Vegas provides Virgin Holidays with the third gateway in the west to further develop multi-centre holidays.
The so-called Golden Triangle of itineraries based on the three cities will take in new areas of California, Nevada, Arizona and even Utah, further east.
Virgin Holidays managing director Ron Simms said:”We are the biggest tour operator to the US and our current expansion is happening extremelynaturally.
“We already have open-jaw facilities between San Francisco and Los Angeles, so Las Vegas will make this type of facility perfect for many options in the west.
“We are working on providing an enormous number of combinations for multi-centre holidays that will have Las Vegas mixed in with many areas of California, including Palm Springs.”
He added: “We will also bring in more places in Arizona, including Flagstaff, to add to current product in Phoenix and the Grand Canyon.”
In addition, West Coast beach resort stays will be expanded for the new programme to include areas north of San Francisco and between San Diego and southern Los Angeles.
Simms said San Diego is very popular with clients and there are some attractive areas further north that he wants to introduce, although he declined to name them.
The region includes Carlsbad, Oceanside and the Gulf of Catalina.
Virgin Atlantic’s service to Las Vegas will also benefit the tour operator’s Virgin Ski brochure for the 2000/2001 season, due out in the next few weeks.
On the back of the new flights will be first-time ski packages to resorts in Arizona, including Flagstaff, and the offer of skiing at Lee Canyon Resort 40mins drive from Las Vegas.
“We are also expanding our California ski product in areas closer to LA, such as the resort of Big Bear, and introducing a couple of new ski resorts in New Hampshire. These resorts will probably be Mount Snow in Vermont and Waterloo Valley in New Hampshire,” he added.
Virgin Atlantic will launch twice-weekly non-stop flights into Las Vegas on June 8.
The new service which will fly from Gatwick will be the linchpin for tour operator subsidiary Virgin Holidays’ biggest expansion into the far west of the country.
The operator’s second-edition California and Nevada programme will feature a combination of new product and destinations.
With the parent airline already operating daily into Los Angeles and San Francisco, Las Vegas provides Virgin Holidays with the third gateway in the west to further develop multi-centre holidays.
The so-called Golden Triangle of itineraries based on the three cities will take in new areas of California, Nevada, Arizona and even Utah, further east.
Virgin Holidays managing director Ron Simms said:”We are the biggest tour operator to the US and our current expansion is happening extremelynaturally.
“We already have open-jaw facilities between San Francisco and Los Angeles, so Las Vegas will make this type of facility perfect for many options in the west.
“We are working on providing an enormous number of combinations for multi-centre holidays that will have Las Vegas mixed in with many areas of California, including Palm Springs.”
He added: “We will also bring in more places in Arizona, including Flagstaff, to add to current product in Phoenix and the Grand Canyon.”
In addition, West Coast beach resort stays will be expanded for the new programme to include areas north of San Francisco and between San Diego and southern Los Angeles.
Simms said San Diego is very popular with clients and there are some attractive areas further north that he wants to introduce, although he declined to name them.
The region includes Carlsbad, Oceanside and the Gulf of Catalina.
Virgin Atlantic’s service to Las Vegas will also benefit the tour operator’s Virgin Ski brochure for the 2000/2001 season, due out in the next few weeks.
On the back of the new flights will be first-time ski packages to resorts in Arizona, including Flagstaff, and the offer of skiing at Lee Canyon Resort 40mins drive from Las Vegas.
“We are also expanding our California ski product in areas closer to LA, such as the resort of Big Bear, and introducing a couple of new ski resorts in New Hampshire. These resorts will probably be Mount Snow in Vermont and Waterloo Valley in New Hampshire,” he added.
Virgin programmes
California Collection: flydrives, single and multi-centre holidays throughout the state, as well as Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Acapulco in Mexico. Also coach tours, cruises and wedding packages.
Florida and the Caribbean: the operator includes a range of resorts and flydrives throughout the Sunshine State, plus the Caribbean, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cancun and cruises. Also add-on stays in Chicago, Washington, Boston and New York and New Orleans, plus wedding packages.
New England and the North Atlantic States: includes holidays in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island in New England, plus Quebec, Niagara Falls, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the south. Also available are Boston, Washington and New York city stays, fly-drives, coach tours and two-centre holidays. Also included under the brand this year are Chicago and San Antonio in Texas. Weddings packages are also featured.
Virgin Ski: the operator includes a wide range of resorts in California, Nevada and New England. Also available are additional add-on stays in the West Coast, Boston, Orlando and New York. Ski wedding packages.
what’s new in las vegas
n The $150m Hyatt Regency Lake has opened on the north shore of man-made Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, 17 miles from The Strip. The 500-room hotel/casino is surrounded by a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and is terraced into a hillside on a 25-acre site. It includes a 21,330sq ft ballroom and 10 meeting rooms.
n Regency/Grand Palms has opened a further 255 rooms in a six-storey tower. Due to open this year is the Aladdin Hotel Casino and Music Hotel on The Strip. The main gambling and hotel complex will offer 2,600 rooms and the separate Music Hotel another 1,000 rooms. The cost of $1.3bn will include a 7,000-seat Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, as well as a Desert Passage at Aladdin, a 462,000sq ft retail and entertainment complex.
n Other recently opened hotels include the 526-roomRitz-Carlton and casino in the northwest area of Las Vegas Valley, known as Mountain Spa Resport and the Paris-Las Vegas Casino Resort on the Vegas Strip. The $760m 34-storey complex’s features include replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee and the Paris Opera House, as well as a 50-storey ‘Eiffel Tower’.