The Hawaii Tourism Authority, the state-funded agency tasked with marketing, had its budget capped by state lawmakers at $69 million in each of the next four years, Forbes and the AP are reporting. The move has shifted $7 million in tourism dollars to other government programs in the fiscal year that started Friday.   While [...]

Bahamas Express has launched a new ferry service Friday that transports clients 76 miles from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Grand Bahamas.   The service runs daily, except on Wednesday, with convenient schedules that allow clients from the U.S. to return on the same day after spending the day in Grand Bahama.   The ferry leaves [...]

Great news from the Hawaii Tourism Authority: Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawaii in the first 10 months of 2011 grew 14.8 percent, compared to the same period in 2010, to $10.3 billion. Total visitor days for all visitors increased 4.1 percent and total arrivals (+2.6 percent) continued to exceed last year at [...]

There is good news for European tourism: despite continuing economic turbulence, European tourism industry figures are up. These are the findings of the ITB World Travel Trends Report, compiled by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin. Among the winners were North and South America, which together registered a 6 percent increase in tourism.   [...]

  Since the water in Bermuda gets too cool for swimming, travelers looking for a winter beach escape tend to overlook the island. And that translates to off-peak savings. Here, Hamilton, Jobson’s Cove in June 2006.   Bermuda   Enjoy a slice of island life without paying the high-season prices of the Caribbean. Bermuda, which [...]

Despite the downward revision of the countries’ economic growth forecast, U.S. tour operators predict U.S. travelers will return to Europe in growing numbers. This is the main finding of a new World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)/European Travel Commission (ETC) report on U.S. outbound travel presented at the recent World Travel Market in London with the support [...]

Leading U.S. travel industry organizations offered a unified front to oppose the United Kingdom‘s plans to increase the Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax, calling it excessively high and counterproductive.   In a letter to George Osborne, the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, a score of top agencies, associations and unions expressed strong opposition to the [...]

Destination management company is merger of TMM and Destination PROS; will serve Southern California market                                                              San Diego, CA/Irvine, CA ­- 360 Destination Group, a destination management company with joint headquarters in San Diego and Irvine, has announced its corporate launch. The company will serve the Southern California market, managing corporate travel programs and [...]

The general mood in the business travel industry is cautiously optimistic vs. the gloom felt by many just a couple years ago when travel was treated as a political punching bag. In October 2011, more than 2,000 international meeting professionals attended IMEX America, a new trade show for worldwide meetings, events and incentive travel held [...]

RMC, the largest privately owned destination management and special events company in the U.S., is opening a new division in California and Nevada, concurrent with the announcement of an exclusive destination service provider partnership with The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe.   Lake Tahoe, Calif. and Lake Tahoe, Nev. (November 10, 2011) — RMC, a longstanding destination [...]