Travel Extra November 2017 by Travel Extra

RYANAIR CANCELLATION CHAOS MSC BIGGEST EVER SHIPS ON WAY ROYAL 5 DIRECT DUBLIN ROTATIONS Miami with Aer LIngus

Irish airports record year

Algarve with TUI

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NOVEMBER 2017

Cruise Special A toe in the water for 2018

VOLUME 22 NUMBER10

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 3

NEWS

www.travelextra.ie

Farewell Falcon

Tui brand replaces Falcon and Thomson names

he Falcon Holidays brand, like its English equivalent Thomson,has come to an end and is being rebranded under mother brand TUI,. It brings conclusion to a process that began ten years ago in June 2007 when TUI was cleared to purchase the old Falcon/JWT group. Crystal Holidays Lakes and Mountains programme is also to be subsumed into TUI but the Crystal ski brand will remain separate as Crystal following a change of plan in It will be the same team and the same faces, offering the same product, Charlotte Brenner says of the operation. The brand was born 29 years ago. Freddie O’Neill left Joe Walsh Tours with senior staff.

GREECE‘s government is pressing

ahead with a new tourist tax, which will cost visitors an extra 50c to €4 per person per night. The tax, which is being introduced on January 1 next year, will be based on the star-rating of the accommodation.

SPAIN‘s chambermaids are campaigning

Tui parks the bu

commence 2w in winter

Dublin. Iceland tourism has trebled from this country.

AMSTERDAM Ryanair

MARRAKECH Ryanair resuming after brief hiatus.

DOHA Marquee new destination for 2017 now visa-free.

HARTFORD Daily from

Aer Lingus since September 2016.

HONG KONG to be

served direct from Dublin for the ﬁrst time by Cathay Paciﬁc.

ICELAND New ﬂights from Belfast and increased service form

upsetting footage in which a 100-foot tree is cut down and the sloth crashes to the ground, before being bagged by the illegal loggers to sell at a local market – more information in the press release below. World Animal Protection says the number of wildlife selﬁes posted on Instagram between 2014 to present has tripled, and 40pc of them are ‘bad’ wildlife selﬁes. perienced more than 300 mini-earthquakes over the past week, scientists report. The latest mini-quakes follow the 40 tremors that were recorded two weekends ago, taking the total to 352 in just ten days.

AGADIR Air Arabia are to

CYPRUS Year round access from Cobalt for the ﬁrst time.

WORLD Animal Protection released

CANARY island of La Palma has ex-

DESTINATIONS LINING UP FOR 2018

and KLM (5 daily) competing with Aer Lingus.

EGYPT‘s State Tourist Ofﬁce is preparing to launch a new campaign to lure back tourists.

MIAMI Aer Lingus’s marquee

route started September and opened up Florida and cruise opportunities.

MONTREAL Air Canada are joining Air Transat on the Montreal run, ﬁrst explored in 1977 by Aer Lingus.

NAPLES New Ryanair service commenced 2w in winter and continued through summer 2018.

ence, Paris, Rome, Prague and Venice and is considering the move as it tries to create a “world-class visitor attraction.

PITTSBURG About to get a direct route from Dublin.

USA

for summer 2018.

PROVIDENCE Norwegian ﬂights from four Irish airports. SPLIT New Aer Lingus service

to Croatia.

Ryanair, joining Aer Lingus.

PHUKET New one-stop op-

NEWBURGH Norwegian

We’ll offer the same great holidays plus so much more Falcon and Thomson are fully bonded and licensed by CAR (TO 021).

HULL wants to levy a tourism like Flor-

PAPHOS New from Ryanair

MUNICH Ryanair and Transavia now compete on a route dominated by Aer Lingus and Lufthansa. tion via Istanbul from July

for better pay and treatment. And they say that a reform to Spain’s labour market in 2012 allowed hotels to outsource cleaning services to companies that do not have to respect established industry standards.

STUTTGART Daily from

ﬂights from four Irish airports will be increased in 2018.

is suffering a Trump slump in tourism, according to ForwardKeys,a European travel-prediction ﬁrm. After the announcement of the ﬁrst two travel bans in January and March, the number of international travellers arriving in the US has dramatically dropped

VISITBRITAIN forecasts that tourists’ spending will rise 14pc to £25.7bn. UBER is to suspend its unlicensed service UberPOP in Oslo until Norway introduces new rules. The moves comes after Uber lost its licence to operate in London.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 4

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Clownings, Straffan, Co Kildare (+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417 Managing Editor: Gerry O’Hare gerry@travelextra.ie Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Sales Manager Paulette Moran paulette@bizex.ie t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Sunday Supplement & Online: Mark Evans markevanspro@gmail.com Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Damian Allen damianjamesallen@ gmail.com Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Sean Mannion sean@grafacai.ie Ciaran Molloy ciarancmolloy@ gmail.com Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Aileen O’Reilly aileencoreilly@gmail.com

Travel Extra takes no responsibility for errors and omissions. Distribution Manager: Shane Hourican shane@bizex.ie Origination: Typeform

Printer: WG Baird Limited Caulside Drive Greystone Rd Antrim BT41 2RS

Contact +353872551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

CONTENTS

3 News Where to go,how much to pay 6 Postcards: News from the trade

www.travelextra.ie 10 Cruise special: 18 Afloat: A quantum leap 20-24 Flying: Airline and airport news

26 Global Village Inside the travel industry 28 Window seat: Our columnists 29 Pictures: Out and about

Selling a cruise minded people, it is ideal for teenagers.

ruise companies have gone into overdrive to educate travel organisers about the merits of their various cruise brands and what they can offer to suit each individual. So how do you translate that into sales?

BUDGET It is all about budget. This needs to be established at the very beginning of the conversation along with ﬁnding out their expectations of the trip. Spend time on expectations before you offer advice. If in doubt, sell from the top down. Customers will soon tell you if that is not in their budget. DETERMINE

the client’s requirements. if the destination the most important criteria a larger ship may not be able to navigate the likes of the fjords in Norway, missing the best parts of the itinerary and destination. Some ocean going vessels are small enough to navigate rivers like the Fred Olsen Braemar (which has a selection of river cruises in 2015, offering the best of both worlds).

EMPHASISE.

value and price. Show just how much prices of traditional cruises are dropping, the perday cost all inclusive works out at u50 on some Caribbean cruises. Check the price of a land based all inclusive or full board week holiday and then price a cruise.

CHANGE their perceptions that cruising is for older travellers, that you spend all your time on the ship, that

TIPPING most cruise companies now allow you to pre book gratuities or include them in prices. Be sure to tell clients about these so no surprises at end of week if they haven’t pre paid. DUTY FREE Zip lining in Labadee sea-sickness is an issue, and most of all that cruising is expensive. When people often say that cruising wouldn’t interest them as they don’t spend long in a port, a good selling tip is that it’s a great way to ﬁnd out where you want to go back to,

LUXURY Sell

the dream. Point out all the luxury options for special occasions such as anniversaries. On all of the newer ships in the past 10-15 years, there is no such thing as steerage. All staterooms are well above water, and have all the mod cons of 4 and 5 star hotels. The proportion of rooms with balconies is rising.

DRINKS packages are all the rage. The top end ships include drinks in their all inclusive prices but most lines do pre-paid packages. Fred Olsen offer drinks package at ¤14 per day which includes beers, house wines and spirits and 50pc discount on a la carte wines and premium brands, including some brands the Irish would consider top brand are included. . MSC’s Allegrissimo is cheapest of the big ship

brands at ¤26pp per day (5pc commissionable to the agent) allowing unlimited beer, wine, cocktails, spirits, ice cream, tea coffees etc.

REPEAT Keep customers up to date with new facilities, new ships, new routes, and direct pick ups from Ireland. Establish an ongoing relationship. Encourage your customers to discuss their next cruise with the ‘future cruise consultant’ on board there are lots of extras and you can come back to your travel professional to discuss adding on ﬂights /hotels and tours afterwards. Loyalty cards entitle the client to 5pc off the next cruise booked with Travel Agent. With most lines, commission goes back to the agent if the next cruise is booked on board. LINK consecutive

cruises: tag one cruise onto another to see more especially in Asia.

FOOD Culinary

standards on board continue to exceed expectations. While cruises are know for their food, some clients can be very fussy eaters

with unusual dietary requirements, cruising can remove all the hassle of ﬁnding somewhere to dine every day, while still offering great food. Healthy food options are becoming more and more apart of the cruise lines fare. There are speciality restaurants on the bigger ships and some cruise lines are seeking Michelin stars for the chefs..

ONBOARD accommodation is all mod cons with lots of options up to the suites with hot tubs, pianos etc CHILDREN

Point out how child friendly many cruiselines are with kids clubs, facilities, babysitting, menus, dedicated pool areas, and Dreamworks characters. Some cruise lines offer allow 18 year olds cruise for free.

FEARS about sea

sickness can be assuaged by telling them modern ships are well stabilised but if you are concerned choose a big ship and a cabin on a lower deck in the centre of the ship. You can reassure them that safety onboard is of the highest standard, you are surrounded by like

Point out the duty free shopping available onboard many ships.

SHORE Cruises try to allow passengers as much time ashore as possible, sailing at night and waking up in a new port. Many cruise lines are offering more overnights in destinations which is a great way to see many beautiful cities at night with the cruise ship acting as your hotel. Warn that the cruise company’s own shore excursions can be expensive (although many cruise lines are offering these as commissionable extras) and that they can explore on their own. SUGGEST un-

usual destinations. The big cruise lines are going to Asia, Africa and Australia. Try Hurtigruten for Antarctica and Star Cruises for Asia.

SWITCH SELL: Agents don’t get many clients walking through the door with a cruise brochure so they have to try to switch-sell. SINGLES

Cruises are ideal for single travellers with some cruise companies newer ships offering dedicated single cabins and lounge areas so single passengers can mingle.

Be charmed by the Dolomites this Winter

Trentino

South Tyrol

Credit: IDM Südtirol / Clemens Zahn

Credit: IDM Südtirol /Alex Filz

Credit: Archivio Fotograﬁco Regione Veneto-Promozione Turistica

Credit: Pentaphoto

Veneto

Friuli Venezia Giulia

Credit: Fototeca Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A. Foto / Alessandro Penso

Whether you enjoy the challenges of a black piste or prefer to cross-country ski through peaceful woods or you’d rather wait for the après-ski in a warm café while watching the mountains turn pink at dusk, there’s something for everyone in the Dolomites this Winter.

www.italia.it

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 6

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

er Lingus hosted a group of travel agents in Miami to promote their new 3w direct service from Dublin. The airline’s tenth route to North America from Dublin will operate three days a week year-round on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The group visited South Beach and experienced a harbour cruise on board the Thriller. Picture shows Amy McFadden of

reland beat Northern Ireland by three and a half to two and a half to win the United Cup at Carton. The competition has grown in stature over the seven years it has been held and was tied last year. The north was hit by a late withdrawal which hampered heir bid to repeat their victory in 2015. Picture shows the winning Irish team, Brian Flanagan of DAA, Tony Collins of Topﬂight, Tom O’Donohue of Strand

er Lingus hosted six members of the travel trade to sample the new 3w B757 Miami service. The cabin crew team headed up by Donna Wright looked after the team win business class on the nine hours 15 minute ﬂight. They stayed at the Biltmore Hotel which has reputedly the largest hotel pool in North America, toured the Perez Art Museum and Frost science museum,

American Holidays; Claire Mulligan of Clubworld travel; Emma Bunbury of E-travel; Ian Manto of Harvey Travel; Ivan Beacom of Aer Lingus; Jade Christie of Bookabed; James Fleming of Sunway; Karen Fegan of Centre Travel; Nicola Donelan of Shandon Travel; Rachel Goss of Cassidy Travel; Sarah McMahon of Touramerica; Una McCartan of Oasis Travel; Yvonne Larkin of Strand Travel

Travel, Martina Coogan of United Airlines (front), Niamh Byrne (back), team captain Stephen McKenna of Atlas/ Gohop, Michael Doorley of Shandon Travel, Tryphavana Cross of Las Vegas CVA, John Cassidy of Cassidy Travel (back), Philip Airey of Sunway (front), Dave Hayeem of Trailfinders, John Spollen of Cassidy Travel, Aoife Gregg of United and Martin Skelly of Navan Travel.

sampled a swoop ride, lunched at the iconic Smith & Wollensky steakhouse and the homely Wynwood kitchen, cruised the harbour and drove fast cars at the MPH club. Picture shows Mary McKenna of Tour America, Sandra Corkin of Oasis Travel, Jenny Rafter of Aer Lingus, Paul Hackett of Clickandgo, David O’Grady of E-travel, Dave Hennessy of Tropical Sky and Michael Flood of ITTN.

olly Best and the Virgin Atlantic crew celebrated 25 years of the airline ﬂying to Orlando in

code share with Aer Lingus for ﬂights from Dublin. Prizes on the night in Dublin’s Morrison Hotel included round-trip ﬂights to the theme park capital of the world, car hire for a fortnight in America, courtesy of Hertz Ireland, stays in Universal properties and in neighbouring Kissimmee. Picture shows Dave Cole of Universal and Holly Best.

athy Burke of Travel Counsellors and Onur Gul of Turkish Airlines led a delegation of travel counsellors on a group visit to Marco Polo’s favourite island, Sri Lanka. Their action packed itinerary included History, culture and beaches. Anuradhapura, the ruined capital of the old Singhalese kingdom, famous for its massive Buddha temples; Kandy, the second city

in a lakeside setting; Nuwara Eliya, the hill town with its echoes of empire; the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala; the country’s famous UNESCO sites and national parks; and beach resorts. Picture shows Douglas Hastings, Cathy Burke, Donna Olohan of Travel Counsellors, Onur Gul of Turkish Airlines, Diane Bowman, Robert Kiernan and Mary Foyle.

Florida. The airline’s first flight left Gatwick in 1992 to the American state. It has since flown over 17 million customers since launch, as Orlando is one of the top holiday destinations for Irish travellers. The airline offered direct flights form Belfast this year and operates a

jorn Kjos said Dublin has proved the most popular of the new routes to Stewart International and Norwegian is rethinking its original plan to reduce the Stewart schedule for the winter months because of how well the ﬂights have sold. Brand USA and Norwegian Air International hosted travel journalists from Ireland and Scotland at both their out of town destinations, Stewart International

Newburgh and Providence, Rhode Island. The group travelled out to Stewart International and visited the attractions in the hinterland, including the Catskills, Woodstock, and Hudson Valley and then moved to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Picture shows Stacey Mullen, Phil Lancaster, Gill Furmage, tour guide Doris Cark, Jamie Buchan, Jonathan Gough and Eoghan Corry at Martha’s Vineyard Massachusetts

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 7

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

UI hosted 10 travel agents in the Algarve to visit key properties. They were hosted at the all inclusive Baia Alvor. Tui’s extensive range of hotels in the Western Algarve were viewed by the agents who experienced local ﬁne dining. Picture shows Niamh Bonass of Falcon Travel Clare Hall, Alexandra Stybaniewicz of TUI, Adam Wedge Willis of TUI, Sarah Maher of Limerick

ary McKenna of Tour America says that sales were up 20pc at the 17th Red Cow sale day where 28 suppliers joined her team, with cruise events especially strong. The event was preceded by the Tour America annual hosting for suppliers at Ely HQ in Dublin. Tour America has enjoyed continuous growth in a business that has seen many changes. In-

enidorm is not all about hen parties and beer bellies. Travel Extra took the trip down to Benidorm to do some ﬁne dining, diving, cycling, jet-ski, winery visiting, jeep safari and old fashioned hiking through the mountains. Sergio Frau of Visit Benidorm show cased the sunset over the city from the nearby Nature Park of Sierra Helada. It is easily reached by e-bike from the city.

Travel, Joanne Robinson of Thomson Connswater, Fiona Lane of Ace Travel, Martina Dowling of Tui, Aileen Clancy of Cassidy Travel, Ciara Louise Murphy of Falcon Wilton, Ciara O’Leary of Falcon Mahon, Chelsey Halvern of Thomson Newry, TUI group trip to the Algarve, Amy Michelle Naughton of Corrib Travel, Mary McKiernan of Best4travel, Front: Pierre Eloy of the Pestana Alvor Beach Hotel.

vestment in staff is one of the features that allowed the company to rise with the tide, McKenna says. “We are a very innovative and creative team and encourage all staff to be involved in new projects. We launch at least one or two new brands every year.” Picture shows Ciaran Mulligan, Blue Insurance; Mary McKenna, Tour America; and Frank McCaffrey, Air France/KLM, at the pre-Red Cow event

The group were hosted at the Villa del Mar Hotel hotel in Poniente Beach on the quiet side of the old town. Picture shows Sergio Frau of Visit Benidorm, Alice Dear of OK Magazine, Tom Stainer of Lonely Planet, Natasha, Eoghan Corry, Karl Cushing of TTG, Danielle Bazarra of the Daily Mirror, Jessica Bateman of the London Independent and Rachel Beresford of the Irish Star.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 08

CRUISE 2017-8

ean Lemass and John F Kennedy were right. A rising tide DOES lift all boats. Especially in the cruise business, where time and tide are more than a phrase. The cruise industry has been adept at creating excitement in recent years, with bigger and more technologically smart ships arriving down the slipways of the big yards in Papenburg, St Nazaire,Trieste and Turku with increasingly loud splashes.

n a game changer for the cruise industry in Ireland, Celebrity Eclipse is to become the first big ship to homeport in Ireland next year. The 2,850 passenger ship will operate five rotations from April to June 2018. Itineraries include a 10-night Ireland and Iceland sailing calling at Belfast, Reykjavik, Iceland; Akureyri, Iceland; Lerwick/Shetland, Scotland; and Cork, as well as offering an eight-night Norwegian Fjords itinerary. Eclipse, after eight years of homeporting in Southampton, will split its time between Dublin and Amsterdam. Celebrity Silhouette will replace Eclipse based out of Southampton from summer 2018. Celebrity Cruises will have five ships in Europe for 2017-2018, Celebrity Reflection, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Eclipse and Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Cruises already features Dublin and other ports throughout Ireland in its European deployment, including an overnight in July 2017. This is the most significant increase in its investment into Ireland in the history of the global business. Dublin Port hosted 180,000 cruise visitors from 100 cruise ship calls In 2016, of which

four were cruise ship turnarounds where the ship begins its sailing and guests embark. The port uses a ¤6m economic impact figure based on Southampton Cruise Tourism report 2004 which states that each passenger that joins a cruise ship via the Port of Southampton generates £380 to the local economy. £380 spend per head of 2,800+ guests for five turnarounds equates to £5,320,000 or ¤5,852,000 based on exchange rate of £1 to ¤1.1 Celebrity Cruises has a fleet of 12 ships with two new ships on order, scheduled to join the fleet in 2018 and 2020, and a further two ships on option. The cruise line is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the second large cruise business in the world. Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice-class of ships are the newest in its fleet, all introduced between 2008 and 2012. In addition to luxury guest accommodation, designer boutiques, extensive bars and restaurants, they also feature a real grass lawn on the top deck. With extensive awards particularly for its food and wine, Celebrity Cruises boasts the largest and rarest collection of wine at sea and a host of exclusive restaurants on-board all overseen by a Michelin-starred executive chef.

or Royal Caribbean, this year’s big arrival is Oasis 4, due in April 2018, Ben Bouldin of Royal caribbean says he is conﬁdent that he did enough with Harmony of the Seas in 2016 that he can ﬁght our corner to get Oasis 4 based in Barcelona for a season. “If I am not getting them and they are passing me, it means I have not done as good a job as I did the year before.” As each of Royal Caribbean’s ships arrives, they provide a

What your clients should know

Accommodation on Allure of the Seas boost for sales across the and say “different types of customers are seekindustry. How big was the ing different types of Harmony bounce? Ben cruises,” that is no longer Bouldin, London based the case. The very high sales manager for Royal media profile of cruising, Caribbean quantifies it in which coincided with a shift offshore by many the yield. “We sold Allure too travel agents have found quickly which means we that their airline and tour basically left money on operator commissions the table. We have the were being slashed to same thing on Harmony, unreasonable levels, has but we have got a signifi- meant that the public are cantly higher yield on now more savvy about Harmony than we did on their cruises. They know their ports Allure.” and they know their destinations and, often they ricing a cruise know their pricing as holiday is compli- well, complicated as it is. So how does the travel cated. It involves navigating a matrix of agent stay ahead in the inside and outside cabins knowledge game when of different sizes, fore, all of this is happening middle and aft. When around them? you get to deliver a price to the client, you cannot ne of the bigger be secure that someone obstacles facing else will better it or, even the industry, and worse, the client them- one that nobody admits is selves can find a cheaper that cruise passengers are price with the help Dr ultraconservative. Google and the inconIt is not just the aversistent pricing policies age age, which is not of the cruise lines them- creeping up not down. It selves. is a question of revenue. One thing that has The older passengers pay changed is the level of more and buy more on awareness of the cus- board. tomer. Ships look the same. Where ten years ago They are constructed in it was sufficient to men- a similar way. Corridors tion the word cruise and staircases wheel in

the same direction. There are little quirks to help you tell which is fore and which is aft. On Oceania there is a telephone on even left hand side. On NCL the ﬁsh swim forwards. But, in reality, one cruise ship not all that different from the 800 others around the world’s oceans. Cruise passengers, no matter what the cruise lines tell you about how the activities on board are attracting the adventurous and the growth of the family cruising is the big story of this year (and last, and next), are getting older. While each individual cruise line will claim otherwise, according to CLIA the average age has actually increased to 55.2 years from 53.5 years since 2005 Even Disney, which has the largest proportion of ﬁrst-time cruisers and, unsurprisingly, the largest proportion of children, is careful not to do anything to run the, ahem, boat. Getting rid of the omnipresent casino is about as far from the slipstream that Disney will go. Everyone else has one,

even if it is, in the case of some of the smaller ships like Oceania’s fleet, a couple of slot machines dressed up to look like something more glamorous, something Vegas like. o what is the passenger to do they want to escape the endless and unimaginative rounds of knobbly knees competitions, belly flop competitions and queues for frozen food that has been shipped from America in containers and loaded in the last port, to pretend that onboard cuisine is comparable when French fresh-vegetable restaurants on the mainland? There is only one answer, until someone thinks of a better one. Expedition cruising. Antarctica was one of the most glamorous expedition destinations. It became popular by accident, if call there definition of a world wide calendar an accident. Lots of people wanted to know note to bring in the millennium between 1999 and 2000. A cruise to Antarctica would probably ﬁt the bill. Thankfully, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, there were lots of existing ex-

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 09

CRUISE 2017-8

oyal Caribbean have launched a new pricing and packaging system this autumn. Airwaves allows agents to package a flight from Cork, Belfast, Shannon or Dublin with up to 21 nights of pre and post cruise accommodation and private transfers. The packaging system throws up lots of new options, the new Aer Lingus service to Miami two nights pre Allure, Orlando for Oasis for a five night pre stay and a two night post stay with a 165 deposit. Anthem in New York with Aer Lingus or United and Ovation in Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, a Shannon New York cruise package. The new system was trialled by agents such as Fahy, Marble City and Navan Travel since August 11 and is being launched to all agents in

What your clients should know

Hurtigruten Northern Lights cruise from Tromso has a direct flight from Dublin of February 25 the premium Celebrity with it. Celebrity will has put three 5,200 pasNovember. Royal’s dominance of brand. Celebrity has been even overnight one of senger ships on order. the Irish market has con- very Europe focussed, their ships in Dublin next What happens next is anyone’s guess. tinued despite a serious with the Baltic in their July. When the Irish marglitch in 2012 when it sights from the start as t took a long while for ket got excited by drinks dropped Palma and Mal- well as the Med. anyone to conceive packages, MSC’s proved The success of Celebaga as departure ports. building a ship is big one of the most attractAccording to London rity’s market share bebased sales director Ben lies the notion that most as Allure and Oasis of ive. It is currently ¤180 Bouldin, market share is entry-level cruisers will the seas but the decision weeks. Royal charge $55 back between 50pc and be at the inexpensive end on how big a ship can be a day. Fred Olsen is the seems to have been made cheapest of all at ¤14. of the market. 55pc. Royal’s market share Ireland loves Celebrity and the jury returned to The Irish now flock has been invaded with Barcelona as their port Cruises and when Royal the dockside. MSC has joined the more sophisticated sales of choice. A surpris- cast it adrift as a its own ingly large proportion of brand a large amount of club with the Meraviglia shannels by NCL, who Royal’s business was in the Irish market went Class and Carnival too are headed up in Ire-

land by Sunway and who introduced euro pricing in 2017, by Holland America who have been using Dublin visit by Prinsendam to showcase their produt, and by Princess. English lines P&O and Cunard have uppsed their marketing campaign and sales channels. With their smaller ships, Fred Olsen and CMV also made inroads with direct pick ups among their options. INnber of bucket and spade holiday makers combined land holidays with the former Thomson cruise vessels. The entire cruise line has shed its entry level image to offer a more luxurious product as Thomson evolved to become TUI and now Marabella, with two reﬁtted ships on the market sailing out of Palma and doing a Canary islands programme in the winter.

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NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 10

CRUISE 2017-8

t the luxury end of the market, Silversea have been innovating largeship amenities aboard all-suite vessels since the launch of ﬂagship Silver Muse. Silver Wind, Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper, Silver Spirit and Silver Muse are all designed to offer an atmosphere of conviviality and what it terms casual elegance. Amanda Middler has been endeavouring to make Irish agents more familiar with the ships, which come in two sizes, as well as expedition ships Silver Explorer, Silver Galapagos, Silver Discoverer, and Silver Cloud, to join the Expedition ﬂeet in 2017, Silversea’s itineraries encompass all seven continents and feature worldwide luxury cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, both Polar Regions and 900 destinations in between.

he ﬁrst cruises organised out of Ireland, like the ﬁrst holiday had a religious tone to them. The big shipping lines of 1920s and 1930s were organising one-way passages from Cobh. There were always the seekers of luxury who would travel to Southampton and in some cases be picked up at the airports by private transfer and sail on the transatlantic cruises that feature so prominently in popular culture as the most excessive of excess. Moving cruise’s image in popular imagination beyond the expensive and pretentious caricature of the Peter Hames/Christy Moore song and Roy Clarke’s sitcom character Hyacinth Bucket, fell to the pioneers of a small offshore division of Ireland’s travel industry, led

What your clients should know

Ships that sail in the bright

Harmony of the Seas created a bounce for the entire cruise industry

by Tom Maher, known to his friends as Tom Cruise. The cruise industry in Ireland started, as many maritime stories do, with the Augustinian monastery in Thomas Street. They ran the cruise to make money for the missions. They ran a cruise with the Carmelites out of Ireland on the P&O ship, SS Nevasa. Tom Maher few to London with the ABC shipping guide under his arm, sent by frank Mulligan and went to visits Eric Pippin of Celebrity Cruises to learn that bringing a ship up from the Mediterranean would be too expensive. His next call to British India discovery cruises to make a discovery. MSC The 20-year-old SS Magnifica - Southampton Uganda, which sailed at a reduced speed of Seaside- Miami 14 knots for fuel econSea view - Barcelona omy was available with Fantasia - Barcelona Poesia& Sinfonia- Venice 1,215 dormitory beds

(sold at £199) and 315 cabins (sold at £329). “I went in at half past one to meet these guys and came out at 4 o’clock with a ship,” Tom says. He began ﬁlling allocations out of Ireland, ensuring that he included a religious stop on all of the cruises, Lisbon to Fatima, the Basilica of Candelaria in Tenerife, Rome, and shrines in the Baltic. Even religious cruising proved bumpy for the others who followed into the business, culminating in the disastrous chartering of the Calypso which sat in Dublin for two weeks, empty, in 1980. When the Uganda was seized by the British military to serve as a hospital ship for the Falklands, Tom Maher was compensated for loss of earnings.

he huge growth in inbound cruise tourism has played its part. The number of cruise ships calling to Dublin port has increased exponentially in recent years. This has given Ireland’s travel agents an opportunity to see the ships at ﬁrst hand, do cabin inspections and ﬁnd out the potential for what’s hot and what’s not about individual ships or cruise lines. Irish port facilities are crucial to this development. Dublin Port did not received a single large ship until three years ago when a simulator was brought to Cobh and tried out by the captain of MSC Splendida. The following year MSC Splendida came to Dublin and reversed into the port. Reversing into the port is a challenge that captains love but when pressed they would prefer to be able

to come forward and turn their ship and that is what will be possible when the redevelopment of Dublin port is complete. Cobh is another story. The largest ships in the world can come into Cobh and the approach to the city is highly regarded by passengers, to the extent that it came second after Amsterdam in the Cruise Critic readers’ ports of choice for north west Europe. The other ports are also performing, Waterford, Dun Laoghaire, Belfast and Derry have an impressive array of cruise calls while deepwater ports Foynes and Killybegs have also shown their

potential as gateways, especially with Tourism Ireland’s successful marketing of the wild Atlantic Way in mainland European markets. Anyone for the Star-War crossed Skelligs? Or Inis Mór? Dublin as to build new cruise terminal a few years after the proposed demolition of the Alexandra Basin to enable larger ships to come in and turn. They are hopeful that ships will begin to use Dublin as a home port, largely because the airport is just 20 minutes from the cruise terminal. Ireland is also an attractive destination for pre and post nights.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN Symphony & Vision - Barcelona Rhapsody - Venice Brilliance - Amsterdam Independence & Navigator - Southampton Jewel - Civitavecchia Serenade - Copenhagen

2019

ITINERARIES NOW OPEN FOR RESERVATION

ANNOUNCING OUR AWARD WINNING NEW ITINERARIES We are excited to announce our 2019 voyages have been released! Recently awarded with the coveted “most innovative cruise itineraries”, we are pleased to release 160 exceptional journeys sailing the world over. Our 2019 Summer Collection features a rich diversity of destinations visiting over 400 ports in 64 countries, from the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Alaska and Canada to the Arctic, South Pacific, Galápagos Islands and Australia’s Kimberley Coast. Highlighting the schedule are dozens of fascinating new destinations, including Milos, Greece; Corsica’s L’Ile Rousse and St. Florent; Porto Santo Stefano, Italy; St. Mary’s (Isles of Scilly), U.K.; Rudyerd Bay (Misty Fjords), Alaska; Alert Bay (Cormorant Island), British Columbia; Menton on the French Riviera and Little Bay, Montserrat. Plus, the release of Silver Cloud’s early 2020 itineraries in Antarctica means that there really is no excuse not to visit the world by sea.

For more information please contact reservations on 01 611 0560 or visit silversea.com

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 12

CRUISE 2017-8

LIA reports that the Irish ocean cruise market rebounded at a higher rate than the English market up 14pc to 35,972 (all cruise lines). The Mediterranean accounted for 60pc of the Irish market in 2015, 21,475 passengers (up 28pc) ahead of the Caribbean 8,022 (up 3pc), Baltic/Scandinavia 2,389 (down 11pc), Greenland/Iceland 1,278 (down 14 pc), Middle East 1,186 down 6pc, Alaska 535 down 14pc, Far East/Australia 464 down 25pc, Britain 441 and Panama 262. Ireland and Britain achieves highest growth rate of all major European markets and its largest annual rise for seven years One in nine package holidays booked is a cruise, up from one in 10 in 2014 Huge rise in the popularity of Atlantic Islands cruises but the Mediterranean remains the No.1 choice for cruises from Ireland, Nearly two-thirds of cruise consumers took more than one cruise , the most multiple cruises for a decade About a third of cruises were taken by ﬁrst-timers The average age of passengers dropped by three years, the largest annual drop for more than a decade Last-minute bookings are at the lowest level for ﬁve years River cruising’s

What your clients should know

growth reflects that of ocean cruising as passengers top 15,000.

Purely functional until now, the new genration of cruise ships feature artworks on their deck spacee calls In 2016, of which four were cruise ship turnarounds where the ship begins its sailing and guests embark. The port uses a ¤6m economic impact figure based on Southampton Cruise Tourism report 2004 which states that each passenger that joins a cruise ship via the Port of Southampton generates £380 to the local economy. £380 spend per head of 2,800+ guests for five turnarounds equates to £5,320,000 or ¤5,852,000 based on exchange rate of £1 to ¤1.1 Celebrity Cruises has a fleet of 12 ships with two new ships on order, scheduled to join the fleet in 2018 and 2020, and a further two ships on option. The cruise line is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the second largest cruise line.

Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice-class of ships are the newest in its fleet, all introduced between 2008 and 2012. In addition to luxury guest accommodation, designer boutiques, extensive bars and restaurants, they also feature a real grass lawn on the top deck. With extensive awards particularly for its food and wine, Celebrity Cruises boasts the largest and rarest collection of wine at sea and a host of exclusive restaurants on-board all overseen by a Michelin-starred executive chef.

his year sees the big unfulfilled demand for the Irish cruise market being tackled on a major scale for the ﬁrst time, the direct pick up. Direct pick ups have been tried with varying degrees of suc-

Celebrity Eclipseis to home port for a mini season in Dubin April to June 2018

cess over the years. A venture by a tour operator dealing with Fred Olsen some years ago made the mistake of offering free car parking in Dublin port, great for the cruise passenger, bad for the margin. While individual travel agents have successfully chartered single cruises, the number of Cruise lines which allow passengers to depart and end in Ireland’s ports were limited. Celebrity cruises mini season of five sailings from Ireland is the ﬁrst by a major cruise line.

o add to the sense of excitement, John McGinley from Gortahork’s cruise operation offer. 12 direct departures with Cruise and Maritime Voyages in 2018, eight from Dublin and four from Cobh. n Iceland & Northern Isles Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Monday 2nd Jul 2018 • Duration: 12 nights Cruise Code: G8E18 Twin Ocean View from: ¤4239pp ¤3179pp n Fjordland Splendour Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Saturday 14th Jul 2018 • Duration: 9 nights Cruise Code: G8E19

Twin Ocean View from: ¤2329pp ¤1759pp n Summer Gardens & River Seine Experience Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Monday 23rd Jul 2018 • Duration: 7 nights Cruise Code: G8E20 n Spain, Portugal & Gibraltar Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Monday 30th Jul 2018 • Duration: 12 nights Cruise Code: G8E21 Twin Inner from: ¤2879pp ¤2019pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤3029pp ¤2129pp Multi-Generational Cruise – Child Fare £199 n Canary Islands & Madeira Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Saturday 11th Aug 2018 • Duration: 15 nights Cruise Code: G8E22 Twin Inner from: ¤3239pp ¤2269pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤3599pp ¤2519pp Multi-Generational Cruise – Child Fare £199 n Britain and Ireland Discovery Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Sunday 26th Aug 2018 • Duration: 9 nights Cruise Code: G8E24 Twin Inner from: ¤1729pp ¤1219pp

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 13

CRUISE 2017-8 parting from: Cobh Sets sail: Saturday 6th Oct 2018 • Duration: 15 nights Cruise Code: G8C27 Twin Inner from: ¤2399pp ¤1659pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤3319pp ¤2299pp n European Cities & Land of the Northern Lights Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Cobh Sets sail: Sunday 21st Oct 2018 • Duration: 21 nights Cruise Code: G8C50 Twin Inner from: ¤4379pp ¤2929pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤4839pp ¤3259pp n European Cities & Rivers Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Cobh Sets sail: Sunday 21st Oct 2018 • Duration: 7 nights Cruise Code: G8C28 Twin Inner from: ¤1309pp ¤779pp Twin Ocean View

Sets sail: Sunday 26th Aug 2018 • Duration: 9 nights Cruise Code: G8E24 Twin Inner from: ¤1729pp ¤1219pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤2159pp ¤1519pp n Baltic Cities & St. Petersburg Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Dublin Sets sail: Tuesday 4th Sep 2018 • Duration: 17 nights Cruise Code: G8E25 Twin Inner from: ¤3679pp ¤2579pp n Mediterranean Odyssey Ship: Magellan • Departing from: Cobh Sets sail: Friday 21st Sep 2018 • Duration: 15 nights Cruise Code: G8C26 Twin Inner from: ¤2619pp ¤1839pp Twin Ocean View from: ¤3499pp ¤2419pp n Canary Islands & Madeira Ship: Magellan • De-

What your clients should know

James McGinley and Tom Maher are organising five direct sailings from with free coach transport from: ¤1669pp ¤1019pp Multi-Generational Cruise – Child Fare £99

ill Royal Caribbean follow? Ben Bouldin says, while

Royal will not be base a ship in Ireland anytime soon, putting Ireland on a repositioning cruise itinerary is a real possibility. My heart would love to put a ship in Ireland. My head says, at the moment, no. The reason is that I do not believe the Irish want to spend three days

sailing south in the rain. The booking patterns of the Irish. They want to ﬂy to Barcelona. Do they want to sail for three days when most of them take a week’s vacation? I don’t think they do. What you would need is a massive commitment from our US guests to

send more people to Ireland. The challenge is that US guests are not travelling in Europe because of tall the uncertainty that is going on. They are a bit more nervous than we are. I would love to. I am not sure the business case exists. Do we have the capability? Yes. I met the harbour master in Galway, a fantastic port of call, and by 2020 they have plans to be able to house ships of our size. What I would like to do is to stop on in Ireland on some of our repositioning cruises. That is a real possibility. The time frame we are discussing is 2018 and 2019. I would love to do that. I think it would be nice and it would be a great opportunity to show off some of our hardware to the Irish market.”

2018 “NO FLY” CRUISING

Drinks e Packag 7 from £1 y a d a

www.jmgcruise.com Date

From

Destination

Duration

02-July 2018

Dublin

Iceland & Northern Isles

12 nights

Limited Availability

14-July 2018

Dublin

Fjordland Splendour

9 nights

Limited Availability

23-July 2018

Dublin

Summer Gardens & River Seine

7 nights

30-July 2018

Dublin

Spain, Portugal & Gibraltar

12 nights

11-Aug 2018

Dublin

Canary Islands & Madeira

15 nights

26-Aug 2018

Dublin

British Isles Discovery

9 nights

04-Sept 2018

Dublin

Baltic Cities & St Petersburg

17 nights

21-Sept 2018

Cobh

Mediterranean Odyssey

15 nights

06-Oct 2018

Cobh

Canary Islands & Madeira

15 nights

21-Oct 2018

Cobh

European Cities & Rivers

7 nights

21-Oct 2018

Cobh

European Cities & Northern Lights

21 nights

Holidays from Dublin & Cobh After a SOLD OUT 2017 Programme we are delighted to announce that “Magellan” is back to Home Port in Ireland for 2018, with an incredible 11 departures scheduled. Don’t miss the opportunity for extra sales with this unique product on your shelf. New Agents Welcome JMG Travel, Gortahork, Co. Donegal

Tel: 074 91 35201 Email: jmgtravel@eircom.net

Licensed & Bonded

Tour Operators No. 214

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 14

CRUISE 2017-8

What your clients should know

Ship off the old block

en new vessels are poised to be delivered next year, according to BRL Consultants. The orders include groundbreaking prototypes such as MSC’s eagerly awaited MSC Seaside and MSC Meraviglia, to Silversea Cruises’ new ultra-luxury ﬂagship Silver Muse. Star Cruises’ World Dream is the second ship being built under Genting Hong Kong’s premium cruise line brand, while AIDAmia is to join sister

AIDAprima in being the ﬁrst cruise ships to run on LNG dual-fuel. Viking Sky and Viking Sun are Viking Ocean Cruises’ third and fourth ocean-going vessels. Majestic Princess to join sisters Regal Princess and Royal Princess.. Nieuw Statendam is due to be delivered by her builder, Fincantieri, in November 2018.[3] She will feature several of the new venues introduced on the Pinnacle-class lead ship, MS Koningsdam, together with some new

attractions of her own All cruise ships come from similar template. If you think you have seen most of them before, you have. The essentials are: n a big crimson-upholstered theatre at the front over two ﬂoors, n a big crimson-upholstered dining room at the back over two ﬂoors, n a long casino in between on one level (Disney is the only cruise ship not to have a casino) n a shopping precinct between them on another

level, usually the deck above the casino. The deck, where ship meets fresh air after 11 storeys in midsized ships and 16 decks in some of the bigger beasts, will have: n a spa and an indoor pool at the front, n an open air pool and poolside bars in midship deck with an upper deck area for beach beds, n a big informal buffet restaurant at the back. Once you have been on one, you will know your way around them all.

On top of that is an activity area on the roof/ deck. The decks in between shopping/casino and the pools have corridors of cabins that go on for ever. Big ships offer fewer inside cabins and more balconies. The premium brands now offer balconies with 90pc of their cabins. Cabins, no matter what the view, tend to be small and conﬁned. There is no escaping this fact although most lines now call them staterooms for image reasons.

They are standard design as well, but Norwegian Epic had a neat departure when they built their cabins/ staterooms with a curve, in the form of a wave. Each ship has a well kept secret cabin or two, one on a turn that can be bought for the same price as the one next door but it offers a little extra space. Knowing these secrets is the key to success as a travel agent. .

CRUISE LINE THIS YEAR’s LAUNCHES & UPCOMING BUILDS 2017

n Viking Sky 944 pax Feb n Norwegian Joy 4,200 pax Spring n Majestic Princess, 3,560 pax summer n MSC Meraviglia 4,500 pax May n MSC Seaside 5,300 pax November n TUI Mein Schiff six 2500 pax n Silverseas Silver Muse 596 pax April n Star World Dream 4,200pax n Viking Sky 944pax n Viking Sun 944pax n AidaMia 3,250pax n American Line 174pax n Ventus Australis 210pax n Star Clippers Flying Clipper 300pax

2018 n AIDAnova 6,600 pax n Seabourn Ovation 604 pax spring n Blue Star Titanic II, 2,345 pax n R Caribbean Symphony of the Seas 5,400 pax Apr n Carnival Horizon, 3,954 pax summer n Norwegian Bliss 4,260 pax summer ,

n Unnamed Crystal Exclusive class ship 1,000 n Celebrity Edge 2,900 n TUI Mein Schiff 7 2500 pax n Hlland America Nieuw Statendam 2,660 pax Mar n MSC Seaview 5,300 pax May n Hurtigruten Roald Amundsen 600 pax May n Ponant Le LapŽrouse 180pax n Ponant Le Champlain 180pax

n Celebrity Beyond 2,900 pax n Unnamed Royal Caribbean Quantum class 4,100 pax autumn n Unnamed Carnival 6,600 pax n Unnamed MSC 4,888 pax, September n Unnamed Costa, 4,200 pax n Unnamed China Xiamen, 2,000 pax n Unnamed Virgin Xiamen, 2,800 pax

2019

2021

n R Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas 4,100 pax Mar n MSC Bellasima 4,500 pax n Norwegian, Breakaway Plus Four 4,260 pax n Costa Costa Smeralda 4,200 pax n Unnamed Crystal Exclusive class ship 1,000 n TUI Mein Schiff 8 2500 pax n Saga Spirit of Discovery 540 pax n Hurtigruten Fridtjof Nansen 600 pax May n Ponant Le Bougainville 180pax n Ponant Le Kerguelen 180pax n Royal Princess class vessel 3,560pax n Unamed Carnival 3,954 pax summer

2020

n Saga Spirit of Adventure

n Unnamed Royal Caribbean Oasis class 5,400 pax, n MSC Project Seaside III 5,300 pax n Unnamed Aida 6,600 pax n Unnamed Disney, 2,500 pax n Unnamed Celebrity Project Edge class 2,900 pax

2022

n Unnamed Carnival 6,600 pax n Unamed MSC World-class n Norwegian Project Leonardo n Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas 4,500 pax n Unnamed Celebrity Project Edge class 2,900 pax

2023

n Unnamed Disney, 2,500 pax

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 15

CRUISE 2017-8

homson Cruises is newly rebranded as Marella Cruises. The move comes at the same time as Falcon and Thomson change to TUI later. Marella Cruises remainspart of the world of TUI, customers will still be offered fantastic itineraries, great service and entertainment on board every ship in the fleet. The word Marella, serived from the Celtic Muir, is supposed to to mean ‘shining sea’, was chosen by the company to reflect its spirit of exploration and discovery across the seas. Marella Cruises, part of TUI. There are currently five ships in the Marella Cruises fleet, Marella Dream, Marella Celebration, Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 and Spirit which won’t take the Marella name as she leaves the fleet after her final sailing next Summer. New ship Marella Explorer will begin sailing in summer 2018. Majesty will continue to sail as Thomson Majesty until November 26th.

hose choosing a Marella Cruises holiday will be able to take advantage of ﬂights from four regional Irish airports, as well as a wide Cruise & Stay programme that combines a cruise holiday with a stay at one of more than 30 hotels across five destinations worldwide,

What your clients should know

Réalt na Mar(ell)a, a new cruise line TUI rebrands its two Discovery ships Marella Discovery including the luxurious TUI Sensatori collection. All of the extras that customers have grown to know with a Thomson Cruises holiday will still be offered with Marella Cruises, such as tips and service charges included in the price, All Inclusive as standard on Marella Explorer, Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2, previously TUI Discovery and TUI Discovery 2, and cruises setting sail at night meaning fewer days spent at sea and more time ashore. Thomson Cruises’ industry-renowned staff

and crew will also still be a big part of the holiday experience; ensuring passengers receive the warmest of welcomes and the friendliest service at sea throughout their time onboard. Helen Caron, Distribution and Cruise Director said: she isreally proud to offer an experience that guests can, and want to, come back to again and again and moving forward as Marella we’ve got brand new, modern additions to our ﬂeet and more destinations, choice and experiences than ever before which really re-

SAIL THE SHINING SEAS WITH MARELLA CRUISES

NEW NAME, SAME FRIENDLY WELCOME Winter cruises aboard Marella Dream available with flights from Dublin.

ﬂects our spirit of exploration within the brand. “The rebrand will see the cruise line set sail towards new horizons with sleek, modern additions to the ﬂeet, such as Marella Explorer next year, and an impressive four ships available from Ireland next summer.” Marella Explorer is the cruise lines’ largest ship setting sail next year and joins recently launched ships Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 in offering All-Inclusive as standard. Sailing from Palma, Majorca from May 2018,

Marella Explorer offers choice, space and flexibility for customers, including two new cabin types, bigger than any other standard cabin in the ﬂeet and a wider choice of dining and premium entertainment. Irish customers can ﬂy to Palma from Dublin, Cork & Shannon to join the new ship. Sister companies Falcon and Thomson will also be rebranding later this month, moving to one aligned, global brand as TUI. For Summer 2018, four ships from the Marella

Cruises fleet are available to Irish customers. n Marella Explorer (new for summer 2018) – Sails from Palma with flights from Dublin, Belfast, Shannon and Cork n Marella Discovery 2 – Sails from Corfu with flights from Dublin n Marella Dream – Sails from Palma with flights from Dublin, Belfast and Cork n Spirit – Sails from Malaga with flights from Dublin

★

★★★★

d l � � w a r e v � c s i D

Date for your diary: YOUR TRADE DAY • Friday 26th January, 2018

★★★★★ Advantage Austria Aer Lingus Air Arabia Air Canada Air Transat Alabama Tourism Algarve Tourism Bureau American Holidays Andalucia Tourist Board An Post Associacao Turismo Porto Atlantic City CVA Attractions of Snowdonia Barbados Tourism Marketing INC Basque Country Bespoke India Travel Benidorm Tourism Board Bike’N Ride Holidays Blue Insurance Botswana Tourism Organisation Bradley International Airport C’est Si Bon France Cambrils Tourism Board CaminoWays.com Camping La Bretonniere Camping La Garangeoire Camping Le Bois de Valmarie Camping Camping Le Pin Parasol Camping Le Village de la Guyonniere Campings of Valencia Region

LOOK WHO IS JOINING US AT

Camping Sequoia Parc Campings In France Campissimo / ESE Communication Canary Islands Canet-en-Rousilion Tourist Board CarHireExcess Carlow Tourism Carrickcraft Cascais Tourist Board Castel le Domaine de la Breche Castellon Tourism Board Castlecourt Hotel Resort Castlerosse Hotel & Holiday Homes Catalan Tourist Office Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council Celebrity Cruises CenterHotels Centro de Portugal China National Tourist Office Clare Tourism Clayton Hotels Cobh Tourism Commodore Hotel, Cobh Connecticut Office of Tourism Cruise & Maritime Voyages Cuba Tourist Board Cyprus Tourism Organisation Czech Tourism Dawson Travel.ie Derry Visitor & Convention Bureau

Destination St John’s Discover Boyne Valley Discover Bundoran Discover Galway Discover New England Domaine Du Logis Dominican Republic Tourist Ofﬁce Donegal Airport Donegal Camping and Caravan Park Association Donegal East Donegal Gaeltacht Donegal Self Catering Association Donegal Tourism Donegal Town Doolin Ferry Co with Bill O’Brien Dubrovnik and Neretva Tourist Board e-Travel.ie Embassy of Slovakia Embassy of South Africa Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania ENIT - Italian State Tourist Board Escapade Cobh Ethiopian Airlines Euro-Prestig Properties Exodus Travel Explore Georgia Explore Worldwide Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism Fitzpatrick Group of Hotels Fitzwilton Hotel

Flight Centre Follow The Camino Galicia Tourism Board Giant Hospitality Gites De France Morbihan and Marne Go North Wales Heritage Island - Ireland’s Premier Attractions Hertz Rent-a-Car Hidden in Spain Hotel Beacon NYC Hotel Westport House of Waterford Crystal Hurtigruten Ibiza Tourist Ofﬁce I’Hippocampe Camping Independent News & Media Inishowen Insight Vacations Irish Hotels Federation Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) Japan National Tourist Organisation Japan Airlines Japan Rail Pass JMG Travel Kansas/Oklahoma Travel & Tourism KelAir Campotel Keller Travel Kilkenny Tourism Killarney Tourism Killybegs

�ull of w�nders... REGISTRATION: VENUE:

★★★★★

www.registrationdesk.ie/holidayworldtradeday

RDS Simmonscourt • Simmonscourt Road Ballsbridge • Dublin 4

EXHIBIT:

Media Partner

Please contact Maureen Ledwith, Sales Director t: + 353 (0)1 291 3700 e: maureen@bizex.ie or Paulette Moran t: + 353 (0)1 291 3702 e: paulette@bizex.ie or Angela O’Rourke t: + 353 (0)1 291 3705 e: angela@bizex.ie

DUBLIN - Holiday World 2018 Show dates

BELFAST - Holiday World 2018 Show dates

LIMERICK - The Holiday Show dates

RDS SIMMONSCOTURT

TITANIC EXHIBITION CENTRE

UL ARENA

Fri Jan 26th 10am - 1pm

Trade Only

Fri Jan 19th 1pm - 6pm

Trade and Public

Sat Jan 20

Sat Jan 27th 11am - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

Sun Jan 28th 11am - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

Fri Jan 26

1pm - 6pm

Trade and Public

Sat Feb 3rd

12pm - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

11am - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

Sat Feb 4

12pm - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

Sun Jan 21st 11am - 5.30pm

Trade and Public

To ﬁnd out more log on to: www.holidayworldshow.com

THE HOLIDAY WORLD SHOW! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ L.N Treks & Expedition PVT La Sirene Camping Laguna Lodge Residence Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Letterkenny Limerick City County Council Living The Camino Longford Tourism Lough Derg Blueway Louisiana Office of Tourism Maldron Hotels & Partners Malta Tourism Authority Maryland Office of Tourism Mayo The Adventure Capital Mexico Tourism Board Mid & East Antrim Borough Council Mid Ulster District Council Midleton Park Hotel & Spa Mississippi Tourism Montana Tourism Moroccan National Tourist Office Mourne Mountains & Ring of Gullion Muckross Park Hotel & Spa Multitrip Municipio da Lourinha Munster Vales New York State Division of Tourism Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism Newry Mourne and Down District Council North American Representatives

North Dakota Tourism Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Nuevo Mundo NYC & Company Oceania Cruises Omagh & The Sperrins Region Oriel House Hotel Cork Orlando Attractions.com Passport Service Perpignan Airport Perpignan Tourism Board Platinum Travel Play Florida Golf Polish National Tourist Ofﬁce PortAventura Princesa Yaiza & Fariones Hotels Qatar Airways Quinta Do Molinu - Turismo SA Rathlin Island & Cape Clear Island Reykjavik Excursions Riu Hotels & Resorts Riverside Park Hotel Riviera Travel Rocky Mountain International Rocky Mountaineer Roscommon Tourism Saint Cyprien Tourism Board Salou Tourism Board SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Seychelles Tourism Board

Shannon Ferries Silver Line Cruisers Silversea Cruises Sirene Holidays South African Tourism South Dakota Tourism Spanish Tourism Board Spring Hotels Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau St John’s International Airport Authority St Vincent and The Grenadines Stena Line Sunelia Vacances Sunway Travel Taipei Representative Ofﬁce in Ireland Talbot Hotel Carlow Talbot Hotel Stillorgan Talbot Hotel Wexford Talbot Suites at Stonebridge Wexford Tennessee Tourism The Dragon Trip The Earth Trip The Lake Hotel Killarney The Safari Expert The Talbot Collection Tour America Tourism Northern Ireland Tourism Thailand Trailﬁnders Tralee Chamber Alliance

Travel Department Travel Oregon Travel the Unknown Travel Trade Tickets and Tours Travelopia Tailormade Ireland Tunisian National Tourist Ofﬁce Turística do Alentejo Turkish Airlines Turkish Culture and Tourism Ofﬁce Union Bretonne de l’HOtellerie de Plein Air Unique Japan Tours Universal Orlando Resort Uniworld Boutique River Cruises Valencia Region Viajes Olympia Vilanova Park Virginia Visit Belfast Visit California Visit Kentucky Tourism Visit North Carolina Washington DC Capital Region Waterways Ireland Wendy Wu Tours WestJet Westport Plaza Hotel Woodlands Park WOW Air Wyoming Tourism Youghal Tourism

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 18

DESTINATION MOROCCO

he lure of guaranteed winter sun for over 300 days a year (the temperature only plummets from 31 degrees in peak season to a fairly acceptable 22 degrees in December) is reason enough to take the less than four-hour flight to the well established Moroccan seaside retreat of Agadir. Factor in Air Arabia Maroc’s twice-weekly direct flights from Dublin Airport (Saturdays and Wednesdays) and it’s a hard combination for the Irish sun-seeker to resist. Irish visitor numbers reached an annual high of 7,500 back in the early 1990s when Air Lingus was flying there. Since the carrier cut the route it has been served by Sunway charters. Sunway wil now use the Air Arabia service. Air Arabia’s confidence in the development of the holiday destination should help boost Irish holidaymakers from 2,500 per year.

Magical Morocco

Aileen O’Reilly finds the sun with a new direct flight from Dublin View of Marrakech Laila Nechbal, Air Arabia’s CEO, feels that the ﬂights will encourage more Irish tourists to visit Agadir in search of guaranteed winter sunshine. “We have made Agadir far more accessible with the two ﬂights and with prices starting from

¤60 it is very affordable – you can go from Wednesday to Saturday or Saturday to Wednesday if you just want a short break. You aren’t at the mercy of a once a week ﬂight any more and it’s not far to ﬂy directly for winter sun and longer,

WHERE TO STAY AND WHAT TO DO

n ATLAS KASBAH ECOLODGE - set in the Berber countryside near Agadir, this ancient fortress has been restored to its full glory and is now an award winning hotel which sources everything from the local area and gives work to the local Berber community. It is known for its “check in - tune out” weekend retreats. No wifi, no alcohol, no interruptions.......and lots of yoga. B&B for two is from 76 Euro per person. n HOTEL PARADIS PLAGE SURF AND YOGA SPA RESORT (5 star) - Located 55 kms from Al Massira airport, this beachfront destination offers the perfect combination of pursuits for the ultimate exciting and chilled out break. The layout of the hotel offers an almost “village feel” where one can wander down to the sea to ride the surf and stop en route for a Yoga class (from 96 Euro per night stay) and indulge in spa treatments throughout your stay. n LE GOLF DU SOLEIL - Inezane, Agadir. Year round golfing with an average temperature of 25 degrees - Florida essentially with no jet lag and less than 4 hours travel time from Dublin. Coupled with this there is a 5 star hotel on site, a golf academy and a spa for all those golf widows. Green fees - from 54 Euros for 18 holes. n SOL HOUSE TAGHAZOUT BAY SURF - the absolute dream destination for surfers is located just 11 miles from Agadir and comes complete with gleaming surf bungalows (from 50 - 60 Euros per person per night) surfing academy, large outdoor pool and access to over 5 beaches depending on your surfing skills. Regular nighttime surf parties are also included.....it’s already a hit in wintertime with the Irish surfing community (Shauna Ward has wintered here 5 times). n VILLATE LIMOUNE FARM, HOTEL AND WILDLIFE RESERVE - this combination of hotel, animal reserve and farm is located over 50 kms from Agadir and features an al fresco lunch experience in an outdoor orangery which keeps its patrons revived in the baking heat with a cooling mist. It is the current holder of the Clef Verte award for responsible and sustainable tourism. n SOUK EL HAD D’AGADIR - no trip to Morocco would be complete without a visit to the local souk where you can buy everything from fruit and spices to leather goods and carpets. Your guide will no doubt bring you to his “chosen” stalls for leather goods and jewellery but be prepared to haggle and you will get a good deal. The green mandarins alone are worth going for....

sandy beaches coupled with the cultural experience that is Morocco.” But it’s not just the sunshine and the allure of a direct route to it which Air Arabia are banking on to get Irish sun-seekers filling their very affordable seats.

he current buzz word in Agadir is Taghazout – the once sleepy fishing village situated only 12 miles north of the bustling town of Agadir, home to hippies, camper vans and hedonistic holidaymakers back in the 1960s and ’70s is undergoing a metamorphosis where the signature scrub land is erupting in a blaze of gleaming five-star hotels and lush sprawling golf courses (home to the world class Kyle Phillips golf destination) presenting an oasis of greenery surrounded by an arid landscape. It is now exploiting its reputation as a surfer’s paradise – but again with a five-star approach which allows tourists to view the rustic Berber countryside whilst retiring later in front of a wide flat-screen TV and reclining in spacious air

conditioned rooms with world class cuisine and restaurants. Essentially one is being afforded the option of enjoying Morocco from an ivory tower of sorts. Worries about tourist safety are countered by reassurances that there are no attacks, there is a very strong police presence with continual investment in security. This rebranding/ reinvention of the traditional holiday experience one would until now have associated with Agadir is all part of the Moroccan National Tourism Strategy “Vision 2020” which aims to provide 8,000 beds overall, including 2,800 hotel beds in Taghazout, by the end of the next two to four years (since the strategy’s inception in 2007). The development of Taghazout Bay, a 615 hectare zone chosen as the investment site for this tourism initiative, will see between ﬁve and nine four and five-star hotels stake their claim on the landscape – the Hyatt Place already basks like a modern chrome and white palace in the unending sunshine and is

a one stop destination for golfing and surfing and yoga. The Kyle Philllips 18 hole golf destination, which adjoins the hotel and opened in 2014, will soon be joined by a new 9 hole course and by 2020 the Hyatt Place will be flanked by the five-star grandeur of the nearby Hyatt Regency, RIU, Fairmont and Marriott all looking out over the lengthy (4.5 km) sandy stretch of Taghazout Bay with its rolling waves. However, for those fearing that this will sound the death toll for the “real Moroccan experience” as the culture is sacrificed to uniform European “resort” standards, Taghazout Bay aims to become Morocco’s first eco resort which will promote environmentally friendly tourism with sustainability and conservation of the area’s rich cultural heritage.

he development actively promotes participation in the socio-economic plan for the region, integrating community operatives, hosting sporting and traditional events and introducing a new Medina with crafts, markets and restaurants. It is already taking full advantage of its surﬁng origins with a surf themed village in the guise of Sol House – Taghazout Bay Surf which runs a surﬁng school and offers hotel accommodation as well as individual private bungalow accommodation only a stone’s throw from the beach. The largest and most popular beaches in Agadir, apart from Taghazout include Tamawanza (12 km), Aitswal Beach, Imouran (17 km), Du Ikhmiss (20 km), Bouyirdn (21 km), Timzguida allal (22 km), Imiouadar (27 km) and Aghroud (30 km).

Aileen O’Reilly ﬂew to Agadir from Dublin with Air Arabia Maroc. Book on www.airarabia.com

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 19

AFLOAT AMADEUS has teamed up with tech company Off Airport Check-In Solutions for a service that could best suit cruise passengers. The system allows travellers to drop off their bags at a convenient location and have them checked in, so they can spend the day luggage free. Virgin Australia is the ﬁrst airline to adopt the service and has already piloted it in Sydney for cruise ships and ocean liners. NCL Norwegian Cruise Line has raised

the price of its Ultimate Beverage Package by almost 13pc, making it the most expensive alcohol package in the industry for a mainstream line.

PRINCESS Cruises showed off its new

WB Yeats will launch on January 19

A famous name

Irish Ferries vessel is to be named WB Yeats

rish Ferries has chosen WB Yeats as the name for its new ¤144m ferry now being built in Germany for service on routes between Ireland, Britain and France. The name was chosen after it had drawn ‘strong support’ from the public in an online competition that attracted nearly 100,000 entries. Senior Irish Ferries ofﬁcials recently attended the keel-laying ceremony for its new ferry being built on behalf of the company in Flensberg, Germany. The ship is due to launch on January 19 and will be delivered next July. The state-of-the-art, ¤144m passenger vessel will operate on the Dublin-Holyhead route on weekdays and be used for weekend sailings from Dublin to Cherbourg. The new ship being built in Ger-

many will accommodate 1,885 passengers and crew, have 435 cabins and space for 165 freight vehicles as well as 300 cars. Andrew Sheen said: “In choosing WB Yeats from the many whose works are revered by Irish people and students of literature the world over, we have selected one that will give the new vessel its own distinct identity and stir memories of a poet who is held in high esteem by so many, here and abroad”. Ships’ registration, regulation and other operational and legal aspects also ranked amongst the factors that needed to be considered, as was the desire to choose a name that would sit comfortably alongside those other great literary ﬁgures whose names adorn other vessels in the s ﬂeet. WB Yeats is a name that will need no introduction to people across the

world, It is a name that will convey a sense of the magniﬁcence and grandeur that passengers can expect . Sandymount, where Yeats was born, is located on the city’s southern coastline from where residents can look out upon the shipping channel into Dublin port along which the vessel that will bear his name will sail. The choice of WB Yeats as the name for the new vessel has proven to be a lucky link for Lee Maxwell from Manorhamilton. Living close to Yeats’ beloved C. Sligo, Lee’s good fortune in being chosen from the huge number of participants who suggested the poet’s name is said by Irish Ferries to be proof of what a ‘magical’ choice the name WB Yeats is. Picked from the thousands who shared his choice, Lee’s prize of free travel for life will be presented to him shortly.

CELEBRITY LAUNCH REFURB OF FLEET

elebrity Cruises is to launch a fleetwide modernisation of all cabins and suites, a new sun deck and a revamped lounge, as well as a new cafe on four of its ships. As part of the $400m ‘Celebrity Revolution’, which starts with Celebrity Edge, the reno-

vations are expected to begin in 2019. Celebrity Cruises has new brochure for 2018/19 features the inaugural season of Celebrity Edge, new sailings from Southampton and five Dublin rotations aboard Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Eclipse.

The line promises new indulgent gourmet food experiences in the Lawn Club Grill and The Porch and more Signature Events. Sailing to over 300 destinations with 185 overnight stays in 40 cities, including 25 double overnights and more Jet Set Sail packages

stateroom bed, sailing it past Sydney Opera House. The line was marking the roll-out of the bed on two of its Australia-based ships, Golden Princess and Sea Princess. By the end of November the bed will be in all staterooms on 10 of the line’s 17 ships.

SHIPS Seven cruise ships have been

awarded perfect scores by the US Centres for Disease Control between July and September 2017. No ships failed inspection during this time. The ships are: Holland America’s Eurodam (inspected September 16); Carnival Inspiration (inspected August 21); Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas (inspected July 3); Radiance of the Seas (inspected August 6); Norwegian Gem (inspected July 17); Norwegian Sky (inspected August 4); Oceania’s Insignia (inspected July 6).

NCL

is to increase its focus on the Irish market, with the EMEA region divided into two markets – one covering Britain, Ireland, the Middle East and Africa, and the other covering continental Europe and Scandinavia. Nick Wilkinson, who was in Dublin earlier this year to promote the line’s all-inclusive offering, has been promoted to vice president and managing director for Ireland, Britain, the Middle East and Africa.

CUNARD Fincantieri shipyard in

Italy is to deliver a fourth ship for Cunard, a next-generation vessel 3,000 passenger vessel to launch 2022.

VIKING Ocean Cruises took delivery of its fourth cruise ship at Fincantieri shipyard in Alcona, the 930-passenger Viking Sun identical to its ﬂeetmates, Viking Star, Sea and Sky. Royal Caribbean said the refurb of its 2008 build (and favourite at Cobh) Independence of the Seas will include upgraded Splashaway Bay aqua park, Izumi Asian restaurant and new Panoramic Ocean View cabins. SILVERSEA Spirit

is to lengthen Silver

AZAMARA acquired P&O’s Adonia and intends to rebrand it as Azamara Pursuit Hairspray will headline Royal Caribbean’s new Symphony of the Seas entertainment programme. Carnival showcased new Wi-Fi and gaming apps and a digital streaming Celebrity Solstice

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Hurricane

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 20

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

AER LINGUS

passenger trafﬁc (RPK) in September was up 7.8pc with load factor down 0.8 to 84pc. Aer Lingus has positions available as Cabin Crew, based in Dublin commencing March, April & May 2018.

DFW John Ackerman of Dallas/Fort Worth airport said he had new opportunities to grow its network, especially to Europe with cities such as Barcelona, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Munich. CAR The Commission for Aviation Regu-

lation issued a decision on imposition of a ﬁne (not exceeding €3,000) for each instance of a movement at Dublin Airport at a time signiﬁcantly different from the allocated slot, once a body of evidence is built up which demonstrates that the behaviour is Repeated and Intentional and for publication of the details. Misuse can include change of route or change to a larger aircraft type.

Aer Lingus will join American Airlines on Philadelphia route

Philly for 2018

DUBLIN AIRPORT St Mar-

garet’s Concerned Residents Group brought the ﬁrst of three legal challenge to plans for a new €329m north runway at Dublin Airport has opened at the High Court. All three actions are to be heard in sequence by Justice Max Barrett.

EASYJET’s summer ﬂights Belfast to Keﬂavik have stopped. EasyJet is to base a sixth aircraft at Belfast International from summer 18 and an eighth at Liverpool. AVOLON, headed up by Domhnal Slat-

tery, ended 2017 Q3 with a ﬂeet of 567 aircraft owned and managed, with total orders and commitments for 348 new aircraft. Avolon delivered a total of 10 aircraft, including 6 transitions, and sold 11 aircraft including 9 managed aircraft and it completed a total of 22 lease transactions. No aircraft from its order book are available for lease until 2019 Q1.

UNITED Airlines is to cease its seasonal

transatlantic service from Shannon to Chicago from next year blaming poor ﬁnancial performance on the route. It follows the airline’s recent decision to cease its daily Shannon Newark service from November to March in response to a seasonal reduction in market demand for the service, but it will resume next spring. Shannon Airport Managing Director Andrew Murphy said they were disappointed by United’s decision to end their Chicago service, despite their efforts and those of Tourism Ireland to reach an agreement with the airline. German airline, Eurowings, has included Shannon and Belfast in a shortlist of 10 potential new routes and said that the destination with the most votes will be included on the airline’s schedule for 2018.

Aer Lingus announce marquee route for summer

he event was ostensibly about a new route to Philadelphia but other stories were in play at the Aer Lingus Philadelphia announcement. They included allusions to the North Atlantic strategy and wants to grow Dublin Airport even further in a feeder hub from Europe to the States. And the airline believes that the DAA needs to up its game - a shot across the bows for new DAA CEO Dalton

Philips. The airline is also looking to make itself a force again in the short-haul business market, with inbound passengers from the States able to enjoy a business class cabin onwards to key European cities when the A321 aircraft come into service, starting in 2019. It is also looking at introducing a business class product, Aer Space, with middle seats free between pas-

sengers. But sources said reports of Aer Lingus bypassing Ireland on some US-European routes are wide of the mark: for now. Another Ireland-North Atlantic route announcement is on the horizon, said Chief Operating Ofﬁcer Mike Rutter and Las Vegas is definitely a possibility, even if the economics and its geography haven’t made it as attractive as Philadelphia.

WALSH: RYANAIR FEED WILL WORK

AG is eyeing some of Monarch Airlines’ slots at Gatwick and may order more Airbus planes for its units, chief executive Willie Walsh said. He added that the bankruptcies of Monarch and Air Berlin could provide growth opportunities for European carriers. He also said that the effective takeover of Air Berlin by Lufthansa raised

“significant competition issues.” IAG also sees growth opportunity elsewhere. Aer Lingus is looking to add more A321LR narrowbodies that can be used on trans-Atlantic hops and may have scope to add more A330s. Aer Lingus “could expand faster than their current plan. Mr Walsh said IAG is also looking to expand budget long-haul unit

Level from its current 2 plane capacity to up to 30 by 2022. Level, which began ﬂying this year, will also set up operations beyond its Barcelona base, though the location hasn’t been set yet. Mr Walsh said Level could provide IAG with a gateway to price-sensitive secondary cities in China where a lack of demand for business-class seats has made it more difﬁcult for

British Airways to make money. Mr Walsh said that in addition to the A330s ﬂown by Level, the carrier also could add the A321LR planes that Aer Lingus will ﬂy. Those A321LR planes-single-aisle aircraft configured for longer ranges--could also be operated by British Airways and Spanish unit Iberia

Barcelona. The Individual Award was won by Léon Verhallen, Brussels Airport (winner) Under 4m Nur-

emberg Airport (winner) Shannon Airport (highly commended) 4-20m Prague Airport (winner) 20-50m Vancouver Inter-

national Airport Over 50m Singapore Changi Airport Destination Canary Islands Tourist Board.

SHANNON WINS SILVER AT ROUTES

CORK A hi-tech €1.8m ﬁre training

ETIHAD Tony Douglas is the new CEO

ICELANDAIR 22nd AIRLINE IN DUBLIN

simulator which can recreate aircraft engine and cabin ﬁres has been installed on a new ﬁre training ground at Cork Airport.

of Etihad, a post ﬁlled by Kilcoole’s Ray Gammell since the departure of James Hogan.

BOOKING.com won the Aer Lingus hotel contract.

hannon airport finished second (highly commended award) in the 4m category at World Routes awards in

celandair will become Dublin Airport’s 22nd new scheduled airline

since 2010. The airline offers service to and from Iceland

through its hub at Keﬂavik International Airport serving 20 destinations in

North America and 25 destinations in Europe.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 21

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare AEGEAN Roland Jaggi, Director Sales at Aegean Airlines told delegates at the Travelport conference in Dublin, to “come to Athens - it’s 25 degrees at the moment and we’re good value to ﬂy with”. And while the airline isn’t a household name here, he did enjoy telling the audience that it has got 2m more passengers than Aer Lingus.

Stobart: profits due to asset sales

Stobart in profit Forward bookings up to expectations

tobart Group Ltd reported massive proﬁt and an increased dividend for the half-year to end August 2017 but these turn out to be generated by the sale of part of its stake in Eddie Stobart Logistics. The asset sale left the Group with net cash of £2.9m at end Aug. Aviation Division revenue (Stobart Air and Southend Airport) was £97.5m with an underlying EBITDA (~cash generation) of £6.2m and underlying profit before tax (before central charges) of £1.7m. Further non-underlying aviation set up and marketing costs of £2.6m are reported. A detailed project is underway re Carlisle Lake District Airport. The results for Stobart Air “operating under the valuable Aer Lingus franchise” are ahead of expectations after strong summer trading.

Performance has benefits from absolute yield increases year on year despite adverse foreign exchange headwinds and stable passenger volumes, supported by cost reductions. The winter booking proﬁle and yields achieved so far for the six-month period to Feb18 are meeting management expectations. The 8 ATR-72 600s were sold and leased back for proceeds of US$148m. The lease contract is for 10 years with an option to terminate after 6. Aggregate payments under the leases are $15.4m pa. The Group will continue to operate all 8 within its airline, primarily providing ﬂights under the Aer Lingus franchise agreement. The Group has also developed its aircraft leasing business and acquired 3 Embraer 195 aircraft which are leased to Flybe until 2018 H2 [and operated by

Stobart Air on a franchise basis from Southend] The Group is reviewing alternative structures for the airline and leasing that can play an important part in the consolidation of the regional airline sector. CEO Warwick Brady said “We’ve cleaned it up, it’s now profitable, the leasing business is working well. The Aer Lingus franchise is really working well.” He confirmed that the Aer Lingus Regional service should carry about 1.5m passengers this calendar year. “We’ve really got down to the nuts and bolts of that business,” he said. “We tweaked the network in terms of the schedule. We took some capacity out from under-performing routes, and we’ve been ruthless in making sure we’re a very lean business.” He declined to say what specific new structure is envisaged. “It is looking at

alternative financial structures that put us in the best position to not miss out on any consolidation,” said Mr Brady. “ If there is consolidation, we don’t want to miss out. We’re a small player. We’ve only got 17 airplanes [13 ATR 72-700, 2 -300, 2 ATR 42-300], going to 20 airplanes [+3 Embraer E195],” he said. “We have got a strong balance sheet, but the question is, what other financial partners could effectively be part of our structure that would support any transaction?” There has been previous industry speculation that English regional carrier Flybe and Stobart Air could be a natural fit for each other. Stobart Air already has a deal to operate routes on a franchise basis for Flybe.

KLM REPORTS DUBLIN ROUTE SUC-

LM‘s Dublin to Amsterdam and Air France‘s Dublin to Paris CDG routes are outperforming its services from Britain to the Netherlands and France.

Benedicte Duval, Air France-KLM’s new General Manager for Ireland and Britain told Trave Extra that load factors are running at about 87pc in the ﬁrst nine months of the

year. Ms Duval said 29pc of the Irish trafﬁc is pointto-point to Amsterdam – 42pc is long haul and the remainder medium haul in Europe. The big onwards destinations are Beijing,

Shanghai and the US. On Paris, 54pc of the trafﬁc is to France, with just 8pc going long haul. 85pc of bookings are through agents.

AERCAP Gus Kelly headed AerCap signed lease agreements for 50 aircraft in Q3, including 17 widebody aircraft and 33 narrowbody aircraft of which 8 are Embraer E2-Jet Family aircraft. They purchased 11 aircraft, including 2 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, 1 Airbus A350 and 8 Boeing 787s, executed sale transactions for 28 aircraft, including 8 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, 6 Airbus A330s, 2 Airbus A340s, 1 Boeing 737 Classic, 8 Boeing 737NGs, 1 Boeing 767 and 1 Boeing 777300ER from AerCap’s owned portfolio, and 1 Boeing 737 Classic from AerCap’s managed portfolio and signed ﬁnancing transactions for $3.7 billion RYANAIR announced a sale on 1m seats covering for example Dublin to Cologne, Eindhoven, Hamburg, Ibiza, and Paris; Shannon to London, Warsaw, and Manchester; Cork to London or Liverpool. The sale will end midnight September 25th. SHANNON Airport and Lagan Asphalt Group announced the completion of a €15m resurfacing project on Ireland’s longest runway eight weeks ahead of schedule.

CORK A new state-of-the-art Fire Training Facility was ofﬁcially opened by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Coveney at Cork Airport following an investment of €1.8m. SWISS

is to increase capacity on its Cork-Zurich from 9,000 seats to 20,140 from next May. The airline will operate three ﬂights per week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday running until the end of October 2018.

RYANAIR will open a new base in Burgas, Bulgaria, (No. 87), its second Bulgarian base, by the end of March with one aircraft and 10 new routes EASYJET

is to base a sixth aircraft at Belfast International from summer 2018 and an eighth at Liverpool.

ERAA The European Regions Airline Association announced Andrew Kelly, Director of Corporate Affairs, ASL Airlines Group Ireland, as its new President. RYANAIR Sun which is headquartered in Warsaw,, aims to launch charter operations in April 2018 with an initial ﬂeet of 5 B737800s, is to operate bases in Warsaw Chopin, Poznan, Wroclaw and Katowice. AIR CANADA opened bookings for its expanded seasonal service Vancouver-Dublin route, conﬁrming the operation will be by Rouge using B767-300ER. TURKISH Airlines launched a new mobile app.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 22

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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

IAG and Avis Budget Group renewed and expanded a multiyear global partnership. Under the agreement, Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental will be the only car rental brands available for booking through British Airways, Iberia and Iberia Express, with Aer Lingus to follow at a later date. The agreement also includes exclusivity with IAG’s loyalty programs including Executive Club, Aer Club, Iberia Plus and the Avios rewards programme. Cathy Mannion Commissioner for Aviation Regulation: told the Oireachtas Transport Committ “assisting passengers to depart from Irish airports is our only responsibility. Assisting Irish passengers at other airports in other member states to return to Ireland does not fall within our remit. Such persons have to go to the enforcement body in the country concerned. Based on our previous experience of Ryanair, we knew what the company should have been able to do. We had a meeting with the company on disaster recovery and what it had told customers in the previous year” AER LINGUS

service to Warsaw ends January 7. Ryanair is showing 12w round trips Dublin-Poland in November. Aer Lingus Dublin-Nice is suspended for the winter. Ryanair shows 3w for the winter.

ALC Steve Hazy headed Air Lease Cor-

poration announced a long term lease agreement with Aer Lingus for one additional new A321neo LR aircraft. The aircraft, delivering in June 2019, will be the eighth A321neo LR leased to the airline and is from ALC’s order book with Airbus. Aer Lingus COO Mike Rutter warned that if the airline cannot remain competitive IAG could give eight promised new Airbus aircraft to Level, a new low-cost carrier it has set up in Barcelona.

ASL Airlines Ireland will shortly add

an A330, EI-HEA, the ﬁrst A330-300 to undergo a freighter conversion. It recently completed passenger-to-freighter conversion with Airbus and ST Aerospace subsidiary Elbe Flugzeugwerke in Dresden. It will be placed into service for DHL Express which has 6 ﬁrm conversions lined up.

AER LINGUS will not to be operat-

ing Belfast-Almeria and Alicante next summer which will allow promised extra capacity ex-Dublin and Cork.

SHANNON Airport and Lagan Asphalt Group announced the completion of a €15m resurfacing project on Ireland’s longest runway, eight weeks ahead of schedule. It also included the replacement of runway edge and centre line lighting with energy efﬁcient LED lighting, ducting and other associated works.

BOMBARDIER announced another 95 redundancies at its Northern Ireland operations. BRITISH Airways plans to resume

Heathrow-Seychelles in summer 2018 with B787-9 twice a week.

CORK Airport reported 6pc growth in September.

Cathal O’Connell and Pat Byrne of Cityjet

Cityjet losses up

Currency dealings contribute to huge loss

ityJet reported a pre-tax loss of €30.2m due to aircraft acquisitions, start-up costs and “exceptional ﬁnancing requirements” last year. Its loss from operations totalled €1.8m. Exceptional costs included €13.1m of foreign exchange losses

on aircraft ﬁnancing, €8.4m of aircraft acquisitions, type conversion training and accounting policy adjustments. Pat Byrne said CityJet should be turning a profit worth writing home about by 2019. CityJet now employs 1,250 people, up from an average of 812 last year and 506 in

2015. Revenue rose to €198.2m last year from €165.1m in 2015. Turnover in the current year is expected to hit €276m. CityJet partnered with the British Irish trading alliance to offer BITA members discounts on the price of ﬂights,

NORWEGIAN EYES 787 FOR IRELAND

orwegian sales manager for Ireland Dominic Tucker said that “Shannon to Stewart is outselling Dublin to Stewart proportionally”. He revealed that Irish sales are performing very well, but said the airline needs to get Irish passengers buying more onboard, and more on top of the basic fare, as they tend to avoid paying for ancillaries

like baggage and meals. He said airline executives were “up in arms” after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said interlining talks were over and that Norwegian wasn’t all that ﬁnancially sound. Tucker said 80pc of Norwegian’s bookings are on the web, so that’s healthy cash ﬂow up front. The airline has plenty of suitors in the US, and is looking to expand. His body language

suggested any service from Ireland West Airport , seasonal or otherwise, is not in the company’s plans. He wants to see the Dreamliner introduced on some Irish transatlantic routes, and can see them being redeployed in the lower-demand winter routes on the likes of a Dublin-Cape Town route. He says while the Dreamliner is a definite possibility for Ireland, he

says the airlines is bedding in for now with its 737 family. Emirates will expand its network to 29 ﬂydubai destinations across three continents. The new partner network, through its codeshare, will offer greater frequency and easier access to more global destinations with the advantage of connecting baggage to the ﬁnal destination, the airlines said.

WALSH: RYANAIR WILL BE THREAT

illie Walsh told a Fine Gael fundraiser that Ryanair will be harder to compete with in future. “Their ability to change is unparalleled and their

ability to ﬁx things is unparalleled. A lot of people are taking great pleasure out of what’s going on. Personally, I am terrified because a reformed Ryanair will be even

more difficult to compete against.” Aer Lingus COO Mike Rutter said “I can absolutely confirm that since the issues that Ryanair have had, that our short-haul sales have

benefitted substantially. Our short-haul routes into the UK, into the European leisure destinations, and to the European cities, have seen a signiﬁcant increase in sales”.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 23

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

Peter’s comeback Malaysia surprised by sudden departure to Dublin

eter Bellew’s decision to rejoin Ryanair as Chief Operations Officer was greeted with surprise across the industry. Peter Bellew is currently the CEO of Malaysia Airlines and will take over responsibility for all Ryanair’s flight operations, ground operations and engineering but with a specific responsibility for pilot production, training and career development. He has a mission to ensure that the pilot rostering failure which Ryanair suffered in early September will never be repeated. Peter previously worked in Ryanair until 2014, latterly as Director of Flight Operations, will join the Ryanair team in Dublin from Friday 01Dec next. He said “I am excited to return home to Ryanair and take up the challenge to grow the operation sustainably. I look forward to working with all the team and all the crews I know so well to further develop our growth to 600 aircraft over the next 6 years.” Malaysia Airlines noted the unexpected announcement by Ryanair Holdings PLC to the London Stock Exchange regarding CEO Peter Bellew. At a press conference with Malaysian and international media on September 27, Bellew had expressed his commitment to Malaysia Airlines when asked to comment on speculation that he would re-join Ryanair. He said that he was happy to be in Malaysia and that the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines would be “the greatest achievement of my life”. ROUTES The Malaysia CANCELLED Airlines Board of Directors will Italy 115, meet and an anBritain 60 nouncement will Germany 53, be made in due Spain 42, course. Belgium 32, Our operations Portugal 24, and services conRomania 20, tinue as normal, Poland 19, and our commitGreece 14 ment and priorBulgaria 13, ity remains with Ireland 11 our customers. Norway 5, The turnaround Denmark 4, of Malaysia AirFrance 3, lines remains Sweden 3, on track and on Netherlands 1, schedule, as per Luxembourg 1, the MAS Recov-

NORWEGIAN Bjorn Kjos said Dublin has proved the most popular of the new routes to Stewart International and Norwegian is rethinking its original plan to reduce the Stewart schedule for the winter months because of how well the ﬂights have sold. DUBLIN Airport operator is seeking companies to work on an ongoing revamp of retail in T2 over three years. Daa is looking to put together a panel of six providers under a so-called framework contract, who will then bid for the work in T2 as it arises. TURKISH Boeing and Turkish Airlines announced a commitment to order 40 787-9 Dreamliners.” QANTAS ’s ﬁrst B787-9 Dreamliner

rolled out of the paint shop ahead of its delivery to the airline and debut on domestic routes before ﬂying its ﬁrst international route from Melbourne to Los Angeles this December.

Peter Bellew, Willie Walsh and Eamonn Brennan in most significant meetings and ery Plan”. Bellew said: “Malaysia Airlines is dragged their staff to work for us! It special. Not just an airline but one of has worked well. There has been no interference. the earliest symbols of the vibrancy of this amazing country. People who Although possibly I drove Khazanah have never ﬂown in their life love mad with my constant questions and it. Most of the country hopes it will wish for consensus. I cannot thank thrive and be the Pride of the Nation them enough for accelerating our transformation. Tan Sri Azman could again. It is a tough job to ﬁx it. Success is just within our grasp. not have been more supportive. TerJust another 4-5pc in revenue ima kasih Khazanah. People always ask me how do I monthly and it should move to profits. Not always easy to gain but in cope with government interference. the second quarter revenue increased There has been none for me. Zero 7pc. The product is improving vis- interference. So why am I leaving. Negaraku. ibly: New widebody planes, new lounges, new loyalty programme, Love for country is pulling me back new website and better operations to Ireland. I got a call from Ryanair in Kuala Lumpur. Still some work late evening two weeks ago to be needed on the food! Lots done – lots COO. It is Ireland’s greatest company. They need my help and there is more to do. Please don’t change the brand! a big challenge. It is a form of national service. Much work has been done globally through the media and travel agents When I was asked on September 27 to rebuild our heritage. People love would I go to Ryanair I said no. But what Malaysia Airlines stands for. a week later the call came and in life The brand is now revived from China we can really never say never. I am to the UK and down to Australia. looking forward to being close again That work must continue and will to my family and friends 14 hours away in Ireland”. yield the 5pc plus revenue growth. There have been news reports about the holding company Khazanah. Let me be clear. DUBLIN CANCELLATIONS Khazanah is a Malaysian investment company linked to the Monday: FR664 Birmingham, FR22 Beauvais, Government. They have FR3977 Barcelona been incredibly support- Thursday: FR7346 Bucharest, ive to me personally and Friday: FR664 Birmingham, FR22 Beauvais, corporately. I tried to be FR6875 Barcelona, FR7156 Madrid, FR4543 transparent on a daily Modlin basis, included them Sunday: FR664 Birmingham, FR1901 Krakow.

BELFAST The Air Accidents Investigations Branch reported on an incident in Belfast Airport in July found that in “slightly different circumstances, this event could have resulted in the loss of the aircraft with multiple fatalities.”.Outside air temperature data was incorrectly entered into the ﬂight management systems, affecting the rate of acceleration on the runway, and the Boeing 737 hit and damaged a light 30m off the end of the runway. BERLIN

is debating whether to close or keep open the historic Tegel airport once the Willy Brandt international airport opens, belatedly. Notable quote from local politician Sebastian Czaja: “Let’s keep the one thing that’s working in this city.”

DUBLIN Airport hotel proposal was rejected by An Bord Pleanála beside the Clayton Dublin Airport off the R139, aka Bewley’s. Flybe CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener, said: half-year proﬁts were lower than expected, BRUSSELS Airlines is to get two

A340-300s aircraft to be operated from summer 2018 on long-haul routes to North America on behalf of Eurowings

ONEWORLD

has conﬁrmed that airberlin is longer part of the alliance from October 28 when the bankrupt carrier ceases operations. An airberlin A320 was grounded at Keﬂavik for unpaid airport charges incurred prior the insolvency period..

ICELANDAIR Group’s president

and CEO Björgólfur Jóhannsson and WOW air CEO Skúli Mogensen agree that Keﬂavik International Airport should be privatised in order to keep up with growth in the region. European associations representing air passengers, travel technology groups, travel agents and OTAs are demanding the European Commission enforce airline distribution rules. They claim increasing airline consolidation threatens consumer choice as carriers seek to drive bookings through “biased websites,” operators’ own or alliance web-sites, and away from independent distribution channels which display all ﬂight options.

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 24

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

RYANAIR Despite the ﬂight cancellations Ryanair reported its 41st month of growth with 11.8m passengers in September and load factor at record equalling 97pc. AER LINGUS announced its largest

ever pilot recruitment drive, with up to 100 direct entry pilot positions available at Dublin Airport. Over the next three years it plans to recruit up to 200. There is no sign of an Aer Lingus cadet scheme this year. BA’s scheme requires self-funding (£115,000) against a conditional offer of a contract of employment as a British Airways ﬁrst ofﬁcer.

IAG CEO Willie Walsh said there is a good case forAer Lingus‘s planned connecting service partnership with Ryanair at Dublin Airport. We’re always argued that if the customer wants to do it then we should try and make it easy for the customer. I’d be optimistic that we will have something in place for summer 2018. Mr Walsh also ruled out participating in easyJet‘s connecting service initiative at London Gatwick Airport. RYANAIR, Google and eDreams confirmed that they have reached a settlement to end legal proceedings between the three parties which have been ongoing since 2015. Ryanair’s Irish High Court proceedings against both Google and eDreams concerned eDreams’ online adverts on Google’s AdWords platform. The conditions of this settlement remain confidential between the parties. The airline had accused Google in 2015 of allowing eDreams to use “misleading” subdomain www.Ryanair. eDreams.com And a website with branding similar to Ryanair’s to sell plane tickets at higher prices than on its own website. IAA/AIG The Government has backtracked on proposals to put the IAA in charge of enforcing an EU aircraft noise regulation for the north runway at Dublin Airport. Transport Minister Shane Ross has confirmed that fresh legal advice from the Attorney General’s office has meant that it “would not be consistent with the principles of good corporate governance of the IAA as a whole” to appoint the authority as the competent body to enforce the legislation, contained in regulation EU 598/14. This has left the Department of Transport scrabbling for an alternative to the IAA. An Bord Pleanála and the Department of the Environment are among the possible candidates. Minister Ross told Clare Daly TD that the noise regulation function was intended to be assigned to the regulatory division in the IAA, “and was to be managed on a functionally independent basis from the commercial activities of the IAA in the provision of air navigation services”. The Department of Transport is proposing (again) to merge the regulatory and safety functions of the IAA with the regulatory and consumer protection functions of the Commissioner for Aviation Regulation to form a new aviation regulatory authority. AMERICAN Airlines Media & Investor Day saw claims that the share price greatly undervalues the airline which has a lot of business with strong partners BA, China Southern, Qantas, and LATAM.

Kenny Davis, David O’Brien and Kevin Toland

Pilots flex muscle

Ryanair steps up pilot recruitment campaign

yanair Chief Pilot Ray Conway, presenting 45 new pilots their ‘Wings’ on 12Oct, said the new recruits bring to “255 the number joining in the past three months alone, with 867 hired this year.” Belfast-Gatwick is the only Irish route cancelled by Ryanair this winter. Italy bore the brunt of the cancellations just as Ryanair announced it was calling off its bid for Alitalia. English-based McGinley Aviation, one of a number of ﬁrms that provides contract staff to Ryanair, wrote

not accept this enhanced deal by Fri 20Oct.” Asked to comment, Ms Cusack said the pay issue was a “matter for Ryanair”. Ryanair said it “doesn’t comment on rumour or speculation”. Ms Cusack added in her letter that the productivity bonus scheme was also only available to contract pilots certain to a number of conditions, including that Stansted pilots continue to deal directly with the company through the Ryanair Employee Representation Committee at Stansted.

DUBLIN INCREASES LIMITS

he Commission for Aviation Regulation confirmed an additional departure movement in both of the peak morning hours at Dublin airport for summer 2018. It announced incremental changes to runway movements throughout the

to its pilots based in Stansted “if Ryanair-employed Stansted) pilots vote in favour of the addendum to their current base agreement we have agreed with Ryanair that all McGinley pilots based at Stansted will also receive a productivity bonus effective 1 November, of £12K for captains and £6K for ﬁrst ofﬁcers,” McGinley MD Elizabeth Cusack said in the letter. She added: “Please be advised that the productivity bonus of £12,000 per annum will not be paid to STN contractor pilots if the Ryanair STN employed pilots do

day. The hourly limit on departing passengers is to increase from 3,375 (T1) and 3,450 (T2) to 3,700 in each and an increased hourly limit on the number of arriving passengers in T1 from 3,390 to 3,550. Commission for Aviation Regulation propos-

als on summer 2018 slot coordination parameters at Dublin Airport allow for one additional departure in both of the peak morning hours and increasing the limits on the number of departing passengers in T1 and T2 from 3,375 and 3,450 respectively to

3,700 in each and increasing the limit on the number of arriving passengers in Terminal 1 from 3,390 to 3,550. Average taxi-out time is 24 minutes at 0600 to 0700 peak hour for departures.

EXTRA 96,000 SEATS IN S18

er Lingus plans to add an additional 96,000 seats in summer 2018 on routes including Malaga, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, Prague, Vienna, Split, Santiago de Compostela, Dubrovnik and Fuerteventura. Mike Rutter said Aer Lingus was looking at a

base/ﬂights outside Ireland to set up routes from USA to mainland Europe and also mentioned Cork transatlantic as a possibility. Rutter also noted that since 2014, Aer Lingus has created 600 full-time jobs with 700 more between 2019 and 2020. A total of 1,400 jobs will have been

added over a ﬁve-year period. Aer Lingus said its operational performance at Dublin Airport had declined summer 17 v summers 16 due to runway congestion and inadequate infrastructure with particular issues re the South Apron, CBP facilities,

baggage handling, transfer product. Aer Lingus will be offering close to 1m seats to Spain next summer; 500,000 to Portugal, and 300,000 to the Canaries; and is also concentrating on provincial French and Italian cities.

RDS Hall 3, Ballsbridge

Presented by

THURSDAY 12th APRIL 2018

EXHIBITOR PROFILE

VISITOR PROFILE

• Airlines

• International Hotels/Resorts

• Airports

• Insurance

• Attraction Tickets

• Media

• Bed Banks

• National/Regional Tourist Organisations

• Car Rental • Cruise Companies • Ferries • Financial Services including Credit Cards

• Technology and Communications Companies • Theme & Leisure Parks • Ticketing Agents

• Golf Resorts and Related Services

• Trade Associations

• Ground Handling

• Tour Operators

Travel Agent Proprietors, Managers and Frontline Travel Professionals.

PROMOTION OF THE SHOW A comprehensive promotional programme will ensure a high turnout of travel agent proprietors, managers and frontline travel professionals.

FREE EXHIBITOR & VISITOR CAR PARKING

• Travel Agents

• Health Resorts & Spas

BOOK YOUR STAND NOW! VENUE

2018 DATE AND TIME

ORGANISERS

CONTACTS

RDS Hall 3 Anglesea Road Ballsbridge Dublin DO4 AK83 Ireland t. +353 (0)1 668 0866 w. www.rds.ie

Thursday 12 April 2018 2.00pm – 7.00pm

The Irish Travel Trade Show is organised on behalf of The Irish Travel Agents Association by Business Exhibitions Limited 59 Rathfarnham Road Terenure Dublin D6W AK70

Maureen Ledwith - Sales Director t: +353 (0)1 291 3700 e: maureen@bizex.ie

www.irishtraveltradeshow.com

Paulette Moran - Sales Manager t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 e: paulette@bizex.ie

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 26

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

AMADEUS John Cassidy of Cassidy Travel and Eileen Penrose of APG Airline Business were the winners at Amadeus annual golf and spa event at Knightsbrook, Co Meath, one of the highlights of the travel trade social calendar. Greg Evans led the growing English delegation who attend the event and the shebeen provided on course entertainment for thirsty golfers. NEWBRIDGE TRAVEL

Alana Byrne, from Newbridge Travel in Co Clare, was the winner of the Classic Collection Holidays ¤100 voucher from M&s.

RIVIERA Travel in Britain is now using Dublin Airport as a gateway to the US for its English and Scottish clients. The agency is offering flights from Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Isle of Man and Leeds Bradford for its major tours. On some tours, there are also flights from Newcastle, Bristol, Gatwick and Heathrow. SRI LANKAN The luxury long-haul travel agents were out in force to catch up with Sri Lankan Airlines’ Jeremy Soertsz and Sai Mahendran, plus Aviareps’ boss Paul Spencer and Ireland reps Eamon Flanagan and Jens Bachmann at Matt the Thresher, Dublin. Jens spoke of the all-Airbus carrier’s connections from Ireland via Heathrow to Colombo or codeshare with Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi. Its A330 long-haul aircraft offer 27 seats in business and 269 in economy, with wifi and GSM calling connectivity. Brendan Barry from East Cork Travel won the night’s prize of two return tickets from Ireland to Sri Lanka. TURKISH Airlines and the Tourism Authority of Thailand were on the road, visiting Belfast, Dublin and Cork, with places on their mega fam to Thailand and Vietnam up for grabs. On the first night, Elaine Truesdale from Clubworld Travel (Lurgan office) was the first to win to join Turkish Airlines & Thailand Tourism’s office joint fam trip to Bangkok, Phuket and Ho Chi Min City in November. Belfast’s other prize-winner was Linda Millar (Brayn Somers Travel) who won two return economy tickets to Phuket and 7 nights at Best Western Premier Bangtoa Beach Resort. The Dublin roadshow saw Club Travel’s Aoife Devine pick up the mega fam prize. Jay Farrell - Flight Centre won the two return tickets to Phuket and seven nights at Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach Resort, while Kathleen Kinane from Club Travel walked away with a giant model aircraft, and a lastminute additional prize of return trip to Thailand was won by Travelmood’s Olivia Byrne. In Cork, Judy Coughlan, from Travel Cheaper, won the mega spot while Meadbh Byrne, Trailfinders, won the return tickets and seven-night hotel prize AVIS won best Irish Car Rental Company in the European leg of the World Travel Awardsin St Petersburg. VALENCIA will host 150 delegates to the fourth Summit of Travel Agencies Associations from November 1st to 3rd.

Travelport team Dave Conlon, Sinead Reilly and Tara Hynes

New language

Travelport readies agents for introduction of NDC

ravel agents will have to learn a new language with the biggest shake-up of airline bookings in four decades - the introduction of New Distribution Capability. Travelport, which is already ahead of the game in this regard, invited NDC mastermind ITAA to a leader-

ship forum, attended by the trade and airline spokesmen. Travelport’s Sinead Reilly explained the advantages, saying: “For the TMC this means that, when shopping for and booking ﬂights they can also make changes to bookings, make ancillary sales post the original ﬂight

booking, have schedule changes handled automatically, receive and have managed itineraries rather than individual ﬂight components and so on. They also have access to tools from us which automate and drive their processes in the service of their clients.”

DOWNE TRAVEL WINS NI AWARD

owne travel in Downpatrick and Chandra Rowan of Feherty Travel won the agency and travel agent awards at the Northern Ireland Travel Awards in Newcastle, Co Down. Uel Hoey, Business Development Director of Belfast International Airport, received the Northern Ireland Tourism Special Achievement Award. The Travel Industry Award went to Doreen McKenzie who ran Knock Travel for 37 years. For the past 17 years she has sat on the Board of Directors of ABTA. n Tourist Information Centre 2015 Belfast Welcome Centre n Specialist Tour Operator – American Holidays n Luxury Tour Operator – If Only… n Tourism Special Achievement Award – Uel Hoey

Chandra Rowan n Outstanding Contribution To Ni Tourism – Killyhevlin Hotel n Visitor Attraction Seamus Heaney Homeplace n Travel Student Of The Year 2015 Lauren Willis n Travel Insurance Company – Blue Insurance n Luxury Cruise Line – Silversea n Specialist Cruise Line – Hurtigruten n Cruise Line – Royal Caribbean n Holiday AddOns Or Car Hire Provider – Holiday Extras

n Airline, Belfast City Airport – Aer Lingus n Airline, Belfast International Airport – Easyjet n Airline Worldwide – Emirates n Ferry Company – Stena Line n Accommodation Only Specialist – Room Team/ Wtc n Travel Industry Internet Booking System – Jet2holidays n Worldwide Tour Operator – Gold Medal/Travel 2 n Specialist Tour Operator – American Holidays

n Luxury Tour Operator – If Only Ski Operator – Topﬂight n Tour Operator To Europe – Jet2holidays n Tourist Board – Spanish Tourist Board n Travel Trade Manager/ Representative Of The Year – Robert Wilson n Travel Marketing Initiative 2017 – Car Give Away Promotion, Blue Insurance n Best Sales Support Team To Ni Travel Trade – Travel Solutions n Travel & Tourism Industry’s Roll Of Honour – Ciaran O’Hare n Travel Consultant Of The Year 2017 – Chandra Rowan n Multiple Retail Agency Branch 2017 – Thomson, Newry n Travel Industry Award 2017 – Doreen McKenzie n Travel Agent Of The Year – Downe Travel

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 27

ITAA Conference 2017

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Angela Walsh of Corporate Travel Management, Paul Hackett of Clickandgo, Cathy Mannion Aviation Commissioner and Pat Dawson CEO of the ITAA during panel discussion on bonding at the Irish Travel Agents Association annual conference in Porto October 13 2017

Who will pay?

Agents hear of data changes and fund problem

he 2017 ITAA conference in Porto was the most technical on record, with three clearly focussed debates on changes affecting the travel trade. ITAA CEO Pat Dawson contended that every European country, with the possible exception of Sweden, is as unprepared for the package holiday directive. The opening session covered Air Matters New Gen ISS and NDC, moderated by Valerie Met-

calfe and opened a debate between Michel De Blust Secretary General of ECTAA and Svend Leirvaag VP Industry Affairs, Amadeus. Anne Dolan gave an update on the Payment Services Directive, Package Travel Directive and there were presentations by Andrew McCarroll PCI Compliance Manager for AIB Merchant Services and Brian O’Mara, of O’Leary’s Insurances Ltd. Commissioner for Aviation

Regulation Cathy Mannion gave a presentation on the travellers protection fund followed by a panel discussion with Pat Dawson, Paul Hackett, and Angela Walsh moderated by Eoghan Corry. n Social highlight of the conference was a dinner hosted at the Ferreira port warehouse on the banks of the Douro. n The venue for the 2018 conference has opened for discussion with Dubai the front runner.

From top Celina Tavares, Antonio Padeira nd Raquel Carneiro, Pat Dawson, presentation by Cormac Meehan to Eoghan Corry, and five presidents, Martin Skelly, Michael Doorley, Con Horgan, Pat Dawson and Cormac Meehan

TSUNAMI OF LEGISLATION ON WAY FOR AGENTS

nne Dolan, the ITAA’s legal advisor, chaired a panel at the ITAA Conference which outlined a tsunami of legislation on its way for travel agents. The Payment Services Directive will prohibit credit card charges from January 13. The Package Travel Directive will deﬁne a package holiday. Anne Dolan told delegates “It is important for businesses not to be overwhelmed. In many cases it is not that

you are starting afresh. You are already quite compliant and working towards the measures in the legislation.” American Express, business and Diner’s Club cards are not caught within the legislation. Agents have the options of increasing the lead price and credit card imposing a booking fee but Anne Dolan stressed that a booking fee must be applied across the board. Controversially, retailers are permitted to steer customers away to a less

costly means of paying for the holiday, something that seems to be contrary to the spirit of the legislation. The package holiday directive comes into force on January 1 2018, with a window until June 30 for businesses to update their practices. The directive covers travel arrangements that are offered or charged at a single price. The legislation deﬁnes linked travel arrangements and outlines provisions on ﬁnancial security, with six categor-

ies: where two or more travel services are provided and where consumers select and pay at a single point of sale bringing dynamic packaging under the terms of the act. Business travel falls outside the scope of the directive but only where an agreement is in place with the customer. A discussion followed on PCI Compliance and GDPR and cyber security risk

TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE IRISH TRAVEL AGENTS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE CORMAC MEEHAN The Portuguese MICHELE DE BLUST Remittance ANNE DOLAN Agents are already quiet

were the wold’s ﬁrst travel agents.

ANNE DOLAN The payment services

holding capacities are coming. They are going to increase the agency fees.

directive is prohibiting credit card fees from January 30 2018. Fees form a signiﬁcant portion of merchant services charges.

VALERIE METCALFE Global de-

ANTONIO PADEIRA I have come

MICHELE DE BLUST Something is

from the ABTA conference. The ITAA conference is more technical.

ANNE DOLAN A tsunami of a year in 2018 in terms of legislation.

fault insurance was rolled out in the past tow months. It offered an alternative to agency.

changing within IATA. They have realised they cannot just walk away and they have to listen to the industry to some extent. Twenty years ago they would have slammed the door on us.

compliant in terms of what they re doing.

MICHELE DE BLUST I would not be surprised if Air France KLM adopt a similar scheme to Lufthansa.

CORMAC MEEHAN Our challenges are many but our capacity to overcome them are many .

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 28

WINDOW SEAT Last month in numbers

u50m cost of Ryanair ﬂight cancellations. 11.8m Number of passenegrs carried by

Ryanair in September

2.4m Number of people kept updated with information about Storm Ophelia by DAA u1.5m What is left in travellers compensation fund after demise of Lowcostbeds, according to the Commission of Aviation Regulation.

315,000 Number of Ryanair passenegrs affected by theﬁrst round of cuts.

400,000 Number of Ryanair passenegrs affected by the second ound of cuts.

180 Number of ﬂight cancellations caused by Storm Ophelia.

LENS-EYE VIEW OF THE EAST

To say that Failte Ireland has struggled with the brands that followed Wild Atlantic Way is an understatement. The Ancient East is not very ancient and not very east, But a German born photographer who lives in Clare decided it had more to offer. His problem is the same that all visitors face, how do you group the disparate 16 county mass that has been bundled together. Is Cavan, Louth, Meath and Westmeath really the cradle of civilization? Some forgotten icons of Ireland are the subject of his loving lens, the Rock of Dunamace that every-

Ireland’s Ancient East by Carsten Krieger is published by O’Brien Press

one drives past and never visits, the fairy tree on UIsneach like a gatepost on the road to another world, Loughcrew which is more beautiful than Newgrange, the rag-laden St Cieran’s bush in Offaly, Ballysaggartmore gates in Waterford, the monastery at Timahoe in Laois, Laois does well for inclusions, Tipperary, Wexford, Wicklow and Meath provide the most material. What did Cavan (1 location), Westmeath (1 location) and Waterford

(2) do to offend him? Carsten Krieger first visited the Burren after learning it was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. More visits followed before he and his wife finally decided to move to Kilbaha near Loop Head in south Clare and has been working for Failte Ireland. The captioning is precise and enticing, he names the ghosts at Wicklow Jail, reflects the new passion fashion for lighthouses. .

Busman’s holiday: Bláithín O’Donnell

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Bláithín O’Donnell Ireland country manager of Air Canada

y first time out of the country at age 10 proved to be chapter in my book of travels. Holidays before then in Wexford and Donegal, while pleasant and fun were full of the familiar, but this trip opened up a whole new world for me. My father had like many fathers, been working abroad ,in the early 1980s. We saw him twice a year for a few years, but the money that he earned meant that reunions could be filled with sunshine. He flew from the middle east via Athens and met my mother who had travelled on her own to Iraklion in Crete with the 4 children. We ranged in age from 12 down to 6 months old and none of us had even been on the ferry to Holyhead. The aircraft was an Aer Lingus 747. It was divided into 4 cabins named Ulster Munster Leinster and Connacht. I can remember the jelly sweet given out

before take off from a little basket. My aunt, uncle and cousin who had been to Greece many times were waiting for us in Sitia, but the long journey from the airport in the centre of Crete to Sitia in the eastern half of the island still had to be negotiated. By the time we set off in the hire car it was dark, windows open to combat motion sickness and a suitcase resting in the rear window cavity which bumped my head each time we fell foul of another pothole. EU money had not yet made it to Cretan roads. The smells of herbs ﬁlled the car, the sound of crickets, passing by tavernas ﬁlled with chattering families on the roadside, crates of beer, Orangina, Pepsi stacked outside. It was all so exotic to my North Dublin eyes and ears. We arrived and were greeted by Giorgios and Katina the owners of the Pension, guests sat around a table in the courtyard with wines and gourds hanging overhead drinking strong Greek coffee and wine. Germans, French, Dutch and Irish.

I can’t remember falling asleep that night but I can remember waking up to sun streaming through the cracks in the door leading onto the courtyard. Bread and apricot jam, ﬁgs and grapes for breakfast, Kalimera Kalimera! Good Morning Good Morning to be heard. The beach was across the road. Only a handful of people on it even in the height of the summer. Locals couldn’t understand why you would lie on the beach in the heat of the day. I learned how to swim on a deserted beach called Erimoupolis, an hour’s drive away. The water was glass like and the salt helped with buoyancy. I also got a black sea urchin spine stuck in my heel and my uncle had to cut it out with his Swiss army knife. The same salt water is a handy antiseptic. Each day I walked up to the town and bought the daily supplies. Bread, (a long ﬂat loaf wrapped in peach tissue paper) fruit, watermelon, feta cheese, tomatoes, olives. In two weeks, I could speak enough Greek to order all of these. I greeted each shopkeeper and stallholder. My love of languages had begun.

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

yanair said the second round of cancellations would allow it to completely overcome the problems created by a staff shortage. A change in the way it allocates employees’ holiday left it with too few working pilots to cover all of its scheduled ﬂights. Ryanair now says that, with the new round of cancellations, its pilots will have used up their outstanding leave entitlements and the airline will be

able to return to business as usual. Even though many more journeys were cancelled this time, the number of travellers affected is relatively low because many flights had few or even no bookings. Ryanair does not think its recent troubles will dent its financial performance. It is offering vouchers worth €40 to those who have had a flight scrapped between October and March, and €80 to those who lost a return trip.

The airline expects that the cost of the old and new cancellations will be less than €50m, against the €1.5bn proﬁt it is forecasting But one core issue remains, and not just for Ryanair. Regulators say the company failed to inform the passengers affected of their rights, especially the entitlement to alternate ﬂight arrangements on other airlines at Ryanair’s expense. Other ailrines follow that line. Will the enforcers follow them too?

The beach was full of volcanic stones that ﬂoated in the water, we made a beach shelter for my baby sister from branches and draped fabric, we applied the Piz Buin suncream from the dual factor 4 and 6 bottle, the highest there was. We ate ripe tomatoes and nectarines which dripped down our arms and then we washed them off in the warm sea. Small balls of fried dough drenched in syrup. My aunt snipped pieces of geranium from the plants to take back to Ireland wrapped in wet tissue paper and plant in pots to remind her of the holiday. I didn’t need geraniums. I have worked in the tourism and travel industry for 24 years now. I am lucky to work for Air Canada and be able to bring my own family on family holidays where they can make memories of their own. This year we journeyed to Toronto and saw the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake. We then continued on to Barbados where we chilled and swam in the crystal clear waters. My kids bought watermelon from markets stalls and ate it on the beach, just as I had done.

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online November 20 2017

WEDDINGS ISSUE Honeymoon suites Baby moons Italian rules WEDDING TRENDS

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 29

Out and about with the Travel Trade

rLas Vegas CVA and Ma Tryphavana Cross of United the at d an s line Air tina Coogan of United Cup

Dave Cole, Universal Stu Neice, Cassidy Travel dios, and Megan Mc, who won Virgin Atlan tic flights and five nights at Universal Orlando res ort.

rmpsey Travel, Con Ho Martin Dempsey of De rphy Mu rry Te d an vel Tra y gan formerly of Abbe Amadeus golf event at of Terra Travel. at the Knightsbrook

Sandra Corkin of Oasis of Clickandgo during theTravel and Paul Hackett Aer Lingus group trip Miami, Oct 6-9 2017 to

Fiona Lane of Ace Travel and Sarah Maher of Limerick Travel on the TUI group trip to the Algarve,

MEETING PLACE

Josephine Ando, Visit Ta Kenny, RTE, at the To mpa Bay, and Clodagh ur America pre-Red Co event w

Martin Skelly of Navan Travel, Michael Doorley of , of O’Hanrahan Travel Shandon Travel, Yvonne Muldoon of Aer Lingus, Mark nd Josephine Clifford ny To d an g ltin nsu Co Miriam Skelly and Olwen McKinney of Amadeus Audrey Headon of Headon the Amadeus golf s at Flynn of Ethiopian Airline

Michael Doorley of Shandon Travel, Joe Tully of Tully’s Travel, Martin Skelly of Navan Travel and Ivan Beacom of Aer Lingus at the Amadeus golf

Alexandra Stybaniewic z of TUI; Ciara Louise Murphy of Falcon Wilton ; Ciara O’Leary of Falcon Mahon on the TU I group trip to the Algarv e

David O’Hagan, Yvonne Muldoon, Michaela Banks and Olwen McKinney at the Amadeus golf event in Knightsbrook.

Aer ndgo, Jenny Rafter of Paul Hackett of Clicka en y Sk al pic Tro of y ess Lingus and Dave Henn gus group trip, Lin r Ae on route to Miami

vel, Peter McMinn of Travel Solutions and Patrick Mcfford of O’Hanrahan Tra Mark nd Josephine Cli on Consulting and Tony Guigan of Classic Sports and Travel at the United Rebecca Kelly of MSC Cru ad Audrey Headon of He s at the Amadeus golf Brennan and Olwen Mc ises with Stephen Cup Kinney of Amadeus at line Air ian iop Eth of nn Fly Amadeus golf event at the Knightsbrook

Dave Hayeems of Tra ilfin United Airlines, John Ca ders, Martina Coogan of Massimo Larini of Unitedssidy of Cassidy Travel, at the United Cup

Mark Clifford of O’Hanrahan Travel, Graham Hennessy of DSD, Ken Masterson of Skytours, and Maurice Shiels of Topflight at Amadeus golf

rke of Travel Centres, Bernie and Dominic Bu urances and Michaela Ins e Blu of lf Jason Whelan an at the Amadeus go Banks of Royal Caribbe

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 30

MEETING PLACE

gin and Joanne Boyd, Vir Philip Airey, Sunway, antic Florida Atl gin Vir the at ys, Atlantic Airwa Hotel, Dublin, event in the Morrison

John Devereux of SHGI/ Best of Virgin Atlantic Tour America and Holly at the Amadeus golf eve nt

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Clare Baker and Chloe Booth, Alamo, with Tour Erica Oglesby, MSC; Polly Bond, Tour Am eri America’s Veronica Flood and Liz Wright at the and Olwen McKinney, Amadeus, at the Tour ca; Am eri ca pre -Re d Co w event Tour America pre-Red Cow event

Liam Donaghy, Virgin Atlantic, Pat Dawson, ITAA, and Jennifer Moen, Virgin Atlantic, at the Virgin Atlantic Florida event,

tt Travel, and Joanne a Des Abbott, Des Abbo the Virgin Atlantic Florid at Madden, Travelport, event,

Mary King, Travelsavers nna, Insurance; Mary McKe / Sarah Maher of Limerick Travel, Amy Michelle ; Roisin Carberry, Tro ica pCiaran Mulligan, Blue nce l Fra Air y, nk McCaffre Naughton of Corrib Travel and Fiona Lane of Ace tic Sky; and Aisling Handley, at the Virgin Atlan Tour America; and Fra nt Flo eve rid w a eve Co d nt, -Re pre ca Travel during the TUI group trip to the Algarve, eri KLM, at the Tour Am

Ann Davis, Abbey Tra vel Lee Osborne, BookaBe , with Beverleigh Fly and d, at the Virgin Atlantic Florida event,

y, Lynch and Fiona Cluske Angela Hayden, Marc a rid Flo tic an Atl Virgin all Abbey Travel, at the event,

Alice Carrick, Tour Am eri of car hire in Florida, wit ca, who won two weeks and Holly Best at the Virh Jason Kearns of Hertz gin Atlantic Florida eve nt,

loney of Greg Evans, Keith Chuter of British Airways, Miy of E-travel, Karen Ma chael Doorley of Shandon Travel and Joe Tully of David O’Grad rraine Quinn of Celebrity Cruises at Etihad and Lo Tully’s Travel at the Amadeus golf event nt at Knightsbrook the Amadeus golf eve

Peter McMinn of Travel Solutions, Niamh Byrne, Catherine Fetherston of Travel Counsellors and Martin Skelly of Navan Travel

Aaaron Cardell of Travel Counsellors, Tom O’Donohue of Strand Travel, Brian Flanagan of DAA and Thosten Lettnin of United Airlines

Aileen Clancy of Cassi dy ernan of Best4travel on Travel and Mary McKithe TUI group trip to the Algarve,

pleCentres, and Sarah Ap Dominic Burke, Travel at the Virgin Atlantic s, ton, Travel Counsellor Florida event,

NOVEMBER 2017 PAGE 31

Out and about with the Travel Trade

MEETING PLACE

David Enda Best Corneille of Virgin, and Anita Colleen Thomas Butlerof ofEmirates Bookabed at ers Hennessy, and Dave Hayeems, Trailfindand Joanna Corrigan, Holly d, , at the Virgin Atlantic Be oka Bo , rne bo Os Florida event, nt, and the Northern Angela Jackson Ireland Travel of Napa Awards Valley at at the the Slieve Visit Lee gin Atlantic Florida eve Donard California Hotel event in Newcastle, Co Down, Abbey Travel, at the Vir

Paul Manning, Hertz Ire land, and Dominic Burke Travel Centres, at the , Virgin Atlantic Florida event,

erkenna at the Tour Am Joy McLoughlin, Virgin Atlantic; Jo Piani, Visit Dave Cole and Mary Mc Cow d Kissimmee; Jennifer Moen and Liam Donaghy, ica Sale Day in the Re Virgin Atlantic, at the Virgin Atlantic Florida event,

of vel and Aileen Clancy Fiona Lane of Ace Tra the to trip up gro I TU the Cassidy Travel during Algarve,

Amy Michelle Naughto Brendan White, Tropical Sky; Beverleigh Fly, n of Falcon Mahon,Joann of Corrib, Ciara O’Leary BookaBed; Ciara Foley, Platinum Travel; Liz e Robinson of Thomson Wright, Tour America; and Jo Piani, Kissimmee, and Ciara Louise Murphy of Falcon Wilton

John Spollen of Cassi dy Cross of Las Vegas CV Travel, Tryphavana A, Tony Collins of Topflight at the United Cu p

Navan Travel, Katrina of Michelle McDonagh of vel and John McKibbin Tra McMullan of Navan tsigh Kn at nt eve lf s go Getabed at the Amadeu brook

Martin Skelly of Navan Travel, Philip Airey of Sunway and Brian Fla nagan of DAA at the Un Cup ited

Matt Horgan and Basil Sheerin of Kerry Airport who will be devising a new airport strategy in the coming months

of Travel, Dave O’Grady Sandra Corkin of Oasis nna of Tour America en E-travel and Mary McKe gus group trip, Lin route to Miami on Aer

John Spollen of Cassidy Travel, Stephen McMartina Do Kenna of Atlas/Gohop, and Terry Murphy of Terra Pestana wling of TUI and Pierre Eloy of the Alvor Beach Hotel durin Travel at the United Cup g the TUI group trip to the Algarve,

Tony Collins of Topflight, Kieran O’Doherty of Premier Travel, Patrick McGuigan of Classic Sports and Michael Doorley of Shandon Travel

igan of Amadeus and Siobhan Boskett McGu eus at the Amadeus ad Am Olwen McKinney of k roo tsb igh Kn at nt golf eve

Dreaming of winter sun? Escape to the Algarve. Talk to your travel agent.