Travel Bulletin 28 September 2012

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September 28 2012 | ISSUE NO 1,796 | www.travelbulletin.co.uk

A BIG THANK YOU

STAR SPECIALIST OPERATOR TO THE AMERICAS!

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More details overleaf

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THE AMERICAS

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September 28 2012 | ISSUE NO 1,796 | www.travelbulletin.co.uk

Star Awards 2012

A special souvenir issue to mark our 2012 Star Awards

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PROVENCE PARTY...The Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur (PACA) Regional Tourist Authority held 'The Best of Provence' workshop at sketch in London recently, the first time the event was held in London ahead of Marseille as the European City of Culture 2013. More than 440 suppliers from across Provence took part and the event welcomed more than 200 UK agents, organisers and operators. Pictured are, from the left: Beverley Hyams, Sunidol Travel; Gabi Birbeck and Dee Giagou, Rendez-Vous Travel; and Derek Small from Flight Centre.

DON’T MISS...

S01 TB Far East Supplement

2012 Start_Layout 1

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All About the

Haven reports families taking shorter breaks

Far East September 2012

p guide Your one-sto East developments in the Far

to all the latest news and

Produced by

with this issue

This Week 3

news

8

notes from normanton

9

agent bulletin

11

puzzle bulletin

12

agent review

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a round-up of the latest industry news, product launches & developments very sad news from Sandy...

win a four-night break in Croatia with Radisson Blu

complete the crossword for your chance to win £50 Pizza Express vouchers

find out what one agent thought of her trip to Marrakech

Star Awards 2012 celebrating the industry’s finest at Travel Bulletin’s 2012 Star Awards

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HAVEN HAS revealed a 3% increase in bookings this year across its 35 UK holiday parks, despite the UK having experienced the wettest summer on record for 100 years.

As summer officially came to a close, the operator also reported a change in booking trends with a noticeable increase in families booking a short break as opposed to the usual sevennight holiday during the school holidays.

Allan Lambert, the company's head of retail sales, said: “Results from our research showed a continued focus from families choosing brands that offer greater value for money holidays and offer a wide range of high quality products. Along with a positive bookings increase, there has also been a rise in customer satisfaction levels and early indications show that bookings for 2013 are already up 6%.

“Our increase in booking figures during summer 2012 and bookings for 2013 illustrate that the UK continues to be a growth market which agents are well placed to capitalise on. Families are not forgoing their UK holidays, however the growth in short breaks versus traditional sevennight stays suggests that they are looking to take several shorter holidays across the year rather than one main break away – a fantastic opportunity for travel agents.”

Premium credit cards will increase cost of buying holidays says AITO CREDIT CARDS offered by the banks, offering a range of enticing benefits including money back and free travel insurance are not the good-news story they initially seem to be, according to The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO). The holiday specialist group says that using premium credit cards could push up the costs of buying all goods and services for all consumers.

Chairman of the association, Derek Moore said: “Our 140-plus specialist holiday companies have noticed that some client credit card transactions are attracting much higher fees than their usual pre-contracted rates, resulting in their total bills from the banks’ merchant acquirers increasing by as much as 1%.

“Nearly 30% of consumers buying holidays do so by credit card. Based on AITO members’ joint turnover of £1billion per annum, we’ve done the sums and realise that these higher charges represent an

extra unbudgeted cost to AITO’s small-tomedium sized member businesses of around £600,000 per annum, on top of the costs already charged by credit card merchant companies. Multiply that across other companies and other sectors, and it’s clear that we’re all being milked of a lot of money by these organisations.

“We’ve done some digging, and discovered that this extra cost is down to premium credit cards. Incredibly, businesses cannot tell when a consumer pays for a purchase by credit card if it’s a normal or a premium credit card. Neither do businesses know until they receive their credit card bills what each bank’s merchant acquirer is going to charge them – ie the normal pre-contracted 1.5% to 2% fee or a fee of up to 3%. These are effectively stealth charges, and are as iniquitous as a stealth tax. Holiday companies are not high-margin, ● continues on next page

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high-profit businesses. Many AITO members will make as little as 2% to 5% on the sale of their carefully-crafted holidays. To find that such modest margins are hit by unexpected and unbudgeted additional charges is a big shock and we believe it is totally unreasonable. All charges of this type must be transparent, by which we mean that they must be specified clearly and in advance.

“We – and, importantly, consumers - need to know at the point of sale what the card charge to the business will be. Our members can then levy a fair charge on the consumer to cover the additional costs. And of course, armed with this information, consumers can choose to pay with cards that incur lower charges or, alternatively, by low-cost methods such as bank transfer, debit card or cheque.

“ATOL and other Government-approved financial protection schemes, to which all AITO members subscribe, mean that there’s full financial protection in place however payment is made. Transparency is, we believe, essential.

It’s both good for business and good for the consumer.”

The association says that it plans to write to the Office of Fair Trading and the next step could be, says Moore, a blanket increase in charges to all users of credit cards.

He said: “We hate having to consider increasing costs to all credit card users, but without any way of identifying the cards that will attract such punitive charges from the banks’ merchant acquirers, we simply have no choice. What the banks’ merchant acquirers are doing is akin to daylight robbery, costing small businesses and consumers millions, and I think we’re all fed up with our financial institutions getting away with it. We seek, quite simply, transparency as far as all credit card transactions are concerned.”

New fly/cruise itinerary from Quark Expeditions QUARK EXPEDITIONS has announced the launch of its Antarctic 2013/14 season, where highlights include a voyage featuring the first Floating Polar Film Festival in conjunction with Hot Docs, a fly/cruise that takes passengers across the Antarctic Circle, and a 22-day ‘do it all’ Antarctic adventure, that travels to South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula.

The company's portfolio offers 32 departures starting from November 1, 2013 and the new 11-day fly/cruise

voyage departs on December 23, with passengers celebrating New Year's Eve on the Sea Adventurer. Prices lead in at £7,050 per person. The ship, formerly known as Clipper Adventurer, features outside cabins with en-suite facilities, a TV and DVD player in every cabin, a Polar Boutique, internet access and a fitness room. All-inclusive beverage packages are available on the ship.

As an early booking incentive, clients who reserve by September 30 will receive a 25% discount on suites and 20% off on all other cabin categories.

For more information visit www.quarkexpeditions.com

New tour from Spanish Thyme Traveller THE SPANISH Thyme Traveller has launched The Iberos Tour, which offers a combination of exercise, culture and relaxation and allows guests to experience Valencia on foot.

The tour takes guests through the varied terrain of Valencia, from vineyards to canyons and medieval cities, and each walk is between two and five hours.

Prices lead in at €1,180 per person, based on two sharing, including accommodation, transport and tour guides.

For more information visit www.thespanishthymetraveller.com

Mailbox Mailings with Travel Bulletin this week include: ● Bourne Leisure's latest 'UK Today' newsletter is out

PODIUM PALS...more than 25 travel agents and in-house sales staff from Inghams, Iglu, Alpine Answers, Ski Solutions and Crystal Ski were invited to the VIP area at Austria House Tirol for a special resort training session. The small group sessions with resort partners, Ischgl, Zillertal, Kitzbühler Alps, Innsbruck and Innsbruck Airport delivered knowledge on selling ski for 2012/13 and highlighted what’s new for next season.The event also included an Apres-ski quiz with bronze, silver and gold prizes awarded to the winners. Pictured on the podium are the winners of the quiz - from the left: Adrian Russell, Nick Jackson and Esther Collas, all from Iglu, with Karin Seiler (left) and Patricia Meixner (right) from the Tirol Tourist Board.

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today with all the news, fun and chances to win with Butlins, Haven and Warner Holidays. ● Cyplon have launched their 2012-13 Hotel incentives, book with Cyplon and receive free stays PLUS earn £10 Capital Bonds vouchers per passenger for holidays made by December 2012, valid for any date of travel. Details on this call 020 8340 7612 or Email - sales@cyplon.co.uk For further details and special offers please read the mail shots that accompany this issue

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newsbulletin Half-term family deals from Beachcomber Tours BEACHCOMBER TOURS is offering a range of family deals for October halfterm to a selection of its family-friendly properties in Mauritius and the Seychelles, including Dinarobin Hotel Golf & Spa, Paradis Hotel & Golf Club, Shandrani Resort & Spa and Sainte Anne Resort & Spa. Prices lead in at £2,137 per person based on two adults and two children sharing, and includes transfers and Economy Air Mauritius flights from Heathrow, departing on October 26.

For more information call 01483-445621 or visit www.beachcombertours. co.uk

Haven welcomes X Factor stars HAVEN IS welcoming two of The X Factors' stars to Combe Haven holiday park in Sussex next month.

Johnny Robinson will be appearing at the park on October 10 and Kitty Brucknell will be performing on October 17.

Prices for a four-night mid-week break cost from £99 for a family for an October 15 arrival, based on up to six people sharing a Superior twobedroom caravan, including a performance by Kitty Brucknell.

For details see www.bourneleisuresales.

Johnny Robinson co.uk or call 0871-230 1919.

Hurtigruten offers 17-day Trans-Atlantic voyage from £1,615 HURTIGRUTEN IS offering a 17-day Trans-Atlantic voyage, with three departure dates for 2012/13 and prices leading in at £1,615 per person.

MS Fram will start her winter repositioning journey from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Buenos Aires on October 14, to begin sailing around Antarctica. She will return again on March 12 next year, ready to sail around Europe for summer, before making her way back across the Atlantic once again on October 18.

The ship features a sauna, whirlpool and fitness room and prices are based on a full-board basis for two sharing. Flights are extra.

For more information call on 020-8846 2666 or see www.hurtigruten.co.uk/agents

Ski Total extends property portfolio across the Alps in new brochure SKI TOTAL has added seven new chalets and one new chalet hotel to its portfolio across the Alps.

The new brochure now totals 127 properties, with 70% of these offering a hot tub, sauna, steam room or an indoor swimming pool.

All properties now offer unlimited free Wi-fi and an MP3 dock, as well as board games and playing cards.

The operator has also extended its ‘Crunch-Buster’ deals for next season, with two-for-one ski and boot-hire deals and two-for-one lift passes at every Swiss chalet and chalet hotel, in addition to cash-back savings off

brochure prices in every resort. These combine to offer savings of up to £640 per couple, all designed to help skiers get the best possible value by booking early.

Holiday prices lead in at £429 per person at Chalet Hotel Champs Avalins in Val d’Isère, France, departing on December 9, including Southampton-Geneva flights, transfers and seven nights’ breakfast accommodation. It also includes afternoon tea and five-course evening meals with wine, coffee and chocolates.

For more information or to make a booking call 01483791933 or visit www.skitotal.com

Iceland Express celebrates Icelandic cuisine

QUIDS IN...Thomson Airways has raised £1million for The Family Holiday Association, which helps UK families in need, through its in-flight coin collections. Pictured celebrating the milestone are, from the left: John MacDonald, Family Holiday Association; Marie Nichols, Thomson Airways' cabin crew from Gatwick; and Chris Browne from Thomson Airways.

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ICELAND EXPRESS is celebrating Icelandic cuisine throughout next month with the launch of a new food guide which is available on all flights from London to Reykjavik. The guide offers recipes, as well as tips on places to dine both in the capital and off the tourist track.

Passengers flying with the airline in October will also receive a 10% discount off their total food bill at five participating restaurants by presenting their boarding card. A 15% discount is also available on a Laugarvatn Tour by Reykjavík Excursions.

One-way fares lead in at £89 from Gatwick including taxes, surcharges, check-in, 20kg baggage allowance and 10kg hand luggage allowance.

For more information visit www.icelandexpress.com/localfoodguide or call 0118-321 8384.

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newsbulletin Tweets of the Week Who’s saying what on Twitter... @InsightVacation NEW FOR 2013! Early Payment Discount - Pay in full before 27th Dec 2012 and save up to 10% per person. @anatoliansky1 #Madeira 7 nights staying at the Melia Madeira Mare Hotel on the 6th March 2013 Standard room - b&b From £595pp Call us on 0844 273 0656 @RiuHoteles RIU Hotels & Resorts awarded Star Worldwide Hotel Group in the Travel Bulletin Star Awards: http://ow.ly/dNNcO @superbreak Getting married? Check out our latest blog post on the little hints, tips and extras Superbreak can offer! http://bit.ly/S4qzwd @imtrav We found this on our travels - what weird things have you seen? http://pic.twitter.com/ Ld5j7cEs @Holidaysplease Are you an adrenaline, thrill-seeking junkie?

Dare to visit some of the World's Most Dangerous Beaches... http://huff.to/QW1VBj

Follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/ TravelBulletin

JAZZ TIME...Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), Monarch Airlines and representatives from Munich Airport and German Tourist Boards recently gathered at Leeds Bierkeller, to celebrate the new route to Munich with local travel agents and hoteliers. Pictured with the Oompah band to mark the new yearround route, which launches in December, are, from the left: Debbie Dixon, Going Places; Michelle Harriman, Hanson Travel; Nicola Thompson, Thomas Cook Morley; James Broughton, LBA; and Samantha Eamonson, Hayes Travel. The new route will initially operate twice weekly until March when the service will increase to three times weekly. Fares lead in at £39.99 one-way including taxes.

For details see www.monarch.co.uk

Mark Warner launches 2012/12 Ski Resorts brochure MARK WARNER has launched its 2012/13 Ski Resorts Brochure which features the French resorts of Val d’Isere, Tignes, Les Deux Alpes, La Plagne, Courchevel 1850 and Meribel; Courmayeur in Italy and St Anton in Austria.

For the forthcoming winter season the operator has extended its partnership with British Airways in signing an agreement which will see the airline operate 65% of the operator’s Heathrow and Gatwick charter flights into Grenoble, Geneva and Friedrichafen for the 2012/13 Ski season. This is the first time that the two companies have partnered up for the

company's ski season.

Additionally, Monarch will operate an extra Gatwick flight in addition to its existing Birmingham service for the operator, whilst Jet2 will operate Mark Warner’s charter service from Manchester.

Early Booking Offers are available for holidays booked before October 15 of £75 off per adult and £50 off per child or childshare at all hotels excluding the following departure dates: December 23 and 30, February 17 and March 31.

There is also an additional £50 discount per adult, child or childshare for all hotels and on all departure dates if

the full payment is made at time of booking, as well as hundreds of free childshare places available where a child travels for free when sharing a room with his/her parents.

The overall lead-in price for the brochure, including the early booking offer, is £393 per person including flights from Gatwick, seven nights' half-board accommodation (including wine with dinner, plus afternoon tea at Hauts de Toviere in Tignes), resort transfers, ski hosting and evening childcare.

For more information or to make a booking call 0844-273 6826.

Boost in festive break sales for Leger Holidays LEGER HOLIDAYS has announced year-on-year increases of up to 25% in customers booking European Christmas Market tours and festive breaks.

The top selling breaks include Salzburg, Munich and Innsbruck Christmas Markets, which lead in at £379 for seven days; Cologne Christmas Markets, which cost from £169 for three days; and Christmas or New Year on Lake Como, which leads in at £669 for seven days.

Tours include travel by Silver Service Coaches plus a range of excursions and departure dates are available from late November and throughout December.

For more information or to book visit www.legerbreaks.info or call 0844-504 6250.

Winter deals from London & Manchester to range of destinations from TAP Portugal TAP PORTUGAL is offering reduced fares from London and Manchester to destinations including Funchal, Lisbon and Porto.

Flights departing in November and between January 10 and March 10, 2013 from London to Funchal lead in at £144 return, while flights from Manchester to both Lisbon and Porto have reduced fares available between November 1 and December 15

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and January 10 and March 15, 2013, at £112 and £168 respectively.

All flights include a pre-assigned seat, 23kg baggage allowance and a complimentary meal and drinks and can be booked until October 31.

For more information or to book visit www.flytap.com

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newsbulletin Jon Baines Tours adds new China option JON BAINES Tours is offering a new tour for this year called Journey Along the Yangtze, which takes visitors on a journey through China's history and culture. The tour runs from October 11-27 and highlights include a visit to the silk workshops and gardens of 2,000 year old Suzhou, a four-night cruise along the Yangtze River, a visit to the Great Buddha of Leshan and a stay in Beijing.

The tour is led by Dr Frances Wood, author of many books on China and Chinese history, and she will provide a number of talks on the tour.

All-inclusive prices lead in at £3,480 per person.

For more information visit www.jonbainestours.co.uk

Superbreak offers ATP World Tour Tennis Final packages from £126 HOT OFF his historic Grand Slam win at the US Open, Andy Murray will take part in the ATP World Tennis Finals at the O2 Arena between November 5-12, and Superbreak is offering a range of packages to see him play. The operator is urging agents to capitalise on the recent Murray mania and promote final, semi-final and qualifying tickets.

Graham Balmforth, the company's national sales manager said: “A big event always triggers interests and agents need to ride on the back of it. Murray’s recent Grand Slam win is a great hook for agents to promote our tennis packages in their windows and capture the demand. We still have availability for key matches and these could make excellent Christmas presents.”

Alongside Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal have already qualified for the finals. Prices start from £126 per person, including one night’s bedand-breakfast accommodation and tickets to the tennis.

For more information visit www.superbreak.com/agents or call 0871-221 4444.

DARWIN'S THEORY...Kirsten Hart from Travelbag in Knutsford won a trip to the Northern Territory’s capital of Darwin as part of an agent incentive to promote the city as one of Singapore Airlines and Silk Air’s new destinations. The prize included flights with Singapore Airlines and Silk Air to Darwin, three nights’ accommodation at the five-star SKYCITY beach resort and entry into Crocosaurus Cove, one of the city’s top attractions.Pictured with Kirsten are Martin Friend (left) from Singapore Airlines and Robert Hardless from Tourism Northern Territory.

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MOVERS RED SAVANNAH has appointed Tim Best as business development director. ● THE FOUR-star Royal York Hotel has appointed Gary Jenkins as executive head chef. ● TREVOR CAPLIS has been appointed tour operator sales manager for Jet2.com ● TRAVELODGE HAS appointed Catriona Kempston as sales and marketing director. ● RUTH HILTON has joined Gold Medal to head up the operator’s sales division. ● INTERCONTINENTAL LONDON Westminster, which opens its doors on November 2, has appointed Ashley Harman to head concierge. ● FRED OLSEN Cruise Lines has appointed Vivienne Shenkin as area sales executive, responsible for Scotland, Cumbria and Northern Ireland. ● UDAY SODHA has been appointed sales director at G Adventures. ●

Notes from . . . n o t n a m r o N IRST OF all a BIG thank you for a wonderful night at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards at the Landmark Hotel in London - great night, great company, great food and great entertainment with the cast of ‘We Will Rock You’. Everyone was up on their feet singing along! Certainly made me want to go see the show – I bet a few people thought that and at least if you see them you can tell customers how vibrant and alive they were – their costumes and hairstyles were excellent.

Congratulations to all the well deserved tour operators that won awards - there were certainly some worthy winners – they did fantastic and commiserations to Leeds Bradford International Airport as it was their first time at the awards - better luck next time.

‘It is heartbreaking for me to write this but by the time you read it you will probably have heard that I have had to close Sandy Travel due to financial circumstances - it would have been 21 years on November 4!

Not a lot I can say except to thank everyone for their friendship. It is a wonderful industry to be in and never a dull moment. I would like to stay in travel so if anyone needs staff cover for holidays etc or possible jobs, let me know. Joanne says don’t forget her either - we both have loads of experience over 20 years each!

Again a big Thank You to you all for all your support and friendship especially the great tour operators that have supported me and I hope it is not too long before we meet again.'

‘Those who feed on hope exist but do not live’ and ‘Do not speak of your life only in the future tense’.

F

by SANDRA MURRAY of Sandy Travel in Normanton, Yorkshire

P&O FERRIES is offering a two-for-one mini cruise deal this autumn, where the second person goes free. Two-night breaks are available from October 1 until December 29 on departures from Hull to either Zeebrugge or Rotterdam.

Prices lead in at £73 per person and include overnight crossings in an en-suite cabin and coach transfers for a day of sightseeing in Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Bruges.

For more information visit www.poferries.com/minicruises or call 0871-664 6664.

Go

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WEBSCLUSIVES ●

Make sure you enter our crossword, sponsored by The Holiday Team. Full details can be found on Puzzle Bulletin, page 11 of this issue. You could be the lucky winner of £50 of Pizza Express vouchers.

Send your entries to www.travelbulletin.co.uk/crossword

●

Check out the digital edition of our ‘All About the Far East’ supplement, with in-depth features on China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia – plus a general round-up on the rest of the region.

Go to www.travelbulletin.co.uk

●

Make sure you check out the full photo gallery from the Travel Bulletin Star Awards 2012.

Visit www.tbawards.fotoseeker.com

All this and more at: To respond to any of Sandy’s comments email jill. sayles@travelbulletin.co.uk

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Two-for-one cruise deals from P&O

September 28 2012

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

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agentbulletin Booking incentives ●

AVALON WATERWAYS is offering agents the chance to win a Kindle when they complete the newly updated online travel training course for 2013 river cruises by September 30. Agents can find out about the latest products, including the new ‘Suite’ ships for 2013, Artistry II and Expression, European cruise itineraries, excursion and dining options. Also featured is the company's Asia programme to include a specially designed ship for River Mekong cruises due to launch next month.

For details visit www.onlinetraveltraining.co.uk

●

FOR EVERY booking made with Villa Select by September 30 and departing in September/October, agents will receive a £10 Love2shop voucher. To claim, email your name, agency and booking reference to holidays@villaselect.com

●

BOOK ANY Titan ocean or river cruise, Uniworld river cruise or Titan Saga cruise, by September 30 for any departure and receive £50 Love2shop vouchers. To claim email booking details to agentadmin@titantravel.co.uk.

For full details and terms and conditions see www.titanagents.co.uk

●

AGENTS CAN win an Apple product every day with Travel 2’s latest incentive in partnership with United Airlines and Air Canada. Each day until October 12, the company is giving away an iPad 3, iPod Touch or iPod Shuffle. Agents have the chance to win a prize by making a booking to the US or Canada with Travel 2 including flights with United Airlines or Air Canada before October 12. If the booking includes more than two nights’ accommodation, agents will receive two entries into the prize draw.

For details see www.travel2.com

Fancy a fam?

ELITE ISLAND Resorts has kic ked off a new campaign for travel professio nals as part of a major investment to keep all of its eight resorts front of mind when age nts are selling holidays to the Caribbean. The new trade campaign, combines a mega fam trip for 50 agents to Antigua in May 201 3 and a new sales guide to all resorts. The fam has been launched in partnership wit h the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority and British Airways and more than 50 pla ces are up for grabs. To qualify for a place agents need to sign up to the online trainin g courses for both Elite Island Resorts and the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority at www.agentelitetraining.co.uk and www.azantiguabarbuda.com . Agents making three or more bookings to Ant igua for a minimum of two people stayin g in an Elite Island Resorts’ hotel, flying on BA flights to Antigua and reporting the sal es at www.antiguafam365.com are also in with a chance of winning a place.

Benidorm break THE BENIDORM Tourist Board ran a competition in Travel Bulletin for agents last month, based on asking three questions about the resort to highlight there is more to Benidorm than meets the eye. A total of 186 agents and operators participated and the winner was Hannah Mair, sales advisor & customer service at Voyager Travel Direct.

Hannah won accommodation for two people in a four-star hotel for four nights on a half-board basis, entrance tickets to theme parks, a choice of entrance to Benidorm Palace nightclub or a boat trip to Benidorm Island and transfers.

For more information see www.visitbenidorm.es

Agent Offer Radisson Blu is giving agents and a partner the chance to win four nights' breakfast stay at the five-star Dubrovnik Sun Gardens Resort & Spa in Croatia. The prize is valid for stays between October 1 and May 31, 2013 in a Deluxe Room with a sea view and balcony. To enter visit http://tinyurl.com/copft3d and submit your answers to three questions.

www.travelbulletin.co.uk

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newsbulletin Balkan Holidays adds three- and four-night ski weekends in Slovenia BALKAN HOLIDAYS has launched new three- and fournight winter ski weekends to Slovenia.

Skiers can choose a base in Kranjska Gora, Lake Bled or Lake Bohinj or take a short break in Bansko and Borovets, Bulgaria. All resorts are suitable for beginners and intermediate skiers.

Prices start from around £251 per person for a three-night break in Borovets, based on four adults staying in a one-bedroom selfcatering apartment, departing in March next year. Packages include half-board accommodation in three- and four-star hotels, flights and transfers.

The ski packs include a lift pass, equipment hire and lessons, which are prebookable from £50 per person.

Ski weekends are available on selected dates from January 10 until April 3 and flights to Sofia, Bulgaria, depart from Gatwick, Luton and Heathrow on Thursdays and Fridays and from Manchester on Saturdays.

Departures to Ljubliana, Slovenia, are from

Stansted on Thursdays and Fridays and from Luton on Saturdays.

For more information call 0845-130 1114 or see www.balkanholidays.co.uk Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

Sandals Royal Bahamian hosts 'Relationship Retreat' weekend in January SANDALS RESORTS has teamed up with relationship specialists, Gary Coxe & Dr. Willard F. Harley, to offer a Romantic Retreat Weekend at the company's Royal Bahamian Resort.

The three-day weekend takes place between January 2427, 2013 and offers couples in all stages of their relationship

a chance to improve their communication, resolve conflicts and form a more intimate connection.

Prices start from £1,799 per person, including flights, transfers and seven nights' Luxury Included accommodation.

For details call 020-7590 0210 or see www.sellingsandals.co.uk

New partnership set to boost business travel to Bristol FIRST GREAT Western and Destination Bristol have teamed up to offer a new rail fare scheme for conference delegates, designed to encourage business travel to Bristol.

Reduced rail rates are available for conference delegates travelling at any time to the city from all main First Great Western stations, as well as many connecting routes from the home counties.

Standard return travel between Bristol Temple Meads and Paddington has been set at a reduced rate of £44, while First Class travel costs from £89.

For more information or to book visit http://visitbristol.co.uk/conferencefares

European & Worldwide brochure from Treyn offers 16 new tour options

SHADY LADIES... If Only... hosted 75 agents and guests to the grand finale of its If Only... Challenge at the Private Members Club 29 in Glasgow. Pictured donning their 70s gear to dance to ABBA tribute band “Super Trouper” are Debbie Stewart (left) and Lesley Millar from Jigsaw Travel in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. The highlight of the evening was the Wheel of Fortune Game where the value of prizes totalled £14,000. Qualifying agents won luxury holidays to the Maldives and Dubai, a case of Champagne, a gourmet hamper, cookery classes, driving experiences, theatre tickets and hotel stays in the UK, Dubai and Mauritius.

10

September 28 2012

TREYN’S NEW European & Worldwide brochure for 2013 is the operator’s largest publication at 100 pages and features 66 tours in total, 16 of which are new.

As an example, a Rhine Valley all-inclusive tour gives guests the opportunity to discover the Rhine Valley, from its wine towns to its heritage railways. Prices lead in at £638 per person for eight days, including all meals, selected drinks with dinner, rail travel, seven nights' hotel accommodation, selected excursions including a Rhine Cruise and the services of a tour leader.

For more information call 01904-734 940 or see www.railholidays.com

www.travelbulletin.co.uk

S03 TB2809 2012 News 2_Layout 1 26/09/2012 14:21 Page 11

puzzlebulletin Travagrams

Su Doku Win a £50 Hotel Chocolat voucher in the travelbulletin Su Doku prize puzzle

Can you solve the following anagrams to decipher the destination & tour operator?

Number: 082

Croci Fetish

A➠

B➠ This operator is never selected second, third or fourth

C➠

dye syn

D➠ Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the 3 x 3 squares contains the digits 1-9.

Once you have completed the puzzle, simply identify the numbers that relate to the letters, A, B, C and D then e-mail the solution, with your name, company name, and full postal address plus phone and ABTA number if applicable to: competition@travelbulletin.co.uk Closing date for entries is Thursday, October 4th. Solution and new puzzle will appear next week.

The winner for 14th September is Melanie Pennie, Thomas Cook in Bradford.

September 14 Solution: A=2 B=8 C=1 D=7

Crossword

Sponsored By

Miranda Kerr the Victoria Secret model is from this City.

Where Am I?

Streymoy is the laregst of my 18 islands.

Fill in the crossword to reveal the mystery location highlighted by the blue squares and visit www.travelbulletin.co.uk/crossword to submit your entry. All correct entries will be placed in a free prize draw and one lucky winner will win £50 Pizza Express vouchers.

Closing date for entries is Thursday October 4th.

Across 1. European airline (9) 6. Country, initially (3) 7. Red Funnel operates to this port (5) 8. P&O cruise ship (6) 9. Currency of Ghana (4) 11. Hawaiian island (4) 12. TV and radio presenter Chris, now on tour with Jesus Christ Superstar (6) 14. Ferry operator, ___ Line (5) 15. Flag carrier of Portugal (3) 16. Cyclades island (9)

Down 1. British female No1 tennis player (5,6) 2. Frankfurt airport code (3) 3. Capital of Tasmania (6) 4. DIY SOS presenter, ___ Knowles (4) 5. US state and river (11) 10. Scarborough is the capital of this Caribbean island (6) 13. Normandy city (4) 15. Major travel company (3)

Number: 082

Congratulations to Anna Davis, Preston Travel who won the 14th September crossword prize of £50 Pizza Express vouchers

www.travelbulletin.co.uk

THE HOLIDAY TEAM IS A CONSOLIDATOR PROVIDING BEST VALUE FLIGHTS & PACKAGE HOLIDAYS TO BOOK CALL 020-8843 4300; www.theholidayteam.co.uk

The Where Am I and Travagrams solutions can be found on page 40 September 28 2012

11

S03 TB2809 2012 News 2_Layout 1 26/09/2012 11:45 Page 12

newsbulletin Kuoni issues Collection brochure featuring new destinations

Comfort ....................................................6/10

KUONI HAS launched its ‘Kuoni Collection’ brochure offering luxury tailor-made experiences, five-star accommodation and a range of new destinations, including Thailand's Naka Island Hotel, which offers destressing spa treatments.

Another option is a cruise along the backwaters of India for three nights on the MV Oberoi Vrinda as part of a seven-night tour of Kerala that includes two nights in Cochin and two nights on Lake Vemanad.

A selection of early bird offers are also available, including Sugar Beach in St Lucia, for bookings made

by January 2013.

Meanwhile, guests looking to stay at The Fairmont Royal Pavilion on the west coast in St James’s, Barbados, should book before February 28 to receive a $200 food and beverage credit on seven-night stays and $500 credit on 14-night stays.

There’s a lot of noise & the city traffic is extremely hectic crossing the road needs caution! Market traders are (too) keen to sell. But beyond the salesmen, the local people we met were utterly charming.

Second person flies free to Vietnam & Cambodia with APT Group

agentreview Ginny Scott, a Travel Counsellor from Wivenhoe, near Colchester, took a four-night city break to Marrakech with Classic Collection to visit hotels, riads & mountain retreats. Here's what she thought of the trip...

First impressions ....................................8/10 The sights, sounds & culture are a world away from Europe and yet just over three hours by air from Gatwick.

Temperatures were in the high 20s and the blue skies made a pleasant change.

Quality ......................................................9/10 From the superb Kasbah Tamadot and opulent La Mamounia to the world class Four Seasons Resort, these hotels merit their five-star rating. Traditional riads are akin to small boutique hotels, with ornate and beautiful interior décor and plenty of Moroccan charm.

Affordability ............................................8/10 The hotels represent good value for money and the destination offers very reasonable prices once you’re out and about.

Although be prepared to haggle.

Service ....................................................8/10 Service in general tends towards the leisurely and relaxed which can frustrate occasionally. But hotel staff were always courteous and polite. La Mamounia, Kasbah Tamadot and the Four Seasons’ service was exceptional.

Good to know ..................................................

Escape the hustle and bustle of Marrakech by staying in a mountain retreat in Asni, where there are properties to meet most budgets. Explore the city early when there are fewer people and traffic, allowing you to enjoy and enjoy the intricate architecture and so many beautiful flowers.

Overall scoring:......................

8.5 /10

Ginny receives a £10 Love2Shop voucher for her review.

If you'd like to take part and receive a free Love2Shop voucher please email jill.sayles@travelbulletin.co.uk or call 020-7834 6661 with your name and contact details.

12

September 28 2012

IN ADDITION to its 50% discount and no single supplement offers on the 15-day ‘Magnificent Europe’ cruise, APT Group is now offering travellers the chance to ‘Discover Vietnam & Cambodia’ on selected guided tours and river cruises between November and April next year.

The operator is offering a 14-day trip to the destinations for two people, with the first person paying £3,495 and the second person flying for free, paying £2,245. The trip includes flights, transfers, hotel accommodation, seven nights on the RV AmaLotus, selected meals and beverages, a tour director and local guides, Freedom of Choice touring, sightseeing, tours, entrance fees and all tipping and gratuities.

For more information or to book call 0845-604 0792, email info@aptouring.co.uk or see www.aptgroup.travel

Cox & Kings’ 2013 Africa brochure provides flexible tailor-made travel COX & Kings has launched its new Africa brochure for 2013, featuring new tours to Zimbabwe, escorted group tours and tailor-made itineraries across Africa.

The brochure features Zimbabwe for the first time in ten years, offering trips such as the 11-day, eight-night ‘Best of West’ fly-safari. Priced from £3,425 per person, the itinerary is designed to give a flavour of Zimbabwe’s most iconic destinations, including Bulawayo, Matabo Hills, Hwange National Parks and Victoria Falls.

Meanwhile, an escorted tour to Madagascar has become the best selling group tour in the Africa brochure, with a 100% increase in passenger numbers compared to last year. An increasingly popular twin-centre holiday is to combine Madagascar’s wildlife with the beaches of Mauritius. The ‘Madagascar Adventure’ is a 14-day, 11night tour which leads in at £2,895 per person.

All prices include flights from London, transfers, excursions, breakfast accommodation based on two sharing and other meals as specified.

For more information see www.coxandkings.co.uk/africa

www.travelbulletin.co.uk

S03 TB2809 2012 News 2_Layout 1 26/09/2012 11:45 Page 13

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Just 21/2 hours away cometotunisia.co.uk

Basking in over 12 hours of gorgeous sunshine every day in summer and some of the most beautiful beaches on the southern Mediterranean coast, Tunisia will surprise, delight and amaze.

But there’s much more to Tunisia than just wonderful beaches. You can marvel at the Þ nest surviving Roman ruins in the world, experience the mighty Sahara, rise to the challenge of our world-class golf courses or enjoy a blissful Thalassotherapy spa session at your luxury hotel.

Tunisia is only 21/2 hours ß ight away, but as itÕs outside the eurozone, youÕll Þ nd your money goes further. Tunisia has so much to oȔ er, youÕll Þ nd that your customers will want to return again and again.

For more information about Tunisia and for further details about transport, attractions and accomodation visit cometotunisia.co.uk or email info@cometotunisia.co.uk or call 020 7224 5561 Search: ‘Come to Tunisia’ on

Top Tunisia Facts ¥ Just 21/2 hours from London ¥ Fantastic year-round weather ¥ Beautiful Mediterranean beaches ¥ Excellent value for money ¥ Great choice of luxury hotels ¥ Delicious traditional cuisine ¥ Thousands of years of history ¥ High quality luxury spas ¥ Stunning Sahara desert Popular resorts ¥ Port El Kantaoui ¥ Yasmine Hammamet ¥ Djerba

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 15

Star Awards 2012

Stars in your eyes...

Celebrating the industry's finest at Travel Bulletin's 2012 Star Awards ravel Bulletin’s 16th annual Travel Star Awards evening took place at the prestigious five-star Landmark Hotel in London to celebrate the industry's finest.

A total of 32 awards were presented to deserved winners, divided into five sectors - Smooth Operators, Landlords, Sea Captains, High Fliers and Best Supporting Acts.

This year saw the introduction of a number of new awards including: Star Specialist To Asia, Star Specialist To Africa, Star Specialist To The Americas, Star Specialist Operator To Europe, Star Specialist Operator To The UK, Star Adventure/Activity Holidays Specialist and Star Family Cruise Company.

T

The winners of the Star Awards were chosen by the industry's experts - travel agents. A total of 25,000 voting forms were mailed out to our agent readers earlier this year and agents were given free rein to vote for who they thought was deserving of the award. All those who voted were entered into a free prize draw to win one of three fantastic prizes donated

by Jetset Holidays.

The evening included a pre-dinner drinks reception, a three-course dinner with the programme sponsored by Bourne Leisure, followed by a fabulous After Show party, which included music, dancing and amazing ‘green screen’, which

was sponsored by Visit California Tourist Office.

TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion, Chris Hollins, was the host of the awards presentation, where winners were given their Star Award, along with a bottle of celebratory Champagne, which was sponsored by Attraction World. Encore Tickets also provided outstanding entertainment in the form of 25 performers from the cast of ‘We Will Rock You’.

A huge congratulations to all this year's winners and finalists and thank you to all those that made the event possible, including our readers who continue to support this event by voting in their thousands.

Putting you in the picture

Ready, Jetset, go…

Pictures of all the winners and guests at this year's Travel Bulletin Star Awards are available to view online at http://tbawards.fotoseeker.com. To download any images, users will first need to register on the site, which is free of charge. Fotoseeker supplies image management and photo library software to the travel industry, including hotels, cruise lines, tourist offices and operators, who can showcase their images online and benefit from Fotoseeker's huge database of the world's media and travel professionals from as little as £95 per month. The site is currently used by 139 countries as a means of showcasing and promoting destinations and this figure continues to grow on a daily basis. The site features more than 150,000 images and is currently used by 30,000 registered users worldwide. All images are of an industry standard format for publication and do not need to be resized prior to publication, while Fotoseeker's bespoke service offers customised image libraries integrated into clients' Websites. For more information email colin@fotoseeker.com

All agents who voted in the 2012 Star Awards were entered into a free prize draw to win one of three super prizes, donated by Jetset.

st

1

John Hall, Carrick Travel, Leamington Spa - Top Prize of 2 return economy tickets to any Spanish destination.

Penny Bones, Southern Cross Travel, Wadhurst - 2nd prize of a mixed case of wine.

Sarah Clewlow, Regent Travel, Staffs - 3rd prize of a mixed case of wine.

15

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 16

Star Awards 2012

Smooth Operators

Star Holiday Parks Operator Winner: Haven Finalists: Butlins, Hoseasons, Keycamp Holidays Haven is thrilled to have won the award for Star Holiday Parks Operator of the Year at this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Awards. This is the fourth year running and we’d like to thank all of our agents for their continued support and for voting for us. This is a fantastic accolade and one that the whole Haven team is very proud of. As a team, we recognise the contribution travel agents make in selling our holidays and the uncompromised service they offer guests. Our trade partners are an invaluable extension of our team.

Haven continues to focus on delivering the best possible value for money holiday experience to our mutual customers and creating magical memories Picking up the Star Holiday Parks Operator Award is Allan Lambert (left), head of retail sales for Haven, for all the family. Naturally we are committed to supporting our travel agent with Travel Bulletin's Bill Coad friends with the very best tools to ensure they have the very latest product knowledge and are best placed to maximise every sales opportunity. Haven is grateful to all travel agents for their continued support, investment of time and hard work, all of which are integral to our ongoing success.

“It's absolutely fantastic to pick up this award.

Just to get the votes from agents is unbelievable.

We're absolutely thrilled and a big thanks to the agents that voted. We're committed to working with agents 100% - it's the way forward."

Zena Calderbank head of sales, Hoseasons

Star Operator For Incentives Winner: Travel 2 Finalists: Attraction World, Balkan Holidays, Classic Collection Holidays, Funway Holidays, Jetset Holidays Travel 2 would like to thank our travel agent partners for voting for us to win ‘Star Operator for Incentives’ at this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Awards. As a trade only tour operator and the independent travel agents’ partner of choice, everything we do is with our agents at the forefront of our minds and we are delighted to have been recognised for the incentives and rewards we offer them to thank them for the support they have given us for the last 30 years. We plan to continue rewarding agents for their loyal support throughout 2013 and beyond with exciting incentives, amazing fam trips and invitations to the most sought after events. Amongst our current range of agent partner incentives, we are offering one lucky agent the chance to win an unbelievable £10,000 in cash towards a wedding for the agent, a close relative or to be used as an agency incentive when booking Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka or Dubai, with Emirates flights by February 28, 2013. Other offers include up to £15 Capital Bonds vouchers for every holiday booking made before October 21 and an Apple a Day from iPods to iPads when booking a United Airlines flight to the US or an Air Canada flight to Canada by October 12. We even incentivise you to learn! Earn up to £45 on Travel 2’s newly launched online training portal at www.t2academy.co.uk. For more information visit the news section at www.travel2.com

Glamming it up at the star-studded event is Hollie Smith, key account manager for Travel 2, who picked up the Star Operator for Incentives Award

16

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 17

Smooth Operators

Star Awards 2012

Star Specialist Operator To The Americas Winner: Funway Holidays Finalists: Jetset Holidays, North America Travel Service, Travel 2, USAirtours, Virgin Holidays A BIG thank you from all of us at Funway Holidays! We are delighted to have won the ‘Star Specialist Operator to the Americas’ award, a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Without your votes we would not have been able to win this award, so to all the High Street and home-based travel agent partners, thank you for your vote and we hope it shows how committed we are to our strapline of providing you with Unbeatable Value, Unrivalled Choice and Unlimited Flexibility. The entire Funway team has been working on a variety of projects, including a brand new redesign, improvements on our dedicated travel agent Website –

www.funway4agents.co.uk, the expansion of our Mexico programme, the launch of our new USA 2013 brochure plus more time and money than ever spent through our advertising and PR to give our travel agents ‘hot off the press’ news, including fantastic cash incentives, mind-blowing FAM trip competitions and access to the best deals around! On top of this, we also have our sales and reservations teams to be proud of – all holding a wealth of knowledge and information on both Funway Holidays and the products that we sell. Our sales managers cover the entire UK out on the road visiting and helping travel agents every step of the

It's all good fun for Simon Eddolls (left) of Travel Bulletin and winner of the Star Specialist Operator to the Americas, Darren Hall, head of sales from Funway Holidays

way by providing face-to-face interaction and training. Our reservation travel advisors are UK-based and pride themselves on giving your clients the holiday of a lifetime to suit their individual needs – whether that be single, twin or multi-centre options.

Thank you again to all who voted, we believe that this is just the beginning!

Here’s to another 20 years…

Thank you!

for voting Classic Collection Holidays Best Specialist Tour Operator to Europe 2012 at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards

We really value your support CALL 0800 008 7288

www.classic-collection.co.uk 17

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 18

WE WON!...

Now our stars are truly shining!

;I´ZI EP[E]W ORS[R [I LEH E WXEV XVEHI WEPIW XIEQ 2S[ MX´W SJ½ GMEP % FMK FMK XLERO ]SY XS IZIV]SRI [LS ZSXIH %XXVEGXMSR ;SVPH Star Trade Sales Team in this year’s Travel Bulletin Star awards.

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 19

Smooth Operators

Star Awards 2012

Star Specialist Operator To The Mediterranean Winner: Cyplon Holidays Finalists: Anatolian Sky Holidays, Classic Collection Holidays, Jet2holidays, Olympic Holidays, Prestige Holidays Cyplon Holidays is ecstatic that it has won such a prestigious award. We thank all the agents who have supported us over the last 40 years and we continue our celebrations by offering ÂŁ10 per pax, bubbles & Truffles for bookings over ÂŁ6,999 and amazing hotel incentives such as book seven nights at The Four Seasons Hotel or Le Meridien and get seven nights' breakfast stay for free. It's as easy as that - ask for our four pager hotel incentive guide. In terms of our news, we are growing our programme to Greece and will be offering a number of educational places. Greece has never been more appealing - it has a more

favourable exchange rate for the UK tourist, the cost of living is reduced and there is much improved customer service. Greece has become the perfect destination for tourists looking to have it all. Our exclusive Classical Tours of Greece has proved to be very popular and will be featured in our brochure. We are also excited to be re introducing Egypt and we will be producing a new brochure for 2013, which will also feature Cyprus. We have been very selective with properties featured in our 2013 brochure, featuring only high end accommodation and those that have a proven track records for excellence in

Jayne Scott, sales and marketing manager of Cyplon Holidays, proudly displays the award for Star Specialist Operator to the Mediterranean

customer care and service, so our customers can feel confident that they are assured to only receive quality when they book. For brochures or to book call free on 0800-748888 or email sales@cyplon.co.uk Educational places to Cyprus & Greece will be available first to members of our Supreme Agents Club.

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Star Awards 2012

Smooth Operators

Star Specialist OperatorTo The UK Winner: Hoseasons Finalists: Butlins, Haven, Shearings Holidays, Superbreak, Warner Holidays Hoseasons, winners of the Star Specialist Operator to the UK Supplier Award, offers simply the widest choice of UK self-catering holidays available – something which travel agents have recognised as a huge business opportunity as the popularity of domestic breaks shows no sign of waning. We will continue to innovate and develop new holiday concepts, such as the luxury Evermore collection and the unique Go Active Breaks activity holidays concept, both of which have been introduced in the past three years. We are thrilled that once again agents have voted for us in recognition of the huge effort our whole team puts into supporting the travel trade. The sustained interest in UK holidays represents a great opportunity for agents to build business, but as in any sector, you can’t stand still. We continue to work hard to move the UK product on, and ensure that the British love affair with holidaying at home continues. As well as developing new holiday concepts, we do everything we can to make it easy

Hand's on with her award is Zena Calderbank, head of sales for Hoseasons, who collected the Star Specialist Operator to the UK Award. Pictured with Zena is Simon Eddolls from Travel Bulletin

for travel agents to sell UK holidays, from the creation of our easy to use website, through to ensuring that we regularly get the best deals out to agents.

Strong partnerships with the trade are a keystone to our business, and that is why we are so committed to supporting agents, including through our dedicated sales team out on the road, who visited more than 5,000 agencies to offer training, merchandising support and advice during the last year.

20

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 21

Star Specialist Operator To Europe Winner: Classic Collection Holidays

Finalists: Cresta, Kirker Holidays, Prestige Holidays, Thomas Cook, Thomson We are proud of our exceptionally high service levels both in the UK and overseas - 99% of our customers confirm that they would definitely book another Classic holiday and would additionally recommend our luxury short-haul holidays to family and friends. Our Sussexbased reservations team is comprised of highly motivated experts who know the importance of delivering the right tailor-made holiday to match customers’ expectations, and it is the flexibility of the product (departure airport, duration, choice of board basis and room type) coupled with the knowledge and expertise of the staff, plus a robust price promise guarantee, that has led to our success with agents.

Increasing in size from four destinations in 2002 to more than 25 in 2012, our on-the-road team are available to train agents and an equally important role is for them to report back to the marketing team about holiday trends and ‘what the agents expect from Classic’. It is the strength of these relationships together with our ethos to treat others (customers, agents and suppliers) as we wish to be treated ourselves, that ensures we stand apart from our competitors. Collectively, as a company, we loathe the computer-says-no culture and, because we know we can offer a superior yes-service over the telephone, we feature an informative but non-bookable Website, instead providing a freephone number 0800-008 7288 for agents to contact us free-of-charge.

Amanda Bryan, sales executive of Classic Collection Holidays, picks up the award for Star Specialist Operator to Europe

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 15:58 Page 22

Star Awards 2012

Smooth Operators

Star Escorted Tours Specialist Winner: Titan Travel Finalists: Collette Worldwide Holidays, Cosmos Tours & Cruises, Insight Vacations, Journeys of Distinction, Page & Moy It's all smiles for winners of the Star

We are absolutely delighted to receive Escorted Tours Specialist Award, Edwina this incredible accolade and would like Coppock and Matt Gauntlett from Titan Travel to thank everyone who voted for us. We constantly strive to build and improve relationships with our valued trade partners and will continue in our commitment to seeing these grow from strength to strength. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved and it is an honour to be held in such high esteem by our partners in the trade.

Titan Agency Sales has some exciting plans for the coming months and beyond. We will again have a team at the ACE Amsterdam Expo in November where we will be showcasing one of Uniworld’s most luxurious river vessels and running a Pre-Expo FAM for a group of 20 lucky agents. For the remainder of 2012 and onwards into 2013, the agency sales' diary is packed full and the focus is firmly on supporting agents nationwide with sales and marketing support, joint projects, road shows, conferences, trade fairs and further development of the www.titanagents.co.uk Website. However, the team have no time to rest on their laurels just because they have won this award; as much as we all love these award evenings, tomorrow is another day and the hard work that won us this award will continue!

"It feels absolutely fantastic to have won. A big big thanks to everybody that voted for us. We were up against some of the big guys so it's a real privilege to have won this award."

Charlie Cooper- UK sales manager, Wendy Wu Tours

Star Adventure/Activity Holidays Specialist Winner: Explore!

Finalists: Club Med, Exodus, Mark Warner, Neilson Holidays Here at Explore we’re all completely delighted to have been awarded the accolade of Star Adventure/Activity Holidays Specialist in the Travel Bulletin 2012 Star Awards. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the agents who have worked with and supported us over the past year. We couldn’t have won this award without your votes and we really appreciate every one of them. This is the first year this Star has been awarded, so we are especially proud to be the inaugural winners, and are determined to keep hold of our crown next year! The past year has seen Explore dedicate more time and resource to our relationship with travel agents than ever before.

We’ve offered FAM trips to Nepal, Peru and Morocco, had a laugh in the UK on a ‘Wacky Races’ day out and we’ve recently appointed Philippa Baines as trade sales manager. Pip will continue to be out on the road over the coming year. She’ll be meeting agents and offering training, marketing support and ideas wherever needed. Our new product range for 2013/14 will be available in the coming month and Pip can’t wait to let you all know about it! Thank you once again for your support, sales and votes – here’s to another successful year of working together, to give your customers their ideal adventure holiday.

22

Philippa Baines, sales manager of Explore, collects the Star Adventure /Activity Holidays Specialist Award from Nick Boocock of Travel Bulletin

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 23

Thank you for making us

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*Saving of £200 is per couple, book by 31 Oct 2012. New bookings only not in conjunction with any other offer. Subject to availability, terms & conditions apply.

S04 TB2809 2012 Awards 1_Layout 1 26/09/2012 13:01 Page 24

Smooth Operators

Star Awards 2012

Star Specialist Operator To Asia

Star Trade Sales Team

Winner: Wendy Wu Tours

Winner: Attraction World Finalists: Jetset Holidays, Jet2holidays, Sandals Resorts, Travel 2, TravelCube

Finalists: Funway Holidays, Inspired By Asia, Kuoni, Premier Holidays, Travel 2

Wooing the crowd is Charlie Cooper, UK sales manager of Wendy Wu Tours, who collected the Star Specialist Operator to Asia Award

A huge thank you to all the agents who supported us and voted Wendy Wu Tours for Star Specialist Operator to Asia at the Travel Bulletin Awards! We are committed to our strong relationship with the trade and take great pride in our high levels of support for agents. We offer agents one of the easiest products you will ever sell and book. With more than 15 years’ experience in delivering successful, authentic holiday experiences, Wendy Wu Tours is truly the UK’s leading Asia Specialist. Our staff are experts on our destinations so you’ll receive first hand advice and full training is available by your experienced, local representative. Excellent value, fully inclusive prices with no hidden extras combined with expert local insight lead to our outstanding customer satisfaction levels. With the exciting launch of our 2013 brochures, we now offer more than 600 departures to 18 countries. Along with great value tours to China, Indochina and India we also offer tours to fascinating new destinations including Borneo, Burma, Japan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. We cater for every type of customer, from escorted group tours to private tours which offer a more independent way to travel, with carefully selected itineraries. Our short stays and extensions can be used to tailor-make your own holiday or added to a group tour to extend your stay.

Our recently launched Wendy Wu Concierge product is perfect for the customer looking for the ultimate, luxury experience in China. With your continued support, we look forward to an exciting and successful year ahead!

Star Specialist Operator To Africa Winner: African Pride Finalists: 2by2 Holidays, Africa Collection, Kuoni, Somak Holidays, Visions of Africa

Picking up the Star Specialist Operator to Africa Award is Adam Weatherby.

"African Pride is absolutely delighted and hugely proud to be the recipients of the inaugural 'Star Specialist Operator to Africa' Award. The success of our company is built on our passion for and knowledge of Africa. The team in the office are acknowledged as being one of the best in the African market and being presented with this award is confirmation of this. Receiving any award is always a privilege but as travel agents are our lifeblood, the fact that this was voted for by them makes the receiving of it all the more special. In building on this success we are introducing a more efficient quoting process for our agents, improving our documentation for clients and developing a new Website. Our new 2013 brochure to be released on October 1 will see Ethiopia introduced for the first time, along with an expanded touring option in Uganda and some exciting new soft-adventure and experiences complemented by a number of new hotels and lodges. As Africa & Indian Ocean specialists we create exceptional journeys and we will continue to develop and enhance our products and processes for the benefit of our travel agency partners and their clients. We look forward to continuing to work closely with travel agents and should anyone wish to discuss increasing their African and Indian Ocean business please contact us via info@african-pride.co.uk or by calling 01904-619428."

24

We are absolutely delighted to have won ‘Star Trade Sales Team’ at this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Awards.

Everyone knows the sales team is the ‘face’ of the company, so boy are we proud of our beautiful one! Headed up

by Nick Hughes, national sales manager, we have five lovely ladies who manage the country nationwide.

Salsa dancing Miya looks after Scotland/Ireland, Gym-shirking Nicky looks after the North, Supermodel Sue the Midlands and Disney-loving Leanne the South, plus we have the wonderful Jules who looks after TUI on a national level. It’s been an interesting year as we all know, but without meaning to sound cheesy or condescending, our sales team have been an absolute inspiration to us as a company. Despite the constant challenges our industry throws at us this team are never down-hearted.

“Always a pleasure, never a chore” is definitely their motto and it shows hey, we won THE Award didn’t we?! As for 2013, we are already on a roll in terms of forward sales and we aim to keep on training, entertaining and motivating agents with our innovative marketing campaigns and ever enthusiastic and fun approach to the industry. After all, we are privileged enough to work in a fantastic industry, with amazing people where it’s all about holidays and good times and long may that continue. Together let’s make the memories for years to come!

Overjoyed to collect the Star Trade Sales Team Award is Nick Hughes, national sales manager of Attraction World

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Photos

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S05 TB2809 2012 Awards 3_Layout 1 26/09/2012 09:56 Page 26

THANK YOU FOR VOTING

VIKING RIVER CRUISES NUMBER 1

AT THE TR AVEL BULLETIN STAR AWARDS 2012

We are thrilled to win the prestigious ‘Star River Cruise Specialist’ award for the third year running.

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

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Sea Captains

Star Awards 2012

Star Luxury Cruise Company

Star River Cruise Company Winner: Viking River Cruises Finalists: AmaWaterways, APT River Cruises, Avalon Waterways, Titan Travel, Shearings Holidays

Winner: Silversea Cruises It's plain sailing for Andrew Schweitzer, agency sales executive of Viking River Cruises, who collects the Star River Cruise Company Award

At Viking, we are thrilled to have been voted the winner of the Travel Bulletin Star River Cruise award for the third consecutive year – a BIG thank you to all the agents who voted for us. Having the support of our agents is so important to us. Our excellent commission levels, dedicated trade support and professional and knowledgeable reservations team are all reasons why booking with Viking is a rewarding experience. With the phenomenal growth of river cruising, the launch of the six Viking Longships in 2012 – and another six in 2013, we are going from strength to strength. The Longships feature the unique Aquavit Terrace for alfresco dining, spacious staterooms and suites, as well as two stunning Explorer Suites. Our Russian fleet, the only western-owned ships in the country, is enjoying a fabulous refurbishment, with even more verandas being added. Award-winning ships, inspiring destinations, fantastic value for money – it’s no wonder Viking continues to be the world’s leading river cruise line – here’s to a successful 2013!

Star Specialist Cruise Company Winner: Hurtigruten

Finalists: Azamara Club Cruises, Star Clippers, Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery

Getting cosy with Travel Bulletin's Paul Scudamore is winner of the Star Specialist Cruise Company Award, Maxine Dunsdon, sales manager UK and Ireland, Hurtigruten

We are absolutely delighted to have won the Star award for the Best Specialist Cruise Operator; it is even more special knowing it was voted for by our travel agent partners. We have continued to see our business grow through the trade with continuing investment, including increased marketing spend, successful campaigns, improved communication and agent FAM trips and incentives. We recently undertook a “meet the customer” initiative, where Hurtigruten staff, including senior managers, took to the road and visited more than 300 agents. We felt it was important to not only show our appreciation to the trade but also to understand the challenges that are faced. This was invaluable as the feedback from the staff will assist us in offering an even better service to our partners. We are excited with what lies ahead; demand for specialist cruising continues to grow, coupled with the desire for unique experiences. Our partners with their knowledge and experience will play a vital role in ensuring these demands are met. All that leaves me to say is “Tusen Takk” from us all at Hurtigruten. Your support is very much appreciated.

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Finalists: Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, 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 'Star Luxury Cruise Provider' for the sixth 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. Many unique elements are woven together to create an extraordinary holiday experience for our guests. These include intimate, all suite ships that can call in the most remote destinations and dock in ports that are inaccessible to larger ships.

Other offerings include luxury amenities, superb cuisine, amazing worldwide destinations, including both Polar Regions, and the option for guests to personalise their experience with bespoke land adventures, options for customising their suites and a choice of cruise-only or all-inclusive pricing.

Mafaldo Barreto, national accounts manager of Silversea Cruises, shows a touch of class as she collects the Star Luxury Cruise Company Award

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Sea Captains

Star Awards 2012

Star Family Cruise Company Winner: Royal Caribbean International

Finalists: Disney Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 22 innovative ships, calling on more than 270 destinations in 72 countries across six continents. We also offer unique cruise tour land packages in Alaska, Canada, Dubai, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. With ships sailing throughout the world, Royal Caribbean International offers sailings in the Mediterranean, northern Europe, throughout the Caribbean, Asia, South America, from Dubai and Alaska as well as North America. Plus for the first time in 2013 we’ll have three ships sailing from the UK. Adventure of the Seas will join the newly revitalised

Independence of the Seas sailing from Southampton and Brilliance of the Seas from Harwich. With more than 25 new itineraries from the UK your customers will have even greater choice and the convenience of sailing from British shores. The Royal fleet is being revitalised with a £300million investment as part of the Royal Advantage – which promises to provide guests with the most innovative cruise holidays in the world. This will include more Oasis Class features across the ships from exciting dining options and dazzling new entertainment, to stateof-the-art technology and luxuriously transformed spaces. Centrum aerial

WE’RE FLIPPIN’ DELIGHTED!

Collecting the Star Family Cruise Company Award is Lizzie Willis, senior 121 marketing executive of Royal Caribbean International, with Travel Bulletin's Nick Boocock

entertainment and new outdoor movie screens means guests can enjoy spectacular shows beneath a canopy of stars. And, if it’s a delectable drink in decadent surroundings they’re after, the new R Bar Champagne lounge or updated Vintages wine bar will provide the perfect setting.

Thank you for voting Hurtigruten ‘Best Specialist Cruise Line’ at the 2012 Travel Bulletin awards!

It’s a huge honour to win an award that’s decided solely by travel professionals like you.

So if your customers are looking for a voyage along the Norwegian coast at any time of year (Northern Lights in Winter, Midnight Sun in summer, especially!), or something more adventurous to Greenland, Spitsbergen or Antarctica, we look forward to offering them more of our award-winning service.

In fact we’ll be jumping with joy to welcome them on board.

T: 020 8846 2666 E: uk.agency.sales@hurtigruten.com W: www.hurtigruten.co.uk/agents

A different kind of cruise 28

S06 TB2809 2012 Awards 2_Layout 1 26/09/2012 14:32 Page 29

THANK YOU FOR VOTING SILVERSEA

‘Star Luxury Cruise Company’

6 YEARS IN A ROW

HERE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY YOU MAY HAVE VOTED FOR US • Complimentary flights and transfers* • All ocean-view suites - up to 95% with private veranda

• Complimentary in-suite dining and 24 hour room-service • Onboard gratuities included

• Butler service for all suites

• Complimentary shoreside Silversea Experience*

• Complimentary beverages served throughout the ship

• World Class enrichment hosts

• In-suite beverage cabinet stocked with our compliments

• Superlative service - staff to guest ratio of nearly 1 to 1

• Up to 6 open-seating restaurants with gourmet menus by Relais & Châteaux

• Complimentary transportation into town in most ports of call

• Port charges included

*select voyages

For more information or to book please contact Silversea on 0844 770 9030 or visit www.silversea.com

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High Fliers

Star Awards 2012

Star Business Airline Winner: Emirates Finalists: British Airways, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Emirates Airline was honoured to have been named Star Business Airline for the third year in a row by readers of Travel Bulletin, especially as this was the eighth consecutive year we have 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.

This is a terrific recognition of our commitment to ongoing work with the travel industry who remain critical to our success. We pride ourselves on our service in all cabins and for this to be continually acknowledged is testament to our product and strong relationship

with the travel trade. Recent enhancements to our services from the UK include the introduction of a double daily service from Glasgow and First Class on the route; an upgrade of the Newcastle service to a B777-300ER; a similar upgrade on Manchester resulting in all flights offering First Class and, come December, all five daily Heathrow services being operated by the Emirates A380, making Emirates the only all-A380 operator from the airport. Forthcoming route launches include Adelaide and Phuket, extending the Emirates network to more than 120 destinations in 74 countries.

Star Charter Seat-Only Operator Winner: Avro

Finalists: Jet2.com, Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways

Standing proud is Michael Vinales, managing director of Avro, winner of the Star Charter Seat-Only Company Award

Avro Flights is delighted to have won the Star Charter Seat Only Operator Award for the 14th time. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our agent partners, for this amazing achievement and for your continued support 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 customers. 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 have always endeavoured 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-haul and short-haul destinations, including our newly introduced ski and city break routes such as Munich, Grenoble, Innsbruck and Friedrichshafen to name a few. Once again, a huge thank you to all our agents who have recognised our dedication for yet another year.

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Christine Sutton, leisure sales manager of Emirates, celebrates winning the Star Business Airline Award with Chris Gascoine from Travel Bulletin

"We were up against it tonight so it's great to have won. We've been in the trade for two and a half years and I think agents appreciate our involvement. I hope the trade will continue to support us as we will them."

Keith Clarke operations director, Great Rail Journeys

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High Fliers

Star Awards 2012

Star UK Airport Winner: Manchester Finalists: Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, London Heathrow Manchester Airport would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of the agents that voted for us in these prestigious awards.

We are absolutely delighted and honoured, so thank you very much! We aim to provide the best possible service to all of our passengers – and because of this, we hope agents can rest assured that they are booking their clients through a high quality, customer focused airport. As the key gateway between the North West of England and the world, passenger numbers have grown to 19.1million, up 1.4million on the previous year. We have also seen a number of exciting new route

developments recently. For example, Lufthansa to Berlin; Biman Bangladesh Airlines to Dhaka and JET2 to Corfu and Menorca. The final stage of Manchester Airport's £80m terminal redevelopment programme has recently been completed. Many of the improvements are designed to make the customer journey easier and more enjoyable. For example, the modernisation includes new plasma flight information screens and clearer signage. In addition, Manchester Airport also claimed another UK airport first with the launch of a pioneering new access guide designed to provide disabled customers

Winner of the Star UK Airport Award is Manchester Airport and Anita Kane, the airport's aviation marketing manager, collects the award

with information to plan their journey from door to door. The guide was developed with DisabledGo which has more than ten years’ experience providing access information to disabled people. Once again – a huge thank you from all at Manchester Airport. We really appreciate your votes, and your ongoing support!

Star Scheduled Seat-Only Company Winner: Jetset Flights Finalists: Gold Medal Travel, JTA Travel, Major Travel The Travel Bulletin Star Awards was truly a great night with superb company of the agents and staff invited to participate. A big thank you for organising these awards in such a way that the agents can have a free vote for which ever company they feel best delivers to them in any of the 32 categories. As such when you’re nominated, it’s a signal that you’re starting to hit the right service levels and wining a category is evidence of achieving the excellence of service we

strive to deliver in all aspects of our business. I’m grateful for the trade for taking the time to consider Jetset their choice as the Star Scheduled Seat Only Operator. We truly value the independence of the trade. As an independent company we understand the freedom of choice; as Jetset is free to choose whichever airline, hotel group or car hire fleet best serves the itinerary of our agent’s clients. Jetset has been providing holidays for independent travellers since 1968 with flights

Bond, John Bond (right) chairman of Jetset Flights, collects his award for Star Scheduled Seat-Only Company from Paul Scudamore of Travel Bulletin

between the UK and Australia and New Zealand. Although we have expanded to offer destinations worldwide we are proud of our heritage and passion for travel. So once again, a big thank you to all your readers, our travel agents, for their recognition of our services. We’ll continue to do all we can to be worthy of your praise.

Still the UK Travel Trade’s

No. 1 choice for flights

Reservations & Admin

0871 423 8550

** Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras

A big thank-you to all ou r agent partners for voting us St ar Charter Seat-Only operator 20 12!

**

Visit Viewdata or avroagents.co.uk

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ABTA No.V1021

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Star Awards 2012

"It was the most fantastic evening and rounded off by an incredible performance of We Will Rock You! I'd come again anytime.

Well done to all the winners - a superb evening!"

Paul Smith, World of Transport Travel in Twickenham

Best Supporting Acts Star Holiday Add-Ons Provider Winner: Holiday Extras

The luck's in for James Lewis of Holiday Extras as he collects the Star Holiday Add-Ons Provider Award

Finalists: A2B Transfers, Attraction World, DoSomethingDifferent.com, Lounge Pass, TravelCube It has been a great year for Holiday Extras and the agents that work with us. We are delighted to have been nominated for two Travel Bulletin Star awards, and to have won Star Holiday Add-ons Provider, last held by Holiday Extras in 2010. This is such an awesome award and the support we receive from agents every year is amazing. It's been another thrilling 12 months for us, which has just got even better after winning! The whole team has strived to regain this award and would like to thank all agents who have continued to support us. Over the past year we have focused on giving agents what they want, from the launch of new and exclusive products and an updated training programme, to some of the most soughtafter incentives in the travel industry. Next year marks our 30th year in business so we'll be looking to thank our agents in a big way for their support over the years! Thanks to everyone that voted for us.

Star Technology Supplier Winner: Vertical Systems Finalists: Amadeus, Comtec, Sabre, Travelport (Galileo & Worldspan) Vertical Systems is honoured to have won the Travel Bulletin Star Award for Technology for the second consecutive year.

This award is particularly special to us, as it is voted for by our customers, who use our systems on a daily basis. With nearly 30 years supplying technology to the UK travel industry, this is testament to our agents’ loyalty and our on-going commitment to them. 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 changed considerably in the last 12 months, we have continued to develop our systems and as a result 2012 has seen the launch of our new Intuiti products. Our new, integrated suite of products is called ‘Intuiti’ to reflect its ability to respond intuitively to its users and customers. The Intuiti suite incorporates everything needed to be able to run a successful travel business, from back office & accounts all the way through to front office software and integrated telephony/email that is so responsive it can really help businesses gain a competitive advantage. We are very excited about the future and the growth that Intuiti will afford. We look forward to sharing these products with our current customers

Jeanette Ratcliffe, publisher of Travel Bulletin, celebrates with Mike Russell, CEO of the Vertical Systems, for winning the Star Technology Supplier Award

and introducing it to a new generation of clientele. We are confident that this will ensure we maintain our position as the leading technology provider to the UK independent travel industry.

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Best Supporting Acts

Star Awards 2012

Star Tourist Office Online Training Programme Winner: California Expert Program Finalists: Aussie Specialist Program, Canada Specialist Program, Dubai Expert Program, Jamaica Travel Expert Program Wow! What can we say? Visit California are absolutely delighted to have won this year’s Travel Bulletin Star Award for Best Tourist Office Online Training Programme, and the fact that this was for the second year running makes it all the more special. We’d really like to thank you, the travel industry staff from across the country, for voting for us. It really does mean a lot. We are constantly updating and improving our training programme to make sure it helps you sell more California, and we will continue to support the travel trade through training, incentives and FAMs, and

drive customers through your doors with our TV, online and print advertising. Knowledge, expertise and advice will continue to be vital to consumers when planning holidays, and that’s where travel agents really shine, which is why we will always endeavour to support the travel trade industry in as many ways as possible. In an ever increasingly competitive marketplace, we really do believe the diversity, scenery and unique lifestyle of California offer your customers something that nowhere else can match, and your support in taking this message to your clients is crucial. Where else

Bethany Schuh, travel trade director of California Tourism, picks up the Star Tourist Office Online Training Programme Award for the California Expert Program

can you ski and surf in the same day?! We are already looking ahead to next year and hope that some of our newly introduced trade initiatives such as regional training roadshows and a re-launch of the online training programme will hopefully see us winning further awards in 2013. Thank you for all your support, it really is invaluable.

Thank you for voting us…

Star Holiday Add-Ons Provider at the Travel Bulletin Awards 2012 We value your continued support!

Airport Parking | Airport Hotels | Airport Lounges | Travel Insurance | Port Parking | Port Hotels For information on working in partnership with Holiday Extras

telephone 0871 360 2312 or email sales@holidayextras.com

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Star Awards 2012

Best Supporting Acts

Star Trade Facing Website Winner: onlinetraveltraining.co.uk

Finalists: attractionworld.com, completecruisesolution.com, jetsetflights.com, kuoni.co.uk, travel2.com On behalf of everyone at OTT, a big 'thank you' to all the travel agents who voted for us. We are truly delighted to have been awarded Star Trade Facing Website for the third year in a row. OTT is poised to offer to repay the travel trade by launching a new, 'best in class' eLearning Website. Launching officially at World Travel Market, the new site will be packed full of fantastic new features for agents and suppliers alike, as well as a completely fresh new look.

Of course, agents will still enjoy access to the world's largest selection of free travel & tourism eLearning courses and we'll still have many fabulous competitions & incentives to choose from. We believe travel agent eLearning is vital to give agents the edge in today's highly competitive market and we hope you will continue to benefit from increasing your knowledge & selling skills via 'new OTT'.

Winner of the Star Trade Facing Website Award goes to Bruce Martin, operations director of onlinetraveltraining.co.uk, who is pictured with Jeanette Ratcliffe from Travel Bulletin

Star Tourist Office For Roadshows & Events Winner: South African Tourism Finalists: Canadian Tourism Commission,Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Saint Lucia Tourist Board, Spanish National Tourist Office, Tunisian National Tourist Office

It's a double celebration for winners of the Star Tourist Office for Roadshows & Events Award, Catherine Husdon, marketing director from Mantis Collection, and Juan Herrada, marketing and communications manager of South African Tourism

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Best Supporting Acts

Star Awards 2012

Star Tourist Office For Incentives Winner: Canadian Tourism Commission

Finalists: Barbados Tourism Authority, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Moroccan National Tourist Office, South African Tourism, Visit California Winner of the Star Tourist Office for Incentives Award is Nicolas Fournier, manager - travel trade, from the Canadian Tourism Commission

The Canadian Tourism Commission is delighted to have won the Star Tourist Office for Incentives in 2012. Given that it's our 21st consecutive year of running a travel agents' training programme it's always nice to be recognised for doing our best, but doubly rewarding in this special celebratory year. We work hard to incentivise agents to think about promoting Canada with a fun online scratch and win competition that was promoted through Travel Bulletin at the tail end of last year; agents could go to a Website and digitally scratch away to see if they 'd won an iPad or other prizes. We also regularly run FAM tours to Canada, travel the UK on Canada roadshows and run competitions to win Canada related prizes for our Canada Specialist Programme

(CSP). It's great to see that so many of them supported us with their votes and we thank everyone who did vote for us. The Star trophy has pride of place in our office and as we launch our exciting plans for the CSP in 2013 we have high hopes for a repeat win and another 21 years of training agents here in the UK. Canada was just this past month recognised as the world's most recommended country by the Reputation Institute, and it's great to know that British travel agents have recommended the CTC for their work so highly. Thanks for the recommendation and for the award!

Star Travel Insurance Company Winner: Journeys Travel Insurance Finalists: Holiday Extras, Insure2Travel, Mondial Assistance, Rock Insurance Journeys Travel Insurance, the leading provider to the UK travel trade, was awarded the accolade of ‘ Star Travel Insurance Company’ at Travel Bulletin’s Star Awards 2012. The award was voted for by travel agents and

readers. This is the tenth time that Journeys has scooped this coveted award and is testament to the quality of our products and services. We would like to thank all our industry colleagues for voting for Journeys. The

35

award shows commitment by the entire Journeys’ team in supporting travel agents. We are able to offer clients competitive and flexible travel insurance, which makes the job of the travel agent easier.

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Land Lords

Star Awards 2012

Star European Theme Park

Star Rail Operator Winner: Great Rail Journeys

Winner: Disneyland Resort Paris Finalists: Eurostar, Rail Europe, Treyn Holidays, Virgin Trains Finalists: Alton Towers, Legoland Windsor, PortAventura, Siam Park Thank you to everyone who voted for Disneyland Paris to win the Travel Bulletin Star European Theme Park Award. We’re thrilled to accept this accolade, especially as it was voted for by travel agents. We value our strong relationship with agencies and pride ourselves on working closely with them in order to create appealing initiatives, including the Disneyland Paris Ambassadors Program. We look forward to hosting guests at Disneyland Paris for its 20th Anniversary, and in the future, as a result of the hard work of all of our agencies.

Keith Clarke (right) operations director of Great Rail Journeys It was with great delight that we received the Star says thank you for choo choo Rail Operator Of The Year award for the first time choosing GRJ to win the Star Rail Operator Award. Keith is pictured and hope this will be the first of many voted for with Bill Coad from Travel Bulletin

by our retail travel agent partners. In the past year we have significantly increased our support to the retail travel agent with more brochures, more consumer travel agent and trade events including TIPTO, ACE and AITO. We have also seen a big increase in agent sales and appointed a new sales representative so we are really pleased that our investment with our retail travel agent partners has had an impact. To win an award voted for by independent agents means so much. Our aim is to build on the success of winning such a prestigious award and continue to deliver a quality product and service to agents so they can continue to sell us with confidence. We now operate more than 260 itineraries to 50 countries and we are the market leader of escorted rail holidays with tours covering the UK, Europe and worldwide destinations. For 2013 we have added 16 new tours and increased our non flying river cruise offering in Europe with new rivers, ships and itineraries. To discover more about our product and services contact agencysales@greatrail.com and we will be happy to arrange a call or visit from our agency sales team.

Star Worldwide Theme Park Winner: Universal Orlando Resort

Finalists: Busch Gardens, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Walt Disney World Resort Florida

Pictured collecting the Star European Theme Park Award is Hugh Wood, vice president and managing director of Disney Destinations International for the UK

Granted a wish is Grant Daley,

sales manager of Universal We are truly delighted that Universal Orlando® Orlando Resort, who picked up Resort has won the ‘Star Worldwide Theme Park’ the Star Worldwide Theme award at the 2012 Travel Bulletin Star Awards.

Park Award This is the fourth consecutive year we have won this award and this demonstrates the strength of the relationship between Universal Orlando and all the travel agents we work with. We thank you for your continued support. To be recognised by such a prestigious awards programme is an honour and highlights our commitment to provide outstanding customer entertainment and experiences. With two amazing theme parks, non-stop nightlife and three world-class on-site hotels, Universal Orlando® Resort is an entire universe of action and thrills for every member of the family. This year has been an incredible year for us, with more new content opening than in any other year.

Universal’s all-new Superstar Parade, a Cinematic Spectacular – 100 Years of Movie Memories - celebrating Universal Pictures 100th anniversary - and a hilarious and heart-warming new attraction Despicable Me Minion Mayhem based on the blockbuster film to name a few. We know that 2013 is going to be just as exciting and look forward to the year ahead.

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Land Lords

Star Awards 2012

Star Car Rental Company Winner: Holiday Autos Finalists: Affordable Car Hire, Alamo, Avis, Hertz, Your Car Hire Holiday Autos is extremely delighted to have won the Star Car Rental Award 2012 for yet another year. It’s a huge honour for us and we are extremely proud that all our hard work towards delivering value and a great experience for our partners and customers has been recognised, especially this year as we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. We would like to personally thank all the travel agents who voted for us.

Without the continued support of our trade partners, our continued success and this achievement would not have been possible. We are constantly striving to build on our relationships as well enhancing our products and services to make car hire through Holiday Autos an even more enjoyable, profitable and simple experience for both the agents and Andrea Elwell and Ian Sutton from Holiday Autos collect the Star Car Rental Company Award their customers. This year, we focused our efforts on improving our support to our trade partners by launching enhancements on our Website at www.trade.holidayautos.co.uk. These include a clearer display of the full to full petrol policy availability by car, supplier names listed and the details of on/off airport locations on the search results page.

We’re now delighted to announce yet another great service improvement for our partners which is the introduction of free phone numbers from October 1. Our new reservations number will be 0800-0933210 and our new trade sales support number will be 0800-0933222.

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Land Lords

A big thank you.

We would like to say a big thank you to all the agents that voted for us to win ‘Star Car Rental Company 2012’ at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards.

ut o s A y a d o li T h e H le s Tea m x a Tra d e S

Star Worldwide Hotel Group Winner: RIU Hotels & Resorts Finalists: Barcelo Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, We would like to express our thanks to all our travel agent partners who have voted us Star Worldwide Hotel Chain 2012.

It is a real pleasure to receive a Travel Bulletin Star Award for the ninth consecutive year, during which time our presence in the UK market has grown considerably alongside agents' knowledge of our properties.

Our ever popular Riu PartnerClub scheme 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. We believe that our continued support of the trade through our UK sales team, as well as training events and incentives, has helped agents get to know our product better and given them the confidence to recommend Riu Hotels and Resorts as the world’s number one hotel chain to both colleagues and customers alike. At present, the company’s portfolio consists of more than 100 hotels - located in the best beach resorts of the Balearic and Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, Caribbean, Mexico, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. We have recognised the strong growth in demand for all-inclusive hotels and as a consequence the majority of our properties are now offered on this basis.

Additionally, we have introduced an adults-only concept as well as investing significantly in the refurbishment and upgrading of our existing hotels, ensuring that our renowned standards of quality and service are maintained throughout our product range. RIU has hotels in Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Tunisia ,Morocco, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica ,Aruba, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Panama and Florida.

To book: www.trade.holidayautos.co.uk or call 0871 472 5141* (7 days a week 7am to 10pm) For help: salessupport@holidayautos.co.uk or call 0871 472 5201* (Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm) *calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras

Delighted to pick up the Star Worldwide Hotel Group Award is Paul Bunce, head of market development UK and Ireland; RIU Hotels & Resorts

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Land Lords

Star Awards 2012

Star Accommodation-Only Provider Winner: TravelCube Finalists: bedsonline.com, Getabed.co.uk, Medhotels, Superbreak We’re so pleased to have been recognised by friends and colleagues in the industry in this year’s Star Awards.

Hopefully it’s for a number of reasons but, foremost among them, for our commitment to our partners and to the success of their businesses. That commitment is backed by the heritage, reputation and stability of Kuoni and Gullivers Travel Associates, which have been in the business of travel for more than 100 years between them. And although we can’t claim quite that long, the UK team has been with TravelCube for more than three decades and thoroughly understands what works best for businesses here – another recommendation for us I believe.

Drawing on one of the biggest travel networks on the planet, our local staff put their knowledge of the world’s

travellers and global booking trends to work for their customers. So it’s largely thanks to Andrea, Angela, Anna, Fariba, John, Laura, Peter and Ruby, that tens of thousands of agents today enjoy access to a comprehensive portfolio of accommodation, experiences and services from more than 170 countries.

And because we directly source the rooms our clients are booking, we command – and pass on – competitive rates from the world’s best brands, while negotiating flexible cancellation terms, special offers and promotions.

We think agents enjoy using our fast and easy to use booking system, ensuring that they can process thousands of bookings quickly and efficiently every day. Our financial, reservations, operations and coordination teams help them and their

The journey is just the start of the

TravelCube was the winner of the Star Accommodation-Only Provider Award.

Pictured is the company's regional account manager, Laura Smith, with Simon Eddolls from Travel Bulletin

customers, the travelling public, benefit from truly exceptional, quality travel experiences. For us, this award recognises the passion for travel that is at the heart of what we do. It will spur us to be even better at applying that passion to bring more business to agents’ doors. Thank you from us all.

adventure

A big thank you from everyone at Great Rail Journeys - it means a lot to us.

BOOK WITH 100% CONFIDENCE FULLY BONDED, FULLY PROTECTED

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Photos

Star Awards 2012

Visit California sponsored the After-Show Party which featured a ‘green screen’ for guests to use their imagination and picture themselves in The Golden State….

We asked our staff the following question this week: If you were to have a tattoo what would it be?

Publisher: Jeanette Ratcliffe jeanette.ratcliffe@travelbulletin.co.uk Not sure really...maybe a discreet flower or butterfly on the inside of my wrist

Editor: Lauretta Wright lauretta.wright@travelbulletin.co.uk I wouldn't have a tattoo but if forced, it would be of my kids' names somewhere discreet

Assistant Editor: Jill Sayles jill.sayles@travelbulletin.co.uk Anything by Angelique Houtkamp. I have her Piaf print on my wall at home - prefer to see it there rather than on my skin

Contributing Editor: Paul Scudamore post@travelbulletin.co.uk

BULLETIN BUDDIES…it’s thumbs up from the Travel Bulletin team – from the left (top row): Paul Scudamore, Genaro Santos, Chris Gascoigne and Nick Boocock, with (middle row) Jill Sayles and Lauretta Wright and (bottom row) Bill Coad and Simon Eddolls

The Welsh Dragon

Sales Director: Simon Eddolls simon.eddolls@travelbulletin.co.uk The plane boss, the plane

Advertisement Manager: Tim Podger tim.podger@travelbulletin.co.uk Online Sales Manager: Nick Boocock nick.boocock@travelbulletin.co.uk I wouldn't. Why 'tag' a temple?

Account Manager: Bill Coad bill.coad@travelbulletin.co.uk Eric Cantona’s face on the left size of my chest

Sales Executive: Chris Gascoine chris.gascoine@alaincharles.com Angel wings on my back

Design: Genaro Santos genaro.santos@alaincharles.com My birthday in roman numerals on the top half of my back

SURF’S UP…enjoying the waves are Laura Smith from TravelCube and Simon Round from JTA

Assistant Layout Design: Nicky Valsamakis nicky.valsamakis@alaincharles.com Custom made illustration of a great white shark

Production: Jeremy Walters jeremy.walters@alaincharles.com All my logins and passwords so I no longer have to remember them

Circulation Manager: Jim Merchant post@travelbulletin.co.uk 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 Grange Limited Subscriptions are £105 p.a. £155 overseas ISSN: 0956-2419

ON YER BIKE…Oliver Nicholls from City Sightseeing takes in the rural delights of California

Follow us on Twitter! @TravelBulletin

puzzlesolutions Travagrams: (top) First Choice Where Am I?: Faroe Islands

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(bottom) Sydney

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