Editor’s Notes

This ISLANDS issue is one of my favorite issues of the year. Obviously, there’s a sense of paradise attached to the word “islands,” but it’s more than that. It’s because in our quest to find islands in every region of the world, sometimes what our editors come up with is so surprising and off-the-beaten-path, that we discover, and in turn offer you, new destinations that aren’t usually top of mind. Take Uros Islands, for example, in Peru, which are, as our Latin America editor Carla Hunt describes in the Sun-Kissed Islands feature, “‘floating’ islands, literally handmade from totora reeds and anchored to the shallow flats.” While visiting these islands, visitors have the opportunity to meet and interact with the Aymara-speaking residents. How’s that for a unique experience? Out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, The Azores is a magnificent destination that is sometimes overlooked as most North Americans head straight to mainland Portugal. But, according to João Barbosa, market manager for the United States and Canada, Azores Promotion Board, says, “it’s only four hours from Boston and five hours from Canada with nonstop flights. This is an archipelago of unsurpassed natural beauty with breathtaking landscapes, impressive flora, and fascinating volcanic nature….”

We’ve also got the more traditional island destinations covered in this issue with a Fiji onsite review and a 16-page travel planner dedicated to the alluring Islands of Tahiti—it doesn’t get more paradisiacal than either of these destinations. In fact, Donna Ray describes Fiji in these words: “While images of thatched-roof bungalows, aquamarine lagoons, sugary white-sand beaches and lush rainforests are each seductive in their own right, it’s the genuine spirit of amiable islanders that elevates the bliss.”

Of course, you can’t have an Islands issue without Caribbean or Hawaii coverage, and we’ve got those covered with an onsite review on St. Vincent and the Grenadines and an Aston Hotels & Resorts in Oahu onsite review. In our own backyard, we focus on the Florida Keys, those laid-back, idyllic, 120-mile-long chain of islands embraced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. And be sure to check out our masthead page, where our editorial staff names their dream island destination.

—Paloma Villaverde de Rico
E-mail me at [email protected]

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RomanceTravel Forum

Where: Paradisus Cancun, Mexico
When: May 12-15

Tap into romance with the inaugural Romance Travel Forum, an exclusive event created especially for travel professionals eager to grow profitability through the lucrative romance niche. Build your knowledge as a leading romance travel expert through tracked in-depth training, one-to-one supplier partner meetings, interactive roundtable product discussions, experiential meal and networking functions, site inspections and so much more!

For more information and to qualify to attend, please visit romancetravelforum.com

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edu.recommend.com/guadeloupe

The Guadeloupe Islands Specialist Program, available at edu.recommend.com/guadeloupe, invites you to discover the sun-kissed Guadeloupe archipelago, its diverse cultural tapestry and the unique attributes that set these islands apart from other destinations. Once you have successfully completed the training, you can register for the Guadeloupe Islands incentive program that uses Recommend’s Agent Transaction Monitor (ATM) to record your bookings. Graduates with at least one ATM booking will qualify for quarterly and year-end rewards as well as FAM trips. Each quarter, the top-selling Guadeloupe Islands Specialist will receive $500 while all booking agents will be eligible for random awards of $200 and $300. At year’s end, the premier selling Guadeloupe Islands Specialist will receive $1,000.

If you’d like to get a Guadeloupe teaser before you start on the road to becoming a specialist, visit recommend.com and search “Guadeloupe” to view the recent Recommend-hosted Tweet Chat on this sparkling archipelago.

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let’s get social

Hang out with us @Recommendmag and facebook.com/recommendmag. And if you want to see what our editors are up to away from the office, follow them @Paloma_RecMag, @EdWetschler