Travel Extra May 2014

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R U O

Y HOWE THE ISLAND TIME FORGOT DISNEY NEW RIDES, SAME MAGIC AUSTRALIA 60,000 IRISH GO EACH YEAR

e d a r T

MSC order two bigger ships

Ryanair’s mobile boarding

Theme Parks

ER P PA

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION MAY 2014

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VOLUME 16 NUMBER 5

The Australia issue

Big news from a big island

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Turkey’s e-visa

E-visa now required, old visa still available at airports

urkey's new "Law on Foreigners" took effect on Friday April 11 onwards, after which every visitor is supposed to have an e-visa.

The Ankara government claims the move will end airport queues and "make travelling to Turkey simpler and easier".

Critics fear that visiting the country will become more expensive and a lot more complicated. The personal information requested includes, your parents' first (but not last) names, as well as the issue and expiry dates of your passport. There is a nine-digit security verification hurdle to clear.

Then you enter your expected date of arrival. If there is any doubt, then go for the earliest possible; the e-visa expires 180 days, just short of six months, after the starting date.

An email is automatically generated, and you have one hour to respond (check your "junk mail" folder if it does not arrive promptly).

If you meet the deadline, you are taken to the payment page.

The charge is in US dollars. You pay with plastic Master/Visa credit or debit card. debit card could cost more.

Your application is confirmed by another email, which allows you to download the e-visa and print it out to take with you.

Holiday makers who are applying for a family, you must repeat every stage of this procedure.

Turkish authorities have recognised that many travellers will be unaware of the new rules. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara has actually added to the confusion

MAY 2014 PAGE 3

NEWS

TENERIFE reported a total of 72,419

Irish holidaymakers in 2013, up 5.5pc compared to 2012 (68,671 people). In 2013, more Irish opted to stay in 3-star (9,311 people) and 4-star hotels (21,019 people) – 41.9pc of the total. The number of Irish visitors staying in the city of Santa Cruz, the island’s capital city, increased by 47.3pc compared to 2012. The northwest of Tenerife (La Laguna, Bajamar, Tacoronte) and the south also saw a 6pc increase from Irish holiday makers. Tenerife is the third most popular of the Canary islands in the Irish market.

NIGHTSWAPPING launched an easy-access home exchange system: travellers sign up, offering nights in their home for free.

This earns night credits, which can be used at the homes of 6,000 registered users around the world for free.

AMADEUS and Oxford Economics

concluded that the global travel industry is entering a "golden decade" during which Asia will account for 55pc of worldwide travel growth.

No more queuing at the airport

by apparently contradicting the 24hour minimum. It now says you can apply on arrival: "Visitors arriving to Turkey without visas will be able to obtain their e-visas via interactive kiosks placed in Turkish airports."

Travellers who sail in on a cruise ship are allowed in visa-free for up to 72 hours – so long as they don't plan to leave the port of arrival.

Anyone planning an excursion, for example a day trip from Marmaris to Ephesus or Dalyan, will need to obtain an e-visa in advance.

You also require an e-visa if you fly to Turkey to board a cruise ship,

CHINA will overtake the US as the largest source of outbound travel spend in 2014. Business travel expenditure by US and European passengers is not forecast to reach pre-recession levels until [sometime in] 2014 and 2018. even if you plan to spend only a few hours on Turkish soil.

Predictably, the move has spawned a number of get-rich-quick websites that seek to divert unwitting travellers from the official channel and levy high "service fees".

These businesses pay Google to appear at the top of the listings when a search is made for something like "Turkey Visa". The site run by evisa.eu.com, for example, charges £55 – more than four times as much as you pay at the correct website, evisa.gov.tr.

BURMA Concerns have been raised that tourism is threatening the delicate eco-system of Inle Lake, one of Burma’s most popular tourist sights.

RENDEZ VOUS de France was

held in Clermont Ferrand. Next year’s Rendez Vous will be in Paris at a date yet to be decided.

VISIT SCOTLAND Expo in Glasgow hosted 700 buyers who met with 250 Scottish tourism businesses.

ROAMING CHARGES A plenary sitting of parliament in Brussels voted to ban mobile phone surcharges, which hit users as they cross national borders in the European Union. The change could take effect by December 2015.

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MAY 2014 PAGE 4

CONTENTS

THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Advertising & Subscriptions 6 Sandyford Office Park Dublin 18 (+3531) 2913708 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 Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Picture Editor: Charlie Collins pix@travelextra.ie Chief Subeditor: Ida Milne ida@travelextra.ie Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Eanna Brophy eanna@travelextra.ie Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Sean Mannion sean@grafacai.ie Conor McMahon conor@travelextra.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 01-2957418 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

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3-7 News Turkey’s new e-visa 6 Hotels: Rome gets pricey 7 Lisbon: Great taste, great value 8 Postcard: Events of the month 12 IPW: Report from Chicago

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14 Australia: All the news 18 New Zealand: Fishing in Auckland 19 Australia: Inisheer in the Pacific.

20 Theme Parks: Harry doubles up 24 Destination: Five days in Disney.

26 Afloat: MSC orders new ships

28-31 Flying: Linsgus flatbeds unveiled 32 Ireland: Home holiday news 33 Thomas Cook: 140 years 35 Global Village Inside the travel industry 37 Window seat: Our columnists 38 Pictures: Out and about

One for the theme

transferable and subject to availability.

lanning a theme park visit can be a bit of a rollercoaster. How can you make your clients’ theme park trip a better experience for adults and children alike? Here are a few hints.

CALCULATE

Price systems can be complicated, and to make sure you are going to get maximum benefit, you need to do your sums and plan your time.

There’s no point buying an expensive multi-visit pass, only to find that you use it once before it expires.

TURN RIGHT

Most people gravitate to the left when they enter a theme park. By going right and taking in your attractions anti-clockwise, you will beat the queues to the rides, particularly if you go early.

COMBINE

Many of the attractions within a region or within the same parent group also team up with one another to offer combined entrance at reduced rates.

GO EARLY

Theme park queues lengthen and shorten in cycles. The early comer gets to do five or six extra rides because the queues are shorter.

Something as simple as a baseball hat can gain you valuable midday time in the hotter parks such as Orlando and Portaventura.

BREAKFAST

Food in theme parks can be exorbitant, so eat well before you set out. Most theme parks won’t allow you to bring food, so work out the prices in the various restaurants in advance so that you won’t be ripped off. Very often the most expensive are strategically placed to capitalise on lunch breaks or the exact moment teenies are hit by the munchies.

FAMILY Tickets can save a surprising amount of money. A family of two adults and up to four children aged between six and sixteen can save around $30.

The same applies to Duchas attractions at

LONG -Term The

Ratatouille opens late June in Disneyland Paris

home. Visiting in a group of two or three families is usually better value than just with your own. At some parks, a group of twelve or more qualifies for a ‘passport’ ticket offering savings of up to 30pc.

SUNDAY

Evening. This is when the resorts empty, as everyone returns home for work on Monday.

When planning your trip stay an extra day and take advantage of the empty theme park and the short queues on Sunday evenings, particularly in parks that stay open late. Sunday evening in February is the best time ever to do Disney Paris, Ireland’s

favourite theme park destination.

FAST-TRACK

when and where you have the option. The time saved makes it well worthwhile for the small outlay, particularly as the sun climbs or, in Orlando, humidity soars. It saves queuing time and makes everyone less grumpy, and if you are paying for a day ticket, gives you an extra couple of rides for time spent queuing. There is a snag: Disney’s fastpass locks you into a particular ride. You cannot get a fast pass for another ride until a stated time. So gather fast passes for the most crowded rides early in the morning, and use

the transport system to travel between them to do your rides. Tickets are multiple entry and the monorail is air conditioned, so it doesn’t take as much time as the queue would in the first place.

BOOK in advance and online if you can.

Ticket specialists such as Attraction Tickets Direct can offer big savings. In Europe, most big attractions now offer internet booking deals, typically offering savings 10pc.

Tickets are cheaper if booked at least 48 hours in advance. If you have internet access, you can pick the least crowded times. Note that tickets are not refundable or

Americans stay for shorter periods than Europeans at the major Orlando theme parks, so the owners offer us five day passes which can be incredibly good value.

PROMOTIONS These are a

favourite device in theme parks, as with hotels and airlines, to boost low season capacity. Arrive in a big European theme park outside of school holidays in shoulder season you will not only enjoy shorter queues but lower prices too. This is a big advantage for anyone with preschool kiddies or who have unusual discretion days, such as the traditional Punchestown closing for Kildare schools.

Checking websites is the easiest way of finding one-off, seasonal deals.

Offers include May reductions for those who don’t need to take children out of school.

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Istanbul Istabest

Tripadvisor chooses leading destination in the world

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stop by the Miniaturk Park to see its tiny artifacts. The Grand Bazaar has thousands of shops to browse, while the Egyptian Bazaar is a fragrant trove of spices and fruits.”

Istanbul is also the second most popular destination for overseas visitors within Turkey after Antalya, with 10,474,867 visitors

THE TOP 25 DESTINATIONS

Sophia beats the world

ripadvisor named Istanbul as the top destination in the world up 11 places from last

year.

Tripadvisor users said that “Europe and Asia meet in Istanbul, where breathtaking ancient architecture coexists with modern restaurants and nightlife. The city's mosques,

bazaars, and hammams (Turkish baths) could keep you happily occupied for your entire trip. Start with the awe-inspiring Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), visible from many points of the city.

Stroll the Galata Bridge and

1 Istanbul (+11) 2 Rome (+2), 3 London (0) 4 Beijing (+17) 5 Prague (+4) 6 Marrakech o (+13) 7 Paris (-6) 8 Hanoi (New) 9 Siem Reap (+14) 10 Shanghai (+12) 11 Berlin (0) 12 New York (-10) 13 Florence (-5)

ADVISORY KILLS OFF SHARM CHARTERS

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Heavy security in tourist zones could not prevent the DFA advisory

omewhat unexpectedly, to say the least, the DFA followed the lead of Germany in evacuating Irish tourists out of Sharm el Sheikh after an updated travel advisory in midMarch: The DFA advised: due to an increased risk of civil unrest and a heightened threat of terrorist incidents, Irish citizens are advised to avoid all non-

essential travel to Egypt at this time including Sharm El-Sheikh and the rest of the Sinai.

The advisory allows travel to the Red Sea costal resort of Hurghada and other Red Sea resorts outside the Sinai peninsula, where Irish citizens are advised to arrive and depart by air and to strictly avoid travelling outside the resort and Luxor and Aswan (including cruises between

them) where Irish citizens are advised to exercise caution and arrive and depart by air. Which is all very frustrating when the only flights got to Sharm.

Falcon Holidays and Thomas Cook were sharing a Thursday morning Thomsonfly charter which returned full but left a lot of unhappy would-be outbound holiday makers whose holiday was abruptly cancelled.

14 Buenos Aires (+4) 15 Barcelona (-10) 16 St Petersburg (+4) 17 Dubai (New) 18 Chicago I (-4) 19 Cape Town (-3) 20 Bangkok (-7) 21 Budapest (New) 22 Sydney (-12) 23 Lisbon (New) 24 Chiang Mai (0) 25 San Fran (-18)

MAY 2014 PAGE 5

NEWS

CAMINO DEL REY Plans to restore the Camino del Rey means thrill-seekers have until May to tackle what is claimed to be the world's scariest walk.

BEACHES It was reported that the

beach from Shawshank Redemption now poses a health risk.

ROME La Beccherie, the restaurant in Rome that claims to have invented tiramisu is to close.

HUNGARY Since March 15 photogra-

phers are required by law to ask permission to take pictures from everyone who will be in the shot. Critics say the law is 'vague and obstructive'.

MAURITIUS

The Outrigger resort and spa is to re-open after a six-month renovation.

HONEYMOON A groom flying

from Atlanta to Costa Rica forced his Delta Air Lines flight to divert to the Cayman Islands after he got into a "drunken argument" with his new wife en route to their honeymoon. The man was escorted from the flight and taken into custody by Cayman Islands police. The bride continued on with her trip to the Costa Rican capital of San Jose.

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HOTELS

PWC

said the average daily room rate for Dublin was €89 last year, putting it in 14th place among the cities surveyed. Dublin’s occupancy levels are 4th in Europe. Occupancy has passed pre-recession levels to 79pc, up from 67pc in 2008. They predicted they would rise again this year to 80pc and that rates will increase 5.2pc this year to €94, and 3.8pc next year to €96. Revenue per available room (which rose 11pc last year) will increase 5.2pc this year, and 3.8pc next year.

SAVILL’s said 13 hotels worth €85m

were sold in the first three months of the year, an increase of 150pc on the same period in 2013, when just six hotels, valued at €34m, were sold. Significant hotel sales in the first quarter of this year included the Hilton Hotel Dublin for about €30m, and the former Clarion Dublin Hotel Airport Hotel and Doonbeg Golf Resort for €15m each. Dublin properties for sale include the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links (€20m) and the Pearse Hotel (€9m), with the Westin Hotel due to come to the market shortly.

CABANA BAY Bill Davis of Uni-

versal Orlando said rates at Cabana Bay Beach will be $174 for family suites, $119 for standard rooms. The hotel, which offers what Universal calls a value alternative to their three other onsite hotels in Orlando, will be the largest in the world to open this year at 1,800 rooms.

BREAKFAST A survey claimed free

breakfast is more important to hotel guests than free Wi-Fi.

FRANKFURT -based IHS GmbH acquired InnLink LLC, central reservations provider based in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

TRIVAGO Hotel comparison website trivago.ie wants to pay travellers for hotel reviews in an attempt to make its comparison website more authentic and trustworthy. Its mystery guest programme piloted in Germany before being launched here with a mission statement to “combat the increasing difficulty of guaranteeing online reviews are accurate and genuine,” Users save money on their hotel booking by completing an online questionnaire. The results are displayed on Trivago to create comprehensive hotel information and reviews. Hoteliers can purchase test results for further insight and to maximise their visibility and bookings HRS

listed Europe’s top 10 most popular new hotel openings in 2013. topped by Dora Hotel in Istanbul.

MARKER Hotel on Grand Canal Dock celebrates its first birthday.

GIBSON hotel launched their new Artist

in Residence 2014, urban artist Fin Dac,

GLOBE Hotels now have directly contracted rates with PortAventura.

TRAVELCUBE’s Irish sales team

say room nights booked through www.TravelCube.ie increase by 22pc last year.

GRAND CANAL Hotel in Dublin

celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Rome has seen the most significant hotel price increases this Spring

Rome gets pricey

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Eternal city is the fastest rising in Europe this Spring

otel prices have increased for the spring season all over Europe, according to the Trivago Hotel Price Index reported monthly by hotel comparison website trivago.ie.

Based on the 50 most popular European cities on Trivago, one night in March will cost an average of €109.

This is an 8pc increased from the February monthly average of €101 per night. Compared to last month, the most significant increases can be found in Rome (up 28pc to an average of €122 per night), Istanbul (up 27pc to €109), Geneva (up 25pc to €277) and Florence (up 22pc to

€117).

In Dublin prices increased by up to 86pc for St Patrick’s Day. Prices are also up in Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway, Waterford and Cork but, interestingly, most are down on this time last year.

The Irish price list for March goes: ■ Belfast €94, +1pc on last month +2pc on last year ■ Cork €90, +7pc on last month 5pc on last year ■ Derry €81, +1pc on last month 5pc on last year ■ Donegal €125 -4pc on last month +13pc on last year ■ Dublin €113 +14pc on last month

-7pc on last year ■ Galway €86, +5pc on last month -12pc on last year ■ Kilkenny €89 -2pc on last month -4pc on last year ■ Killarney €91, +1pc on last month -8pc on last year ■ Limerick €75, +1pc on last month -5pc on last year ■ Sligo €84, +2pc on last month 9pc on last year ■ Tralee €81 -1pc on last month 9pc on last year ■ Waterford €79 -2pc on last month -7pc on last year ■ Average €91, +2pc on last month -2pc on last year

EUROPEAN HOTEL PRICE INDEX

€277

Geneva

€122

€97

€87

€75

London

€121

€96

Galway Leipzig Valencia

€73

€117

Berlin Turin

€86

Paris Venice

Munich

€187 €164 Stockholm

€157 Oslo

€151

Amsterdam

€135

Copenhagen

€133

Manchester

€130 Brussels Donegal

€125

Rome

Florence

Barcelona Dublin

€113 Istanbul

€109 Cannes

€106 Salzburg

€105 Lyon

€102 Glasgow

€98

Liverpool

Belfast Kilkenny

€94

Marseille

€92

Killarney

€91

Toulouse

Sligo

€84 Derry Prague Tralee

€81

Dresden

Cork Madrid

€80

Lisbon

€77

€90

Kilkenny

€89 €88

Seville Waterford

€79 Bilbao

Limerick Malaga

Athens Bucharest Granada Riga

€72

Zaragosa

€64

Warsaw

€63 Sofia

€59

Source: Trivago.ie

Page 007 Lisbon 16/04/2014 08:50 Page 1

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ith its cheap food, quality wines and boutique accommodation, Lisbon is one of the best mini-break destinations.

Although it’s raining hard when I arrive, I’m promised that Lisbon’s temperatures soar to 30 degrees during peak season, the perfect time to visit the strip of fish restaurants at Santo Amaro dock.

Try the Spanish-influenced sea bass cooked and served in salt at Restaurante 5 Oceanos.

Knock back a glass of white wine and enjoy the view of the River Tagos.

The view is especially unique around two o’clock in the afternoon.

That’s when you’ll see the hippo tour bus cruising by in the river (think Viking Splash tour without the shouting).

Of course, Portugal is the place to be if you’re a fan of seafood. Here, cod is king. It’s said that the Portuguese have invented 365 different ways to cook cod (one for every day of the year). I sampled only six but can confirm that if you’re banking on cod alone during a week’s holiday, you’ll do just fine.

The city has a rich cuisine thanks to its many colonial influences. But,

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MAY 2014 PAGE 7

DESTINATION PORTUGAL to visit.

Tagos taste

Conor McMahon finds value in Lisbon

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Pastéis de Belém pastries are a speciality of the Belém district of Lisbon

there are some food experiences that are wholly Portuguese.

f you visit the wonderful Belém district, you must try a Pastéis de Belém pastry with cinnamon and icing sugar at Antiga Cafeitaria. These custardy, flaky treats were created by the monks at the neighbouring Jeronimós monastery.

When the monks were evicted from the monastery in 1834, the secret recipe was passed on to the Clarinha family, whose descendants run the patisserie today. Be sure to get your timing

■ The most exciting cod dish is the incredible bacalhau à bras with exploding olives by Michelin-star chef José Avillez. The young chef owns a string of restaurants in Lisbon, including Pizzaria Lisboa on Rua dos Duques de Bragança – a unique experience to be served pizza from a Michelin-star chef.

■ If you hike up to the Saint Justa lift and onto Rua do Carmo, you’ll find the Santini ice cream shop, home to the best ice cream in Lisbon. The locals tell me it’s better to eat Italian-influenced ice-cream, rather than Italian ice cream.

■ Minesterium bar at Comercio Square serves great beer and cocktails at a very reasonable price. An XL glass of beer will only set you back €4.

■ Hostels are a relatively new concept in Lisbon. One of the best is The Inde-

right though; between the cruise ships and tour buses that pull-up nearby the café can get full.

Although Lisbon is the oldest city in Western Europe, its architecture is quite diverse. Modern buildings sit comfortably alongside traditional structures, especially in the Belém district.

Jeronimós monastery is one of the oldest structures in Lisbon having survived the 1531 Lisbon earthquake and subsequent tsunami and fires.

Colloquially known as “the pepper monastery”, Lisbon’s history is literally written on its walls.

All the motifs that appear on the tiles that line Lisbon’s streets are here – sea monsters, elephants, lions, etc. – and the tomb of Portugal’s greatest explorer Vasco da Gama is housed at Jeronimós.

Museu Coleçao Berardo is only a fiveminute walk away. The Berardo art collection is home to some of the 20th century’s greatest artworks. Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and David Hockney all find their place in the permanent collection, which is free

streets, leads off Comercio Square. The pedestrianized street offers the usual high street shops as well as a couple of unique design shops like Typographia, a shop that sells Portuguese themed t-shirts by Lisboan designers.

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f you head away from Lisbon’s historic centre and visit Parque das Nações, you’ll find that the former Expo 98 site has been put to good use with attractions like Oceanário de Lisboa.

Thanks to its unusual layout, the aquarium is very interactive and childfriendly.

Located only 30 minutes from the beach town of Cascais, Lisbon is a great destination if you’re after a short, cultural city break and want to get your share of beach time as well.

The city itself is relatively small, so it won’t take you long to find your feet, which is an obvious help if you’re only here for a short stay. And besides, Lisbon is the birthplace of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost articles, so if you do get lost, pray to him and he’ll help you find the right path.

■ Conor McMahon travelled to Lisbon courtesy of the Portuguese Tourist Board ■ Ryanair commenced flying Dublin to Lisbon on April 1st.

THINGS TO DO PLACES TO SEE

pendente near Bairro Alto. The boutique hostel is owned and run by three brothers who backpacked around the world, borrowing ideas from the best hostels and bringing it home to Lisbon.

A night in one of the bright and spacy dorms with big cork bunk beds will cost €12 on average.

■ Thanks to the lower minimum wage, food in Lisbon is very cheap for Irish tourists. The Independente’s restaurant, The Decadente, serves a three-course lunch for only €10. The food is high quality and the surround décor is very fashionable. Plus, if you fancy an espresso after your meal, it will only cost you 60c.

■ One of the biggest annoyances for tourists is the constant hassle from “drug dealers” at every corner in the city centre (notice the quotation

f you’re travelling back to the city centre, be sure to make a stop-off at the LX Factory in Rua Rodrigues de Faria. It mightn’t look like much from the outside, but this former printing factory is home to some of Lisbon’s most unique cafés, restaurants and shops.

Around 150 companies have set up camp in the LX Factory, making use of its old warehouses, cafeteria and shops to create a hipster haven. You could easily spend half a day here, wandering around the impressive Ler Devagar bookshopcafé, admiring the artwork in Studioteambox Gallery and filling up on Landeau chocolate cake.

Comercio Square in the city centre is a popular meeting point for tourists, and the Lisboa Tourist Board has given the square a revamp by renting out spaces to new restaurants and attractions like the Lisbon Story Centre. The multimedia experience takes about 50 minutes to complete and tells you all you need to know about Lisbon’s long history.

Rua Augusta, one of Lisbon’s busiest shopping

marks). The constantly pick on tourists to buy “hashish”. If you’re that way inclined, don’t be fooled: what’s on offer looks suspiciously like tobacco with green tea and herbs.

■ If you’re in need of retail therapy, explore the huge Vasco da Gama shopping centre in Parque das Nações. If you’re the gambling type, check out Casino de Lisboa next door.

■ Tram 28 is a good way to get around the city and is very popular with tourists. It takes to you to around 30 stops around the city. But it mightn’t be a great idea if you are travelling with small children. The cart can get very crowded.

■ The Yellow Bus tour will bring you to all the usual touristy spots as well as some of the more unusual attractions that you might want to explore.

■ Lisbon is a city of seven hills, so prepare for some serious hill-walking.

The tiled paths can be slippery in the heat, so good footwear is essential.

■ Fashionistas must visit the MUDE fashion and design museum on Rua Augusta. The staff aren’t particularly friendly (maybe it’s just the coldness of the fashion world).

■ Lisbon Story Centre opened in September 2013. It tells the story of Lisbon’s colonies and the infamous 1531 earthquake through audio, video re-enactments, props and dummies. It’s a quick way to learn about the city’s history, but not as entertaining as it sounds.

■ Like most continental cities, Lisbon’s nightlife starts late in the day.

Bairro Alto is a hotspot for nightclubs and bars.

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MAY 2014 PAGE 8

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

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mirates half millionth passenger came through Dublin airport at the end of March.

Emirates recently announced a second daily flight from Dublin to Dubai starting September 1st 2014, connecting up to 22,000 passengers from Ireland to over 140 exciting destinations around the world every month. Margaret Shannon says the second Emirates flight will be the last out of Dublin in the evening

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opflight took their top ski agents to St Johann and Kirchberg, where agents were presented with their Top Agent Ski Award at 1900 metres on the Kitzbuhel Alps.

Barters, Bowe, Cassidy and O’Hanrahan Travel won four top ski agent awards, while Worldchoice won the award for Best Consortium. The awards

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orraine Quinn, formerly Ireland manager for Royal Caribbean, will continue to work with Celebrity Cruises in a part time capacity.

The newly-appointed Tryphavana Cross is providing dedicated sales support for Irish trade partners after taking up the role of Business Development Manager, Ireland.Jo Rzymowska has announced a new business structure and

and opened up connections that were not previously available to Irish customers.

Picture shows Margaret Shannon of Emirates celebrating the half millionth passenger through Dublin airport. She is in the middle with Amanda Scully, Airport Supervisor for Emirates, Shane Folan from Roscam, Galway, (Margaret Shannon), Elaine Folan from Roscam, Galway and Alex McDonald, Airport Officer.

were part of a week of skiing in St Johann and Kirchberg in one of the best weeks of the winter for ski conditions.

Picture shows Mark Clifford of O'Hanrahan Travel, Graham Hennessy of Topflight, Brenda Ryan of Cassidy Travel, Don Shearer of Worldchoice, Bernie O'Callaghan of Barters and Michael Bowe of Bowe Travel at the presentation.

16-strong sales team led by Nicki Tempest Mitchell (pictured) as director of sales supported by head of sales, Michael English.

Kathy Barbrooke has been appointed to the role of head of guest and trade.

Picture shows Nicki Tempest Mitchell, Lorraine Quinn, Tryphavana Cross and Jo Rzymowska in Dublin at a media event to announce Celebrity’s new promotions in the Irish market.

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he healing properties of Krakow’s salt mines were explained at a medical seminar hosted by Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Marcin Narton and Bogalusa Becca, Acting Director of the Polish National Tourist Office in London, Speakers at Asthma Treatment in Subterranean Conditions, in the Polish Embassy. Speakers included Dr Krzysztof

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urkish Airlines say their increased flight schedule from 10 to 12 flights a week will increase the appeal of Istanbul as a hub for Irish travellers and the travel trade in Ireland Ireland General Manager Mr Murat Balandi commented “We in the Turkish Airlines Dublin office are excited about this news. This increase will improve our flight connection times but also allow the Irish Travelling public access

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ravel Extra journalist and historian Ida Milne was in her element on the Aer Lingus/Visit Flanders press trip to Ghent and Ieper (we're going with the Flemish spelling for Ypres now, the English WW1 soldiers called it Wipers).

'Visiting the battlefields of Flanders is very much a living history experience.

Farmers are still finding mustard gas cannisters and shells in the fields when

Cupronickels who spoke about the rehabilitation of patients with chronic respiratory diseases in the Weirick Salt Mine Health Resort near Krakow.

Weirick was placed on the original UNESCO World Heritage lists in 1978.

Picture shows Bogalusa Becca, Acting Director of Polish Tourism in London, and third from left Krzysztof Cupronickels, Polish Ambassador Marcin Narton and Magdalena Kostroma.

to some of the world’s most unique destinations within our ever growing network of 246 destinations” Additional flights will connect Ireland to 105 different countries and 246 destinations worldwide in the Turkish Airlines current network. Picture shows Ann Marie Dalton, Serica Ecesis, Jon Woolf, Murat Balandi, Nizam Blunt, Vincent Harrison, Alper Kabaragoya, Onder Gencer and Denzil Lazio.

they plough, and we got to see some of them. So even 100 years on, the war is still having a traumatic impact on local people' Picture shows: Sheena Davitt of the Daily Mail, Clodagh Finn of the Examiner, Ida Milne of Travel Extra, Anita Rampall of Visit Flanders, and Ronan McGreevy of the Irish TImes at Caterpillar crater, on Hill 60, which shows the impact of the war on the landscape.

Page 008 Postcard 15/04/2014 14:54 Page 2

MAY 2014 PAGE 9

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

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ki Beat, part of the Topflight group, recently hosted a group of Irish media to publicise their holiday accommodation offering in six French resorts for next season, La Rosiere, La Plagne, La Tania, Les Arcs, Meribel and Val D'Isere.

Picture shows a team of Ski Beat and Oxygene Ski school personnel: Fi Cowx (Ski Beat), Scott Charlesworth, Resort Manager (Ski Beat), Bev Dickenson,

T

our America celebrated the Deloitte's Best Managed Company award , their 5th in a row and the second year to be awarded the prestigious Gold award.

It was one of four awards picked up by the agency in the past month, Top performer with MSC, Carnival and RCL in Ireland, the Small Firms Award, the The Brand USA/US Travel Organisation

C

roatia Tourism came to Dublin to brief Irish travel media in advance of the launch of the Aer Lingus Dublin to Pula route on April 19.

Visitor numbers from Ireland were 40,008 last year, up 31pc, if still short of its 45,920 peak in the early noughties.

Minister for Tourism Darko Lorenicin accompanied the delegation when talks that day with Aer Lingus resulted in the

Transport Manager (Ski Beat), Justyn Muffett, Area Manager (Ski Beat), Emma Knight, Logistics and Accounts Manager (Ski Beat), Olivia Valentine, Assistant Transport Manager (Ski Beat), Emma Morrison, Operations Manager (Ski Beat), Jo Greenwood, Marketing and communications (Oxygène Ski & Snowboard School), Jenny Gardiner, Ski Instructor (Oxygène Ski & Snowboard School),

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Award at IPW and the Deloitte Best Managed Company Gold Award.

Picture shows Tracy McLoughlin, Leslie Marshall, Eimear Martin, Amy Henderson, Liz Wright, Sinead Murphy, Niamh Doherty, Natalie Hanley, Kathleen O'Rourke, Ross Waters, Aoife Keating, Daniel McCluskey, Sarune Zerauskaite, Sarah Kinsella, Kate Keegan, Glenda Dwyer and Alice Carrick.

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new route to Pula which opens up the Istria region in northern Croatia to the Irish market.

Picture shows Svemir Radmilo, CEO of Pula Airport, Tonko Rilovic, Ireland and Britain Director of Croatia National Tourist Office, Jasna Ognjanovac, Croatian Ambassador to Ireland, Valter Flego, President of the Istrian Region, and Denis Ivosevic, Director of the Istria Tourist Board.

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Page 010 -011 New Zealand ad feature 15/04/2014 14:59 Page 1

PAGE 10 MAY 2014

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

http://traveltrade.newzealand.com/en/

100% Pure

New Zealand cycle trails gear up for 2014 & new ways to walk as Tourism New Zealand unveils latest ‘tramping experiences’’ 2 N

014 will see New Zealand complete its nationwide 'Nga Haerenga Cycle Trail, a jointly funded Government and community network of cycle trails to showcase the very best of New Zealand's landscape, environment, culture and heritage.

When New Zealand’s 23 Great Rides are completed, cyclists will have a choice of almost 2,500km of dedicated cycle routes free to explore independently or as part of a guided group. And beyond the network, New Zealand’s cycle fever continues with the opening of other dedicated off road cycle trails, new itineraries and events to cater to everyone from extreme mountain bikers to beginners looking for a new way to explore.

In the North Island, the vast central volcanic plateau has a choice of landscapes and experiences ranging from sandy river tracks to meandering forest trails and steamy volcanic pathways.

The South Island’s majestic alpine scenery sets the scene for a multitude of shorter outings, multi-day touring routes and hard-core mountain-biking experiences - following the water’s edge of a lake, river or coastal

estuary, cruising a food and wine trail, or a grand touring adventure cycling from the mountains to the sea.

Whether it’s an epic Alps to Ocean adventure or a saunter around the wineries, Tourism New Zealand has selected a snapshot of new cycle trails and experiences to suit every level.

The 115km Rimutaka Cycle Trail circumnavigates the Rimutaka Mountain Range from Wellington Harbour, passing through tunnels on an old rail trail, and around the wild southern coast. The final section skirts around Turakirae Head, where the Rimutaka Range dives into the pounding Pacific Ocean.

The Hauraki Rail Trail has now completed the final 11km of the 69km trail between Waihi to Waikino.

The track takes riders from near the Martha Mine in Waihi, through farmland and alongside the Ohinemuri River, to the Victoria Battery at Waikino with adventures through old rail tunnels, past crashing waterfalls and the chance to complete the journey on a vintage train.

The Clutha Gold and Roxburgh Gorge trails joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail this month, providing spectacular one-day rides between Alexandra and the Roxburgh Dam following the Clutha Mata-au River in the South Island’s Otago region.

Takaka-based Escape Adventures has launched two multi-day cycle tours showcasing the natural beauty and diverse cuisine on Nelson Tasman’s new Great Taste Trail.

ew Zealand has thousands of kilometres of walks to suit every level with one of the world’s longest inter-connecting trails in the form of Te Araroa – The Long Pathway running 3,000km the length of both islands.

The nine iconic multi-day ‘Great Walks’ including the Milford Track, which celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2013 and Stewart Island’s lesser known Rakiura Track allow walkers to see some of New Zealand’s most awe inspiring scenery, whilst famous day walks such as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing offer the chance for visitors to immerse themselves in the wilderness.

Rotorua’s newly opened Tarawera Trail is predicted to become one of the best walks in New Zealand. The 15km trail is the first of a proposed network involving the Department of Conservation Maori private landowners to connect the 14 Te Arawa lakes in the area. Finish the trip with a water taxi back to the Tarawera Landing or camp at Te Rata Bay near the Waimangu Volcanic Valley.

Launched in January 2014, the Haerenga (A Journey through Sacred Islands) multi-day walking trail now offers the chance to explore Auckland's largest and most diverse island sanctuaries of Rangitoto and Motutapu in the Hauraki Gulf. Walkers can opt to kayak back towards the city lights for an alternative end to their trip.

One of New Zealand’s most famous and historic backcountry farms - Mount Nicholas High Country Station (Mt Nic) near Queenstown on the shores of Lake Wakitipu - is now open for visitors with the launch of a series of tours by operator Southern Discoveries Leading Queenstown helicopter company Heliworks and luxury private guiding company, Alpine Adventures have launched an exclusive Middle Earth Waterfalls helihike soft adventure.

And for those for whom walking is not enough, the first 'bucket list' marathon takes place on 22 November 2014 in Queenstown, one of New Zealand’s most picturesque regions.

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Page 010 -011 New Zealand ad feature 15/04/2014 14:59 Page 2

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Brand new interactive online modules Get ahead by planning, promoting and selling outstanding New Zealand holidays Register and find out more at:

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Page 012-013 Pow Wow 15/04/2014 15:20 Page 1

MAY 2014 PAGE 12

IPW 2014

Eoghan Corry reports from Chicago

VISA WAIVER Poland is not going

to get Visa waiver status anytime soon, according to figures from the US CBP. Countries need to have a visa refusal rate of less than 3pc to be considered for visa waiver status and Poland’s is 10.8pc in 2013, up from 9.3pc in 2012. According to the 2011 census there are 120,000 Poles living in Ireland. Chile is the latest of 28 countries to get visa waiver status. Uruguay (2.8pc) is likely to be next, South Africa (2.8pc) is also close and Brazil is close to qualifying with a refusal rate of 3.5pc something that the US Travel Industry says will be a game changer for inbound tourism. Other countries that are close include Cyrus (4.0pc), Croatia (5.9pc), Malta (6.6pc). Although Ireland has enjoyed visa waiver status since 1994, anyone who over stayed a previous visa or has a conviction has to apply for a visa at the US embassy. The refusal rate for those who do is currently 16.9pc,

US Department of Commerce said that on

travel free to point in the fourth quarter 2013.

George Aguel of Visit Orlando said the city will have 118,000 tourist beds when opening of Cabana Bay Resort completes June 21. Orlando had a record number of visitors in 2013, 59m visitors, making it the most visited location in USA.

LAS VEGAS The world's highest Ferris wheel opened in Las Vegas, offering tourists views of the city from 550 feet. Frank Cullotta, a former hitman, started working as a tour guide in Las Vegas.

AIRBNB , the San Franciscan home-

sharing startup lost a case in its home city and will begin collecting hotel taxes, ending a twoyear long fight against the practice.

NEW YORK, Paris, Rome and

Barcelona are among the most photographed locations in the world, according to a photosharing website.

US AMBASSADOR The 15

month delay in appointing a US ambassador to Ireland, the longest since 1935, was raised by Enda Kenny with Barack Obama (don’t tell Obama, but US attaché Stuart Dwyer is doing a great job in the absence of an ambassador).

NEW YORK's Memorial Museum de-

voted to the WTC attack on Sept 11 2001 has a confirmed opening date for May 21.

TOUR AMERICA received a Chairman’s Circle Honours award fem the US Travel Association and Brand USA at a ceremony at the Shedd Aquarium.

CITYPASS Megan Allen of Citypass announced that Tampa Bay would be the latest US city to get Citypass on May 21. Peter Ellegard, Baas Van Oort, Spud Hilton and Carlos Prez Galvan won the US travel writer awards for 2013.

■ Eoghan Corry travelled to Chicago with Aer Lingus who fly Dublin to O’Hare twice daily, EI123 at 11.30 and EI125 at 15:45 at .Fares start from €309 each way including taxes and charges.

The 100m question

I

Will airline consolidation kill Obama’s tourism target?

PW, formerly known as Pow Wow, in Chicago gathered 6,000 travel professionals who deal with inbound travel to the USA, including an Irish delegation of 20 buyers and media.

Roger Dow of the US Travel Association addressed the issues facing US tourism, including infrastructural shortfalls at airports.

“We have got to take our infrastructure and move it up. Airports are more congested and we have got to get more people through those airports. We have seen the United States slipping in comparison with premier airports around the world.”

“We have seen other airports stepping up so we have put great pressure on improving our infrastructure in order to take better care of travellers.”

He said this could be addressed by raising the proposal to raise the passenger facility charge from $4.50 to $8.50.

It has not gone up since 2000. The airlines and FAA can only use that money for purposes of expanding the airport, new runways new capacity, improving security and improving competition. We want that raised so airports can offer more runways and more capacity.”

“Technology of our air traffic control system is rather ancient compared with what you have in your car.”

He said that Visit USA was pushing for more visa waiver countries, for more officers and increased technology, automated passport control and all those things to get passengers through border control much more quickly.

He said that US inbound tourism may hit President Obama’s goal of 100m visitors two years ahead of schedule in 2019, rather than 2021.

S

Roger Dow speaking at IPW 2014

“That would increased spending to $250bn from international visitation.

This was based on an annual 5pc increase.

Roger Dow said “international travel has been growing by 5-9pc so it is very likely the president’s goal will be hit earlier than 2012, it could even by 2018 if the numbers we have seen in the past couple of years come to pass.”

In reply to a question from Travel Extra, he conceded that he was concerned by consolidation by major US based airlines, but expressed relief that international routes were not being cut as domestic routes have.

The number of major US airlines has reduced from five to three with the mergers of United and Continental and ongoing merger between American and US Airlines. US airlines have also tied in with European airlines such as Virgin, creating potential reducing capacity and increased fares on many routes.

“The good news is that the airlines had looked at the international routes as the most profitable, but this is a push pole that goes back and forth between the airlines and the industry.

We want more airlines coming to the US. We want more competition.

He said many people in the USA did not “get it” about tourism. “It befuddles me when I see funding for travel and tourism pulled away.”

He welcomed the proposed Norwegian Airlines trans Atlantic low-cost services which has attracted considerable trade union opposition in the United States.

“We welcome the opportunity to have greater demographics We like the people with a lot of money but when you increase travel across the spectrum, everybody wins.”

The closing party took place in the Museum of Science of Industry, which opened its signature attraction, the captured German Uboat U505, to delegates.

NO DATE YET FOR DIAGON ALLEY

peaking at IPW, Bill Davis of Universal Orlando baulked at naming an opening date for Diagon Alley.

He did promise a new experience on every section of the journey on Hogwart’s Express between the new and existing Harry Potter experiences. Unusually they will traverse both

Universal parks and riders will require a two-park ticket.

Saying: we see Citywalk as our front door, he announced eight new venues to launch in 2014, Bill Davis confirmed that Cabana Bay Resort guests will not get Universal Orlando express frontof-queue access, which is available to guests in the

resort’s other hotels.

He gave what he called a non-answer to Travel Extra’s enquiries about Project 340, the next big thing after Harry. It is speculated the site wil be home to a new King Kong experience.

Xiomara Wiley of Universal Hollywood announced that California too would get a Wizarding

World of Harry Petter experience in 2016 and a Springfield USA 'whole new land adjacent to Simpsons ride' which is to launch at Universal California in 2015.

A night time studio tour and the fast & furious ride will launch in Universal California in 2015,

Page 012-013 Pow Wow 15/04/2014 15:20 Page 2

Eoghan Corry reports from Chicago

T

82 and growing

Visit USA Dublin lines up its 2015 fam trip at IPW

he Irish Visit USA Committee used IPW to recruit new members to support its marketing efforts in Ireland.

The organisation which currently has 82 members signed up some prospective new members at the show.

Visit USA will bring their roadshow on June 11-13 and partnering with Visit USA in London for Belfast, followed by a radio campaign in August.

They have organised two fam trips for 2014 and the first fam for 2015 was also finalised at IPW. The Sunday of IPW saw a series of Visit USA committee meetings with different national delegations including the growing Irish committee, where the ere was no repeat of last year’s concerns about the future of US CBP in Dublin.

MAY 2014 PAGE 13

IPW 2013

DISNEY The traditional Disney event

was hosted by new VP of sales and marketing Kenneth Svendsen on the 99th floor of the Willis Tower,

WASHINGTON The Washington

Monument will reopen to the public this May, three years after an earthquake badly damaged the structure.

VEGAS BOUNTY Roger Dow of the US Travel Association told media that last year’s IPW generated an extra 1m visitors for Las Vegas according to Rockford research, more visitors and economic impact than the Superbowl. He said the average international visitor to USA spends $4,500.

US CBP in Dublin will have extra per-

sonnel in place for the summer when Dublin gets 244 flights a week to and from North America, 25 flights a day. All flights will be pre-clear in Dublin, including afternoon flights which did not pre-clear in 2013.

Ciara Foley chair and Clodagh Oxley executive of Visit USA Dublin

Orlando is next

Theme park capital promises exciting IPW 2015

SIMON the shopping outlets management company will have 117 destinations in place for 2014. They are opening up in two new locations in Canada, Toronto in 2014 and Montreal in 2015.

SHOP AMERICA will offer a range of 60 packages in 2014. They have malls in 200 destinations.

PARK CITY Mountain Resort in Utah

Canyons Ski Area will be managed by Vail resorts for the 2014-15 winter season bringing greater international marketing nous to the 2002 Olympic venue city.

SEAWORLD highlights for 2014 in-

clude the party in the park with surprise squads around the park offering spot prizes, the night Shamu show which starts summer, the opening of Falcon’s Fury drop tower and at Aquatica, IHU’s Breakaway Falls which opens in May.

NEW YORK Open tour double decker sightseeing bus tours get 15 new buses this year. Their partnership with New York water taxis enables them to sell combo tickets, one ticket water taxi and two days on the bus for $69 and a stand alone two day ticket for $45.

O

BOSTON is undergoing a hotel boom.

George Aguel speaking at IPW 2014 rlando is promising plenty of new developments since Orlando last hosted IPW five years ago, VisitOrlando CEO George A g u e l says.

FUTURE IPW’s He de2015 Orlando tailed at2016 Miami tractions, 2017 Washington DC d i n i n g 2018 Denver venues 2019 Anaheim and shops 2020 Las Vegas

will be added to popular retail and entertainment precincts, just in time to impress and entertain IPW 2015 attendees with Universal Orland Resort will expand its popular “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” across both of its theme parks this summer, while Walt Disney World Resort will debut its “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train” coaster, expanding the size of Fantasyland and bringing the multiyear project to completion.

The city wil get 3,000 new hotel rooms in next two years, 1,500 of them on the waterfront, and sees the reopening of the Fogg Art museum this year after two years of closure.

Orlando welcomed 59m visitors in 2013, an all time record for destinations in the USA, up 3pc on the previous record set in 2012.

“Thanks to the strong global marketing and sales efforts of our team at Visit Orlando and the leadership of our tourism members and community leaders who share a common vision for our destination, Orlando continues to lead the nation as its most visited destination,”

PHILADELPHIA gets two new

parks in 2014, the Sister Cities park, with signature café and boat pond, and the oval new park on front of the art museum. Visitors can now paint their own mural at the mural arts centre.

WESTFIELD has created a new retail product in Chicago O’Hare airport which concentrates on local suppliers and retailers, what it calls its attempt to elevate the airport experience for travellers.

SOUTH KOREA spending in USA is up 52pc since entering visa waiver in 2008,

Page 014-015 Australia 16/04/2014 12:53 Page 1

MAY 2014 PAGE 14

AUSTRALIA 2014 WHO’S DOING WHAT

PERTH is to open its first new hotel in ten years, Fraser Suites Perth offers five-star, short and long term accommodation with 236 studio, one and two bedroom apartments – all complemented by a range of onsite facilities including restaurant, 24-hour gym, swimming pool and lobby lounge with bar. The Terrace Hotel is a four level $20 million luxury boutique hotel with 15 rooms. Crown Perth will re-brand from Intercontinental Perth Burswood) and Four Points by Sheraton Perth. www.perth.frasershospitality.com; www.terracehotelperth.com.au

HAMILTON ISLAND , the gate-

way to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, is set to welcome the return of a direct Qantas service from Sydney,

TOURISM AUSTRALIA’s latest There's nothing like Australia campaign for April 2014 is promoting the country as a two week destination with 13 day itineraries.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC is to withdraw from Australia continuing London-Hong Kong but dropping the onward flight from Hong Kong to Sydney from May. Virgin Atlantic blamed the Australian dollar for its decision. Virgin Atlantic is the 12th European airline to exit Australia, leaving only BA.

DEPORTATIONS

The Irish Echo in Sydney reported thatAustralia deported 891 Irish people for overstaying their visa terms since mid 2010.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA launched the Mentor Me programme providing talented young people with valuable work experience in South Australia in the fields of tourism & hospitality, food & wine, events & entertainment, using the Australian Working Holiday Visa.

BRISBANE

will launch free WiFi in April ahead of the G20 summit.

CONTIKI holidays for 18-35s) reports an

increase on sales by 46pc as it launched its 2014/2015 Australia and New Zealand programme this spring with an increase on sales by 46pc. Australia and New Zealand continue to be extremely popular destinations and young travellers can avail of Contiki’s 10pc Early Payment Discount on Contiki trips when paying in full prior to the 14th May 2014. Australia and New Zealand continue to be extremely popular destinations and young travellers can avail of Contiki’s 10pc Early Payment Discount on Contiki trips when paying in full prior to May 14th.

SEBEL Pier One Sydney has unveiled seven of the city’s most spectacular over-water suites with views of landmarks including Luna Park, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The hotel’s seven new suites have been designed by Bates Smart Architects and include four Harbour View Balcony Suites which have direct access to private, expansive balconies with Sydney Harbour views. Accor, has signed a partnership agreement with Great Golf Courses of Australia to provide a range of golf itineraries.

The 60,000 club T

Double daily one-stop means more options to Australia

ourism Australia MD Andrew McEvoy says that he expects 100,000 Irish visitors to come to Australia each year by the end of the decade.

Speaking to Travel Extra at Australian Tourism Exchange in Sydney, he says that Ireland, which is Australia’s 16th biggest inbound market.,Ireland is one of the countries which delivers the highest yield per visitor, the best dispersal and the best seasonality.

Visitor numbers from Ireland were 60,600 in 2013 down 1.1pc on the 2012 figure of 61,300 which in turn was up 8pc from 56,800 in 2011. .

Ireland has slipped to the 20th most important inbound market to Australia.

McEvoy says “the growth in 2012 shows the potential is there. The year before it was bigger than that again.

I think we can hit 100,000 visitors from Ireland. I wouldn’t say it will happen immediately but it is a fiveyear plan. We should be able to sustain, 6-7pc compounding growth out of Ireland over the next five years.

Robin Mack, Tourism Australia’s Director of the northern European market, said that a lot of the growth will continue to come from the youth market. “Ireland peaked at 68,000 in terms of numbers in 2008. We are close to getting back to that figure.”

McEvoy said: “We are always looking for a balanced portfolio from a market and Ireland is one of the most balanced of all. That is why we sustain our interest in it. Asia is delivering volume growth for us. Ireland, UK and the Americas give us regional dispersal.

“Because the youth travel has been the real driver, I think we have a lifetime value in Ireland that we should capitalise on.

“Beyond the growth which we already getting, which is quite natural, almost economic refugee type stuff, there is such an appeal between the

two countries it has a lot more potential.”

“Individual markets based on their travel patterns give us better shoulder seasons. The Irish are part of that and so are the Germans and Canadians and the Kiwis. It doesn’t really matter what time of the year, they tend to come anyway. They have peak seasons from September on. But they do come at a steady pace.

“Those markets give a lot of our regions an opportunity to have visitors when other markets don’t travel.”

“I think when the Irish economy returns, which it is starting to, we start getting the 45 plus market again which is more lucrative for us. It is not just a numbers game for us.”

biggest, most connected airline.

When you put those together that is powerful. “ The game changing bit of is the distribution system’s ability in a knowing way to bring bookings together, the whole tie-up, interlining, the GDS, it is a whole big deal.

“Etihad too can get more flights to Australia if they fly into another city other than Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Perth.”

McEvoy feels the one-stop routes have helped direct Irish traffic back to the trade rather than independent bookings. Etihad will go double daily on July 15 and Emirates will go double daily on September 15.

He said Tourism Australia would

Andrew McEvoy of Australian Tourism speaking to Eoghan Corry

He said that one-stop routes through the Middle East, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, made this sort of growth possible from the Irish market.

Emirates now have 91 weekly flights through Dubai to Australian cities, 77 of their own and 14 with Qantas, including a twice daily A380 service to Sydney, a daily Melbourne A380, a daily Adelaide service and a three times daily Perth service.

“The move of the Qantas hub from Singapore to Dubai is a big deal because Qantas has the best domestic network. Emirates is the world’s

do everything they do in the Irish market through the trade. He said that is where the growth is and that especially where they will get the high yield growth, the over 45 market they are seeking.

“The trade is essential to us. Globally 62pc of our inbound tourism comes through the trade, we need an intermediary, through the ash cloud the consumer learned they need someone to share the risk with them.

In Ireland we pretty much won’t do anything without the trade alongside us.”

Page 014-015 Australia 16/04/2014 12:53 Page 2

W

estern Australia takes up a full third of the entire continent, and is reinventing itself as a luxury destination.

QantasLink has a new route between Perth and Exmouth, with return services every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

The new flights offer access to the Coral Coast’s key attractions of

F

ollowing the success of the Best Job in the World promotion, Tourism Queensland has been developing a corporate getaway gift, Million Dollar Memo, which will involve giving away a million Australian dollars for a business Queensland vacation.

The focus on incentive travel could prove lucrative for the state: last year, the incentive market generated $1 billion nationwide.

A

major new resort, Wildman Wilderness Lodge, opened in May last year.

Focusing on ecofriendly luxury, the lodge, with 10 cabins and 15 safari tents, has already generated buzz because much of its material was repurposed from another resort in Queensland. In Darwin, Sky City is expanding, and renovations should be complete later this year.

Several safari companies are offering unique tours of the outback and

A

delaide and its suburbs have several new establishments that have started some buzz. The Stirling Hotel, renovated from a former pub, has opened as has The Manna of Hahndorf, 45 minutes from Adelaide.

Kangaroo Beach Lodges are new luxury accommodations, and new helicopter flights are being offered to and around the island.

Taste of South Australia, based in Adelaide,

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MAY 2014 PAGE 15

AUSTRALIA 2014 WHO’S DOING WHAT

West Australia

Ningaloo Reef and Coral Bay to more visitors than ever. Exmouth boasts one of the greatest visitor experiences, not just in Australia, but worldwide

where visitors can swim with whale sharks, and Kalgoorlie is “like Vegas without the neon.”

Queensland

Queensland Rail Travel will launch its next generation of Sunlander trains in 2014, the Sunlander will feature first class suites with double beds, private en-suites, flat screen TVs and ondemand entertainment.

Paradise Jetboating on the Gold Coast announced the arrival of Paradise 3 this month.

Queensland is continuing to promote its exotic attractions like Heart Reef, which is shaped like a heart, and is popular for marriage proposals. With lots of islands (many of them private) offering different options, Tourism Queensland suggests guests tell them their interests, and the company will find an island that suits them.

Northern Territory

other natural attractions in the territory. Davidson’s Safaris, for example, goes into lands owned by indigenous peoples that self-driving visitors can’t access.

Lord Safaris provides nature tours of Kakadu Natural Park, and Venture North has put together

exclusive tours of the Cobourg Peninsula. Alice Springs Holidays operates multiday trips via Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) through to King’s Canyon that run three or four days.

There is also a new resort at the Mary River National Park.

South Australia

focuses on the cuisine and wineries of the state, giving visitors an insider’s view of two industries that are invariably linked.

New this year is the Taste of Adelaide Hills, which visits smaller towns in the suburbs of

the city, including Hahndorf. In Adelaide, owner Mary Anne Kennedy organizes walking tours of the city that revolve around the popular Farmer’s Market.

You can get up close with Port Lincoln’s famous bluefin tuna.

new tourism task force and tourism body, Destination New South Wales, is in the works, according to Barry O’Farrell, the premier of New South Wales. The plan, he says, is to “bring together the expertise of Tourism NSW and Events NSW so that we have one body charged with marketing this state to interstate and international visitors.”

Barangaroo will be a major new commercial and retail hub right on the harbour, with a luxury hotel and a boardwalk.

A new Frank Gehry

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rts and culture are the buzzwords for development in Tasmania, with the January opening of MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart, which saw more than 100,000 visitors in its first 60 days.

The building’s subterranean design and the owner’s unconventional and rewarding curatorial approach makes it a must-see for any visitor to Tasmania. Entry is free. www.mona.net.au The city has also launched ArtBikes, free bikes that can be picked up and dropped off at out-

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he third Art Hotel, The Blackman, has opened in Melbourne, as has the Crown Metropol, a new luxury property with a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Several properties (the Langham, the Windsor and the Marriott) are in various stages of renovation, from planning to just completed.

Many new tours have also debuted in the state, catering to very distinct markets. Notable on the list is the Hidden Secrets Tours, which takes clients to the city’s best (and, frequently, off-the-beatentrack) cafés and restaurants. Other tours

New South Wales

building will be the first in the southern hemisphere from the legendary designer.

New tours include snorkel safaris, a Grand Pacific Drive using Ferraris, Royal Coast walks and tours of the Blue Mountains (right).

Just an hour from Sydney, Tobruk Sheep Station lets families or

groups experience an authentic Australian lifestyle without getting too far from the city.

In Sydney, an almost obligatory experience is the Sydney Bridge Climb, which takes visitors up to the top of one of the city’s iconic structures on tours that can run from 90 minutes, not including prep time.

Tasmania

door art installations, and smArt maps for finding the best museums and galleries.

A new public golf course, Lost Farm, has opened to complement the popular Barnbougle Dunes, and a new hotel (Lost Farm Lodge) is opening with it. And by next year, a new package will highlight Australia’s convict heritage, with tours of notable prisons in Sydney and Tasmania.

The Great Walks of Tasmania offer seven

spectacular walks across the island state, trekking through World Heritage areas and national parks.

Routes include the Maria Island Walk, Cradle Mountain Huts, Bay of Fires Walk, South Coast Track and Tarkine Rainforest Track. There are even specially designed camps for guests to stay at in some locations.

An astonishing 40pc of Tasmania is World Heritage protected.

Victoria

geared for shoppers focus on the brand outlets in and around the city, and others still, on sports venues.

Melbourne Private Tours is just what it sounds like: a private tour company geared toward the high-end market and with a focus on immersion rather than sightseeing.

One of the company’s more popular options is the four-hour Melbourne After Dark tour, which focuses on the city’s

nightlife, including views of the skyline as it lights up for the evening. A popular addition to the catalogue is the chef-led excursion to the Mornington Peninsula, a popular wine-producing region.

In Melbourne, the Langham recently renovated a number of suites, adding terraces that are currently the largest of any hotel in the city. The brand is also reportedly looking to expand into Sydney.

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DESTINATION AUSTRALIA

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On a Clare day

Eoghan Corry in South Australia’s winelands

St Xaviour’s church in Sevenhill: the Jesuits planted the original vines because they needed altar wine. That’s their story anyway. t is indeed a long, long way from Clare to here but it is well worth the journey.

Twenty hours on the Qantas A380 top deck to Sydney, connection to Adelaide, two hours by road and you are there, and the excitement rising with every kilometre of the journey.

Edward Gleeson from Newmarket on Fergus gave the valley its name back in the 1840s and there are occasional likenesses to his native county. It is not far enough north to be outside the Dingo fence (south is sheep, north is cattle) but most of it is green and lush enough for dairy.

Close your eyes and the superb lunch at Reilly’s is like Vaughan’s of Liscannor (indeed, you might be walking on Liscannor flags on the stoney bits of Clare), the hospitality of David Hay and Michael Speers at Thorn Park by the Vines on the edge of Seven Hill is the antipodean epitome of a west of Ireland welcome, the Jesuits in Seven Hills might be a monastic settlement in Kilfenora, and the endless river of wine, song and conversation is like the Willie Clancy week and Merriman School combined.

Clare, the county, came to Australia and settled and the greenery and vines.

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The miners who fled Ireland and came to work in these valleys were given part of their wages in wine.

ine regions have each, w o r r y i n g l y, built their reputations on a single grape type, semillion in the Hunter Valley. riesling in the Margaret River, sauvignon blanc in the Swan River and Albany, and shiraz in the Barossa and Clare Valleys.

Now 95pc of the world’s shiraz comes from here. “The export market went for fruity flavours of shiraz,” says Jeff Easley, the owner of Tourabout Adelaide who conducts wine tours in

PLACES TO TASTE STAY AND EAT

■ Thorn Park by the Vines Quarry Road, Sevenhill via Clare, Tel: +61 8 8843 4304 www.thornpark.com.au ■ Reilly’s Wines Cnr Hill and Burra Street Mintaro SA 5415 Tel: + 61 8 8843 9013 www.reillyswines.com ■ Skillogalee Restaurant Hughes Park Road, Sevenhill Tel: +61 8 8843 4311 www.skillogalee.com.au ■ Kilikanoon, Penna Lane, Skilogalee Valley Penwortham Tel: + 61 8 8843 4377 www.kilikanoon.com.au ■ Pikes Wines Polish Hill River Road Sevenhill Tel: +61 8 8843 4370 www.pikeswines.com.au

■ O’Leary Walker Main Road Leasingham Tel + 61 8 8843 0022 www.olearywalkerwines.com ■ Mitchell Wines Hughes Park Road Sevenhill Tel: + 61 8 8843 4258 www.mitchellwines.com ■ Sevenhill Cellars College Road, Sevenhill Tel: +618 8843 4222 www.sevenhillcellars.com.au ■ Annie’s Lane at Quelltaler Estate Quelltaler Road, Watervale Tel: +61 8 8843 0003 www.annieslane.com.au ■ For more information see www.southaustralia.com and www.clarevalley.com.au

the region, “wine that did not have too much tannin, that could be enjoyed young.”

South Australian Shiraz started appearing on Irish shelves in the early 1960s. Now we can’t get enough of it. More bottles of Jacob’s Creek (from Barossa) are consumed in Ireland than anywhere else. South Australia produces 65pc of the subcontinent’s export wine.

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lare Valley is part of this suzerainty of Shiraz, with a few slopes reserved for blendable grenache and sangiovese (if they were allowed to they would call it chianti, but the Europeans are realising that grape types are brand names nowadays).

At Pike’s we learn about the reinvention of riesling. We all remember drinking cheap German riesling in the 1970s, terrible stuff, late at night on rocky tables in Dublin pubs. It was all we could afford.

But as Damian “Pud” Smith of Pike’s winery on

Third generation Corkman David O'Leary and Nick Walker outside their new visitor centre

Reich of riesling: Damian “Pud” Smith of Pike’s winery

the Clare Valley says, half the fruit probably wasn’t riesling anyway. Smith says the slate and mineral subsoil which makes the valley so green makes for citrusy wines, all lime and lemon.

The taste-the-rocks theory has its exponents.

Knowledgeable people claim that even small

variations in mineral content of the slate, the subsoil and exposure can make a difference. I am not so sure, but enjoy the trial.

Pike’s are also driving a revival in viognier, the bit of a volume that they blend with into shiraz renewing a variety that was nearly extinct. Thirty

■ www.australia.com for more information.

■ Eoghan Corry flew to Australia as a guest of Qantas, www.quantas.com ■ Tourabout Adelaide offers a professional mix of organised tours with a personal touch Tel: +61 8 83331111 ww.touraboutadelaide.com.au

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MAY 2014 PAGE 17 years ago there was just twenty acres in one spot in France left in the entire world. The Americans took some cuttings and slowly started the revival.

Clare is flying the banner.

Pud says that the 2010 season was a good growing season. “We had good rainfall. With riesling you want minimal exposed sun exposure, and we had good winter rains and good autumn rains.”

He brings us through more varieties. “Sangiovese in Australia can be a little bit harsh that is why we put some cabernet in it. The tempranillo, the main grape in Rioja, thrives here.”

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hird generation Corkman Dave O’Leary welcomes us to his new winery. He even looks like THE Dave O’Leary, as he pops open bottles at his at

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wenty hours on the Qantas A380 top deck to Sydney, then a connection QF757 to Adelaide, and it is all worth it.

Adelaide is known as the city of a hundred churches because it was the first colony where settlers were not forced to go to the mandatory Anglican church each week, unlike other parts of Australia.

Nowadays, it is also the city of a hundred pubs, where believers come to listen to the good word, the one on the bottle with

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DESTINATION AUSTRALIA

They say the characteristic Clare Valley slate landscape contributes to the flavour

Leasingham winery with the precision the other Dave showed in scoring at Italia ’90. Nice penalty Dave, the nation holds its breath, and all that.

O’Leary is the quintessential defensive centre back of wine-makers here, sourcing fruit from other premium grape

growing districts in South Australia including the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale.

His theory is to draw on the grape varieties that excel in the different viticultural climates clustered around Adelaide, and limit himself to pro-

There are five wine producing areas within easy reach of Adelaide: ■ Adelaide Hills ■ Barossa Valley ■ Clare Valley

■ McClaren Vale region ■ Langhrone Creek, To this can be added Coonawara, half way to Melbourne, four hours from the city.

GEOGRAPHY OF GRAPES

all the Xs. They even named the street with the trendy watering holes and restaurants Gouger Street.

Brendan Behan could not have put it better.

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n Tynte Street in North Adelaide you can stay in a fire station. Yes, complete with fire brigade intact.

It is the idea of a third generation Limerick man, Rodney Twiss and his wife Regina have a range of heritage properties in the lush suburbs, recreating the 1880s in modern

hiraz is the wine type that rules the Barossa and Clare Valleys outside of Adelaide.

Now 95pc of the world’s Shiraz comes from here. “The export market went for fruity flavours of shiraz,” says Jeff Easley, the owner of Tourabout Adelaide who conducts wine tours in the region. “Wine that did not have too much tannin, that could be enjoyed young.”

South Australian Shiraz started appearing on Irish shelves in the early 1960s. Now we can’t get enough of it.

More bottles of Jacob’s Creek (from Barossa) are consumed in Ireland than

Adelaide. Rodney was an antique dealer in a previous life and is putting fun back in to the lives of frequent fliers as hobby hospitality, and furnishes his houses lovingly with artefacts to capture the tone of each residence. It is a far cry from the homogenised world of corporate hotels, right beside the airport.

The old classic Victorian bluestone fire station was bought and restored

by Rodney and Regina Twiss in 1998.

They refurbished it to offer three accommoda-

anywhere else. South Australia produces 65pc of the sub-continent’s export wine.

It is not the only variety from here but it might be. Jeff’s verdict on the local Pinot Noir: “It is like an Agatha Christie novel, all plums and cherries and pepper.”

There are five wine producing areas within easy reach of Adelaide: ■ Adelaide Hills, ■ Barossa Valley, ■ Clare Valley, ■ McClaren Vale region ■ Langhrone Creek, To this can be added Coonawara, half way to Melbourne, 4 hours from the city.

ducing just Clare Valley wines.

Having worked with Penfold’s for twenty years he recently bought 85 acres of vineyard opened an AUSD1m facility for visitors. Like all good Clare people he comes to Ireland to meet his Irish distributor in Galway once a year.

‘The French try to make wine a mysterious thing,” he says, “you can taste the sunshine, the fruit. You don’t have to weigh them down for ten years.”

My colleague from

tion suites to choose from, each with its own ensuite king size spa bathroom, and each decorated with fine antiques and appointments.

The Penthouse suite has a seven metre sundeck, an ultra-modern West Australian red jarrah kitchen, Juliette balconies, two squashy leather sofas and a toasty log gas fire.

The Loggia has a huge marble two person spa bathroom, and Italianate courtyard decorated with Tuscan hued walls, a lions head cascading fountain and slim pencil pines,.

The Fire Engine suite comes complete with a 1942 International Fire Engine, the original fireman hooded lights (creating a wonderful mood) as well as the fire pole with the luxurious fittings and comfort, including a relaxing spa bathroom.

The Fire Station Inn is just doors away from cosmopolitan North Adelaide's fabulous restaurants, cafes and trendy hotels.

South Africa takes a glass and agrees. “It is like an Agatha Christie novel.”

He says, “all plums and cherries and pepper.”

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up, the wine is getting to both of us. The taste buds are under siege, six wineries, eight tastings in each of them and a reluctance to use the spittoon.

It all makes for a pleasant evening, and now the beef. If I have eaten a nicer beef I cannot remember it. David Hay and Michael Speers are entertaining us at Thorn

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Classic tasting by the founder of Skillogalee

Park by the Vines. David has cooked the beef incredibly slowly, and it shows in every fissure of the taste.

The night birds are calling as I waddle home to my rural villa.

It could be Tuscany only for the early darkness of the Aussie winter.

Or Dysert O’Dea after a rainshower.

The accommodation that comes with, not just a fire escape, but a complete engine he city of a hundred churches and pubs is also the city of a hundred restaurants. On O’Connell Street (yes, named after the same man) the mixed platter at Café Mykonos is daunting but duty re-

quires me to work my way through it.

South Australians say you can find wine, outback and wildlife, within three hours from Adelaide.

Just don’t forget to taste before you go.

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DESTINATION NEW ZEALAND

t is one of the great contradictions about New Zealand that the population is bigger on the smaller island.

North island, one and one third times the size of island, has a population of three million. South island nearly double the size of Ireland has a population of one.

As Lord of the Rings recedes into the network repeat schedules, North Island is getting more notice. Middle Earth is truly beautiful, as we were constantly reminded over the past decade. But the north is too.

In Auckland, it is best to start at the top. The Skytower emerged from an intriguing steel skeleton in 1997, looming up over the rather uncertain skyline of New Zealand’s largest city.

Auckland’s signature landmark at 328 metres, Aucklanders delight in reminding you that it is it is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.

It is best viewed from the sea, because the city was built by seafarers who used water as a thoroughfare, and it has never quite lost that connection with its watery grandmammy.

The city slogan, City of Sails, reflects the huge level of boat ownership.

The city streets still look like an add-on to the seafront, unsure what hey wanted to be until in a frenzied few decades of development they became the goose feet of high rise development, including the Econ building which looks like its toilet seat is in need of putting down.

That ancient quayside

Off on the kite Eoghan Corry goes kite fishing in Auckland

Kite fishing on New Zealand’s North Island has been reinvented.

Princes Wharf is a hub of trendy bars and eateries, such as the Euro from which you can admire the stall ship that starred in the Onedin Line, or the gut stretching Wildfire, where slabs of steak are cut off for diners in the Brazilian style.

Beyond that, the city beckons. The arts scene can be found on The Edge on Queen Street,

THINGS TO DO

■ Tiritiri Matangi trips by 360 Discovery, Pier 4 Quay Street Tel: 0800 360 3472 www.360discovery.co.nz ■ TIME unlimited offer unique experiences in the greater auckland region, such as Kite Fishing, Kayak Fishing and floundering and overnight marae visits Takapuna Tel: +64 9 446 6677 www.timeunlimited.co.nz

Ponsonby Road is where you find the alternative fashions and the faces, and Parnell Road is where the best shopping can be found. Kitty O’Shea would surely approve.

A few blocks from the skytower they play recorded Gregorian chant in St Patrick’s Cathedral as people escape the hubbub around and stop by to contemplate. St Patrick’s

PLACES TO SEE

■ Auckland Sky Tower offers three circular observation levels – Sky Deck, Main Observation level and Sky Lounge, all where you can get a 360 degree view of Auckland Popular adventure activities include SkyJump and SkyWalk operate from the Sky Tower, 80 Federal St, + 64 9 363 6017, www.skycity.co.nz

spirit at least, must have passed through here before, because New Zealand has no snakes.

Here, or at least on the church that preceded it, you can image the homesickness of Cork-born Thomas William Croke, bishop here before he returned to Cashel to become the founding patron of the GAA and have one of Europe’s greatest sports stadiums named in his honour.

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hen he came from Ireland in 2000 Néill Sperath says he thought of Auckland simply as a gateway. “I quickly discovered I was wrong. It is a whole destination in itself”.

Néill, who is Peadar Kearney’s grand nephew and once sang on stage with Luke Kelly, now runs TIME (Twin Integrated Maori Experiences) unlimited with his Maori wife Ceilihe, offer-

ing kayak and kite fishing from the beautiful beaches in the environs of the city.

Thirty minutes drive and you might be in the wilderness. He climbs Mount Donald McLean to show the view all the way back to the distant city skyline, dominated

by Rangitoto Island, youngest of the 48 volcanoes of Auckland at 600 years old, and the Skytower, which is 11 years old.

Our mission is a kite fishing on Whatipu beach, an extension of Keri Keri where the Piano was filmed. It is a gusty day that throws rain showers on us and the beach is empty except for one diehard fisho.

Néill comes from Garyspillane in Tipperary and learned to fish on Lough Derg. He is offering a world first kayak fishing experience and among the first kite fishing experience, in which a kite is flown to take the fishing line up to a few kilometres offshore.

When we retrieve the line we have a spotted dogfish, or lemon fish as he chippers like to call it.

According to Néill, North Island has more Maori culture, the best beaches and the best wildlife.

“Auckland is the best city in the world to live in,” Neil says with the authority of a Tipperary man, “and Whatipu beach is the best beach. You have got that amazing wild west coast pounding against it, the sand is black and always changing colour, bits that are lighter and darker, you get amazing wildlife.”

“But then I may be biased.”

■ Eoghan Corry travelled to New Zealand courtesy of Air New Zealand and the New Zealand tourist board.

■ He stayed in the Hilton Auckland in the heart of the Viaduct Basin – one of Auckland’s most vibrant dining and entertainment centres, Princes Wharf, 147 Quay Street, Auckland, New Zealand 1010, +64 9 978-2000 www.hilton.co.nz ■ The Heritage Auckland, 35 Hobson Street, Auckland City, +64 9 379 8553, res.heritageakl@dynasty.co.nz, www.heritagehotels.co.nz

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MAY 2014 PAGE 19

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t sounded like it was worth travelling half way around the world.

Think of Inisheer in the middle of the Ocean, half way between Australia and New Zealand, and you have the idea.

It may be the most beautiful island on the planet, an isolated volcano cap 800 km off the NSW coast on the route to Norfolk Island.

Lord Howe island was named for an 18th century English admiral, a relative of the Browne family of Westport. The name suggests something grandiose, and indeed its volcanic peaks soar high over the swirling ocean around.

It is improbably beautiful and impossibly isolated the island with no cats and no mobile phones, as close to “stop the world I want to get off” as you will find.

Nowadays you take a two hour flight from Sydney; in former times it was a temperamental boat journey.

You could get from Sydney to New York for the same money. The two-hour flight costs $500 each way and my hotel, the four-star Arajilla lodge costs $670 a night.

The baggage allowance on the Qantas regional dash-8 is just 12 kg.

DESTINATION AUSTRALIA

Half way between Australia and New Zealand, Howe may be heaven

Coral island L

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The multi-colour`````` coral on Lord Howe is among the best on earth (below) friendly fish on Ned’s beach

ord Howe is the southernmost coral reef on the planet, a product of the warm currents herearound, and may have one of the healthiest hunks of coral. When I join Dean Wiscox’s Environmental Tour for a snorkelling and glass bottom boat trip, it is like we are passing over a newly mown lawn, the greenest coral I have ever seen. It is easily accessible from the beach, compared with the lengthy journeys to see decaying coral in Queensland.

This being the age of the young migrant to Aus, when I land there are two Irish here, Rebecca Harvey from Hillsborough and Lorraine Boyle from Donegal, both living up the island life.

The island is famous for its friendly fish, and the kingfish and a glorious technicolour parrot fish surround me when I take an early morning swim on Ned’s beach, nibbling my dead skin like those controversial garra rufa fish you get in trendy ictiotherapy spas around the world.

he snorkel was as spectacular as any big-ticket snorkel elsewhere.

Green. I have never seen coral so green. It is like fresh mown grass. “It is healthy,” Ken Wiscox, the seventh day Adventist who is conducting our sea tour says.

We are at Escott’s hole, just a few hundred metres off Lord Howe Island, the land with no cats and no mobile phones, itself in turn 700km off the coast of New South Wales, crescent-shaped roughly the size of Aranmore or Bere Island (17 square km) with a population of 347.

You won’t get healthier says Ken Wiscox. He reckons here is the cleanest, greenest coral in the ocean, as well as the southernmost, washed by a warm current from Vanuatu.

“There are 150m tons of nutrients being washed down into Barrier Reef each year, says Ken. “the Barrier Reef will lose half of its coral by 2030.”

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he spectators and the spectated are hard to differentiate in the colourful canvas. The parrot fish is the

most spectacular, a Galapagos shark, a clown fish with its distinctive white chinstrap and white tail, Maori wrasse, the double headed wrasse not found anywhere else in the world, the stripey zebra fish, and the silver drummer. “We call it the stinky of the neighbour fish,” Ken Wiscox says, “if you catch one give it to your neighbour.”

They have a fish called Fred. Every diving and snorkeling experience in Australia has a fish called Fred, or Wally or Wanda.

I wonder what the fish call us when we don goggles and flippers and go afloat.

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t the tunnel-like entrance to the rainforest near Ned’s beach there is a sign to watch out for mutton birds.

When the rats landed the island lost 12 unique species of birds. The wood hen might have been amongst them, but its population has been restored from 30 back to

330. “That is one of the rarest creatures in the world in the wild,” tour guide Peter Phillips says.

“People see them and say no wonder the silly birds almost got wiped out.”

“We have some things we are proud of,” Peter says. “What we do with waste is a triumph, saving the woodhen is a triumph.”

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he island is crescent shaped, a forty minute bicycle trip from one side to the other, dismounting and pushing for the steep uphills, spectacularly beautiful with two peaks, Mounts Gower and Lidgbird, each rising above 2,500 feet at its southern end, People who find the hustle and bustle of the northern end too stressful can live at the southern end. It is here that the island’s five star lodge can be found, the Capella, the plushest of the 18 lodges, ranging from 85 rooms to 4.That is if they get to

come to live here at all.

To own property on the island you must live here for 10 years, an anti-holiday home device that helps keep it pristine.

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hey don’t have crime on Lord Howe island.

Wayne the policeman spends his day chasing those tourists who dare to ride bicycles on his island without wearing a helmet or motorists who stray beyond the 25kph speed limit.

National parks cover some three-fourths of the land area, harbouring rare vegetation and birdlife; this parkland and several adjacent islands were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982. There are four different types of palm on island, of which two grow only on Mount Gower.

Head chef at the Arajilla is Denis Tierney Byron Bay. He tells us the kingfish he serves was sourced at 5pm. It is that sort of place.

■ See australia.com the Visit Australia site for further information.

■ Eoghan Corry travelled to Australia with Emirates who fly daily from Dublin to Dubai and have 98 onwards connections to Australia each week. www.emirates.com.

■ He flew from Sydney to Lord Howe island with qantaslink. ww.qantas.com.au

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THEME PARKS 2014

he opening of Diagon Alley in Universal, the Ratatouille Ride in Disney Paris, the “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train” coaster in Disney Orlando, and the arrival of C-Beebies at Alton Towers are the theme park highlights of the year, while Disney also rolls out its billion-dollar "MyMagic+" technology project which they say will transform the theme park experience.

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he Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley will feature shops, a restaurant and what the company calls “an innovative, marquee attraction” based on Gringotts bank.

AT IPW in Chicago last month, Bill Davis of Universal Orlando baulked at naming an opening date for Diagon Alley although he did promise a new experience on every section of the journey on Hogwart’s Express between the new and existing Harry Potter experiences.

Universal is to convey

Harry’s new game

Diagon Alley in Universal Orlando is the big ticket attraction opening for 2014

park visitors on the Harry Potter train between London and Hogsmeade at its park in Orlando, opening with its Diagon Alley attraction this summer. It will have a mystery entrance for muggles, “a very new way to enter a land,” art director Alan Gilmore says.

Theme Park operators Universal Orlando announced that Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts will be the signature ride in the new Diagon Alley to open this summer. Guests will be able to board the Hogwarts Express and journey between London’s

King’s Cross Station (located in Universal Studios Florida) and Hogsmeade Station (located in Universal’s Islands of Adventure with views of London and the English countryside – as well as a few surprises.

Two-park admission is required.

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he scenery, which gives off a fortress vibe, is based on actual buildings. From left to right, if facing the façade, the buildings are: ■ King's Cross Station, a train station used by Hogwarts students in the "Potter" books and films.

Hogsmeade is one of the Universal creations as it doubles the size of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando

■ Leicester Square tube station, the representation of which was called "spot on" by "Potter" actor Matthew Lewis. At Universal, the entrance to Diagon Alley is beneath the red tile arches of this station.

■Wyndham's Theatre, which was opened in 1899 by actor Charles Wyndham. The W's built into the décor stand for Wyndham.

■ Grimmauld Place, which has significance in the "Potter" fiction as the Black family home and onetime headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

These Universal structures are the same size as the originals. Art director Alan Gilmore says the design team went to far as to measure the bricks of Grimmauld Place to reproduce the look. A reproduction of the Eros fountain at London's Piccadilly Circus sits in front of the building. The Knight Bus is nearby, a land-based form of transportation for wizards and witches in need and, at Universal, a photo op.

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THEME PARKS 2014

ou won't be able to get all the way on the Knight Bus, but there's a whole interactive Knight Bus experience," Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, teased. A shrunken head is involved, he says.

On the opposite side of the new area, which is built upon the old Jaws ride and Amity area, will be Carkitt Market. It will be based on London marketplaces, and although names by Joanne Rowling, did not feature in the Potter books.

Universal Orlando are planning a new attraction at Wet 'n Wild, Orlando’s original water park, to open in summer.

Aqua Drag Racer will stand about 60 feet tall and send four passengers at a time to race each other through interlocking tunnels and down steep hills, while travelling at 15 feet per second face-first on their stomachs atop a foam mat.

Universal say the experience can be compared to the Olympic sport of skeleton, minus the ice.

Despicable Me launched in Universal Hollywood last month and super fun land will also launch in Universal

Smiler at Alton Towers

Universal have opened Caban Bay Beach resort in Orlando as new budget and family accommodation Hollywood this spring.

Xiomara Wiley of Universal Hollywood announced that California too would get a Wizarding World of Harry Potter experience in 2016 It is not all at Universal. Universal California opened their signature new attraction for 2014, Despicable Me, Saying: we see Citywalk as our

front door, Bill Davis announced eight new venues to launch at Universal’s Citywalk in 2014, A Fast & Furious ride is to launch in Universal California in 2015, using the same locations as the traditional studio tour. A night time studio tour will launch in Universal California in 2015, as well as

Springfield USA, a whole new land adjacent to the Simpsons ride, according to Xiomara Wiley.

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he new Ratatouille dark ride at Disney Paris will open at the end of June.

The attraction's exterior, according to conceptual paintings and blueprints, will be that of Gusteau's restaurant, and the surrounding buildings of the Parisian plaza.

The attraction is rumoured to use LPS trackless ride technology, similar to Pooh's Hunny Hunt (in Tokyo Disneyland) and Mystic Manor (in Hong Kong Disneyland), which offers using vehicles shaped as rats to automatically slide across the ground with no track.

It also could contain a 3D dome segment of the ride that the vehicles will enter. The ride begins with a pre-show by Remy to show the rules of this ride, and then a ride through the kitchen on mouse cars, the ride should take about five minutes and twenty sec-

onds approximately, then exit to the boutique where you can buy Ratatouille related items, then meet and greet with Remy and then a simulator ride will take you to the locations from the film, after that, exit the ride.

Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando will debut its “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train” coaster, expanding the size of Fantasyland and bringing the multiyear project to completion. It wil be more family oriented than existing Disney rides.

The ride will travel both indoors and outdoors just like Frontierland's big rides, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. Songs such as Heigh-Ho and The Silly Song will also be included in this attraction.

It is rumoured that show elements from the demolished Snow White's Scary Adventures attraction (Minus the Haunted Forest and the Witch AudioAnimatronics from the attraction) will be re-used Walt Disney World Resort in Ninja has broken ground on the “Avatar”-

inspired land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney Shanghai revealed some details about the park's Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which will differ substantially from other Pirates rides at Disney theme parks around the world.

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Beebies Land will join the line up at Alton Towers in May 2014 with rides, play areas and characters such as Bob the Builder and the Teletubbies, replacing the Old MacDonald's Farmyard and Storybook Land areas of the park.

Europa-Park ‘s 12th rollercoaster opened this spring featuring indoor and outdoor elements, on board audio, rotating ride vehicles and a raft of special effects. Located near the Enchanted Forest area of the theme park between Strasbourg and Freiburg, 'Arthur in the Minimoys Kingdom' (also known as Arthur The Ride) is based around the film series Arthur and the Invisibles.

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MAY 2014 PAGE 23

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THEME PARKS 2014

It has been designed in conjunction with French director Luc Besson and his film production company, Europacorp. Other new attractions include a small family drop tower rides, a carousel, slides, a themed village, retail outlet and a catering establishment.

Phantasialand opens Chiapas-DIE Wasserbahn, what it calls the world’s most advanced log flume ride a 6 minute adventure and the world’s steepest drop on a log flume ride.

Gardaland in Verona opens Prezzemolo Land.

Explorer’s Reef opened at SeaWorld San Diego in spring, a multimilliondollar transformation of the park’s front entrance from “gate” to “experience.”

SeaWorld is celebrating its 50th anniversary and for one of the first times in company history all three SeaWorld marine parks - in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio, will be marketing in unison.

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onstruction of Thunderbolt at Luna Park Coney Island –is underway.

Ghost, the hobgoblin haunted house opens in Legoland Billund this summer. Legoland Windsor is adding a new ride Pirate Shores.

Parc Asterix in Paris is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The Tivoli roller coaster in Copenhagen will be 100 years old this year, the garden's famous ride will be rebuilt on the original hills that were previously the attraction's landmarks.

At Thorpe Park, Angry Birds Land opens in May, featuring two new attractions: Angry Birds 4D on the site of the previous Time Voyagers attraction, King Pig's Wild Hog Dodgmens ride, and Detonator re-themed to Detonator: Bombs Away.

Thorpe Shark Hotel

Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas wil be the world’s tallest when it opens on May 23rd, 264 steps to the top and 17 stories high

opens to the public in summer 2014, replacing The Crash Pad with what the park calls a more family friendly atmosphere.

The Azteca Hotel will open in Chessington world of adventures this summer in addition to the existing Safari Hotel.

Liseberg in Gothenberg invested €24m in attractions last year, most pertinently in the 10,000-square-metre Rabbit Land. Last year’s big opening in Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Wallace and Gromit's 'Thrill O Matic', an indoor train ride which takes passengers through various scenes from the famous Aardman Animation

films As for next year, Ferrari are to open a €100m theme park at PortAventura resort near Salou in 2016. Attractions will include Europe's fastest and highest vertical accelerator and a hotel in the shape of an F1 front wing.

It is yet undecided if the new area will be part of the main PortAventura Park or if it will be an additional park with its own entrance, like the Costa Caribe Aquatic Park.

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hat’s next after Harry for Universal? We are

still waiting for news on Universal Studios Project 340, located between the Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park lands. Planning permission is filed for a building of significant size, almost as large as the show building for Hogwarts Castle. It as been speculated that this is the King Kong project that has been approved by Universal for development.

A €42.5m dark ride Court of Hearts (Dutch: Hartenhof)) which opens at Efteling in 2015 and could be transformational for the park. In the oft postponed project, visitors will ride in a cart which will take them into

the castle of the park mascot, Pardoes, which is his fantasy world of Symbolica.

It sounds like an episode from the Simpsons, but an 800-acre Noah’s Ark Encounter park will open in summer 2016 in Northern Kentucky about 50 miles south of Cincinnati, according to Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis.

Founders of Northern Kentucky's controversial Creation Museum say enough money has been raised to proceed with a $70m biblical theme park built around a 510-foot replica of Noah's Ark.

eaworld Aquatica launches Ihu’s breakaway falls in Falls, a ride Bryan Nadeau of Seaworld says will bring going to break away from their traditional thrill rides like Taumata Racer and Omaka Rocka and bring visitors to that next level, tapping a demographic “that we've had in the park before, but not to the level of thrill that this thing is bringing.”

Other plans for Seaworld Parks in 2013 include a night Shamu show in Orlando, surprise squads to randomly award visitors with prizes ranging from free frontof-the-line ride passes and Shamu plush toys to beluga-whale interactions, acts such as pop-up "splash dances" in which a landscaping crew will lose control of its hoses and sprayers and a "bubble blowout," in which a performer will ride around in a vehicle blowing bubbles of different shapes and sizes. The company is also adding more animal interactions and art installations.

SeaWorld’s Aquatica is also hinting it will open a new drop ride in Orlando.

The waterpark highlight of the year will be the Verrückt Meg-aBlaster at Schlitterbahn Kansas City, the tallest, steepest and fastest water slide in the world, taller than Niagara falls. Riders will reach speeds of 65mph.

The Schlitterbahn franchise, owned by the Henry family, have pioneered the uphill waterslide experience, where riders are pushed back uphill by a series of water jets.

Verrückt (German for insanee) will have the longest uphill climb of any waterslide in the world.

The fifth Schlitterbahn water park will open on Padre Island in Corpus Christi Texas later this year.

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DESTINATION DISNEY

eople go to Orlando and don’t see Orlando.

They have been to the city centre all right, they say.

They can describe it clearly. There are restaurants and bars (including the mandatory Irish bar), shops and pedestrianised streets with laughing diners sitting outside in the sun. The skyline is dominated by three towering structures, Everest, Space Mountain and the fauxcastle Disney based on Neuschwanstein.

Disneyworld is a city.

Some onsite resorts are the size of a substantial provincial time in Ireland, a total of 24,000 beds in all for onsite visitors.

The place is run by a cast of thousands, literally. Because Disney calls its 60,000 staff “cast members” not staff. It is a giant movie that runs 365 days a year.

Yet Disney utilises about a third of the land that their founder bought in the early 1960s, There are 122 square kilometres in all, four major parks and two water parks filling a space that is the size of the Cooley peninsula in Co Louth, There are 161 miles of private roads linking the resorts.

On a busy day, the four major parks and two water parks will be filled with a total of a quarter of a million people.

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o enter the spirit of things, stay onsite in one of the Disney resorts. Position yourself in the Polynesian and you are at the hub of things. The ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom is a walk away. There is a waterslide in the resort pool (with another deeper pool for diving teenagers). The Studios, where the rock n roller coaster fires you up

A-Moused

Walt lays out his plans 50 years ago

to 60mph in 2.8 seconds, is also walking distance.

The other parks, Animal Kingdom and Epcot are a monorail or bus ride away. Don’t over estimate the transport system, the queue for the monorail can be as long as it is for the Buzz Lightyear shooting attraction.

The best place to view the Disney fireworks is from the California grill at the top of the Contemporary resort, well chosen to view the fireworks and listen to the piped music, carefully synchronised with the display.

On the monorail home, as well as announcing he next station they make sure to tell you that “tomorrow is just a dream away. There is a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away.”

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he Disney experience is fuelled on corny jokes. The

COMING OF THE KINGDOMS

1971 Magic Kingdom 1975 Downtown Disney 1976 River Country (closed in 2001) 1982 Epcot 1989 H’wood Studios

1989 Typhoon Lagoon 1998 Animal Kingdom 1995 Blizzard Beach 1996 Disney's BoardWalk 1997 ESPN Wide World of Sports

Eoghan Corry in Disney Orlando

fuel tank is filled with them each morning. It is their carbon-neutral energy source.

The corny jokes appear on the signs, and are carefully scripted for the cast members. The operator of every ride has a formula to follow, safety, courtesy, service and efficiency. and a list of carefully scripted corny jokes to say.

“I like what you have done with your hair, it is much more natural and lived in. “Come forward ladies, I like forward ladies.

“Close your seat belts from left to right. If you don’t do so the person beside you will be unhappy you have used their seatbelt and are probably going to die.”

On the Serengeti safari Adventure they have more corny jokes than exotic animals. “Hi I’m Chris and I will be your guide for the next two weeks. Welcome to the Serengeti which is a super highway for the wild animals.”

As the safari train crosses rickety looking bridge the driver tells us “we got over the bridge, that was close.’ After the

next one “we made it, we got to live.”

The animals present themselves at an alarming rate, yellow billed storks, the elusive black rhino at the second turn (there are only 4,200 left), pink back pelicans, crocodiles, white bearded wildebeest, giraffe, Thomson’s Gazelles.

The radio crackles to life: “We picked up a baby elephant who has wandered off on its own, can you find the mother?”

This doesn’t look good.

But round the next corner we see an elephant: “And there’s the BABY.” (Everyone says: “aw.”)

We are told that the male and female African elephants have to be protected from poachers who try to break in and kill them for their tusks, that ivory is worth a lot of money.

The radio crackles to life again. They want us to chase the poachers. A gun goes off on one side of the truck, and everyone screams. We now have to cross a river and past the poachers camp. The radio crackles back at us telling us that we drove the poachers right into the gamekeeper's patrol. We

didn’t see the shootout but that would be hard to arrange with so many endangered species around.

And we pass the poacher’s truck with a captured baby elephant in the back that they were trying to steal.

The planet has been saved, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

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he water parks are the secret weapon of the Disney armoury. There are two, and they are covered in the long-stay theme park pass.

Both waterparks are themed, after the original 1970s Disney waterpark proved too small for the crowds that started coming in the 1990s and was pulled down.

The corny jokes continue with the theme of the two waterparks. Blizzard Beach was originally a ski resort, you see, and it melted. They work it for every pun they can get. One restaurant is called Avalunch, the peak is called Mount Gushmore. There is a Cooling Hut and a Warming Hut serving food. It also has the most backside-destroying water ride I have ever done.

The highest point in Blizzard Beach it had a 120-foot direct drop at the start of the ride.

Just before you push off you feel very alone and vulnerable, the high points of the theme parks around marking the skyline, the Everest ride over in Animal Kingdom, the Swan hotel, Contemporary resort, Space Mountain, the Disney castle, the Epcot ball, and you in your bathing suit perched atop a piece of scaffolding with a water stream gushing into a gully directly below you. The clock records me at 53MPH. What do you see?

Nothing, just spray into your face like a water jet, and the sound of your palpitating heart. The linking of my togs went some-

where up the dark passages of my bowels.

When Nelson from the Simpsons talks about a wedgie in future I will know what he means.

You feel Summit Plummet for half an hour after you have done it.

They might advertise it as a colonic irrigation session.

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yphoon Lagoon, on the other hand, offers the world's largest outdoor wave pool and the water-raft jet-propelled ride Crush 'n' Gusher. It gets bigger numbers.

Here the story goes that a typhoon rode through a formerly pristine tropical paradise tossing ships, fishing gear and surfboards.

In the middle of the park is a shrimp boat impaled upon a mountain named "Mount Mayday" spews up a 50-foot (15 m) geyser of water every half hour,

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ometimes you might want to escape the crowds altogether. Then you should go to Epcot.

There is a crowded part of Epcot, of course. That includes the signature ride Soarin’ and the boy racers’ dream ride, Test Centre.

You know you are approaching the world showcase when a little boy asks “is that the REAL Eiffel tower?” It is one of the most pleasant parks in Disney, built around a large lake (it is stocked with bass and you can rent fishing boats for sure-catch fishing outings). It is the sort of place that looks like it was devised by one of those guys who think folk dances are what tourists come to see.

Everybody knows it is delusionary to think you can do a full world tour in a theme park in Florida.

You have to go to Vegas for that.

Just 3 hours away cometotunisia.ie

TUN1201051_TravelExtra_IRE_330x240_AW.indd 1

07/09/2012 09:34

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AFLOAT

HURTIGRUTEN

Daniel Skjeldam, CEO of Hurtigruten and Andreas Viestad. The celebrity chef are to create Norway’s Coastal Kitchen on board Hurtigruten sailings.

CELEBRITY Cruises will broadcast

the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil onboard its ships sailing to Alaska, Bermuda and Europe.

Mine’s a double

QUARK Expeditions launched their Arctic 2015 season.

MSC are due to launch our new brochure

earlier this year, in May for the Irish market

NORWEGIAN

announced its winter 2015/16 itineraries. Norwegian Escape is to homeport in Miami year-round. The hull of Norwegian Cruise Line's next ship will be painted with an underwater scene depicting a giant sailfish, turtle and other sea creatures.

The company commissioned the artwork for the Norwegian Escape from marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey. The 163,000-ton vessel will be Norwegian's largest ever when it debuts in October 2015.

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line cancelled

its entire Tunisia programme, citing an incident that occurred Sunday when one of its ships visited the Tunisian port of La Goulette. Norwegian says Tunisian officials refused to allow Israeli nationals on the 2,402-passenger Norwegian Jade the right to disembark the ship during the call, which was part of a Mediterranean cruise.

EMERALD SKY, Europe's newest

river cruise ship set sail from Amsterdam this week, with godmother duties performed by Twiggy.

NORWEGIAN cancelled calls to

Roatán in Honduras after a crew member was murdered during an attempted robbery

MARCO POLO called to Dublin

port.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Cruises promoted Adam Goldstein to President and COO.

STEPHEN MOFFETT left

MSC after eight years.

P&O Ferries Express resumed between Larne and Troon.

ROYAL Caribbean‘s Splendour of the

Seas will be based in Dubai for 16roundtrip sailings from December 2015 through March 2016, with calls to Oman’s capital of Muscat and Khasab and Abu Dhabi.

HURTIGRUTEN launched its main

2015/2016 brochure and reduced voyage-only and inclusive packages. Explorer and Coastal voyages also appear in one main brochure for the first time in several years.

CELEBRITY Cruises offered guests $500 onboard spend as part of its ‘Celebrity Future Cruise Holidays’ programme, along with the added benefits of 123go! promotion for those choosing to book their next cruise whilst onboard.

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St nazaire shipyard where the two new MSC ships wil be built

MSC cruise ships are largest ever European order

SC Cruises has signed a letter of intent with STX France based in Saint Nazaire ship yard to build two new ships for launch in 2017 and 2019, the biggest cruise ships yet built by a European ship owner They are 315 metres long and 43 metres wide, 167,600 tons, with 2,250 cabins for guests and 820 crew cabins, accommodating 5,700 passengers and 1,536 crew members.

The two ships will join MSC Cruises’ fleet, currently counting 12 ships, all built in the Saint-Nazaire yards. Among the new features of the ships will be specially designed cabins for families and an extended MSC Yacht Club, the entirely self-contained private club on the prestigious foredecks that will now be completed with a vast solarium, a private lounge

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and restaurant and duplex suites.

“I would like to point out that the competitiveness agreement signed with our trade unions has been decisive to reach this LOI signature,” said Laurent Castaing, STX France General Manager.

“The new prototype will be the biggest cruise ship ever built by a European ship owner and the most versatile and flexible of the world: not only will it be able to call in most of the ports and destinations on earth, without compromise, but it will have extraordinary features that will make it the perfect choice at sea, in summer and in winter.

The two new ships will reaffirm MSC Cruises’ dedication to outstanding and genuine dining options and out-of-this-world entertainment with new panoramic spaces, a bigger theatre and a spectacular amusement

park connected to an outdoor aqua park as well as a two-deck ’inside promenade’,” explained Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises.

The signature took place at the Hôtel de L’Industrie in Paris in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, President of MSC group, Laurent Castaing, General Manager of STX France, and Pierre Moscovici, French Minister of Economy and Finance.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises, and Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises were also in attendance.

“MSC Cruises will expand its capacity by 31pc; we will incredibly enrich our offer on board and we will broaden our horizons to ensure we meet the growing global demand in every region,” said MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago.

SS CATHERINE TAKES TO RHÔNE

nder a Sunny Sky in Lyon, Catherine Deneuve named Uniworld’s newest ship SS. Catherine.

Making her home on the Rhône and Saône rivers in Burgundy and Provence, the SS Catherine was designed by Beatrice Tollman, the founder and president of The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, which is Uniworld’s sister

company; Toni Tollman, her daughter, was also involved. The project director was Brian Brennan.

Similar to its siblings, the River Beatrice and SS Antoinette, SS Catherine boasts 80 cabins, five suites, and a Royal Presidential Suite.

The lobby of the ship incorporates a glass elevator, with a cascading waterfall down one side and a stunningly beautiful Murano

chandelier next to it. Another unique feature is the trademark Bar du Leopard, with its own cinema. This is a reference to the world renowned Leopard Lounges found in a number of Red Carnation Hotels.

There is a large Van Gogh Lounge, a cosy bistro, a stylish Cézanne Restaurant, a tea and coffee bar, the Serenity River Spa, a swimming pool, a fitness centre and a fireplace.

SS Catherine is decorated with both antique and original artwork.

There was a live band and Ms Deneuve smashed the traditional bottle of champagne across the ship’s hull.

The event was attended by 150 guests from the cruise industry, who afterwards embarked on the ship’s maiden three-day voyage.

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AFLOAT

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Miami advice

Minister Varadkar attends Cruise Shipping Miami

n impressive turnout of cruise line CEOs addressed the big topics facing the industry at Cruise Shipping Miami.

Priomary concern was the strict air pollution standards that go into effect in 2015. CLIA CEO Christine Duffy said 21.7m global passengers will cruise this year, up from 21.3m in 2013. To meet the growing demand for cruising, 24 new ships will launch by the end of 2015.

Chief executives of Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises were on stage together. Kevin Sheehan, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, said: “we deserve a higher price, I think we’re poised for that right now.”

Arnold Donald, new CEO of Carnival said that cruising is “more cost effective than visiting your relatives, and depending on your relatives,

THOMSON Celebration will be based in Dubrovnik from May 2015 with four new 'adult-only' itineraries..

FRED OLSEN has appointed Alan

Lynch’s Cruisescapes as its ‘Preferred Partner’ for trade and direct business.

EXPLORER of the Seas will substi-

tute for Adventure of the Seas to homeport at Southampton, England from late-April through Sept. 2015.

CRUISE360 conference in Miami provided a forum for opionions on how to sell more cruises: agents should mine existing database to identify new cruisers and upscale cruise clients.

VIKING River Cruises surpassed its own Guinness World Record for "The Most Ships Royal Caribbean’s Allure created a buzz in the cruise market Inaugurated in One Day by One Company" have to wear a black tie.” we’re a lot more fun.” with the simultaneous naming of 16 new Richard Fain CEO of Royal Minister Leo Varadkar led a small Viking Longships over 24 hours in Avignon.

Caribbean said "as an industry, over but active Irish delegation at the See video report here. its history, the industry has had such event. Leo’s verdict: “It was intereststrong growth and good perform- ing and an education. There is defi- DISNEY cruise itineraries for 2015 innitely lots of scope to grow cruise clude Norwegian fjords, Iceland and Baltic ance."

Pierfrancesco Vago, executive tourism in Ireland and we have many Sea. Disney Cruise Line is to change its interchairman of MSC Cruises said it’s advantages but it is a tough business net charges from time based to the amount of important to push aside the old cruis- and it is important that we go into it internet data used. ing image and create a more modern with our eyes open and are cautious CRUISE industry group CLIA says Irish one. Consumers still wonder “what about any investments.” and British market grew by 1.5pc last year. am I going to do onboard or if they

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Page 028-032 Flying 16/04/2014 12:54 Page 1

MAY 2014 PAGE 28

THE FLYING COLUMN

AIR RAGE 300 cases of air rage and other bad behaviour are being reported each week, according to the International Air Transport Association, which is urging countries to sign up to a new agreement to speed through changes to laws to cope with unruly and disruptive passengers after reaching agreement at a conference last week.

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

5TH FREEDOM An Italian court ordered that non-EU carriers cannot offer fifthfreedom rights (traffic carried between two country by the airline of a third country) passengers to or from Italy, causing the cancellation of Emirates Milan-New York flight.

MOBILE Research from IT firm SITA

concluded more than half of air passengers will use their mobiles to check flight and baggage status by 2016, with all the major airlines offering these services.

MONARCH was last year’s least punctual carrier, with delays of more than an hour on nearly 7pc of its flights.

RYANAIR added a total of 61 new

routes in the first week of April. Ryanair added a base in Cologne indicating what agencies called a serious move into Germany Ryanair cancelled Lisbon-Faro flights less than a week after inauguration. Stobart Air cancelled their Southend-Cologne after Ryanair opened Stansted- Cologne.

NEW YORK lawyer Brian O'Dwyer, Pat Gallagher and John Molloy have been added to the board at Knock.

AIRBUS confirmed that a customer air-

line customer has already ordered a version of the A350 with ten across (3-4-3) in economy, one more than the manufacturer’s recommended configuration.

MANCHESTER’s aim of becoming a northern hub received a boost when Cathay Pacific announced direct flights to Hong Kong from December this year THOMSON is launching direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Mexico's Puerto Vallarta on May 3.

ETIHAD Airways launched the frequent flyer programme as a separate legal entity.

UNITED unveiled seat plan for B787-9, with additional seats in business, premium economy and economy.

AIR FRANCE passengers travelling in economy and premium economy on short and medium-haul flights can now pay for more legroom and sitting by the emergency exit.

KEITH CHUTER is the new acting

sales manager for British Airways in Dublin.

Keith replaces Simon Daly who according to the press release, has decided to leave.

LUFTHANSA unveiled its fully-flat

A380 business seats.

AMERICAN Airlines revealed its new fully-flat seat for the B777-200ER with some seats rear-facing.

Aer Lingus Captain Leo Smyth and Co Pilot Brian Boyle in the cockpit of the first of three contracted 757s

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Pathfinder play

Aer Lingus using 757s to explore Trans-Atlantic options

er Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller expects a new generation of aircraft will allow Aer Lingus to fly ten direct routes to North America by decade’s end.

He said the airline’s nine A350 orders would help achieve this goal but also told Travel Extra that he was disappointed that Airbus were not developing a longer range A321 which would be ideal for Aer Lingus needs.

Aer Lingus considered a route to Halifax before Westjet stepped in to the breach witha St John’s route this summer.

He said other airlines would also be interested in a long ranger A321.

“When I was in the charter business, the longer routes from Scandinavia to the Canaries were always seeking a suitable aircraft.”

Separately, Aer Lingus CCO, Stephen Kavanagh recently said that Aer Lingus are looking at Florida (possibly Miami?) and another gate-

C

way on east coast for 2015.

“We have started using leased 757s as pathfinders – a tool to see if the A330 can be put on, but not just as a bridging solution – the 757s are the only current solution for 170-200 seat demand in our network.

In the next 18 months we are looking to issue an RFP for up to 40 shorthaul aircraft which will also serve as the 757 replacements, and growth.

We have also evaluated transatlanticcapable A321neos, but also possibly 737s.

The -900s will replace the seven A330s, including some lower capacity -200s which are now too small, and the -900 Regionals will be used for east coast operations.

Dublin has a significant advantage of geography and a lack of congestion over Heathrow and Amsterdam, not to mention the unique pre-clearance product.

There’s a lot of people in Europe not connected to North America, but

for us the opportunities for short-haul growth lie in improving load factors without necessarily needing more routes and new aircraft – we have average loads of around 75pc on the short-haul network, I want to get an eight in front of this number. Gatwick was an implementation failure in terms of pricing and marketing. It’s a case of what might have been, I don’t think we’ll be trying anything similar in the near term.

Dublin's Terminal 2 was not specifically developed as a connecting terminal, but working with DAA, we are finding it fit for purpose, especially this year which is the first season we can market pre-clearance comprehensively across all US flights.

And the attractions are not just price sensitive – our move into the JFK domestic terminal and the arrangements with JetBlue offer MCTs of just 45 minutes.

INTRO TAKES OVER CITYJET

ityjet’s sale deal with Intro Aviation deal has been finally signed.

The European Regional Airline Conference was told that the first thing on Intro's agenda is fleet renewal. Intro will take control of CityJet and VLM this month.

Intro Aviation said: “we are talking to all manufac-

turers” on Cityjet fleet replacement.

The chief executive of Intro Aviation, Peter Oncken, says that he wants to position Cityjet as an "Irish-UK standalone airline and go from there".

"We all know that fleet transition is one of the key issues over the next months in terms of decisions, because we have to modernize."

He would not be drawn on whether Intro Aviation will go beyond fleet renewal and expand the Dublin operation.

"It depends on conditions. It depends on markets. It depends on many issues, but it is quite obvious that over the next years, Cityjet will have to grow. If an airline has to grow, it has to grow its fleet."

Cityjet boss, Christine Ourmieres-Widener, said he sale ended a period of uncertainty for the airline.

"The process took two years. We are very happy to see that ending,” At CAPA conference in Wicklow Ourmieres said regionals need a diversity of business models, & independence from legacy carrier Air France gave Cityjet this freedom.

Page 028-032 Flying 16/04/2014 12:54 Page 2

THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

MAY 2014 PAGE 29

SUNWAY’s Nouvelair service to Enfidha is moving from a Saturday to Friday flight. Flights begin April 11 and continue until October 31.

TURKISH Airlines are offering double daily flight each day with the exception of Tuesday and Wednesday. The additional flights will be operated with Boeing 737 aircraft out of Dublin connecting Ireland to more than 105 different countries and 246 destinations worldwide in the Turkish Airlines current network.

ANNA aero said the number of new airline

services being launched in the first three weeks of the summer season is almost identical to last year, at around 460. These new services will be operated by almost 120 airlines operating to airports spread across 90 countries, led by Ryanair (again) with 65, Germanwings 43, Easyjet 34, Air One 19, Vueling 14, American Airlines 11, and jetairfly, Norwegian and SAS 10 each. Germany had the most new routes with 94, Italy 89, Britain 77, France 62, Spain 55, USA 49, Greece 36, Japan 28, Ireland 28, China 27, Mexico 22, and Poland and Portugal 17 each.

Kenny jacobs of Ryanair, Minister Leo Varadkar and Vincent Harrison of DAA

Market joust

T

Having fallen to 37pc Ryanair seek Dublin growth

he 17 new routes announced at Dublin and Shannon airports in April should improve Ryanair’s market share at both airports.

Aer Lingus overtook Ryanair in 2010 when

Ryanair’s market share at Dublin airport declined from 41pc to 39pc, while Aer Lingus saw its market share increase from 37pc to 39pc. Anna aero did a recent August v August snapshot of traffic at Dublin airport which in-

dicated Aer Lingus at 42.6pc and Ryanair 37pc.. Dublin airport will have 29 serving scheduled carriers this summer, as it did last year, according to Diio Mi data.

RYANAIR SLAP CHARGE FOR EARLY CHECK-IN

A

STOBART/Aer Arann's seventh ATR72-600, EI-FCY arrived in Dublin from Toulouseat the beginning of the month, a second -600 then switched to Cork on April 14.

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n unexpected downside has emerged from Ryanair’s website and check-in improve-

ments.

Passengers can only now check-in seven days prior to departure and are unable to check in for their return flights altogether.

Ryanair sells allocated seating preferred allocated seat onboard between 30 days and 2 hours before each booked flight and those who do not wish to select and purchase preferred allocated seat onboard then between seven days and two hours before each booked flight you can go to online check in and be randomly allocated a seat free of charge.

One travel agent commented on the changes: This is completely impossible for us. Our customers book with us so we can take all the stress out of making travel plans – this is going to have a

kenny Jacobs shows the new site

detrimental effect on our business.

Had we known about this in advance, we could have added on the cost of an allocated seats at the time of booking – this is impossible now as most of our customers have paid in full for their holiday and won’t want to pay any more.

This change is going to reflect very badly on us as a business as it appears that we’re not fully informed.

Please Please see see your your travel travel agent agent or or call call 01 01 6793958 6793958

www.aircanada.com/rouge/en/

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MAY 2014 PAGE 30

THE FLYING COLUMN

SHANNON Airport won the ‘Highly Commended’ award for airports under 4m passengers at the Routes Europe Airport Marketing Awards in Marseille.

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

NORWEGIAN’s Irish-registered

trans-Atlantic operation now employs 40 people at its offices close to Dublin Airport.

RYANAIR said during the show around

of the airline’s new headquarters that it will create 200 IT jobs to develop an improved digital platform including a new mobile app.

QUICKPARK introduced a new barcode booking system to its Dublin airport car park. Existing customers need to re-register they first time they use the new system.

AER LINGUS got clearance for passengers to leave electronic devices on from gate to gate.

RYANAIR's new headquarters in Swords

comes complete with a slide and 'welcome to the madhouse' slogan.

DELTA brought in new economy sleep

kits including individual eye shades and earplugs.

EMIRATES is to open a lounge in

Glasgow in June. Is Dublin next?

DUBLIN based cabin crew are being trained for Ryanair’s 737-400s which the airline will lease for the summer.

TAM and US Airways joined Oneworld.

AIR FRANCE launched a Brasilia

route joining the French carrier's services to Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paolo.

MANCHESTER and Zurich are expected to be added to the Cathay Pacific network from winter 2014/15

BA brought in a Gold Executive Club cancellation fee. BA have introduced a breakfast card as one of several sleep-saving measures the airline for Club World passengers on overnight flights from New York to London.

UNITED launched a service from San

Francisco to Taipei and is also launching a second daily flight between Houston and Tokyo.

RYANAIR passenger numbers were

down 4pc in March and Aer Lingus down 5.6pc, both blamed on timing of Easter. Aer Lingus long haul was down 9.6pc for the month.

AER LINGUS new in-flight shopping

brochure launched, the price of 200 cigarettes available for purchase on flights to and from non-EU destinations rose from €34 to €35.

SIIM KALAS’s office in the European Commission is examining Etihad's stake in Germany's Air Berlin and other foreign holdings in European airlines, to see if they comply with rules for operating an airline within Europe, including Delta Air Lines' stake in Britain's Virgin , Korean Air's stake in CSA Czech Airlines and Chinese investment vehicle HNCA's 35pc stake in freight carrier Cargolux.

A350 on a test flight in Toulouse

Lingus A350 plan

W

Aer Lingus seeks trans-Atlantic growth from 9 orders

hen Qatar Airways takes delivery of the first A350 XWB aircraft, scheduled for later this year, it will be a decade since Airbus first announced development of the twin-engined long-haul aircraft. Aer Lingus also has nine A350-900 aircraft on order.

The Typical number of seats in two-class configuration 276 for the A350-900, rising to 369 for the A3501000 Range will be between 7,750 and 8,250 nautical miles depending on variant The Catalogue price between US$260.9 million and US$340.7 million depending on variant.

Aircraft materials 53 per cent composite, 19 per cent aluminium-lithium alloy, 14 per cent titanium, 6 per cent steel, and 8 per cent miscellaneous The Engines will be Rolls-Royce Trent XWB The aircraft will use Nickel-cadmium batteries as opposed to the Lithium-ion batteries which have

S

caused extensive issues on the Boeing Dreamliner Plans for the A350 were originally based on the fuselage of the existing A330, but following a redesign it was renamed the A350 XWB (extra wide body).

Its cabin measures five inches wider than the Boeing B787 Dreamliner, one of the aircraft (along with the B777) with which the A350 will compete.

The A350 XWB family will eventually comprise of three variants — the launch -900 version, the shorter 800, and the longer -1000.

Airbus says that the A350 XWB will offer a 25 per cent step change in fuel efficiency compared to the B777, and will burn 9 per cent less fuel for every seat offered than the Boeing Dreamliner.

As at the end of March, Airbus has so far received 812 firm orders for the A350 across 39 airlines, with launch customer Qatar Airways having ordered the most aircraft at 80, followed

by Emirates and Singapore Airlines

with 70 each, and Etihad Airways with 62.

The first test A350 XWB aircraft took to the skies last summer, and the aircraft made its full international debut at the Singapore Airshow in February.

A special test aircraft bearing the Qatar Airways livery flew above Toulouse in March, and the carrier plans to take the A350 XWB, along with an A380 and revamped A320, to the Farnborough Airshow in July.

None of the carriers have yet publically confirmed seating configuration for their A350 aircraft, and although Airbus' preferred layout is nine across in economy with a seat width of 18 inches, one airline has already ordered the ten-abreast"high efficiency" configuration.

Airlines have options for either four, six or seven across in business class (1-2-1, 2-2-2, or 2-3-2), eight across in premium economy (2-4-2) and either nine or ten across in economy (3-3-3 or 3-4-3).

STOBART ‘ON TARGET’ FOR 2m PAX

ean Brogan of Stobart Air, formerly known as Aer Arann, said airline’s the target of 2m passengers by 2016 is achievable.

Since last May, it has taken delivery of seven out of eight ATR 72-seat craft enabling it to expand operations at Dublin and Cork.

Two aircraft will be permanently based at Southend. Stobart is likely to exercise options on four more aircraft after signing a franchise deal with Flybe similar to that with Aer Lingus.

Flybe’s new London Southend services, operated by Stobart Air are

Rennes, Groningen, Münster Osnabrück from June 5, Cologne Bonn, Caen Normandie and Antwerp from July 3.

Aircraft will overnight at Antwerp and Rennes, routes which will operate almost twice daily from 1 September. Other routes will be daily or almost

daily, facilitating 200,000 passengers are expected in year one of operations, rising to 700,000 in year three.

Stobart then cancelled its Southend-Cologne route six days after it was put on sale, after Ryanair announced Stansted-Cologne twice-daily.

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THE FLYING COLUMN

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

MAY 2014 PAGE 31

AER LINGUS partnered with Car-

Trawler to offer improved car rental experience on aerlingus.com. Car rental brands include Avis, Enterprise Europcar, Sixt and National.

BELFAST City Airport has introduced unlimited free wi-fi.

SHANNON passenger numbers were up 10.9pc in February.

Speaking at the CAPA conference in Wicklow: Conor McCarthy of Dublin Aerospace, Matthew Baldwin EU Director of Air Aviation and International Transport Policy, Willie Walsh of IAG, Bjorn Kjos CEO of Norwegian, Eamonn Brennan CEO of the Irish Aviation Authority and John Byerly of the US State Department.

Back into reverse

A

‘Going backwards’ after 7 years of Eu-US open skies

viation chiefs who came to Co Wicklow to ponder the big issues at Powerscourt for the CAPA: Airlines in Transition conference have expressed concern about the lack of progress on taking the next step in US-Eu open skies.

Several aviation executive suggested that progress had stalled in the seven years since the EU and USA signed the Open Skies agreement.

John Byerly, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation at the US State Department and a major negotiator in the EU-US Open Skies agreement, set the context for the discussion with a review of the "archaic" restrictions on foreign ownership and control. All panellists, airline executives and regulators alike, agreed that the current system is "stupid".

Byerley said there had been little progress on EU/US Open Skies ownership and control issues since it was first signed seven years ago. “In other global industries, participants can merge and create international subsidiaries to achieve these benefits, but the aviation industry is tied in legal knots".

“The big question is who will drive change beyond open skies? There is less pressure for change now and

things may move backwards towards protectionism.”

“There are statutes limiting foreign ownership and control. For reasons of national pride, defence, labour interests and inertia, these limits remain in place. These prevent cross-border mergers, or at least make them risky, and mean there is no right of establishment for airlines abroad. While ownership is relatively easy to determine, control is more blurred and air service agreements preclude "effective control" by foreign entities, even if they only have a minority ownership position.”

The EU-US Open Skies treaty missed the opportunity to pursue a liberalisation of foreign ownership restrictions, even though it loosened the restrictions on markets access for airlines from the two sides of the Atlantic.”

IAG CEO Willie Walsh said the problem is that “the wording of Open Skies agreement, intended to liberalise, is instead being used to restrict.“ “People are now using Open Skies agreement to argue for more restrictions. Regulators should hang their heads in shame.”

He warned that current sentiment could result in a regression in liberal-

Paul Weir and Freddie Aravena of Airline Business with Pedro Bollinger general manager of Windavia

T

ising ownership as stakeholders “try to establish a new starting position for the next phase”.

Opponents of Norwegian Air Shuttle’s efforts to expand its low-cost long-haul operations between the EU and US claim the carrier is violating labour stipulations included in the second phase of the EU-US Open Skies agreement that took effect in 2010.

Byerly felt that US union opposition had already killed the DullesMadrid wetlease agreement with Aer Lingus.

Touching on a more recent wetlease, Willie Walsh said he found it "bizarre" that the EU Commission gave short haul business to Virgin, saying it must be "costing Virgin a fortune".

He added that by outsourcing the service to Aer Lingus, Virgin had shown that it couldn't even operate it.

He also said that part of the problem is that you have some airports making a hell of a lot of money, from airlines not making money.

Cork based Fergal Kelly from event sponsors Travelport posed the question: All very well knowing data about a customer, but can you do anything useful with it.

WINDAVIA SHOCK

he sudden cancellation of Windavia’s proposed Dublin to Funchal summer programme has caused reverbations through the trade.

The charter, run until last year by SATA, was to be shared by Concorde Travel, Sunway, Topflight, and Travel Department.

Windavia had problems with the French tour operators, who had chartered the bulk of the capacity from France to Madeira.

The French tour operators cancelled their contracts and their capacity last week, Windavia could not then base an aircraft in Funchal, just to operate their once a week Dublin flight

FLY.COM survey shows 89pc of fliers felt it was wrong to charge checked baggage fees, but people are willing to pay for leg room and dedicated hand luggage space: 45pc of respondents would pay for extra legroom, 26 would pay to have an empty middle seat next to them, 34pc would pay to prevent the seat in front of them from reclining, 36pc said they would purchase a fast pass to speed through security, and 35pc would be willing to pay for their bags to arrive first at baggage claim.

TAM and US Airways both joined the oneworld alliance.

RYANAIR announced new bases in Athens and Lisbon. Kenny Jacobs tweeted: 5m Portuguese passengers will save 830m this year. That's ten Cristiano Ronaldos.

LONDON

Mayor Boris Johnson published a report showing how Heathrow could be closed down and re-developed.

CHICAGO unveiled the new International Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport, a $26 million project featuring 24 new retail and dining destinations including 11 local Chicago brands.

LUFTHANSA A380s now have fullyflat business seats.

ETIHAD brought their share holding in

Aer Lingus to over 5pc. Etihad's 49pc stake in Air Serbia was approved.

FLIGHT Search on Google launched in Ireland.:

DUBLIN Airport was named world’s Best Airport Twitter Feed in the Moodies awards for airport digital communications for the second year in a row.

RYANAIR has scheduled an extra return

flight from Dublin to Dortmund for Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Germany on Tuesday

WIZZ Air’s flight from London's Luton Airport to Budapest has become known as the flight that never leaves on time, it has not left on time since last summer was nominated as the world’s most unreliable flight having taken off 'late' 293 times in a row. Wizz Air said the departure times do not qualify as delays however, industry standards define flights departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time, as on time.

MICHAEL GREALLY will leave Aer Lingus on 30 September 2014 to pursue new opportunities outside Aer Lingus. The search is under way for Michael's successor as Chief Human Resource and Change Officer.

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MAY 2014 PAGE 32

THE FLYING COLUMN

SINGAPORE Changi Airport was,

once again, named best airport in the world at the 2014 World Airport Awards. The glittering ceremony was part of Passenger Terminal EXPO 2014 at the Fira de Barcelona in the heart of Barcelona’s new business area. Changi was followed by: 2 Incheon International Airport, 3 Munich Airport, 4 Hong Kong International Airport, 5 Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, 6 Tokyo International Airport, Haneda, 7 Beijing Capital International Airport, 8 Zurich Airport, 9 Vancouver International Airport, 10 London Heathrow Airport.

RYANAIR Michael O’Leary said

Ryanair are in talks with primary airports in Czech Rep, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and Spain. Four of eight new bases are primary cities.

AER LINGUS is to seek further sav-

ings totalling €30m under a new round of cost reduction measures including job cuts and increased productivity under a programme called CORE (Cost Optimisation and Revenue Excellence), according to the company's annual report. Aer Lingus appointed Emer Gilvarry to its Board of Directors.

LUFTHANSA The new Lufthansa

lounge to be unveiled at Heathrow Terminal 2, where Lufthansa move in October, will be the largest Lufthansa lounge facility outside the airline’s home-base in Germany. Lufthansa are increasing summer capacity from Dublin by 16pc from April with the summer service to Munich going from 3w to 4w and 5w in July.

Earlier this month, Lufthansa unveiled its new premium economy seating.

RYANAIR's planned Russian flights continue to be delayed by visa questions for flight crew and are not going to make the proposed April 30th start-up date: proposed times Dublin 7am (arr14.25) & Vnukovo 14:55 (arr16.20).

DERRY City of Derry airport was used by 384,973 passengers in 2013, down 3.3pc, making it Ireland’s seventh busiest airport.

SITA said that the 2013 figure of 6.96 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers in 2013 was the lowest ever recorded, 81pc of these were delayed bags.

SHANNON Airport launched

Park4Less which it says is Ireland’s cheapest online airport car parking with a month-long introductory offer of €24.99 per week.

UNITED has started installing almost 500

charging stations in customer seating areas across American airports. Chicago O'Hare International airport will be fitted with 110 charging stations in Concourse B and C to be completed tomorrow. Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, Washington Dulles, New York LaGuardia and New Orleans airports will be also be installed with the power points over the coming weeks.

IAA The Irish Aviation Authority is to provide air traffic control services in Northern Irish airspace on a trial basis

Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

A

Game of thrones 2-2-1 configuration for new Aer LIngus lie-flat seat

er Lingus new lie-flat seats in business class will be available from early 2015 and wil come in a 2-2-1 configuration.

Before the launch of Aer LIngus new San Francisco service, Micheál Gannon of Aer Lingus and Gary Montgomery of Thompson seats in Portadown were on hand to show off the seat.

With the seats in a 2-2-1 configuration, the single “throne” seats the most coveted.

The first to be fitted with the new seats will be the 330-200 where the number of seats in Premier will be reduced slightly from 24 to 23. Christoph Mueller said the seats were long enough to accommodate the Charge d’Affaires at the American embassy in Dublin, the Maine colossus, Stuart Dwyer, all 6’7 of him,

ITAA President Martin Skelly was on hand to try out the new seat.

Return to San Fran

A

Less than half pax on inaugural originated in Ireland

er Lingus inaugural flight EI17 from Dublin to San Francisco pulled in to Gate 93 at SFO fifteen minutes early on Wednesday April 2nd at the end of its ten and a half hour flight.

Of the 200 passengers on board, just 95 were from Ireland. The rest were from Amsterdam, Birmingham, Manchester, Paris and all over Europe, showing how the new Aer Lingus has turned Dublin into a hub The aircraft passed a fire truck salute and groups of passengers who waved furiously from the viewing decks.

It was an altogether bigger occasion than its predecessor six and a half years ago and there was a strong sense that things would be different this time round – Aer Lingus pulled the route after two years in 2009.

Christoph Mueller described the change when he

EI117 over San Francisco

spoke in San Francisco after Aer Lingus inaugural flight from Dublin .

Prior to departure, Kevin Toland of the DAA said 600,000 people hubbed through Dublin last year, up 35pc .

Minister Richard Bruton invoked flower power as he sent the aircraft and its distinguished passengers from the world of travel and hitech industry on its way.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee welcomed the party at a reception in the SFO museum, he declared the day

would be Aer Lingus day .

Joe D’Allesandro of San Francisco tourism mentioned the strong connections between the countries John Martin of San Francisco airport outlined the importance of the route to SFO, which has three new international services this year.

Irish honorary counsel Philip Grant paid tribute to Christophe Mueller on behalf of those who had waited for the return of the Two days after the inaugural Aer Lingus hosted

Barry O’Leary of the IDA and others in the Four Seasons hotel in Palo Alto to celebrate the airlines’ links for the tech sector.

Barry O’Leary of the IDA said 40pc of the foreign direct investment to Ireland from the US comes from the Silicon Valley area, the route boosts the offering Ireland can present to the vibrant Silicon Valley community, making Ireland even more visible to companies looking to internationalise.”

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he causes of Thomas Cook’s withdrawal from the Irish market were teased over when the announcement was made, to senior management immediately before Christmas, and to the staff in the run up to Belfast Holiday World show.

When the parent Thomas Cook company began a root and branch review of their business in March 2013, Mike Gould came in to do an analysis of the Irish market.

True, the traditional package model was under threat. True, agents were dynamically packaging much of the product tour operators used to have for themselves.

The summer of 2013 was a bid time to have an accountant looking over your shoulder. The Iberworld collapse added €26 to the cost every seat. After that collapse Thomas Cook could not get replacement aircraft and lost customers to Aer Lingus. Before the lost bookings are factored in, the Iberworld collapse cost Thomas Cook Eu800,000.

The flight schedule problems did not stop there. Thomas Cook charters found they were taking off close to the timing

T

Inside the Travel Business

BASED aircraft

would have given more flexibility.

CRUISE was a

winner, lots of waves made and more to come.

DIFFERENTIATED product,

Cook had lots of product, and could happily sell what the DP market could not provide.

ENGLISH char-

ter product was not sold

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Tommy departs End of an era after 140 years in Ireland

Thomas Cook Travel Ireland team in happier times: Sharon Lynch, John Grehan, Fiona Foster, John Kinane, Sharon Harney, Helena Coughlan, Chris Merriman and Linda Moloney.

of scheduled craft. Because, unlike their main rival, they had n based aircraft in Dublin they did not do Tuesday and Wednesday charters.

When the sun came out in June 2013, the entire travel industry felt the burn almost immediately.

The cost of scheduled flights came down after charter fares came down.

E

ven within this scenario, Thomas Cook was doing well. The Menorca and lbiza charters very profitable.

Their Club 18-30 product, in common with young adult holiday mar-

ket in general, proved very successful with lots of people booking early, paying high prices and splashing their money on excursions and party game outings. Their cruise division was performing well, particularly their GSA for Cunard whom they had relaunched in the Irish market with considerable success. Carnival were on the way, as the next engagement for the cruise division.

The company had good agency engagement, an assuredly desired product. There was much to build on.

The cold wind came

WAYS TC KEEP COOKING

en ways Thomas Cook’s Irish operation could have survived.

MAY 2014 PAGE 33

in Ireland, there were lots of transfer options to mid-haul destinations that were being handed over to the scheduled carriers.

INBOUND

Thomas Cook has considerable inbound business which could have been handled by the Irish officeHere

PANORAMA

and Sunworld were ignored: with their guaranteed beds, were tried and trusted brands which continue to command loyalty

TECHNOLOGY

Needed more investment and presented sooner

SCHEDULED late to the scheduled game behind rivals.

Flexible trips launched about a year too late.

WINTER pro-

gramme: Winter is where much of the carnage has been happening.

YOUNG people:

Club 18-30 was one of the successes of the operation.

from London. Thomas Cook HQ sold off their subsidiaries, including Gold medal which was profitable, closed a third of their shops and decided to get back to their core market.

But finding what the core market was in Ireland, where they were not a retail agency, was going to be more complicated.

London management, who had presided over a

T

he timing of Thomas Cook’s departure from the Irish travel stage has a commemorative feel about it.

Exactly 140 years ago Thomas Cook started advertising their first Dublin package holiday from Dublin: a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Margaret Mary Alacoque in Paray-le Monial.

Today Paray-le Monial is forgotten as a pilgrimage destination, but it was the Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugore of its day.

Margaret Mary Alacoque, now gone of fash-

mess gloriously mishandled by people who had no concept of the Irish industrial relations process, had very little idea what they were dealing with in the Irish market.

T

he traditional stomping ground they had inherited form their Sunworld affiliate, Turkey had become a scrap where price was a

ion as saints often do, was closely associated most closely with the Sacred Heart movement which was popular in Parnellite Ireland and had recently (1856) been allocated its own feast day by the Pope. Household portraits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus held a prominent place in many Irish homestead well into the 20th century.

A great French national pilgrimage had taken place in the aftermath of the country’s stunning defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. A great Irish pilgrimage was planned.

factor in competing with Wings Abroad and Sunway They had an allocation from Thomson on another difficult destination, Egypt, which was zoned in and out of the DFA travel advisory during the year.

Sharm seats came with problems of their own even before the political instability intervened, the seats cost Eu360 before they charged for them.

Thomas Cook still has a presence in Ireland.

Ross (Polish name) is now in charge of the Irish market. They have an inherited database, trading license and website which will continue to enable them to trade. But the chartered operation which once carried more than 200,000 Irish passengers, and the once profitable brands they subsumed, Panorama, Sunworld, Direct Holidays and Airtours, are no more.

In the end, the prayers of Mary Margaret Alacoque were in vain.

Thomas Cook had organised a 41 shilling excursion from Dublin to the Paris exhibition (where he had taken an allocation of 2,000 hotel rooms) in 1867.

Just as Joe Walsh built his empire on the pilgrimage business of the 1960s, Thomas Cook, started their Irish operation by carrying a cross.

In May 1874 they opened an office Dame Street for tourists and excursionists to al parts of the world. In May 2014, 140 years later, Thomas Cook closes for business out of Ireland.

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MAY 2014 PAGE 34

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

SKAL President Margaret Cronin & Vice

President Darragh O'Neill will attend Tuesday’s Skal Dublin club function at the Westin Hotel, Westmoreland Street, 12.30 for 1pm, €30 for members and guests.

PROJECT TRAVEL,has intro-

duced escorted group tours of the stunningly beautiful fjord region of Norway for Summer 2014.

BLUE Insurances is to sponsor the upcoming 'Various Voices' pan-European choral festival aimed at gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender choirs and choruses. Blue Insurances Ltd won Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies Award for the second time in two years MULTITRIP Ciaran Mulligan’s Multi-

trip.com announced a new annual travel insurance price starting from €17.95.Multitrip.com/ Blue Insurances say 42pc of claims during 2013 were for medical assistance and they have seen significant increases in claims over €100,000 in the past number of years. Blue Insurances announced a new product, bicycleinsurance.ie.

CLICKANDGO Will Walsh of The Travel Broker and Niki Stanford of Thomas Cook are moving to ClickandGo.com to look after long-haul and cruise business.

BRENDAN MALLON, previ-

ously with the Online Hotels Group, who has joined World Travel Centre: Roomteam by Thriftway as Sales Development Executive.

TOURISM CONCERN warned that poorer labour rights and conditions are the price of all-inclusive holidays.

SKAL The 53rd SKAL North American Congress takes place May 1-4, 2014.

NEW ZEALAND Tourism New

Zealand launched a new trade website.

Tourism New Zealand aims to earn $41bn in 2025 under its new development plan.

PHOCUSWRIGHT reported that

less than a quarter of travel activity gross bookings in Europe happen online, just 23pc of a €37bn Market.

GBTIII BV in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, trading as American Express Global Business Travel, has been awarded a travel agency licence by CAR.

O’CALLAGHAN TRAVEL

Dundalk won the February Sunway incentive this is the second month in a row.

TUNISIA Travel agents can travel to

Tunisia for just €99 to celebrate the launch of Sunway's 'Revisit Tunisia' campaign.

AMADEUS launched lcloud-based

platform for airlines and ground handlers Amadeus Airport Common Use Service.

AIR ASIA and Travelport signed a breakthrough distribution agreement

BOOKABED Karl Tyrrell says Bookabed’s sales are up over 170pc

Martin Skelly, new President of the ITAA pictured with Clare Dunne, outgoing president of the ITAA and CEO Pat Dawson in Granada.

T

Tour op shock

Agents say tour operators offer 11.6pc online discount

he Irish Travel Agents Association and Travelport launched a consumer campaign at the annual general meeting of the Association in Bewley’s, Leopardstown.

The campaign is designed to increase consumer awareness about the benefits of booking with a travel agent and also to reward Irish travel agents who are using technology to drive innovation within their businesses.

The ITAA also announced a new deal with Irish Independent, worth €150,000 over 20 weeks.

Much of the debate at the AGM concerned online discounts by tour operators.

Members expressed concern over Tour Operator discounting up to 11.6pc on line. Agents said that not alone does the agent lose the booking but they can lose the client’s future business.

There was something approaching

J

consensus that agents should not support Tour Operators who are offering online discounts “on a grand scale.”

Some members went so far as to suggest not stocking their brochures and vote only for tour operators who make some sort of effort to work with agents.

A member claimed “that Tour Operating will further decline and that Dynamic Packaging will grow and agents will support this rather than compete with tour operators as we cannot.”

The practice of staff incentives which are not directed at owners and managers was raised. The point was made that owners pay all the bills and take the risks. As one member succinctly put it: “a pizza cannot be banked.”

The ITAA Conference on November has not been confirmed. Four venues are in line for the conference, which will not be returning to Spain

for the second successive year, but the Association says there are some loose ends to be sorted out.

The ITAA intends talking to airlines to see what incentives can be put in place for owner managers of agencies. Members complained that “selling products for nothing is not sustainable.”

Membership is on a par with last year. Affiliate membership grew from 55 to 75. The ITAA excluded members who did not comply with certain rules such as Personal Injury insurance.

The Skillnet training scheme enjoyed its best year ever. It was sold out and has funding available for 2014. Fionnuala Carter was thanked on this.

The ITAA made a small profit as a result of tight overheads and increase income.

Des Manning was elected as treasurer of the ITAA.

JUST SUNSHINE TUNISIA LAUNCH

ustsunshine put its Tunisia programme on sale, using a weekly Tunis Air charter service to Monastir from June 21 to September 27.

Distribution of the 2014 Just Sunshine Summer brochure began this month.

The first booking was completed online by

Gemma Duffy, Manager of Best4Travel in Navan two hours after the online launch.

John Grehan, who heads up the Irish operation said: “the feedback in general from the Irish travel agents has been hugely positive, probably because the site is so uncomplicated and

packed with relevant information for the agent and their customers.

We are a little later than expected getting the product to market, but I was determined to make sure we had the right flight day and timings.

We now have the best flights and all the well

known hotels in Tunisia”.

Owned by The El Mouradi hotel group, Just Sunshine feature more than their own properties to ensure there is a terrific mix of accommodation with “The Classic” Tunisia 1 week touring holiday on sale for selected dates throughout the season.

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Inside the Travel Business

MAY 2014 PAGE 35

GLOBAL VILLAGE

LOWCOST Siobhain Mulholland has been appointed Commercial Manager of Lowcostbeds Ireland. Siobhain started her career in the travel industry in 1993 with Centre Travel, Dundalk going on to Budget Travel and the Garda Holiday Club prior to joining the lowcosttravelgroup in 2011.

TRAVEL CENTRES confirmed that their 2014 conference will take place in Killashee House, Naas, on Nov 14-15.

TRAVEL COUNSELLORS

Sinead Cregan-Hayes has joined Travel Counsellors Head Office. Sinead most recently worked as Regional Sales manager for Falcon Holidays.

Sinead Reilly of Travelport: Ryanair fares and ancillaries on GDS after over a decade

GDS turnaround

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Travelport exclusive access to Ryanair until October

ccording to Travelport, the Merchandising Platform launched in Powerscourt last April was the deal-clincher behind Ryanair’s re-entry to GDS. The partnership, announced at the Hospital Club, Covent Garden on Tuesday last March 10, is exclusive to Travelport until October.

The interface has already been alpha and beta tested (in advance of the announcement) and means that Travelport will load almost all the Ryanair inventory (but not, crucially, their very cheapest promotional fares which are among three classes of fares held back) to Galileo last month and on Worldspan in the coming weeks.

Within a few months the Ryanair inventory would be on Travelport’s

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own universal api servers. There will be no point of sale fee.

Sinéad Reilly, who heads up Travelport in Ireland said "This is great news for the travel agency community in Ireland.

“The low cost carrier domination was the source of difficulty and this has overcome that difficulty. It is bringing value back in the travel agent ability to add value for the consumer.

“This is a hugely important partnership for travel agencies in Ireland, and we are delighted to be providing them with fares and ancillaries from one of the highest profile low cost carriers in the world and a very important one here in Ireland.

Ryanair has fully embraced what we can uniquely offer through our industry-leading technology and we

look forward to working exclusively with the Ryanair team over the coming months to help them reach new travellers whilst providing more indemand, low cost air content to our Irish travel agency and tour operator customers.”

The ITAA responded they were “delighted with the announcement that Ryanair and Travelport will be working in partnership. The move will make it easier for our travel agents to book air fares efficiently.

This will be particularly of use for business travel.

Anything that allows us to offer better value, security and choice to Irish consumers will always be met with open arms.”

The deal will help Ryanair double the number of business passengers it currently has.

ITAA TO FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY

more technologyfocussed ITAA is the goal of new Travel Agents’ president Martin Skelly of Navan Travel, who assumed office on April 3rd in succession to Clare Dunne.

“Technology has given us the tools and ability to compete with even the biggest global players in the travel market and during my term as President of the ITAA I’m really keen to capitalise on this.”

“The ITAA has ensured through constant training, through workshops and courses that ITAA travel agents are equipped to compete in this increasingly technology driven field.

“Our recently announced partnership with Travelport for the Inspiring Innovation awards is our way of rewarding Irish travel agents who are excelling in this field and utilising technology to enhance the way they run

their businesses.”

“Early booking signs for 2014 are positive, we have seen some growth, and we need to capitalise on this.”

“There is great value for money available with travel agents and our members have put significant work into sourcing and providing quality holiday offers.”

“In our recent members survey 85pc of agents reported an increase in bookings for Dynamic Packages.

These offer the consumers the versatility of mixing and matching different flights, accommodation and extras, but with the travel agent doing all of the leg work.”

“Because Dynamic Packages are booked through a travel agent they also add that extra level of security and reassurance that isn’t available online.

Travel agents are really listening to our customers so that we can provide the type of holiday they want

TRAVEL CORPORATION

The winner of the Travel Corporation Facebook Friday incentive was Eilish Walsh of Cavan Travel, where agents have been sending their booking references for any Insight Vacations, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Contiki holidays. Eilish Walsh won a choice of a Tour with Insight Vacations, a Tour with Contiki Holidays or a Cruise with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises.

TRAVEL CENTRES A member agent will become the guinea pig for a new mobile app initiative that Travel Centres is developing in conjunction with a third party provider. The agency grouping, which has 76 member outlets spread throughout Ireland, is rolling out mobile in conjunction with another project that sees Travel Centres members turbo-charge their Facebook pages by upgrading them effectively to actual secondary websites, using a new technology platform developed by Irish e-commerce company EConcepts, in conjunction with acknowledged Facebook guru, Carole Smith of Synneo.

BLUE Insurances won Deloitte’s Best

Managed Companies Award for the second time in two years.

JGT John Galligan Travel are planning

their reunion for September 27. Anyone who has worked in JGT at any time since February 1989 is asked to e-mail or call John on +3531 2076555 to join the trip down memory lane.

CAR The Commission for Aviation Regu-

lation awarded a new licence, to TravelPlan Corporate and two new trading names for Club Travel. The Commission has published on its website a list of Frequently Asked Questions on Airline Licensing and Groundhandling.

Topflight have two Gondola cars from the French Alps in their new office which they revealed to invited guests last week.

SKILLNET The Irish Travel Agents Association has allocated positions on their upcoming Travel Professionals Essential Skills Programme for jobseekers. The programme began on April 21, with twenty days of training and twenty days of work experience within a member company.

AMERICAN Holidays hosted 60 con-

sumers at a Florida information evening at the tour operators' Duke Street premises.

€

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MAY 2014 PAGE 36

WINDOW SEAT

Busman’s holiday: Tryphavana Cross An icon worth travelling to see: see Tryphavana Corss’s favourite holiday

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Tryphavana Cross, Ireland manager for Celebrity Cruises.

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rowing up in a large family of nine kids, all of our family holidays where spent in Ireland.

Every summer we would all travel together to Kilkee, Co Clare and spend our holidays at the beach. As a child it seemed so very far away.

We would all need to take a travel sickness tablet for the long journey down. I remember the pony rides and building of sand castles very well.

My Mom and Dad would pack picnics and take us for long walks. My Dad was a great story teller and would tell us Irish tales in the evenings.

My love of travel comes from my parents, my Dad was a soldier and got to travel the World while in the army he had travelled to Korea and Singapore

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when he was young and would tell me all about the many countries that he had been to.

At that time my Mom had never really travelled abroad but she was so in love with Hollywood movies which we would watch together, it was there sitting on the sofa with my mother that I fell in love with America from a very young age.

As soon as I finished school I went traveling to Australia.

En route my first stop was Singapore to see Raffles hotel, the same place my Dad had been in his younger years.

I spent two years traveling and backpacking all around Australia. It really was an amazing experience at such a young age.

I have never seen such beauty, from the Sydney Opera House to Ayr’s Rock in the great outback and the wonderful wildlife in their natural habitat.

It changed my world, I was hooked.

Later on I met my husband who is from Brooklyn, New York and it was on my first trip there that I finally got to visit the city that I had seen so many times on the big and little screens.

From the moment I got out of the taxi cab in the middle of Brooklyn I knew

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

e have more trans-Atlantic flights from the island of Ireland this summer than anytime in history, but it remains to be seen if that gives us more trans-Atlantic options as well as choice Two seismic changes have impacted on the Irish holiday maker.

Yes we have more routes, but fewer seats available on them.

Firstly the aircraft are getting smaller. Wide bodies used to be the

only option. This makes routes like Dublin to Charlotte viable.

It also means that an airport like Shannon which has been rescued by the advent of 757s, 767s, and winglets, will end up with fewer seats than it did in the heyday of the compulsory stopover.

Aer Lingus missed the initial winglet party, so their entry via the Air Contractors is a big development, the so called pathfinders who will bring in a new era of ten direct

routes by decade’s end.

More interestingly, many of the seats being sold on the largest carrier, Aer Lingus seats are being sold off island to people from England, Franc, Germany and further afield.

This is good news for Aer Lingus but bad news for those hoping the extra flights will bring a fare-fall bonanza. Prices remain high.

Sadly, we may never again the €100 fares that the old Continental offered during the recession.

this would be my second home. It was so much better than I could have ever imaged.

Our perfect day was taking the boat to the Statue of Liberty and climbing all of the steps up the spiral staircase to get up to the top. The view from the Lady Liberty’s crown was like a dream come true.

I loved taking in the shops in Greenwich village and strolling around Prospect Park not to mention eating the best cheesecake I ever had in Juniors.

We now have a beautiful daughter and would normally go stateside for our annual holiday but our holiday this year will be on a Celebrity cruise.

We are planning a 15 night Asian Allure cruise on Celebrity Millennium which includes 4 overnight Stays in Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi and Hong Kong.

It really is a beautiful Itinerary with so much beauty to take in and I want to show my family the beautiful Singapore as that’s where it all started for me and my Dad before me!

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online May 19 2014

THE USA ISSUE San Francisco Kansas Michigan NEW FLIGHTS, Rivercruise revolution

Page 037-39 pics 15/04/2014 15:44 Page 1

MAY 2014 PAGE 37

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

ilip sul to San Francisco Ph Linda Ryan and Veronica Aherne of Tour Amer- Jim Flannery Deputy Chair of Tourism Ireland's honorary con Ireland in r elle Mu h op rist Ch O CE ica at the San Francisco party Tower during IPW and Stuart Dwyer Chare dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Affaires of s gu Lin Grant and Aer the American sco nci Em Fra ba ssy at the San Franci in San 2014 in Chicago, sco route launch the Westin St Francis

Karen O'Neill, Kathryn McCarthy and Sarah Co lley of Abbey Travel at the Dubai and Emirates trade event

er Thomas of TravelJackie Herssons and Em at d Emirates trade event mood at the Dubai an 37 Dawson St, Dublin

Valerie Metcalfe of FC M and Martin Skelly of Navan Travel, incoming Presdient of the ITAA, at the reception to mark the Aer Lingus inaugura l flight to San Francisco ,

d Peter McKiernan of Jeanette Coughlan an d Angel Cleary of Travel Travel Counsellors an d Emirates trade event an Broker at the Dubai

Siobhan O'Donnell pre ss officer of the DAA an d Gillian Binchy press off icer of Aer Lingus at the Aer Lingus San Franci sco inaugural

Billy Condon of Tourism Ireland and Philip Grant, san Irish consul general, in San Francisco at the reit USA Europe and Su Ciaran Carraher of Vis d an ception to mark the arrival of the Aer Lingus inauvel at the Britain McCarthy of Innstant Tra A party at IPW gural flight US it Vis ed Ireland combin

Yvonne Tully of Club Travel, Stephen Davitt of Emirates and Kate Siddall of Abbey Travels at the Emirates Back Street Boys event

RoisĂ­n Carbery of Topflight, Will Walsh formerly of Travel Broker and Deirdre McSweeny of Sunway at the Dubai and Emirates trade event

Tim Fenn CEO and Ste phen McNally President of the Irish Hotels Federatio n at the reception to ma rk the Aer Lingus inaugural flight to San Francisco

od ire Somers of Travelmo Kristin Skinner and Cla 37 at nt eve de tra tes at the Dubai and Emira Dawson St, Dublin,

Denissa Martinez, Tom Travers and Gerry Traino Cynthia Lopez, Jeff Wright and Helen Maguire of of the Beacon Hotel at the New York party during Aer Lingus New York at the inaugura l reception in the We stin St Francis in San IPW 2014 in Chicago Francisco

Peter Welch, Susan Siski, Kenneth Svendsen and Maureen Barrett of Disney who hosted a party on the 99th floor of the Willis Tower during IPW 2014 in Chicago,

b Caitriona Plower of Clu Abta Richardson and at nt eve de tra tes ira Em d Travel at the Dubai an 37 Dawson St

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MAY 2014 PAGE 38

MEETING PLACE

C, Gonzalo Ceballos of Audrey Headon of WT and Peter Dolan who teh Spanish TB in Dublin s at Thomond Park werehosted by Amadeu

Fiona O’Reilly of Abbe y Travel and Roisín Ca rbery of Topflight who we re hosted by Emirates at the Back Street Boys

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Gerry Boyle of Brand USA and John Devereux of Claire Docherty of Sunway and Ivan Be acom of Aer Lingus at the Britain Ameircan Holidays at IPW in Chicago, April 8 and Ireland Visit USA party at the Fairmont Ho 2014 tel, Chicago for IPW.

Vincent Harrison Marketing Manager and Kevin Toland CEO of DAA at the reception to mark the Aer Lingus inaugural flight to San Francisco,

ompson Aero Seating Launching the NI Travel News app: Jonathan Gary Montgomery of Th San Tourism ireland at the Adair, Brenda Morgan of BA, Ciaran Mulligan of and Simon Gregory of Multitrip.com, and Diane Poole of Stena Line. l ura ug Francisco ina

Rachel Dempsey of WT C Barry Hammond of Topflight and Norma Tol efe of WTC at the Duba i and Emirates trade eve nt

Fiona Herald of Guinness Storehouse; Eva Dearie of Fáilte Ireland and Suzanne Rowe of Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Belmullet at Meitheal

it USA Europe and Ciaran Carraher of Vis Irebed at the Britain and Colleen Butler of Booka go ica Ch in IPW at rty pa A land combined Visit US

Muriel Cooke and Grace Mulcahy of Aer LIngus at the reception in the Westin St Francis in Sa n Francisco to mark the inaugural Aer Lingus flig ht from Dublin to San Fra ncisco

John n Hotel New York and Tom Travers of Beaco d an rk Yo w presenting Ne Donohue of Aereps (re d lan Ire d an tain the Bri Las Vegas in Dublin) at rty at IPW pa A US it Vis ed bin com

Roie Mamane of Trailfinders, Trayphavana Cross of Celebrity Cruise and Dave Hayeems of Traild an rty l with Eileen Dohe Mike and Michelle Rutte David O’Grady of etrave finders as Trailfinders were presented with their tion ep rec r, Ravi Simhambhatia on travel at the an d Jack Foley at the rec Eimer Hannon of Hann award for best independent Agent for Celebrity eption in the Westin St l flight to San ura ug ina s gu Lin r Ae Francis in San Francisco to mark the and Azamara 2013 Francisco

Greg Evans of Phiadelp hia and Atlantic City, Nic Kenny Jacobs and cabin crew Daniela Sopkova k Hammond and Kevin Harris of MDS at the Bri tain and Federico Galli launching Ryanair’s Dublin and Ireland Visit USA party at IPW. summer season with Leo Varadkar

ch of gus and Noeleen Lyn Alan Molloy of Aer LIn Linr Ae the eption to mark Atlas Travel at the rec sco nci San Fra gus inaugural flight to

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MAY 2014 PAGE 39

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

ola n Hotel New York, Fin Marie Slattery, Shannon Heritage, Josephine O'- John Devereux and Adrienne Keogh of Tom Travers of Beaco American blin Du in ssy ba Em can eri Driscoll, Marie Collins, Trump International, Mar- Holidays and Dave Hennessy of Ameri Am Cunningham of the can Sky at IPW IPW at in s Chicago, Airline garet O'Donoghue at Meithel 2014 and Pat Reede of United

Pat Reede of United Air lines and Dee Burdock of American Holidays du ring the closing party in the Museum of Science an d Industry, Chicago for IPW2014, April 9 2014

van Travel, Donna Siobhan Geraghty of Ca stello of Grogan Travel Co sty Kenny of TTC, Kir t liney Travel on an Insigh and Shane Cullen of Kil nd otla Vacations fam trip to Sc

Claire Docherty of Sunw ay and Ciara Foley of Platinum Travel, chair of the Visit USA Comm ittee in Dublin, during the closing party in the Mu -

Vincent Harrison, John Woulfe of DAA, Robin Kiely of Ryanair and Siobhan O'Donnell of DAA at the launch of Ryanairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winter schedule

Mairead Stafford, Paul Maloney and Patricia Howard launching the Wexford Craft Trail

Jenny Pearson and Geraldine Leonard of WTC and Cora Munds of Topflight at the Dubai and Emirates trade event at 37 Dawson St, Dublin

Mandy Evans and Sarah Williams of Trail Findin Chicago: Gerry Ben- ers at the Dubai and Emirates trade event at 37 Irish media group at IPW el ha Mic rt, nn Davenpo Dawson St, Dublin, son, Eoghan Corry, Fio d Lesley Graham an ay nw Co l be Flood, Isa

Olivia Byrne, Gillian Yo ung and Carroll Weld of Travelmood at the Du bai and Emirates trade event at 37 Dawson St,

Marek Maslowiec of Classic Resorts and Katarzyna Wrobel of Emirates at the Dubai and Emirates trade event at 37 Dawson St,

it bed, Ciara Foley of Vis Beverleigh Fly of Booka ck rdo Keogh and Dee Bu USA Dublin, Adrienne IPW at ys lida of American Ho

Lieke Munsters and Gid eon Dragstra of Ebookers at the Dubai and Emirates trade event at 37 Dawson St, Dublin,

gus and Clodagh Oxley Ivan Beacom of Aer LIn ring the closing party for of Dublin Visit USA du ry m of science and indust IPW in Chicago museu

Stella Clery-Ackroyd an d Mike Ackroyd at the Britain and Ireland com bined Visit USA party at the Fairmont Hotel, Ch icago at IPW

d Travel Corporation an Steven Mitchell of Mark at t lfas Be vel Tra ay riftaw Mukesh Sharma of Th go ica Ch in IPW

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