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Archive for July, 2009

British holidaymaker struck by lightning

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

A British teenager on holiday in Cancun Mexico, was struck by lightning last week while jet skiing in a thunderstorm. The victim, Amy Brislen, was immediately taken to the hospital in critical condition.  The hospital has indicated that her condition has now stabilized, but she is not allowed to travel as yet. Physicians are closely monitoring her condition.

Upon learning of the incident, her concerned parents flew to Mexico to be at her side.  There has been an outpouring of sympathy and support from Amy’s friends and coworkers.

Shortly after the incident, the Foreign Office was informed of the situation and immediately became involved in assisting the family.
“We are currently providing consular assistance to a British national who is in the hospital in Cancun. We were notified about the accident on Saturday. We have since been in regular contact with her family and the hospital,” commented a spokesperson.

Lightning strikes increase throughout the Caribbean region during the summer months.  This time of year is the hurricane season and runs from June through November. Visitors to the beach are constantly being warned of the risk of lightning strike.  Travelers are advised to seek shelter as soon as any storm approaches the area.

Thanks to www.thesun.co.uk for the above quote. For more information on this article please visit their website

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Europcar car rental and Nissan announce partnership

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Europcar, and Nissan have announced a partnership to make electric vehicles available to the car rental market by 2010 as part of Nissan’s zero-emission mobility program.

The partnership is unique in the car rental market, and reinforces Europcar’s dedication to raising customer awareness of environmental issues and maintaining a greener environment. This is the first such electric car rental venture in the world involving major players in the automotive industry.

“This signature fits perfectly with the principles of our Green charter and our action policy intended to offer our customers a fleet with as limited an impact as possible on the environment,” explained Europcar’s CEO Rafael Girona.

Pursuant to the partnership’s plans, electric vehicles will be introduced throughout Europe in Portugal among Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and France as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

Europcar has been making news for years with its environmental philosophy of promoting eco-friendly car hire. It was this forward thinking attribute that prompted Nissan to approach them about forming the partnership.

In June 2008 Europcar made the decision to go green by establishing a Green Charter that was later certified by Bureau Veritas.  Since then, they have firmly established themselves as the world’s leader in environmentally friendly car rental.

Thanks to www.autorentalnews.com for the above quote. For more information on this article please visit their website.

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British Virgin Islands voted best destination

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Travel and Leisure magazine has just released the results of their annual “best of” survey and the British Virgin Islands is the winner of the Best Caribbean Destination award.

Winners are chosen through a poll of the magazines readership.  This year, the readers chose the BVI as the best overall destination, because it won in the subcategories of natural attractions, restaurant food, value, and natural attractions.

“On behalf of the many talented professionals throughout the British Virgin Islands who strive to provide our visitors with exquisite and unforgettable holiday experiences, we are privileged to be named the best destination in the Caribbean by Travel and Leisure’s readers. This recognition is especially meaningful to us because it comes directly from the readers of a widely esteemed travel publication,” said BVI Tourist Board member, Hadassah Ward.

The British Virgin Islands, is one of the premier locations in the world for yachting and charter boat renting.  The close proximity of the islands provides an ideal setting for boating enthusiasts to sail from one island to the other in a short period of time.

Tourist’s enjoy crisscrossing Sir Francis Drake Channel and visiting popular tourist destinations including Sandy Key, Yost Van Dyke, and the Bitter End. The Bristish Virgin Islands is the home of Pusser’s Rum, a favorite with holidaymakers.  It is also one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world.

Thanks to www.traveldailynews.com for the above quote, for more information on this story please visit their website.

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Nissan to build battery plant in UK

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Nissan Motor Europe announced plans yesterday to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Sunderland, UK.

Sunderland is also the home of Nissan’s main assembly plant for European passenger cars, which is why they decided to build the battery plant there as well.  Nissan officials plan to make the location the focal point of their zero emission program.  It will be the main manufacturing facility for batteries distributed throughout the European market.

The UK is a key electric vehicle market in part because of the cooperation and enthusiasm of London officials who have been keen to establish infrastructure partnerships. London officials recently announced a car club joint venture with Zipcar for the first electric vehicle car rental operation in the country. They have also constructed a series of charging stations throughout the London area and offer financial incentives to drivers of electric vehicles.

“Nissan’s investment in a new battery plant and its hope to start producing electric vehicles in Sunderland is great news for the local economy, creating up to 350 direct jobs and creating and safeguarding hundreds more in the associated supply chain. Sunderland could now be a strong contender to produce electric vehicles for Nissan in Europe, and we will continue to work with Nissan to ensure this happens.” said Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

The government is planning to build a new training center near the Nissan plant in the Low Carbon Economic Area which was recently established in order to promote new technologies.  In addition to the training center, a technology park is also planned as well as a test track for low emission vehicles.

Thanks to www.just-auto.com for the above quote.  For more information about this article visit their website.

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Tourism in Wales increases

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Despite the economic downturn, Wales is experiencing an increase in the number of tourists visiting the region.  Wales defied the gloomy travel industry trend by seeing approximately 113,000 more visitors last year than it did in 2007.  In so doing, it became the only part of the UK to experience rising numbers.

A spokesman for Visit Wales commented, “Holidays are changing, and more people are waking up to the fact that holidays in Wales can offer a real alternative to the formulaic packaged holiday. People are now looking for real value and authentic quality. Wales can offer a truer, richer, deeper, experience where people can get involved in the local history and culture and landscape.”

The cultural center of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is becoming one of the most popular destinations in the country and recently was added to the list of Britain’s top 10 tourism cities supplanting Brighton and Hove.

Visitors are also attracted to Wales by the 641 castles scattered throughout the countryside, the most famous being Harlech, Caerphilly, and Caernarfon, which receive thousands of holidaymakers every year. Other attractions include the national parks of Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Snowdonia.

While Wales was busy increasing tourism, Scotland on the other hand, saw a marked decrease in visitor numbers.  Scotland lost more than 300,000 visitors last year.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quote. For more information on this story please visit their website.

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Morocco accepts best African destination award

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Morocco, a popular destination for UK holidaymakers, recently accepted the prestigious award of “African Tourism Destination of the Year”. They were presented with the honor by the Commonwealth Business Council at the African Business Awards dinner, an annual event hosted by African Business magazine.

“We are delighted to have won such an accolade. Morocco offers a quality product and a cultural destination full of energy, mysticism and spice,” commented Mr Ali El Kasmi on behalf of the Moroccan National Tourist Office in the UK.

The African nation has been well-known for its innovative ideas in developing the tourism market within its borders.  Morocco serves as an example for other African nations seeking to build their own economies through tourism.

The Vision 2010 Tourism Strategy is an example of the Moroccan government’s forward thinking attitude.  This ambitious undertaking is known as the Plan Azur and is designed to bring in 10 million visitors to the country in the next year.  The intention of the plan is to build six brand new luxury mega-resorts containing an overall guest capacity of more than 120,000 beds.

One of the resorts, the Mediterrania-Saidia, just opened last month.  The resort is luxurious and is drawing comments from around the world.  A second opulent resort is scheduled to open in October.

Morocco provides a good value for UK holidaymakers since it’s located outside of the Eurozone.  It’s only a short three-hour flight from London and has excellent weather year round.

Thanks to www.traveldailynews.com for the above quote.  For more information about this article, visit their web site.

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Terrorism warning: Reconsider your need to travel

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Australia is warning that more terrorist attacks could be in the works in Jakarta, scene of the double hotel bombings that happened on Friday, killing nine and injuring 50. Three Australians were killed in the bombings.

According to the Australian government advisory, “There is a possibility of further terrorist attacks in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia, including Bali. “Reconsider your need to travel.” It is the second-highest level of alert, below the blanket warning of “do not travel”.

The So far no arrests have been made. Terrorist leader Noordin Mohammed Top is the prime suspect in the bombings and remains at large.  The actual suicide bombers have not been identified as a yet, but forensic experts are working on it. At least one bomber was caught on video, and police have collected DNA in an effort to positively identify him.

A guest room at the Marriott has been identified as the terrorists’ nest.  A laptop was discovered in the room and police are hoping it will yield more clues in the case. A spokesman for the Jakarta police indicated that the computer may contain secret communications codes used by the bombers.

Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore have joined an international task force, which is intensifying the search for Noordin. The terrorist has been implicated in incidents throughout Indonesia ever since the bombings in Bali in 2002.

Thanks to www.smh.com.au for the above quote.  For more information about this article, visit their web site.

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United Airlines squeezing travel agents

Monday, July 20th, 2009

In the latest disagreement between travel agents and airlines, United Airlines has announced that they will no longer pay credit card fees on behalf of travel agents.  This means that travel agencies will have to pay the credit card fees themselves.

Ordinarily merchants pay anywhere from 2% to 3% of the cost of goods sold as a fee to the credit card companis in order to have the ability to accept credit cards.  The fees are known as merchant fees.  Up until now, airlines have always paid those merchant fees on behalf of travel agents. In the case of United Airlines, that just changed.

Struggling airlines are looking for ways to cut costs.  They are changing the way services are bundled into the price of the ticket.  Many small items that used to be included in the ticket price are now becoming extras. Merchant fees have now joined the ranks of meals and extra bags that now merit extra charges.

Robin Urbanski Janikowski, a United spokesperson, commented, “Costs of distributing our services are significant and we will continue to reduce these costs while we run an efficient airline for our customers.”

Travel agents are naturally complaining. Many agents believe that this is the start of a trend that could lead to other airlines following in the footsteps of United.

In the end, it will probably be the travelers themselves who lose out as these fees eventually get passed on to the consumer.

Thanks to www.abcnews.go.com for the above quote. For more information about this article please visit their web site

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Google unveils City Tours

Monday, July 20th, 2009

The latest feature in the Google lineup of search related services is called Google City Tours and it provides ready-made travel itineraries for various major cities throughout the world. The service is the creation of the Google labs and is part of the Google Maps array of features.

Google wants to become more active in the travel sector.  The City Tours service offers the user the ability to generate customized itineraries at the click of a mouse. You can check it out by visiting http://citytours.googlelabs.com.

You can choose from a list of popular tourist attractions or type in a location that you would like to visit.  Google automatically adds the destination to your customized itinerary.  You have the option of entering whether you would like an entire five-day tour or you can break it down into day-by-day segments.

Once you’ve entered your starting address, you simply submit it by clicking your mouse and presto, Google hands you back your personalized itinerary.

If you’re planning a trip to New York, for example, you can quickly and easily add such popular spots as Grand Central Station, the Statue of Liberty, Museum of Modern Art, Central Park, and more. Google will map out your itinerary so that you can tour the sites in the most time efficient manner using the most direct routes.

Right now, the service is limited to just four major cities but  more are expected to be released soon.  Ready-made itineraries are available for London,  Dublin, San Francisco, and New York.

Thanks to www.latimes.com. For more information about this article visit their web site.

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Car hire shortage reported in Spain

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Holidaymakers traveling to Spain are facing a severe shortage of hire cars, as well as inflated prices. In many cases, there is a complete lack of rental cars altogether.

Hard hit by the recession, car hire companies are cutting back on operating costs and reducing the size of their fleets.  Holidaymakers have reported difficulty in finding cars in Malaga, Murcia, and Alicante. During crowded holiday weekends such as Easter and May Day, it has been next to impossible to find a hire car.

The shortage is expected to continue through the summer. Travelers are advised to book car rental early and expect to pay higher prices.
The shortage is being blamed on the credit crunch. Car hire companies have been unable to obtain credit to buy new fleet cars. Some companies have had to sell off some of their fleet to pay back old loans.

Other companies began reducing their fleets at the start of the recession when visitor numbers began to drop.

“This has meant that there is less oversupply of cars in non-peak months such as June. However, in peak months such as July and August there is now a clear shortage of cars,” according to Bob Atkinson of Travelsupermarket.com.

Holidaymakers have reported that car rental prices have doubled in some locations.

Thanks to www.guardian.co.ukor the above quote.  For more information about this article visit their web site

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