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Category: News

  • News: Mexico and Brazil approve visa exemption

    The governments of Mexico and Brazil have agreed to the exemption of the fast-stay visas in ordinary passports for his or her citizens. The move is designed to extend the flow of travelers between the 2 nations.

    The decision is the culmination of a chain of negotiations between President Enrique Pena Nieto and Dilma Rousseff Coimbra, President of Brazil, as portion of the Summit of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC), held last January within the city of Santiago de Chile.

    The visa requirement for Brazilians were in force since 2005, and from May 2010 Mexico applied CHM immigration to these citizens with a US visa; moreover, the Migration Documentation Information System (SIDOMI) and the System of Electronic Authorization (SAE) allowed Brazilian tourists and businessmen to procure electronic visas.

    This achievement will allow for a rise in visitors to Mexico from Brazil.

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  • News: PATA annual summit speakers: Travel and tourism should get more political

    Travel industry leaders will issue a rallying demand politicians and government policy makers world wide to start out “Embracing the total Visitor Economy” on the PATA Annual Summit, which happens Friday April 26 in Bangkok.

    Mr Martin J Craigs, PATA CEO said: “If you wish the travel and tourism industry to be respected more, given more budget from Government sources, and taxed less, we have to make the case forcefully. You’re invited to hitch the PATA Annual Summit so as to add your voice to the uprising that’s underway inside the travel industry the world over.”

    An impressive list of speakers will add their weight to the total visitor economy agenda. From Associations, Organisations and NGOs, Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO and speaker from WTTC might be there; from Government, Gloria Guevara, Former Secretary of Tourism, Mexico; Chen Tiejun, Deputy Director General, Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission; from the personal sector, Abid Butt, CEO Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Ross Jackson, Head of Cross-Border Business, APCEMEA, Visa Inc; Lothar R Pehl, SVP Operations and Global Initiatives, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific; Martin Verdon Roe, Global VP, Display Sales, TripAdvisor; Pansy Ho, Managing Director, Shun Tak Holdings; Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, UAE; Sorajak Kasemsuvan, President, Thai Airways International; Anita Mendiratta, Managing Director – CACHET Consulting/Lead consultant of the CNN TASK Group, and lots of more, will all contribute their insights. TV anchor Monita Rajpal of CNN will moderate.

    Mr Abid Butt, Chief Executive Officer, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts said: “Governments and the general public sector worldwide have recognised the significance of the visitor economy with reforms being introduced to augment this economic component. The significance of all links understanding their role on this economic chain can’t be overstated. The power to draw foreign visitors and their contribution to the local communities makes it a pretty good enabler for all countries. It creates and supports employment in any respect skill levels, helps preserve local heritage and builds a powerful sense of place, providing better understanding across different cultures. The advantages usually are not limited to economic gains but include social advantages, creating better places to live and work. i’m glad to be participating on this dialogue coordinated by PATA to further highlight the real role of the total visitor economy.”
    There might be four concurrent interactive sessions on corporate social responsibility, facilitating and balancing security and safety, human capital development, and medical tourism integration to the entire visitor economy.

    Speakers include Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts; Nicole Häusler M.A., CSR Expert, Myanmar Masterpiece; Bert van Walbeek, Managing Director, The Winning Edge; Peter Semone, Chief Technical Advisor, Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH); Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Dr. Edward P Dramberger, Principal, Destination Dr., International Hospitality Consulting; Prof. Zadok S Lempert, Chief Executive, Panorama-Medica Group; and Olivier Jager, Co-Founder & CEO, FowardKeys, Traveller Data Intelligence.

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  • GIBTM: Emirates Palace showcases offering in Abu Dhabi

    Emirates Palace Hotel has confirmed it might participate on the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition 2013, which kicks off today.

    The three-day event, if you want to be hosted by Abu Dhabi on the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, will display the newest hotel services offered by the business tourism sector, conferences and incentives.

    General Manger of Emirates Palace Bugra Berberoglu stressed at the importance of the property’s participation on the exhibition, noting the development is a chance to satisfy with partners and travel agents from world wide.

    The exhibition, organised by Reed Exhibitions, is taken into account the leading event in its field.

  • News: Turkish Airlines places its biggest order ever with Airbus

    Turkish Airlines, the biggest airline in Turkey, has signed a freelance for as much as 117 A320 Family aircraft (25 A321ceo, 4 A320neo, 53 A321neo and options for 35 additional A321neo aircraft). This order is the biggest ever placed by a Turkish carrier. The engine selection should be made at a later date.

    “We are placing our biggest ever order with Airbus,” said Faruk Cizmecioglu, Chief Marketing Officer. “At Turkish Airlines our customers expect the only. The A320 Family with its economic benefits combined with superior cabin comfort will greatly contribute to fulfill our ambitious growth plans.”

    “We are delighted with this new order from Turkish Airlines, which takes us above 2,000 NEO orders in a little bit over two years after launch” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “This order confirms that the NEO is the cheapest and profitable solution for airlines with ambitious growth plans. The 15 per cent fuel saving and the widest cabin in its class give Turkish Airlines a huge competitive advantage.”

    Turkish Airlines already operates 75 A320 Family aircraft. The hot order may also help Turkish Airlines expand their short to medium-haul routes from their Istanbul hub, while the aircraft’s commonality with their existing Airbus fleet will generate additional cost-savings.

    Incorporating new engines and enormous Sharklet wing tip devices, the A320neo Family will deliver fuel savings of 15 percent. Similarly, the A320neo Family will provide a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise. The A320neo will enter into service from late 2015, followed by the A319neo and A321neo in 2016.

    More than 9,150 A320 Family aircraft were ordered and greater than 5,450 dropped at greater than 385 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position because the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft Family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality making it a simple fit into existing fleets while offering as much as 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

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  • News: Charter passengers chargeable for majority of additional security costs in airports

    Passengers of charter flights are liable for nearly all of extra costs arising from delays in airport security checks, in response to scientific research conducted by airport security consulting company, Kirschenbaum Consulting.

    The findings are in accordance with a one-year in-depth study held at a regional European airport. The consequences indicate that while only 10-15% of scheduled passengers carried prohibited items, 33-50% of charter passengers did so.

    Moreover, while only 10% of normal flyers were re-examined by security employees, 33% of charter passengers needed another check.
    The research, which included both an ethnographic and time-motion study, also showed that, while charter passengers accounted for under 50%of overall traffic, they were accountable for one more 35% of the final security costs.

    Even though the vast majority of passengers go through the safety process right away, passengers who negotiate with the protection personal consume just about 80% of the time spent passing through screening.

    “Security has become a key cost component in airports. Passenger behavior and its significance to airport profits shouldn’t be underestimated,” said Prof Alan (Avi) Kirschenbaum , founder and CEO of Kirschenbaum Consulting.

    “We can clearly see that delays on the screening check point are directly concerning the kind of passenger involved. This requires paying more attention to the role that the human factor could have on security costs.”

    Kirschenbaum added that it may be conjectured that charter passengers were likely to purchase holiday gifts and, given their lower sensitivity to security, prone to be stopped for possessing prohibited items.

    Airports estimate that it may take 20-30 seconds for a standard passenger to go through the safety screening process. The research showed, however, that it took those blind to the guidelines one to 2 minutes.

    Prof. Kirschenbaum will present the findings on the Passenger Terminal Expo, so they can occur on April 9-11, 2013, in Geneva Switzerland.

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