IPW 2016 NEWS YOU CAN USE


More than 6,000 delegates from 73 countries attended the US Travel Association’s annual IPW show. Robin Searle reports from New Orleans


Universal’s Volcano Bay in new three-park ticket


Universal Orlando Resort is to release a three-park ticket to include its new Volcano Bay water park for travel from June 1, 2017.


The entertainment giant said the Explorer tickets would be on sale through the trade with an introductory offer by the end of July. Volcano Bay will feature 18


attractions, and Universal has promised as-yet undisclosed innovations that will reduce queue times and remove the need for visitors to carry their own rafts on slides that require them. Universal has also announced


that its fifth resort hotel, Loews Sapphire Falls, will open on July 14, and confirmed plans for a 400-room expansion at its Cabana Bay property. It also released details of its


new Skull Island: Reign of Kong attraction, which has already soft-opened. Guests will board a 40-foot ‘expedition vehicle’ and will experience both 3D animation and physical elements on one of


Los Angeles boosts appeal with new hotels and travel links


A raft of hotel openings and new transport links are being tipped to lead to an increased number of UK visitors to Los Angeles. Just under 50 properties are in


development in the city, with 22, including a new InterContinental in downtown LA, due to open in the next 12 to 18 months. LA Tourism chief executive


LA: 22 hotels are due to open in the city by the end of next year


Ernie Wooden said research had shown that travellers from the UK preferred to stay in hotels, so an


28 travelweekly.co.uk 30 June 2016 VOLCANO BAY: The Universal water park will open next summer


“We looked at what put people off water parks and worked back from there”


the resort’s longest attractions. Alison Montague, managing


director EMEA for Universal Parks & Resorts, said: “The UK market has really embraced the multi- park ticket and UK visitors stay longer than others and love our


hotel product. The three-park message is really key for us as Volcano Bay really is much more than just a water park.” Frank Belzer, senior sales vice-


president at Universal Orlando Resort, said Volcano Bay would take water parks to “another level”, adding: “We looked at what put people off visiting water parks and worked back from there, so Volcano Bay will have plenty of shade,


quality food and a real spa feel.” universalorlando.co.uk


increase in available stock would be key to maintaining growth. “We had 354,000 Brits into Los Angeles in 2015, which was 7.9% up on 2014, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we are talking in the 5-6% area for 2016,” he said. The city is also working to connect its transport links, with two new subway lines opening. Wooden said: “You can now connect from downtown to the beach in Santa Monica, which is proving popular with Angelinos


and our international visitors.” discoverlosangeles.com


New York lines up Ninja Turtles, Ocean Giants and free Wi-Fi


New York is targeting families and tech-savvy travellers with a new tie-up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and plans to offer free Wi-Fi across the city by 2019. The LinkNYC project will


replace 7,500 payphones across the city with “links” offering free Wi-Fi, phone charging and a tablet for searching for information about the city. The tie-up with Nickelodeon’s


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles involves the creation of marketing material including a comic where the heroes visit different areas of the city’s five boroughs. New family attractions include National Geographic Times Square: Ocean Giants, a digital walk-through “underwater adventure” which is due to open in 2017, and a major development on Staten Island which will also open next year and will feature an observation wheel on the north shore. Around 109,000 hotel rooms are


currently in the pipeline in the city, and this figure is expected to rise to 135,000 by 2019. UK visitor numbers to New York


stood at 1.192 million in 2015 and are forecast to increase to


1.227 million this year. nycgo.com


TIE-UP: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


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