Travel Weekly Blog

The Telegraph travel site had a refit last week, gaining a snazzy map interface that lets you drill down to country-specific content. Also new is a series of downloadable destination guides.

While the map is a great feature, for me the guides are doomed to be neither fish nor fowl.

If they flag up the newest and trendiest attractions they have a short lifespan; if they do the opposite and highlight established hotspots then they have no real point of differentiation.

The problem, basically - and it is by no means unique to the Telegraph - is that they are generic and static, and web users can easily access something that is more niche and current.

So, money where mouth is: if I had unlimited resources, how would I use the web to deliver consumer destination guides?

It would be somewhere between content aggregator and desktop publishing software. Users would create their own guides by placing elements on a page using a simple interface - as per services such as MySpace, Ning or Netvibes.

They'd fill those elements with text, images, videos or feeds of their choice; alongside a New York feature from a newspaper might be a New York feed from Gridskipper, or a local weather feed from the BBC. Ideally much of this would come from an integrated content directory.

Finally they'd save the guide to a mobile device, or print a hard copy. Admittedly the latter renders the guide static, but if you're creating or updating it the day before you leave then that isn't a problem.

How does that sound? Or, if you're a Travolution reader, does it already exist?

Below Brian Hordon expresses amazement at the growth predicted for British tourism spend - a total of 40.6% over the next five years.

But of course it isn't just us Brits who are demanding more travel. Research by the World Travel and Tourism Council puts global growth at 4.3% a year for the next decade.

Great news for the industry, and as the Times travel supplement argued on Saturday tourism can foster both economic development and cultural understanding. (The paper is a partner of this year's Responsible Tourism Awards.)

Unfortunately there are downsides. Even if we forget carbon emissions for a moment, the 'economic development' can come at the cost of local ecosystems, and the 'cultural understanding' at the cost of local heritage and tradition.

In the same Times supplement Fiona Sims complains that we too often travel to far-flung places only to ignore local cuisine in favour of imported European-style grub; and this week the BBC will screen a film on tourism's troubling environmental impact on Hawaii.

It's timely, then, that WTTC's Global Travel and Tourism Summit (Lisbon, 10 - 12 May) will take the problems of growth as its theme, asking:

Is it really possible for the industry to bring useful change to people's lives, to their communities, and to global society? Can we identify where this has been achieved - or is the industry stronger on rhetoric than reality?

There's further reading and a chance to discuss the issues on the summit's web channel.

The relationship between cinema and tourism has been a long and fruitful one.

We've had Cold Mountain and North Carolina; Miss Potter and Cumbria; and now, er, Csudafilm and Crete's Capsis Resort Hotel.

In a press release best described as 'colourful' we discover that Capsis is giving a free stay to the person who buys Budapest Central Cinema's 100,000th ticket for the Hungarian comedy Csudafilm ("Wonderfilm"), in which the property features as a resort that is inherited by a tramp.

It's easy to chuckle, but Capsis is no doubt doing rather well out of the flick.

So are any other films crying out for a bit of travel and tourism cross-promotion? A free Ostalgie tour with every DVD of Goodbye, Lenin, perhaps?

As I mentioned below the third Travolution Summit conference took place this week. Kev and Tricia have put together a Video Blog from the event, featuring a series of top online travel bods answering one big question: What's the biggest challenge that travel faces in the next 12 months?

There also a small version embedded in the sidebar of our homepage.

More awesome stats from the wonderful world of travel & tourism were published this week. Two really caught my imagination.

First, that 40.6% is the predicted increase in what the British will spend on tourism in the next five years. Second, that £27 billion is the amount spent on overseas holidays in 2004.

Just taking a few minutes to step aside, clear my mind, and review what these stats actually mean is quite simply mind boggling! My immediate question is, "Who will handle all this business, and how?"

Everyone says "the computer, the internet etc." But the really professional travel agent who reacts to these stats NOW, with training, possible niche product focus and other special opportunities can well achieve success beyond their wildest dreams.

Is everyone ready for this opportunity? Is anyone ready for this opportunity? I wonder.

Brian Hordon, Director of Training Development, Silversea Cruises (UK)Ltd.

Vids of Royal Caribbean's new superliner are starting to pop up on Youtube - here's a glance around the interior by danaiks17 and footage of LoS cruising into Southampton by hoppy82.

...and if all that elegance is too much, here's a conga line at the launch party, courtesy of The Cruise Store.

It's always fascinating meeting the people on the cruise ships who make it all happen from behind the scenes. On Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas I was lucky enough to meet two pretty impressive men.

Captain Hernan Zini, 40, oversees operations from the bridge, from where he can turn the ship 180 degrees on the spot, slam on the brakes to stop it from full throttle in just six minutes, and where he admits he sometimes goes in his pyjamas if called in the middle of the night.

He says Liberty of the Seas can ride two large waves at once and is 'more than capable' of managing hurricane season in the Caribbean.

Executive head chef Johan Petutschning - he's only 34, but was chef to the king of Norway for six years - runs the 14 galleys (kitchens to the rest of us) where chefs work 24/7 to provide the 80,000 plates of food served a day on Liberty of the Seas. He launched Freedom of the Seas and looks set to launch Independence next year.

For more interviews with characters from the cruise ships, don't miss the next issue of TWcruise, out with Travel Weekly on May 18. You can still download the launch issue, which includes an interview with Freedom of the Seas captain William Wright.

For a peek inside Liberty, visit our cruise image collection on Flickr.

Emily Bamber, supplements editor

Andrew is director of Travel Weekly Cruise Club member Americas4u

I was met by Polly Lyons and Ruth Biggs of Complete Cruise Solution, who accompanied me on a private tour of the ship. First impressions were excellent and the ship was much better than I had imagined it would be, particularly having just come off RCI's Liberty of the Seas.

We started up on deck 14 and worked our way around all the facilities. I was very impressed with the Karma Spa and the treatment rooms, all of which seem reasonably priced. I could have spent longer in the meditation room, which looked something like the big brother diary room, and had I had the time could have had my teeth whitened!

All the different cabin types were available for viewing, and I was surprised how roomy they were. Children are well catered for at Base Camp for the younger ones and The Attic for the teens. Children of all ages would enjoy the new games available in the SEGA Village.

We finished the tour with lunch in the Waterfront restaurant, which was self service. I went for a Chinese selection, which was very enjoyable. This visit to me reconfirmed the importance of getting out there and seeing the product first hand - I have loaded pictures from my tour on to our office intranet and will be briefing our staff further next week.

Andrew Winstanley, director, Americas4u

Silversea's Brian Hordon hails a new era for the cruise market below - and, right on time, Southampton has announced the busiest ten days in its cruise passenger history.

As we report on the website, Queen Mary 2 and Oriana will join Liberty of the Seas and Ocean Village Two (whose naming ceremony took place this morning) in the port today, taking the gross tonnage moored there to 445,863...

Couple of things going on over on the Travolution blog:

First up is the 'Long Tail of Travel' project, which is based on a book and blog by Chris Anderson. His original Long Tail theory, based mainly on book, CD and DVD sales, says that new retail models have the power to squeeze big revenue out of niche product.

The Travo team want to see how the same idea can be applied to the travel market - read the feature, comment on the blog post and email the team if you want to get involved.

Second, check the blog regularly today because Kev and Tricia will be posting live from the third Travolution Conference. They'll also have some video blogs by delegates available towards the end of the week.

I was delighted to see the creation of the Travel Weekly Cruise Club. Great timing for a special initiative which sits alongside the increasing profile of PSARA. This development offers more agents the opportunity to make an impact within the rapidly expanding cruise market.

Thanks to a number of factors - increasing numbers of ships across all market levels, global destination opportunities, pricing which offers real value for regular cruise travellers as well as the all-important new-to-cruising customers, online support at all levels - there has probably never been a better time for agents to make a firm committment to this exciting and profitable product.

For many years during presentations at Seatrade global events, I used to say that "cruising offers a true cradle to grave holiday opportunity." Now there really is a new cruising experience for all travellers, and with the remarkable growth of the older customer, the safety and security alongside the total travel experience delivered by a cruise really does contribute towards outstanding sales opportunities for the creative travel agent.

After so many years of growth it probably sounds silly ask whether this is a new beginning for the world of cruising. But with the Travel Weekly Cruise Club (a first as far as I can remember), a revitalised PSARA, superb online support and increased field sales activity by many lines, I personally believe the "new" cruise era has just begun. Be there!

Brian Hordon, Director of Training Development, Silversea Cruises (UK)Ltd.

Two weeks after hailing the Quality Coast Awards for English beaches the Marine Conservation Society has published figures that show beach litter on UK beaches has increased 90.3% since 1994.

The Beachwatch 2006 survey found that Welsh beaches recorded the highest levels of litter, followed by beaches in Scotland, England, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland. Beach visitors are the main culprits with sanitary waste and shipping litter also adding to the mess.

But let's not get too depressed - Quality Coast Awards went to no fewer than 73 beaches, so there are some cracking spots to visit. We can also do our bit by ensuring we don't leave litter on the beach and getting involved in the Adopt a Beach scheme which involves taking part in annual or quarterly beach cleans and surveys to monitor litter throughout the year.

Martin Couzins, acting editor

Thanks to Steve Wright at the Brand Canada Blog for pointing us to Crazy Stag, perhaps the world's most accurately named tour company.

As well as conventional stag party fare (including paintballing, 4x4 racing and something called 'Strip Boat Dinner') the company offers 'Communism Deluxe' and 'Stag Kidnapping'.

While communist kitsch stuff isn't entirely new - Trabant tours of Berlin have been about for years, for example - Crazy Stag takes it to another level. There's even a vodka tasting with 'real Polish workers' in a 1970s flat.

As for 'Stag Kidnapping', I'll leave the explanation to them.

Unique to Crazy Stag! Pull the best joke on your stag and order up a kidnapping for him - in crazy Russian Mafia style! Go on - humiliate him - now that's something you don't get to do every day!

Steve puts all this down to a trend for "[local] folks with strong links to a community of interest capitalizing on their specialized knowledge and social network to provide VIP experiences to travelers." Interesting stuff in the light of what we said about travel and the experience economy a while back.

Nathan Midgley, Travelweekly.co.uk

Well I never. Sir Paul McCartney and the City of Liverpool scooped the national award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism at Wednesday night's Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2007, held at the Banqueting Hall in London.

It just goes to show that all publicity is good publicity - I thought Sir Paul's ongoing divorce proceedings with Heather Mills may have dented his appeal, but clearly not. Liverpool has seen visitor numbers more than double in the last five years

Congratulations to all 37 winners.

Martin Couzins, acting editor

We've received an uplifting email from Cheryl, assistant manager at Travelcare in Billingham.

Her client, whose children are currently taking exams, was left in the lurch when their departure time was changed. So Cheryl called operator Balkan Holidays to request that they be moved to an alternative flight.

The response? Yes, no problem. And free of charge to both agent and customer, despite the higher price of the alternative flight. Aside: Now picture a consumer trying to make similar changes to a direct-booked DIY holiday.

I was gobsmacked, usually if flight times change operators do not let customers change free of charge as they state in the booking conditions that they are not guaranteed anyway. And have you ever heard of an operator not charging the extra holiday cost to the customer?

So all we would like to say is well done Balkan! It's nice to know that there are some operators out there still that will do their best to help us agents and their customers.

Hello repeat business. As Diane writes below, service with a smile makes us all happy - if you come across an exceptional instance of it, drop us an email and we'll give it a mention.

After my last two rants (here and here) I think I'd better say something positive! There are some companies that are a pleasure to deal with - ones that know their products aren't run-of-the-mill, that know their prices aren't easy to get exactly right and that are happy to do the job they are paid for.

Like Keycamp for instance. They go through the prices, make suggestions etc - I'm sure they have a smile on their face. Virgin is another one I like dealing with. Not always easy to get through to, but in general when you do they are happy to help. I can't stand talking to grumpy people - what the hell are they doing in the job if they don't like talking to people?

And those companies that actually help when a mistake has been made. A few years ago a girl called Rachel at the consolidator I spoke about recently made a slight mistake on a round-the-world quote. Rather than wash her hands of it, she told her supervisor and the three of us came up with a solution that suited all of us AND didn't upset the client.

Two years on and we still give 95% of our Oz & Nz business to the consolidator and Rachel. Not only does she seem to enjoy her work, she is efficient too. In the last week she has secured a booking for nearly £8,000 to Oz and another for £10,000 to NZ. The moral of the story? Service with a smile makes us all happy!

Diane Coleman, Tickets Travel

Having had the privilege to be educated within the Travel & Tourism industry by some of the truly great motivators of their time, it occurred to me that none of them implanted in my mind the enormous satisfaction that sits alongside winning an award for excellence.

Make no mistake, the world loves winners, and that feeling of pride when you are recognised for delivery of excellence, alongside the admiration displayed by colleagues, is a unique emotion.

I wonder just how many travel agents simply adopt the attitude "I won't win so I won't bother to enter"; most definitely NOT the attitude. You simply do not know the minds of the judges.

So, if you have any thoughts that you, your colleagues, your office MAY just get into the winners' frame, then get that award presentation in NOW. The feeling of pride when you do win cannot be described, but it will stay with you for the rest of your life (and it looks good on your C.V. too!).

I am sure that there are many other award winners who share these thoughts on this very emotive subject.

Editor's note: Travel Weekly is currently accepting entries for its Agent Excellence Awards.

Brian Hordon, Director of Training Development, Silversea Cruises (UK)Ltd.

Holidaymakers have always been keen on crazy new activities, from banana boats to ocean trampolines.

Bossaball could be the most elaborate yet. Played on an inflatable court with trampolines on either side of the net, it's 'a mix of volleyball, football, gymnastics and capoeira'.

Like all such new-minted, equipment-heavy activities, it's also as much a business as it is a sport. According to an interview with Bossaball's creator on the BBC radio show Culture Shock, the bulk of the courts have been sold in Dubai, with other clients in Spain, Brazil, Holland, Belgium and Poland.

It's not hard to imagine the funkier, younger all-inclusives investing in a court or two, and the emphasis on music means Bossaball would probably go down well in e.g. Ibiza or Miami during party season. Have any readers tried it?

Oh, Stansted, how I hate you. Let me count the ways. Perhaps it's because you appear to be closer to France than central London. Perhaps it's the likelihood of having to board a Ryanair flight. Maybe it's both.

Last week's journey there was a classic. Train to London Bridge, tube to Liverpool Street, Stansted Express to the airport - that'll be £20 thanks. Only, they never said thanks, and the 'express' was half an hour late.

So I'm embarking on a spring resolution - no more Stansted for me. If only we could revive the original London Aerodrome at Croydon, I'd be a happy man. Imagine the descent over scenic Purley. And you could pop into Wing Yip on the way home.

What's your least favourite airport? I doubt anyone could top the vitriol I reserve for the Essex airfield...

Matt Hampton, features editor

True luxury is rarely served best by a joke, but the marketing folk at Silverjet are clearly fans of the single entendre.

"Get laid" shouts their billboard on the road to Stansted, in 20 foot-high letters. Geddit??!! We've got flat beds, so you can get laid. Oh, my aching sides. Perhaps their ads across the pond should urge New Yorkers to lie back and think of England?

Playing to the lowest common denominator is a dangerous game for an airline that claims to offer the last word in luxury. Contrast Silverjet's ad with the latest from British Airways, and the flag carrier comes off far better. BA may be the industry's favourite whipping boy, but at least they treat us like grown ups and not sniggering adolescents.

Matt Hampton, features editor

We've just had word that our Club Tropicana video, which we entered into a Youtube competition at our publisher RBI in an attempt to raise money for Comic Relief, has swept the board.

We won most views, most linked to, most ratings, most comments (read them here) and highest rated, taking the whole £1,000 prize pot.

First Choice pledged to match our winnings up to £500, and we raised about £50 round the office, so we have a grand total in the region of £1,550.

Many thanks to everyone who watched, commented, rated and linked, and a special tip of the hat to Darren at Travel Rants for giving us his 'travel vid of the week' slot.

One bit of unfinished business: the mysterious 'Deckchair Man' was of course our acting editor Martin Couzins.

A while ago we flagged up the womens' floor at Oslo hotel The Grand. Turns out that's just peanuts. The Shuangqiao District of China is attempting to boost tourism with a whole town ruled over by women.

Apparently Xinmin Village has long been run as a female-dominated society, and the region's tourism bureau wants to capitalise on that with an 'entertainment showing feminine culture'. Nothing wrong with leveraging your cultural assets, and China.org.cn's report points out that Xinmin is just 26 miles from the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that already draws tourists into the area. Come for the carvings, stay for the matriarchy.

Anyway, I've a feeling it won't just be armchair anthropologists who come to Xinmin:

"Love whip" will be a feature of the scenic spot according to the program. In this area, a "Female Court" composed of "judges" and "captains" will be set up. Male tourists visiting here will be "whipped" by female tourists if, for example, they can't remember their sweethearts' eating habits quickly or the brand of her cosmetics.

Wonderful. Now that's niche tourism.

Nathan Midgley, Travelweekly.co.uk

US webzine Slate recently ran an article in which writer Tim Wu travelled to Thailand using advice from Wikitravel, the user-generated online guide book based on Wikipedia.

The conclusion? Not much cop. Wu finds the articles 'vague' and the accommodation content thin on the ground. A glance at the London, Berlin and Sydney pages suggests it isn't just the Thailand section that is lacking.

I'm in two minds. Clearly on this occasion Wikitravel hasn't delivered what a guidebook needs to. But there's potential in the Wiki model - given time and engagement it can cover more, do it in more detail, deliver it to more people and deliver it at less cost than any other.

For me there are two questions. First, does the model need more time and more engagement than is realistic? It's all very well having the capacity to do the above, but will it ever happen?

Second, is Wikitravel's basic style and structure, which is characterised by long, flat HTML pages and a simple database taxonomy, appropriate to delivering travel content? Rival online resources like Lonelyplanet.com and Travelgator allow me to search inventories of product - accommodation and tours and what-have-you - in a way that Wikitravel can't.

Have any readers used Wikitravel? What's the verdict?

(In desperation, Wu eventually bought himself a good ol' Lonely Planet book. Cue a link to his article on the venerable brand's blog, which is where I spotted it.)

Nathan Midgley, Travelweekly.co.uk

Today is your last chance to help us raise money for comic relief by watching us sing Club Tropicana. Here's an added incentive: it turns that out we slipped up when transcribing the first line, and there's a bottle of something nice for the first person who spots it.

To the left is a pic of our 'hymn sheet' with the error blurred out. Take another look at the vid and email us at twblog@rbi.co.uk with the line we sang; what it should have been; and your contact details.

Remember, the more views, ratings and comments we get the better, and First Choice has agreed to match whatever we make up to £500.

We like to keep our readers informed, so I reproduce this email verbatim:

In connection with your recent Rear View news "It's Not Chico Time", thought I'd like to inform you that Chico had his fall at Butlins Skegness, and not Minehead as you reported.

He is recovering well and contrary to your report, he hasn't been out of action. Although he has been taking it slowly during performances, he still does the usual stuff getting the audience, both young ones and young once!, to participate on stage and he does a signing after his gig.

It is billed as Wordsworth for the YouTube generation and it aims to get younger folk interested in both the Lake District and the poet, whose poem 'Daffodils' is 200 years old this year.

Over to you MC Nuts. The life size red squirrel, aka Sam, the mascot for Ullswater Steam