Travel Extra Apr 2015 by Travel Extra

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CRUISE PRICES AND OPTIONS 2015-16 HOLY LAND THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS ETHIOPIA CHASING THE LOST ARK IHF Conference

TransAtlantic Summer

New routes

R U YO

e d a r T PAPER

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION Free

APRIL 2015

VOLUME 19 NUMBER 4

Everything your clients need to know

Cruising the Med

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NEWS

www.travelextra.ie

Madeira is back

Europe Airpost charter resumes route served since 1998

irect flights from Dublin to Funchal will return for the summer after a hiatus of a

year. Weekly charter flights with Europe Airpost will commence on May 7th and continue until September 24th. Antonio Padeira, director of Portuguese Tourism for Ireland set out flights to Madeira as a priority after his appointment last summer, and opened up negotiations with airlines and tour operator. “We have some activities that we had to suspend because we don;t have a direct flight.” The route was served by a shared charter every Sunday since 1998 until 2013 when SATA retasked the aircraft to serve its home base in the Azores. A brave effort by Paul Weir and Pedro Bollinger of Windavia to reconnect Ireland with Madeira fell through in 2014. Year round temperature rarely falls below 17 degrees and rises above 24. Hill walking, surfing, golfing, deep

Ethiopian Airlines, our first direct flight by Dreamliner is Dublin’s first sub-Sahara Africa scheduled flight.

GOTHENBURG SAS take up the former Ryanair route with 2w service.

HALIFAX Europe Airpost

once a week flight to Nova Scotia was the surprise of the summer.

HAVANA

Thomas Cook

launched the Salou Experience for 2015 to feature “Europe’s beach.” The programme, which includes 3-day passes pp to PortAventura, return transfers from Reus Airport (€15 extra from Barcelona) and accommodation. Flights are not included. PortAventurahas initiated a €125m investment in expanding its parks over the last five years. This year sees Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna make its European debut at PortAventura. Next year will see the opening of the Ferrari park and hotel.

FLYCORK

Travelfox has launched website FlyCork.ie in association with Cork Airport, offering exclusive packages from Cork Airport and is expected to sell inbound holidays for visiting tourists in the future.

ROUEN The Historial Jeanne d'Arc

opens March 21 in Rouen, a museum over five levels with 1,000sqm of exhibition space.

Hiking Pico Areeiro Path sea fishing and mountaineering are all activities associated with Madeira. Funchal, the capital of the island is set in a natural amphitheatre that tumbles down to the harbour and yacht marina offering botanical gardens, historic buildings, modern shopping

centres and seashore access. The island is famous for its wines, embroidery artisans, exotic flowers and tropical fruits. Summer packages start from €399pp. with Concorde and Topflight.

BACK ON THE DESTINATION BOARD

ADDIS Two firsts from

SALOU James Malone's Rathgar Travel

have announced a once off flight form Belfast International, reviving memories of direct flight sin the 1980s.

on the map thanks to Ethiopian Airlines..

Finnair return to the route offering through connections to China and other long haul destinations.

NEWQUAY Cornwall is

HELSINKI

KOS Back in the Falcon

brochure with direct charter flights.

LOS ANGELES

Back

NANTES Aer Lingus return to the French holiday destination.

again accessible through Aer Lingus Regional.

REYJAVIK

Wow Air start a scheduled service with impressive stopover fares to Boston and Washington DC.

HOLIDAY PHOTOS A survey by Topdeck Travel suggests women are most likely to upload selfies in front of famous landmarks, while men prefer to broadcast adventurous activity updates. The average holiday maker uploads 27 photos during and after a holiday, according to a poll of 2,000 people. India Tourism in London partnered with Culture Aangan Holidays, to launch a new Rural Tourism campaign. JAPAN is to promote ninja tourism as

part of a new collaboration between tourist agencies and local governments.

ORLANDO Visit Orlando has identi-

fied 15 new openings for 2015. More unusual are the Dr Phillips Centre for the Performing Arts and the arrival of franchise team Orlando City Soccer Club. Orlando Eye, a 400-foot-tall observation wheel s one of a trio of new attractions from I-Drive 360, a new entertainment complex from Merlin Entertainments, alongside Madame Tussauds and Sea LIfe Orlando delivering a new wave of displays of colourful fish, sharks, jellyfish, and sea horses.

APRES SKI A poll in England found

that skiers are more likely to injure themselves during apres-ski partying than on the slopes.

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THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Advertising & Subscriptions (+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417 Editorial Office Clownings Straffan Co Kildare 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 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Picture Editor: Charlie Collins pix@travelextra.ie Sunday Supplement & Online: Conor McMahon conor@travelextra.ie Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Eanna Brophy eanna@travelextra.ie Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Sean Mannion sean@grafacai.ie Ida Milne ida@travelextra.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com

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

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Contact +35387-2551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

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CONTENTS

3 News Where to go, how much to pay 6 Hotels: IHF Conference 8 Postcards: News from the trade 10 ITB Berlin: More upbeat than ever 12 Cruise: The summer guide

16 Iceland: At the end of Wow’s flight 18 Holy Land: A pilgrimage apart 20 Ethiopia’s secrets: Direct from Dublin this year 23 Afloat: Cruise and ferry news: Superfast X comes to town 26 Ireland: On the trail of St Patrick

28-33 Flying: Airline and airport news 33 Global Village Ireland’s first travel industry trade show 35 Window seat: Chris Logan’s favourite holiday 36 Pictures: Out and about

Selling a cruise break

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 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?

TIPPING most

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 per-day cost all inclusive works out at €50 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

So many to chose from 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 €12 per day which includes beers, good house wines and spirits and 50pc discount on a la carte wines and premium brands. 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 expecta-

tions. 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

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

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.

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NEWS

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Spotlight on SE

New tourism marketing initiative launches at Meitheal

ailte Ireland’s latest marketing initiative to follow the Wild Atlantic Way, will concentrate on the heritage product in the south east, and is to launch at Meitheal 2015 which takes place in the RDS Dublin on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th April. The region covered by the initiative will cover most of the east coast around Dublin and stretch as far as counties Louth and Meath, to include Newgrange. The campaign will be augmented by further promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way campaign that won international recognition in 2014. Waterford’s Viking Quarter and festival has positioned the city as a standalone attraction. Kilkenny has seen the opening of a revitalised Smithwick’s Centre. Failte Ireland officials are planning to market an integrated product that will take in attractions as far north as Meath as part of a regional package that crosses the traditional tourism regional boundaries. Dublin has been targeted as a tourism sector in need of revitalisation. The city will benefit from twin campaigns, the Gateway to nature campaign and the city of words. Gateway to nature will highlight the natural attractions of the bay from Howth to Killiney and the city’s easy access to the Wicklow mountains. The city of words continues the theme of literature that has been a feature of tourism efforts since the 1950s, culminating in the UNESCO city of literature status in July 2010. There is no mistaking the coming

THAILAND The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s European director Tanes Petsuwan said he expected the Irish market to return to growth in 2015 after visitors from Ireland fell by 1.25pc to 62,727 from 63,522 in 2014, was still the third highest figure ever, close to the 62,924 recorded in 2013. Overall visitor numbers were 24,779,768 down -6.66pc from 26,546,725 the previous year. European visitors were down 2.38pc to 6,156,132.

GOOGLE launched theirs updated

Flight Search tool is targeted at travellers who are not sure where they want to go.

WORLD ESCAPE

Waterford Viking Triangle will be at the forefront of the campaign writer in this movement: Bram Stoker, now accorded his own festival at Hallowe;en with a sequence of events through the city. High end tour company Letzgo will be the Stoker Tour, Dracula Nights of Terror as the highlight of its programme in the city when it launches next summer. It will be conducted by Dennis McIntyre of the Bram Stoker Society. “Most of the motivation and creativity behind Dracula came from Dublin,” Ciaran Carraher says. The tour starts in St Michan’s crypt and explains how the spike through the heart became so central to the Dracula legend. There is likely to be two major new attractions in Dublin in 2014, one relating to the Irish diaspora and the other a interactive experience with actors to be based in Dublin featuring

gory events through Irish history. Both are planning to be big ticket attractions with in excess of 300,000 visitors a year. Dublin and Dun Laoghaire are both contenders to host the National Diaspora Centre, a partially grant aided project which will be announced before the end of the year. Cork, Limerick and Birr are also in the running. There will be further hotel developments at the top end of the market in line with the Kingsley Hotel Four Star opening last year as part of the Fota Collection. Ashford Castle, now part of the Red Carnation group will close again for three months while a spa is installed under the castle. The five star K Club is to build another 70 rooms, bring the total to 139.

founded and built by siblings Emmett and Deidre Brady (also responsible for building Ireland's largest legal services firm, LawSearch.ie), offers over 10,000 lofts, houses, cottages, and even houseboats in over 50 cities around the world. WorldEscape lists four advantages over competitors such as Airbnb, it does not charge a booking fee, compared with 6-12pc by competitors, WorldEscape only charges 15pc at the time of booking compared with 100pc by competitors, it visits and vets every property it offers and 24 hour real person customer support, transport to and from the airport, and luggage storage.

PASSPORT OFFICE The Passport Office has apologised for delays in processing passports, which it says is partly due to increased demand on services, following the most recent naturalisation ceremony for 3,000 foreign nationals.

ADAMS & BUTLER Filmmaker Reinhard Radke will be personally conducting tours of the Serengeti Siobhan Learat‘s Adams & Butler this summer.

AIRBNB settled its long standing tax bill with San Francisco.

ENTERPRISE

Holdings acquired

Triangle Rent A Car.

VISIT FLORIDA Visit Florida an-

nounced that 97.3m tourists visited the state in 2014.

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HOTELS

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TEMPLE BAR Boston-based Pyra-

mid Hotel Group bought the 132 bedroom Temple Bar Hotel in central Dublin for €30m. The three-star premises also includes Busker’s Bar & Cafe and the Alchemy Night Club. The group's 57 hotels include the Ritz Carlton in Los Angeles and the Westin Las Vegas.

K CLUB Prince Albert of Monaco was

selected to turn the sod at the 70-room extension of the K Club in Straffan, bring the total to 139. GM Michael Davern said the extension is an indication that the golf business is not performing as it used to and the hotel business is performing better than it used to. He said that having only 69 rooms was a handicap for the K Club as it tried to compete for corporate business in the five-star sector.

SALES Kirsty Rothwell of DTZ Sherry

FitzGerald said a weaker euro will boost hotel sales in Ireland on top of the 60 hotels sold in 2014 with a combined spend of €555m. The Crystal Collection of seven hotels in Leinster and Munster are on sale for a combined €35m price tag. Ulster Bank is due to bring a portfolio of pubs and hotels, Project Coney to the market. DTZ said US purchasers accounted for 87pc of the foreign spend or €275m of the hotel assets. Europeans 5pc and Asians 3pc. Dublin accounted for 59pc of purchaser spend, the South West 11pc, South East 10pc, Shannon 8pc, Midlands East 7pc, the West 4pc and the North West 1pc.

IHIF Prior to ITB the 18th International

Hotel Investment Forum attracted 2,000 delegates from 70 countries to the Hotel InterContinental in Berlin. Elizabeth Winkle of STR Global noted Europe had seen 18 months of consecutive RevPAR growth and demand in Europe was back to that seen in the early 2000s.

IRELAND’s Ireland’s Blue Book con-

firmed Sea View House in Sligo, has been awarded 5 Stars from Fáilte Ireland in the Individual Self-Catering Cottage category. A report by Grant Thornton finds that the hotel industry lags behind others in adopting technology to meet customer demand.

IHF is to develop 10 hotels in Germany by

2019, to be branded Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. They will add 1,700 rooms to Germany’s current development pipeline of 4,000 rooms.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS unveiled their new design with wider beds, smart TVs for streaming and the removal of work desks.

PREFERRED Hotel Group rebranded as Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Irish members include Domoland, the Dylan, the Europe, the Fitzwilliam, and the K Club. Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ 650 properties are organised into five collections.

PRICES A hotels.com survey claimed Dublin prices on their site have risen 10pc. The Irish Hotels Federation disputed this quoting the CSO figure of 5pc and saying hotels.com account for less than 2pc of hotel bookings in Ireland.

Stephen McNally makes a presentation to Mary McAleese being photographed by Don McMonigle

Hoteliers upbeat Confidence at IHF back to pre-recession levels

ptimism was the mood at the annual conference of the Irish Hotels Federation Conference in the Slieve Russell Hotel in Ballinamore. It was the biggest conference in recent years, with 33 sitting for the gala dinner and 730 bookings, up from 680 last year. Economist Alan Ahearne told delegates the 9pc tourism VAT rate has exceeded expectations in terms of job retention and creation while the cost to the Exchequer has been markedly lower than initially expected. He claimed the tourism industry has added more than 30,000 jobs since the VAT rate was reduced to 9pc − accounting for more than one of every three net new jobs created in Ireland over this period. Sarah Duignan of STR Global said there was a lot of revpar decline to be recovered. Revpar declined 29.8pc during the recession. She pointed out that while Dublin has been experi-

encing growth for 20 ous mentions of his former months, Dublin employer Ryanair. "When started growing 16 you see what Stratford months before the rest upon Avon can do with a of the country. little known English Occupancy grown writer, think of what 2.5pc in twelve Dublin can do with its months in Dublin, writers." giving it the third Despite the optimism highest occupancy 34pc of hoteliers say they form a sample of still have doubts about the twenty European capviability of the industry. itals at 78pc comParts of the country say pared with 80pc in 85pc of their business is Michael Cawley Paris 80pc and 83pc domestic and they are dein London. pending an uplift in conJim Dollard, executive director of sumer spend. Electric Ireland, announced a 20pc Former president Mary McAleese discount for hoteliers booking before was the recipient of the president’s end of April. Kilkenny hurling man- award at the Irish Hotels Federation ager Brian Cody told delegates: “it is conference in the Slieve Russell so dangerous dealing with success, Hotel, giving perhaps the most memsuccess makes you soft if you let it.” orable speech in the entire history of Chair of Fáilte Ireland, Michael IHF gala dinners. Cawley gave an entertaining account An audio link is available on the of Fáilte Ireland's plans with numer- www.travelextra.ie website.

WHY THE BURLINGTON RENAMED

he Hilton Group hosted travel media on the 31st floor of the Waldorf Astoria in Berlin, where journalists were told that the group has more hotel rooms open and more hotel rooms under construction than any other hotel group. From August, complimentary Wi-Fi access will be available to loyalty club members who book direct with Hilton.

The 4,100 hotels will have digital check-in and by the end of the year customers will be able to use their smartphone to go straight to their rooms. “That is just the beginning of the future,” John Vanderslice global head of luxury hotels, said that Hilton opened 1,350 hotels in 79 countries last year. At the luxury end, Waldorf Astoria has gone from five hotels seven years ago

to 50 hotels including the Conrad brand. Canopy was introduced as a brand this year. Hilton’s Curio will add Reichshof Hamburg and Rumeli Han Istanbul to its portfolio in 2015 and 2017. John Greenleaf of Doubletree by Hilton told Travel Extra the group was seeking further investment opportunities in Ireland following the Morrison and the former Burlington

Hotel. He revealed that the previous owners of the Burlington Hotel wanted to sell the name separately so the group had to change the name to the more cumbersome Doubletree by Hilton on Burlington Road. Picture shows Gregor Andréewitch, GM of the Waldorf Astoria Berlin, and John Vanderslice, global head of luxury hotels, addressing the media at the event.

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 7

IHF CONFERENCE

Time to call off OTA war

HF President Stephen McNally called a truce with the much maligned OTA’s. While recent confernces have criticised the high commissoins charged by online operatoers, Mr McNally said hoteliers should accept the posiotn of OTA’s and work with them. “The main point is that we control the inventory and we give them the rate we cannot always blame them. We need to focus and motivate our staff.”

The Fram in Oslo (aove) and London Eye (below) have been included in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening lineup for St Patrick’s Day 2015.

TOURISM IRELAND’S BIGGEST EVER GLOBAL GREENING FOR ST PATRICK’S DAY

T Stephen McNally with irish Hotels Federation CEO Tim Fenn

IRELAND’S 3 HOTEL TIERS

nvestors are willing to pay a premium for well-located three and four star hotels in Dublin city centre, while five star hotels outside Dublin are being acquired for a price per room that is significantly less. Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath, in the most informative presentation to the IHF conference, said there are 150 hotels still out there “who need long term financial help.” Peak debt incurred by Ireland's hotels was €6.7bn, of which €3.9bn was sustainable but €2.8bn required a writeoff. "After seven years of recession only 50pc of these hotels have been worked out". Of 145 hotels put into receivership, 85 have been sold, 25 are for sale and 35 are due to come on to the market. He said hotels belonged in three tiers of which the first tier, 84 Dublin city centre hotels, were doing best, but most of the 663 third tier hotels were find trading condi-

tions difficult. He noted that the 84 hotels in Dublin city centre (D1, D2 and D4) classified as Tier 1, grew their RevPAR by an average of

€20 over three years.

As an estimated 60pc of their revenue was generated from bedrooms, this has enabled them to maximise profitability. Another 109 hotels in suburban Dublin and in other urban areas such as Cork, Galway and Kilkenny, 22pc of Ireland's hotel stock are classified in Tier 2. Their RevPAR has grown by €12 over three years and about 40pc of their revenue is generated by room sales. Tier 3 represents 663 hotels throughout the country where RevPAR

grew by an average of €8 over the last three years. Three fifths of their revenue is generated by food and drink, meaning they are less profitable than the other two tiers. These types of hotels are "unlikely to attract international investors who are seeking larger properties in central city locations." While a number of those Tier 3 hotels have attracted local cash buyers, those that were built in unsuitable locations may have to be sold to buyers who have plans for alternative uses. The market may have recovered but it is still not enough to sustain those properties. He said 35 hotels around the country which have entered receivership have yet to be sold wil be placed on the market in the next 12 to 18 months. The majority of them are open and trading with only three of them currently closed. Half of them are three star midprice properties, a third are in the Tier 2 category and about 60pc areTier 3 regional locations.

he Colosseum in Rome, the SacréCœur Basilica in the fabled district of Montmartre overlooking Paris and the Grand Ole Opry (the show that made country music famous!) in Nashville will go green for the first time ever for St Patrick’s Day this year, as part of the organisation’s sixth annual Global Greening initiative. Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening, which sees a host of major landmarks and iconic sites around the world illuminated in green for St Patrick’s Day, has grown from strength to strength, with a number of new landmarks signing up to take part in 2015. As well as the Colosseum, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Grand Ole Opry, other sites going green for the first time include the famous Porte de Bourgogne in Bordeaux, the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in

Nashville, the Jumeirah Etihad Towers hotel in Abu Dhabi, the Town Halls of Munich and Bamberg, the National Sanctuary of Cristo Rei (Christ the King statue) in Lisbon, the Fram polar exploration ship in Oslo, as well as City Hall in Tbilisi. The new sites will join some ‘old favourites’ which have gone green in previous years – including Niagara Falls (on both the US and Canadian sides), the London Eye, the Allianz Arena in Munich, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the Sky Tower in Auckland, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Cibeles Fountain and Palace in Madrid and one of last year’s newcomers, Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland® in Paris. Chicago will be ‘going all out’ to celebrate St Patrick and Ireland with numerous buildings ‘seeing green’ including Navy Pier, the John Hancock Center, the Wrigley Building, and Trump International Hotel & Tower.

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POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

ourism Ireland in Britain says it has increased Ireland’s market share of the outbound market from under 7pc to nearly 9pc. At a briefing for travel media in London, Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s head of Britain said that the forecast for tourism from Britain will be stronger again this year after growth in 2014. In the context of a market that is booking quite short and people are tak-

ean Lally GM of the Strand Hotel in Limerick hosted 150 guests to the opening of the Secret Garden. An evening of casino games followed helpings of Guinea Fowl and other delicacies prepared by chef Tom Flavin in Chinese style. Sean has been GM at the Strand since joining from the Clarion in 2008. The Secret Garden is an addition to The Shannon Suite, the largest of our events spaces in the hotel.

len Ford from Ballina who was travelling to East Midlands was the 6 millionth Ryanair passenger to fly through Ireland West Airport Knock. In honour of the occasion he was presented with a pair of return flights to East Midlands. Knock was one of Ryanair’s first bases in 1987 and the airline opened two

ing shorter, more frequent breaks that is good. Mary O’Shea demonstrated Ireland’s work in digital marketing which was the focus of the Path to growth plan three years ago. “The change to focus on digital online ahs been a success,” she said. Picture shows Mary O’Shea, Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s head of Britain and Vera Stedman at the Tourism Ireland offices in London.

The private space brings the outdoors indoors in a fully heated chic, urban, covered entertainment space adding a magical setting for drinks, after party and photos for your guests. The area is a fully flexible space for any conference or event allowing you to entertain up 120 people for a BBQ event, drinks or some team building activities. Picture shows Sean Lally speaking at the event.

of its first English routes to Leeds/Bradford and Stansted in 1989. Ryanair flights to Knock were a signature of the airline in the pre Michael O’Leary days. Picture shows Glen Ford, Lisa Buckley and Vicky Killoran of Ryanair, Martin Ford, Collette McDonnell of Ryanair, Audrey Elliott, and Joe Gilmore of Ireland West Airport Knock.

even sponsors accompanied the Visit USA roadshow to Limerick, Cork and Dublin. The roadshows brought the product to agents through the country. Greg Evans said some of the vents were better attended than the London Visit USA Committee’s roadshow. Agents gathered in Number One Pery Square in Limerick to hear presentations from Greg Evans from Atlantic City and

ercedes Sianchez of Madrid Tourism and Oliver Benalal of the Inter-continental Hotel in Madrid (pictured) hosted Irish trade in the Intercontinental Hotel Dublin. Mercedes says she wishes to boost the Irish visitor numbers to Madrid from their current levels which are very low in comparison with the rest of Spain. Oliver Benalal gave a presentation on his hotel.

rittany Ferries bookings has had a successful start to the year and bookings on their Cork to Roscoff service are 5pc ahead of last year, Mike Bevens told travel media at an event. This is on the back of a 7pc increase last year. Group bookings are up 2pc and the big news is that the Pont Aven will go into dry dock for three months in January to have scrubbers fitted at a cost of

Philadelphia from, Neil Jones from New Orleans from, Isabel Harrison and Declan Power from Shannon airport from, Duncan McCubbin from North Carolina from, Fiona Noonan from American Airline from and Patricia Purdue from Massachusetts (pictured speaking in Limerick). The event in Hayfield Manor and the residence in Dublin were best attended with 30 agents at each.

Luis Eduardo Cortés also expounded on the virtues of Madrid at the recent Fitur fair. “Madrid does not have a sea or a big river but open the windows and you look and you see snow mountains that almost you can reach with your hand, the nature is small but it is diverse and difference. It is rich in every way, the paintings, the gastronomy, the business tourism is growing more important by the day.”

€12m. “The drop in fuel price means don't have to put up prices,” Mike Bevens says. Other enhancements during refit include the installation of Nespresso coffee machines in the high end Commodore cabins and lounge areas. Pont Aven goes into dry dog in January for a major refit that includes the installation of scrubbers, reducing fuel emissions. Picture shows Mike Bevens speaking at the event.

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PUNTA HAS CANA IT

Email: uk@godominicanrepublic.com â&#x20AC;˘ Visit: www.godominicanrepublic.com Study: go-dominicanrepublic.eu

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ITB BERLIN 2015

TRENDS at ITB Berlin 2015 included

the massive rise in the use of mobile devices to book trips, a phenomenon that has now become the norm. Improved software means that travel websites are becoming more attractive and easier to use. Hotels are also witnessing the impact of digital trends. Smartphone functions are increasingly taking over from room keys. Travel apps are developing rapidly and becoming evermore widespread with the use of latest-generation smartphones. At the eTravel World numerous experts debated the latest developments in digital marketing, social media and mobile travel services. The 40 per cent increase in papers and discussions held on the eTravel Stage and at the eTravel Lab showed how important these topics have become for the travel industry.

MONGOLIA was the official partner

country of ITB this year. Minister Oyunkhorol Dulamsuren told delegates:Mongolia will greet you with open arms when you come to explore its culture and nomadic way of living. Seeing once is worth more than hearing about it a thousand times’. Welcome to Mongolia to see and discover your roots as global nomads.

Zoe Redmond of Tourism Ireland in Frankfurt guides Tourism Minister Paschal Donohue round the irish stand at ITB while Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism ireland looks on

ITB excitement

TRAVEL AGENTS According to

Messe Berlin, despite the internet having brought about lasting change to the travel world with new travel apps and meta search engines, tourists continue to entrust the task of booking the time of the year they enjoy most with their local travel agency. With their ability to offer personal assistance travel agencies are quite capable of positioning themselves as important sales channels in the face of online travel portals and social media and their relentless rise.

GERMANY‘s outbound sales are 5pc

higher than they were this time last year. Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association said destinations will benefit that are traditionally favourites with German citizens, “including Greece, the Balearics and Egypt, which has risen in popularity again.“ Dr Michael Frenzel, President of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry said “for German citizens travel is and remains a favourite pastime and, if the surveys are to be believed, many will have already packed their bags and be waiting to go. We are therefore confident that the 2014 record of 1.6bn days of private holidays undertaken by Germans will be surpassed this year.”

MINISTERS Paschal Donohue was

among 47 government ministers worldwide and 11 deputy ministers and a number of foreign state secretaries who attended ITB. Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Heiko Maas, and Governing Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller came to find out what the travel industry had to offer. In addition to 127 foreign delegations three royal highnesses and 95 ambassadors travelled to the event.

MEDIA 5,180 accredited journalists from 75 countries and some 350 bloggers from 29 countries reported on events at ITB Berlin.

Stronger economy boosts prospects for tourism

ourism minister Paschal Donohoe hosted an event for key tour operators serving the Irish market before joining the Ireland stand at ITB Berlin. Dertours are the major trade partner for Ireland (with TUI, Trent and Servis also prominent), but all could be about to change with Ryanair’s moves into Germany, whose Carol Anne O’Neill attended the show for the first time. Christian Rubel said up to 40pc of Irish visitors come through the trade (listen here) and were important for marketing Ireland. He said German figures would be raised to 750,000

visitors and possibly 1m, but a number of things would have to happen first. German people were interested in coming to Ireland and the people factor led to a high repeat business and stressed the importance of access along with marketing. Speakers at the extensive ITB seminar programme included Mark Henry of Tourism Ireland at the digital forum and Kenny Jacobs of Ryanair at the ITB Market and Distribution Day. Mark Henry was asked by moderator Nick Hall about Airbnb, and said that while it was an unregulated sec-

tor and Tourism Ireland could not promote unregulated accommodation, the body was looking for guidance through revised legislation from the government. Many of the USA delegation experienced high drama getting to the event. Top of the Rock marketeer Mary Farrell’s flight on Sunday were delayed by eight hours because of an ice storm and one ITB bound colleague went home to Manhattan. Dianna Vaughan of the Hilton group's new brand Curio said their aircraft was four hours on the tarmac being repeatedly de-iced at Newark.

HOW A €6.7bn TRAVEL SHOW WORKS

TB Berlin set new records with halls fully booked and an increase in trade visitors and business. The five-day show attracted 175,000 visitors with an increase in trade visitors from abroad. Exhibitors reported higher turnover. The show attracted ■10,096 exhibitors from 186 countries, more than two-thirds of whom were from abroad, in 26 display halls which were fully booked. ■115,000 trade visitors

travelled to Berlin, compared with 114,000 in 2014. The share of trade visitors from abroad increased to 43pc up from 40pc in 2014. These visitors also remained longer at ITB Berlin with the average duration of a stay rising to 2.4 days from 2.1 days. According to estimates by Messe Berlin the volume of sales at the world’s leading travel trade show increased to €6.7bn from €6.5bn in 2014. Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin: said “the

mood of the show was that falling energy prices and good economic prospects mean people are keen to travel. Despite international crises and the risk of political conflict around the world, as the 2015 holiday season begins the economic prospects for the global travel industry could not be better for the months to come. Boosted by falling energy prices, reduced interest rates, low inflation and positive economic forecasts for the eurozone and

North America, the travel industry has high expectations as the 2015 travel season beckons. I n Germany in particular consumers are keen to travel. Wage increases and a consistently stable employment market coupled with the falling cost of living have significantly increased spending. More than ever, this is why people are willing to spend their money on holidays. The luxury travel segment in particular stands to benefit.”

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 11

www.travelextra.ie

Hotel price crux

ome of the German tour operators complained at ITB about hikes in Dublin city centre hotel prices. A little light was shed on the controversy over group rates in Dublin hotels by Tim Fenn CEO of the Irish Hotels Federation, speaking to Travel Extra in the margins of ITB. He said that Dublin hotels had changed their business model in response to the influx of new business tourists attracted by the Conference Centre. Group rates which were offered to coach parties had been unprofitably low, and hotels were now looking elsewhere. He said there was little prospect of further hotel development within the

ITB BERLIN 2015 CHINA Stephen Chung, Overseas Sales and Marketing Director of adSage, said that Chinese tourists were interested in investing in real estate was important, as were luxury articles. In 2014 Chinese tourists spent close to $165bn abroad. One in ten international trips begin in China and the market continues to grow. Speaking at the ITB Berlin Convention, LEGACY AWARDS At the first World Legacy Awards tourism enterprises from around the world demonstrated concrete measures for taking socially and ecologically responsible action. The leading travel magazine National Geographic and ITB Berlin presented the awards in a total of five categories to projects from India, the US, Chile, Ecuador and Aruba for their commitment to climate protection and support for human rights A comfortable private apartment instead of a faceless hotel room – the sharing economy has established itself as part of the international travel industry. SHARING ECONOMY April

The Ireland stand at ITB Berlin canals because of the potential for business and residential property delivering

a higher yield although there is adequate hotel accommodation outside the

city centre.

Rinne,said new technologies and demographic change are contributing to growth. “A comfortable private apartment instead of a faceless hotel room, the sharing economy has established itself as part of the international travel industry.” According to Rinne, the travel industry must decide on how to benefit from this new movement.

Hertz-gsa.ie

hertz-gsa.ie

Traveling at the speed of Hertz™

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CRUISE EUROPE 2015

he ratio of Caribbean to European cruises used to be 70-30 and slowly changed to 60-40. Now it has reversed, with 60pc of clients choosing Europe for their cruises. An Irish favourite, Barcelona was singlehandedly responsible for much of this growth, particularly when the Aer Lingus service tied in with cruise departures. According to John Galligan the most common fears of first time cruises is that they won’t like the people on the ship, the food will be awful, there will be nothing to do, they will hate it and will be stuck out in the sea, they will get seasick and the cruise lines won’t cater for their special needs. He says the key to having happy customers is to sell the right cruise to the right person, by querying what they like doing, what is their budget, are they beach or city types, what duration they want, do they want a long or a short flight or a direct departure, whether they are travelling alone, as a couple or as a group, and crucially what age they are. All of the cruise lines

What your clients should know

Med men (and women)

Shore excursions are the key to Med cruising

Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas was the second of the largest ship class to spend a mini-season in the Meditteranean say the average age is hore excursions are lots to do and in some trade out of Fort Laud- can the port areas of cities falling. But the slide is the reasons that the cities up to 20 different erdale. Now two of them like Genoa, but there are barely discernible. EuroMed has become excursions to sell to are back, along with sev- spectacular ports for entry peans however tend to the new Caribbean. Eu- cruise clients. eral of the previous gen- and departure like Venice. Cruise companies who eration of biggest ships in cruise younger. Currently rope has an array of interthe average cruise age is esting cities a night used to reposition their the world. ntry level cruise the mid 40s in Spain and sailing away from each ships from the Caribbean for an Irish person Italy, 51 in the United other. Unlike Caribbean to Alaska for summer ow the key ports has changed too. It States, and 62 in England. (or crucially, Alaskan) first started to chose Euof Amsterdam, used to be a small and shore excursions there is rope instead in the early Barcelona, Cit- older ship, including the noughties. Then came tavecchia, Copenhagen, ships from the likes of cheaper trans-Atlantic Palma de Majorca and Fred Olsen that used to fares and the first stirrings Southampton are hosts to call to Dublin. Now it is of interest in cruise in Eu- several huge ships at more likely to be one of ropean countries. once. the biggies from Royal Shore excursions are a The state of the art em- Caribbean, MSC, valuable revenue earner barkation terminals at Princess or NCL. for the shipping line, for these ports and the easy Another change is that ground handlers and for airport transfers made the Middle East is now a agents who sell ancillary cruising more accessible base so that ships such as product. Hence the num- than it had been before. MSC Lirica and RCCL’s ber of cruise ships plying Europe’s itineraries Brilliance of the Seas are their trade on the Med has cluster around the princi- repositioning from Abu increased rapidly. ple cities Ajaccio, An- Dhabi and Dubai rather The Irish clients who cona, Argostoli, Armonia, than across the Atlantic. used to (paradoxically) Barcelona, Bari, Catania, A big advantage of the get a Caribbean cruise Civitavecchia, Corfu, cruise lines moving ships cheaper than a European Corfù, Dubrovnik, to Europe in the spring one, have been watching Genoa, Goulette, Ibiza, and back in the autumn to this with interest. There is Istanbul, Izmir, the Caribbean is reposimore capacity on the Med Katakolon, Kotor, tioning cruises. These and more packages to Livorno, Mallorca, Mar- tend to be long on sea sell, often at terrific seille, Mykonos, Naples, days and short on port prices. Palermo, Palma, Piraeus, calls, and can cost as litSince 2006 the five Salerno, Santorini, Valen- tle as $50 a day. Allow largest cruise ships in the coa, Valletta and Venice, plenty of time, beware of world were built in EuThe access points to bad weather on trans-Atrope and brought across Athens and Rome can be lantic crossings and exthe Atlantic to ply their grimy and industrial, as pect an older crowd. MSC preparing a section for their ship-stretching

Page 012-014 Cruise 2015 12/03/2015 14:20 Page 2

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CRUISE EUROPE 2015

ou cannot have escaped fuss when the Quantum of the Seas launched in November. The 4,180-passenger next-generation ship launches a new class for Royal Caribbean; its 2,090 cabins include 373 virtual balconies. This month it will be followed by Anthem of the Seas, which is much more relevant to the Irish market because it will spend its inaugural season in England, followed by Ovation of the Seas, which will launch later next year. Styled by the cruise line as a giant new musical-themed "mega ship", Anthem of the Seas, shares Quantum’s reputation as the most technologically advanced cruise ship on teh water and the advanced ever to be based in Europe It will offer cruises to the Mediterranean before moving to Fort Lauderdale for the winter months. At a cost of €170,000 per berth, Anthem of the Seas also is one of the most architecturally and technologically advanced ships ever built.

he only difference between Quantum and Anthem will be the Broadway show. Anthem will have We Will Rock You as against Mamma Mia on Quantum. Otherwise it is the

What your clients should know

Hi-tech cruising

Quantum of the Seas being conveyed to the ocean, Anthem of the Seas follows in April same bells and whistles, and do those bells ring, Quantum class “firsts at sea” include a skydiving experience and the North Star, a jewel like capsule that extends 300 feet above the ocean and over the sides of the ship to deliver 360-degree views for guests, transformative venues include the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars, roller skating and the cruise line’s largest

and most advanced staterooms ever. The new, larger staterooms enable innovation in design, storage and comfort including the industry’s first virtual balconies, effectively meaning the end of inside cabins. Sales for Anthem of the Seas are the fastest seeling for a new ship on the Irish and British market, according to Ben Bouldin. Two-thirds of early bookings on An-

them of the Seas were for premium balcony and suite accommodation. He quotes Adam Morgan when he described Royal Caribbean as a safe challenger brand. “We have to do is really put ourselves out there. We are probably the best funded challenger brand in the world and we have got to take consumers on a journey and show them that we are so much more than what we were in the past.”

NEW DISCOVERIES OVER EVERY HORIZON

uests who book on select holidays on the new Anthem of the Seas can enjoy gratuities and select drinks packages included into the price of their holiday. An eight-night cruise throughout France and Spain costs from €1,599 per person (based on two people sharing an interior stateroom). Price includes flights from Dublin, transfers,

gratuities, a select or soda drinks package per person and an eight-night cruise departing from Southampton (England), and calling at Vigo (Spain), Gijon (Spain), Bilbao (Spain), Paris (Le Havre, France), before returning to Southampton (England) for the flight home. irish travel agents will be travelling to the launch of Anghem of the seas takes place on April 2022 in Southampton.

call 1800 927 404 visit your local Falcon Travel Shop or Travel Agent

CRUISE & STAY - GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS A cruise then a beach holiday, or the other way round – whatever ﬂoats your boat. With Cruise & Stay, you can tailor-make your trip. Simply pick an itinerary, choose a hotel and decide how long you’d like to go away for. And with direct ﬂights from Dublin, Cork or Shannon Airports, there’s even more reason to smile.

Normal booking terms and conditions apply. For full terms and conditions please refer to the latest edition Thomson Cruises brochure. Thomson is a trading name of TUI UK Limited, a member of the TUI AG group of companies, registered in England and Wales under number 2830117 and whose registered ofﬁce is at TUI Travel House, Crawley Business Quarter, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9Q

Page 012-014 Cruise 2015 12/03/2015 14:20 Page 3

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CRUISE EUROPE 2015

What your clients should know

Size matters

Third ship in biggest in the world class to be built The 5,400 passenger Allure and Oasis of the Seas are the biggest ships on the ocean cruising. class cruise ship, set to are oyal Caribbean growth of niche featured including the matters. debut in April 2016. still But size has named its Features include three signature Boardwalk and orhas Caribbean Royal two new 4,100waterslides, the line’s Central Park spaces. The Quantum dered two new 5,400 passenger first, that start from the Boardwalk on Harmony class Oasis Class ships Quantum of passenegr top-deck Pool and Sports will reportedly feature a another of top on ships the Seas (autumn 2014), Zone and twist and turn classic games arcade, a Quanenger 4,100-pass and Anthem of the Seas tum Class ships to follow down three decks into kids-only climbing play (spring 2015). area and a Starbucks of the Seas and one of two pools. The move toward Quantum One of the slides will cafe. Passengers will be Seas. the of Anthem larger and larger ships is Harmony of the Seas feature a Champagne offered a choice of two less important as the 22 confirmed as the bowl that swirls riders Dynamic Dining option. launches in 2015 include was Royal around as they approach At 227,000 gross tons, for name river and smaller spe’s next Oasis- the end of the slide. Harmony will weigh cialty ships and the Caribbean Seven neighbourhoods 1,718 tons more than the

2015

CRUISE LINE UPCOMING BUILDS 2017

■ Aida Prima- 3,250 pax, March ■ Norwegian Escape- 4,200 pax, Oc 29 ■ P&O Brittannia- 3,611 pax,March ■ Ponant Le Lyrial, 264 pax, April ■ Royal Caribb Anthem of the Seas - 4,100 pax, April ■ Viking Star- 944 pax, April

2016

■ AIDA Cruises Unnamed - 3,250 pax ■ Blue Star Titanic II, 1,680 pax ■ Carnival Vista, 4,000 pax ■ Holland America Koningsdam 2,660 pax Feb ■ Regent Explorer, 738 pax, May ■ Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas 4,100 pax ■ Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas 5,400 pax ■ Seabourn Unnamed , 450 pax ■ Seven Seas Explorer , 750 pax ■ Star Cruises, Unnamed 3,360 pax ■ Viking Sea - 944 pax, Apr 3 ■ Viking Sky - 944 pax, June 24

■ MSC Unnamed -4,500 pax, May ■ MSC Project Seaside I - 5,300 pax, Nov ■ Norwegian Bliss 4,200 pax, Spring ■ Princess Cruises Unnamed, 3,560 pax, summer ■ Viking Unnamed - 944 pax

2018

■ Carnival Unnamed, 4,000 pax, Spring ■ Celebrity Project Edge I, 2,900 pax, ■ Holland America Unnamed 2,650 pax ■ MSC Project Seaside II - 5,300 pax, May ■ Norwegian Unnamed, 4,260 pax summer ■ Royal Caribbean Oasis IV 5,400 pax ■ Seabourn Unnamed 604 pa

2019

■ MSC Unnamed - 4,500 pax, ■ Norwegian Unnamed, 4,260 pax, summer

2020

■ Celebrity Project Edge II, 2,900 pax,

current record-holder.. While the details for Hamrony were being finalised, construction on Royal Caribbean's fourth Oasis-class ship officially began with a steel cutting at the STX France shipyard in SaintNazaire.

ight large ships were delivered in 2007, four in 2008, eight in 2009, six in 2010, six in 2011 seven in 2012, six in 2013 and four in 2014. Royal Caribbean will base all three of its Oasis-class cruise ships in Florida in 2016. That same summer Anthem of the Seas will sail its first summer season out of Cape Liberty, visiting Bermuda. Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas will sail alternate seven-night Western and Eastern Caribbean itineraries out of Port Everglades. In autumn 2016 Harmony of the Seas, which launches April 2016, will not sail Caribbean itineraries to

begin with, but will replace Oasis of the Seas in Port Everglades in autumn 2016 when Oasis of the Seas moves to its new winter homeport of Port Canaveral. Features on Norwegian Escape, to launch in November, include two from restaurants celebrity chef Jose Garces, a craft beer hall from Miami-based craft brewery Wynwood and two new Broadway shows -- After Midnight and Million Dollar Quartet. International gourmet dishes will be available in Food Republic, located in former cabin space, now an extended Waterfront on Deck 8. Norwegian’s first swine bar will be the Cellars, a Michael Mondavi Family Wine Bar. Caribbean The (35.5pc) will lead global cruise ship capacity in 2015, followed by .the Mediterranean (19.5pc), Baltic (10.6pc), Asia (6pc), Australia (6pc), Alaska (4.6pc) S America (2.6pc) and other markets (15pc).

Page 015 cruise 12/03/2015 14:22 Page 1

APRIL 2015 PAGE 15

CRUISE EUROPE 2015

What your clients should know

Summer options Tennis courts on board Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class ships

homson is the classic three-star product out of Ireland. with cruises that offer value for money. Highlights for clients include the £199 drinks package, commissionable for agents, which would cost £219 when bought on board. Dress onboard the ships is casual, The dress code during the evening varies and your daily Cruise News will tell you whether the evening is formal or informal. 'Informal' is smart casual (including long trousers for gentlemen). 'Formal' nights, such as The Captains' cocktail party and gala dinner, let you pull out all the stops if you wish - dinner jackets and cocktail dresses will fit right in and gentlemen should at least wear a jacket and tie. There is one formal night on a seven-night cruise. There is a 2pc extra charge for use of credit cards, debit cards are free but Maestro is being phased out. MSC cruises, the

Mediterranean specialists, recently s launched a new wedding programme which allows couples to legally get married onboard the MSC Divina. Prices start at $1,600 for a shipboard event and $2,200 for a shoreside event. Royal Caribbean, the market leader in Ireland, are to base Serenade of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas in Europe this summer. Serenade of the Seas (based in Copenhagen and Stockholm) will join Anthem of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas (both based in Southampton) and Brilliance of the Seas (based in Harwich) in the North Sea in summer 2015. They will offer a range of Scandinavia and Russia, as well as Norwegian Fjords sailings. The Exploration-oriented Hurtigruten cruise line focused on remote, beautiful coastlines in Norway, Greenland and Antarctica. Hurtigruten is the milk run, calling in at little

coastal towns. The line has an air of history the sense of having been a part of coastal life for generations. Works by recognised artists have helped the new ships gain renown as floating galleries. The ships travel at 16 knots, which means that you always have time to enjoy the journey. Hurtigruten has charter flights for Ireland to join its themed sailings. Fred Olsen offer two direct sailings from Ireland in 2015 , including a 34-day Caribbean cruise for the first time. The Black Watch departs for the Canaries on Nov 9 on a 34-night round trip with prices from €4,959pps. Black Watch cruises from Belfast to the Bay of Biscay (from €999pp) on Oct 16 and the Canaries (from €1,729pp) on Oct 24. Alan Lynch of Cruisescapes has increased Fred Olsen’s bookings out of Ireland since he became the GSA of Fred Olsen in Ireland since last spring.

NORWAY BY HURTIGRUTEN

),0"/ 1, /" 1%1 (&+$ + 12/" +! 2+#,/$"11 )" "5-"/&"+ "0

Hurtigruten is renowned for its comprehensive voyages that allow for closer encounters with environments, wildlife and people along shorelines near and far. Norway is a wonderful destination )) 6" / /,2+! 4&1% 212*+ Ɯ+!&+$ 1%" 0 "+& , 01)&+" ),,(&+$ * $+&Ɯ "+1 0 1%" ,),2/#2) )" 3"0 --" / ),+$ 4&1% " /)6 0&$+0 ,# 0+,4 ,+ *,2+1 &+,20 -" (0ǽ +! 1%/,2$% ,2/ -/,$/ **" ,# "+)&$%1"+&+$Ǿ "5 &1&+$ +! -/"Ȓ ,,( )" "5 2/0&,+0 1%" 1/2" !&3"/0&16 ,# 1%" ) +!Ǿ %&01,/6 +! culture can be fully appreciated.

12-DAY

CLASSIC ROUND VOYAGE Inside from €1551pp Outside from €1673pp

7-DAY

VOYAGE NORTH

Inside from €1169pp Outside from €1236pp

6-DAY

VOYAGE SOUTH

Inside from €999pp Outside from €1076pp

TO BOOK: Visit your local travel agent or call 01 607 4420 Prices shown are based on two people sharing an inside cabin travelling on either 3rd Sep (Voyage South) or 26th Sep (Classic Round Voyage and Voyage North). Voyage on a full board basis. Not included: Flights, travel insurance or excursions. Prices are subject to change. Other September departure dates available. Full Hurtigruten terms and conditions apply. Licence Number TA0581.

Page 016-017 Iceland 12/03/2015 13:18 Page 1

APRIL 2015 PAGE 16

DESTINATION ICELAND

teamy thermal water and snowflakes is a combination you will never forget, no matter how far and how often your travel: . Despite what the geysers and waterfalls might claim, Iceland’s signature attraction is the Blue Lagoon, a giant steam bath that is so close to the airport (13 kilometres) you could pop in after checkin. The pool is a newcomer even in a landscape as fragile as Iceland’s. It emerged during the construction of a geothermal power station in 1976. Modern changing rooms were built at the entrance in 1992 and have been upgraded since to cope with the growing Lagoon squad. You can see why they come. When you plod your piggies into the silicon in waste-deep water it is impressive a bath as you will have anywhere. No self-respecting world traveller nowadays can return on the two and a quarter hour charter flight to Dublin without the photograph of themselves immersed in the warm water with the

Photographing the Gullfoss waterfall

To ice and fire

Iceland gets a direct flight from Dublin this summer steam rising and, if you want the full effect, a few icicles as a distant backdrop.

he other star attraction of Icelandic tourism does not always tog out for visitors. When I vis-

ited in November the Northern Lights had not been seen since October 16. Not that they told us that when they bussed us out to the countryside. The standard meatand-two-Brennivín three-day Iceland tour is built around a cluster of waterfalls (Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss the narrow one and wider Skogarfoss), a folk museum, and the ancient assembly site Thingvellir (beside the eerie drowning lake, Drekkingarhylur), where they brought us to see the Northern Lights, presumably because they have ample parking space for the coaches there. They just said they could not be guaranteed. The noisy schoolgirls from Surrey had given up after an hour (“I could have seen the stars at home”). The three busloads sent from Ireland by

Eoghan Corry travelled to Iceland with Travel Department, who organise direct charters to Keflavik as part of a series of two and three day tours, including an Easter tour and combinations with Norway. www.traveldepartment.ie. 01-6371600 WOW air’s new direct service from Dublin to Kflavik will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from June 2. Flight time is 2 hours and 20 mins.

Travel Department were made of stronger stuff. Our guide, Orn Gudmundsson told us the key was the faint arc that traced the skyline. Once you see that, you have a good chance. All you need is patience. We struck lucky. When the lights came they performed and danced. The Northern Lights have moods, like all good meteorological phenomena. The Gods knew we were here, said Orn.

aybe they favoured us Irish. Our islands are bound up in each others imagination and even DNA. Iceland is a two hour 15 minute flight away but as close culturally as you might wish. The first settlers, the Papas, where Culdee missionaries. The female DNA traces back to Ireland. St Patrick (Patrek) and Brian Boru (Brjan) have starring roles in their famous medieval sagas as do Örlygur Hrappsson and Esja, who spread the

word of Columbanus in the 9th century. Neither of them feature in Irish literature, but St Buo, missionary to Iceland does, and is unknown in Iceland. A case of a deft name change, perhaps? Icelandic children are as familiar with the story of Irish queen Melkorka daughter of Myrkjartan (Macartan/Muircertach) as they are with any Disney Princess. Donna Jo Napoli won a prize with her retelling in a 2007 young adult novel Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale. hen the unpronounceable volcano Eyjafjallajökull shut down European airspace in April 2010, only one western European airport remained open. It was Keflavik, the main airport in Iceland. All the ash blew off the island. They have built a visitor centre in a cowshed beside Eyjafjallajökull to tell the story of the eruption that had newsreaders everywhere stuttering over their Is and Fs. Talk to Icelanders about the fiasco, and they give you withering “a welcome to our world” look. Olafur Eggertsson and his wife Gudny Valberg narrate the video at Þorvaldseyri (Thorvaldseyri) farm, explaining that’s what happens when you live with fire and ice as close companions. These people are ninth in the world happiness

Clockwise: Pingvellir pond, bathing in the Blue Lagoon, and northern lights

Page 016-017 Iceland 12/03/2015 13:18 Page 2

APRIL 2015 PAGE 17

league. It must be down to the neighbours. Since the year AD 1500 about one-third of the Earth's total lava flow has poured out of the volcanoes of Iceland. When it came to building a tourist industry, it helped to have such volatile companions.

ostcard Iceland is rural, the place that fills the tales of their greatest writer and Nobel laureate Halldór Kiljan Gudjónsson (Laxness). His farmstead is another country museum. Urban Iceland has a lot to offer too. Iceland is two thirds the size of Ireland with a population of just 300,000, the equiva-

DESTINATION ICELAND lent of counties Limerick and Tipperary put together, and most of those live in the capital. Reykjavik city had lots of room to spread eastwards and used it. ”We like single apartment houses” said our guide, Orn Gudmundsson. The old centre, if anything from about 250 years old can be considered old, is

surprisingly intact. The main shipping and dining streets veer off, two sides of a triangle from the old harbour and the penitentiary that now serves as the prime minister’s office (surprise). The prices are down from the cracked 1990s, Irish soccer supporters wallets still break into goosepimples when they

remember the £6 a pint they paid in the 1998 world cup. It is still €7 a pint, €5 for happy hour promotions, and most main courses come in at around €30. The action in fish restaurants, and they are wonderful, can be found at the pointy end of a triangular neighbourhood: a

place where fish used to be landed in open boats right up to a generation ago.One advantage: you can survive without local currency. Even the fish and chip shop, Drekinn, took plastic.The fish was fresh and the price affordable.Iceland is a cooler place since the recession.

Clockwise: entrance ot the Blue Lagoon, bathing in the Blue Lagoon, geyser and snow, steam landscape and Seljalandsfoss

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Page 018-019 Holy Land 12/03/2015 14:21 Page 1

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DESTINATION HOLY LANDS

he pilgrimage business is as diverse and widespread as anything anybody might expect the world's second oldest tourism sector. The Irish travel business in the modern era was founded on the pilgrimage to Lourdes but Rome, Medjugorje, and San Giovanni Rotondo acting a support buttresses to the cathedral in which most of our major tour operators once preached, notably Joe Walsh To travel to the holy land in search of spirituality never went out of fashion, even through the years of high politics and shocking violence that filled our TV screens. Step in to the collection of Franciscan churches that pockmark the biblical sites of Israel and PA and you quickly understand why. There are those who find crass commercialism, merchants in the temple, everywhere they turn. The scrap for square footage to be found most ostensibly the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and also in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where four ancient Christian persuasions battle for ownership is all too evident. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre never looks like it is ever going to get finished, even 1600 years later, there are always lighter rollers ladders and scaffolding in some corner of it keep it from falling apart. But that is part of the charm.

Gospel Spell

signs marking where sea level should be. This is part of the charm. It is around the shore of Galilee that the most famous sites from almost all of the life of Christ can be found within a few kilometres of each other. A typical pilgrim bus ride can involve 12 stops at places whose familiarity is astonishing from half forgotten Bible school lessons of our childhood, places which come back to mind when you see a road sign or wander into another Church. The story of Jesus really belongs in an even smaller territory.

Eoghan Corry joins a pilgrimage to the Holy land Irish pilgrims renew baptismal rites in the River Jordan These are some of Christianity’s oldest sites, built heritage but back 500s and still been used for the original purpose. Even divorced from the Biblical canon that serves as out Rough Guide to the Holy Land, these make them amazing sites in themselves.

o what do you get when you go? Three years ago Niall Glynn of Croatia Tours expanded his Marian Pilgrimages business to the United States. I witnessed at first hand recently a measure of the success of this ex-

DEAD SEA ■ Massada, with its ruins of King Herod’s mountaintop fortress and last stronghold of the Jewish revolt against the Romans, 73 CE, can be reached by cable-car. Check out the recently refurbished museum ■ Qumran - ruins of ancient Essenes settlement (a mystical Jewish zealot sect) in whose nearby caves the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered ■ Float in the Dead Sea and enjoy the spa facilities at several local hotels.

pansion, they hosted 34 group leaders and travel media on a fam trip to Istanbul and the Holy Land, in association with Turkish Airlines. The party toured Galilee, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. There was lots of time to pray and even more time to play. We renewed our baptism vows in the River Jordan, marriage vows in the wedding church in Cana (complete with a rendition of I will never find another you after the marriage renewal, and, to prove pilgrimages are not all prayer and meditation some wine tasting with a

difference in Cana, 100 metres from the reputed site of the “water into wine” miracle.

srael is famously small, the size of Munster, throwing together some of the highest mountains in the region and some of the deepest depressions and rifts on the earth’s surface within a few miles of each other. It is common as you drive to come across road

he pilgrim can find the most spiritual places along the Galilee seashore. Josef Id, from the tourist office in Nazareth, says that Christians pay too little attention to the north east of the country where most of the New Testament sites are to be found. In a small patch of land, about 50 kilometres long and twenty kilometres wide, is where Jesus spent his entire life, moving only for his birth in Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt and the traumatic last week of his life in Jerusalem. The road from Nazareth demonstrates Josef’s point, Cana of the wedding feast is the next

town. Another town has been identified as Jesus childhood home, Capharnaum, where pilgrims visit an ancient synagogue. Everything is disputed and will unlikely ever be verified. Zachariah’s tree is shows to tourists in Jericho without a blush. Even as we were there an English archaeologist Ken Dark claimed he has identified the first century childhood home of Jesus, a stone and mortar structure hewn out of limestone in a hillside in Nazareth,, using Irish St Adhamhnan’s pilgrim text, De Locus Sanctis.

ach signpost comes to life from the Bible. You can feel at home here. At the site of the sermon on the mount a natural amphitheatre recedes away to the Galilee shoreline. It is peaceful and bucolic beneath the shining blue winter sky and the crescent moon. All the action was in Galilee. The birthplace in Bethlehem and site of the crucifixion in Jerusalem, the two most visited sites by far, are there as bookmark as if the marketing manager stepped in and reminded the four authors of the Gospels that air access, a plentiful supply of urban high quality hotel beds, and marketing nous was important. The Holy Land does not need any marketing.

JERUSALEM ■ After the signature Via Dolorosa check out the rebuilt Jewish Quarter and Cardo, ruins of a main street from Roman times ■ Tower of David with an enthralling museum of the History of Jerusalem at the Citadel ■ Yad Vashem - national memorial and museum of the Holocaust, including: the Valley of the Communities and the Hall of Names of child Holocaust victims and the museum complex

A lively wave from the Dead Sea and Jesus sandals on sale in Nazareth

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DESTINATION HOLY LANDS

Pilgrims queue to see Joseph’s House in Nazareth The world’s best selling book and 2,000 years of interpretation does it for them.

he Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is the most unspiritual pilgrimage sites of all, the Orthodox occupying the slab

on which Jesus body was washed, the Catholics occupying the crucifixion site and the more discreet Armenians holding the tomb where the body was laid. The spot was decreed by Helen, Mother of Constantine, when she decreed that Christianity should be the official re-

ligion of the empire in 325AD, afraid that the location of the sites might be forgotten. They found some caves here, one was identified as that of Joseph of Arimathea. The sloping bedrock was cut away around this tomb, leaving a freestanding shell at the site of the present

Edicule. But as soon as the church was built, the squabbling began. On a ledge just above the main entrance there is a wooden ladder that has remained since the 19th Century because no-one can agree who has the right to take it down. By the time the church was built in Byzantine times and extended in Crusader times, pilgrimage was already an industry. It is a common theme through the churches of the so-called Holy Land. The most spiritual place here is where the Ethiopians have built a monastery on the roof, having been ejected for not paying taxes to the

appropriate controller. It feels like Lalibella, and closer to serenity than the chaos below. Because the churches can’t agree, the keys are kept by two Muslim families. The Nusaibi and Joudah families have been the sole guardians of the key to the church since they were entrusted with it by the Muslim ruler Salah el-Din (Saladin) in 1178.

ighlights of the trip included a Gospel reading and meditation on the Sea of Galilee, the boat moored silently within sight of the lights of Tiberias.

The best view is from the balcony around of the Church of the Transfiguration, looking from the high hill to the low valleys beneath. The most serene site is in Galilee, the church of the Beatitudes. The church, like most of the Franciscan constructions, is modern, but the view across the sea to the Golan heights is ancient. The stone inscriptions in the garden approach tell us that it is the meek who shall inherit the earth. It is as pleasant a thought as you wil ever get from world travel. No wonder pilgrimages have been around for so long.

■ Eoghan Corry travelled to the Holy land with Marian Pilgrimages, who operate pilgrimages to France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Holy Land. 19 Eden Quay, Dublin 1 (01 878 81 59 NI: (028) 958 100 51 www.marian.ie ■ Flights were hosted by Turkish Airlines whose Tel Aviv connections through Istanbul are the most popular on its network among Irish customers

Clockwise: Mensa Christi on the shore of Galilee, Capharnaum, pilgrimage boats in Tiberias, posing on the shore of Galilee and St Peter’s fish served in a lakeside restaurant

For all the questions you have around licensing and bonding in Ireland and how it affects your business...

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DESTINATION ETHIOPIA

ndiana Jones got it wrong. The lost ark is in a small humble church, one of those tiny hermit cells you find in Glendalough or Clonmacnoise - except with the roof still on. You don’t get to see it when you come to Axum on the morning flight. Nobody does. Instead you get to see something equally astonishing, a devotional parade three times clockwise around each of the adjoining churches, something reminiscent of Ireland in the 1950s, the adorned silver cross held high by a bearded priest, the followers chanting prayers in a manner that would do justice to Sean O’Riada’s sean-nós choir in West Cork. The followers then get blessed with holy water from the little church where the ark is held. Foreigners are not allowed, since a Dutch guy tried to jump in to see for himself. The Ark is sacred. It is at the heart of Ethiopian religion and tradition. Every church has a replica ark of its own. To understand Ethiopia, it is a good place to start. It is here because Meleik, son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba brought the real one with him when he and his followers returned to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. It has been moved, hid-

Secrets of Ethiopia Eoghan Corry in Ethiopia, our new direct destination for 2015 Church ceiling in Gondar den and housed here through five millennia, or so they say. A monk has been chosen to tend to it, wrapping it in silk and staying clear of its awesome powers. This, after all, is a powerful force, it burned Moses’ face and turned two of his nephews to dust. The Power of the Lost Ark is to be severely tested in the coming decade – has it the power to revive Ethiopian tourism?

thiopia should be one of the great African tourist destinations. It has the best airline in North Africa. Ethiopian Airlines is profitable, forward-thinking and has a network that makes Addis Adaba a major hub, serves seven European destinations with Dublin becoming the eighth this summer, bringing the first scheduled Dreamliner service

to Ireland. When Ethiopian Airlines commenced flying in 1946 Ethiopia briefly flourished as among the best tourist destinations in the region, offering Italian-nurtured wines and airy hill breaks for the high end travellers who flew down from Europe, their heads filled with legends of the Queen of Sheba.

he tourism jewels are to the north, the historical wonders as the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, the Stellae and other antiquities at Axum, and the Gondar castles. They now have good roads, asphalt all the way from Addis Ababa to the Simien Mountains, and Addis Ababa to Axum the other way, a circuit of Bahir Dar with its lake monasteries, Gondar with its medieval castle, Lalibela with stone churches straight from the earliest stages of Christianity

Eoghan Corry flew to Ethiopia with Ethiopian Airlines, who commence a 3w service from Dublin to Addis Adaba on June 19 2015 and onwards to 18 domestic and 70 international destinations, 40 of them in Africa.

(think an ancient Irish monastery, complete with sacred crosses, illuminated books and bearded priests). It has terrific landscapes, reminiscent of Monument Valley in the USA, high mountains, bird-watching treasure gardens, and a small but endearing safari product.

ahir Dar. beside the large Lake Tana on the Nile. has enough tourist beds and enough attractions to see: 37 islands with 19 churches and monasteries

on the islands. The ancient monastic culture there would have been familiar to Kevin in Glendalough and Ciaran in Clonmacnoise. Lake Tana has 19 islands with monasteries, including Tana Qirqos where the Virgin Mary rested on the journey to Egypt. A priest picks up a goatskin parchment book, the age of the Book of the Kells, and leafs through it to show us the ancient prayers. Lake Tana looked blue when we arrived, like a Leitrim lake would in

winter, except this was the end of a hot Ethiopian summer. You can keep your eye out for birds as you ferry out along the lake, tern, fish eagle, African jacana, white pelican, Egyptian goose and cormorant. Pana Kilkus, where Mary reportedly stayed for three months and 10 days during the flight to Egypt is the jewel of the crown but most people stop by more accessible monasteries to visit the circular church Narga Selassie on Dek Island. The footpath was wet as we walked up the rise in the peninsula. The stalls were spaced out regularly, three metres apart, then four or five metres apart. One man with a blue scarf over his head has souvenirs, and al variety of crosses for sale. A woman with a grey scarf looked the other direction, distracted. We passed the traditional church school where the chatter of the children could be heard. A woman was selling wild coffee right beside where the plant was growing, the beans still green rather than red. The gate to the monastery is like an ancient Irish monastery, for all the world what Glendalough used to be like, compete with its almshouse entrance. The guide shows me a long stone hung with wire on to a frame that served as a bell in pre-metallic

Clockwise: Eoghan Corry and St George in Ura Kidane Mehret, sugar cane carrier, Bahir Dar fisherman on Lake Tana and camels at Axum.

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DESTINATION ETHIOPIA times. I counted 22 stalls on the way back down from the church. Roasted coffee, leather, papyrus, crosses and jewellery.

y night time the streets of Bahar Dar were de-

serted. There was, as always, the ubiquitous flash of light on the horizon, indicating another faraway thunderstorm, as there is every night across the tropics and across Africa. You can tell the approaching bajags by the single light on front. There was a row of them parked very near where we had eaten, a nightspot with another show with traditional music in full swing. We eventually flagged one down after a short wait, four minutes at most, and passed through the streets, eerily empty of the horse carts, oxen and donkeys and the people in traditional dress that spilled on to the street in daylight. In fact the only person we saw was from Sudan. My guide said that Sudanese like to come here for the ladies, and indeed the Ethiopian ladies are the most beautiful in the world. There was a surprise police check outside the buildings that were used by the Organisation of African Unity. The policeman asked the driver for his papers and frisked both the driver and my

Travel Extra editor Eoghan Corry at Tisisat Falls on the Blue Nile guide, but when he looked at me with my camera hanging over my shoulder, my Giordano teeshirt, trousers and dusty shoes he exonerated me wrong risk. That seemed odd. We passed the Nile bridge in the silence, the water now black and invisible beneath. Many soldiers had drowned crossing this river in the battle against the Derg because the Derg had blown it up in 1991 in a feint and three card trick period when the rebels had taken the town and then evacuated it again. The only light on the right-hand side of the road from the spire that serves as a monument for those who fought against the Derg. The politics of those who fought for and against are still live in many parts of Ethiopia. Dogs ran at the bajag, as if a game, hoping to

catch an ankle in their teeth and no doubt, sometimes they might succeed. The crickets and cicadas provide the music in the deep and dark night.

he thundering Tis Isat – the legendary smoke of fire, the Blue Nile Falls are about 35 km southeast from Bahir Dar, at the end of a short but arduous journey on an unpaved road and a worthwhile hike over a hill across an ancient Portuguese built Alata bridge. The Blue Nile is not very blue. It is full of mud, rich mucky red mud, like the earth that is on the path. Despite the fact that crocodiles sleep in the morning here. People will put their clothes on their head and wade through the water home in the evening when the boat is not running. Volcanic rocks are strewn

like pebbles all over the valley Small children come and ask passers by for pens, boys play their flutes trying to sell their wares. A family group passes, collecting pentode beans. A club footed boy lies in the grass. The green is pockmarked with scrub bushes on the hills ahead. Three heifers pass with a calf and white goat with white eyebrows looking for all the world like it wandered out of a trendy night club in Addis. And when to the right hand side, smoke like mist is rising from the falls, the precipitous green slopes behind it. It billows a little and blows along the canyon as if unsure what to do next. Last time I saw them there is barely enough water to make it over the cliff but now the path is muddy and the falls are full with copper

coloured earth, dirty and foamy. Before the hydroelectric station the falls flooded all the way across this flat green basin, 400 metres wide. It must have been a sight.

he queue into Platinum night club in Addis Adaba is as far removed from the images of Michael Burke’s and Bob Geldof’s Africa as you will get. The bright and the beautiful congregate here to sip their drinks and dance to the vibrant local music – Wegen Tesebseb, Gossaye Tesfaye, and the infectious and ubiquitous Irikum, with the dancers joining the rhythmic chant that echoes every line. The city springs to life every night, as cosmopolitan and vivacious as any Mediterranean metropolis, Platinum, the Gaslight

in the five star Sheraton hotel, Club Deep, and the Dome in the Concorde Hotel. The restaurants in Addis are cosmopolitan, and in the little streets of the provincial towns you can taste local cuisine and indulge in the elaborate coffee making ceremony, celebrating a drink that is Ethiopia’s great legacy to the world. Gouder wine is the local dry red which fuelled our visit, along with copious amounts of St George beer. Our most amazing night, ironically, was in the holy city of Lalibela. We didn’t make it to the relatively inaccessible south, but heard entrancing stories about the Omo valley and the Mago National Park and the amazing cultures there such as the famous Mursi (big plates on little women). There you can see 50 tribes in a span of 20 kilo-

Clockwise: priest with cross and icon in Gondar, stone bell at Ura Kidane Mehret, Gondar children at prayer, the castles at Gondar and a donkey plays on the main highway from Addis Adaba to Kurifyu

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DESTINATION ETHIOPIA

The Ark of the Covenant is not lost, it is kept in a church in Axum metres. Even with all this splendour, Ethiopia attracts a mere 30,000 incoming tourists a year from the rest of the world, excluding the aid workers, diplomats and ex-pats - less than a small town in Spain will get from Ireland. They say the Merkato is the largest outdoor

market in the world, where you can buy everything. ddis’s museum testifies to Ethiopia’s place as the cradle of mankind. Lucy is the oldest human skeleton and is normally on display in the national museum. She was found in north Eastern Ethiopia but re-

cently DNA scientists have reckoned that mankind spread outwards from Addis Adaba 100,000 years ago. Addis is the ancestral home of all of us. That Ethiopia survived invasion by sword and ipod intact is a credit to the people. The people have that proud nobility of a race that has never

Ethiopia in 1936. Eamon de Valera offered the Irish army to Ethiopia if others would follow. The British, French and Germans were doing deals with the fascists and Ethiopia fell. A pleasant mixture of curiosity, hospitality and touching westerns for money pervades the culture. The hour spent with a group of school children complete with their books and local self-appointed helpers and tour guides, walking back from the Blue Nile Falls will endure long in the memory. It is a reminder that tourism, not aid, will define Ethiopia’s future. thiopia’s sounds called the dawn to attention during our Lenten visit, at 5am on Sunday mornings the moaning chant of priests started calling people to prayer in an ancient language close to that spoken by the Queen of Sheba herself. By afternoon there were more calls to prayer – not to the Mosque, but the ancient Coptic church that has survived in these highlands. And the images:

been colonised, unless you count Mussolini’s brief adventure in the middle of the last century. The Battle of Adwa, when they defeated the Italians in 1896, was a high point of African resistance against European aggression. Ireland was the only western country to object when Italy reinvaded

■ The papyrus boats on Lake Tana, bobbing through the shimmering light as if they had come straight out of the Bible. ■ The wrapped body of a corpse being carried through the street in Semien Wollo, white draped mourners accompanying an old man on his last journey. ■ The oxen pulling a simple wooden plough scraping the stony soil in the hills above Axum, as if feudalism had never been swept away. ■ The women touching their head-scarved heads down on the prayer mat faced towards the church where devotional ceremonies are under way. ■ The faces of the children chasing a bus full of westerners for the few notes they can get, especially the little girl in the cotton dress who raced after our bus on a stony road at Olympic-medal pace, then stopped, took off her shoes and resumed the chase barefoot. She reached us at the next pothole.

From top left to right: pilgrim in Lalibela, stone relief in Gondar, Lailbela window, traffic in Addis, Kuskuam church, boatman on Lake Tana, church procession around the church of the Ark of the Covenant in Axum, sampling Ethiopian wine and St George beer.

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 23

Same Swift double Last fast ferry service from Dublin remains twice daily

rish Ferries say that the Swift is being retained on the Dublin Holyhead rourte leaving it the only fast craft onnthe centeral corridor. have no Delighted hearthe you’re The Swift is far and to away doing pieceononthetheroute. Swift. The fastesta craft Swift’s journey in under two hours, compared with 3 hours 15 mins. Both vessels have just recently come out of their annual dry dock looking as good as new both inside and out. The Fast Craft Jonathan Swift can cater for up to 200 cars and 798 passengers. The far larger Cruise Ferry Ulysses though can cater for 1,342 cars or 1,875 passengers. Don’t forget that both vessels are also supported by the Epsilon, which can cater for up to 150 cars and 500 passengers. Dermot Merrigan of Irish Ferries says “not only are we offering the

AFLOAT OCEANIA Cruises are overhauling the

Culinary Centre onboard its O-class ships, Marina and Riviera, creating a new curriculum with 20 classes focusing on regional cuisine.

CROISEUROPE Three new

CroisiEurope ships are to launch in April. MS Loire Princesse launches April 2 and will be the first boat with overnight cabins to operator on the Loire, thanks to innovative paddle wheel technology. MS Camargue launches April 1 will join the CroisiEurope fleet on the Rhone alongside the MS Mistral and MS Van Gogh. MS Gil Eanes launches April 17 and will ply the Douro joining three other CroisiEurope ships the MS Infante D Henrique, the MS Fernao De Magalhaes and the MS Vasco Da Gama. Alan Lynch’s Cruisescapes are GSA for CroisiEurope in Ireland.

ANTHEM OF THE SEAS

The Irish Ferries Dublin-Holyhead fleet of Ulysses and Swift only fast craft on the route, all told we have 12 sailings a day on the popular Dublin – Holyhead route, meaning that we have more sailings and more

choice than anyone else. “We have absolutely no intentions whatsoever in the foreseeable to pull the service.”

entertainment will include an original Royal Theatre production show The Gift and a new show in Two70 Spectra's Cabaret in addition to the Broadway musical, We Will Rock You, Passengers will be treated to as "a musical journey of fantasy and illusion that begins one stormy night with the arrival of a magical gift."

CARNIVAL Passengers on board the

Carnival Vista will be able to pedal around the top deck on the SkyRide.

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Page 023-025 Afloat 12/03/2015 16:17 Page 2

APRIL 2015 PAGE 24

AFLOAT DUBLIN Port will have 86 cruise ship

calls in 2015 with a further three in Dun Lapghaire, with 17 further vessels to anchor in the bay and have passengers tendered to port.

IRISH CONTINENTAL Group, owners of Irish Ferries, reported passenger numbers are up 4.8pc in 2014 to 1.643m. The overall sea passenger numbers were up 2.6pc, to 3.2m passengers. ICG reported operating profits for 2014 were up 9pc to €32.7m. Pre tax profits were €56.7m. DISNEY

Cruise Line won twelve awards in the annual Cruise Critic US Cruisers' Choice Awards. Disney Dream was named Best Large Ship; the third year in a row a Disney ship has received top honours and Disney Wonder Best Midsize Ship. Silverseas's Silver Galapagos won best small ship.

CELBRITY Cruises won nine awards

in the year's Cruise Critic England Cruisers' Choice Awards including Best Overall ship for Celebrity Equinox. In the Mid-Size ship awards Oceania Riviera won five awards including Best Overall ship. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines won two Mid-Size, and three Small Ship categories, for Balmoral and Black Watch.

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line launched

its 'Freestyle Choice Plus' promotion for bookings before April 8. On selected cruises, guests can bring their family and friends along and only pay the port fees.

SPLENDOUR

of the Seas will move to Thomson Cruises in the summer 2016.

CRYSTAL Genting Hong Kong bought

Crystal Cruise Line for $550m. Genting, which owns Star Cruises, Asia's largest cruise line and a major shareholder of Norwegian Cruise Line. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015. Crystal will increase its fleet size with a third ship say that, as a result of the acquisition, in addition to Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.

P&O Cruises launched their latest ship, the 4,324 passenger Britannia in Southampton, to take over the role of flagship of the fleet from Oriana.

MSC

Cruises extended their winter 2015/16 season from Dubai. MSC Musica will offer 16 eight-day/seven-night cruises from Dubai for winter 2015/2016,

SILVERSEA Cruises will build two more cruise ships after coming to an agreement with Fincantieri Shipyard in Monfalcone in Italy. Expeditions launched a collection of speciality expeditions: Birding & Ornithology Expedition Voyages; Wellness Expedition Voyages; Photography Expedition Voyages; and Culinary Expedition Voyages.

CARNIVAL Cruise Line is to expand its nine-night and longer itineraries from autumn. Carnival Triumph is to move from Galveston to New Orleans in 2016, with New Orleans-based Carnival Elation moving to Jacksonville and the Jacksonville-based Carnival Fascination to San Juan. Carnival Liberty and Carnival Breeze are moving to Galveston.

Stena Superfast X has 10 decks, carries up to 1200 passengers and orffer 2km of lane space

A 65m investment Stena’s new Superfast X a landmark for Dublin port

tena Superfast X was named in Dublin Port and has commenced service on the DublinHolyhead route. Kathryn Thomas served as Godmother to the refurbished and renamed former DFDS ferry, which offers three decks of service areas, two free cinemas, witadditional deluxe cabins, Barista Coffee House, Met Bar and Grill, retail shopping in the Outlet, a family lounge featuring a children’s play area and X-Box stations and Stena Line’s premium lounge Stena Plus. There will be a dedicated freight driver lounge. The ship represents an investment of almost €65m on what Stena calls the central corridor across the Irish Sea. Superfast X is a sister ship of the award winning Stena Superfast VII and VIII ships which have served the Belfast to Cairnryan route since their launch in 2011. Stena Line’s Head of Travel Orla Noonan (pictured on board Superfast X with Jim Howey of Stena) said “We have paid special attention to every little detail, from the type of bed linen used in our cabins to the quality and comfort of our seating onboard.” Eamonn O’Brien CEO of Dublin Port said, “in Stena Line we have a magnificent customer. “I have been involved in the Port since 1998. If I look at one of the few moments that changed Dublin Port it was the decision in 1995 by Stena to start a service in at Dublin Port the Stena Traveller. Eleven years later they introduced the Stena Seafarer at

Dublin, giving an unrivalled four sailings a day. And now a decade later we have this magnificent ship. “This is exactly the type of growth we want to see, putting more throughput keeping our own costs down and costs to our customers down. We are absolutely convinced that we will see more growth. “The key thing we are trying to do is provide the infrastructure and then step back, let private sector companies work in the markets, Make investment, put on the ships, compete against each other, and the model works well in Dublin port. “In Stena Line we have what I would describe as a fearless customer. They take very brave decisions. It is no good if Stena is making these decisions and we in Dublin port are not making likewise investment decisions. “We hope in Dublin port to get permission to provide another seven hectares, large river berths capable of taking the next generation if ships, sups of 240 metres which Stena already operates elsewhere within its

network, any decision by Stena to deploy a ship on this route can be taken much more quickly than we can provide the capacity. We are completely confident in making our decision today to build the berths of the future that we are not building white elephants. We know that they can be used.” “Stena’s great ambition is to make what Dover Calais is the east, DublinHolyhead is to the west. We have invested €325m in our Irish Sea business in the past five years. And we love ferries. “ A ship on the Irish Sea is very special, a work in place for many people and a venture in trust by so many people, partners, societies, banks and clients, it is a joint venture by many, nice people can travel to meet nice people. “I like coming to Dublin. You are all so welcoming and so nice to our guests.” Stena Superfast X sails at 02.15 and 15.10 and Stena Adventurer at 08.20 and 20.40.

Premium lounge on Stena Superfast X

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 25

AFLOAT

Dúnsday?

un Laoghaire Harbour Company has received seven expressions of interest from operators to provide a seasonal ferry service to Holyhead to replace the Stena HSS. Stena Line recently confirmed the permanent closure of the historic Ireland-Wales lin which has been operating sicne services were treanssferred from Howth in 1824. The decision leaves a berth available for a new ferry operator in Dun Laoghaire Harbour using the terminal at St. Michaels Pier.

The good old days Dun Laoghaire Harbour Commissiioners say that any new operator would not be serving the route until at least 2016. '”Final configurations would be a matter for discussion and agreement

with a new provider, and would be in keeping and take account of the Harbour Company's Masterplan.” The Masterplan, the site of St Micheal's Pier for residential redevelopment.

7 NIGHTS HALF-BOARD

569

TONY KELLY RETIRES AFTER 42 FERRY YEARS

fter 42 years in the business, Irish Ferries’ Marketing Director, Tony Kelly, is calling it a day and retiring just before his 60th birthday. He says: “I am leaving Irish Ferries with the best of memories and with the business in great shape thanks to a fantastic team of people who I have had the pleasure to work with and who remain dedicated to onward improvement.” “I have been particularly lucky to have been around when we spearheaded the “quiet revolution” which was the transformation of the ferries product on the Irish Sea which included building the biggest ferry in the world at the time, Ulysses, along with many other innovations ashore and afloat. “Having had the good fortune to have served on the board of Irish Ferries parent, Irish Continental Group plc, “I know that the company is in very good

Tony Kelly hands and I have no doubt that there are many really interesting years ahead when the business will continue to thrive and succeed as it has done in the last two decades. Andrew Sheen, Irish Ferries new Managing Director, has a lot of experience in our business and I know that he and his team will continue to excel in what is a tough and challenging industry. For me, it is also nice to look back a little and be grateful to have witnessed enormous changes since I started in the early 70’s – sometimes companies don’t adapt to change and eventually disappear. Thankfully, I have been l ucky enough to have

worked in an organisation that has embraced change and managed to survive and grow in a world that is virtually unrecognisable from my early years when the internet did not exist, mobile phones were unheard of and telex was the primary electronic channel – anyone under forty today would wonder what that is ! I have also really enjoyed being involved in the development of Ireland’s tourism industry through my participation in many national and international initiatives over the years – it’s really great to see Ireland get its tourism mojo back after a pretty bleak few years in the post boom recession. For myself, I am really looking forward to giving more time to my family, seeing more of the world and enjoying the freedom of choosing my own schedule for whatever lies ahead. Whatever that is, I know how lucky I have been so far – can’t wait for the next chapter.

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DESTINATION REPUBLICA DOMINICANA

he original tourist playgrounds of the Dominican Republic were constructed at Cabrera, Samana and Puerto Plata. These are now the ones most likely to leave the resorts. More than half of the wristbanded ones are venturing out to see the countryside around. I sample a boat trip to one of the Caribbean’s best beaches at Playa Rincon, The drive north brought me through the rain forests and red clay carved canyons of Parque Nacional Los Haitises. My first sight of the Atlantic is stunning – between the trunks of the palm trees that fringe the near-white (very pale yellow but you can see why they describe it as white in the brochures) ribbon of beach-front all along this coast. There was lots of fun on the rum. Even the drive is an adventure. The roads are filled with Michael Schumacher types who show no fear when the road goes from three to two lanes and there are four lanes of trucks, cars and moped riders (no helmets, NOBODY wears a helmet) scrambling for the re-rationed roadspace,

t is rainy season. So we get a spectacular thunderstorm at dusk every day. It is the destiny of a travel writer to see everywhere off season. We go skiing when the snow is melting, we go to the sun resort in spring and the golf course in winter. It could be worse. Hurricane seasons starts July 1st. That makes most places MORE interesting rather than less. It starts with a conversation in Spanish with the guard at the checkpoint, they drive me to the front door and accompany me to check-in. They tell me how they individualise the experiences of all

Azure Island Eoghan Corry renounces his wristband to find the real Dominican Republic

And this is during rainy season 3,000 guests. They tell me about their restaurants and standards of care. They tell me it is not Cancun, for Cancun is the byword in the worst excesses of holiday factorydom. When you arrive they don’t delouse you, or put you in an orange jumpsuit, they give you the wristband at the check-in desk. It is part passport, part handcuff, the currency of planet all-inclusive. It delivers unqueried access to a wonderland of multiple bars, entertainment spots and pools. It is worth taking time to practice the half raised arm salute, the sort of semi-wave you use to get a small dog to sit. Use it casually, as if you are not quite aware the wristband is there. But you know it is, and the 1,500 or so employees in your resort can spot it at 300 metres. It gets you past the se-

curity man through the wicket on the sandy route back from the beach. It gets the barman to open the generic red wine canister and pour a refill. It works at the buffet line for the prawns. As you trek the kilometre and a half from the pool to your bedroom, (and the bedrooms are enormous by European standards) you pass like minded internees from all nations, Americans, Spanish, lots of Russians (there are eight charters a week). This is stadium tourism, all wristbands and cheap generic rum: 3,000 beds in the Riu Palace hotel Bavaro, 2,000 in the Barcelo, 4,000 in the Bavaro Hotel, 2,000 in the Hard Rock in Macao (Madonna’s limo in one of the lobbies). They all have 4-6 pools, 6-8 restaurants, 34 bars, evening entertain-

ment of lip-synching dancers in glittery costumes on a stage and a slice of palm fringed beach to call their own. I collect my room key and having worked out where I belong in the labyrinth (when your room number is 16206 you know you are in trouble), and arrive in some of the largest hotel rooms in the industry.

t works. Dominican Republic played the numbers game, and won big. The rapid growth has been driven by giant all-inclusive resorts that sprawl along a coastline of narrow white sand beaches and ubiquitous palm trees. Over the years I said that it is very pleasant place, it has the palm trees and the white sand, but is filled with holiday factories, portly Americans, wrist-banded to in-

dicate they are handcuffed to their accommodation provider. The travel trade say that focusing on the big resorts misses the point about the Dominican Republic. There is lots beyond the wristband, a swim with the turtles in a fresh water reserve, hikes and horse rides through a nature reserve. They brought me to Tortuga Bay, a chic beachside hotel with rooms designed by Oscor de La Reata that is so close to the airport they have a VIP service from the steps of the plane. They feed me in La Palapa restaurant on the seashore. Then they brought me back to an all inclusive. This is stadium tourism. These places a model in crowd management, filled with portly Americans in the queue for the camorones counter.

I still love it, every naff bit of it. They put a towel heart with flowers on my bed and rose petals around the bath, drink dispensers over the coffee maker, awful bourbon and worse gin. I arrived untroubled, with no mobile number for whoever was collecting me and no hotel name, so just as well they showed up (late). I wrote “Beaches Punta Cano” on the immigration form so as not to arouse suspicion. I feel like I am the Jason Segel character in a scene from forgetting Sarah Marshall. “Are you on your own? Are you with a magazine?” Being on your own means more conversations. I spent two nights immersed in the company of Argentineans and befriended many Americans and Canadians, swapping Clancy Brothers songs with a retired Ontarian.

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DESTINATION REPUBLICA DOMINICANA

hen a drive of an hour and 45 minutes to the captial. Santa Domingo is the storied capital of the Dominican Republic and the oldest city in the Americas. it has a stunning colonial quarter where I dine in Maison de Vari, a restaurant with an atmospheric collection of paintings and photographs. The city has some great nightlife, and two seafront jewels where I lunch, Adrian Tropical restaurant. Colonial history goes back as far as it can here, to the tail end of the fifteenth century. The fortresses in Santa Domingo or Santiago is as old as Maynooth Castle. The Republica has real history too. The colonial architecture of Santa Domingo is stunning, a world away from the holiday factories. The traffic is stunning too, five lanes of cars squeezed into three lane highways, everyone nosing forward to occupy the same few square metres of road space, hand firmly on the horn, because that is what makes the vehicle drivable. One of the three burial places that Christopher Columbus can claim is here (Havana and Seville are the others). The electricity shortages mean they don’t turn the lights of the Faro Columbus, the expensive monument they built for his bones in 1992, to project a lumi-

Magnificent mangroves nous cross on to the sky. That figures. Everyone gets six hours of electricity, coming on and off unpredictably, because they cannot generate enough to keep the country going. So famous they buried him thrice. No more than where his bones lie, they haven’t a clue where Christopher Columbus landed, but there is no shortage of claims. Their best guess is Bord de Mer de Limonade (near Cap-Haïtien). Concepción de la Vega, the town Columbus founded on the second voyage, is supposed to be La Vega Vieja. After that, take your pick.

a n g r o v e swamps are among the most beautiful places on the planet. The name conjures up a tropical treasure trove of fabulous fauna and flora. The mangroves themselves are special, magnificent animals or plants (they might be either), with great stork feet, standing tall, the bits we see below the murky water line even more enticing than that which stands above. And all the life around them is brimful of fantasy, landscape of the imagination, Hollywood movie fantasy, animation fantasy, darkest an bright-

est life forms, camouflaged and colourful in turn, a bright red crab stalking in the tentacles, the big long saplings hanging like hanging baskets and the red mangrove stretched like a carpet everywhere. If an artist or a furniture designer did it they would be lining up the awards. Except you don’t have the sound of the Quervos in your ears at a furniture awards. The swamps are the backdrop to the human gallery, rock art left by the Taino people in the caves of San Gabriel and La Linea, animals, dancing children and arm-outstretched shamans, birds,

manatees (no longer indigenous, they are important to the art form, the figures are painted with dye from the black grass of the manatee), and bats (the God of the dead) in caves pockmarking the carboniferous rocks hollowed and drummed by humidity and salty water, streaked in blackness from the humidity and salt water, a fruit bat huddling in a hole barely larger than himself , the shiny white rock contrasted with his sleek black skin like he was auditioning for Hollywood, outside the caves pelicans perched on disused pier heads and a shrieking frigata chasing a pelican.

Clockwise: The waterfall at Cascada Del Limon , Pueblo Des Pescadores in Santana, musicians and an aquarium view

Now I know I am in the tropics. And best of all, everything was dripping, because it was rainy season in the Republica Dominicana. Drip, drip, drip. A beautiful sound.

friend emailed me to say it is rainy season in Ireland as well, the fifth this year. I need to come back to see the south west, especially the fascinating Enriquillo Lake, three times the salinity of the ocean. The republic of the wristband has so much more to offer.

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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

AIR PASSENGER DUTY

The north’s Centre for Economic Policy recommended against the abolition in the region of Westminster's air passenger duty "‘when the cost to the public finances is taken into consideration.” The report endorsed the London case that “targeted interventions” such as Westminster’s Regional Air Connectivity Fund “have the potential to present more appropriate options for securing economic benefits”. Belfast International Airport Managing Director Graham Keddie claimed the report “fails to acknowledge the blatant and unique geographic challenge" faced by the north and described it as a "missed opportunity."

MALAYSIA's transport minister Liow

Tiong Lai told Reuters that Malaysia Airlines bean tracking the location of its long-haul flights every 15 minutes or less, a proposal put forward by the UN aviation agency after the disappearance of the carrier's Flight MH370 a year ago, Some of the many theories about what happened: it crashed in southern Indian ocean after a hijack, technical or pilot error or a fly-by of the pilot's home island of Penang, was accidentally shot down by the Americans during joint US-Thai military exercises in the South China Sea, was deliberately shot down by the Americans near Diego Garcia (fearing a 9-11 situation), was hijacked to Kazakhstan or Pakistan, was abducted by aliens and (wait for it) MH370 and MH17 were the same aircraft.

CITYJET announced that chief execu-

tive Christine Ourmieres-Widener is leaving the airline with immediate effect. She has headed the airline since succeeding Geoffrey O’Byrne-White in 2010. She had previously worked directly with Air France-KLM. Her departure comes just a few months after CityJet’s deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Michael Collins also suddenly resigned.

AER LINGUS have added extra flights to Chicago for winter 2015 and will operate up to ten flights a week from Dublin during the months of November and December. Twice daily flights will operate Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, adding an extra 13,000 available seats and a 24pc capacity increase. This in addition to the new transatlantic service from Dublin to Washington-Dulles commencing May 1, additional flights on the Dublin to San Francisco and Orlando routes and a third daily early morning flight from Dublin to New York, departing at 07.50 and arriving at 12 noon will also be added. Long haul capacity will be 18.4pc up on 2014 in the peak summer season. SUNWAY Holidays, will operate a weekly charter service from Knock to Izmir every Saturday from Sept 12 to Oct 24.

LUFTHANSA won the Eco-Airline of the Year award at the 41st Annual ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards in Washington. JET2 will fly Belfast-Rome from April 5. CITI Cash management provider Citi will

provide a supply chain finance service to Etihad Airways to pay select suppliers.

pre-clearance has attracted business to Dublin airport

Atlantic summer

163 flights a week from Dublin to USA in summer

ubin will have a record 163 flights to/from North America per week during the summer peak. It means it will overtake Rome to become Europe’s sixth busiest transatlantic hub, not far behind Madrid. The flights include seven daily to New York (5 JFK, 2 to Newark), four daily to Chicago, two daily to Boston, 18 weekly to Toronto, 11 weekly to Dulles, daily to Atlanta, Philadelphia, Charlotte, San Francisco, and St John’s, four weekly to Orlando, three weekly to Los Angeles. Altanta and weekly to Halifax.

Aer Lingus will return in June to Washington Dulles, the second of the two trans-Atlantic routes it vacated in 2009, An additional A330-200 will fly four weekly, M-W-F-Su, outbound 12.45, inbound 17.20, with 100 more seats per flight to sell than its rival on the route United. The San Francisco service goes daily including Tuesday and Thursday, JFK gets a third daily flight outbound 07.50 with US pre clearance hours extended to cater for the earlier flight. This is the earliest flight off the continent of Europe each day Early departures to Atlanta and the new Aer Lingus JFK flight will help

answers questions about a shortage of widebody stands in Terminal 2. Aer Lingus have extended their Chicago flights with up to ten flights a week from Dublin during the months of November and December. Charlotte and Philadelphia will operate larger aircraft. American are increasing their aircraft size to a brand new A330 on Dublin services to both Philadelphia and Charlotte, with fully lie flat in business for the first time and seatback entertainment in economy, and extending their ShannonPhiladelphia service to October. Dublin JFK returns on March 26 with a retrofit 767 and the seasonal service from Dublin to Chicago.

IRISH AIRSPACE FLIGHTS UP

otal flights in Irish airspace increased by 8.7pc in February 2015 compared to the same month last year. Ireland’s en route air traffic surged strongly ahead in February, with growth of 9.2%. During the same month, Dublin Airport continued its upward trend and recorded growth of 11.2pc with an average of 449 daily commercial movements. Flights using the IAA’s North Atlantic Communications service also increased by 2.8pc. En route traffic is comprised of flights that pass through Irish-controlled

airspace but do not land and the IAA’s North Atlantic Communications Centre provides essential high frequency (HF) communications radio services to aircraft on the North Atlantic. Up to 90pc of all daily transatlantic air traffic is safely managed by the IAA through Irish-controlled airspace, which functions as a strategic gateway airspace between Europe and North America] There were 19,531 en route traffic movements and 27,855 North Atlantic Communications flights during February 2015. There was an average of

1,272 daily flights during February 2015, with the busiest day being 13th February with 1,474 flights in Irish airspace. Commercial terminal traffic at Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports was up by a robust 8pc in February 2015, when compared to 2014. Individually, the February 2015 figures for the three State airports, when compared to the same month in the previous year are: ■ Dublin up by 11.2% with an average of 449 daily commercial movements. ■ Cork down by 6.2%,

with an average of 43 commercial daily movements. ■ Shannon down by 8.6% with an average of 37 commercial daily movements. An analysis of the February 2015 data, from EUROCONTROL shows six of Ireland’s Top ten “Airport Pairs” showed growth. The most significant growth was for London City – Dublin (+168pc) due to the services added by BA and Flybe in October 2014, Paris Charles de Gaulle – Dublin (+9.3pc) and Newark to Heathro (5.9%pc).

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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

FR’s next step

Ryanair brightens cabins and slims down seats

yanair is to end its most draconian fees and new aircraft interiors will be roomier, airier, and gentler on the eye. Ryanair say slimmer seats will give passengers more space and it will also increase capacity. Kenny Jacobs says the seat width of 17 inches will not be affected. “It means slimline seats that have less bulk and therefore give each customer more space. I've sat in them and they are more comfortable and spacious. The current model has a lot of bulk. I believe the seat is slightly more 'accommodating' as well as giving a bigger space between the seat in front.” Slim-line seats are made with lighter weight materials and include less cushioning. Southwest Airlines used slim-line seats to add another row of six seats across on every flight. The dreaded airport check-in fee, which Ryanair say is paid by only 0.5pc of customers, will drop from €70 to €45. The missed departure charge will be reduced from €110 to €99. The airline will also allow customers to cancel a flight within 24 hours of booking in future, for a fee of €15. A new €5 Hold the Fare charge will be

Boeing 737s for delivery in early 2016, raising its total order to 183 737 NGs in addition to orders for 200 “Boeing MAX 200 aircraft which will bring its fleet to 520 aircraft and help it meet its target of 160m customers a year by 2024. The three aircraft are valued at $280m.

LUFTHANSA innovations announced at ITB Berlin include FlyNet broadband internet service on board all long-haul flights and upgraded seats on all Lufthansa long-haul aircraft from the third quarter of this year with the latest cabins and state-of-the-art seats in every travel class. Three new prices are available for economy class eats, the low-cost “light” option with carryon luggage, “classic” with one piece of checked luggage and allocated seat, and flex option which allows rebooking. Lufthansa will add Tampa, Cancún, Panama, Malé and Mauritius to their schedule for winter 2014-5. CORK airport got two new routes this

Easier on the eye introduced for customers who would like to reserve a seat for 24 hours before committing to the purchase. Fliers will be able to pre-order breakfast over the web on some key routes. "We don't want to be loved -- just liked a bit more,” Michael O’Leary said. Later this year, the website will be amended so travel insurance is not automatically selected for customers and real time airline fare comparisons

will be live on ryanair.com. O'Leary said he wanted to turn the airline into a travel retailer, specialising in flights. He said it would use the new Ryanair app to sell more products to customers, especially events at destinations. Other planned changes include customer reviews on its website, which will be shared via social media and retail partnerships to offer passengers more value.

twice-daily Monday-Friday flights, as well as a Saturday and a Sunday service. Operations will begin on Monday, April 27 using a Fokker 50 aircraft with capacity for up to 50 passengers. VLM will also operate a four times a week service from Waterford to Birmingham.

VLM Airlines has flown in Europe since 1993 with its first service on the Antwerp-London City route. VLM Airlines operates a range of passenger services at Antwerp, Rotterdam and Liege to Avignon, Bologna, Geneva, Hamburg, Nice and Venice.

Tony Tyler speaking at IATA in Dublin 2013

FLYBE plans to operate Dublin-Cardiff

6w from June 1 with 6 additional service ex Cardiff 0630 from Aug using an Embraer 195.

SWISS are to commence 4w from Dublin to Geneva on June 26 using an A319 leaving Geneva at 06.10 and Dublin at 08.00. Aer Lingus operate daily on the route. AER LINGUS Regional/Stobart Air

AMERICAN Fiona Noonan of American Airlines confirmed at the Visit USA roadshow that American are increasing their aircraft size to a brand new A330 on Dublin services to both Philadelphia and Charlotte, with fully lie flat in business for the first time and seatback entertainment in economy, and extending their Shannon-Philadelphia service to October. Dublin JFK returns on March 26 with a retrofit 767 and the seasonal service from Dublin to Chicago. Waterford airport

IATA RETURNS TO DUBLIN CENTRE

month. Flybe are to start a 2w all year round service from Cork to Cardiff on June 6th, using a 118 seat Embraer 195 aircraft to operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Flybe will also serve Dublin as part of plans to open a Cardiff base and serve 11 destinations. CSA Czech Airlines is to fly Cork to Ibiza 2w from June 11 to September 21, a charter for Travelagent.ie which will add 8,000 seats to Cork’s schedule.

plan to re-launch Dublin-Doncaster 5w from May 29 using an ATR 42. The previous Aer Lingus Regional service ceased at the end of summer 2010.

WATERFORD GETS NEW SCHEDULED SERVICES

lights on the Waterford-London Luton route are set to resume at the end of next month, with Belgian-based VLM Airlines to fly 12 times a week in each direction. Bookings can be made immediately through www.flyvlm.com with

RYANAIR has bought three additional

he IATA Aviation Security conference has been confirmed for October 2015 in The Convention Centre, Dublin, one of four international confer-

ences, totalling over 1,400 delegates which Fáilte Ireland say have been won for Dublin through its Conference Ambassador scheme,

KNOCK Glen Ford from Ballina who was travelling to East Midlands was the 6 millionth Ryanair passenger to fly through Ireland West Airport Knock and was presented with a pair of return flights to East Midlands. Knock was one of Ryanair’s first bases in 1987 and the airline opened two of its first English routes to Leeds/Bradford and Stansted in 1989. BMI Regional announced that Peter Simp-

son will succeed Cathal O’Connell as CEO,

FLY Leasing sold three Boeing 737-800s.

JetBlue and Aer Lingus expanded their codeshare agreement.

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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

CHRISTOPH MUELLER as-

sumed his position as CEO of Malaysian Airlines one week before the anniversary of the MH370, and announced plans on Monday to cut capacity by 10pc to focus on profitable domestic and regional routes and axe 6,000 of its 20,000 employees. Mueller, described as a “battle-hardened veteran” by Time magazine, plans to expand seats on Asian routes by 5pc and is reviewing European and Mideast routes with a view to ending some. Malaysian’s routes to the Middle East and Europe, which include the Irish favourite Amsterdam as well as London and Paris, were being "carefully evaluated" and could be discontinued if they did not contribute to group profitability. Malaysian Airlines will cease to operate by June 30 and operations will be migrated to a new airline, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, which starts on July 1. First cuts included a 25pc price cut for Brahim’s Holdings, holder of a 25-year RM6.25bn in-flight catering contract. This is the fifth attempt to restucture the airline since 2001.

RYANAIR is to treble its Berlin Schone-

Cork airport announced three new routes in the past month

Cork rebrands

feld operation with a new base from October 27 , the airline's 73rd. The rumoured German domestic routes are not among the 16 new routes announced.

AER LINGUS passenger numbers dipped 0.9pc in February. Long haul grew 22pc but this was offset by short haul weakness (down 2.9pc). RYANAIR passenger numbers in February were up 29pc to 5.8m with load factor up 11 points to 89pc and 12 month total at 89.1m.

ETHIOPIAN Airlines won the Regional Airline award at the Air Transport World Airline Industry Achievement Awards in Washington DC.

EUROWINGS revealed details of their new pricing at ITB, twice weekly services from Cologne to Dubai, Bangkok, Phuket, Varadero and Punta Cana, with two A330-200s flown by Sunexpress with one way fares of €99 to Dubai. Eurowings will cover Lufthansa traffic which is not touching the hubs AIR FINANCE conference returns to

the Convention Centre Dublin January 18–20 2016 after its successful conference in January.

EMIRATES announced that it will

launch a daily service from Dubai to Bali from June 3.

IAG reported an 80pc increase in annual profit. The group made an operating profit of €1.4bn in 2014, up from €770m in 2013.

AER LINGUS reported 2014 operat-

ing profit up 17.8pc to €72.9m on total revenue up 9.2pc to €1.6bn. Balance sheet at end of year was up 29.9pc in net cash to €553m.

US AIRWAYS Following the closure of its Facebook and YouTube accounts, US Airways stopped using its @USAirways Twitter account as part of its merger with American Airlines.es

Airport adds 3 new routes and launches brand identity

ork Airport has today unveiled its new brand identity to staff, passengers and travel part-

ners. The launch of the new identity follows a number of recent announcements with the addition of two new airlines and three new routes from Cork Airport. FlyBe and CSA Czech Airlines both announced that they will be operating new routes out of the airport in the past month. The new brand identity underlines the importance of differentiating what makes Cork Airport unique; its network of routes, its award-winning customer services and its position as the gateway to the south of Ireland. At the launch of the new brand, Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport: “We’re very excited to be launching our new look today for Cork Airport. It really represents

the first-class, modern terminal that we have here at Cork along with capturing the unbeatable passenger experience that we offer every day. We felt it was time that we had a brand identity that reflected this unique experience and personality and our status as Munster’s favourite airport. As well as a new look to our logo, we have also brought our offering to life with the message ‘Fly Friendly’ included in our new brand identity.” The launch of the new Cork Airport identity follows a number of months of research and development. Kevin Cullinane, Head of Communications at the airport said: “We wanted to ensure that our staff and passengers were involved in the evolution of the new brand, ensuring it reflects all that makes Cork Airport unique. We are delighted that there is so much enthu-

siasm and support for the airport and we are not surprised at the level of pride in Munster’s favourite airport. “The development of the new brand identity is also critical to our efforts to market the airport and the region internationally to new airlines and inbound tourists. We have been working exceptionally hard with our airline partners to develop new routes. We believe that as part of these marketing efforts, a strong visual identity is crucial to our future success and positioning the airport as the principal gateway to the south or Ireland.” Cork Airport is Ireland’s second largest airport, serving more than 2.1 million passengers each year. The airport serves direct routes across the UK and Europe and international hubs in London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam and Manchester.

WHISKEY AND WINE HEART OF LOOP

ublin Airport has opened the Loop’s new €8m state-ofthe-art retail area in Terminal 1 with 18,300 sq ft of new and improved stores. Paul Neeson, Director of Retail at Dublin Airport says the new retail design was based on passenger research, and represents the culmination of 18 months

of development and construction in the airside retail area of Terminal 1. DAA says the area showcases the best of Irish and international brands and offering consumers a radically improved shopping experience at Ireland’s main international gateway. New and refreshed stores include the Irish

Whiskey Collection, Candy Cloud, a confectionery concept created in Ireland and the Wine Goose Chase, featuring wines with an Irish provenance from around the world. An enhanced perfume and cosmetics area will have Ireland’s largest collection of fragrances and a

number of Irish exclusives including Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Collection and Elie Saab Les Collections. The new stores showcase an expanded range of products with an Irish provenence, including newly designed souvenirs, a total of 119 Irish whiskies and 80 wines with an Irish heritage.

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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

Cityjet exodus

Christine Ourmieres-Widener follows Michael Collins

he sudden departure of CityJet chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener and treturn of fofunder Pat Byrne as chair has indicated a new directoin for the Swordsbased airline. Ms Ourmieres-Widener has been CEO since 2010, when she was appointed to run the struggling lossmaking carrier by then owner Air France-KLM. She had previously worked directly with Air FranceKLM. Her departure comes just a few months after CityJet’s deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Michael Collins also suddenly resigned. Last year, Germany’s Intro Aviation finally acquired CityJet on a debt-free basis having paid virtuallynothing for the airline, which had been founded in 1993 by current chairman Pat Byrne. Air France-KLM fully acquired CityJet in 2000. Mr Byrne rejoined CityJet as chairman last month, replacing Intro Aviation’s Peter Oncken, who remains on the board. CityJet had been loss making in the past number of years. Intro Aviation said last year that it expected the Dublin airline, which is one of the biggest operators at London City Airport, to break even this year. Ms Ourmieres-Widener and Mr Collins each took a 7.5pc stake in CityJet as part of the takeover of the airline by Intro Aviation.

worldwide capacity by 15pc in 2015. In 2014 Turkish Airlines recorded a capacity growth of 16,3pc, significantly above the industry growth rate of 5,6 for the same period, resulting in an increase in global market share from 1.6pc to 1.8pc. Turkish Airlines carried 54.7m passengers in 2014, up 13.3pc making it the third largest carrier in Europe by number of passengers. Load factor was 79pc. Turkish Airlines currently flies to 264 destinations in 108 countries with a fleet of 263 aircraft, 55 wide body, 199 narrow body and 9 cargo. Turkish Airlines Sales revenue increased by 29pc in 2014, and operating profit was up 10pc. Turkish are increasing their Istanbul to Antalya flights from late April. Turkish are upgrading their Dublin service to double daily this summer.

BRITISH Airways are bringing their Fly-

Peter Oncken and Christine Ourmières in happier times The latest publicly-available accounts for CityJet, for 2013, show that it made a €23.1m loss that year. Ms Ourmieres-Widener told the Irish Independent last November that CityJet would be profitable by 2016. Revenue at the carrier fell from €260m in 2012 to €220m in 2013. CityJet sought 30 redundancies last month, with the cuts expected to save the airline between €1m and €1.25m a year. One of CityJet’s busiest routes is between Dublin and London City Airport – a service it traditionally operated without any competition. But last October, both Flybe and British Airways began operating services on the route, piling pressure on

CityJet, which has an outdated fleet that urgently needs upgrading to make the airline more efficient. The airline had been considering a fleet replacement for about a year, but recently completed a sale and leaseback of seven of its existing aircraft. Statistics from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority show that in September last year, just under 18,000 people flew between Dublin and London City Airport, up 24pc compared to September 2013. In November, the month after British Airways and FlyBe launched their services, 36,138 people flew between Dublin and London City Airport – a 132pc increase on November 2013.

DUBLIN IS HEATHROW’S NO 2

ublin is Heathrow’s second most important paired airport, with 1.9pc of connecting traffic, just behind New York (2.5pc). Typically there were 20 daily flights last summer between Heathrow and New York JFK. Five other US destinations make the top 15 at Heathrow confirming London’s leading position as provider of services to the US. Data compiled by Anna Aero shows that Europe’s best-known major hub airports at Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and

TURKISH Airlines intends increasing

The Aer Lingus lounge at Heathorw Paris CDG all reported growth in 2014. Amsterdam (+4.6pc to 55m) leads the way from Paris CDG (+2.8pc to 63.8m), Frankfurt (+2.6pc to 59.6m) and London Heathrow (+1.4pc to 73.4m). Connecting traffic plays a key role at each of these airports. At Frankfurt in 2014

some 55pc of passengers were connecting, at Amsterdam the figure for 2014 was 40.5pc, while according to Enlgish CAA Survey data for 2013, at Heathrow the percentage is just under 37pc. According to a recently published Public Consultation Document by ADP (Aéroports de Paris) the

share of connecting traffic at Paris CDG is around 33pc. Four domestic routes (shown in bright green) make the top 15 Hetahrow routes as well, with Manchester beating Edinburgh, while two Indian destinations (Delhi and Mumbai) both appear, with Heathrow having more daily flights to both destinations than the other three hub airports combined. The other routes to make the top 15 are Toronto (seventh) and Geneva (fifteenth).

ing with Confidence course for nervous flyers to The Maldron Hotel close to Dublin Airport on Saturday, March 28, 08.00-16.30. Participants meet pilots who explain how an aircraft flies, what causes turbulence and those unsettling sensations that you feel during flight, a psychologist who explains how to understand fear and teaches how to reduce anxiety. Price of €299 includes a 45 minute flight from Dublin airport to put theory into practice. BA claims the course has a 98pc success rate in its 28 year history. Contact Captain Steve Allright.

BELFAST International Airport re-

opened its viewing gallery after ten years and added the facility to track the progress of arriving and departing aircraft and eavesdrop on Air Traffic Control and apron chatter. The viewing gallery is situated landside and is open to travellers and non-travellers alike

SITA’s latest industry report The Future is Personal claimed 97pc of airline passengers carrying at least one personal electronic device but passengers have been slow to adopt new airline and airport mobile services when travelling. Some industry players are bucking the trend and achieving high levels of usage. CELLAR IN THE SKY British

Airways won Best Overall Wine Cellar at the Business Traveller Cellars in the Sky airline wine awards . and Best Business Class Cellar. Finnair won the long-haul wine selection award for the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand; they won silver for Best Business Class Red for Nicolas Perrin Crozes – Hermitage 2012, France and bronze for Best-Presented Business Class Wine Menu. Two airlines took home two Gold Medals apiece: Singapore Airlines for Best First Class Cellar and Best First Class Fortified/Dessert, and Qantas for Best First Class Sparkling and Best Business Class Fortified/Dessert. Garuda Indonesia took the top spot for Best First Class White. Cathay Pacific won the Gold Medal for Best Business Class Sparkling. The awards were entered by 35 airlines.

CORK AIRPORT Fiona Donnelly, Marketing manager of Cork Airport told Cork’s 96FM that Cork is engaging with 20 airlines about new routes for 2016.

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 32

THE FLYING COLUMN ETIHAD are to fly their A380 to New

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

Turkish delight

York on flights EY103/102, one of two Etihad daily services between Abu Dhabi and JFK. Oman Air is to fly daily to Singapore and fourtimes weekly to Goa from March 29, and fourtimes weekly to Dhaka from August. Virgin will fly a second daily B787-9 from London Heathrow to San Francisco five-times weekly this summer, before upgrading this to a daily service in October.

LUFTHANSA’s first class cabin has been fitted on all long-haul aircraft based at Munich airport. Munich’s satellite is on course for opening in April.

QATAR Airways will increase its inflight entertainment TV/movie channels from 950 to 2,000. FLYBE marked its 6th year operating

Newquay to London Gatwick on St Piran's Day (March 5) by having a group of Cornish singers serenade passengers.

ETIHAD Airways is to increase its Abu Dhabi to Tehran service from 3w to a daily service from April 15.

UNITED Airlines CFO John Rainey said

he would like to see a replacement for the B757. He said the A321neo had "issues". Lufthansa will operate a service from Frankfurt to Male in winter 2015, with A340. Boeing handed 319 employees lay off notices in Washington. These jobs will be phased out at the end of April 5.

EASYJET is looking to use drones to quickly supply spares to grounded aircaft.

AVOLON delivered an A321-200 to

Philippine Airlines, the fifth aircraft on lease to the carrier. Avolon reported revenue was up 35pc in 2014 to $606m. The lessor reported the delivery of 41 owned and managed aircraft and the sale of nine aircraft in 2014. Avolon said that it believes Airbus is looking to get the lessor to order A321newoL

ETHIOPIAN Airlines won the Regional Airline of the Year Award at the Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

IAG reported February 2015 passenger numbers were up 8.0pc to 5m. Load factor was up 0.9 points to 76.2pc.

FLY Leasing sold three B737-800s for

$137m.

IBERIA's order of A330-200s will join the

carrier's long haul fleet 14 months earlier than planned, between December 2015 and November 2016.

OMAN Air will fly daily to Singapore and four-times weekly to Goa from March 29, and four-times weekly to Dhaka from August. QATARAirways first class lounge at Doha's Hamad International will open at the end of April.

TURKISH Airlines adds its 2nd destina-

tion in California and 11th in the Americas by inaugurating flights to San Francisco_

219 international and 43 domestic destinations and counting

urkish Airlines continues to expand its global reach and is Europe’s fastest growing airline, having added 25 non-stop destinations to its network as well as expanding frequencies to airports such as Dublin. It dropped Donetsk and Simferopol in Ukraine, Benghazi and Tripoli in Libya and Mosul in Iraq. Murat Bas of Turkish said Turkish operate a model they started to use in 2005 when we launched more than 20 new routes and started increasing frequencies.

First we start a daily flight to offer a service every day otherwise there is a huge advantage, daily gives you a bigger market share, more than three times what three weekly would give you. We worked that model and found it feasible for eight yeara and we have experience of this growth. “Sometimes we made it 8 or 11 from seven. Or double daily from daily in four or five years. Dublin has grown faster than other destinations, it is a medium haul route more than three hours. Therefore we had to be much more careful. The risk is greater on longer routes.”

Istanbul New Airport, which is taking shape 35 km north of city, will host the 10th ACI Airport Exchange on Dec 8-10, which will include a special, high-level ‘Istanbul New Airport Development Conference’, entirely dedicated to the new airport. The current main Istanbul Atatürk Airport already overtook Schiphol last year – handling 57m passengers versus Amsterdam’s 55m to become Europe’s fourth-biggest hub. It has been speculated that it could pass Frankfurt for third place this year.

IRISH RESPOND TO LH PRODUCTS

ufthansa say that Dublin passenger numbers increased 5pc in 2014 to 377,000. In Dublin to brief travel media Christian Schindler, two-country director of Lufthansa based in London, said three-quarters of Lufthansa’s Frankfurt passengers were transferring to other destinations. He said the Dublin route was doing well for Lufthansa. He said that Premium Economy was a success, selling extremely well out of Ireland. “We were not the first one there but we definitely have the best product. Not only are passengers booking it but we are getting good feedback as well, and the fleet will be entirely refitted with upgraded first and business class by summer.” “We have some fancy new products coming on, where you can buy an economy class ticket and you can go on the web and bid for an upgrade.” “Business class is important to us

Christian Schindler of Lufthansa briefing travel media in Dublin as a feeder but not is in demand for point to point, it is stagnating and in decline.” We have put a lot of energy and resources in the concept of our premium economy. There were a lot of different products out there. We went for a real product that people can book and buy in advance, completely new seat, much better service, much more space, and I think that is what is yielding us the reward. People are okay to go to go the extra mile but they want the real ben-

efit, hardware, and software. And the pricing is extremely attractive, a selection of meals, reclinable seat, power plugs, then they say that is the right price. This year will also be beneficial for our customers with al the new product rolled out. Questioned on Lufthansa’s position on the IAG Aer Lingus bid, Christian Schindler of Lufthansa, in Dublin this week, told Travel Extra that his airline were not interested in acquisitions at the moment.

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 33

GLOBAL VILLAGE VISIT USA Dublin committee hosted

travel agents on a road show in Limerick, Cork and Dublin accompanied by seven sponsors. Visit USA Ireland is 25 years old this year and is up to 80 members from the low of 27 three years ago. The organsiation is 25 years old this year, having been startyed by Kay Irwin from the US embassy in 1990. Rhianna Quinn of Delta Air Lines served as the first chair.

Inside the Travel Business

Citywest sell out

Inaugural Irish Travel Industry Trade Show a big hit

TRAVEL CORPORATION

Egle Godliauskais is to become Sales & Events Co-Ordinator and Holly Mason for The Travel Corporation team. Egle studied Tourism Marketing at DIT. Holly Advertising and Marketing Communications at ITT Dublin and since worked with The Irish Hotels Federation, Credit Union Ireland and DSPCA.

BOOKABED Limerick Travel and

Roscrea Travel were the winners of the Bookabed Valentines Promotion and had a €100 voucher and a bottle of champagne delivered by Lee Osborne.

INNSTANT Travel launched its new car

hire product, booked using a two-step process and combining 500 suppliers in 193 countries such as Avis, Sixt, Hertz, Europcar and Budget.

LOWCOSTBEDS, headed up in

Ireland by Clem Walshe, says its new mobile holiday booking app has now 6,000 downloads. Francesco de Marchis was appointed chief technology officer at lowcosttravelgroup.

DISNEY named Bob Chapek as chairman of its theme parks business, replacing Tom Staggs, who was promoted to COO.

ITAA has announced Emirates as an ITAA Affiliate Partner.

FAHY TRAVEL Caroline O’Toole

of Fahy Travel in Galway is celebrating a speculative wedding enquiry that turned into a €85,000 cruise booking for 90 people. Colm Ó’Flatharta and Nóirín Ní Chonghaile were in search of suggestions when Caroline recommended a seven-night western Mediterranean cruise aboard MSC Preziosa from Marseille in July.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN Andrew Bolton, Celebrity Cruises Sales Manager for Ireland surprised Lisa Geraghty in Tour America with a Michael Kors handbag as part of their Wednesday Wins Campaign

MSC Cruises appointed Luca Biondolillo to the newly created post of chief communications officer.

ETOA appointed Paul Rickard (pictured) as a research consultant.

SUNWAY is to operate a charter from Shannon to Izmir this summer.

BRAND USA, American Airlines and British Airways will host the USA MegaFam on May 14-21, 2015. TRAVELPORT Ireland has moved to Building 2, Swift Square, Northwood Demense, Santry, Dublin 9. Telephone numbers remain the same.

Citywest hotel just off the M50 will host the inaugural Irish Travel Industry Trade Show

ighty three exhibitors have confirmed for Citywest on April 23-24 with a waiting list for the Irish Travel Industry Trade Show. The show will be the biggest Travel Trade Show ever staged in Ireland and the only B2B event on the island guaranteed to bring together every aspect of the industry. The show will coincide with the ITAA AGM and front line staff will

be bussed in from all parts of Ireland for a programme of social events and networking over two days. For the first time, a Trade Show for travel industry professionals will bring together owner/managers and front line staff alike from all over Ireland to meet suppliers and hear about their products. The event will begin on Thursday, April 23, when the Citywest Hotel Dublin will host the annual ITAA golf

day followed by the ITAA AGM the next morning. Later that day, all members of the Irish Travel Trade are invited to attend the first Irish Travel Industry Trade Show, which will be followed by a BBQ and entertainment. The trade show will open to members of the Irish travel trade from 2pm to 6.30pm, 60 exhibitors will showcase developments in travel innovation, product demonstrations and new customer experiences.

CRUISE CO LAUNCHES IRISH OPERATION

ruise.co has appointed Elaine O'Brien of the Travelbookers to head up their Irish operation. The Birmingham headquartered Cruise co is headed up in England by Irish tour operator Seamus Conlon, who lives in Limerick and commutes to Birming-

ham every week. He previously worked in Sunworld from 1991 to 1993, was MD of Airtours before it was merged into Panorama in 2001 and worked in TV Travel Shop 2003 to 200). Since 2004 he has been MD of Cruise.co.uk.. Cruise.co.uk is a

prominent cruise web site in the UK, and is a large customer of all of the big cruise lines including Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruise.co.uk also employs home workers and they are offered a good salary plus commission. caption

WORLDCHOICE UP TO 54 MEMBERS

orldchoice has confirmed Corrib Travel in Galway as a new member. Having cleaned up its membership list, the Worldchoice consortium now has 54 members, 42 in Ireland and 12 in the north.

The previous figure of 62 had old offices in the north and duplications through multiple branches. Don Shearer recently updated members on increases in the group’s centrally negotiated override commission to mem-

bers of 35pc. Worldchoice recently launched a communication hub and new consumer facing website and digital strategy, free of charge to members in association with Granite Digital in Cork, enabling members

to create new customer and supplier portals to their business. Travel Centres run by Dominic Burke from Waterford has 76 members and Travelsavers, run by Mary King in Shannon has 47 members.

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 34

Inside the Travel Business

GLOBAL VILLAGE IPW Interest among international buyers in

IPW 2015 in Orlando is pacing with the record levels at Las Vegas in 2013, when the current record of 6,400 delegates attended. Cathy Keefe spoke to Travel Extra at ITB about plans for the showwhich will feature parties at Disney and Universal Orlando. The number of press at ITB is approaching 400, with 479 in Vegas and 472 in Chicago.The 30 or so Irish delegates will be hosted at the Hyatt-Regency Grand Cypress, famous for the Ben Dunne snort-spree in 1992 followed by is threat to jump from the 17th floor.

Gonzalo Ceballos and Antonio Martin at Fitur in Madrid

Anyone for sherry?

Sherry Hotel to host 2015 ITAA Conference in Jerez

Trade Show and AGM of the Association at Citywest on April 23-24. Pat Dawson travelled to Jerez where he looked at Sherry hotel as a venue and Monticello golf centre as the golf venue and Jerez f1 circuit as a venue for carting as an ancillary activity. “It is a great little city with food and good wine,” Pat great ITAA CONFERENCE Dawson said after the visit. 2005 Citywest 1995 Killarney Fam trips have been 1996 Benalmadena 2006 Santry planned post conference for 2008 MSC Poesia 1997 Ennis Irish travel professionals who 2009 Portlaoise 1998 Killarney have attended the conference, 2010 Malaga 1999 Algarve highlighting a lesser known 2011 Seville 2000 Tralee side of Andalucia, the Costa 2012 Istanbul 2001 Galway Luz and Huelva regions, 2013 Granada 2002 Newcastle The conference will be 2014 RC Quantum hosted by Andalucian Tourism 2003 Killarney 2015 Jerez 2004 Citywest whose tourism Director Anto-

he Irish Travel Agents Association is working on a charter with “a few airlines” with a view to brining delegates direct to Jerez for their annual conference on October 1-4 2015. Details of the conference will be revealed at the Irish Travel Industry

nio Martín-Machuca received a special award at the Irish Travel Association Awards in the Mansion House in January. This is the third time that Andalucia has hosted the conference and the successful conference in Malaga in 2010, Seville in 2011 and Granada in 2013 each saw turnarounds in the trend of falling attendances for off-island conferences which had begun in 2002 when the ITAA conference was held in Newcastle in England. It is expected that the direct charter service will run to Jerez airport, 8 km from Jerez de la Frontera and 45km from Cadiz, to transport delegates to the conference. The city is 227km from Malaga and 300km from Faro airport in Portugal.

tober 22. Travel trade support includes 100pc commissionable prices, training and support, educationals, agent concessions, giveaways and concessions and the group have signed preferred supplier deals with Travel Centres, Worldchoice and Travelsavers. The Egyptian owned tour operator sells five key all inclusive locations, the Grand Hotel

Ghazala Gardens, Sharm Plaza Hotel, Sharm resort Hotel and Siva Sharm Resort, and Ghazala Beach B&B. Red Sea started operating out of England in 2009. Niall McDonnell previously headed up the Thomson operation in ireland and Panorama Holidays. He served as inaugural president of the Irish Tour Operators federation from 2002 to 2004.

AER LINGUS has teamed up with Orlando Flexticket to offer agents the chance to fly to Orlando with Aer Lingus HURTIGRUTEN appointed Cecilia

Abert as Director for Ireland and Britain. Thai Airways introduced their A380-800 on the London route.

LOWCOSTBEDS Padraic Keogh from Padraic Keogh Travel is the fourth and final winner of Lowcostbeds’ ‘High 5’ trade promotion. SITA Air transport IT specialist, SITA named Murray Smyth VP Sales for Northern Europe, based in London. JACTRAVEL

is planning to open an

office in Dublin .

TRAVEL CENTRES

conference will take place in Lyragh, Co Kilkenny on Dec 3-5, a late date than has traditionally been the case.

RED SEA RESORTS GET THE GREEN LIGHT ed Sea Holidays, headed up in Ireland by Niall McDonnell, has launched on the Irish market after being granted a tour operator license by the Commission of Aviation Regulation. Red Sea intends operating to Sharm El Sheikh this summer using 70 seats on the Falcon charter commencing May 21 and continuing until Oc-

CAR LICENSING The trading name Independent.ie Travel has been listed by P&P Associates, Patteson Court, Nutfield Road, Redhill, Surrey in England in their travel agency licence awarded by the Commission of Aviation Regulation. Atlantic Sky Team Tours, Unit 12, First Floor, Glenrock Business Park, Bothar na Mine, Galway, and Diversity Travel Ltd, Manchester One, 53 Portland Street, Manchester have been awarded travel agency licences by CAR. The trading name Independent Travel has been added to those of Linevana Ltd, which trades as Cassidy Travel. Stein Travel’s Tralee branch office has been changed to Lee Travel following the acquisition of Stein Travel by Lee Travel before Christmas.

TRAVEL COUNSELLORS

will celebrate its tenth anniversary with what they describe as their biggest conference to date with all the key supplier spots sold out. The company has revealed the venue for their Conference next year, as the 5 star Carton House Hotel in county Kildare. The conference will take place on Thursday April 16th and Friday April 17th . They recently launched a radio advertising campaignon Today FM on Monday.

TRAVELPORT announced that it will add airport express services to travel agents using a plugin on its Travel Commerce Platform. Travelport announced a multi year full content agreement with LATAM Airlines Group. NIall McDonnell

€

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 35

WINDOW SEAT

Nevis Range in Scotland and an overview of a Pyreneean ski resort

Busman’s holiday: Chris Logan

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Chris Logan, Ireland manager of Falcon Holidays/TUI Thomson

ntil I was five I lived in Scotland and summers were all about time in the Borders on my Grandparents farm. This meant freedom to run wild and roam the fields when I was not tagging along with my Grandfather and uncles pretending to help with the farm. Now, as a father I love nothing more than bringing my wife and kids back to Scotland to keep them and me in touch

with our roots. Unfortunately with school commitments it’s not as often as

it used to be when they were little. I think this is where I got a love of all things outdoors and being active so I am definitely not someone who can sit still on holidays. I started skiing when I was eight years old. I remember big family groups of us travelling together which meant loads of my friends with me in the ski school all careering down the mountain together. They are the best of memories and I’m sure a reunion holiday is due. I am about to go skiing in France with my wife just for a couple of days without the kids. We try to do this once a year but will definitely take the kids next year for their rite of passage onto the slopes. I feel really lucky working in this in-

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

irbnb is one of the success stories of the travel industry in the 2010s. Ireland is European headquarters of Airbnb and their glittering Dublin offices are one of the showcases of the silicon generation. The travel industry, including Tourism Ireland have to maintain their distance from this showpiece. The accommodation sector has evolved to offer layers of regulations and reassurances to the con-

sumer with hotels, guesthouses and even spas getting their own rating systems. Some bed and breakfasts in particular have chosen to remain outside of this system but the issue with airbnb is that the entire sector remains unregulated. How ironic that the recent digital conference in Dublin could not have taken place without the assistance of airbnb. While remaining in the twilight zone, it has bailed out Dublin city centre repeatedly. The

return on investment on hotels is so unfavourable compared with residential or commercial it is unlikely that nay new hotels will be built between the canals for some time. Tax issues have dogged the website’s operations in San Francisco and in New York but Ireland’s revenue commissioners have moved uncharacteristically early to clear up any tax anomalies. Regulation remains another matter.

dustry and bringing my family to work or so I tell them. We really enjoyed trying out the Sensatori range and actually stayed in the one in Crete last summer. The weather was beautiful, the balance between family and adult time was perfect and we all came away relaxed and happy. With fussy eaters the range of restaurants kept both us and the kids happy and the facilities were second to none, beach on the doorstep and pools galore. What more could we ask for and I would thoroughly recommend it. I did even manage to sit still for an hour or two to read a book.

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online April 14 2015

AUSTRALIA ISSUE Cairns Sydney Bridge Climb Whitsunday Islands THEME PARKS

Page 036-038 pics 11/03/2015 17:55 Page 1

APRIL 2015 PAGE 36

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

verMary McAleese in con Linda McNamara of Ace Travel and Ciara Foley Paschal Donohue and ce ren nfe Co ion rat de Fe of Plantinum Travel chair of Visit USA Dublin at tels Ho h Iris sation at the Russell Hotel the Visit USA roadshow event in Limerick eve Sli the in r ne Din Gala

Sarah Callanan of the Irish embassy, Niall Gib bons CEO of Tourism ireland and ambassado r Michael Collins on the Ireland Stand at ITB Be rlin

Mike Bevens and Hugh Bruton of Brittany Ferrie s with Celine Badde Liy nage of Brittany tourism at an event to launch the Brittany 2015 programm e

d Irish Welcome Tours an Anne Donnelly of Keller travel and Leite Vadillo Bernadette O'Carroll of d lan Ire of USIT at the Visit USA roadshow event in Num- Sara Zizza of Travel Age Italy on the ber One Pery Square, Limerick Stand at ITB Berlin

bed with Claire Byrne, Cona Moore of Creation Travel and Isabel Harri- Minister Paschal Donohue, Jim Deeg Lee Osborne of Booka an of Railea scr tours and John Kehoe Ro of y nse He e son of Shannon Airport at the Visit USA roadof Aer LIngus pictured Denise Reid and Berni ze pri at â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tine ITB len Berlin, okabed Va show event in Number 1 Pery Square, Limerick Travel winners of the Bo

Patricia Purdue repres enting Massachussetts, Orla O'Donnell of Justsp lit and Fiona Noonan of American Airlines at the Visit USA roadshow

on Nicola Grillo of Travel Counsellors and Mary King Declan Power, Brian Nevin and Isabel Harris Ireof Travelsavers at the Visit USA roadshow event of Shannon and Aifric Campbell of Tourism rlin in Number One Pery Square, Limerick, land Germany at ITB Be

Duncan McCubbin rof North Carolina, Greg America and Evans ofPhiladelphia and Atlantic City and Pat rth No ss Pa re isu Le Ken Barrows of Dawson CEO of the ITAA at Visit USA Limerick, the Rock at ITB Berlin Mary Farrell of Top of

Alan Lynch of Citiescap es, Des Abbott of Des Abbott Hotel and Richa Ulrike Muller of Abbey Tours and Tony Brazil of rd Cullen of Killiney Tra vel Limerick Travel at ITB Berlin, at the Madrid event in Dublin,

Miguel de la Fuente wit h Kathryn McDonnell of the Spanish Tourist Bo ard and Tom O'Donoh ue of Strand Travel at the Madrid event in Dublin ,

tels Federation, Niall Tim Fenn of the Irish Ho Ireland and Bernard rism Gibbons CEO of Tou ireland at ITB in Berlin Loughran CEO of Sixt

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 37

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

can Holidays and Polly Leah Parmeshwar and Simon Daly of Topflight at Patricia Purdue representing Massachu Dee Burdock of Ameri ssetts A roadshow the Visit USA roadshow event in the Residence, and Leah Parmeshwa US it Vis the at ca eri r of Topflight at the Vis Bond of Tour Am it US A roa , dshow event in the Re Dublin Dublin, sidence, Dublin event in the Residence,

Martin Donnelly, Steph en Dudley and Anita Rawat Geoghegan of Fáilte Ireland with Martin O'Regan of Visitorfix at the IHF Conference

A Travel chair of Visit US Ciara Foley of Platinum em US the of m ha nning Dublin, and Finola Cu roadshow event i A US it Vis the at ssy ba

Miguel de la Fuente an d Sarah Slattery of Th e Travel Expert at the Ma drid event in the Interc ontinental Hotel Dublin,

on t and Sarah Callanan Judith Von Raucghaup Berlin, the Ireland Stand at ITB

David Brett and Lorraine Galbraith of Avvio with John Ryan of the Ardilaun Hotel at the IHF Conference in the Slieve Russell Hotel

and Claudia Anton of Jim Deegan of Railtours rlin Abbey Tours at ITB Be

Nichola Burns, Padraic Keogh and Catherine O'- Greg Evans representing Philadelphia and Frank Kelly of American Sky Keefe in Glasgow where they were hosted by at the Visit USA roadsh ow event in the Residence, Ifonly Dublin,

Christine Cameron, Frances Grogan and Phil Grehan pictured in Glasgow where they were hosted by Ifonly

New Orleans, Clodagh Neil Jones representing reDuncan McCubbin rep Oxley of Visit USA and ow dsh at Visit USA roa senting North Carolina

Fergal Mahon and Andri Robert Johnston and Courtney Radcliffe from us Vsliauga of Bewley’s Brakes at the Irish Hotels Federation Conference at the Irish Hotels Federation Conferen ce in the Slieve Russell Hotel in the Slieve Russell Hotel,

Robert Conway, Antho ny Egan and Louis Ke lly of Filippe Pelegate and John Dillon of Dalcassian Pallas foods at the Sh owtel Exhibition at the Iris h wines & spirits who sponsored the wine at the Hotels Federation Confe rence President’s Dinearound at the IHF Conference

, Irish Greyhound Board Thomas Ryan pof the En ire Da d an w De ore Cathy Sullivan of Tullam rlin ouse at ITB Be right of Guinness Storeh

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APRIL 2015 PAGE 38

MEETING PLACE

and rism ireland Frankfurt Christian Rubel of Tou d lan Ire anair on the Carol Anne O'Neill of Ry rlin Be Stand at ITB

Dominic Burke of Travel Centres, Fiona Noonan of American and Rickard Cu llen of Killiney Travel at the Visit USA roadshow event in the Residence, Dublin ,

lickandgo with Michelle Laura McCormack of Ck at nor of Global Teamwork Reid and Emer O'Con blin the Madrid event in Du

Kathryn McDonnell of the Spanish Tourist Bo ard and Gillian de Lacy of Interncontnental Hotel Dublin at the Madrid eve nt iin Dublin

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Niall Glynn of Croatia Tours/Marian Pilgrimages and Onur Gul of Turkish Airlines in Istanbul,

Clare Dunne of Travel Broker and John Spolle n of John Cassidy Travel at the Visit USA roadshow event in the Resid ence, Dublin

rne of Susan Ryan, Lee Osbo Ally Hill of NITB and Jim Deegan of Railtours Ire- Stephanie Nagle, ha a and Rita Gaug nBokabed, Jayne O'She land on the Ireland Stand at ITB Berlin vel, Hough of Limerick Tra

Dominic Burke of Travel Centres, Fiona Noonan Tom Britten and Gillian Purser of Ma rble City of American and Rickard Cullen of Killiney Travel Travel in Kilkennyat the Visit USA roa dshow event in Number One at the Visit USA roadshow event in Dublin, Pery Square, Limerick

USA Zoe Redmond of Tourism Ireland in Frankfurt and Ciara Foley of Platinum Travel chair of Visit na Fio rt, po Air n no an Sh of Niall Gibbons CEO of Tourism ireland Ireland Dublin, Isabel Harrison r we Po n lidays and Decla Stand at ITB Berlin Noonan of American Ho ow dsh roa A the Visit US of Shannon Airport at

Michael Smurfit and Pri James McCann owner of Yasawa resort in Fiji nce Albert of Monaco New Orleans and Carooffici ally turned the sod on Neil Jones representing and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra at ITB in A US it the new 70 bedroom Vis the at vel Tra n atio Cre of r win no g on at The K Club in Straffan line O'C Berlin , erick, roadshow event in Lim

Ciara Hanley events ma nager at the Strand Ho tel Barry Hammond of Sunway and Paul Hackett of in Limerick and Sean Lally GM of the hotel at Clickandgo at the Visit USA roadshow event in the opening of the secret garden at the Strand the Residence, Dublin

thy Keeffe of the US Michael Martin and Ca on at ITB Berlin Travel Industry Associati

page 39 holiday world 11/03/2015 18:02 Page 1

MARCH 2015 PAGE 39

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BEST AIRLINE IN AFRICA 2014

BEST AIRLINE STAFF SERVICE IN AFRICA 2013/14