Pure Michigan has doubled its Facebook fans from 50,000 on June 1 to 100,000 as of July 22. “This has been an amazing month and it isn’t over yet,” said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, a business unit of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “We are thrilled with the number of people who want to be involved with Pure Michigan.”

South African Tourism (SAT) announced the recipients of its 2010 Joint Marketing Agreements, eight trade partners chosen based on their campaign submissions for the Journey of Discovery, a tourism marketing initiative designed to identify trade partners for SAT’s Joint Marketing Agreements for the fiscal year 2010-11. The winning partners are 2Afrika, Africa Answers, Classic Escapes, Collette Vacations, Destination Golf & Leisure, Immersion Journeys, STA Travel and Travel Impressions.

“This is the second year that we have run this competition, and once again we were truly impressed with the extraordinary level of creativity and quality of execution in the submissions,” said Sthu Zungu, president of SAT North America. “We appreciate the time and energy that our partners devoted to creating these campaigns, and we congratulate all of the operators who participated. We value their commitment to selling South Africa, and their support for our efforts in this important marketplace.”

SAT invited their trade partners to submit an innovative proposal for a marketing campaign targeting one of SAT’s two consumer market segments. The campaign challenge was to build on the positive impressions created during the World Cup, and to leverage this goodwill into attracting more American travelers to South Africa. Each tour operator received an invitation kit with a letter from the president, detailed profiles of each of South African Tourism’s two consumer segments, a leather travel journal embossed with the SAT logo and the contest rules.
The eight finalists will each receive a fully funded joint marketing agreement of $25,000, to implement their unique marketing campaigns during the period of August 2010 through March 2011. South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a tourist destination. It is headed by Chief Executive Officer Thandiwe January-Mclean and Roshene Singh, CMO and acting COO. For more information, visit www.southafrica.net.

Pure Michigan has doubled its Facebook fans from 50,000 on June 1 to 100,000 as of July 22. “This has been an amazing month and it isn’t over yet,” said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, a business unit of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “We are thrilled with the number of people who want to be involved with Pure Michigan.”

Based on a recent customer satisfaction survey conducted by ForeSee Results, nearly three-quarters of the Pure Michigan Facebook fans learned about places and activities they did not know about. In addition, a third of those fans were inspired to travel to or within Michigan after reading the posts. “The Pure Michigan campaign is designed to introduce to the nation the attributes that make Michigan such a popular and unique destination. We have received several encouraging reports this summer from vacation destinations across both peninsulas that out-of-state visitors are filling up resorts, campgrounds and summer events along with Michigan residents,” Zimmermann said. Tourism is a major source of revenue for Michigan’s economy, yielding $2.23 return on investment from the national campaign and $5.34 regional return on investment from the award-winning Pure Michigan advertising campaign.

Pure Michigan also registered two record-breaking days in a row this month with more than 80,000 user sessions on www.michigan.org,  the state’s official tourism website. The official state travel and tourism website continues to be a source for Michigan travel information, featuring more than 12,000 attractions, events, hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses. For more information, visit www.michigan.org.
 

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is protesting budget cuts in the U.K. that could “stagnate” growth in the tourism sector. The organization representing major travel and tourism businesses reacted with dismay to reports that up to half the staff at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could be eliminated under government austerity cuts this year.

South African Tourism (SAT) announced the recipients of its 2010 Joint Marketing Agreements, eight trade partners chosen based on their campaign submissions for the Journey of Discovery, a tourism marketing initiative designed to identify trade partners for SAT’s Joint Marketing Agreements for the fiscal year 2010-11. The winning partners are 2Afrika, Africa Answers, Classic Escapes, Collette Vacations, Destination Golf & Leisure, Immersion Journeys, STA Travel and Travel Impressions.

“This is the second year that we have run this competition, and once again we were truly impressed with the extraordinary level of creativity and quality of execution in the submissions,” said Sthu Zungu, president of SAT North America. “We appreciate the time and energy that our partners devoted to creating these campaigns, and we congratulate all of the operators who participated. We value their commitment to selling South Africa, and their support for our efforts in this important marketplace.”

SAT invited their trade partners to submit an innovative proposal for a marketing campaign targeting one of SAT’s two consumer market segments. The campaign challenge was to build on the positive impressions created during the World Cup, and to leverage this goodwill into attracting more American travelers to South Africa. Each tour operator received an invitation kit with a letter from the president, detailed profiles of each of South African Tourism’s two consumer segments, a leather travel journal embossed with the SAT logo and the contest rules.
The eight finalists will each receive a fully funded joint marketing agreement of $25,000, to implement their unique marketing campaigns during the period of August 2010 through March 2011. South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a tourist destination. It is headed by Chief Executive Officer Thandiwe January-Mclean and Roshene Singh, CMO and acting COO. For more information, visit www.southafrica.net.

Pure Michigan has doubled its Facebook fans from 50,000 on June 1 to 100,000 as of July 22. “This has been an amazing month and it isn’t over yet,” said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, a business unit of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “We are thrilled with the number of people who want to be involved with Pure Michigan.”

Based on a recent customer satisfaction survey conducted by ForeSee Results, nearly three-quarters of the Pure Michigan Facebook fans learned about places and activities they did not know about. In addition, a third of those fans were inspired to travel to or within Michigan after reading the posts. “The Pure Michigan campaign is designed to introduce to the nation the attributes that make Michigan such a popular and unique destination. We have received several encouraging reports this summer from vacation destinations across both peninsulas that out-of-state visitors are filling up resorts, campgrounds and summer events along with Michigan residents,” Zimmermann said. Tourism is a major source of revenue for Michigan’s economy, yielding $2.23 return on investment from the national campaign and $5.34 regional return on investment from the award-winning Pure Michigan advertising campaign.

Pure Michigan also registered two record-breaking days in a row this month with more than 80,000 user sessions on www.michigan.org,  the state’s official tourism website. The official state travel and tourism website continues to be a source for Michigan travel information, featuring more than 12,000 attractions, events, hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses. For more information, visit www.michigan.org.
 

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is protesting budget cuts in the U.K. that could “stagnate” growth in the tourism sector. The organization representing major travel and tourism businesses reacted with dismay to reports that up to half the staff at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport could be eliminated under government austerity cuts this year.

“Yet again this coalition government has shown incredible short-sightedness and bad judgment," said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president and CEO of WTTC. "The travel and tourism economy is worth £140 billion to the U.K., a similar share of GDP to the financial and business services sector (10.1 percent compared to 9.2 percent, respectively, in 2009), but while the latter received a bailout to the tune of £850 billion and still struggles in its lengthy recovery, the government appears to be actively working to stagnate growth in travel and tourism.”

WTTC points to the U.K. government’s pledge to prevent expansion at London’s biggest aviation hub -- despite the threat of increasing competition to the title from other European airports -- the overreaction to the volcanic eruption, the continuing challenges of visa processes and procedures, and unfair taxation from Air Passenger Duty to a VAT increase which will raise the prices of many of the services offered to visitors. These, coupled with potential cuts to the department responsible for supporting Britain’s leading tourist institutions and promoting those institutions to the world could harm the travel and tourism industry which supports 3.1 million jobs and attracts £24.3 billion in visitor exports in the U.K., the WTTC said.

“If it continues down this path, the U.K. will quickly lose its competitive advantage and find itself falling from the top 10 league of international destinations,” said Baumgarten. “We are not asking for a handout, but the private sector needs this government to implement policies that will help it thrive and quickly create new employment opportunities to help bring the U.K. further out of recession.” WTTC plans to meet with the prime minister to raise his understanding of the potential of the travel and tourism industry and the challenges it faces and get his government’s support. For information, visit www.wttc.org.

South African Tourism (SAT) announced the recipients of its 2010 Joint Marketing Agreements, eight trade partners chosen based on their campaign submissions for the Journey of Discovery, a tourism marketing initiative designed to identify trade partners for SAT’s Joint Marketing Agreements for the fiscal year 2010-11. The winning partners are 2Afrika, Africa Answers, Classic Escapes, Collette Vacations, Destination Golf & Leisure, Immersion Journeys, STA Travel and Travel Impressions.

South African Tourism (SAT) announced the recipients of its 2010 Joint Marketing Agreements, eight trade partners chosen based on their campaign submissions for the Journey of Discovery, a tourism marketing initiative designed to identify trade partners for SAT’s Joint Marketing Agreements for the fiscal year 2010-11. The winning partners are 2Afrika, Africa Answers, Classic Escapes, Collette Vacations, Destination Golf & Leisure, Immersion Journeys, STA Travel and Travel Impressions.

“This is the second year that we have run this competition, and once again we were truly impressed with the extraordinary level of creativity and quality of execution in the submissions,” said Sthu Zungu, president of SAT North America. “We appreciate the time and energy that our partners devoted to creating these campaigns, and we congratulate all of the operators who participated. We value their commitment to selling South Africa, and their support for our efforts in this important marketplace.”

SAT invited their trade partners to submit an innovative proposal for a marketing campaign targeting one of SAT’s two consumer market segments. The campaign challenge was to build on the positive impressions created during the World Cup, and to leverage this goodwill into attracting more American travelers to South Africa. Each tour operator received an invitation kit with a letter from the president, detailed profiles of each of South African Tourism’s two consumer segments, a leather travel journal embossed with the SAT logo and the contest rules.
The eight finalists will each receive a fully funded joint marketing agreement of $25,000, to implement their unique marketing campaigns during the period of August 2010 through March 2011. South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a tourist destination. It is headed by Chief Executive Officer Thandiwe January-Mclean and Roshene Singh, CMO and acting COO. For more information, visit www.southafrica.net.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released preliminary Asia and the Pacific international visitor arrivals figures for the months of April and May, showing year-on-year growth in arrivals of 7 percent and 16 percent, respectively. For the first five months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by a robust 10 percent as compared to the same period last year. The improving global economic environment continued to boost overall travel demand in April and May. However, there was a noticeable impact on air travel caused by the ash cloud from Iceland’s volcanic eruption, which dampened arrival flows to and from Europe. Growth was much stronger in May with the end of the ash cloud problem in Europe and the Labor Day holiday in China (PRC); however, it must be remembered that this monthly comparison is against a lower arrivals base in May 2009 when the travel industry, already down from the global recession, was hit further by the spread of the H1N1 flu.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released preliminary Asia and the Pacific international visitor arrivals figures for the months of April and May, showing year-on-year growth in arrivals of 7 percent and 16 percent, respectively. For the first five months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by a robust 10 percent as compared to the same period last year. The improving global economic environment continued to boost overall travel demand in April and May. However, there was a noticeable impact on air travel caused by the ash cloud from Iceland’s volcanic eruption, which dampened arrival flows to and from Europe. Growth was much stronger in May with the end of the ash cloud problem in Europe and the Labor Day holiday in China (PRC); however, it must be remembered that this monthly comparison is against a lower arrivals base in May 2009 when the travel industry, already down from the global recession, was hit further by the spread of the H1N1 flu.

International arrivals to South Asia grew by 4 percent and 19 percent in April and May, respectively, with the continuously improving safety and security situation helping to boost arrivals to the sub-region. Sri Lanka, one year on from the end of the decades-long civil war, continues to record robust growth in arrivals in April and May, at year-on-year rates of 47 percent and 42 percent, respectively. For the first five months of the year, arrivals to South Asia surged 15 percent, the fastest in terms of rate of growth among the sub-regions under review.
Arrivals to Southeast Asia grew by better than 8 percent year-on-year for both the months of April and May, comparatively slower than that seen in the first three months of the year, but robust nonetheless. Some slowdown can be attributed to the ash cloud disruption in April and the political turmoil in Thailand that negatively impacted visitor arrivals to the Kingdom, which were down by 0.2 percent and 13 percent in April and May, respectively. With the exception of Thailand, arrivals to other Southeast Asian destinations remained robust. Overall, the sub-region recorded year-on-year growth of 13 percent in the first five months of the year.

The largest sub-region in terms of visitor volumes, Northeast Asia, registered a steady growth of 7 percent during April and a 19 percent increase during May. This has been supported by the large and robust intra-regional flows within Mainland China and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the growing popularity of Chinese Taipei as a nearby destination. Equally impressive was the growth in international arrivals to Japan which surged 26 percent and 49 percent in April and May, respectively. Japan is currently enjoying a period of buoyant recovery, recording six consecutive months of double-digit growth in arrivals since December last year, following a long slump. Overall, growth in international arrivals to Northeast Asia reached 10 percent for the first five months of the year.

Among the sub-regions, only the Pacific recorded overall declines in visitor numbers in April and May. Arrivals to Australia and New Zealand were down by 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, for those two months, as the ash cloud disruption negatively impacted arrivals from Europe. The majority of the smaller Pacific island destinations also recorded declines in arrivals in April. Apart from the Northern Marianas, Palau and Tuvalu, growth in arrivals to the Pacific remained sluggish in May. For the first five months of 2010, visitor arrivals to the Pacific grew by a modest 2 percent as compared to the same period last year.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with private and public sector members PATA enhances the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region. PATA provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to over 80 government, state and city tourism bodies; nearly 50 international airlines, airports and cruise lines and many hundreds of travel industry companies across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. PATA is a not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit www.PATA.org.
 

The historic Tel Aviv-Jaffa train station, located between Neve Tzedek and the Mediterranean Sea, has been transformed into an entertainment and leisure center after a 10-year restoration project. The epicenter for commerce in the city from 1892 to 1948, the newly renovated 49-acre Tachana entertainment complex includes more than 20 historic buildings which will serve as event spaces -- from the old train station and freight terminal to the 18th century Arab-style Red House and German Templar Wielands" family home. Two train carriages located on the old tracks around the complex will house an exhibition of photography of the restoration project.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released preliminary Asia and the Pacific international visitor arrivals figures for the months of April and May, showing year-on-year growth in arrivals of 7 percent and 16 percent, respectively. For the first five months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by a robust 10 percent as compared to the same period last year. The improving global economic environment continued to boost overall travel demand in April and May. However, there was a noticeable impact on air travel caused by the ash cloud from Iceland’s volcanic eruption, which dampened arrival flows to and from Europe. Growth was much stronger in May with the end of the ash cloud problem in Europe and the Labor Day holiday in China (PRC); however, it must be remembered that this monthly comparison is against a lower arrivals base in May 2009 when the travel industry, already down from the global recession, was hit further by the spread of the H1N1 flu.

International arrivals to South Asia grew by 4 percent and 19 percent in April and May, respectively, with the continuously improving safety and security situation helping to boost arrivals to the sub-region. Sri Lanka, one year on from the end of the decades-long civil war, continues to record robust growth in arrivals in April and May, at year-on-year rates of 47 percent and 42 percent, respectively. For the first five months of the year, arrivals to South Asia surged 15 percent, the fastest in terms of rate of growth among the sub-regions under review.
Arrivals to Southeast Asia grew by better than 8 percent year-on-year for both the months of April and May, comparatively slower than that seen in the first three months of the year, but robust nonetheless. Some slowdown can be attributed to the ash cloud disruption in April and the political turmoil in Thailand that negatively impacted visitor arrivals to the Kingdom, which were down by 0.2 percent and 13 percent in April and May, respectively. With the exception of Thailand, arrivals to other Southeast Asian destinations remained robust. Overall, the sub-region recorded year-on-year growth of 13 percent in the first five months of the year.

The largest sub-region in terms of visitor volumes, Northeast Asia, registered a steady growth of 7 percent during April and a 19 percent increase during May. This has been supported by the large and robust intra-regional flows within Mainland China and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the growing popularity of Chinese Taipei as a nearby destination. Equally impressive was the growth in international arrivals to Japan which surged 26 percent and 49 percent in April and May, respectively. Japan is currently enjoying a period of buoyant recovery, recording six consecutive months of double-digit growth in arrivals since December last year, following a long slump. Overall, growth in international arrivals to Northeast Asia reached 10 percent for the first five months of the year.

Among the sub-regions, only the Pacific recorded overall declines in visitor numbers in April and May. Arrivals to Australia and New Zealand were down by 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, for those two months, as the ash cloud disruption negatively impacted arrivals from Europe. The majority of the smaller Pacific island destinations also recorded declines in arrivals in April. Apart from the Northern Marianas, Palau and Tuvalu, growth in arrivals to the Pacific remained sluggish in May. For the first five months of 2010, visitor arrivals to the Pacific grew by a modest 2 percent as compared to the same period last year.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with private and public sector members PATA enhances the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region. PATA provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to over 80 government, state and city tourism bodies; nearly 50 international airlines, airports and cruise lines and many hundreds of travel industry companies across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. PATA is a not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit www.PATA.org.
 

The historic Tel Aviv-Jaffa train station, located between Neve Tzedek and the Mediterranean Sea, has been transformed into an entertainment and leisure center after a 10-year restoration project. The epicenter for commerce in the city from 1892 to 1948, the newly renovated 49-acre Tachana entertainment complex includes more than 20 historic buildings which will serve as event spaces -- from the old train station and freight terminal to the 18th century Arab-style Red House and German Templar Wielands" family home. Two train carriages located on the old tracks around the complex will house an exhibition of photography of the restoration project.

The Tachana entertainment complex will feature a variety of restaurants, cafes and bars, in addition to several stores, including a bookstore-café devoted to art and design literature, shops featuring young Israeli and international designers, a museum and a lifestyle space for fashion and design exhibitions. In addition, the complex will include a children"s activity center that will host weekly music concerts, an arts and crafts fair on Thursday evenings and an organic farmer"s market on Friday mornings. Tours of the Bauhaus district of Tel Aviv will also leave from the Tachana every day. For more information, visit www.hatachana.co.il.  For more information about travel to Israel, visit www.goisrael.com.
 

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will travel to New Orleans, La., to host a meeting of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board on Monday, July 26. The meeting will focus on supporting the U.S. travel and tourism industry, specifically in areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will travel to New Orleans, La., to host a meeting of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board on Monday, July 26. The meeting will focus on supporting the U.S. travel and tourism industry, specifically in areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

The travel and tourism industry is a significant contributor to trade and economic development in the United States, and the board will play a key role in the development of the administration’s export policies. Monday’s meeting will be the second meeting of the current board, which is made up of 27 leaders from the travel and tourism industry.

Today, one out of every 16 Americans works, either directly or indirectly, in travel and tourism-related industries. In 2009, the U.S. travel and tourism industry generated nearly $1.3 trillion in economic output, supported 8.2 million American jobs and accounted for 24 percent of all U.S. services exports and 8 percent of total exports. Despite the recent economic downturn, the United States still enjoyed a $22 billion trade surplus for travel and tourism in 2009. For more information, visit www.commerce.gov.

Attendees at ExpoMA, the third annual Expo Manuel Antonio trade show and conference scheduled for Sept. 24 to 26, 2010, at the Historical American Zone in Quepos, Costa Rica, will have an opportunity to become a certified Costa Rica travel specialist at no cost. ExpoMA provides a venue for national and international travel agents who can meet with regional and national resorts and travel service companies from Costa Rica’s Pacific region. In addition to more than 100 exhibitors, the conference program will feature seminars, luncheons and networking socials. ExpoMA is a collaboration of national tourism organizations such as ICT, ACOPROT, CANATUR and Pro-IMAGEN. The Costa Rica travel specialist certification is complimentary for all agents attending ExpoMA. For more information, call Lucia Anreus-Hall at 561-200-0226, email Lucia@CostaRicaTravelExpo.com  or visit www.CostaRicaTravelExpo.com.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) released preliminary Asia and the Pacific international visitor arrivals figures for the months of April and May, showing year-on-year growth in arrivals of 7 percent and 16 percent, respectively. For the first five months of 2010, international visitor arrivals to the region grew by a robust 10 percent as compared to the same period last year. The improving global economic environment continued to boost overall travel demand in April and May. However, there was a noticeable impact on air travel caused by the ash cloud from Iceland’s volcanic eruption, which dampened arrival flows to and from Europe. Growth was much stronger in May with the end of the ash cloud problem in Europe and the Labor Day holiday in China (PRC); however, it must be remembered that this monthly comparison is against a lower arrivals base in May 2009 when the travel industry, already down from the global recession, was hit further by the spread of the H1N1 flu.

International arrivals to South Asia grew by 4 percent and 19 percent in April and May, respectively, with the continuously improving safety and security situation helping to boost arrivals to the sub-region. Sri Lanka, one year on from the end of the decades-long civil war, continues to record robust growth in arrivals in April and May, at year-on-year rates of 47 percent and 42 percent, respectively. For the first five months of the year, arrivals to South Asia surged 15 percent, the fastest in terms of rate of growth among the sub-regions under review.
Arrivals to Southeast Asia grew by better than 8 percent year-on-year for both the months of April and May, comparatively slower than that seen in the first three months of the year, but robust nonetheless. Some slowdown can be attributed to the ash cloud disruption in April and the political turmoil in Thailand that negatively impacted visitor arrivals to the Kingdom, which were down by 0.2 percent and 13 percent in April and May, respectively. With the exception of Thailand, arrivals to other Southeast Asian destinations remained robust. Overall, the sub-region recorded year-on-year growth of 13 percent in the first five months of the year.

The largest sub-region in terms of visitor volumes, Northeast Asia, registered a steady growth of 7 percent during April and a 19 percent increase during May. This has been supported by the large and robust intra-regional flows within Mainland China and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the growing popularity of Chinese Taipei as a nearby destination. Equally impressive was the growth in international arrivals to Japan which surged 26 percent and 49 percent in April and May, respectively. Japan is currently enjoying a period of buoyant recovery, recording six consecutive months of double-digit growth in arrivals since December last year, following a long slump. Overall, growth in international arrivals to Northeast Asia reached 10 percent for the first five months of the year.

Among the sub-regions, only the Pacific recorded overall declines in visitor numbers in April and May. Arrivals to Australia and New Zealand were down by 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively, for those two months, as the ash cloud disruption negatively impacted arrivals from Europe. The majority of the smaller Pacific island destinations also recorded declines in arrivals in April. Apart from the Northern Marianas, Palau and Tuvalu, growth in arrivals to the Pacific remained sluggish in May. For the first five months of 2010, visitor arrivals to the Pacific grew by a modest 2 percent as compared to the same period last year.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with private and public sector members PATA enhances the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region. PATA provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to over 80 government, state and city tourism bodies; nearly 50 international airlines, airports and cruise lines and many hundreds of travel industry companies across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. PATA is a not-for-profit organization. For more information, visit www.PATA.org.
 

The historic Tel Aviv-Jaffa train station, located between Neve Tzedek and the Mediterranean Sea, has been transformed into an entertainment and leisure center after a 10-year restoration project. The epicenter for commerce in the city from 1892 to 1948, the newly renovated 49-acre Tachana entertainment complex includes more than 20 historic buildings which will serve as event spaces -- from the old train station and freight terminal to the 18th century Arab-style Red House and German Templar Wielands" family home. Two train carriages located on the old tracks around the complex will house an exhibition of photography of the restoration project.

The Tachana entertainment complex will feature a variety of restaurants, cafes and bars, in addition to several stores, including a bookstore-café devoted to art and design literature, shops featuring young Israeli and international designers, a museum and a lifestyle space for fashion and design exhibitions. In addition, the complex will include a children"s activity center that will host weekly music concerts, an arts and crafts fair on Thursday evenings and an organic farmer"s market on Friday mornings. Tours of the Bauhaus district of Tel Aviv will also leave from the Tachana every day. For more information, visit www.hatachana.co.il.  For more information about travel to Israel, visit www.goisrael.com.
 

Attendees at ExpoMA, the third annual Expo Manuel Antonio trade show and conference scheduled for Sept. 24 to 26, 2010, at the Historical American Zone in Quepos, Costa Rica, will have an opportunity to become a certified Costa Rica travel specialist at no cost. ExpoMA provides a venue for national and international travel agents who can meet with regional and national resorts and travel service companies from Costa Rica’s Pacific region. In addition to more than 100 exhibitors, the conference program will feature seminars, luncheons and networking socials. ExpoMA is a collaboration of national tourism organizations such as ICT, ACOPROT, CANATUR and Pro-IMAGEN. The Costa Rica travel specialist certification is complimentary for all agents attending ExpoMA. For more information, call Lucia Anreus-Hall at 561-200-0226, email Lucia@CostaRicaTravelExpo.com  or visit www.CostaRicaTravelExpo.com.