Netflights launches Weekend Megasale giving Supersize Savings on all American Flights, Hotels, Holidays and Car Hire
Posted September 3, 2009 , add a comment) It looks like the rain has become permanent, but before the nation starts swearing at TV weathermen and politicians for persuading everyone to stay at home this summer in an attempt to out-crunch the recession, www.netflights.com has launched a 4-day USA megasale, offering massive savings on all things American. That’s huge reductions on flights to America, holidays in America, hotels in America - from budget to 5-star - and America car hire.
Given the current state of the British weather, destinations such as cosmopolitan New York and family-friendly Orlando, where the temperature is now a pleasant 25C, not to mention entertainment capital Las Vegas at 27C and glamorous Miami at a sweltering 28C, are great places to escape the drizzle. At www.netflights.com, return flights to these great cities start from under £300 ? that’s direct ? from airports UK wide. What’s more, Netflights have managed to snag completely exclusive holiday offers in these and more of America’s favourite holiday destinations, including free nights and discounted hotel rates in the most exciting cities Stateside, such as vibrant Boston and cool, eclectic San Francisco.
To make getting around on holiday an affordable piece of cake, at www.netflights.com this weekend, USA car hire rates also drop to an incredible ? and unbeatable ? price, starting from just £6 per person per day! Netflights offers cheap car hire in America’s most popular ? and drivable ? holiday destinations, including Florida, San Francisco and Las Vegas, as well as discounted car hire rates in all other worldwide destinations. So rather than have to fork out for taxis or wait around for public transport, you can have your own transport at your disposal to take you where you want to go, when you want to go there. Even after adding the price of fuel, car hire can still work out a lot cheaper than other means of transport. And let’s face it, being able to pick where, which way, and when to go, makes these rock bottom USA car hire prices from www.netflights.com all the more appealing.
About Netflights
Netflights is part of the Thomas Cook Group and guarantees fantastic offers on flights, hotels, holidays and car hire worldwide. Thousands of discounted airfares from over 135 airlines, reduced rates at over 15 000 hotels, great holiday offers and cheap car hire are all available at www.netflights.com, giving you easy access to all the latest and best travel discounts.
Netflights is a fully bonded member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), and every flight, hotel, car hire booking and holiday sold is ATOL protected, giving you full financial protection and complete peace of mind when booking ? whether online or over the phone.
To book, visit www.netflights.com. Offer ends midnight Monday 24th August 2009.
Cuba is the Caribbean’s forbidden fruit
Posted August 21, 2009 , add a comment- Worst performance for tourism
- Clues To Caribbean's Earliest Inhabitants Discovered
- Four Seasons In Great Exuma, Bahamas purchased by Sandals
- Caribbean suffers crippling impact of the global recession
- Investments pour into St. Kitts despite global economic downturn
- Ferry service soon to be a choice for five Southern Caribbean destinations
- Attracting Chinese tourists the Jamaican way!
- Tropical Storm Ana watches canceled by Caribbean governments
Aug 21, 2009
U.S. Legislation is pending in Congress that would lift the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba. Travel industry officials estimate that as many as 1 million Americans might visit the island each year.
The question is whether Cuba is ready for a huge jump in foreign visitors.
The island nation has much to offer.
The lack of development under communist rule has left parts of the country resembling a land from a time warp to the 1950s — a welcome change of pace for many foreign tourists.
Cuba is close — Havana is only as far from Miami as Boston is from New York. And the country has beaches, mountains and a rich history.
Attractions Abound
The central Cuban city of Camaguey offers travelers labyrinth-like streets, which were laid out in the 1500s to be intentionally confusing to attacking pirates.
Tourists can go snorkeling in the Bay of Pigs, or lounge on the white sand beaches along the north coast that was favored by Ernest Hemingway.
In the city of Remedios on Cuba’s northern coast, the main church was built in the 16th century. Estaban Augustin Granda Fernandez, 87, used to play the organ at the church. Now, he is the caretaker and shows visitors around the sanctuary.
He points out the timbers in the ceiling, the original Spanish tiles in the floor and the statue of the Virgin Mary, who appears to be dancing the flamenco.
Granda also points out that the statue has a bulge in her belly. It is the only image of a pregnant Virgin Mary in Cuba, he says, slapping his own stomach.
EnlargeJason Beaubien/NPR
This 16th-century church in Remedios, on Cuba’s north coast, is one attraction in the town. Although the island has no shortage of tourist attractions, some worry it lacks the necessary infrastructure to accommodate a large influx of visitors.
Roberto Maseo, who works in a dive shop in the beach town of Santa Lucia, says Cuba’s main tourist market is Canada, because of its proximity. Flying time from Toronto to Santa Lucia, or from Montreal to Camaguey, is about three hours, Maseo says.
Santa Lucia has a series of two- and three-star resorts that sell all-inclusive package vacations. Maseo calls it a value resort. Scuba-diving excursions — all equipment and transportation included — cost about $35.
Maseo is currently preparing for a shark show. “We feed the sharks. No protection. Shark is actually swimming over you, over your heads. People can actually touch them. No problem,” he says with a laugh.
Economic Benefits Of Expanded Tourism
In 2008, tourism was Cuba’s second leading source of income after nickel exports. It’s a growing source of revenue that the communist regime wants to expand.
There are plans to open 30 new hotels across the island in the next five years.
While Cuban officials say they’re not banking on Washington lifting the travel ban, hundreds of thousands of additional visitors from across the Florida Straits could pump much-needed cash into Cuba’s flagging economy.
EnlargeJavier Galeano/AP
Musicians perform for tourists at the Hotel Nacional in Havana. The historic hotel was built in 1930 and modeled after the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla.
“For us, the American market is a big opportunity,” says Dario Fernandez, general manager of Hotel Melia Havana, a Spanish-run luxury hotel in the capital city.
The hotel has 400 rooms, seven restaurants and the biggest pool in Havana. It is jointly owned by the Cuban government and a group of foreign investors, and is managed by the Spanish resort chain Sol Melia.
Fernandez says about 3 percent of his guests are from the United States, but he estimates that number could rise to 50 percent without the travel ban. Last year, the hotel had an average occupancy rate of 82 percent — considered good in the business.
But there are challenges to running a five-star hotel in a communist country where ordinary citizens earn just $20 a month. For instance, the reason Melia Havana has seven restaurants is that few dining options outside the hotel meet foreign tourists’ standards. The Melia runs its own fleet of buses for its employees because the city’s transportation system is so unreliable.
American Tourists’ Historical Connection
The Hotel Nacional in Havana abounds with shared history. The Nacional was built in 1930 and modeled after the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla.
EnlargeJason Beaubien/NPR
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner stayed at the Hotel Nacional on their honeymoon.
In 1946, American mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano held a convention at the Nacional of American gangsters plotting to turn Havana into a second Las Vegas. In 1951, Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner stayed there on their honeymoon.
After Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, he shut down the hotel’s casino and installed Soviet anti-aircraft guns along the front lawn — under which a bomb shelter, built during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, still remains.
But if guests don’t want to think about the moment the world was pushed to the brink of nuclear war, mafia gambling rackets or the clash between capitalism and communism, they can sip mojitos at an outdoor restaurant, looking north across the water toward Florida.
Jesus Noguera Ravelo, a tour guide, says Cuba’s infrastructure is not ready for a huge influx of American visitors. He notes there aren’t enough buses, rental cars, quality restaurants or hotel rooms.
“But if you ask me about the will of the Cuban people, I would say, yes, we are ready. We would like to have more exchange with the American people coming from the U.S. to Cuba,” he says.
Noguera says the American visitors who do come have much more interest in Cuban history than other tourists — in part because the two countries have such a long, intertwined relationship. He says if he tries to give Canadians or Europeans a one-hour talk about the Cuban revolution, their eyes start to roll back in their heads. But Americans, he’s found, are eager to hear about it.
“That is telling you that we have a lot in common. And we have to know each other a lot more,” Noguera says.
The Seaside Inn, Falmouth Heights, Massachusetts on Cape Cod
Posted July 22, 2009 , add a comment
The Seaside Inn is home to a British pub and looks out over Nantucket Sound.
Just a block from the homeaway.com cottage my family and i rented last month is the Seaside Inn, a beachfront hotel in Falmouth Heights.
The attractive shingle building with a landscaped courtyard and decks that overlook the Nantucket Sound caught my eye.
While having our own six-bedroom rental home was great, I wondered whether it wouldn’t be better to have crisp linens made up for us daily while we were out and about and a private place to retreat to if being surrounded by family got to be overwhelming.
Plus the Seaside Inn was slightly closer to the beach than our rental home. The annual Falmouth Road Race ends at its doorstep and it is also a front-row seat to the Cape Cod Marathon.
And they have a nice pub on the premises. Less then stellar weather caused us to spend a fair amount of the British Beer Company. It is the perfect English pub, a cozy fire on the hearth to stave of the chill outside and windows facing the windswept beach. I sampled a good clam chowder one night, a comforting crock of onion soup the next. Live music draws friendly crowds in the evening, most dressed in something with a Boston Red Sox logo, my family and the staff included.
Falmouth Heights beach is across the street.
Though it is a family inn, The Seaside Inn rooms would have been a little tight for my family of four and the kitchenette, which is great to have when traveling with young children, was super tiny. Staying here would have boosted my pub tab even higher! So drama or no family drama, we were better off in the rental. But, boy, those decks were alluring!
Rates vary by size and type of room (standard, ocean view, and decks), day of the week, and time of year but are still pretty reasonable for the superb location. The lowest rates are January through April and November through December ($59 to $89); May ($79 to $149); June through Labor Day weekend ($144 to $189); and September through October ($109 to $189).
The Seaside Inn
263 Grand Avenue
Falmouth, Ma 02540
(800)-827-1976
Photos by Dan Dion
America’s top tourist attractions
Posted July 15, 2009 , add a comment1. Times Square - Manhattan:
Times Square is a famous intersection and a iconic image of New York City
lying at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. The whole area is
highlighted with vibrant animated neon and Led signs to such an extent that it
is now compared to the glamour and illumination of Las Vegas. Some of these
adveritisements at Times Square are so huge that they are popularly known as “jumbotrons.”
Times Square is also very popular for its annual New Year’s Eve Ball Drop,
millions of tourists pour ito the city around that time. Being the one of the
busiest intersection and a top tourist destination of America, Times Square is
also seen in several films and T.V. shows all around the world.
2. The Las Vegas Strip - Nevada:
It is popularly said that the glamorous city of Las Vegas never goes to
sleeps with “The Strip” being the main tourist area. Las Vegas strip is apx. 4
miles long and consists of some of the largest mega casino hotels in the world
and each one of them is based on a theme and has been lavishly decorated. The
city is also famous for its marvelous shows, adult entertainment and alcoholic
beverages. It is sometimes difficult to believe how such a glamorous city can be
built in the middle of Nevada’s desert and yet be such a famous tourist
destination of America, drawing millions of tourists each year from all over the
world.
3. National Mall and Memorial Parks - Washington D.C.
Established in 1965, the area within the National Mall & Memorial Parks provide
several opportunities to visitors to commemorate presidential legacies,
celebrate the United States commitment to freedom and equality and to honor the
courage and sacrifice of war veterans. It consists of following famous icons -
Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, WWII Memorial,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam
Veterans Memorial. Located in the capital of America, National Mall and Memorial
Parks is one of the most visited tourist destination of America.
4. Faneuil Hall Marketplace - Massachusetts:
This marketplace in Boston is internationally known for its street performances
including Jugglers and clowns, puppeteers and dancers, musicians and much more.
With over 60 street performances, Faneuil Hall Marketplace has performers from
all over the world and has become one of the top tourist attraction of America.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace is also famous for its other activities and sources of
entertainment including annual events such as Harborfest and The Holiday
Lighting Ceremony along with community events and fun fairs.
5. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom - Florida.:
Disney is a city in its own with millions of tourists that come here each
year to see mickey mouse and various other Disney characters. The Magic Kingdom
is a part of the Walt Disney World Resort and was the first theme park here. The
main attractions of this theme park are Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Galaxy
Palace Theater, Disney Dreams Come true Parade and Dream Along with Mickey show.
There are several tours also to add more fun to your trip, some of the popular
ones are Steam Trains Tour, Disney’s Family Magic Tour, Mickey’s Magical
Milestones Tour and several more. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is a must visit
destination of America and is a world of fantasy, adventure and wonder.
6. Disneyland Park - Anaheim, California:
Located in Anaheim, CA. Disneyland is truely a dream land not only for children
but also for adults. Being one of the top tourist destinations of America, it
has welcomed more than 500 million guests ever since it opened in 1955. The park
features eight themed lands with over 50 shops, 65 popular rides, 35 restaurants
along with live entertainment and mesmerizing night fireworks and Disney shows.
7. Fisherman’s Wharf - San Francisco, California:
Well Known for its historic Waterfront, beautiful bay views, delicious seafood
and unique shopping area, Fisherman’s wharf is a famous tourist destination of
America that is also popular all over the world. Some of the most popular
attractions of Fisherman’s Warf are - Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe it Or Not
Musuem, PIER 39, Ghirardelli Square, Aquarium of the Bay and much more. It is
also popular for its street shows and performances, open shopping area, road
side seafood along with authentic restaurants.
8. Niagara Falls - New York:
lying at the border of Ontario (Canada) and New York (U.S.), Niagara Falls is a
must see destination of America. Niagara Falls mainly consist of two sections,
the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side and the American Falls on the U.S.
side. One has to see to believe the majestic beauty and humbling power of these
falls. Its beauty has been a source of inspiration for several writers and
artists. Over the years countless number of people have come here to get over
powered by its sparkling views.
9. Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Tennessee/North Carolina:
The park lies at the border of Tennessee-North Carolina. The Great Smoky
Mountains National Park is home to over 3000 plant species along with several
endangered animal species and is the most visited national park of United States
of America drawing more than 8 million of tourists each year. It is recognized
all around the world as a International Biosphere Reserve and is a World
Heritage Site.
10. Navy Pier, Chicago, Ill.:
Situated near Chicago’s downtown area, Navy Pier is a large pier on Lake
Michigan that has always been a popular tourist destination ever since it was
opened in 1916. It was initially a military training site along with being a
shipping and recreational hub. Today Navy Pier is one of the top visited
destinations of America amongst tourists and has a unique collection of
restaurants and recreational facilities.
DiscoverAmerica.com Features the Best Online Travel Deals and Vacation Packages for Summer 2009
Posted July 14, 2009 , add a comment) WASHINGTON, DC ? June 25, 2009 - With more savvy Americans on the hunt for good values and summer travel deals, DiscoverAmerica.com ? the Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States ? is now loaded with more than 300 money-saving offers from leading brands such as Best Western, Crowne Plaza, Marriott, Radisson, Gray Line, Hertz and Macy’s through its “Get a Deal” tool featured on every page.
Frugality is the trend in travel. Recent travelhorizons? research revealed that almost two-thirds (62 percent) of U.S. adults intending to travel for leisure purposes between now and October are more likely than last year to comparison shop for deals and travel bargains ? especially online.
“DiscoverAmerica.com’s abundant content helps travelers plan quick, affordable trips,” said Adam Vance, U.S. Travel Association’s senior vice president, marketing and product development. “Planning and booking horizons have narrowed and consumers are employing tactics to keep costs down, so the deals and offers available on DiscoverAmerica.com will help stretch vacation budgets for summer getaways.”
Get a Deal ? Hundreds of Deals on DiscoverAmerica.com
DiscoverAmerica.com is the recently launched one-stop, online source for travel information on all 50 states, the five U.S. territories and more than 100 popular destinations. With the “Get a Deal” tool, users of this Website may view a complete listing of all specials and travel bargains, and refine their search by U.S. destinations, activities and dates.
Find these and other summer travel packages on DiscoverAmerica.com:
? Free room nights and new premium Callaway Golf equipment from Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts.
? Marriott’s “In Love in New Orleans” package, starting at $139 per night.
? 20 percent off admission to Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock in New York from Trusted Tours & Attractions.
? “Friday is Freeday” when you stay Thursday or Saturday night at participating Radisson Hotels & Resorts.
? Savings on performances by Blue Man Group in Boston.
? Weekly and weekend car rental specials from Hertz.
? Savings on Golden Gate Bay Cruises, California Sunset Cruises and SF Explorer Cruises from Red and White Fleet.
? VIP access to Galileo at The Franklin with Marriott Hotels of Philadelphia.
? Savings for On Location Tours’ TV and movie site tours in New York and Washington, DC.
One in 5 U.S. adults intending to travel for leisure this summer expect to conduct more research compared to a year ago before planning and booking summer leisure trips, and 1 in 10 report they are planning summer travel much later compared to last year, most likely watching for last-minute summer vacation deals and travel bargains, according to an April travelhorizons? survey conducted by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership.
About DiscoverAmerica.com
Discover America, LLC is a wholly owned entity of the U.S. Travel Association and operates DiscoverAmerica.com, the Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States, for U.S. resident travelers and for international travelers under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce in the five leading inbound markets to the United States. The website’s content is presently available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. For more information, visit www.DiscoverAmerica.com.
About U.S. Travel Association
The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $770 billion travel industry. U.S. Travel’s mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. For more information, visit www.ustravel.org.