Jim Byers’ “Extra Baggage” Notebook Debuts With Italy, Vegas, Caribbean and Cruise News

March 1, 2021 Jim Byers

This marks the debut for what should be a regular feature; a roundup of bits and bytes from Editor in Chief Jim Byers. We’re calling it “Extra Baggage.” We hope you enjoy it.

FOUR SEASONS GOES GLAM IN PUGLIA

Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts and Omnam Group, a global real estate firm, have announced plans for a brand-new resort in Puglia in southern Italy.

“Located on a pristine beachfront property, the upcoming Four Seasons property in Puglia will be comprised of 150 rooms and suites. The exclusive seaside location will offer guests views of the Adriatic Sea and direct beach access, along with easy accessibility to the nearby historic town of Ostuni and countless other attractions in the region.”

“As we grow as a brand, our focus is on opening hotels in the world’s best travel destinations, and in markets where we can introduce an elevated luxury experience,” said John Davison, President and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “We look forward to setting the standard for luxury hospitality in this beautiful region, creating opportunities to discover more of this incredible country with Four Seasons.”

Puglia makes up the heel of Italy’s “boot” and is home to ancient towns with rich histories, national parks, soaring mountains, exceptional food and wine, pristine beaches and a Mediterranean climate. Ostuni, the local city a short drive from the Resort, is also known as the “White City” for its white-washed houses and buildings carved into the cliffside, medieval streets, and its 15^th century Gothic cathedral.

WORLD CRUISES: HUGE DEMAND FOR LUXURY SAILINGS

Bloomberg reports that, in spite of the dire straits of the cruise industry over the past year—or possibly, because of them—the hottest tickets on many cruise lines are pricey, multi-month world tours planned to take place a year or more out. Viking, Oceania Cruises and Seabourn are all reporting surging demand and rapid sales of their world sailings. These bookings, which can cost from about US$50,000 per couple in standard rooms to hundreds of thousands of dollars in top-tier suites, represent a rare glimmer of hope for an industry that’s taken more than $30 billion in losses and continues to be saddled with uncertainty. Cruise Industry News reports that lines are seeing record demand for 2023 world cruises, with sailings quickly selling out and even reportedly breaking booking records.

STANLEY TUCCI RETURNS FOR CNN

It was a no-brainer to anyone who’s seen the show, but CNN announced that it will bring back Stanley Tucci’s show, “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” for next season. The award-winning actor does a brilliant job as he scoots about Italy and talks about the magical cuisine. His visit to Rome in episode two last week sparked a sudden demand in my home for spaghetti carbonara, which we’ll try tonight.

NEW CARIBBEAN APPOINTMENTS

Josephine Connolly has been officially sworn in as Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage, Maritime, Gaming and Disaster Management for the Turks and Caicos. I was only there once, and that was just for two days about 10 years ago. But it’s a beautiful spot with fine beaches and some wonderful resorts.

Kenroy Herbert, Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, is pleased to announce the promotion of Mr. Jameel Rochester to the position of Destination Experience Manager. Rochester will be responsible for engaging with tourism stakeholders to develop and manage the on-island visitor experience, including all elements of Anguilla’s Tourism Product. I had a marvellous visit there a few years ago, with terrific food, warm and welcoming locals and perhaps the best beaches I’ve seen in the Caribbean.

ALASKA CRUISES – “WE’RE NOT QUITE DEAD”

It appeared a couple weeks ago that Alaska cruises, as well as those around New England and Atlantic Canada, were dead for the year. Canada a little while back decided it won’t allow any large cruise ships in Canadian waters until the end of February, 2022. That’s trouble for cruise ships to Alaska, because most start and finish in U.S. waters, and complicated laws require that international ships that leave the U.S. must visit another country before they return. For Alaska and New England cruises, the only viable option is to stop in Canada.

Alaska’s elected officials, who have complained they weren’t consulted about Canada’s decision, have said another year of lost cruising would devastate many Alaska businesses. Some are trying to work out a way for the ships to avoid Canadian waters, or perhaps pull up to a dock in Vancouver or Victoria without letting passengers get on and off. That wouldn’t help Canada’s tourism sector but it would maybe allow ships to depart and then return to the U.S.

Some of the bigger cruise lines have already cancelled their Alaska season, but others are holding out hope. It’s complicated, but, like the old man in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, perhaps Alaska cruises aren’t dead yet.

VEGAS HAPPENINGS

The reimagined and re-conceptualized casino resort, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, will make its long-anticipated arrival to Las Vegas on March 25, 2021. In an effort to dazzle guests even before their arrival, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will remove resort fees. Guests will also be able to enjoy complimentary self-parking and Wi-Fi at no charge, which will be available throughout the resort and in the over 1,500 Chambers.

Beginning this week, the Golden Knights will welcome fans to their arena, known as The Fortress, at 15% capacity. In order to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience, there are several guidelines and protocols  in place.

In accordance with revised state guidelines, MGM Resorts will return David Copperfield, The Australian Bee Gees and Terry Fator’s shows to the stage this month. All other shows have returned.

FLORIDA READY FOR SPRING BREAK – OR MAYBE NOT

The beaches of Fort Lauderdale are already packed with American college kids on spring break. There are “wear a mask” signs on the beach and at bars and restaurants, but it’s not clear how many folks are following the guidelines.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, a Democrat, is worried.

“We could potentially see a truly outsized spring break at a time when the last thing we want are major gatherings,” he said.

One Miami Beach resident had the following advice for spring breakers who might bend the rules: “Go to Vegas.”

Meanwhile, in Orlando, many local attractions including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando are offering deals to draw in more visitors, and tourism experts are hoping for a busy travel season.

After a year of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and huge drops in revenue in all aspects of tourism, experts at Visit Orlando are optimistic about this spring break.

“During Christmas and New Year’s, which is a big time for us, we average about 50% occupancy. We could set that as our benchmark looking ahead to spring break,” said Daryl Cronk with Visit Orlando.

According to Visit Orlando’s research, last year when the economy shut down because of the coronavirus, hotel occupancy in the Orlando metro area during Spring Break was as low as 12%.

Before COVID-19, hotels were about 80% full during Spring Break.

“So 50% this year, if we achieve it, would be a dramatic improvement over last year,” Cronk said.

THEY LIKE US, THEY REALLY LIKE US

U.S., Canadian and Mexican tourists make up a large chunk of the European Union’s tourism program. North Americans spend $70 billion USD every year in Europe.

But we pretty much stopped visiting a year, and that’s trouble for the EU and its tourism businesses.

The European Tour Operators Association recently said the EU needs to find a way to welcome back non-essential visitors from North America, or risk losing billions in spending again this year.

Mind you, the same could be said about Canadian tourism folks needing visitors from Europe and other parts of the world. The average visitor to Canada from overseas spends four times as much as a domestic tourist, so our hotels and tour operators and others in the biz desperately need the padlocks to come off our borders as soon as it’s safe to do so.

TSA NUMBERS: TRAVEL RISING FAST IN THE U.S.

South of the border, the Transportation Security Administration or TSA is seeking a big uptick in travel. Reports suggest that, for the past three Fridays, the TSA has seen more than 1 million people travel. In February, there were 7 days with more than 1 million people traveling. In comparison, January saw only 3 days above a million and those were the busy travel days after the New Year.

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