July 2007 Archives

Just been reading about what Virgin's new US domestic airline will be offering passengers on Digital Media Wire (via Buhlerworks).

One feature of the in-flight entertainment will be a bluetooth-style 'seat-to-seat chat' system allowing passengers to connect with fellow travellers elsewhere on the aircraft.

Great idea, no?

DMW's Rohit Bhargava says, 'there may be people on the plane hungry for a good conversation, but simply sitting next to the wrong people'.

It's better than that. I'm frequently one of those 'wrong people', and I welcome anything that frees my neighbour from the desire to blather on while I try to read.

The great appeal of this is that it gives us a little more human contact - if it makes economy passengers feel less like cattle after the pushing, shoving and queueing in the terminal it should prove very popular.

There's a video demo online - go to the VA Difference section of the Virgin America website, click 'See the VA Difference' and look under In-Flight Entertainment.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Last photo from Istanbul, I promise - it's just that I spotted a story on Travelmole about Vietnamese young people offering 'Free Hugs' to tourists this week.

And guess what I snapped on Istiklal Avenue on Saturday afternoon:

It's becoming a bit of a worldwide movement, this Free Hugs business. But it has to be said that these amiable young folk were mainly embracing each other. Bless.

If you've captured a similar outbreak of touchy-feeliness let TW Blog know and we'll publish it. Or laugh at it. I haven't decided yet.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Here's one for cruise fans - some pics of Celebrity Galaxy, which a ferry taking me across the Bosphorus had to skirt round.

One of the best ways to get a sense of how big these ships really are is to pass them in a much smaller craft...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Just back from Istanbul, the city where East meets West and common sense meets public transport.

Yes, the city's Akbil pass is a thing of beauty to a suburb-of-Londoner used to peaks, off-peaks, six zones, season tickets and the baroque complexity of the Oyster card.

The Akbil (a contraction of the Turkish for 'smart ticket') is a small device - designed to slip onto your keyring like an ordinary fob - that you buy for a refundable £2 and can charge and recharge with credit.

Then you use it anywhere, on anything - metros, ferries, buses, funicular railways and trams. And transfers to another line are free if you make them within 45 minutes.

Thus far, slightly like the Oyster; but different in that you won't be fined because 'you can't use pre-pay here', as if it is the most natural thing in the world for a supposedly seamless system to be invalid at a number of busy stations.

I'm not blaming London - its vast infrastructure, built up piecemeal over more than a hundred years, is far harder to simplify than Istanbul's relatively young and compact network. But the Akbil was a welcome change.

While on a ferry across the Bosphorus I also happened to pass cruise ship Celebrity Galaxy as it came in to dock - photos in a while.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

I'm not aware that bike sharing is taking off in the UK - although car sharing is ... albeit slowly.

So, could boat sharing be the next big thing

Looks like our Dutch friends can’t stop sharing. What next after boats?

Martin Couzins, online editor

Zut alors!

The French have named Brits as the most adventurous nationality when it comes to trying local and exotic foods on holiday.

According to a survey by Expedia, Brits' biggest food priority abroad is not chips - just 4 per cent of Brits want a full English breakfast or chips, while 3 per cent want to avoid anywhere which serves British cuisine.

More than a third 38 per cent said that going where the locals go is their priority, while, for one in ten, it’s sampling authentic street food.

Hmm, is this really the end of chips with everything culture? I didn't see much evidence of it when I visited Magaluf at the end of last year.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Want to get on the first commercial flight of Airbus's A380 'superjumbo'?

Then go to eBay. Yes folks, that is where Singapore Airlines is selling tickets for the inaugral commercial flight of the superjumbo.

Why? Because it wants to open its doors to all those interested in the new aircraft and at the same time raise money for charity.

Good on Singapore Airlines. The airline industry needs to be seen to be doing its bit.

So when can we start bidding for the tickets for the Singapore to Sydney flight, due to take place in October?

According to the press office, it should be quite soon. The first thing you have to do is register an interest at singaporeair.com/a380. You will then be alerted when the auction starts.

(And if you miss out, you can always buy your own A380.)

Martin Couzins, online editor

And I thought they only sold holidays online. Lastminute.com has teamed up with fashion designers Nargess Gharani and Vanya Strok to produce a limited edition silk dress that fits into a hand sized tailored bag.

Why? Because UK women aged between 18-35 years old miss-out an average of 16 nights out a year (wow, I really don't get out enough) because they do not have the right clothes for the occasion, according to a survey carried out by lastminute.com.

It's not cheap but at £350 but all proceeds are going to charity. I'm trying to get hold of one of the dresses to give away to one lucky travel agent, but in the meantime check out the picture.

Martin Couzins, online editor

A new post from industry contributor Brian Hordon (Silversea Cruises UK)

Current and future change encompasses a plethora of subjects; mergers, consortia development, green issues, market growth, e-marketing and technology.

On top of that there are "new" dimensions such as niche markets, luxury travel, UK tourism, and of course the amazing expansion of cruising.

These are all high profile issues right now, and will continue be so for some time.

For travel agents in particular, change can make it easy to lose sight of the most important business element: the customer.

Change inevitably demands new skills, and these skills represent a real opportunity for creative and aggressive travel agents to recognise and deliver the quality of service that the increasingly demanding customer has come to expect.

If you recognise these opportunities and deliver the service right you will have the opportunity to ensure customer loyalty. Lose sight of the opportunities and you could open the doors even wider to the new booking channels that are already threatening traditional agents.

This week I will have enjoyed 50 unbroken years in the UK tourism and travel industry. In that time I have experienced countless changes; but the agents who recognised change, embraced the "new" and adapted accordingly are in most cases still around, and in many cases thriving.

This industry is a wonderful business to be in, and current change represents a special challenge. Agents who recognise this challenge, adapt their business model accordingly and do not lose sight of the customer could be on their way to a new dimension in travel.

I wish I was 50 years younger!

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

TripAdvisor has just published results of its annual travelling with pets* survey. The overall conclusion is that travelling with a pet is a pain, so the best bet is to leave them at home or with someone else.

Although the survey is global, there is something in it for the UK travel industry.

Well over a third British pet owners (41%) said that they travel with their collared companions.

But - here's the kicker - only 16 percent actually enjoy taking their pets on holiday. Let's hope Rover appreciates the sacrifice.

And the top 5 UK pet-friendly places to stay are:

• Headlands Hotel, Llandudno
• Millbrook Cottages, Umberleigh
• Ivy House Country Hotel, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft
• Overwater Hall, Keswick
• Damson Dene Hotel, Lake District

* Pets in this survey are mostly dogs and cats. What about reptiles? Are there hotels in the UK that are happy to take any type of animal?

Martin Couzins, online editor

The summer is here.

I took this shot of the outside of Travel Weekly’s offices at 11.20am this morning.

Today is the day school holiday starts, and judging by the weather, lots of desperate parents try and book some late sunshine deals.

Good news for the travel trade – if there is availability on accommodation, that is – and terrible news for some of us here who want to pop out for a sarnie.

Martin Couzins, online editor

So much does Ryanair relish its role as the bad boy of passenger aviation that I feel odd defending it. It no more wants the support of the media than a hoodie wants a hug.

But defend it I will, for the Ryanair ad criticised by the ASA today has done nothing worse than advertisers habitually do.

The ad said that the aviation industry is responsible for 2% of carbon emissions. Bad show, scolds the ASA, because this is a global figure - the UK-specific figure is about twice as high.

But Ryanair didn't claim to be quoting the UK-specific figure. The ad referred to 'the aviation industry', and the aviation industry is global.

So the statistic is both reliable - it comes from a UN report on climate change - and relevant.

If there is a fault here it is selective use of an unqualified statistic. Nine out of 10 advertisers do that all the time, and it is rarely based on anything as legitimate as a UN report.

That is how advertising works. It cannot tell outright lies, but if it is to achieve its goal it must present a selective version of the truth. The audience understands that.

So we are reduced to the argument that Ryanair's ad is simplistic, boorish and manipulative.

And that, judging by the number of ads that commit the same sins daily without censure, is not sufficient reason for a ban.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Just returning from a fleeting visit to Durham. A chat with my taxi driver (I know, but hear me out) revealed that Durham isn't everything a world heritage site should be.

From a taxi point of view, the road charge of two quid - a charge passed directly to the visitor - to run me up to the cathedral is not good.

My driver also bemoaned the lack of activities and accommodation, which means visitors tend to pop in for a couple of hours to see the sites then move on.

And I can see why. I strolled up the high street and found no decent shops. Plenty of charity shops, but does your average American or Japanese tourist want to flick through Perry Como LPs?

Thumbs up to GNER for the Costa Coffee in the station - at least I could get a half decent coffee.

Martin Couzins, online editor

On sunday The Observer featured a piece on celebrities' holiday destinations.

Celebrities in the loosest possible sense, or in the Observer sense I should say, as the list included Emily Eavis, Ruth Rodgers and Zaha Hadid (who? what?).

Philospher Alain de Botton's summer holiday choice stood out. He is taking his wife and two young children to Dungeness. Nothing peculiar about that - the beaches are beautiful.

It was the reasoning that made me laugh:

It's a great opportunity to be near a working nuclear power station and to keep track of nuclear fuel trains as they cross the shingly peninsula at the end of their long journey down from Sellafield.

Sounds like fun for his kids, aged one and three...

Martin Couzins, online editor

Guillaume at Hotel Blogs flags up an instance of a hotelier responding to posts on a consumer review website.

It is always interesting to read about how travel and hospitality businesses are responding to these sites, which countless surveys suggest are becoming a trusted source of holiday advice.

Are operators monitoring them? Are they posting anonymous glowing reviews of their own product?

Or are they, like the owner of Tides Reach Hotel in Cornwall did on Findthathotel.co.uk, posting open responses to bad write-ups?

Consumer review is controversial. To some, these sites have wrested travel advice out of the hands of unaccountable hacks and given it to the holidaymaker, who is not obliged to toe the editorial line or make nice to advertisers.

Others put a negative spin on the same scenario: travel writers are a known quantity, whereas internet users are anonymous voices whose agendas and level of expertise are a mystery.

Still others point out that there are not good or bad mediums, only good or bad reviewers, and it has always been up to you to differentiate.

And those closer to the cutting edge will tell you that some review sites - such as Tripadvisor, Boo and start-up VibeAgent - are already getting around the problem by incorporating social networking tools that allow users to build a community of 'friends' whose opinions they trust.

But operators don't have the luxury of theorising. For them it matters not a jot whether consumer review is good, bad or ugly; it is there, and they must react.

So kudos to the owner of Tides Reach for doing so, and being upfront about his identity - users will respect it.

What interests me is whether bigger brands can, will or even need to make management of consumer reviews part of their marketing toolboxes.

For a small family hotel, which relies on good word of mouth and has the agility to quickly find and respond to negative comments online, it makes good sense.

Can the same things be said of a property in the Hilton or InterContinental portfolio?

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Is it really all or nothing for women in the travel industry?

Travel Weekly this week reports that Jane Dyson, MD of field marketing business The Network, has had to make a lot of family sacrifices to get on in travel.

I’ve missed sports days, nativity plays, parents’ evenings and more. You definitely do feel guilty but if you want to be successful you can’t have everything.”

Speaking at an Association of Women Travel Executives’ lunch she went on to suggest that career progression could be limited if working parents spent too much time attending school events.

Success, it seems, comes at a price - but isn't that true of any industry? And for men as well as women?

When it comes to work/family balance, travel actually has some good flexible options for those who want a career and a family. Homeworking is a good example.

Such options may not lead to a position as senior as Dyson's, but that is a question of personal priorities.

If your focus is on revenue and customer satisfaction rather than your position on the ladder, it is surely possible to run a very successful travel business without compromising on childcare.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Just in from Travelsupermarket.com: a survey of 2,000 adults shows one in six couples would pretend they’d just got hitched in order to blag upgrades and freebies on holiday.

Who hasn't tried to blag an upgrade? It’s what travelling is all about.

But I must admit I haven't tried pretending to be married to get upgraded. Potential honeymoon benefits include business class flights, room upgrades, candlelit dinners and free champagne.

Now travel companies are getting wise to the husband and wife hoaxers. Here's what some doing about it:

• Hayes and Jarvis – depends on where you stay at, but most would ask to see your marriage certificate on arrival.
• Kuoni – you would need to provide a marriage certificate on arrival at your accommodation.
• First Choice – depends where you go as to whether you get any extras or upgrades, usually on long-haul destinations, but you would definitely need proof of your marriage for the honeymoon offer.
• Club Med – ask for proof and you cannot book online honeymoon packages for this reason.
• Thomas Cook – depends which resort you go to whether you get any ‘extras’ but you would definitely need to take your marriage certificate.

Honeymoon blaggers beware...

Martin Couzins, online editor

The first of this week's three Travel Weekly Weddings and Honeymoons roadshows took place at Lord's Cricket Ground last night. We managed to video a few agents talking about their best booking:

It was my first time at a roadshow and was quite an eye-opener.

Not only do the agents know their stuff when it comes to product, they also get very competitive. The quiz was quite something, with agents getting very fired up, hitting their buzzers, waving their arms around and shouting out to get noticed by the quizmaster.

We will have some photos from the event on the website shortly. Look out for coverage in the magazine too.

Thanks to the sponsors: Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Office, Cosmos, Rex Resorts, Sandals and Beaches Resorts, Cyprus Tourist Office, Argo, Aphrodite Hills, Beds with Ease, Lemongrass Marketing, Belleair.

And for agents attending tonight's event in Birmingham or Thursday's in Liverpool - have a great time.

Martin Couzins, online editor

Rail operator GNER emails TW Blog to tell us about a new marketing campaign which will see it try to poach passengers from domestic airline services.

And lookit - there's a fancy dress stunt involved. What fun.

Following in the footsteps of Easyjet's tax collectors, Greenpeace's check-in staff and the Lake District's rapping squirrel (who at least had a talent) GNER brings us three 'frequent flyers', a witch, a pigeon and Superman, boarding a train.

Another triumph for Costume Surplus Marketing Solutions.

GNER is promoting some decent selling points, including widespread WiFi coverage on trains and a punctuality record that beats domestic airlines on similar routes.

But when you're marketing to business travellers - the core group of frequent flyers that the operator needs to sway - your budget is perhaps not best spent on rag week flashbacks...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Came across a new travel startup while browsing TechCrunch - Yapta allows you to bookmark fares you're interested in, then compare and track them from its desktop software.

Price comparison is already pretty well covered by sites such as Travelsupermarket.com, but they only pull in data when you run a search; the idea of Yapta is to display real-time updates, rather like an air fare RSS reader.

Tracking prices helps you get hold of fares at their cheapest, also the aim of fellow US startup Farecast, which uses historical data to predict when prices will rise or fall.

But should you miss out on the lowest price, Yapta has another trick up its sleeve. Says TechCrunch:

If you make a purchase by clicking through to the airline or travel site from Yapta, they’ll continue to monitor the price. If it falls, they’ll ping you and suggest you contact the airline for a refund or flight coupon. All airlines offer these on price drops but few consumers follow up...

The downside, of course, is that both Yapta and Farecast are US services and still in development - so not much practical use to us in the UK. But they're interesting and a glimpse of how holidaymakers could be shopping for flights in the coming years.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

Boeing unveiled its long-awaited 787 Dreamliner yesterday (07/08/07 - geddit?) in an elaborate ceremony at the manufacturer's Everett, Washington base.

The Boeing Company

The extensive media coverage will be welcome to Boeing after European rival Airbus grabbed the limelight by closing an astonishing number of deals at the Paris Air Show last month, including many orders for the A350 WXB, its hitherto troubled answer to the Dreamliner.

You'll know the Dreamliner pitch by now: the body is mostly carbon fibre, so it's lighter; it uses 20% less fuel than comparable aircraft; it's also rather nice to look at.

All good stuff, although the environmental lobby is already speculating that the 787's low operating costs will encourage airlines to buy and fly more of them, effectively negating the aircraft's fuel-efficiency benefits.

We'll see. Cheap to operate it may be, but its technical advances apparently make it a headache to manufacture, so concerns about 787s buzzing around like fruit flies are perhaps a little premature.

Personally, of all the pin-up aircraft currently making their way to market it's the Dreamliner I'm keenest to fly on, because I think the enormous windows are a great enhancement to passenger experience. But then I've never been an aisle man...

The Boeing Company

There's some video knocking around on the web, though nothing I can embed unfortunately - have a look at this Dreamliner search on Truveo for some of the best.

Nathan Midgley, web producer

TW Blog has never made any secret of its interest in the more eccentric tourist attractions out there (see also 'Three cheers for quirky museums' and 'Chinese women's village developed for tourism').

So we were delighted to receive a press release beginning, "Join in all the conker fun at the World Conker Championships!"

The forty-year-old competition is being held on the village green in Ashton, Northamptonshire on October 14th and involves 300 contestants. Wonderfully, "the eventual winner is led to the Conker Throne and crowned with conkers."

Glastonwhat?

Another video - as promised, here's Miles Morgan telling us why there will always be demand for committed, knowledgable travel experts.

And in between you'll see some comments from the travel experts themselves.

I think it's important to share this one - there has been a fair bit of discussion about agents vs internet in the travel blogosphere recently.

Darren Cronian has flagged up the risks of booking without expert advice; Brian Hordon, in these very pages, focused on the 'added value' great agents can offer.

As Miles says in the clip, it's all about passion and expertise.

The internet has all the information, but not necessarily all the advice. You go to a travel agent for top-notch advice, and that will always get people through the door.

Both the videos I've posted are available on Travelweekly.co.uk, along with another piece about how business is going in the Southwest and Wales region, featuring Miles Morgan again, Worldchoice's Tim Giles and Travel Angels' Maureen Hill (also a TW columnist).

Interest rates have risen another quarter percent, adding £16 per month to a £100,000 mortgage repayment.

It’s the fifth rise since last August and some economists warn there could be a further delayed hit to households with fixed-rate mortgages, who won’t feel the pinch until their current mortgage-rate agreement expires.

What do you think the impact will be on the holiday market? Are your customers getting more nervous about spending on their credit cards?

Emily Ashwell, business and community editor

Just up on Youtube - reactions from the winners of the Southwest and Wales Agent Excellence Awards. More video from the event to come tomorrow.

A great night had by all, not least the very deserving winners - see our news piece for full details.

Quote of the night, from one of a clutch of 'social' (we believe you) smokers shielding cigarettes from the cruel Bristol wind, was:

"I gave a waiter a twenty, told him I only wanted a tenner back and sent him off to buy me a packet."

Who needs rock'n'roll when you've got travel?

Head-scratching moment of the night came courtesy of two fantastic magicians (and I rarely respond to magicians with anything more positive than a slap) one of whom pulled off a great trick involving a fiver, a kiwi fruit and Travel Weekly managing director Trevor Harding.

My job was to video the affair with web production manager Nicki Rose, so it's back to the office now to edit our footage.

Look out for some video shortly, including our own Emily Ashwell chatting to Miles Morgan about independent agents (pictured above)...

Nathan Midgley, web producer

A post from regular industry blogger Brian Hordon...

A postcript on "why are women not at the top with more travel companies?" (see my post of 29th January 2007). The departure of Sue Biggs from Kuoni will be discussed by the travel trade for some time, but my focus is on the achievements of this amazing lady.

She really does represent the perfect role model for aspiring female travel industry leaders.

I won't go into how long I have known Sue, suffice to say it was long before Kuoni days.

The subsequent years have seen this lady power her way up the commercial ladder (supposingly littered with male obstacles) displaying all the abilities needed to hold a very senior position.

She has creativity, determination, and the ability to recognise potential, whether in people, destinations, products or investments. In my opinion what stands out above all else is her "streetwise" character, which many people in travel have, but do not demonstrate.

Female or male, just copy Sue. If you deliver you will climb the ladder, and the gender issue will disappear - believe me! This wonderful industry of ours is full of remarkable talent and it is going to be needed in volume during the coming years.

Brian Hordon, director of training development, Silversea Cruises (UK)Ltd

• Is this the greenest way to swim indoors? Guardian Travelog
  Well, it's a solar-powered emission-free geothermal pool complex, in Slovakia. So yes, probably.
  (tags: environment slovakia)
• Huge indoor botanical garden planned for Saudi desert | The Observer
  King Abdullah International Gardens will be five times the size of the Eden Project and cover 400m years of botanical history
  (tags: attractions saudi-arabia)
• Skinny dipper seized at Rome tourism icon - ABC News
  A 22-year-old American man has been arrested after a naked swim in the Barcaccia fountain at the foot of Rome's Spanish Steps
  (tags: tourism law)

When the 2012 Olympics recently produced a new logo it did so - as you'll remember - cheaply and to much critical acclaim.

Not to be outdone, Abta, the travel association – nee Association of British Travel Agents - has rebranded itself too.

Chief executive Mark Tanzer told Travel Weekly that the identity reflected the organisational changes that have taken place at Newman Street.

We will have to wait and see what Abta members and travel professionals up and down the land think of the ‘refreshing and contemporary design’.

Meanwhile, we have a quiz. Can you guess how much Abta paid for the new look?

1. £30
2. £300
3. £3,000
4. £30,000
5. £300,000

First right answer in the comments section wins a bottle of wine...

Martin Couzins, online editor

The weekend's terror alerts prompted me to have a 9.45am look at airport web sites to find out what information is being provided for travellers. BAA has posted clear messages on the homepages of its airport web sites, but others have incredibly made no mention at all.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport points visitors to a security page which features information issued on 6 November last year and this despite the fact the airport was closed for eight hours on Saturday night following a security scare.

Other poor performers include Leeds Bradford International Airport's homepage which takes you straight to a security message from 6 November.

Belfast International provides a line on its homepage pointing to latest security updates. Click on it and you’ll find an update from 11 January.

I know airports will face differing terror threats but we all have our part to play in helping avoid travel chaos immediately after airports are attacked. I would have thought one of the first actions for all aiports would be to give timely updates on their homepages.

Martin Couzins, online editor

The news this morning showed a check-in queue stretching out of Glasgow Airport, round the corner and off into the distance.

BAA says:

Passengers are advised not to come to the airport unless they have received confirmation from their airline that their flight is due to depart. Passengers arriving for departing flights will check-in from the T2 check-in area. The main terminal check-in area remains closed.

While we must keep things in perspective - the important thing is that all three of the recent attacks in the UK were thwarted, and the only person injured was one of the men who drove a burning Jeep into the airport - the situation is dispiriting for the travel industry.

Some will be thinking back to last year, when a terrorist threat to Heathrow contributed to poor summer package holiday sales, and led to tougher security measures that have helped make flying increasingly unattractive.

It would be a mistake to be overly gloomy, however. We have seen far worse than this at home and abroad, and tourist spots and travel infrastructure are common targets. People have not stopped getting on trains, tubes, or aircraft.

Let's hope that any long-term security increases are limited to more police patrols, that normal service is resumed as quickly as possible, and that UK travellers refuse - as I'm sure they will - to be intimidated.

Nathan Midgley, web producer