For Immediate Release

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Jamaica Secures Airlift arrangements Post Thomas Cook – Bartlett

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has secured airlift arrangements with Condor Airlines as part of efforts to lessen the impact of the recent collapse of Thomas Cook.

Following a meeting with Oliver Feess, Manager announced that ground will be broken in Hanover for the 2000 room Princess Hotel and Resort by year end. The Announcement follows a meeting with chairman of the hotel chain, Mr. Robert Plana yesterday at World Travel Market in London.

“Today we met with Chairman of Princess Hotels who will be in Jamaica next Monday for meetings to finalize arrangements for ground breaking and commencement of construction within the shortest possible time.

We are anticipating that construction will begin in the first quarter of next year given that all the developmental approvals have been completed and 18months after, the first 1000 rooms will be ready to be opened,” said Minister Bartlett.

Princess Hotels & Resorts is a hotel chain specialising in holiday and urban hotels in top class tourist resorts. Founded in 1967, it is ranked eighth in the Spanish market, with 3.700 employees and 19 establishments, offering 7.140 rooms. Earlier this year, the Spanish hotel chain committed to investing US$500 million in the construction of 2,000 rooms in Hanover.

Minister Bartlett added that, “We have been in dialogue with Princess for quite a while and my last visit to FITUR in Spain culminated in the announcement then, that they had acquired the properties in Green Island in Hanover and that they were ready to start construction as soon as possible.

Time elapsed and the necessary approvals have been sought through our local authorities and planning agencies and we are satisfied now that they are fully ready to begin operations.” 

Currently, Jamaica’s room stock is 32,000. Under the 5x5x5 growth strategy, the aim is to have 15,000 additional rooms by 2022.

Speaking on the significance of the addition of these new rooms, Minister Bartlett says that “Hanover will have, when we add the component in Negril, along with the Grand Palladium, Round Hill and Tryall, close to 6000 rooms.

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

Minister Bartlett: Jamaica recovered all lost seats from Thomas Cook collapse

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Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that Jamaica has recovered all the lost seats following Sunday’s collapse of Thomas Cook, which flies a significant number of visitors to the island from Manchester, England.

“Today Jamaica became the first country to conclude fully, all the arrangements to recover the loss airlift occasioned by the collapse of Thomas Cook,” said Minister Bartlett.

The Minister, who is currently in London for the Jamaica Travel Market, also noted that all partners have responded positively to Jamaica and his Ministry is projecting an increase in flights from the region for the upcoming winter season.

“We have met with all our key partners, our three major airlines – TUI, Virgin and British Airways and we have completely restored all the seats that would have been lost for the period and we are expecting additional arrivals for the winter,” said the Minister

He also noted that Jamaica will increase rotations but the exact number of new seats for the winter season will be announced when he returns to the island.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, the Minister stated that Thomas Cook was expected to fly 16 charters to Jamaica between now and March 2020. Those charters represent 7,300 visitors to Jamaica and a potential loss of US$10 million in tourism spend.

“The fallout that we expect will be minimal in terms of the six rotations that are immediate. The way we look at it is that they will be re-booking with some of the other carriers like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, and so on. That would minimize that fallout, so instead of the 1,800, we could recoup about 900,” said Minister Bartlett during the briefing.

The Minister and the Director of Tourism, Mr Donovan White, will return to the island on September 30, 2019.

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

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.

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.

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”.

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Thomas Cook selling its travel business: Chinese investment fund interested

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Thomas Cook is the world’s oldest tour operator and was founded in Market Harborough in 1841 by businessman Thomas Cook. It started off with organized railway outings for members of the local temperance movement.

The travel company received approaches for parts of its business and the company as a whole, according to reports. The business put its airline up for sale in February and it said last month it would close 21 stores across the country and cut more than 300 jobs.

Chinese investment firm Fosun International could be a bidder for the company’s tour operating business, which runs a joint venture with Thomas Cook in China. It could be months before any formal offer is lodged, and there is no guarantee one will be made.

Thomas Cook now has annual sales of £9bn, 19 million customers a year and 22,000 staff operating in 16 countries.

In September, Thomas Cook said profits would be hit after the summer heat wave saw many take their holidays in the UK. It issued a second profit warning in November, when it said winter bookings were also down.

The shop closures will take the number of Thomas Cook outlets down to 566. It said a consultation with staff and unions had begun.

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PM Hotel Group to manage new TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Austin, Texas

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PM Hotel Group, one of the industry’s leading hotel management companies, has been selected to operate the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Austin, Texas. This new hotel represents the first TownePlace by Marriott property in the PM Hotel Group portfolio and further expands the company’s relationship with Marriott International.

“We are thrilled to have been selected to manage the TownePlace Suites- Austin, which expands our footprint in Texas,” said Joseph Bojanowski, President of PM Hotel Group. “Austin is a rich and exciting city, and with this new project we are thrilled to be broadening our relationship with another valued ownership group, Scenic Capital Advisors.”

Currently under construction and scheduled to open in October, the 103-room hotel is conveniently located minutes from the Austin International Airport and downtown attractions.

“The south Austin corridor is growing rapidly, and we are excited to bring a new extended-stay Marriott product to a location that is conveniently located to all that Austin has to offer,” said Thomas Chen, Principal of Scenic Capital Advisors. “Expanding our partnership with PM Hotel Group has been tremendously rewarding, and we eagerly anticipate future opportunities.”

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IGLTA honors ITB Berlin for its commitment to LGBT+ travel segment

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The reward for promoting awareness and acceptance of the LGBT+ Community in the global tourism industry: at the Annual Global Convention, which will take place from 24 to 27 April at the Hilton Midtown New York City, the International LGBT+ Travel Association (IGLTA) will present ITB Berlin with the Vanguard Award.

Every year, together with the IGLTA Foundation (www.iglta.org/The-IGLTA-Foundation), the public charity subsidiary of the IGLTA, the directors’ board presents the IGLTA Honors. The recipients are individuals, companies or organizations who have improved relations within the tourism community and raised awareness of LGBT+ travel around the world. The LGBT Travel Pavilion of ITB Berlin celebrated its debut back in 2010, and since then has become a highly-regarded role model for the presentation of the gay and lesbian travel segment at an international travel show. In addition to the extensive display area with its own conference venue, supporting events such as the LGBT+ Media Brunch, networking events, informative lectures, the LGBT+ ITB Convention Seminar – which since 2 years also includes the bestowal of an ITB Pioneer Award -, and, as of this year the International LGBT+ Leadership Summit, attract many visitors.

ITB’s commitment has made it possible to also position this segment at ITB Asia in Singapore and organize international ITB Academies on this topic as recently in Malta and Japan.

”ITB Berlin is proud to occupy a pioneering role in this important subject, and to be the recipient of such a prestigious award for its continuing efforts to promote international recognition of LGBT+ travel“, said Rika Jean-François, CSR officer of ITB Berlin and responsible for this segment. ”What began as a few community pioneers exhibiting here and there around ITB Berlin has over the years become a recognized platform. Together with our partner Diversity Tourism we have created a globally unique forum.“

”We have got to the point now where at ITB Berlin we have created one of the liveliest and most diverse LGBT+ Travel Pavilions possible, with exhibitors and people taking part in discussion rounds from around the world“, is how Thomas Bömkes, LGBT+ consultant for ITB Berlin and Managing Director of Diversity Tourism GmbH described this market’s rising prospects. Rika Jean-François added: ”This award will give us the strength to continue defending LGBT+ travelers against discrimination in every country in the world and to ensure that they, just like any other travelers, can visit places where also local people are respected regardless of their sexual orientation.” Thomas Bömkes pointed out, that the economic potential of this travel market cannot be underestimated: “Studies have shown that accepting diversity can contribute significantly to a destination’s economic success.“

LGBT tourism has been represented at ITB Berlin since the Nineties. As a result of ITB Berlin’s CSR policy which promotes diversity and defends human rights in tourism and due to the keen interest expressed by exhibitors and visitors, Gay & Lesbian Travel was officially declared a segment in its own right at ITB Berlin 2010. Openness, creativity and lively interaction are the dominant features of this segment that has become one of the most wide-ranging at ITB Berlin. The LGBT Travel Pavilion currently boasts the world’s largest display of products for the gay and lesbian travel market of any trade show in the world.

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South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit returns to Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok

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The South East Asia Hotel Investors’ Summit returns for its third edition in May and will again feature top executives from both hotel owning groups and management companies and a range of cutting-edge topics.

SEAHIS focuses heavily on the issues facing hotel property investors. What topics are top-of-mind at the moment? Simon Allison, Chairman of hotel owners’ alliance HOFTEL which organizes the Summit notes:

The market in South-East Asia is generally booming, but investors in hospitality properties still face numerous challenges. These include:

• The need to pay numerous fees and taxes, to the online travel agents, to the brands and to the governments which between them can take almost half of what a guest pays the hotel

• The challenge of the sharing economy and of new forms of accommodation

• Oversupply as new properties get built

• The one-sided contracts which some hotel brands impose on them

• The dangers of relying too heavily on a single inbound market, like China – as the fall-off in demand in Phuket after the boat disaster showed last year

• Acquisitions of boutique brands by the majors – can these make money for their buyers and for the owners of the properties they manage

The last point is very much a relevant topic at the moment given the vast sums recently paid by Intercontinental for a stake in Six Senses, by Hyatt for Two Roads and by GIC for a stake in CitizenM.

These issues will be addressed at SEAHIS by many of the region’s most senior hotel and travel executives including Suchad Chiaranussati, CEO of SC Capital; Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor International; Thomas Willms, CEO of Deutsche Hospitality; Brian Williams, Deputy Chairman of Swire Hotels; Aron Harilela, CEO of Harilela Hotels; Stephan Vanden Auweele, Chief Hospitality Officer of Asset World Corporation (TCC); Piyaporn Phanachet, CEO of U City; Andrew Langdon, SVP Development Asia, Accor; Mike Orgill, Director, Public Policy, Airbnb and Jake Stein, Senior Director, Owner Relations at Expedia.

“Last year almost 50% of all attendees were from groups which own or develop hospitality real estate, said Simon Allison, CEO of HOFTEL. “They want exciting and sometimes controversial content and we aim to deliver that. Our speakers are senior and so are most of the audience, so it’s a highly informed debate.”

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Vista Global to acquire JetSmarter

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Vista Global, a world leader in business flight solutions, announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire JetSmarter, creating the global On Demand digital marketplace.

JetSmarter’s innovative marketplace technology will fulfil Vista Global’s digitization strategy, providing all customers with an unmatched end-to-end service and seamless booking experience. The acquisition will enhance Vista Global’s formidable position offering the largest suite of services and advanced technologies to every private aviation customer.

Following JetSmarter’s successful digital partnership with XOJET, it will now bring its digital capabilities to the entire Vista Global group. JetSmarter’s industry-disrupting platform will therefore be integrated into the back-end technology of Vista Global’s brands VistaJet, Vista Lease and XOJET. The integration will significantly improve the ease and speed of the booking process for the 150,000 passengers traveling with any of the Vista Global companies each year, building upon its impressive track record of offering customers the most technologically advanced solutions in the private aviation industry.

Vista Global’s Founder and Chairman Thomas Flohr said: “Today’s acquisition is an important milestone for Vista Global – accelerating and executing our vision of digitizing the entire private aviation offering. Customers today want speed, reliability and value, which in today’s world is only possible with technology. Vista Global’s reach and infrastructure will take JetSmarter to the global stage to fully realize its potential. JetSmarter’s technology will digitalize Vista Global’s market-leading customer offering to Program Members and On Demand customers.”

Since its founding in 2012, JetSmarter has become the preeminent provider of technology-enabled service to the business aviation market with two million downloads to date. Today, JetSmarter’s digital platform allows both Members and On Demand customers to book private or shared trips instantly.

Following the acquisition, JetSmarter’s customers will benefit from the reach, resources and operational expertise of Vista Global group. Its growing customer base will have access to a wider fleet, wherever they are in the world, and enjoy the highest standards in private aviation as they join the Vista Global family. They will significantly benefit from the group’s unparalleled customer service and an unmatched in-flight experience.

Steven Langman, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Rhône Capital added: “Vista Global is marking a new major milestone in its development. The acquisition of JetSmarter is fully in-line with the company’s mission: to transform the nature of the business aviation sector and offer its growing customer base a fast and seamless access to its services through digital innovation.”

Behdad Eghbali, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Clearlake Capital Group stated: “Vista Global is the undisputed market leader with unmatched vision to consolidate and digitally transform this fragmented industry. Vista Global’s worldwide fleet access, unmatched end-to-end service experience, and world-class management team will combine with JetSmarter’s digital technology leadership including digital bookings and On Demand crowdsourcing to further expand Vista Global’s leadership. We are thrilled to partner with Thomas Flohr and the talented management team at Vista Global and believe that, combined with Vista Global, JetSmarter will flourish and revolutionize the industry’s digital transformation.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. As part of the transaction, all JetSmarter investors, inclusive of Clearlake Capital and Jefferies Financial Group, will become investors in Vista Global, supporting its future growth. Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor to JetSmarter.

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Visitors to Walter E. Washington Convention Center encouraged to ask Alexa

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Through a strategic partnership between Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, and Volara, the voice hub for the hospitality industry, visitors to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center are finding their way around the facility and hosted events easier than ever before through an ever-familiar voice.

The new voice-based wayfinding solution atop Amazon Alexa is powered by Volara’s market-leading enterprise-grade conversation management technology. Inside the 2.3 million-square-foot building sits wayfinding kiosks that host the voice assistant. Visitors are encouraged to ask Alexa about happenings within the convention center and ask where to find meeting spaces, food-and-beverage outlets, the closest shoe shine, the business center and more. More than 50 kiosks featuring the Volara-powered solution on Amazon Alexa will greet visitors, and voice commands will extend outside the facility to local businesses, services and attractions.

“At the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, we aim to provide our customers with a memorable experience,” said Samuel Thomas, senior vice president and general manager of Events DC. “Most people are tech savvy, and they want to have real-time access to the information they need in a format they are most accustomed to using. We partnered with Volara to provide wayfinding on voice command. Now event goers can get their questions answered quickly without having to seek out staff; it’s quick and efficient. We aren’t replacing face-to-face employee interaction – customer service is our core value and the reason we engaged in this project. This voice technology enables us to scale personal service and gives our customers the option to get information their way. It’s exciting.”

Wayfinding is just the first step. Thomas said his team is working with Volara to add more commands to the voice assistant with the goal of personalizing experiences for visitors. Show organizers can customize or brand kiosks strategically placed in their event locations. Volara’s conversation management engine will then be leveraged to respond to voice prompts for each event. The convention center is considering selling kiosk sponsorships as a value-added service. An automobile manufacturer, for example, may want to sponsor all kiosks in the Convention Center during The Auto Show, providing a good revenue stream for the facility and making the event more interactive, informative and fun.

“When we tell customers about this voice initiative, they get really excited,” Thomas said. “We are always trying to find ways to reinvent ourselves and provide better services for customers, and technology is at the core. Recently we added smart furniture to the public areas that contain USB ports or standardized plugs to keep people connected. We are one of the first convention centers to offer free WiFi. And, through our strategic partnership with Digital Conventions, we now have the most robust digital signage program in the country. This voice project with Volara is yet another added service that we are providing to our customers. With the flexibility of Volara’s software, the sky is the limit.”

Lasan Coger, general manager of Digital Conventions, said he was intrigued when Thomas approached him about the wayfinding by voice command initiative. “A collaborative team from Events DC, Digital Conventions and Volara met and put our minds together to see how we could launch this program. It was challenging to get to where we are today, but everyone involved loved the challenge, and more importantly, we love the product. When we see the responses from attendees at our events, it validates what we are doing, and we can’t wait to expand this program.”

Volara provides platform agnostic voice-based conversation management software and a secure integrations hub to the hospitality venues. Its software turns the leading consumer voice assistants (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IBM Watson) into a business tool that drives more efficient customer service, influences visitors’ behaviors, and improves net promoter scores. Volara is a launch partner for both Google Assistant Interpreter Mode and Alexa for Hospitality.

“We are thrilled to bring wayfinding on voice command to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center,” said David Berger, Volara CEO. “We see Convention Centers, Casinos, Malls, Stadiums, Amusement Parks or any venue that can benefit from wayfinding as an exciting vertical for Volara. This successful deployment is proof that Volara-powered voice assistants can make a venue more visitor friendly, easier to navigate and more efficiently operated. Today we have a waiting list of convention centers that are eager to deploy our solution. The interest is overwhelming.”

To learn more about Volara-powered voice assistant programs, visit volara.io.

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WTTC launches global taskforce on human trafficking

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has today announced the formation of a global taskforce to help prevent and combat human trafficking – an illicit activity that affects 30 million victims worldwide and relies on travel networks to operate.

The taskforce comprises WTTC members and sector associations to become the first global industry-wide initiative to assert zero tolerance and share best practice.

As an industry, human trafficking is worth $150 billion annually and contributes heavily to modern slavery in which 40 million people worldwide are entrapped. One-quarter of trafficking victims worldwide are children (or 5.5 million). Meanwhile, 19% of victims are trafficked for sexual purposes, which makes up 66% of the illicit income generated.

Human trafficking is present virtually everywhere, yet not all criminalize it in all its forms.

The WTTC taskforce has thus been established for the purposes of:

  1. PREVENTION: to increase industry and consumer awareness of human trafficking. It is proven the more we know the more can be prevented.
  2. PROTECTION: to train employees and travelers on how to identify and report suspected cases.
  3. ACTION: to encourage governments to enact legislation which recognizes human trafficking as a crime throughout the entire chain and develop resources and support needs such as national hotlines.
  4. SUPPORT: to provide assistance, employability training, and employment opportunities to survivors.

The founding members of the taskforce are Airbnb, Amex GBT, The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, Ctrip.com International, CWT, Emirates, Expedia Group, Hilton, JTB Corp., Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority, Marriott International, Silversea, Thomas Cook, and TUI.

On the formation of the taskforce, Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of WTTC, commented: “Human trafficking is a devastating widespread and critical issue that unfortunately relies on Travel & Tourism networks to operate. As a sector, we must do everything in our power to help eradicate the problem so that people may move freely and safely across the globe, but never coerced.

“I am proud to today launch this vital taskforce comprised of the world’s most powerful travel leaders from across hotels, retails, airlines, cruise, technology, finance, and destination management, and are wholly committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims, supporting survivors, and engaging with governments so that this pandemic ends once and for all.”

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