THE LAS VEGAS CONVENTION and Visitors Authority
and Shop America Tours, a division of Shop America Alliance, plan
to offer commissionable shopping packages through select tour
operators and travel partners--such as Grayline Worldwide, Gogo
Worldwide Vacation and MLT Vacations--starting July 1. Initially,
five packages will be offered--Shop & Play, Shop & Dine,
Shop & Spa, VIP Shopping and Bridal Shopping--and they will
include such shopping venues as the Fashion Show mall, the Forum
Shops at Caesars, Las Vegas Fashion Outlets, Desert Passage, the
Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and Showcase Mall. The Las
Vegas Premium Outlets center, an upscale mall that is slated to
debut in August, also will be included in the program. For more
information, contact Shop America at (702) 228-3010 or visit www.shopamericavip.com or www.shopamericatours.com.
FUNJET VACATIONS' BIG VEGAS HUG program rewards
travel agents who book the company's Las Vegas vacations via VAX
VacationAccess through June 30 for travel through Dec. 31. The deal
includes HUG Credits [double passenger credits on Funjet Vacations
which go toward earning Funjet Vacations override levels and 500
Club membership in 2004]; HUG trips [a chance per booking to win
one of five four-night air and hotel vacations at one of the
participating MGM Mirage resorts including Bellagio, Golden Nugget,
MGM Grand, New York-New York and Treasure Island]; HUG travel
benefits [such as $50 plus taxes-per-person for roundtrip air for
the agent and one companion on any Funjet charter booked 30 days
through Aug. 31]. For clients, the company's Sizzling Summer Las
Vegas Specials feature a $25 per-person discount when travelers pay
for their vacation in full the day the trip is booked; free airfare
for the bride or groom when they are traveling with eight people or
more for a wedding or bachelor/bachelorette party; $25 per-person
discount for scheduled air and hotel or hotel-only vacations booked
through May 31, and free meals, drinks, shows, attractions and spa
passes. For more information, visit www.funjetagent.com or call (800) 558-3050.
TRANSGLOBAL VACATIONS, which, like Funjet, is a
Mark Travel Corp. company, offers a similar program--called the Big
Summer HUG program--that is valid for agents who book the company's
Las Vegas vacations via VAX VacationAccess through June 30 for
travel through Sept. 30. Agents can earn double incentive points,
which will be awarded in September, for use in the company's
Rejuvenationrewards agent incentive program. Client travel must
take place by Sept. 30 for bookings made via VAX through June 30.
Clients will receive a $50 per-person discount on the company's
charter air-only or charter air and hotel vacations to Las Vegas
for bookings made by June 30 for travel through Sept. 29, excluding
July 3 and 4, and Aug. 29 through Sept. 1. The promotional code
LAS03HUG must be entered to receive the savings. For more details,
agents should call (800) 328-6264; to book, phone (800)
338-2160.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES beginning Sept. 10 will add
nonstop roundtrip service between Las Vegas and Manchester, N.H.,
Hartford, Conn., and Detroit. In addition, the carrier will begin
nonstop roundtrip service between Las Vegas and Raleigh-Durham,
N.C., on Oct. 5. An introductory fare of $99 each way can be booked
through Sept. 10 for travel from Sept. 10 to Oct. 24 on the Las
Vegas-Manchester and Las Vegas-Hartford routes. The same fare is
available for the Las Vegas-Raleigh-Durham service through Oct. 5
for travel from Oct. 5 to 24 as well as the Las Vegas-Detroit
service, which will operate only on Saturdays. The Detroit fare can
be purchased through Sept. 10 for travel between Sept. 13 and Oct.
24. The carrier also will add one additional daily nonstop flight
between Las Vegas and Orange County, starting Aug. 10. Beginning
Sept. 10, Southwest will add another daily nonstop flight between
Las Vegas and Tucson as well as two additional daily nonstop
flights to Reno and Chicago Midway. For more information or
reservations, call (800) I-FLY-SWA or visit www.southwest.com.