TRAVELHotNews.com Magazine

G.A.P ADVENTURES: GREEN TRAVEL GOES EPIC

Founder & CEO Bruce Poon Tip takes centre stage at The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo
Hilary Genders

Bruce Poon Tip at the G.A.P Adventures Booth

G.A.P Adventures CEO Bruce Poon Tip was among a handful of key speakers at EP!C, The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo held at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre last weekend. The company, recently named the top �Do It All� tour operator in National Geographic Adventure magazine�s �Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth� competition for its excellence in quality of service, spirit of adventure, sustainability and education, was the only major travel-related business represented at the show, Vancouver�s largest green consumer show and eco-marketplace. Just before taking the stage to deliver his presentation, Off the Beaten Track: Sustainable Adventure Travel, Poon Tip sat down with THNWest.com to discuss what makes G.A.P the frontrunner in sustainable tourism. [Full text and pictures]

BOOMERANG COVER CONTEST

Jeanne Hall from Uniglobe Discover Travel in Waterloo, ON wins trip to Sydney

Sydney's iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge

The lucky winner of the recent TRAVELHotNews.com/Boomerang Travel Cover Contest is Jeanne Hall from Uniglobe Discover Travel in Waterloo, ON. Hall receives a trip for two to Sydney, Australia, a prize valued at $5,000 and featuring airfare from any major Canadian city with an international airport, to Los Angeles or Vancouver and Sydney (Australia) with Air New Zealand, five nights hotel accommodation in Sydney and two excursions in Sydney with APT Australian Pacific Touring. Readers of THNWest.com, TRAVELHotNews.com and ExpressVoyage.ca were invited to choose one of seven images for Boomerang�s latest South Pacific brochure. Hearty congratulations to Jeanne and many thanks to thank you to all the readers who participated in the contest. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for the winning cover photo on Boomerang's new brochure!

CRUISE WEST�S NEW ALASKA PROMOTION

Earn AMEX Gift Card valued up to $1,000

Cruise West is offering a new promotion, �2-4-6-8 Who Do We Appreciate? Our Travel Partners!� This promotion is open to all travel sellers for new bookings of 2008 Alaska�s Inside Passage and Glacier Bay Highlights cruises made April 21-May 31, 2008. Individual travel sellers will receive an American Express Gift Card good towards any purchases where the AMEX card is accepted. A minimum of two new bookings must be made for Cruise West�s 2008 Alaska�s Inside Passage and/or Glacier Bay Highlights cruises. The travel seller will receive a $100 gift card for making two bookings; a $250 gift card for four bookings; a $500 gift card for six bookings; and a $1,000 AMEX gift card for eight new bookings. [Full text and pictures]

SHUTTLE LAUNCHED AT ABBOTSFORD INTERNATIONAL

Valley Airporter to serve entire Fraser Valley with on-demand service

Valley Airporter Ltd. has begun an on-demand airport shuttle service for visitors and residents to and from the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX). Malkeet Gill, who has been providing a similar service in Prince George since 1992, has expanded his operations to include a shuttle service in Abbotsford. While limited to begin with, Gill will be operating seven days a week, 365 days a year. The comfortable10 passenger plus luggage vans, currently service a 60 road kilometre radius of YXX, Sunday to Friday. Rates are based on kilometers travelled and range from $8 - $40 for an adult one-way. [Full text and pictures]

VANCOUVER SKALLITES: SAVE THE DATES!

RSVP for Ron Groves Golf/Fishing Tournament and two May meetings
The Vancouver Skal Club has three important dates coming up soon. Its May meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 14 at the Mad Greek Restaurant in Richmond. For more information and to RSVP, visit the TRAVELHotNews.com events calendar here. The club will hold a "Make Up" meeting at Rendez-vous Canada on Tuesday, May 27 at the Georgian Court Hotel. For details, see the calendar here. And on Friday, June 20, the club will hold its premier event, the Annual Ron Groves Golf/Fishing Tournament & Silent Auction at the University Golf Club.For details, see here.

FLIGHT CENTRE CREATES ENVIRONMENTAL INDUSTRY AWARD

Inaugural prize to be handed out at company�s Black-Tie Ball in July

Flight Centre North America and its corporate division, FCm Travel Solutions, announced on Monday the establishment of an annual award recognizing the industry supplier that has made the greatest effort to minimize its environmental impact. To be eligible for the award, industry partners must submit a letter outlining their company�s efforts to proactively protect the environment during the past financial year (July 1, 2007- June 1, 2008). Submitting more than one initiative from the same supplier is permissible. The award will be presented at Flight Centre�s Annual Black-Tie Ball in July. [Full text and pictures]

KOWABUNGA, DUDE! BART & HOMER GO GREEN AT UNIVERSAL

Eco-friendly technology used for new �The Simpsons Ride�

Photo:Universal Studios Hollywood

The creative minds and builders behind �The Simpsons Ride�, the latest mega-attraction scheduled to open at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando in May, are ushering in a new era of environmentally conscious theme park ride construction. As part of the "Green is Universal" initiative launched company-wide last year to heighten environmental consciousness through all the company�s operations, the new ride will achieve dramatic savings in energy consumption through the use of new lighting technologies, new technologies in electric motor drives and through cutting-edge software designed to control hydraulic systems for maximum efficiency. [Full text and pictures]

CARLSON HOTELS CELEBRATES EARTH DAY

Global Carbon Neutral Matching Program for goldpoints plusSM Members

Fredrik Korallus, executive vice president of revenue generation, Carlson Hotels Worldwide

In celebration of Earth Day, Carlson Hotels Worldwide has announced it will match the contribution of every goldpoints plusSM member donating points to Carbon Neutral from now through April 30, 2008. Carbon Neutral (carbonneutral.com) is a U.K.-based carbon offsetting company that aims to offset CO2 emissions associated with travel. Last year, Carlson revamped its frequent guest program to include, for the first time on a global basis, the opportunity for its members to donate goldpoints to community-based carbon reduction projects that neutralize the CO2 pollution that results from global travel. �Environmental sustainability represents an extremely important strategic initiative for Carlson Hotels Worldwide global,� said Fredrik Korallus, the company's executive vice president of revenue generation. "We are proud to offer this special program in recognition of Earth Day.� [Full text and pictures]