PTN Blog

Europe is the top travel destination for 2008/2009, followed by Mexico and the Caribbean, according to the first edition of the new ALTOUR Travel Index. The survey of travel trends among travel professionals revealed that as much as the US dollar may be weak overseas, 68 percent of respondents said Europe has the highest demand among their clients in the year to come. Mexico followed with 57 percent of respondents selecting it as the top destination, and 50 percent selecting the Caribbean. The continental U.S., South America, and Hawaii tied for for fourth place at 43 percent.

Important Changes to Downtown Disney Area
at the Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World® Resort wants to share some important news about Downtown Disney® Pleasure Island. All the nightclubs on Pleasure Island will close after Sept. 27, 2008. So beginning Sept. 28, 2008, the Water Park Fun & More Option will no longer include admission to the Pleasure Island nightclubs.

A new choice is available for your Clients. Now, your Clients may choose to use a visit to play a round of golf at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, a relaxed, nine-hole walking course. Of course, your Clients can still choose to use a visit for admission to Disney Water Parks, DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park or Disney’s Wide World of Sports® Complex.

Stay for Three Get One Free at the Disneyland Resort

Do your Clients want more time at the Disneyland® Resort? Be sure to let them know that they can have it, free!
When you book a package for your Clients to stay three nights or longer at a participating Disneyland Resort Good Neighbor Hotel Sept. 1 — Dec. 11, 2008, they’ll receive a 4th night free! With the most magical seasons at the Disneyland Resort just around the corner, now is the perfect time to plan your Client’s next Disney vacation.

New Fuel Supplement Information

June 17, 2008

Because of sharp increases in fuel prices, Royal Caribbean International®, Celebrity Cruises® and Azamara Cruisessm has implemented a fuel supplement for bookings made around the world.

Currently
(Since May 1, 2008)

For bookings made in United States and Canada:
For first and second guests in a stateroom, the fuel supplement is $8 (U.S.D./CAN.) per-person, per-day, and no more than $112 (U.S.D./CAN.) per-person, per-cruise. Additional guests in a stateroom are charged $3 (U.S.D./CAN.) per-person, per day, and no more than $42 (U.S.D./CAN.) per-person, per-cruise.

Viking River Cruises is proud to present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Games!

All eyes will be on China in 2008 as the country opens its doors to the world to host the summer games for the first time in history. And your clients can be there! They can choose a one-week Beijing package that includes the Opening Ceremony, some of the most exciting Beijing summer games events, sightseeing in the Beijing area and cultural highlights, or an extended  package that includes all of the above plus Shanghai, Xians Terra Cotta Warriors and a deluxe 6-day cruise tour along the Yangtze river. Either way, your clients will enjoy superior accommodations at the Great Wall Kempinski, including round-trip transportation to and from the Olympic Green.

Your clients will be one of the lucky few to attend the
2008 Beijing Summer Games Opening Ceremony
PLUS get 2-for-1 prices on 10-day Yangtze cruise tour.

Call Viking River Cruises at 1-877-705-7632
Ask for Beijing Summer Games Package 63Echo. Offer expires Jul 7, 2008

Popularity: 55% [?]

Huntington offers Canadian Travel Agents many benefits!

Price Match
Huntington is committed to providing travel agents with the best prices for airfare, which they achieve with their initial pricing. However, the net fare industry is complex and fares are constantly changing. To keep up with some of these changes they compare their prices with their competitors daily to over 50 destinations with all their airlines. If any of their prices do match their national competitors they adjust them instantly.

Service
10 years average experience for their travel consultants. This is extremely beneficial when it comes to knowledge about complex net fares, airline contracts, GDS features, airline alliances, ticketing and specialized knowledge of all major destinations.

CHECK IT OUT!

Carnival’s Newest and Largest Ship coming to Port Canaveral

Carnival Cruise Lines has announced that the largest “Fun Ship” ever to be built, the breath taking Carnival Dream, will make Port Canaveral its year-round home beginning in winter 2009. This magnificent 130,000-ton vessel-currently under construction at the renowned Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy- is designed to accommodate 3,652 passengers. As the flagship of a new class of cruise vessels, the Carnival Dream will feature a host of innovative facilities and features.

The Carnival Dream’s debut will mark the newest milestone in a relationship between Carnival Cruise Lines Port Canaveral that spans nearly 20 years.

Cruise and all-inclusive resort sales are even or up over last year, despite economic worries, report agents in Results! Travel’s second member census for the midyear state of the industry report.”With the economy, additional fuel surcharges, airline capacity reductions and other financial pressures facing agencies and consumers at large, there’s no glossing over the significant challenges facing individual agency owners,” said Results! Travel general manager John Risner.

If you pay attention to headlines or the lead items on the nightly news, it would be easy to conclude that the sky was falling, at least economically. Combine this doom-and-gloom talk of a recession with the well-documented problems of the airline industry, and it would be natural to conclude that the lodging business would be equally afflicted.

But the numbers don’t bear this out.

Commerce Dept. figures show growth in gross domestic product of 0.9% for the first quarter, while a recession is usually defined as two straight quarters of GDP decline. And the lodging industry is projecting almost identical growth figures for 2008.

CLIA’s cruise findings demonstrate growing cruise industry driven by satisfied customers, with travel agents playing essential role.

Driven by satisfied customers eager to travel more, despite the uncertain economy, the cruise industry is well-positioned for continued growth and success. This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) 2008 Cruise Market Profile Study released today.

 This year’s findings reinforce previous studies in painting a picture of a healthy, in-demand cruise industry fueled by vacationers with broader travel interests than non-cruisers and whose satisfaction with cruising is based on perceived and realized value. In 2007, 9.57 million Americans took a cruise vacation representing 76 percent of the total 12.56 million guests carried on CLIA member cruise lines. Based on this year’s study, 33.7 million Americans stated intent to cruise within the next three years.

The top 5 things travelers want most out a trip, according to a member survey conducted by the U.S. Tour Operators Association:

1. Flexibility - clients want more free time, more shopping, and greater choice
2. Customization - travelers love private tours and customized programs that let them match activities to their interests
3. Enhanced Experiences - travelers want new and authentic experiences, cultural enrichment, and in-depth discoveries.
4. Value -Travelers are looking for the best product at the best price.
5. Service - Little touches mean a lot. For some, this means meeting guests at the airport rather that at the hotel; for others, it means having everything taken care of on vacation.

From the Travel Industry Wire - Youth Travel represents around 20% of all international arrivals and is one of the tourism industry’s fastest growing sectors. The average expenditure per trip has increased by 40% among young travellers. As a result, 80% of them return home more tolerant and respectful of other cultures. These are some of the key findings of a new industry report published by the World Youth, Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation and UNWTO.

• 60% of the world’s tourism authorities have identified youth and student travel as being ‘important or very important’ to the future of their tourism industry.

The number of travelers using traditional agents to obtain travel information and prices, or to make a reservation has increased, according to Ypartnership’s 2008 National Leisure Travel Monitor report.

• 19% used a traditional travel agent to obtain information and prices
• 17% used a travel agent to make a reservation
• 3 in 10 used an agent to find information/reservations for airlines and hotels

Agents Influence Travel Decisions

• 6 in 10 airline/hotel travelers who used a traditional travel agent perceived the agent to be influential on their travel decisions
• 4  in 10 airline/hotel travelers felt their travel agent influenced their decision regarding a vacation package, tour and cruise line

Straight from American Airlines website: “Customers who purchase domestic economy class tickets on or after June 15, 2008 will be charged $15 each way for the first checked bag and $25 each way for the second checked bag. Our carry-on policy of one personal item (such as a purse or laptop bag) plus one bag remains in place.”

Popularity: 11% [?]

In a year in which the airline industry has the worst on-time performance in history, carriers are predicting the busiest Thanksgiving travel weekend ever. Some 27 million passengers — an increase of 4% over last year — are expected to fly on U.S. domestic carriers over a 12-day period encompassing Thanksgiving. Combined with post-9/11 staff cuts and heightened security measures, travelers this holiday weekend should allow ample time both before and after their flights. Federal officials have warned that even a few small disruptions or a bout of bad weather could lock up flights across the country.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The latest TIA forecast predicts “modest” gains for the U.S. travel industry in 2008. While domestic spending is expected to rise slightly (5.5%), higher growth (7.5%) in international travelers to the U.S. is being fueled by a weak dollar, several new low-cost and trans-Atlantic airlines, and a recently signed open-skies agreement with the European Union. Total travel spending in the U.S. for 2008 is projected to increase to $778.2 billion. For further details, see the TIA 2008 Travel Forecast Summary.