World News | forimmediaterelease.net

... press releases & Breaking World News

South African Tourism appoints Trade Relations Officer

by

Sherwin Arends joins South African Tourism (SAT) as Trade Relations Officer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role following 12 years’ experience working within the travel industry.


eTN Chatroom for Readers (join us)

Originally from Cape Town, Sherwin moved to the UK six years ago after travelling the world as a member of cabin crew for Qatar Airways. His most recent role was Senior Product Executive for Audley Travel.

Sherwin will be tasked with building and maintaining relationships with key travel trade contacts in the UK and Ireland while utilising South African Tourism’s research and insights to ensure the agents are provided with all the tools and support to confidently sell South Africa.

Sherwin says: “I’m very passionate about my birth country and proud of my South African heritage so I am thrilled to be joining the South African Tourism team in the UK. I’m looking forward to showcasing South Africa as a leading tourist destination, with a focus on promoting the well-known areas and experiences and helping to uncover and educate the trade on the destination’s hidden gems.”

Tolene van der Merwe Hub Head for the UK & Ireland at South African Tourism says: “We are delighted that Sherwin will be joining our growing team. His wealth of industry knowledge combined with his personal experience of South Africa will be invaluable as we collectively promote the destination to holidaymakers through the UK and Irish trade.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

40 airlines, 60 airports confirmed for CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa forum in Dubai

by

More than 40 airlines and over 60 represented airports have confirmed their participation at the inaugural CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa – co-located with Arabian Travel Market 2019 and taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday 30th April and Wednesday 1st May.

With up to 300 delegates, the forum will include a diverse conference program, including panel discussions, keynotes, Q&A’s and airline & industry briefings as well as unlimited one-to-one meetings pre-scheduled for airlines, airports and suppliers – all combined with endless informal opportunities for networking.

Throughout 2018, the busiest long-haul Middle Eastern flight route was Dubai International Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with 7,109 flights between March 2018 and February 2019, according to the latest analysis from leading travel data provider OAG.

In terms of short-haul flights, the busiest Middle Eastern route was between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with 35,419 flights, while the busiest international route within the region was between Dubai International Airport and Kuwait International Airport with 14,581 flights.

Nick Pilbeam, Divisional Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, said: “2018 was a busy year for flight routes both to and from the Middle East and as we look ahead this trend is expected to continue with IATA predicting an extra 290 million air passengers on routes to, from and within the region by 2037 – with the total market size increasing to 501 million passengers during the same period.

“This projected growth underscores Dubai, and of course the Middle East, as the ideal location to bring together professionals from the aviation and tourism industry for the inaugural CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa forum.”
In 2018, GCC airlines added 58 new flight routes – focusing on areas of consistent and substantial growth – according to research from Colliers International – based on a sample of 10 airlines including Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Salaam Air, Oman Air, Gulf Air, Saudia, flyadeal, Air Arabia and IndiGo Airlines.

Looking at the UAE alone, almost 50% of new routes introduced in 2018 were to destinations across Europe – with the second largest share of new flights connecting the UAE with Russia.

Karin Butot, CEO, The Airport Agency, said: “With two thirds of the world’s population within an eight-hour flight from the GCC it is an ideal base for exploring some of the world’s most interesting and previously inaccessible corners of the world. And, GCC as well as various Middle Eastern airlines are making it even easier with the continuous addition of new and direct flight routes.

“2019 is set to be an exciting year for new routes – particularly between the Middle East and Europe – with various new and direct flights announced by UAE airlines to destinations such as Budapest, Naples, Prague and Belgrade as well as an increased number of flights to Barcelona and London.”

The inaugural CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa will witness a strong delegation of both Middle Eastern and European carriers such as Air Arabia, Oman Air, Saudia, Etihad, Flynas and Flydubai– as well as airports including London Stansted, Basel, Bologna, Vienna, Fraport TAV Antalya and Belgrade.

With a focus on the European aviation market, a keynote from Annabelle Lepiece, Partner for CMS DeBacker and CMS Belgium titled ‘European Union External Aviation Policy’ will discuss the ongoing negotiations for comprehensive air transport agreements between the EU and the GCC which are being hampered by protectionist voices.

Also taking place on day one of the forum will be a panel titled ‘Regional Focus: What are the opportunities and challenges for the Middle East region?’ will address the on-going geo-political challenges and volatile fuel prices affecting the aviation industry at present while discussing how new and emerging destinations are positioning themselves to attract and develop significant air passenger traffic.

Other highlights from the two-day forum will include a training workshop on the ‘Simpson Paradox’, an Airbus briefing session which will provide an update on the current Airbus product line and a China Southern Airline briefing which will discuss the airline’s dual-hub strategy between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport as well as their cooperation strategy.

CONNECT’s online meeting system is opened, so that delegates can plan and book their onsite appointments in advance. Please log on to: www.connect-aviation.com/2019-meia/ for more details.

CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa will form part of the newly launched Arabian Travel Week, an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows including ATM 2019; ILTM Arabia and new consumer-led event – ATM Holiday Shopper.

Arabian Travel Week will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 27 April – 1 May 2019.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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

by

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.

Travel News | eTurboNews

No surprises: New York, London and Tokyo top the list of world’s 15 richest cities

by

Boston, Calgary, Perth and Macau – all associated with material wealth – have failed to make this list of the 15 richest cities in the world, compiled by market research firm New World Wealth.

The data gathered by the researchers reflects the total amount of private wealth held by all the individuals living in each of the cities on the list. Unlike traditional ratings, this top 15 is not based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but reflects analysis that covers all assets, such as property, cash, equities and business interests, excluding liabilities. Government funds are included.

1. New York City – $3 trillion

2. London – $2.7 trillion

3. Tokyo – $2.5 trillion

4. San Francisco Bay Area – 2.3 trillion

5. Beijing – $2.2 trillion

6. Shanghai – $2 trillion

7. Los Angeles – $1.4 trillion

8. Hong Kong – $1.3 trillion

9. Sydney – $1 trillion

10. Singapore – $1 trillion

11. Chicago – $988 billion

12. Mumbai – $950 billion

13. Toronto – $944 billion

14 Frankfurt – $912 billion

15. Paris – $860 billion

According to New World Wealth, wealth is a measure that differs from a GDP indicator, which is another common metric used to gauge economic power. The research firm revealed that Houston, Geneva, Osaka, Seoul, Shenzhen, Melbourne, Zurich and Dallas had just missed out on the top 15.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Bartlett pumps J$200 million into Linkages Networks

by

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has committed J$200 million to the Linkages Networks to help build out more products to enhance the visitor experience and ensure more inclusive growth in the sector.

Speaking at the launch of the new Top Events Jamaica Initiative yesterday at Devon House, Minister Bartlett said, “This year, we will be spending 200 Million dollars on the Networks to create the level of inclusiveness that connects the ordinary Jamaican to the tourism product and the product to the ordinary Jamaican.

This will be a huge game changer and we are going to change the narrative and also change the feeling of the public that tourism is only for the bigger suppliers and doesn’t include the smaller players.”

The Tourism Linkages Network’s (TLN’s) main focus has been to bring local tourism suppliers in contact with other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. In doing so, the Linkages Network creates more economic opportunities for our local tourism suppliers who can then earn more.

Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (1st R) paused for a photo at the track and field display at the launch of the new Top Events Jamaica Initiative yesterday at Devon House

Driving this inclusive growth are five networks geared towards building out authentic Jamaican experiences for the visitors and increasing the earning potential of small suppliers and they are – Gastronomy, Sports and Entertainment, Shopping, Knowledge and Health and Wellness.

The new Top Events Jamaica initiative, being spearheaded by the TLN, is designed to increase visitor participation in events and activities island-wide through strategic partnerships and leveraging the power of technology, social media, and advertising.

In highlighting the importance of this new platform, Minister Bartlett, said, “Top Events will place all our best entertainment products and offerings under one roof. In doing so we are allowing visitors and locals alike to chance to find these offerings with the click of a button. Top events will be a critical element that brings together our authentic Jamaican entertainment products under one roof through the use of technology.

This type of interface is critical in the age of technology especially given that entertainment forms a large part of why people travel and as such there is value in building out more products of this nature to drive arrivals and growth in the sector.”

The Top Events initiative will include a microsite and an easy to use mobile app to increase visitor awareness and participation in the over 900 events held in Jamaica each month. To qualify for listing on Top Events, event organizers must meet the predetermined criteria outlined by the TLN that guarantees continuity in the content delivery and effective data capture.

The TLN’s Sports and Entertainment Network (SEN) will be the driving force behind Top Events Jamaica and the body ultimately responsible for the final selection of “Top Events” to be added to the event calendar.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Travel News | eTurboNews