Carlson Wagonlit Travel Experts Offer Their Top Ten Picks and Three Special
Ideas for 2003 Holiday Travel.
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Can't decide where to ring your jingle
bells this holiday season? Let your holiday experience begin with ours: Today
Carlson Wagonlit Travel announced the results of a survey in which 171 of its
expert agents named their most highly recommended holiday destinations for
2003. Their most popular ten choices:
DOMESTIC INTERNATIONAL
#1 Maui, HI #1 (tie) Cruise: Western Caribbean
#2 Orlando, FL Cruise: Eastern Caribbean
#3 New York City, NY #3 Cancun, Mexico
#4 Las Vegas, NV #4 Riviera Maya, Mexico
#5 Cruise: Hawaii #5 London, England
#6 Honolulu, HI #6 (tie) Jamaica
#7 Vail/Beaver Creek, CO #7 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
#8 San Francisco, CA #8 Paris, France
#9 Kauai, HI #9 Rome, Italy
#10 (tie) New Orleans, LA #10 Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Aspen, CO
The survey, conducted August 8-18, 2003, also asked the Carlson Wagonlit Travel experts from throughout the United States to offer unique ideas for memorable holiday experiences that they highly recommend, based on first-hand experience. Three are listed here:
-- Oberndorf, Austria
Just minutes away from Salzburg, Austria, is the small town of Oberndorf,
home of the chapel where "Silent Night, Holy Night" was first performed in
1818. On the serene chapel square at 5 pm every Christmas Eve, a few
hundred travelers from all over the world gather to sing the carol in
unison, each in their native language, said Renee Emerick of Carlson
Wagonlit Travel in Vadnais Heights, MN. "It's amazing -- you hear the song
all around you being sung in Russian, Chinese, French ... " Emerick said.
"The trees are all lit, the aroma of hot spicy wine (Gluhwein) is in the
air, and the area is covered in snow despite mild temperatures. It's a
perfect Christmas moment, meaningful and simple." Emerick recommends
staying in a local guesthouse, or in Salzburg -- no stranger itself to the
sounds of music -- or an hour away in Munich, Germany.
-- New York City, NY
The tradition of Christmas lights originated with the Romans, the Dutch
exported Santa Claus, and the Germans were the first to decorate
evergreens in December. Not to be outdone, New York has given the world
its own set of holiday icons -- like Macy's animated window displays, the
giant tree at Rockefeller Center and the smiling line of red-and-white-
clad Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Frank Reeves of Carlson Wagonlit
Travel in Bolton, CT, highly recommends taking a two-hour Harbor Lights
Evening Cruise on the Circle Line to view the city lights (a special New
Year's Eve cruise includes music, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and a
champagne midnight toast), or hopping a double-decker bus for a hop-on,
hop-off tour. "My wife and I love the double-decker bus tours because you
can jump on and off as often as you'd like over 48 hours, to do some
shopping or visit a landmark or grab a bite."
-- St. Kitts, the Caribbean
A lush island measuring just 68 square miles, St. Kitts is sometimes
called the "Secret Caribbean" for its abundance of untouched natural
splendor. "St. Kitts is a place to rest your soul," says Connie Tibbetts
of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Moorhead, MN. "Of all the islands in the
Caribbean, this one has impressed me the most. The slopes of the island's
dormant volcano are breathtaking, and the whole island is so clean." The
holidays are a perfect time to visit, Tibbetts says, for the island's
annual National Carnival celebration (December 24-January 2), which
features colorful parades, street dances to bouncy local rhythms, and
other festive events. And Tibbetts recommends a St. Kitts stop soon,
before increasing development and tourism there -- including a brand new
port that will soon host large cruise ships -- affects St. Kitts' sleepy
charm.
To plan your holiday vacation to any of these remarkable destinations, or
to gather more ideas for ideal holiday experiences from experts in the know,
contact Carlson Wagonlit Travel today! Call 1-800-1-800-867-8747 or visit
http://www.carlsontravel.com .
Carlson Travel Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Carlson
Companies, Inc. Brands include: Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Cruise Holidays,
Results Travel, Carlson Leisure Fulfillment Services and Carlson Destination
Marketing Services. In 2003, for the seventh consecutive year, the Carlson
Wagonlit Travel Associate program was named the top travel business franchise
by Entrepreneur's Franchise 500(R); Franchise Times ranked the program as the
3rd top franchise overall in 2003 for the third year in a row.
