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  • News: lowcostbeds ventures into the center East

    Rated many of the top 10 independent bed banks globally, Swiss – based lowcostbeds, has announced its foray into the center East. Targeting the lucrative inbound and outbound markets from the region, the corporate has officially appointed Discover the arena Marketing as their exclusive representative inside the region and is calling to enroll with prominent regional and international travel agents.

    Mr Paul Riches, Group Director of Sales, lowcostravelgroup, said, “We are confident we’re hitting the best market as both inbound and outbound business within the region is showing a healthy increase. We’re absolutely delighted to be working with Discover the area Marketing. They have got a proven track record in working closely with the travel trade and we don’t have any doubt they’re the correct partner for us to grow our ME business.

    We offer an intensive range of hotels around the globe, coupled with leading technology, so we’re very involved in the prospects the center East market has to present us. As a trade only brand, lowcostbeds boasts an exceptional portfolio of hotels across Europe, the Far East and USA, besides other regions that Middle East outbound travellers traditionally like.”

    Commenting at the appointment, Discover the area CEO, Jenny Adams said, “Discover the arena Marketing is extremely desirous about our strategic partnership with lowcostbeds. We’re desperate to use our vast experience with the local ME travel market to introduce the trade to lowcostbeds. With their vast hotel inventory and engaging commercial terms, lowcostbeds is the proper solution for today’s travel trade.”

    The experienced Discover sales team may be visiting travel agents and attending various trade shows inside the region over the approaching months, providing support and advice on quite a lot of lowcostbeds related issues including agent registration, site navigation tips, commercial terms, product updates, and exclusive travel agent offers. Ms Sarah Marron, Sales Director, Discover the area Marketing, said, “Our strategy with lowcostbeds is to work with the network of regional travel players to ensure that them to give our excellent range of hotels, from leisure resorts to city breaks and from budget to five-star luxury.”

    The team of Directors from lowcostbeds could be present in the course of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to satisfy travel trade professionals and agencies, including its Commercial Director Patricia Rossello – Evans.

    Mr Riches added, “ATM is the leading travel and tourism exhibition and offers us the proper opportunity to introduce and position Lowcostbeds. We’re extremely keen on the show and searching forward to being there. Patricia is usually attending, with the intention to meet with the local hoteliers who we’re already working with within the region and to source new hotels, to feature to our GCC product portfolio.’

    Offering an international inventory of 150,000 hotels in over 4000 resorts and cities, lowcostbeds is the proper partner for travel agencies. Mr Riches continued, “Travel agents are always searching for good rates and, increasingly relevant hotel inventory. These days we’re working with over 20,000 travel agencies and native buyers worldwide and our objective is to grow that considerably.”

    The Middle East is likely one of the fastest growing regions on the subject of tourism with outbound travel quadrupling within the last two decades. The area Tourism Organisation estimates that a further two million Arabs will travel abroad inside the next 20 years, taking its total of outbound tourists to 37 million, spending an estimated $20 billion and accounting for two.2% of worldwide outbound travel, an increase of 0.7%.

    Riches concluded, ‘In the following 2 to three years the corporate is calling to grow its annual turnover to over £1bn USD. Today the vast majority of our business is generated from the united kingdom. Our objective now’s to extend our business from other parts of the area, to become a very global hotel provider. Our launch into the center East market is a key component to that strategy.

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  • Accorhotels.com accelerates its development

    Accorhotels.com, the web multi-brand and multi-destination reservation website for Accor hotels, continues its development as a key actor of e-tourism. The web site traffic increased by 25% from 2010 to 2012. Greater than 100 million persons visited the web site last year. 10 online booking are registered every minute.

    Its success is predicated on its adaptations to the local specificities and to customers’ expectations. The web site is supplied in 14 languages and thru 31 geo-localized versions. The gang will launch 2 new languages in 2013: a Turkish and an Arabic version.

    Remy Merckx, Accor Online Sales Director explains the website’s benefits from a customer perspective: “It is the neatest place to book one of the vital Group’s brands. We guarantee the simplest price and the last room availability. Clients book additional services (champagne, express breakfast, late check-out, …) and other activities on site as a result of the pre-stay email.”

  • TNZ launches first mobile app ‘Essential New Zealand’

    Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has made a major addition to its suite of digital marketing channels, with the launch of its first mobile app – ‘Essential New Zealand’.

    The free app offers advice to travellers at the go in New Zealand, without the necessity for a WiFi connection, encouraging them to do and spot more while within the country.

    Catherine Bates, General Manager Brand and International PR, says; “Essential New Zealand aims to make it easier for visitors to connect to tourism experiences while travelling during the country – notwithstanding where they’re or what they’re doing.

    “People on a ship in the course of Milford Sound or pausing at one of many huts at the Tongariro crossing, can use this app to plot their next activity, in preference to wait until they’re back at a hotel or café.

    “In turn, the app works to persuade their travel decisions by encouraging them to travel more widely, visiting more regions and collaborating in additional paid visitor activities.”

    Designed using robust user research, the free to download app works in tandem with TNZ’s mobile optimised travel website, newzealand.com, to enrich the visitor experience and improve access to information that meets traveller’s needs.

    TNZ’s Visitor Experience Monitor showed that the usage of mobile devices while in New Zealand had increased significantly between 2011 and 2012, with travellers using an iPad or laptop up 44 per cent, and use of a smartphone up 28 per cent.

    “Travellers are actually engaging with digital media previous to and within the travel process. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for operators, with a 1,000 per cent increase in mobile referrals from newzealand.com earlier year. The app is a vital step to support this increased use, ensuring information is instantly available to travellers across a considerable number of digital channels.

    “As a result, the app features over 1,150 activities and travel experiences, highlighting the enduring activities in each region which users can save into their ‘Your Trip’, a longtime tool on newzealand.com.

    “By delivering information users are seeking for while they’re in New Zealand, the app will generate highly qualified referrals to tourism businesses, for operators to transform into bookings.

    The app also includes full contact details and detailed map locations for each activity and regional i-SITE centres, meaning face-to-face support and advice are available easily if required. When accessed online, users are easily connected with comprehensive accommodation and transport booking information on newzealand.com.

    For operators, the app will provide a brand new channel to extend the worth in their free listing on newzealand.com, so that it will remain the important thing planning tool for travellers, connecting them with travel sellers to assist operators grow their tourism business.

    In the past year TNZ has received record traffic to newzealand.com, attracting greater than 13.8 million visits. The amount of traffic from mobile devices increased a staggering 250 per cent.

    And the app is decided to just recuperate for operators and users alike – with new features already planned in future versions.

    “We have already got new features in development for future versions of the app.  Essential New Zealand v1.1 will bring all of the content saved in a consumer’s ‘Your Trip’ on newzealand.com into the app, which will access a much broader range of authoritative travel information once they must .

    TNZ worked in collaboration with Whybin\TBWA’s Digital Arts Network (DAN) to investigate and design the app as portion of its global agency agreement.

    “Our long-standing relationship and the high degree of trust between DAN and TNZ has enabled the curation of Essential New Zealand; a single-minded app which has user research at its core,” says Che Tamahori, Managing Director of DAN.

    “It’s a crucial addition to TNZ’s digital communication channels and we’re delighted with the overall product. User testing has suggested that visitors to New Zealand will adore it too!”

  • News: Fred Smits appointed general manager of Westin Dublin

    Westin Hotels & Resorts announces the appointment of Fred Smits as General Manager of The Westin Dublin.  Fred joins The Westin Dublin from the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel & Conference Center where he was Executive Assistant Manager.

    Born within the Netherlands, Fred began his career with Starwood Hotels & Resorts on the Westin Rotterdam in 2001 as Executive Chef, working his way as much as become Director of Food & Beverage in 2005, a task he held until February 2007.

    In 2007, Smits was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager of the 406-room Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel where he oversaw all daily operations and held responsibility for the 30-room Conference Center and 4 food and beverage outlets.  During his time on the Sheraton Amsterdam, Fred also played a key role inside the renovation of the hotel and the introduction of Sheraton signature guest experiences inclusive of the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft, Sheraton Fitness by Core Performance and the Sheraton Club Lounge.

    Before joining Starwood, Fred studied kitchen techniques and kitchen management inside the Netherlands, beginning his career in 1992 as a Chef de Partie on the former one-Michelin starred restaurant De Trechter in Amsterdam.  Following a stint with Embassy Suites in Denver within the USA, Fred returned to Europe in 1995 to tackle a food and beverage role with Hyatt Hotels on the Lowndes Hotel in London.  Between 1997 and 2001, he worked at numerous other Hyatt properties, including holding positions at hotels in Baku, Azerbaijan and the Dead Sea and Jerusalem in Israel.

    Reporting to Colin Bennett, Area Manager UK & Ireland, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Fred will now manage the 163-room Westin Dublin, including the hotel’s stunning Banking Hall, beautiful Atrium lounge, Exchange restaurant and renowned Mint Bar.

    Colin Bennett said of the announcement, “We are delighted to welcome Fred to the team within the UK & Ireland.  i’ve got surely that The Westin Dublin will benefit immensely from his extensive operational experience.”

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  • Most Americans plan to travel for summer vacation this year

    Americans could be sky-bound this summer after they take a holiday but will are likely to stay stateside, per a survey by John Hancock.  Eighty percent of these surveyed said they plan to travel for pleasure this summer, up from 77 percent in the summertime of 2012. Of these who plan to travel in this summer, half (49 percent) plan to tour a U.S. city. About one-third is headed to the beach, and 22 percent plan a global destination. Those that aren’t taking a visit this summer plan to take action at yet again.

    Despite the crowded skies, 64 percent of respondents said they plan to travel by plane (up from 60 percent in 2012), with 56 percent driving (down from 59 percent last year). Six percent say they are going to take a train, up from three percent in 2012.

    This year, finances seem to be less of a worry.  Only two percent of these surveyed said that financial obligations would keep them from taking a summer vacation, compared with ten percent in the summertime of 2012. When on vacation, 62 percent said they expect to spend the same quantity of cash as they did last year. Only 21 percent said they might spend less.

    When it involves making arrangements for leisure travel – purchasing tickets, booking hotels, finalizing an itinerary – respondents overwhelmingly preferred to do it themselves (93 percent).  Only five percent said they tended to apply a travel agency.

    Nearly two in five (37 percent) said they generally purchase travel insurance when traveling for pleasure; and five percent said they always do. A majority (57 percent) said they never purchase travel insurance.  Yet many report worrying in regards to the varieties of problems for which travel insurance could provide protection.  Forty percent are a minimum of somewhat concerned with losing their luggage, and multiple-third (36 percent) worry about experiencing a medical emergency while traveling.  an identical share expresses concern over having to cancel a visit unexpectedly due health problems with their very own or of a friend (34 percent). Despite instances of utmost weather during the past year, only 28 percent say they’re concerned that weather will affect their travel plans.

    The findings were drawn from the toilet Hancock Investor Sentiment Survey, a quarterly measure of investors’ views on a variety of investment choices, life goals, and economic outlook, in addition their confidence in these areas.