Co-organised by the Shanghai Tourism Bureau, China Tourism Hotel Association, and Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo, HOTELEX Shanghai 2013 has successfully concluded on April 3rd on the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC), welcoming an amazing 70,557 visitors with an exhibiting area of 130,000 square meters. 
Author: admin
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HOTELEX Shanghai 2013 concludes with applause
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News: Turkish Airlines outlines $6.9bn Boeing order
Turkish Airlines has confirmed a deal to purchase 95 planes from Boeing.
The airline revealed it might buy 20 planes in 2016, 20 in 2018, 15 in 2019, 30 in 2020 and ten in 2021 from the usa aircraft maker.
It said the purchases were made to fulfill a necessity for narrow-body planes.
Some 70 of the orders were firm ones, and 25 were options.
The orders are for 20 of the B737-800 aircraft, 65 of the B737-8 MAX model and 10 of the B737-9 MAX plane.
Boeing said the list price value for the 70 firm orders was US$6.9bn.
Last month, Turkish Airlines said it will buy 117 narrow-body planes from Boeing’s European rival Airbus between 2015 and 2020.
Of these 82 are firm orders, and the carrier has options to purchase yet another 35 aircraft.
Turkish Airlines carried 39 million passengers in last year, with the figure expected to succeed in 46 million passengers by the top of this year and 90 million passengers by the tip of 2020.
The carrier saw nearly US$8 billion in turnover in last year and that is aiming to succeed in US$18 billion by 2020.
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Celebrate the king of fruits at Trinidad and Tobago’s Mango Festival
The dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago is thought for its superb cuisine and spectacular street food, but on July 4 and seven, the nation of foodies pays homage to the king of tropical fruit.
Sweet, juicy and flexible, delicious mangoes of each size and sort would be the focus of Trinidad and Tobago’s fourth annual Mango Festival so that you can be hung on July 7.
Featuring a mango market, mango products, grafting demonstrations, exhibitions, children’s activities, games, mango-eating competitions, and other entertainment, Trinidad and Tobago’s Mango Festival offers mangophiles every imaginable mango-made delight, from soaps and preserves to candles and gift paper.
A highlight of the festival is the mango market where numerous the locally-grown fruit, including the sinfully sweet Julie, considered the queen of mangoes, which was developed in Trinidad, and other varieties with whimsical names similar to Rose, Hog, Calabash, Douxdoux, La Brea Gyul, Turpentine, and Graham – a seedling of the Julie mango – can be bought.
Preceding the festival would be the island’s second Mango Conference on July 4, that’s also being hosted under the auspices of the Network of Rural Women Producers (NRWP) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Highlighting the contribution of rural communities and agri-entrepreneurs to national economic development, Trinidad and Tobago’s Mango Festival also promotes economic opportunities in the course of the sustainable use of the mango, and educates participants at the many benefits of the much-loved fruit.
Known because the “king of fruit” through the world, mangoes were dropped at the West Indies by Portuguese traders. In some cultures, the mango tree is an emblem of affection, and the fruit is legendary to be bursting with flavor in addition to protective nutrients including vitamin C and beta carotene.
In Trinidad and Tobago, mango trees are planted as component of re-forestation programs due to the their extensive root systems that hold the soil and stop erosion. The fruits also are an outstanding source of food for birds and other animals.
The fourth annual Trinidad and Tobago Mango Festival would be hung on Sunday, July 7, 2013, on the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Field Station, Mount Hope, Trinidad.
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Laurus Corporation completes $2.7m hotel renovation and rebranding
Laurus Corporation, a U.S.-based private real estate investment and development firm, announced that it has completed the $2.7 million renovation of the Ramada Suites Hotel at New Orleans Airport and branded the power as a vacation Inn Express. The renovation included an entire overhaul of the guestrooms, public areas, exterior facade and landscaping. Additionally, a brand new management agreement was signed with an area management company to enhance overall guest satisfaction and function.
Laurus Corporation acquired the 130-room lodging establishment in March 2012. Situated on the entrance of James Business Park, an upscale, 200-acre business park offering greater than two million square feet of economic space, the hotel is straight away adjacent to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which serves approximately 9.7 million passengers per year, the vast majority of them non-connecting travelers.
“In 2012, the variety of visitors statewide was projected to succeed in 24.8 million individuals with total visitor spending estimated at $9.1 billion,” said Philip Cyburt, Chief Executive Officer of Laurus Corporation. “The hotel’s proximity to a bustling airport and its location in a vigorously recovering market will make it a chief destination for visitors.”
“The extensive renovation program will enhance the hotel’s brand in a well-performing marketplace in addition to increase the asset’s performing value,” said Austin Khan, Chief Investment Officer of Laurus Corporation.
Exterior renovations include a brand new pool deck, courtyard deck and fountain, landscaping surrounding the valuables and a brand new paint job. The lobby, breakfast area and conference rooms feature new flooring, lighting fixtures, window treatments, furniture and televisions. Guestrooms will showcase new flooring, furniture, lighting and window treatments, and upgraded fixtures within the guest bathrooms.
The hotel features 3,000 square feet of meeting space, two on-site restaurants, a 189-car automobile parking space, and worthwhile fitness and business centers among its competitors.
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Focus: Gamification boosts OTT’s eLearning engagement by 65%
New OTT website sees 65% increase in agent engagement
* Gamification key to growthOTT re-launched its website in November 2012 focussing on improving the user experience to encourage greater user engagement.
One of the most important new elements was the launch of ‘OTT Achievements’ where members are encouraged to ‘earn’ virtual badges by undertaking particular training activity. Examples include the ‘OTT Newbie’ badge (for passing 1 course), ‘OTT Guru’ (for passing 100 courses) & ‘Eur-reka!”” badge for completing 5 European training courses. The sort of feature may be which is called ‘Gamification’.
Five months on, OTT has reviewed the effect of the brand new features including OTT Achievements and may report that the hot website has led to a normal increase of 65% in user engagement with some clients benefitting from an uplift of over 300%.
The 65% figure was reached by comparing what number course passes each client received before and after the OTT re-launch (excluding months where proactive eMarketing had taken place) i.e. what percentage courses did people complete without being promoted to via eMarketing. Detailed results available.
OTT plan to roll out further achievement badges in 2013.
OTT are hosting a unique seminar on Gamification in travel at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai in May.Bruce Martin, Operations Director of OTT said ““We’re really happy with the consequences because it shows that good design and innovation can deliver a major uplift in online activity. OTT were very keen to include Gamification into our agent learning experience via achievement badges to encourage activity without the desire for proactive marketing”“.
Texas Tourism launched 6 courses at the new OTT site. Agents completing these 6 courses unlocked a ‘special edition’ Texpert badge. All Texpert badge holders were invited to wait a unique event in London on 20th April where one ‘Texpert’ badge holder will win a VIP trip to Texas.
Diana Stevie, the Senior PR Manager, Office of the Governor, Texas Tourism said: ““We couldn’t be more happy with the Gamification aspect of our OTT modules. We were attempting to find a viable approach to encourage agents to profit all of the six Texas courses, and believe that gamefying this system as OTT recommended is likely one of the key reasons we’ve seen such success. In line with past performance indicators and records provided by OTT, we’ve got greater than simple instinctual belief that this was a successful venture – we’ve got hard numbers that back up the price of such gamifications and shall we, as i discussed, not be more proud of our results thus far.”“
Gary Bates, Sales Development Manager. Flexibletrips said ‘‘Since the brand new version of the OTT website was launched, we’ve seen a certain increase in module passes versus a similar period within the previous year”“
Natalie McLean, Operations Director for cheap Car Hire, said: ““Since the launch of the recent OTT website and achievement badges we’ve seen a marked uplift within the variety of course passes. The brand new website features make it far easier for users to access information and what’s particularly encouraging is that the enhanced success rate have been achieved with none additional marketing activity. For us the recent, advanced features mean OTT is much more powerful, enabling agents to coach online and gain the boldness and talents they have to sell car hire to customers.”“
Travel Agent Feedback The response from travel agent training members have been very positive:
““The badges come up with a feeling of accomplishment, I’m pleased with my OTT Guru status!”” Elaine Hennessey, Mid Counties Co-op““The new site is visually appealing and the achievement badges encourage you to be told.”” Kathy Hudspith, KH Premium Travel
““The new site is informative and straightforward to navigate and the badges provide help to track what you’ve learnt.”” Amy Atkinson, Thornton’s Travel Service
www.ott.travel