Posts Tagged ‘tourism’

End of January sale announced by Sixt Rent A Car

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Last year the car hire world was rocked by the consequences of the global economic downturn. In countries like Spain and Portugal the lack of funds being made available to rental firms to replace the vehicles in their fleets meant that the price of car hire sky rocketed. This year will be a year of recovery for many firms and this weekend Sixt Rent A Car is launching its end of January sale for those who want to get away for a bit of summer sun. Sixt say that those booking a car hire through their website this weekend will be able to get as much as twenty percent off the price of a hired vehicle. This means that top quality cars will be available for as little as £20.00 per day. Sixt offers the highest quality vehicles including new models from BMW and Mercedes.

The end of January sale starts at 6.00pm this evening and will run through to midnight on Sunday. Johannes Boeinghoff, managing director of Sixt Spain, says that although it looks like the pressure on car hire firms in Spain will ease off this year there is still the possibility that those who do not book as early as possible may run into problems finding car hire at the best possible price. He therefore urges Sixt customers to work out their travel plans well in advance an book a car hire as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Sixt Rent A Car has offices at all the major tourism spots throughout Spain.

World Travel Awards recognises Avis

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Major player in the US car hire industry, Avis Rent-A-Car has been distinguished by more than 160,000 travel industry professionals as the Leading Car Hire Company in North America at the World Travel Awards.

The awards, held in Orlando Florida, were established in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world tourism and travel industry.

The executive vice president of sales and marketing for Avis Budget Group was delighted over the award, saying that the company appreciated the recognition of the international travel community as North America’s leading car hire firm.

He went on to say that the award honours the many employees who try harder every day for their clients as well as uphold Avis’ commitment to travel professionals and educational development in the sector.

He also said that the company’s Club Red travel rewards program as well as their Avis Agent training program gave travel agents all the resources and tools required to be successful at their jobs.

President and founder of the World Travel Awards, Graham Cooke, said that the thousands of votes were cast by travel industry professionals from around the globe, and the awards were regarded as the highest achievement in the travel industry, proving Avis’ place as a leading car rental company.

In addition to providing travel professionals with the right tools to give the customer a better experience, Avis also offer an extensive range of products and services to help save time and to maximise productivity.

Danish tourism bosses apologise for YouTube campaign

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Denmark’s tourism chiefs have been forced to apologise over a campaign aimed to attract men with the promise that its women are easy.

Marketing bosses uploaded a video to YouTube in which a beautiful blonde woman said she was looking for her child’s father.

The woman claimed her child August was the result of an alcohol-fuelled one-night stand with a stranger in the capital Copenhagen after she showed him the Danish custom of ‘cosiness’.

She then urges the mystery man whose name she can’t remember to make contact with her with photos of the mother and her son on the site.

The clip appeared to be shot on a video camera in the woman’s house and has attracted over a million hits.

However the video has sparked nationwide controversy after it was revealed to be a set-up as a tourism campaign aimed to attract more male travellers to Denmark.

The woman in the video said: “We met one and half years ago when you were on vacation here. We went back to my house and we ended up having sex,” the woman says in the clip.

“The next morning when I woke up, you were gone. I just want to let you know that August is here and he exists. I feel I owe that to both you and him.”

The hoax caused outrage across the country with one newspaper labelling the campaign as grotesque.

Visit Denmark defended its actions by saying that it was a good and sweet story about a mature, responsible woman who lived in a free society and shoulders the responsibilities of her actions.

But the clip, featuring actor Ditte Arnth Jorgensen, was pulled.

Visit Tourism CEO Dorte Kiilerich has since apologised for the film, saying that it certainly wasn’t the idea.

Netherlands to restrict ‘drug tourism’

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Drug tourists travelling to Amsterdam’s infamous marijuana café’s will soon be banned from purchasing cannabis in an effort to end drug tourism to the Netherlands.

“Coffee shops”, where small amounts of marijuana have been legally bought and smoked since 1976, have become a major industry and a popular tourist attraction in many Dutch cities.

However, the Dutch cabinet is anticipated to introduce tougher measures to prevent tourists buying or smoking marijuana as a part of a major crackdown on the nation’s tolerance on soft drugs.

Ministers of justice, home affairs and health will propose for legislation to keep foreigners out of venues selling cannabis in order to reduce crime and social nuisances.

The proposed chances will see “coffee shops”, which are licensed to sell marijuana, to introduce a member’s only pass system to keep tourists from buying drugs.

A government commission in July concluded that coffee shops should again become utilised for their original purpose; vending for local users instead of large numbers of consumers from neighbouring countries.   The report stated that the situation had got out of hand.

One of the major problems caused by drug tourism to the Netherlands is the influx in foreign ‘drug tourists’, which include a high proportion of young Briton’s, who visit the Netherlands in order to consume cannabis that is illegal in their home countries.

It has become a major problem in towns close to Dutch borders near Belgium, France and Germany.

It is estimated that the legal “coffee shop” trade is worth approximately £1.6 billion every year.

Amadeus voted best for car hire

Monday, September 14th, 2009

A recent survey has revealed that Amadeus Cars has been voted as the best resource for car hire.

The survey, conducted by ALTEN Ingeneria, which specialise in outsourced technology research, found that Amadeus was the best for car hire because of the sophisticated technology offered to the travel and tourism business.

The survey was aimed to find out which car hire firm offered the quickest and most efficient reservations service.  Such factors included call centre quality and ease with website bookings.  The survey found that Amadeus was well in front of the competition in this category.

Director of Amadeus Cars, Jerome Vanazza commented on how the study highlighted the good work the company has done to support travel agents during the difficult economic climate.  Amadeus Cars is able to increase the chance of securing a higher volume of car hire customers as the efficiency means a faster and cheaper service.

The survey took into account the timing of bookings, and found on average that Amadeus was 1 minute and 47 seconds faster than the competition, which due to the faster response time and higher level of productivity, is estimated at an annual saving of £80,000 to the company.

Tourism Australia and Emirates launch ad campaign to lure Brits

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

A new combined tourism campaign has been launched by Tourism Australia and Emirates to encourage Britons to consider a holiday to Australia.

The campaign, launched yesterday, includes print, outdoor and regional radio advertising in order to promote Australia as a highly enjoyable holiday experience.

The advertisements will highlight the airlines services to Australia, which depart from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow with a stopover in Dubai.

The advertising will direct customers to a specific website on the campaign where they can seek more information and book flights.

The campaign, costing over £2 million, almost doubles the combined ad investment by Emirates and Tourism Australia last year.

Regional general manager for UK/Europe at Tourism Australia, Rodney Harrex, said that the campaign aims to raise awareness of Emirates’ 63 weekly departures to Australia.

He went on to say that following the success of the last co-operative campaign, they had been working again with Emirates to promote Australia’s tourism credentials and make the destination more accessible holidaymakers.

He added that it was critical for Australia to be active in the tourism industry given the current economic climate.

Travel agent’s hit by direct discounting

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Travel agents are facing the brunt of the downturn in the tourism industry due to operators offering direct discounts to the public.

Travel agency owner Susan Watt shut down her shop two days ago, claiming that it was impossible to compete with cruise lines and operators selling direct to the public.

She said that issues were obtaining tickets for customers and cash flow was a problem and it was difficult to operate when the operators were undercutting net prices.

The cruise industry was particularly highlighted by Watt’s complaints, saying that customers were booking their cruises elsewhere and purchasing train tickets from her travel agency.

She said that there wasn’t much point in selling a £3000 cruise for only a £5 profit.

Watt plans to enter the travel industry again at some point and hopes that other travel agents don’t get forced into the same situation; however it seems inevitable that others will.

Other travel agents to close their doors include Kippax in Leeds, Cambulslang Travel in Glasgow, and Newbury cruise specialists Windsor & Neate, which all ceased trading since the downturn in the travel industry hit.

Retail claims coming from the failure of any of the agencies will be handled by Cega, the ABTA’s claim partner.

Americans threaten to boycott Scotland

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

A campaign has been launched by furious American’s calling for tourists to boycott Scotland over the release for the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

US website boycotscotland.com has strongly urged Americans not to travel to the UK or purchase goods from Scotland.

“Unless the Scottish Government rescinds this decision to release al-Megrahi, we urge all Americans to protest this action by boycotting the United Kingdom and Scotland in full,” the website says.

“Don’t travel to Scotland or do business there, and don’t buy British or Scottish products.”

“They need a reminder, and protesting by boycotting travel and business with Scotland and the United Kingdom is the best way of doing so,” the website says.

A heated debate between Americans and Scots has erupted on Facebook and Twitter. .

“Due to the cowardly decision taken by the Scottish government to release the Lockerbie bomber I am asking that as many people as possible join this group and let the Scottish government know how we feel, by boycotting Scotland (if we visit, no money spent there),” says Facebook group Boycott Scotland, Scottish Companies and Scottish Goods.

CaptPat48 joined the debate on Twitter, saying: “Boycott Scotland over Lockerbie Bomber release! Don’t buy their products either!”

While EducatorsGoal, said: “Scotland earns £260m a year through American tourists. American Boycott NOW”

Scotland supporter greigforbes hit back, saying: “Boycott Scotland? Shove another bucket of freedom fries in your yaps and gie’s peace”

TheScottish Tourism Board, VisitScotland, has received requests from angry Americans threatening to cancel their holidays.

The US is the biggest market for tourism in Scotland.

The incident comes in the middle of the Year of Homecoming, a Scottish government initiative aimed at attracting those with Scottish ancestry to visit the country of their roots.

Thanks to news.com.au for the above quotes.  For more information on this article visit their website.

Ryanair to launch 8 new routes

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Ryanair, Europe’s largest budget carrier, has announced the launch eight new services, bringing the total to 27 flights from Edinburgh, up from 19 at the same time last year.

The airline will be focussing its efforts on routes popular in winter like Barcelona, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife, as well as city break locations such as Brussels, Munich, Gdansk and Oslo.

Ryanair hope to increase passenger numbers up to 2 million at Edinburgh airport and sustain 2,000 local jobs.

The services will open from October until March 2010.

Ryanair’s announcement comes just days after the airline had decided to cull many of it’s Manchester routes in a dispute over airport charges.

Managing director of Edinburgh Airport, Gordon Dewar, said: “We are delighted that Ryanair have once again committed to expanding their operation out of Edinburgh Airport, now the fastest growing airport anywhere in the UK.

“These are exciting new destinations, which will give our increasing numbers of passengers an even greater choice of places to jet off to this winter.

“We are particularly pleased to see new routes to Germany, Spain and Norway, key tourism markets for Scotland, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period.”

Thanks to BBC News for the above quotes.  For more information on this article please visit bbcnews.com

Cumbria reports record tourist numbers

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Domestic travellers, known as ‘staycationers’, are helping travel operators generate profits despite the economic situation.

Cumbria Tourism reported bookings up by 20 percent compared with the same time last year, which meant an extra £346,000 was generated for the region’s economy.

The increased interest in Cumbria for domestic travellers was due to the low value of the pound against the euro as well as many travellers choosing shorter and more cost effective holidays due to the recession.

The lakes area also had some celebrity endorsement last week when Gordon Brown went there.

Chief executive of Cumbria Tourism, Ian Stephens, said it was vital for holiday companies to continue to promote their businesses to remain competitive.

The Office Of National Statistics revealed last month a 17 percent slump in trips abroad with many holidaymakers opting to holiday domestically.

Thanks to England’s North East for quotes.  For more information visit their website.