Travel Weekly (UK) articles from August 2005

Travel Weekly (UK) archives from August 2005

Spot the spot and win an iPod.
August 5, 2005... Tommy, Transhire's cheeky car, has escaped the office for the next few months and is travelling round the world. However, he has promised to stay in touch and is regularly sending postcards home. Tommy's first postcard has arrived on the...

Travel agency values sales by type of holiday:% breakdown.
August 5, 2005... *****1999****2000****2001****2002****2003****2004 Package Holiday****59.6****59****58.4****57.8****56.5****55.8 Flight only****22.0****22.7****23.4****24.0****25.3****25.7 City break****4.7****4.8****4.9****5.0****5.2****5.4 ...

A family beach holiday in Sri Lanka.
August 5, 2005... Travelcare 99 High Street I was served by a consultant who admitted she didn't know anything about Sri Lanka. I waited until one of her colleagues was free. However, it turned out this agent didn't know anything about the destination...

No time to gloat.
August 5, 2005... When, for example, Ian Reynolds was asked on Radio 4's Today programme for advice for people stranded abroad by the failure of EUjet, the correct answer would have been "contact EasyJet, Flybe or Monarch Scheduled, who have agreed to repatriate...

Highs and lows of the airline sector.
August 5, 2005... TRENDSin the airline sector since 2003 include scheduled flight capacity cuts, growth in the popularity of economy-class seats, and a small shift away from long-haul travel. From Euromonitor International's research, it is easy to see the...

Agents in for a bumpy ride.
August 5, 2005... growing through providing a value-added service." The industry is expected to stabilise at 6,029 outlets - a drop of 12% from current levels of 6,658, according to Euromonitor International's report Travel and Tourism in the UK. However,...

Niche is the way forward.
August 5, 2005... INDEPENDENT agents need to shift their product range more upmarket if they are to stake a claim for business between the surviving mass-market agents and the online retailers, according to new research by Euromonitor International. Agents...

Packages 'here to stay'.
August 5, 2005... THE uncertainty of UK weather conditions means beach package holidays will continue in popularity for "years to come", according to Euromonitor International. Beach holidays accounted for 70% of tour operator sales in 2004, and the figure...

CASE STUDY: TRAVEL COUNSELLORS' 500TH MEMBER.
August 5, 2005... ADELLESALISBURY is typical of many Travel Counsellors' homeworkers. Unable to see how she could juggle her job at a conventional travel agency with raising her two young children, Adelle bit the bullet and resigned from Bridge Travel to start...

Make yourself at home.
August 5, 2005... TRAVEL Counsellors has cited escalating pressure, inflexible hours and a decline in focus on the customer as the key reasons for agents turning their backs on the high street to start their own business. Bolton travel counsellor Sharon...

Discounts reach 'worrying' levels.
August 5, 2005... HOLIDAYExpress managing director David Powell has questioned the level of discounting operators are using to push business direct. The agent said levels are now getting "really worrying" following a client who found a major operator's...

24; hours in Cologne.
August 5, 2005... Cologne is the fourth largest cityin Germany and has stylish architecture, top-class museums, an endless parade of shops and excellent hotel facilities. It is also remarkably easy to get to, as the flying time from London is just over an hour....

The Mayan attraction.
August 5, 2005... IN the morning our boat glided through tropical rainforest along the calm waters of the Lago de Izabal lake. By evening, we had reached the colonial splendour of the city of Antigua. That's the beauty of Guatemala - such a diverse landscape...

Bacchus up.
August 5, 2005... THE Argentine tourist board has launched a new map of its Ruta del Vino, or Wine Trail, to take advantage of the UK's growing interest in wine tourism. Argentina's new National Institute for Tourism Promotion sees its vineyards, or...

Centroamerica 2006.
August 5, 2005... THIS year's Centroamerica Travel Market - the official trade show of the Central American Tourism Council - will be held in Panama, at the ATLAPA Convention Centre, from October 9-11. It's hoped more than 100 Central American travel...

Bolivia bouncing back.
August 5, 2005... BOLIVIA'S fledgling tourism industry is struggling to recover after the country's recent political upheaval. Protests and marches to nationalise gas reserves and install a new constitution, which has greater representation of the country's...

New tour division mooted.
August 5, 2005... ADVANTAGE is considering launching a member-wide group tours business. The consortium has been in talks with Albatross Travel to set up an Advantage-branded group tour division on behalf of its affiliates. Group tours will cover groups of...

Piedmont's Olympic boost.
August 5, 2005... More than [pounds sterling]3.4 billion is being pumped in to Italy's Piedmont region in preparation for the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games. An Olympic village, main stadium and ice hockey and skating facilities are all under construction in...

A Dam fine way to see China.
August 5, 2005... An eerie silence enveloped our ship as it slipped through the fog, heading down the mighty Yangtze towards the East China Sea. Through the gloom it was just possible to make out rice paddies rising from the water's edge, and above them the...

JFK gets Toon tied.
August 5, 2005... A PIECEof the Big Apple will land in Newcastle next May when American Airlines starts daily services to JFK Airport from the UK hub. American, which still needs to finalise its JFK slot times, plans to operate the route using a 188-seat,...

Agents are top for under 30s.
August 5, 2005... YOUNG people are the most likely to go to a travel agent for advice, according to a poll by technology company Amadeus. Of the 2,000 people in the YouGov poll, three-quarters of those under 30 were turn to agents for advice when planning a...

departures.
August 5, 2005... We've got good news and bad news this week. Kicking off with the bad, it's with heavy heart that we say farewell to our features editor Teresa Machan. After five years on Travel Weekly, she's jumped ship and left me in charge. So what does this...

Philippines gets active.
August 5, 2005... The Philippines' newly appointed UK tourism attache, Domingo Ramon Enerio, is hoping to raise the profile of the destination now it's back on the tourist map. Visitors from the UK to the Philippines topped 40,000 last year - representing...

Cruiselines setting sail for Asia.
August 5, 2005... offer huge future potential for Carnival brands," he added. Star Cruises, parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line and, so far, the only ocean-going cruiseline based in Asia, is already established in Hong Kong and Singapore, but has yet to...

UP Trips in agency talks.
August 5, 2005... UP Trips is in talks with eight independent agency chains who are interested in signing up to its accommodation-only division, Roomsandhotels.com. Glasgow-based Barrhead travel is expected to be the next agency to sign up to UP Trips'...

Somak puts faith in strength of agents.
August 5, 2005... Operator removes majority of direct contact details SOMAK Holidays is showing its support for the trade by removing the majority of direct contact messages from the main pages of its new Africa brochure. The operator has launched its...

Libra now ready for seconds.
August 5, 2005... LIBRA Holidays has reintroduced second-edition brochures with early-booking offers to make itself more competitive than last year. Sales and marketing director Paul Riches said the operator had learnt its lesson from last year when it...

Jo Malone lands at Heathrow.
August 5, 2005... If you've shopped 'til you've dropped at Heathrow Terminal 3, it's time to visit the tasting bar at the new Jo Malone store. The luxury beauty brand now has its own 500 sq ft stand-alone store in the airport, with all manner of weird and...

'New York's too pricey'.
August 5, 2005... Thomas Cook Signature considers 'less famous' options THOMAS Cook Signature has warned New York is pricing itself out of the market. Following the launch of the operator's America 2006 brochure, including Florida and Hawaii, US product...

Thea's UP, UP and away.
August 5, 2005... UP Trips work placement studentThea Howden raised almost [pounds sterling]500 for the Varity Club when she did a sponsored parachute jump. The Thomas Cook division - which manages Club 18-30, Flexibletrips and Roomsandhotels.com - donated...

Billy's got a brand new bag.
August 5, 2005... You buy yourself a new bikini and going-out gear for your annual holiday, so why do you insist on using the same beach bag year in, year out? Chuck it out right now and replace it with a stylish piece from Billy Bag. The trendy accessories...

of the best alternative city breaks.
August 5, 2005... famous love story ever written. Less touristy than Paris, Verona is ideal for meandering, with narrow side streets, trattorias and medieval buildings. The pace is slower than its French counterpart, too, with no metro to negotiate, meaning...

It's luxury all the way for Kuoni.
August 5, 2005... LUXURY breaks are becoming more popular across all sectors of the market, Kuoni has reported. Product director Frances Torrilla said 35% of all bookings made through the operator's Family Holidays 2005 brochure are either for five-star or...

Try a real chocolate factory.
August 5, 2005... As every girl knows, there's nothing like a delicious helping of chocolate to get the tastebuds going, cheer us up or get us in the mood for love. Stir in a helping of ultra-sexy Hollywood hunk Johnny Depp (pictured left) - star of Charlie...

Treasured forever.
August 5, 2005... THOMSON Holidays has launched the UK's first online printed photo album service. The operator has responded to a 150% rise in the use of digital cameras over the past four years. The technology allows web users to design their own album by...

Cheapflights rockets.
August 5, 2005... THECheapflghts Group is predicting it will double its advertisers' sales by surpassing the [pounds sterling]1 billion mark in 2005. The figures include Cheapflights.co.uk, Cheapholidaydeals. co.uk, Cheapaccommodation.com, and US site...

Thomas Cook backs Larnaca.
August 5, 2005... LARNACA has returned to mainstream prominence for the first time in five years after Thomas Cook included the Cypriot resort in its second-edition Greece and Cyprus summer 2006 brochure. Palm Beach Hotel and Bungalows manager Antonis...

Do you cash in?
August 5, 2005... CASHis still the preferred means of payment by travel businesses, according to findings from the Alliance and Leicester. In a YouGov poll of 531 managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, it was revealed 72% think cash is the easiest...

Gaydar's new travel service.
August 5, 2005... RADIO station and Internet dating service Gaydar has moved into the travel industry and joined the Travel Trust Association. A [pounds sterling]1 million marketing and promotions campaign across its media network will support the launch of...

Novotel aimsfor more stars.
August 5, 2005... NOVOTEL wants to harness the influence of the trade as it tries to shed its mid-market image and embarks on a plan to remake itself as a more upmarket brand. Owned by French hotel giant Accor, Novotel is planning an expansion aimed at...

All change at last for Air Canada.
August 5, 2005... AIR Canada's long-awaited international fleet revamp has been formally announced with promises of an "extreme makeover" by August 2006. Promises of a long-haul fleet overhaul were first made last year (Travel Weekly, December 10, 2004)....

Superbreaks grabs lates advantage.
August 5, 2005... SUPERBREAK's three-year-old beach accommodation-only brochure has benefited from other operators cutting capacity with last week's sales for the Costa Blanca up 245% on last year's. Sales director Ian Mounser said the decision made by...

Hilton reveals new structure.
August 5, 2005... HILTONhas revealed details of its new terms and conditions and agent commission structure for meetings and conferences, which it hopes will ensure it remains the UK's market leader in the sector. Welcomed by both the Meetings Industry...

Panorama moves back into Eilat.
August 5, 2005... PANORAMA is reintroducing Eilat to its winter sun programme after dropping it following the start of the war in Iraq. Head of marketing John Riley said he believed people are becoming more comfortable with the idea of holidaying in Eilat...

Getting active on-board.
August 5, 2005... AGENTS are being introduced to the activities on offer to Royal Caribbean International passengers following the launch of its 2006 brochure last month. Next year the cruiseline will set new standards in on-board activities with the launch...

Letting the train take the strain.
August 5, 2005... VIRGINTrains claims business travellers are desertingairlines between London and Manchester because it's more convenient and cheaper to go by rail. The operator cites Civil Aviation Authority figures showing an 11.9% year-on-year decrease...

Hello? Is anybody there?
August 5, 2005... INSIDER is all for travel companies embracing the Internet, but come on guys, why invest thousands into your whizz-bang web pages only to undermine yourselves with answering machine messages that let you down? We recently surfed the...

Travel2/4 gives power to agents.
August 5, 2005... panel - has new features which give agents extra control over their business, including flexible margin settings. The technology, developed by parent company Cendant and Microsoft in Australia, allows agents to pre-set their margins by...

Agents taking Liberties.
August 5, 2005... EAGLE-EYED viewers of the Sky Travel channel in coming months may spot one or two esteemed members of the UKtravel trade in party mode. A film crew was on duty during the recent three-night inaugural Carnival Liberty cruise from Trieste to...

Take note Europhobes.
August 5, 2005... EUROPHOBIA remains buoyant in Britain with nearly half the population unable to recognise the currency's notes. Despite the gaudy nature of the money, a survey of 1,000 people released by Post Office travel services found 49% were unable to...

Court rejects claim.
August 5, 2005... THE High Court has rejected a [pounds sterling]3.5 million claim against Cosmos after a man was paralysed following a swimming pool accident. Holidaymaker Sean Healy incurred spinal injuries, leaving him paralysed from the waist down,...

Europe tops food poisoning poll.
August 5, 2005... ASURVEYhas found a quarter of holidaymakers suffered food poisoning in the past two years, with European destinations such as Spain and Greece most likely to be the the source of illness. Independent hotel hygiene watchdog Check Safety...

North Cyprus plans campaign.
August 5, 2005... THE North Cyprus Tourism Centre plans a [pounds sterling]200,000 advertising campaign after a judge quashed Transport for London's decision to ban its holiday advertisements. Following a judicial review at the High Court, Mr Justice Newman...

What is euromonitor?
August 5, 2005... Euromonitor International publishes strategic market reports on the travel and tourism industry in 41 countries worldwide and at regional and global level. Each Euromonitor report offers in-depth dataand analysis on holiday and business...

What a load of poppy-cock...
August 5, 2005... IT'S a well-known fact that Steve Endacott has such an ability to spin, he makesNew Labour luvvies weep with jealousy. However, in his quest for ceaselessself-promotion this week, he's left us baffled by his company's price comparisons with...

First EasyHotel opens.
August 5, 2005... EASY tycoon Stelios Haji-Ioannou has opened the first EasyHotel in London with room rates of [pounds sterling]20 to [pounds sterling]50 per night. The hotel, a former bed and breakfast in South Kensington, has 34 rooms classed as small,...

Iran to debut at WTM.
August 5, 2005... IRAN is to exhibit at this year's World Travel Market for the first time. Seyed Hossein Mar'ashi, deputy president and head of the new Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation of Iran, will lead the delegation, which will include 12...

New blood at Caribtours.
August 5, 2005... CARIBTOURS has made two new appointments as it expands into Cuba and Mexico. Ex-Thomas Cook Signature senior product and contracts manager Christina Hunter-Locke joins as general manager, while former travel agency New Century Reservations...

No room in the skies for EUjet.
August 5, 2005... BUDGETairline EUjetwas doomed to failure by its flawed business model and the saturated marketplace, aviation industry experts have said. The Ireland-registered airline, which started flying from Kent International Airport last September,...

Having the Power for a career change.
August 5, 2005... TRAVEL Counsellors recruitment manager Christine Power has given up her job at head office to set up as a personal travel counsellor in her own right. Power has been with Travel Counsellors since chairman David Speakman set up the...

Just Go for expansion.
August 5, 2005... AGENCY chain Just Go has announced further rapid expansion plans with a deal to provide holidays to Post Office staff and open three more high-street shops. The Birkenhead-based firm started with just one shop in Mold, North Wales, in...

'Low-costs should fill the gap'.
August 5, 2005... AKENTtravel agent has called on the UK's budget airlines to "fill the gap" EUjet's collapse has left at Kent International Airport. Travel Counsellors personal travel counsellor Sue Osborne, based in Westgate-on-Sea, thinks it will take...

Souk up Morocco.
August 5, 2005... THIS year's ABTA Convention in Marrakesh, Morocco, is proving popular with 600 delegates signing up and three hotels sold out in the nine days since registrations opened. Operators TUI and Kuoni have confirmed they will host 180 agents...

Agents unlikely to make a loss.
August 5, 2005... TRAVELagents should not be left out of pocket by EUjet's collapse, ABTA has insisted. A spokesman said he did not know of any UK agent who'd lost money from the airline failure. However, if any agents used an agency credit card to book...

Agents to sell cash card.
August 5, 2005... A TRAVEL cash card is being rolled out to agents, offering a new source of foreign-exchange revenue without the hassle of handling cash. The card is being trialled across 20 independents, with plans to extend it to 1,000 within a year. ...

Operators adopt TTI standards.
August 5, 2005... FIFTY operators, agents and technology companies are using Travel Technology Initiative's viewdata replacement data standards TOPAS and TORIX. The two standards, designed by the big four, allow operators to pass information to...

Going loco in Acapulco?
August 5, 2005... I would like to ask Royal Caribbean International about the way it handled changes to our cruise. We booked our 2005 cruise in September 2004. It was leaving from San Diego,California, and calling at CaboSan Lucas, Acapulco and Huatulco...

Getting some Assistance.
August 5, 2005... HARVEYWorld Travel has appointed Europ Assistance to provide travel insurance to its 500 franchises worldwide. Harvey World Travel managing director John Donnelly, centre, is pictured with brokers Citybond Suretravelmanaging director...

Really bad treatment.
August 5, 2005... I feel compelled to write to you about the attitude of Argo Holidays after the recent Sharm el-Sheikh bombings. We had clients due to leave for Sharm el-Sheikh on July 31. They, understandably, felt they did not want to travel. When we...

Why take the exams?
August 5, 2005... I am due to take the ABTA travel insurance exams quite soon and I am quite curious as to why we are actually being made to take these exams in the first place. I have been selling travel insurance for the past three years and some of my...

It's time to switch lanes.
August 5, 2005... I'VE been in the travel industry for 16 years and have seen pretty much everything. But I recently sent one of my valued business customers on a First Choice flight - on which the air stewardess started chatting to him, asking where he booked....

Thanks for support.
August 5, 2005... I was one of the many travel consultants to be affected by the failure of EUjet, having 81 passengers booked with the airline. Luckily for me, Travel Counsellors operates a financial trust, so I could reassure my passengers straight away...

Some of us were up-to-date.
August 5, 2005... I read with some despair Andrew Dixon's letter (Travel Weekly, July 29), regarding the lack of information available following the Sharm el-Sheikh bombings. By 7am on the morning of the attacks, Peltours staff were answering the phones,...

January deadline for ADMs.
August 5, 2005... AIRLINEShave until January 1 to tell agents how changes to International Air Transport Association rules regarding agency debit memos will affect their businesses. The new IATAresolution, number 850m, sets out how IATA airlines using bank...

Experience not wanted apparently.
August 5, 2005... Often I read in your columns that there is a shortage of experience and skill in the travel industry. Yet despite this, if you are over a certain age - even with the skills and experience companies seem to want - nobody wants you. Of...

Recruiters can't help.
August 5, 2005... I have become disillusioned with travel recruitment agencies. Having spent the past six months on the register of at least four agencies, I can count on one hand the number of interviews I have attended. The recruiters seem unable to...

ABTA did best for Sharm.
August 5, 2005... A number of people have commented on the industry's reaction to the recent bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh - particularly in relation to the disaster occurring over a weekend. Of course, there is always room for improvement in response times, but I...

Claim form necessary.
August 5, 2005... Although ABTA sympathises with Francis Flin after his comments in last week's Travel Weekly (July 29) about the inconvenience of getting his client to complete a claim form, the fact remains that for the claim to be considered, this must be...

Future of ships looks little and large.
August 5, 2005... A REPORTinto thefuture of the cruise industry has predicted it will become increasingly polarised. The Implications of Fleet Changes for Cruise Market Prospects to 2014 report said the trend for larger ships will continue, according to...

Floods lead to 30% cut in Mumbai flights.
August 5, 2005... MUMBAI authorities have enforced a 30% capacity cut on the Indian city's airport to help it recover from record-breaking floods. More than 1,000 people died as a result of a 37-inch deluge on July 26. The airport shut temporarily on July...

It's all about the brand.
August 5, 2005... MIDCONSORT is launching an industry-first consortium-branded worldwide summer 2006 brochure at a cost of [pounds sterling]50,000. Chief executive Charles Eftichiou has sent out letters to its top 30 suppliers, including Thomson, Thomas...

Ain't Notting like it.
August 5, 2005... FOUR keyCaribbean islands have pledged their continued support to the Notting Hill Carnival and have refused to get involved in a rival event organised by mayor of London Ken Livingstone. The St Kitts, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago...

BMIboss hits out as route is axed.
August 5, 2005... BMIhas blamed UK and European Union government officials for its decision to stop flying between Manchester and Washington from October 30. It launched the route in 2001 and flies a Boeing 757 aircraft between the cities six times weekly....

Death highlights responsibility.
August 5, 2005... ABTAcalled on to raise awareness of skin cancer among clients AN Essex travel agent is calling on ABTA to do more to warn consumers about the dangers of developing skin cancer. Jill Wilkinson, who runs Premier Leisure in Seven Kings,...