Travel Calendar

CHESTER, England, January 16, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ –

Where in the world is everyone going? New infographic highlights top 50 global attractions.

Planning a getaway for 2012? Know which travel destinations to target (or avoid) this year.

TravelSupermarket has developed an infographic outlining the top 50 most popular travel destinations based on information compiled about the world’s most visited museums, theme parks and heritage sites. This infographic provides a snapshot into global travel destinations and helps answer the question ‘Where in the world is everyone going?

View the infographic here: http://www.travelsupermarket.com/blog/top-50-tourist-attractions/

The infographic includes:

• Top free public destinations for money-savvy travellers
• UNESCO heritage sites and natural attractions
• The most popular amusement parks (hint: Disney’s big everywhere)
• Seaside attractions
• Museums and cultural sites
• Top bazaars and outdoor markets

Notes to editors:

About TravelSupermarket

TravelSupermarket is an online comparison service where customers can find the best value travel options for their needs and purchase over the internet. The website compares flights, car hire, hotels, cruise, package holidays plus dynamic packaging by searching hundreds of travel websites. The information supplied is unbiased and is designed to save the customer time and money.

The site thrives on offering its users accurate real time availability by taking information directly from suppliers such as Opodo, British Airways, Thomas Cook, Radisson, Sol Melia, easyCar, Auto-Europe and many more, ensuring users are presented the best possible price at all times. It searches:

• Over 650 scheduled, low cost and charter airlines from 39 individual suppliers
• Over 200,000 individual hotels from over 42 individual hotel suppliers
• Over 200 individual car hire providers from over 21 suppliers
• 1,000s of individual package holidays from over 34 suppliers

Additionally, travelsupermarket.com also compares prices on travel insurance and on airport car parking.

TravelSupermarket is part of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com is a website where consumers can compare personal finance products, save money and apply online. The website has several service areas including personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, current accounts, savings accounts, motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, mobile phones, broadband and shopping.

SOURCE travelsupermarket.com

One film we’re anxious to see later this year (officially, as it’s on our 2012 Movie Preview) is Rian Johnson’s Looper. A time-traveling, science-fiction, assassination thriller, Looper sounds like it’s in danger of collapsing into a convoluted mess of opposing styles and genres. Yet Johnson’s a deft storyteller who has shown real proficiency in the modern noir Brick and his offbeat con comedy The Brothers Bloom, so we’ve decided we’ll willingly follow him anywhere, even to the future and beyond.

Little is known about Looper beyond this: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick) plays a killer whose victims are sent back in time. One day, he encounters a target (Bruce Willis), only to realize that it’s an older version of himself. To complete the illusion, Johnson tells The L.A. Times that they’re using prosthetics to help JGL look more like the Die Hard icon. But also, Johnson is hoping to coax some Willis-isms out of Gordon-Levitt’s performance.

“The biggest thing is Joe’s performance,” the director notes. “He’s really doing Bruce in a big and daring way, but he strikes a balance between obviously imitating Bruce and also building this organic performance.”

Which is all well and good. We know Gordon-Levitt can do practically anything he wants as an actor, and channeling the one or two notes Willis keeps in his bag of tricks shouldn’t be too complicated. But what of the time-travel element, which Johnson readily admits “just never makes sense” in most sci-fi films?

“If you just tell somebody the plot, you’re inevitably telling them the time travel stuff, but the movie actually uses that as a set-up,” he explains. “The best parallel I can draw is to the first Terminator moviem where time travel is used to set up this impossible situation between these people and then that situation plays itself out.”

How will this one play out? Find out when it opens on Sept. 28.

Q: My husband and I are planning a walking holiday in Ireland along the Dingle Way. Are we permitted to bring our hiking poles as carry-on items along with our day packs on our flights, or must they be checked? If they are to be checked, any recommendations on how best to package them?

-E. Brown, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

A: You’ll find an amazingly long list of things you cannot take on a plane as carry-on at the Transportation Security Administration’s website, www.tsa.gov. (Click on “Prohibited Items.”) Some never-ever items are just common sense – loaded guns, for instance, although California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican from San Bernardino, recently tried to get on a flight to Sacramento with a .45-caliber handgun and ammo. (An “unfortunate mistake,” he said later.)

Other items may surprise you as carry-on no-can-do’s: gel shoe inserts, gel candles and snow globes. Oh, and don’t forget drills and drill bits for all of you do-it-yourselfers who just can’t leave them at home.

A hiking pole also is a nonstarter as a carry-on. A regular cane, when used as an assistive device, is OK, but “hiking sticks, like ski poles, are not permitted,” said Nico Melendez, a TSA rep.

They are fine as checked baggage, Melendez noted. Brown’s stick collapses to 28 inches so she may be able to fit it in her luggage if her luggage is large enough. (Some wheeled duffels measure as much as 29 inches long and could accommodate a stick.) Otherwise, the pole will have to be packaged according to the airline’s specifications for sporting equipment. Best to check with the individual airline because policies may differ. Note, too, that if you check the stick, you may be stuck with extra baggage fees.

My suggestion would be to leave the stick at home and buy one at your destination. James Byrne of Hillwalk Ireland (www.hillwalkireland.com), which arranges self-guided tours, told me that the Mountain Man Outdoor Shop (www.themountainmanshop.com) on Strand Street in Dingle “stocks a range of high-quality hiking sticks” from $38-$55. They’re made by Mountain King (www.mountainking.co.uk), “a reputed hiking outfitter on this side of the Atlantic,” Byrne said. That way, you worry about transporting your stick only one way. Plus you have a nice souvenir from the trip.

But hold the phone, friends. By suggesting this, I may be taking a walk on the riled side. An avid hiker tells me that some poles have gone uptown and that some hikers have quite an investment in them. “There has been an explosion of upscale hiking poles ($100 and up) that collapse, are made of titanium, have external or internal fittings, etc.,” said Mary Forgione, an avid outdoorswoman who worked on the staff of the Times Outdoors section and now is the daily Travel and Deals blogger for latimes.com/traveldeals. “Gone are the carefully culled tree limbs of yore you would find along the trail … I favor Leki and Black Diamond with external fittings.”

But why use a pole? “They really, really do save wear and tear on your knees – whether you’re 20 or 80,” said Forgione, who is somewhere between 20 and 80.

A little less wear and tear on any traveler? Now that’s a path we’d all like to take.

Have a travel dilemma? Write to travel@latimes.com.

LONDON (SHARECAST) – A massive 16% fall for cruise operator Carnival saw the travel and leisure sector fall to the bottom of the pile on Monday.

One of Carnivals ships, the Costa Concordia, grounded off the coast of Italy at the weekend, causing the deaths (so far) of six people as well as numerous injuries. Sixteen passengers are still missing, according to news reports. The firm, which is the parent company of Costa Cruises, said that the cost of not having the boat in service will be between $85m and $95m.

If the industry already didn’t face enough challenges (fuel price volatility, capacity absorption, and weakness in the European economy) this unfortunate event will reverberate on the group over the near-term, according to analysts at Credit Suisse.

Sector peers Air Partner, Travelzest and Flybe fell in sympathy.

Meanwhile, automobiles and parts stocks were the best performers today, tracking their European peers higher. UK stocks gained an average 2.29% in afternoon trading, while the STOXX Europe 600 Automobile and Parts index was rising 2.84%, after Goldman Sachs bolstered gains for car makers.

The US broker maintained its conviction buy ratings on peers BMW and Fiat today, while also adding Daimler to the list. It also upgraded the ratings of Pirelli, Fiat Industrial and Renault.

In London, sector heavyweight GKN led the risers.

Top performing sectors so far today
Automobiles Parts 4,694.84 +2.29%
Personal Goods 20,339.15 +1.73%
Industrial Transportation 2,271.05 +1.51%
Fixed Line Telecommunications 2,335.29 +1.31%
Technology Hardware Equipment 734.78 +1.04%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Travel Leisure 4,243.28 -1.96%
Food Drug Retailers 3,860.30 -1.02%
Oil Equipment, Services Distribution 23,666.63 -0.55%
Electricity 7,914.86 -0.43%
Industrial Metals Mining 4,490.62 -0.36%

Enlarge image

Qunar Eyes U.S. IPO

Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

CC Zhuang, chief executive officer of Qunar.com Inc., poses for a portrait at the company’s offices in Beijing.

CC Zhuang, chief executive officer of Qunar.com Inc., poses for a portrait at the company’s offices in Beijing. Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg

Qunar.com Inc., a Chinese travel
search site partly owned by Baidu Inc. (BIDU) (BIDU), is considering an
initial public offering in the U.S. as it expects soaring demand
for travel services to double revenue this year.

Qunar broke even in 2010 and more than doubled sales in
2011 to “a few hundred million” yuan, Chief Executive Officer
CC Zhuang said in an interview. He declined to give a timeframe
or other target terms for a share sale.

The website gets most of its revenue from cost-per-click
travel ads and may raise money from U.S. investors after selling
a $306 million majority stake to Baidu, the nation’s biggest
search engine, last June. China’s tourism market may overtake
Japan’s as the world’s largest after the U.S. by 2013, Boston
Consulting Group Inc. said in March.

“We are in a unique platform that connects the traditional
IT system of airlines and hotels with massive information
searches on the Internet,” Zhuang said Jan. 12 at Quanar’s
Beijing headquarters.

Zhuang is attracting users by offering flight and hotel
booking information that isn’t limited to specific vendors and
allows searchers to make reservations directly with airlines,
hotels and services that match their needs.

China travel industry revenue is expected to increase 14
percent annually to 5.5 trillion yuan ($871 billion) in 2020
from 1.5 trillion yuan in 2010, according to Boston Consulting.

Tencent, Ctrip

Tencent Holdings Ltd. (700), China’s biggest Internet company, on
May 17 said it bought a 16 percent stake in Qunar competitor
ELong Inc. for $84.4 million to expand in online travel. Chinese
rival Ctrip.com International Ltd. (CTRP) listed on the Nasdaq
Composite Index (CCMP) in December 2003.

Ctrip.com has declined 42 percent in the 12 months in
Nasdaq trading, compared with a 1.6 percent drop of the Nasdaq
Composite Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Qunar will consider an IPO “as soon as the market becomes
stabilized,” said Zhuang, who worked for the World Bank in
Washington from 2001 to 2005.

Qunar, which means “Where do you want to go?” in Chinese,
was founded in 2005. It provides information on flight tickets,
hotels, packages, and visas, among other travel services,
according to its website. Its search functions list options for
travelers, who are then directed to the websites of airlines,
hotels and other travel services, to make their purchase.

Travel booked on the Internet accounts for about 7 percent
of China’s tourism market and that ratio is expected to surge to
30 percent in the next five years, similar to current levels in
the West, Zhuang said.

Qunar hasn’t used the cash from Baidu’s investment so far,
according to Zhuang. He wants the company to have cash on hand
to tap opportunities, especially growth in mobile device
applications.

“In the next few years, mobile travel is going to be
big,” he said. “Mobile travel may have new game rules, may
have new ideas — something we don’t even imagine today, but
they will appear one night somewhere in the world.”

To contact Bloomberg News staff on this story:
Michael Wei in Shanghai at
mwei13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephanie Wong at
swong139@bloomberg.net

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Light freezing rain could make for difficult driving Monday
night, with the icy conditions followed by snow on Tuesday, strong
winds and colder temperatures.

The National Weather Service said low pressure coming into the
central Great Lakes will bring light rain to south central
Wisconsin Monday afternoon that will change to freezing rain before
midnight, then a mix of snow and freezing rain in the overnight
hours.

Monday’s high should be in the mid-30s, but temperatures are
forecast to fall to the mid-20s Monday night, resulting in the
change in precipitation.

The Weather Service said light snow will affect all of southern
Wisconsin on Tuesday, with accumulations of 2 to 3 inches
expected.

Colder winds coming in with the light snow will push
temperatures down during on Tuesday to around 18 by 5 p.m., and
close to zero in the overnight hours.

Winds are expected to blow at 10 to 20 miles per hour with gusts
up to 30 mph. The strong north winds could blow the light snow into
drifts, the Weather Service said.

“A winter weather advisory may be issued if confidence continues
to grow on the threat for mixed precipitation,” the Weather Service
said.

Wind chills could be in the 5 to 10 below zero range Tuesday
night into Wednesday.

Quiet weather should return on Wednesday with mostly sunny skies
and a high of 22, but Thursday’s high is only expected to reach the
mid-teens.

27 Storm Track meteorologist Evan Hutchinson said Madison could
see its first below zero reading of the season early Friday with a
low of 1 below forecast before temperatures rebound to the mid-20s
on Friday.

The Weather Service said there’s a 40 percent chance of snow on
Friday, but no accumulation is expected.

The weekend should be warmer with highs around freezing on
Saturday and up to 39 on Sunday, with a slight chance for rain and
snow on Sunday.

Sunday’s high in Madison was 31, 5 degrees above normal and 23
degrees below the record high of 54 for Jan. 15, set in 1953.

The low on Sunday was 15, 4 degrees above normal and 45 degrees
above the record low of 30 below for the day, set in 1963.

A trace of precipitation fell at the Dane County Regional
Airport, keeping the January and 2012 precipitation (rain plus snow
converted to liquid) total at 0.46 inches, or 0.15 inches below
normal.

For the meteorological winter of December through February, 
Madison has received 2.69 inches of precipitation, or 0.34 inches
above normal.

A trace of snow Sunday kept the January total at 5.8 inches, or
0.4 inches below normal for the month and year.

For the meteorological winter, Madison has received 8.3 inches
of snow, or 11.4 inches below normal.

Since July 1, the official start of the snow season, Madison has
received 9.9 inches of snow, or 13.9 inches below normal.

The record snowfall in Madison on Jan. 15 was 3.8 inches in
1943.

 

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Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence 2012

The Awards for Excellence winners represent the very best of the best. Our readers are discerning and experienced travelers who know what they want when they travel – exceptional accommodations, outstanding service and good value for money.

NEW YORK, New York (PRWEB) January 16, 2012

Condé Nast Johansens, the international luxury travel guides from the most trusted name in travel publishing, Condé Nast Publications Ltd., today announced the winners of the 2012 Awards for Excellence. The winners of these prestigious awards were chosen as the top properties throughout the Americas, Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific Islands. The full list of winners is included below.

The winners were selected from an exclusive collection of luxury, boutique hotels, inns and resorts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Atlantic, Caribbean and Pacific Islands. Readers of the Guides, hotels guests and the Condé Nast Johansens inspection team all contributed votes for the 2012 awards. The 2012 Awards for Excellence cover 28 categories, including Most Excellent Resort, Most Excellent Hotel, Most Excellent Eco Resort, and Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway.

Lesley O’Malley-Keyes, Vice President Publishing Director, The Americas noted, “The Awards for Excellence winners represent the very best of the best. Our readers are discerning and experienced travelers who know what they want when they travel – exceptional accommodations, outstanding service and good value for money. Condé Nast Johansens only recommends properties that meet these very specific standards.”

The chic Guides, now in their 30th year of publication in Europe, celebrate a loyal readership; each property is selected for its dedication to the highest standards of comfort, unique personality, warmth and service, impressive facilities and surroundings. Featured properties are approved for recommendation following an annual inspection by one of our team of local experts. Only then is it awarded the “Condé Nast Mark of Excellence” wall plaque. This distinctive sign is a visible endorsement for more than nine million of the world’s most discerning and experienced travelers.

Each easy to use printed Guide features rich, full-color exterior and interior hotel photographs, and details about facilities, rates and contact information — everything a guest needs to make an informed decision about a reservation.

In addition, the stylish Condé Nast Johansens website is a key part of the Condé Nast Johansens experience, where users can research hotels, spas and venues and even contact and book directly with the property.

Brand new in 2012 is the innovative and free to download Condé Nast Johansens iPad application featuring the entire collection of properties. Readers can also engage and find suggestions via the new Condé Nast Johansens social media sites on both Facebook and Twitter.

The winners of the Condé Nast Johansens 2012 Awards for Excellence,The Americas, Atlantic, Caribbean Pacific are:

ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN PACIFIC

Most Excellent Resort:

Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada

Most Excellent Small Resort:

Cotton House, Mustique

Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway:

Cap Juluca, Anguilla

Most Excellent Spa Resort:

CuisinArt Golf Resort Spa, Anguilla

Most Excellent Eco Resort:

Palm Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Most Excellent Service:

Jade Mountain at Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia

SOUTH AMERICA

Most Excellent Beach Hotel:

Insólito Boutique Hotel, Brazil

Most Excellent Hotel:

Royal Palm Hotel, Galápagos, Ecuador

Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway:

Uxua Casa Hotel, Brazil

Most Excellent Spa Hotel:

Kurotel Medical Longevity Center and Spa, Brazil

Most Excellent Lodge:

Toca da Coruja, Brazil

Most Excellent Eco Resort:

Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Peru

Most Excellent Service:

Nomads of the Seas, Chile

MÉXICO CENTRAL AMERICA

Most Excellent Resort:

La Reunión Antigua Golf Resort, Guatemala

Most Excellent Spa Hotel:

Las Mañanitas Hotel, Garden Restaurant Spa, México

Most Excellent Hotel:

Villa Maria Cristina, México

Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway:

Victoria House, Belize

Most Excellent Beach Hotel:

Imanta Resorts Punta Mita, México

Most Excellent Lodge:

Belcampo Lodge, Belize (formerly Machaca Hill)

Most Excellent Eco Resort:

Hotel Punta Islita, Costa Rica

Most Excellent Service:

Casa Velas, México

U.S.A. CANADA

Most Excellent Hotel:

The Hay-Adams, DC

Most Excellent Ranch:

Triple Creek Ranch, MT

Most Excellent Inn:

The Baker House 1650, NY

Most Excellent Small Hotel:

Fifteen Beacon Hotel, MA

Most Excellent Romantic Hideaway:

Amangani, WY

Most Excellent Lodge:

Vail Mountain Lodge Spa, CO

Most Excellent Spa Hotel:

Wickaninnish Inn, BC

Most Excellent Eco Resort:

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, BC

Most Excellent Service:

Boston Harbor Hotel, MA

The Condé Nast Johansens international collection of guides are available at select bookstores nationwide, including the 2012 Recommended Hotels, Inns , Resorts Spas – The Americas, Atlantic, Caribbean , Pacific. The Guide website, http://www.condenastjohansens.com offers exclusive seasonal discounts and complimentary access to the international database of luxury accommodations. Consumers can purchase Condé Nast Johansens Guides by calling Condé Nast Johansens at 1-800-564-7518 or via the online bookstore. Gift certificates are also available at on the website.

The complete Condé Nast Johansens international collection includes:

Recommended Hotels Spas, Great Britain Ireland

Recommended Country Houses, Small Hotels, Inns and Restaurants Great Britain Ireland

Recommended Hotels and Spas, Europe The Mediterranean

Recommended Hotels, Inns, Resorts Spas, The Americas, Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific

Recommended Venues for Conferences, Meetings Special Events

Recommended Luxury Spas

Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, sets the benchmark for multimedia publishing excellence. Condé Nast currently operates in 25 markets, publishing 137 magazines, over 100 websites and over 170 tablet and Smartphone apps under iconic brands such as Vogue, GQ, Glamour, Wired, Condé Nast Traveller, and Vanity Fair. Recent launches include Vogue in Turkey, Condé Nast Traveller in India and Russia, GQ in Brazil, and AD in China. Condé Nast Britain publishes 13 magazines, numerous websites and digital products, contract publications, and hotel guides. Later this year the Condé Nast College of Fashion Design will open in central London.

###

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I can see it now. The travel crystal ball for 2012 shows amazing destinations, interesting price trends and, wait, is that Myanmar? Here’s a look at where travel is headed this year — what’s hot, what things will cost and must-dos for people who want to be on the cutting edge.

—Hot destinations for 2012:

Uganda

Myanmar (Burma)

Ukraine

Jordan

Denmark

—Cost of U.S. travel:

Coach airfare: Will go up 2 percent-5 percent

Business class: Will go up 5 percent-7 percent

Car rentals: Will go down as much as 1 percent

Hotel rates: Will go up 1.5 percent-6.5 percent

—We plan most trips:

4 or fewer weeks ahead: 21 percent

5-7 weeks ahead: 15 percent

8 or more weeks ahead: 64 percent

—Best deals:

Costa Rica — still cheap

Japan — needs visitors

Mediterranean — ship glut

Orlando — many deals

Thailand — still cheap

—Don’t go here:

Syria. Danger and conflict destroyed fragile tourism efforts

—Or here, either:

Republic of South Sudan

Cote d’Ivoire

Afghanistan

North Korea

Iran

Iraq

—Trending up:

Indonesia

Ghana

Malaysia

Nepal

Romania

Iceland

Abu Dhabi

—Lodging fads:

Women-only hotel floors

Renting out your backyard to travelers

—In-crowd hangouts:

Sri Lanka

Toronto

St. Vincent / Grenadines

Guimarães, Portugal

Abu Dhabi

Costa Navarino, Greece

Xishuangbanna, China

—Be the first on your block:

Try this tour: “Forgotten Corner of South America” — Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, 19 days, Geographic Expeditions ((www.geoex.com)

—On the horizon:

Toronto: Construction of a rail link between Pearson International Airport and downtown’s Union Station starts in the spring and should be complete by 2015, when Toronto hosts the Pan Am Games.

Las Vegas: Construction of an entertainment complex, Linq, featuring the High Roller (a 550-foot wheel like the London Eye) is supposed to get under way any day now on the Strip near the Flamingo. It’s expected to be finished in 2013.

—Splendid but few tourists:

Russia. Despite the Hermitage, palaces, incredible history and architecture in Moscow and St. Petersburg, tourism is lackluster. Visit now before the Winter Olympics in 2014 makes it a hot destination.

—Business travel spending:

Expected to rise 4.3 percent to $261 billion. The number of trips that corporations book abroad will rise 3.3 percent.

—Travel trends for this year:

“Ends of the Earth” journeys to remote destinations

Personal growth trips

Ancestral travel — discover your heritage

—Boom! In 2012:

It’s the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, plus the continuing Civil War sesquicentennial. Look for trips and commemorations galore.

—Paddlewheel’s back:

Mississippi River cruises, grounded for a few years, are back in business. Sail the Queen of the Mississippi or American Queen from many ports. ((www.queenofthemississippi.comand www.greatamericansteamboatcompany.com)

—Titanic 2012:

It’s the 100th anniversary of its sinking; two memorial cruises will sail in April, one from New York and one (sold-out) from Southampton, England. They will circle the spot where the ship went down. ((www.titanicmemorialcruise.co.uk) or 866-800-0719.)

———

Ellen Creager: ecreager@freepress.com

KANSAS CITY, MO, Jan 16, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
For the second consecutive year The Raphael, a historic Kansas City
hotel, has been named one of the world’s best hotels by
Travel+Leisure magazine. The international travel magazine made the
announcement in its January 2012 issue, the 10th annual T+L 500
World’s Best Hotels feature. The Kansas City boutique hotel is the
only Missouri hotel and one of only 10 Midwest hotels, including
seven from Illinois and two from Michigan, to make the list. The
Raphael, with rates from $179, is rated the best value among Midwest
hotels. The complete T+L 500 World’s Best Hotels list with ratings,
descriptions and room rates is available at
www.travelandleisure.com .

The Raphael is noted for distinctive Kansas City hotel deals and
specials within its portfolio of romantic getaway, destination-rich
and special interest packages that can be booked online. To celebrate
its recognition by Travel+Leisure, the landmark Country Club Plaza
hotel is introducing a new T+L 500 World’s Best Hotel package. The
package features a night of luxury in a romantic suite that includes
separate living and sleeping areas with a master bath equipped with a
two-person water-jetted tub. Amenities include fresh flowers and
artisan chocolates in the room; a carriage tour of the Country Club
Plaza; a three course dinner for two with a bottle of chef-selected
wine in Chaz on the Plaza; breakfast for two and valet parking. The
rate is $500.

About The Raphael Hotel: The Raphael is a one-of-a-kind boutique
hotel that combines the charm and intimacy of a locally significant
landmark with highly individualized service. It is the original
boutique concept among historic Kansas City Plaza hotels. The
nine-story, Italian Renaissance Revival structure is a member of
National Trust Historic Hotels of America and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. The Raphael and its signature
restaurant, Chaz on the Plaza — a standout among Kansas City Country
Club Plaza restaurants, are affiliated with the Autograph Collection,
a portfolio of independent hotels selected by Marriott International
for their distinctiveness. More information is available at

www.autograph-hotels.marriott.com

Image Available:

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1854645

        MEDIA CONTACT:
        Rick Hughey
        Hughey and Associates, LLC
        913.681.6806
        913.530.5604 mobile
        Email Contact

SOURCE: Marriott International

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=174CDA619D14C49E

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

CHESTER, England, January 16, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Where in the world is everyone going? New infographic highlights top 50 global attractions.

Planning a getaway for 2012? Know which travel destinations to target (or avoid) this year.

TravelSupermarket has developed an infographic outlining the top 50 most popular travel destinations based on information compiled about the world’s most visited museums, theme parks and heritage sites. This infographic provides a snapshot into global travel destinations and helps answer the question ‘Where in the world is everyone going?

View the infographic here:

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/blog/top-50-tourist-attractions/

The infographic includes:

Top free public destinations for money-savvy travellers

UNESCO heritage sites and natural attractions

The most popular amusement parks (hint:Disney’s big everywhere)

Seaside attractions

Museums and cultural sites

Top bazaars and outdoor markets

Notes to editors:

About TravelSupermarket

TravelSupermarket is an online comparison service where customers can find the best value travel options for their needs and purchase over the internet. The website compares flights, car hire, hotels, cruise, package holidays plus dynamic packaging by searching hundreds of travel websites. The information supplied is unbiased and is designed to save the customer time and money.

The site thrives on offering its users accurate real time availability by taking information directly from suppliers such as Opodo, British Airways, Thomas Cook, Radisson, Sol Melia, easyCar, Auto-Europe and many more, ensuring users are presented the best possible price at all times. It searches:

Over 650 scheduled, low cost and charter airlines from 39 individual suppliers

Over 200,000 individual hotels from over 42 individual hotel suppliers

Over 200 individual car hire providers from over 21 suppliers

1,000s of individual package holidays from over 34 suppliers

Additionally, travelsupermarket.com also compares prices on travel insurance and on airport car parking.

TravelSupermarket is part of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com is a website where consumers can compare personal finance products, save money and apply online. The website has several service areas including personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, current accounts, savings accounts, motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, mobile phones, broadband and shopping.

SOURCE travelsupermarket.com

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved