TUI North American Distribution combined two of its brands, Trek Escapes and Adventure Center, into one under the name Adventure Center. The company’s name, with a new look and logo, will appear on signage and materials and a new website that will go live later in the year with enhanced functionality and an expanded product portfolio. Trek Escapes, a Canadian company, will join its American sister company, Adventure Center but will maintain its offices in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver and will continue to serve clients through multiple channels — phone, email and walk-in.

Barcelo Hotels & Resorts appointed Stephanie Eppler as director of meeting and incentive sales for the South Central region of the U.S. She is headquartered in Dallas. Eppler joins the North American team of sales and incentive specialists who support the meeting and incentive business for Barcelo’s portfolio of worldwide hotels and resorts.

Ongoing land-rights protests by indigenous Chilean groups are responsible for a decline in tourism to Easter Island, according to a Chilean tourism official quoted in press reports. Rapa Nui groups protesting land rights issues have occupied various properties on the island within the last two months, including museums, government-owned buildings, municipal buildings, the local tourism office and the Hanga Roa Hotel, claiming ancestral ownership of the properties, according to a report from the Merco Press news service.

MSC Cruises’ MSC Poesia scored a perfect 100 in the surprise inspection made by Health Canada during the ship’s recent maiden call in Quebec. The inspection team from the Workplace Health and Public Safety Program (WHPSP), the Canadian equivalent to the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), said the 100-point score was awarded because of the outstanding state of sanitation, safe food handling, and the general high level of understanding and compliance in the areas of food, water, air and general hygiene.

Italy was very popular among the Russians this season. The number of the tourists from Russia to this country increased by 62.56 percent during the period from June to August in comparison with the same period of last year. Such data was announced by Moscow office of ENIT.

Hotels.com has revealed new research that shows British travelers resent having to pay for hotel extras. Topping the list of pet peeves among travelers is having to pay to use Wi-Fi in a hotel. Three quarters (78 percent) of the 1,815 people surveyed resent having to pay for wireless internet, believing it should be free.