Travel Bulletin 30th September 2011 by Alain Charles Publishing

September 30 2011 | ISSUE NO 1,750 | www.travelbulletin.co.uk

A special souvenir issue to mark our 2011 Star Awards

star awards 2011

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All about

The Eastern Mediterranean September 2011

TRAINING TEAM...Silversea hosted 20 agents in Manchester recently for a Champagne reception and dinner. Agents were given the opportunity to meet the line’s senior vice president for UK, Europe & Asia Pacific, Steve Odell, and learn about the latest developments including advice on how to sell luxury cruising and information on the relaunch of its online training programme, Silversea Academy. Pictured at the reception are, from the left: John Pollard, North American Travel Service; Sue Houldsworth, Cresta World Travel; Gaynor Atherton, Carrier Travel; Alison Logan, Carrier Travel; and Steve Odell.

Quarter of over 55s considering a ‘gap year’ within the next two years Your one-stop gu ide

to all the latest news and developments in the Eastern Medite rranean

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The Eastern Mediterranean supplement with this issue

This Week 3

news

agent bulletin

TTA Worldchoice Conference

A round-up of the latest products, trends & deveopments in the industry

TIPTO members offer a range of incentives for autumn

the latest news & developments from this year's conference in Salou, Spain

Travel Bulletin 2011 Star Awards

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WITH STUDENTS scrambling for university places this year, the ‘gap year’ is no longer an option for many post A-level students, according to new research by Post Office Travel Insurance. Figures from the survey reveal that just 19% of students are currently considering a gap year or extended break, compared to a quarter of over 55s. ‘Grey Gappers’ are now picking up on what was traditionally the reserve of young students, and jetting off abroad for an extended break. Intrepid over 55s will take a shorter gap travelling for just over three and a half months, compared to those under 35 who spend on average just under five months travelling. However, over 55s will spend more to make sure they get good quality accommodation and the most from their time away.

On average ‘Grey Gappers’ will spend £4,136 in total on their trip - the equivalent of £53.03 per day - compared to under 35s who will spend £3,100, the equivalent of £30.10 per day. Following the lead of students, the most popular gap year destinations for over 55s include backpacker havens Australia (36%) and New Zealand (27%). However their sense of adventure is also taking them as far afield as India (8%), Vietnam (9%) and Hong Kong (10%). The research also found that just a quarter of people planning an extended trip purchased a specific gap year policy, with 6% not taking out any insurance at all. Of those who did purchase a specific gap year policy, 41% read the terms and conditions to check they would be covered for specific activities.

Sarah Munro, the company’s head of travel insurance, said: “Age shouldn’t be a barrier when it comes to experiencing different cultures and spreading your wings. Whilst holidays are a fantastic way to explore a new country, taking that extra bit of time out to travel and really get to grips with a place is great fun no matter how old you are. “It’s worrying though that so few gap year holidaymakers take out adequate insurance. If you’re going abroad for an extended period of time, the most vital areas to be insured for are medical treatment, repatriation in case you need to be flown home, and cancellation in case you fall ill and are unable to travel.” For more information call 0800-294 6158 or visit www.postoffice.co.uk

September 30 2011

newsbulletin New organisation of Kuoni’s Outbound Europe division announced THE KUONI Group has announced a new operational structure following the recent acquisition of GTA. All European tour operating arms of the group will operate under a new division called Outbound Europe. The ability to share group knowledge and support services means the UK

arm is given more muscle in the market and division consists of Outbound Kuoni Nordic, Outbound Kuoni Europe sales units, a new online/mobile unit and a Procurement & Production unit. Joanna Edmunds, the new head of the Procurement & Production unit said: “By consistently bundling these

activities and aligning product development initiatives more closely, we will be able to generate significant further synergies within our European tour operating business, strengthen our buying position and improve the product and service offerings to our customers.”

Prestige launches annual brochure with new hotels in seven destinations PRESTIGE HOLIDAYS has launched its second year-round “Destinations” brochure with prices leading in at £529 per person for a week’s breakfast stay at the Hacienda San Jorge apartments in La Palma including direct flights, the services of a local representative and private transfers. The brochure features new hotels in Turkey, Cyprus, Spain, Mallorca, the Algarve, Lanzarote and La Palma. The operator’s marketing manager Nicky Shafe said: “This year’s brochure offers clients more added value and includes early booking offers, free nights, meals and great reductions for families. Solo travellers are also very important to us so we are offering no single

supplements across a range of hotels at certain times of the year. Our new brochure is now also available online.” New for next year is the Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, where the company is offering a saving of £76 per person for bookings made before January 31, 2012 and also free child stays for children under seven sharing their parents’ room. Seven nights at Gloria Golf in April starts from £773 per person including flights from Gatwick and private transfers. In Cyprus the operator has added the adults only Asimina Suites, an all-suite hotel in Paphos, where a week’s breakfast stay in April leads in at £969 per person including flights from

Gatwick, private transfers and a local representative. Other new additions include the recently renovated Amathus Beach in Limassol, Melia Marbella Banus in Southern Spain programme, the fourstar Cala Fornells and the four-star Grand Palace De Muro in Mallorca, the Martinhal Beach Resort in the Algarve and La Casona De Yaiza in La Palma. The new brochure also features holidays in Gran Canaria and Tenerife in the Canaries as well as breaks to Malta, Gozo, Crete, the Italian Lakes, Madeira and Porto Santo and Morocco. For more information call 01425-480400 or visit www.prestigeholidays.co.uk

newsbulletin Tweets of the Week Who’s saying what on Twitter... travelchannel Planning a trip to Boston on the cheap? Here are some of our picks for affordable Boston hotels: bit.ly/qCSAIw cunardline Politician David Blunkett will be a guest speaker on board Queen Elizabeth’s Adriatic voyage departing on 6 October: http://ht.ly/6F3Ru allanlambert Butlins‘ new Wave Hotel and Apartments to welcome first guests in May 2012. PLANETWEDDINGS National Wedding Show, Earls Court, London! Join us and our hotel partners from Friday Sept 30 till Sunday 02 Oct, stand H10. LegerHolidays New Battlefield Tours for 2012 bit.ly/oLV2DZ bmibaby_com Leave the bikes behind and explore the quieter side of Amsterdam on a canal cruise: bit.ly/p1DqBG

CONDOR COUP....Nathan Roe of Steamond Travel was the winner of Condor’s competition that ran in Travel Bulletin in July. Nathan is pictured receiving his prize of two return flights to any of the airline’s Latin American destinations from the carrier’s sales and marketing assistant Julia Lukas.

Olympic issues 2012 Summer Sun brochure OLYMPIC HOLIDAYS has launched its 436-page Summer Sun 2012 brochure featuring a selection of holidays in the Central & Eastern Mediterranean and on the Red Sea Riviera. The programme includes hotels in all categories up to five-star deluxe, plus all-inclusive and adults-only, along with self-catering studios and apartments and villas with their own pool. An early booking discount of up to £2,490 per person (up to £4,980 per couple) is offered on holidays booked by December 31 and a deposit of £49 per person will secure any holiday. Bookings made by the year’s end at selected properties earn ‘two weeks for the price of one’ on holidays taken from May 1 to June 30 and between September 20 and October 31, 2012. Savings for groups are also available. For example, groups booking an apartment holiday by February 28, 2012 qualify for a free place, ranging from one in eight to one in 30. Meanwhile, the new Greek island destinations of Samos, Lesvos and Thassos have been added to the brochure’s ‘Alternative Greece’ section while two five-star Sharm el Sheikh properties have also been added - the Marriott Beach Resort Sharm and Stella Di Mare Beach Hotel & Spa – and the three-star Iberotel Dahabeya Hotel in Dahab. Brochure prices lead in at £259 per person for seven nights’ self-catering at the Christos Apartments in Arillas on the Greek island of Corfu, sharing studio accommodation. For details call 0844-576 2386 or visit www.olympicholidays.com

superbreak Head to Amsterdam or Bruges on a 4 night Minicruise break from £109pp! bit.ly/ebOANB Hoseasons Fancy a great value getaway? Hoseasons’ parks have deals from £99 bit.ly/puC8qG

TRAINING TRIO...AITO Specialist Travel Agents held a free product training session for its members in London recently, where they were updated on important developments across AITO’s tour operator partners. Pictured are Vicky Johnson and Shane Mallon (right) from Capricorn Travel with Alex Bentley of Audley Travel.

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newsbulletin Winter offerings in Austria from Mondial CECTA MEMBER Mondial has announced its winter offerings which cover all the ski areas of Austria. More than 100 hotels are now available to book for stays between November and April 2012. The company’s product portfolio comprises all types of properties - from five-star all-inclusive packages to apartments on a bed-and-breakfast basis in Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper and lower Austria, Styra and Carinthia. For more information visit www.mondial-travel.com

Superbreak launches Christmas & New Year brochure SUPERBREAK HAS launched its Christmas and New Year brochure featuring a range of festive breaks, new hotel packages and new events. It covers 238 Christmas breaks and 217 New Year breaks as well as other festive treats such as Christmas Markets both in the UK and Europe, rail inclusive shopping breaks, and theatre breaks to see all the leading West End Shows. As an example of prices, a New Year in London option offers three nights dinner, bed-and-breakfast at Hampstead Britannia Hotel for £210 per person. It includes a New Year’s Eve dinner and entertainment. Turkey and Tinsel breaks lead in at £106 per person for a four-night break at the three star Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool. For more information call 0871-221 4444 or visit www.superbreak.com/agents

h c t a W Ones to mmes el progra v a tr p to the A pick of ant to miss... w 't n o d you

A South American Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby on Sunday 2nd October at 20:00 on BBC Two

Dimbleby embarks on a 6,000-mile journey through Brazil and finds that the road to riches is paved with dilemmas for both Brazil and the wider world. On the coast, descendants of runaway slaves are fighting the expansion of a satellite launch facility to protect their land.

Food Tripper - London on Thursday 6th October at 20:00 on The Travel Channel

Touted as the culinary capital of the world, London is home to The world’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards and is known for its ‘Michelin Mile’ in Park Lane. Helen Hokin meets the 11th Earl of Sandwich, pops into high profile venues like Marcus Wareing’s restaurant in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and sheds a light on contemporary street food culture.

Blaggers & Bloggers Who's doing what on social networking sites ●

NORWEGIAN CRUISE Line will host its first Tweetup at sea - dubbed the SeaTweetup Cruise (@SeaTweetup). Coordinated by members of the South Florida social media community, the cruise departs from Miami on 18 November 2011 and will set sail on a three-day weekend getaway to the Bahamas returning on November 21. The social-savvy sailing, which starts from $271 (approximately £167) per person, will allow social media enthusiasts to meet onboard and participate in exclusive networking events including social media marketing panels and discussions. Participants will also have access to the ship’s Wi-fi network, as well as invitations to exclusive in-port events to post, tweet, and blog throughout the weekend.

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REGENT HOLIDAYS has launched a new blog that features stories from more than 40 destinations across the Balkans, Baltics and Eastern Europe, reflecting the travels and experience of the company’s team. To follow the new blog visit www.regentholidays.co.uk/blog

GREAT BROCHURE LAUNCH....Great Rail Journeys and Treyn unveiled its new brochures at an AITO agent training day in Manchester recently. Pictured from the left is Tony Byrne from GRJ/ Treyn with Ruth Taylor and Sally Dixon from Spear Travel in Boroughbridge.

30 September 2011

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newsbulletin Danube Express adds Polish Explorer route for 2012 with prices from £2,590 DANUBE EXPRESS is preparing to launch its 2012 programme of rail journeys and has announced a new Polish Explorer route, which captures the essence of Poland from the Danube to the Baltic. The route will visit seven historic towns and cities in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Carrying 50 passengers and offering a combination of modern amenities and traditional style, the train transports passengers back in time to discover castles,

cathedrals and gothic architecture. After a Champagne reception in the Royal Waiting Room at Budapest’s Nyugati station, guests board the train for four days of discovery. Leaving Budapest behind, the train follows the River Danube where passengers are treated to a view of the Visegrad Castle, a medieval royal fortress. A lunch of regional specialities is served in the restaurant car as the train heads west through Slovakia, arriving in Bratislava. Guests can then take a tour of the Old

Town and the castle that overlooks the river, before continuing through the Moravian countryside of the Czech Republic. Guests then arrive in Cracow the following morning and after breakfast can take a tour that explores the city’s past. Highlights include Wawel Castle, the medieval Market Square and the Cloth Hall. Other highlights of the journey include a visit to Wieliczka to see one of the world’s oldest salt mines, now a World Heritage site

and a visit to Malbork, once a stronghold of the Teutonic Knights. The trip departs on June 30 and July 3 and costs £2,590 per person, based on two sharing an airconditioned compartment with en-suite shower/WC. It includes three nights on the train with all meals, free wine, beer and soft drinks, all scheduled sightseeing and the services of a train manager. Flights are extra. For more information call 01462-441400 or visit www.danube-express.com

Two for one mini cruise deals from P&O P&O FERRIES is offering customers the chance to take a mini cruise to Holland or Belgium this autumn on a two for one deal. When one pays one goes free on the company’s overnight mini cruise services from Hull – Rotterdam or Hull – Zeebrugge. Fares start from £72 based on two sharing an en-suite cabin and include coach transfers to Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Bruges for a day ashore sightseeing in the city of choice.

An extra night option is available from £10 per person for passengers to extend their trip to three nights and include an overnight stay at a hotel with deals on accommodation available through travel partner, Superbreak (www.superbreak.com). The two for one offer is available for travel from October 1 until December 29. To book or for more information visit www.poferries.com/minicruises or call 0871-664 6464.

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WEBSCLUSIVES

THE CARIBBEAN island of Dominica is gearing up to host the 15th annual World Creole Music Festival, which takes place from October 28-30. The festival provides a platform for Creole music and culture and showcases the island’s talent. Local acts are joined by performers from across the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and the US. Tickets are EC$325 (approximately £74) on the night, while a three-day ticket costs around £27. For details call 0800-012 1467 or visit www.discoverdominica.com

30 September 2011

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Make a Far East booking with Funway Holidays and receive £20 Love2Shop vouchers and a free lounge access pass for your customer. Once you have made a Far East booking email agencysales@funwayholidays.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.funway4agents.co.uk to print a form to fax to 0844 557 0349.

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Take a fresh approach to selling flexible packages – with Jetset's Package Pal. Go to www.jetsetflights.co.uk for details.

All this and more at:

www.travelbulletin.co.uk The home of the web savvy travel agent www.travelbulletin.co.uk

agentbulletin Booking incentives ●

TIPTO members are offering a range of incentives this autumn. As an example, DoSomethingDifferent is celebrating Hallowe’en Horror Nights at Universal Orlando and agents have the chance to win an X-Box 360, an Amazon Kindle or one of 18 Universal goodie bags by booking any Universal Orlando Resort attraction tickets including Orlando Flexticket before October 31. For more details on any of these offers visit www.tipto.co.uk

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Superbreak is offering agents who sell last minute packages to Phantom of the Opera’s 25th birthday concert the chance to win £10 Love2Shop vouchers. Email the booking reference to sales@superbreak.com to claim. The show will celebrate its 25th anniversary on October 1 and 2 with two performances at the Royal Albert Hall. A selection of one- and twonight packages are available with prices from £169 per person. Call 0871-221 4444 or visit www.superbreak.com/agents

Roadshow alert 2012 China of series its uing contin by ures broch hina and Indoc educational an win to e roadshows, that offer agents the chanc October 11, on ow Glasg in place take to China. The roadshows 18. er Octob on t Belfas and 12 er Octob on in Edinburgh or .co.uk vents osaice To register interest email francesca@m ws adsho .uk/ro visit www.wendywutours.co

of its WENDY WU Tours is celebrating the launch

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Dertour is launching its 2011 Christmas campaign by offering travel agents the chance to win one of 12 Christmas hampers filled with eight types of speciality ‘Lebkuchen’ gingerbread from the German Christmas Market town of Nuremberg. The ‘12 Days of Christmas’ promotion means that every week between October 4 and November 11, the operator will be giving away a Nuremberg Lebkuchen Hamper to two agents. Any Christmas Market booking made during this period will be entered into a draw and twice a week one winner will be drawn. The company offers Christmas Markets packages to 13 countries including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, France and Switzerland, as well as, for the first time Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Poland and Sweden. Prices lead in at £220 per person, for a two-night break in Brussels, staying at the three-star Ibis Brussels and including return Eurostar. For more information or to book call 020-7290 1111 or see www.dertour.co.uk/travel_agents

Look out for the enclosed Agents Agents’’ Brieﬁng Pack from All Discover Discoveryy Cr uising Cruising All you need to know about Discover y Cruising with the UK’s three leading discover y cruise brands –

TRAINING TRIUMPH...Melanie Cope of Dorchester Travel in Dorchester was the winner of a family break at Chessington World of Adventures, worth up to £350, courtesy of Holiday Extras, after she entered a prize draw on completing the operator’s new online training course. See www.holidayextras.com/training www.travelbulletin.co.uk

2010 2 0

www.alldiscoverycruising.com www w..alldiscove .alldiscover ycruising.com 30 September September September 30 16 2011

newsbulletin Le Meridien Koh Samui launches ‘Thai Me Down’ wedding package STARWOOD HOTELS & Resorts has announced that Le Meridien Koh Samui Resort & Spa is open for business as from today (September 30). To celebrate the opening the resort is inviting brides and grooms to take advantage of a ‘Thai Me Down’ wedding package, which costs three million baht (approximately US$100,000) to hire the resort for three days. The package guarantees the wedding party (up to 154 people) their own private resort on Lamai Beach, and as part of the package, wedding parties have exclusive access to the resort’s villas, restaurants, lounges and spa for three days and nights,including special experiences custom-designed for the guests. Wayne Buckingham, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ regional vice president of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, said: “We are thrilled to introduce the Le Meridien brand to Koh Samui and to offer this one-of-a-kind wedding package. Our offering is unique to the island - a boutique hotel with a focus on contemporary art, a multi-cultural ambience and outstanding cuisine.”

The offer is available for stays until March 31, 2012 when booked by December 31. For reservations and more information visit www.lemeridien.com/kohsamui or email lemeridien.kohsamui@lemeridien.com

DosomethingDifferent.com reassures agents DOSOMETHINGDIFFERENT.COM IS reassuring trade partners by accepting liability as principal for the excursions, attraction tickets and experiences they supply. The company says that there is a growing risk of claims against travel companies selling excursions in resort but this can be mitigated by customers pre-booking in the UK. As such the company is urging the trade to pre-book customers’ excursions so that they can be sure that claims regarding the quality of the excursions supplied and for personal injury are covered from a reliable source. For details see www.dosomethingdifferent.com or call 020-8090 3890.

GOLF GURUS...Keen golfers from across the travel industry took part in the sixth annual Travel Insurance Industry Charity Golf Day, which took place at Maylands Golf Course in Essex recently. This year the Travel Insurance Industry Committee teamed up with the Family Holiday Association and raised £6,500 - enough to help around ten severely disadvantaged families have a much needed break away. The event was sponsored by Citybond Suretravel and International Passenger Protection (IPP) and pictured is the winning team from the day - from the left: Rob Witts, UK General; Rob Grover, Travel Bulletin; Matt Flint, directline holidays; and Ian Reynolds, ex head of ABTA.

Lone Star State to visit UK travel agents

IT’S IN THE BAG...Funway Holidays teamed up with NYC & Company to launch an incentive programme for agents to win a range of prizes including an iPad 2, a £50 iTunes voucher, a £25 iTunes voucher and Black Swan on DVD. To qualify agents needed to make a New York booking through the operator then complete NYC & Company’s online training. Pictured taking top prize of an iPad 2 is Jacqui Steele (left) with Lisa James from Funway.

September 30 2011

FROM OCTOBER 3-7 Texas Tourism and representatives from Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, San Antonio, TaxFree Shopping LTD, Houston and Wildcatter Ranch will be visiting the UK to meet with travel agents, tour operators and Travelbag consumers to promote the Lone Star State’s latest attractions and offerings in both London and Manchester. Travel agents from Trailfinders in London, North American Travel Service and Thomas Cook in Manchester will be treated to exclusive training sessions hosted by Texas Tourism and representatives from the state’s partners. The state will also host a travel agent canapé and drinks reception for Kuoni, Trailfinders, North American Travel Service and Thomas Cook agents amongst others in Manchester’s The Living Room Restaurant and Bar. Rickshaws branded by Texas Tourism will be on hand to transport guests to a drinks and canapé reception in London, co-hosted by Travelbag. For more information about the events call 020-7367 0966, email martinc@hillsbalfour.com or see www.traveltex.com

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e c n e r e f n o c e ic o h c ld ttawor

TTA Worldchoice aims to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach SPEAKING AT last weekend’s TTA Worldchoice conference in Salou, Spain, Ellis Caine-Jones, the consortium’s group commercial director, outlined the group’s commercial strategies in a difficult trading market. He said: “Our objectives are that we are competitive enough for conversion and our proposition is compelling enough to drive calls or footfall. It’s not all doom and gloom and retailers that embrace new technologies may see a renaissance. This is because 58% of

all travel products or purchases have been researched online and booked in store. We know that the majority of people that come into a shop are high converters. “Moving forward we have to look at innovative approaches. Capacity means opportunity and we need to be flexible. We also need to work harder with our key partners.” Identifying the key factors for improvement, Caine-Jones said: “We need to work on net rates and re-

packaging which would enable members to grow business levels and margins. We will try and provide incremental distribution to satisfy the demands of our membership models and of the consumer in a declining packaged market. “In summary its about changing our approach and offering the four ‘Ps’ - the right product (and commercial) in the right place at the right price supported by appropriate promotion.”

Industry partners outline future growth and support strategies for members INDUSTRY PARTNERS addressed delegates to offer an insight into their strategies for growth and how they envisage working with the independent sector. Ian Ailles, chief executive of Thomas Cook UK & Ireland, said that following Manny Fontela-Novoa´s departure the company has put a new management team in place and is currently going through a business review. This has included looking at leveraging its brand strength, simplifying its product strategy and improving differentiation, improving its pricing by leveraging its existing yield systems and reviewing the size and structure of its airline. Speaking about the company’s joint venture with Cooperative Retail the company says that this will not affect its partnership with TTA Worldchoice. It also pledged to support agents in a number of ways going forward. Ailles said: “Our key areas for summer 2012 are to continue to develop in differentiated products, improve our product offering and market share in Spain and Greece and strengthen our number one position in Turkey amongst others. “We will give you and your customers confidence through protection such as Atol, health and safety and assistance and support. We will also offer choice and our key message is that we don’t just offer mainstream packages.” Stuart Jackson, group business development director of the Monarch Group said that strategies for the next 12 months include profitable growth, adjusting to market demands and increasing the awareness of the Cosmos brand. On the subject of discounting, Jackson said: “I don´t think we’ll ever get rid of discounting - it’s here to stay, but we have to differentiate our products not just on price but also on service and delivery. The independent sector is very important to us with 60% of our business going to the independent sector and we reward very well for incremental business.” Amanda Darrington, the national sales manager of Kuoni, said that following a decline in distribution through the independent sector the operator plans to become more

September 30 2011

exclusive. She said: “We need to reinvent ourselves in a saturated market and want to work alongside independents on that journey. We have global buying power and offer exclusive properties. It´s all about the quality of the product. Exclusivity for us is key in going forward. We’ve got a team to support you and we will continue to invest in people that want to work with us.” Meanwhile, Jo Rzymowska, associate vice-president and general manager UK and Ireland of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), said that the real challenge for both the company and the industry as a whole has been a late booking trend. She said: “The good news is that we are continuing to invest in our marketing and trade support and the independent sector is trading more than 10% up year-on-year. Our aim is to get as many new people into cruising and there´s no better way to do this than through the independent sectors as more than 90% of our cruises are sold through the travel channel.” Commenting on the issue of discounting Rzymowska said: “Clearly discounting is an issue and the independent sector is unable to compete because of the level of discounting in the market place. Cruising is more attractive to agents because there is less discounting.” However, Rzymowska gave no indication that the company would review its current discounting following agent protests. She said: “It is very important to us that we do what´s right for our brand and for our business and we will work with our travel partners to understand what they believe is right, and from this we will make the right commercial decisions for our organisation. “What we have to remember is that only 1.6million people take a cruise every year from a holiday market of more than 30million, so there is a lot of people to convert to cruising and the best way to do this is through our travel partners. The TTA Worldchoice relationship is very important to us. More than 50% of our business is through the independent sector and we are very open to new ways of doing business.”

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ttaworldchoiceconfe rence Atol awareness on the increase as consumers feel need to be protected Welcoming delegates at the TTA Worldchoice conference, which took place at the PortAventura Hotel in Salou, Spain last weekend, managing director, Simon Hargreaves told attendees that despite a decline in the market of about 20% compared to last year, the future looks positive and that we are unlikely to go back into recession. He said: “Consumer perception drives consumer behaviour and consumers increasingly Simon Hargreaves feel the need to be protected. As a result there is a greater awareness of Atol being seen as offering this protection. “Another perception is that people are booking late with a view to getting the best value. We have taught consumers that booking late offers the best value and consequently our booking window has come down. If consumers know what they want they think it´s quicker and cheaper to book online. If they don´t know what they want they think it’s quicker to use a travel agent. Given the market people are increasingly willing to spend more time looking for what they perceive as better value.”

InBrief ● TTA Worldchoice revealed that it will

● The consortium reported that its Worldchoice

launch a new lead generation membership model in a bid to work more closely with members. Those interested in becoming part of the scheme can reap rewards such as free or discounted membership depending on their level of involvement and success.

Plus option which was launched in 2009 has grown to 30 members. The scheme enables agents to save costs on running their business and is easily transferable. This year's conference also offered a platform on which to promote the 'Gold-plated' Atol for members, which has now gone live.

The trouble with technology BOSS OF the consortium, Simon Hargreaves, told delegates that over the past year TTA Worldchoice has come a long way in continuing to develop and innovate. Examples included delivering several Atol solutions, acquiring new members, investing in marketing, delivering online training and support. However, he admitted that it has had its fair share of problems in getting the technology right. He said: “We’ve had an absolute nightmare with getting our technology right. We saw markets rapidly evolving and we’ve got to the point, where in talking about our Honeycomb system, we will still find problems but we’ll fix them to get it right.” The Honeycomb system offers agents both a booking system and sales tool and allows members to enter their own commission levels. The system also replaces the need for agents to use multiple screens and is free for members to use. The consortium currently has ten members testing a live pilot and the full launch is expected to be rolled out in December.

Consortium unveils new identity to reflect diverse membership TTA WORLDCHOICE unveiled a new name and new branding at last weekend’s conference. The Travel Network Group, as it is now known, carries the strapline ´Championing the independence travel market’ and was launched in a bid to become more recognised as a group and reflect the diverse membership of its 800 members. Following numerous developments including the recent launch of two franchise models in the luxury and disabled sectors and its recently launched homeworking division, Independent Travel

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Experts, the consortium said that now was the time for a rebrand and for all members to start working together. Managing director Simon Hargreaves said: “We would not rule out additional franchise models. One thing that we need to do but don’t is lead generation. We ran a nine-month trial and it taught us that it is do-able but we need to do it together. To be successful we need customer data, people to join the campaign and develop a commercial arrangement. I believe it’s the next thing we should get on with.”

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ixmix p e c n re fe n o c e ic o h c ttaworld LAST WEEKEND’S TTA Worldchoice ‘Strength & Vision’ conference was held at the four-star PortAventura Hotel in Salou, Spain. Along with the business sessions, the programme included a range of activities - from a golf day and welcome party to a VIP cocktail party and gala dinner and awards...

nner drinks are , from PRE-DINNER PALS...Enjoying pre -di ; Sue Poundsbery, the left : Paul Philpott, Beacon Travel e; and Claire Farley Eclipse Travel/Sussex Downs Colleg from 2by2 Holidays.

Photos: Steve Dunlop & Lauretta Wright

COOKIE TIME...Mair Al len from Worldchoice Travel in Sheffield finds time to chill out with th e Cookie Monster.

DINNER DATE...Amanda Taylo r from Independent Travel Exper ts (IT E) and Paul Keevil from Travel Stop in Ipswich enjoy the awards presen tation . 14

t FORUM FRIENDS...Catching up on the latest Jetse news is Katy Savvides (left) from Sabra Travel in Edgware with the operator’s Nisha Tailor.

PINT PULLERS...Pulling pints at the VIP Cocktail party is Gary Lewis (left), TTA Worldchoice and Jon Schofield from Silversea Cruises.

September 30 2011

VIP VIXENS...Relaxing at the VIP Cocktail party are, from the left: Sue Fawcett, Rachel Baker and Kate Squire from Bell Travel. www.travelbulletin.co.uk

A star performance

star awards 2011

Celebrating the industry's finest at Travel Bulletin's 2011 Star Awards HE 15TH annual Travel Bulletin Star Awards gala presentation evening took place on Monday 12th September at the prestigious five-star Landmark Hotel in London. A total of 32 crystal awards were presented to the worthy winners divided across five industry sectors - Smooth Operators, Landlords, Sea Captains, High Fliers and Best Supporting Acts. As always, the winners of our Star

Awards were chosen by Travel Bulletin readers, travel agents. This is what makes these accolades so special for our winners - knowing that it was agents alone acknowledging their achievements. All Star Awards guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner, an outstanding awards presentation hosted by TV personality Mark Durden-Smith, entertainment provided by singing

sensations and West End superstars, The Jersey Boys and an amazing aftershow party full of music, fun and games! Travel Bulletin would like to offer many congratulations to all of this year's winners and finalists, a huge thank you to all of our sponsors and most of all to you, our Travel Bulletin readers, who continue to support and vote for your most-deserving winners!

Putting you in the picture

Classic winners...

PICTURES OF all the winners and guests at this year's Travel Bulletin Star Awards are available to view INTERNATIONAL and download online at www.fotoseeker.com Fotoseeker suppliers image management and photo library software to the travel industry and offers a 'onestop-shop' for high resolution images delivered free of charge to the end user. The site is currently used by more than 40 countries as a means of showcasing and promoting destinations and this figure continues to grow on a daily basis. All images are of an industry standard format for publication and do not need to be resized prior to publication. The site features nearly 300,000 images and is currently used by 30,000 users worldwide, while the company's bespoke service offers customised image libraries integrated into clients' Websites. For more information email info@fotoseeker.com or see www.fotoseeker.com

ALL AGENTS who voted in the 2011 Awards were entered into a free prize draw to win one of three fantastic prizes donated by Classic Collection Holidays.

j First prize was a seven-night bed-and-breakfast stay for two at the five-star St Nicolas Bay Resort Hotels & Villas in Agios Nicolaos, Crete and was won by Monika Szkudlarek of John Proctor Travel in Brighton.

j Second prize was a seven-night bed and breakfast stay for two at the five-star Asimina Suites in Cyprus and was won by Iona Etchells of Eton Travel in Wokingham.

j Third prize was a seven-night stay for two people including breakfast at the four-star Es Moli in Mallorca and was won by Moira Scott from Connoisseur Travel in Edinburgh.

1st

2nd

3rd

star awards 2011

smoothoperators

STAR SPECIALIST LONG-HAUL OPERATOR

STAR SPECIALIST SHORT-HAUL OPERATOR

Winner: Virgin Holidays

Winner: Classic Collection Holidays

Finalists: Caribtours, If Only…,Kuoni, Premier Holidays, Travel 2 We’re delighted to have won this award and would like to thank all our agent partners for their support over the past year. This year has seen us continue our strong incentive scheme, improve our Website to make it easier to book as well as gaining regular feedback from agents to help us improve. Further to this our v learning training programme has been rolled out to include online training as well as face-to-face training… keeping agents ‘in the know’ on all things Virgin Holidays. The upcoming year will see us launch our new Mexico programme with the help of a new Virgin Atlantic flight launching in June 2012, as well as further incentive programmes for agents and new training modules. We will also continue to enhance our relationship with our trade partners with ongoing tactical campaigns and promotional initiatives.

Winner Sophie Thackeray (right), sales manager of Classic Collection Holidays, is presented with her award by Aimee Bromstein of AA Appointments our winners' Champagne sponsor.

ONCE AGAIN we have been delighted with the way in which the travel trade has continued to support us during the challenging market conditions of 2011. Our strong commercial relationships with hoteliers and airlines, combined with our state-of-the-art booking system, helps us to locate the best flights (scheduled, charter and no frills), or alternative land travel arrangements, and to offer the most appropriate high quality hotel at the best possible price for travel agents’ clients. A fourth consecutive win at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards means so much to us and seems to say it all. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and will endeavour to continue to give the marketing assistance to agents to allow them to sell more holidays and to exceed the service expectations of their clients.

STAR UK HOLIDAYS SUPPLIER Winner: Hoseasons

Zena Calderbank, Hoseasons’ head of sales with Simon Eddolls of Travel Bulletin

Sarah Curtis, sales development manager of Virgin Holidays celebrates with Travel Bulletin’s Simon Eddolls.

Finalists: Cosmos Holidays, Cresta, Jet2holidays, Kirker Holidays, Olympic Holidays

Finalists: Bourne Leisure, Grand UK Holidays, Shearings Holidays, Superbreak

HOSEASONS REPORTS that this year has seen further growth in UK holidays, building on the explosion in popularity of domestic breaks in the past three years. Thanking agents for voting Hoseasons onto the winner’s podium, and for their continued support in the marketplace, head of sales Zena Calderbank said the operator has worked hard to ensure that agents have been in a good position to take advantage of the business opportunity presented by a renewed interest in UK holidays. She said: “We don’t take this award lightly, and we are delighted that agents have once again voted for us. We have worked hard with agents to help them take advantage of the renewed and sustained interest in the UK as a holiday destination, through improvements to technology, constantly strengthening and broadening our product portfolio, and building strong partnerships. We really value the fact that agents in turn have continued to support Hoseasons, and we are very proud to be winners in the Travel Bulletin Star Awards, such a prestigious industry award – particularly when the judges are the UK’s travel agents, the people who are at the sharp end of things and who know better than anyone what holidaymakers are looking for.”

smoothoperators

star awards 2011

STAR SPECIALIST OPERATOR (WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN) Winner: Belleair Holidays

Finalists: Castaways, Classic Collection Holidays, Jet2holidays, Olympic Holidays, Sunvil THE TRAVEL Bulletin Star Award for Best Specialist Operator (Western Mediterranean) was won by leading specialist operator Belleair Holidays for the second consecutive year. With an unrivalled product range offering short breaks, spa packages, diving, golf and multi-centre holidays, Belleair’s Winter Sun 2011/12 brochure features a selection of special offers, new features and added value deals, including competitive accommodation-only pricing. The operator has also increased its distribution of easyJet flights as well as

It’s thumbs up from sales & marketing manager Richard Gamber (right) of Belleair Holidays and Travel Bulletin’s Rob Grover.

now selling Thomson and Thomas Cook flights for the first time (in addition to Air Malta and bmi Baby) to further enhance its service around the UK. This offers agents greater flexibility of flight departures from around the UK, more flight availability and best possible prices, extending Belleair’s reach to 13 UK regional airports, including Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool and Birmingham. Belleair Holidays remains the number one specialist operator to Malta & Gozo, unmatched in both experience and product.

a huge thank you The team at holiday autos would like to say a big thank you to all the agents that voted for us as 'Star Car Rental Company 2011’ at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards.

Thank you for all your support.

To book: www.trade.holidayautos.co.uk or call 0871 472 5141 For help: salessupport@holidayautos.co.uk or call 0871 472 5201 24 hour emergency support: 01483 263 380 (open 24/7) Standard terms and conditions apply.

UK sales support opening hours Mon – Fri 9am – 5.30pm For reservations: 7 days a week 7am – 10pm

smoothoperators

star awards 2011

STAR SPECIALIST OPERATOR (EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN)

STAR OPERATOR SALES TEAM Winner: Jetset Holidays

Winner: Anatolian Sky Holidays

Finalists: Attraction World, Classic Collection Holidays, Kuoni, Superbreak,Travel 2 We are delighted the Jetset sales team was recognised by travel agents at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards for their professional, knowledgeable and friendly can-do approach. This truly is a fabulous award not only for the hard work and the impression the Jetset sales team has made or the numerous sales activities throughout the year, but also for everyone’s efforts in our company ensuring our agents consistently continue to receive a supportive service whenever or whoever they speak to at Jetset. Jetset Holidays’ sales director, Adrian Smyth, is congratulated by Travel Bulletin’s Nick Boocock (top).

Travel Bulletin’s Jill Sayles presents Akin Koc, managing director of Anatolian Sky Holidays with his award.

Finalists: Balkan Holidays, Cyplon Holidays, Jewel In The Crown Holidays, Olympic Holidays

Anatolian Sky is delighted to win the Travel Bulletin award for Eastern Mediterranean. Over the past 12 months we have improved and developed our Turkey programme to include Bodrum and Izmir. Previously we have focused on the Dalaman region but decided to extend our programme with more remote, authentic resorts and boutique hotels in these alternative regions to give our clients more choice. We have improved the customer experience in the last 12 months in a number of ways; customers receive a drink, perfume and Turkish delight on arrival, we have a loyalty discount of £20 per person, we have improved our customer feedback form to make it more attractive and we make a note of when it is a customer’s anniversary or special occasion and send them a card on holiday. This year we are redeveloping our Website which we hope to launch later in the year and this will be the new face of the company, helping to strengthen our online marketing activities. This will also assist the customer experience as the booking process will be smoother, the site more attractive and easier to navigate. We are delighted to win such a prestigious award and would like to thank all our UK and incoming agencies staff as well as our suppliers who have continuously contributed to the success of the company. This award is a nice surprise at the end of a stressful year, and let’s hopes it gives us motivation and encouragement for a successful 2012 and many more successful years to follow.

STAR OPERATOR FOR INCENTIVES Winner: Sandals Resorts

Proud owner of the award for Star Operator for Incentives is Leah Marshall, head of sales for Sandals Resorts.

Finalists: Attraction World, Classic Collection Holidays, Jetset Holidays, Travel 2, Virgin Holidays

SCATTERED AMONGST the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and the Bahamas, are 13 incomparable Luxury Included Sandals resorts, created exclusively for two people in love and offering more quality inclusions than any other resorts on the planet. At Sandals we actively encourage agents to experience the Sandals’ Luxury Included holiday first hand through regular fam trips, free holidays, competitions, travel agent concessions and free passes. In fact, over the past 12 months we have welcomed more than 300 agents to our resorts, as well as running a

number of very successful agent schemes including ‘Sandals Luxury Included Stars’ whereby agents can accrue 'stars' in return for individual and shop rewards – meaning that agents are rewarded twice for their bookings. There is a fantastic array of rewards on offer, from Champagne and chocolates to pampering days, Bonus Bonds and £750 towards a shop night out. In the coming year, Sandals promises to only get bigger and better following the $60million renovation of Sandals Grande Riviera, the continued development on the first over-water suites in Saint Lucia and much, much more….

We gave you the world... You gave us the star! Thank you for voting us ‘Best Holiday Add-Ons Provider’ at this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Awards. We’re over the moon!

star awards 2011

smoothoperators

“What an enjoyable evening! Lovely venue, fine wines, great food and excellent company – a recipe for excellence.” Hilary Bond, Jetset Holidays.

STAR ESCORTED TOURS SPECIALIST Winner: Titan HiTours

Craig Liddle (left) and Ashley Rushman from Titan toast their success.

Finalists: Collette Worldwide Holidays, Cosmos Tourama, Page & Moy , Shearings Holidays, Wendy Wu Tours

Titan is delighted to have been awarded the Travel Bulletin Star Award for Best Escorted Tour Operator for the second time in four years. Our success is down to the tireless teamwork and effort from everybody connected to Titan and the hard work of our travel agent partners and supporters who successfully sell and endorse our products on a daily basis. Our agency sales team will continue to assist and support agents grow their business with Titan, and further to our recent re-brand, we are to launch a brand new online agent facility within the next few months. Every agent in the country will soon receive a letter with full details, so please look out for it! We are proud to have such great working relationships with so many organisations and individuals throughout the trade, but we are also looking forward to building on this success and wish to encourage new agents who might not have not dealt with Titan before to recommend us and book their clients with Titan. We would like to thank everyone that we work with and acknowledge the contribution that each of you have made towards the recognition and achievement that this award signifies.

STAR HOLIDAY PARKS OPERATOR Winner: Haven Holidays Simon Eddolls (left) and Jill Sayles of Travel Bulletin celebrate with Allan Lambert, head of retail sales for Haven Holidays.

HAVEN WOULD like to thank all of our agents for their continued support and for helping us to win the accolade of Holiday Parks Operator at this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Awards! We are aware that whilst we rely on agents to sell our holidays, they in turn rely on us to provide them with the quality product and tools with which to do so. Each year we invest around £40million in upgrade projects including enhanced pools and entertainment venues, food and drink outlets, landscaping, infrastructure and new accommodation, making our 35 award-

Finalists: Butlins, Hoseasons, Keycamp winning holiday parks the best in Britain and giving agents the assurance that our guests are continually getting the highest possible value for money. We are also dedicated to supporting our travel agent friends, helping them to understand our product and thus secure sales. We have a dedicated agent Website complete with the latest news, offers and downloadable sales material, offer fantastic commission rates and agent incentives, host thousands of agents each year at our portfolio of 35 parks and have

introduced a number of guides and training programmes to help broaden agents’ UK tourism product knowledge. Most importantly, we have our field sales team that participate in a number of UK roadshows and visit agents continually providing training and support throughout the year. We are thrilled that agents have played an integral part in our success, continuing to recognise the potential of domestic bookings as well as seizing opportunities to showcase and pitch in the market and our brand to their customers.

, g n i p e e l s r o f t o n s i a t s e i , g S n i m a e r d r o f it s

www.spain.info

Experience The Best! Stena Line has been voted ‘Best Ferry Operator’ at the prestigious Travel Bulletin Awards for an incredible 15th year in a row! At Stena Line, it’s our commitment to offer your customers the best travel experience. We are dedicated to delivering... • The biggest ferries and largest choice of routes • The most sailings and best choice of craft • Ongoing multi-million investment in our ﬂeet • £200m investment in a new Ferry Port facility at Cairnryan, opening 21 November 2011 and 2 new Superfast ships • Excellent onboard facilities with free WiFi, free movies & ﬁrst class Stena Plus lounge • The best early booking deals. Thank you from Europe’s leading ferry company.

Cairnry

Liverpo

agent.stenaline.co.uk Call 08445 768 576 Conditions apply.

landlords STAR WORLDWIDE HOTEL & RESORT OPERATOR

STAR WORLDWIDE THEME PARK Sponsored by: Attraction World

Winner: RIU Hotels & Resorts Paul Kelly, sales director, EMEA Universal Parks and Resorts picks up his award from Gail Dunwoodie, head of product & marketing, Attraction World

Finalists: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels, Sandals Resorts, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts We would like to express our thanks to all our travel agent partners who have voted us Star Worldwide Hotel and Resort Operator for 2011. It is a real pleasure to receive a Travel Bulletin Star Award for the eighth consecutive year, during which time our presence in the UK market has grown considerably alongside agents knowledge of our properties. We now have more than 8,000 UK members of our Riu PartnerClub scheme which rewards agents every time they make a customer booking to any Riu Hotel in the world, meaning that agents can reap the benefits of their hard work by experiencing our hotels either free of charge or at extremely attractive discounted rates - thank you all once again.

Winner: Universal Studios, Orlando

Finalists: Disneyland Resort California, Disneyland Resort Paris, Seaworld Parks & Entertainment, Walt Disney World Resort Florida Universal Orlando Resort would like to thank all UK travel agents for voting us Star Worldwide Theme Park 2011. At Universal Orlando Resort you’ll find two amazing theme parks, non-stop nightlife, and world-class on-site hotels, all in one convenient location. Jump into the action of the movies at Universal Studios Florida, featuring such attractions as Shrek 4-D, Revenge of the Mummy, and The Simpsons Ride. Feel the adrenaline rush of cutting edge rides and attractions that challenge all your senses at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, home of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and more. Enjoy live music, shopping, dining, dancing and movies at Universal CityWalk. Plus, stay in the heart of it all at one of three spectacular on-site hotels. It’s all at Universal Orlando Resort, the only place on earth where you can be courageous…be outrageous…be extraordinary!

STAR EUROPEAN THEME PARK Sponsored by: Attraction World Winner Disneyland Resort Paris

William Holme, Disney Destinations’ international training representative collects his award from Leanne Harley, business development manager south of Attraction World.

It’s smiles all round as Paul Bunce RIU’s head of UK market development celebrates with Travel Bulletin’s Jeanette Ratcliffe.

star awards 2011

Finalists: Alton Towers, Europa-Park, PortAventura, Siam Park

Disneyland Paris includes two theme parks - Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, seven Disney Hotels and seven select and associated hotels, two convention centres and a 27-hole golf course. Disneyland Paris is also home to one of the largest entertainment districts in the Ile-de-france region offering restaurants, shops and a multiplex cinema. We are currently celebrating the Magical Moments Festival until March 4, 2012. Don’t miss the chance to experience the festival and enjoy the classic attractions, shows and parades. For all the latest travel agent special offers visit www.disneytravelagents.co.uk

star awards 2011

landlords

STAR CAR RENTAL COMPANY Winner: Holiday Autos

Finalists: Affordable Car Hire, Alamo, Avis, Hertz Holiday Autos is delighted to have won a Travel Bulletin Star Award. It is always a pleasant surprise and it gives great brand credibility to the company. We are thrilled that, after almost 25 years, our trade partners are still voting for us, confirming also how much they value our commitment to the trade. For holiday autos the relationship with our partners is fundamental. Our job is to support the trade on a daily basis and make the booking process an easy and enjoyable experience. We have a dedicated trade sales support team to take care of our valued partners and this award is recognition from the trade that we are on the right track. Our plan for the last quarter of the year is focused on shaping our support

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory for Stephanie Hills, sales support manager, who collects the award for Star Car Rental Company.

around our trade partnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; opinions. In fact, we are eagerly awaiting the result of our trade survey, which is closing at the end of September www.survey.trainingholidayautos.co.uk - to define how we can further support the trade industry in the best way possible.

landlords

star awards 2011

STAR ACCOMMODATION-ONLY SPECIALIST Winner: Medhotels

Finalists: Bedsonline.com, Getabed.co.uk, lowcostbeds.com, TravelCube, Superbreak Medhotels is extremely honoured and proud to be crowned this year’s Star Accommodation-Only Specialist 2011. We recognise that our success is solely due to the dedication and support from agents and we acknowledge that to maintain this position we must remain market leaders in product, price and not to mention quality. We pride ourselves on offering our agents an extensive range of accommodation in not just beach destinations but major city and ski resorts around the globe. From budget to deluxe accommodation we feature more than 118,000 properties in our product portfolio with an increasing number being directly contracted. Over the next 12 months we are looking to work even closer with our agents through a new wave of promotions and incentives that we aim to be mutually profitable for all involved.

Natalie Bracken, agency sales executive of Medhotels with Travel Bulletin’s Nick Boocock.

The market has adapted and changed in the last year and agents are embracing new distribution channels and we are actively sourcing new products to enable agents to maximise their sales. Medhotels is working towards growing our presence within High Street travel agencies in a bid to build stronger relationships and improve service levels. So once again, thank you for voting for us and more importantly thank you for continuing to book with us.

STAR COACH OPERATOR Sponsored by: Stena Line Delighted with her award and celebratory bottle of Champagne is Jo Allen, national sales manager of Shearings Holidays.

Winner: Shearings Holidays

Finalists: Alfa Travel, Australian Pacific Tours, Leger Holidays, National Express Everyone at Shearings Holidays was overjoyed to win the Star Coach Operator award at the 2011 Star Awards. It’s truly an honour to receive such a prestigious accolade, and we’d like to thank every single agent who voted for us. Throughout the past 12 months our sales team, headed by national sales manager Michael Bowers and Jo Allen, have been working hard to ensure that agents have the support they need to sell Shearings Holidays. We’re always happy to consider joint marketing opportunities, and agents who’d like to really make the most of selling to the over-55s can apply to join our exclusive Shearings Expert Agents scheme. Of course, we’re immensely proud of our award-winning 2011 programme – but don’t think we’re resting on our laurels! Next year sees our biggest and best selection of holidays yet, with even more exclusively-chartered river cruises, more long-haul escorted tours and – of course – more great value coach holidays across the UK and Europe. You’ll find our full programme in our brand new UK & Ireland, Europe & Worldwide, River Cruise and Cruise brochures, which are on sale now. Thanks again to everyone who voted for us – we wouldn’t be Star Coach Operator 2011 without you!

Thank you! for voting Classic Collection Holidays Best Short Haul Operator 2011 at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards for the 4th year running

We really value your support

CALL 0800 008 7288 www.classic-collection.co.uk 25

star awards 2011

seacaptains

STAR FERRY OPERATOR Winner: Stena Line

Finalists: Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries Ross Carson, Stena Line’s sales & ancillary revenue manager is confident that 2012 will be a key year for the company. He said: “It’s always great to win an award but when the accolade comes direct from travel agents then it is extra special. To be awarded Best Ferry Operator is an endorsement of our continued commitment to the travel trade and an acknowledgement that across the board, Stena Line is ahead of the competition. As one of the world’s leading ferry companies, we are always striving to offer our customers the best possible choice of route network, sailings and crafts. Whether sailing between

Ross Carson (right), sales & ancillary revenue manager, UK and Ireland, Stena Line celebrates with Nick Boocock of Travel Bulletin.

Harwich and the Hook of Holland, Fishguard - Rosslare, Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire/Dublin Port or Stranraer – Belfast, soon to be Cairnryan - Belfast from November 21, we continue to innovate and invest in our future. Two new Superfast ships will also come into service alongside the new purpose built port at Cairnryan and integration of the recently acquired Liverpool to Belfast route into Stena Line is progressing well. Achieving the Best Ferry Operator award was a great team effort across the company and we are looking forward to next year with even more confidence.”

Thanks for making us

No. 1

Universal Orlando® Resort oak`]k lg l`Yfc ]n]jqgf] o`g ngl]\ us the winner of the Star Worldwide Theme Park Award in l`] *()) LjYn]d :mdd]laf KlYj 9oYj\k& The award is testament to the strength of the relationship Z]lo]]f Mfan]jkYd GjdYf\g Yf\ l`] ljYn]d Y_]fl [geemfalq& O] Yj] \]da_`l]\ lg j][]an] l`ak YoYj\ Yf\ o] l`Yfc qgm ^gj your continued support! This has been an exciting year. 2012 promises to be another year g^ Y[lagf$ l`jaddk$ Yf\ ]p[al]e]fl Yl Mfan]jkYd GjdYf\g J]kgjl& 9dd Hgh]q] [`YjY[l]jk LE *()) C>K$ Af[& LE @]Yjkl @gd\af_k$ Af[& *()) :EH& @Yj\ Jg[c ;Y^] @Yj\ Jg[c ;Y^] Afl]jfYlagfYd MK9!$ Af[& Baeeq :m^^]ll k EYj_YjalYnadd] Baeeq :m^^]ll& F9K;9J $ F9K;9J Khgjlk ?jadd] KE Yj] ljY\]eYjck g^ l`] FYlagfYd 9kkg[aYlagf g^ Klg[c ;Yj 9mlg JY[af_$ Af[& Mfan]jkYd ]d]e]flk Yf\ Ydd j]dYl]\ af\a[aY LE *()) Mfan]jkYd Klm\agk& 9dd ja_`lk j]k]jn]\&

star awards 2011

seacaptains STAR RIVER CRUISE SPECIALIST

STAR MAINSTREAM CRUISE COMPANY Winner: P&O Cruises

Winner: Viking River Cruises Finalists: Fred.Olsen Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Thomson Cruises It is a great honour for P&O Cruises to have been named Star Mainstream Cruise Company in the Travel Bulletin Star Awards. This is true testimony to the support we have from travel agents and it is fantastic to see this level of understanding and passion for our brand. The past 12 months have seen us introduce a new ship to our fleet – Adonia. Carrying just 700 passengers Adonia offers a more intimate cruise experience and beautifully complements our larger ships, such as Ventura and Azura. Next year is going to be exciting for us as we mark our 175th year of cruising heritage, culminating in one ‘Grand Event’ on July 3, 2012. And, looking further into the future, we are building another new ship to join our fleet in 2015. This ship will be our biggest yet at 3,600 passengers and will be a tremendous addition to the British cruise market. Without doubt, there are exciting times ahead for P&O Cruises and it is fantastic to know we have the support of the travel trade behind us.

Thumbs up for Andrew Schweitzer, inside sales executive of Viking River Cruises.

Viking River Cruises is delighted to have won the Star Award for the best River Cruise Specialist for the second year running. Travel agents are a massive and important part of our business, and to highlight this we have recently recruited an agency sales executive, expanded our online training programme and relaunched our travel agents' Website. This year has been a record one for bookings so a massive thank you to every agent that has made a booking. If you haven’t get in touch and see what we can do to help each other. Next year sees the launch of six brand new state-of-the-art Viking Longships, the Viking Freya, Idun, Odin, Aegir, Embla and Njord. These revolutionary ships will feature full size verandas, suites with wrap-around verandas and an innovative inside/outside dining area, this is in addition to the Viking Emerald and the Prestige which we launched this year. Here’s to a fantastic 2012 and many thanks for all your support so far!

STAR LUXURY CRUISE PROVIDER Winner: Silversea Cruises

Finalists: Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn We would like to take this opportunity to say a big 'thank you' to all agents who, once again, voted Silversea as Star Luxury Cruise Provider for the fifth successive year. We are delighted with this award and feel this demonstrates the success and strength of the relationships we have built with the trade over the years. As the luxury cruise industry expands year on year, Silversea continues to focus on innovation and offering superlative European service. Together with the all-inclusive fares and the Passport to Luxury onboard spending credit of up to $1,500, which allows guests to customize their luxury experience, we continue to offer the best value in luxury cruising. We’ve also further enhanced our fleet of six ships’ facilities, such as the introduction of Slow Food, an eco-gastronomic concept in La Terrazza, plus custom made mattresses with a memory pillow top to suit each guest’s preference. We look forward to even stronger relationships with you, the travel trade and to continue building our reputation as the best luxury cruise line. It’s a great night for Sam Perry, regional sales manager of Silversea who picks up the award for Star Luxury Cruise Provider.

We salute you….Dominic Chancellor (right), sales operations coordinator of P&O Cruises with Rob Grover of Travel Bulletin.

Finalists: APT River Cruises, Avalon Waterways, Page and Moy Travel Group, Shearings River Cruises

highflyers STAR BUSINESS AIRLINE Winner:Emirates Airlines

star awards 2011

STAR SCHEDULED SEAT-ONLY COMPANY Winner: Gold Medal

A star is born…Christine Sutton, leisure sales manager UK & Ireland of Emirates Airlines with Nick Boocock of Travel Bulletin.

Finalists: British Airways, Etihad, Qantas, Singapore Airlines,Virgin Atlantic

Emirates Airlines is honoured to have been named Star Business Airline for the second year in a row by readers of Travel Bulletin, especially as this was the seventh consecutive year the airline has won an award at the ceremony. The award was given in recognition of the airline’s services for business travellers from its network of six UK departure points to Dubai and beyond. Christine Sutton, Emirates’ leisure sales manager UK & Ireland, who collected the award, said: “It’s always an honour to be recognised by the travel trade and for this to occur seven years in a row is just fantastic. We pride ourselves on our service in all cabins and for this to be continually acknowledged is testament to our product and relationship with the travel trade.” The award comes at a time when the airline continues to grow in terms of network and fleet. The airline operates a fleet of 157 wide-bodied aircraft, including 15 of the iconic Emirates A380 to a network spanning more than 100 destinations across six continents. From January 2012, the carrier will commence a daily service from Dublin to Dubai.

STAR CHARTER SEATONLY OPERATOR Winner: Avro

Michael Vinales (top), managing director of Avro, has a giggle with Travel Bulletin’s Simon Eddolls.

Finalists: Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways

All of us across the Monarch Travel Group are delighted that our seat-only company Avro Flights has won the Star Charter Seat Only Operator Award for the 13th time, proving the number is lucky for some! We have you, our fantastic agent partners, to thank for this amazing achievement as you continue to support us throughout the year. With so many factors continuing to affect the seat-only market, we strive to provide you with the flexibility and range of destinations and durations to sell to your clients. Being able to offer an impressive six million Monarch sector seats as well as sectors from other airlines means we can provide the most competitive prices with flexible trading terms. This puts you, our travel partners, in a very strong position. It also gives you the reassurance that you are buying ATOL protected flights and that your customers’ money will be fully protected through Avro – a key selling point. We continue to add extra flights, new routes and destinations to meet demand and this year has been no different. We are proud to offer the biggest choice of flights to long and short haul destinations such as Spain, Greece, Turkey, Greece and Florida. Once again, a huge thank you to all our agents who have recognised our dedication for yet another year.

Finalists: Jetset Flights, JTA, Major Travel, Travel 2 Gold Medal would like to say a huge 'thank you' to all of our loyal agents who voted for us to win Star Scheduled Seat-Only Company at the recent Travel Bulletin Star Awards. We are so proud to win this award and plan to provide even more value during the next year. The objective for us is to continually build up strong relationships with the leading airlines, hotels, car hire and ground suppliers to secure exclusive offers and provide an excellent portfolio to help you drive your sales. We also aim to improve the service we provide, plus offer our very own worldwide leading deals on a regular basis. One way we have improved the service so far is the dedicated line for First and Business Class bookings. There are plans ahead to keep developing the Website to make it easier to navigate and improve waiting times and ensure all travel documents are despatched 28 days prior to departure. Thank you once again for voting and we will look forward to your continued support in the future.

Gold Medal National account manager Angela Sloan gives the thumbs up on collecting her award.

star awards 2011

highflyers STAR MAJOR UK AIRPORT Winner: London Gatwick Airport

Guy Stephenson, chief commercial officer of London Gatwick Airport strikes a pose with Jeanette Ratcliffe from Travel Bulletin.

For the eighth year running, Gatwick Airport is proud to once again be voted Star Major UK Airport. It is a huge achievement as the award is voted for by travel agents based on passenger and airline feedback. Nearly £1billion is being invested in the UK’s second largest airport to

make it an even better experience for both its passengers and airlines. We have recently opened new facilities in both terminals to improve the passenger journey and will continue to treat every passenger as our guest, minimise any queues and work with our airline partners to

Finalists: Birmingham International Airport, BAA Heathrow, BAA Stansted, Manchester Airport deliver on time performance. Make sure you visit us soon to see the transformation! Thank you to everyone who voted for us – we will keep improving Gatwick Airport in the hope that we continue to be recognised as the Star Major UK Airport.

Thank you for voting EMA

STAR REGIONAL AIRPORT for the 5th year in a row!

Join us on Facebook ‘Airport Angels’ for all the latest news and views from eastmidlandsairport.com EMA, MAN, HUY and BOH

THANK YOU FOR VOTING SILVERSEA

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Star Luxury Cruise Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

5 YEARS IN A ROW

â&#x20AC;˘ Free Flights and Transfers* â&#x20AC;˘ Up to $1,500 Onboard Spending Credit per suite*

â&#x20AC;˘ Complimentary in-suite dining and 24 hour room-service â&#x20AC;˘ Onboard gratuities included

â&#x20AC;˘ All ocean-view suites - up to 95% with private veranda

â&#x20AC;˘ Complimentary shoreside Silversea Experience*

â&#x20AC;˘ Butler service for all suites

â&#x20AC;˘ World Class enrichment hosts

â&#x20AC;˘ Complimentary beverages served throughout the ship

â&#x20AC;˘ Port charges included

â&#x20AC;˘ In-suite beverage cabinet stocked with our compliments â&#x20AC;˘ Up to 6 open-seating restaurants with gourmet menus by Relais & ChĂ˘teaux

â&#x20AC;˘ Superlative service - staff to guest ratio of nearly 1 to 1 â&#x20AC;˘ Complimentary transportation into town in most ports of call *select voyages

For more information or to book please contact Silversea on or visit !!!

star awards 2011

highflyers STAR REGIONAL UK AIRPORT Winner: East Midlands Airport

Celebrating in style is Anita Kane, aviation marketing manager of East Midlands Airport with Travel Bulletin’s Simon Eddolls.

Winning Star Regional UK Airport for the fifth year in a row is a huge accomplishment for our airport and more so, because it is voted for by our loyal travel agents. Working with the trade over the last 12 months has been particularly rewarding and undoubtedly it’s the sheer level of support and commitment demonstrated by our agents that has contributed to our success again at this year’s awards. This year the airport introduced the birth of a brand new Airport Angel, Angel Natalie, who has not only provided continuous support for agents but in conjunction with our

Finalists: BAA Southampton, Bristol International Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, London Luton Airport travel partners has launched some of the most memorable airport incentives yet. Who could forget watching Take That whilst enjoying some of the finest hospitality or that summer evening in London’s Hyde Park, watching the Kings of Leon! As we move into 2012, not only will we strive to deliver growth and exceptional customer service for all of our customers, but we will continue to place emphasis on our work with agents, providing them with as much dedicated support as possible and giving them an airport to really shout about!

“What a great recognition from our valued trade partners! Holiday Autos is very proud and delighted to have been chosen for this award. Collecting the awards on behalf of all my colleagues was of course the highlight of the evening, but I also enjoyed The Jersey Boys!” Stephanie Hills, Holiday Autos 32

best supportingacts

star awards 2011

THANK YOU FOR VOTING

VIKING RIVER CRUISES NUMBER 1

STAR HOLIDAY ADD-ONS PROVIDER Winner: Attraction World

Finalists: A2B Transfers, DoSomethingDifferent, Holiday Extras, Holiday Taxis We are delighted to have won Travel Bulletin’s Star Award for Best Holiday Add-On’s Provider and would like to thank all those who voted for us. A fun night was had by all and winning this award has given our entire team a definite boost and provided us with important recognition from agents that our efforts are worthwhile. Attraction World sells 100% through the trade and agents are therefore an integral part of our business. We have a dedicated sales team for the retail trade who work tirelessly to keep agents up to date with all our latest developments in a fun and interesting way and winning this award clearly shows it is working. Throughout the coming months, we will continue with our mission to get agents to ask their customers the simple question ‘what are you going to do when you're there?' Not only improving overall customer service in pre-selling attractions customers would do anyway, but in addition earning incremental revenue for doing so. We feature more than 45 countries across the globe with more than 5,000 experiences available. Going forward, we will continue to ensure the brand offers great variety, is easy to book online and competitively priced.

AT THE TR AVEL BULLETIN STAR AWARDS 2011

We are thrilled to win the prestigious ‘Star River Cruise Specialist’ award. We’d like to thank everyone who voted for Viking. Find out what makes Viking the world’s most award winning river cruise line. Call us on

020 8780 7900 or visit www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk

Gail Dunwoodie (left) head of product & marketing and Leanne Harley, business development manager south of Attraction World toast to a successful evening with Simon Eddolls from Travel Bulletin.

star awards 2011

bestsupportingacts

STAR TECHNOLOGY SUPPLIER Winner: Vertical Systems

Finalists: Amadeus, Comtec, Sabre, Travelport Vertical Systems is thrilled to have won the Travel Bulletin Star Award for Technology. This award is particularly special as it is voted for by our customers, who use our systems on a daily basis. We are proud to have celebrated almost 30 years supplying technology to the UK travel industry. Some of our original clients are still with us today as we approach this milestone and many clients are established household names. Their endorsement of our technology is highly prized. This award also underlines the hard work and dedication of our team, to ensure our clients have the latest technology and that we continue to develop our products to meet their needs, which in turn, support their customers as they make their travel arrangements. In an industry that has faced many challenges in recent times, we have

Sealed with a kiss…Mike Russell, chief executive officer of Vertical Group, is delighted to pick up the award for Star Technology Supplier.

continued to develop our systems and have new products to launch in the coming months. We are very excited about the future and look forward to sharing these products with our clients. We are confident that this will ensure we maintain our position as the leading technology provider to the UK independent travel industry.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have picked up this award for the second year in a row and would like to thank all of the travel agents who voted for us. The Travel Bulletin Star Awards is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards programmes in the UK. The awards, now in their 15th year, serve to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across a broad range of sectors in the travel and tourism industry.” Wendy Atkin-Smith, Viking River Cruises UK Limited 34

THANK YOU! Titan would like to thank all of its travel agent partners for their votes, helping us to win the prestigious award

TRAVEL BULLETIN ‘STAR ESCORTED TOUR OPERATOR 2011’ We look forward to providing you with more of the same award-winning service in the future!

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bestsupportingacts STAR TOURIST OFFICE FOR ROADSHOWS & EVENTS Winner: Saint Lucia Tourist Board

Finalists: Barbados Tourism Authority, California Tourism, Embratur – Brazilian Tourist Office UK & Ireland, South Africa Tourism, Trinidad & Tobago Tourist Office We are honoured to have been recognised by the very people we aim to serve – you the agents. Saint Lucia is very dependent on the trade and we made some changes to our roadshows and these seem to have been well received. We will continue to innovate based on your feedback to ensure we deliver events that work for you. Saint Lucia Tourist Board believes that online training and face-to-face training/events play a very important role in equipping agents to sell, but there is nothing to beat experiencing Saint Lucia first hand. It is for this reason that Saint Lucia launched “Live the Legend” quiz. Interactive training/quizzes in 12 cities, where the winners from each event (a team of three) come to Saint Lucia for a fam trip and the final. The quizzes were held in March and April of this year and the interactive nature, the food at the beginning of the evening and the short punchy presentations were all based on agent feedback. We want to build on this success for 2012. We will revamp our online training and associated incentives for agents who log their bookings. We plan to launch a series of roadshows throughout next year and ensure we are in your shops more often. We are here to help you sell, so please let us know how we can do this more effectively. Finally, remember to log your bookings once you have completed the course as we have quarterly prizes - see www.saintluciaexpert.com. Only registered agents are invited on our fam trips.

star awards 2011

“The Travel Bulletin Awards was so well organised and really upbeat considering the amount of awards the host had to get through! Everyone thought Mark Durden-Smith was fantastically funny and the whole table got up and danced when the cast of The Jersey Boys came on stage. We were proud to be a part of it and proud to work with Travel Bulletin.” Bethany Schuh, California Tourism

Thank you for voting us...

Star Travel Insurance Provider at the Travel Bulletin Awards 2011 Travel insurance, Coach Insurance, Cruise Insurance, and Corporate Business Travel Insurance

For more information or to work with us email sales@holidayextras.com or call 0800 41 41 41 Celebrating sweet success is Jean-Marc Flambert, director of marketing UK and Europe, Saint Lucia Tourist Board with Jeanette Ratcliffe from Travel Bulletin.

star awards 2011

bestsupportingacts

“It is always a great honour to win STAR TOURIST OFFICE ONLINE an award at such a prestigious TRAINING PROGRAMME industry event. It means a great Winner: deal to Holiday Extras. We are California Tourism’s California Expert very grateful to all those people within the industry that voted for us. We really enjoyed the event - Finalists: particularly the entertainment Tourism Australia’s Aussie Specialist Program, Canadian Tourism Commission’s Canadian and The Jersey Boys. I thought Specialist Program, Dubai Department of the film quiz was a great addition, Tourism & Commerce Marketing’s Dubai which was enjoyed by the whole Expert, Trinidad & Tobago Tourism’s Learn TnT, Saint Lucia Tourist Board’s Saint Lucia Expert table. More awards should think California Tourism UK & Ireland is delighted to have won the prestigious Travel Bulletin Star Award for Online Training about doing something similar.” Programme. We would like to extend a huge heart-felt thanks James Lewis, Holiday Extras

JAMAICA

SAINT LUCIA

ANTIGUA

BAHAMAS

THANKYOU FOR VOTING SANDALS “ STAR OPERATOR FOR INCENTIVES 2011”

to the travel agent community in voting for us and making our ‘California Expert’ training programme such a success. These awards serve to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across a broad range of sectors in the travel and tourism industry and are voted for exclusively by our peers. California Tourism is extremely proud to be recognised as an industry leader for its online training programme and will continue to improve and enhance our programme to deliver you the best learning experience. Stay tuned for further developments on ‘California Expert’ throughout the year, with access to exclusive events, parties and the chance to win places on our Superfam trip held annually. To become a California Expert register and complete the training at www.californiaexpert.co.uk If you register and complete the course now we’ll send you a goodie bag to say thanks. Just email agents@visitcalifornia.co.uk once you’re done! Once qualified you’ll also have access to special travel deals and discounts throughout the year too. Once again, thank you to all the industry for your votes and making us the best in the business! It's a triumph for the trio as Briana Cunningham (left), James Mead and Bethany Schuh from California Tourism proudly hold their award.

CONTACT YOUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Call Agency Sales 020 7590 0210 Email agencysales@sandals.co.uk Visit sellingsandals.co.uk

WORLD’S LEADING ALL INCLUSIVE RESORTS 17 YEARS RUNNING

bestsupportingacts

star awards 2011

STAR TOURIST OFFICE Winner: Spanish Tourist Office

Finalists: Barbados Tourism Authority, Hong Kong Tourism Board, South Africa Tourism, Tourism Australia, Trinidad & Tobago Tourist Office The Spanish Tourist Office is delighted to win the Travel Bulletin Star Award for Best Tourist Board! This year has been a tough one for many but despite this, Spain has seen an increase in visitors from the UK and we hope this trend will continue for 2012. Our team work closely with the travel trade and readers of Travel Bulletin to ensure everyone has up to date news on what is happening for holidaymakers in Spain. We continue to see new tourism projects launching through the many regions of Spain. Gastronomy is a strong highlight for holidaymakers

Nuria Guzmán, deputy director of the Spanish Tourist Office is thrilled to collect the award for Star Tourist Office.

endorsed this year by the very successful Rick Stein in Spain TV programme that ran throughout the summer. As the Olympics approach, Spain continues to offer excellent sporting opportunities on and off the water, and our cultural offering grows constantly with new museums opening and outstanding art and architecture. Most importantly, the beaches are beautiful and the sun continues to shine! We welcome all British holidaymakers and thank you again for all your continued support in promoting our beautiful country.

STAR TRADE FACING WEBSITE Winner: onlinetraveltraining.co.uk

Finalists: goldmedal.co.uk, kuoni.co.uk, superbreak.com, travel2.com, travelcube.com We are thrilled to win a Star Award for the ‘Best Trade Facing Website’ for the second year running. We’d like to thank all the travel agents that voted for us - it means everything to us that agents enjoy and benefit from using Online Travel Training. We’ve had an incredible last 12 months and we are just celebrating hitting 100 live travel e-learning courses. We have many more courses in the pipeline for you to enjoy and of course, many more fabulous supplier competitions. We are already planning to roll-out some brilliant new ideas to further improve the Website experience for agents next year - watch this space, and thanks again everyone. Clubbing together to celebrate their award are, from the left: Bruce Martin, Lynne Good, Ali Cairns and Jason Winter from Online Travel Training.

star awards 2011

bestsupportingacts

STAR TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPANY

James Lewis (left), strategic partnership manager from Holiday Extras with Robert Grover, Travel Bulletin.

Winner: Holiday Extras

Finalists: Journeys Travel Insurance, Mondial Assistance, Preferential Travel Insurance, Rock Travel Insurance We're delighted to have won Star Travel Insurance Company at this year's Travel Bulletin Awards. Our teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; commitment to providing insurance packages that are unique within the industry has been recognised by those within travel. We'll continue to listen to what our partners and customers require to ensure that we continue to provide products that are bespoke to their needs.

In October we'll continue with our programme of communicating our latest insurance products through the introduction of a brand new online training module.

STAR TOURIST OFFICE FOR INCENTIVES Winner: Barbados Tourism Authority

Finalists: Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, California Tourism, Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Tourism Australia We are delighted at winning a Travel Bulletin Star Award for yet another year and we extend our thanks to all the UK agents for their votes and continued support over the years. Much of the work we do is centered around devising unique initiatives as well as building close relationships with key partners, including agents, operators and airlines. We are perceived to be at the

Picking up the award for Star Tourist Office For Incentives is Stephen Pearl on behalf of Barbados Tourism.

leading edge of technology, developing sites such as the Bajan Club online portal as well as offering training initiatives, fam trips and other opportunities. We promise to continue to help the trade with their brilliant work in making Barbados the popular destination it is!

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's Jeanette Ratcliffe IR...Travel Bulletin A CYPRIOT AFFA si (left) of Cyplon friends Tass Anasta catches up with old prus Tourism. s Catsellis from Cy Holidays and Costa

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star awards 2011

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We asked our staff the following question this week: If you could change one physical feature about yourself what would it be? Publisher: Jeanette Ratcliffe jeanette.ratcliffe@travelbulletin.co.uk I would love to have an hourglass figure.

Editor: Lauretta Wright lauretta.wright@travelbulletin.co.uk My height - I'd like to be taller and I'm rubbish at the whole stiletto thing

Assistant Editor: Jill Sayles jill.sayles@travelbulletin.co.uk Slightly longer and more shapely legs

ly Strong (right) from Strong A STRONG HAND… Kel Belleair hand from Emma Yorke of Recruitment gets a helping nce. ura from Journeys Travel Ins Holidays and Patrick Chong

Contributing Editor: Paul Scudamore post@travelbulletin.co.uk To be slightly less attractive

Sales Director: Simon Eddolls simon.eddolls@travelbulletin.co.uk My smile

Advertisement Manager: Tim Podger tim.podger@travelbulletin.co.uk My nipples, I have three!

Online Sales Manager: Nick Boocock nick.boocock@travelbulletin.co.uk I've done it! A continuously dislocating tendon in my ankle has been put back in its place with keyhole surgery. I'm currently 10 weeks into a 12 week recovery programme.

Account Manager: Bill Coad bill.coad@travelbulletin.co.uk My height

Account Manager: Robert Grover robert.grover@travelbulletin.co.uk My nose - broke it a few years ago!

ty are, S...polished and ready to par HERE COME THE GIRL ita An h from Belleair Holidays wit from the left: Emma Yorke Thursfield from MAG. Kane, Katie Kirk and Sarah

Design: Genaro Santos genaro.santos@alaincharles.com To have an awesome six pack

Production: Henriette McCullough henriette.mccullough@alaincharles.com I'd have to go for golden year-round tan!

Circulation Manager: Jim Merchant

Travel Bulletin is published by Alain Charles Publishing (Travel) Ltd University House, 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place, London, SW1W 0EX, Tel: 020-7834 6661 Printed by: Wyndeham Heron Limited - Travel Bulletin is published weekly and distributed to every ABTA, TTA & GTG agent. Subscriptions are £95 p.a. for tour operators and others, plus additional ABTA, IATA copies. Overseas subscriptions by air mail: £125 ISSN: 0956-2419

Audit Bureau of Circulations Business magazines

a video rnia Tourist Office sponsored FILM STARS....The Califo the h wit , vies mo to identify competition whereby guests had iPod Shuffle. Pictured with an g nin win h winning table eac y dy are, from the left: Bethan mandatory popcorn at the rea d; lan Zea w Ne Air r, Par Matthew Schuh, California Tourism; Holidays. and Casey Hurford, Funway

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