Archive for January, 2010

Superbreak Mini-Holidays, the York based, short break specialist, won no fewer than four awards at the prestigious annual Globe Travel Awards 2010. Superbreak were up against 30 other travel businesses across the four categories that they were nominated in, but managed to scoop all four and are the first individual company to ever win four Globes in one year.

Superbreak picked up the awards for Best Operator of UK holidays; Best Operator of Short Breaks; Best Accommodation Only Provider and Best Travel Trade Website.

All award categories were voted for exclusively by over 6,000 travel agents nationwide. The awards were presented by the leading trade publication Travel Weekly, in partnership with Associated Newspapers at their annual ceremony at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Sales Director Ian Mounser and National Sales Manager Graham Balmforth received the Awards from TV personalities Alan Carr and Kirsty Allsopp, and celebrated afterwards whilst being entertained by the X Factor's Stacey Solomon and Daniel Johnson.

Ian Mounser commented: "We are obviously thrilled to receive these accolades from the travel agent community that sells our products, which we would like to think is a measure of our product and service quality. We will of course be working hard to maintain our standards so that we might retain these awards in 2011."

These awards reinforce that Superbreak offers the highest possible levels of service, a fact which is acknowledged by the UK travel trade who have also awarded the company "Best Operator" every year for the past twenty years with Superbreak now the preferred UK short break supplier for the top eight UK retail travel agency groups.

About Superbreak:
Superbreak is the internet division of Superbreak Mini Holidays Limited, the market leader for short breaks and hotels throughout the UK. Superbreak is part of Holiday Break plc. Based in York, England, Superbreak specialises in booking cheap weekend breaks in 2-5 star hotel accommodation throughout Britain for the leisure traveller including hotels in York, Edinburgh hotels, Manchester hotels and London hotels Superbreak holds allocations of rooms at all hotels and can make bookings up to and on the day of departure.

With 5000 plus hotel partners in worldwide locations from Aberdeen to Abu Dhabi, from London to Lourdes and with great availability and rates for theatre breaks, events at the O2 Arena, various popular attractions and national and international rail partners, Superbreak can offer an outstanding depth and breadth of UK and Overseas short break products.

For further press information please contact:
Khalid Amin
Online Marketing Manager
Superbreak Mini-Holidays
Eboracum Way
York
YO31 7RE
(01904) 436043
www.superbreak.com

— WebWireID111728 —

Kuoni, the luxury travel operator with over 100 years' experience of the travel market, has scored its first retailing hat trick this month. The holiday operator has opened three brand new chic travel stores in major retailing heartlands, Bluewater, the centre: mk and Penn Street, Bristol, creating no fewer than 20 new jobs in the travel sector.

The new Kuoni stores collectively cover 3,400 sq. ft. of prime site retail estate, with access to the 97 million shoppers who visit the three shopping heartlands in Kent, Buckinghamshire and Avon.

The expansion for Kuoni doesn't stop with the three new stores this month. Indeed, Kuoni has a robust strategy for retail growth, with plans for an additional five new stores to open and be fully operational by April 2010, bringing the Kuoni retail estate to 11 in total.

Kuoni Distribution Director, Derek Jones, commented, "Booking a holiday regardless of location or duration creates a shopping sensation that can't be put in a carrier bag. Booking a holiday is a talking point to be shared with family, friends and work colleagues. I challenge anyone to confess they don't love talking about their holiday plans when they have booked a trip; a holiday getaway creates excitement, expectation and anticipation beyond any other retail experience."

The man behind the Kuoni retail revolution, Derek Jones, is no newcomer to the travel market. He is a well-known and highly respected member of the travel profession, with over twenty years in the industry. Jones joined Kuoni in March this year with the remit to put Kuoni firmly on the high street. With just six months in the job, Jones is fulfilling the brief and has opened three travel stores offering luxury holidays, in sites which would be considered enviable by any retailing standards.

"We want customers to feel they can pop-in anytime to a Kuoni store, we want our staff and customers to know each other personally so that our team understand the holiday dreams and inspirations of their clients" said Jones. He continued, "With Kuoni offering 18 brochures and selected holidays from other luxury travel brands such as Carrier, Kirker and CV Travel there really is a holiday for everyone at a Kuoni store."

Jones concluded, "I believe that our retail vision and presence in locations such as Bluewater, with over 27 million visitors a year, takes Kuoni from an online and brochure driven travel operator to high street retailer in one fell swoop. With plans for future travel store openings, offering Kuoni holidays and adventures, the in-store environment is perfect for anyone wishing to view what the world has to offer when it comes to travel. We have over 100 years' experience of the globe and we believe we know the planet better than anyone."

About Kuoni:
Kuoni was established in 1906 in Switzerland by Alfred Kuoni, a visionary adventurer and explorer of his time who opened some of Europe's first travel agencies. Today it has branch operations in over 40 countries.

For 103 years Kuoni has been creating holidays with a spirit of adventure and has been recognised consistently , winning coveted awards such as: 'The World's Leading Tour Operator' for the past 11 years at the World Travel Awards; The Daily Telegraph's Ultratravel, Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Daily Mail readers all voted Kuoni 'Britain's favourite'. Kuoni has been 'Britain's Best Longhaul Tour Operator' for the past 26 years as voted by Travel Agents. Kuoni offers luxury breaks in a number of beautiful locations, including a range of Egypt holidays, Dubai holidays, Sharm el Sheikh holidays and memorable experiences like safari holidays or escorted tours during Thailand holidays.

PR contact:
Anne-Marie Hansen
Public Relations Manager
Kuoni House
Dorking
Surrey
RH5 4AZ
+44 (0)1306 744173
www.kuoni.co.uk

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TripAdvisor recently named two Monterey hotels as winners of its 2010 Travelers' Choice Awards as 'Best for Romance in the U.S.' The oceanfront Spindrift Inn and Monterey Bay Inn placed first and third respectively on its list of Top 10 Hotels for Romance in the United States. (PRWeb Jan 28, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/inns-of-montery/spindrift-inn/prweb3524694.htm

The Travelocity Roaming Gnome is continuing his search for a cure to winter cabin fever, and he’s narrowed his choice between Utah (Salt Lake and its four world-class resorts) and Reno-Tahoe…and popular vote on the Gnome’s Facebook fan page January 27 through February 3 will determine where he skis this winter! (PRWeb Jan 28, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/01/prweb3524954.htm

Accredited Staging Professional Real Estate Agents have the training and skills to effectively stage and market a home in order to get their properties sold quickly and for top dollar. (PRWeb Jan 27, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/01/prweb3514614.htm

Spirit Journeys has a new gay Grand Canyon rafting (http://www.spiritjourneys.com/detailCommingJourney.php?id=89&fdate=2010-08-29&cat=Journeys) adventure. This journey starts August 29, 2010 and ends September 7, 2010. (PRWeb Jan 27, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/gaygrandcanyonrafting/01/prweb3515794.htm

Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service that links the UK and mainland Europe, has announced its annual figures for the year ended 31 December 2009.

Ticket sales for 2009 totalled a record £675.5 million, an increase of 1.7% on 2008, as Eurostar welcomed 9.2 million travellers throughout the year. The volume of travellers year-on-year increased by 1.2%.

Eurostar's Brussels trains route saw the highest growth in 2009. The number of passengers travelling from London to Brussels increased by 6% in 2009, in comparison with 2008, Eurostar's Paris train route experienced a 1% increase in the number of travellers.

An upturn in overall sales for 2009 meant that revenue increased by 1.7%, this was boosted by a strong leisure sales performance with sales of these tickets up by 15.6% year-on-year. Whilst the economic environment remained challenging throughout the year, the second half of 2009 saw a 'bottoming-out' in the business market.

These figures include the period of disruption in Eurostar services over the weekend of 18-20th December 2009. In a letter of 17th January, Eurostar apologised unreservedly for the problems that occurred and explained that it has put in place a number of operational and communication improvements to ensure that its trains have greater resilience to extreme winter weather and it is now much better placed to look after its customers when disruptions do occur.

Note to editors:
1. Following the disruptions to service in December 2009, an independent review is underway which will publish its findings at the end of January 2010. The review is being led by Christopher Garnett and Claude Gressier and will focus on the causes of the disruption, contingency planning, and the arrangements with Eurotunnel as well as the passenger care during the disruption and suspension of service.
2. A copy of the 17th January letter can be found at www.eurostar.com.
3. Since Eurostar returned to full service in February 2009 following the partial closure of the Tunnel in September 2008, punctuality levels, prior to the December disruption, have remained high with 95% of trains arriving on time.

About Eurostar:
Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris, Avignon and the French Alps.

Eurostar is a founder member of Railteam, a partnership between Europe's leading high-speed train operators that is developing simpler ways to book and travel on the fast-expanding, European high-speed rail network. Eurostar and Eurotunnel are entirely separate companies. Eurostar operates high-speed passenger trains, while Eurotunnel operates vehicle shuttle services and the Channel Tunnel itself. Eurostar is Eurotunnel's biggest customer.

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The New Orleans Roadfood Festival, in the heart of the French Quarter, brings together Jane and Michael Stern's favorite chefs from Louisiana and across the country to serve samples of America's best regional cuisine. Famed New Orleans restaurateurs the Ugelischs are coming out of retirement to cook for the festival. (PRWeb Jan 26, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/neworleans/roadfoodfestival/prweb3397574.htm

breathe, a yoga studio and much more in the Rochester, N.Y. area is offering its second annual Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga and Nutrition Retreat in Mexico, April 24 to May 1. Participating yogis of all levels will spend the week practicing yoga, eating clean food and taking a much needed break from the churn of daily life, all on the sandy beaches of Maya Tulum, Mexico, the gold star yoga retreat center located just outside of Cancun. (PRWeb Jan 26, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/breathe/mexicoretreat/prweb3468044.htm

Bullfrog Spas donates hot tub to Head Start Program in support of local education (PRWeb Jan 26, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/hot-tub-schools/bullfrogspas/prweb3494824.htm