Apply now to save on charges to USA August 31st, 2010
ABTA is encouraging customers travelling to the USA to apply online for their ESTA before charges of $14 per person come in on 8 September. By applying early a family of four will save $56, approximately £40. All passengers travelling under the Visa Waiver Program must have a valid ESTA to gain entry to the USA.
The US Government has introduced the charge to fund promotion of the USA and with on average 4 million visitors arriving in the USA from the UK, British visitors will contribute up to $56 million a year at a time when consumer budgets are under pressure and the pound has suffered from an unfavourable exchange rate against the dollar.
Luke Pollard ABTA Head of Public Aff..
Over 90% of Brits now more nervous about booking their holiday with a less well-known travel firm August 23rd, 2010
Following the collapse of the latest independent British travel company, 91%* of British travellers claim they are now more nervous about booking their holiday with a less well-known travel firm, according to research by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site.
This week’s collapse of Kiss Flights was the 13th British travel company to go bust this year, following on from the high profile collapses of Goldtrail Holidays and Globespan in recent months. This brand new research, carried out by TripAdvisor on over 2,600 Brits* in the last 48 hours, reveals potentially worrying news for smaller independent travel firms.
Emma O’Boyl..
Taj Mahal Palace reopens in Mumbai August 20th, 2010
Nearly two years after witnessing terrorist attacks which shocked the world, the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai has reopened to holidaymakers.
Some 1.75 billion rupees have been spent repairing the extensive damage caused by the outrage, with experts from around the world called in to restore every piece of antique furniture at the hotel.
Amid celebrations for India’s Independence Day, the 285 room heritage wing reopened to offer 42 themed suites, with subjects including Coal, Maratha, Dutch and Dolphin.
Grand Luxury Suites are priced at 170,000 rupees a night, while the Luxury and Executive suites will cost 120,000 rupees and 95,000 rupees respectively.
Former guests include M..
Rail mix-up leaves 135 tourists in wrong country August 20th, 2010
More than 100 tourists who boarded a night-train destined for Milan were given a surprise detour when they woke up in Switzerland instead of Italy due to a points failure.
The Salvador Dali was sent 280km (175 miles) off course after signallers split the train and mixed up which carriages to send to Zurich and which to Milan.
135 holidaymakers hoping to wake up in Italy’s fashion capital were instead greeted by the skyscrapers of Switzerland’s financial capital.
The trip began on Sunday, when 300 passengers boarded the sleeper in Barcelona.
Early on Monday, the train arrived at the French city of Lyon but it is thought signallers made a mistake during the poin..
Mauritius has experienced a surge in tourism revenues in the first half of the year, boosted by strong growth in visitor numbers from Asia, particularly in India.
Tourism receipts rose 8.5 percent in the six months to June to 19.5 billion rupees, according to the Central Statistics Office. But the island strong recovery was weighed down by sluggish growth across its core European source market, due to ongoing financial woes across the continent plus the weakness of the Euro against the local currency.
The CSO said 439,150 tourists visited Mauritius during the period. It is also sticking with its forecast of a 5 percent growth in visitors in 2010 to 915,000.
Arrivals from the Asian..
Etihad launches “all economy” service August 17th, 2010
Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, is introducing its first “all economy” class aircraft into its fleet in October 2010.
The launch aims to help the fast-growing carrier deliver an even more competitive product on key short-haul routes, which have high demand for economy traffic and low demand for premium traffic.
The two Airbus A320s will be configured to carry 162 economy class passengers, an increase of 42 from the current economy capacity. These will initially operate to Alexandria, Calicut, Colombo, Damascus, Doha and Thiruvananthapuram from Etihad’s Abu Dhabi base.
(James Hogan, CEO, Etihad Airways)
Plans are in place to expand th..
Gulf states move on BlackBerry ban August 10th, 2010
Saudi Arabia is set to follow the United Arab Emirates in banning the use of certain functions of BlackBerry smart phones.
The UAE has confirmed it will ban users of the devices from using email, instant-messaging and web-browsing services in the latest development of a long-running spat over security with the phone’s Canadian maker, Research in Motion (RIM).
UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said the functions would be banned from October 11th 2010.
“In their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE,” read a statement.
..
Turkish cabin crew ordered to lose weight August 10th, 2010
Turkish Airlines has given some of its flight attendants six months to slim down or face reassignment to ground positions.
The employees, out of which 13 are women and 15 men, have been put on unpaid leave until they lose weight, according to the Haber Turk newspaper.
All the stewards had previously been asked to tone up.
“Weight and height are important factors at all airlines,” a statement from the airline said. “These criteria are important both in terms of appearance and the ability to move about.”
Turkish Airlines follows Air Arabia, a low-cost airline based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates which has taken a similar approach. Fli..
Low-cost hotel chain marks London launch with £35 rooms August 10th, 2010
A Malaysian hospitality group is aiming to revolutionise the European hotel market by applying Ryanair-style pricing to rooms, including charging for everything from towels to room cleaning.
Tune Hotels is set to open its first UK hotel in Central London at then end of this month. It will offer standard rooms with ensuite at £35 a night. It plans to generate the bulk of its revenue from ancillary charges. Towels will cost £1 a throw, room cleaning £7.50 (or you can do it yourself), luggage storage £2 and using a hair dryer £2.
Following the opening of the Westminster Bridge Road hotel on August 30, there are plans to roll out a furt..
Singapore prepares for 2010 Youth Olympics August 3rd, 2010
Singapore is preparing to host the much-anticipated inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games, with over 40,000 international visitors expected in the city-state.
Taking place from August 13th-26th, the event will form the centerpiece of a month long celebration in the city, with the whole length of Orchard Road - the main shopping street in the heart of Singapore - adorned to enhance the celebratory mood.
The line-up for this once in a lifetime event includes performances from artistes such as Click 5 and Alarice, alongside regional and local acts.
“The vision of the YOG is to inspire youths around the world to take up sports and embody the Olympic values of excellence, friend..
