancock include the ground floor. Before, visitors lined up and waited for their 40-second elevator ride to the observatory. Now they can watch a short historical video about Chicago and look at photos showcasing city neighborhoods, culture and history. There's also background audio of city sounds like "L" trains, jazz and the Bud Billiken Parade.
Gina Schwieger, a senior director at Respiratory Health Association, said the interactive features in the lobby "appeal to lots of your senses — visuals, sounds and feelings." Jason Lesniewicz, cultural tourism manager at Choose Chicago, was thrilled with the emphasis on city neighborhoods. Attractions like this add to what Chicago has to offer, he said. Both attended a special preview Tuesday evening ahead of a public opening Wednesday.
On the 94th floor, visitors can sit back on new stadium benches to watch the sunset while having food and drinks from the revamped restaurant.
"It is more sophisticated. Before, it was just plain," said Michael Weber, 51, a director at Kodak Alaris EIS Inc., in Orlando, Fla. "It's much more comfortable and inviting than it used to be," he said while seated at the stadium benches.
Nichole Williamson, general manager at 360 Chicago, said the observation area attracts between 4,000 and 5,000 visitors a day during the peak seasons in spring, summer and holidays.
"We see our numbers growing,'' Williamson said. "Our goal is to offer dynamic experiences, and have something for everybody."
The majority of guests are repeat visitors from the Midwest, and about a quarter come from China, Canada, U.K., France and Germany, Williamson said.
The ground-floor exhibit aims to give school groups and summer camps an educational yet fun experience. It's also meant to encourage the Midwestern repeaters to explore the neighborhoods. The photos depict Bronzeville, Bucktown, Hyde Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Old Town, Pilsen, Wicker Park and Wrigleyville.
Also new at the observatory is a space for special events. A two-hour package ranges from $1,000 for up to 30 guests (off-peak) to $8,000 (both peak and off-peak) to lease the entire 94th floor.
Williamson said the enhancements mark the last phase of a three-year project that started when Paris-based Montparnasse 56 Group bought the observatory in 2012.
She declined to say how much the renovations cost.
The entry fee to the observatory is $19, with a separate charge of $7 for Tilt, the booths that extend out from the building and lean 30 degrees, offering downward views 1,030 feet above the city.
Williamson said 35 percent of visitors add on Tilt, which was introduced in May 2014.
Tickets are $19.50 for Skydeck Chicago, 1,353 feet up on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower, which is aiming to draw 1.6 million visitors by the end of this year. There's no extra charge for the Ledge, glass boxes that extend 4.3 feet out.
Blackstone Group, a New York-based private equity real estate investor, in March agreed to buy Willis Tower for an estimated $1.3 billion.
Skydeck also has a private events area, on the 99th floor. Rates start at $3,500 for a morning event for up to three hours.
There's VIP lunches on the 99th floor and Chicago-style pizza on the 103rd floor.
Terrace at Trump, on the 16th floor, charges $100 per person for a guaranteed seat.
Bill Vervaeke, CDME
West Palm Beach, FL 33411
(561) 795-5912 (Office & Facsimile)
(561) 318-9089 (Cellular)
Tunisia Attack Deals Blow to European Travel, Has Little Impact in US
Tourism itself was targeted in Tunisia during last week’s gruesome attack in which at least 38 people were killed by a gunman with possible ISIS connections who fired on them at a beach in the resort town of Sousse.
It was the second attack on tourists in Tunisia in recent months. In March an attack on the Bardo museum left at least 17 people dead.
According to Business Insider, TUI AG, which owns Thomson and First Choice in the UK, was hit hardest, with its stock price down 6 percent on Monday morning. Thomas Cook’s stock was also reported to be down 3 to 4 percent.
European airlines stocks also took a tumble. International Airline Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways and Iberian, was reported down 2.5 percent.
European tour operators were reeling as cancellations mounted and they mobilized efforts to bring travelers back home.
The UK Foreign Office updated its listing for Tunisia and warned that further attacks were possible.
In the midst of the horror, Tui Travel made the serious public relations blunder of holding tight to normal cancellation policies after one month, igniting a furious reaction that will damage the company far more than the attacks themselves could have.
London’s Independent reported that Tui was keeping normal cancellation policies in effect on bookings for August and beyond and denying customers the right to cancel in the U.K. At the same time, the company was paying refunds to its German customers.
Thomson and Thomas Cook canceled departures to Tunisia for the week and waived penalties for cancellation or switching destinations for the coming month.
Tui told its German customers they could cancel or switch without penalty on bookings scheduled through Sept. 15.
But while the attack was wreaking havoc on the travel industry in Europe, its effect in the U.S. was more subdued, practically nonexistent.
British holidaymakers travel in large numbers to Tunisia as a Mediterranean beach destination. The Independent reported estimates of 80,000 to 100,000 British travelers that were booked to visit Tunisia in the month August alone.
In the U.S., few operators offer Tunisia, and Americans in search of beach holidays are heading to the Caribbean, Mexico or Hawaii in great numbers, but not far beyond that.
“We have not been affected to date,” Robert Drumm, president of Alexander + Roberts told TravelPulse.
“In that neck of the woods we only offer Morocco and Egypt.”
And the relatively small number of Americans who do travel to the African Mediterranean countries are looking for cultural experiences and have little interest in beaches.
Celebrity Cruises to go mainly with bundle pricing
Celebrity Cruises is set to roll out a permanent change to its pricing structure, starting July 6.
The new system builds on Celebrity's 123Go! promotion, which offers a menu of perquisites, such as free gratuities, beverage packages or an onboard spending credit.
The pricing structure, to be called Go!Big, Go!Better, Go!Best, adopts the rhythm and language of the 123Go! promotion, but Celebrity is emphasizing that it is not a temporary campaign.
The structure will be applied to nearly all inventory from Oct. 1, 2015, through April 2017, the most distant announced deployments.
Celebrity began describing the new structure to agents in a series of webinars that started on June 27.
Guests can choose among four perquisites: a Classic beverage package, free gratuities, unlimited internet or a $150-per-person spending credit. All oceanview, balcony and suite accommodations will be priced at minimum with the choice of one perquisite built in.
In effect, cruise-only pricing at Celebrity will be eliminated, except for inside cabins.
A Go!Big price includes a choice of one option, while Go!Better includes a choice of two. Go!Best provides all four, and substitutes a Premium beverage package for the Classic package.
Celebrity said that the Go!Best option makes it the first premium segment cruise line to provide all-inclusive pricing. Although a shore excursion is not included, as it is with some all-inclusive luxury cruise products, the onboard credit can be applied to excursions, Celebrity said.
As with 123Go!, a buyer of a bundled fare that has a third or fourth guest in their cabin will receive nonalcoholic drink packages and 90 minutes of free Internet for those guests, Celebrity said.
The new pricing will not apply to Celebrity's Xpedition ship or to transatlantic and transpacific crossings.
By bundling the noncommissionable items into the standard fare, Celebrity is effectively raising the commissions that travel agents can earn selling most Celebrity cabin categories.
It said the structure is also good for consumers because buying the perquisites separately would cost more than the bundle.
Celebrity said that with the introduction of the Go!Big, Go!Better, Go!Best pricing structure, the 123Go! promotion launched in 2013 will be retired.
Donra Ritzenthaler, Celebrity's senior vice president for sales, trade sales and service, said the new pricing was more than two years in the making. Among the internal debates was whether it should be rolled out as a promotion or brand strategy.
In the end, the line’s CEO, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, said “the team was aligned” on a pricing strategy. “We wanted to raise the bar.”
Ritzenthaler and Lutoff-Perlo tested the waters with the concept by giving a sneak peak of the strategy to large accounts early last month.
Upon hearing the plan, World Travel Holdings co-president Brad Tolkin said he liked the “crisp and clean” simplicity of it.
“Are specialty restaurants over and above [the price of the cruise]?” he asked.
“Yes,” Lutoff-Perlo responded. “But the onboard credits would get that covered.”
“We needed to completely change what’s going on,” Ritzethaler told Tolkin. “Our guiding principles were to give consumers ultimate choice, raise APDs (average per diems) and make it easy.”
When the strategy was outlined to him, Vacations To Go president Emerson Hankamer said he felt it was “a very strong, proactive thing for the trade.”
Although his company focuses on attracting consumers with the prospect of low prices, he understands the attraction of value-adds, even when they represent an alternative to lowering prices.
“If you load up with amenities but the price is high, you’ll get a higher-quality customer who spends more,” he said.
Baha Mar Developers File Suit Against General Contractor
One day after filing for bankruptcy in the U.S., the developers of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar mega-resort brought their effort to salvage the oft-delayed project to another nation’s courts. Baha Mar Ltd. filed a claim Tuesday in Britain’s English High Court against the project’s contractor, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd., parent of China Construction America Inc. (CCA).
The claim asserts CCA “is liable in respect guarantee and performance obligations related to the construction of the project, and that Baha Mar Ltd. is entitled to and claims against the defendant a variety of financial remedies” Baha Mar representatives said Tuesday in a statement.
In a sense, the most recent court filing follows a pattern. In Monday’s bankruptcy announcement Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s CEO, focused blame for the project’s repeated delays squarely on CCA.
“The general contractor repeatedly has missed construction deadlines,” Izmirlian said in the statement.
“This has caused both sizeable delay costs and forced the resort to postpone its opening,” he said. “The resort has been left without a sufficient source of revenue to continue our existing business. “The delays will ultimately impact the 2,000 workers the company had hired in anticipation of a December 2014 launch, he added. “If we cannot reach a consensual resolution in the next few weeks, we will have to make some extremely difficult decisions that would include workforce reductions,” Izmirlian said.
In what may prove an important step to facilitate an opening of the resort through the bankruptcy process, Izmirlian said he would arrange an $80 million funding facility under which the resort would operate while in bankruptcy.
“This financing will enable Baha Mar to operate and meet its financial obligations in the interim during the Chapter 11 process,” he said. Up to $30 million of the funding “will be utilized by Baha Mar over the next 30 days,” Izmirlian added.
The Baha Mar chief acknowledged the Bahamas government’s efforts to repair the rift between the developers and CCA. “I want to thank the government of the Bahamas and the prime minister in particular for their efforts on behalf of Baha Mar and deeply appreciate their support,” Izmirlian said Monday. “They, like us, want Baha Mar to succeed.”
Indeed, while an array of issues — from inadequate government support to labor troubles to the high cost of electrical power — have been blamed for the project’s delays, Izmirlian’s statements indicate the primary dispute is tied to alleged CCA work slow-downs that delayed the mega-resort’s construction.
In effect, the fracas directly involves the Chinese government. Bahamas media reports linked the stalled work to delayed or inadequate payments made to CCA, China’s state-run construction firm.
China’s Import-Export Bank financed the Baha Mar project through a $2.5-billion loan, while Izmirlian’s firm arranged the additional $850 million to bankroll the project. China’s ambassador to the Bahamas was reported to be involved in negotiations earlier this month.
“The people of The Bahamas should no longer have to endure embarrassing delays of Baha Mar’s opening,” Izmirlian said. “Nor should members of the travel industry and guests continue to face understandable frustration and disappointment caused by the failure to complete construction. I am committed to doing all I realistically can to move Baha Mar forward to be completed and opened successfully.”
Emirates Goes On The Offensive Over Open Skies
Emirates Airlines went on the offensive over the Open Skies debate this morning with a dramatic press conference in Washington D.C. — and a whopping 388-page rebuttal to submitted to the U.S. government — saying the claims by the big three U.S. legacy airlines that Persian Gulf carriers receive government subsidies are “patently false.”
Emirates issued a line-by-line response to the 55-page white paper submitted to the Obama administration in January by American, Delta and United airlines. The paper alleged that Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar have accepted $42 billion in subsidies from their respective governments over a 10-year period. The legacy U.S. carriers believe the Middle East airlines have distorted the marketplace.
Emirates CEO Sir Tim Clark, speaking in the shadow of the U.S. government in Washington at the National Press Club, said the reality of the U.S. airlines is their desire for “protection from competition and the end of Open Skies.”
The white paper, he said, was “a series of demonstrably inaccurate assertions, outright distortions, and legal misinterpretations of the Open Skies agreement.”
Clark, like Etihad and Qatar before him, denied the airline accepts subsidies.
Clark was forthright and admittedly used what he called fairly strong language because he said the issue has exploded with rhetoric, including in the media.
Not only did Clark called the legacy carriers’ assertions “repugnant,” but at one point he said “They come to his debate with unclean hands. They have received government support (too).”
“The subsidy allegations put forward by the Big 3 are patently false. We have been profitable for 27 years straight, and unlike our accusers, we have never depended on government bail-outs or protection from competition,” he said. “In fact, we were told right from the start by the government of Dubai that Emirates has to deliver profits and stand on its own feet. We had to then, and we still have to now. Dubai has no oil reserves to speak of, and therefore it embarked on a well-documented strategy to diversify its economy with air transport as a key enabler.”
Clark also spoke to one of the main points of difference that Gulf airlines have emphasized — customer service. Noting that Delta is returning $7 billion to shareholders, Clark said: “But why couldn’t they have spent that money on improving the product? By making better seats? Gentlemen, this isn’t difficult, making the consumer enjoy the products.”
The full Emirates response can be found here, but even before Clark sat down for his press conference this morning the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies — the umbrella group representing the U.S. legacy airlines and dozens of prominent aviation unions and businesses — issued a statement.
“Emirates can submit as many pages as it wants, but it still won’t paper over what has been well-documented: Emirates has received billions in subsidies and unfair benefits from the treasury of the UAE.
Our investigation shows that these massive subsidies have allowed Emirates, Etihad and Qatar airlines to expand far beyond what market forces could ever support, distorting international competition and tilting the playing field to its advantage. With American jobs at stake, the time for action is increasingly urgent.
We respectfully ask that the U.S. government request consultations with Qatar and the UAE, and stand up against these unfair government subsidies that violate our Open Skies agreement.”
Clark has met with U.S. government officials. He said he has not been asked to freeze any new routes while discussions take place, and said he didn’t know when the administration would render a decision on whether to re-open consultations on the Open Skies agreements. He suggested that in July and August the talks might heat up.
Virgin Atlantic to Cut 500 Jobs: WSJ Report
Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., owned by its British billionaire founder Richard Branson, is cutting about 500 jobs as it seeks to reduce costs and improve its financial resilience, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Special: US Intelligence Adviser Issues Stark Warning on Economy.
The cuts will be done through layoffs, moving staff, or not filling vacancies and will be implemented by the end of the year, the newspaper reported.
The 30-year-old airline is looking to boost earnings after it reported a 14.4 million pounds (US$22.62 million) profit for 2014, its first in four years.
Virgin is in the throes of a two-year turnaround plan that includes shutting its Little Red domestic airline to concentrate on long-haul flights.
The airline is increasing its transatlantic flights while cutting back on some routes elsewhere.
It is also contemplating how to replace seven Boeing 747s it flies from London's Gatwick Airport, and could expand its overall fleet in the process.
Virgin Atlantic was not immediately available to comment on the report.
Marriott opens first five star island resort.
WAV: See the video here - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-07-01/get-away-from-it-all-on-a-5-star-private-island?cmpid=yhoo
Yes, the number of shark attacks is above average
The number of shark attacks across the country is slightly above average for this time of year, and many of the incidents have occurred farther north than usual.
There have been 23 attacks in 2015, of which one in Hawaii was fatal, according to data from the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.
Typically, the U.S. sees about 30 to 40 attacks, of which either zero or one is deadly, the Shark Attack File reported. To reach more than half the average number of attacks so early in the season and already have a fatality puts this year a bit above average, said George Burgess, the director of the Shark Attack File.
North Carolina has already seen six attacks this year, Burgess said. Two of the attacks occurred in the Outer Banks over the weekend. The state typically only sees one or two per year, Frank Schwartz, a shark biologist with the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, told National Geographic.
South Carolina has also seen its share of attacks — three so far, Burgess said.
The proximity of fisherman and swimmers is of particular concern in last weekend's attacks, Burgess told LiveScience. "Fishing off a beach where there are swimmers and surfers makes for a really bad mix," he said.
Drought conditions in the Carolinas have led to decreased fresh water runoff and thus to saltier sea water, which sharks prefer, Burgess added. According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, about 65% of North Carolina and 52% of South Carolina were either abnormally dry or in drought conditions.
Baby sea turtles and menhaden fish have been more plentiful than usual, providing more attraction for the sharks, Burgess said.
The "ever-increasing amount of time spent in the sea by humans, which increases the opportunities for interaction between the two affected parties" could be one reason for the slight uptick in attacks, the Shark Attack File website reported.
In addition, 24/7 news and social media coverage tends to exaggerate the danger. Bees, wasps and snakes are each responsible for far more deaths annually in the U.S. than sharks, the Shark Attack File said.
"The chances of dying ... are markedly higher from many other causes (such as drowning and cardiac arrest) than from shark attack," according to the Shark Attack File.
In Florida, where shark attacks are more common, the 11 attacks so far this year have received little attention, Burgess said. However, publicity about the attacks might cause swimmers to think twice as we approach the busy Fourth of July weekend.
"I bet fewer and fewer people are swimming these days, so opportunities for interactions may be diminished for a while," said Daniel Abel, a marine scientist at Coastal Carolina University.
But Burgess remains concerned about the big holiday. "I can almost guarantee there'll be a bite or two this weekend," he said.
San Francisco hotels are world's most expensive
For anyone who has travelled and stayed overnight in San Francisco recently, a just released survey by Bloomberg will come as no surprise.
The city has the priciest hotel rooms on the planet, according to the Bloomberg index of the world's top 100 financial centers.
It shows the average price of a night in a San Francisco hotel has surged a whopping 88% in the last year to $397 a night.
It was well ahead of Geneva, the second most expensive city at $292 a night, and Milan in third place at $271.
Chicago and Miami were joint second most expensive for hotel stays in the US at $240 a night, while perennially pricy New York was down in 16th place in the world rankings at $202.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Chuck Pacioni, general manager at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis said: "The influx of tech companies into San Francisco has been tremendous, and with it this new emerging traveler, this millennial traveler, who is looking for downtown experiences."
"Many of them may travel for work to Silicon Valley, but instead of staying at a suburban hotel, they want to stay in the city for the culture and the experiences."
The growing job market in San Francisco has resulted in more than eight million square feet of office space under development over the next four years, while city-wide hotel inventory increased just 0.3% in the first half of this year, driving up rates.
Silversea debuts all-inclusive Asia cruise packages
Cruise line Silversea is launching new all-inclusive packages for its 2016 Asia sailings aboard Silver Shadow.
The new amenities packages include roundtrip air fares in economy with land transfers, and Wi-Fi for one hour each day.
Guests staying in premium suites receive unlimited Wi-Fi access throughout the voyage.
In addition, all guests will be entitled to complimentary Silver Shore Select excursions and a two-night, pre-cruise stay at five-star Shangri-La hotels in Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo.
"Our goal is to make it as convenient as possible for our guests to experience a luxury holiday in the Far East by offering industry leading all-inclusive fares," said commercial director Lisa McAuley.
Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale begins $9 million summer renovation
The Ritz Carlton Fort Lauderdale has begun a nearly $9 million renovation that will bring enhancements to its lobby and a overhaul of its spa and main restaurant, as well as new stores.
"[Fort Lauderdale] beach is going to have a lot of great new restaurants, and retail in coming years and that's a trend that's going to continue. We want to make sure we're a part of that," Greg Cook, The Ritz-Carlton's general manager, Tuesday.
Among the hotels, condos and residences slated to open along the beachfront within the next three years are the Ocean Resort Residences at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach, Paramount Fort Lauderdale Beach, Auberge Beach Residences & Spa and Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences. Others also are set to pop up just blocks from the beachfront including Gale Boutique Hotel & Residences, which includes the restoration of the historic Escape Hotel on Riomar Street.
The initial planning for the Ritz Carlston's makeover started about two years ago when new owners took over, Cook said.
In July 2013, an affiliate of Miami-based Gencom bought the property. Ritz-Carlton will remain as manager.
Renovation work began June 15 and will be completed in phases, all of them done by sometime in the fourth quarter, hotel spokeswoman Tatiana Lora said.
Here's a snapshot of what the renovation will entail:
Lobby: The main lobby — which used to have a lot of seating — will become more interactive and entertainment-focused with the addition of tabletop games and media walls with video screens. It also will offer secluded areas for guests to hang out.
Retail: Two new stores will be added at lobby level — Island Co., which sells resort style apparel for men and women — and Memories, a gift and sundries shop. In South Florida, Island Co. already has a location on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. It's expected that both shops will attract guests as well as locals.
Restaurants: The Ritz-Carlton's existing Italian restaurant, Via Luna, will be redesigned into a new eatery and bar with indoor and outdoor dining space. The design elements of yet-to-be-named restaurant and bar will feature elements from Fort Lauderdale's history including the Prohibition era, when it was known as a haven for smugglers and bootleggers. The menu will be seafood-inspired and its adjacent café and bistro will offer grab-and-go meals.
"It will be very approachable from the street and really play to locals," Cook said of the new eatery and bar. "The pricing will be the same as a typical restaurant of the same caliber along the beach. We want locals to hang out there."
The resort's seventh floor pool bar will begin serving wine and beer through a keg system, Cook said.
Rooms: The floors in the resort's 166 guest rooms will be replaced with a wood floor and carpet combination and will undergo general "refreshing," he said.
Spa: The resort's seventh floor spa will be revamped and will include a hair salon, sauna and steam room. Treatment rooms will be enhanced with contemporary décor. During the renovations, spa treatments will be available in alternate locations.
The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale will remain open during the renovation. The spa upgrades are expected to be finished between August and September and the restaurant by early November, Lora said.
The 24-story upscale resort is at 1 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Rep. King: Could Be Fourth of July Threats in NYC, Nationwide
Rep. Peter King, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, tells Newsmax TV that Islamic State [ISIS] terrorists may be plotting to explode a bomb in the New York metropolitan area on the Fourth of July.
Making the threat even more real is the fact that a supply of explosives were discovered in the lair of one ISIS operative in the region earlier this month, according to King.
"I've been aware of this now for about the last two or three weeks … the real possibility of something being attempted on the Fourth of July," King, a New York Republican, said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
There's a number of things — intelligence that's been picked up … and the last week to 10 days, there's been five ISIS operatives arrested in New York City. That's not coincidental.
"It's one thing you say someone's a lone wolf. You don't find five lone wolves operating together at the same time."
Asked what methods terrorists might use in an assault, King told Malzberg, "I would be more concerned with a bomb. An improvised explosive device. One of the places that was raided last week, they did find explosives … There's been other ISIS operatives arrested with explosives in their homes or apartments."
King pointed to the growing numbers of surprise attacks by ISIS around the world.
"You saw the attacks last Friday in Lyon and Tunisia and Kuwait. Three attacks within a matter of hours … [were] involving ISIS operatives," he said referring the slaying of 38 tourists on a Tunisia beach, a beheading and attempt to blow up a U.S.-owned gas factory in Lyon, France, and the slaying of 25 at a Kuwait mosque.
"ISIS is playing an active role here in the United States and when you just combine the intelligence that's been picked up — I can't go into how we got it — and then you find the five people in New York …"
King said the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force is "very involved" in hunting for more ISIS operatives.
"This is real and by the way this comes barely two years after President [Barack] Obama announced that al-Qaida was on the ropes," he said.
While there is an emphasis on New York as a potential target, the threat is nationwide, he said.
"My understanding is the FBI is going to be opening up different bases around the country over the next several days. It's countrywide," he said.
"It's more specific toward New York in that we have a significant number [of arrests], but there was an ISIS operative arrested in Columbus, Ohio, just about three or four weeks ago.
"[James] Comey, the FBI director, has said that there's active investigations of Islamist terrorism going on in all 50 states. This could happen almost anywhere. New York is always the number one target."
King said ISIS, al-Qaida and other terrorist alliances are "capable of killing thousands of people."
"There was an attempted explosives attack in the New York subways a few years ago. If that had succeeded, you would've had hundreds maybe thousands of people killed, especially in the hundreds," he said.
"There are so many targets … when you're living in a free society which is why intelligence is so important. Stop it before they get there.
Cuba: Tourism to generate over $2.7 billion in 2015
HAVANA, Cuba - Cuba's tourism industry generated more than $1.7 billion in revenues in the first half of 2015, state television reports.
Interest in visiting Cuba has increased in the past six months and the island now ranks as the No 2 Caribbean destination.
Cuba drew more than three million visitors for the first time in 2014, when 3,002,745 arrivals were registered, up 5.3 percent from the previous year.
The upward trend continued in the first quarter of 2015, when one million visitors arrived on the island, the Tourism Ministry said.
The official forecast predicts 2015's tourist arrivals record will be broken, as well as the revenue record of $2.7 billion.
Tourism is the No 2 source of revenue for Cuba, trailing only personal services.
US and Cuba embassies will reopen today
It has been a long time coming. Over 50 years, in fact, since the US severed diplomatic ties and closed its doors to Cuba.
Yesterday it was announced that the United States and Cuba embassies will reopen to one another today, July 1, 2015, as reported by the AP.