South African Airways Tapped By South African Tourism As 'Top Producing Airline' At Annual Ubuntu Awards

               SAA recognized for its contribution to tourism growth in South Africa

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL (April 16, 2015) – South African Airways’ (SAA), the national flag carrier of South Africa and Africa’s most awarded airline, received the “Top Producing Airline” award at the annual South African Tourism Ubuntu Awards in New York City on April 13^th. The Ubuntu Awards honors key travel providers in North America that excel at promoting travel to South Africa. 

The airline was recognized for contributing to the growth of travel to South Africa through a number of initiatives, as well as its daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA also offers codes share services with United Airlines, Air Canada and JetBlue Airways, which provide convenient connections from more than 30 North American cities to SAA’s flights. Whether passengers are travelling Premium Business Class or Economy Class, South African Airways takes luxury travel to a new level and the legendary South African hospitality makes SAA’s flights the best way to start any South African experience. 

As the predominant airline from the U.S. to Southern Africa, South African Airways took a leading role in 2015 in developing the “Go See Southern Africa” campaign to emphasize the great experiences and the great value that abound for travel throughout the region. SAA vigorously worked with leading tour operators, hotels and safari lodges in Southern Africa to generate increased awareness and encourage travel to the region.

As part of Team South Africa, SAA also partners with the South African Diplomatic Corps and related organizations, such as South African Tourism, Wines of South Africa, Brand South Africa and the South African Chamber of Commerce in America, to champion cultural and industry efforts, and it supports a number of charitable organizations that perform work in South Africa.

“We are extremely proud to receive this award from South African Tourism, whom has been a long-standing partner of South African Airways in promoting South Africa to the North American market,” says Marc Cavaliere, Executive Vice President for South African Airways in North America. “Our desire to stimulate travel to the destination is stronger than ever and we will continue to collaborate with South African Tourism to showcase the exceptional experiences that South Africa offers travelers.”

South African Airways serves 67 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 13 consecutive years.

SAA Brings 2015 Africa Showcase To U.S and Canada

 Educational Travel Trade Show to Visit Five Major North American Cities

Fort Lauderdale, FL (April 7, 2015) – South African Airways’ (SAA), the
national flag carrier of South Africa and Africa’s most awarded airline, has announced
the tour dates for the Africa Showcase in 2015. From September 29th to October 7th, the
annual educational travel trade show will visit Los Angeles, CA, Dallas, TX, Boston, MA
and for the first time Toronto, Canada. 

The Africa Showcase is the largest travel trade event in North America featuring
exclusively African suppliers that represent hotels, safari lodges, destination tourism
organizations and other attractions that are popular with North American travelers. The
show brings Africa travel specialists the latest trends on the region’s products and
services, enabling those who participate to boost their sales to the increasingly popular
destinations throughout Africa. The Africa Showcase is hosted in collaboration with On
Show Solutions, a South Africa based event organizer.

 “We are proud to see the Africa Showcase getting bigger and more popular every
year,” said Todd Neuman, Vice President Commercial for South African Airways in North
America. “We are also very excited to bring our show and suppliers to the Canadian
travel specialists for the first time. It is a strategic and growing market for SAA and we
look forward to a very successful first edition.” 

“The Africa Showcase in the U.S. - our highlight on the global roadshow calendar
– is again well supported by a phenomenal line up of 30 suppliers,” said Jacqui
Reynolds, Managing Partner of On Show Solutions.  “We’re anticipating representation
and product experiences from more than 12 African countries, providing a good cross-
section of what this dynamic destination has to offer the North American travelers.”
In addition to its traditional format, South African Airways and On Show Solutions will
also introduce VIP buyer encounters. These dedicated sessions create an additional
opportunity for top African travel specialists to meet suppliers through scheduled one-
on-one appointments.

The dates and venues for the 2015 Africa Showcase are:
 September 29th: Los Angeles, CA
 October 1st: Dallas, TX
 October 5th: Boston, MA
 October 7th: Toronto, ON

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most
awarded airline, serves 67 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its
low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK
and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has
codes share agreements with United Airlines, Air Canada and JetBlue Airways, which offer
convenient connections from more than 30 cities to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member
and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 13 consecutive years. For further information
visit: www.flysaa.com.

About On Show Solutions

The Africa Showcase is organized by On Show Solutions, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. 
On Solutions – a dynamic exhibition and events team with a personalized approach and clear
vision for global marketing - hosts exhibition and product seminar platforms in key markets
throughout the world in its quest to promote tourism to Africa.  For further information, email
ideas@onshowsolutions.co.za or visit www.onshowsolutions.co.za. 

VISIT DENVER Promotes Four New Managers

Four new managers have been promoted at VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau, where they will help in the mission of bringing more conventions and tourism to The Mile High City.  Tourism is Denver’s second largest industry, employing more than 51,000 people while generating $4 billion in annual spending.

“We are always proud to promote from within, and we have recently been able to help four of our team members advance their careers in tourism,” said Richard Scharf, president & CEO of the Bureau.

Advancing their careers with promotions are:

Brittany Froelich has been promoted to convention sales manager, Midwest region. Froelich joined the Bureau in 2010 as a sales coordinator and was quickly promoted to executive meetings manager, Eastern region. With strong local hotel sales relationships, she consistently exceeded her goals and has now been promoted to convention sales manager, Midwest region. In this role, she will be responsible for convention sales for association groups using up to 950 hotel rooms a night for groups headquartered in the seven Midwestern states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. She is a graduate of Florida State University.

Amanda Rodriguez joined VISIT DENVER as a convention services coordinator in 2013 and is being promoted to executive meetings manager, East region. In this position, she will be responsible for selling Denver as a location for small meeting business of up to 150 hotel rooms from all of the major east coast and southern U.S. states. She is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Denver.

Phillip Rohrbach is being promoted to executive meetings manger of the West region. Rohrbach joined VISIT DENVER as a convention sales coordinator after stints at the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. In his new position he will be responsible for small meeting business of up to 150 hotel rooms from groups headquartered in all Western states. He is a graduate of Colorado State University.

Jenna VanOort has been promoted to tourism manager. VanOort joined VISIT DENVER in 2014 as a visitor information specialist, and previously worked in the Tourist Information Center, providing information to visitors. In her new position, she will support international tourism marketing efforts, help arrange familiarization tours and site inspections of Denver, and help manage the video content at the Bureau’s new high tech Tourist Information Center, which opened earlier this month. She will also assist on various other tourism initiatives, from Denver Arts Week to Mile High Holidays. She is a graduate of Northwestern College in Iowa.

With these recent promotions, VISIT DENVER has also hired two young professionals who will be assisting with convention sales and services.

Ursula da Silva, convention sales coordinator, will be assisting the department in arranging meeting planner tours and helping with potential convention bookings in the city. She is a graduate of Temple University.

Erin Frazier, convention services coordinator, will be assisting the department with conventions already booked into the city.  She is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Frazier recently earned a VISIT DENVER Go the Extra Mile Hospitality Award for her work at The Crawford Hotel.

For more information about VISIT DENVER and career opportunities with the organization, please go to visitdenver.com.

Curley Named GM of Westin Denver International Airport

Denver, CO…March 16, 2015…Tom Curley has been named as General Manager of The Westin Denver International Airport.   Curley comes to the hotel from The Westin Denver Downtown, where he has served for the past 12 years as General Manager. Curley will continue to serve as Area Managing Director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Colorado overseeing Westin, Sheraton and St. Regis brand hotels.  Curley serves as a board member for Visit Denver and has chaired the Convention Committee as well as serves as a board member for the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association.

“We were delighted that Tom has been named GM for The Westin Denver International Airport,” said Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day.  “He is a well-respected professional, a wonderful community partner and we look forward to working with him in his new position.”

Curley came to Denver from the Radisson Resort and Spa in Scottsdale where he served for four years as General Manager and Area Managing Director. At that time he was appointed by the Scottsdale Mayor and City Council to the Tourism Development Commission.  He also served on the Executive Committee of the Arizona Tourism Alliance, the Board of Directors of the Valley Hotel Resort Association, and the Board of Directors for Scottsdale CVB.  During his time in Scottsdale, Curley had area responsibility for six properties in the Phoenix metropolitan area as well as Sedona, AZ., with a portfolio that included Radisson, Hilton, Sheraton, Crown Plaza, Residence Inn by Marriott and Homewood Suites brands.

Previously, Curley served for 26 years with Starwood Hotels and Resorts (the ITT Sheraton Corporation) in various management positions in Phoenix, AZ; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA

Curley graduated from Villanova University, Villanova, PA with a B.A. in Social Sciences. He attended Duke University Fuqua School of Business Executive Education Program.

The Westin Denver International Airport: Scheduled to open in Q4 of 2015, the 433,000 square foot, 14-story Westin is a modern, convenient destination for both business and leisure travelers at Denver International Airport (DEN). The hotel is part of the new Hotel and Transit Center, which also comprises an outdoor plaza and a public transit center with rail service to downtown Denve

Each of the 519 guest rooms, including 35 suites, offers the ultimate in comfort and technology, plus floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains and/or Colorado’s High Plains. Contemporary accommodations provide guests with thoughtful, distinctive amenities such as Westin’s signature Heavenly® Bed and Heavenly® Bath. The 37,000 square-foot conference center will feature a Grand ballroom and a junior ballroom, both divisible by two as well as 15 meeting/board rooms of varying sizes and spectacular pre-function space providing 19 meeting rooms in total when the ballrooms are divided.  The meeting space also boasts a 10,000 square foot pre-function area that showcases a panoramic three-story floor to ceiling glass curtain wall that is approximately 100 ft. wide, making meeting space truly unique compared to other meeting space in hotels.

With a sleek design by Gensler, including stunning glass curtain walls, the hotel boasts a range of world-class amenities. Reinvigorate in the WestinWORKOUT® Fitness Studio, and refresh in the 11^th floor indoor swimming pool overlooking the iconic tent roof of the DIA terminal while the pool and hot tub overlook the Colorado landscape, airfields, downtown, and the Rocky Mountain Front Range. Multiple dining venues will serve a variety of cuisines and SuperFoodsRx™ options.

  

The RTD East Rail, opening in spring 2016, will provide passengers and hotel guests a way to travel between DIA and downtown Denver in just 35 minutes.  Guests however won’t have to go downtown as the hotel will sit adjacent to the new open-air public plaza. The plaza will be a great connector between the hotel, terminal and train station. It will be a place where travelers can relax and enjoy public events such as small concerts, farmers markets and/or arts programs which will be programmed throughout the year. 

Denver International Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in the United States with 53 million passengers traveling through the airport each year. DIA is the primary economic engine for the state of Colorado, generating more than $26 billion annually for the state and supporting 188,338 jobs.

Global Passenger Traffic's Growth Is Solid

Montréal, 13 March 2015 – Global passenger traffic started the year strong with year-over-year growth of 4.5% for the month of January. This comes after a rise of over 5% in passenger traffic for 2014 as a whole. All regions reported gains in passenger traffic, with most of the buoyant activity in passenger traffic stemming from double-digit growth rates in the Middle East with gains of 11% in passenger traffic for the month of January. International travel continues to post relatively higher growth with an increase of 5.3%, whereas domestic traffic increased by 4% for the month of January.

Despite the continued uncertainty in the global economy and weakened business confidence that continues to jeopardize further growth in international trade, air freight volumes continue to maintain momentum after the 2014 rebound. Overall volumes increased by 3% in January. While most regions experienced gains, European air freight saw a slight decline.

ACI World Economics Director Rafael Echevarne commented, "While there is an improvement in economic conditions in the United States, weakness lingers on in Russia, the Euro area and Japan. Capital investment growth and prospects in China have also become subdued. Despite the existing perseverance in international trade volumes, particularly for a portion of 2014, weakness in these major economies may translate into bad news for the air freight market in the coming months, particularly at the major freight hubs. Thus, we should continue to monitor the on-going growth in air freight with cautious optimism.

"Although it appears to be business as usual for passenger traffic irrespective of the economic woes, there is some heterogeneity in growth across key emerging aviation markets," Echevarne continued. "While there is slowed growth in passenger traffic in China and Russia, India is now catching up to these two countries. In 2014, Indian passenger traffic rose over 10%. In January alone, Indian traffic grew by over 18% at major commercial airports in the country. The combination of a move towards a more liberalized market for aviation coupled with stronger economic fundamentals has helped to awaken the Bengal tiger."

 

RCI Names Mark Tamis To Senior Vice President Post

            Mark Tamis has been named senior vice president,  Hotel Operations for Royal Caribbean International. Tamis will further the  global cruise line’s commitment to deliver outstanding vacations to almost  four million guests per year. He will have oversight of the line’s hotel  services, food, beverage, entertainment and private destinations, and will  report directly to Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean  International.             

            “Mark has extensive knowledge and a proven track record of  success in the hospitality industry and I look forward to welcoming him to  the Royal family,” said Bayley. “In his role, Mark will lead the dedicated  men and women who work every day to deliver the best vacation adventures to  our guests from around the world. And I am confident that he can help us  take our award-winning experience to even greater heights.”    

         

            A 25-year travel industry veteran, Tamis most recently served as  senior vice president, Guest Operations with Carnival Cruise Lines. Prior  to that, Tamis was the chief operating officer of The Setai Hotels and  Resorts. He also held a variety of management positions with hotel  organization, Ian Schrager Company. Tamis began his career with Four  Seasons Hotels after earning a Bachelor of Science degree at Cornell  University, School of Hotel Administration.  He is active in various civic  and community service organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters and  Special Olympics, and founded www.dadsforgiving.org, an organization that  encourages fathers to volunteer with their children to benefit their  communities.   

          

            Royal Caribbean International is an award-winning global cruise brand  with a 45-year legacy of innovation and introducing industry “firsts” never  before seen at sea.  The cruise line features an expansive and unmatched  array of features and amenities only found on Royal Caribbean including,  jaw-dropping, Broadway-style entertainment and industry-acclaimed  programming that appeals to families and adventurous vacationers alike.      

  

            Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE/OSE: RCL), the cruise line sails 22 of the world’s most innovative cruise ships to the most  popular destinations in Bermuda and the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, South  America, the Far East, and Australia and New Zealand. World renowned for  its friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service, delivered by every staff and  crew member, Royal Caribbean has been voted “Best Cruise Line Overall” for 12 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards.       

            On the heels of the much lauded debut of the cruise line’s newest  ship Quantum of the Sea - sailing out of the New York area, sister ship,  Anthem of the Seas, will be launched in April 2015 offering Mediterranean  cruises from Southampton, UK. She will be followed in April 2016 by Ovation  of the Seas and a third of the Oasis class of ships, the largest ships in  the world. Their itineraries will be announced in the coming weeks.

South African Airways Resumes Daily Round-Trip Nonstop Service Between New York & Johannesburg

 
Flights Conveniently Timed For Travel Between

The Big Apple & Africa’s Big Five

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, will resume its daily nonstop flights between Johannesburg, South Africa, and New York-JFK International Airport, on March 7^th. The resumption of the nonstop service on the northbound flight from Johannesburg to New York-JFK will reduce the overall travel time on the route by nearly 90 minutes.

While SAA’s flight from New York-JFK to Johannesburg is operating daily on a nonstop year-round basis, the northbound flight has been temporarily making a one-hour refuelling stop in Dakar, Senegal, due in part to lower travel demand during the winter months. The nonstop flights in each direction are timed conveniently to connect in Johannesburg with SAA’s extensive route network in Southern Africa of over 55 destinations and in New York with flights to over 35 cities in the U.S. and Canada through our code share partners JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and Air Canada. 

“We are excited to bring back our popular daily nonstop flight from Johannesburg to New York,” said Marc Cavaliere, Executive Vice President, North America for South African Airways. “We see strong demand from both business and leisure travellers for nonstop service in this market and our flight schedules will offer greater convenience for our customers.”

SAA’s flights between New York-JFK and Johannesburg are operated on the state-of-the-art wide-body Airbus A340-600 aircraft, featuring 42 full-flat 180° beds in Premium Business Class and 275 seats in Economy Class, ergonomically designed with adjustable headrests and industry-leading legroom of up to 34” for long-haul travel. Customers traveling in both Premium Business Class and Economy Class enjoy an extensive menu of on-demand audio and visual entertainment options, freshly prepared meals and complimentary bar service featuring award-winning South African wines.

South African Airways offers the most non-stop daily service between the U.S. and South Africa, with flights from New York-JFK and Washington, DC-Dulles. In early 2015, the airline further strengthened its position as a leading carrier in the aviation world by being awarded a Skytrax 4-Star rating for 13 consecutive years.

For reservations and information, customers should visit www.flysaa.com or contact South African Airways’ North America Reservations Center at 1-(800) 722-9675.

About South African Airways

South African Airways (SAA), South Africa’s national flag carrier and the continent’s most awarded airline, serves 67 destinations worldwide in partnership with SA Express, Airlink and its low cost carrier Mango. In North America, SAA operates daily nonstop flights from New York-JFK and direct flights from Washington D.C.-IAD (via Dakar, Senegal) to Johannesburg. SAA has codes share agreements with United Airlines, Air Canada and JetBlue Airways, which offer convenient connections from more than 30 cities to SAA’s flights. SAA is a Star Alliance member and the recipient of the Skytrax 4-Star rating for 13 consecutive years.