World News | forimmediaterelease.net

... press releases & Breaking World News

African Tourism Board giant step into the UK market

by

The Association of National Tourist Offices and Representatives  (ANTOR) recently joined the African Tourism Board as a member.

At the same time, Representation Plus joined the fast-growing platform of the African Tourism Board.


eTN Chatroom for Readers (join us)

Alison Cryer, the founder of Representation Plus told eTurboNews: ” I strongly believe the best way for Africa to become a leading tourism destination is to work together as a region in the same way the the CTO and PATA have succeeded in developing tourism in the Caribbean and Pacific Asia.

We have worked with many countries across Africa helping them to develop tourism from the UK & Europe including The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Namibia, Mozambique, Uganda, East Africa Tourism Association and Tunisia as well as private sector operators in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, and Tanzania too.

We would like to help to raise the profile of Africa and it’s member states and increase sustainable tourism to the region.

We are a fully integrated marketing agency providing traditional and digital solutions to Tourism growth on permanent representation or ad hoc project basis. “

Juergen Steinmetz, the African Tourism Board Chief Marketing Officer said: “We are very pleased to have both ANTOR and Representation Plus join us. The U.K. is one of our most important market we clearly put a special focus on. With the help of  leaders like Alison Cryer, and with ANTOR representing tourism boards in the U.K., this is a giant step forward for ATB’s outreach in Britain. We’re hoping this will encourage many more new members from Britain to join us.”

ANTOR is the principal lobbying organization for the world’s tourist offices. Its UK membership comprises national and regional tourist offices which are represented in Britain.

ANTOR’s objectives include providing a fraternal forum for its members to meet and exchange ideas, to forge close relationships with all other sectors of the travel industry; to be recognised as one of the foremost advocates of responsible tourism and to comment on a wide range of issues affecting worldwide travel and tourism.

GOT NEWS? click here

possible to reach millions worldwide
Google News, Bing News, Yahoo News, 200+ publications

ANTOR UK is a voluntary, non-political organization which was established in 1952.

Founded in 2018, the African Tourism Board an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to the African region. ATB is based in Pretoria, South Africa with members across the African continent.

Welcome to African Tourism Board

MEDIA CONTACT: TravelMarketingNetwork, 954 Lexington Ave. #1037, New York, NY 10021 USA, PH: (+1) 718-374-6816, marketing@travelmarketingnetwork.com   

Travellanda takes on a trio of sales stars  

by

Travellanda, the award-winning and fastest-growing wholesale travel company in the UK, has appointed three new Sales and Business Development Managers to help it expand into India, the Middle East and Spanish-speaking markets. They are Ajay Rohila, who will take responsibility for the Indian subcontinent, Meltem Balkan, who will look after the Middle East, UK and Ireland and Carlos Correia, who will cover Portugal, Spain, South America, the USA and Canada. All have strong track records of well over a decade in sales and account management, working for highly regarded companies in the travel industry.

Ajay has joined from WebBeds, where he was responsible for building new strategic partnerships in the Indian subcontinent. Previously, as Country Manager, he established the TransHotel Online Reservation System in India; he was responsible for channel sales in the Delhi and NCR Region for Thomas Cook; he was a senior client relations executive at Cox & Kings and he was a Sales Executive at Global Tour Management Company in Delhi.

Meltem has joined from Tripedia in Istanbul, where she was CMO, developing the Tripedia tours and activities platform through its start-up phase. Previously, she worked at Metglobal in Istanbul, where she managed a portfolio of meta and travel search sites, helped create the XML platform for Hotelspro and ran business development activities for B2B and B2C brands. She has impressive intellectual credentials, having won full scholarships to study as an undergraduate at Bilkent University in Ankara and as a postgraduate at Amherst in the USA. She enjoys working on the introduction of new technologies and analysing numbers.

Carlos is a life-long tourism evangelist. He joined from Altura Destination Services, where he was a Key Account Manager, responsible for sales, business development and marketing strategy. Previously, he was an Account Manager at Hotelbeds, and prior to that a Host Manager at Iberostar Resorts. He is fluent in four languages.

Denise Atkinson, Head of Sales, Marketing & Cross XMLs, said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to hire three such strong sales professionals. With them on board, we will be much better placed to achieve our objective of increasing turnover by 10%, as we will have more capacity to help of our loyal clients grow and to increase the number of clients who work with us through our various IT platforms. It will also be possible to organise ourselves on a geographical basis rather than on a product basis, which will enable us to operate more efficiently and to provide an increasingly seamless service.”

About Travellanda

As a leading B2B Accommodation Wholesaler, Travellanda is one of the travel industry’s fastest growing companies. It has grown to over 40 staff and a turnover exceeding £60 million in less than eight years. Through cutting edge technology, it provides highly competitive wholesale rates on an inventory of over 300,000 hotels worldwide. Using the Travellanda XML Connectivity, Online Reservation System or White Label solution, travel agencies, tour operators, B2B online systems and OTA’s have access to a wide range of hotels and apartments from self-catering and one-star accommodation to deluxe five-star properties. This year, it was included in the London Stock Exchange 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain and for the 2nd year running in The Financial Times Top 1,000 Companies in Europe. It was also named Best Online Wholesaler 2018 in the UK Enterprise Awards and Best Online Hotel Wholesaler 2018 – SME Greater London Enterprise Awards. Travellanda’s head office is in London and it has local offices in Bangkok and Istanbul.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Vikki Barclay, Marketing Manager Travellanda, marketing@Travellanda.com on +44 20 3384 5410

Travellanda Ltd. identified in London Stock Exchange Group’s “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain” 2019 report

by

Travellanda has been identified as one of London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2019. The report is a celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), with companies representing over 40 sectors and spanning every country and region across the UK.

To be selected for the list, businesses had to demonstrate not only positive revenue growth over the last three years but also outperform their sector peers. The result is a unique and varied list of the UK’s most dynamic companies. More details on the Companies to Inspire reports and methodology can be found online at 1000companies.com.

As a leading B2B Accommodation Wholesaler, Travellanda is one of the travel industry’s fastest growing companies. Through cutting edge technology, it provides highly competitive wholesale rates on an inventory of over 300,000 hotels worldwide. Using the Travellanda XML Connectivity, Online Reservation System or White Label solution, travel agencies, tour operators, B2B online systems and OTA’s have access to a wide range of hotels and apartments from self-catering and one-star accommodation to deluxe five-star properties. Travellanda’s head office is in London and it has local offices in Bangkok and Istanbul.

Amir Gharizadeh, Director of Travellanda (pictured above) said: “Maintaining a high growth rate when one is a young company is a real mark of success but managing to maintain a high growth rate as one grows is truly exceptional. I am incredibly proud of our team and hugely grateful to every single member of staff for their tremendous efforts and dedication.”

David Schwimmer, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group: “Congratulations to all the companies selected for inclusion in the sixth edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain report, which identifies the UK’s most dynamic SMEs. SMEs drive growth, innovation and job creation and are the lifeblood of the British economy. We believe that supporting the growth of these businesses is critical to the UK economy and the creation of a society that works for everyone.”

MEDIA CONTACT: +44 (0) 203 384 5410, marketing@travellanda.com  

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.

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

The Development and Promotion of MICE in Thailand

by

The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is leveraging the development of Thai MICE business in long haul markets in collaboration with foreign chambers of commerce representing Australia, UK, USA and Germany.
​Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB, disclosed, “The signing of this MOU – The Development and Promotion of MICE –  between TCEB and Foreign Chamber Alliance (FCA), comprising 4 chambers of commerce representing our main target countries, which are Australia, UK, USA and Germany.
It’s considered another remarkable step of TCEB in altering our role to leverage MICE by serving as a business partner who joins hands with foreign organisations to promote the development of Thai MICE in international markets, as well as to penetrate into long haul MICE markets in Oceania, Europe and the USA, side by side with our main short haul target markets in Asia.
“Indeed, the collaboration is a new dimension of promoting Thai MICE business in long haul markets with concentration on Oceania, Europe and the USA. This is the very first time that the Foreign Chamber Alliance – FCA, which represents Australia, UK, USA and Germany, signed an MOU with a Thai government agency. Interestingly, FCA has more than 20,000 members that include businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs from business, industrial and service sectors, such as Minor Hotels Group, AccorHotels Group, Marriott Hotels Group, convention centres business, as well as oil, mining, pharmaceutical, automobile and other industries,” he added.
“These are considered high potential business groups for propelling the national economy and are included among the targeted industries that the Thai government is keen to encourage in line with the 4.0 Policy. For this reason, this is a lucrative opportunity for us to collaborate to develop and raise the competitiveness of Thai MICE. The 4 chambers of commerce have recognised the importance of using MICE as the gateway to the development of commerce and investment in Thailand and ASEAN,” he said.
With this MOU, the framework for the development of MICE business will embrace 5 dimensions of operation:
• The sharing of MICE statistics and events
• MICE business development
• MICE market promotion
• MICE business research
• MICE personnel development.
Mr. Chiruit further said, “The initial collaboration to mutually promote MICE business will mainly focus on hospitality service, because members of the FCA have long records of investment in Thailand, which have been running alongside their nationwide service businesses. Hence, they have eyed to extend collaboration with Thai government agencies, as they believe the endeavour will open a new door to operate MICE business in Thailand and ASEAN.
“This, in turn, will allow them to study about the dynamics and direction of the Thai MICE market. By joining with TCEB in formulating a marketing development scheme, the synergy will open a new door to connecting with other alliances who relate with the promotion of Thai MICE business in targeted countries. Moreover, there will be co-operation in drawing international events into Thailand, marketing promotion and provision of support for events previously held in Thailand,” he said.
“Target groups and alliances will be invited to participate to strengthen the potential of MICE events held here in Thailand. The FCA will join with us in the exchange of marketing information related to targeted industries held by allied chambers of commerce and TCEB will exchange information on Thai MICE business, including statistics and events, to fully bolster mutual MICE business development,” said the TCEB President.

​He went on to say, “Nevertheless, the FCA expects the Thai government to leverage the competitiveness of Thai MICE business in order to serve global competition. For example, facilitation of customs and immigration procedures; development of infrastructure and transportation; construction of convention centres; development of MICE personnel that meets international standards, and establishment of One-Stop-Service MICE centres. All of which will open a new door to the holding of MICE events in Thailand by efficiently offering enhanced convenience for MICE entrepreneurs and organisers,“ he declared.

Proposals to establish MICE service centres has been included in TCEB’s earlier strategic plan, and the Ease of Doing Business project as well  as the draft of a national strategy of NESDB (National Economic and Social Development Council).
​Mr. Chiruit went on to explain, “After the completion of MOU signing, TCEB is set to discuss with the FCA on the preparation of Phase I work plan, which lasts two years. Both parties will encourage practical co-operation in a rapid and consistent manner. Initially, we have planned to attract events and provide support to the holding of events that relate to targeted industries according to the government’s 4.0 Policy, particularly in the provinces governed by the administration of EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor),” he said.

​“TCEB expects that the collaboration will not only leverage the competitiveness of Thai MICE in long haul markets in Oceania, Europe and the USA, but will also help to attract international events into several regions in Thailand, especially those considered main markets in MICE City project, which are Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen. Definitely, we believe the rapport will encourage transfers of technology and knowledge of each industry among one another, and thus will promote advancement in all regions and stimulate income distribution to communities nationwide,” concluded Mr. Chiruit.

Mr. Benjamin Krieg, Vice President, Austcham, explained, “The role of the Foreign Chamber Alliance (FCA) in Thailand and the purpose of signing the MOU combines key Foreign Chambers and their members through this important collaboration, we provide a common voice on advocacy to develop and grow opportunities that can benefit our members and the country of Thailand,” he said.

“The MICE industry is growing, and will also continue to grow in importance and contribution to the overall tourism sector within Thailand, and of course the greater Thai economy. Our primary aim is to continue to increase and grow the competitiveness of Thailand as a leading destination for MICE not only within Asia, but the world, further complimenting the amazing tourism industry that we already are so fortunate to be a part of,” concluded Mr. Krieg.

Travel News | eTurboNews