Author: Lee Fletcher
First TransPennine Express, a railway company operating in the north of England, is partnering with the Forestry Commission to donate money to a range of conservation projects. The company will be donating around GBP30,000 for tree and woodland conservation projects in the north of England and Scotland. The grants, which will be up to GBP2,000 each, are being offered to community groups, charities, schools and individuals that wish to operate environmental projects. The applicants will be judged by a team of judges from the company and the Forestry Commission of Great Britain, on their project’s merits and their ability to…
When the phrase, ‘eco tourism’ first emerged back in the 1980’s, it was considered to be a curiosity for the minority, but 30 years on the phenomena has grown to be a multi-million pound, worldwide industry that currently offers more choices than even the most ardent eco-phile could work their way through in a lifetime. Eco tourism can mean different things to different people, but the most widely accepted meaning of the term is for low-impact, small-scale tourism, to environments that are fragile, pristine and generally in need of conservation. If the traveller is educated by the experience, provides funds…
Those travellers that have yet to finalise a destination for their next trip now have a plethora of new sites identified under the World Heritage List. Travellers can now enjoy visiting 26 new sites that have been added to the list. In Paris, the World Heritage Committee ended its 36th session under the chair of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Ambassador of Russia to UNESCO. The committee added the 26 new sites at the close of two weeks of deliberations. The new additions include five natural destinations, twenty cultural destinations and one under the mixed category. With the new additions, the UNESCO’s…
Best Western has merged three properties in Manila to create what it calls, a super hotel. The firm has named the hotel the Best Western Plus Antel, and its creation involved the merger of former hotels, Best Western Antel Spa Suites, Best Western The A Venue Suites, and Best Western Plus Serenity Suites. The new development has seen the three buildings joined by an added structure on the fifth floor. The addition has much to offer customers, including a resort-type pool, a pool bar and a children’s playground. The hotel said that rooms, lobbies and other areas have not changed…
In a move to expand and upgrade its services, Air France has announced that it has made major changes to its ground and in-flight services to enhance customer satisfaction. The carrier said that its passengers using any of the 12 airports in France could avail of services from new self-service kiosks. The automated service at the kiosks will allow them to print their own baggage labels. The advantage is that customers will be able to go to Express baggage drop-off areas and avoid check-in counters, thereby freeing up time for other, more creative pastimes. In addition, Voyageur and Premium Voyageur…
The stage is set, the entertainers are eager to take their bow, the audience has arrived in their millions from all corners of the globe, and now London must show that seven years of preparation has turned it into a well-oiled Olympic machine. The capital’s transport system will be the first of the machine’s components to come under scrutiny as it prepares to handle the thousands of spectators for tonight’s big event, the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. The organisers’ fingers will be crossed especially as it has already been reported that the first of the high-speed Javelin train services,…
TravelClick, a company that claims to offer revenue-generating solutions for hoteliers, has reported an update on hotel occupancy for the Olympic Games, which commence in London today. The company has reported that two days prior to the commencement of the 2012 games, hotels were reporting a committed occupancy average of 80.4 percent for the Games period. The hotels have reported that their busiest night is July 31, 2012, when the committed occupancy rises to 85.8 percent. The company is citing the men’s road cycling individual time trial final, which takes place the next day, as the reason for packed houses…
Customers that access User-Generated Content (UGC) sites are likely to spend more time and more money on stays in the UK, according to a recent study. TripAdvisor, a company that provides an online travel community for collating user-generated travel information, has released a study on the impact of online review sites on customer behaviour and the UK tourism and hospitality industry. The report claimed that page views of TripAdvisor content resulted in bookings worth around GBP1.7bn, on tourism expenditure in the UK in 2011. This comprises around 2.2 percent of total tourism expenditure in the UK for that year. The…
Thomas Cook Group Plc, a UK-based travel company, has made a public apology to its customers who will have to collect their tickets for the 2012 Olympics Games in person. The company, which had promised to dispatch the tickets to sports fans through the post, has been unable to do so, and has requested that they personally collect the tickets hours before the event. Since June 2012, the company has been offering ticket packages for the London 2012 Games, with stays at some of London’s best value hotels. The London City breaks, celebrating the Games, were put on offer with…
Ryanair, an Ireland-based low cost airline, has announced an Olympic games inspired special offer to support TeamGB and to benefit fans. The airline is offering five hundred GBP12 Golden tickets for every gold medal that is won by athletes from Great Britain, during the 2012 Olympics Games. The airline tickets will be valid for travel during the months of September and October of this year. The company head of communications, Stephen McNamara, said, ‘Ryanair is calling on the British Olympic team to win as many Olympic gold medals as possible with 500 Golden GBP12 fares up for grabs for every…