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  • News: At the Beach signs with Travelport

    Travelport, a number one provider of critical transaction processing solutions and knowledge for the worldwide travel industry, today announces a brand new agreement with At the Beach, among the UK’s leading online travel agencies. The agreement is the primary time At the Beach has signed a partnership with a GDS.

    Carrying greater than 900,000 passengers yearly, At the Beach creates tailored holiday itineraries to popular beach destinations worldwide. The partnership with Travelport allows the net agent to damage into new hotel and flight options outside their current destination profile.

    “Travelport’s uAPI technology allows us to tap-in to new flight and hotel content to construct on our traditional beach travel product, and significantly grow our scheduled air offerings”, Andy Tilby-Baxter, Head of Supply at At the Beach, explained.  “It opens up an entire new area for us to grow, and gives our customers with much more options to create exciting travel experiences.”

    Simon Ferguson, UK & Ireland Regional Managing Director at Travelport, added: “On the Beach is an implausible success story – growing to become probably the most UK’s leading OTAs. Travelport is delighted to be fuelling the following phase in their exciting growth story.”

  • News: Emirates takes over Newcastle Tyne and Wear Metro

    Emirates, probably the most world’s fastest growing airlines, has today announced a year-long sponsorship of the Tyne and Wear Metro, displaying travel inspiration to Newcastle passengers at the exterior of 4 Metrocars.  The deal demonstrates the airline’s continued support for Newcastle and the North-East region, highlighting it as a first-rate UK hub.

    Launching next month, the advertising campaign will display Emirates’ iconic ‘Hello Tomorrow’ imagery at the facade of 2 Metrocars comprising two carriages. The attention-catching images, revealed across 56 metres of the Metrocars’ exterior, are designed to supply inspiration to Newcastle passengers on their daily commute, showcasing quite a few destinations offered by Emirates from Newcastle International Airport.

    Some of the head 10 2013 destinations from Newcastle featured at the carriages include Australia, Hong Kong, Bangkok and naturally, Dubai.  As well as the wrapping of 2 Metrocars, Emirates might be prominent in the interior with 32 internal carriage cards per car, showcasing further Emirates destinations. 

    The wrapping of the Metrocars follows last year’s upgrade of the daily flight service to Dubai from Newcastle at the fifth anniversary of the service’s launch. The upgrade saw passengers within the North East offered 2,000 mores seats per week and improved on-board facilities, including the award-winning ice entertainment system.

    Laurie Berryman, Emirates Vice chairman UK, commented:

    “Emirates’ branding of the Metro demonstrates our continued investment within the North East and showcases it as a key regional hub.

    “Sitting on a train during a commute is the suitable time to devise future getaways and we are hoping the wrap provides some destination inspiration for our passengers as they think about their next Emirates flight from Newcastle International Airport.

    “We are the sole long-haul, scheduled airline to fly daily from Newcastle to Dubai and beyond, allowing our North Eastern passengers to experience long-haul travel from Newcastle, instead of having to vary in London or a continental European hub.

    “Our commitment to the North East includes Emirates’ sponsorship of Durham County Cricket Club and the hot upgrade of our daily flight to Dubai to a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, caused by passenger demand. Here’s the longest aircraft to function out of Newcastle airport, and represented a capacity increase of greater than 50 per cent in addition to an upgraded service for all passengers.”

    Sharon Kelly, Director of shopper Services at DB Regio Tyne and Wear, which operates the Metro on behalf of Nexus, said:

    “This investment by Emirates within the North East is good news and shows the arrogance they’ve within the region. Metro offers customers a quick, frequent and convenient way of travelling to and from Newcastle International Airport. Whether it’s a work trip or a vacation you’re happening to any of the various destinations available, including Dubai with Emirates, we will be able to help get your journey off to an awesome start.”

    Dave Laws, CEO of Newcastle International, said:

    “It is exciting to look Emirates creating a further investment within the North East by branding not one, but two, Metro trains. The Metro is a crucial ground connection for the Airport, and it’ll be great to peer Emirates wrapped trains travelling between the Airport and the secret centres served by the Metro network.”

  • Britain in bloom as guests flock to UK parks

    With the sunny weather set to continue and Britain’s gardens well and really in bloom, the national tourism agency has released research which reveals that a staggering £7.8 billion was spent by tourists enjoying a garden inside the UK, with a huge chunk coming from younger visitors.

    A VisitBritain study identified that of the 31 million folks who are likely to visit Britain per annum, around a 3rd enjoy a park or garden, with around 2.4 million aged between 25-34 against just 1.4 million aged between 55-64.

    There were 2.1 million visits from those aged 35-44 involving parks or gardens, while nearly three-quarters of 1,000,000 were aged 65 or over.

    Overall those aged under-35 were particularly more likely to visit a park or garden, with 41 per cent of visits doing so in comparison with 33 per cent of visits from those aged over 35.

    The latest figures confirm that going to a park or garden is likely one of the leading activities for our overseas guests, accounting for 36 per cent of all visitors, placing only behind eating out, going to pubs and shopping.

    It means visitors are surprisingly likely to spend time in a park or garden than a museum, castle, historic house or art gallery.

    Over 1/2 all ‘holiday’ visitors (54 per cent) explore our green surrounds yearly, a favorable indication that admiration is growing the world over for Britain’s attractive scenery and wonderfully crafted gardens.

    It remains an activity which visitors can enjoy whatever their age group, from Bodnant Gardens with spectacular views across Snowdonia to the intriguing Muncaster within the Lake District or the sector famous world-famous historic gardens at Inverewe within the Scottish Highlands.

    London has also just celebrated 100 years of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and is home to 8 Royal Parks and the globally acknowledged UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kew Gardens.

    Unsurprisingly the preferred time of year to go to gardens is the summer months, with July to September accounting for four million of the once a year tally.

    By contrast, just 1.6 million visited gardens within the first quarter of 2011.

    The reason visitors come here plays a powerful role in determining what they do during their trip with tourists on ‘holiday’ making up the majority of visits (6.4 million) followed a far off second by those here to work out their family and friends (3.2 million).

    Sandie Dawe, chief executive, VisitBritain said: “We’ve completed three big pieces of analysis which all indicate that our parks, gardens and natural beauty are a valuable tourism asset, admired internationally and enjoyed by our visitors.

    “It’s hugely encouraging to determine our gardens are as well liked by the more youthful generation as they’re with 55-plus age groups.

    “Post-Games perceptions of england have shifted for the higher and time spent in any of our glorious parks is something to be cherished- especially when the sun is out.”

  • News: CHTA begins look for new chief executive

    The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is looking for a certified candidate to fill the organization’s top position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), with responsibilities for the total operation of the Association.

    CHTA is a Federation of National Hotel Associations (NHA) around the Caribbean Region. The CEO will direct the advance and execute plans to incorporate support of the member National Hotel Associations and its Allied Members, membership development and support, advocacy programs, regional marketing, internal and external communications and public relations, events management, liaison with other tour and travel industry associations, maintenance of sound fiscal policies and revenue generation streams.

    The CEO will report on to the elected CHTA President and makes all decisions and takes all actions in reference to the operation of CHTA in compliance with directives from the Board of Directors.

    The primary responsibilities include managing day-to-day office operations, networking with Strategic Partners to make sure their maximum ROI and retention and serving as liaison with Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC) and other regional or global associations to develop synergies, cooperation, and mutual support.

    Candidates ought to be ok with public speaking and feature the power to interact audiences because the CEO will function the “primary voice of CHTA” on regional advocacy matters. The CEO must have highly developed written and interpersonal communication, negotiation and collaboration skills. The CEO will monitor regional and global events and trends, keep the NHAs advised of relevant issues and oversee the services of the CHTA PR firm to verify effective communication of CHTA advocacy positions in the course of the region.

    The CEO must have keen analytical skills and information management abilities as a way to monitor Caribbean region hotel and tourism performance data and identify needs and areas of opportunity in developing incremental business to the region.

    As a Director of CTDC, the CEO will monitor the performance of CTDC, its marketing activities, in addition to the shopper-facing website www.caribbeantravel.com  and have interaction the web site developer, marketing committee and members, to confirm maximum participation and effectiveness.

    The successful candidate should have the power and sensitivity to handle diverse regional cultures, the facility to travel extensively, and no less than ten years’ experience in association or similar management role. Previous experience in development and effective execution of annual strategic plans in addition to successful organizational financial accountability are required. Candidates should have a demonstrated ability to cope on-site and remote teams for fulfillment of annual objectives.

    Previous work experience and/or working knowledge of the Caribbean tourism industry are a desired plus. The candidate ought to be willing and ready to work throughout the USA.

  • Rezidor announces the Park Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport

    The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the crucial dynamic hotel companies worldwide and a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, announces the first actual Park Inn hotel in Turkey: The Park Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport featuring 144 keys is scheduled to open in Q1 2014.

    “We are delighted to bring our innovative mid-market brand Park Inn to Turkey. The rustic is a crucial hub between the ecu and Asian continent and a key marketplace for Rezidor – we aim to further strengthen our presence and to develop Park Inn around the country”, said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO at Rezidor.

    The Park Inn Istanbul Ataturk Airport ideally complements the present Radisson Blu Conference and Airport Hotel, Istanbul. It’s located 5 km clear of Ataturk International Airport, Turkey’s largest and Europe’s 6th busiest airport, serving over 45 million passengers annually. The hotel will offer shuttle services to and from the terminals and likewise provide easy connections to several business districts within the region and Istanbul’s largest fair site, CNR Expo.

    The hotel is a part of an existing office building if you want to be converted to hotel use in the course of the forthcoming months. Besides 144 guest rooms, the valuables will feature an all-day restaurant and a lobby bar. Furthermore, the hotel could be equipped with meeting facilities of just about 1,000m² including a ballroom of 600m², a wellness area and underground parking. Park Inn is Rezidor’s mid-market full-service brand. It’s currently being re-launched – the hot brand concept will further enhance the attractiveness, commerciality and profitability of the emblem. It aims to retain guests of Gen X (born between 1965 and 1981) and to draw and nurture the growing clientele of Gen Y (1982-1990) through a favorable, personalized guest experience.
    Istanbul is the most important city in Turkey, constituting the country’s economic, cultural, and historical heart. With 14 million inhabitants, Istanbul is thought of as one of the crucial largest and most densely populated cities on earth. Over the past years, the town has reported an exponential growth in international travellers and these numbers are set to grow further within the next coming years as a result of its increasing popularity amongst business and leisure travellers.