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  • News: Travelocity Business enhances TBiz Chat

    Travelocity Business announced that TBiz Chat has gone mobile, allowing business travelers to talk one on one with TBiz agents ahead of and through their work trip during the TripCase mobile app. Launched on both Concur and GetThere online booking tools in May 2012, TBiz Chat has proven to be a valuable tool for business travelers with greater than 97 percent of respondents saying they’ll use the product someday, in line with a up to date customer satisfaction survey.

    “Knowing what our customers need and like is vital to our business,” said Yannis Karmis , president of Travelocity Business. “It ensures we’re providing the absolute best service each day to each customer. TBiz Chat offers an innovative thanks to easily and effectively communicate travel needs and requests so our customers can give attention to their work handy. While using Chat you are able to easily change travel plans while multi-tasking in a gathering or at home.”

    Recognizing that mobile devices play a more integral role in business travel than ever before, Travelocity Business was the primary travel management company to present one-on-one chat capabilities in the TripCase mobile app. TBiz Chat leverages the messaging capabilities of TripCase Connect, an internet platform for travel agencies, to send messages to travelers via a mobile device. Business travelers who’re short of assistance can connect on their mobile devices with certified Travelocity Business agents who’re dedicated and specifically trained for TBiz Chat.

    Travelocity Business continues to create and enhance customer products to fulfill the wishes of the ever-evolving business traveler. Leveraging its industry-leading knowledge and regular customer survey results, Travelocity Business is in a position to make sure the customer experience from the booking process to interaction with a TBiz agent is outstanding, ultimately allowing, for firms to drive cost savings within their travel programs.

  • News: Water in Europe’s most efficient tourist destinations failing EU standards

    Some of Europe’s superior tourist destinations are failing EU water laws, new research shows.

    As millions of individuals plan their summer holidays, Pisa in Italy, parts of Halkidiki in Greece, Balaton in Hungary and Ayia Napa in Cyprus has been identified as among 6,311 European towns and cities which aren’t meeting the EU’s environmental standards.

    Popular city break destinations equivalent to Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Madrid (Spain), Budapest (Hungary) and Rome (Italy) have also been revealed as having sub-standard water.

    Even Brussels itself, the house of the ecu, is failing the desired tests.

    Particularly worrying for the ecu tourist industry are the failures in Spain, Italy and Greece, which can be one of the vital most often visited destinations for holidaymakers throughout Europe.

    Experts said these water failures could put the health of millions of individuals in peril should and render European taxpayers chargeable for fines of over €1 billion a year in total.

    The UK was some of the countries which have been fully compliant with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, a bit of legislation which came out within the 1990s to enhance water standards, that applies to the gathering, treatment and discharge of domestic and industrial waste water.

    Some MEPs and experts are campaigning for improvements to water infrastructure around Europe in the course of the EU Cohesion Fund, which was arrange in 1994 to supply funding for environmental and infrastructure projects. Decisions on its latest round of spending are expected within months.

    Victor Bostinaru, a Romanian MEP, who presented the findings in Brussels, said: “This report demonstrates the dimensions of the difficulty that exists around the 27 EU member states. The standard of water in lots of countries has to enhance and the cash must be found to make it happen – starting with town of Brussels, through which the ecu Union’s institutions are based.

    “As we prepare to commit billions of euros of investment to infrastructure projects, during the EU Cohesion Fund, we must demand improvements from these failing cities, regions and countries.”

    Hach Lange, one of the most world’s leading providers of instrumentation for water quality testing and treatment optimisation, considered the outcomes as leading analytical experts on European water.

    Lance Reisman, President of Hach Lange, said: “Clearly some parts of Europe have issues that need addressing, but the excellent news is that solutions are on hand.

    “Our experience in working across Europe has proven that investment reaps significant benefits.”

    The worst five country offenders are:
    Romania: 2,476 failures
    Spain: 1,148
    Bulgaria: 901
    Hungary: 631
    Italy: 443

  • British government urged to develop music tourism strategy

    A cross party group of influential peers has called at the British government develop a brand new method to support music-based tourism and help grow the united kingdom economy.

    The call was made during a home of Lords debate at the impact of music on tourism.

    The debate’s sponsor, Liberal Democrat Lord Storey said music festivals were attracting unprecedented numbers of overseas visitors and feature been pouring money into local economies. 

    He argued that the world’s “evident love” of the UK’s musical heritage should now be harnessed and used to support music tourism.

    A 2011 report estimated music tourists spend £1.4 billion and sustain over 20,000 jobs. 

    “I have seen first-hand the positive impact music could make on local tourist economies.

    “But, we also needs to consider the impact music may have at the country as a full,” Lord Storey said. 

    “Great Britain simply has an excessive amount of potential for musical tourism for the govt. to face idly by. 

    “I strongly urge the govt. to contemplate how best to implement a well defined music strategy.”

    Storey suggested that to draw more overseas music tourists, government should emphasise and interact with existing tourist bodies and authorities across Britain and help them market themselves as music tourist destinations.

    Storey’s stance was supported by Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, who’s also a non-executive director of the national tourism agency VisitBritain. 

    “We should not doing in addition to lets for music tourism,” she explained.

    “We should have more resource behind promoting our music tourism,” she argued, adding that it was important to cultivate the overseas music visitor because although they just make up a minority of music tourists, they account for almost 20 per cent of music tourism spend.

    “We have the talent, the determination and the global focus.  Allow us to make this a key pillar of our tourism strategy into the long run.”

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  • News: Southall Travel agrees major sports sponsorship cope with IPL

    Long-haul travel specialist Southall Travel has agreed a tremendous sports sponsorship manage IPL, the Indian Premier League, the pro league for Twenty20 cricket championship in India.

    Broadcast daily on UK network’s ITV4 over 49 days, the IPL is likely one of the most spectacular sports tournaments on earth watched by millions of folk and featuring stars along with Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist and England’s Eoin Morgan.

    Southall Travel adverts should be shown on 15 second bumper adverts going into each live game.

    Top Indian and international players participate in IPL and it’s considered to be the world’s showcase for Twenty20 cricket, a shorter format of cricket consisting only 20 overs per side

    Jaymin Borkhatria, sales director of Southall Travel, said: “For cricket fans that is one of many biggest tournaments on the earth and it’s exciting and fun to look at for the entire family.  It gives our brand high visibility everyday until the tournament ends on 16 May and asserts our position to our target market because the number 1 holiday firm for long-haul travel.”

    “This sponsorship is a primary investment in building our brand as we continue to expand our business.”

    Southall Travel already has a robust association with cricket following its sponsorship of the ICC World Twenty20 three years ago which was shown continue to exist Sky Sports.

    Southall Travel specialises in worldwide flights and tailor-made travel arrangements. Its combination of unbeatable flight prices to all major long-haul destinations and primary class service has ensured the corporate has gained a name for providing a superb value.

  • Marti Wellness by Spa Soul opens in Istanbul

    New for 2013, Marti Istanbul is happy to unveil the most well liked new city spa on this vibrant city.

    Located at the top floor of the design hotel Marti Istanbul, ‘Marti Wellness by Spa Soul’, is a tranquil space within the buzzing city, a retreat for guests to enjoy during their stay.

    With a treatment menu carefully selected by Spa Soul, choices include traditional cleansing hammams, tension relieving massages and a spacious sauna and steam room to enjoy at leisure.

    A relaxing city spa where guests could be scrubbed, soaped and soaked in typical Turkish style.

    The spacious new spa is found at the top floor of the Marti Istanbul which opened in 2012, designed by internationally acclaimed female designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu.

    The 850 square metre spa is a spectacular Ottoman inspired space, offering five treatment rooms with views over town, and expansive saunas and steam rooms for both ladies and men.

    In a rustic famed for its hammams, this sophisticated hotel offers two private marble hammam rooms and a bright Roman bath – the foremost relaxing method to end an afternoon of pounding the pavements and discovering the markets of the town.

    In the spa, guests will relax with a Turkish Hammam Bath like no other.

    An ancient Ottoman tradition, this full body treatment allows the outside to breath following an intensive exfoliation of the body.

    This results in an increased blood flow making skin feeling supple and refreshed.

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    One of one of the most relaxing spa treatments available, in 40 minutes guests might be fully scrubbed, cleansed with soap suds and soaked with warm water, leaving them relaxed and rejuvenated.

    As well because the traditional Turkish treatments, guests can choose between a range of treatments prepare by SpaSoul, from algo-radiance facials to foot acupressure.

    In addition to the spa, at the 11th of the ground of the hotel there’s also a hair and charm salon and a limiteless state-of-the-art gym searching over the roof tops of Istanbul – one among best work-out views available.

    Guests staying in a single of the 31 suites at Marti Istanbul shouldn’t only have the extensive spa treatments to enjoy, all the suites also has their very own private hammam, for a normal thanks to cleanse on the end of the day within the comfort their very own room.

    Located within the buzzing commercial district of Taksim, Marti Istanbul is the contemporary design hotel for travellers searching for an expensive base during their time discovering town.

    This contemporary hotel has 270 spacious bedrooms and suites, furnished with the best Turkish fabrics and art.