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  • Confederations Cup offers Brazilian tourism timely boost

    Foreign tourists and Brazilians visiting the six venues of the Confederations Cup brought greater than £90 million to the local economy in the course of the 15 days of the contest.

    The calculation, made by Embratur, was in keeping with the collection of tourists and the length of stay of every visitor within the six cities that were hosting the games, in addition to money spent by the delegations and teams participating inside the tournament.

    The tournament was, however, rocked by political unrest as millions of demonstrators took to the streets to complain in regards to the cost of the imminent FIFA World Cup. 

    A total of 13,759 tickets were sold to foreigners and 111,569 to Brazilians.

    According to Embratur, foreign tourists stayed on average for roughly ten days within the city, whereas Brazilians stayed for 3 days inside the locality of the sport.

    “These numbers show how mega-events bring a right away return on investment to the local economy.

    “A significant slice of those resources goes directly into the pockets of local shopkeepers, street vendors and small businesses”, said Flávio Dino, president of Embratur.

    “The world is being used to seeing huge mass demonstrations as a democratic and healthy phenomenon.

    “Brazil, one of many largest democracies on this planet, couldn’t remain an exception”, stated Dino.

    He talked about that the President, Dilma Rousseff, announced last week that she is going to demand a referendum to permit the nation to determine whether it wants a reform of the country’s political structure.

    “The government is responding quickly and boldly to demands from the streets.”

    Dino highlighted that, inside the Confederations Cup, which came about in the course of the protests, there have been no incidents involving foreign tourists.

    The Brazilian Association of Tour Operators (Braztoa) confirmed that there have been no cancellations of trips.

    “Tourism in Brazil carries on as usual,” summarised Dino.

  • Small cut in tourism funding in UK

    The department for media, culture and sport has confirmed VisitBritain’s funding for 2015/16 will fall to only under £20 million – a discount of 5 per cent at the 2014/15 budget.

    However, the small cut have been welcomed by Christopher Rodrigues, chairman, VisitBritain, within the context of swingeing cuts seen elsewhere in government.

    He said: “This is a great result for VisitBritain and clear evidence of ministers’ commitment to the tourism industry.

    “This government understands the significance of tourism as one of the vital country’s leading export industries and a strong engine of job creation. 

    “We appreciate the efforts of tourism minister Hugh Robertson and secretary of state for media, culture and sport Maria Miller in batting for us through a difficult spending round.”

    VisitEngland

    At the identical time, VisitEngland has confirmed it’s going to see no cut in its core grant-in-aid.

    “We are pleased and reassured by this clear commitment from government to tourism in England,” said VisitEngland chairman Lady Cobham.

    “We recognise the general public purse is under ever increasing pressure so we’re delighted that tourism’s significant contribution to the economy was recognised.

    “Tourism in England is worth £97 billion however, there’s still great potential for further growth around the country.”

  • Egyptian chaos claims tourism minister

    Egyptian tourism minister Hisham Zazou has resigned his post because the political crisis within the country continues to worsen.

    Zazou was among a collection of 5 ministers who submitted what he called “justified” resignations to prime minister Hisham Kandil.

    Mass protests have seen thousands of Egyptians at the streets in recent days demanding president Mohammed Morsi step down.

    Protests prompted the military to issue a 48-hour ultimatum to unravel the deadly crisis sweeping the rustic.

    Large protests continued yesterday, with activists storming the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood – the gang from which the president hails – in Cairo.

    Communication and data technology minister Atef Helmy, environmental affairs minister Khaled Fahmy, utilities minister Abdel Qawy Khalifa and parliamentary and legal affairs minister Hatem Bagato have also stepped down from their posts.

    Reports earlier suggested they’ve been joined by foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.

    The Foreign Office said media reports suggest a number of those demonstrating in Tahrir Square and elsewhere are hostile and suspicious of any foreigners present.

    ”If you identify any nearby protests, leave the realm immediately,” it warned British visitors.

  • ABTA: Holiday Brits risking their lives on balconies

    One British national has died and 3 more was injured this month alone after falling from balconies while on holiday. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and ABTA – The Travel Association, have renewed calls to young Brits keeping off on holiday this summer to take extra care on balconies.

    The latest incidents take the full selection of reported cases this year thus far to seven. Last year there have been 14 incidents, lots of which involved adolescents and alcohol.  This prompted the FCO and ABTA to launch a campaign warning of the hazards and providing advice and recommendations on staying safe.

    With the summer holiday season barely underway the newest incidents highlight the desire for continued vigilance on balconies, particularly in popular destinations similar to Sunny Beach (Bulgaria) and Majorca (Spain) where recent cases have taken place.

    Jon O’Shaughnessy, British Consul in Sofia, said: “Last year we needed to take care of several deaths and injuries from balcony falls, and unfortunately we’re already experiencing balcony accidents again. Our staff have seen the devastating effects a momentary lapse in judgement may have at the victim and their family and we’re working hard to make certain people understand the hazards. Accidents can and do happen and climbing from balcony to balcony, jumping off them or drinking excessively while on one only increases your probabilities of something going wrong. All too often these incidents cost lives however the risks may be avoided in case you take a moment to only imagine the potential consequences.”

    Last year Jake Evans and his family gave us a harsh reminder of just how wrong things can go when he shared his story of falling seven floors after slipping over the sting of his balcony while looking to reach for something at the balcony below. Jake’s story are available on www.gov.uk.

    Nikki White, ABTA’s Head of Destinations and Sustainability, said: “As we head into peak summer time, we’re again urging young holidaymakers to give thought the aptitude risks of balconies. We see too plenty of people permanently injured or worse because they’ve tried to climb over or dive off their hotel balcony. We wish people to enjoy their holidays but would advise them to contemplate the ramifications in their behaviour abroad. Incidents corresponding to these have devastating consequences for holidaymakers and for his or her families. By working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, tourist authorities and ABTA Members in resort we are hoping to assist holidaymakers stop and consider how they use their balconies to avoid more of those tragic and avoidable incidents.”

    This summer, the FCO and ABTA are urging teens:

    *  Understand the hazards – climbing over or jumping off balconies could have serious consequences
    *  Know your limit – alcohol can impair your judgement and warmer climates can often increase the effect of drinking
    *  Get comprehensive travel insurance – be prepared for if something does get it wrong. Figures released in July this year showed that Spain is the rustic where most Britons require consular assistance, including 1105 hospitalisations.

  • Poland: a brand new player in medical tourism sector

    Is it possible, that during two to 3 years Brits, Germans, Scandinavians and Russians will undergo cancer treatment orthopaedic or cardiac surgery procedures in Polish medical facilities more often

    Treat teeth and get implants in dental clinics, take a cure in Polish sanatoriums Will women fly to central Europe, in place of Thailand, to undergo blepharoplasty, remove access fat or take pleasure in beauty treatments

    Yes, this is possible.

    A Polish government programme – promoting Poland as a rustic worth visiting for health treatment, rehabilitation, diagnosis, and cosmetic surgery is proving surprisingly effective.

    A visible national stand and stands of individual facilities at three consecutive trade fairs: Miami 2012, Moscow and Monaco in March 2013, led to Poland being noticed by experts as a brand new player in this market.

    A country ready to compete with rivals, building their brand for some years, like Turkey or India, even if the european funded campaign under ministry of the economy auspices has lasted for little over a year.

    Polish facilities, participants of the govt. program, are ceaselessly preparing to win patients from Scandinavia, UK, Germany, Russia and the united states, participating in fairs, meetings with foreign press and potential business partners.

    In June more training sessions were held.

    In the autumn, they’re going to start to perform trade missions to individual countries.

    Another boost for the Polish chances on the earth competition on this field, often is the fair in London, on the Health Tourism Show, which runs from July 11th -13th.

    At present the foremost intense preparatory works are conducted within the 12 companies, participating within the London show.

    Among them are hospitals, specialist clinics, sanatoriums, accompanied by medical tourism facilitators.