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  • Seychelles tourism maintains their presence in China

    The Seychelles islands are going after their share of the Chinese market with the tourism board and its partners participating on the International Tourism Expo of China for the 3rd year running.

    A tourism delegation comprising members of the Seychelles Tourism Board and its partners who remain serious in eager to work with the Tourism Board to develop a more robust presence available in the market were in attendancve.

    The Seychelles Tourism Board is being represented at ITE by its Chief Executive Officer, Elsia Grandcourt; the Regional Manager, Jean-Luc Lai- Lam; and Senior Marketing Executive, Stephanie Lablache; and supported by partners Air Seychelles, Head of Sales, Cindy Vidot ([email protected]); Creole Travel Services, Business Development Manager, Rose Sham ([email protected]); Masons Travel, Marketing Coordinator, Hilda Camille ([email protected]); and Berjaya Hotels&Resorts, Director of Sales&Customer support,Eric Lee ([email protected]).

    Together they’re representing Seychelles at ITE, which started on June 13 and may end on June 16.

    This year is the 27th edition of ITE, Hong Kong’s only international fair and among the earliest established in Asia covering mainland China, particularly southern China.

    Covering both corporate travel and MICE, in addition attracting over 600 exhibitors from over 50 countries and over 6,000 travel agents and tour operators, ITE is the prime venue to further penetrate the Chinese market and attract potential holiday makers of the region and beyond, as over 80 percent of its exhibitors are from outside Hong Kong.

    This year on the Seychelles stand, a wheel of fortune was introduced whereby trade and public participants stand to win a round-trip to the Seychelles, including accommodations, transfers, and excursions, in addition to a Coco de Mer and other giveaways. This was to draw more visitors to the Seychelles stand and to furthermore increase the database of the region. The prizes were sponsored by local partners, namely Air Seychelles, Berjaya Hotels&Resorts Constance Hotels&Resort, Creole Travel Services, and Masons Travel.

    “China is considered one of our fastest-growing markets and with our national airline, Air Seychelles, direct through service into Hong Kong with a quick layover inAbu Dhabi, the Seychelles Tourism Board shall be adding its presence available in the market so one can serve Hong Kong and the encircling regions,” said the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board.

    “There are prospects, and that i personally think that with more visibility, Seychelles generally is a new venture for the Asians as they’re continuously searching for new exciting destinations,” said Ms. Sham from Creole Travel Services.

  • News: Travelocity announces best days to fly for Memorial Day weekend

    With Memorial Day travel top of mind for travelers, Travelocity today announced the most effective days to fly for the vacation. Travelocity data shows that travelers trying to find a bargain getaway will find savings of as much as $191 in the event that they depart the week leading as much as Memorial Day and return on Saturday, May 25, while travelers extending their trips past Memorial Day will see a fare increase.

    Travelers looking to travel for the vacation weekend only, departing Friday, May 24 and returning Monday, May 27, can expect to spend an ordinary of $350 for a round trip domestic flight.

    “When it involves Memorial Day travel, it’s best to go looking to your flights using flexible dates and multiple airports,” said Courtney Scott, senior editor for Travelocity. “Be certain to book sooner instead of later, as with every holiday, prices will continue to extend as Memorial Day approaches. Book now, and be strategic concerning the days you fly to get probably the most bang to your buck.”

  • lowcostbeds ventures into the center East

    Rated a few of the top 10 independent bed banks globally, Swiss – based lowcostbeds, has announced its foray into the center East. Targeting the lucrative inbound and outbound markets from the region, the corporate has officially appointed Discover the sector Marketing as their exclusive representative within the region and is calling to enroll with prominent regional and international travel agents.

    Mr Paul Riches, Group Director of Sales, lowcostravelgroup, said, “We are confident we’re hitting the perfect market as both inbound and outbound business inside the region is showing a healthy increase. We’re absolutely delighted to be working with Discover the area Marketing. They have got a proven track record in working closely with the travel trade and we don’t have any doubt they may be the appropriate partner for us to grow our ME business.

    We offer an in depth range of hotels around the globe, coupled with leading technology, so we’re very fascinated by the prospects the center East market has to supply us. As a trade only brand, lowcostbeds boasts an amazing portfolio of hotels across Europe, the Far East and USA, besides other regions that Middle East outbound travellers traditionally like.”

    Commenting at the appointment, Discover the realm CEO, Jenny Adams said, “Discover the realm Marketing is terribly desirous about our strategic partnership with lowcostbeds. We’re wanting to use our vast experience with the local ME travel market to introduce the trade to lowcostbeds. With their vast hotel inventory and engaging commercial terms, lowcostbeds is the proper solution for today’s travel trade.”

    The experienced Discover sales team shall be visiting travel agents and attending various trade shows during the region over the arrival months, providing support and advice on a variety of lowcostbeds related issues including agent registration, site navigation tips, commercial terms, product updates, and exclusive travel agent offers. Ms Sarah Marron, Sales Director, Discover the sector Marketing, said, “Our strategy with lowcostbeds is to work with the network of regional travel players to ensure that them to provide our excellent range of hotels, from leisure resorts to city breaks and from budget to five-star luxury.”

    The team of Directors from lowcostbeds could be present in the course of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) to satisfy travel trade professionals and agencies, including its Commercial Director Patricia Rossello – Evans.

    Mr Riches added, “ATM is the leading travel and tourism exhibition and offers us the proper opportunity to introduce and position Lowcostbeds. We’re extremely desirous about the show and searching forward to being there. Patricia can also be attending, as a way to meet with the local hoteliers who we’re already working with within the region and to source new hotels, so as to add to our GCC product portfolio.’

    Offering an international inventory of 150,000 hotels in over 4000 resorts and cities, lowcostbeds is the correct partner for travel agencies. Mr Riches continued, “Travel agents are always in quest of good rates and, a growing number of relevant hotel inventory. In the interim we’re working with over 20,000 travel agencies and native buyers worldwide and our objective is to grow that considerably.”

    The Middle East is likely one of the fastest growing regions in relation to tourism with outbound travel quadrupling within the last two decades. The arena Tourism Organisation estimates that a further two million Arabs will travel abroad inside the next two decades, taking its total of outbound tourists to 37 million, spending an estimated $20 billion and accounting for two.2% of world outbound travel, an increase of 0.7%.

    Riches concluded, ‘In the following 2 to three years the corporate is calling to grow its annual turnover to over £1bn USD. Today nearly all of our business is generated from the united kingdom. Our objective now could be to extend our business from other parts of the arena, to become a really global hotel provider. Our launch into the center East market is a key component to that strategy.

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  • News: car2go and The Parking Spot: Airport parking made easy

    On April 11, 2013, car2go North America, LLC, a completely owned subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, will debut a partnership in its corporate headquarters city of Austin, Texas, with The Parking Spot, the leading near-airport parking company inside the Country. This new partnership will allow car2go members to park their car2go edition smart fortwo vehicles on the Parking Spot, located adjacent to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

    “As the 1st car2go city in North America, Austin is on the forefront of innovative solutions that address urban mobility issues similar to airport transportation and parking,” said Paul DeLong , Chief Marketing Officer of car2go North America. “car2go is committed to providing the handiest and versatile mobility services to our members, and we’re thrilled to partner with The Parking Spot to supply an added part of accessibility to our members who live in, work in, and travel to Austin.”

    “Airport parking hasn’t ever been easier than with The Parking Spot, and this partnership with car2go further enhances our commitment to providing innovative transportation solutions to and from the airport. It’s an immense complement to our business,” said Chris Maguire , sales manager of The Parking Spot in Austin, Texas.

    More than 32,000 members within the Austin community have used car2go because the company opened to the general public in March 2010. The Austin network of 318 car2go edition smart fortwo vehicles, made from 300 fuel-powered and 18 electric-drive car2gos, travel a typical distance of three to five miles per trip inside the 46-square-mile car2go Home Area in Austin. car2go provides a terrific transportation option for brief or long trips in and round the city. The partnership with The Parking Spot often is the first airport parking option for car2go members in North America.
    How To apply The Parking Spot Airport Shuttle Service

    Eight designated parking spaces could be reserved for car2go vehicles on the Parking Spot, located at 1600 Highway 71 East. Members don’t have to pay The Parking Spot for using designated car2go parking spaces; instead, an extra $5 charge shall be billed to the member’s account for every trip taken to or from The Parking Spot. Parking is on the market 24 hours an afternoon, seven days every week.

    If the “Lot Full” sign is displayed or the car2go spots are occupied, car2go members might be directed to finish their trip in car2go designated overflow parking spaces. Because of the nature of airport travel, no stopovers should be allowed at this location; all trips ought to be ended when leaving a car2go on the Parking Spot.

    car2go members from anywhere within the U.S. may also pick up a car2go from The Parking Spot on their way into Austin. They need to verify a vehicle is offered before boarding The Parking Spot shuttle on the airport.

  • Record UK visitor numbers to Israel

    The Israel Government Tourist Office has announced an all time record in increased visitor numbers for May 2013.

    Visitors from the uk rose 21 per cent to 21,277 from 17,566 compared to May 2012 and five per cent when comparing the primary five months of 2013 against 2012 to 90,162 from 85,523.

    Naama Oryan-Kaplan, director, UK & Ireland, IGTO said: “It is exciting to look that the IGTO efforts in the UK market has seen a dramatic increase compared with an identical period in 2012 and is determined to continue with the open skies agreement which was signed earlier this year.

    “With the various marketing campaigns we now have planned, we’re confident the united kingdom market will continue to recognise that Israel is a destination which offers a global renowned tourism product.” 

    Overall, Israel has seen a rise of 5 per cent in visitor number around the globe in May 2013 when compared with the identical period in 2012 and nine per cent increase compared to 2011.

    Since the start of 2013 the rustic has received 1.4 million visitors, representing another record increase for the January to May period.

    Israeli tourism minister Uzi Landau said: “Tourism is a necessary economic growth engine for the economy – it creates jobs in cities and the periphery and generates about NIS 30 billion (approximately £5.28 billion) yearly.”