Author: Lee Fletcher
British Airways, a UK-based airline, will be flying its new Boeing 777-300 ER on its route to Sydney, Australia, from London, UK. The airline had recently ended its joint venture with Australia-based Qantas Airline, putting doubt on its plans for flying to Australian destinations. The joint venture ends on March 31, 2013. The airline is also in the process of moving its Sydney services from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport from March 31, 2013, for flights that will be operated by the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, featuring First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and economy cabins.…
The mayor of Amsterdam has rejected a plea to ban foreign tourists from using cannabis cafes, following the implementation of new drug rules. The mayor said that foreign tourists would be allowed to use the city’s famous cannabis cafes. The decision came after months of arguments over new drug laws. The government of the Netherlands had said that it was up to the local authorities to decide whether foreign tourists were to be banned or not. Taking his stance on the issue, Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said that banning the sale of the drug to foreigners would encourage more…
Authorities in Clark Freeport, Philippines, are planning to convert a former US military base into a tourist destination for those seeking encounters with ghosts. Reports of ghost sightings and certain unexplained events have earned the base a reputation for being haunted. In addition, it has been the setting for many violent deaths, and locals believe that spirits still roam the area. With its popularity rising as a ghost-tourism destination, Clark Freeport officials are now looking to cash in on the publicity and develop the area even more for its tourist potential. The base has all the elements to provide the…
The tourism department in the Bahamas has launched a plan to encourage bird watching under its birding tourism development plan. The Sustainable Tourism Unit is supporting the initiative, with the assistance of Small Planet Consulting. Bahamas, which places a great deal of emphasis on preserving its natural environment and natural assets, has taken many steps in order to protect them, and is one of the first countries in the world to establish a Sustainable Tourism Unit (STU), which initiated the development of the Bahamas Sustainable Tourism Development policy guidelines. It has 26 national parks that occupy more than 700,000 acres…
Virgin Holidays has announced that it will deploy technology from Amadeus to enhance fares and shopping services for holiday customers. Amadeus is a travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry. Together with Virgin Holidays, it will offer services cemented by broad-ranging technology partnerships between the two firms. As part of the agreement, Virgin Holidays will migrate its online and call centre reservations to Amadeus. It will also introduce new fares and shopping solutions to boost sales conversions. A feature of the partnership will be what the companies call, best fare ‘findability and bookability.’ The…
London Southend Airport, an airport in the UK, has announced that it is in the process of expanding the terminal. The expansion will include a new arrivals facility, which is expected to be complete by May 2013. The construction of all phases of the development is likely to be completed by the end of 2013. The extension of the airport terminal, which will cost GBP10 million, means that passengers will have a maximum wait time of four-minutes for security check, and a 15 minutes transit time from aircraft to train for passengers that only have hand luggage, as the airport…
Virgin Rail Group, the UK based holding company for train company, Virgin Trains, has issued a statement regarding the West Coast Main Line franchise. The company statement reads, ‘The interim report shows just how important our calls were in the summer to find out what went on behind closed doors when deciding the future operator of the West Coast franchise and that it should be opened up to proper detailed scrutiny. As well as the technical errors the review has identified, it raises fundamental questions around why more favourable treatment was given to one bidder over another and the lack…
Airports in Scotland have united to demand that Air Passenger Duty (APD) is immediately revoked in the UK, following a recently published report warning of the loss of around two million passengers per year in Scotland. The managing directors of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports have urged chancellor George Osborne to review APD and how it will affect air traffic in Scotland. The recent report also claims that by 2016 the country’s economy is likely to lose up to GBP210 million in tourism expenditure per annum, due to the implementation of APD. Amanda McMillan, the managing director of Glasgow Airport,…
The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has promised to ease travel restrictions for Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. The nation’s defence forces have announced that they will ease restrictions that prevent free passage for Palestinians to and from the Jordan Valley. The defence body made the promise to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which has campaigned since 2006 for freedom of movement for Palestinians to and from the Valley. A spokesperson for the IDF said, ‘As part of our policy for improving the quality of life of the Palestinian population of Judea and Samaria, the IDF approved a few…
In the latest development in the West Coast Main Line franchise saga, the Department for Transport will ask Virgin Rail Group to extend its current agreement for a limited period. Virgin Rail’s agreement was due to end on December 9 this year, and the new franchise was originally awarded to FirstGroup. However, following a protest campaign by Virgin Rail over the handling of the award, and a subsequent investigation by the Department for Transport, certain discrepancies were brought to light and the award to FirstGroup was withdrawn. Two independent reviews have been set up into what went wrong with the…