The Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA) has signed an agreement with Regatta Travel Solutions to launch BookBarbadosNow.com. The site aims to become the primary resource for information and reservations for hotels and activities in the destination of Barbados.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has unveiled a new travel trade website dedicated to travel agents and tour operators. The website, www.vsflyinghub.com, offers a one-stop shop for agents looking for information on Virgin Atlantic. The site features information on the airline’s policies, products, destinations, news, competitions and special offers.

Viator, Inc., which offers nearly 9,000 tours and activities in 750 destinations in 150 countries, has introduced two free apps to help travelers uncover the best experiences at the best prices anytime, anywhere -- whether they are planning ahead from their living room or standing in a hotel lobby looking for something nearby in the next few hours.

In the latest line of marketing tools for travel agents, Sandals Resorts International has created a new iPad application that “quickly and elegantly reveals all the secrets of the most unique and creatively appointed suites in the Caribbean.

Air Canada, a founding member of the recently formed airline XML standards body Open AXIS Group, said that it has completed its project of rebuilding and enhancing its airline direct connect API, marketed as AC2U. Dubbed the New AC2U and first revealed in August of last year as a joint effort with Farelogix, Air Canada’s direct connect API is now beginning its initial customer implementations.

Hotels.com has launched two new smartphone applications for iPhone and Android. With mobile bookings continuing to increase exponentially, hotels.com developed proprietary smartphone apps to make hotel search easy, quick and efficient while on-the-go.