Budapest Airport’s expectations for further development in 2017 continue with the welcome arrival of new airline partner Ukraine International Airlines. Launching a daily link to Kiev Boryspil on 15 June, utilising its fleet of two-class configured 737-800s, the Ukrainian flag carrier will face no direct competition on the 908-kilometre sector. While the Hungarian gateway has not directly served Ukraine’s largest airport since 2012, Budapest experienced a significant 24% jump in Ukrainian...
Tourism can transform our world and build better understanding in a world living a deficit of tolerance said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, at the opening ceremony of the 2017 edition of ITB Berlin (Berlin, Germany, 7 March 2016). “We live the worst of times and the best of times. Times when we wake up every other day with the threat of terrorism at our doorstep and the glooming numbers of unemployment. Times of isolationism and ill-conceived actions like travel bans, which do not lead...
Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, a global hospitality company, announced the “Top Meeting Trends for 2017” as observed by its properties. Benchmark is a leading U.S.-based hospitality management company, which operates 70 award-winning hotels, resorts, and conference centers within its Benchmark Resorts & Hotels and Gemstone Collection brands in locations coast to coast, off shore, and internationally. Ted Davis, Benchmark’s chief sales & marketing officer, made the...
Marco Polo Hotels has appointed HR specialist, Ms. Rosemary Tam, as Group Director of Human Resources. Previously with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, Rosemary joins Marco Polo Hotels to roll out talent acquisition and HR strategies for the successful hospitality group whose upscale deluxe hotel brand, Marco Polo, and upper luxury hotel brand Niccolo, are making significant headway in the region. Formerly with W Hong Kong and Le Meridien Cyberport as Director of Human Resources...
Visitors to the MENA region will total 195 million by 2030, growing at a rate higher than the world average, according to figures by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The rapid development of the sector will form part of the discussion at the UNWTO & ATM Ministerial Forum at the Arabian Travel Market, which is being held from April 24-27 in Dubai World Trade Centre. The Forum returns to the show repertoire this year, with a particular focus on the contribution of tourism to...
True to its mission, Dusit Thani works to empower its people to exceed expectations. The company believes that to be the best, it must first look within, and it recognizes that happy employees equal happy guests. The company is proud to provide every member of the Dusit family with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver personalized service and extraordinary experiences while feeling secure in their jobs. Reaffirming this commitment to its staff, Dusit Thani Plc (DTC) will maintain its...
Pioneer in the LGBT market in Italy, Alessio Virgili, sole director/founder and director of the Tour Operator, Quiiky, which is now part of Saunders & Beach Group, has achieved the 10-year goal of being in business, but not without facing initial prejudices on the part of retailers of LGBT products as well as by customers not ready to expose themselves to criticism. The ten years of activity was celebrated recently at the Hotel Radisson Blu Rome surrounded by the trade press with whom...
RwandAir has confirmed that it is now, under fifth freedom rights, connecting Libreville with Abidjan, via Douala. This added connection has vastly improved connectivity between these three major West African cities without having to fly half-way across the continent to reach the final destination. Set to launch services on April 3 to Mumbai, the airline has improved their West Africa network ahead of going intercontinental for the first time in its history to tap into that market for...
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is to bring its successful Global Insights Conference format to Europe as part of the Macedonia Tourism Summit 2017. The PATA Global Insights Conference (PGIC) Europe Edition takes place at the Marriott Hotel in Skopje on Tuesday June 20th with the theme ‘Building Tourism Bridges’. The conference, hosted generously by Tourism Macedonia, is part of a three-day programme that also embraces the International Travel Crisis Management Summit (June 19th)...
The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) and the US-Japan Council (USJC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit educational organization, announce the first ever Japan-Hawaii Economic Summit to be held in Kona, Hawaii from May 9 to 11, 2017. The summit seeks to accelerate regional and international exchange with prefectures in Japan that have interests in and connections with Hawaii. “Hawaii and Japan have a unique and significant relationship,” said Gov. David...
Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced that the World Bank has agreed to partner with Jamaica and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in staging the historic Global Conference on Building Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism for Development, which will be staged from November 27 to 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James. The move is aimed at boosting the global impact and positioning of the conference. Speaking at the first press briefing...
The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, visited another 10 tourism properties on Mahe last week. Minister Loustau-Lalanne is conducting a series of door-to-door visits to tourism properties in the country to meet the management teams and staff, and to get an idea of the various products that the Seychelles’ tourism industry has to offer to the world. During his visits, Minister Loustau-Lalanne discusses the main challenges that these establishments...
With the aim of ensuring that visitors receive the best possible service during their stay in Seychelles, a one-day training session was organized for all the tourism commission agents in the country last week. Held at the ex-national assembly hall, National Cultural Centre, the session was organized by the tourism department in collaboration with the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA). The training was a prerequisite for the commission agents to obtain the new license conditions to which they...
At a brief ceremony held at the Madrid Headquarters of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at 2000 hours on Saturday, 4 March 2017, Dr. Walter Mzembi, the African Union-endorsed candidate for the post of Secretary General of the UNWTO, deposited his official nomination papers with the incumbent Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rifai. Although the deadline for the deposit of the papers is midnight on 11 March 2017, Dr. Mzembi decided to detour through Madrid at the beginning of his...
Following a historic year for the company in 2016, Marriott International, Inc. announced today that it expects to dramatically increase the size of its portfolio in Europe across all segments of the industry. The planned expansion in Europe is the first development vision announced for the continent since the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in September 2016. “2016 was a momentous year for both the company and our continent team. We added 40,000 rooms in Europe...
The Airports Council International (Global) has announced the winners of the 2016 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, naming Heathrow as the Best Airport in Europe amongst airports with over 40 million passengers for 2016. The awards are particularly significant for Heathrow as they are voted by passengers themselves, reflecting the views of travellers from right across the globe. Alongside the award of ‘Best Airport in Europe’, Heathrow achieved its best ever annual ASQ passenger...
Benchmark, a global hospitality company, has named noted hospitality and restaurant executive, Todd Parmelee, vice president of food & beverage. In his new role, Mr. Parmelee will oversee the operations of all food and beverage departments for each of Benchmark’s 70 properties within the expanding Benchmark Resorts & Hotels and Gemstone Collection portfolios. He comes to Benchmark’s senior team with an exceptional background in food and beverage operations, entertainment...
For several decades the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has published forecasts of international visitor demand across a range of destinations within the Asia Pacific region. The report, to be released in April, contains forecasts for international visitor arrivals to 39 destinations within the region for the period 2017 to 2021. It is important to note that the PATA forecasts relate to visitor arrivals as opposed to tourists (overnight visitors). This is done to consider the many near...
Iran said on Tuesday that it would continue its retaliatory measure of barring US visitors in response to President Donald Trump’s updated travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries. “Our earlier counter-measure against Trump’s previous order is still in place,” said deputy foreign minister Majid Takht Ravanchi. “There is no need for a new decision,” he said, according to the ISNA news agency. Iran’s foreign ministry announced in January it would ban Americans from entering the country in...
The international tourism industry currently faces many challenges. Amid the latest geopolitical situation holidaymakers have become unsure about how safe it is to travel. From 8 to 12 March 2017 ITB Berlin will debate highly controversial issues and on the eve of the 51st edition continues to maintain its strong market position. At the World’s Leading Travel Trade Show there is no sign that people’s lust for travel has waned. Once again, the 26 halls on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds are fully...
The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, in a joint press conference with Tourism Australia, announced that it will increase seasonal flight frequencies on the Jakarta – Australia routes from 4 to 5 flights per week and Bali – Australia routes from 6 to 7 flights per week from May until October 2017. This comes on the back of strong visitor arrivals from Indonesia to Australia in 2016 and improved route performance supported by its successful partnership campaign with Tourism...
Despite some fears to the contrary, international inbound travel to the US posted strong growth in January 2017, according to the US Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index (TTI). But US Travel economists stress that the most recent TTI is based on January data—mostly prior to the executive order on visa policy issued by President Trump on January 27, which is widely anticipated to show an impact on the international travel market. A complete set of data reflecting the post...
21 products and ideas are in the finals of the 2017 Crystal Cabin Awards, the world’s most renowned prize for innovation in aircraft interiors. From a parking guidance system for cabin baggage to a lavatory mirror that displays on-board video and information as if by magic, the finalists’ submissions include innovative ideas for pretty much every aspect of the cabin – revealing today how we will be flying in the world of tomorrow. In the field of “Cabin Concepts” in particular, the giants are...
“I have been asked to ‘downplay’ this, because there is now some government reaction, but truth told, this needs to be made public to show the potentially devastating consequences of such farm, ranch, and conservancy invasions to Kenya’s tourism industry, and worst of all, at the start of an election year which is already causing concerns among leading overseas tour operators. “The Kenyan government needs to react much stronger, with much greater determination to stamp out this menace and nip...
After Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) won Category One status from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month, there are new hopes heralding East African tourism, looking for faster growth through the Kenyan entry point. By attaining the highest International Aviation Safety Assessment status, Kenya is now standing as East Africa’s aviation hub for American tourists booked to the East African Community (EAC) member states most of whom are lacking key tourist...
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is pleased to welcome Cristal Group to its lineup for the exhibition scheduled for April 24-27. ATM is a global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, and is now in its 24th year, generating more than $2.5 billion in travel industry deals. The annual business-to-business (B2B) exhibition showcases over 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 26,000 buyers and travel trade visitors across four days at the Dubai...
Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, departed the island yesterday (March 5, 2017) to attend the largest tourism tradeshow in the world – ITB Berlin, now underway in Germany. While there, the Minister will seek to promote the destination and encourage investment in the country’s tourism industry through the Ministry’s Shovel Ready initiative. “ITB Berlin will provide an excellent environment to network with some of the industry’s leading travel and tourism influencers across the...
The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) has thanked the French press for their valued support given to the destination over the years, which has contributed towards the increase of arrival figures from this European market. The Director for Europe, Bernadette Willemin, echoed these words of thanks to representatives of the French press during a press conference held at the Hotel Hilton Opera in Paris on March 2. Mrs. Willemin said arrival figures from France virtually doubled over the last 10 years...
Moxy Hotels, Marriott International’s experiential hotel brand, continues to make its mark on the hospitality scene with the launch of its first hotel in London, a city world-renowned for art, culture and nightlife. Characterized by a vibrant, playful design and approachable service, Moxy London Excel offers the style and spirit of a boutique hotel at a surprisingly affordable price. Moxy London Excel joins an exciting portfolio of eight global destinations including Munich, Milan, Berlin...
Today, Mr. Marcio Favilla Lucca de Paula made it official. In Madrid, he handed his documents to compete for the UNWTO Secretary General position to current Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. Mr. Favilla Lucca de Paula is currently Executive Director for Competitiveness, External Relations and Partnerships at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) based in Madrid, Spain. He has been in this position since January 2010. From April 2007, Mr. Favilla Lucca de Paula was Vice Minister of the...
