Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Dates, Pride New York City, Accor News And More

In anticipation of high guest interest, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products has announced it will open Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge ahead of schedule at Disneyland Park in California on May 31 and at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on Aug. 29.

On opening day for phase one, guests will be transported to the remote planet of Batuu, full of unique sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Guests can become part of the story as they sample galactic food and beverages, explore an intriguing collection of merchant shops and take the controls of the most famous ship in the galaxy aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

Phase two, opening later this year, will be Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the most ambitious, immersive and advanced attraction ever imagined, which will place guests in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance and will blur the lines between fantasy and reality. In light of tremendous demand, Disney made the decision to open the land in phases to allow guests to sooner enjoy the one-of-a-kind experiences that make Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge so spectacular.

Guests planning to visit Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland Park between May 31 and June 23, 2019, will need valid theme park admission and will be required to make a no-cost reservation, subject to availability, to access the land. Information on how to make a reservation will be available at a later date on Disneyland.com and the Disney Parks Blog. Guests staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels during these dates will receive a designated reservation to access Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge during their stay (one reservation per registered guest); valid theme park admission is required.

NYC & Company, New York City's official destination marketing organization, has declared 2019 as the Year of Pride. NYC is the leading LGBTQ destination in the US year after year and welcomes visitors of all genders, all ages and from all parts of the US and the world.

NYC is offering a collection of Pride activities and events to enjoy before, after and during WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in June, a pivotal moment in LGBTQ history.

"We have declared 2019 the Year of Pride, to not only celebrate WorldPride and Stonewall 50 but to acknowledge the perpetual spirit of New York City's vibrant LGBTQ community," said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. "In addition to the iconic events in June, the City is brimming with a yearlong roster of cultural activity."

WorldPride will take place in NYC-the first time the global event will be held in the US-from June 25-30, with an anticipated 4 million visitors. On June 28, 1969, riots broke out in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, which is now the country's first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights. This June and throughout 2019, NYC celebrates Pride.

Events include an Andy Warhol Exhibit at the Whitney Museum, a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit at the Guggenheim, a Pride Auction and much more.

Accor continues to expand its portfolio and is launching a new lifestyle brand in the midscale segment, TRIBE. Renowned for its expertise in the economy and midscale sector, and now a major name in luxury hotels, Accor continues to establish itself in the lifestyle sector by offering a great range of experiences to satisfy the needs of its customers and partners.

new brand TRIBE was created in response to a simple fact: today, more than ever before, travellers seek a high-quality hotel experience at an affordable price. TRIBE aims to surprise l with an original, exciting and carefully curated offer that focuses on style rather than price. Tribe is reshaping the traditional hotel experience, enabling guests to live, work and play in contemporary interiors.

TRIBE intends to meet the expectations and requirements of customers in a ground-breaking way. With a flexible and unique model, the new "TRIBE" concept targets an international clientele of regular travellers.

2018 marked a historic year for Accor. With record openings and signings and 14 new brand acquisitions around the world- Accor strengthened its development momentum and posted a record performance level with almost 500 hotels signed in 2018, representing 110 more hotels signed in comparison to 2017.

See below for some more key figures of their past year:

A record portfolio of almost 4,800 hotels and 704,000 rooms in over 100 countries.

A record 480 hotels signed with 70,000 rooms.

Record acquisitions with 287 hotels

The Group opened 587 hotels representing 100,000 rooms in 2018, an unprecedented number in Accor's history.

Travelling Downunder can be a fun and educational adventure for the whole family. As the Downunder specialists in North America, Goway has six vacations to Australia and New Zealand specifically tailored for families. Each trip includes family-friendly apartment-style accommodations with kitchen and laundry facilities, interesting day tours, and some exciting Aussie or Kiwi-only experiences. There's no reason why a trip Downunder has to wait until the kids leave home. It can happen today.

There are many ways to see Australia with the family, but one of the most popular trips is the Aussie Sampler, which visits the Australia Zoo, run by the family of the late Steve Irwin, Australia's Crocodile Hunter. This great vacation includes four nights in Sydney, four nights in Surfers Paradise, all transfers, a full day tour to the Australia Zoo, and a visit to Tangalooma Island Resort to hand feed wild dolphins.

The Aussie Adventure includes accommodation for 10 nights in Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, Sydney, and Cairns, a Dolphin Adventure day tour, a Crocodile Express tour to the Australia Zoo, an Outer Barrier Reef Cruise, a Kuranda all-inclusive tour, a Sydney city sights tour, and a Blue Mountains day tour. For a short break during the summer or holiday season, Goway can customize itineraries to suit the ages of the children and the family budget.

The newest addition to Goway's offerings are two trips including New Zealand. First is the Kia Ora Getaway, which showcases the highlights of New Zealand with some great sightseeing, including zip-lining and kayaking, and the dual destination Aussie Kiwi Explorer that combines the highlights of New Zealand with a stopover in Sydney.

For more information on family vacations to Australia or to obtain your copy of Goway's Downunder brochure, call 1-800-387-8850, visit Goway.com, or email [email protected].

Carnival Cruise Line is partnering with world-renowned chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse on his first-ever seagoing restaurant aboard Carnival's newest and most innovative ship, Mardi Gras, setting sail in summer 2020.

Located in the heart of Mardi Gras' French Quarter zone, Emeril's Bistro 1396 will showcase the chef's signature dishes that earned him the reputation as one of New Orleans' most acclaimed and respected chefs.

"Emeril Lagasse has brought the uniqueness and fun of New Orleans dining to foodies all over the world, and we're thrilled that he'll now bring that same experience to Carnival," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

The menu will include: oyster and cochon de lait po-boys, muffaletta sandwiches, Emeril's signature barbecue shrimp, fresh seafood ceviche, roasted duck & Andouille sausage gumbo, jambalaya, and other great dishes. The New Orleans classic Bananas Foster and lemon ice box pie will be available for dessert.

Emeril's Bistro 1396 will take centre stage in Mardi Gras' French Quarter, one of the ship's six themed zones where guests will find fun, memorable ways to create their own personalized vacations. The French Quarter will capture the festive spirit of Louisiana with food, cocktails and, of course, live jazz.

Mardi Gras is slated to enter service in Europe Aug. 31, 2020, before repositioning to New York for a series of voyages then shift to Port Canaveral for year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises beginning in October 2020.

WestJet this week became the only airline connecting Calgarians non-stop to Atlanta, Ga., when its inaugural flight between Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was completed.

Atlanta is the 65th destination WestJet serves nonstop from Calgary. WestJet already serves more destinations with more nonstop flights from Calgary than any other airline.

"Today's flight between Calgary and Atlanta marks another significant milestone in WestJet's continued investment into Alberta while supporting strong business and tourism ties," said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet's Chief Commercial Officer. "We are thrilled to offer our guests this service, along with access to 111 unique routes between Atlanta and points across North America served by both WestJet and our codeshare partner, Delta."

British Airways is set to deliver significant changes to the onboard product and service in its First cabin as part of its $11.5 billion CAD investment for customers.

The new look and feel, set to take to the skies from March 31, will include new bedding, amenities and menus that would not look out of place in a revered five-star British hotel.

The airline's First customers will be offered super-soft, sophisticated new male and female loungewear designed exclusively by luxury British fashion brand Temperley London. The loungewear will be coupled with bespoke British Airways amenity bags, featuring Temperley's "Star" design. The bags will be filled with products from No 1 British Skincare brand, ELEMIS, including products from the highly sought after ULTRA SMART PRO-COLLAGEN range*. The amenity kit contains the essentials to cleanse, revive and hydrate.

The airline's chefs have also designed new delicious A La Carte menus that focus on fresh seasonal ingredients of British provenance. The new menus will be served on elegant bone china crockery, designed exclusively for the airline by high-end British tableware designer William Edwards. The new tableware will be accompanied by contemporary cutlery from Studio William.

The airline will also be introducing a new signature afternoon tea service, showcasing the great British tradition of high tea. The menu will include a selection sandwiches, delicate pastries and scones, as well as a wide range of tea infusions.

As Canada's largest airport gears up to welcome a peak of 144,000 passengers in one day for March Break, one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, Toronto Pearson welcomes the announcement from Airports Council International (ACI) that it has been named Best Large Airport in North America serving more than 40 million annual passengers for the second year in a row. This recognition is part of ACI's Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program, the only global benchmarking survey that assesses passenger satisfaction at the airport on their day of travel.

"We're extremely grateful to our passengers, who took time out from their travels to give their feedback and for choosing Toronto Pearson as the best large airport in North America again this year," said Howard Eng, President and CEO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority, "This achievement is possible thanks to the collaboration and innovation of the 50,000 airport colleagues and partners who made a commitment to creating a better airport experience for our passengers and who continue to work every day to bring that vision to life."

This recognition underscores Toronto Pearson's ongoing commitment to enhancing the passenger experience and comes at a time when the airport continues to make several measurable improvements for the comfort and enjoyment of passengers:

Improvements to airport ambience, including courteous and helpful staff and the opening of 27 new retail, food and beverage locations;

Moving passengers faster from curb to gate through new, faster CATSA Plus security screening lanes, the introduction of 400 new digital screens and enhanced ground transportation options;

Creating a comfortable, clean environment through the revitalization of all 80 washrooms in Terminal 3; improving the cleanliness of terminals; and the introduction of therapy dogs, state-of-the-art Mamava® nursing pods, and Changing Places assisted changerooms; and,

Enhanced entertainment, including the free series of YYZ Live in-terminal musical performances and a 10x speed and capacity upgrade to Toronto Pearson's free WiFi.

Luxury cruise brand Cunard has unveiled their Oceans of Discovery voyage program for November 2020 through May 2021, featuring Full World Voyages and in-depth itineraries in Japan and Australia. The Cunard fleet, including Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, and flagship liner Queen Mary 2, will call at 94 destinations in 38 different countries, including four exciting maiden calls in Japan, Taiwan and New Zealand.

Cunard pioneered the concept of world cruising in 1922 and has since undertaken more world voyages than any other passenger line. In 2021, Cunard will continue the tradition of world cruising by operating Full World Voyages on two ships: Queen Mary 2 will offer the classic East-West voyage to Australia and Asia, Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean; Queen Victoria will travel the globe with a westbound circumnavigation via the Panama Canal. Queen Elizabeth will carry out exotic voyages with regionally-focused itineraries in Australia and Japan.

Whether traveling on a two-night short break or a full 113-night world voyage, the Cunard 2021 program will offer a mix of the most celebrated cities along with smaller, off-the-beaten-path but equally charming destinations. Itineraries have been thoughtfully created to offer longer, more enriching days in port as well as plenty of time at sea to enjoy everything Cunard ships have to offer.

"Now is a perfect time to book your winter 2020-2021 journeys on Cunard," said Josh Leibowitz, SVP Cunard North America. "We offer our legendary westbound circumnavigation World Cruise on Queen Victoria, the classic East-West voyage on Queen Mary 2, and exotic sailings on Queen Elizabeth. By far, these voyages represent incredible opportunities to see the world in style, only on Cunard."

Cunard World Club members will be able to book exclusively beginning on March 12, 2019, and booking will open for the public on March 13, 2019.