Travel extra jan 2015 5mb

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R WEDDINGS ABROAD WHAT TO WATCH YOU ETHIOPIAN THE LA /ADDIS OPTION ITAA MAKING WAVES ON QUANTUM ER P Conference season begins Ethiopia goes Lingus Dulles Day PA

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IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

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DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015

VOLUME 19 NUMBER 1

Bridal Wave Why Italy tops the chart for weddings abroad

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Page 003 News Africa 18/11/2014 14:49 Page 1

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The year of Africa

Addis route opens up one stop access to safari regions

reland will have new one stop options to a range of African airports as a result of the introduction of Ethiopian Airlines new direct 3w service to Addis Adaba from June 15.

The airline has one of the most extensive international networks in Africa and a total of 92 destinations will be served from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Tanzania’s minister for tourism Lazaro Nyalandu recently told Travel Extra of his plans to boost tourism numbers to 2m by 2017, doubling the number of tourists from Ireland as he did so.

Ethiopia itself ahas also been more attractive to irish visitors in recent years, according to Dun Laoghaire born Tony Hickey of Ethiopian Quadrants.”The Irish have been coming to Ethiopia for years, particularly in the last five or six years large groups have been coming for the Great Ethiopian Run, and many stay on for pre or post trips to Lalibela and other locations.”

“Whenever you make things easier for people, as with direct flights, visas on arrival etc, you can expect numbers to pick up.”

“Another factor is improvements in the supply side. There are now better roads (asphalt all the way from Addis Ababa to the Simien Mountains, and Addis Ababa to Axum the other way), even in southern Ethiopia.”

“We run birding trips down through the Rift Valley, Bale Mountains, Harenna Forest down and around to Yabello and back up the Rift Valley. We used to have to deploy 4x4s, but now can do the whole

oments Holiday M Sharing Worth

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 3

NEWS

SPAIN 1.074m Irish tourists travelled to

Spain this year to September more than the combined total for France, Italy, Portugal and Germany. June and July remain the most popular months for travel but September attracted 145,000 Irish tourists, an 8.5pc increase compared to last year. The most popular destinations are the Canary Islands, Andalucía, Cataluña, Valencia and the Balearic Islands.

VISITLONDON.com, the official Visitor Guide to the capital, together with the GREAT Britain campaign, have launched an international search to find London's Official Guest of Honour, who will have a once-in-alifetime chance to experience London as never before.

EXPLORE reported over a 150pc increase in overall Egypt bookings, year on year.

Explore launched their new Cycling SelfGuided collection.

BRAZIL Rio de Janeiro opened its first nudist beach at Abrico following a campaign by activists.

TOURISM Australia and Etihad Airways are to quadruple their spend in the 2014/15 season.

VISITSCOTLANDlaunched their Year of Food and Drink 2015 campaign, VisitScotland Exp 2015, to be held at the AECC, Aberdeen on April 22 and 23.

BUSINESS Report magazine esti-

mated there are 60m recreational golfers worldwide.

Brendan Barry of Discover Travel meets new friends in Lalibela

trip in a Coaster Bus.” “Even the Omo Valley (east bank) can be done in Coaster, except for one trip, to the Karo people.”

“Then there are the hotels, still not up to standards in southern (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia etc) and eastern Africa (Kenya, Tan-

zania) but hugely improved from the past.”

“Last but not least, Ethiopia is still great for security - you can wander around in safety, dropping into traditional music houses and sampling the local culture.”

NEW YORK A series of virtual tours will showcase Upstate New York. Ninety-three virtual tours will offer 360-degree views of State parks, campgrounds, trails, golf courses, beaches and tourist attractions. The tours include information and multiple scenes for each attraction, including Long Island, Niagara Falls and the Adirondacks.

EGYPT has signed contracts with six international firms to carry out dredging of the new Suez Canal. The state had reached the $8.5bn funding goal for the project

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Page 004 Knowledge 17/11/2014 17:08 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 4

CONTENTS

THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Advertising & Subscriptions 6 Sandyford Office Park Dublin 18 (+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417 Editorial Office Clownings Straffan Co Kildare Managing Editor: Gerry O’Hare gerry@travelextra.ie Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Picture Editor: Charlie Collins pix@travelextra.ie Sunday Supplement & Online: Conor McMahon conor@travelextra.ie Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Eanna Brophy eanna@travelextra.ie Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Sean Mannion sean@grafacai.ie Ida Milne ida@travelextra.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com

Travel Extra takes no responsibility for errors and omissions.

Distribution Manager: Shane Hourican shane@bizex.ie Origination: Typeform

Printer: WG Baird Limited Caulside Drive Greystone Rd Antrim BT41 2RS Contact +35387-2551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

www.travelextra.ie

3 News Where to go,h ow much to pay 6 Hotels: News 8 Postcards: News from the trade

A

10-13 Feature: Weddings 14 Malta: Hotel check 16-19 Feature: Excorted tours 26-27 Afloat: A Quantum leap 28-32 Flying: Addis, LA, Dulles & more

32 Ireland: The Jameson academy 33 ITAA: Conference 34 Global Village Inside the travel industry 37 Window seat: Our columnists 38 Pictures: Out and about

Selling weddings

round 4,000 Irish couples look abroad each year for their wedding arrangements. With an average cost of €8,000, a third of the €23,000 average they can spend on a wedding 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 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

Wedding couple in Malta

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.

SWITCH SELL: Introduce destinations they never even thought about. Concorde’s biggest number of enquiries 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 control-

ling 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.

VENUE hire can

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 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 secure 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.

Page 006 Hotels 17/11/2014 17:09 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 6

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HOTELS

HRS Business Hotel bed provider HRS revealed its most popular hotels in ten key business locations around Europe, as rated by its corporate travellers: H10 Art Gallery Barcelona, Regent Berlin, International design Hotel Lisbon, South Palace London, Sheraton Sheremeteyevo Hotel Moscow, Citadines Suites Louvre in Paris, Grand Hotel de Gianicoli Rome, Nordic Light Stockholm, Guesthouse Vienna and Sheraton Zurich,

IRELAND’S BLUE BOOK

has added four new properties and two restaurants to its protfolio; Campagne in Co. Kilkenny and Restaurant Forty One in Co Dublin Ghan Country House in medieval Carlingford in Co. Louth and Sea View House, in the Benbulben Mountain in Co. Sligo.

LOYALTYBUILD hosted 200 hoteliers at a forum to focus on the future of tourism in Ireland and grow revenues in the years ahead which was established in Ennis in 1999 and is now responsible for over 500,000 leisure break bookings each year and helping hotels to generate revenue of approximately €26m each year.

MANOR

House Hotels added Galgorm Resort & Spa in Antrim and Teach de Broc & The Sneem Hotel in Kerry to its portfolio.

Manor House reported a 13pc increase in bed night bookings and a 20pc increase in revenue.

The group owns 53 hotels around Ireland

Z

Great Zaravalue Surptise moves in winter room price index

aragoza has unexpectedly Europe’s cheapest hotel room rates, according to price comparison site Trivago.

The cathedral city located strategically between Barcelona and Madrid had its hotel bed stock boosted by hosting the 2008 Expo and has consistently sat among the best value desinatins in Europe on hotel price indices.

This winter it beat the usual value winners Bucharest and Sofia.

Prices in a number of other destinations in Spain have also decreased significantly, with Barcelona (-28%), Bilbao (-24%) and Seville (-24%) making the top 10.

The biggest decreases in comparison to October 2014 are found Florence (-33%) and Rome (-32%)

IRSH PRICES

STARWOOD is rolling out Bluetooth

enabled room access in ten of its hotels. The SPG Keyless app allows loyalty members to enter rooms using their smartphone.

JURYS INN introduced new Executive Rooms located on the upper floors of the chain’s city centre hotels. The rooms are fitted with super king beds, an in-room safe, minifridge, 32” TV, free Wi-Fi and complimentary refreshments.

CONRAD London St James launched

the Movember package which include a set of the new Refinery Collection grooming products dinner at the Blue Boar Bar for two and two pints of real ale.

DEAN

Hotel in Harcourt Street Dublin promises modern pod rooms, fully stocked mini SMEGs, Irish munchies and a Martin & Co limited edition guitar in the suites. Rooms are ready to roll from December 1 and the Dean’s website is up and running.

GEORGIAN House Hotel in London

unveiled two Harry Potter-themed “Wizard Chamber” rooms that come with a four poster “muggle-size” bed, potion bottles and cauldrons. The rooms are part of a package that includes a “muggle walking tour” of London.

GALLAHERS Hotel in Letterkenny is up for sale with a guide price of €900,000.

HILTON signed a 400 hotel license deal

for China.

BULGARI is to open a luxury hotel in

Beijing in 2017.

MARRIOTT International will offer free Wi-Fi at its full service brand hotels for loyalty members who book direct from Jan 15,

Geneva

€229 London

€220 Oslo

€166 Stockholm

€159 Donegal

€150

Amsterdam

€148

Copenhagen

€143 Munich

€142

Divine influence on a market in Zaragoza

showing the sharpest price drops.

Hotel prices have decreased sharply across Europe in November, with the average hotel price in many cities down by a quarter compared to October 2014.

Based on the 50 most popular European cities on trivago, hotel prices have dropped by an average of 14 per cent in comparison to last month. One night in November will cost an average of €109, compared to €126 in October.

John Pilkington of Tirvago said “travellers from Ireland planning a

European getaway will get more for their Euro this month, with a number of locations showing a sharp decrease in prices. Holidaymakers to Venice, for example, could save up to €90 a night this month in comparison to October.

In Ireland, prices have generally decreased in comparison to October 2014, with Kenmare (-14%), Galway (-12%) and Sligo (-10%) showing the largest drops.

Clifden was the only location in Ireland to show a significant increase – of 12 per cent.

EUROPEAN HOTEL PRICE INDEX €141 €113 €100 €90 €84 Manchester Venice

€138 Milan

€133 Clifden

€127 Edinburgh

€124 Brussels

€120 Glasgow

€119 Cologne

€115

Brighton Florence Hamburg Lyon Vienna Dublin

€112 Belfast

€111 Frankfurt

€110 Cannes Rome

€109

Liverpool

€108

Barcelona

€106

Kenmare Turin Istanbul Wicklow

€98

Killarney Madrid

€96

Kilkenny

€95 Berlin Cork Tralee

€93

Marseille

€92 Lisbon

€91

Derry Sligo

Kinsale

€89

Toulouse

€88

Leipzig Westport

€87 Dingle

€86

Athlone Doolin Nice Valencia Wexford

€85

Dresden Galway

€83 Prague

€81 Sevilla

€80 Athens

€79 Waterford

€77

Bilbao Limerick

€76

Malaga

€72

Bucharest

€71

Granada Riga

€68

Rosslare

€67

Budapest

€66

Warsaw

€63 Sofia

€60

Zaragoza

€58

source: Trivago.ie

Page 007 virgin atlantic advertorial 17/11/2014 17:10 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 7

VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S NEW 787s ARE TAKING TO THE SKIES T he first of Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 fleet has arrived. Their 787s, also known as ‘Dreamliners’, are set to revolutionise the airline, with an incredible onboard experience and more sustainable, safer and efficient aircraft.

Birthday Girl, their first 787, is flying between London Heathrow and Boston from 28 October 2014. And over the following months, the first few 787s will start flying from Heathrow to their East Coast destinations like Washington from 17 December*, then later Newark and New York. Which will help make transatlantic travel even easier, offering total convenience and connectivity. Here’s how:

Inside Our 787s

Whichever cabin you travel in, you’ll enjoy WiFi access and the latest version of our award winning inflight entertainment system. Plus interior design and dynamic mood lighting that give a feeling of space and light

Upper Class

When it’s time for rest or sleep, settle into a refreshed version of the original, popular Upper Class Suite. The bar has also been redesigned to make it even more of a social space where you can dine with colleagues or experience new services like wine tasting. If sleep’s a priority, you can choose to ‘Grab and Go,’ with a quick breakfast bite from the bar before landing.

Premium Economy

They’re now offering even more comfort and freedom in Premium Economy. Stretch your legs in the added room created by the new, comfier leather seat. Or take a stroll to the ‘Wander Wall,’ the new social space, to grab a snack or drink. And say hi to the friendly cabin crew as you pop by.

Economy

Virgin Atlantic always made sure that their Economy cabins offer plenty of those little touches that make the journey fun.

And now their focus for 787 is the seat. They’ve chosen Recaro’s best award winning longhaul Economy seat, which innovatively creates more living space and comfort.

Innovations on Our 787s

The new 787s will give you Virgin Atlantic’s best ever experience of inflight service and comfort, with a range of innovations

The Best View

Enjoy an amazing view. The electronically dimmable cabin windows are the biggest on any commercial aircraft. And they’re designed so that wherever you’re sitting, you can see the horizon.

Dynamic Mood Lighting

The dynamic onboard mood lighting adjusts to the destination time zone, helping you arrive feeling less jet lagged.

A Breath of Fresh Air The cabin air is cleaner, with higher humidity and lower cabin altitude, making the air feel more comfortable. For a more refreshing, less tiring journey.

Onboard WiFi

All Virgin Atlantic’s 787s have WiFi throughout, allowing you to stay connected during your time in the air.

More reliable

The 787s are super reliable because they include as much electrical architecture as possible and have fewer moving parts. Advanced Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) also means that they can check how they’re performing, even when they’re flying.

Dates are subject to change. Please check before you book.

Page 008 Postcard 18/11/2014 09:19 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 8

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

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t was a somewhat emotional evening when Tony Collins, Chairman of the Topflight Travel Group, was presented with “The Decoration of Honour in Gold” by Austrian Ambassador Thomas Nader at a ceremony at the Austrian Embassy Residence in Ballsbridge.

The award was for services to Austrian Tourism and Tony had gathered family and friends from Ireland and Austria for the evening, Erika Mott,

T

racy Vaughn, new director of Georgia Tourism, hosted trade and travel media in Peploe’s Restaurant, Dublin.

Tracy was previously with Visit Florida and extolled the secrets of Georgia beyond the Atlanta gateway familiar to Delta passengers. Georgia has a beach product comparable to Florida’s and many Georgian towns are easily reached through Florida gateway airports.

A

bear? The surprise feature on Royal Caribbean’s new high tech ship Quantum of the seas is the large red bear which sits atop the 14th deck.

The press release described it as a polar bear but Royal Caribbean personnel are not so sure. The bear has become the signature of the ship, with media guests and revenue passengers posing for their photographs.

John Small and Simon Daly amongst them.

Tony talked about his love of Austria and how he started tour operating with an allocation of 20 seats on a DublinMunich service from Simon Daly who was then with Ryanair. Picture shows a reconvened group of Tony Collins Simon Daly and John Small of the Ski club of Ireland with a photograph of themselves taken at Innsbruck in 1989.

Georgia will be using the opportunity presented by IPW in Orlando next year to showcase the southern part of the state.

Picture shows Peter Hanniford of Georgia Tourism, Siobhan Scanlan of Delta, Barry Hammond of Sunway, Tracy Vaughn new director of Georgia Tourism and Ciara Foley of Platinum Travel, chair of the Visit USA committee in Dublin.

“Would you build a ship without a big bear on it,” Richard Fain CEO of Royal Caribbean said.

“The original design had her looking in through the pods that stick out from Seaplex, people inside saw a bear looking in through the window, those outside saw the back of the bear, but from the aft end of the ship it did not convey the sense that we wanted so we decided to mover her upright.”

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osanna Leary, Sharon Jordan and Donna Kenny (pictured) hosted Irish travel media on board the Uniworld flagship, Marie Antoinette at the recent CLIA river cruise conference in Amsterdam.

It was a valuable introduction to what is regarded as the premium end of the river cruise market for the Irish media and trade among the 300 delegates who attended the event.

T

he autumn rugby internationals saw their biggest ever hosting of travel trade guests who gathered in the Aviva stadium.

The ITAA thanked its sponsors while Amadeus also hosted key partners at the event. The Irish rugby team responded to the challenge and gave their gusts plenty to cheer about amid a crackling atmosphere Picture shows Olwen

S

unway won the supplier of the year award at the Travel Centres awards ceremony in Killashee, Naas at the consortium’s annual conference and awards ceremony.

Jeanette Taylor, Deirdre Sweeny and Mary Denton of Sunway and Bernie Burke of Travel Centres are pictured presenting a well-earned award to Denise Connaughton of 1stop Travel in Galway before the supplier award win-

Uniworld was one of three host ships which accommodated delegates and seven river cruise ships which docked in Amsterdam for the fast-expanding event to reflect a fast-expanding end of the business. “I want more Irish trade to experience our river cruise product,” Sharon Jordan said. “Our all inclusive product stands out against our competitors and it was great to hear the endorsement of the trade at first hand.”

McKinney of Amadeus, Carol Anne O’Neill of Falcon Holidays, Volker Lorenz of Amadeus and Pat Dawson CEO of the ITAA on hand to cheer Ireland to victory over South Africa.

Carol Anne O’Neill is no stranger to sports grounds, her father was a leading 1960s soccer star with Shamrock Rovers and played 20 times for Ireland including the legendary 1965 world cup playoff match against Spain.

ner was announced and the Sunway trio were called back on the stage to collect.

The 28 category award winners included: 1Stoptravel, Best4 travel, Douglas Travel, Liberty Travel, Newbridge Travel, O’Hanrahan Travel, Padraig Keogh travel, Platinum Travel, Roscrea travel, The Travel broker, Torc Travel and Way2go travel.

O’Hanrahan’s Travel in Monaghan were serial winners on the night.

The Emperor penguin survives Antarctic temperatures of minus 40 degrees C to get to a special place For the Emperor penguin, that ‘special place’ is a sheltered colony on the Dion islands.

But for you, we really believe that it’s here, with us, at Travel Counsellors.

You want more flexibility, a better work-life balance, a chance to earn what you’re worth.

But we also know it’s one of the biggest decisions you’ve ever faced...

Make a move towards that special place.

...no need for you to f lap, just get in touch Find out more at www.travelhomeworking.ie Email the team at careers@travelcounsellors.ie Have an informal, confidential chat on 0818 332 003

Join in

Page 010-012 Weddings 17/11/2014 17:12 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 10

R

WEDDINGS SPECIAL

esearch company Mintel say one in five couples get married abroad.

A total of 25,000 couples get married each year, and while exact figures are not available, it is estimated that more than 4,000 are doing so abroad. because it is often just a third of the cost of getting married at home.

There is 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 cost of a wedding abroad has risen and now costs just over €8,000.

This is still attractive compared with as an average €23,000 for an Irish-based ceremony.

This figure, importantly, does not include guest accommodation or flights.

They are not just interested in sun destinations, winter destinations feature too and countries like Austria.

Honeymoons are a bigger market again. Tour Operators report reports that the spend has gone up on honeymoons from €2,500 to €4,500 this year, with an increased level of enquiries for 2015 and 2016 mainly to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Thailand.

T

he 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.

Point out that a wedding abroad has guaranteed weather, is more intimate and they want their family members there, but there tends to be less family politics.

The cost of flights, hotel accommodation and the fact there is no Barry’s tea available may

Bouquet list

deter a few of the older, more distant relatives.

Then again, in some circumstances that might be an advantage.

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 cons tend to be family unable to travel due to health, family traditions, it is too difficult they feel no control, they wouldn’t know where to start and it takes a lot more planning.

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

G

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.

I

reland’s favourite wedding abroad destination is Italy, followed by Malta.

Italy’s Tuscany and Sorrento offer gorgeous backdrops to the special day. You can get married and have your papal audience on Wednesday in Rome, which a lot of couples still do.

Recent favourites are Sorrento/Positano with the option of getting married in church in Positano of have civil wedding in Sorrento, also Lake Garda and Tuscany are

big favourites, as well as Rome.

Italy is good value for meals, and also easy to organise flowers, cars and the rest on the day.

Malta is popular because it is English speaking, there is no residency requirement, it has an attractive climate, direct flights and is groaning with churches.

Spain and France are next with Cyprus, New York and Austria also in the hunt.

Now you can get married anywhere in Austria and all the locals speak English. An Irish couple got married last year in Soll – on skis. Favourite wedding churches in Austria include: n The 12th century church in Bad Hofgastein and the little church in Bochstein – near Bad Gastein n The Sissi Church at the top of the Schmittenhohe mountain in Zell

am See – and in fact Zell am See even have a Wedding steamer! n St Johann and Westendorf are known for Irish weddings.

Accommodation and food and beverage are very cheap outside of peak times and summer offers even better value.

Florida, the Caribbean, Croatia, Prague, Greece and Turkey are all growing. Thomas Cook would be that Cyprus and Lanzarote (Playa Blanca) are popular with their Irish customers.

Vegas is regarded as glitzy (rather than quickie) and relatively free of bureaucracy with some gorgeous honeymoon landscapes in the vicinity.

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. A lot of European countries do not allow a beach wedding. In the Caribbean it has become the norm.

Over the past few years Mauritius, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles have been growing.

More unusual locations are now being chosen away from the beach, such as Lapland and Iceland.

A

wedding abroad is very different from a wedding at home.

It enables the agent having a long term relationship with the customer.

Most of the serious discussion takes place be-

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.

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 holiday (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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WEDDINGS SPECIAL tween a year and two years ahead of the event.

Your clients are more needy than the average and a degree of counselling is helpful.

If you make it easy, you will get the bookings.

The packages available include photography, the ceremony itself, flowers, music wedding planning support, extras like cake and transport.

When they are thinking of getting married tempt them to talk. Use photos and videos in selling the product. Cite testimonials.

Weddings are wellsuited for promotion on social media: 90pc of brides now research their wedding online. Offline as well as online, networking is huge. Every wedding guest is a potential customer or source of advice to another couple.

Communicate a clear package with a package price they can get their head around. If you don’t have a precise package to offer them the planning process gets stalled.

Once they have a package they can add on to that.

The commission from wedding packages is important but there are other commissionable elements, guest accommodation and travel, pre wedding and post wedding activities, and guest activities, reconnaissance visits in advance, and wedmoons.

O

rganising 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.

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.

Marry in St Lucia, for example, and the couple could need as many as nine different documents, more if either party has been divorced.

F

or a church ceremony, several months' notice is often necessary. Civil weddings can usually be arranged at shorter notice.

Civil 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 passport, original birth certificate, letters of freedom and proof of divorce or annulment, and a sworn affidavit, obtainable in Ireland, stating that both parties free to marry.

Stress that clients should follow the ground handler instructions, not those of the couple’s so-

Taking the plungs in Thailand

I

T

Caribbean weddings can come with a 24 hour stipulation

licitor, who may claim that certain documents are not required in certain situations.

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.

France demands a syphilis certificate (issued by a doctor practicing in France certifying that you have been examined "en vue de mariage") and a certificate of celibacy (stating that you are indeed single or divorced and are legally able to marry).

According to French law, the Banns must be published at the mairie of the commune in which you will be married 10 days before the civil marriage takes place. You must prove residency for 30 days and a ten day stay after the ceremony.

S

panish authorities may take 30 to 45 days to approve a marriage application.

Policies and procedures vary from region to region.

Spanish law appears to permit foreigners who are not Spanish legal residents to marry in Spain.

The different autonomous communities in Spain, however, interpret this law differently.

Outside Madrid, it may be required that one party be a citizen or resident of Spain.

n Italy, persons wishing to be married must appear with two witnesses and make a declaration of their intention to marry before the Ufficiale di Stato Civile (Civil Registrar) of the city or town where the marriage is to take place.

Following the declaration it is usually necessary for banns, or marriage announcement, to be posted at the local comune (city hall) for two consecutive Sundays before the marriage occurs if one of the parties is Italian or if the Irish citizen is a resident of Italy.

Banns can be waived by the Ufficiale di Stato Civile if neither party to the marriage is Italian and neither is residing in Italy.

Local authorities require the presence of a translator if neither party speaks Italian.

Many couples get round this by having a small marriage ceremony in Ireland followed by a larger confirmation ceremony abroad.

Topflight have some enticing villa complexes in Tuscany, which also have churches on site.

They say their most popular places are Malcesine in Lake Garda ( and Scaliageri Castle), Sirmione, and of course Sorrento and Positano.

he bureaucracy of France, Italy and Spain has meant that the tiny island of Malta (you can fit two and half Maltas into Ireland’s smallest county, Louth) has been advancing rapidly up the aisle as the wedding destination of choice for hundreds of Irish couples each year.

Malta has earned a steadily growing market share because of its easy bureaucracy residency stipulation of just three days, the close relationship between civil ceremony and church wedding, and the preponderance of churches and good hotels which offer a dazzling array of wedding options.

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 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.

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.

I

n contrast to France and Spain’s long ‘residency’ stipulation, Greece, Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy are all becoming feasible choices.

Spain, France and Italy will all need someone to translate documents which adds expense and bureaucratic hurdles.

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.

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.

Page 021 09/01/2014 11:24 Page 1

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Page 016 Malta 17/11/2014 17:13 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 16

W

DESTINATION MALTA

hile Malta doesn’t boast many sandy beaches, it does provide plenty of opportunities to take a refreshing dip in the Mediterranean with most hotels and resorts offering direct access to the sea.

Sea access and airier spaces are a recurring motif in properties around the island. Wi-Fi is another must-have amenity.

Many properties are opting to replace Kid’s Clubs with activities. The Seabank is probably the most innovative property to embrace this concept.

Seabank’s showpiece is the large leisure area, which boasts the island’s biggest pool, 1,200 sunbeds (more than enough for everyone in the audience), ramps into the pool for disabled guests, water jets, jacuzzi, crazy golf, volleyball, beach football, archery and air riffle shooting.

going a big renovation.

The V18 project will see ongoing restoration across the city until 2018 when it becomes European Capital of Culture in 2018, alongside Leeuwarden in The Netherlands.

Pillow talk Clive Vella’s photograph of Valetta’s waterfront

The focus is all about experience – the more unique the better.

The Cavalieri, where we stayed, has rebranded itself as a modern art hotel. Management is transforming most of its bright entrance space into a gallery.

The foyer currently

hosts abstract sculptures, pencil drawings and acrylic paintings, and new pieces were installed in October. Prices start at €800 if anything takes your fancy. The back of the downstairs restaurant will be converted into a gallery next year.

BEDWATCH WITH LOWCOSTBEDS

n Cavalieri Art Hotel, St Julian’s Bay The Cavalieri has 258 rooms with slight differences in views (marina v sea view) and size (comfort v superior). Interconnecting rooms are available for families. n Hilton Malta The five-star Hilton Malta offers the luxurious experience you would expect from any of the group’s premises. The hotel now boasts 410 rooms in total, after a new block was constructed in 2009. n The Dolmen offers a very reasonable price – €34pp a night, elegantly decorated, and it caters for families, young couples, retired couples. n Ramla Bay Resort out of the way from the capital, Valetta, but only five minutes by boat from Gozo Island.

The hotel has 281 rooms on four floors, each offering a sea view. n The Seabank is the best resort for families, especially those with young children. The 392-room hotel was refurbished in 2011-12, after which it introduced a purely all-inclusive concept. n Quara Palace is the kind of place that’s suitable for guests who are looking for a cheap place to simply plug in and plug out. The 395 rooms can hold three to four beds for families, n Santana hotel targets mainly older clients and is an old hotel itself.

The 20-year-old property could do with

a major refurbishment. At the moment, the carpets, the east side bar, soft furnishing and the bathrooms are undergoing a refit, which is a start. n Sea Shells Resort is the same age as the Santana, but has kept up with the times and underwent a series of refits over the last two decades. It will receive another facelift during the winter when the entire hotel is renovated in a €13m project, which will be unveiled next March. All 452 rooms will be redesigned, as will the foyer, the floors and the electric system. n Topaz Hotel. The 368-room Topaz is in need of serious refurbishment. If you insist on selling it, sell it as a twostar resort rather than three. n Blue Seas resorts offer two worlds: the San Anton and Santa Maria resorts are for families, while St George Park and La Vallette are for partiers.

Crossovers occasionally occur, which prove disastrous for everyone invoved.

The San Anton and Santa Maria resorts consist of 424 rooms between them.

Work needs to be done on the properties, which were dormant for five years until Blue Seas reopened them in 2012.

High humidity in all four resorts makes for stuffy rooms, which are only fitted with fans. You get exactly what you expect for €10pp a night.

Conor McMahon tours Malta’s hotels

M

alta is proving particularly popular with the French, who entered the top five markets this year. Our guide, Godfrey, says this is because agents are diverting clients from risky destinations like Turkey and Egypt and sending them here.

It’s debatable whether that’s a fair substitution, but Malta certainly offers a rich cultural and historical experience and fantastic hot spells during the summer.

A staunchly Catholic state, visitors can repent in any of the island’s 359 churches. Or simply admire their beautiful structures. It’s possible to perform a wedding ceremony near the sea – preferably 100 metres from the shoreline.

You’ll certainly be looking to cleanse your soul after a night out in St Julian’s Bay, “the party Mecca of Malta”.

Paceville is where most of the action is. The streets are lined with clubs and pubs offering cheap pints, cocktails and shots of every taste and colour. And there’s cheap food at hand to soak up the alcohol.

Millennials and Leaving Cert holidaymakers looking to indulge will hardly venture anywhere else. But they don’t run the place. There are also more mature premises with heavyset bouncers keeping order. The upstairs bar in Hugo’s Lounge is recommended if you want to hang out with drunken thirtysomethings rather than drunken teenagers.

Y

ou can quickly get away from the revellers if you want.

If you’re looking for peace, head north to Mellieha or St Paul’s Bay. The latter is a bit busier, but still ideal for families and older couples.

Located 35 minutes from the capital, Valletta, Mellieha is a bit out of the way and although the whole island is well-serviced by public transport and tour buses, you might consider hiring a car – which could be a bit of a hassle. The island is, unsurprisingly, quite congested, and major road works are under way on the island’s east coast until 2015.

Valletta is also under-

M

alta and its sister islands were captured by everyone at some point, it seems. The Phoenicians, the Romans, Moorish, Normans, Sicilians, Habsburg Spain, Knights of St John, French and, finally, the English all took advantage of the island’s central location and used it as a military base.

The mixture of influences is most evident in the language, which is a concoction of Arabic, French, Latin and English.

Foodies will appreciate the array of sea creatures that make it on the menu.

If you love your seafood, you must try the hake and the fish cakes in Zeri’s restaurant in Portomaso, St Julian’s Bay. If you’re more into turf than surf, then go for the Aged Angus beef eye.

If you have the time, you could take advantage of the island’s location and visit some of its neighbours. It’s easy to get to Gozo, Malta’s sister. The island hosts one family, one hotel, one policeman – and thousands of visitors a year. Or you could spend a day and take a mini trip to Sicily, which is only 90 minutes by boat. The staff in most properties will help arrange your trip.

Malta ticks the boxes for a week in the sun: easy access to the sea, cheap and delicious food and a vibrant nightlife (if you want it).

Next time you reach for the Canaries brochure, think about sending your clients this way for a change.

n Conor McMahon travelled to Malta with Lowcostbeds, a global, trade only bed bank, live in 47 countries and 13 languages. Established in 2004, it has signed up 38,000 agents globally

European & Worldwide Escorted tours 2015 • Escorted Tours by air • Fully Bonded • Price Promise - No Surcharge Guarantee • Excellent Tour Managers • Typically four star standard • Much more included - no selling of extra excursions on holiday • No discounting • Agent friendly • Full on-line booking capability

PARIS 4 days from €449pp - Selected departures March to November 2015

CLASSICAL SPAIN 7 days from €759pp - Selected departures April to October 2015

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SOUTH AFRICA 16 days from €2,199pp - Selected departures January to November 2015

JAPAN - LAND OF THE RISING SUN 13 days from €3,949pp - Selected departures June to November 2015

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GRAND TOUR OF CHINA 17 days from €3,169pp - Selected departures April to November 2015

Plus many more destinations

For a brochure, to check availability or to book:

Call: 01 905 6300 Visit: www.rivieratravel.ie

Holiday organised by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Travel, Chase House, City Junction Business Park, Malahide Road, Northern Cross, DUBLIN 17. Fully licensed and bonded by CAR (T.O. 257). Per person prices based on two sharing a twin room.

Single rooms available at a supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply.

Images used in conjunction with Riviera tarvel.

Page 018-019 Escorted Tours 17/11/2014 17:16 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 18

T

ESCORTED TOURS

ravelling on an escorted tour is ALWAYS more affordable than travelling on your own.

Escorted tour operators book hotel rooms in bulk, passing the savings on to your clients.

They also have the buying power to get the best value in guided sightseeing, meals and local transportation, such as motorcoach, train or ferry travel from one city to another.

It costs much less than if your client arranged the same services themselves.

On an escorted tour, much of the sightseeing is included. That means participants do not have to pay for each museum visit or activity separately, it is all included in the price of your tour.

While the days may be filled with included sightseeing, or transferring via motorcoach from one overnight neighbourhood to another, participants will also have some free time to spend however they like, optional excursions (for additional fees), relaxing at the hotel, sitting at a sidewalk and writing postcards, or exploring the area on their own.

Escorted tours are the only holiday type that really get you into a destination.

A

big selling point is that people like to travel with like-minded passengers on an escorted tour, they compare notes on sightseeing, share travel tips and get to know one another over included meals.

They can also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with travelling in a group.

Many clients always longed to travel but don’t know where to start.

That’s where a tour operator in whose safe hands they can trust their precious holiday comes in.

When it comes to visas, insurance and all

Hit the Road, Jackeen

A busy day at Ephesus

that boring stuff, which can make or break a holiday, they need expert guidance.

Escorted tours are normally conducted by a tour director who takes care of all services from beginning to end of the tour.

Unlike Cruise ships, escorted tours allow travellers to get immersed in a destination and get to stay in towns that are otherwise deserted once it gets dark (an example is Venice at night).

O

n an escorted tour, a knowledgeable tour director will lead the escorted tour group along every step of your vacation. They will take you to the main sights, but sometimes off the beaten track to somewhere you would never have visited on your own.

They will be well versed in the local language and culture, which is especially important if you are travelling in a foreign country.

They react well to the group and participate socially and share unique insights and anecdotes.

Participants will learn about the history, geography and current events of

each region you visit.

Many parts of Europe, for all the recent American-style customerfriendly improvements, still don’t yield up some of its attractions easily.

Anyone who has ever turned up at a museum or art gallery to find a “closed” sign on the door will know that.

T

he market is growing and changing.

As with land based holiday destinations and tour operators they are beginning to see cruise ships as their biggest competition.

Escorted tour operators in the Irish market include: n Colette Vacations n Contiki Holidays – youth market n Cosmos n Exodus n Explore n G Adventures (youth market) n Globus n GTI n Insight Vacations n PAB n Riviera n Trafalgar tours n Travel Department Travel Department are the brand leader out of Ireland, having made a huge success out of the

so-called grey market.

CIE Tours International and Brendan Vacations are also Irish connected although they offer tours worldwide.

Globus, Cosmos, Contiki, Insight, Riviera Travel, Trafalgar, Collette Vacations, GTI, Explore and Exodus are all big international brands. Contiki targets the younger traveller, up to age 35.

Globus and Trafalgar operate around the same price points while Cosmos is a less expensive Globus brand.

Intrepid and Imaginative Traveller target smaller and younger groups. Explore and Exodus have loyal travellers who have stuck with them, often since the companies were founded in the 1980s. Their demographic seems to have grown older with the companies.

R

emember that not all escorted tours are created equal.

They are typically conducted by motorcoach but some have more adventurous options on part of the journey along the way.

They can be fastpaced, with no more than

two nights spent in each location, or more leisurely, with more time spent overnight at each locale.

It is not just about itineraries. Some include flights, hotels, transportation, transfers to the airport/hotel, most meals and sightseeing. Others exclude some of the key items.

Most escorting touring companies have 52-seater coaches. Leg room on board, the use of city centre hotels versus suburban hotels, functional extras such as free wifi and charge points and the itineraries are all differentiators.

Some pack their buses, some deal with smaller groups of less than twenty. Some switch between the two, while some dealing with small groups use local transport rather than a chartered coach.

Some may stay in one city for several nights while taking day trips through the local countryside, or use a leisurely itinerary that may cover a few different cities in one area of the world.

Then there are fastpaced tours that give you a great overview of many countries in Europe, several states in the USA or many regions of Australia.

Accommodation can vary significantly, and is often at local guesthouses and pensions. In general, most escorted tour companies choose hotels in suburbs as opposed to city centre locations as it keep the price point lower.

Sometimes you'll have an amazing room, other times you'll be in a small room sharing a bath down the hall.

On many escorted tours only a small number of meals might be in-

cluded and these can be group meals.

Most escorted touring company’s prices do not include excursions and entries to tourist sights/attractions and guests are asked while on tour by the Tour Guides/Managers to pay for this, so it is an additional cost on top of the price paid for the tour.

T

here is a difference in terms of what is offered between brands who are targeting the traditional escorted tour clients and the youth market.

The perception of escorted tours is beginning to change amongst the younger generation, with the likes of Contiki and G Adventures becoming stronger in the Irish market place.

Both companies offer escorted group travel to the youth market, with Contiki specifically targeting young travellers between 18-35 only while G Adventures also caters for older more adventurous traveller and families also.

Escorted travel is the perfect way for young solo individuals to travel who are seeking the company of like-minded people and, of course, the security of travelling with others in an organised group.

In some cases young travellers will look to their travel agent for advice on solo travelling and they are presented with group holiday travel, such as Contiki.

Due to the nature of it being a youth product one can expect the product offering to be different to that of Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, Travel Department who would be more appealing to more mature

Page 018-019 Escorted Tours 17/11/2014 17:16 Page 2

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 19 age categories. Contiki’s trips tend to be more high energy (with plenty of outdoor activities on offer), sociable and geared towards making friends.

Accommodation on offer ranges from camping to hostels and hotels.

There are plenty of room share options, so this eliminates single room supplements, and of course younger travellers tend to have less problems with sharing rooms than more mature travellers.

I

nsight Vacations are a little more upmarket from the others. Insight is the only operator that offers 40-seater coaches, others tend to have 52 seats. Insight purchases brand new top of the range coaches and reconfigures them to 40seater coaches thus offer-

ing business class legroom.

All coaches have free Wi-Fi and charge points for phones and iPads.

Each coach is in operation for only five years.

They say their premium status is justified by the hotels, food inclusions, VIP entries to sites, more inclusions and seat pitch. They sit at the 4/5 star level.

Insight say their hotels are hand-picked in the more desirable locations.

“On city tours the hotels are always in the city centre and not in the suburbs,” Sharon Jordan says. “Insight’s signature hotels which are included on most tours are distinctive properties, for example the Kolbe in Rome, a luxury converted 15th century convent within walking distance of the Roman Forum.”

“On Insight’s Gold Luxury tours guests will

enjoy the best 4/5 star hotels in each location. Our American national parks tours always stay inside the National Parks.”

“Food inclusions with Insight immerse guests in the chosen destination.

There are Welcome Receptions at the start and Celebration Dinners at the end of each journey, such as a gourmet meal at Chateau de Rochecotte, accompanied by wines of the Loire Valley. On many itineraries guests are invited to dine as the locals do.”

“Insight includes excursions and entries to tourist sights.

They go even further and where possible offer VIP entrances to many sites such as VIP access to the Vatican Museums where Insight guests skip all the queues. Insight offers exclusive access to the Bramante Staircase at the Vatican Museums. “

ESCORTED TOURS

their inception 29 years ago, they’ve never levied a surcharge – even when currency, fuel and more recently tax movements were excessive.

Local knowledge wil help find Northern Lights

“Remarkable extras are included such as a tour of the Isle of Capri in an open-top taxi, a scenic trip on the Glacier Express railway, the Rocky Mountaineer and a gondola journey in Venice. A huge bonus is that these are included in the price of the tour.”

T

he GTI tem in Ireland is headed up

by Derek Keogh.

Their refreshed itineraries for 2015 include China and Tibet Vietnam and Cambodia, South America and Cuba and a series of Battlefield Tours

R

from WW1, WW2 DDay, Berlin: WW2 & The Cold War and a secrets of The Third Reich tour.

iviera Travel staff undergo resortbased annual training and build knowledge so they can advise about the holiday based on their own experience.

Their Tour Managers have a tradition of long service, 16 of them now for over twenty years and that staff are selected for organisational ability. knowledge and are multilingual.

Riviera say that since

E

scorted tours are available on every continent in the world, from budget to luxury, leisurely to fastpaced. They range anywhere from 6 to 34 days.

Then there’s the Mauiva Air Cruise – using private airports to hop from city to city by air.

An example is six days (five nights) takes you from New York, Niagara, Toronto and Washington DC or seven days (six nights) from LA, San Francisco, Yosemite, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

Whether it’s a young and lively trip for 18-35s, or an enriching premium or luxury escorted journey, we have it covered. Here at The Travel Corporation, we provide holidays and experiences of a lifetime. Our commitment is to consistently deliver outstanding service, experience and value to each and every customer.

ic]ikj\ Zrpr\ibc] YB > G O 7 J O N M N < : J 8 S G < , KBGJOS5< SCO <FSGG L>B9@ SO8NC:9>N< MB> (y{*! 5NS> BGO<

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GET ON TRACK WITH VOYAGES-SNCF Voyages –sncf, the UK’s leading distributor of European rail reached out to the Irish travel trade market earlier this year when they launched a trade website. The only trade portal of its kind in Ireland, Voyages-sncf.eu provides a user friendly solution for booking continental rail. So why did they do it and how have they got on?

Paul Lacey, Voyages-sncf’s Head of Trade Sales looks back on the last 8 months and assesses the impact so far and why Ireland plays an important part in its future distribution strategy.

Why Ireland?

We knew from research that there is an appetite for rail travel in Ireland and felt there was a gap in the market with no dedicated web portal for travel agents. We got a business case approved quickly and were able to turn around the project in about 3 months launching our site in February.

What can agents book?

We offer hundreds of routes allowing agents to build itineraries tailored to their client’s needs.

Access to Europe’s top high speed rail carriers including TGV, Thalys, TGV Lyria, Renfe & Italo amongst others, makes booking travel across France and throughout Europe easily accessible.

Why rail? What the does the future have in store?

Rail is becoming an integral part of the travel ecosystem with the development of high speed routes, improved infrastructure and greater demand from travellers, be it for leisure or business. Although the majority of Irish travellers will start their holiday with a flight, the train can be a great way to travel once in mainland Europe. It’s fast, flexible, convenient and comfortable. It’s less hassle than flying and good value.

How important are travel agents to Voyages sncf?

Travel agents are a vital part of the distribution chain. They add value to the customer and highlight the many benefits of rail travel either as an alternative to air or as a component of the journey. We are keen to hear feedback on our product and the service we offer and what tools agents and operators need to develop sales.

How are we engaging with Irish travel agents?

Paul Lacey Head of Trade Sales

Our sales team have already made several visits to Ireland and we have run a number of incentives and competitions to create awareness and excitement around the product. We gave away 3 pairs of tickets to agents for simply telling us where they would most like to travel. We have a dedicated Irish helpline to provide help through the booking process if required and a specific email address for agency sales support. We have already committed to attending a number of Irish travel trade events in 2015 and look forward to meeting and working with existing and new partners.

Is European rail just for leisure customers?

No; the split between leisure and business sales is fairly even at the moment. We believe there is a real opportunity for business travel agents and TMCs to enhance the client offer and we’re delighted to meet and discuss with them how we can support that.

How are we doing?

We got off to a fairly modest start but we are now seeing a monthly increase in sales as more agents become aware of the website and the opportunities on offer. French journeys are the most popular but bookings for Spain and Italy are on the increase and we have also been surprised by the amount of Eurostar bookings being made. It seems that Irish travellers are choosing this option when they are either starting or finishing their holiday or business trip in the UK.

How do you get started?

It’s dead easy; just go to www.voyages-sncf.eu. On your first visit you will have to click on the country tab and choose Ireland from the drop down. On the home page click on the “Register” tab and complete the registration form to create an account for yourself. This only takes a few minutes and we’ll normally have you up and running and ready to book within 24 hours. If you encounter any problems or need some help then just email us at ireland@uk.voyages-sncf.com

We look forward to working with you.

WHY RAIL WORKS FOR BUSINESS

WHY RAIL

Are your corporate customers using rail? If not, here are just a few of the reasons why they should opt for the train for their next trip:

1. Reach 1000s of destinations 2. High speed travel in comfort and style 3. Convenient, regular services 4. Flexible journeys - start anywhere in Europe 5. Great value - no taxes or extra baggage fees 6. Door to door travel times comparable to flying 7. No long airport check-ins or transfers 8. Travel from city centre to city centre 9. Stunning scenery en route 10. Environmentally friendly

Rail is flexible – with 100s of destinations and 1000s of departures, you’ll have plenty of options to suit your customer’s business plans

Rail is convenient – with city centre to city centre travel, there’s no wasting time on tedious airport transfers ahead of or after meetings Rail is comfortable – with spacious seats and power sockets on board, use the journey time for preparation or follow-up, maximising your customer’s time What’s more, book online with us and you’ll be able to: - Book commissionable fares for 1-9 customers - Hold flexible fares for up to 48 hours - Assign the customer’s journeys to a number of frequent traveller programmes including Eurostar, SNCF and Thalys - Run reports on your rail bookings by date of departure and customer name And, ideal for those last minute bookings as well as for regular business travellers on the move, all services bookable on our website are available as PDF Print At Home tickets or as Tickets On Departure to be collected at the station.

10 REASONS TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN

JOIN OUR ACADEMY Become a European rail expert!

Our training course has been designed to help you learn all about European rail; the brilliant benefits of travelling by train, the destinations and services available and how to book!

The course will take you through 5 quick and easy modules making you an expert in next to no time.

To get started please visit: www.beaeuropeanrailexpert.com

WHAT AGENTS SAY Aoife Jordan - Travelleaders “A great site with all carriers in the one place is exactly what our Corporate Dept need to make the booking process simple”.

Rachael Higgins - Travel Counsellors “I used to cringe when clients enquired about trains, but the Voyages-sncf website makes the whole process so much easier”. .

TO BOOK: www.voyages-sncf.eu AGENCY SALES: ireland@uk.voyages-sncf.com

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AFLOAT

ROYAL Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas begins homeporting at Port Canaveral through March 2015, offering a new 9-night itinerary that reaches further into the southern Caribbean with stops in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and Haiti.

CLIA

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has appointed Adam Goldstein as chairman as of January 1. In a normal rotation of duties, Goldstein, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., will take over from Howard Frank, Chairman of Costa Crociere

P&O Cruises and Cunard have cancelled

all Black Sea port visits in 2015 citing safety and security concerns.

THOMSON Cruises launched a new cruise around Cuba that goes to Santiago de Cuba and Holguin for the first time.

COSTA Cruises launched its new

€550m, 4,947-passenger flagship Costa Diadema in Genoa. The godmother was an Italian travel agent selected by the line, Carolina Miceli, and her maids of honor come from Germany, France, Spain and China: Costa's key source markets. It will offer seven-day Mediterranean itineraries from Savona, Italy, until the end of the summer 2015 season.

BRITTANY Hugh Bruton of Brittany

Ferries said there had been an increase in the numbers of French people coming to Ireland.

“The numbers have been rising steadily over the last three years, with the numbers of French visitors travelling to Ireland with us in 2014 up 7pc on 2013.”

PRINCESS The cast of The Love Boat, which was primarily filmed aboard the original Pacific Princess from 1977 to 1987, christened Regal Princess in Port Everglades.

HURTIGRUTEN is to charter cruise ship Nordstjernen for short break cruises to Svalbard beginning in 2015.

CMVEnglish-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages will have a new flagship from spring 2015 when it takes delivery of 1,250-passenger Grand Holiday, to be renamed Magellan.

FRED OLSEN Three Fred Olsen

Cruise Line ships Black Watch, Braemar and Balmoral will be dry docked for refurbishment in Nov-Dec 2014.

MSC Cruises and the LEGO Group have joined forces to create the first-ever LEGOthemed playrooms at sea.

CUNARD's Queen Victoria has debuted

a brand new £300,000 production show called Hollywood Rocks.

CARNIVAL Corporation unveiled a hy-

brid wireless network for its nine cruise brands that will deliver onboard Internet speeds 10 times faster than currently available.

ROYAL Caribbean has removed the $25 corkage fee for bringing wine onboard and drinking it in a cruise ship restaurant.

irish agents sample the ifly by Ripcord experience on board Quantum of the Seas

Ship as destination

R

Quantum of the Seas completes a cruise revolution

oyal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain said that the launch of Quantum of the seas would mark a change to the ship as a destination in itself.

Speaking at the ship launch in Bayonne, New Jersey, Fain said Quantum is intended to change the way people think about cruising calling it a "before and after ship," meaning, remember what cruising used to be like before Quantum of the Seas, remember when it took an hour to check in?

Remember when there was only one dining room? Remember when you needed room keys?

You can't think quantum without thinking leap and that's what this ship is," Richard Fain told invited dignitaries and travel agents, including Mary Mckenna of Tour America.

"With Quantum of the Seas we wanted to create a new paradigm of what cruising would be all about; set new standards that all of us will have to follow in the future: to make the

S

cruise experience so special, so different, so easy that no other vacation could hold a candle to it."

On a pre launch cruise Irish agents sampled Quantum’s experiences including the virtual skydive and the North Star pod that rises 303 feet above sea level and provides 360-degree of the ship and surrounding sea.

Quantum of the Seas is the first ship in the fleet to feature Dynamic Dining, which replaces traditional set dining times in a main dining room, with a choice of four included restaurants for which reservations must be made. Dynamic Dining is being introduced on Royal’s other ships.

The ship is the first to employ RFID luggage tracking, which theoretically means passengers' bags should never get lost.

Royal Caribbean has also made a pre-cruise check-in app available to cruisers to expedite the boarding process, which cruise line officials say should take no longer than 10

minutes from curb to cruise.

Other features include the firstever Bionic Bar in which robotic arms mix and serve cocktails; As well as a traditional show (Mamma Mia) the ship offers an expansive, three-deck day-to-night Two70 lounge and showroom, its floor-to-ceiling windows offering a 270-degree view of the ocean during the day and a futuristic assortment of hi-tech entertainment at night; SeaPlex is the largest sports and entertainment complex at sea, with attractions including bumper cars, roller skating, trapeze classes and room for video gaming.

Cruises on board Quantum are selling ahead of the equivalent level of interest for Allure and Oasis of the Seas, which provided a bounce to the entire cruise industry.

Irish customers are booking cruises on board Quantum at more than 70pc of the price paid for equivalent cruises on other ships.

300 AT RIVER CRUISE CONVENTION

haron Jordan and the Uniworld team were among those who hosted 300 agents at the fourth Clia River Cruise Convention in Amsterdam, up from 240 in Cologne last year.

Agents participated in ship visits to seven river vessels from Uniworld,

AmaWaterways, Emerald Waterways, Amadeus River Cruises, A-Rosa, Shearings and European Waterways, which were docked up for the occasion around Amsterdam’s cruise ship terminal.

A series of talks, networking sessions and workshops also focussed on an industry that has

grown significantly in recent years.

A highlight of the event was a presentation from Peter Sharpe giving the agents selling tips.

In the evening, delegates dined and stayed on one of three vessels. The second day was dedicated to ship visits. Andy Harmer, Clia Ireland and Britain director

said he was excited to welcome more delegates than ever.

“It’s great that agents are excited to be either learning more about the sector or starting from scratch and learning about it because they’re keen to get more involved in selling river cruises.

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AFLOAT

2015

HAVEN

Quantum of the Seas starts its pre launch cruise

A Quantum HOLIDAYS fleet upgrade NOW ON SALE!

M

Royal wants dynamic dining for fleet

any of Quantum of the Seas' features will be introduced to other ships on the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Richard Fain,CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, and Lisa LutoffPerlo, executive vice president of operations, told journalists onboard a

Quantum of the Seas' pre launch cruise that other features will not be available because of the technology involved.

Elements that will be introduced to other ships include Dynamic Dining (on Oasis and Allure of the Seas), Mamma Mia (on Allure of the Seas) and the ship's high-speed Internet.

Pricing for Internet will increase on all ships with the faster system.

Three packages will be charged – basic, premium and premium-plus.

Executives said the price of the premium-plus package is 20pc lower than the most expensive pricing currently offered on the rest of the fleet.

olland America Line has unveiled details of its newest ship, Koningsdam, scheduled for delivery in 2016.

Highlights of the 99,500-ton, 2,650-passenger ship include n Queen's Lounge, which has been expanded to include a second tier; a three-deck-high, skylightcapped atrium encapsulated in a stainless steel sculpture; new family

cabins; and two outdoor swimming pools. n musical performances, like the line's popular BB. King's Blues experience, and the largest dance floor on the ship; n The main dining room will feature a two-story wine tower sculpture as the centrepiece; n The line's popular Culinary Arts Center returns, offering cooking and cocktail classes, demonstrations and workshops for kids and

teens; n Family cabins will be introduced with two bathrooms and room for five, ranging from approximately 222 to 231 square feet; n Outdoor areas will include two swimming pools and a jogging track When it launches in February 2016, Koningsdam will be Holland America's biggest ship and the first in a new Pinnacle Class.

H

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O

DESTINATION IRELAND

ne of the surprise successes of the 2014 tourist season is the new whiskey academy at Midleton.

The Jameson Centre added training programmes to their visitor experience in repsonse to demand from training groups and 1,600 people have come through since the centre opened in February, according to Kelly O'Mahony (pictured) from the centre.

Courses range from a €59 two hour lesson to one and two day courses from €295. A three day bartenders course includes a trip to Ballymaloe.

W

ith the increase in interest in Irish whiskey, Kelly O’Mahony says, there was a demand for education.

“People wanted to know more. Why is it so smooth? Why is it different from Scotch and Bourbon. We used to do little academy classes in a boardroom four times a year with PowerPoint.

What we learned from that is what worked and what did not work. We took over a derelict building. It was the bare walls.

Inside there were no floors, it was overgrown with ivy.

The building was a shrine to the beloved liquid subject. Even the gate depicts the story of whiskey, the rolling hills, barley, distillation and

Midleton very rare Eoghan Corry visits a success story of 2014

I

Tour guide Éanna Ní Néill leads a visitor tour of the Jameson Centre in Midleton Distillery past the largest pot still in the world, built in 1825 it has a capacity of 143,872 litres (31,648 gallons). After fermentation, wash was fed into the still where the distillation process began. The wash was heated by fires lit underneath. This still consumed four tonnes of coal every 24 hours.

drops into a bottle of whiskey. The classroom is surrounded with quotations, maps, illlutsrations, detailing every step of the process.

The academy can host up to twenty people (“we did not want it too large,” Kelly says) and offers a full education on the production of Irish whiskey.

When Travel Extra visited the Swedish whiskey society had just been through. The academy has been booked up every day since it opened last

February. The first tours were booked through Irish Distillers and the Diageo network. A website was launched during the summer and public bookings are now coming through.

One of the discoveries during reconstruction is a huge pot that dates to the days when the building was an infirmary. It is on display amid the other paraphernalia of the distillery.

n Midleton the smell throughout the town was of malting barley.

It is not exactly from the distillation process although comes from the distillery.

It is from the beer that preceeds the whiskey making, and it delivers an air of anticipation as it hangs over the town permeating every nostril and changing every personal perspective on world.

When I last took the original distillery tour in

Midleton it was a classic 1990s showcase performance, in a few rooms dedicated to visits in a in purpose-built centre with a small tasting area.

Like a good whiskey the tour has matured. It has grown into much more. Now you see the real whiskey in storage (no photograph).

The most amazing sight of all is a stack of sample casks with one end open so you can watch the colour change of the stored whiskey.

Clockwise: Midleton distillery, tasting session, Kelly O’Mahony at the academy, academy classroom, and a tour group.

Those small percentages, the 1pc and 2pc, they tell you about in every distillery tour around the world become significant as the colour of wood seeps into the alcohol.

A used barrel gives less colour, and with the light glowing behind you get more of a sense here than anywhere else on either the Dublin or Bushmills tours of what slow dedicated time, harvest after harvest, means to this ancient process.

Page 025 Destination Ireland 18/11/2014 09:23 Page 1

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€

DESTINATION IRELAND AWARDS Minister Michael Ring

South East feast

T

Reginald’s Tower: The south east will be the focus of 2015 he south east will be the focus natural attractions of the bay from of Ireland’s tourism product in Howth to Killiney and the city’s easy 2015, along with further pro- access to the Wicklow mountains.

The city of words continues the motion of the Wild Atlantic Way campaign that won international theme of literature that has been a feature of tourism efforts since the recognition in 2014.

Waterford’s Viking Quarter and 1950s, culminating in the UNESCO festival has positioned the city as a city of literature status in July 2010. standalone attraction. Kilkenny has There is no mistaking the coming seen the opening of a revitalised writer in this movement: Bram Smithwick’s Centre. Failte Ireland of- Stoker, now accorded his own festificials are planning to market an inte- val at Hallowe;en with a sequence of grated product that will take in events through the city.

High end tour company Letzgo attractions as far north as Meath as part of a regional package that crosses will be the Stoker Tour, Dracula the traditional tourism regional Nights of Terror as the highlight of its programme in the city when it boundaries.

Dublin has been targeted as a launches next summer. It will be contourism sector in need of revitalisa- ducted by Dennis McIntyre of the tion. The city will benefit from twin Bram Stoker Society. “Most of the campaigns, the Gateway to nature motivation and creativity behind campaign and the city of words. Dracula came from Dublin,” Ciaran Gateway to nature will highlight the Carraher says. The tour starts in St

launched the Irish Tourism Industry Awards 2015 awards which will be presented on April 24. Eleven awards are up for grabs in three categories: International Initiatives – Best International Marketing Initiative, Best International Access Initiative; Tourism Innovations – Best Leisure Tourism Innovation, Best Business Tourism Innovation, Best Environmental Tourism Innovation, Best Local Authority Tourism Innovation; Tourism Experiences – Best Festival/Event Experience, Best Adventure Experience, Best Food Experience, Best Cultural Experience, Best Urban Experience; Theme Award – Best Design in Tourism. Entry is open to tourism businesses, visitor attractions, organisations and events in the domestic market or overseas market. Entry is permitted to more than one category. You can only nominate your business online. Closing date is January 31.

BLUE BOOK Ireland’s Blue Book added four new properties to its collection of country houses, hotels and restaurants: Ghan House in Carlingford, Co. Louth; Campagne restaurant in Kilkenny and Restaurant Forty One in Dublin.

Michan’s crypt and explains how the spike through the heart became so central to the Dracula legend.

There is likely to be two major new attractions in Dublin in 2014, one relating to the Irish diaspora and the other a interactive experience with actors to be based in Smithfield featuring gory events through Irish history. Both are planning to be big ticket attractions with in excess of 300,000 visitors a year.

Dublin and Dun Laoghaire are both contendors to host the National Diaspora Centre, a partially grant aided project which will be announced before the end of the year. Cork, Limerick and Birr are also in the running.

There will be further hotel developments at the top end of the market in line with the Kingsley Hotel Four Star opening last ear as part of the Fota Collection.

Ashford Castle, now part of the red Carnation group will close again for three months while a spa is installed under the castle. The five star K Club is to build another 70 rooms, bring the total to 139.

Arguably Ireland’s most popular visitor attraction, Kildare Village will add 36 new boutiques in an expansion scheduled to open November 2015 which will bring the total number in the Village to 100. The plans include two restaurants and a Visitor Centre with enhanced hospitality services for guests, as well as 437 parking spaces, which have been created for the development.

DUBLIN Minister Paschal Donohue is to

establish a new body, called the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance, to increase tourism to the capital. Dublin is seen as “dusty and dull, with little of interest to see or do” according to a new report, Destination Dublin – A Collective Strategy for Tourism Growth to 2020, commissioned by Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Tourism. The capital is “seen as one-dimensional or offering less variety and excitement than is actually the case” and is “often seen as part of a generic, blended image of Ireland”.

The report says if Dublin does not reinvent itself as a city destination it could slip behind competitors like Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Copenhagen.

IRELAND was awarded the Colombo 2000 prize for tourism in Italy.

ROSS CASTLE in Co Kerry was listed in on Lonely Planet’s 10 lesser known haunted places of the world.

NEW YEAR 's Festival Dublin is a

three-day citywide new year's festival filled with arts, culture and live entertainment was launched recently.

GOLF There were some surprises among

the IGTOA 2014 Irish Golf Awards: Galgorm Castle Golf Club won the parkland course of the year and The Island the links course of the year, Castlemartyr the IGTOA golf resort of the year, the (just reopened) Ashford Castle the IGTOA boutique golf hotel of the year, Bushmills Inn the IGTOA boutique golf hotel of the year, Bernard Gibbons of Powerscourt the IGTOA golf manager of the year and Christy O’Connor Junior the Jerry Donworth outstanding contribution to golf award.

HUFFINGTON Post posted 9 reasons you should bring your toddler to Ireland.

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THE FLYING COLUMN

SHANNON Airport passenger numbers for October show a 28pc increase on the same period twelve months ago. 6pc percentage growth cross-channel to 65,243 passengers, 111pc on Continental routes to 42,950 and 15pc on transatlantic routes to 27,108.

CEO Neil Pakey said that with six new services this winter (Berlin, Bristol, Fuerteventura, Krakow, Paris and Warsaw), growth is also achievable over the coming months.

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

The Addis LA link Fares on GDS may herald start of price war

FLY leasing has grown our fleet to 121 air-

craft with the acquisition of five aircraft in the third quarter, maintaining our average fleet age at just over eight years and increasing our average lease term to approximately five years.

FLY will purchase about $1 bn of aircraft in 2014. It says it is on track to beat our 2014 fleet growth target of 15pc, and are targeting a further 15pc fleet growth in 2015.

SMBC Japanese-owned but Dublin based SMBC Aviation Capital, the world’s third largest aircraft lessor, announced that it has placed a firm order for 80 B737 MAX 8 aircraft in a deal worth $8.5bn at list prices.

JETBLUE Airways has opened an extension to its terminal at New York John F Kennedy airport, terminal 5, also used by Aer Lingus, that will handle the airline’s international flights.

TAX CHANGEan Irish lessor carry-

ing on a trade in Ireland may now also claim a tax credit for foreign withholding taxes on lease rentals where there is no applicable tax treaty. The relief is granted on a unilateral basis

by Irish domestic law. This recent development has positioned Ireland as an attractive leasing jurisdiction for leasing aircraft and other assets into jurisdictions which do not have a wide tax treaty network.

VIRGIN Atlantic is to restore its Gatwick-

Tobago route, once-weekly in summer 2015 and twice-weekly in the following winter, with A330-300.

ETIHAD Airways secured European

Commission approval to acquire 49pc of the New Alitalia. To secure approval, Etihad and Alitalia agreed to give up to two daily slot pairs on the Rome-Belgrade route as Alitalia and Air Serbia, both with Etihad as a major shareholder, are the only carriers offering direct flights on that route.

PORTUGAL's government announced the approval by cabinet of the privatisation of up to 66pc of TAP Portugal, 61pc to one or more direct investors and up to 5pc to the company's employees.

ISTANBUL Construction of the third Istanbul airport is continuing at full speed, despite law suits on environmental grounds. It will be named after the recently installed President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

TURKISH Airlines reported sales revenue up 15.3pc to $3.32bn for 2014 with operating profit up 22pc to $536m and net income $635m up 80pc giving a net income margin of 19.1pc, up from 12.2pc.

J

Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner: Dublin’s first Dreamliner service wil be to LA and Addis Adaba

une 15 has been confirmed as the start date for Ethiopian Airlines 3w flights from Dublin to the “capital of Africa,” Addis Adaba.

This will be Ireland’s first direct service to sub-Saharan Africa.

Ethiopian is expecting most of the yield from the flight from the other leg of the journey, Dublin to Los Angeles. Without the fifth freedom pickup in Dublin, stridently opposed by Aer Lingus and US carriers, the route would not be viable. Prices released to the GDS indicate Ethiopian’s prices are an average of €200 below their trans-Atlantic rivals.

Ethiopian will likely not use the US CBP in Dublin, in the early stages of the route at least, because it would delay turnaround.

The Dreamliner cannot make it to the US in one hop, largely because of the altitude of Addis, which restricts

Tewolde Gebremariam and Michael Yohannes of Ethiopian

the fuel load on Ethiopian’s outbound services. It means Dublin’s first regular Boeing 787 Dreamliner service is by the unlikeliest of airlines and Dublin’s first fifth freedom route.

Travel Extra’s editor Eoghan Corry was in Addis Adaba in advance of the announcement and was told that Ethiopian anticipate that 80pc of the Dublin-Addis passengers will transfer to elsewhere in Africa, where Ethiopian’s network covers 49 destinations, including Kenya, Tanzania,

SHANNON DUTY FREE HAS GERMAN PARTNER

S

hannon airport duty free, the world’s first and oldest duty-free store, established 70 years ago, relaunched reinstating its original title of Shannon Duty Free, but with a new brand and improved service offering.

The Shannon Group has partnered with a new supplier on the project, Hamburg-based Gebr Heinemann.

They introduced new signage and branding while new product lines and layouts are in the process of being implemented “as Shannon

Duty Free strives to establish a more effective, exciting and profitable retail outlet”.

The airport cited the partnership with Heinemann –also the oldest in the world in its field of duty-free supply –as “a unique blend of histories”.

Nigeria and South Africa. For instance it makes destinations such as Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar a one stop options.

It opens up options for Irish tour operators opening up Ethiopian’s own holiday company, launched last year, selling tourist packages and the long established tour operation of Dun Laoghaire born Tony Hickey (and Holiday World exhibitor), Ethiopian Quadrants, The pioneering Ethiopian hotelier Tadios Getachew who set up the country’s first spa resort, Kuriftu Debere Zait, told Travel Extra that Ethiopia’s potential as a tourist destination was bigger than Kenya or Tanzania.

While Eamon Flanagan's Premair are GSA or Ethiopian in Ireland.

Michael Yohannes of Ethiopian plans to move to Dublin in December.

Rose Hynes

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THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

BELFAST International Airport is suing Aer Lingus in the High Court in Belfast for quitting the airport in 2012 in favour of Belfast City half-way through a 10 year deal. The Airport is claiming £20m for breach of contract.

Aer Lingus says it has no liability. The case is

CSO figures show that air fares are shown

as down 3.5pc on October 2013 and 21.6pc down on September 2014.

Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller and American ambassador Kevin O’Malley being photographed with Aer Lingus cabin crew members Jill McDonald and Anna Moore at the announcement of Aer Lingus new Dulles route and expansion for summer 2015 at Shanahan’s in Dublin,

Return to Dulles

A

Aer Lingus go head to head with codeshare partner

er Lingus’s scheduled June return to the second of the two trans-Atlantic routes it vacated in 2009, Washington Dulles, had no surprises in frequency or timing.

An additional A330-200 leased “on favourable terms” will fly four weekly, M-W-F-Su, outbound 12.45, inbound 17.20, with 100 seats more to sell than its rival on the route United.

Washington has been very profitable for United out of Dublin and at time of going to press they intend staying on the route in 2015.

“It was a five year plan. We have done that journey quietly unobserved by our competitors in Europe,” said CEO Christoph Mueller. “All of a sudden, we switched it on and are growing like a start-up from Silicon Valley.

“We started it with a 15pc capacity increase the year before last. We have a 25pc capacity increase in 2014 our seats were up 34pc so we have increasing load factor across the system, and we intend double digit growth again 2015, if you presume the growth of almost 12 years compressed in three years is proof our product is appreciated.

“We are the cost leader on the North Atlantic because we were always 20pc-30pc sometimes 40pc cheaper than the next competitor.”

In reply to a question from Travel Extra at the press conference Christoph Mueller said anti-trust sta-

tus had prevented them from contacting United in advance of the announcement. “It is of mutual interest to perform the Washington route jointly and benefit from the connectivity.”

He said he expected no impact on the codeshare with United and that United was Aer Lingus’s second most important trading partner narrowly behind Jetblue in feeding Aer Lingus services.

Chief Revenue Officer Mike Rutter highlighted the Los Angeles, Denver, Tampa and Pittsburgh connections opened up by the Dulles service.

The San Francisco service goes daily including Tu and Th, JFK gets a third daily flight outbound 07.50 with US pre clearance hours extended to cater for the earlier flight. This is the earliest flight off the continent of Europe each day and offers the option of a NY day trip for hardy road warriors (the CEO of Bonham’s was name checked by Mike Rutter), Orlando gets an extra flight on Wednesday, Shannon-Boston increases 20pc during summer. Mike Rutter said “It shows desire to create a schedule competitiveness which is comparison with Europe’s major hubs. Orlando is about attracting people from London gateways and to move to the direct capability. We hope to make further indents in that marketplace.”

In his speech to the launch event Christoph Mueller alluded to the fact

the airline was threatened with bankruptcy five years ago “because we have overdone it a bit”.

Privately to Travel Extra in reference to another airline he said: You can lose an AWFUL lot of money long haul. “In the past Aer Lingus try to fly the north Atlantic trying to rely on the Irish and US market alone, that was never going to work successfully.”

There is speculation that the craft is an ex-Aer Lingus aircraft which is currently leased by ILFC to Air Asia X. A 210-seat 2-class B767 will be wet-leased (probably from Omni) to increase capacity on ShannonBoston, releasing a B757 for the third daily JFK rotation. A330 operation is not now planned for Toronto.

Almost unnoticed in the kafuffle were new routes to Nantes 3w (in competition with year-round by Ryanair) and continuing Agadir through summer.

Mike Rutter said the increase capacity to key routes which are in demand from Irish holiday makers was of “equal significance,” increasing Dublin-Paris, Palma 50pc, Stuttgart 25pc, Bilbao 20pc, Fuerteventura 100pc, Bordeaux 20pc, Lyon 17pc, Venice 12pc, Faro 6pc, Izmir 55pc, Bourgas 25pc. Cork-Malaga will increase.

The new mobile and web platform will be announced early in the New Year.

STOBART Air (Aer Lingus Regional) reported 13pc growth on the Dublin to Glasgow route in October 2014 compared to October 2013, due to new aircraft, and improved flight frequencies and schedules better aligned to business hours. Dublin to Kerry experienced its eighth consecutive month of growth, with a 22pc increase in passenger numbers, helped by connecting traffic to North America via Dublin [and implying Flybe/Loganair’s Donegal route has been declining]. The airline’s Cork base enjoyed its seventh consecutive month of growth, 10pc up on October last year. There was 10pc growth on the Dublin to Isle of Man route last month, due to midterm break and Bank Holiday.

FLYBE announced Bournemouth-Dublin

4w using Q400, from May 18 to Sept 2 2015.

Some price comparison websites and other online businesses could be forced to alter their business models if the EU's highest court takes steps to prevent unauthorised "screen-scraping" of data, an expert has said.

RYANAIR is to open a new base (its 71st) in the Slovakian capital Bratislava from March 2015.

RYANAIR

has partnered with travel industry customer intelligence and predictive marketing provider, Boxever, implementing a travel-centric customer intelligence and personalised marketing platform within Ryanair’s Digital Experience team.

RYANAIR is in talks to switch 165 of

the 180 Boeing 737-800s it has on order to the Sky Interior and is considering whether to upgrade its existing fleet to a similar standard.

DUBLIN Airport was used by 2m passen-

gers in October, a 10pc increase on October last year. 700,000 passengers travelled on UK routes, a 9pc increase. Passengers on Continental Europe routes increased by 7pc to almost 1m. Transatlantic route traffic increased by 24pc with 200,000 passengers. Traffic on other international routes to the Middle East and North Africa, increased by 31pc to 57,000.

Passenger numbers on domestic routes declined by 2pc to 6,400. Almost 18.6m passengers have used Dublin Airport in the first 10 months of this year, which is a 7pc increase on the same period in 2013

CORK A question mark hangs over Aer

Lingus Cork-Lisbon and Nice routes from Cork next summer. The airline said the routes were loss making. Cork-Brussels has been restored. For Jun-Sep 2014 passenger numbers at Dublin Airport were up about 6pc, Shannon up 21pc, and Knock up 10pc. Cork was down about 4pc.

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JANUARY 2015 PAGE 28

THE FLYING COLUMN

DELTA Air Lines wants to almost triple its gates Seattle airport (from 11 to 30), challenging market leader Alaska Air Group, as the carrier expands its newest West Coast hub and jumping-off point to Asia.

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

BRADLEY Connecticut Airport Authority is hoping that an Irish airline can re-establish trans-Atlantic flights out of Windsor Locks. In a bid to show support for flights from Bradley Airport to Dublin, the CAA held a reception last mon th with Aer Lingus' chief strategy and planning officer. Bradley has not had a scheduled trans-Atlantic service since Northwest Airlines pulled its Amsterdam flights in 2009.

CYPRUS The Cyprus government efforts to rescue Cyprus Airways include talks with Aegean and Ryanair which have asked for an extension. Their interest is for the carrier’s name, but none of its assets.

FLYBE

new routes planned for summer 2015 include Dublin to Bournemouth with Q400.

SAA South African Airways informed the

country's Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises that it is not financially viable and requires a capital injection to operate to its capacity. The airline was ordered by the government to appoint turnaround specialists and complete overdue financial statements in a quest to return the state-owned airline to profitability.

LUFTHANSA is to add FrankfurtTampa 4-5 per week year-round with A340300 (298-seat 3 class 18J/19 premium economy/261Y) from 25 Sep 15

ETIHAD Airways has announced the re-

cruitment of 40 fully-qualified pilots from Alitalia as part of a large-scale global campaign to hire between 500 to 600 captains and first officers over the next three years.

SMARTPHONE The 2014

SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Survey reports that 81pc of passengers carry a smartphone with them with they travel.

SPIRITAirlines, often referred to as

“America’s most hated airline”, embraced its bad reputation and asked passengers to “unleash the hate” in a survey on what they hate most about flying with Spirit. 8,000 frequentflier miles were up for grabs as an incentive for feedback. 28,205 people responded. Unsurprisingly, the $100 charge to travel with a carry on was the subject of 40pc of the rants.

Saad Hammad and Declan Collier with Flybe crew

Propellers at dawn

I

BA and Flybe join Cityjet on London City route

t will be propellers at dawn through this coming winter as Flybe and British Airways commenced their services from Dublin to London City Airport, joining Cityjet on a suddenly crowded route.

Both Flybe and BA have launched four daily services to London City.

CityJet responded by announcing that they will expand their Avro RJ85 Dublin to London City service by 25pc and will put on up to nine flights every weekday as of 26 October 2014.

CityJet recently recruited Patrick Lucan and Carole Smith as part of their aggressive new campaign to maintain their dominance of the most lucrative of the London services from Dublin.

Cityjet operate the earliest flight out of London City Airport with a 06:45 departure. Travel Extra joined Flybe’s inaugural on board a BombardierBBD/B Q400 Dash 8, which brought the Dublin guests to a ceremony to celebrate the arrival of six Flybe inaugurals in sequence to London City airport.

Flybe now serve London City four times daily from Dublin at 06:30, 10.25, 15.20 and 19:20.

Speaking at the Flybe launch event Travel Extra editor Eoghan Corry said that the route would likely divert business from other London airports and make the route attractive to leisure passengers as well as business.

Dublin to London was now Europe’s busiest air corridor and “unlike

previous holders of the title, LondonParis and Barcelona-Madrid, nobody was going to build a high speed rail link anytime soon between the cities”.

British Airways launched a four daily programme using a mixture of the Embraer E-170 and E-190 jets, all based at London City, departing Dublin at 08.45, 10.45, 16.15 and 19.50. Cityjet currently serves over 250,000 passengers on the route every year. Flights from Dublin depart at 07.35, 09.40, 11.40, 13.30, 15.45, 17.35, 19.35 and 20.30.

Speakers at the event included Saad Hammad who had high hopes for the Dublin route, while Declan Collier CEO of London City Airport talking about development plans for the airport.

AIR BERLIN appointed Stefan Pichler as its new CEO, succeeding Wolfgang ProckShauer who announced he will step down in February.

DAA Ratings agency S&P said the DAA is likely to see profits jump 12pc to €180m this year.

KNOCK Airport reported passenger numbers were 665,400 in 2013, down 3pc. However, a spokesperson said it is “well ahead” or its 2014 target of 696,000 passengers.

Clockwise: Declan Collier, London City, Flybe’s approach and inaugural flight celebrationss

Page 026-030 Flying 18/11/2014 14:51 Page 4

€

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 29

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

EASYJET announced the launch of a

new route from Belfast to Split, Croatia. The route will operate once a week throughout the summer, commencing May 20. The airline expects to carry 6,000 passengers on the service.

Fares from £26.00pp.

BELFAST CITY An inquiry into

Belfast City Airport’s proposal to scrap its seats for sale restriction will be held in March 2015. The airport is currently limited to selling 2m departing seats a year.

AER LINGUS added new products to its on board shopping range, Boutique. A Christmas Gift Guide will be available on all flights from November 12 to December 31.

QATAR Airways took delivery of three

new aircraft in one day: two B787 Dreamliners and one B777.

Aer Lingus director of communications Declan Kearney shows off the new business class seat

Game of thrones

T

Behind the Aer Lingus business class configuration

he single throne seat will be the most coveted of the seats in Aer Lingus new business class, launched last month, especially those on the alternating 2-2-1 330 cabin, 3K and 5K. The launch of Aer Lingus Business Class promised free Wi-Fi, bigger seats, lie flat, more storage, upgraded food, upgraded entertainment and fast track security.

The product will start appearing on the JFK route in January and will be live on all aircraft by March 29.

It was an exciting series of events, with leading corporate buyers and agents flown in from Europe for the showcase.

There was a lot of dry ice and talk of vibrant fibres and charcoal greys.

“We are like children with new toys,” Farida Chikhaqui sales manager for France said. here was some hint of Aer Lingus’ latest marketing campaign: “Arrive before you depart” is the slogan for the season.

CEO Christoph Mueller presided over the first event in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham; the first major product launch by Aer Lingus since the launch of European executive in 1996.

Videos were shown featuring the new product. highlighting the rapid growth of the Portadown company which supplied the seats, Thomson aero seating and Botany weavers.

The new seats have evolved since

they were first seen by Travel Extra in the Convention Centre last year and even since they were showcased at the launch of the San Francisco route in April, with a cosy laptop and tablet storage and a place for shoes.

Remember those lost mobile phones? If your mobile fell behind the old Aer Lingus business class seats the seat had to be taken apart for it to be retrieved. The new seat can be slipped forward and the phone retrieved easily. Not all seats will be similar, although there are more seats in the business class cabin than originally planned, 23 in the A330-200 and 30 in the A330-300, in 2-2-1 configuration.

The new Panasonic ex2 system will be available gate to gate. The film options, currently 12 in each direction, will see 50pc more new releases and 100pc more TV including box sets such as Game of Thrones, appropriate as the most sought after seats in the cabin will be the throne seat.

Mike Rutter said the upgraded business class, based on a four room concept will still be cheaper than competitors, starting at €899 one way. He said that the old business class offering need to be improved and reaction to the new San Francisco route in April showed the need for an upgraded business class.

He outlined the design principles behind the new seat, the evolution of the new business class seat, food will

be comparable with the top restaurants, the workspace in the new seats will be enhanced.

Overall €25m was invested in developing the business class product.

A €2.5m marketing campaign will publicise the new business class product.

Declan Kearney outlined the four aspects of Aer Lingus new business class offering, improvements to the ground experience for business class customers, the fast track security options at Irish and US airports, aircraft deployment to suit size of the market, the upgraded entertainment options, how 50pc of Aer Lingus passengers are now onwards connections.

Aer Lingus’s geographical advantage meant they could offer shorter flights, preclearance means avoiding queues of up to three hours, and fare prices would remain 20pc to 25pc below competitors. He claimed the airline’s lower cost base would lead to lower fares in all cabins.

Next developments for the airline include: n Digital and mobile platforms to relaunch in the new year. n A new gold circle lounge will open in JFK Terminal 5 in March n Aer Lingus is also planning an arrivals lounge.

Aer Lingus now has more connections to US gateways than its competitors.

COBALT Light System is being trialled in 63 airports in Europe and Australia in the hope of ending the ban on airline passengers carrying liquids over 100ml in the hand luggage. The scanner can check liquid contents on bottles without having to open them.

A350 Stephen Kavanagh of Aer Lingus said he expects negotiations with Airbus to conclude next spring with the order likely to concentrate on A350 rather than the A330neo but hinted that the A321neoLR is of significant interest. First deliveries would be in 2018.

BA Cityflyer is to operate 1w to Menorca from May 30 to 26 Sept 26 using an E-190.

RYANAIR told their analysts conference on Monday that product and pricing are now visible on 95pc of European business house GDS screens.

WESTJET will start their Dublin-St John’s-Toronto service 6 weeks earlier next summer on May 1.

RYANAIR said they expect Dublin air-

port traffic to grow from 20.1m to 21.8m. Winter scheduled capacity is up 7pc to 950,000 while Aer Lingus flights could be down about 11pc.

SAS will operate a twice weekly Dublin-

Gothenburg service in July and August and once weekly for the rest of the summer season.

Vueling confirms Barcelona 5w between June 1 and Aug 31 2015.

EL AL is to add Boston-Tel Aviv B767-

300 twice weekly with B767-300ER by endJune 2015.

BA announced twice-daily BA380 service on Heathrow- Miami from 25 October 2015.

Currently it operates 17 weekly services B747400 and B777.

EMIRATES Tim Clark, President of

Emirates i said he wants to disintermediate and create own distribution platform outside the GDSs. Emirates carried 23.3m passengers (up 8pc), added 13 new aircraft (6pc increase in capacity), improved seat load factor to 81.5pc and returned an 8pc higher net profit of AED1.9bn.

Page 026-030 Flying 18/11/2014 14:51 Page 5

€ €

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 30

THE FLYING COLUMN

FINNAIR is to start flying to Chicago next summer, 13 June to 17 October, 3 per week with A333.

RYANAIR

integrated passbook with their latest app, which the airline says offers an improved booking service as well as Dutch, French, German & Polish language versions and the option to add existing bookings to passengers’ My Ryanair’ profile.

EUROPCAR unveiled a new rental

suite at Belfast International Airport. The new rental pods have fast track check-out to help speed up the rental process.

KLM is offering visitors to Amsterdam

Schiphol Airport the chance to overnight on board a converted aircraft through Airbnb.

RYANAIR is to lease seven aircraft in for summer 2015.

MOMONDO said travellers should

book flights 53 days in advance of their departure to get the best deals.

AIR FRANCE is now offering three weekly services to Abidjan using the A380.

KLM operated its last MD-11 passenger flight following an 80 year partnership.

ETIHAD Airways’ inaugural daily flight from Abu Dhabi to Phuket EY430 departed Abu Dhabi International Airport at 8.40am on

QANTAS claims its new menu is the

“best in-flight economy dining experience offered by any international carrier. Main courses will be double the current portion size and twice the number of options will be available, including destination-specific meals (eg. smoky barbecue option for flights to the USA).

QATAR Airways announced Frankfurt as the first route for the A350 Xtra Wide Body.

ETIHAD Airways was listed on

LinkedIn’s Global 100 In Demand Employers.

Picture shows employees celebrating the announcement

BELFAST Thomas Cook Airlines will operate flights from Belfast to Las Vegas from November 13, 2015, to Fuerteventura from November 4, 2015, and to Varadero, Cuba from January 29, 2016.

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

FR gets friendlier

W

Ryanair are just one year into three year programme

e still have two years to go to improve customer experience, Michael O’Leary told a conference call as he announced improved Q3 results.

A whole set of changes wil come in the coming weeks relating to the website, including a Skyscanner style price comparison facility.

“We are keen on comparison pricing as customers switch to Skyscanner and Edreams. We will compare competitors by day,by price against Ryanair flight.”

A new hotel partner will also be coming online shortly.

“Keep an eye on our website for all services for rating and recommendations.”

The airline would also be utilising big data from MyRyanair to customise experience and bring offers from third party suppliers to frequent fliers.

Ryanair Holidays medium term product will come online over the next two or three years He said the move to primary Airports initially delivered low yields but grew steadily in the summer. “There is enormous opportunity at primary airports across Europe as other carriers will not meet previously agreed targets.” Primary airports also improved the airline’s visibility and access to business customers.

He said Q3 yields were pretty good with traffic to grow by 12pc and in Q4 traffic would grow by 20pc at

D

Bring the kids slightly lower yields Fuel is hedged at $93 per barrel will cut unit costs by 2pc and advantage of 10pc unhedged at lower costs The forward booking profile on average five points ahead with a 15pc increase in capacity. Ryanair leased in seven aircraft this summer and 15 aircraft are to be delivered this winter.

They will need to lease in another 6 or 7 next summer. Twenty new 737s to be delivered by next summer and no leases wil be required for summer 2016 “We are in favour of rising load factors rather than yields to utilize unit cost advantage and gains.”

“The target was to keep ancillary

growing at the same rate as headline growth but some ancillary will move into headline yield such as reserved seating and free bags.

He said Ryanair was benefiting from the continuous cycle of Industrial relations issues at Air France, Lufthansa, TAP and Aer Lingus, He said Alitalia and Air Berlin are “ceding market share to us.”

He said dealing with the Cypriot government was a bit chaotic and he expected the contract will go to Aegean. “If Cyprus goes to Aegean we will proceed with Cypriot AOC to re-build traffic to Middle East Destinations.”

DUBLIN’S BUSIEST WINTER SINCE ‘08

ublin Airport expects its busiest since 2008 AVOLON ended Q3 with a total owned, with thewinter addition of 19 managed and committed fleet of 227, up from extra routes. The airport 179. The Dublin-based company recently will have 950,000 more signed a purchase agreement for six B787-9 seats available across its Dreamliners. network, up 10pc comRYANAIR has ended its service from pared to last year.

The largest capacity inDerry to Birmingham. crease

by Ryanair on its NISRA said passenger numbers at Belfast Irish network.

City International Airport were unchanged for Scheduled passenger caJun-Sep 2014, Belfast City down 2pc and City pacity is 66,260 compared of Derry down about 11pc. Sea passengers with 62,016 in winter were up about 2pc.

2013-4. Ryanair leads for LUFTHANSA Group reported 2014 the first time (4.56m 42pc) followed by Aer Lingus Q3 revenue €8.46 bn up 2pc and operating (4.0m 37pc), BA (394,000 profit €735m up 25pc. The gain was due to a 4pc), Flybe (285,000 3pc), changed aircraft depreciation policy.

Emirates (220,000 2pc), Etihad (191,000, 2pc), Lufthansa (175,000 2pc), Cityjet (173,000 1pc), Air France (145,000, 1pc).

Passenger flights for which slots have been approved for winter 2014 are up 6.94pc on the approvals for winter 2013.

Ryanair flights are up 18pc with new routes to Glasgow (far more than the cancelled Prestwick), Brussels (far more than the cut in Charleroi), Prague, Cologne, Lisbon, Bucharest, Basle, Nice and Marrakesh.

Aer Lingus transatlantic flights are up 27pc and Air

Canada/Rouge will be operating year-round for the first time.

Total Aer Lingus flights (including Aer Lingus Regional and transatlantics) are down 11pc with reductions on many routes with Stockholm, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Southend cancelled.

San Francisco, East Midlands and Toronto are added.

Birmingham, Leeds, Boston and Salzburg show increase.

GermanWings have also increased (previously summer only: 3 per week to Cologne), BA (26 pw to London City), Flybe (Ex-

eter up to daily, Inverness new daily, London City new 22 pw, Southend new 12 pw, Southampton up to 27 pw), Emirates (daily to twice daily), Etihad (up from 10 pw to twice daily), Luxair( extension of summer service 4 pw), Lufthansa (extension of summer Munich service 2 pw), Cityjet London City (33 pw to 42 pw).

Flights to the US are down with the cancellation of American JFK and Delta Atlanta flight being offset

by Aer Lingus San Francisco services and an increased frequency to Boston.

Page 031 ITAA conference 18/11/2014 12:02 Page 1

ITAA conference 2014

GLOBAL VILLAGE

ITAA CEO Pat Dawson speaking to conference on board the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas

Cadiz a candidate

D

ITAA Conference may head back to Andalucia

espite a bid by Nice to host the annual conference of the Irish Travel Agents Association, it is likely that the conference will head back to Andalucia next year with Cadiz the probable venue.

This follows the 2014 conference eon board the Royal Caribbean ship Quantum of the Seas. It was not without its logistical challenges, notably as the conference centre was not ready for the event, but the 200 agents and suppliers who sailed on a pre-launch cruise had a memorable time.

A panel discussion on the future relevance of the travel agent was the high point of the conference., The 2013 Irish Travel Agents Association conference hosted in Granada by Gonzalo Ceballos of the

Martin Skelly speaking at the ITAA annual conference Travel 2020 session on board Quantum of the Seas, Spanish Tourist Board and Antonio €150m per annum to the Irish econMartin of Andalucian Tourist Board omy in terms of value added spend was regarded as one of the most suc- when people are planning their holicessful in history and is likely to be days. There are over 4,500 people difollowed by a return to Andalucia rectly employed in the industry in next year.

Ireland,” The Irish travel industry is worth

QUOTES OF THE CONFERENCE cult to compete with the big guys LARRY PIMENTAL JAMES MALONE It online, concenterate on base cusGuests rarely need help when they are paying a low price. They need help when they are paying a higher price.

TARA HYNES When you

look at the last year Ryanair were convinced to jump back in and sell to agents for the first time in a decade. That says a lot about where we are going.

BEN GREENE Refine the message that your sales team delivers to your customers so they can sell easier.

MARK CLIFFORD It

is much easier to keep in contact with your customers. It is very diffi-

tomers who are people who walk through the door.

MARY DENTON Agents account for two thirds of Sunway’s business. We envisage being here for another 25 or 30 years. We have kept our commissions. All we want from you guys is your support.

LARRY PIMENTAL

When is the last time you went into a restaurant and asked: what is the cheapest thing you have on the menu.

DECLAN POWER

Shannon is a lot closer than it used to be. It is a lot easier to get to.

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 31

remains the biggest problem for agents and our customers is that the airline industry decided they are not going to work through the trade.

Our customers are now penalised.

Until that issue is resolved in some way it is going to continue frustrating the industry. If I asked someone to work for me and did not pay them I think at the very least they would resent me.

MARK CLIFFORD To

continue doing the same thing is not going to work. It is vital for each of us to do something a little bit different, whether that is in a customer care perspective or a different product nobody else ins doing.

AER LINGUS are not going to have their short haul inventory on the GDS any time soon. John Keogh told the conference discussions were ongoing. But Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller was less optimistic when Travel Extra put the question to him at the Summer 2015 schedule launch: “We will not be going back in history increasing our GDS share,” but he did say that he would do so “If we have the right terms and conditions.” He also expects change to come with the IATA NDC which he described as a step in the right direction: “The customer buying an economy ticket in the United States can never order a meal. We would be restricting our product. In short haul nobody can buy lounge access because you cannot find all that stuff.”

AWARDS The voting process has

opened for the six 2015 ITAA Member Awards and the 27 categories of Supplier Awards will open Friday November 21st and close on Friday December 12, 2014. Vote online only at www.irishtravelindustryawards.com. n The six ITAA Member Awards are n Best ITAA Leisure Travel Professional n Best ITAA Corporate Travel Professional n Most innovative Marketing Team n Best ITAA Corporate Travel Agency n ITAA Agency of the year (under 10 employees) n ITAA Agency of the year (over 10 employees) An independent panel of Judges, chaired by Tom Lonergan, will evaluate the entrants and select the finalists and winners. There are 27 member awards in five categories. n Air Travel Category n Tour Operator Category n Cruise & Ferry Category n Agency Services Category n Destinations Category The Awards will take place at a Gala Dinner in the Round Room at the Mansion House on Thursday January 22, 2015.

NEW ENTRANTS There was some comment on the number of new entrants now licensed in the Irish market. John Galligan told the conference “these guys are coming in for a reason. If we try to compete with them on price we wil lose. The first thing we have to do is establish for ourselves is what are we do and what is our product. We don’t feel we can charge enough. But if you get a decent margin you wil have a decent business. If you can’t get a decent margin get a job somewhere.”

INSIGHT Vacations coaches with busi-

ness class legroom picked up ITAA conference delegates from London Heathrow and transferred them to Southampton to board the Quantum of the Seas.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN Lisa

Lutoff-Perlo Vice President of Operations at Royal Caribbean talked delegates through the features of Quantum of the Seas.

PANEL

guests were Tara Hynes of Travelport, Ben Grenne of Arrow Tours, Declan Power of Shannon, John Keogh of Aer Lingus, Mary Denton of Sunway, Mark Clifford of O’Hanrahan’s and Maura Fahy of Fahy Travel.

Page 032 Travel Writer Awards 18/11/2014 12:02 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 32

TRAVEL WRITER AWARDS 2014

2002 winner Cleo Murphy with and Gerry O”Hare of Travel Extra

2003 winner Pól Ó Conghaile with tourism minister Seamus Brennan who presented the award

2004 winner Pól Ó Conghaile with Gerry O’Hare, Seamus Brennan and Michael Doorley

2005 winner Kathryn Thomas with Gerry O’Hare and James Malone

Get your entry in for travel writer awards T

he Travel Extra Travel Writer of the year awards are now open for entries.

There are eleven categories and entries are invited to: Travel Extra Travel Writer awards, Limelight Communications, 60 Grand Canal Street Upper, Dublin 4.

Articles should be printed out in hard copy with contact details for the entrant.

The awards will be presented at a function in Thomas Prior House on Friday January 24 2014, during the Holiday World Show at RDS Simmonscourt.

Home market - Category sponsor: Fáilte Ireland.

Long haul - Category sponsor: Sunway.

Northern Ireland - Category sponsor: Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

New media - Category sponsor: Clickandgo.

The awards ceremony wil take place in Thomas Prior House Short break - Category sponsor: Category sponsor Turkish Airlines.

Overall - Category sponsor: Cassidy Travel.

Skiing - Category sponsor: Maltese Tourist Board.

Topflight.

Previous winners of the overall Sun holiday - Category sponsor: award were: 2002 Cleo Murphy, 2003-4 Pól Ó Conghaile, 2005 Falcon Holidays.

Broadcast Production - Cate- Kathryn Thomas, 2006 Muriel Bolger, 2007 Philip Nolan, 2008 Pól Ó gory sponsor: Istop shop.

Travel Book – Category spon- Conghaile, 2009 Mark Evans 2010 Philip Nolan 2011 Isabel Conway sor: Lowcostholidays.

Spain – Category sponsor: Span- 2013 Sue Morrell. 2013 Pól Ó Conghaile, ish Tourist Board.

Young Journalist (newcomer):

2009 winner Mark Evans with Eoghan Corry and Gerry O’Hare

2013 all Category winners

2007 winner Philip Nolan with Gerry’Hare, James Malone and Alex Incorvaja

2010 winer Philip Nolan with Lorraine Keane, Maureen Ledwith and Eoghan Corry

2012 winner Sue Moreell withEoghan Corry, Gonzalo Ceballos and Alex Incorvaja

2008 winner Pol O Conghaile with Gerry O’Hare

2011 winner Isabel Conway with Alex Incorvaja and Gerry O’Hare

2006 winner Muriel Bolger with Stephen Rea who presented the awards

2013 winner Pól Ó Conghaile with Heidi Drummond of the Maltese Tourist Board

Page 033 TE golf day 18/11/2014 12:03 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 33

TRAVEL EXTRA GOLF DAY 2010

Overall winners Tom Coade and Tanya Airlie with Pat Dawson and Maureen Ledwith

Longest drive winner Gillian Lowry

Front nine winner Anne Marie Dalton

Class two (handicaps 14-18) winner John Ki-

Class three winner Louis O’Toole

Class two and overall winner Eileen Penrose

Alex Leca of the Castle Golf club, Jim McGonigle of Clondalkin Travel and Martin Dempsey of Martin Dempsey Travel at the Travel Extra TIGS golf outing at the Castle

Castle champions

T

Tenth Travel Extra golf day brings out the trade

wo new Travel Etxra champions, Tom Coade and Tanya Airey were the winners of the tenth edition of the Travel Extra TIGS golf event at the Castle in Rathfarnham.

The AGM of TIGS was an opportunity to reflect on one of the most spectacularly successful periods in TIGS history.

Membership of TIGS has grown from 70 to 120 in recent months and on a showey Thursday, 45 golfers took to the course for the event. Some had o leave before dinner where 41 were seated.

Overall winnner in the Ladies

category was Tanya Airey 29pts( C/B); Class 1- Gillian Lowry 25pts (-1); Class 2:Eileen Penrose 29pts (-3)(C/B); Front 9:Ann Marie Dalton 16pts; Back 9:Helen Kelly 12pts (C/B); Long Drive -Gillian Lowry; Near Pin:Emer Farrell ; Gents; Overall mens winner was Tom Coade 41pts; Class 1:Pat Dawson 36pts; Class 2:John Kinane 36pts (1) C/B; Class 3:Louis O'Toole 34pts(B/9); Front 9:John Spollen 20pts; Back 9:Bill Smith 18pts; Long Drive:Phillip Airey; Near Pin:Lee Osborne; Visitor: Chris Lowry;

Pat Dawson, CEo of the ITAA is the new captain, succeeding Volker Lorenz of Amadeu and Tanya Airey is the new vice captain.

Previous winners gents: 2005 Tom Mulcahy, 2006 Jimmy Lennox, 2007 Bruce Crehan, 20089 Jimmy Lennox, 2010 Con Horgan, 2011-2 Louis O’Toole. 2013 Martin Dempsey 2014 Tom Coade Previous winners ladies: 2008 Audrey Headon, 2009 Niamh Byrne, 2010 Lorraine Cunningham, 2011 Rachel Treanor, 2012 Ann Byrne. 2013 Mary Stillman, 2014 Tanya Airey

Back nine winner Bill Smith Longest drive winner Philip Airey

Winner Tom Coade speaking at the event

Alex Leca serves up refreshemnts at the ninth

Setting out on the course on a fine October Thursday

Back nine winner Helen Kelly

Front nine winner John Spollen

Page 034-035 Agent 18/11/2014 14:57 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 34

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

AMADEUS Group appointed Diane

Bouzebiba to Director of Distribution Strategic Initiative.

FUN DAY The travel fun day raised

€60,000 in all. €30,000 was distributed to the Make a Wish Foundation, €5,000 each to the Frances Grogan Spinal Injuries Fund in Cheeverstown, the Nathan Trust, and the Gavin Glynn Trust (Gavin died that night) and €3,000 to the charities supported by Nikki Stanford in her Kilimanjaro climb.

CABFORCE Finnish-based provider of taxi and airport booking solutions, Cabforce launched their global product through the Travelport Marketplace e-commerce platform at the 2014 PhoCusWright conference.

LETZGO Ciaran Carraher has launched

a new company, Letzgo City Tours, which he says are “all about experiencing the extraordinary.” The company offers premium guided tours of Dublin including an impressive sounding Bram Stoker tour, London, Paris, New York and, eventually in late 2015 or 2016, Rome.

VOYAGES-SNCF have 25 euro

TGV offers in France and discounted travel to Belgium, Netherlands and Germany from Jan 6 until Feb 28.

GTA unveiled Emutrip, a free-to-use itinerary builder for mobile.

TRAVELPORT announced a distri-

bution agreement with AirAsia India. The carrier’s fare and ancillary services will now be distributed through Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform.

RED SEA Niall McDonnell formerly of Panorama Holidays is to head up Red Sea Resorts new tour operator business in Ireland.

ETOA elected Mario Bondini as its new

Chairman.

EQUISTONE Partners Europe has

bought out Travel Counsellors for a reputed

€100m. The homeworking organisation et up

by David Speakman has 60 agents in Ireland and a further 25 in the north.

TRAVEL DEPARTMENT an-

nounced a partnership with Arnotts which will see the company open a travel shop at the department store on Henry Street. Travel Department will roll out its first walk-in tourist visa service in the store. Located near the wedding and luggage sections, the new store will include a browsing area for customers looking to research their holiday. Retail interior design company Dalziel + Pow designed the 300sq ft shop.

WTM A poll of Association of National Tourism Offices & Representatives and Skal members showed a strong preference for the WTM in London to be reduced to a three-day event. Visitor numbers increased b 4pc this year.

SITA has signed a five-year agreement with OBS to provide network services in countries

Lorraine Quinn and Tryphavana Cross launch the Celebrity Cruises loyalty scheme in Dublin

Labeling loyalty

A

Celebrity follows Royal in rewarding agents

new loyalty programme from Celebrity Cruises aims to simplify agent incentives and reward counter staff.

The scheme has been introduced following a consultation programme with agents including Emer Miley from Tour America and Avril Fulton from Orr’s Travel. “This is designed by agents for agents,” Lorraine Quinn says.

Tryphavana Cross and Lorraine

W

talked agents through the advantages of the new loyalty programme, where agents accumulate points through cruise sales, earning more points for upselling, which can be redeemed with vouchers towards for consumer goods, brands or cruises.

State rooms will put into an auction process for agents. “It is as flexible as an individual wants to be,” Lorraine Quinn says.

“All their bookings are in there,

they can see their points clocking up and they can redeem their points like a shopping cart. There has never been a comprehensive loyalty programme for agents like this before.” The scheme went live yesterday (Nov 1) and points remain current for four years. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity now have both introduced loyalty programmes. “It is just the mechanics are different,” Lorraine says.

WORLDCHOICE UNVEILS PORTAL

orldchoice launched their updated communication hub to all members and trade partners.

The group, which has 62 member agencies including 12 in the north, says it is offering a one stop communication shop for all Worldchoice travel consultants and trade partners within the Worldchoice travel community Don Shearer says the technology “will change the way we, as a large retail community communicate with our wholesale

Don Shearer partners across all parts of the business,” “All trade partner and member updates are constantly updated on the hub along with news items, offers, incentives, competitions, training and

development initiatives, commercial status and productivity updates.

“I have developed direct links within the hub providing our members with immediate access to a number of key trade partners including Insurance providers, airlines, travel visa documentation, currency conversion, medical bureaus, flight aggregators, and weather links.”

“All web based enquiries are filtered directly to our retail members by geographic feeds. Consumer driven updates and offers to members and

trade partners automatically load on to the Worldchoice Consumer facing web site.

“The Worldchoice Communication Hub is a first in the industry acting as a new way for a real partnership to communicate and work together in an innovative and creative fashion.”

“The hub is an ongoing process of development to ensure we maximise every opportunity to grow the business of our retail members and trade partners.”

Page 034-035 Agent 18/11/2014 14:57 Page 2

Inside the Travel Business

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 35

GLOBAL VILLAGE

TURKISH AIRLINES appointed Patrick McKinney has joined Turkish Airlines from AIB. His primary responsibility will be to develop and implement the domestic Corporate Sales and Marketing strategy. Previously, Patrick successfully managed AIB’s sponsorship portfolio including the AIB GAA Club Championships. He has also worked in event management on several Ladies Irish Opens and the 2011 Solheim Cup. CLASSIC Resorts launched their new 2014/15 Worldwide brochure. Fiona Dobbyn reported a big increase in Honeymoon bookings for 2015. Back to spending a little more, and to favourites like Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, as well as Caribbean including Dominican Republic.

TRAILFINDERS launched their

new Indian Ocean Brochure.

UTAH sales mission came to Dublin con-

sisting of Charlie DeLorme of Utah's Canyon Country, Joyce Kelly of the St George & Zion Tourism Office and Bill Scoffield of Bryce Canyon Country. They showcased the state’s impressive national parks and red rock where visitors can enjoy a host of hikes, cycle trails and climbs. The shopping is good in Salt Lake City and Springdale is the nearest place to Zion National Park. Located two hours from Las Vegas, Utah, particularly St George, is popular with golfers in the winter.

Dominic Burke speaking at Travel Centres conference

Centres host 196

T

Sunway wins the supplier of the year award

ravel Centres gathered 196 registered delegates to their annual conference in Naas.

Ifonly were the headline sponsors of the two day event.

Sinéad O’Reilly (pictured) gave a presentation about the changes to GDS over the past 12 months: the Travelport GDS channel now offers an astonishing 38 ancillary types (how many are actually booked?).

The target was 100 low cost carriers in 2014 and there are now 89 low cost carriers signed up. Brian Malarkey of AO International sug-

T

gested an individualised quote system that would help Travel Centres member agencies.

Sharon Fleming from Thompson Travel gave one of the best presentations delegates have ever heard of the challenges facing the modern agent, a warts and all briefing to her colleagues.Representatives of 36 member agencies attended a closed session on the first morning of the conference. The consortium invited 45 suppliers to workshop sessions on the second day of the conference.

Quote of the conference was from Federica Galeotti, of Bedsonline,

talking about widgets and mobile technology: “I grew up with a black and white television, not because I am that old, but because the Italians like antiques.”

Sunway won the Supplier of the Year award at the Travel Centres awards ceremony. Agency awards went to 1stoptravel, Best4 travel, Douglas Travel, Liberty Travel, Newbridge Travel, O’Hanrahan Travel, Padraig Keogh travel, Platinum Travel, Roscrea travel, The Travel broker, Torc Travel and Way2go travel.

BOND BOMBSHELL ON THE WAY

he implications of the State Airports Act for the licensing and bonding system have not yet been fully explored.

The Act quietly removed the right of the Commission of Aviation regulation to insist on an Irish license Instead offshore tour op-

erators and agents need only sufficient evidence that they have security in place under the 1990 the legislation (Amendment of Transport, Tour Operators and Travel Agents, Act 1982) This follows recent rulings at EU level suggesting that tour operators will

soon be able to operate across boundaries.

It is still to the advantage of offshore operators to bond here (4pc for agents and 10pc for tour operators and most are likely to volunteer to have license.

The Commission of Aviation Regulation said agent renewal applications sub-

mitted for travel agents indicated an average increase of 5pc in turnover on last year. 23 travel agents and 46 tour operators are licensed to operate in Ireland including 13 newly licensed entities, 11 travel agents and 2 tour operators.

ENTERPRISE car hire is expanding into Scandinavia with Greyfell Nordic. Irish business travellers and tourists travelling to Norway and Sweden can now avail of Enterprise’s car rental services and offers.

HERTZ The winners of the Hertz Travel-

port €50 weekly vouchers for October were Christine O'Sullivan of CTM, Joanne Culleton of Tully’s, Sally O'Brien of Carlson Wagonlit, Catherine Monaghan of FCM and Aoife Jordan of Travel Leaders.

APG Mukesh Sharma of World Travel

Centre attended the APG World Connect conference in Monte Carlo as the guest of APG Global.

WYSE Work, Volunteer Abroad and the

International Au Pair Association (IAPA) have opened registration for WETM-IAC 2015 in Lisbon next March.

ITAA’s quarterly members survey revealed

that 72pc of agents have reported an increase in bookings compared to this time last year.

20pc said bookings remain the same, while 8pc reported a decrease.

TRAVELPORT and TravelClick ex-

panded their partnership.

SUNWAY PR Fiona Bolger (pictured)

closed her consultancy business to become CEO of Spinal Injuries Ireland. Fiona spent 17 years working as PR Consultant to Sunway Holidays and other clients in the tourism and sports industries. PR will now be handled in house at Sunway and an announcement will be made shortly about this position.”

Page 036 window seat 18/11/2014 09:09 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 36

WINDOW SEAT

Busman’s holiday: Helen Fyfe

The beaches and safari trails of South Africa’s Wild Coast were the childhood landscape of Lufthansa’s Helen Fyfe

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Helen Fyfe, Ireland country manager of Lufthansa

H

olidays in the Eastern Cape, South Africa where I grew up were usually to the coast.

A beach cottage or a river chalet would be rented for a week which was quite surprising as we lived at the mouth of a river leading out to the sea.

My sister and I never tired of waking up early, putting on our swimming gear and heading for the beach for the entire day - picnic, umbrella, bat and ball in

G

tow. We would fall into bed at night, ex-

hilarated, happy and suntanned!

One of my most memorable holidays was a week on a guest farm in rural South Africa whereby we were enthralled with country life.

Being city children aged 10 and 11 – the early morning milking sessions, herding cattle, collecting eggs and generally being a farm hand was so exciting.

Experiencing something different was what made this holiday so special. My parents loved the fact that they did not need to pay for entertainment for a

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

etting married abroad can save a couple more than €15,000. There seems to be no let-up in the number of people who are trading the big wedding at home for the smaller ceremony abroad.

What has happened in recent months is even more interesting.

The average spend on honeymoons increased dramatically, from €2,500 to €4,500 this year, with an increased level of enquiries for

2015 and 2016 mainly to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Thailand.

Thailand is the most significant of these destinations for two curious reasons. Huge investment in infrastructure has seen the hotel stock has moved ahead of the opposition and a shaky political environment has meant that prices are lower than they might otherwise have been, without any compromise on safety.

The geography of the honeymoon has also changed dramati-

cally by events. Mauritius, once a firm favourite, has not returned to the radar. South Africa remains a favourite, but air access is a problem. The savings made in exchange rates can be cancelled out by air fares.

Agents and couples alike are now seeing the benefit of the increased connections to Thailand’s honeypot honeymoon destinations, without having a second transfer at Bangkok.

change!

Now, I live on a farm, so a farm holiday is out for me.

My favourite holidays still continue to be beach holidays, I don’t mind where, as it is as long as I can see the sea, the hotel is lovely (preferably 5 star) has an extensive cocktail menu and the daily temperature remains above 25 degrees.

I love the relaxing days reading, walking and sleeping where my toughest decision will be what time to have breakfast.

My husband thankfully also enjoys beach holidays, as long as they are not too long - just enough time to read the Farmer’s Journal cover to cover!

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Consumer edition available to the pubic January 12 2015

HOLIDAY WORLD Over 200 fascinating destinations to explore THE LURE OF AFRICA

Page 037-39 pics 18/11/2014 10:34 Page 1

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 37

MEETING PLACE

and Liam Lonergan of Philip Airey of Sunway s uncement of Aer Lingu Club Travel at the anno new Dulles route

Mary McKenna and Ro ss Waters of Tour America at the MSC Cruise s event

enura Fahy and Marie Gr Pauline Grenham, Ma ard bo on ar be nature ham encounter the sig a Se the of tum Quan

Marie Byrne of Abbey Travel and Valerie Me tcalfe of FCM at the an nouncement of Aer Lin gus new Dulles route

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Onur Gul, Ann Marie Dalton and Adnan Cetinkaya of Turkish Airlines at the Turkish Airlines golf event in Killeen Castle

Simon Daly of Topflight with Jonathan Millar and Maurice Shiels of Topflight and Brenda Ryan Gary Boyd of Bryan Somers Travel at the Turkish from John Cassidy Travel at the launch of the t loyalty scheme Airlines golf event in Killeen Castle Celebrity Cruises agen

Stephen Mckenna of Atlas Travel, Clem Walshe Gill O'Sullivan and Erica O'Reilly of Kin g Travel at the Amadeus & MS of Lowcost Bed and Volker Lorenz of Amadeus C Cruises event in the at the Turkish Airlines golf event at Killeen Castle Residence, Dublin

Richard Harbourne of Travel Counsellors and Joe Finglas of Club Travel at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty scheme

Mary McGrath of Falcon Travel in Kilkenny and l and Kevin Nolan of David Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Grady of etrave Nicola Fields of Falcon Travel, Talbot Street at w ne s gu Lin r Ae of t cemen Topflight at the announ the launch of Celebrity Cruises loyalty scheme Dulles route

In BA lounge T5 Heath row: Eliza Geraghty of 1Stop Travel, Claire Fit zsimons of Clonmel Travel and Sharon Mo ore of Navan Travel

Denise Connaughton of 1stoptravel, Joanne Madden of Travelport and Eliza Geraghty of 1stoptravel at Travel Ce ntres Conference

Brendan Barry of Discover Travel and Pearse Keller of Pearse Keller Travel at Heathrow Airport en route to ITAA annual conference

nConnolly, Operations Ma Niall Clarke and Ruth y Ton to ion tat presen ager for Topflight at the embass ian str Au the at s llin Co

Siobhan Murphy and Ea monn Murray of Atlas Travel/Gohop at the an nouncement of Aer Lin gus new Dulles route

e Reynolds of Cassidy Karen Anderson and Su nt eus & MSC Cruises eve Dundrum at the Amad in the Residence, Dublin

Page 037-39 pics 18/11/2014 10:34 Page 2

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 38

MEETING PLACE

Anne O'Neill, guests of Clare Dunne and Carol v South Africa rugby the ITAA at the Ireland match, Nov 9 2014

Claire Somers, Denise Breen, Rachel McAnaspie and Aman da Hynes of American Holidays at the Amadeus & MSC Cruises event

the lins and Simon Daly at Gunther Gatt, Tony Co em ian llins at the Austr presentation to Tony Co bassy,

Rachel Fitzgerald of Ab bey Travel and Ita Hendrick of Travelworld at the launch of the Celeb rity Cruises agent loyalty sch eme

hard Cullen of Killiney Paul Manning of Hertz, Ric h of Justsunchine at the Iris Travel and John Grehan annual conference Travel Agents Association

Michael Harrington, Ste phen McKenna, Alan Sparling, Andre Migliar ina and Tim Meek. at WTM

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Jenny Rafter and Jennfier Callister of Royal Cairbbean accept a presentation from Martin Skelly president of the ITAA

Ann Davis of Abbey Tra vel, Martin Skelly of Navan Travel, Presiden t of the ITAA and Toni Fennell of Abbey Travel at tMSC Cruises event

Zoe Mabutt, Colin Rillie and Gemma Lovell at the l vel Advisors and Rache launch of the Royal Caribbean rewards card for Kealen Valentine of Tra the of vel at the launch agents in London Fitzgerald of Abbey Tra loyalty scheme t en ag s ise Celebrity Cru

Martin Penrose of Ifonly and John Cassidy of Cassidy Travel at the Turkish Airlines golf event in Killeen Castle, Sept 18 2014

Adrienne Keogh from Am erican Holidays, Fiona Do bbyn of Classic Resorts and Fra nk Kelly of American Sky at the announcement of Aer Lingus new Dulles route

Donna Olahan and Lisa Nehedh of Travel Counsellors at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty scheme

g Walsh try out the runnin Roz Walsh and Angela as Se the of track on board Quantum

Dawn Westmoreland Conway of Sunway and Emma Bunbury of Etravel at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty scheme

Lorraine Lawless and Mandy Walsh of Travel Counsellors at the lau nch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty sch eme

Alan O'Docherty of Independent Travel and Alan Neenan of Neenan Travel at the announcement of Aer Lingus new Dulles route

row: Nicola Quigley of In BA Lounge T5 Heath d ndan Mallon of WTC an O'Hanrahan Travel, Bre ea Travel Bernie Grace of Roscr

Page 037-39 pics 18/11/2014 10:34 Page 3

JANUARY 2015 PAGE 39

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Centres with Jenny Dominic Burke of Travel n Olive Fitzsimons and Cathy Cullen at the anter at the Southampto llis Ca r Rafter and Jennife - nouncement of Aer Lingus new Dulles As ts en Ag vel Tra the Irish cruise terminal before

Pat Dawson CEO of the Irish Travel Agents As sociaiton and John Ke ogh of Aer Lingus at Wo rld Travel Market in Excel , London

Kathrice Gunning and Mary Downes of John Cassidy Travel at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty scheme

Niamh Doherty and Ma ry McKenna of Tour America at the MSC Cru ises event in the Residence

Niki Stanford of Paul Hackett and and eus & MSC Cruises ad Am Clickandgo at the Dublin event in the Residence,

pes and Dawn Conway Gerry Duggan of Trailfinders and Josane Lima of Mary Denton, Deirdre Sweeny and Jeanette TayAlan Lynch of Cruisesca nt eus & MSC Cruises eve the Travel Department at the announcement of lor of Sunway with John Grehan of Jus of Sunway at the Amad tsunshine at the Travel Centres Aer Lingus new Dulles route Conference in the Residence, Dublin

Karen Collins, Elaine Ho wley, Erica Mott and An thony Collins at the pre sentation to Tony Collin s at the Austrian embassy

Kealen Valentine of Travel Advisors and Rachel Fitzgerald of Abbey Travel at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises agent loyalty scheme

t- Fiona Dobbyn and Sandra Mooney of Cassidy vel Centres and Tom Bri Dominick Burke of Tra C Travel at the launch of the Celebrity Cruises MS & s eu ad Am at the ton of Marble City Travel agent loyalty scheme sidence, Dublin Cruises event in the Re

American ambassado r Kevin O’Malley with Eithne Fitzpatrick, Ow ner and Mark Scott Lennon,GM Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel.

David Kinsella of Etravel and Olwen McKinney of Amadeus at the Amadeus & MSC Cruises event in the Residence, Dublin

and vel, President of the ITAA Martin Skelly of Navan Tra us ade Am the at vel Tra Bowe Michael Bowe of Michael blin Du e, enc sid Re & MSC Cruises event in the

Saruna Zerauskaite an d Alice Carrick of Tour America at the Amadeu s & MSC Cruises event in the Residence,

of and Antoinette Young Alan Sparling of SAS ilin K ce en fer con tres Falcon at the Travel cen lashee, Naas

Page 048 09/09/2014 21:23 Page 1

Kings Hall Pavilion, Belfast BT9 6GW, Northern Ireland 16th/18th January 2015

The Belfast Telegraph 50+Show will be staged

alongside the highly successful Holiday World Show, entering its 23rd year and firmly established as one of the BIGGEST and BEST attended public exhibitions in Northern Ireland

Featuring: • • • • • •

Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Genealogy Government Information Services Health & Wellbeing Holidays & Travel

• • • •

Home & Garden Hotels & Spas Personal Finance & Law Retirement Villages & Resorts • Technology

WHY YOU SHOULD EXHIBIT AT THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH 50+SHOW • Estimated 80% of the country’s wealth is held by people aged 50+ (The Henley Centre) • 31.7% (or 574,000) of the Northern Ireland population are 50+ (Northern Ireland population census) • 62% of Belfast Telegraph readers are 50+ • As a group they are more likely to have substantial assets, cash and the time to enjoy life.

Whilst they are less likely to have any mortgages, school fees and 9 to 5 jobs.

To exhibit please contact Maureen Ledwith Sales Director +353 (0)1 291 3700 e: maureen@bizex.ie

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