Travel Weekly Blog

From deputy features ed Joanna Booth

I've returned from the Hayes & Jarvis fam to Mauritius overwhelmed by the hospitality on the island.

And not just from the beautiful top-end hotels we visited ­ though each one pulled out all the stops to impress us, from Thai cuisine at the Hilton to a pirate-themed quiz night at the Maritim ­ but also from the Mauritian people themselves.

Our group was divided up and sent off in cars on a treasure hunt round the island. We accosted people in the street, asking them countless questions, and the responses were polite and helpful without exception.

Few went as far as one man, though. We were asked to bring back what translated from the Creole as 'an old Mauritian'. Most teams discovered that our intended target was a day-old edition of the island¹s local paper.

However, Brad Smith, team manager at First Choice Peterborough, took a more literal approach, and arrived at the finish line cheerfully accompanied by a local man of advanced years...

Joanna Booth, deputy features editor

Another message from Louise Scott on easyCruise...

Just been chatting to a senior member of ship personnel who let slip that a customer spent a couple of hours in his office the other day having a moan.

Being a sticky-beaked journo type I asked why and he said she was an older lady who'd been on loads of (posh) cruises before this and wasn't happy with how easyCruise Life was shaping up in comparison - one of her main gripes being the food.

Hang on a minute, I thought, isn't that a bit like comparing Pizza Express to The Ivy? Or going to Maccy D's and expecting steak?

Okay, so the grub may not be the most varied in the world, but it's pretty nice if you ask me (or any of the folk I've chatted to about it). The disgruntled lady didn't take kindly to the generally informal style of the ship either, by all accounts.

Agents, the moral of this story is this: be careful who you recommend a holiday on easyCruise Life to. Those looking for a bit of swank, smarm and Silver Service will not find it here. This is firm flip-flop brigade territory.

Chilled-out types of all ages who would hate the traditional idea of cruising and want to see more of the ports of call than the portholes on deck will love easyCruise Life, though. It's easy peasy.

More from news editor Michelle Perrett's trip to Kenya with Virgin...

Esther Ranson was basically the best dressed woman on the whole trip. At every event she had a new gorgeous outfit and looked stunning, putting the rest of us messy lot to shame.

We left the Maasi Mara on Saturday, having eaten some of the best food, had some of the most amazing service, seen prides of lions literally metres away and been treated like royalty by the Kenyan people and the Sarova Mara Lodge.

We all tried to get our photo taken with Esther, who showed us a pose which her Strictly Come Dancing partner Anton du Beke had taught her. Apparently it takes 10 years and 10 pounds off you. All the female journalists agreed to use it in future...

Michelle Perrett, news editor

More from news editor Michelle Perrett in the Masai Mara...

The big news on Saturday was that Richard Branson had arrived in the Masai Mara - naturally, everyone was excited to meet him.

Branson has been very supportive of Kenya during its troubles, and had come to open a new school which has been partly funded by Virgin Atlantic frequent flyers.

Sir Richard approached me with a kiss on the cheek. I managed to get one of the guys to take a photo of us (above), telling Branson it's for my mum. He said it was typical: women's mums now fancy him!

Later hundreds of locals gathered at the official opening ceremony of the Sekenani Primary School. I sat in the press area, only to find I was sitting directly behind the man himself and thus had a good chance of making it onto Kenyan TV.

The children celebrated by singing about how important education is to them. They were so happy and so excited to have a school. Many of us got a little teary as we realised what a big event this was for the community

Michelle Perrett, news editor

More from chief reporter Juliet Dennis, on a Bahamas Flavours fam trip in Nassau...

Good news to report from our fam trip in the Bahamas - the missing red bag has been found!

The reason? Pure holidaymaker error (and there we were, all prepared to blame British Airways...).

As suspected, another holidaymaker had picked up Helen's bag in error.

Fortunately both Helen and the lady who had decided to bring a similar red bag on holiday were re-united with their respective luggage.

So we could all enjoy rum cocktails and a nice bit of nosh courtesy of the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort in Nassau without Helen worrying about what she'd wear the next day, and without us all having to lend her a spare T-shirt!

News editor Michelle Perrett has joined tour operators and journalists on a trip to the Masai Mara...

Arriving by limo and being checked in at the special Virgin entrance at Heathrow is a spectacular way to start a trip to Kenya.

Through the genius of technology the driver contacts Virgin detailing the expected time of arrival and amount of luggage I need to check in making the arrival smooth and stress-free.

One of the most awful things about getting a flight is the queuing to get food and rush around duty free. But the Virgin Clubhouse is a treat in itself, designed like a trendy London bar or restaurant.

You can have a spa treatment, get a haircut, eat from the menu and have a glass of champagne while waiting to board.

I have a glass of champagne while waiting to interview the Minister for Tourism for Kenya, who has been on a 10-day trip in Europe promoting the country.

He wants to tell tourists that Kenya is now safe after the recent troubles, but is running late as he has been called to No. 10 for a meeting with foreign ministers.

On the eight-hour flight I managed a few hours sleep in the Upper Class beds, which are heaven.

In typical British style, everyone queues for the toilets to change and freshen before landing. That's Life TV presenter Esther Rantzen, who I'd spotted in the Clubhouse earlier, is now in the queue behind me. In typical non-British fashion she decides queuing to change is not the way forward - and decides to strip off her top.

I wasn't expecting to see so much of her on this trip. It turns out she is a travel writer and is going to be on the trip for four days with the other 35 journalists and operators.

More soon...

Michelle Perrett, news editor

A second dispatch from chief reporter Juliet Dennis, who has joined a Bahamas Flavours fam trip in Nassau...

It's not every day you get to hug and snog a dolphin. But that's exactly what we got to do yesterday as part of Bahamas Flavours' educational.

Dolphin Encounters is a centre that is accessed from Nassau on a short boat ride and intends to look after dolphins and sea lions as well as allow them to show off their party tricks - and some close encounters with their human friends. It's a great day trip for agents to recommend to customers planning on visiting the Bahamas.

For our part, we got to go into the water to meet one of the dolphins, who was so tame he gave us all a hug, several kisses (okay I got four!) and provided he was given plenty of fish, let us stroke him too, bless him.

One of the sea lions we met had been rescued from an aquarium after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The poor creature has been so traumatised by the hurricane that he's lost the sight of his eyes and is deaf in one ear.

But clearly he's improving fast - he wasted no time in showing us a few choice spins and loud coughing noises. And word has it he has been intimate with at least two pregnant sea lions at the centre, so clearly he's got his mojo back too.

Meanwhile, we also visited a few properties in the Nassau area, the funkiest of which was Compass Point. It has huts of every colour - so a real Caribbean feel to it - some of which are on stilts.

The huts, which have a lovely rustic feel, sit right next to the beach and there's also all the usual facilities (pool, restaurant, Internet).

Definitely worth booking for clients who want a smaller property that offers an alternative to a hotel. There's even self-catering facilities there too, not to mention a view to die for.

Juliet Dennis, chief reporter

Juliet Dennis reports from Bahamas Flavour's fam trip to Nassau...

As most travel agents would no doubt agree, no fam trip would be complete without a few hitches along the way.

But none of our party of agents expected it to get off to a such a flying start when we arrived in lovely hot Nassau in the Bahamas on tour operator Bahamas Flavour's first educational trip for the trade.

We spent an hour in the arrivals hall waiting for luggage (thank God, only the Caribbean would have a bar next to the carousel serving up rum punch for us needy Brits), and then discovered one of our bags (and it would be the bright red one) had not turned up.

Poor Helen, from Universal Reservations travel agency, put on a brave face but even her patience was tested when the lady at the British Airways desk said she would file a report but there was very little she could do as she didn't have a phone. No phone? No computer? ...where are we?!!

After a bit of detective work we found a similar bag to Helen's with a different name on it - and concluded that another holidaymaker has walked off with her bag.

And so the search begins. Helen is now off at another resort, with our fantastic host Kim from Bahamas Flavour at her side, who is determined to track down the naughty Brit who picked up her bag.

(We have it on good authority from Jane, from Global Star Travel, that the party who have picked up Helen's bag were getting into the holiday spirit on board the flight and have already had a few drinks...)

Let's hope she finds it - the other scenario is that the bag's stayed on the BA flight and has gone to Turks and Caicos for the week. We all like to buy a few new clothes on holiday, but a whole new wardrobe?

Meanwhile, the hotel's business centre is shut on Sundays and it's taken me 40 minutes to find an Internet cafe (via a vast casino that is like a mini-Vegas, and I nearly got lost in there alone) and then the computer wouldn't accept my work American Express card... looks like I'll be needing a few rum punches myself later.

Juliet Dennis, chief reporter

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

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:

• A total of 2,700 agents started the standard diploma, 525 started the advanced diploma.
• To gain a place on the Final trip to Cape Town, candidates taking the standard diploma had to achieve a pass mark of 96% or above – 40 agents did and they have come on the trip.
• Candidates taking the advanced diploma had to gain a pass mark of 92% or more to be offered a place on the trip – 15 got that mark and ten made it on the trip.

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

Ready for some name-dropping?

Watch your toes.

Yes, it's Travel Weekly editor Sarah Longbottom getting pally with Ruby Wax at the launch of Norwegian Gem last week.

There are more photos in our flickr galleries, and a video tour of the ship - which seems to have made a good impression on the thousand-or-so agents who visited - elsewhere on the site.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Select World Travel's Lee Harrison contacts TW Blog to say that one of his consultant's travel videos a video featuring one of his consutants is up for an award on Weshow.com.

Karen Wratten filmed was at Beachcomber's 18th Birthday Party held in Mauritius, and a very well put together video it is too.

(It transpires the video is actually the work of Enigma FX - Select World Travel just attended the fam and posted the video on its blog. Apols for the confusion.)

Looks like everyone had a great time, if not a relaxing one - if anyone suffers from the delusion that agent fams are an excuse to put your feet up for a few days, they should give it a watch.

Anyway, it's good to see an independent agency producing this kind of content. If you like the video go and vote for it (requires registration). Good luck to Karen, Lee & co.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

This comes from our features reporter Janine Kelso...

I recently joined Thomas Cook's top 100 agents as they were flown to Antigua in recognition of their hard work.

Staying in the newly-built Mediterranean suites at Sandals Grande Antigua, we were wowed by the rooms - four-poster king-size beds, whirlpool baths and (big enough for two) rain showers.

The champagne breakfast has also went down well.

Eric Clapton and Giorgio Armani have homes on the island and Eddie Murphy (complete with embarrassingly-large entourage), 50 Cent and Danny Glover have all visited. But the agents got their own taste of fame this week when news of their arrival on the island was broadcast on local TV and radio stations.

Representatives from Thomas Cook and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office told reporters that the incentive trip was beneficial to the island as it would help the agents to sell it with passion when they returned home.

Thomas Cook said it was the first time that one of their trips had drawn so much interest from the local press. The news report was screened at 6am and those agents who rose early enough to watch it were thrilled to see themselves on TV.

12:25pm: Well, what a journey.

Not sure what happened this side of the Channel tunnel but we flew from Brussels in well under two hours. 1 hour 43 and 53 seconds unofficial which makes it a record time.

Couldn't find my train expert friend unfortunately.

St Pancras station is nearly complete and looks magnificent.

There was a real buzz on the train. Congrats to David and Luc the drivers.

What a great day for rail travel.

More updates from Martin...

10:35am: Just whizzed through Lille...

11:27am: We are in blighty. I just walked the length of train with video camera. It took ages - a quarter of mile there and back.

Just passed Ashford, took 54 mins to get to the tunnel and around 18 mins to pass through it. Records looking good but no one is saying how we are doing.

Got to go back to carriage 4 to fnd Murray Hughes, consultant editor of Railway Gazette. He knows about trains, believe me...

11:29am: Way ahead of schedule. Just overheard someone saying we are going to do it in one hour 45 minutes. Woo-hoo if we do...

And here's our breakfast...

11:47am: We are in London...

Martin's on the first Eurostar journey from Brussels to London since the opening of the High Speed One line. He's been sending in pictures throughout the morning...

It's the first time anyone has seen this screen at the Brussels terminal...

All aboard...

Just met the drivers David Green and Luc Stockx. They swap under the Channel and David will be driving us into St Pancras. David has been driving Eurostar trains for 10 years. I didn't realise train drivers worked in a suit...

Here's Leger Holidays brand manager Marco Mori, who had the misfortune to spend this historic morning looking at me...

And here are Thomas Cook short haul scheduled product and commercial manager Katie Elson, and Eurostar sales national account manager Jeremy Turner.

More from Cruise Month - here's homeworker Andrew Fox, a member of the Travel Weekly Cruise Club, on a visit to Oceania Cruises' Regatta. Our Kelly Ranson was there with the camera.

Andrew makes the well-rehearsed, but no less true, point that ship visits are indispensable to successful cruise sales - and you can read more about how he developed his own travel business in Skills Zone.

More video, sales tips, ship reports and other useful stuff on the Cruise Month page.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

(And TW Blog finds a new candidate for the travel lookalikes gallery on its own doorstep, when someone points out that features ed Matt Hampton is the spit of...)

I've uploaded a bunch of photos from my all-too-brief tour of New Zealand's coastal Bay of Plenty to flickr - swish slideshow below, but visit the set on flickr for details, including web addresses of operators where appropriate.

One thing not shown here, and which I am compelled to mention because it is now my religion, is the piece of smoked salmon I had in the restaurant at Morton Estate winery. It was life-changing. I quivered. I spoke in tongues ("Mmmm," I said. "Mmmmm"). If there are cigarettes in heaven, the smokers' area is beneath that piece of fish.

Created with Paul's

If you’re an agent, operator, or journalist for that matter, how you sell a hotel or what you write about a hotel is often based on a short site inspection. But is it fair to be negative about a hotel on the basis of a flying visit? Here’s my dilemma:

I recently went on a trip with a group of tour operators to an exotic destination to see some new hotels, all of which knew we were coming. The group was impressive – some were from upmarket operators who could bring in wealthy clientele, others from bigger operators who could give hotels good distribution.

Most hotels really impressed, except for one very luxurious and expensive property. On this particular visit we were told the hotel would only admit a maximum of six people, so some of the tour operators couldn’t see it and had to wait on the bus.

After a short wait, four members of staff came to show us around. Surely another tour operator could have joined us, as a group of six doesn’t need that much chaperoning?

We were split into two groups and I was in the second. My group was taken in a buggy to see one of the rooms, but the staff member found he had the wrong key and couldn’t get in. He said he couldn’t get in touch with the manager to get the right key and told us we couldn’t see a room.

This wasn’t the right impression. In a very expensive hotel you expect to find the kind of staff who make things happen. There’s not much point flying thousands of miles to see hotels only to get there and find you can’t even see inside a room.

It was only when we passed a manager on the way out that we got the chance to complain. We were then told there was another room we could see. By that time we were running late and could only take a quick look.

The rooms themselves were stunning and the resort was built to the highest quality. But overall the visit left me unimpressed – with the calibre of tour operators on the trip, I would have thought they would pull out the stops to show what they can do, not what they can’t.

Is it acceptable for a staff member at a resort where the price tag runs into thousands of pounds to have an off day, or should we expect them to get it right every time? Shall I give them the benefit of the doubt?

Emily Ashwell, deputy features editor

You know I don't mind paying full price for a holiday and I never EXPECT to get a concession especially in peak season (although Cosmos give agents 20% even in August!).

But I do hate to think that a member of the public has got a holiday cheaper than me.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much but as an agent you'll come back and, all being well of course, promote that particular travel company for free!

A small concession or reduction goes a long way. I remember booking my honeymoon nearly 20 years ago with Paris Travel Service on the Orient Express - they gave me 25% and I never forgot it. They were always my first choice for Paris.

So all you tour operators out there: a little goes a long way and lasts a long time!!!!

I recently took my kids to Lapland. The tour operator who we will call AcrossSnow didn't give us a concession. Okay, I thought, its peak season, not much availability (and no I couldn't go with Cosmos as they didn't have the dates I wanted But they WOULD have given a concession!).

But it really bugged me to hear that of most of the group, we appeared to have paid the most.

Meanwhile, back in September I was the lucky winner of two tickets to Australia with a well known consolidator and a well known middle eastern airline.

I held off telling the kids – as I thought I'd wait to hear what the restrictions were. I knew I wouldn't be able to travel peak season, Dec, Easter etc but it was via Dubai and going to Oz, so surely August would be fine?

Anyway, they were very excited when I told them. I had to go back to the shop and open up so they could get some brochures and begin planning their dream trip.

All running smoothly until the consolidator told us the airline don't allow any school holiday travel. The kids’ dreams were shattered, so I if I could pay a supplement.

Three months later (and I now only have nine months to use them) and the consolidator is STILL waiting for a reply from the airline!!!!

In the meantime two staff here booked their holidays and I no longer have more than two weeks to go anywhere!!

So now I've asked if I can give them to someone else. I wonder how long this response will take…

So, anyone out there fancy a trip to Oz? Don't hold your breath, though, as if it takes them another three months to let me know there'll be barely anytime to use them as it'll be Easter, then Half Term, then the private school hols, and then its Scotland school hols, then its August and UK hols – and then they expire!!

It's great being a travel agent!!!

Diane Coleman, Tickets Travel

We might strive to fit in with the locals when holidaying in Europe or America, but really, in Japan, why bother?

It’s like going through the looking glass. As a westerner you haven’t much chance of fitting in.

I’m not abnormally tall, but is it my imagination or does everything seem smaller then usual?

The bed, the shower… there’s a heated element behind my bathroom mirror to prevent it from steaming up when you have bath, which seems to have been positioned so a Japanese lady might do her makeup.

When I come to shave all I can see is my chest! [The picture clearly indicates our dear Matt did not decide to shave his chest instead - Ed]

It’s not the land of the little people per se, but certainly the land of the Five foot somethings. Vive la difference, I say. As globalisation encroaches on our shrinking world, it’s refreshing to be somewhere that still feels a little alien.

Matthew Hampton, features editor

I’m not entirely convinced I haven’t just eaten a testicle.

It’s my own fault I suppose. I’ve gone for the first night immersion technique into Japanese culture and chosen the tiniest neighbourhood restaurant I could find.

No English menus, no pictures of the food, just a convivial atmosphere and the pleasant aroma of grilled meat.

So, lesson one in Japanese travel – carry a phrasebook. I don’t know why I didn’t bring mine with me. This isn’t Europe; you can’t just get by with a bit of Spanglish and an Olé!

My outing resulted in much fevered pointing, not a little guesswork and a good deal of patience from my Japanese hosts. But I wasn’t disappointed.

Concentrated effort and blind hope brought some delicious grilled salmon, followed by four little skewers of meat. Wonderful. Tangy lemon chicken, little bacon rolls, some beef and something crunchy that may once have been attached somewhere rather delicate.

The next course was based on my waiter’s sole words of English: “very little fish”. He wasn’t kidding. Tiny little things about the size of a grain of rice – I swear one of them was moving when it arrived – on a bed of mashed horseradish.

Oh well, when in Nippon…Ita daki mas (Bon Appétit, according to my phrasebook).

Matthew Hampton, features editor

Having just been on a fam trip to Hong Kong I have been left overwhelmed (and exhausted) by how much of a city you can see in just two and a half days.

I realised how short my trip was when I flew back with the same pilot that I flew out with – his rest stop was my sightseeing break!

However I wasn’t disappointed from start to finish – despite picking up a dreadful cold on the plane (which I think I spread to at least a handful of agents – apologies on that one).

Travel was via new low fare airline Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, but any preconception that it would be like flying no frills for 12 hours went out of the window as soon as I stepped on board the aircraft.

The crew were friendly and helpful and the seats were comfortable – all equipped with seat back TVs to boot. The only difference with the airline is that you have to pay for snacks and drinks, but two meals are included which is great.

Wearily arriving in Hong Kong, the hosts - Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Tourism Board and Marco Polo Hotels went full speed ahead to give us a packed trip of the city’s musts.

Without stopping for breath I saw the views from Victoria Peak, bartered in the markets, spent an evening in the buzzing Lan Kwai Fong, visited Lantau Island to see the Giant Buddha and Tai fishing village and finished off with a visit to DisneyLand Hong Kong.

However the one thing that will stick out for me from the trip was the journey on the newly opened cable car, Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail on Lantau Island.

Shani Vickers from Marco Polo Hotels had just bought a reflexology kit for herself and eight of us stood up in the car and tried to balance on top of the wooden mechanism to find out whether our belly was aching or if we had a dodgy kidney or thyroid.

Quite interesting for those people coming past us in the opposite direction…

Kelly Ranson, reporter

Ever since Hugh Grant’s hapless character in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral stood up Duckface at the altar, weddings have had a bit of a naff image.

Read through the celebrity and wedding magazines and it seems there’s only one way to tie the knot – bold and brash, like Jordan and Peter or Cheryl and Ashley.

Nowhere suffers more from the naff wedding image than all-inclusive hotels in the Caribbean. Seen by some as the epitome of tackiness, the worst images are of a conveyor belt of hot and sweaty brides in meringues and grooms in morning suits stood by the pool and surrounded by beetroot-red sunbathing Brits.

It was on a recent weddings and honeymoons educational trip to Antigua that I was given the chance to see real-life Caribbean all-inclusive weddings, and I couldn’t help wondering if they would be for better or worse.

The weddings were held at Jolly Beach Resort, a three star hotel on a fabulous stretch of beach. On the day I was at the hotel there were three events happening, one wedding and two renewal of vows.

The first event I saw was the wedding. I felt sorry from the nerve-wracked couple, it had been postponed from 2pm to 4pm because of rain. The couple had about 40 guests and were getting married in a gazebo overlooking the pool. Jolly Beach is a big resort, so although capacity was quite high, there weren’t too many people about. The guests all walked through the gardens into the floral-decorated gazebo - there is no entrance from the beach or pool, so they were kept separate from sunbathers.

All in, a steel band started playing. Then came the bride in a long champagne coloured satin gown. The bridal procession shimmied up the path to the gazebo in time to the music and a short ceremony took place. Rather than fit in with the resort, the chatter from other guests fell to a lull, while everyone cricked their neck to get a look.

A bell rang out from the gazebo to let everyone know the couple had married, applause broke out and the party went off for a champagne reception in a private room in one of the restaurants.

The reception venue looked like any you might find over here – flowers everywhere, white table cloths and white chair covers with big bows on the back of the chairs. There was no sign of the next renewal of vows as it was a small party, with the ceremony taking place after the wedding in a different gazebo at the other end of the beach.

The wedding couple were certainly happy with their big day, and I was impressed too. The Jolly Beach wedding felt special, yet down to earth, and the character of the couple really came through. It was a tasteful, intimate ceremony, where the focus was on enjoying the Caribbean for what it is – beautiful weather and beautiful beaches, sunsets, flora and fauna.

OK, so a resort doesn’t have the gravitas of a huge cathedral or stately home, but it also doesn’t have the stuffiness. When you get married abroad you sign up for a different type of wedding. Over here people can try to make their weddings so posh in an attempt not to be naff that they bear no relation to the couple who are actually getting married. There was none of that nonsense at Jolly Beach – just simple enjoyment of a special event.

Emily Ashwell - deputy features editor

When I was asked by Travel Weekly and the Israel Government Tourist Office to go to Israel to research this year’s supplement, it was with some trepidation that I agreed. After all, we were just a few weeks into the ceasefire following the recent conflict in southern Lebanon.

From the moment I checked in at Heathrow with El Al to the time when I left Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to return to the UK, I was treated with kindness, civility and openness and at no time did I feel in any danger whatsoever.

Sadly, in the travel business, perception is the name of the game and many potential visitors from the UK perceive Israel to be a dangerous country to visit. This is despite the fact that tourists have never been targeted in Israel, unlike say Turkey, Egypt or Indonesia.

Some of the blame lies with the news media. TV images from Israel consistently portray conflict. We are seldom shown or read positive stories of Jew and Arabs living peacefully side by side.

The Holiday of Holidays Festival takes place in Haifa, Israel’s most racially harmonious city, at the end of this month.

Jews, Muslims and Christians come together and celebrate their diverse cultures and beliefs, and common humanity. Will this receive coverage on our TV screens or in our newspapers? I doubt it.

My very special thanks go to my guide, Yuval Russ, who brought Israel to life in so many ways. My thanks also to David Stern of B & H Cameras in New York who persuaded me to invest in a camera (Canon 30D) that flatters my photographic abilities, as I hope the pictures in the supplement show.

Chris Coplans, freelance journalist

Read the supplement

It was during the recent World Travel Market that I realised there’s something severely lacking at the event – etiquette.

The industry’s biggest annual show, it attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world who come to promote their respective countries for tourism.

But when faced with an opportunity to do so, they seem to get it wrong time after time.

This became clear when a tourism minister from the sub-continent failed to turn up for an appointment I’d been begged to attend.

It goes on: during an interview with the minister of a Latin American country, who had clearly never heard of Travel Weekly, he insisted on talking about the American market.

It was while trying to steer the conversation away from the country’s many golf courses - that were being pointed out to me on a map - and onto possible UK fam trips that he sighed, looked at his watch, shook my hand and left.

If this is indicative of how the locals behave, I don’t blame visitors for bypassing the country in favour of their neighbours – where I hear a friendly welcome awaits.

Come on ministers (and PR representatives), if you want our help, please work with us.

Jo Gardner, reporter

Busy couple of days here.

Last night we hosted a party in Central London to unveil the re-launched Travel Weekly magazine. Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive so far! [Lawrence Assock of Destination Care pictured]

Earlier today, Travel Weekly managing director Trevor Harding handed out copies of the new magazine here at Reed Business Information in Sutton.

All the frenetic activity of the past few months will continue next week at World Travel Market, where we will be out in force with a special stand at ExCel with our new TW Group colleagues, Travolution and Gazetteers Plus.

We will also have our famous WTM dailies, which will be circulated every single day of WTM.

Make sure you drop by to say hello during the course of the event, stand # 1700 in the South Hall.

I think we work in a great trade as I know of no other where we have quite as much fun in quite so many exotic locations.

So when we get these trips why is it guaranteed there will always be someone on the trip who will moan incessantly.

It’s too hot (Kenya), it’s too crowded (Beijing), the sea’s rough (cruising), the food’s too foreign (again Beijing), a tour has started too early and is going on too long (bunch of hacks hung-over after a free night’s boozing) or the itinerary has not taken into account the fact I’m pregnant (she was pregnant when she agreed to go on the tour and was clearly expecting to set a new record by having the baby in three months).

What’s wrong with these people?

Did they not expect these things to occur in advance and shouldn’t they have thought about them when they volunteered to go on the trip?

These people do nothing but whinge and moan, not only spoiling the trip for everyone but looking like an ungrateful sod to the very people who have spent an awful lot of time and money putting together the trip in the first place.

Have people got no manners these days? Believe you me, a couple of the overseas jobs I have had to do have been continual hard work from start to finish, but you will never know as I’ve smiled throughout, been enthusiastic, thanked everyone I’ve met and waited till I got back to the office before venting my spleen.

It’s the only way to do it.

Ed Robertson, reporter