Star Alliance Agent Round The World Contest
Star Alliance has announced a new competition exclusively for
ARC-appointed travel agencies in the U.S. Travel agents who book
and ticket flights on Star Alliance member carriers from now until
Oct. 12 are eligible.
“As part of our 10th anniversary we want to acknowledge the
wonderful support we have received from travel agents who have
worked closely with us since our founding. This competition is our
way of showing our appreciation and also to let them know that they
are an integral part of Star Alliance’s travel network,” said Nanci
Cheberenchick, director of sales and market development,
Americas.
The winner will receive a 29,000-mile Star Alliance Round the
World Business Class ticket for two people, including airline
taxes, fees and surcharges. To enter the competition, travel agents
have to visit the Star Alliance Web site at www.staralliance.com/wintickets and provide their
contact information, travel agency details and the ticket number
they have booked. Participants will have to answer four multiple
choice questions. All entries with correct answers to the four
questions are eligible for the drawing, which is determined by a
tiebreaker. In the event that two or more participants answer the
tiebreaker question correctly, a further tiebreaker question will
be supplied to determine the ultimate winner. Entrants will be
given three working days to answer the second tiebreaker question.
There is no limit to the number of entries to the competition as
long as each entry complies with the entry criteria.
From the U.S., 16 Star Alliance member carriers Air Canada, Air
New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish
Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines,
South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, THAI, United and US
Airways offer more than 4,665 weekly international flights to reach
78 international destinations in 52 countries. Star Alliance Gold
customers have access to more than 650 airport lounges worldwide.
Air China and Shanghai Airlines will join Star Alliance in
December; Turkish Airlines is scheduled to join Star Alliance in
early 2008.
www.staralliance.com
Little Damage From Hurricane Dean
Tourism officials along Mexico’s Caribbean coast have all
breathed a collective sigh of relief in light of the relatively
slight impact of Hurricane Dean. Described as the most severe
Atlantic hurricane in two decades, Dean cut a swath across the
Yucatan Peninsula in mid-August. With maximum winds of 165 mph, the
region’s hotels, resorts, restaurants and shops were bracing for
the worst. Fortunately, the storm left relatively mild damage in
its aftermath, especially when compared to the devastation wrought
by Hurricanes Wilma and Stan in 2005. Those storms severely
crippled Cancun’s tourism industry.
Though Dean did uproot thousands of trees and utility poles, no
deaths or major destruction were reported. Mexican hotels and
resorts were generally praised for their emergency preparedness,
which enabled them to safely evacuate thousands of tourists.
“State officials and congress are pleased that Quintana Roo was
spared what could have been a much worse situation,” said a news
release from Mexico’s tourism board.
Tourism is a billion-dollar-per-year industry in the Mexican
Caribbean region. Clean-up work is expected to be completed in time
for high season, which begins in October.
Mancini To Present At NTA
Dr. Marc Mancini
Dr. Marc Mancini, of Marc Mancini Seminars and Consulting, will
present a special seminar session for travel agents at the 2007
National Tour Association Annual Convention in Kansas City, Mo.,
Nov. 2-6. The session is part of a one-day program on Friday for
travel agents and other professional travel buyers. Entitled
“Everything You Wanted to Know about Selling Tours,” the seminar is
designed to help travel agents and other buyers understand how to
work with tour operators for bigger profits.
“Tour operators sell the great majority of their products
through travel agents, bank travel planners and other professional
buyers,” said Mancini. “Yet these travel buyers receive little
training on working with tour operators and how to best sell tour
packages.”
The National Tour Association has a global membership of tourism
professionals involved in the growth and development of packaged
travel.
800-682-8886
www.nta.travel
Disney Travel Presentations DISNEY
Throughout the month of September, the Disneyland Resort is
hosting a series of trade presentations across the Western U.S. and
Canada, to showcase plans for a 2008 encore of its popular “Year of
a Million Dreams” celebration. Dates and cities are:
| San Jose, CA | Sept. 5 |
| Walnut Creek, CA | Sept. 6 |
| Sacramento, CA | Sept. 7 |
| Portland, OR | Sept. 10 |
| Sacramento, CA | Sept. 7 |
| Seattle, WA | Sept. 11 |
| Vancouver, B.C. | Sept. 13 |
| Calgary, AB | Sept. 17 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | Sept. 19 |
| Denver, CO | Sept. 21 |
| Tucson, AZ | Sept. 25 |
| Phoenix, AZ | Sept. 26 |
| Las Vegas, NV | Sept. 28 |
Disney’s High School Musical experience
“Educating our travel trade partners is an important priority for
us,” said Claire Bilby, senior vice president of sales and
distribution marketing for the Disneyland Resort. “We want to
provide agents with as much information as we can about our 2008
programs and products, so that they can create their own sales
plans to take advantage of this hugely popular Disney celebration.”
The Disneyland Resort will share details about new attractions,
interactive experiences and new magical moments involved in its
2008 Year of a Million Dreams. The celebration features the summer
opening of its new Toy Story Mania attraction, an interactive 3-D
ride-through attraction based on the film “Toy Story” and located
at Disney’s California Adventure.
Additional elements of the 2008 Year of a Million Dreams include
a new Pixar character-themed parade, an enhanced Playhouse Disney
with new characters and a new High School Musical 2 “School’s Out”
entertainment experience at Disney’s California Adventure.
Space is limited and agents must make reservations.
866-242-8945
Thrifty Car Rentals Awards Triple Miles
Thrifty Car Rental is offering customers the chance to earn
triple frequent flyer miles/points with eight airlines and a hotel
partner at participating Thrifty locations worldwide. Participating
airlines include Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, American Airlines
AAdvantage, ATA Airlines Travel Awards, Continental OnePass, Delta
Air Lines SkyMiles, Northwest Airlines WorldPerks, United Airlines
Mileage Plus and US Airways Dividend Miles programs. Customers can
also earn triple points with the Best Western Gold Crown Club
International loyalty program.
The offer applies to bookings made online at Thrifty.com between
now and Nov. 15. A minimum three-day rental of a midsize car or
larger vehicle from Thrifty is required. To book a qualifying
rental, use promotion code TPE7 when making a reservation.
Twenty-four-hour advance reservations are required.
www.thrifty.com
