« October 2007 | Main | December 2007 »
Thanks to Gadling for leading us to the Telegraph's slide show of some of the travel industry's 'finest' advertising moments. As Gadling points out, there is no such thing as bad publicity. BUT, these pictures are a reminder of how the travel industry keeps pushing the concept.
Martin Couzins, online editor
How about this for a destination marketing wheeze. According to the Sun, a group of performers in straight jackets rode the escalator at a London Underground station yesterday to attract people to visit Cornwall.
The thinking: to contrast the "shackles of London" with the wide open spaces of Cornwall.
Are they mad?
Martin Couzins, online editor
Over to the Avis blog which is on the hunt for unusual driving laws. Apparently, it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle in Alabama. I like the comments so far . . .
"In Connecticut it’s illegal to hunt from cars."
OK, it's not cars . . . “It is illegal to kiss on railways in France.”
Martin Couzins, online editor
Many and splendid are the contents of Thomson new media director Graham Donoghue's crystal ball, but TW Blog is a bit mystified by his latest prediction.
Donoghue reckons holiday shoppers will one day be able to experience a destination in "a Star Trek-style holodeck" before making a purchase. It would project sights, sounds, smells and temperatures from the destination into a room.
I can see a market for virtual destinations, but this model faces a few technical problems.
In the unlikely event that the technology is able to completely mask the walls and contours of the room, it would require the customer to stay stock still, since moving around would leave them suffering from simulator sickness and/or a bump on the noggin from one of the now-invisible walls.
Not very interactive.
In the more likely event that the technology is not able to fully mask the contours of the room, you're basically watching a 360-degree movie in smell-o-vision - and that sounds more like the Epcot centre circa 1985 than the future of retail.
I suppose we could just go back to those huge VR helmets (see pic) and the weird gloves. Technicalities aside, do readers think a 'virtual destination' would inspire them when booking a holiday?
Nathan Midgley, web producer
Here's one for the people at Plain English Campaign...
Pictured is Travel Weekly chief sub-editor Megan Turner at Gatwick, posing with a sign that takes euphemism to hitherto-undreamt-of levels.
They love this kind of thing on the article intelligibility repatriation desk.
Nathan Midgley, web producer
London Underground's announcer, Emma Clarke, has been sacked for running spoof announcements on her site, Travel Mail reports. Not surprising really, but here are the offending announcements. There is even one for American tourists.
Martin Couzins, online editor
Jaunted.com reports that Jazeera Airways is currently offering customers happy hours for bookings. And I thought happy hours were only a trick used by the drinks industry.
Martin Couzins, online editor
Just had a chat with Andy Cooper at the Federation of Tour Operators and asked him when ABTA and the FTO will merge (I always ask when I see him). The answer: he batted away the question. He always does that. But he did liken the ABTA/FTO situation to a swingometer and this week it is pointing more towards a merger. Maybe we should start an ABTA/FTO merger-ometer.
Martin Couzins, online editor
After five hectic days in Cape Town, South Africa, the 40 agents taking part in the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma final had the chance to let their hair down.
The event culminated in a fantastic evening at the Gold of Africa Museum, where they were treated to a tour of the museum followed by a tasting menu of traditional food in the museum’s newly-opened courtyard restaurant, courtesy of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape.
The evening included the chance to join in some traditional African drumming. Pictured are (left) Sara Short from Bath Travel in Fareham and Kathryn Skeates from Travelcare in Ringwood, Hampshire.
Two agents were also named Worldwide Consultant and Advanced Worldwide Consultant of the Year 2007 – check out next week’s edition of Travel Weekly for exclusive interviews with the winners.
Emily Ashwell, business and community editor
Quick heads-up for blog readers. The industry saw some more consolidation yesterday: Harvey World Travel owner Stella Group announced that it has bought Triton member Global Travel Group.
The deal will create the largest independent network of travel agents in the UK. Full story on the website.
It’s exam day on the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Agents are taking their final paper in the competition to become Worldwide Consultant or Advanced Worldwide Consultant of the Year 2007.
Here’s what the agents have achieved so far:
On the trip, the standard diploma agents have been competing for the coveted title of Worldwide Consultant of the Year 2007. The advanced diploma agents have been competing for the title of Advanced Worldwide Consultant of the Year 2007.
The two winners will be announced this evening (Monday) at a gala dinner at the Gold Restaurant, part of the Gold Museum in Cape Town.
Check out upcoming editions of Travel Weekly to read exclusive interviews with the winners.
In the mean time, big congratulations from everyone at Travel Weekly to all the agents who made it on the trip – it’s a fantastic achievement.
Emily Ashwell, business and community editor
Most people who have travelled around Spain have probably seen the big black bulls that sit on the side of the Spanish hills. Well, according to the Guardian the Osborne bulls (named after the sherry company they promote) are celebrating their 50th birthday. Thanks to freetransaltion.com for this: Toros felices de cumpleaños Osborne.
Pic credit: Kevin Collins
Martin Couzins, online editor
A busy day four on the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final as agents took two papers.
The first was a treasure hunt, which included tasks such as collecting maps and souvenirs. The hunt took place in and around Cape Town.
Pictured are Helen Roberts, Kuoni Tour Leader, and Phil Brady, long haul travel consultant at Midlands Co-op, Sutton Coldfield, at the top of the city's famous Table Mountain. Look in the bay in the distance and you will be able to see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held during his imprisonment.
Sunday afternoon was taken up completing the second exam task of the day. This time agents had to make a poster for customers highlighting the selling points and benefits of the Cape Peninsula tour taken on Saturday.
Pictured are (left) Linda Gill, sales consultant, Thomson Retail, Peterborough and (right) Amy Flack, assistant manager, Travelcare, Worthing, working on their poster.
Emily Ashwell, business and community editor
After a day wine tasting around Stellenbosch, it was back to work today for the agents taking part in the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final.
They were given their second paper this morning, to fill out during a tour of the Cape Peninsula. First stop was the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, part of the Cape Peninsula National Park. The Cape is the most south westerly part of Africa.
Pictured is Helen Spicer from Toucan Travel, Basingstoke at Cape Point.
After, the group took in some of the flora and fauna of the park - all the time gaining the selling tips that were part of their exam paper today.
Later the group went to Boulders Beach Penguin Colony, where they could view penguins in their natural habitat.
Pictured is Joanne Davies from Ilkeston Co-op, Lincoln, with some new fluffy friends. Ahhh.
Emily Ashwell, business and community editor
The first full day of the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final in Cape Town, South Africa, and the group went to a classroom of a different kind.
The morning was spent wine tasting at the Neethlingshof Wine Estate.
Pictured are: Ingrid Philpott, travel consultant at Bath Travel in Romsey (left) and Debbie Drummond, travel consultant, Going Places, Woking, tasting their first sauvignon blanc of the day - there were plenty more to follow!
After, the group stopped at the Spier Estate, which also includes the Cheetah Outreach project, where the animals are reared in captivity.
Pictured is Simone Crane, travel consultant at Hart Travel in Fleet with a seven month old cub.
"It purred like a kitten and was very docile," said Simone.
Emily Ashwell, business and community editor
UPDATE: A British evacuee from the Explorer tells her story.
UPDATE 20.25: Pictures of the stricken ship sinking.
UPDATE Saturday 24 November 20.14: The BBC reports that a Chilean military plane is on its way to King George Island where the 154 tourists and crew spent last the night.
UPDATE 13.29pm: Here are some camcorder stills taken from Hurtigruten's MS Nordnorge, which is involved in the rescue. These are being updated.
UPDATE 12.44pm: Here is the map of the location.
UPDATE 12.40pm: The Sun newspaper has published this picture of the ship.
UPDATE 12.28pm: Gap Adventures has released an emergency number for relatives - 00 1 800 465 5600 ext 101.
UPDATE 12.27pm: Lloyd’s List reports that the Explorer had five deficiencies at its last inspection, including missing search and rescue plans and lifeboat maintenance problems.
UPDATE 12.22pm: Gap Adventures have confirmed that 24 british nationals were on board.
UPDATE: 11.55am: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has said that 152 people on board Explorer have now been rescued by Endeavour. Hurtigruten's MS Nordnorge has arrived to collect passengers. MCA said the Rescue Coordination Centre in Falmouth is helping out with the rescue's communication.
UPDATE: 11.50am; Travel Weekly has now put a link to a video of Explorer on the website.
Click here to see it.
UPDATE: 11.11am; Sky News is reporting that MS NordNorge and Endeavour have arrived at the scene.
UPDATE: 11.08am; Hurtigruten has just advised Travel Weekly that its ship MS Nordnorge has arrived in Antarctica and will reach the Explorer at around 11.30am Norwegian time.
UPDATE: 11.01am: The British Antarctic Survey press team is having a tea break - we will keep on trying them for a comment on the environmental immpact.
UPDATE: 10.58am: There are concerns about the impact on the environment of the Explorer sinking.
UPDATE 10.53am: The Explorer is not owned by Noble Caledonia, as has been reported in the press.
UPDATE 10.49am: BBC confirms Britons, Canadians and Americans were on board. There is no emergency number as yet.
UPDATE 10.47am: Gap adventures PR confirms all passsengers are safe and that there are staff on board trying to stabilise the ship.
UPDATE 10.40am: Sarah Longbottom is telling ITN that the Explorer is fitted to ice standards and that GAP Adventures is a member of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators. Sarah points out that the IAATO issues safety guidelines but there are no legal requirements to adhere to these. She goes on to say that this incident will knock consumer confidence in cruising.
UPDATE 10.34am: Travel Weekly reports, Hurtigruten MS Nordnorge is to be first ship to sinking Explorer.
UPDATE: 10.31am: Travel Weekly editor talking to ITN
UPDATE 10.26am: According to Lloyd's List the Explorer is registered to Gap Shipping.
UPDATE 10.09am: Royal Caribbean has been inundated with calls from people concerned its ship, Explorer of the Seas, is the one involved.
UPDATE 9.58am: GAP Adventures have confirmed that they are currently chartering the ship.
UPDATE: Travel Weekly has just spoken to Andy Harmer at ACE and told us that he belives the ship is currently chartered by GAP Adventures.
UPDATE 9.55am: We are currently trying to establish who has chartered the ship for this trip.Unconfirmed reports are that it is a UK company.
Sky News reports there is a major rescue operation underway after a cruiseliner hit an object and began sinking in the Antarctic Ocean. More than 150 people on board are being evacuated and moved to life rafts and a nearby ship off the Argentinian coast.
The ship is the MV Explorer, which is used by companies such as GAP Adventures.
Here is a picture of the ship on the GAP Adventures site.
More updates on Travel Weekly's website.
Martin Couzins, online editor
While the Football Association licks its wounds after England were knocked out of the Euro 2008 football championships by Croatia this week, parts of the travel industry will also be seeing red after Steve McClaren's men failed to deliver.
Success for England would have seen a surge in interest in travel to Austria and Switzerland, the 2008 hosts. As well as tour operators, accomodation suppliers and airlines the likes of Eurostar would have taken the opportunity to showcase their services into mainland Europe.
Alas, it is not to be - and according to today's Guardian, the travel industry is not alone in losing out. It predicts the retail industry stands to lose in excess of £1bn in Euro 2008-related sales.
Martin Couzins, online editor
And here they are, courtesy of TripAdvisor.
La Plagne, France
Obertauern, Austria
Kranjska Gora, Slovenia
Ortisei, Italy
Kiruna, Sweden
Canazei, Italy
St. Wolfgang, Austria
Champery, Switzerland
Zermatt, Switzerland
Les Deux-Alpes France
Martin Couzins, online editor
Travel Weekly's Skills Zone editor Emily Ashwell is off to Cape Town with agents taking Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final. Here is her first post.
Agents set off for Cape Town, South Africa, last night for the Kuoni Worldwide Diploma Final.
They will spend five days in and around the city, before sitting their final paper on Monday.
The work started on the flight out, where agents were given the first part of the Diploma Final to complete.
Pictured are (left) Sarah Day, senior travel consultant, Midlands Co-op from Birstall, Leicestershire, with Joanne Cross, travel consultant, Midlands Co-op, Beaumont Leys, Leicestershire.
Martin Couzins, online editor
Big congrats to Kev for Travolution's place in The Times 50 best travel sites for 2007.
It's a list worth a look. These are the sites to look out for in 2008, according to The Times.
WorldReviewer.com
CruiseCritic.co.uk
Travelmag.co.uk
Travelintelligence.net
Gowander.com
Martin Couzins
BBC Worldwide's Audio Zone lets consumers download audio versions of books. It has a travelogue section which includes works by the likes of Michael Palin. For £13.99 you can download Himalaya.
It's interesting that you can watch Palin for free on terrestrial TV and read transcripts of his books for free on his website. It's the voice you pay for. With so much other content free it will be interesting to see how many pay for the audio downloads.
Martin Couzins, online editor
According to PR Newswire, a group of explorers and cartographers has found the end of the Earth. And it is the island of Kiribati which sits in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The country is made up of 33 atolls and straddles the equator and borders the international date line.
The panel of experts was commissioned to find the end of the world by Disney to celebrate the DVD launch of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Martin Couzins, online editor
The Daily Mail has revealed the latest charity fund raising idea from Ryanair. A 2008 calendar made up of pictures of Ryanair cabin crew. Apparently the proceeds from the £5 calendar go to children's charity Angels Quest - bet the charity is well pleased with the calendar.
It looks to me as if this picture was posed in an aircraft that has leather seats. Wasn't aware Ryanair's aircraft provided leather seats. Maybe the airline is taking a new direction . . .
Martin Couzins, online editor
Thanks to Gadling for pointing us to an artist's impression of Virgin Galactic's spaceport, to be built by Foster and Partners by 2010.
If you fancy being a part of the spaceport project, then check out the current job opportunities. Happy job hunting.
Martin Couzins, online editor
Thanks to Hotel Blogs for this video review of a premium cabin in the Yotel, south terminal at Gatwick Airport.
If all the developments at Eurostar haven't got you excited enough for high speed train travel, then this article by Aaron Dalton at Forbestraveler.com will. As well as guiding you through the speediest trains on earth it also provides some pics in its slideshow.
And for those of you who may have missed it, here's our clip of the last Eurostar leaving Waterloo.
Martin Couzins, online editor
The Guardian reports today that UK plastic surgeons are seeing more and more patients who have been on the receiving end of botched cosmetic surgery abroad. Members of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said after care, language barriers and lower quality standards were the main causes of concern. Patients were particularly dissatisfied with treatment in Poland, South Africa and Belgium.
More on medical tourism from Travel Weekly: Selling travel for health treatment abroad
More from the TW blog: A short UK break and a trip to the dentist
Martin Couzins, online editor
On Wednesday I floated the idea of a picture caption competition to go with this picture . . .
Well, I'm happy to report that the Slovakian stand at WTM has been kind enough to donate a bottle of one the region's fine wines to the winner of the most amusing caption. The wine 'Varieto' is only available in Slovakia. Get posting - the winner is in for a Slovakian treat.
Martin Couzins, online editor
The 23 winners of Travel Weekly's WTM passport competition were presented with their prizes by none other than Ray Quinn of the X-Factor. Awesome prizes and even a song from Ray at the end (Crazy little thing called love).
Ray's best line in the middle of giving out the prizes: "There are plenty more prizes. If you haven't won yet, you'll know how I feel."
We'll be posting video from today (including Mr Quinn) on the site tomorrow.
Update: There are some photos of the Passport competition ceremony on the website.
Martin Couzins, online editor