Posts Tagged ‘travel’

New text and email service launched by the ABTA

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

The ABTA has launched a new free email and text service called Travel Buddy which is designed to provide essential travel information via mobile phone and email.

Implementation of the new communication system was partially funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and will allow travel association’s member companies to email or text their customers’  ‘Know Before You Go’ and destination information before they depart.

The new feature would also include free text messages to locate holidaymakers in emergency situations and provide up-to-date and essential information and guidance.

ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tnazer said that the Association was providing this service to members at no cost, to help them provide exemplary customer service, particularly at times of emergencies when fast and effective information is needed.  Mobile phones are now used by nearly everyone when they travel, ABTA has pointed out.

The electronic service would help ABTA members provide imformation that they are obliged to give under the Code of Conduct in a succinct format and include details of FCO advice, reminders about the importance of travel insurance and recommendations to visit a doctor prior to travel.  There is also freedom for the ABTA member to insert their own essential travel advice.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

British Airways cabin crew told to wait

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Unions have urged British Airways cabin crew to wait against the airlines bid to cut their pay and alter their contracts.   In a message to the airlines 14,000 cabin crew, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), the union said that it was not time to reach a deal.

The crew were hold to hold firm and stay strong.  The BASSA feel that the wind is behind them and before long everything BA have been plotting and scheming would be exposed as nothing more than a farcical and opportunistic scam.

British Airways have been in talks since May over proposed changes to conditions and pay of cabin crew.   The airline wants a two-year pay freeze, reduced holidays and cutbacks to travel allowances for flying to long-haul destinations.  BA would also like to cut 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs and it told casual staff this week that their contracts would be terminated by the end of next month.

The struggling airlines is seeking the extreme cuts as it has been hit badly by the recession, and lost a total of £401 last year.

Analysts have raised the topic of industrial action against British Airways if it tries to force through its changes, which could have a devastating effect on the airline.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Hotels drop room rates worldwide

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

A new report has shown that across the world have been forced to slash in order to attract customers as the global recession takes its toll on the travel industry.

The survey compiled by Hotels.com showed that rates in Sydney are on average 30 percent cheaper than a year ago, rates in Auckland have tumbled 40 per cent, while in Singapore they have fallen by 35 per cent and New York by 30 per cent.

The biggest slump in accommodation rates was seen in Moscow, with the average price of a room dipping by 52 percent, whereas rates rose by 12 percent on the resort island of Capri.

David Roche, president of Hotels.Com said he was expecting 2009 to be a year of dramatic price reductions across the world and, so far it has been.

On the other hand, the massive cuts have had an impact on stimulating the tourism industry, as long-haul travel is on the rise.

Hotels.com Asia Pacific managing director Johan Svanstrom said that long-haul inbound travellers would see lower hotel rates to help offset the perceived expense of getting there.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Australian grounded over 9/11 prank

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

An Australian passenger travelling on V Australia flight 007 from Brisbane to the US on September 11 this year used the aircraft’s on-board chatroom to announce to other passengers “I have a bomb”.

Melbourne resident, Philip Kirsch, yesterday pleaded guilty in a Brisbane court for charges of making threats regarding aviation security on the flight to Los Angeles last Thursday.

The court was told that the captain took the threat very seriously given the fact it was the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon in 2001.

The court heard Kirsch’s use of the in-flight chat room, which allows passengers to chat with each other, could have potentially created panic amongst the hundreds of passengers.

There were two other passengers logged on to the chatroom at the time.  When Kirsch made the comment, one passenger informed a crew member.

The captain had grave concerns for those on board the plane and alerted authorities to immediately remove Kirsch from the aircraft

Police quickly boarded the plane and apprehended Kirsch, from Melbourne, who admitted that he sent the message saying “I have a bomb” but claimed it was intended as a joke.

The flight was delayed for 91 minutes as the plane and Mr Kirsch’s luggage was thoroughly searched, costing V Australia $AUD 21,143.

Kirsch, who pleaded guilty to the charges, has since been given a no-fly ban for the rest of his life.

He was flying to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend and go on a three month holiday to South America

Kirsch’s defence solicitor told the court that his client’s joke was misplaced and he felt terrible and remorseful.

Magistrate Alan Taylor described Kirsch’s behaviour as ill-considered and childish, and ordered him to pay $1500 to V Australia within nine months.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Japanese man travels to 37 countries on $2

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

A Japanese tourist has spent eight years travelling across 37 countries with the equivalent of $2, relying on his bicycle as his only means of transport.

Keiichi Iwasaki, 36 years-old, left Japan in 2001 with just 160 yen ($2) in his pocket after becoming bored with his job at an air-conditioning company.

Keiichi decided to extend his journey to South Korea and 36 other countries after initially cycling around Japan.

Over his eight year journey, Iwasaki was attacked by a rabid dog in Tibet, robbed by pirates and arrested in India.

He has cycled over 45,000 kilometres during his adventure and become the first Japanese man to conquer Mount Everest from sea level without using any form of transportation.

Keiichi said he raised funds by performing tricks and only his strong will has kept him riding his bike.

He opted to avoid air travel and chose cycling or ferries for transportation in order to soak up the most local atmosphere.

Iwasaki said that he didn’t want to use planes because he wanted to see and feel everything with his own skin.  With a bicycle, he could always feel the air and atmosphere of the place.

Mr Iwasaki is presently in Switzerland and intends to climb Mount Blanc, Europe’s highest peak before travelling to Africa and the US over the next few years.

He also plans to write a book about his adventures.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Travellers to Tokyo warned of gropings

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Travellers to Tokyo are warned of a recent spate of gropings on trains that were inspired by websites.

Police have urged website operators to shut down them down and will deploy more officers on trains promoted on the sites as easy hunting grounds.

A 23 year-old was arrested in April on suspicion of indecently touching the lower body of a high school student on a train in Tokyo.  The man had travelled more than 100km from his home specifically target a train that was said to be easy pickings on a website.

When questioned by the police why he groped the girl, he said he had found a website that detailed how and when to grope people and wanted to confirm whether the hints worked.

Police say that between 1500 and 1800 arrests have been made each year for the past few years, with 708 arrests made in the first half of this year.

Police have expressed alarm at the number of suspects caught this year, including two men who were arrested in two separate incidents under suspicion of groping women on the Saikyo line, saying that they were inspired by the websites.

Over 100 websites allow people to exchange groping-related information for particular train lines, with some specifying which train cars and what times to target, police said.

The police department has planned to deploy more officers on the nine railway lines that are frequent targets by gropers.

The lines include JR Saikyo, Chuo, Sobu and Keio lines.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Drop in tourists affects Cypriot economy

Monday, September 14th, 2009

The Cypriot economy will shrink by 0.5 per cent this year following at least five years of growth as the decline in the global tourism market, construction industry and real estate hits the struggling island nation

The economy of the split nation, the second-smallest of all countries using the euro, will contract by 0.5 per cent this year and should regain the same amount by 2010, according to a budget draft for next year posted on the Cypriot Press Ministry’s website.    The economy went up by 3.6 per cent last year and around 4 per cent per year since 2004.

On the website, Cypriot Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said that the country was inevitably being affected by the global economic crisis in tourism, foreign services and market for summer holiday homes.  In May, the minister predicted growth of tourism to be around 1 per cent, lower than last years forecast of 2 per cent.

The drop in tourist volume is down 11 per cent in the first eight months of this year, according to the Nicosia-based Cyprus Statistics Service, with holidaymakers from Britain, making up about half of all visitors to the island, dropping by 11.5 per cent in August, the peak travel season.

Cyprus will also suffer from a budget deficit of 2.9 per cent of gross domestic product, due to losses from real estate, corporate, and value-added taxes.  It is predicted that the ratio will be at the same level for next year as well, maintaining a 3 per cent ceiling imposed by the European Union countries that use the euro.

The revenue earned from value-added tax also dropped 11 per cent for the year to the end of August, as a slump in foreign tourists and rising unemployment cut spending, The Cypriot customs and excise department said yesterday.  Unemployment in Cyprus is expected to rise to 5.5 per cent this year and 6.5 in 2010, and inflation for 2009 was seen at 1 per cent and predicted to rise by 2.5 per cent next year.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

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.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

Jet Airways pilots’ call in sick for a second day

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Hundreds of pilots working for India’s private Jet Airways have called in sick for a second day causing the cancellation of over 100 flights, leading to angry confrontations.

On Tuesday roughly 13,000 passengers were stranded as over 180 international and domestic flights were cancelled.

The pilots are protesting over the dismissal of two senior pilots last month by the management.

The pilot’s union, the National Aviator’s Guild, is demanding the reinstatement of the two pilots.

Most morning flights on Wednesday were cancelled yesterday but flights to Europe, the United Kingdom and United States were also on schedule.

The airline has been helped out by India’s national airline Air India, by flying the nation’s cricket team to Colombo for a tri-series.

The protests have led to many thousands of passengers being stranded at airports across India.

On Tuesday, Jet Airways went to court in a bid to get its pilots back to work, saying that the protest would damage the airline’s operations and inconvenience to the travelling public.

A statement from the pilots’ union said that the protests would continue until their demands were met.

A spokesman for the pilots’ union has said the protest would continue until their demand was met.

Last year, the airline had announced plans to lay off 1,900 staff to cut costs.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »

« Older Entries