Trekking through the Himalaya (with a short stop at Mt. Everest’s base camp), sailing the Ganges River, crossing the North Pacific Ocean on a container ship, meditating with monks in a Tibetan monastery – these are not the typical activities you might expect during a family vacation with two young children. But the Kirkby family is on an extraordinary adventure halfway around the globe – and inviting everyone to come along. Travel Channel’s mesmerizing and cinematic new series, “Big Crazy Family Adventure,” premiering Sunday, June 21 with back-to-back episodes at 9:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, follows wilderness guide, writer and award-winning photographer Bruce Kirkby throughout this epic trip – from his home in Kimberley, British Columbia, to a remote monastery in the Himalaya – with his wife, Christine Pitkanen, and their two young boys: Bodi, 7 and Taj, 3. There’s just one catch: on their 13,000-mile adventure they won’t be taking ANY airplanes. To fully experience the life-changing and serendipitous moments that exploring the world provides, they’ll get to their final destination through surface travel only – canoe, container ship, ferry, high-speed train, river boat, tuk tuk, pony, their own eight feet and more. The series is comprised of nine, hour-long episodes.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/70380510-travel-channel-big-crazy-family-adventure/
On Saturday May 30th at the French Tennis Open, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development unveiled its first tourism package, “Enjoy the China Open, Visit Beijing”, or how to combine sport and visits to the cultural sites of Beijing. This comprehensive package includes three days of guided visits to the city’s most beautiful tourist sites, as well as three days to experience the China Open, featuring the world’s top players. With a host of options, the package will meet the needs of sports fans and cultural travel enthusiasts alike.
This exclusive package comprises a joint offer by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development and the China Open. It will include several visits to key tourist attractions in the city, such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and even the Great Wall of China. At the same time, travellers will also be able to take advantage of 3 days courtside, at the China Open, a WTA premier mandatory event and an ATP 500 event, which is the biggest international competition in Asia.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7535351-visit-beijing-tourism-china-open/
On Saturday May 30th at the French Tennis Open, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development unveiled its first tourism package, “Enjoy the China Open, Visit Beijing”, or how to combine sport and visits to the cultural sites of Beijing. This comprehensive package includes three days of guided visits to the city’s most beautiful tourist sites, as well as three days to experience the China Open, featuring the world’s top players. With a host of options, the package will meet the needs of sports fans and cultural travel enthusiasts alike.
This exclusive package comprises a joint offer by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development and the China Open. It will include several visits to key tourist attractions in the city, such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and even the Great Wall of China. At the same time, travellers will also be able to take advantage of 3 days courtside, at the China Open, a WTA premier mandatory event and an ATP 500 event, which is the biggest international competition in Asia.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7535351-visit-beijing-tourism-china-open/
The Hangzhou Tourism Commission (HTC) announces the official launch of a social media campaign called, Global Tour 2015, which will send one U.S. and one Chinese family, along with a media “Storyteller,” on a free 30-day trip around the globe from July 24th through August 22nd.
The campaign was created to promote U.S. travel to a destination emerging on the global stage: Hangzhou, China, known for its beauty, perfect blend of traditional and modern Chinese experiences, and has become China’s top launch pad for tech start-ups, including home of e-commerce giant, Alibaba.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7536951-hangzhou-tourism-global-tour-2015/
TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference 2015, the 20th event for the duty free & travel retail industry in Asia Pacific, closed on 14th May in Singapore after a very successful week.
With occupied exhibition space topping previous years at 9,118 m2 – up 9% on 2014 - and 292 exhibiting companies present (+12%), of which 73 were new to the show, there was a huge variety of products on display for the benefit of visiting buyers and agents.
Visitor numbers were considered satisfactory by organisers TFWA in a year which has been challenging for the duty free and travel retail industry, with aviation accidents, a new approach to gift giving and luxury consumption among the all-important Chinese travellers, financial instability and political tension in several countries and the resulting slowdown in the growth of air passenger traffic.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7484951-20th-duty-free-travel-asia-summit/
There's something about the road trip that really speaks to many Americans. It gives them the freedom to travel the country's highways and back roads to explore new places and familiar destinations. It allows them to taste local food and experience local culture–on their own timeline. And it's a cost-conscious way to have a truly memorable vacation.
It's only natural, then, that many people think road trips are the best way to travel. A brand-new survey from AARP Travel (http://travel.aarp.org), a valuable resource for America's 76 million baby boomers who spend over $120 billion annually in leisure travel, finds that more than 7 in 10 people 45-plus say that road trips are their favorite way to travel.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7488431-aarp-travel/
InComm, a leading prepaid product and transaction services company, today announced the addition of new brands to the InComm Incentives e-commerce site for bulk gift and reward card purchases, including popular vacation brands as well as the Vanilla Visa Reward Card. The expanded offering gives companies a greater variety of choices for rewarding customers and employees with gift and reward cards to use during the summer travel season.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7410152-incomm-incentives-e-commerce-store/
Concur, the world’s leading provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions and services, today announced partnerships with Lyft and HotelTonight. These partnerships continue the company’s commitment to meet modern business travelers’ needs for on-demand services, while also providing finance and travel managers greater visibility and manageability for business expenses.
A 2015 survey of travel managers found that more than 50 percent say the booming on-demand and sharing economies are a top trend impacting travel programs. Supporting this observation, Concur saw a 7x increase in amount of spend by Concur customers expensing Lyft. Also, data from HotelTonight shows that more than 40 percent of people who book with the app have used it for business travel.
To view the multimedia news release visit
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7203652-concur-lyft-hoteltonight-partnership/
America’s traffic congestion recession is over. Just as the U.S. economy has regained nearly all of the 9 million jobs lost during the downturn, a new report produced by INRIX and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) shows that traffic congestion has returned to pre-recession levels.
According to the 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard, travel delays due to traffic congestion caused drivers to waste more than 3 billion gallons of fuel and kept travelers stuck in their cars for nearly 7 billion extra hours – 42 hours per rush-hour commuter. The total nationwide price tag: $160 billion, or $960 per commuter.
Washington, D.C. tops the list of gridlock-plagued cities, with 82 hours of delay per commuter, followed by Los Angeles (80 hours), San Francisco (78 hours), New York (74 hours), and San Jose (67 hours).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7430751-inrix-2015-urban-mobility-scorecard/
Subaru of America, Inc. today announced the completion of a Pet Travel Seat Pilot Study as part of its continued partnership with Center for Pet Safety (CPS), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit research and consumer advocacy organization. Subaru and CPS have tested pet products most commonly used by pet parents when traveling. Phase one tested pet harnesses, phase two tested pet crates and carriers, and now, phase three has tested pet travel seats.
A pet travel seat is typically used in a vehicle to hold or elevate the pet, but does not offer full containment. The Pet Travel Seat Pilot Study found that while a pet travel seat may offer distraction prevention, it will likely not offer crash protection in the event of an accident, which could lead to injury of the pet and the human vehicle passengers. The quality of commonly available pet travel seats did not provide effective protection in a crash scenario.
Based on the scientific test evidence collected over the past four years, in part through its partnership with Subaru, CPS can now identify the safest travel options for most pets. For small dogs and cats, Center for Pet Safety recommends one of the 2015 Top Performing Carriers; for medium and large dogs either the 2015 Top Performing Crate - Gunner Kennels G1 Intermediate with 8' Tie Down Straps, or a Center for Pet Safety Certified Harness. To view top performing products and CPS Certified products, visit www.CenterforPetSafety.org.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7074158-subaru-cps-pet-travel-seat-study/
Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County is in the midst of unprecedented economic development, with new research revealing an influx of affluent visitors as the driving force behind new travel and hospitality-related construction and investment.
The average annual income of domestic travelers to the destination has reached $112,563 – almost 25% higher than the national average, according to a comprehensive analysis of the domestic travel market in the United States by research firm D. K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., commissioned by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
That is a dramatic 15.5% increase from the destination’s average in 2012 of $97,517, placing Greater Fort Lauderdale among the top leisure destinations in the U.S., and well above the national average visitor income of $90,591.
This increasing appeal to affluent travelers has led to a record-breaking 14.3 million tourists spending $11.4 billion annually in the destination, which is situated along Florida’s famed Atlantic Ocean coastline between Miami and Palm Beach.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7640751-greater-fort-lauderdale-development-boom/
Today Barclaycard US, the payments business of Barclays in the United States, announced the launch of the #IHAVEARRIVED Travel Community contest, hosted by Barclaycard Arrival™ MasterCard®. Travel enthusiasts and Barclaycard Arrival cardmembers are invited to join the Barclaycard Travel Community to share their #IHAVEARRIVED travel moment. Barclaycard Arrival cardmembers who enter, have the opportunity to win an exclusive grand prize trip for two to the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards® in February 2016. Community members who are not Barclaycard Arrival cardmembers have an opportunity to choose between two grand prize options: a West Coast VIP trip for two to Napa Valley, California or an East Coast VIP trip for two to New York City.
“Since launching in 2013, Barclaycard Arrival continues to be recognized by industry experts as the go-to travel card,” said Maurice Ragland, vice president of branded cards. “We make it easy for cardmembers to have once-in-a-lifetime adventures by offering the industry’s best travel rewards program. What better way to showcase these moments than through the #IHAVEARRIVED campaign.”
Travel enthusiasts across the country are encouraged to share memorable travel stories from October 28 through November 22 in the Barclaycard Travel Community. Entries must include a short description and photo of the travel experience. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, writing and photography.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7671251-barclaycard-ihavearrived-launch/
