Grand Circle Travel Joins USTOA as 45th Member

Grand Circle Corp. of Boston, a consumer-direct escorted tour operator based in Boston, joined the U.S. Tour Operators Association, bringing the organization’s total tour operator membership to 45, represented by 150 tour operator/wholesaler brands.

Grand Circle Corp. is the owner of Grand Circle Travel, as well as Overseas Adventure Travel and Grand Circle Cruise Line.  “Grand Circle’s commitment to providing U.S. travelers with impactful and intercultural experiences is highly aligned with our association values,” said USTOA President Terry Dale. “They are a very welcome addition to our membership.”

Circle Corp.’s brands offer more than 70 escorted tours, small group adventures by land and sea, and river cruises to 85 countries

via Boston’s Grand Circle Corp. Joins USTOA as 45th Member.

California LEGOLAND Plans New Hotel

LEGOLAND California Resort in Carlsbad will open the LEGOLAND Hotel in summer of 2013. The three-story property will extend accommodations to the interactive family experience at LEGOLAND California, SEA LIFE Carlsbad Aquarium and LEGOLAND Water Park. The 250-room, LEGO-themed hotel will feature brightly colored LEGO décor, a pool area and restaurant. The hotel will be the first of its kind in North America. The LEGOLAND Hotel joins the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa and the Grand Pacific Palisades already on resort property. (www.legoland.com)

Perillo Offers Five “Appian Way” Departures

The Appian Way, known as the “Queen of Long Roads,” stretches from Rome to the seaport of Brindisi, Apulia in southeast Italy. Built in 312 BC, the Appian Way was vital to the success of the Roman Empire and is lined with the great monuments and ancient tombs of patrician Roman families.

Perillo Tours’ 10-day “Appian Way” follows the route in its entirety from Rome through Naples and Matera and into the “heel of the boot,” ending in Lecce. The tour has five 2012 departures, from June 21 to Oct. 11, and ranges from $3,390 to $3,490 per person, double, plus airfare.

The tour begins in the heart of Rome’s exclusive Prati district with a three- night stay at the Cicerone Hotel, a four-star hotel centrally located near the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. Guests will visit the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum. A panoramic tour of Imperial Rome will include the Roman Forum, Largo Argentina, the Jewish Ghetto and the Circus Maximus.

En route to Sorrento, guests will motor to Naples via Vomero Hill, exploring the sights along the seafront promenade, and visit the ruins of Pompeii, one of Italy’s best known archaeological sites. Two nights will be spent at the Parco Dei Principi, a five-star luxury hotel set on a cliff overlooking the Villa Borghese Park. The next morning will include free time to explore the isle of a Capri.

In Matera, guests will view the ancient homes built into rocks and understand why The Passion of The Christ was filmed there. In the heart of Lecce, they will stay at the Patria Palace Hotel, a renovated 18th century mansion. Sightseeing in Lecce includes the Basilica of the Holy Cross and the Bishop’s Palace. On the last full day, guests will visit the seaside capital of Puglia, Bari, followed by lunch in a typical Trulli restaurant.
(800-431-1515, www.perillotours.com)

A ‘Sweet’ New Name Cobb Convention Visitors Bureau

It’s official: The Cobb County Convention & Visitors Bureau is now ‘Cobb Travel & Tourism,’ and with its new name comes a refreshed and “sweeter” image and mission.

The announcement and the launch of a new website came Thursday evening during the group’s annual meeting, at The Brickyard at Marietta Station, located just off the Marietta Square on Church Street behind the Marietta Trolley Company. The new website is now www.travelcobb.org. The organization also has a new tag line. The old tag line, “The very best of Atlanta!” has been changed to “Atlanta’s sweet spot.” Cobb Travel & Tourism CEO Holly Bass said she and other CTT officials wanted to keep Atlanta in the tag line because it makes it easier for those living and working outside of Georgia to identify with Cobb, as they are often familiar with Atlanta and the Atlanta area, but may not be familiar with Cobb County or its six cities on their own.

“Atlanta’s ‘sweet spot’ really instantly sums up what we are,” Bass said. “It encompasses everything Cobb is and what we have to offer — vitality and energy, sports, food, hotels, convention centers, arts. There are so many ways the tag line can apply and tie-in. And it is important to us that we are connected to Atlanta. Whenever I travel somewhere, I say I’m from Atlanta, not Smyrna, because Atlanta is the identifier. But while it’s important to be connected, it’s also important to establish our own identity.”

Bass said the old logo, name and website were outdated and needed to be revitalized, as it is fairly common for those in the hospitality industry to update their organizations every five to seven years. Before Thursday evening’s announcement, CTT’s image hadn’t been updated since it began in 1991, Bass said. The rebranding project began last December, Bass said, when CTT hired Atlanta-based research and economic development firm Market Street Services for $85,000 to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the group and its tourism industry which, according to results from the analysis, was found to be the county’s largest economic development engine, as it brought in approximately $1.73 billion in economic impact to Cobb and employs 25,000 people directly.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – A ‘sweet’ new name Cobb Convention Visitors Bureau is now ‘Cobb Travel Tourism’.

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