Mid June 2009 - On The Road

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On The Road in Mid May - Mid June In the News... 3 People... 3 Places... 5 Hospitality 6 European Eccentrics 7 Cruise News 8 Faith Based Tourism 9 Transport News 10 Mice News 10 CPT News 11 Options & Attractions 13 Travel Industry 14 Museum Tinguely 15 Interlaken 16 Jungfraujoch 17 Magical Castle Eltz 18 “We Welcome Groups” A directory of Companies throughout Europe that specialise in working with leisure and business escorted groups On The Road is available as a download in PDF format at: www.ontheroad.co.uk For a free subscriptions please e-mail your: Name Company name Occupation Address E-mail address To subscriptions@ontheroad.co.uk ££££££££££ - We welcome, and pay for, your published news, views, and comments on the group tour industry. Please add your voice to your publication. $$$$$$$$$$$ - Earn from OTR by introducing new advertisers. Details from address below On The Road Chalk Farm Publishing Ltd, Riverside Lodge, Collier Close, Camerton, Bath BA2 0QB Publisher/Editor - Alan Bennett Tel: +44 (0) 1761 479 645 Fax: +44 (0) 1761 479 663 E-m: info@ontheroad.co.uk, info@chalkfarmpublishing.co.uk © Copyright 2009. Articles published in this magazine are copyright and should not be reproduced without permission from the publishers. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers and all information is given in good faith. no responsibility can be taken by the publishers for any errors or omissions, howsoever caused. Readers are advised to check upon any information given, and where relevant take professional advice before acting upon it. Dear Reader A sunny story With so many dark clouds on the horizon, it’s so, so, uplifting to hear a really ‘good news’ story. You know - the kind of story that fills you with a warm sunny glow. The Balkan state of Kosovo, once synonymous with sectarian violence, has welcomed its first British organise group (which included 1 Chilean national), since Kosovo declared independence in February 2008, following the bloody Balkan’s conflicts. Regent Holidays took a group of 20 pioneering travellers on a £555pp 3-day trip to Gjakove, Peje, Istog and Prekaz, as well as taking in the capital, Pristina. "Our clients were pleasantly surprised - the people of Kosovo were delightful. The Albanian population were especially welcoming, we were even interviewed on Kosovo national television as EU trail blazers," said a relieved Andrea Godfrey, Regent Holiday’s General Manager. The group flew from Gatwick to the capital Pristine where, “We stayed in this most amazing boutique hotel called the Qarshia E Jurane - the food was superb – portions were waist outspanding. Wherever we travelled standards were excellent and really affordable. For example, good glugging wine was about €2 a bottle – really fine wine was €13– outstanding!” One of the highlights of the tour was when the Andrea Godfrey - GM Regent Holidays group stayed in accommodation that was home to a trout farm. “It raised the old Geordie rhyme – ‘you shall have a fishy, on a little dishy’ – to a whole new level!” But in a serious vein Andrea pointed out, “There is in Kosovo a sombre presence, a reminder of Kosovo’s dark past- UN peacekeepers and observers - they were not intrusive but it just brought it home to the group that Kosovo’s journey to independence had been at a human price - but if this trip is anything to go by, it will not be long before Kosovo is healed and well on the road to recovery – and that’s got to be a good thing for everybody. And I tell you what, Regent Holidays will be back next year to Kosovo to help that recovery.” Here! Here! Andrea We will all drink to that! Publishing Editor 397 Walworth Road, London SE17 2AW, UK tel: +44 (020) 7703 9154 fax: +44 (020) 7703 0358 e-mail: iatm@iatm.co.uk www.iatm.co.uk 2 On The Road - Mid May - Mid June 09
PEOPLE UPDATE..... Barceló Hotels Barceló Hotels has recruited Elaine McCormack as UK Sales Director. Elaine, who has 24 years’ global experience in the industry including Concorde Hotels , Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Hilton International Hotels and Pullman International Hotels. Deutshe Bahn AG After 10 years, Hartmut Mehdorn has left DB and the Supervisory Board has appointed Dr. Rüdiger Grube as the new Chairman and CEO. He was previously on the Board of Management of Daimler AG. Ferrovial The owner of BAA, which owns seven UK airports, has appointed Iñigo Meirás as CEO to succeed Joaquín Ayuso. The move represents one of many recent high-level changes made within the Spanish company and its UK subsidiary to cope with the difficulties the company is currently facing. Mr Meirás, currently Head of Airports and VP of BAA, has long been seen as the likely successor for the post, however the promotion's timing has surprised analysts. Holidayline UK Parent company of online travel agency Directline Holidays, has appointed Maria Whiteman as its new Chief Executive, with co-founders Tony Bradley and Matthew Flint moving to Chairman and Non-Executive Director positions respectively. Whiteman previously came from Travel2, The Holiday Team, and previously ran the Hays & Jarvis tour operating business and was also Product and Purchasing Director of Air Miles. Kayak.com In April Kayak.com the travel search site, appointment Robert Birge as Chief Marketing Officer. Birge will manage all offline marketing, advertising and public relations activities. Birge will report to Kayak. com Co-Founder and CEO Steve Hafner and will be based at the company’s global headquarters in Norwalk, Conn. However in early May, Kayak has seen its overseas expansion plans thrown under the spotlight after European Managing Director Faisal Galaria unexpectedly quit the business, having only joined Kayak in August 2008 with a mandate to grow the company in Europe and launch new sites in Asia. It is understood Galaria left the company following a disagreement with other members of the management team over strategy outside of the US. Marriott Marriott International has announced “significant” changes in its executive management. From this month Arne Sorenson, Executive VP, CFO and President, continental European lodging, will take over from William Shaw as Marriott’s President and COO. Shaw will become Vice Chair- man and remain on the board of directors, while still reporting directly to CEO and Board Chairman J W Marriott, Jr. Carl Berquist, Executive VP financial information and enterprise risk management, will become Executive VP and CFO reporting to Mr Shaw. Berquist will continue as Marriott’s principal accounting officer. Marriott has also appointed Theo Ocks as Area Sales and Marketing Director for Western Europe. Ocks is one of three new Area Directors, along with Vicky Varfis for Eastern Europe and Iris Baugatz for Central Europe.All three will be based in Eschborn, Germany. Together they will be responsible for nearly 100 properties in 22 countries, across five brands including J W Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott. Rezidor The Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Michel Stalport as its new area VP for Southern Europe and Africa.Stalport, a 54-year-old Belgian, was previously VP for Russia, CIS, the Baltic States, Turkey, Azerbaijan and China .He will move from Moscow to his new base in Nice. Ryanair Announced the appointment of Laszlo Tamas as Sales and Marketing Manager for the UK and Ireland. Before joining Ryanair, Laszlo was employed as Sales and Marketing Manager at Wizzair and Lufthansa SWISS The SWISS Board of Directors have appointed Harry Hohmeister as successor to Christoph Franz as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Hohmeister, has been a member of the SWISS Management Board since the beginning of 2005. SWISS has also appointed Holger Hätty as Chief Commercial Officer and a member of the Management Board. He will be responsible for all revenue, distribution, marketing and product management activities. His appointment sees the SWISS Management Board streamlined to four members, a resizing that will simplify the present structure. It also completes CEO-designate Harry Hohmeister’s top-management team Holger Hätty VisitBritain The national tourism agency, has announced the appointment of Sandie Dawe as Chief Executive with immediate effect. Awarded the MBE in 2008 for services to tourism, Sandie Dawe is currently Deputy Chief Executive of VisitBritain. PLACES... Scotland Owners of castles and tower homes across Scotland have been encouraged to apply for refurbishment funding in a bid to boost tourism. Culture Minister Mike Russell said by restoring Scotland’s historical houses tourism could be boosted in the economic downturn. Mr Russell said the buildings could be used as hotels, rented accommodation or in some other business capacity. Historic Scotland has begun an audit of possible sites and the launch of the preliminary list is expected by June 2009. It is hoped the project will provide an online database of castles and tower houses which demonstrate the characteristics that would enable a successful scheme for restoration to be developed, plus a guide to castle and tower house restoration. Eilean Donan Castle Greece Ioannis Kofinis, the President of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, has revealed marrying his country’s ancient history and expansive natural assets with luxury city breaks forms the core of his body’s strategy to increase the Mediterranean nation’s share of inbound Middle East guests. “Greece is a traditional tourist destination and we strongly believe we have a unique product to sell to the world. In the coming years, we’re looking at maintaining revenue in our traditional Western Europe source markets and targeting certain global markets for expansion. “The Middle East - along with Russia, China, Poland and South Africa - is one of our key target markets and we are tailoring our products to attract a higher proportion of regional customers. It is a market which has a lot of potential but it is different, with different needs to Western European markets,” said Kofinis. With a relatively small population of just over 11 million, tourism contributes a staggering 20% of Greece’s GDP. Sicily The cost of building a suspension bridge, the world`s longest, across the Messina Strait to link Sicily to the mainland is estimated at €6.3 billion, according to the bridge-building company Stretto di Messina SpA. “This great public works project will give a major boost to the nation`s economy”. the company`s CEO, Pietro Ciucci said after the contracts for the project, suspended in 2006 by the previous government, were reactivated. Work on the bridge will begin not later than the latter half of 2010 and the project will be completed in six years. Once completed the bridge will replace slow ferry services between Sicily and the mainland. The Mid May - Mid June 09 - On The Road 3 news 3,690-metre-long bridge has been designed to be able to handle 4,500 cars an hour and 200 trains a day. Croatia Croatia protested a warning issued by Britain’s Foreign Office that tourists visiting Croatia be aware of threats from organized crime. The Zagreb government was upset by a BBC article in April on organized crime and corruption in Croatia, including assassinations of journalists and businessmen. Croatia complained it was the malicious article before the oncoming tourist season on the Adriatic coast. Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic said his ministry asked the Foreign Office to explain why the security situation in Croatia was not depicted in an objective way. Rioja Alavesa The region of Rioja Alavesa has recently launched Rioja Alavesa Magazine, a quarterly magazine covering current and up-andcoming attractions based on wine tourism, local nature and the rich historical heritage of the area. www. rutadelvinoderiojaalavesa.com Sweden Short tourist flights into space are expected to begin launching from northern Sweden in 2012, according to Spacesport Sweden spokeswoman Johanna Bergstroem-Roos. “Flights are expected to leave the USA in 2011 and Kiruna in northern Sweden will be next about a year later” she said. The flights will be run by Virgin Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson, which will first send paying customers about 70 miles above the earth from New Mexico. Virgin Galactic said five Nordic travel agencies will sell tickets for both the US and the Swedish launches, cost approx €153,000 each. "We hope Kiruna will become Europe's main launch pad for the tourist flights," Bergstroem-Roos said, pointing out that the town located 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle also home to the Esrange Space Centre since 1966. Northern-lights "The suborbital flights are the kinds of flights we already run from Kiruna, although we send crewless flights much higher up, to 800 kilometres, so we are very experienced in space missions " she said. Kiruna is also already a magnate for adventure and wildlife tourists eager to see natural phenomena like the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun, stay at the nearby Ice Hotel or set off on ski, dog sleigh or snow scooter trips. "We expect that if one person in a family is flying the other family members will sign up for other experiences," Bergstroem- Roos said. continued on page 4...
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Page 5 and 6: HOSPITALITY Go barging - summer hig
Page 7 and 8: CRUISE NEWS Hebridean back to life
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Page 15 and 16: Interlaken Welcome to Interlaken -
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Mid June 2009 - On The Road

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