Jim Bits: Win an Avalon Cruise With Globus, New WestJet Swoop Flights and More

Kim Clarke, director of sales with the Globus family of brands, is pleased to announce that Lorrie Cheevers of ALC Cruise & Land Vacations in Ancaster, Ont., Lisa Tetzlaff of Valente Travel in Windsor and Tasha Adams of The Destination Experts in Torbay, Nfld. are all winners of $150 gift cards just for booking online with the company.

There's one Online Booking Bonanza winner every week until April 28 this year when the agent who has made the most online bookings between Feb. 1 and April 28 will win an Avalon Waterways European river cruise. The second place winner will receive a $500 gift card, and third place winner a $250 gift card. Bookings with every Globus family company - Globus, Cosmos, Avalon and Monograms - are eligible for the draws and contest. Find out more at www.agentlingo.ca.

On a related note, the Globus family of brands is pleased to announce that sister brands Globus and Cosmos, which offer escorted tours in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, have guaranteed that every remaining departure will operate this year. This includes Globus' three popular tours to Hawaii. The company previously had announced that all 2018 Europe departures for all brands are now guaranteed. In all Globus offers 52 itineraries from seven to 17 days; while Cosmos has 31, ranging from seven to 15 days.

New York City last year set a new record for tourism, with an estimated 62.8 million visitors. That's up 2.3 million from 2016, despite what NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio called "headwinds" from U.S. President Donald Trump. New York attracted 49.7 million domestic visitors last year and 13.1 million folks from out of the country, both all-time highs. Domestic visits grew 3.9 per cent, while international visits rose a respectable 3.4 per cent. "We're keeping our door to the world open," said de Blasio. "Even with all the headwinds from the White House, we attracted a record number of visitors to our city. That's a testament to the strength of our tourism sector and the values of our city."

"The strength from our Asia and South American markets helped offset drops in our traditional European core markets," as did an increase in Canadian visits, said NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon. "At the same time, the city continued its constant trend of reinvention, always offering countless reasons to visit and discover all that our five boroughs only can offer, both iconic and new. And campaigns to counter the negative rhetoric such as New York City - Welcoming the World, reaffirmed our commitment to being an open and welcoming global capital."

Canadian visits to the city rose from 970,000 in 2016 to 1,004,000 in 2017, up 3.5 per cent.

New York City last year launched a marketing campaign in conjunction with Tourism Toronto, one of several such agreements NYC has made with other destinations around the world.

On a related note, a study released earlier this week found that the four busiest international airline routes in the world were in Asia. But the fifth largest in the world, ,with more than 17,000 flights a year, is the route between Toronto and New York,

Swoop, the new low-cost airline from WestJet, has announced the addition of a fourth Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and an increased weekly frequency schedule out of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport beginning Aug. 16, 2018. The addition of another place will increase weekly frequency almost two-fold for Hamilton-Edmonton (from 7 to 13 times a week) and Hamilton-Abbotsford (from six a week to 11). Service from Hamilton to Halifax and Winnipeg will now be offered daily (up from six times a week for both).

Edmonton is an increasingly hip city, with new condos and lovely new shops and restaurants near the new Rogers Centre, home of the Edmonton Oilers' hockey team.

The new craft means 13 weekly flights overall, bring the total for Swoop to 59 flights per week as of Aug. 16 of this year.

"We are thrilled that after only seven weeks in market, Swoop is already increasing frequency out of Hamilton International. The addition of the 13 weekly flights provides passengers with even more flexibility when travelling to key regional destinations." said Cathie Puckering, President & CEO, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

Renowned as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean and home to Trip Advisor's #5 best beach in the world, the Cayman Islands provide plenty of reasons to visit during the summer season, including spectacular savings of up to 30 per cent. Visitors can book a SUMMER ONLY IN CAYMAN vacation by June 30, 2018 and travel between May 1 and Dec. 15, 2018 to receive limited-time offers on accommodations, attractions, watersports, dining and more.

The Cayman Islands also invites children of all ages to enjoy the destination's fine culinary scene during the summer season with the brand-new KIDS CULINARY CAPITAL OF THE CARIBBEAN program. Children can explore and get hands-on with interactive cooking classes, farm-to-table culinary tours and more at participating world-class shops, restaurants and hotels. The destination is offering specialized kids programming giving parents the opportunity to enjoy some much-deserved downtime while the little ones gain unique experiences and make memories that last a lifetime.

Air Canada is offering convenient access to Grand Cayman with nonstop flights from Toronto, plus easy connections through Toronto from seven Canadian gateways.

Ahead of her World Cruise 2019, Silver Whisper - one of Silversea's ultra-luxury ships - is to undergo extensive renovation later this year. Between December 8 and December 19, Silver Whisper will be in dry dock in Freeport in the Bahamas, as improvements are made to increase the already excellent level of guest satisfaction. The exciting announcement follows the opening of sales for Silversea's pioneering World Cruise 2020, which will see Silver Whisper travel to all seven continents - including Antarctica - as part of an itinerary that is unprecedented in its variety.

Guests embarking Silver Whisper will benefit from a broad-ranging set of enhancements: skilled craftspeople will invigorate many of the ship's public areas, both inside and out, with a fresh décor; all guest suites will be refreshed. The ship's latest enhancements will be implemented with a similar design and features as can be found on the recently delivered Silver Muse, Silversea's flagship, and on the Silver Spirit, which is currently undergoing a significant renovation.

I did a Mediterranean cruise on the Silver Spirit a few years ago and had an absolutely tremendous time. The ship was sleek and beautiful, the food exquisite and the tours fantastic.