Luxury Travel Advisor - February 2009 - (Page 6)

EDITOR’S LETTER Authenticity Reigns in Tough Times to experience authenticity in the hope of sharing it with others, however, is spending for the right reason. I’m sure the lines get blurred somewhere in between, but you get the picture. At our recent Luxury Travel Advisor Awards of Excellence (see results, beginning on page 50), we strived to keep the experience authentic for our attendees. For starters, our advisory board organically developed our list of nominees for the awards. These are the travel advisors who have graced our cover since we launched the publication in 2005. Our readers then selected the final roster of winners. What’s more authentic than being voted the best by the crème de la crème of the luxury travel industry? One of the evening’s themes was giving back. As such, profits from the event were earmarked for a young individual who is pursuing a career in travel. We also bestowed formal recognition on Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg of Valerie Wilson Travel (shown at left between John McMahon and me) as Top Humanitarian for her fine work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Maureen Jones (left) of All Horizons Travel was awarded as Top Educator in the luxury travel industry for the time she spends educating the next generation of travel advisors. What is so vital in defining why we recognized each of these remarkable women is the amount of time they give to their volunteer projects. The specifics of running their very successful businesses no doubt requires a 24/7 focus and yet they manage to carve out hours on end for others. That, to me, is the definition of authenticity. RUTHANNE TERRERO, CTC Vice President/Editorial Director rterrero@questex.com Spending to experience authenticity is spending for the right reason. o many times in this column I’ve written about “bragging rights;” how the affluent, oftentimes, go on and on about a trip to impress friends. Today, it’s not considered cool to do that when so many are suffering from this down economy. Just this morning I was saying to a colleague that I’m not sure if anything good will come out of this particular time we’re in; things are awfully grim, aren’t they? But I couldn’t help but tag on the comment that I hoped people’s values get more in line with what they used to be. Spending to impress, whether on a car, a house or even a trip, is spending for the wrong reason. Spending S 6 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | February 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - February 2009

Luxury Travel Advisor - February 2009 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Caribbean Mexico Prague Hotel Splendido One Aldwych Liberty Hotel Resorts Cambridge Beaches Luxury Travel Expo Michael's Travel Awards Regent The Pulse Luxury Lifestyles Local Connections Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - February 2009

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