March 2015

Let’s slice it up by neighborhood and take a few morsels from each so you can get a taste of what Miami and South Beach offer your clients.

Los Cabos is back, with high hotel occupancy, upgraded and new hotels, and additional airlift from the U.S.

Travel agents first, always and exclusively. You get the message right from the get-go when you’re speaking with Randy Alleyne, president of GOGO Vacations, about, of course, the company’s new Travel Agents First campaign for 2015. You also learn that the first of its many components is a new commission structure designed to enable agents to increase their commission by up to 25 percent—more than what they were earning previously.

Authenticity. It’s the buzzword of the hour and one that French designer Marc Hertrich seemed hyper aware of when he set out to add a little pizzazz to Club Med Cancun Yucatan. As a fifth generation cabinetmaker, Hertrich already had a sense of where to dig in—plunging into Mexico’s vibrant cultural heritage and exploring the work of local artisans. The result was a $14 million renovation with a keen sense for locality, family and festivity.

Expect plenty from China in 2015, as this country—rich in history and culture—is front and center with new happenings.

Resorts on the Hawaiian Islands are merging new attitudes with enduring traditions.

The landscape of Alaska, America’s treasure chest of unparalleled natural wonders, is best mirrored in the sliver of land that makes up its southeast corner where astounding inlets, bays and mountains offer a glimpse of the storied wonders lying beyond. This is a two-fisted zone awesome in its beauty—and for the cheechako, as outsiders are called in these parts, there are few better ways to experience it than from the cabin of the many cruise ships hugging the coast.

It’s time to take Liverpool seriously. This waterfront destination is gaining popularity as a cultural hotspot with more museums and galleries than any other city in Great Britain, outside of London, says Joe Keggin, press officer for Visitor Economy, Marketing Liverpool.

When Del Webb’s Kuilima Resort Hotel & Country Club debuted on Oahu’s surf-centric North Shore in 1972, the famed developer hoped to hit the jackpot by tacking on Hawaii’s premier casino. This trend of sidestepping a sense of place continued for decades as the renamed Turtle Bay Resort fortified internally rather than embracing culture and beauty beyond its gate.