TAT readies for ITB gig

BANGKOK, 7 February 2012: Tourism Authority of Thailand will promote four niche markets  at ITB Berlin this year hoping it will help to build a growth in first-time visits to the country from European markets, TAT deputy governor for international marketing, Juthaporn Rerngronasa, told TTR Weekly.

ITB opens 7 March against the backdrop of a Eurozone crisis, rising fuel prices and looming war threats in the Middle East.

A severe cold snap if it continues could also disrupt travel across the continent and make it more difficult for visitors attending Europe’s top travel trade show. Read more

Tracing travel trails on Swiss trains

“We are world champs for travel by public transport,” Swiss Travel System market manager for America, Asia and Australia, Fausto Zaina tells me proudly on the first day of my Swiss tour.

It’s my first visit to the country and I am not going to contradict my host, who appears to know what he is talking about.

By the time the trip was over I admitted he was right. It is hard to rival the sheer complexity and density of the country’s public transport systems and that is even the more surprising when you recognise this is a relatively small country when compared with neighbours Germany and France.

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Magic moments for Potter fans

WATFORD, 4 October 2011 – Harry Potter fans mourning the end of the boy wizard movies will have their spirits lifted by a new British attraction offering “muggles” a peek at the magic behind the films.

The cameras have stopped rolling in the cavernous Great Hall, at the Quidditch pitches and inside the Gryffindor dormitory of Hogwarts wizardry school after the eighth and final instalment of the hit series in July.

But the American producers of the films based on the JK Rowling novels will keep the magic going with a major visitors’ attraction, featuring original sets and props at the site where the movies were filmed over the past decade. Read more

French TGV celebrates

BANGKOK, 21 September 2011 – France TGV celebrates its 30th anniversary, this month, offering a  Bt450 discount off the regular fares on TGV trips,  27 September to 21 October.

Promotional discounts are limited  starting at Bt450 to Bt470 when compared with the normal fare of Bt4,071. The bookings and payments can be made online at www.raileurope.co.th.

France’s TGV high speed rail system plans to triple its network over the next 30 years. Highlights of the expansion are: Read more

Paris hotel rates on the rise

PARIS, 20 September 2011 – The average price of a double room in Paris hotels has surged above Euro 200 per night, making the city of light more expensive than London, hotel price comparison website Trivago said Monday.

The website said the return of business travellers has fuelled a 26% rise in the average price of a Paris hotel room over the past year to Euro 204 per night.

According to its latest index, the average price of a double room in London is Euro 200. Read more

Rail Europe grows business

BANGKOK, 8 September 2011— Rail Europe reports its distributors of rail tickets and passes worldwide have achieved a year-on-year growth of 33% from January to June.

Through August, the company earned accumulated revenue of around 24 million euro and it expects to end the year with a record turnover.

The company’s statement claims all product lines showed growth, mainly due to the popularity of high speed train travel in Europe, as well as positive sales for non-European products such as Amtrak’s (American railways) or Japan Rail Passes. The numerous promotional initiatives also boosted sales, particularly the “Rail Europe’s 16th Birthday” programme during last spring. Read more

Changi in bid for Spanish airports

MADRID, 7 September 2011 – Two Asian companies, GMR of India and Singapore’s Changi Airport are among the seven consortiums bidding for stakes in Madrid and Barcelona airports following the government’s decision to privatise, the airport operating authority AENA said earlier this week.

The government hopes the sale of the airports in Spain’s two largest cities will bring in around EU5.3 billion (US$8.2 billion) for the public coffers to help rein in a massive public deficit.

Each of the airports, 90.05% of which are being privatised, has received six bidders, five of whom are making offers for both facilities, AENA said in a statement. Read more

Tourists shun expensive Switzerland

GENEVA, 6 September 2011 – Tourists are shunning Switzerland because of the strength of the franc, according to hotel overnight stay figures released by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office on Monday.

“Overnight stays by foreign visitors in July fell 4% to 2.4 million,” the Federal Statistical Office said.

“The strength of the franc against the euro, accentuated by rainy and cold meteorological conditions can explain this fall,” it said.

Swiss tourists also reduced their overnight stays by 2.7% to 1.7 million, the statistical office said. Read more

Chinese bid for Iceland land

REYKJAVIK, 2 September 2011 – Iceland’s interior ministry said Thursday it had received a request from a Chinese investor and property developer for permission to buy a tract of Icelandic land for a tourist resort.

According to the Financial Times, Huang Nubo, a former Chinese government official, plans to buy 300 sq km of land and invest US$100 million (70 million euros) to build a luxury resort with a hotel, golf course and sports facilities.

Mr Nubo, is seeking an exemption to an Icelandic law that bans the sale of land to citizens outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Read more

English seaside icon gets second life

LONDON, 2 September 2011 – Blackpool Tower, an English seaside icon, reopened Thursday after a 10-month revamp, the centrepiece of a £250-million bid to breathe new life into the faded holiday resort.

The dark red structure in northwest England, inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, now boasts a tower-top viewpoint and a gruesome dungeon museum to attract visitors.

Opened in the 1890s, the tower was a popular tourist attraction for millions of working class holiday makers who descended on Blackpool for their annual seven day holidays. But in the 70s its popularity declined as holidaymakers deserted British resorts in favour of cheap deals in sunny Spain. Read more

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