Stay up to date with KBC’s client news round-Up: New Openings, Accessible Travel & Iconic Experiences Across North America.
NEWS
Park City Awarded Accessibility Verified Designation by Wheel the World, Making Adventures More Accessible in Utah, USA
Park City, Utah, has earned Wheel the World’s Accessibility Verified Seal, with 30 local businesses recognised for meeting verified accessibility standards.
Park City in Utah has become one of the latest destinations to earn Wheel the World’s Accessibility Verified designation, with 30 local businesses recognised for meeting verified accessibility standards across accommodation, attractions, restaurants and transport services. Wheel the World is the trusted standard for verified accessibility in travel. The company builds the global infrastructure for accessibility data, helping people with disabilities and older adults explore the world with confidence. The initiative provides travellers with disabilities access to detailed, trusted information on features such as step-free access, accessible bathrooms, signage and navigation. Just 35 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport, the mountain destination combines easy access with inclusive travel experiences. Already home to the National Ability Centre, a leading adaptive recreation provider, Park City is aiming to expand the programme to more than 60 businesses by 2027 to continue to make it easier for travellers with disabilities to enjoy the destination’s world-class skiing, mountain adventures, outdoor recreation, standout dining and cultural attractions.
Bon Voyage (www.bon-voyage.co.uk / 0800 316 3012) offers a 12-night fly-drive Celestial Road Tripping in Utah itinerary from £2,395 per person, including return flights, accommodation and car hire. Park City: www.visitparkcity.com
Rimrock Banff, Emblems Collection Opens in Alberta in the Canadian Rockies
Rimrock Banff, Emblems Collection is set to become one of Canada’s most anticipated luxury hotel openings of 2026, bringing a new era of mountain wellness to the heart of Banff National Park.
Opening in summer 2026, Rimrock Banff, Emblems Collection in Alberta is poised to redefine mountain luxury in North America. Perched high above the Bow Valley within Banff National Park, the landmark property has undergone a transformative reimagining and will debut as the first Emblems Collection hotel in North America.
Designed to immerse guests in the surrounding UNESCO-protected wilderness, Rimrock combines sweeping mountain views with a strong focus on wellbeing, outdoor adventure and exceptional dining. The 320 redesigned guestrooms and suites feature expansive windows framing the Canadian Rockies, while public spaces have been thoughtfully created to keep the landscape front and centre. At the heart of the resort is a new 9,600 sq ft wellness bathhouse featuring vitality pools, saunas, steam rooms, hydrothermal circuits, cold plunges and a mountain-facing infinity pool, creating one of the most ambitious wellness offerings in the Canadian Rockies. Food and drink are central to any holiday experience and Rimrock has four new dining concepts celebrating Canadian terroir, local ingredients and mountain-inspired hospitality.
Beyond the hotel, guests can explore Banff with the help of the resort’s dedicated Pathfinders, who curate personalised experiences ranging from glacier adventures and guided hikes to forest bathing, alpine yoga and Indigenous cultural experiences.
Frontier Canada (www.Frontier-Canada.co.uk / 020 8776 8709 / ) offers seven nights at the Rimrock Banff Emblems Collection with Frontier Canada from £2,695 per person including accommodation in a classic room (two sharing), return scheduled transfer from Calgary to Banff and return scheduled flights with Air Canada from London Heathrow to Calgary.
Alberta: www.travelalberta.com
Lose yourself in the ‘Missouri Triangle’ on American Sky’s NEW self-drive in Missouri, USA
A new self-drive itinerary from American Sky showcases three of Missouri’s most iconic experiences in one trip – the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the scenic Ozark Mountains and the legendary jazz heritage of Kansas City.
The eight-night ‘Missouri Triangle Road Trip: Arches, Ozarks & Jazz’ follows a route through St. Louis, small-town Route 66, Springfield, the entertainment hub Branson and Kansas City, blending culture, music, history and outdoor adventure. Travellers can explore attractions including Gateway Arch National Park, Meramec Caverns, Table Rock Lake and Kansas City’s renowned live music scene, while enjoying classic Missouri barbecue along the way. American Sky (www.americansky.co.uk, Tel: 01342 395536) offers the 8-night Missouri Triangle Road Trip fly-drive from £1,749 per person including flights, accommodation and car hire.
Missouri: www.visitmo.com
USA’s Oldest State Park, Niagara Falls State Park, in New York State Unveils a New Generation of Experiences for 2026
Already a bucket-list destination for many, Niagara Falls is unveiling its biggest collection of new visitor experiences in years for 2026.
On the US side, Niagara Falls State Park in New York State has launched Above the Roar, a multi-sensory virtual reality experience that allows guests to soar above, around and even beneath the Falls. Through exclusive aerial footage, motion-enhanced seating and immersive sound, you will soar above the Horseshoe, American, and Bridal Veil Falls, glide through the gorge, and plunge into the depths below. Drone flights are not allowed over Niagara Falls, so this is a new perspective that few people have ever seen. It places you in the middle of the most powerful waterfall in the USA, without getting wet.
Also opening is Voices of the Falls, a permanent exhibition housed inside the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Welcome Centre in Niagara Falls State Park. This interactive, immersive exhibit explores the geology, culture, and Indigenous heritage that has shaped this world-famous destination offering a more complete and inclusive history of the area.
As a part of the park’s new 150-acre expansion, two miles of new trails will be added to run through the stunning Niagara Gorge Corridor, linking the Falls area to Whirlpool and Devil’s Hole State Parks and creating more than five miles of stunning, continuous overlooks along the Niagara River. Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest American State Park, open 365 days a year, and it is always free to walk into the park and experience the Falls.
Freedom Destinations (www.freedomdestinations.co.uk / 0333 234 0922) offers an 11-day New York to Niagara Falls Road Trip fly-drive from £1,175 per person, including accommodation (two sharing) and car hire. Return flights from Heathrow to New York from around £619 per person with British Airways.
New York State: www.iloveny.com
100 Years Since the Carving of Mount Rushmore began in South Dakota, USA
Next year, South Dakota will commemorate a remarkable milestone: the 100th anniversary of the start of carving on Mount Rushmore, one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks.
Work on the colossal granite sculpture began in 1927 under the leadership of renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum continuing for 14 years until its completion in 1941. Carved into the face of the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore depicts four American presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, chosen to represent the birth, growth, development and preservation of the nation. Borglum envisioned the memorial as a monument of national significance, transforming what was initially conceived as a regional attraction into a tribute to American democracy.
Not without ongoing controversy, Mount Rushmore is situated in the Black Hills, an area sacred to the Lakota Sioux and other indigenous nations and forms part of a region that was once guaranteed to the Sioux Nation. Today, many visitors choose to learn about both perspectives, often combining a visit to Mount Rushmore with nearby Indigenous cultural attractions such as the Crazy Horse Memorial, which was conceived as a tribute to Native American heritage and history.
The creation of Mount Rushmore was an extraordinary feat. Nearly 400 men and women worked on the project, suspended from the mountainside by steel cables, using dynamite and precision drilling to remove vast quantities of rock. Remarkably, construction was completed without a single fatality.
Discover North America (www.discovernorthamerica.co.uk/ 0800 246 1241) offers a 14-night self-drive itinerary through South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming, ‘In the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt’, from £4,299 per person including return flights from the UK, SUV car hire, accommodation and additional experience tickets. South Dakota: www.travelsouthdakota.com