Back to the Beach
After weeks of unusually heavy rainfall across the Hawaiian
Islands, sun-worshipers are back on the beaches.
The weather caused flooding, road closures and waste-water
spills that resulted in several beaches, including Waikiki Beach,
being closed to swimmers for several days. The State Department of
Health reopened Waikiki Beach on April 4.
According to hotel and airline officials, the cancellations were
few, and all of the islands are experiencing good weather.
Airlines, hotels, cruise ships, activities and attractions are
operating as usual.
On Kauai, which initially received the major effects of the bad
weather, all beaches and roads are open.
“We’ve had beautiful sunshine these past couple of weeks, and
the positive weather outlook going forward tells us that travelers
can come here confident they will experience the Kauai they know
and enjoy,” said Sue Kanoho, executive director for the Kauai
Visitors Bureau.
The Aloha State is coming off a record number of visitors in
2005 and has seen similar demand in 2006 thus far.
www.gohawaii.com
Cruising to Brooklyn
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg shared the stage with
Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Lines, at the
opening of the Brooklyn, N.Y., Cruise Terminal April 15.
The Queen Mary 2 sailed into the terminal that morning,
disembarking passengers from the Caribbean and welcoming new ones
for the season’s first trans-Atlantic crossing. There were no major
glitches Marlow said, and the $56 million facility was ready for
the QM2’s arrival, with only a few “touch-ups” left to do. A Web
site has been set up with information on both of New York’s cruise
terminals (Brooklyn and Manhattan), including schedules for all
cruise ships coming in and out of the city.
www.nycruiseterminal.com
ASTA Adds Specialists
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
recently announced that more than 400 travel agents completed the
five-day, extensive in-country training program at the
International Destination Expo (IDE) in Prague March 21-26, and are
now Central European destination specialists.
IDE is a new show designed to immerse travel agents in the
culture, attractions and travel business of each year’s chosen
destination. The second annual IDE will be held on Jeju Island in
South Korea, March 25-29, 2007, where agents will receive
specialist training in destinations, such as Korea, China and
Japan.
www.astanet.com
