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R U O
HONEYMOON PRICES AND OPTIONS ZIMBABWE LION ROARS AGAIN LUFTHANSA THE 747-8 EXPERIENCE ITAA Conference
Etihad up the ante
e d a r T Y
Cruise builds
ER P PA
IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION
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DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013
Honeymoons and weddings
VOLUME 17 NUMBER 1
Page 002 Knowledge r 20/11/2012 21:02 Page 1
JANUARY 2013 PAge 2
THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Advertising & Subscriptions 6 Sandyford Office Park Dublin 18 (+3531) 2913708 Fax (+3531) 2957417
CONTENTS
3-7 News Paris the most visited 6 Hotels: Prices tumble 8 Brochures: Faraway places
Editorial Office Clownings Straffan Co Kildare Managing Editor: Gerry O’Hare gerry@travelextra.ie Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Picture Editor: Charlie Collins pix@travelextra.ie Chief Subeditor: Ida Milne ida@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 Siofra Milne Corry pix@travelextra.ie Ida Milne ida@travelextra.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Cleo Murphy cleo@travelextra.ie Siofra Tobin Larkin pix@travelextra.ie
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12 Weddings: What you should know 20 Algarve in winter 22 Zimbabwe safari and more 24 Where’s Hot in 2013 26 Afloat: Ferry capacity increased
28-32 Flying: Ryanair’s last play 33 Agent: New Palma charters 34 Conferences: Travel Centres & ITAA 36 Window seat: Tim Williamson
Selling weddings
round 4,000 Irish couples look abroad each year for their wedding arrangements. With the average cost of €8,000 a third of the €23,000 average they can spend at home it keeps costs down for the couple. It is also big business for the trade, with an average of 25 people attending a wedding abroad it means there is €50m worth of business out there for those selling flights, transfers and accommodation, not to mention a slice of the €32m spend on wedding packages. There is commission to be made from wedding packages. Guest accommodation and travel, pre wedding and post wedding and guest activities, reconnaissance visits by the couple in advance and Wedmoons.
BUDGET It is all
about budget. Within a few minutes of sitting down with your client you should have established how much they are willing to spend. How many guests? Four star or five star? The average costs of a four star wedding abroad is €8,000 for the reception and for seven nights for bride and groom, but it can mount after that. If in doubt, sell from the top down. Your customers will soon tell you if that is not their budget.
KNOW your stuff.
Make sure your knowledge of the legals and documentation required is up to date. In France you have to be resident for 40 days, in Barbados you can arrive on the day of your wedding..
The original problem wedding: Strongbow and Aoife’s wedding album from 1169
MAKE it easy for
the couple so you will get the bookings. Packages and odd-ons are easier to sell. Most packages include photography, ceremony, flowers, music, video editing and planning support. The extras can include cakes, more time on or off site for couple and guests, and transport.
CHANGE their
thinking. Some brides are too cautious, they do not realise that five star luxury is only a few euro more. Pitch the romantic the sense of fairytale wedding created by an exotic venue and climate. Couples are looking for something different. Point out that getting married abroad invariably means less family politics, a more intimate ceremony and guaranteed weather.
quiries are for Malta, followed by Cyprus and Croatia. Sunway says their most popular destinations are Egypt, the Caribbean, Las Vegas, New York and Mauritius. Generally weddings would be on a civil basis. Sunway’s Vegas product is very popular and very easy to organise. Couples get assistance with paper work and marriage registry.
GET local expertise or outside help. It is worth it. Selling a wedding can be a high maintenance operation. The trade refers to controlling brides as Bridezilla, the ones who have high demands and tend to come back with complaints. In 80pc of cases the bride does all the planning but when the groom does the arrangements, the wish list can be even more taxing.
SWITCH SELL: VENUE hire can
Introduce destinations they never even thought about. Concorde’s biggest number of en-
change the cost of the wedding dramatically. Some hotels don’t charge extra for venue
hire, depending the number who are coming. For instance they won’t charge for 60 guests, they will for 20 guests.
STRESS the value
when wine is included. Menus start at €15 but watch for the extras that come with €45-€50 menus, many Mediterranean hotels will provide beer and wine with the menu, with only spirits costing extra. Planning an Irish wedding that could be a distinct advantage. Even if you do pay for wine, €5 a bottle is one third what they pay in Ireland.
CONFRONT
the negatives, that family may be unable to travel through old age or health (point out the convenience of direct flight destinations such as Malta), family traditions, the extra planning, the fact that couples feel it is too difficult and feel no control and wouldn’t know where to start. It is the agent’s job to brush over those obstacles and se-
cure the knowledge and contacts on the ground to reassure the couple. Tempt them to talk and show evidence of your previous bookings through photos, videos and testimonials. Use social media and offer a clear uncomplicated package in your online material.
CRUISE Mention
it is possible for captains to perform legal wedding ceremonies at sea sailing through international waters or on board a docked cruises ship in many venues. Cruise can offer the best value weddings and a ready made honeymoon.
STAY in touch. Even if they don’t take a wedding package they may go on honeymoon with you. The point of contact is valuable. Of the 25,000 wedding a year in Ireland, 75pc of couples say they considered going abroad to go abroad and 48pc say they requested quotes.
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JANUARY 2013 PAGe 3
Paris the top city Paris retains spot as most visited city in the world
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aris is the most visited city in the world, the Global Summit on City Tourism was told in Istanbul. Two Turkish cities are among the top ten most visited. Antalya is the third most visited city in the world, displacing Bangkok, with Istanbul in ninth place. Rome has been knocked out of the
TRIPADVISOR’S CITIES ON THE RISE Mar del Plata, Argentina Sao Paulo, Brazil Kiev, Ukraine Montevideo, Uruguay Perth, Australia Mexico City, Mexico Hobart, Australia Guadalajara, Mexico Moscow, Russia Turin, Italy
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AMSTERDAM's famous coffee
shops will remain open for business despite the new government's plan to restrict sales to locals only. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said the city coffee shops will continue to sell pot to customers even if they do not reside in the Netherlands, in defiance of government plans to restrict cannabis sales to tourists and require residents to show identification when entering some 670 coffee shops around the country. An estimated 1.5m out of an estimated 7m foreign tourists to Amsterdam make a stop at one of its 220 coffee shops.
ULURU Just 20 pc of visitors to
Pont Neuf in Paris
CITY VISITS Paris 15.6m London 14.2m Antalya 10.5m New York 10.3m Singapore 9.2m Kuala Lumpur 9.0m Hong Kong 8.7m Dubai 8.1m Istanbul 8.1m Bangkok 7.2m
top ten for the first time. New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai all continue to rise but it is Kuala Lumpur which has seen the second biggest jump in numbers after Antalya. This month Tripadvisor listed the cities that had the most improved search results in 2012, including two cities in Mexico, Mexico City and
Guadalajara, and two cities in Australia, Perth and the Tasmanian capital Hobarth. Mar del Plata in Argentina is the city that has generated most new interest in the past twelve months while Turin is the EU city that is fastest on the rise, although Belfast was also a top ten city in new searches in Europe, thanks largely to the Titanic centre.
ITAA MEMBERS TURN OVER €1.1bn
embers of the Irish Travel Agents Association will have a combined turnover of €1.1bn in 2012, the annual ITAA conference was told. This follows a year in which the Association began to regain leading
NEWS
members of the travel trade as members, including Club Travel the largest turnover travel business in the country, as well as companies such as Atlas Travel and World Travel Centres. At the end of a year in which the Association queried whether it still had a relevance for the trade
and considered becoming a commercial organisation, the ITAA now has 98 members representing 161 offices and 64 associate members which include airlines and suppliers. The figures were disclosed to a closed session of the annual ITAA conference, which was hosted by
Planning your holiday?
the Turkish Tourist Board and by Turkish Airlines in Istanbul. Separately, ABTA chairman John McEwan told the Travel Centres annual conference that it would be unwise for the ITAA to go down the commercial road as it would detract from its gravitas and credibility.
Uluru/Ayers Rock attempted a climb in June, a fall from 38 pc in 2010. Parks Australia has previously agreed to close the attraction to climbers permanently should the number fall below 20pc. Visitors are asked not to climb the landmark rock out of respect for Anangu culture, the Aboriginal people of the area, who have jointly run the park with the Australian Government since 1985. In 1964 a chain handhold was added to make the hour-long ascent easier and 74 pc of those who visited the area climbed the rock in 1990.
GREECE Compared with last year, arrivals in Greece from northern and central Europe fell by 12pc. All other southern European holiday destinations were less badly affected and were able to balance losses and even grow. Last year Greece benefited indirectly from the Arab Spring and grew by 7pc. Preceding years had already witnessed a slight decline. Arrivals from Germany were down 30pc. New markets such as Russia and Romania helped to partially halt the downward trend. UNWTO One Billion Tourists: One billion Opportunities is the title of the new UNWTO campaign. The campaign asks the public to vote for the travel tip they believe would have the greatest benefit for the people and places they visit, from using public transport to buying locally, and pledge to follow that tip when traveling. On December 13, a date chosen as the symbolic arrival day of the one-billionth tourist, the most popular tip will be revealed and sent out to millions via social media.
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JANUARY 2013 PAge 04
POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE
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elbourne born James Hogan, CEO of Etihad and third generation Tipperary man, was back in Ireland last month to celebrate the art of his native country. He was here to help launch of the Sidney Nolan Ned Kelly Series at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, where he confirmed that the arts would remain up there with sports as a key interest of Etihad.
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he GM of the Shelbourne Hotel, Stephen Hanley, hosted 500 guests at reception to mark an exciting new spa over three stories. They managed to shoehorn a reception area, six treatment rooms and a gym into the former Heritage suite and a few adjoining rooms next to the Adam & Eve suite. It fills some of the oldest parts of the building. They also reopened a pool none of us
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ravel Centres’ annual conference in Killashee House in Naas set a new standard for these events. By now the biggest of the three consortiums that operate in Ireland, with “65 members and growing,” as Dominic Burke says, Travelsavers had a more deftly structured conference this year. Friday’s owners and managers session was attended by 50 principals. Keynote speakers were wedding planner Rose-
A collection of 26 iconic paintings of the iconic bushranger Ned Kelly has been carried to Ireland by Etihad Airways from the National Gallery of Australia and was presented to the public. Pictured are Eoin McGonigal, Irish Museum of Modern Art Chairman; James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways; Gráinne Seoige, MC; and Bruce Davis, Australian Ambassador to Ireland.
knew existed. Guests competed for the first of the 250 memberships which are on sale at €1,800 each. Joanna Wyerzba showed us an impressive ballet room. Mr Hanley said that the Shelbourne now had more permanent residents than the whole of the rest of Stephen’s Green. If you have not been in the hotel recently, check out the amazing little museum showing photographs, registers and letters from 150 years.
mary Meleady, serial entrepreneur John McGuire, and ABTA chairman John McEwan. The Saturday workshops were attended by 110 agents and 30 suppliers. Rebecca Kelly/MSC ’s nailbar (pictured above) proved very popular and 175 sat down for the gala dinner and prize giving. “It would take a lot of mileage to get around to all the agents that are here,” Lee Osbourne from Bookabed said.
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opflight’s Tony Collins told the guests at Topflight’s ski season launch that his company was back in profit after losing money for the first time in its history in 2011. Advance bookings for 2013 are 46pc up on where they were this time last year. He said the early evidence is that the year is coming back for tour operators. Austria and Andorra are doing well. The best figures had come from the
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usic tourism to Belfast has boomed since last year’s MTV awards, Helen Carey of NITB says. This year’s Belfast music week had dozens of eclectic and high-quality events such as the Mick Flannery gigpictured above (far right). Limelight on Ormeau Avenue put on a showcase for 12 promising acts from Northern Ireland, chosen by Belfast
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er Lingus has appointed Valerie Abbott (Ward) Commercial Manager for Northern Ireland. Valerie will be responsible for the development and delivery of Aer Lingus' commercial strategy in the Northern Irish market. Aer Lingus recently moved from Aldergrove to Belfast City Airport indicating a switch of focus on the island of Ireland away from the sun destinations to Britain.
company’s expanding long haul service run by Martin Penrose. Tony said “We set the bar high because we had to grow the business somewhere else. We started with three people and we will have twelve people next year.” Martin said Topflight would be expanding the portfolio, Thailand and Maldives in 2013 and adding Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Cambodia to the programme.
music industry and media professionals to perform for 20 invited music business people. The Oh Yeah Music Tour of the city is one of the most unusual tours you will ever take, going beyond Van Morrison , Ruby Murray, Stiff Little Fingers, Snow Patrol, and Thin Lizzy. Did you know Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven had its world premiere from The Ulster Hall?
She has wide ranging experience in the airline and travel industries and has been a key member of the Aer Lingus commercial team since 2007. A languages and marketing graduate, she completed an MBA at Queen's University Belfast in 2010. Before Aer Lingus, Valerie was Sales Manager Ireland for Travelport, and also worked in both Dublin and Belfast as Sales Manager Ireland for BMI.
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JANUARY 2013 PAge 05
POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE
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ndia launched their new marketing initiative at the World Travel market, complete with new slogan: India, Find What you Seek. The Indian Tourist Board dinner at the hosted by Konidela Chiranjeevi - the charismatic tourism minister (above),. He used to be a Bollywood star and has lost none of the charm as he launched the campaign before 400 guests in The Guoman Tower Hotel in London.
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allyfin Demesne has won the new build of the year award (Refurbishment & Renovation) at the European Hospitality Awards 2012. The event, which was held at London's Landmark Hotel, saw over 300 hospitality professionals come together to celebrate the achievements within the industry over the past 12 months. The judges said that "a painstaking restoration process lasting more than a
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t the fifth Sanganai/ Hlanganai World Travel and Tourism Africa Fair in Harare Zimbabwe Tourism’s CEO Karikoga Kaseke, stressed the need for African destinations to unite and find ways to package themselves regionally. Held in the Rainbow Towers Hotel and Harare International Conference Centre, it offered a multitude of units inside and a colourful vast sprawl of mar-
The evening included a performance by traditional Bollywood dancers, a sitdown Indian banquet and a mechanical elephant parading up and down in front of Tower Bridge. The new 'Find What You Seek' campaign aims to highlight to consumers that they will find whatever they are looking for from a holiday in India. It aims to increase international visitor figures by 12pc each year until 2016.
decade has created a deserved and popular winner. We felt that the sheer amount of research, work and refinement invested into this project has successfully brought what was once Ireland's most lavish Regency mansion back to its former glories, creating a hotel experience like no other." The EH Awards Overall winner for 2012 was the Hotel Le Bristol Paris, Epicure in Paris.
quis on the grounds outside. The fair generated business deals in excess of $250m for 1,200 exhibitors from Zimbabwe and 85 from other parts of Africa who showcased attractions like the bunjee jump at the Victoria Falls or the walk with orphan lions in Antelope Park . Zimbabwe Tourism Authority CEO Karikoga Kaseke is pictured greeting Fergus Kilkelly from Castlebar, Co Mayo to the fair.
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ello my people, was Clare Dunne’s opening to her presidential address at the gala dinner for the ITAA delegates hosted by Istanbul tourism. Clare’s speeches are a breath of fresh air to the industry, combining easy informality with the responsibility of thanking the hosts. Representatives of the city and national tourism departments and ministry of tourism attended
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he Travel Department invited their holiday guides from all their holiday destinations to visit Ireland to find out even more about their Irish customers they look after. Fifty different guides speaking over 19 different languages from all corners of the world in Dublin, including speakers of English, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Arabic, German, Polish, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Russ-
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ew roller coasters, water slides, midway games and technology were shown at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2012 in Orlando. The Expo is the largest annual conference and trade show of the $24bn global theme park and attractions industry, converting the Orange County Convention Center into a dazzling marketplace of midway-style thrills that may arrive soon at favourite destinations
the dinner. Turkish Airlines conveyed the delegates to the conference and Dublin director Murat Balandi said that he hoped the weekend would raise awareness of Istanbul in the Irish market to new heights. The assembled Irish agents and suppliers surprised their Turkish hosts by singing a Turkish folk song Kâtibim in their honour,
ian, Croatian, Indian, Danish , Maltese, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese Mandarin. The group included a Welshman guiding in Copenhagen, a Chinese guide who knows his Irish civil war history, to Hungarian historians and Egyptologists, Being a travel guide means that you have to be part historian, part cajoler, part story-teller, part facilitator, part comedian. They came to the right place.
worldwide. IAAPA president James Reid-Anderson chairman of Six Flags Entertainment Corp addressed 2,500 professionals from the world's top amusement parks, water parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, family entertainment centres, casinos, and resorts representing 100 nations, approximately 25,000 are on site to network and learn about new trends and innovations for 2013 and beyond.
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JANUARY 2013 PAGE 6
HOTELS
www.travelextra.ie
TRAZOO.IE. won the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality award at the Eircom Spider Awards last month. Established by Clareman Pádraig Neylon the website aims to take the effort out of planning and booking a group trip, anywhere in Ireland. Visitors fill out a simple enquiry form with information of where they'd like to go, and Trazoo allows hotels and hostels to bid for that booking. Users log back in to check out the offers, and they can book and confirm whichever one suits, A Value Added section allows hotels and hostels to promote additional services like transfers, night-club entry or meals. Offers are only visible to Trazoo users and may not available elsewhere. HOTREC the European hotel body has condemned bed taxes as “particularly unfair, it is punishing tourists who are staying longer and spend more money than people, who stay with friends and relatives or in “the grey zone” of non-commercial accommodation.
THE MORRISON in Dublin, which is soon to embark on a complete refurbishment, has appointed Patrick Joyce as new General Manager. The Morrison is now managed by Martinez Hotels & Resorts. Patrick was GM with Lyrath Estate and interim GM of the Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel. LYRATH Ian Grey from De Vere Hotels
in the UK, is the new GM at Lyrath Estate. Noel Newell is joining Lyrath as new Executive Chef from The Heritage Killenard.
Lisbon hotel prices are down by 10pc
Dublin price drop Autumn hotel prices down by 7pc across Europe
D
ublin hotel prices are down 13pc in October according to the Trivago hotel price index. Compared to
Some day, air travel may be this good.
this time last year, hotel prices in Europe have decreased by an average of 7pc. Notable decreases include Geneva (down 18pc) and Lisbon (down 10pc). Most notable increases are Brussels (17pc increase) and Paris (15pc increase). Berlin is down 23pc, Vienna down 11pc or Copenhagen down 11pc. In Greece prices have decreased by 16pc. Other cheap and warm destinations include Portugal
(down 12pc) and Cyprus (down 10pc). The price index of www.trivago. co.uk hotel comparison site shows the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular European cities on trivago. Prices for a standard double room are calculated on the basis of one million daily price inquiries for overnight hotel stays generated through the Trivago hotel price comparison service. Trivago stores all hotel
requests for each month and therefore gives an overview of hotel accommodation prices for the upcoming month. The THPI reflects the hotel prices within the European online hotel market. The overnight accommodation prices of over 100 online travel agents and hotel chains create the average hotel prices for cities, regions and countries within Europe.
EUROPEAN HOTEL PRICE INDEX €86 €106 €127 €154 €250 Geneva
Milan
€237
€154
Venice
€213 Paris
€206 London
A new era in coach travel: Now bigger, more comfortable and free Wi-Fi on-board
€176
Stockholm
€171 Oslo
Introducing a whole new departure in travel: the new Expressway fleet is ready for take-off. With free Wi-Fi, extra legroom and charging points for personal electronics, this makes how you travel intercity an easy choice. No expensive tolls. No rising fuel prices. No hassle with parking.
€169 Munich
€165
Just frequent services connecting Ireland’s main cities and towns all day long, and you can work, rest and play while you’re getting there.
Rome
Some day, air travel may be this good.
Amsterdam
€158
Istanbul
€151 Florence
Frankfurt Manchester
€123 Cologne Madrid
Lisbon
€104
Liverpool
€103 Dublin
€149
€119
€140
€118
Berlin Sevilla
€135
€114
Glasgow
€132
€112
Barcelona Copenhagen Vienna
Brussels
€131 Cannes
€130
Edinburgh
Source: Trivago.co.uk
Lyon
Salzburg Nice
Hamburg Prague Turin
€109 Marseille
€102
Granada Malaga
€84
Valencia
€83 Athens
€82
Leipzig
€98
€79
€96
€77
€93
€68
€90
€67
€89
€61
Toulouse Bilbao
Budapest Dresden
Warsaw Zaragoza Riga
Sofia
Bucharest
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JANUARY 2013 PAge 7
NEWS
www.travelextra.ie
Dreams come true 20th Anniversary contributes to record attendance
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uro Disney’s 20th Anniversary celebration contributed to a 5pc increase in revenues and 10pc increase in earnings. Total revenues were up 2pc to €1.3bn, reflecting a record 16m attendance and higher guest spending. Ireland contributed to this increase as agents gave their best ever response to a spring advertising campaign. Agent fam trips followed to see the new Disney Dreams parade. Speaking at a media event to celebrate the launch of the Disney Christmas experience in Paris, Karl Moen of Disney’s Dublin office said that he expected the growth to continue into 2013. The Paris Opera Children's Choir performed during the Tree Lighting Ceremony, in a show designed and orchestrated by Disneyland musicians. Disneyland Paris invited children from European foundations to a two day event at Disneyland Paris, with workshops with celebrities as well as an advance screening of the upcoming Disney movie, Wreck-It Ralph and a performance by the Paris Opera Children's Choir. They discovered the all-new Christmas Cavalcade and the snowflakes on Main Street, before experiencing the extravaganza of Disney Dreams show, featuring highdefinition projections against the Sleeping Beauty Castle, fountain shows and smoke effects Julien Munoz, Director International Sales & Marketing says that agents who concentrated on value may be missing out on sales opportunities. “Don’t sell a price. Build up an experience. Then arrive at a price.” He instanced the case of a visit to Dublin where the taxi driver had told him he had hated the visit to Disney and would not be going back, because he was sold a package at the entry level Santa Fe hotel rather than a three star plus which he would use on other holidays. “There is a lot of room for growth in terms of the overall value being driven by travel agent to the end consumer.
2014 The World War 1 centenary remembrance project in Northern France & West Flanders is gearing up for its 2014 Centenary. The regions of West Flanders (Belgium) and the Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme and Aisne (Northern France) are working on a joint European project for the commemorations, supported by the Interreg iv-programme. The focus will be on the new free mobile app, Diaries 1418 exploring five unique sites, museums and routes across the region. See www.1418remembered.co.uk
RYANAIR has urged YouTube to donate
all advertising revenue generated from the popularity of Ryanair's behind-the-scenes video of its 2013 Cabin Crew Charity Calendar photoshoot to the TVN Foundation in Warsaw. The video has been watched 350,000 times, with YouTube placing 30 second adverts at the start of each view. Ryanair believes this revenue should be donated to its charity partner.
INSANO, a new attraction in Brazil, en-
After the Christmas tree was lit “Consumers are looking for the best available deal, particularly in the atmosphere of the recession. “In Ireland the best available deal is not necessarily the cheapest. There might be fewer consumers available and agents are looking for more conversion, there is an assumption that they are looking for the cheapest. “The danger is that you may offer a consumer something that is not what he wants.” “Urgency is key barrier to overcome,” Disney’s Dublin based Irish country manager Karl Moen says. :”We will only be 20 once. You need to tell your clients this.” Munoz has split the sales experience into four stages: build a trust, discover your consumer needs, advocate your proposal and complete the sale. He said Disney would be selecting a pilot group of 15-20 agents to put a sales programme into place next
EURODISNEY: THE FINANCIAL RIDE Theme parks attendance (in mils) Average spending per guest Hotel occupancy rate Average spending per room
INDIA’s Supreme Court has lifted a ban on tourism in India’s tiger reserves and now requires each reserve to submit a conservation plan within six months that adheres to the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. These suggest that tourism should be limited to 20 per cent of the critical areas of the reserves and that no new infrastructure for tourism be developed in and around the reserves. The Court ruled three months ago that tourists were no longer allowed to enter the core parts of more than 40 tiger sanctuaries.
2012 2011 16.0 15.6 46.44 46.16 84.0pc 87.1pc 231.33 218.80
2010 15.0 45.21 85.4pc 208.92
April. They are combining this with extra incentive packages for shoulder season such as the VIP fastpass which is normally available only to premium guests at the seven Disney hotels. “I am proud the way Ireland has been rebounding after a difficult time in 2011. We have stabilised Ireland. “Compared with European countries in a similar financial situation Ireland has been great in stabilising the downside. We still have room for growth.” Euro Disney operate seven themed hotels with approximately 5,800 rooms (excluding approximately 2,400 additional third-party rooms located on the site), two convention centres, Disney Village, a dining, shopping and entertainment centre, and a 27-hole golf course. Net loss increased by €36m mainly due to a €32m non-recurring impact of the refinancing of the Group's debt. Euro Disney say the successful debt refinancing decreases the cost of debt and brings additional investment flexibility to grow the business. n Disney’s Enchanted Christmas runs November 9 to January 6.
tered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest water slide. Standing at 130 feet, it's as high as a 14 storey building, and riders often reach speeds of 65 miles an hour.
SKI HELMETS travel insurance
company Essential Travel is refusing to offer cover for skiers who do not wear a helmet on the slopes. Essential Travel, which claims to be the first British firm to adopt such a policy, said customers who have an accident and are proven to have been skiing without head protection face having their policy invalidated. The move is part of an ongoing safety campaign by the insurer, “Use Your Head”, which was launched in 2010 following the death of Natasha Richardson a year earlier.
HIMALAYAS The world's most ex-
pensive trek is now cheaper. The 156-day Great Himalaya Trail, the world’s longest and most expensive trek, got a little cheaper. World Expeditions, the only tour operator to offer the experience, is giving a £2,000 discount on all bookings until December 31, reducing the price to £17,990 per person.
LIVIGNO
has been awarded Best European Resort at the World Snow Awards in London ahead of Val d'Isère (France), Courchevel (France), Saalbach-Hinterglemm (Austria), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Montafon (Austria) and Soldeu (Andorra). The two snowparks of the resort were also recognised as Best Park, Best Marketing and Best Special Obstacle (Mottolino Snow park) and Best Boarder Cross (Carosello 3000 Snow Park).
Page 008 Brochures r 20/11/2012 20:59 Page 1
JANUARY 2013 PAge 8
OFF THE RACK
Anne Cadwallader’s Brochure Reviews
Helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon
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I followed my own advice and went to Antigua for my honeymoon. Never did a more sensible thing. Looking forward to the 25th anniversary already in the very same hotel. Just to give you a glimpse of what’s on offer. Page 177 of the Classic Resorts brochure takes you to Carlisle Bay, Antigua, with its 82 luxurious suites, all air-conditioned, with fully-stocked bars, iPod docking stations (more room in your suitcase), two restaurants, tennis courts etc etc. For those of you slightly more active, how about a safari holiday in South Africa? There’s page after page of suggestions ranging from touring the Garden Route to various wonderful private game reserves. I liked the realism of some of the description. The brochure helpfully says night-time safari drives can be “incredibly dull” or “totally exhilarating”. Kids, it says, can enjoy safaris, so long as they don’t mind keeping quiet, concentrating and staying still to avoid scaring the wildlife. In short, the Classic Resorts brochure takes you round the world and explains what’s there, with lovely photos of beaches, palm trees, huge bedrooms so you can choose the resort and country that suits you. More from Classic Resorts on (Dublin) 01-874 5000.
CLASSIC RESORTS
ou only get married once. Or hope to. And here’s a tip that you will bless me for passing on. When it comes to the honeymoon – go for broke. That’s right. Splash out. Don’t hold back. Dig deep. This might all seem terrible advice for people starting out on wedded life – but listen up. When you reach your fifth, tenth, fifteenth, twentieth, 25th etc wedding anniversary – where will you go to celebrate? Yes, that’s right! Right back where you honeymooned. So although Bognor Regis, Brittas Bay, Skibbereen and Scarborough have many fine qualities – my advice is go somewhere truly exotic where you can return when the pockets get deeper and the wrinkles multiply. And where better to search out these exotic places than the Classic Resorts brochure – stuffed as it is with four and five-star spa-hotels and beach-side loggias in some of the most beautiful places on the globe. As you sail down the aisle, after months of planning the dress and party, your smile will be especially sweet as you contemplate the week or two you are about to spend with your beloved in utter and complete luxury. Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, The Seychelles, The Maldives, Antigua.
S
Faraway places
taying up all night to watch the US election results come in had a side effect in our house. We realised how huge north America is and how much we had yet to explore. Kentucky, New Mexico, Missouri, the Carolinas, Iowa, Ohio – the list of the names of the states we had yet to visit was, ahem, awesome. Many of these lesser-visited states are included in the Tour American USA, Canada and Mexico brochure – just out – for the 2013-2014 season. You can also visit the old favourites, with a twist. A 12-minute helicopter tour of the Strip in Las Vegas as an addon is less than €50 while you can get married in the same under-stated city for between €299 and €2,659. That upper figure includes a wedding in the Grand Canyon with 100 photos, champagne, limo service, a rose cascade bouquet and a photographer thrown in (not thrown into the Canyon, you understand).
Less in-yourface cities like San Diego, Philadelphia, Savannah, Toronto, Boston and country places like Cape Cod, Banff, North and South Carolina and Myrtle Beach also beckon. Cruises are also included in the brochure as is the Rocky Mountaineer (“the only way to experience the Canadian Rockies”) or why not try a Motor Home Holiday (page 102) with all the freedom and flexibility of the open road. For sun-lovers, the brochure includes Mexico and Barbados, perhaps the most exclusive and popular of the Caribbean islands. Here you can choose between a 3.5-star to five-star resort. The Mexican coastline is studded with modern hotels catering to north Americans and Europeans with Mayan ruins to explore and margaritas-by-thepool just waiting to be sipped in the year-round sunshine. For more contact Tour America on (Dublin) 01-817 3500 or (Cork) 021242 9222 or (Belfast) +44 2890 998 494.
TOUR AMERICA
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON
Wedmaster
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he number of people getting married in or out of Ireland is not going to decline, come good times or bad. A total of 25,000 get married each year, and while exact figures are not available, it is estimated that more than 4,000 are doing so abroad. They are usually tempted to sunnier climes by the fact that getting married abroad is just a third of the cost of getting married at home, but also the prospect of spending the most important day of their lives in a draughty church followed by an expensive reception in the local hotel. The average foreign wedding costs just €8,000 – compared with as an average €23,000 for an Irish-based ceremony. This figure, impor-
tantly, does not include guest accommodation or flights. Wedding planners, of the calibre of Rosemary Meleady of theweddingplanner.ie who recently addressed the Travel Centres conference, have built up a high level of expertise in the detail of the wedding. The travel trade has the expertise to add the flights, transfers and accommodation as well as taking over the hassle of dealing with the tricky business of the details of the wedding ceremony itself. The average wedding abroad involves 25 people, so it is good business for the travel trade. Many consider getting married abroad:75pc of couples say they looked at getting married away from home, and 48pc say they requested quotes.
Many of these will be interesting in using the travel trade for their honeymoon even if they do not choose to get married abroad. The overall resistance to the idea is declining, and the destination choice is expanding. Our favourite wedding destination choice is Italy, followed by Malta, Spain and France with Cyprus, New York and Austria also in the hunt. Florida, the Caribbean, Croatia, Prague, Greece and Turkey are all growing. Italy’s Tuscany and Sorrento offer gorgeous backdrops to the special day. South Africa, St Lucia, Mauritius or Antigua (the most popular venues) can cost a lot less than at home, while Greece and Cyprus have a huge range of accommodation and
getting married there is far less bureaucratic than other short haul destinations such as France and Spain. The Caribbean remains one of the most popular long haul locations. Mauritius is a really popular place for weddings abroad. The beaches are pristine and beautiful and the resorts are excellent. The island is not just about the beaches either, there’s also a lush interior with a holy lake, waterfalls and snaking rivers to enjoy too. Over the past few years Sri Lanka and the Seychelles have been growing. More unusual locations are now being chosen away from the beach, such as Austria, Lapland and Iceland.
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rincess Cruises made maritime history in 1998 when it became the first cruise line to offer weddings at sea conducted by the captain and it has since been followed by other lines including Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. Other cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean International, Holland America Line, Carnival Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are not licensed to carry out seafaring weddings but can perform ceremonies when the ship is in port – either on-board the ship or ashore. Couples booking 12 or more staterooms on a 2013 Royal Caribbean International sailing will receive a complimentary ‘Romance at Sea’ nuptial package, inclusive of the
ceremony performed by the Captain, photography and extras. Weddings onboard are legally recognised by the Bahamas through the newly passed Marriage Act. The act allows for marriages in international waters, which is defined as outside the 12 mile limit of the territorial waters of any nation. The actual location of the ship when the marriage takes place is then recorded in the Marriage Record book of the Bahamas. The ‘Sweethearts at Sea’ promotional offer is available for booking beginning 1 January 2013. As most meals on cruise ships are included in the price, the couple and their wedding party need not pay extra for the traditional wedding breakfast unless they opt for a speciality restaurant
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON which carries a fee. Ship-based weddings are usually held in one of the main public rooms or in the ship’s own chapel, if it has one. Some ships also have small deck areas that can be set aside for al-fresco ceremonies. Royal Caribbean International has wedding chapels on some of its ships, but couples can also opt to say their vows at on-board attractions which, on its larger ships, include a surf simulator, rock-climbing wall or onboard ice rink. One of the biggest plusses of a cruise-ship wedding is undoubtedly the cost. With ceremonies starting at approximately €1,500, they are considerably less than landbased alternatives. While the price of the cruise is extra, this obviously provides an instant honeymoon.
With the re-registration of Celebrity Cruises’ seven ships in Malta, it is now possible for captains to perform legal wedding ceremonies at sea sailing through international waters. In accordance with Maltese law, couples should allow for at least eight weeks land-based lead time in order to process the required legal documents. They can also marry on board a docked Celebrity
Cruises ship in the following ports: Aruba, Baltimore, Barbados, Catalina Island, Cozumel, Fort Lauderdale, Cabo San Lucas, Civitavecchia (Rome), Grand Cayman, Hawaii, Juneau, Ketchikan, Key West, Livorno (Florence), Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Jamaica, San Diego, San Francisco, Santorini, Seattle, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San
Juan, Tampa and Vancouver. General packages include the services of a local marriage official, a bottle of champagne, wedding cake, floral arrangements and a wedding certificate. Pricing begins at $2,195, and all weddings performed onboard the ship must be in conjunction with a cruise. Upmarket specialist line Paul Gauguin, which cruises in the South Pacific, features a special ceremony that includes a Polynesian blessing while tall ship line Star Clippers will organise a sunset blessing for honeymooners aboard one of its masted sailing yachts, conducted by the captain and attended by uniformed crew. Princess Cruises offers live “wedding cams” which allow absent par-
ties to attend “in cyberspace” as live pictures of the ceremony can be beamed from the ship’s wedding chapel and are accessible via its website.
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he downside is that organising an overseas wedding can involve a lot of bureaucracy, and not all countries perform wedding ceremonies that are legally recognised here. It is the couple’s responsibility to provide their operator with all the documentation, such as passports and birth certificates. Be certain to address the document question early - at least three months before the date and remember that they will often need to obtain local documents on arrival. Marry in St Lucia, for
example, and the couple could need as many as nine different documents, more if either party has been divorced. Most dedicated brochures carry information of what the couple will need and when. There will almost certainly be a fee for these. Get the documents wrong in this area and they won't be getting married, whatever their destination. Requirements vary from country to country, but are broadly similar. Getting the wedding of your dreams is enabled by good planning. The first stop should be the tourist board of the country where the wedding is planned. They will provide mostly up-to-date information on the documents that are required. Beware of websites which are not updated.
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON
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Unpack, relax and pour a glass of prosecco, as you experience the play of water and light as your luxurious ship sails the Venice lagoon and cruises along the Po River. Romantics and connoisseurs of food & wine will adore this. Experience world class cuisine in the most romantic surroundings, enjoy fine wine and local beer with lunch & dinner. All cabins are luxuriously appointed riverview staterooms with marble clad bathrooms. Soak up what Northern Italy has to offer with expert local guides showcasing Italy’s most beautiful and romantic sites each day. Luxury 5* Boutique River Cruises in Europe | Russia | Egypt | China | Vietnam & Cambodia
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T
he licensing office in Las Vegas does not look very romantic, a square yellow slop-box of a building, plonked in the limbolands around the original Fremont Street city. It stays open 16 of the 24 hours, so customers who arrive for a 4am wedding (as Britney Spears did) will need to be there by midnight. Getting your license costs 55 bucks. They don’t ask questions. There are no blood tests, no checks, no demands for divorce papers or proof that your bride isn’t your cousin. The marriage still isn’t legal until you go to a minister and get it stamped by a licensed minister. And that’s where the fun begins. Vegas will offer any wedding experience you can think of. They do 112,000 marriages a year, churning them like slot machines plays, theming and retheming the event so that virtually every wedding angle you can think of has already been re-
quested. At Excalibur they will supply a wizard to marry you. At the Las Vegas Hilton you can get married on the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise. At the Venetian they have a wedding gondola where you can speak softly love while an AllAmerican gondolier sings O Solo Mio. At Treasure Island they will do a completely over the top Viva Las Vegas marriage ceremony. You can buy a Weddings to Go package which will bring you out to the Grand Canyon or the Red River canyon to make your vows against spectacular desert landscapes. You can get married at the top of the Stratosphere, the tallest building east of the Rockies. If you want to go higher you can do it on a hot air balloon. There are lots of drive through wedding chapels where you don’t have to get out of the car. And they will have every sort of chapel you
can think of too. Big chapels, small chapels, labyrinthine buildings kitted out with a dozen chapels of various sizes, chapels that look like 1950s American diners, like forests and like caves. They all offer a similar style standard product with live internet broadcasts, flowers, photos, and occasionally champagne and occasionally cake – city health regulators are more fussy than wedding license departments. An average of $330 will get you the flowers and video session. Some of the wedding providers will package your hotel and reception for you, getting over the local oddities like the all-present tipping culture. And you can have Elvis impersonators perform the ceremony. The most lookalike of the lookalike Elvises to be licensed as a minister, has retired. But you can always have a ‘short back and sides’ version.
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Just 3 hours away cometotunisia.ie
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON
C
ivil ceremonies are much easier to arrange than church weddings, but pretty much anything is possible if the couple has the patience and determination. For most countries, the ground handler or wedding planner will require original birth certificates, passports, divorce or adoption certificates – if relevant – and a sworn affidavit, obtainable in Ireland, stating that both parties free to marry. There may also be a certain length of time that the couple must reside in the country before a wedding can take place. Most famously, in France they have to be resident for least forty days prior to the ceremony. In Malta, couples should allow for at least eight weeks land-based lead time in order to process the required legal documents. There are no residency requirements for getting married in Thailand; however the required paperwork will normally take at least two working days to complete before the marriage can be registered. Virgin Holidays Weddings recommend a three day residency period to ensure this is covered. Most Caribbean islands stipulate that couples must have been resident at least 24 hours before the wedding, though on Barbados couples may marry on the day that they arrive. On St Lucia, they must have been on the island for at least two working days in advance. In Mexico, blood tests for HIV are compulsory. France demands a syphilis test. Italy requires a translater for documents.
C
ouples performing the ceremony abroad should choose their country carefully. In contrast to France’s long ‘residency’ stipulation, Greece, Aus-
tria, the Czech Republic and Italy are all becoming feasible choices. To avoid the red tape and legal requirements of foreign countries, particularly the longer-residency regulations of France and Spain, many couples are increasingly having a small marriage ceremony in Ireland followed by a larger confirmation ceremony abroad. For a church ceremony, several months' notice is often necessary. Civil weddings can usually be arranged at shorter notice. Copies of the main documentation - passport, original birth certificate, letters of freedom and proof of divorce or annulment, where relevant must be provided. Ground handlers can give all requirements, and stress that they should follow their instructions, not those of the couple’s solicitor, who may claim that certain documents are not required in certain situations. The church wedding is still important to a lot of Irish people. Malta with its easy bureaucracy and three day residency, the civil function’s close relationship with the church wedding, and preponderance of churches and good hotels makes a nice wedding destination. There are nearly 400 churches in Malta, one at every turn of the road, three times as many churches as pubs, the Irish eye will quickly gather. The most prominent building along the landscape is the parish
G
church. It has close cultural, economic and religious connections with Ireland. One of the oldest traditional wedding venue hotels, the Phoenician, is Irish owned. More importantly, a wedding in Malta will cost an average of €4,500, compared with the average of €23,000 at home. Plates for the wedding meal can come in at €15 with some good options at €30. There are over 300 restaurants as well and everybody has decided to chase the wedding business. A couple can get married in a vineyard (Ta Mena Estate in Gozo), a historic palace (Palazzo Parisio, Naxxar) or even underwater (a Chinese couple did it at the Azure Window in Dwejra, an impressive natural arch standing some twenty metres high).
Keep a weather eye on those local church charges, which can mount very quickly. In Malta the average “donation” required by the church is €500.
A
s a rule, a wedding package includes sorting out the legal administration, organising the bouquet, buttonholes, cake and a champagne reception. Couples should be wary of ‘free weddings’ tacked on to the cost of a honeymoon package. These can sometimes translate into a swift exchange of vows witnessed by gawking hotel guests with inexpensive cake and sweet fizzy wine. The simplest approach is to buy an add-on to their holiday from a tour operator that has a specialist wedding department. The cost is determined by location
and exotic extras. Options such as mariachi bands, helicopter rides and Balinese dancers send the price rocketing. Before choosing a hotel, check the number of weddings it carries out. Some resorts stage so many that newlyweds can find themselves sharing their special day with rather more people than they had intended. Couples who decide not to bring any relatives may enjoy the camaraderie. But those who want to avoid the risk of a ceremony conducted as the next party is lined up on the lawn would be well advised to select a hotel where weddings are not the main trade. Weddings abroad can be insured, although this is intended to supplement rather than replace travel insurance. Similarly, a ceremony overseas and a reception at home can be
covered under one policy.
O
ne of the big five fears of a couple getting married abroad is that things are too difficult, that they have no control over the detail of the wedding. The fears are well founded. A surprising number of things may be beyond their control when they get married abroad. The timing of the wedding, for example, often depends on the availability of a registrar (or similar), and therefore can often be confirmed only on arrival: the couple’s request for a particular time will be noted, but often no more. Also note that most registrars, especially in the Caribbean, only work Monday to Friday, so they often won't be able to have the traditional Saturday wedding.
AN €82m BUSINESS AND GROWING
etting married abroad is big business. Four thousand Irish a year now choose to tie the knot on foreign soil, especially if it’s graced with swaying palms and tropical beaches. Unlike many other specialist brochures, they’re not complete in themselves: each highlights the most attractive wedding destinations, but you’ll need to refer
to the companies’ main holiday editions to check on prices and so on. Several of the travel industry’s big names produce dedicated brochures for what’s known in the trade as the “cupid market”. The general idea is to first choose the destination, and the hotel that offers the most attractive wedding package, then check the full details of the holi-
day (including prices) in the main brochure. Charges for the wedding itself vary widely: in fact, in many cases, the ceremony and paperwork are thrown in free if the couple stays for a week or more. That’s because wily companies are really interested in what they will spend on the honeymoon (understandably, as we all tend to splash out here).
As well as the tempting brochures, most have a team of nuptial experts to advise on the legal logistics and run through the options available at different hotels. Weddings are a €32m business not including flights and accommodation. With an average of 25 people travelling for each of 4,000 weddings abroad the business is worth €82m.
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON
Say “I do” in Malta
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hat most essential of all wedding accompaniments the cake - will generally be a plain one-tier sponge, unless stated. Red carpets can be the biggest variable expense. The price could turn out to be €200 as easily as it could be €100 with no discernible difference between the two, They may also be at the mercy of local florists for the bouquet. More importantly, they may not even be able to choose the precise location of their wedding: some hotels have one spot, and one spot only, where they allow ceremonies. Standards and reliability of photography and videos can vary: facilities and equipment abroad, especially on smaller and more remote islands, are often poor, and in the Caribbean and elsewhere
With a variety of sun drenched wedding locations, there’s a wedding to suit every budget, wherever you choose to get married in Malta or Gozo. Belleair Holidays can offer the following: DVD and video formats are US-friendly and will not work in Irish machines (though cassettes can be converted). It may also come as something of a shock for the bride to discover that hairdressing and other grooming required for the big day may be hard to come by or a long way from a hotel - and that standards may not be what she is used to.
F
riends who wish to stay in a less expensive hotel nearby may well have to buy a ‘day pass’ to the happy couple's hotel for the ceremony. Take care, too, for many resorts are ‘couples-only’ and children are not welcome. Some companies offer discounts for friends, especially if there are 20 or
more in the party. Some hotels may not be able to offer a postwedding reception at all, creating further complications. There are other potential downsides. In the most popular locations, brides in billowing white and over-hot grooms can find themselves caught in a traffic jam of twosomes waiting their turn at the wedding bower. The other benefit is that the couple really gets to know who their friends are when they are asking them to risk losing their luggage and patience on a low-cost airline flight. The cost of flights, hotel accommodation and the fact there is no Barry’s tea available may deter a few of the older, more distant relatives. Then again, in some circumstances that might be an advantage.
Civil ceremonies from €429.
• Wedding ceremony at Valletta registry office • Transport to present documents at registry • Transport on wedding day from your hotel by Mercedes E class to Valletta • Bride bouquet & buttonhole • Wedding gift for bride & groom
Catholic Ceremonies start from €939
• Wedding ceremony held in one of our range of Catholic churches • Priest and church donation • Transport for verifications of documents at registry & Archbishop curia office prior to wedding • Transport on wedding day for bride & groom by Mercedes • Bride bouquet & buttonhole • Personalised unity candle • Wedding gift for bride & groom including bottle of sparkling wine All our wedding packages includes handling of all wedding paperwork, a full marriage certificate and services of our local wedding planner.
Wedding Extras
We can also arrange extra little touches to make your special day even more memorable. These include: • Flowers, Champagne, gifts for guests • Range of transportation including classic, luxury or modern cars – or even a traditional Maltese bus! • Relaxation before or after the great day with a range of pampering treatments for her and him!
Call Yvonne on 087 2356827
www.belleair.ie/weddings
email groups@belleair.co.uk
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WEDDING & HONEYMOON
The traditional two week honeymoon has been replaced by a wide variety of creative options
M
The whole of the Moon
any couples are still choosing a fly-and-flop fortnight for their honeymoon, with a focus on excellent beaches, good weather and romantic extras. The basics remain unchanged. Forget Unesco sites; it's all about beaches, good weather and romantic sunsets. Many modern honeymoons are no longer just about spending two weeks in the sun. With the average age of newlyweds now over 30, couples are looking for something more exciting.
DUAL MOON.
Many traditional honeymoons are no longer about staying in one resort. Favourite combina-
tions include the Maldives and Dubai, and Kenya and Mauritius.
MINI MOON
the most famous derivative of honeymoon, is for those who can't spare the time or money for a two-week honeymoon. The phenomenon took off at the start of the credit crunch, when many chose a shorter trip after their ceremony and then saved up to take a longer break when they could afford it. With the average cost of a wedding now ÂŁ23,000, it is little wonder that the trend continues. There's no reason a minimoon can't be as glamorous or indulgent as a traditional honeymoon. The trick is to partner a great location with a short
travelling time, such as Venice or Paris. Since the recession more honeymooners are going for European destinations. It is not necessarily a budgetary thing , the average spend on a honeymoon hasn't really changed, it's about not wanting to fly too far or be jet-lagged. Couples short of time or newly-weds who have blown their budget on their wedding and need to save before taking a longer, more luxurious trip.
FAMILYMOON
With many couples now marrying later in life, children are often already on the scene, while second-timers are increasingly choosing to marry abroad, with a
small party in tow to join the celebrations. Ideal "familymoon" destinations are somewhere safe, with good beaches, family-friendly activities, good-value food and chic accommodation for the couple. There are also those who honeymooning with siblings or friends, which is
becoming big business.
ADVENTURE MOON for honey-
mooners who want to walk the Great Wall of China or visit the orangutans in Borneo, or canoe down the Amazon. Adventuremoons don't automatically mean a lack of luxury, although accommodation is more likely to be local and bou-
tique, rather than five-star chain hotels. Holiday companies have noticed a trend for honeymooners looking for destinations which are luxurious yet culturally exciting.
HELPMOON
Ideal for couples who want an exciting experience, but also feel they want to give something back while they're there. This doesn't necessarily mean two weeks' digging a well in an African village; a more popular approach is to add on a few days' volunteering to a more traditional honeymoon. In Argentina, couples can help at a community project in Buenos Aires for a few days before heading off to explore the
Pampas. The feedback organisers get is that honeymooning this way creates longer-lasting memories and allows for a deeper understanding of local life.
MAXIMOON A
consequence of couples marrying later in life has been the rise of the longer honeymoon, with people extending their holiday into a six-week work sabbatical, or even leaving their jobs and taking a gap year. They are choosing to visit several places, or try something they've always wanted to do, such as travelling through South America or taking a round-the-world journey.
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TRAVEL WRITER AWARDS 2012
Kevin Nolan from Topflight and Eoghan Corry presenting 'Skiing' category winner to Joan Scales (centre)
Alex Incorvaja of the Maltese Tourist Board presents the overall Irish Travel Writer of the Year prize to Isabel Conway, pictured with Gerry O'Hare of Travel Extra at the Travel Extra Travel Writer of the Year awards in Thomas Prior House, an annual event staged on the Friday of Dublin Holiday World Show Paul Hackett from Clickandgo.com and Eoghan Corry, presenting 'New Media' category winner to Gerry Benson (centre) from Travelbiz
Spanish ambassador Javier Garrigues Flórez and Antonio Martin of the Andalucia tourist board speaking at theTravel Writer awards
Fiona Bolger from Sunway and Eoghan Corry, presenting 'Long haul' category winner to Manchan Magan from the Irish Times (centre)
John Spollen from Cassidy Travel and Eoghan Corry, presenting 'City Break' category winner to Yvonne Gordon
Sharon Jordan from Insight Vacations and Eoghan Corry presenting the 'Broadcasting' category winner to Valerie Cox (centre) from the Pat Kenny Show, RTE Radio
Writer awards set for January
T
her Travel Etxra Travel Writer of the year awards will once again be presented at an awards ceremony in Thomas Prior House on January 25 2013, to coincide with the annual Holiday World Show, which takes place at the RDS Dublin on January 25-7. The evening is one of the highlights in the travel journalists’ year, and is sponsored by the Spanish Tourist Board and the Andalucia Tourist Board. The award winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of Irish journalists, chaired by Brendan Keenan. Last year’s winners were:
Home market (sponsored by Fáilte Ireland) Ed Leahy (RTE online), Long haul (sponsored by Sunway) Manchan Magan (Irish Times) Broadcast (sponsored by 1stop touring Shop) Valerie Cox (Today with Pat Kenny). Short break (sponsored by John Cassidy Travel) Yvonne Gordon Skiing (sponsored by Topflight) Joan Scales (Irish Times) Sun holidays (sponsored by Falcon Holidays) Tomás Breathnach (Irish Independent)
New Media (sponsored by Clickandgo) Gerry Benson (Travelbiz) Newcomer (sponsored by Thomas Cook) Davin O’Dwyer (Irish Times) Northern Ireland (sponsored by Northern Ireland Tourist Board) Tom Sweeney Overall (sponsored by Maltese Tourist Board) Isabel Conway Previous winners were: 2002 Cleo Murphy, 2003-4 Pól Ó Conghaile, 2005 Kathryn Thomas, 2006 Muriel Bolger, 2007 Philip Nolan, 2008 Pól Ó Conghaile, 2009 Mark Evans 2010 Philip Nolan and 2011 Isabel Conway.
Orla Carroll of Fáilte Ireland presents Ed Leahy with the Home Holiday category award
Fiona Cunningham from NITB and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra presenting 'Northern Ireland' category winner to Tom Sweeney
Joan Scales accepts the newcomer award on behalf of Davin O’Dwyer from John Kinane of Thomas Cook Ireland
Christine Donnelly from Falcon Holidays and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra presenting 'Sun Holidays' category winner to Tomas Breathnach (centre) at the Travel Writer awards
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JANUARY 2013 PAge 20
DESTINATION PORTUGAL
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he Algarve, famously, has over three thousand hours of sunshine per year. Not many people realise that it gets up to six hours on the average winter day. I found out that the Algarve has so much more to offer just by simply going a few kilometres inland, away from busy holiday resorts and those high rise apartment blocks. There you can find a lesser known Algarve that has a charm all of its own, with a rich culinary heritage and fascinating traditions, a new world full of culture, stunning natural scenery, untouched landscape and beautiful old architecture. An example is the hill top village of Querenca, a village situated in the Loulé department, full of North African architecture and old fashioned farms. There I sat in the village cafe on a Sunday morning, a place where the local people gathered after attending their traditional Sunday mass in the small 16th Century mother chapel in the village square. Men and women gathered, sitting separately, old men sitting to one side, sipping black coffees, debating and gesturing. The women gathered in various groups, some having coffee, some not, catching up with each other’s news. A beautiful cafe that
If travelling or staying on the coastline of the Algarve, be sure to check out some of the ‘Piri Piri Chicken’ restaurants. The main one is located in Guia, situated west of Albufeira, one of many located in the Algarve. The menu is reasonably priced with good sized portions. The main Chicken Piri Piri dish is just €9.50 which is served with plenty of fries.
Green Algarve
The white church of Querenca
Siofra Tobin Larkin finds a quiet winter side to a busy summer destination sells homemade pastries and ice cream and the only place I found where you can buy a coffee for just one euro.
T
he village, is located on a lovely mountain. It is characterized by its charming white houses with coloured bars around the window panes and doors, and the traditional Algarve chimneys, showing off the big Moorish influence that still endures from those many centuries ago. Querenca hosts an annual Christmas cultural
THINGS TO DO
n Walk the Via Algarviana, a walking trail was inaugurated in May 2009, away marked long distance footpath between Alcoutim on the Spanish border and Cape St. Vincent. n Parque Natural da Ria Formosa an extensive lagoon area on 60 km of coastline between Manta Rota and Vale do Lobo. Made up of sand dune islands, marshland, saltpans and shimmering freshwater lakes, the habitat is sanctuary for birds such as the rare purple gallinule. The park headquarters at Quinta de Marim, 3 km ( east of Olhão, has a visitor centre.
celebration, which offers tours of the local gardens, cooking workshops and perhaps a little liquor making, whilst the end of January brings the famous Festa das Chouriças (Sausage Festival) which celebrates the regions famous sausage, food and wine. If you’re looking for a traditional restaurant, try the wonderful provincial, ‘Restaurante de Querenca’, which offers everything from tapas to traditional Portuguese cuisine and is located just at the top of the little main square. You get the feeling that
PLACES TO REST n Real Marina Hotel & Spa in Olhão, overlooking the Ria Formosa, with access to the leisure marina. www.realhotelsgroup.pt n Villa Termal das Caldas de Monchique is 20km inland among the green hills and the blue sky, with a natural spa and access to walks, hiking or bike rides www.monchiquetermas.com n The Lake Resort, a five star resort with 192 rooms in Vilamoura. All the rooms have private balconies, with views over the gardens, Falésia beach or the private lake. www.thelakeresort.com
Querenca has remained untouched through al the changes that have transformed the coastline 25 kilometres away. The population is decreasing dramatically. The young people and graduates leave every year. Its population down to fifty and there is no sign that the decline will be reversed. Querenca is a jumping off point for anyone who wants to visit the ‘Fonte de Benemola’ natural park which is situated just 8 kilometres away.
P
arque Natural da Ria Formosa is one of the most beautiful nature reserves in the country. The reserve consists of canals, islands, marshland and sandy
beaches that extend 60 km along the Algarve coast. This has some of the rarest birds and also has the highest number of seahorses in the world that live in this natural habitat. It’s a long stretch but it’s definitely worth renting a bicycle to view the different species and surroundings. On your way back up to Faro Airport, the city of has some wonderful restaurants and cafes. ‘Faro e Benfica’ seafood restaurant is situated on the marina. All main courses range between €9.00-€20.00 and come in generous portions. There oyster and seafood platters are delicious and reasonably priced.
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or something a bit busier, ‘Serra de Monchique’ is located on a beautiful hillside and is ideally situated to explore both sides of the Algarve, just 25km away from the large town of Portimao. Here the population of just under seven thousand. The centre of Monchique is characterized by cobble stone lanes with plenty of cafes, shops, restaurants and cosy bars to choose from and is also famous for its well know spa town ‘Caldas de Monchique’ which is famous for its waters and said to have healing properties. Monchique is famous for its distinguished spring water which has characteristic Monchique rocks, syenite and schist that give this water unique properties. This is meant to leave the skin incredibly soft. Monchique is a place to relax, shop, wine and dine on a holiday or a day trip from the coast. The beaches are still the core attraction of the Algarve, but don’t ignore what lies beyond.
n Siofra Tobin Larkin travelled to the Algarve with Ryanair who fly to Faro three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays throughout the year. n Walking in the Algarve is becoming more and more popular. The Algarve offers exceptional walks, from mountains to beautiful valleys, from stunning coasts to local villages, forests and nature reserves. Megasport.pt have a few reasonably priced routes to choose from which can also be done by bicycle. n If you would like to really experience and gain knowledge about the outdoor and the traditional agriculture in the Algarvian Countryside such a Querenca, along with bird watching activities, hiking and walks. This can all be done in one or two days with Pro Active Tur. (proactivetur.pt)
page 021 20/11/2012 21:10 Page 1
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Page 022-023 zimbabwe r 20/11/2012 20:50 Page 1
JANUARY 2013 PAge 22
DESTINATION ZIMBABWE
Zim ply the best
Sean Mannion zamples Zimbabwe
Another spectacular morning in Africa
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ather like the great hippopotomus it nurtures, Zimbabwe is popping its head above the water and getting noticed by the world. And for good reasons. Its tourism is on a rebound. Its ecosystem and rich populations of
DO
wildlife spread over numerous national parks with lodge and camp facilities allow a taste of the great outdoors at its most vivid. The tourism dollar is as good news for the conservation of that wildlife quite apart from the nation’s economy. Few who
n Bring lots of single dollar notes. They are hard to get in hotels and camps and retail outlets always protest they have no change. Call their bluff and change suddenly appears. n Get your jabs. Rabies, Hepatitis B and Typhoid. And take your tablets daily to protect against malaria and spray insect repellent like deet on exposed skin before applying sunlotion. n Drink water regularly. It can get hot and a short walk can dehydrate you. Keep your lips moist. n Be ready for changes to your itinerary. Everything gets sorted eventually. n Leave aside the camera for part of the day, you can miss a lot looking through a lens.
wish to see the lion and the elephant live through to be seen by generations not yet born can demur with Zimbabwe trumpeting its great resource. But how do you truly experience this Zimbabwe profond, this wistfulness for the wild that lies within us?
DON’T
n Bring euros with you. Dollars are the currency. South African rand ARE also acceptable. Bring cash: only ATM machines like Barclay’s will work. n Do Zimbabwe on your own. Leave it to expert tour operators to whisk you to your destination. n Go off the beaten path, in savannas or the streets. Zimbabwe is relatively free of violent crime but like anywhere else it’s wise to stay in safe areas. n Eat food outside your hotel, lodge or trusted established or not provided by your host. Drink water from unsealed bottles/open containers. n Leave your bathing togs, watches, suitcases in the open. The baboons will have them.
This way perhaps. Fast forward two days after our arrival in Harare and an approximate eighthour drive north and we step out at Tiger Safaris resort near Chirundu village on the Zimbabwean border with Zambia. This is in Hurangwe Park Area meaning big game is at large and has right of way! Already I have broken a duck and seen a wild elephant for the first time in nearby Kariba the day before. All major animal sightings hence would be a first. Feeling adventurous, a half a dozen of our party take the option to forgo the protection of the lodge for a more heightened sense of being in the wild under canvas. We’re not going to sleep with the lions: we
are still within a fencedin compound but the night before elephants had broken through. A fire had been lit at the breach to ward off the lumbering vandals. It is maintained throughout the night by a ranger who whenever he walks into my cotton-mesh view of
the world frightens the living daylights out of me with his moonwalk stealth.
A
s the night deepened even the ranger’s presence could not prevent visions
n Sean Mannion flew Aer Lingus to Heathrow and by Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Aba and connecting flight to Harare. Emirates also provide flights from Dublin as does KLM via Amsterdam.
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DESTINATION ZIMBABWE of a lion in my mind’s eye. Or was that an elephant foot crunching twigs? Alone in my tent this is Scot of the Antartic meeting Jurassic Park. I heard the reputed laugh of a hyena, but clusters of hippos in the Zambezi emit what sounded like constant low belly laughs at a private joke. Trepidation blurs reality: even a snore from a nearby tent induces mild temporary panic. Happily the only the only power to overcome me is sleep. I awake fresh and emboldened. Soon after breakfast we are called out. Three elephants are in the compound metres from my tent! Zimbabwe has many parks from the biggest, Hwange, in the west with its large population of elephants and wild dogs; Victoria Falls, the tallest plunge of a river in the world, also has a wildlife park; Matusadone sits on the southern shore of the great Lake Kariba and is sanctuary for the black rhino and biggest population of lions in Africa. Further northwest there is Mana Pools. A UNESCO world heritage site covering 2,200 square kilometres, it is so remote and untouched on the southern bank of the Zambezi that the only real access is by river. We depart Chirundu on our 90-minute journey, weaving around those regular hippo gatherings and stopping to photograph African fish eagles aloft in a tree and a flurry of tiny red and bluecoloured Carmine beeeater birds darting about their nests on the bank’s slopes.
innermost convictions that you don’t have to suffer to see wild game. Ten spacious ensuite tented units with bed and bathroom partitioned by wire-encased small stones represented a serious upgrade in comfort and design. The camp is shaded by a large grove of acacia and mahogany trees and each unit has an optional outdoor bath where you can scrub while having a superb view of the mountains of Africa's Great Rift Valley across the river in Zambia. We left on my first game drive the next morning at 6am. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to view wildlife before the heat drives animals into the shade and out of sight. We were lucky, October’s dry season draw all wildlife to the banks of the Zambezi. From the moment our four-wheel drive took to the track we encountered animal diversity in all its wonder. They walked in front of us hardly perturbed by our presence and in such numbers we felt we were trying to push our way through on our way to a football match. Impalas and Kudus, African antelopes, walked and trotted ahead or to the side.
Flying visit Baboons sat combing their young’s coats. A Zebra herd 50 metres away broke into a run. A shy bushbuck peered out between branches. Colonies of vultures populated the trees. By the river bank a hippo pink from sunburn grazed alone, unusually distant from his watery home but probably allowing the air to heal a wound.
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uckomechi Camp was our lodging for the night. From our welcome with cool damp facecloths to our departure, it was an exquisite experience. This was safariing deluxe style, confirming
The gentle pace of life is endearing
O
ne corner turn later and we were in the presence of a male and female lion. Known as “the honeymoon couple” to the rangers as they had only recently paired up, they lounged under the trees with the female keeping an eye on a very silly Zebra that had ranged away from the herd. There was no chase or kill this time. Other sightings were of a buffalo
herd semi-hidden in tall grassland and of course, elephants. By 9am the temperature was rising and it was time for breakfast. But those three hours among teeming exotic wildlife will last in the memory. Did Noah offload his Ark here? Travelling to view a wildlife wilderness occurs on the upper end of a scale of holiday types. It’s listed mentally as what
you should do before you die. But alas many of us head towards mortality without seeing this spectacle. You should see it. And there are many reasons you should choose Zimbabwe. It has the beauty, and the wonder but also, importantly, it has the affordability. Check and you’ll find Zim’s prices compare very favourably.
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TRENDS 2013
A feast of easterlies Increased frequency on east bound routes offer possibilities in 2013 Is Tasmania the new Melbourne?
I
t will be the year of the east. The three airlines who bring us to the Asian gateways have all enjoyed high load factors and each of them is now talking about double daily services. With Etihad offering ten weekly services through Abu Dhabi, Turkish offering ten through Istanbul, and Emirates offering seven through Dubai, a whole new world of one-stop connection possibilities have opened up. Australia is by far the most important for the Irish market. It remains our long haul destination of choice with a large increase in tourism among the young and the over 50s, who seem to be taking the opportunity offered by bargain fares to visit their relatives who have gone out on one year visas. Etihad offer one stop connections to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Emirates offer Adelaide and Perth as well. The Emirates deal with Qantas means that Dubai rather than Singapore is going to be the gateway of choice for people flying to Australia. Direct services to India, a real possibility before the recession that hit both Ireland and Air India are no longer on the runway but we have lots
of new one-stop options. Emirates serve ten cities in India, Etihad nine, and Turkish Airlines serve Delhi and Mumbai. While Dublin’s direct service to Beijing is still a possibility (the Chinese capital is the same distance from Dublin as Los Angeles), Etihad serve seven cities in China, Emirates and Turkish three each. Emirates and Etihad both serve four cities in Pakistan and Turkish two. All three serve Bangkok, our second favourite long haul holiday destination. Kuala Lumpur is still a direct flight possibility. Vietnam, for a long time a two stop destination, is now just one stop away via Turkish or Emirates. While a second airline is due to arrive in Dublin in 2013 with a seasonal service to Moscow, giving us a direct link to Sheremetyevo as well as Domodedovo, Turkish serves seven cities in Russia, six in Ukraine, four in Kazakhstan, and three others in the former Soviet Union. The options are also increased when you look south to Africa. Durban is now one stop away by Emirates.
S
o far one exciting new westbound route has been declared for 2011, the United service to Washington Dulles. It offers 100 seats less per aircraft than the equivalent Aer Lingus services to BWI in 2002-3 and Dulles in 2007-9 but it opens up lots of exciting prospects in Virginia and Maryland as well as the vast open air museum that is Washington DC. A hub or an alliance can make a difference. Charlotte was the new route of choice in 2011 and it opened up dozens of extra Florida connections. Aer Lingus’s tie in with Jetblue has created west coast opportunities that would never have justified a direct service. Air Canada has launched a new codeshare with Aer Lingus and increased capacity on the Dublin toronto route. It is a matter of time before this becomes yearround. South American one stop options are also increasing. British Airways now has eight direct flights under its own livery to Dublin each day. The propensity of other airlines to offer their lower cost flights in the Irish market, rather than affect local sales, means it can also make sense to
fly east to go west, to Sao Paola via Istanbul. Extra connections to Frankfurt in 2013 will mean more connection options through Lufthansa’s fast growing hub. A new fourth runway means it will overtake Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport in three years time.
T
our operators are showing undue caution in the chartering of services for 2013, many preferring instead to block book seats on scheduled airlines. Tunisia is the only exception, with both Falcon and Thomas Cook returning to the island after pulling out in 2012 because of competition from Aer Lingus and Ryanair. Services to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are still suffering the effects of the Arab spring. But there is action here as well. Three new tour operators received their licenses in the November licensing round. The entry of One Stop Touring Shop into the Irish market has boosted interest and bookings across their range of three products, Insight Vacations, Contiki for the 18 to 35 age group and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.
The dramatic entry of Wings Abroad into the market in 2011 was a success despite the effect the new competition had on prices, and are hoping to expand further in the Irish market in 2013 with a longer season from Shannon. Aer Lingus have operated their Izmir flight since 2011 on a charter license. Short haul routes are also growing again after two years of hiatus. Air France’s service to Pau was one of the most exciting developments of 2011. Aer Lingus had 18 and Ryanair 17 seasonal services last summer. Capacity has been cut back so much that it is unlikely there will be further cutbacks in 2013, particularly after a summer of high prices.
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ashions change fast in the holiday business. Often the choice of destination is decided for us by an ambitious tour operator or airline operator. Topflight, Sunway and the Travel Department are all planning expansion in Asia in 2013. Direct flights have made a brief impact in the past for unlikely destinations such as the Azores, Cape Verde, Corsica, Cuba, Dominican Repub-
lic, several Greek islands (most recently Santorini and Skiathos), Romania and Thailand. Most featured as fashionable places for about three months before they, or their access routes, stopped. Sometimes a bad experience (Jamaica 1992) or a season of intensive overbooking (Croatia in 2004) can see off the reputation of an entire destination. Croatia and Bulgaria in 2006-8 both peaked only to perish as the punter decided the product was not exactly what they wanted. Sicily and Sardinia, introduced more gingerly by innovative tour operators in the late 1990s, both stayed the pace. Flights to Bulgaria, for instance, went from one to nine weekly and back again to three over an alarming three year period. This ski season Bulgaria has no direct flights from Dublin. Croatia is returning to the bookings chart this autumn and could well be the new Croatia. Let’s hope the beds are still available, unlike last time, when we arrive for the holliers in 2013. The average price of a 2x2 bucket and spade holiday climbed to over €3,000 last summer.
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TRENDS 2013 ALGARVE Nothing seems to dent the popu-
larity of the southern Portuguese coast. It recently captured Majorca’s crown as the mainland summer holiday destination of choice for Irish people and the summer services from all Irish airports are set to stabilise or increase again in 2013. Particularly in high season, the best fares are available from provincial airports.
ANDALUCIA
There are 100,000 beds in Torremolinos alone (more than New York), so a change in fashion or a spat between Ryanair and another airport will never stop the trail of Irish holiday makers returning to Spain’s most touristed region.
AUSTRALIA Increasingly our favourite
long haul destination out of Ireland. Go diving with the Whale Sharks in Exmouth or swimming with the fresh water crocs in Kakadu and you will never ever forget the experience. All the major cities are now one-stop options through the Middle East.
BOSTON Is Boston the new New York? The availability of an extra aircraft has enabled Aer Lingus have put on extra services for the summer of 2013. Shopping is tax free, the hotels are cheaper and the museums are amazing.
Moscow: Direct flights from Aeroflot are anticipated in 2013 with S7 already serving the city
PYRÉNÉES-ATLANTIQUES
Despite weak demand in their first season Air France have stuck with their Pau route and given us direct flights to one of the secret treasures of France, a green and beautiful place.
CANADA Air Canada are getting more adven- LIBYA
turous by the year with the size of craft and Transat have opened up Montreal as well. The beautiful north beckons.
CHICAGO A beneficiary of extra Aer Lingus
traffic in 2013.
CHINA Ethnic travellers used to fill the few
available seats through our favourite European hubs to this vast and diverse country, pushing prices Pagoda-high. This has changed with the creation of additional transfer options. Direct flights from Dublin? It is an inevitability.
DUBAI An amazing 25-year success story of tourism is set to continue as Emirates increased their craft from a 237-seater to a 360-seater and still find they need more capacity.
FUERTEVENTURA The forgotten Ca-
nary was, until recently, a charter only destination. Now it has scheduled services from Aer Lingus and Ryanair, and the price spike that happened across the other three Canaries in the summer of 2011 when the Germans returned to the market place in great numbers did not happen here.
HADRIAN’S WALL England’s key attraction, better than Stonehenge or Stratford, great for walkers or those who just take the ferry and drive.
Libya returned to the World Travel market for the first time in 20 years. Travel insurance companies are still not extending their cover to visits there but a few brave souls are likely to take up the reopened air routes. The sights that await include Leptis Magna and other stunning ancient Greek and Roman cities, the old town of Ghadamès, gorgeous Saharan vistas, and the cosmopolitan joys of Tripoli.
LISBON COAST Picture postcard towns
like Ericeira and Obidos are among the highlights of one of the most richly decorated stretches of coast in Europe. For a long time Irish eyes were focussed further south, but good air services to Lisbon has attracted the surfers, of both the real and web variety, golfers or those whose idea of a good time is a nice wine and the finest seafood watching the sunset over the Atlantic.
MAJORCA A victim of its entrenched relationship with tour operators in the past, tens of thousands of hotel beds along the coast have been released to accommodation only specialists in the past two years and brought greater flexibility. MALAYSIA Magnificent and under-rated
destination which is one of the few that have been growing out of Ireland, easy to get to, with amazing food, a huge cultural dimension. Direct flights from Dublin are unlikely until the ETS issue is sorted.
JORDAN An amazing amount of publicity has MALTA
been generated by the One Stop Touring Shop media trip to Jordan earlier in the year. It is a peaceful alternative to its troubled neighbours and offers two of the world’s must-see attractions, Petra and Wadi Rum..
Getting married? There are nearly 400 churches in Malta, one at every turn of the road. It also can save a lot of money. A wedding in Malta will set you back an average of €4,500, compared with the average of €23,000 at home.
KWAZULU NATAL Irish people tend to POLAND Cheapest city breaks this winter are
go west to Cape Town and the garden and wine routes when they hit South Africa, our third most popular long haul destination. Emirates have a one stop connection to Durban. You can self drive, unlike a lot of African countries, the beautiful Drakensberg mountains, the stunning and serene battlefields of Isandlwana and the Boer war, and the awesome Hluhluwe national park (smaller and, in ways, better than Kruger) are now within easy reach.
out of Cork thanks to a price war between Ryanair and Wizz air. It won’t last long, the exit of Wizz from the Irish market is regarded as an inevitability, so take it while you can.
RUSSIA Following a false start last year, it is
likely that a second Moscow airport, Sheremetyevo as well as Domodedovo, will open up direct from Dublin in 2013. A vast and intriguing country awaits the Irish holidaymaker.
SCANDINAVIA Lots of extra capacity
from SAS and Aer Lingus’s return to Stockholm and Copenhagen should keep the major Scandinavian destinations on the radar for 2013.
SCOTLAND
Stena Line has two new ships plying the route to Cairnryan to travel there in style.
SHARJAH A cosmopolitan city when Dubai and Abu Dhabi were villages, Sharjah is within a camel’s kick of Dubai. It is planning a return to the international tourism spotlight with an emphasis on family holidays and festivals and the construction of new hotel beds of a higher standard. THAILAND The recent floods have affected
just 15 of the 77 provinces, don’t be deterred. Unrelenting hotel developments have opened up ever newer and more splendid hotels, and regions such as Udon Thani are now opening up to curious tourists who have been to Chiang Mai and Phuket and want something more unique.
TENERIFE Two tour operators are resuming
chart flights to Tenerife in 2012, a reflection of how hoteliers on the island still like to deal with the trade rather than the independent traveller.
TUNISIA
Tunisia’s amazing resorts lay empty for much of 2011 and 2012, there will be a big drive to change that in 2013.
TURKEY
This is one of the fastest growing destinations out of Ireland, going from 10 to 20 flights weekly in two years. You can fly to Antalya, Bodrum and Izmir on the south west coast. The Turkish Airlines daily service to Istanbul which offers connections throughout the country is to go from seven to ten flights weekly in May.
UKRAINE Last year’s Euro championship led to huge infrastructure upgrades and a more relaxed visa regime. WALES Ferry prices are still at low tide and Cardiff has gone culinary. Check it out.
WASHINGTON The newest west bound route of 2012 was the United Airlines daily service. Washington is not just the US capital, it is a vast open air museum. Don’t miss the Smithsonian. There are lots anniversary commemorations of the US Civil War, Virginia and the delicious soft shell crabs of Chesapeake Bay.
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AFLOAT FRANCE‘s Interior minister has delayed the introduction of an €11 fine until some regions in the country get enough of the breathalyser kits in stock. Carrying a breathalyser became a legal requirement in France this summer. The kit must carry the blue circular "Norme Française" (NF) logo to comply with the rules. Kits are sold on board the Irish Ferries’ Oscar Wilde. ROYAL CARIBBEAN International has launched a new training module on the cruise line’s e-learning programme, Cruising for Excellence Online, dedicated to the newly revitalised Serenade of the Seas and the seven-night Dubai sailings from January to April 2013. www.cruisingpower.ie
CRYSTAL A "Local Insights" program will bring experts from more than two dozen cities where Crystal ships visit aboard for lectures, interviews, and sharing including in Belfast a Titanic expert; in Barcelona, a Gaudi architect; in St. Petersburg, an ex-mayor; in Copenhagen, a Tivoli Gardens director; in Venice, the chairman of a 16-church chorus association. Subjects will include art, politics, archaeology, history, culture, and local colour. DISNEY will offer four-day, seven-day, and 12-day sailings round trip from Barcelona next summer aboard the 2700-passenger Disney Magic. It will also will utilize a second port in Florida, Miami, for Caribbean sailings. from Miami to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean year-'round except in mid-summer; cruises from Galveston to the Western Caribbean; four months of seven-day summer cruises from Vancouver to Alaska; traditional Port Canaveral cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas ; and a smattering of Pacific Coastal and Panama Canal repositioning trips.
HOLLAND Alaska continues to be a Holland America priority for 2013. Next summer it will place seven ships there, conducting seven-day trips from Vancouver, Seattle, and Seward/Anchorage. The 200 voyages will add 1.6m passenger days. Routes include the Inside Passage from Vancouver, Gulf of Alaska from Vancouver and Seward/Anchorage, and Alaskan Explorer from Seattle PRINCESS
Grand Princess has been upgraded with a new atrium, pizzeria, grill, tea lounge, remodeled casino, boutiques, art gallery, enhanced spa, wedding chapel, and two new lounges. A new downtown San Francisco cruise ship terminal is under construction. It will be available to the Grand Princess after next year's America's Cup regatta.
ROYAL CARIBBEAN is adding five-star restaurants, nightlife spots, entertainers, refreshed spaces, 3D movies, DreamWorks characters and other features to its fleet. Scheduled for completion in 2013 and 2014 are the Legend, Independence, Vision, Brilliance, Navigator, Voyager, Explorer, and Adventure of the Seas. This year, the Serenade and Enchantment of the Seas were completed. Previously the Liberty, Freedom, Radiance, Splendour, Rhapsody, Mariner, and Grandeur of the Seas completed upgrades.
Oscar Wilde: Joining the Rosslare to Pembroke route for Christmas
Xmas capacity Irish Ferries transport 6,000 people & 3,800 cars a day
I
rish Ferries is increasing Christmas capacity on their Dublin to Holyhead route by moving its Rosslare to Pembroke ferry ‘Isle of Inishmore’ into service alongside their giant cruise ferry ‘Ulysses’ and fast ferry ‘Dublin Swift’. The move will enable the company to transport an estimated 6,000 plus
passengers and 3,800 odd vehicles into and out of Dublin each day in the lead up to Christmas and New Year. On Rosslare to Pembroke, their vessel ‘Oscar Wilde’ will be drafted in to operate the route in addition to its sailings between Ireland and France. Commenting, Irish Ferries Head of
Passenger Sales Dermot Merrigan said ‘we’re preparing for the situation that hit travellers in other years when bad weather disrupted air travel and sent thousands of passengers in search of alternative means to travel home.’ www.irishferries.com. 0818 300 400
STENA MENUS GET THUMBS UP
s
terna Line is dishing up a new onboard menu this winter with a range of food to suit all tastes in time for the season. The new Winter Warmer menu is available on all five of sterna Line’s Irish Sea routes; Dublin Port to Holyhead, Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead, Rosslare to Fishguard, Belfast to Cairnryan and Belfast to Liverpool. The menu is available for customers in the Taste, Met, Food City and sterna Plus lounges on all Irish Sea routes and features dishes designed by celebrity chef Kevin Woodford including Butternut Squash soup with Ginger and Coriander, Beef & Ale Pie with Mash or Chips and Root Vegetables. Dave Williams, Executive Chef with sterna Line has added Butterfly
King Prawns in Filo Pastry with sesame dressed leaves, chilli and coriander dipping sauce and New Zealand Lamb slowly braised in a port wine jus with root vegetables and nutmeg mash, said: “I am delighted with the high quality and freshness of the ingredients on offer and look forward to hearing some feedback from our customers.” Jamie Christon, Stena Line’s Route Director Dublin/Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead routes said that food is an increasingly important part of the overall customer service experience. “In recent years we have invested heavily throughout the Irish Sea in our ships and ports and it is important that our food proposition keeps pace with this development. We are committed to reviewing and refreshing
breakfast
winter menu
available from 0130 until 1100
freshly squeezed juices.
£1.95
organic porridge oats with yoghurt and honey.
lunch/d dinner
available from 1300 until midnight
rustic winter pea and wiltshire ham soup topped with crème fraiche.
£3.95
£2.75
butternut squash soup with ginger and coriander.
£3.95
chilled fresh fruit platter.
£3.25 £3.25
poached organic salmon with hollandaise sauce, green beans and minted steamed potatoes.
£6.95
chilled grapefruit & orange segments. organic greek yoghurt with granola and dried fruits.
£2.95
atlantic cod, deep fried in a crisp beer batter, chips and garden peas.
£7.95
£4.75
lasagne al forno served with herbed focaccia or tossed salad.
£6.95
bakers basket freshly baked croissant, pain au chocolat, toast, butter and preserve. toasted farmhouse bloomer bread, butter and preserves.
£2.25
-
£5.50 £5.95 £5.95 £6.25
margherita pepperoni ham & pineapple american hot pizza
thai green chicken curry with basmati rice.
“We take pride in all our dishes and where possible we use ocally sourced, highest quality ngredients. Please let us know f you have any special dietary requirements and we’ll do our very best to cater for you.”
the breakfast grill grilled back bacon, sausage, soda farl, black pudding and baked beans served with free range egg: fried or scrambled.
£7.25
vegetarian option available with vegetarian sausage and extra egg.
£6.50
the breakfast bap: choose any 2 items from bacon, sausage or egg. or enjoy all 3 breakfast items. gluten free option available.
£3.95
£7.25
yellow thai vegetable curry with basmati rice.
£6.25
freshly roasted joint of the day with mash and root vegetables.
£7.95
roast joint baguette delicious hot slices of our roast joint of the day served in a baguette.
£5.95
beef & ale pie served with mash or chips and root vegetables.
£6.95
whole scampi tails served with chips, garden peas and homemade tartar sauce. £4.95
penne pasta, tomatoes, roasted aubergine, black olives and basil. gluten free option also available.
£4.25
classic aberdeen angus burger with chips toppings (monteray jack cheese, back bacon, sautéed field mushrooms).
£7.25 £6.25
kid’s menu mini grill grilled lean bacon, pork sausage, free range egg with a dollop of low salt and low sugar baked beans.
£6.95 from 95p
chicken fillet burger with chips. healthy baked beans on toast.
£2.95
bacon or sausage bap.
£3.50
£6.95
vegetable burger with chips.
£6.25 all £4.25
kid’s menu
penne pasta in tangy tomato sauce. classic aberdeen angus burger and chips. omega 3 fish fingers, chips and beans or peas. 100% chicken breast bite wrap. (all kids meals served with free robinsons fruit shoot drink)
any 2 adult meals + up to any 3 kids’ meals + up to 5 hot/cold drinks (excluding alcohol) gluten free
suitable for vegetarians
champ garlic bread gluten free
bread & butter tossed salad
prawn crackers coleslaw
suitable for vegetarians
Stena’s upscaled menu our menu. This launch is the third this year. “Our ongoing investment shows our commitment to providing our customers with a top quality dining experience as they travel on our ferries. This quality approach will continue into the future.”.
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AFLOAT AZAMARA QUEST the first of Azamara’s twin 694-passenger boutique ships to undergo refurbishment, has emerged from an eight-day drydock in Navantia Shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, with refreshed public spaces and staterooms and a new “Azamara Blue” hull. Upgrades include new carpets, upholstery, and a new colour palette in public spaces reflecting the cruise line’s inviting atmosphere; new mattresses, upgraded veranda furniture for suites and staterooms, a resurfaced pool, new sun loungers and pool towels on the outer decks. The Casino Bar was expanded with new furniture, while the Spa and fitness centre gets a new steam room, showers, and Life Fitness cardio equipment. Azamara’s signature is longer stays and more overnights in port to present travellers the opportunity for night touring. It sails to destinations around the world that larger ships are unable to reach.
Celtic Link: Have linked one euro promotion on March 15 with the Gathering
Celtic’s €1 fares Celtic Link March promotion to kick start season
C
eltic Link Ferries will transport all vehicles on Friday 15th March 2013 for €1 each. The deal includes a vehicle, cabin and the people in the cabin for one euro. Celtic Link Ferries will be
transporting up to one thousand passengers just in time for St. Patrick’s Day 2013. “Celtic Link Ferries are simply bringing in as many passengers as they can- for as little price that they can” said Passenger Manager Rory McCall.
Celtic Link Ferries will be leaving Cherbourg that night at 10 O’ Clock and arriving in Cherbourg at 13:00 on Saturday. Bookings for this day can be made at www.celticlinkferries.com
ROYAL CARIBBEAN Interna-
THIRD OASIS CLASS SHIP ON WAY
R
oyal Caribbean is looking to add a third Oasis class ship to its fleet which could enter service in 2016. Just four giant cruise ships are due for delivery next year, the lowest total since the 2008. They include the stylish Norwegian Breakaway, joint third largest ship on the seas with its sister Epic. This will be surpassed in late 2014 by two 4,100 pas-
senger Project Sunshine ships from Royal Caribbean which to be delivered six months apart. They will surpass Norwegian Epic the second largest class of passenger ships behind Royal Caribbean International's existing two giants, Oasis and Allure, to which a third ship is due to be built in Finland. Having refused to comment "a rumour", the line said they were close to
ordering a third Oasis Class vessel during the Q3 investor conference call, Norwegian Cruise Line will launch in 2015 Project Breakaway Plus to reclaim third place. Eight large ships were delivered in 2007, four in 2008, eight in 2009, six in 2010, six in 2011 and seven in 2012. Despite the Costa Concordia disaster and resulting temporary fall in
bookings, the number of international cruise customers is expected to rise again this year. Carnival Cruise Line, which already has a fleet of 25, recently ordered a 4,000-capacity ship, while Holland America has commissioned a 2,660-passenger vessel. Costa's largest ship ever, due in 2014, will be a variation of Carnival Cruise Line's Dream class cruise ship.
THE CRUISE LINE: BUILDS OVER NEXT FOUR YEARS n Norwegian Getaway - 4.028 pas- 888 passengers 2013 sengers n Norwegian Breakaway Plus n MSC Preziosa - 3,502 passengers n Norwegian Breakaway - 4,028 passengers n AIDAstella - 2,192 passengers n Europa 2 - 516 passengers n Avalon Artistry II - 164 passengers n Scenic Jewel - 169 passengers n Royal Princess - 3,600 passengers n Le Soleal - 264 passengers
2014 n Regal Princess - 3,600 passengers n Unnamed Viking Ocean Cruises 888 passengers
n Unnamed Tui Cruises 2,500 passengers n Project Sunshine Royal Caribbean - 4,100 passengers n Unnamed Costa Cruises - 4,000+ passengers
2015 n Unnamed P&O - 3,611 passengers n Unnamed AIDA Cruises 3,250 passengers n Project Sunshine Royal Caribbean II - 4,100 passengers n Unnamed Viking Ocean Cruises -
COMMISSION cuts in Britain are not going to be replicated for Irish agents. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International, which also operates Celebrity and Azamara, have cut their commission to 10pc. CCS, the umbrella organisation handling bookings for P&O, Cunard and Princess last year reduced its commission from 15pc to 5pc per cent. While most cruise lines, including the dominant Royal Caribbean, have retained commission rates in Ireland others are offering a net rate to agents enabling them to determine their own mark-up.
4,200 passengers n Unnamed Holland America 2,660 passengers
2016 n Unnamed Carnival Cruise Lines 4,000 passengers n Unnamed AIDA Cruises 3,250 passengers n Titanic II - 1,680 passengers n Third Oasis Class ship Royal Caribbean - 5,400 passengers
tional has launched an online contest for agents to become the face of its new campaign. The contest requires agents to send in short videos of themselves, explaining why they love Royal Caribbean and encourages them to post their videos to the cruise line’s dedicated Facebook page www.facebook.com/rcltravelagents
VOYAGES of Discovery's new ship will officially be renamed Voyager on December 4. The ship, formerly Alexander von Humboldt, will have cabins and restaurants refurbished by Irish-based fitters Mivan. CARNIVAL Cruise Lines has suddenly cut five sailings from Carnival Legend's autumn 2013 schedule and instead plans a 15night transatlantic crossing calling in Dublin, NORWEGIAN Cruise Line launches Alaska brochure including new Cruisetour land packages. The new brochure includes details of Norwegian’s partnership with tour operator ‘Great Rail Journeys’ which has led to a new Canadian Rockies and Alaska Cruise trip. SAGA Ruby, almost 12 months away from retirement, was detained in Portugal for emergency repairs last month. The ship is scheduled to go into dry-dock in Germany for a £4m refurbishment, which will keep her in service until her farewell cruise next December.
ALARM A cruise passenger is suing for the refund of the full cost of a seven-day holiday because of the distress he claims was caused when he had to get up at 3.30 am to be ready to go through immigration procedures.
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THE FLYING COLUMN
Aviation with Gerry O’Hare
Double delight
FLYBE says it will only invest in continental Europe from now on as the UK's tax and supplier costs are making regional airlines barely viable. The airline said it is currently operating in possibly the most challenging conditions since its creation as a new-generation regional airline 10 years ago. English domestic aviation market has seen passenger numbers reduce by 20.6pc since 2007, UK Air Passenger Duty increased by 160pc over the same period and fuel prices are at record annual highs. IBERIA is to cut capacity by 15 pc and 23 pc of jobs and reduce staff to 15,500, cutting some routes entirely and reducing frequencies on others. The fleet will be reduced by 20 short-haul planes, plus five long-haul jets.
CITYJET recorded a loss of €8.8m in the 9 months 31 December 2011 on turnover of €238m. This compared with a €54.9m loss on turnover of €316m in the 12 months to the end of March 2011.
SHANNON Michael Noonan told the Limerick Leader of ongoing work to advance the separation proposals. “There are three issues we are looking at in Shannon: first of all the appointment of a CEO; secondly, the appointment of an acting board to whom they would report; and then separation from the DAA. Progress is being made on all three.” LONDON A recent survey found that
the majority of English air passengers aim to arrive at the airport more than three hours ahead of their flight because of more stringent security procedures and fewer check-in desks.
US AIRWAYS
is to upgrade its Philadelphia – Dublin service from a daily 757 to a daily B767-200ER from May 22 2013.
S7 has joined IACA. S7 Airlines which flies three times weekly to Dublin in summer, has the largest route network within Russia, based at three large air transport hubs: Moscow (Domodedovo) and Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo).
ARAN ISLANDS residents are preparing for a major campaign following reports that the Department of the Gaeltacht will not give a commitment to provide the €2m in subsidies to maintain the air services to Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oirr. There are three flights each day to the three islands which residents and business interests say are hugely important to the local economy. It also puts in jeopardy the prospect of the airstrips on Inishbofin and near Cleggan opening. SINGAPORE
Airlines will stop its non-stop flight between Singapore and Newark – which, at 9,500 miles, is currently the world’s longest unbroken commercial flight – at the end of next year. The airline will also stop the non-stop route between Singapore and Los Angeles – shorter in terms of distance but with a longer flight time.
CORK Chamber of Commerce reported that there is a "critical need" to increase flights to and from Cork Airport, with three out of four businesses saying the lack of access is key to the area losing out on investment.
Eoghan Corry samples a new aircraft and product Familiar shape, new world: Lufthansa are the launch customer for Boeing’s 747-8
F
ive metres. That’s what made the difference. The 747-8 has a five metre length stretch over the 747-4, and as the captain of our flight from Frankfurt to Washington DC pointed out, four of the extra metres are before the wing “because that is where business class is.” Lufthansa is the first passenger airline in the world to put the Boeing 747-8 into service. The new jumbo has 358 seats in the most modern Lufthansa service classes and includes a completely new seat in business class. Lufthansa’s business class was already highly renowned. Their guarantee across the fleet of a 57-inch seat pitch and an 80.3 inches lie-flat business class eat is the second longest in the sky after Cathay Pacific. The 7478 adds another seven inches to the bed, offering 98 business class seats. The craft is certified for 500 seats, the standard is 467, Lufthansa has 100 less than that.
I
s it good enough to fly east to go west? On first sitting, yes.
As excited as a small child, I take off on LH983 at 6.30am for Frankfurt to join to join LH418 to Washington. It turns me into a ten-year-old, the age I was when I first clapped eyes on that thing of beauty, the Boeing 747. It is an icon and the 747-8 has that familiar sense of renewed splendour about it. There are no Renaissance
Old Masters classic in aviation, the 747 might well become the first. Our French born steward, a veteran of 20 years with the airline, offered great food and wine, Weingut Schloss Volrads white, Wrrazurzis Max Reserva from Chile, Chateau de Rully Premier Cru Domaine Rodet 2007 Bourgogne and 2008 Chateau Raze Beauvallet Medoc.
Extra legroom: Lufthansa are using the 747-8 to launch their new business class product Our October menu (menu is updated each month) was rare seared ahi tuna loin (do Tuna even HAVE loins?), oven roasted monkish loin, and butter basted Cape Cod scallops, braised Marchez farm veal breast, roasted Mayer farm beef striploin, and 7-spice rubbed pork loin. Some of the design architecture comes from the Dreamliner. The staircase up to business class has been widened and become a design feature of the craft. The hand baggage bins are bigger
and tucked out of the way, they swing down for use. The angle is slightly bigger in middle seats downstairs, although business class seats all have the same length.
E
conomy class has a more open feel. For first class passengers they have decided to burst jetlag, themed lighting, electric blinds (a Lufthansa feature) and regulated humidity. The lighting can be used to change the mood, allowing low daylight for morning. The crew can run it through a sunset sequence over half an hour. Lighting has its own protocol. “Never use green during dining sequence,” the steward said.
L
ufthansa has taken delivery of three of the craft with 17 to come plus 20 purchase op-
tions. Washington, DC. was chosen as the first destination for the Boeing 747 with Los Angeles to follow in November, 2012. Sabine Hammermann, Lufthansa’s Regional Director Sales in Washington, DC, talked of the impact the new aircraft and the new business class had on the route. The next 747-8 destinations are Delhi and Bangalore. For those who seek the A380 alternative, Lufthansa’s serve San Francisco, New York and Houston from Frankfurt.
n The Lufthansa group currently offers 342 weekly flights to 21 destinations in the USA and Canada, part of a network of 23,000 flights per week to 282 destinations and 106 countries.
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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare VALENCIA Ryanair is facing calls for
a boycott in Spain after a YouTube video showing a passenger being forcibly ejected from an aircraft went viral. The video shows the woman remonstrating with security guards before being escorted from the plane at Valencia airport. Ryanair said she was removed for pushing past gate staff without showing any form of ID. Fellow passengers claim she was not allowed to travel because she had broken rules that restrict passengers to only one item of hand-luggage.
AER LINGUS is to get new code-
Stephen Kavanagh, Andrew McFarlane and Christophe Mueller
Long haul to grow Aer Lingus to deploy extra aircraft on North America
A
er Lingus plans long haul capacity growth in 2013, according to its Q3 report. Christoph Mueller, Aer Lingus’ CEO said an additional aircraft is required to serve the long haul network on the North Atlantic due to increased demand. Boston will increase to 13 flights weekly and Chicago to 12. “Fortunately, we have an A330 returning to our fleet from the extended codeshare with United Airlines and we will redeploy this aircraft to serve our North Atlantic market.” Forward bookings as at 30 September 2012 are
ahead of previous year. He said the growth of short haul business in London Heathrow is dependent on the allocation of former bmi remedy slots for the operation to Edinburgh. “The growth potential of Aer Lingus regional short haul business in 2013 is currently restricted by a lack of bussing gates in our Terminal in Dublin.” Aer Lingus had a strong third quarter, generating an operating profit of €86.5m, 29.7pc ahead of last year, and a third quarter operating profit of
€90.9m despite fuel price and airport charge inflation and weaker business demand on core routes to London during the Olympic Games. Passenger numbers increased by 2pc. There was positive Q3 yield performance with overall yield per passenger up 7.2pc. Long haul yields remained particularly strong, increasing by 11.5pc. In the year to date short haul fare revenue was €644m. Long haul fare revenue was €260.9m and retail revenue €137.8m.
RYANAIR HAS NARROWEST SEATS
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yanair has the narrowest seats in the skies, offering just 16 inches of width, according to Business Traveller’s annual legroom chart surveying 32 different airlines. Ryanair did better in legroom, offering 30 inches, compared with 29 inches for Easyjet. Air Canada have the widest seats in economy at 18 inches. Aer Lingus, which is not in the survey offers 30
inches legroom on the A320. It offers 31 inches on its three remaining A321s and its four trans-Atlantic A330-300s, and 32 inches in economy on trans-Atlantic flights on its three A330-200s. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines guarantee the most legroom in economy at 32 inches, although Etihad can offer 35 inches in economy on certain aircraft, Turkish and Air Canada 34 inches,
Malaysian 34 inches, Qatar 36 inches and ANA a whopping 38 inches, more than all but one carrier offers in premium economy. Turkish Airlines offer the most legroom in premium economy at 46 inches, eight inches more than their nearest rivals although Qantas offer 42 inches on certain flights. Virgin Atlantic has flat beds on some aircraft that are 87 inches long. Cathay Pacific also had the longest guaranteed flat
beds in business class at 81-82 inches with Lufthansa second with 80.3 inches. Qantas and Finnair are joint third on 80 inches, followed by Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand 79.5 to 81 inches and Swiss with 79 inches. Aer Lingus do not have flat beds in premium economy and offers 60 inches of legroom on the A330200 and 52 inches on the A330-300.
WATERFORD FIGHTS FOR SERVICE
W
aterford Airport is talking to four airlines in an effort to restart activity after the withdrawal from the airport of Aer Lingus Regional. The airport is reeling from the decision of Aer Lingus Regional to discontinue their London Luton, Southend and Manchester services from early January 2013 and with-
draw their base from Waterford. Aer Arann began flying from Waterford in 2003. The decision arises from the sale of an aircraft by Aer Arann that necessitates them further cutting their route network. The airport says the Southend route performed poorly by comparison so that even a major marketing push by Waterford Airport and that its partners could not fully mitigate this switch.
Flybe continues to operate from Waterford to Birmingham. European destinations are also offered on single transaction booking from Waterford via Birmingham. Waterford Airport is the location for the Irish Coast Guard base operating from a purpose built facility. The airport also has an active general aviation business.
shares with Air Berlin and EI AI to add to the codeshares with Air Canada and Etihad announced in recent weeks.
IEA The Irish Exporters Association says
Government has not given enough consideration to how vital Aer Lingus cargo facility is to high tech and live sciences exporters especially to the US and that it would be at risk if the Ryanair bid was successful.
CITYJET chief executive Christine Our-
mières says that securing a new investor for CityJet remains the preferred option. However, with CityJet the single biggest customer at London City Airport, a trade buyer could also emerge, she hinted.
ERAA & IACA, the European Re-
gions Airline Association and International Air Carrier Association have called for a one-year freeze on EU ETS for all airlines. The EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, announced a moratorium on the enforcement of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to all international flights to and from the European Union until September 2013 so as to allow ICAO time to find a global solution on aviation emissions. The scheme will remain fully implemented for intra-EU flights.
AER LINGUS has told the Financial
Times it has been forced to spend €50m in legal and consultancy fees to fight Ryanair’ repeated bids.
US AIRWAYS will operate Philadel-
phia-Shannon from May 22 2013 to early September, daily using a B757.
DELAYS Passenger assistance website
Flight-Delayed.com says said that air carriers reject claims “95 per cent of the time” and deliberately fill their letters to claimants with legal jargon, which often puts passengers off. Under current regulations, passengers flying to or from an EU, Swiss, Norwegian or Icelandic airport or with an EU, Swiss, Norwegian or Icelandic airline are entitled to meals, refreshments and free telephone calls if their flight is delayed by three hours or more. Since 2009, passengers facing such delays have also been entitled to cash compensation of between €250 and €600, depending on the length of the flight.
BA Short-haul is to focus on more revenue
per flight. The Gatwick short-haul operation is reported to have core costs at low cost carrier levels and there is talk of expansion there.
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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare
SHANNON Airport will have New York services from three airlines next summer, as well as Aer Lingus to Boston and re established seasonal services to Chicago and Philadelphia.
ETIHAD will launch its third US route in on March 31, 2013, with daily non-stop flights between Washington DC and Abu Dhabi. The route will be operated by a three-class Airbus A340-500 aircraft. James Hogan said the Etihad’s US routes had an average 81pc load factor in 2012/ On New York and Chicago 72pc of First Class passengers and 53pc of Business Class passengers started or ended their journey in Abu Dhabi. DUBLIN Airport gets a new daily American Airlines service and the extra daily rotations from EI next summer to bring up their trans-Atlantic capacity by 166,000 extra seats. This will be augmented with capacity increase from US Airways. US AIRWAYS are to operate a Boeing 767 to Philadelphia replacing their previous craft, a 757, from May 22 next year. They normally use a B767 between SeptemberMarch when CLT is not operating.
DELTA Air Lines has confirmed that its seasonal non-stop flight between Shannon Airport and New York JFK Airport will recommence from May 11. The flight will operate daily throughout the peak summer season using a B757-200 aircraft with 170 seats, The flight adds 2,300 seats per week to and from the United States.
SAS is to increase Dublin to Oslo from 4 to
6 weekly from April next year. Norwegian have scheduled an extra 16 flights to Oslo over the summer period. The flights will be 3 weekly from April to October and not just June-August as was the case last summer.
DUBLIN Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport exceeded 1.7m in October, a 10pc, increase on the same month last year. Europe was 910,000 up 13pc, UK was 605,000 up 4pc, Transatlantic was 142,000 up 10pc, Middle East/Africa was 39,000 up 79pc. Domestic traffic was 5,000 up 8pc.
FEES Airlines around the world will collect an estimated £22bn in extra fees and charges this year, according to research by Amadeus. The figure is 11pc up on last year, and is 40pc up on 2010. The reports says that Ancillary Revenue Champions, AirAsia, easyJet, Allegiant and Spirit, increased ancillary revenue by 30.5pc, but traditional airlines such as British Airways, Air Canada, Air New Zealand and Etihad also increased by 17pc. NORWEGIAN Air Shuttle are to drop their three Dublin to Copenhagen three times weekly service in summer 2013.
CITYJET is launching London CityNuremberg operations from 27 January, offering 2 daily flights on weekdays and 1 on Saturdays or Sundays, on Avro RJ85 aircraft. Air Berlin is ceasing its 6 per week service Nuremberg-Gatwick on 7 January.
Michael O’Leary: Radical proposals
Ryanair’s last play
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Proposing up-front buyer remedies
yanair is offer 2.5-3m Aer Lingus passengers to other airlines as part of its takeover bid for the former state carrier. At an investor’s conference Michael O’Leary said this would not affect its intention to expand Aer Lingus carrying from 9m to 15m passen-
gers. Ryanair says it has submitted an unprecedented remedies package, under which multiple up-front buyers will commit to open new bases in Ireland, and enter all of the Ryanair/Aer Lingus crossover routes which are not currently served by other substantial airline competitors.
“We believe this is the first EU airline merger where the remedies proposed delivers not one, but at least two up-front buyer remedies.” “All of the merger to monopoly routes are remedied not just by passive slot divestments but by active up-front buyers and new market entrants”.
TURKISH TO LAUNCH 6 NEW ROUTES
T
urkish Airlines has just announced six new routes, based on aircraft availability and upon obtaining the authorisations, to Caracas the capital of Venezuela; Mexico City the capital of Mexico; Havana the capital of Cuba; Boston and San Francisco, USA and Montreal, Canada. The airline is to purchase 15 Boeing 77W and 15 Airbus 333. From Boeing it has ordered 15 firm and 5 optional B777-300ER aircraft, out of which 3 aircraft to be delivered in the year 2014, 7 in 2015, 5 in 2016 and 5 in 2017. From Airbus it will purchase 15 A330-300 aircraft out of which 4 aircraft to be delivered in the year 2014, 6
Turkish CEO Temel Kotil in 2015 and 5 in 2016. CEO Temel Kotil says the airline intends to double in size by 2020, Turkish has opened 32 new routes this year, and intends to increase frequencies from 1,000 to 2,000 flights per day by 2020. “Otherwise our network will suffer,” CEO Temel Kotil said. Turkish will fly to 180 international and 35 domestic destinations by year end. In 2013, it plans
to grow to 197 international and 36 domestic destinations. This is more than Lufthansa (158 destinations non-stop from Frankfurt) and Air France (149 from Paris CDG). Istanbul Atatürk Airport handled 37.4m passengers last year, ranking it eighth in Europe, and in the first eight months of 2012, it has already passed both Munich and Rome Fiumicino airports to take sixth place behind Heathrow, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Madrid. Since the beginning of 2012, Turkish has added flights to Aalborg (Denmark), Accra (Ghana), Bilbao (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Edinburgh (UK), Djibouti, Kigali
(Rwanda), Kinshasa (Congo), Leipzig (Germany), Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan), Novosibirsk (Russia), Osh (Kyrgyzstan), Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt), Taif (Saudi Arabia), Yanbu (Saudi Arabia) and Hurghada (Egypt), Turkish Airlines has trebled its passenger numbers in just seven years. It is targeting 38.2m passengers this year, up from 32.6m in 2011. Transfer traffic at its Istanbul Ataturk hub should rise to nearly 8m this year from 6.2m in 2011. From 2014 a new airport will be build in the north of Istanbul. The Airport will have 6 runways and a capacity of up to 160m passengers a year.
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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare DUBLIN Airport Authority hopes an in-
crease and restructuring of charges will increase average revenue per passenger from airport charges by 2pc in 2013. There is no single airport charge at Dublin Airport, as charges can vary depending on the season, with higher summer and lower winter prices. DAA will increase wheelchair charges by 50pc. It also wants to realign the airbridge rates, saying that “historically, the charge for parking areas which required passengers to be bussed to the aircraft was cheaper than that at parking areas adjacent to a boarding gate pier. A large differential had developed due to a previous shortage of parking at boarding gates, which has now largely been addressed. The airport said that charges element shown within airlines’ overall ticket prices often bears no relation to the actual charges paid by the airline.” James Hogan: Proposal to go double daily restricted by aircraft availability
Etihad up the ante
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Double daily to Ireland from 2016
tihad will go double daily in 2016 with a Boeing 787 on the route, according to CEO James Hogan. While double daily has been flagged for some time, the delay is due to aircraft availability issues. In Dublin to launch Etihad’s sponsorship of the Sidney Nolan Ned Kelly Series at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin, Mr Hogan said that the Dublin-Abu
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Dhabi route was still very profitable. Etihad Airways expects to achieve an 85pc load factor on its Dublin to Abu Dhabi route this year.
“The plan is to go double daily but it won’t be before 2016. But what it shows is that we’re here for the long term.” Etihad expects to carry its one millionth passenger on the Dublin-Dubai route in the first half of next year. He reiterated that the route was profitable for Etihad. The first month of the airline’s codeshare with Aer Lingus delivered 500 passengers.
RYANAIR FARES UP 7pc TO 60
yanair have reported exceptionally strong results for the quarter to end September. Ryanair passenger numbers were up 8pc on last year to 25.5m. Load factor was flat at 87pc. Average trip was down about 1pc. Average fare was up 7pc to €59.80 and average ancillary revenue per passenger up 8pc to €11.7. Ryanair says it is on target to grow traffic in the year to April 2013 by 4pc to over 79m passengers. Winter traffic will be broadly flat as it grounds up to 80 aircraft to limit the impact of high oil prices, high air-
port fees at Stansted and Dublin, and seasonally weaker demand and yields upon the business. Ryanair compares its 79m passengers (12pc) share of 660m short-haul passengers in Europe, of which only 82m now use charters, to a Southwest share of 21pc of US domestic passengers. Michael O’Leary said Ryanair still has potential for major growth to say 120m passengers over the next 10 years, an average growth of a little over 4pc. Total revenue was up 17pc to €1.822m although 2.4pc of the in-
crease was due to strong sterling. Fuel was up 21pc and non-fuel unit costs rose by 2pc due to a 2pc pay increase for pilots and higher charges in Spain and for Italian ATC which only became known retrospectively. Operating profit increased 21pc to €580.7m and the operating margin increased one percentage point to 21pc. Net profit after tax was €496.8m, up 22.9pc. Ryanair raised its profit guidance for the year from its previous range of €400-440m to a new range of €490520m.
COMPETITION HEATS UP DUB-NYC
A
merican Airlines is to operate daily JFK-Dublin using a 2class B757 from 12 June 2013, probably year round. The flight will leave Dublin at 9am making it the first service to leave Dublin for New York each day.
United to Newark is also scheduled at 0900. The flight will be part of the American, British Airways and Iberia transatlantic joint venture. “Next summer, Dublin Airport will have 12 daily scheduled flights to 9 different US airports," DAA Interim
Chief Executive, Oliver Cussen said. AA also announced Chicago-Dusseldorf, Dallas-Lima and DallasSeoul. Aer Lingus now has direct non-stop competition to New York from the three major US airlines and from the three global alliances.
GALWAY Airport has negotiated a set-
tlement figure from one of its main bankers and is in discussions to write-down loans with its other main banker. A revised business plan has been developed based on three core streams: air services and related activities, the hangar facilities and the car parks on site at the airport. The airport incurred a €6m loss after the Government ended its subsidies last year. Figures returned to the Companies Office show the loss arose from a €6m impairment charge as a result of writing down the value of the runway, lands, car park, and hangar.
1TIME the South African Low Cost Car-
rier, filed for liquidation and ceased operations at the end of October. Erik Venter, CEO of Comair (another South African LCC which also operates as a franchisee for British Airways), commiserated with 1Time, adding that if it were not for loss-making, state-subsidised airlines like South African Airways, SA Express and Mango, 1Time would have been viable. Since the deregulation of the South African aviation industry in 1991, ten out of 11 private airlines launched in South Africa have failed. VelvetSky and 1Time are this year's casualties.
SLOTS Airlines may soon be allowed to
buy and sell takeoff and landing slots at congested European airports. The European Council of Transport Minsters has approved changes to the system of slot allocation that will create a secondary market in airport slots. Planned changes to rules on slots (which date from 1993) must now go to the European Parliament for its approval before becoming law.
RYANAIR has told the Canaries government it is interested in operating inter-island services if restrictions are eliminated.
AEROFLOT says it will start a low-
cost airline in less than a year and will sacrifice its monopoly on 30 international routes
EU Commission has decided to refer Poland
to the European Court of Justice for failure to implement common rules on airport charges.
SINGAPORE Airlines has ordered
five more Airbus A380s and 20 A350-900s for additional capacity growth. Singapore recently bought 10pc of Virgin Australia for AU$105m.
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Aviation with Gerry O’Hare
RYANAIR capacity in the coming win-
ter will be 7pc down on last year according to Ralph Anker of anna.aero. Of the other low cost carriers, easyJet shows no change, Air Berlin down 8pc, Norwegian up 24pc and Vueling up 31pc.
AER LINGUS says it will launch more scheduled flights from Belfast to Heathrow as soon as it can secure the landing slots in London. "We want to grow," Christophe Mueller said on a visit to Belfast yesterday. "Three times a day to London Heathrow is a start but it's not enough in the long-term. We haven't made a secret of the fact we are after additional slots in Heathrow and one of the destinations we would deploy those is Belfast. We are not entering the market to compete with someone, we want to make money. Our costs position is better than the incumbent so we can go in at a lower price point”. He said the rationale for the move from Belfast International Airport to Belfast City was based on a change in focus for the airline. "What we are doing is not just shifting from one airport to the next but moving our focus on the island of Ireland away from the sun destinations to Great Britain." LONGFORD Aviation is at the final
stages in the process of preparing an application to Longford County Council for permission to extend the runway at Abbeyshrule by 300m, widening it by 18 to 23 metres. Planning permission will also be sought for a new taxiway, measuring just over a kilometre. The plans would eventually allow Abbeyshrule to become a Category two airport, which is the same as London City Airport. Abbeyshrule Airfield could potentially cater for 32-seater passenger aircraft and smaller cargo planes if new plans are given the go-ahead.
RYANAIR Deputy CEO Michael Caw-
ley in an interview with Handelsblatt said the carrier was currently negotiating a new aircraft order for 100 aircraft plus 100 options with aircraft manufacturer's Boeing, Comac and Sukhoi. Ryanair's current aircraft deliveries will finish next year, thereafter the carrier intends to take a pause on new aircraft deliveries until 2016/7.
RUSSIA’s Transportation Ministry has
received a request from Ireland's Foreign Ministry to designate Ryanair to operate flights between the two countries. The document does not list any possible routes or flight frequency.
NORWEGIAN has requested the Norwegian Government to amend labour legislation in order to allow it to hire flight crews from outside the EU for long-haul flights.
LUFTHANSA Technik Airmotive in Shannon and Enter Air, the largest charter airline in Poland, have concluded a CFM56-3 and CFM56-7 engine repair, core exchange and long term engine leasing agreement. BELFAST Air Passenger Duty is to be reduced to zero on all long haul flights from Belfast. It is believed that Aldergrove is anxious to bring back a Canadian service.
Nearly a third of Aer Lingus trans-Atlantic passengers are now transfer passengers
Lingus hub DUB
A
30pc of Aer Lingus passengers are transfer
er Lingus expected transfer traffic to increase over the coming months, changing the profile of both the airline and its Dublin base. Aer Lingus' Annual Report 2011 says that 21pc of passenger revenues
T
are now generated from passengers connecting from inter-airline carriers. On trans-Atlantic services 30pc of passengers are trans-Atlantic customers, about 300,000 passengers. That includes other airlines onto Aer Lingus to the USA, Aer Lingus
to its own services from Europe and to the UK via Dublin. Aer Lingus have said that over 47pc of their passenger bookings are from outside Ireland.
CORK AND DUBLIN INCREASE
he three major Irish airports showed an increase in commercial terminal flights in October 2012, when compared to the same month in the previous year are: Dublin was up by 10.5pc, with an average of 470 daily movements. Cork was up by 1.5pc, with an average of 60 daily movements. Shannon was down 12.9pc, with an average of 50 daily movements. There was a decrease of 2.50pc in Ireland’s en-route
traffic movements (flights which pass through Irish airspace but do not land) during October 2012, in comparison to October 2011. Similarly, North Atlantic Communications flights (Europe/North America) saw a decrease of 3.54pc in October 2012, when compared to October 2011. Total flights in Irish airspace have increased by 0.50pc, when compared to October 2011. There was an average of 1,450 daily flights during October 2012, with the busiest day
being 19th October with 1,685 flights in Irish airspace. On a cumulative basis, the growth in en-route traffic movements and North Atlantic Communications flights for January to October 2012, compared to the same period last year, was +0.20pc and -0.72pc, respectively. The growth in Irish air traffic goes against prevailing European trend. Eurocontrol noted in their September analysis that traffic growth in 2012 has been marked by economic
weakness in the Eurozone and increasingly elsewhere. Flights within Europe, and mainly domestic traffic, have continued to decrease compared to 2011 with an average decline of 2pc since the beginning of the year. The traffic losses are especially visible on European local traffic, which has decreased by more than 3pc since the beginning of the year at ESRA level. Continued high fuel prices are seen as a contributing factor to this decrease.
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GLOBAL VILLAGE FRANCE
expects Irish visitor numbers to reach 600,000 this yea, retaining its position as our third biggest outbound destination although somewhat short of the peak of 800,000. Next year’s Rendez Vous France will be held in Marseille.
INDABA is to be cut back to four days
next year. South African Tourism has decided to revert back to a four-day Indaba taking place on 11-14 May 2013 and says it will make fundamental changes to the show from 2014 onwards, which they hope to announce shortly.
BELLEAIR ’s
Palma: First stop for a new charter programme out of Ireland
Low Cost to charter Low-cost holiday groups starts new Palma flights
L
ow Cost holidays, the holiday company headed up by Clem Walshe and Grainne Caffrey in Ireland, is to enter the charter market in 2013 with a series of charters from Dublin to Palma from May to the end of July. Clem Walshe says that the move made sense after large scale growth in
the Irish market since the operation launched in December 2009. The flights will serve some of the Low Cost beds product that is unique to the Irish market. The company had 29,000 customers in its first and 82,000 in its second year. The charter will operate on Saturday offering 144 seats a
week, 900 in all. The group offers a consumer product and also a bed bank for the trade. The seats will be sold to both trade and consumer. It now means that two operators are operating charter programmes outside the Irish Tour Operators federation, the other being Tayfun Gokpinar of Wings Abroad.
TRAVELPORT RESPONDS TO IATA
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ravelport has called on airline industry body to consult with all stakeholders in the travel supply chain after announcing plans to develop its own distribution model. Travel says that comparison shopping is at the core of its solutions and fundamental to serving the best interests of consumers. The group says it will allow travel agencies to provide “an excellent and
highly transparent” product and service to their clients using the Travelport GDS. IATA secured a vote of 30 airline members last month to undertake development of a pilot Dynamic Airline Shopping (DAS) API next year. Travelport says “As airline products become more complex, so does the challenge of comparison shopping, but Travelport’s technology enables our agencies to both understand
and compare carrier products in an efficient manner.” “Travelport sees its role as helping enable airlines to sell to and through travel agents and other intermediaries in new and dynamic ways to support top line revenue growth for airlines, by leveraging existing and new technologies that it has developed and which are already live and operational. “
AMADEUS CLAIMS ‘GAME CHANGER’
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madeus has been testing its new Featured Results product, a ‘curated search’ platform which it says will reflect the popularity and local relevance of a product as well as price. Amadeus says the new product is tackling travellers´ “pain points” which it identifies as information overload, alongside with the anxiety of finding the best price. It is dues for full release in early 2013. Featured Results was showcased at the PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit in Arizona. The patent is
pending on the technology with a beta which was piloted on Vayama‘s website using 100 origin and destination combinations. Vayama boss Ted Jansen says in a statement that Featured Results is a ‘game-changer’ for the industry. Amadeus say the product delivers the four most relevant bookable travel options available - fastest, cheapest, most popular and sponsored. The company says Featured Results blends price and business intelligence data to highlight options most-often booked from people who searched city pairs for the same date,
or, at the request of the travel agent, promotes a specific offer. It combines flight search technology and travel business intelligence data to deliver to the traveller a more relevant set of search results at the top of the display screen. The GDS promised ‘revolution’ in travel application development in July when it opened up its code library to third party developers. It also launched its Extreme Search technology in 2010 with Lufthansa as the first airline partner and later announcing Nordic online travel agency eTraveli as its OTA partner.
Martin Zahra says he intends increasing their activity in Ireland next year, concentrating on the wedding market. Of the company’s 150 weddings a year, a third come from Ireland. Belleair are offering two new accommodation options, Hotel Valentina at St Julian's and Club Salina Wharf. Accommodation packages and transfers have to be combined with Ryanair flights separately as their preferred partner Air Malta (back in profit this year) no longer fly to Ireland.
TRAVELPORT has added Jasmeen Kaur, Stuart Raymond and Chris Burwell to its Ireland & UK team. Jasmeen Kaur who joins as Business Development Director and Stuart Raymond, who joins as Hospitality Business Development Manager come from Pegasus Solutions. Chris Burwell who joins in the role of Senior Account Manager, from technology provider Multicom.
ATLANTIC CITY stresses it is open
for business in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The famous boardwalk is not damaged. The city has a new resort since last April, the 1,800 room Revel at which every room has an ocean view, and which has seven restaurants and high end disco. “Vegas will never have an ocean, the European market enjoys the beach, you can smell, you can see it you can feel it,” Heather Calache of Atlantic City tourism says. New for 2013 is a Boardwalk Empire tour, a behind the scenes prohibition tour.
PHILADELPHIA
is stressing its tax free shopping and its 2,700 restaurants for the coming year. The city convention bureau has a shortened name, PhilCVB, a new logo, and the website is changing completely. Discoverphl.com will be more consumer friendly with a lot more images.
PHILIPPINES tourism brought a new
tourism slogan to WTM for their new marketing campaign, More Fun in the Philippines. Domingo Ramon explained that access to the Philippines has improved greatly this year with the addition of Middle Eastern services, all of which make the Philippines a one stop option.
CLUB MED and Aer Lingus to host a group of Irish agents to the Club Med’s Da Balaia Resort in Portugal. Club Med is sold in Ireland by Sunway and is increasing its media and trade activity in the coming months.
AUSTRALIAN Tourism Exchange is to combine the eastern and western modules. It takes place in Perth next April.
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GLOBAL VILLAGE
Inside the Travel Business
ALANTIC Holidays flights are to re-
sume their flights from Belfast International Airport to Madeira for summer 2013.
RED CARNATION Terry Holmes, executive director of Red Carnation, in conjunction with launched a new marketing campaign in Ireland in conjunction with Sharon Jordan of One Stop Travel Shop at the group’s carefully restored Georgian offices on Dublin’s Merrion Square. Red Carnation is a family owned collection of boutique hotels in Geneva, Guernsey, London, Palm Springs and three locations in South Africa, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat in the Cederberg Mountains, The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Cape Town and the Oyster Box near Durban.. HOTELBEDS
will not be rushing to seek out exclusive content, managing director, Carlos Muñoz says. He says Hotelbeds’ bedbanks are about aggregational wholesale, not exclusivity. Exclusivity is the space of the traditional tour operator, where they are going for content. It is about product range and being able to differentiate your product through better conditions, and when you are able to offer content in New York when no one else has availability in that particular hotel, when you can offer content cheaper than anyone else. Then you have exclusivity of sorts. This is the exclusivity that belongs in the space of the bed banks. You can provide this through volume. The more volume you have the more chance you have of providing this type of exclusivity.” Palma-based Hotelbeds now have 138 offices around the world, manned by local people who know the destination and know the suppliers. “They have a local relationship with the hoteliers in the area. Thanks to these relationships and this knowledge we are able to get the best deals the daily offers that those suppliers are offering to the market, and they are putting those offers into our system in real time we are connected with thousands of B2B players who are our customers, tour operators, OTAs and Travel Agents.”
SEYCHELLES Tourism and Culture Minister Alain St Ange hosted the trade and media in Dublin to promote their 115 island archipelago. The Minister said Seychelles enjoys one stop access from Ireland. The islands receive 200,000 visitors per year and specialise in the honeymoon market. The Minister said the islands intend to have local representation in Ireland next year.
LOWCOSTBEDS Clem Walshe has been appointed MD Ireland & North America responsible for promoting the LowCostBeds product to the American trade. “It is a very different set up to the travel industry in Europe.” He hopes to replicate Low Cost’s rapid growth in Ireland. LowCostBeds has launched a website for US travel agencies and opened an office in Atlanta Georgia. Lowcostbeds already cooperates in 10 countries across Europe. CYPRUS Maria Sly hosted a wine and food tasting evening in the Old Punch Bowl
Dominic Burke of Travel Centres addressing the conference
Centres staged
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Travel Centres bring 175 delegates to Naas
ravel Centres annual conference in Killashee house in Naas was the largest in the consortium’s eight year history. The sessions were attended by 50 owners, managers and the workshops by 110 agents. In all 175 gathered for the gala dinner on Saturday night. The keynote speakers were Rosemary Meleady, John McGuire, and John McEwan. A total of 33 suppliers from three
continents attended the Saturday workshop from as far afield as Chile, Argentina and California. The consortiums’ new Agent of the Year award was won by O’Hanrahan Travel in Monaghan who were nominated in eight different categories and won five. World Travel Centre and Wings Abroad being announced joint winners of the ‘Supplier of the Year’ award. Other multiple award winners in-
cluded Marble City Travel, Kilkenny; Lee Travel, Cork and The Travel Broker, Dublin. The gala dinner also raised an impressive €1,200 for the two Travel Funday selected charities; the Irish Cancer Society and Pieta House. On Saturday evening festivities also saw 30 people win superb prizes of holidays, cruises, South American tours, iPads and weekends away in Puglia.
‘AGENTS WHO DP FACE REGULATION’
I
n five years time anyone doing packaging will be regarded as a tour operator and will be regarded as a principal, ABTA Chairman John McEwan told the Travel Centres conference in Naas. “Consumer protection in Brussels is only going to go one way. It is not the position we are fighting in Brussels, you always try to maintain the status quo” He was talking about the anomaly over dynamic packaging, which in England as much as in Ireland, is not subject to consumer protection. “A tour operator takes responsibility for anything to do with the package, it is not just financial protection, it is health and safety, all of those things.”
“Travel agents who are putting components together, flight and accommodation and possibly car hire, technically still operate as an agent. The concern is it is all going to change.” He told delegates at Naas that the ITAA should become a trade association. “In any country you need to have a strong and powerful trade association which will respect the interests of everybody who operates in that market. “It should not be a commercial association because that DOES get in the way. A consortium provides so much more than collective buying, it provides turnkey solutions to help members run their business successfully and profitably. Just migrating
from being a trade association to being commercial does not quite get you to the point unless you have a complete transition to becoming a consortium in your own right. In that case you lose the gravitas and credibility you have as a trade organisation.” “In an ideal world you should have one trade association for the whole of the industry which is what we have in the UK, a broad church which includes tour operators, traditional travel agents and travel industry partners because if you are unified you are in a strong position to convince different state organs. “You have the best opportunity to convince the regulators if you are going in there talking with one voice. If you take the frag-
mented approach you are not going to get anywhere. If everyone is unified you have the better opportunity of people listening to you and taking into account your views, whether that is Dublin or Brussels.” Mr McEwan said consortiums that were formed for collective buying now provide everything an agent needs to trade successfully. “It is not just about commercial, it is about marketing, it is about technology to attract customers. Increasingly it is about a wide range of consultancy services, support on finance, legal, tax, HR, and marketing. “If you ask a consortium member they will tell you commercial terms but they get so much more besides.”
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GLOBAL VILLAGE
Turkish delight
ITAA Conference for Granada or Lisbon next year
G
ranada and Lisbon are the likely venues for the 2013 Irish Travel Agents Association conference after delegates voted to travel abroad again next year. The decision was taken at the 2012 conference in Lisbon which was attended by 74 personnel or which 39 were travel agents, the rest suppliers, media and invited guests. All the delegates travelled out with Turkish Airlines who increased their aircraft size to an Airbus A321 to transport delegates to the event. The delegates were housed in three hotels in the vicinity of Taksim Square, the Ramada, the Eresin and the Larepark, where Amadeus and Travelport sponsored a welcome reception until 2am. Don’t stand still. embrace change wss the theme of the conference which was staged in the Convention Centre with official dinners in Feriye on Friday night and the gala dinner in the Adiloe Sultan Palace on Saturday. A lunch was held in the Nar gourmet restaurant after a short tour of Istanbul’s signature attractions, the Blue Mosque, Haga Sofia and the Topkapi museum. The conference was addressed by John Keogh of Aer Lingus, Joan Mulvihill of the Irish internet association, former car dealer come recession commentator George Monbault, and interactive motivational speaker Michael Cox. The host city tourism representatives said that 20,000 Irish visitors
CLARE DUNNE Taste smell and see Istanbul. And then talk.
GEORGEMORDAUNT
There has been a sea-change in the attitude of AIB to distressed businesses.
JOAN MULVIHILL
The one thing that the internet has done very well the aggregators, companies like Amazon that aggregate other people’s products. You guys were aggregating long before the internet came on. You are the original aggregators.
tled a dispute over alleged anti-competitive business practices. American had claimed that global distribution systems that provide fare information to travel agents had conspired with each other to protect their mutual interests, organised boycotts to punish American for supporting alternatives and used other practices. American will receive an undisclosed monetary payment from Sabre. The two companies renewed their distribution agreement, according to a joint statement.
NUEVO MONDO the South Amer-
ican luxury travel specialists have been bought by Atlas Travel and are planning an expanded programme of activities and promotions in the Irish market in 2013.
CELTIC HORIZON TOURS
Michael Cox enlivens a presentation with Pat Dawson in the background currently come to Istanbul, and that Demirel, President of the Turkish this total could be doubled without Touristic Hotels and Investors Assotoo much difficulty. ciation (TÜROB) Timur Bayinder, Murat Balandi of Turkish Airlines Professor Enis Tulça from the Turksaid he hoped the conference would ish Government Tourism Departraise awareness of Istanbul among ment, Istanbul Deputy Governor Irish travel agents. Turkish airline are Kazim Tekin, Turkish Travel Agento increase their service from ten cies Union (TÜRSAB) chairman weekly to double daily, offering con- Basar Ulusoy, TÜRSAB Director of nections from seven to ten weekly Corporate affairs Ela Atakan, Ecofrom March next year. Turkish is one tourism specialist Sinan Halic, CEO of the fastest expanding airlines in the of Intra Travel Ertugrul Karaoglu world and operates scheduled serv- and CEO of Eurasia Tourism Gunnur ices to 183 destinations from its Is- Ozalp. tanbul Ataturk hub, making it the As with these events the after conmost connected single base of any ference social activities proved a airline in Europe. highlight of the occasion, particularly Popular transfer destinations in the Biz Jazz bar on Topcu Caddesi through Istanbul include all the Turk- where Peter O’Hanlon of Travelfindish domestic routes, Ukraine, Russia, ers resumed his role as the star of the the Middle East and Bangkok. trade’s social dimension. Local dignitaries at the gala dinner Ground handling was the Ertugrul included the Deputy General Direc- Karaoglu of Intra, who hosted the tor of Promotion for the Turkish Min- first charters from Ireland to Istanbul istry of Culture and Tourism Levent in 1987.
QUOTES OF THE CONFERENCE MARTIN SKELLY PAT DAWSON Dialogue LEVENT DEMIREL
with Aer Lingus had been reported but things have changed.
SABRE and American Airlines have set-
In 1980, Turkey received 1.2m visitors, a figure which has increased more than 26-fold over the past 32 years, to 31.4m visitors in 2011. As of September 2012, the incoming travel surpassed 25.7m. The target for 2023, exactly 100 years since the founding of the Turkish Republic, will be 50m visitors to become fifth in international arrivals.
JOHN KEOGH The por-
tal will enable the travel agents to store addresses making the process as time useful as possible.
ERTUGRULKARAOGLU
“Turkey is not just Kusadasi or Bodrum. Open your eyes to Istanbul and Antalya as well.
(who paid tribute to Jim Sharkey, whose death as reported a few days before the conference): “Jim took over the reigns at time of difficulty for the trade. He set a standard where travel agents and tour operators could pull together. He ensured every agent, be it city or provincial, was treated even handedly”
JOHN KEOGH “The website Aerlingus.com delivers about 80pc of our business. We also created a corporate portal. We are now building a travel agents portal. We are working on delivering the next stage of Aerlingus.com and the travel agents portal is an integral part of that ecommerce roadmap.”
held a high profile launch for their motorcycle tours of the USA. David Brazil, Celtic’s CEO, has just returned Celtic Horizon are main sales outlets for Eagle Rider Tours USA, which organise individual and group travel motorcycle holidays. They have a dedicated brochure for motor cycle tours.
THOMSON will take delivery of its
first Dreamliner next May, offering routes from Manchester, Gatwick, Glasgow and East Midlands to Florida and Mexico and, from November, .a weekly service from Gatwick to Phuket. Falcon CEO Helen Caron says that it is highly unlikely that any new long haul direct services will be offered from Dublin as a result of the initial round of Dreamliner deliveries, but Mexico, the Caribbean and Thailand were long term Dreamliner options out of Ireland. Thomson has ordered 13 Dreamliners in total. A competition asking Twitter users to name its first one was won by Living the Dream.
TRAVEL COUNSELLORS
Ireland’s 45 Travel Counsellors finished 6pc up on sales in the last 12 months compared to the previous year with 80pc of the company’s agents earning more than ever before. Sales increased by €1m for this financial year to over €17m. “Our continued growth and success proves that people still wish to go on holiday and are looking for an agent who can provide the highest levels of personal service” said General Manager Cathy Burke says.
TRAVEL REPUBLIC have opened an Irish website, in addition to those in England (where it is the fifth most visited travel website) and Spain. The product offers separately priced components from its 150,000 hotels, 100 airlines and 650 destinations. Components are booked separately by the client and contracts created directly between the client and the end provider. REGIONAL REPS Caroline
Megarry has started a new representation business, Regional Reps, offering travel agent visits, training and representation at Trade and Consumer shows.
WORLDCHOICE hosts a cruise workshop in Moran’s Red Cow hotel this month for the consortium’s 58 members.
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WINDOW SEAT
India: ‘My favourite country on earth’ says Tim Williamson
Busman’s holiday: Tim Williamson
Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Tim Williamson, CEO of the Travel Department
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guess it was inevitable I would end up working in travel as it’s something I have always done. From living in South Africa as a child where the variety is such that you almost never need to leave the country for a holiday, to moving back to the UK after my father died and my mum’s determination that we should see the historic sights of Europe. If travel is something you’ve been brought up with it’s difficult to imagine not doing it. As a child I remember well the beaches of Durban and our frequent trips to the Kruger park. Back in the UK it only took one wet week in a caravan park on the south coast to convince my mum that we would be heading in future to sunnier destinations around the Mediterranean. After school I had my first taste of the
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country that is still my favourite place on earth – India. I travelled around the northern states on my own before meeting my fairy godmother in Kathmandu, Nepal for an amazing month long trek into Tibet. My wife and I were later to come back to India as part of a trip round the world on a career break before I joined First Choice, luckily she loved it as much as I did. With TUI I have been lucky enough to see so much of the world but for my holidays I have always shied away from the company’s hotels and destinations for privacy and to not get drawn into the good and the not so good of what I saw as a customer. Now as a family we still crave the quiet, the private and the off the beaten track preferring a small campsite in France or the amazing nature and seclusion of Vancouver Island. I always said I didn’t want a holiday home as I never wanted to go back to the same place twice as there is just too much to see in the world but our time last year working as a family volunteering in an orphanage in Swaziland has changed that.
We were so captivated by the place and the people that we have already been back and will probably go back every year. I’m now 10 months into my new role at The Travel Department and not only am I really enjoying the business, the potential for the future and the people, but I have also quickly discovered a new travel challenge – getting to see and know more of Ireland. It’s a country I haven’t explored since my honeymoon and I’m relishing the challenge of getting to know more about a country I already love.
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
n abiding memory of this World Travel Market 2012 was the giant Etihad stand and the trophies on display. In one case was the Carling Premiership trophy (with two bodyguards) and the Aviva Premiership (with none). On the front of the stand were other kinds of trophies, the names and logos of the airlines it partowns, Air Seychelles, Air Berlin, Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus. Just as the end game approaches in the Ryanair battle to take over
Aer Lingus the Etihad approach is becoming a clear alternative. Michael O’Leary has a one in three chance of getting the goahead in his bid, amid a heavy background of leaks from Brussels and Dublin, spin and recrimination. O’Leary’s enemies include the media, consumer groups, politicians and, crucially the EU commission itself. Should he get the go ahead, Aer Lingus will open new trans Atlantic routes, off island bases, reduce fares and grow in passenger numbers from 10m to 15m in a few
years. O’Leary will get the chance to bulk buy form Airbus the way he bulk buys from Boeing. The alternative is not, as many believe, the status quo. It is a takeover by another major investor. Etihad’s takeover of Air Berlin has seen the sort of inroads into union practice and old structures that O’Leary might be seen to implement. For those opposed to an Irish takeover of our former national carrier, it is time to be careful of what you wish for.
IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Trade and Consumer from January 17 and distributed at Holiday World
HOLIDAY WORLD ISSUE A world to explore in 2013 REVIEWS FROM 5 CONTINENTS
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MEETING PLACE
d resort, Mandy Walsh an Sarah Spooner of Arm trip fam s lor vel Counsel Jenn O’Brien on the Tra to Mexico
Carmel O’Reilly, Tony Collins, Michelle Ande rson and Martin Penrose at the launch of the Topflig ht ski brochure
Out and about with the Travel Trade
Murat Balandi of Turkis Sinead O’Reilly of Travelport and Yvonne Mulh Airlines and Tayfun doon of United Airlines at the ITAA conference in Gokpinar from Wings Abroad at the ITA A conference in Istanbul Istanbul
Gary Zancanaro of Worldchoice and Pearse Keller at the ITAA conference in Istanbul
han Lodge in Lahinch Michael Vaughan, Vaug ll h Hotels Federation; Nia Valerie Abbott and Andrea Hunter from Aer LInand president of the Iris , en gus accept the award at the Northern Ireland All ma Em O; d CE Gibbons, Tourism Irelan g, Travel News awards in Newcastle Co Down Rin el ha Mic r iste Min d Mespil Hotel, Dublin; an stand at WRM on the Tourism Ireland
Bernie Whelan, Fidelm a Brady, Claudia Lane at the Dreams Tulum Re sort.on the Travel Coun sellors fam trip to Mexico
vel in Longford and Mary Kane of Kane Tra ost Beds at the ITAA Grainne Caffrey of Lowc conference in Istanbul
Miriam Dunne, chairpers on of the AOIFE festivals body with Ministe r Michael Ring and CE O Liam Crotty at the Aoife conference
in eary of O’Leary travel Suzanne and Liam O’L ul nb Ista A conference in Enniscorthy at the ITA
Yvonne Muldoon of Un ited with their 98FM pro motion winner Hazel Mc Guinness. Hazel won free flights to Washing ton DC
nCarole Carmody and Clare O’Dwyer on the Con- Clem Walshe of LowCostBeds, Annamay Ga eFre of ey on Mo ra , Cia tiki fam trip to Budapest non of East West Travel vel Tra y line Kil of llen Cu rd dom Travel and Richa to the Algarve. on the Low Cost fam trip
Miriam O’Connell, Tou Brendan Barry of Discover travel and Denise rism Ireland; Minister Reid of Roscrea Travel at the ITAA conference in Michael Ring; and Gretel O’Sullivan, Destination Killarney, on the Tourism Istanbul Ireland stand at WTM
Pat Lavelle, Knock Shrine Pilgrimages (centre) with Minister Michael Ring and Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland CEO, on the Tourism Ireland stand at WTM
y nner with Declan Murph Peter Kelly wedding pla na bri Sa d an ey gn dine Tan of Fáilte Ireland, Geral on Brehon Hotel at a forum s ey’ arn Kill m fro n Horga ess sin bu ing increase wedd how local tourism can
Page 037-038 pics Jan r 21/11/2012 10:47 Page 2
JANUARY 2013 PAge 38
MEETING PLACE
Bernie Whelan, Fidelma Brady, Claudia Lane at Kathryn McDonnell of the Spanish Tourist Board the Dreams Tulum Resort.on the Travel Counsel- and Sharon Jordan of On e Stop Travel Shop at the ITAA conference in lors fam trip to Mexico Istanbul
in Gonigle from Clondalk Dymphna and Jim Mc ul nb Ista in ce en fer Travel at the ITAA con
Mandy Walsh, Fidelm a Brady, Martina Hayde n and Teresa Murphy on the Travel Counsellors fam trip to Mexico
ehan’s Bundoran, Thecl Maureen Meehan of Me d and Cormac Meehan Lecane of Wings Abroa in Istanbul at the ITAA conference
Graham Hennessy an d Tom Barrett of Topflig ht at the ITAA conference in Istanbul
of bed and Dave Conlan Lee Osborne of Booka ul nb Ista in conference Travelport at the ITAA
Jenn O’Brien, Bernie Wh elan, Claudia Lane an d Sarah Spooner on the Travel Counsellors fam trip to Mexico
Out and about with the Travel Trade
a
Olwen McKinney of Amadeus and Joe Tully of Tully Travel in Carlow at the ITAA conference in Istanbul
id Cork Travel, Denise Re Brendan Barry of East be Glo of s llin Jeff Co of Roscrea Travel and ence in Istanbul fer con A ITA the at Hotels
Murat Balandi makes a presentation to Ertogrul Karaoglu of INtra who handled the ITAA conference in Istanbul
Paul Dawson of Daws on Travel and Martin Skelly of Navan Travel at the ITAA conference
Volker Lorenz of Amadeus and Peter O’Hanlon of Travelfinders at the ITAA conference in Istanbul
thleen Carr of Cill Dara Rita Cosgrove and Ka ference in Istanbul Travel at the ITAA con
Richard Greenaway of Keeley Webb and Annabel Cove of DosomeMercury Direct and Do thingdifferent at the Travel Centres conference in minic Burke of Travel Centres at the ITAA conferen ce in Ista nbul Naas.
Khama Billiat, fishing ranger at Manu Pools, and Fergus Kilkelly of Kilkelly Travel in Castlebar go tiger fishing in the Zambesi on the Zimbabwe
an 7 travel, Cormac Meeh Michael Caslin from 74 Tully m fro lly Tu Joe d an n from Meehan's Bundora ul A conference in Istanb travel Carlow at the ITA
page 039-040 20/11/2012 21:11 Page 1
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page 039-040 20/11/2012 21:11 Page 2
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