Regional bus services provider Academy Bus LLC has reached an agreement to take over charter bus operations of the Cumberland-based Conway Tours, Academy announced Wednesday. more

The planned Heritage Harbor Museum is no longer part of the long-stalled Dynamo House project. more

These days it’s not unusual to find a corporate sales force gathered in a meeting room at Newport’s International Tennis Hall of Fame. They’ll listen to a pep talk about upcoming goals, and then blow off some steam hitting balls on the museum’s courts. more

Summer may be the season for sailing in Rhode Island, but winter is shaping up to be prosperous as well. Two major February announcements – that Newport will be the only United States stop on the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race and that last summer’s America Cup World Series Event brought a total of $52.7 million to the state - bring promises of continued industry success. more

In a world of tweets, posts and texts, the face-to-face lunch meeting is still a staple of how business gets done in Rhode Island, according to Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. more

In the world of travel, taking one’s own advice is usually not only best but often the key to staying away from trouble. more

Twenty-five years ago, the Newport Winter Festival was just a concept drummed up by local businesses, what was then known as the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau and a pair of tourism-industry insiders, that the group collectively hoped would put the city on a winter-holiday map. more

What is it that when we dine out is both eagerly anticipated and taken for granted? more

“We brought home a silver but it should have been gold,” lamented Joseph Leonardi, executive chef of the Somerset Club in Boston. The competitor was reflecting on a successful performance, but the memory of finishing second overrode his triumph. Leonardi was back at his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University, on Jan. 16 to be honored as a distinguished visiting chef. But what everyone wanted to talk to Leonardi about was his stint as captain of Team USA. The team competed in the Culinary Olympics last summer in Erfurt, Germany, that was held just after those London athletic games, which received just a bit more media coverage. more

A new pavilion-style welcome center being proposed for The Breakers, one of the nation’s most famous landmarks of the Gilded Age, is part of a strategic plan for The Preservation Society of Newport County that includes expanding the tourist season and strengthening links with the area’s hospitality industry. more