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Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum returns to Greece

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Now in its fifth year, the Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum (MR&H) will return to Greece for the second year in succession this October. The event, hosted by Questex, is dedicated to the investment, development and operation of resorts and hotels within the Mediterranean region. This niche, but highly specialized area, comprises various elements; hotel, residential, marinas, health clubs, children’s activities, retail, sports facilities, F&B, all of which need to be carefully woven together with seamless operation to create a successful resort.


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The conference will be held at the Hilton Athens on the 29-31st October 2019. A fitting venue for Hilton’s celebration of 100 years in hospitality and the continuation of the premise that the group was founded on; “travel can make the world a better place”.

The dynamic growth of tourism in Greece continues to boost investment activity throughout the country and throughout the wider Mediterranean region. Speaking at MIPIM last month, Secretary General for Tourism Policy and Development George Tziallas said; “Half of all funding under Greece’s 2016 development law has been channeled into tourism ventures, while more than 400 investment plans have been submitted in the last three years to the tourism ministry for approval.”

This statement is supported by data recently released by Horwath HTL during the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) which revealed Greece is a prime investment opportunity for international hotel chains as only 1.7% of total units currently operate under an international brand. Results from the joint investor sentiment survey from Tranio and IHIF showed Greece listed as one of the European countries that is most attractive for hotel real estate investment.

Stakeholders from leading operators including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Nobu attend the event alongside investors from KSL, Starwood Capital Group and Dolphin Capital all recognizing the value of coming together as a collective to debate, converse and discuss.

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Registration for MR&H 2019 is now open and delegate tickets can be purchased at the best value Early Bird rate until the end of May.

Enterprise Greece have pledged their continued support for MR&H and Grigoris Stergioulis, Chairman & CEO at Enterprise Greece said in relation to the ongoing collaboration; “Building on the success of the event last year, the positive working relationship with Questex and the significant opportunities that exist for investors in the Greek hotel market, we’re thrilled to once again partner with MR&H and look forward to welcoming the event to Greece for the second year.”

Alexi Khajavi, Managing Director of EMEA Hospitality + Travel Group, Questex said; “The tourism and hospitality prosperity that Greece is enjoying is leading to significant activity from serious investors and developers. As a conference host, our role is to facilitate these meetings, connections and interactions in an environment that is educational and energizing. With the continued support from Enterprise Greece, Hilton providing the setting, and amongst very encouraging industry data, we’re confident that MR&H will prove to be an event not to be missed for those currently active or keen to do business within the Mediterranean resort and hotel space”.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Major tour operators converging on Barbados for 2019 meeting with tourism partners

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Three weeks away from the May 1 start of the premier business-to-business marketplace, Connect Barbados, with over 100 participants – inclusive of 56 tour operators, have already registered to come and meet with local tourism partners including attraction providers and hoteliers.

Under the theme ‘Breathing Power into Business Connections’, the three-day conference is now in its 14th year. Tour operators have been invited from Barbados’ main source markets – the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Europe and Caribbean and Latin America. Tour operators such as: Air Canada Vacations, Virgin Holidays and Expedia Group, to name a few have already registered to come learn about what is new in Destination Barbados.

Connect Barbados is an annual conference providing opportunities to island operators to sell Barbados’ holiday products to invited tour operators in all of the island’s major source markets.

The marketplace allows global travel partners to learn about and experience the latest product and service developments on the island, while affording local partners the occasion to thank them for the tremendous contribution they continue to make the success of Barbados’ premier economic sector.

BTMI CEO, William ‘Billy’ Griffith, mentioned, “We are positively anticipating to surpass the 1,200 meeting appointments from Connect 2018 as we once again welcome and share our beautiful product with participating tour operators. Being able to connect our local service providers with the agents who have direct contact with potential visitors to Barbados will be extremely vital to both parties.”

This year, as we celebrate the Year of Wellness and Soft Adventure, tour operators will be treated to an outdoor welcome reception as they kick their feet in the sand at the “Feet in the Sand Beach Party, featuring top local entertainment and cuisine, before proceeding to two full days of business-to-business meetings at the Hilton Barbados Resort.

To close out the highly-anticipated conference, a special final evening reception will be held at the prestigious Harrison’s Cave and tour operators will get the opportunity to tour the cave first-hand. On the final day, participants will tour the island for a diverse Attractions Day, inspecting places of interest based on their specialties.

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Marriott International official hotel sponsor of Brand USA United Stories international campaign

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Today, Brand USA, the destination-marketing organization for the United States, announces Marriott International across the United States as the official hotel sponsor for United Stories. The sponsorship will help expand the global reach of the United Stories campaign, which aims to inspire international travelers to visit the USA through visual storytelling efforts. This new United Stories collaboration also provides Marriott International, one of Brand USA’s founding and diamond partners, fresh localized content and innovative ways to reach international customers.

Launched earlier this year in partnership with Beautiful Destinations, United Stories utilizes mobile content creation labs to track and share relatable, human stories to inspire lasting emotional connections between international travelers and people and places across the United States. Throughout the year, accomplished content creators, storytellers, and influencers will travel to various points of interest across the country in eye-catching, buzz-worthy vehicles branded with #UnitedStories.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Marriott International on United Stories. Marriott’s strong international brand recognition and ongoing dedication to their customers makes them an ideal partner to expand the reach of this campaign,” said Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer of Brand USA. “We believe in the power of storytelling to engage global audiences and highlight the diversity of real travel experiences in the USA. Our partnership will help deliver these inspiring stories to an even larger population of international travelers, extending the United Stories campaign to millions of people around the world.”

Marriott Bonvoy will be integrated within the United Stories campaign to generate awareness and create connectivity with its newly launched travel program. This includes branding of the mobile content creation labs and hosting influencers and content creators at hotels across the USA.

“The United Stories mission aligns with our passion for travel, said Kieran Donahue, vice president, marketing, The Americas. “Our sponsorship of United Stories is a great extension of our ongoing partnership with Brand USA. The mobile content labs allow us to show the breadth, depth, and variety of our brands, destinations, and hotels throughout the U.S., and most importantly, connect with our members and guests in a way that showcases how good travel can enrich and unite the world.”

The Marriott Bonvoy travel program is built on the belief that all travel is good travel; it enriches the individual and connects the world. The program offers a global footprint of extraordinary hotel brands, experiences for every passion on Marriott Bonvoy Moments, and the richest rewards and benefits.

The United Stories mobile content lab launched in January and has traveled to nine U.S. states and territories: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. At each destination, United Stories content creators spotlight first-person perspectives of American culture via locals, influencers, and travelers.

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Brexit uncertainty, but LHR is doing well

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Despite Brexit uncertainty, Heathrow remains a bright light for the UK, with the role we play in keeping people and products moving evident. Our new domestic connections will be pivotal in linking more regions and nations to global opportunities, benefiting all corners of this great country and we look forward to announcing many more of these as part of the expansion programme,”  Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said

  • Heathrow’s passenger numbers continued to climb in March, with over 6.5 million passengers travelling through the UK’s only hub airport, ringing in the 29th consecutive month of record growth for the airport. Notable spikes in the previous month were St Patricks and Mother’s Day, attitudes towards travel remain strong despite ongoing uncertainty around Brexit’.
  • Africa performed especially well over the past month, increasing by 6.2% compared to the same time last year. Domestic connections also saw a slight uplift (+0.2%) with British Airways launching its 2nd service to Inverness and Flybe growing their loads by more than a fifth (23%) with an inaugural flight to Cornwall on March 31.
  • More than 149,000 metric tonnes of cargo travelled through the UK’s biggest port by value, further demonstrating the importance of Heathrow in a post Brexit world.
  • Both Latin America and Africa saw remarkable double digit growth with the former up 23% on 2018 due to additional services to Brazil and increased volumes to Mexico. Freight to and from Africa grew by 11%, thanks to Virgin’s growth on routes to the continent.
  • Two of Heathrow’s Terminals made it into the top five globally, with Terminal 5 taking top spot. In addition, Heathrow was voted amongst the world’s top 10 airports overall and won “Best airport in Western Europe” and “World’s Best Airport Shopping”.
  • In March, Heathrow launched the airport’s new Innovation Prize to fund ideas and solutions addressing aviation environmental impact. The prize is sponsored by Heathrow’s new Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, which connects experts and offers Heathrow as a living laboratory to test and develop ideas that encourage sustainable aviation.
  • The expansion project reached another significant milestone, as the names and locations of the 18 shortlisted sites in the running to become offsite construction centres for Britain’s new runway were revealed. Shortlisted sites will now pitch to airport bosses for their chance to become one of the final four construction centres, to be announced early next year.
  • Heathrow announced the launch of their 10th domestic route. The route is operated by Flybe and links the hub airport to Cornwall in Newquay for the first time since 1997.

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:

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Brussels Tourism: A street art trail about Bruegel

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visit.brussels, in collaboration with the Brussels collective Farm Prod has been working on a street art trail to pay homage to the Flemish old master Pieter Bruegel right in the heart of the Belgian capital. Visitors will be able to see a first work by the French artist Lazoo in the Marolles neighburhood, while finishing touches are being put to another on the Rue Baron Horta.

Brussels and Bruegel are inextricably linked. The artist spent most of his life in Brussels, where he is also buried. Brussels was a great source of inspiration for Bruegel, in fact twothirds of his works were painted here. His influential patrons lived in Mont des Arts, a short walk from his house. Today, it houses a significant part of Bruegel’s work. After the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium have the largest collection of Bruegel’s paintings and the Royal Library has no less than 90 engravings.

Brussels had to dedicate a number of events to this world-renowned artist to mark the 450th anniversary of his death. visit.brussels, in collaboration with the collective Farm Prod, has also paid homage to Pieter Bruegel by developing a street art trail in the heart of the city. The route takes in institutions, passing through places with some notable Bruegel connections (historical links and permanent collections, etc.).

A first glimpse of the work on this trail can already be seen on Rue Haute, close to the Porte de Halle. It is a work by the French artist Lazoo, inspired by the “The Wedding Dance”. A second monumental work is currently in progress, close to BOZAR on the Rue Baron Horta.

From mid-June onward, at least eleven frescoes, also painted by artists forming part of the collective together with famous invited artists, will be able to be admired along the trail. A great opportunity to discover Bruegel in a different light.

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