Wednesday 26th September 2012.indd

TRAVEL DAILY ASIA TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY ME SINGAPORE TRAVEL NEWS CRUISE NEWS UK

www.traveldailymedia.com/uk

Wednesday 26th September 2012 ▶ P 1

≪ GREEN

Eco-friendly news from the travel

industry...

≪ EYE ON AFRICA

Regional news round-up including

FastJet’s base…

≪ SPARK

Sharing how Burberry is bringing

online to its store…

Heathrow delays worsen

Greece strike hits

travel

UK average drops too...

Raffles plans

expansion

Raffles

Hotels &

Resorts has

announced it

is embarking

on a new

expansion

phase as

it makes

its 125th birthday. The hotel chain

has openings planned in Istanbul,

Turkey; Jakarta, Indonesia; Makati in

Manila, the Philippines and Hainan,

China in the next two years. It

already has eight properties across

Asia, the Middle East, Seychelles

and Paris.

Meanwhile to mark its 125th

anniversary the company has

launched a new champagne sling

called ‘1887’ including its limitededition

Billecart-Salmon Brut

Réserve Champagne. Gordon’s Gin,

Cointreau, orange, lemon and lime.

Flights in and out of Heathrow

Airport saw more delays this

spring than last year, new fi gures

from the Civil Aviation Authority

(CAA) have revealed. The airport

was named as the UK’s worst

performing airport with 73% of its

fl ights arriving or departing on time,

compared to the average 78%

for the top 10 airports. While its

average delay time increased from

11 minutes to 12, more than one

in four fl ights were delayed more

than 15 minutes between April and

June.

The results come as Heathrow

continues to be run at full capacity,

Bourne Leisure

joins Women 1st

Bourne Leisure has become the

fi rst member of a new scheme

launched by the Women 1st

initiative. The group, which consists

of Haven, Warner Leisure Hotels

and Butlins, is the fi rst corporation

to sign up to the initiative and use its

training and mentoring programmes

alongside individual members.

Women 1st is a fi rm that aims to

increase the number of women

on boards across the hospitality,

transport, travel and tourism

industries and has seen a boost in

interest from businesses since its

inaugural conference.

"Our membership programmes

are designed to give businesses the

while a BAA spokesperson told The

Telegraph its drop in punctuality

was due to the wet spring weather,

which restricted fl ight paths in a

system that is already tight.

Generally in the UK the number

of scheduled fl ights that operated

on-time was 4% lower than the

same period last year. Luton

was the only London airport to

improve its performance (by 1%)

while it decreased for Gatwick

(-3%), Stansted (-2%) and London

City (-1%). Punctuality also fell

for Manchester, Birmingham,

Glasgow, Edinburgh and

Newcastle.

opportunity to give female staff the

skills, confi dence and inspiration

so they can feel empowered to take

Flights, ferries and transport

to, from and in Greece are

expected to face delays and

cancellations today due to a general

strike. Greece’s largest labour

unions have called a general strike

across the country today against a

new government austerity package,

which would lower wages and cut

its pension. Air traffic controllers are

expected to take industrial action

from 10am to 1pm, affecting both

international and domestic fl ights.

Aegean Airlines has cancelled some

domestic fl ights and rescheduled 16

sectors. Click here to find out more

Transport affected

in British floods

Ferry and train services in the UK

have been facing delays and

cancellations this week following

fl oods across the country. P&O

Ferries cancelled its services to and

from Troon and Cairnryan yesterday

while the rail network struggled

after a month’s worth of rain fell in

one day in some areas. Two fl ights

heading to Aberdeen from Teeside

and Gatwick were diverted, while air

travel generally operated as normal.

their careers to the next level,” said

Sharon Glancy, founder of Women

1st. Click here for full story

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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood

| Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott

36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560

TRAVEL DAILY ASIA TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY ME SINGAPORE TRAVEL NEWS CRUISE NEWS UK

www.traveldailymedia.com/uk Wednesday 26th September 2012 ▶ P 2

Hotels in India to receive safety checks

Selected hotels and restaurants

in India are to be tested for

hygiene standards following a

new partnership. UK-based Check

Safety First is working with Travel

World Experiences (TWX) to

improve standards in the country

using its E-Cristal risk management

system. Hygiene standards in India

are currently inconsistent with the

high temperatures often causing

issues such as contamination.

“The tourism industry in India is

currently booming with people from

home and abroad exploring more

of the country than ever before,”

said Vivek Angra, president and

head of business development UK

& Europe at TWX. Click here for

full story.

SPARK

Bringing online messages in-store

Flight access to St

Barths improves

Flight access to St Barths has

been given a boost thanks

to new services from Tradewind

Aviation and St Barth Commuter.

The former will be running daily

fl ights from Antigua to St Barths

on 15 October 2012 to 15 May

2013 which will connect with British

Airways’ fl ights from London. In

addition St Barth Commuter is

launching its new schedule on

1 December 2012 until 30 April

2013. Luxury hotel Eden Rock – St

Barths has welcomed the new

airlift as it reduces the waiting time

for its guests and advised agents

Tradewind’s fl ights can be booked

through several tour operators and

Sabre’s GDS.

TAM scraps South

American transfers

TAM Airlines has announced

it will no longer offer free car

transfers from South American

airports from 1 October. The airline

will honour pending requests up

until 30 September. The service

remains available for fi rst class and

business class travellers heading to

and from Heathrow.

Benefits added to

Eurail Pass

Passengers with Eurail Italy

Passes can now receive

discounted entry to attractions

thanks to a new scheme. Users

can receive discounts at The

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel

and Catacombs of Domitilla plus

receive ‘fast track’ entry without

booking in advance. Savings

on bus tours are also available

across Italian cities through

City Sightseeing and the Roma

Christiana minibus.

Israel signing for SLH

Small Luxury Hotels of the

World has signed its first

hotel in Israel. The 12-room

Efendi, made of two Ottoman

palaces, is located in Acre and

is a new hotel with 400-yearold

features. “We are constantly

looking to expand our brand by

adding the very finest hotels and

most authentic experiences to our

portfolio. The addition of Efendi in

Israel is an exciting milestone for

us and a very important addition

to our brand portfolio as we

expand in Israel,” said Paul Kerr,

CEO of SLH.

Customers will feel more relaxed

if they feel like they are at home

Here at Travel Daily our purely online e-magazines and guides

means that we are always looking at how we can bring our digital

selves into the ‘real, hard’ world. It is an issue that you would think

only online companies would face, so I was surprised to read on

Mashable this week that Burberry is adopting many of its website

features into its shiny new Regent St store.

In an interview with the website, Burberry’s chief creative officer

Christopher Bailey explained how the brand wanted the store to

react in the same way to its website. He explained that seating

was important as it made customers feel like they were at home

with a laptop or tablet and is also working at dimming the lights

in store to show videos across its hundreds of screens. There’s

also a stage in the store so it can live stream any events that take

place.

While a lot of you, okay the majority, will not have the budget

or space that Burberry does in that store, Bailey shows more

examples of how online and offline models can be merged. Why

not give customers an iPad of dreamy photos to fl ick through while

they sit on the sofa with a cuppa and you sort that enquiry? If you

hold events in the store, why not get these recorded and then put

up on your website and blogs relevant to that region? There are

some short-term measures out there to bring the two together.

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27 September 2012

At: Vu Bar, Atlantic Tower by Thistle, Chapel St, Liverpool, L3 9RE

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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood

| Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott

36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560

TRAVEL DAILY ASIA TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY ME SINGAPORE TRAVEL NEWS CRUISE NEWS UK

www.traveldailymedia.com/uk Wednesday 26th September 2012 ▶ P 3

RIU plans second Costa Rican property

RIU Hotels & Resorts has

announced it will reopen

its second property in Costa

Rica this November. The Riu

Palace Costa Rica will open on 2

November and is located next to

the Riu Guanacaste. It will have

538 roooms, fi ve restaurants and

fi ve bars as well as four pools,

a miniclub for children and an

entertainment programme.

QUOTE

OF THE DAY

"Our membership

programmes are

designed to give...

female staff the

skills, confidence

and inspiration

so they can feel

empowered to take

their careers to the

next level"

Sharon Glancy,

founder of Women

1st

Premier sees

luxury sales up

Premier Holidays has seen the

value of its bookings increase

after the Olympics as well as the

number of bookings themselves.

The tour operator has revealed

bookings after the games were

up 35% compared to last year,

while its high-end sales were up

26% year-to-date. USA, Canada,

Thailand, Singapore and Australia

were popular destination, with

Premier attributing their success

to the offers available from luxury

hotels. “The call centre has been

incredibly busy and the atmosphere

in the office has been like the

peak booking period in January,”

explained Susan Papworth,

managing director at Premier.

Wetravel4sports.

co.uk launches

new site

&P Associates’

Wetravel4sports.co.uk has

launched a new website with a

new VIP package. Corporate and

leisure bookings are available for

the Bahamas Speed Week, which

will be held from 24 November to

2 December. The week-long event

includes a gala concert, auto trade

show, beach party and more.

GREEN

European carriers boost green credentials

Two European airlines

have made steps to

make their fl ights more

sustainable in the last week.

Lufthansa has signed an

agreement with Algae.Tec

to build a biofuel production facility in Europe that will turn algae into

biofuel. Its algae oil is to follow the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive

and the agreement follows a MOU signed between the parties in

January. While Lufthansa and Algae.Tec look for a site, Finnair has

taken on energy-effi cient engines to fuel its fi ve new Airbus A321s

when they enter its fl eet in a year. The aircraft are already 5% more

fuel-effi cient than the Boeing 757s they will replace.

Hilton saves US$147m

Hilton Worldwide saved more than USD147

million through its LightStay sustainability

programme, it has announced. The hotel

group has reached its target of reducing its

total waste by 20% two years before its initial

target. It is also on track to cut its carbon

emissions by 20% (currently 10.9%) and water use by 10%

(currently 7.5%). "LightStay provides us with a global platform

to respond to the challenges of managing natural resource

constraints, and Hilton Worldwide is dedicated to empowering our

property owners and operators with tools that improve economic

and sustainability performance at all levels of our company,” said

Christopher Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton.

IHG partners with National Geographic and

UNESCO

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has

partnered with National Geographic for

a sustainability awareness week. The

partnership covers a week-long programme of

activities around the world to help protect and

preserve unique and cultural heritage sites as

part of Responsible Business Week 2012. During Responsible

Business Week, InterContinental properties will protect and

preserve unique natural and cultural heritage sites close to their

hotels. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the World

Heritage Convention during which special focus is placed on the

links between World Heritage and sustainable development, and in

particular the role played by local communities.

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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood

| Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott

36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560

TRAVEL DAILY ASIA TRAVEL DAILY INDIA TRAVEL DAILY ME SINGAPORE TRAVEL NEWS CRUISE NEWS UK

www.traveldailymedia.com/uk Wednesday 26th September 2012 ▶ P 4

Air France rolls-out iPad pilot use

Air France has started to roll out

iPad use for its pilots outside of

the cockpit. The tablet use means

its 4,100 pilots will have access to

their personal aircraft documents

and manuals as well as send

reports through a series of apps

developed by the airline.

“We are always looking for new

ways to enhance the safety and

performance of our fl ights,” said Eric

Schramm, executive vice president

of fl ight operations and Boeing 777

captain at Air France. “Equipping

IN NUMBERS

% increase in high-end

bookings for Premier

1887

The name of Raffl es

new cocktail and when

it fi rst hotel opened

5,000

Beds Accor is to add in

Africa

EYEON

Accor to add 5,000 beds in Africa

our pilots with iPads will simplify

access to critical information and

also strengthen vital communication

channels within the company.”

Warwick acquires

Bahamas hotel

Warwick International Hotels

has agreed to purchase The

Paradise Island Harbour Resort in

the Bahamas. The four-star hotel

will add 246 rooms to Warwick’s

portfolio and will now undergo a

renovation. “We are delighted to

have the opportunity to completely

renovate the Paradise Island

Harbour Resort and restore it

to its former glory,” said Jean

Francois Garnier, group director of

development at Warwick.

Accor has announced it is to add around 5,000 new rooms and

open 30 hotels in Africa in the next four years. The hotel group,

which opened its fi rst property in the Congo in 1975, made the

announcement at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum, Nairobi and

has already opened nine hotels in the continent in this year’s fi rst

quarter. It has earmarked Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, South

Africa, Angola and Kenya as key markets for development. Its most

recent openings in Africa include an ibis in Dakar with another

soon to open in Lagos. It is also due to take over the Hotel Ivoire in

Abidjan, Ivory Coast under the Sofi tel name. Click here for full story

FastJet confirms first base

New low-cost carrier FastJet has announced its fi rst operating

base will be at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The airline will commence

fl ights in November with fares as low as USD20 excluding taxes

and charges. It has signed a lease for an Airbus A319 although it

is unknown what is fi rst route will be. The carrier also has plans to

launch in Accra, Luanda and Angola once its east African business

has been established. “Our initial focus will be on East Africa with

the airline’s fi rst base at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the A319

aircraft has already been approved by the Tanzania Civil Aviation

Authority. This will be followed by a second base in Nairobi, Kenya,

once the A319 is approved there,” said Ed Winter, chief executive of

FastJet.

African carriers to lead WTM debate

The airline industry in Africa is to be discussed during World

Travel Market’s airline programme this year. In a session during the

Tuesday of the show, a panel will discuss the growing number of

airlines in the region; the opportunities available and the challenges

around infrastructure and distances. It will be chaired by aviation

consultant John Strickland and include Tewolde GebreMariam from

Ethiopian Airlines; Ed Winter, CEO of FastJet and Titus Naikuni,

CEO of Kenya Airways.

MAURITIUS

Essential statistics

Photo credit to bengy / Shutterstock.com

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• Located in the Indian

Ocean off the southeast

coast of Africa

• Summer temperatures of

26°C to 32°C and 20°C

and 26°C in the winter

• Currency: Mauritian rupee

• Population: 1.29 billion

across the republic, 1.25bn

on the island

• Direct fl ights available with

British Airways and Air

Mauritius

Some news reports may

suggest that Mauritius’

tourism industry is heading

the same way as its homebird

the dodo, but with

numbers holding up and

new hotel development it

appears the island will still

be a hit with holidaymakers to come. Having previously been in

the hands of the British, French and Dutch the island is used to

welcoming Europeans to its shores, which currently make up

two thirds of its tourist arrivals. Last year it saw a 3% boost in

tourism numbers with 965,000 going holidaying on the island

and international hotel chains still opening up hotels and resorts

in anticipation for more.

There are currently around seven direct fl ights a week going

into Mauritius from London although the destination is often

included in multi-centre breaks to accommodate for stopovers

or connecting fl ights. Mauritius still holds an image of a luxury

destination with its tourism authority sponsoring the Miss England

2012 contest this year to boost its awareness, with the winner

Charlotte Holmes now a brand ambassador with an appearance

at World Travel Market in the diary. Another key event, although in

the destination itself, is its Carnival of Flic en Flac which will take

place on 30 June next year and showcases the island’s culture

and festivities.

Win a £50 Love2Shop voucher from The Holiday Team!

To be in with the chance, answer this simple question.

What now extinct bird was first found on Mauritius?

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10-year-old Billy Yeomans runs checks on Virgin Atlantic’s refurbished

Boeing 747 after winning a search to find the next Sir Richard Branson.

Yeomans beat 600 pupils to become the airline’s first junior approvals

manager and tested its seats, in-flight entertainment and new menus.

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Managing Editor: Amanda Greenwood

| Editor-in-Chief: Mark Elliott

36-38 Hanway Street London W1T 1UP United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 207 2686560

Travel Daily UK is a publication of Travel Daily Media Limited (UK). All content is fully protected by copyright law. Written permission from the Editor-in-Chief Mark Elliott (mark@traveldailymedia.com) is required to reproduce any material.

While every care has been taken in the preparation of Travel Daily Asia no liability can be accepted for errors or omissions. Content is published in good faith. Responsibility for editorial comment is taken by Amanda Greenwood.