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Cruise news The largest of the lot The biggest cruise company in the world views Europe as the largest leisure travel vacation market in the world, and that’s why Carnival Corp.’s 10 cruise brands will continue to introduce new ships to the Europe source market over the next several years, the company said in its annual report. In the report, filed last month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Carnival said the number of Europe-sourced cruise passengers has increased at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 10% between 2006 and 2011, as passenger capacity has been added. But it noted that cruising still has a much lower level of market penetration in Europe than in North America and represents a relatively small percentage of the overall European vacation market. “We estimate that about 5.8 million European-sourced passengers took a cruise in 2011, which was approximately the same size as the cruise segment of the North America vacation market in 1999,” the filing said. “Based on industry data or our internal estimates, approximately 24% and 13% of the U.S. and U.K. populations, respectively, and lower percentages of continental European and Australian populations, have ever taken a cruise,” Carnival said. The company’s Europe brands currently represent 35% of its total passenger capacity (excluding the Costa Concordia, which is out of service indefinitely following its Jan. 13 accident). Company revenues generated from passengers sourced outside the U.S. meanwhile, have grown to 56%, up from 40% in 2006. Carnival Corp. also has high hopes for Brazil and Argentina, which the company noted have “a combined population of approximately 245 million.” “We believe that their discretionary incomes will continue to grow in the future,” the report predicted. More than 6 million Brazilian and Argentine tourists travelled abroad last year, and the company said it expects Carnival cruise ship this to increase to about 7.5 million in 2012. Carnival estimates that 850,000 Brazilians and Argentines took a cruise vacation in 2011, with nearly 30% sailing on one of Carnival’s brands, but that reflects a market penetration level of less than 1%. The report also reaffirmed Carnival’s commitment to the retail trade. “We sell our cruises mainly through travel agents, including wholesalers and tour operators that serve our guests in their local areas,” it said. “We believe travel agents are an integral part of our long-term cruise distribution network.” Each brand’s relationship with their travel agents are generally independent of other brands, it noted, and during fiscal 2011, “no controlled group of travel agencies accounted for 10% or more of our revenues.” Carnival’s report provided some information about Costa Cruises and addressed the Costa Concordia disaster. Costa, it said, is “Italy’s and Europe’s largest cruise line based on guests carried and passenger capacity,” and has operated for over 63 years. Costa’s 1.5 million guests in 2011 were sourced from 181 countries. The report said that a damage assessment review of the ship, which capsized after hitting a reef, is being undertaken to determine whether it can be repaired and what the total cost would be. The company said earlier that if the ship is repairable, it is expected to be out of service for the remainder of fiscal 2012, if not longer. Carnival acknowledged in its report that media coverage of cruise ship accidents and incidents “could impact demand.” “Maintaining a good reputation is critical to our business,” said Carnival. In the same filing, the company reported that its brands experienced double-digit booking declines in the immediate aftermath of the Concordia accident, and said that Costa’s bookings were down significantly. Crystal Its new check in procedure “Crystal Fast- Track Check-In” ship check-in procedures in port terminal waiting areas by utilising the barcode on the cruise ticket. So passengers are whisked on-board to complete registration and receive their room keys/boarding cards with photo identification. www. crystalcruises.co.uk The Churchill Foundation London based luxury travel specialist BAway has launched a new cruise programme with Crystal Cruises entitled ‘Chasing Churchill’ which will see guests travelling to the Crimea and Black Sea in the footsteps of the legendary politician. The cruise will be accompanied by Celia Sandys, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter and Lord Watson of Richmond, who is International Chairman Emeritus of the English Speaking Union and a recipient of The Churchill Medal. The 13 night cruise from 6-18 September 2012 will be on board Crystal Serenity, sailing from Athens to Istanbul through the Dardanelles with stops in Mykonos, Odessa, Sochi as well as Yalta, where Winston Churchill took part in the famous conference between the Britain, the USA and the USSR. The voyage not only takes in places synonymous with the war time Prime Minister but also a journey that Celia took with her grandfather in the 1960’s on the Christina, owned by Aristotle Onassis. The cruise will focus on his strategic and negotiation skills displayed in Eastern Europe during the war. www.baway.co.uk European Waterways With its fleet of 21 fully-crewed hotel barges cruising along the canals, rivers and lagoons of Europe, has added ‘Panache’, a 12 passenger luxury hotel barge that will be cruising the canals of both Holland and Eastern France. In April and May she will embark on circular “Tulip Cruises” starting and finishing in Haarlem, visiting the Keukenhof Gardens in full bloom, the world famous Delft pottery and the cheese centre of Gouda. She will then reposition to cruise the beautiful Canal de la Marne au Rhin from Nancy to Strasbourg in Alsace Lorraine with its unique mix of French and German cultures, Baroque and Romanesque architecture, storybook hamlets and wonderful white wines. Panache Panache, the 128 foot hotel barge has spacious public areas and 6 double/twin en-suite cabins and has been fitted out in traditional yacht style with brass and mahogany fittings. A large sundeck and spa pool complete the picture. T01753 598555 Website: www.gobarging.com And… All European Waterways hotel barges carry bicycles. However some now offer a ‘Biking Plus’ option. Guests can take a bike and follow an interesting, but not too challenging carefully researched route. They will be given clearly marked maps for each round trip route and a backpack with everything they might need so that, for an hour or two, they can explore the surrounding countryside and villages along the lanes and byways. Then they can just re-join the barge where they left her. Bikers treat Regular cruises in the Valley of the Loreley Rüdesheim – Bingen – St.Goarshausen Dept.Rüd.: 9.15am,11.00am and 2.00pm Dept.St. Goar: 11.00am,2.10pm and 4.10pm Full restaurant service and snacks available Commentary in English – Multi-lingual staff – Group rates continued.... On the Road issue 201 Page 8 Tel. Bingen +49 6721 14140 E- info@bingen-ruedesheimer.de www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de
Cruise news ...continued Flight plan For more committed cyclists, European Waterways offer biking charters with half day guided itineraries, upgraded bikes and lunch picnics - but still with their usual five star hotel barge service.T01753 598555 Website: www.gobarging.com Star Clippers Tall ship specialist Star Clippers’ 170-passenger Star Flyer will sail in the Baltic for the first time during summer 2012, offering a variety of voyages from 2 nights to 11 nights. In the autumn of 2012, Star Flyer will operate five seven-night cruises roundtrip from Malaga exploring the Moorish heritage of Andalucia and the North African coast. Ports of call include Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Motril and Granada, setting of the magnificent Alhambra’s palace. Hebridean Island Cruises Tall ships specialist - Star Clippers Passenger Survey And… Star Clippers has introduced new travel-inclusive, no-fly holidays in the Mediterranean and the Baltic in 2012 for those tired of airport delays and luggage restrictions. Travelling outbound or return by rail to within a short transfer of the ship there’s no need to check in hours in advance and there are no restrictions on how much luggage to take. All packages include train travel to or from the UK to the port; transfers and all meals on board. www.starclippers.com For the fourth year, the www.cruise.co.uk ‘Cruise Passenger Ratings Survey’ has shown what’s popular with UK based passengers including some new entrants and old favourites continuing to show strong performance. The survey is the definitive guide to cruising, written for and by UK cruisers, and includes 6500 new passenger reviews since January 2011, showing what UK passengers really think about their cruising experience. Over the last four years visitors to the cruise.co.uk web site have been asked to rate operators and their ships in eight different key categories, as part of the review process, including Best Cruise Line, Best Ship, Best Food, Best Entertainment, Best Accommodation, Best Service, Best for Kids/Families and Best Shore Excursions. January 2012 January 2011 January 2010 Best Cruise Line Best Ship Best Accommodation Best Entertainment Best Food Best Service Best for Kids Best Shore Excursion Celebrity Cruises Queen Victoria Celebrity Eclipse Thomson Dream Queen Victoria Thomson Dream Ventura Oceana Cunard Line Queen Victoria Celebrity Eclipse Independence of the Seas Queen Victoria Adventure of the Seas Oriana Queen Victoria Cunard Line Celebrity Equinox Celebrity Solstice Thomson Spirit Queen Mary 2 Thomson Spirit Ventura Marco Polo Launches a new dedicated river cruises programme on board the Royal Crown. Following extensive renovations, the luxurious cruiser will sail on the Rhine and Danube during June and September 2012. www.hebridean.co.uk airBaltic will reintroduce flights between Dublin and Riga for the summer season. Offering efficient connecting flights via North Hub Riga to/from destinations in the Baltics, Scandinavia and Russia/CIS. Adria Airways – The Slovenian national carrier has re-launched flights to London Luton from Ljubljana from 28 March after dropping the route for the winter season. Air China will fly four times weekly from Gatwick to Beijing from 1st May. Departures from Beijing Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with the return leg from Gatwick leaving on the same day. Air France will begin operating scheduled service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at the beginning of April with a three times weekly schedule. It’s the first airline to offer direct flights between Wuhan and Europe. Situated at the crossroads of central China and at equal distance from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Wuhan is a transportation hub for air, railway and ferry traffic, a commercial centre for finance, industry (especially automotive), trade and science. And…Starting on 1 April, Air France will offer 16 new destinations from Toulouse in Europe and the Mediterranean, in addition to the 12 existing points. Istanbul, Prague and Tunis are amongst the new routes. As from 3 April Air France will offer six new destinations from Nice, including Barcelona, Istanbul and Tel Aviv. American Airlines has cancelled its Chicago - New Delhi operation. China Airlines has dropped its twice weekly Taipei – Heathrow route due to poor performance. Finnair adds China’s destination Chongqing in early May, adding to Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Finnair’s UK flights from both Manchester and Heathrow will connect to the Chongqing flight in Helsinki. Chongqing, on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, is also one of southwest China’s main transport hubs, with good connections to the rest of the country and South East Asia. www.finnair.com Hong Kong Airlines has launched its daily non-stop service between London and Hong Kong a unique all Club Class seating configuration will operate on the route. Monarch Airlines scheduled operation for summer 2012 will offer 14 new routes. Manchester to Dubrovnik, Milan, Venice and Verona; Birmingham to Dubrovnik, Heraklion, Milan, Rome and Venice; Gatwick to Dubrovnik, Heraklion, Milan and Venice and Luton to Rome. Qatar Airways now flies from Doha to Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, flights are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Ryanair has introduced a new route from Birmingham to Budapest. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has re-introduced a Copenhagen – Shanghai service initially on a five times per week service into Pudong International Airport. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) announced the launch of its new route from London City Airport to Basel. The route will operate on a two times daily frequency from 21st May 2012. And..they have also introduced daily service from Zurich to Beijing. From Zurich, they will be adding a seventh daily frequency to London Heathrow as of 30 October. However services to Sofia, will cease for economic reasons. Turkish Airlines has increased flights between Birmingham and Istanbul from five flights a week to daily services. Wizz Air, is to open two new services from Gdansk to Trondheim and Haugesund starting April 2012. The routes will operate twice per week initially. Services from Gdansk to Oslo Sandefjord Torp will double to six times per week. On the Road issue 201 Page 9
Page 1 and 2: Late March 2012 Issue 201 The onlin
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Page 15 and 16: Travel Industry news ECM 2nd editio
Page 17 and 18: GRAZ 2012 Advent is coming! With it

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