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  • Starwood Hotels luxury footprint doubles in five years

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced its luxury footprint has nearly doubled worldwide in five years to fulfill growing global demand. Starwood is lengthening its lead in luxury hospitality with greater than 160 hotels in 39 countries as portion of The posh Collection, St. Regis and W brands, offering guests and residents personalised service and exceptional experiences worldwide.  Looking ahead, Starwood will add 50 luxury hotels in 12 new countries over the following five years.

    Today, 85 percent of Starwood’s luxury guests hail from generations X and Y, and the corporate is uniquely positioned to cater to this emerging and ever-more global generation of affluent travellers. Starwood continues to aggressively put money into the creation, renovation and restoration of its luxury pipeline in anticipation of a seismic growth of worldwide luxury demand. Luxury makes up fifteen percent of Starwood’s total pipeline, and 90 percent of its future luxury hotels will open in emerging markets, including the primary W Hotel in mainland China with W Guangzhou and the primary St. Regis hotel in Africa with the debut of The St. Regis Mauritius Resort.

  • UNWTO Executive Council recommends Taleb Rifai for secretary-general

    The 95th session of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Executive Council, meeting in Belgrade, unanimously recommended Taleb Rifai as a nominee for the post of Secretary-General for the four-year-period starting January 2014.

    The candidature of Rifai was presented by his country, Jordan, according to the UNWTO statutes.

    The recommendation of the UNWTO Executive Council could be submitted to the approaching UNWTO General Assembly for ratification from August 25th-29th, 2013, aat Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe.

    Rifai has held the placement since January 1st 2010.

  • News: Russia’s poor image abroad holds back inbound tourism

    Russia’s poor image overseas is holding back its inbound tourism industry’s ability to draw visitors from the U.S. and western Europe, reveals new research at WTM Vision Conference – Moscow today.

    Inbound tourism arrivals in 2012 showed solid growth to succeed in 26 million, in keeping with Euromonitor International. However, the research company’s Senior Research Analyst Mantas Kaluina will tell WTM Vision Conference – Moscow delegates Russia continues to be reliant on visitors from neighbouring countries and the industry must work on tourism flows from the usa and Western Europe.

    Visa bureaucracy, security, infrastructure and the standard of tourism services contributed to Russia’s poor image overseas, he added.

    The Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan accounted for almost half all visitors, sending around six million, three million and two million respectively. Waiting for 2017, Euromonitor international expects little change, with the identical three accounting for eight million, six million and 4 million arrivals.

    Germany is its strongest western European market, however the figures for 2012 to 2017 fall well in need of 1000000 for every year. Visitor numbers from China, however, will exceed 1,000,000 by 2017.

    Russia’s outbound market was up 9% in 2012, driven by the expansion of the center classes. The preferred destinations are local – Ukraine, Finland, Kazakhstan.

    By 2017, nearly 40% of Russian households can have a disposable income greater than US$25,000 (£16,500, 771,415 Russian Rubbles) reveals the research. Russia will account for another eight million overseas trips by 2017, the most important increase aside from China.

    For many Russian, international travel is a brand new possibility. Around 1/2 all package holidays sold to Russians in 2012 costs between $600 and $1500, with Turkey, Greece and Egypt dominating the market.

    Online may even drive the expansion of outbound travel, with total sales growing by greater than 10% a year until 2017. Air tickets are the most important category for sales, followed by hotels, while social media continues to grow in importance.

    Euromonitor International’s predicts the worldwide travel industry will grow by 4% between 2012 and 2017.

    Reed Travel Exhibitions Director World Travel Market Simon Press said:  “The predicted growth in Russian outbound traffic is excellent news for the worldwide industry, however the report shows greater support can be given to its inbound industry, especially to draw tourists form the massive markets of the usa and western Europe.”

    Moscow was the host city for the primary of 5 WTM Vision Conference of 2013. Next is Beijing (8 April), followed by Sao Paulo (24 April), Dubai (7 May) and Rimini (17 October).

    WTM Vision Conference – Moscow is organised in association with Tour Business.

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  • London’s Regent Street turns purple to celebrate The Queen’s Coronation

    Today, Regent Street, London W1 revealed a spectacular display of purple and gold flags in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Londoners and visitors received a fabulous surprise this morning once they arrived on Regent Street. The purple flags featuring gold crowns span the length of Regent Street to St James’s making a striking backdrop to this world famous shopping destination in London’s West End.

    Regent Street continues to construct on its reputation as one of many ultimate shopping and lifestyle destinations on the earth, with many global fashion brands choosing to name this famous shopping thoroughfare their home.  Soon to open on Regent Street are three international brands, Longchamp, KIKO MAKEUP MILANO and United Nude adding its prestigious host of favor retailers. As one of many premier shopping destinations inside the UK, Regent Street remains the number 1 shopping destination for UK and international brands to open flagship stores.

  • News: Costa Cruises presents 2014 and winter 2014/15 itineraries

    To mark its 65th anniversary on 31 March this year, Costa Cruises has announced its cruise programme for 2014 and winter 2014/15, with bookings already available on the company’s partner travel agents or directly online at www.costacruises.co.uk.

    With around 1,000 cruise holidays to make a choice from visiting around 250 destinations, Costa Cruises offers something for everybody, from culture and entertainment to nature and relaxation at the beach, plus the benefit of having the ability to leave from 44 different ports of embarkation.

    Costa Diadema, the most important Italian cruise ship (132,500 gross tonnage and three,693 lower berths), currently under construction in Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Venice, will join the fleet in October 2014. The recent Costa flagship will make her debut sailing from Venice on 5 November 2014 on a five-day cruise to Savona, which can be the ship’s homeport during the winter season.  From here she will be able to be deployed on a one-week itinerary offering the likelihood to go to two of Italy’s must-see cities, Rome and Florence, at the same cruise. The port calls might be Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.

    Once Costa Diadema has joined the fleet, Costa’s offering within the Mediterranean in winter 2014/15 will rise by 50%. Another growth area in winter 2014/15 would be the United Arab Emirates, with a rise of around 20% end result of the positioning of a bigger ship, while company operations could be boosted by 20% in Northern Europe in summer 2014 resulting from the deployment of 5 ships in comparison to four in 2013.

    In the Mediterranean, Costa could be offering year-round itineraries appealing to every type of customers, with 13 ships operating inside the region. A destination that mixes a distinct blend of history, culture and tradition, coupled with calm sea, attractive beaches and sunshine at any time of year; all this may be enjoyed at the same holiday on board the Costa fleet.

    The Western Mediterranean cruise programme features cosmopolitan cities and opulent beaches, plus the welcome return of the marvellous city of Tunis. Calls to beach resorts can be boosted way to one-day and overnight port calls in Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, while another new entry would be La Spezia, the gateway for excursions to Tuscany’s magnificent art centres of Florence and Pisa and to the beautiful landscape of the Cinque Terre and Portovenere.

    The Eastern Mediterranean cruises offer the crystal clear waters of the Greek islands and the enthralling cities of Turkey and Croatia. Meanwhile, Costa will another time offer two of its optimum itineraries which are exclusive to the corporate – the gorgeous Dalmatian Coast including excursions to Medjugorje, one of the most world’s most vital pilgrimage sites, and its fly and cruise package out of Crete, which includes a visit to another island within the Aegean Sea on a daily basis and likewise ports in fascinating Izmir.

    The mini-breaks can also be back. With cruises of 3 to 5 days in length, any such holiday is very attractive relating to both affordability and duration, offering sun, sea and culture in places reminiscent of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Marseille and Ajaccio.

    For a more leisurely take a look at the physical, architectural and cultural landscape of the Mediterranean, there are longer cruises from 10 to fourteen days with more port calls, longer stopovers and more exotic places comparable to Egypt and Israel, the Black Sea, Lisbon and Casablanca. The most important overhaul is the Greece and Turkey route, consisting of an overnight stopover and two days in Istanbul, allowing visitors to reap the benefits of this incredible, culturally diverse city. Offering some much needed winter sun is a cruise to the Canary Islands and Morocco, departing from St. Cruz de Tenerife with two days and one night in both Casablanca and Madeira.

    Once again in 2015, Costa would be offering the around-the-world cruise, a fabulous trip that has proved very popular over the last few years among Costa’s guests. The 115-day cruise on the elegant and sophisticated Costa Deliziosa will depart westbound on a world voyage to extraordinary destinations on five continents on 6 January 2015 from Savona. A highly convenient way to travel, the around-the-world cruise allows guests to experience the wonders of the arena without having to re-pack or change hotels.

    In summer, Costa’s Northern Europe programme will be enhanced by the addition of a fifth ship thanks to the arrival of Costa Mediterranea, which will be based in Hamburg. There will be a wide range of cruises to choose from lasting between one week and 16 days and offering the chance to discover wonderful Baltic cities such as St Petersburg, Tallinn, Stockholm and Helsinki, the staggering scenery of the Norwegian fjords, and the majestic natural spectacle of North Cape, Spitsbergen Island and Iceland.

    For guests looking for a warm winter getaway for 2014/15, Costa Cruises provides a range of options all over the world, including one-week or 10-day Caribbean holidays with three ships operating, so guests can chill out on a new beach at a different island each day. There will also be cruises to South America on two ships, Costa Favolosa and Costa Pacifica, touring Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Another option is a one-week cruise to the UAE and Oman on Costa Serena, featuring the decadent and futuristic architecture of cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, or the striking beauty of Oman’s capital, Muscat.  Meanwhile, the seven-day Red Sea itinerary on Costa Voyager includes the splendid coral reefs and the must-see ancient civilizations of Israel, Egypt and Jordan.

    The magical atmosphere of the Far East will be on offer throughout 2014 and winter 2014/15 with two ships operating, Costa Victoria and Costa Atlantica.

    The programme for 2014 and winter 2014/15 will also be available in the 2014 edition of Costa Cruises’ annual brochure, due out in mid-April, as well as in travel agencies and at the company’s website. As well as the cruises, the brochure also details the ships, excursions, gastronomy, spas, shows and exclusive services and amenities that make up a Costa holiday.

    Including the brand new flagship Costa Diadema, scheduled to make her debut on the end of October 2014, the Costa Cruises fleet includes 15 ships, each together with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style. On board, guests are spoilt for choice with the most efficient Italian and international cuisine, high-tech entertainment facilities just like the 4D cinema, Grand Prix and golf simulators, children’s clubs and wellness centres for ultimate relaxation.

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