hotels articles

The tourism industry has grown phenomenally in the past few decades. Greater numbers of people worldwide are traveling nationally and internationally and, concomitantly, global spending on travel and tourism has more than doubled (Travel Industry Association, 1999). Coupled with the growth in tourism is a booming interest in history, heritage, and culture. In addition to a number of magazines devoted to history — American Heritage, America’s Civil War, Civil War Times, American History, American History Illustrated, Early American Life, Historic Preservation, and World War II — publications such as Historic Traveler and Westylvania magazine, a regional magazine dedicated to the history, heritage, and culture of southwestern Pennsylvania, are gaining popularity. Given Americans’ fascination with their history, it is not surprising that heritage has become a “major catalyst for the whole travel experience” (Hall & Zeppel, 1990).

Millar (1989) and others (Hardy, 1988; Tighe, 1986) suggest that heritage tourism is “about the cultural traditions, places and values that … groups throughout the world are proud to conserve.” Cultural traditions such as family patterns, religious practices, folklore traditions, and social customs attract individuals interested in heritage (Collins, 1983; Weiler & Hall, 1992) as do monuments, museums, battlefields, historic structures, and landmarks (Konrad, 1982; McNulty, 1991). According to Tassell and Tassell (1990), heritage tourism also includes natural heritage sites — gardens, wilderness areas of scenic beauty, and valued cultural landscapes. Regardless of the heritage attraction, Richards (1996) and Prentice (1993) argue that heritage tourism is about searching for something that links the past and the present. It is integrally tied to nostalgia. For example, a family makes a weekend vacation of traveling to and visiting their ancestral homestead.

Unfortunately, due to the attractiveness of heritage as a commodity, an increasing number of areas are being promoted as “heritage” destinations (Herbert, 1995). Essentially, in tourism, the term heritage has come to mean landscapes, natural history, buildings, artifacts, and cultural traditions that are “either literally or metaphorically passed on from one generation to the other, but those among these things which can be portrayed for promotion as tourism products” {Prentice, 1993).

Despite the loose definition of heritage tourism, its growth is beyond contention (Mason, 1993). Between 1991 and 1995 interest in heritage tourism increased 16 percent. And this interest continues to grow. Recently, TIA reported that approximately 54 million adults had visited a museum or historical site in the past year (1999). There are no indications that this trend has topped out.

The Heritage Tourist

When compared to travelers overall, individuals who travel to heritage and cultural sites (i.e., heritage tourists) are better educated and have a higher average annual income (TIA, 1997). They more often travel in couples or large groups and are twice as likely to take group tours. On average, heritage tourists spend significantly more than general travelers (TIA, 1999).

While demographic and travel behavior characteristics give us some insight, “The selective appeal of heritage places may be [best] explained by considering the … needs and motivations of those people who visit, or who do not visit, such places …” (Light & Prentice, 1994). Fun, according to Hawley {1990), is secondary to learning for heritage tourists because they travel to increase their knowledge of people, places and things — to experience a sense of nostalgia for the past. Prentice and Prentice {1989) and Thomas {1989) support his contention and suggest that an interest in learning has increased among heritage tourists over the past 20 years. According to Weiler and Hall (1992), heritage tourists are motivated “more by a search for heritage experiences than by a detailed interest in factual history.”

Peterson (1990) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (in Mawson, 1994) lend support to this argument. Both found tourists to be attracted to tourism destinations primarily for the “atmosphere” and ambiance associated with the site, not for the history. Hargrove (1995), in discussing the outlook for cultural and heritage tourism in the United States, stated that the most frequent reasons for visiting historic sites were: (1) interest in history, (2) quality of exhibits, and (3) special events and programs. In addition to the appreciation of its architecture, the historic site or building itself was a strong, obvious reason for visitation.

Prentice, Witt, and Hamer (1998), studying visitors to an industrial heritage park, found that distinct segments of heritage tourists exist. For example, people in one segment were interested in local history as well as in learning more about industrial heritage. Another group was characterized by its lack of interest in nostalgia. Kerstetter, Confer, and Bricker (1998), who also studied industrial heritage tourists, found that tourists tended to visit “types” of attractions and, as a result, could be segmented into smaller subsegments of heritage tourists. For example, there were tourists who only visited railroad sites, and others who limited their visitation to battlefields and forts. These subsegments differed not only in terms of their visitation patterns but also their trip behavior characteristics.

THEY’VE remodelled the Road Hole bunker at St Andrews? For purists, this is like tweaking the Mona Lisa’s smile, or giving Michelangelo’s David a little nip and tuck.

However, the Old Course does get updated from time to time. When Tiger, Ernie, Phil, Vijay and friends pitch up this week, they will encounter a slightly longer course (7,279 yards), five new tees (two, four, 12, 13 and 14) and 94 of the Old Course’s 112 bunkers spruced up for the occasion.

But the most controversial change will be the tailoring done to the 455-yard, par4 17th - the Road Hole - notably to its greenside bunker. That notorious pit has been made three feet longer and about a foot wider and has had its front wall lowered six to eight inches. The contours around the bunker have been altered to allow more shots to roll in, and the sand floor reshaped to collect balls in the centre rather than let them come to rest near the wall. The new oval shape will gather more balls but should be easier to escape.

David Duval’s one-man excavation project at the 2000 Open, when he took four swings to get out of the bunker, may have left the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Links Trust management (who oversee this public golf course) sympathetic to the idea that changes ordered prior to the 1984 Open - when nearly all the Old Course’s major bunkers had their faces heightened - needed to be revisited. The Links Trust suggested in 2002 the bunker should be rebuilt, and work began.

Then reports circulated that the bunker had been moved back from the green and its height had been reduced by two feet, and all hell broke loose.

Gordon Moir, the Links Trust superintendent, recalls: : “We hadn’t even finished the work when David Malcolm, a past captain of the New Club, called the newspapers and said tampering with the bunker was going too far and it was ‘a loss and a tragedy’. The story went round the world, and Peter Mason at the Links Trust spent two days on the telephone fielding calls. Television news companies hired helicopters to fly over the Road Hole.” A decision was taken “to put everything back the way it was and let everyone calm down”.

When the changes were undone, the resulting shape was not an approximation of the Duval bunker but something rounder and not as deep. Kyle Phillips, who designed the much-praised Kingsbarns down the road, said: “That small circle I saw there last year was a tragedy.” Such controversy isn’t new. In 1869, the greens committee decided to fill in a bunker on the 15th. Three nights later, a local man, AG Sutherland, took a spade and dug the thing up again. No one has touched the “Sutherland bunker” since.

In anticipation of the 2005 Open, the R&A’s photographic and video archives were raided. A picture of Billy Casper splashing out of the bunker in 1967 showed an oval-shaped, waist-high trap that offered an easy escape sideways.

The 1978 Championship, when Japan’s Tommy Nakajima took five shots to get out of the bunker, was also studied.

It was determined that over time the bunker had indeed changed. For the 2005 Open it would be returned to its former oval, with the swales around it restored to gather more errant shots and the sandy bottom remade to keep balls from coming to rest by the wall.

David McLay Kidd, who designed Bandon Dunes and is creating the seventh public course for St Andrews, offers a thought for those worried about change.

“Most change on a golf course isn’t managed, ” he says. “Bunkers in constant play deepen and widen. Managed change, however, as it is on the Old Course, should be seen as a good thing.” A version of this article first appeared in American Express Travel and Leisure magazine.

Joystar, Inc. (OTCBB: JYSR), one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing leisure travel networks and leading seller of cruises and vacations, today announced Dutton Associates analyst, Richard West, CFA, upgraded his rating for Joystar to Strong Speculative Buy. The research note reads as follows:

Joystar Inc. (OTCBB: JYSR $0.82)
Research Note
Industry: Leisure & Entertainment
Rating: Strong Speculative Buy
Price Target: $1.50
By: Richard W. West, CFA

Joystar Inc. SEC Form 10KSB Filing Results Affected by Non-Recurring Charge; Revenue Increased 257% and Gross Bookings Increased 316%; Reinstating Strong Speculative Buy Rating.

Joystar Inc.’s (OTCBB: JYSR) SEC Form 10KSB reported operating results for FY2006. This is one of those times when conservative accounting practices and resultant non-recurring charges obfuscate the positive progression of results. Based on our normalization process and the new reserve revenue increase of 257% and the gross bookings increased of 316%, we are reinstating our Strong Speculative Buy Rating and our 12-month price target of $1.50 per share.

JYSR_note_050107.pdf (Binary attachment)

About Joystar, Inc.

Joystar is the one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing leisure travel agency networks and a leading seller of cruises and vacations. The Company sells complex travel products including cruises, vacation packages and group travel through its growing virtual sales force of travel agents, branded, and private label travel websites.

“Forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Joystar, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Please refer to the documents filed by Joystar, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with our ability to (i) increase revenues, (ii) obtain profitability, and (iii) obtain additional financing, changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the online business and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, risks in connection with acquisitions, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services and changes in our business strategies.

Additionally, forward-looking statements concerning the performance of the travel and leisure industry are based on current market conditions and risks, which may change as the result of certain regulatory, political or economic events, a shift in consumer travel preferences, as well as those risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events described in the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Joystar, Inc. (OTCBB: JYSR), one of the nation’s fastest-growing travel agency networks and leading seller of cruises and vacations, added 307 travel agents to its network in last month.

William M. Alverson, Joystar CEO, commented on the record-breaking growth, “April was our biggest month in the history of the Company in terms of new membership. With 307 agents joining our network in April and 1,145 travel agents year-to-date, we’re running at nearly double last year’s growth rate.”

A key driver to the growth of Joystar’s host agency is the phenomenal success of the Company’s Enterprise program. Over 65 leisure travel agencies representing 2,069 home-based agents have switched to Joystar’s flagship hosting solution.

“We’re attracting small and mid-sized host agencies whose savvy owners are taking advantage of our significant investments in technology and unparalleled commissions. They are doing the right thing for themselves and their agents. It would take millions of dollars and years to recreate what we make available to them for them in our Enterprise program. As soon as they join us, they have lost a competitor and created a powerful ally,” Alverson added.

“The market opportunity for Joystar is potentially billions of dollars in complex travel sales annually as the travel agent community continues to dominate cruise sales. We plan to continue to strengthen our brand as the ‘Host Travel Agency of Choice’ in the industry. Our agents and agency partners can look forward to powerful technology enhancements, marketing initiatives, business development programs, and commission enhancements coming from Joystar this year.”

Joystar, Inc. ( www.joystar.com , www.vacationcompare.com , www.travelstar.com ) is the one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing leisure travel agency networks and a leading seller of cruises and vacations. The Company sells complex travel products including cruises, vacation packages and group travel through its growing national sales force of virtual travel agents and online affiliates. Joystar offers comprehensive business opportunities that combine innovative technology, marketing opportunities and expert support services to the Company’s independent and home-based travel agents. With Joystar, experienced and new travel agents can concentrate on promoting travel and creating client loyalty without the administrative and financial burden of owning/operating a traditional storefront travel agency.

“Forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Joystar, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Please refer to the documents filed by Joystar, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with our ability to (i) increase revenues, (ii) obtain profitability, and (iii) obtain additional financing, changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the online business and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, risks in connection with acquisitions, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services and changes in our business strategies.

Additionally, forward-looking statements concerning the performance of the travel and leisure industry are based on current market conditions and risks, which may change as the result of certain regulatory, political or economic events, a shift in consumer travel preferences, as well as those risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events described in the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Web directory and search site style365.com was unveiled yesterday during a launch party at New York’s Four Seasons hotel. The Los Angeles-based company hopes to satisfy the public’s seemingly insatiable appetite for all things fashionable and stylish by offering an editorially selected directory of links to upscale and hard-to-find Web sites. The site also will feature original content, such as fashion/celebrity profiles, and 24-hour customer service.

According to the site’s co-founders Terron Schaefer and Andrew Leary, existing search and directory sites like Yahoo! have inadequately addressed the style-conscious market or often produced too many irrelevant links. “We were frustrated with how difficult it was to find anything on the Web and appalled by the Internet’s complete lack of style,” said Schaefer, who has 25 years of marketing experience, having consulted with retailers like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Harrods.

Leary, who previously worked as a defense attorney in Boston and most recently as a talent agent at ICM, said the vastness of the Web was no reason to keep it and its users from finding style online.

The site has been under development for more than a year, but Schaefer said that while the site is now officially launched, additional features and functions–including an e-shop called shop365.com which is slated to launch in Q2–will continue to roll out as the directory expands.

The current iteration of style365.com focuses on four areas of interest: fashion, interiors, travel and leisure and indulgences. The prototype for style365.com was designed by world-renowned designer and artist Massimo Vignelli, who has designed for American Airlines, IBM and various museums.

Style365.com will be ad supported, but Leary said, “There will be no banner ads on the site.” Instead, ads will mimic the proportions of print ads. “We thought long and hard about advertising and how it’s treated online,” said Leary. “We’ve created ad ratios similar to those offline so that advertisers do not have to recreate their advertising for the Web.”

All ads receive editorial adjacencies, much like print fashion magazines. At-launch advertisers range from Hewlett-Packard to high-end furniture maker Palazzetti.

While high style is emphasized on the site, Schaefer claimed that the directory is not only about expensive products and services. “We are not focused only on the big names but also on lesser-known names,” said Schaefer. “It’s not about luxury; it’s about function, design and style.”

LAS VEGAS — Quaero, a leading marketing technology and services provider, announced today the launch of MarketReadyII(sm), a new pre-integrated and pre-designed solution for marketers to get a quick start in developing a high performance marketing database and campaign management solution. The product was announced during the Unica 2007 Marketing Innovation Summit in Las Vegas.

MarketReadyII(SM) provides marketers with real-time access to consumer and market knowledge, turning insight into action with targeted, timely and relevant marketing across channels. The solution integrates Netezza’s high performance data warehouse appliance with SRC’s geographic business intelligence solutions and Unica’s world-class Affinium product suite.

“Quaero leverages its deep technology and marketing expertise in this new integrated solution to make it easier for companies of all sizes to quickly deploy integrated campaign management solutions with significant savings and better functionality,” says Lane Michel, Quaero EVP, Enterprise Performance Solutions.

MarketReadyII includes a robust database, data quality, marketing and geographic applications, customer matching algorithms, data standardization and correction, geographic analysis and overlay of both syndicated and proprietary segmentation data for campaign reporting and quick start templates.

“SRC’s geographic business intelligence solution is perfectly complemented within MarketReadyII to help clients achieve superior data quality through the seamless integration of these applications,” says Dean Stoecker, SRC’s President and CEO.

“Quaero MarketReadyII is a unique turnkey marketing solution that pre-integrates technology, application and content coupled with marketing automation, quick start templates and targeted consultative guidance yielding accelerated return on marketing investment and real-world success,” says Fred Chapman, Director Segment Management, Unica Corporation.

For more information on the new offering, please contact Laura Hupp at HuppL@quaero.com.

ABOUT QUAERO

Quaero is a marketing and technology services company that helps Fortune 500 enterprises accelerate and improve marketing performance globally. The company helps organizations generate significant growth by bridging the gap between marketing and technology and create a culture of effective marketing. Quaero serves hundreds of category-leading clients in the Financial Services, Pharmaceutical/Healthcare, Travel and Leisure, Retail, Telecommunications and Business Services industries.

SHIFT Communications, the high performance public relations firm, announced today that it has been named Agency of Record for Travelocity’s emerging brands, including lastminute.com in the U.S. and IgoUgo.com lastminute.com U.S. is a leading online travel and leisure player specializing in last second deals. Users can locate unsold airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel products and services available for online purchase up to hours before departure. lastminute.com also offers customers worldwide holidays, flights and hotel rooms, as well as unique lifestyle options, such as tickets to events, DVD rentals, restaurant reservations and gifts. lastminute.com U.S. is a version of the popular lastminute.com business in Europe, which Travelocity acquired in 2005. IgoUgo is the world’s leading online travel community. Its members offer what guidebooks can’t — hundreds of thousands of opinions on destinations across the globe, plus suggestions and photos for everything from cheap eats and luxury accommodations to must-see attractions and worthwhile day trips.

“We looked for a highly creative agency that could handle traditional media relations, and also had a compelling set of experiences in the social media space,” said Dan Toporek of Travelocity. “SHIFT showed deep knowledge in both areas, and we’re eager to work with them to help lastminute.com U.S. and IgoUgo take flight.”

“It’s extremely exciting to work with Travelocity’s emerging brands,” said Todd Defren, a SHIFT principal. “We believe lastminute.com and IgoUgo are sophisticated, highly useful alternatives to the vast majority of specialized travel sites on the Web today, and we’re excited to tell their story.”

TOPIC: A recent study claims there is a shift in the marketing industry from the traditional model of a single ad agency to an open-source model, according to an article by Adweek. Some marketers prefer to hire different small agencies to penetrate new, targeted markets and expand brand perception. However, there are marketing professionals who disagree with the study and claim they prefer the traditional model as coordinating several agencies can be difficult. The study, conducted by the Corporate Executive Board’s Advertising and Marketing Communications Roundtable, was developed from 150 interviews with ad executives, marketing consultants and department heads in advertising and marketing.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Kellyann Lamb, president and founder of Visual Resource, a San Francisco-based creative marketing agency, leveraged her sales experience and eye for talent to grow the business to over $7 million in billings in under eight years. Kellyann is focused on maintaining an environment where the client is the focus, employees can reach their maximum potential, and inspirational creative can thrive. Always an advocate for the client, Kellyann believes that a dialog bent on getting to the heart of what must be communicated in order for a client to achieve their business goals brings out award-winning creative, intelligent branding, and targeted message-driven public relations. Visual Resource is a fully integrated agency leveraging advertising, print production, interactive, brand strategy, public relations, and promotion.

Karen Escalera has spearheaded marketing and communications programs for brand leaders in all aspects of the travel, leisure and hospitality industries for 28 years. Special expertise includes turning around a distressed destination’s image, handling communications for a hotel takeover, the affluent traveler, and how to successfully launch a new travel industry product. KWE Group is a member of Tourism Trademark, an international network of independent marketing communications agencies specializing in the travel and leisure industry to give a worldwide perspective on all industry issues. Escalera is a sought after speaker in a variety of travel industry forums, including the 2nd Annual Haiti Tourism & Economic Development Summit, Convention and Visitors Bureaus, American Hotel And Lodging Association, Association Of Travel Marketing Executives, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International. She is author of a leading luxury travel trends newsletter, and her campaigns and business innovations have been cited as setting a standard for the industry publications that include Advertising Age, Fortune Small Business.

Jim Goyjer has extensive experience in business development and corporate management, which includes: establishing the public relations department for Universal Studios Hollywood, one of the world’s largest theme parks, and the Universal Amphitheatre; vice president of the field marketing department for Home Savings of America, America’s largest savings and loan association; vice president of media relations for the U.S. Olympic Festival ‘91, the largest multi-sport event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games; and vice president of international marketing for AVG, Inc, one of the World’s top five designers and manufacturers of high-tech audio-animated show presentations and dark rides for theme parks and the themed entertainment industry. His professional background also includes working as an supervising account executive; vice president of business development for the southwest region at TPI Promotional Marketing, a national promotions company; and as vice president of public affairs and communications for Polar Air Cargo, the third largest air cargo company in the world. In the area of nonprofits, Mr. Goyjer started the Prostate Cancer Research Institute. As chief operating and chief development officer, he developed a national organization with a budget of $1 million and a database of 10,000 donors within two years. He is also one of the founding members of the Alzheimer’s Association, having served on the national and local Board of Directors. He was LA Chapter president from 1992 to 1994. His clients include several nonprofit organizations including the Breast Cancer Care & Research Fund. Mr. Goyjer’s professional experience in the communications media consists of working in radio as an announcer, interviewer and producer; in television as a camera operator, producer, director, writer and on-camera host; in documentary films as a writer, camera operator, soundman and editor; and in journalism as a feature writer, editor and publisher. His marketing and advertising experience came from one of the country’s oldest and largest advertising agencies, N.W. Ayer, as an account executive.

What: The U.S. will celebrate National Tourism Week May 12 - 20, 2007. During this time, Americans are encouraged to honor the industry and recognize the impact it has on our economy with this year’s theme, “Travel & Tourism: America’s Front Door.”

One company making a significant impact on the travel and tourism industry is Delaware North Companies. Delaware North serves half a billion customers each year, with a large percentage of those customers in the travel and leisure segment. It is one of the largest global hospitality providers serving venues such as Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, national and state parks, award-winning hotels, airports, major league sporting venues and gaming destinations.

When: National Tourism Week, May 12 - 20, 2007

Who: Dennis Szefel, group president of Delaware North Companies Hospitality and Entertainment

Kevin Kelly, president of Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts

Nick Biello, president of Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services

Respected veterans of the tourism and hospitality industry, Dennis Szefel, Kevin Kelly and Nick Biello can provide informative interviews on trends in American tourism, how strategic lodging and hospitality directives impact the industry and how management companies like Delaware North are helping to preserve the nation’s treasured destinations — benefiting tourism now and in the future.

Szefel’s leadership within Delaware North Companies includes overseeing the recreation and hospitality management of the company, one of the fastest growing providers of hospitality and recreational services in the U.S. One of its biggest industry-leading initiatives includes GreenPath®, a formalized, innovative and comprehensive environmental management program. With GreenPath, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts was the first company in the U.S. to achieve registration to ISO 14001 and pioneered numerous award-winning programs that have helped set today’s industry standards.

Kelly has direct oversight over all parks and destination resorts owned or managed by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts. Locations include Yosemite National Park ; Sequoia and Yellowstone national parks; Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex ; Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa, British Columbia; Niagara Falls State Park ; Old Town San Diego; and The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel, New Hampshire .

Biello has overall responsibility for all aspects of Delaware North’s 60-plus-year-old airport hospitality company, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services. In total, Biello oversees more than 300 food, beverage and retail outlets in more than 25 airports throughout America.

Joystar, Inc, (OTCBB: JYSR), one of the nation’s fastest-growing travel agency networks and a leading seller of cruises and vacations, has joined Vacation.com, North America’s leading travel services marketing organization.

“After assessing several of the top leisure travel groups, we concluded Vacation.com offered the most comprehensive marketing package to meet the diverse needs of our travel agency partners,” said Aleic T. Grant, vice president of Business Development, Joystar, Inc., adding, “We believe their marketing programs and shared commitment to product knowledge and training will increase Joystar’s competitive advantage.”

The primary benefit for Joystar members is Vacation.com’s award-winning Engagement direct marketing program. Each year, Joystar agents will be able to participate in over 50 targeted direct mail and numerous e-mail offers to drive their bookings and revenue.

“We are very pleased to welcome back into our organization, one of the largest host agencies with a network of active travel professionals that will now be focused on selling our quality preferred supplier products and using our proven marketing tools,” said Steve Tracas, president and CEO of Vacation.com.

Vacation.com works with over 100 of the top cruise, vacation package and tour suppliers in the industry including Classic Vacations, Funjet Vacations, Travel Impressions, The Globus Family of Brands, Pleasant Holidays, SuperClubs, Marriott International, ResortQuest, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Majestic America Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean International, Silversea, Viking River Cruises, and Windstar Cruise Line.

In addition to enhanced revenue opportunities and comprehensive direct marketing programs, Joystar and its network of professional travel agents will benefit from attending the Vacation.com annual International Conferences and Tradeshow, regional and online educational events and a variety of familiarization trips and seminars at sea.

About Vacation.com

Vacation.com is a travel services marketing organization currently serving more than 5,100 travel agency locations across the U.S. and Canada. Vacation.com facilitates “The Power of the Partnership” between a network of quality preferred suppliers and member agencies that earn higher profits from disciplined marketing, training, and booking tools. Focused on leisure travel distribution and — “Powered By Real Travel Agents” — Vacation.com is North America’s largest vacation selling network. Vacation.com is a subsidiary of Amadeus IT Group, SA, and maintains its headquarters in Alexandria, VA.

About Joystar, Inc.

Joystar, Inc. ( www.joystar.com , www.vacationcompare.com , www.travelstar.com ) is the one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing leisure travel agency networks and a leading seller of cruises and vacations. The Company sells complex travel products including cruises, vacation packages and group travel through its growing national sales force of virtual travel agents and online affiliates. Joystar offers comprehensive business opportunities that combine innovative technology, marketing opportunities and expert support services to the Company’s independent and home-based travel agents. With Joystar, experienced and new travel agents can concentrate on promoting travel and creating client loyalty without the administrative and financial burden of owning/operating a traditional storefront travel agency.

“Forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Joystar, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Please refer to the documents filed by Joystar, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with our ability to (i) increase revenues, (ii) obtain profitability, and (iii) obtain additional financing, changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the online business and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, risks in connection with acquisitions, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services and changes in our business strategies.

Additionally, forward-looking statements concerning the performance of the travel and leisure industry are based on current market conditions and risks, which may change as the result of certain regulatory, political or economic events, a shift in consumer travel preferences, as well as those risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events described in the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.