Author: News Team
Greece may have an economy that has been strongly shaken by its debt burden, but the Eastern Mediterranean country still remains a favourite with tourists, and demand for Greek villa rentals remains high according to Luxury Retreats, an international luxury villa rental specialist. Luxury Retreats chief executive officer, Joe Poulin, said, ‘It’s business as usual for us in terms of reservations at popular destinations like Santorini and Crete. On the islands, the importance of tourism to the local economy and jobs cannot be overstated. Our travel partners in Greece remain committed to providing a premium vacation experience for each and…
Fastjet, a new airline that will be offering low-cost services to Africa, is due to be launched in October 2012. The airline will be operated by Rubicon Diversified Investments, a UK-based holding company, in consultation with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of Easyjet, a UK-based low-cost airline. Fastjet has recently entered into an agreement with Airbus to lease A319 aircraft for the launch of its services. Ed Winter, the chief executive officer of Rubicon Diversified Investments, said, ‘The decision to launch FastJet with the Airbus A319 enables us to expand rapidly with each aircraft potentially carrying around 250,000 passengers a year.…
Long delays at London Heathrow Airport immigration counters are showing little sign of improving, and with the 2012 Olympic Games being just around the corner, difficulties faced by visiting games fans are again surfacing as a potential nightmare. While the situation has been fluctuating recently, travellers are reporting delays of more than 90 minutes at immigration counters manned by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), the UK government’s border control authority, and a part of the Home Office. BAA Ltd, the owner and operator of six British airports, including London Heathrow, has said, ‘Immigration is a matter for the Home Office.…
Virgin America, a US-based low cost airline company, has announced that it is entering into its first ever code share with its sister-branded, Australia-based airline, Virgin Australia. The company has commenced selling tickets in Australia from July 4, 2012, for Virgin America flights from Los Angeles to Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and Washington DC. Passengers may book at www.virginaustralia.com, for a single ticket when travelling from Australia to various destinations in the US. Diana Walke, the airline vice president of planning and sales, said, ‘This is the first-ever code share agreement for our young airline and…
The White Cliffs of Dover, the cliffs forming part of the British coastline on the Strait of Dover, will now be taken care of by the National Trust, the charitable organisation that looks after around 250,000 hectares of countryside, 720 miles of coastline, and numerous historic places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The organisation has announced a £1.2 million fundraising project to protect the future of Dover’s White Cliffs, in Kent, England. Fiona Reynolds, the director general of the National Trust, said of the conservation efforts, ‘Immortalised in song and literature, the White Cliffs of Dover have become one…
Thomas Cook Group Plc, a UK-based travel company, has launched a new sale as it struggles to find buyers for its Olympic break packages. The London City breaks, which are scheduled around the 2012 Olympics Games, were launched earlier in June 2012 with the intention of capturing the last minute crowd interested in securing tickets to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. With the Games now less than month away, the company has slashed its prices on the London Breaks offer with a sale that is offering discounts of as much as 50 percent on the original package prices. Olympic Athletics…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an industry-wide association of 240 airlines, operating around 84 percent of global air traffic, has reported that global traffic results in May 2012 showed a downward trend, keeping pace with the weakening of global economies. Although worldwide air traffic increased by 4.5 percent in May 2012, when compared to that in May 2011, this only reflects an increase of 0.1 percent on passenger traffic from April 2012, although capacity has increased by 0.6 percent in May when compared to same period last year. Freight demand in May 2012 is 1.9 percent below the same…
Afriqiyah Airways, an airline that operates out of Libya, and which is owned by the government of Libya, has resumed direct services from Libya’s capital city, Tripoli, to London Gatwick Airport in the UK. The airline had previously cancelled its services out of Libya due to political unrest in the country, but it is now offering a three times a week, non-stop service from Tripoli to Gatwick Airport, which started on July 3, 2012. The airline will be operating the service using an Airbus A320 aircraft, which can seat up to 160 passengers. Matthew Wood, the head of airline relations…
Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel brand from UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group, has replaced the traditional bedside Bibles with pre-loaded Kindles with Biblical text at its Hotel Indigo Newcastle, in Newcastle, UK. The hotel is one of the first to replace a religious text, Gideon’s Bible, with the preloaded digital device. The kindle, offered to the hotel guests, can also be used to download other religious texts using the hotel’s WiFi services. Adam Munday, the general manager of Hotel Indigo Newcastle, said, ‘Every Hotel Indigo draws inspiration from its local area to give guests an individual experience. In the 18th Century,…
A survey that set out to discover if visitors to France are made to feel welcome has provided some positive feedback for the French Tourism industry. As part of their curriculum, students of the International Affairs programme at the Universite Paris Dauphine Contradict, have conducted a survey that asked foreign travellers for their comments on how they were dealt with when visiting France. The survey has reported that around 85 percent of travellers polled feel that French people make them feel welcome, and around 80 percent of the respondents appreciate the kindness extended to them by French nationals. While 99…