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  • News: Drivers ignorant of foreign drink-drive limits as French law shelved

    The French government’s decision to postpone indefinitely plans to fine drivers for failing to hold a breathalyser kit of their car highlights the inability of information British visitors have of drink-drive limits when at the continent, says an organization specialising in French holidays.

    France’s Minister of Interior has announced fines for motorists who don’t carry a kit of their vehicle – previously as a result of come into force on 1 March – had been shelved. All drivers in France are required to hold a breathalyser, and people without would were answerable for an €11 (£9.50) fine. Additionally, drivers in France should also carry a warning triangle and a high-visibility safety vest.

    According to UK-based French holiday cottage specialists gites.co.uk, British drivers should take heed of the breathalyser rule, and pay attention to France’s tougher drink-drive limits.

    “Even though traffic police won’t have the ability to issue fines,” said Duncan Pollard, “you should carry one of the most readily-available disposable kits with you as portion of your in-car safety equipment.

    “Many people don’t realise that the drink-drive limit in France is around half that of the united kingdom, and the kit should function a reminder of the tougher laws at the continent.”

    A typical penalty for drink-driving in France is a €135 (£116) fine plus penalty points. Those guilty of an “aggravated” offence – and that’s with blood/alcohol levels above the present UK limit – can stand up to €4,500 (£3,900) in fines and two years imprisonment.

    “France could be trendy for its wine and café culture,” said Duncan Pollard, “but there’s little tolerance in the event you mix it with driving. British visitors who’re used to our country’s more liberal limit ought to be accustomed to the tighter laws at the continent.

    “In fact, there are some countries which have a 0 tolerance to compelling under the influence, so our advice is to remain off the booze entirely if you’re planning on getting behind the wheel, and revel in your holiday.”

    Current drink-drive limits around Europe include (mg per 100 ml of blood):

    UK 80mg
    France 50mg
    Germany 50mg
    Ireland 50mg
    Belgium 50mg
    Netherlands 50mg
    Poland 20mg
    Norway 20mg
    Sweden 20mg
    Czech Rep 0mg
    Russia 0mg

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  • Discover more about Royal Greenwich during English Tourism Week

    After a year which showcased its riches to a worldwide audience, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is encouraging visitors to ‘Discover More’ in 2013.

    And what better time to return and explore the exciting activities than during English Tourism week from 16 – 24 March.

    From the splendour of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site in Greenwich Town Centre, to the lovely riverfront and memorable architecture of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich; from the magnificent Eltham Palace to Greenwich Peninsula, one in every of London’s most enjoyable new destinations and residential to the world’s most successful entertainment venue, The O2 Arena. This list barely scratches the skin of a location which boasts probably the most impressive collections of attractions within the UK – the majority of that are totally free to go to. ‘Discover More’ also has a chain of exclusive special offers for visitors available at the Royal Borough of Greenwich website (see notes to editors).

    Some of the highlights in the course of the week include:

    Enjoy free lunchtime recitals from the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music until the tip of March in a single of London’s finest Jacobean mansions – Charlton House.

    Visitors and native residents may have the chance to explore the hidden gems of Eltham with the yearly ‘Be an area Tourist Day’, hung on Sunday 24 March 2013. From historical adventures at Eltham Palace to free guided tours, it’s to not be missed – whether you’re seeking to discover more in regards to the local area or simply in search of a fun day trip.

    Gaze on the beautiful etchings and drawings using early 20th century watercolours, by Gertrude Ashworth and Daniel Warry, depicting Eltham in all its splendour at ‘This Eltham of Ours’ exhibition, Greenwich Heritage Centre open until mid-May.

    Explore the vital role of girls serving within the British Army during World War II and in today’s Afghanistan at a thrilling new exhibition at Firepower, until mid-April on the Royal Artillery Museum.

    Learn concerning the creator of the fantastic interior of the Painted Hall, Sir James Thornhill, the 1st English artist to receive a knighthood. Hear about his influences, his techniques and his rivals and just why it took 19 years to finish his masterpiece. Saturday 16 March on the Old Royal Naval College.

    Experience a spectacular journey around the Universe on the Peter Harrison Planetarium – London’s only planetarium, with new weekend shows in the course of the day – now better and brighter than ever.

    2013 marks the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen’s celebrated Pride and Prejudice. To mark this occasion the National Maritime Museum are hosting a chain of lectures discussing Austen and her links with the Navy. Join them for a desirable in-depth examine Georgian Britain and its dependence on seafaring from March 7.

    Whilst on the Old Royal Naval College, don’t forget to take a look across the historic site which was used because the set for a massive range of movies, including the new box office hit Les Misérables.

    Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor Chris Roberts said:

    “Royal Greenwich is recognised as a great spot of culture, its rich mixture of arts and entertainment helping to draw millions of tourists from everywhere in the UK and worldwide each year. From the once a year Royal Greenwich festival to breath-taking attractions just like the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, the Jacobean wonderful thing about Charlton House to the fantastic Eltham Palace, our museums in Woolwich and the breath-taking architecture of the Royal Artillery Barracks. With quite a bit to do within the borough you will need greater than an afternoon to explore what’s on offer.”

  • Focus: What’s Happening Within the Global Automobile Rental Market

    In today’s financial market, that is suffering within the majority of the countries inside the world, consumers are getting more tight-fisted with their spending.  Greater than ever before everyone is searching for bargains. They’re trying to reduce costs and have gotten more wary of ways and what for they’re being charged.

    This applies to vacations to boot.

    Travelers will pinch the pennies in some areas with a view to unlock extra money for fun activities. Automobile rental is one area that generally is concentrated. Unless the vacationer is on a road trip with a Rolls Royce touring car or a tooling along the roads in a Maserati, they are going to be looking toward minimizing the price of car rentals.

    The car rental agencies are responding in numerous how one can meet the patron needs. Along with meeting their customers’ needs, also they are staring at maximizing their profits. Sometimes these goals fight against each other, so most companies have developed tips on how to focus on all of the perplexities.

    Rogue Charges and Tactics

    Just because your automobile rental has GPS, navigation, cellular live help and other amenities, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re included within the rental cost. Mainly these aren’t included and assuming they may be free can lead to a rude awakening when the time involves pay the bill.

    GPS and navigation use may trigger a regular cost or perhaps hourly space leases. On monthly rentals, this may trigger a charge for the entire month despite the fact that your use was minimal.

    If the auto has an electronic payment unit for tolls, have them remove or disable it with an RF blocking cover. When you pass through a toll booth you may be charged for the toll plus a surcharge that can be 5 to ten times the toll. Alternatively, it could trigger another a type of monthly or weekly charges.

    Other extra charges for using features like even a kid seat may surprise you for those who turn within the car.

    In defense of the auto rental companies, they do should earn cash, so additional charges appear like they’re here to remain within the rental industry. Additional charges allow the rental agencies to advertize lower rental prices.

    Green Rentals

    There is a growing “green” movement through the world. Every industry on the earth is affected and the auto rental industry is not any exception. Countries are adding carbon taxes to standard automobiles and awarding tax credits and other incentives for green vehicles, both hybrid and electric vehicles. Car rental agencies like Europcar have already got hybrid and electric vehicles as portion of their rental fleet.

    Consumers have gotten more aware within the green area and also are requesting greener alternatives to the gasoline and diesel cars. The foremost often “greener” car requested is the hybrid car which can travel long distances and doesn’t need recharging.

    The totally electric vehicles are frequently selected for brief trips. If you’re planning an extended trip with an electrical vehicle, you need to be meticulous on your planning for distance so that you can stop at recharging stations. You furthermore may must plan on each style of recharging station as some can recharge a vehicle overnight and other stations may take in to twenty hours for a whole charge.

    The Usa government is hoping to influence people to have a million electric vehicles at the road by the top of this decade. Germany may beat the U.S. as they plan to even have a million electric cars at the road before 2020. It does appear like Germany could have a better adoption rate of electrical automobiles than the U.S. and the rental agencies in these countries will make more of them available as time passes.

    Car Sharing

    Some of the auto rentals are being siphoned off by a newly-emerging phenomenon: Car sharing. It appears that the will for alternative income sources have driven some people to hire out their very own cars. There are numerous pitfalls like stolen vehicles and accidents and never plenty of people do it themselves.

    Social media has given birth to new breeds of auto sharing companies that arrange rentals, insure and ensure the vehicles are returned promptly. They try this for a percentage of the space leases and these rental costs are generally less than traditional rental companies are. These car sharing companies generally operate in an area area in order that they aren’t quite suitable for long or one-way rentals. They’re great for hourly rentals.

    Growth

    The car rental industry is growing. In Europe, airlines are expected to grow and the auto rentals at airports will mimic this growth. Consistent with Yahoo News, a Research and Markets report says the full car rental industry “is expected to succeed in US $67.6 billion by 2017.”

    This should be some great news for the economy. We’re looking ahead to this.

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  • London Marriott Hotel County Hall announces partnership with The Prince¹s Trust

    The 5* London Marriott Hotel County Hall today announces growth of its partnershipwith leading youth charity The Prince’s Trust, providing training and training opportunities for teens keen to develop a career inside the hospitality industry.

    2012 saw youth unemployment reach a record high, over 1.2m within the UK. The Prince’s Trust and Marriott hotels were working together nationally, to supply opportunities for disadvantaged teens and the London Marriott Hotel County Hall hotel has recently taken on two employees from The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge programme.

    Located within the heart of Westminster the London Marriott Hotel County Hall has worked with The Prince’s Trust and its Fairbridge programme since 2011, supporting the ‘Employ Me’ course which offers disadvantaged children the chance to achieve an insight into the arena of labor. The course concentrates on key employability skills for adolescents who don’t have access to education, employment or training with work experience opportunities in quite a number hospitality roles including front of house, housekeeping and food and beverage.

    The London Marriott Hotel County Hall ‘Housekeeping Challenge’ is a piece experience activity, enabling youth to position hospitality theory into practice. The hotel’s Executive Housekeeper Vince Castronovo briefs students at the features, facilities and steps enthusiastic about preparing a room fit to the 5* standard for guests. The teenagers then have the ability to come back a ‘distressed’ room back to its perfect state. Their efforts are filmed and evaluated by the manager Housekeeper before the crowd is then offered the prospect to undertake five hours of supervised work experience on the hotel in a department in their choice in order to then securing a freelance of employment to further develop their careers. Up to now the London Marriott Hotel County Hall has held threeHousekeeping Challenges offering career, support and coaching to twenty youth with ambitions to double this support in 2013.

    Manuel da Costa and Jonathan Zepeda are two teenagers who’ve taken part within the ‘Employ Me’ programme on the London Marriott Hotel County Hall.

    Sixteen-year-old Manuel da Costa from Waterloo began with the Fairbridge Programme by joining the mathematics and English courses. Manuel then joined the London Marriott HotelCounty Hall as portion of the ‘Employ Me’ course working with a team of Marriott chefs to be informed more about careers within the culinary and hospitality industries. Following the course Manuel now works part-time inside the hotel’s kitchen under the guidance of Executive Chef Gareth Bowen whilst continuing his studies and has ambitions to 1 day open his own restaurant.

    Seventeen-year-old Jonathan Zepeda from Vauxhall is now employed on the hotel as a member of the Housekeeping team. Learning how one can work as a team in addition to the most important elements of shopper service and adhering to the hotels’ strict, 5* standards have enabled Jonathan to develop his self-confidence. He now has ambitions to develop his career to Housekeeping Supervisor and in the future work as a manager.

    Commenting at the partnership, Theresa Maw General Manager for the London Marriott Hotel County Hall said, “It is really inspiring to work out teenagers realise their career ambitions with the guidance and support of both the team on the hotel and on the Prince’s Trust. As a Marriott hotel we’re committed to ‘give something back’ and dealing directly with the local people to support and develop the opportunity of those keen to develop a career within the hospitality industry.”

    Alex Dimsdale, Director of Human Resources for the London Marriott Hotel County Hall added: “We have partnered with The Prince’s Trust since 2011 and feature been overwhelmed with the keenness, commitment and professionalism of the scholars that we have got worked with. The Housekeeping Challenge was developed specifically to practically realise this commitment and we glance forward to developing opportunities foreven more students in 2013.”

    Dermot Finch, The Prince’s Trust Regional Director for the South added: “We are hugely grateful to the team on the London Marriott Hotel County Hall for the support and opportunities they’ve provided our youngsters.Working with an organization that has one of these strong reputation means our kids have a chance to forge the beginning of a promising career with an industry leader.  We glance forward to growing and developing this chance toeven more students in 2013 and beyond.”

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  • News: New Caribbean tourism website

    All 33 Caribbean tourism destinations have joined forces to launch a brand new website.

    Improvements to the design and search facilities were made in spite of everything parties agreed to take advantage of common formatting.

    The website was created by the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, and the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association.

    ”We expect that our revitalised website will set a brand new standard for promoting our Caribbean region and become the cornerstone of our cooperative regional business plan for the Caribbean brand under the ‘Life Needs the Caribbean’ theme,” said Beverly Nicholson-Doty, CTO chairman, commissioner of tourism for the usa Virgin Islands and CTDC co-chair.

    “This is an unprecedented level of regional cooperation between governments and the personal sector in tourism.”

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