The US price is right

Tour operators’ loss could be your clients’ gain as far as many 2009 US package prices are concerned. More

JUST FOR AGENTS

Box clever and win a VIP trip to Vegas!

Boxer Ricky Hatton is returning to the Strip on May 2 and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is giving agents the chance to watch him fight Manny 'The Pac-Man' Pacquiao live at the MGM Grand. More

AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS

Continental guarantees hotel rates

Continental Airlines is now guaranteeing the best hotel deals for hotels booked on its website at continental.com/uk More

American’s Chicago lounge gets a makeover

American Airlines has completed extensive renovations to its largest Admirals Club lounge at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. More

TOUR OPERATORS

Virgin packages for Pridefest

Virgin Holidays is offering packages for the Pridefest 2009 event (June 6-14) in Key West, one of the top gay events in the US. Seven nights at the four-star Ocean Key Resort with Virgin are from £1069 pp. More

Trek into America’s Grand Canyon

Regularly voted amongst the world’s greatest natural wonders, the Grand Canyon is now in its 90th year since it was established as a United States National Park in February 1919. More

HOTELS

New hotels open coast to coast

There may be a recession but that doesn’t seem to downsize down the number of new hotel openings across the US. More

Classical culture from Brooklyn’s hotel le bleu

hotel le bleu, Brooklyn’s first 48-room boutique hotel situated on Fourth Avenue in historic and trendy Park Slope, has teamed-up with the Brooklyn Philharmonic to offer its guests VIP tickets and exclusive access to performances of the orchestra’s 2009 season More

Cellet to market Chicago’s Essex Inn

Chicago’s 254-room/suite Essex Inn hotel has awarded Cellet Travel Services its representation contract in the UK to promote its sales and marketing efforts. More

cruising

June launch for a real Celebrity

The new 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox will leave the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on June 6 but will remain dockside until June 19-20, when the ship will make its conveyance – an event expected to attract hundreds of area residents along the banks of the River Ems – from Papenburg, Germany, to Emshaven, Netherlands. More

 

 

ground transportation

Amtrak’s Magnificent Seven

AMTRAK is continuing its programme of refurbishment for long-distance rail services in the US throughout this year. More

attractions

‘Most successful’ launch for Keith Prowse Orlando ‘passport’

Since its introduction last year, Keith Prowse Attraction Tickets’ exclusive ‘2 Week All You Need’ combination ‘Passport’, which, according to the operator, features everything holidaymakers to Florida need to make the most of their holiday, has been the company’s ‘most successful product’, according to managing director Deirdre Finnegan. More

Monster musical heads for Hollywood

UNIVERSAL Studios Hollywood's newest major attraction, Creature from the Black Lagoon - The Musical, featuring all original songs and Broadway-level production values and spectacular stage effects, is due to open as a stage production this spring. More

Woodbury welcomes first Balenciaga outlet store

WOODBURY Common Premium Outlets, one hour north of New York City in Central Valley which claims to be home to the largest collection of designer outlets in the US, is opening the first ever Balenciaga outlet store. More

tourist offices

Summer fun at the Boston Harborfest

BOSTON will celebrate its 27th Annual Harborfest celebrating the colonial and maritime history of America’s Revolutionary birthplace between Tuesday July 1 and Sunday July 6. More

15th premiere for Los Angeles Film Festival

The best of American and international cinema will be showcased at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival between June 18 and 28, at venues throughout Westwood. More

The spirits of Utah’s Park City

Park City, founded by silver prospectors in the late 1860s, and reputed to be the best watering hole in Utah, has a brand new distillery. More

AND ANOTHER THING

Bowled over in Chicago

VISITORS to New Mexico have a new way to travel between two of the state’s most important cities following an extension to the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. More

A cherry good place to be in July

The ‘World’s Biggest Cherry Blossom Festival’ is being held in Traverse City, Michigan between July 4-11, 2009. More