Helsinki and Lyon Awarded Titles of 2019 European Capitals of Smart Tourism

HELSINKI and Lyon the winners of the first edition of the European Capital of Smart Tourism competition were awarded their titles yesterday, November 7 at a ceremony in Brussels, on the occasion of the European Tourism Day.Cities of more than 100.000 inhabitants were eligible in the first edition of this competition, 38 cities from 19 EU Member States applied.In addition, four cities received 2019 European Smart Tourism Awards for their outstanding achievements in the four categories of the competition: Málaga (Accessibility), Ljubljana (Sustainability), Copenhagen (Digitalisation) and Linz (Cultural Heritage & Creativity).

The European Capital of Smart Tourism is a new EU initiative, based on a proposal from the European Parliament, which secured its funding for 2018 - 2019 through a Preparatory Action. The initiative seeks to strengthen tourism-generated innovative development in EU cities and their surroundings, increase their attractiveness as well as strengthen economic growth and job creation.

To celebrate their success, Helsinki and Lyon have planned an exciting schedule of activities for 2019. For example, Helsinki will be launching a smart city guidance pilot scheme, making use of collaborative work with businesses and digital tools to create a smarter way to guide people in the city. Lyon's representatives will be travelling the globe for shows, press meetings and special events to inform new audiences about the city's smart opportunities.

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European Capital of Smart Tourism nominees

A new EU initiative aims to promote smart tourism in the EU, foster innovative, sustainable and inclusive tourism development, as well as spread and facilitate the exchange of best practices. The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative recognises outstanding achievements in four categories: sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation as well as cultural heritage and creativity, by European cities as tourism destinations.

The following cities have been shortlisted as finalists in the competition for the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019 are:

Brussels (Belgium), Helsinki (Finland), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Lyon (France), Málaga (Spain), Nantes (France), Palma (Spain), Poznań (Poland), Tallinn (Estonia), and Valencia (Spain).


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Norwegian introduces two new Manchester routes

NORWEGIAN has expanded its services at Manchester Airport with the addition of two new routes to Malaga and Alicante. 

The airline is now operating four weekly flights from Manchester to Malaga on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, followed by two weekly flights – on Fridays and Sundays – to Alicante.

With the new routes, passengers in Manchester and the north-west will have access to almost 130,000 more seats in time for the summer with fares to both destinations starting from £34.90.

Norwegian, which launched its first UK flights in 2003, operates from London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Manchester Airports to more than 40 destinations worldwide. It also claims to be the only airline offering UK passengers direct low-cost flights to the US. Direct flights from London Gatwick to eight US destinations, including New York, Boston, Oakland-San Francisco, and Las Vegas are available from £149.

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Norwich Airport announces winter programme with new Flybe schedule

NORWICH AIRPORT has added holiday routes for Winter 2016 with new flights to Malaga and Alicante, plus a ski flight to Chambery in the French Alps, all of which will be operated by Flybe.

From October 31, Flybe’s winter schedule at Norwich will see the addition of two scheduled flights a week to both Alicante and Malaga, with a new Saturday service to Chambery commencing mid-December. These are in addition to its recently launched Exeter service through the winter months.

The Chambery link will be the first winter ski flight from Norwich since 2010.

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Germans tee off on the Costa del Sol

COSTA DEL SOL is a destination that has caught the fancy of German golf tourists. The number of Germans heading to the area has gone up by 10%, according to the president of the region’s tourism council, Mr Elias Bendodo. 

‘The #CostadelSol offers unique conditions for playing #golf and has all the necessary resources for the fans of this sport who are looking for a place where they can play during the coldest months,’ he said. ‘The PGA of Germany will be our best ally in promoting our courses.’

Lufthansa is introducing two additional weekly flights between Germany and Malaga.

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Norwegian launches three Spanish routes from Manchester

NORWEGIAN is launching flights from Manchester to three Spanish destinations this summer.

· From April 30, two weekly flights will take off for Barcelona.

· From June 2, four weekly flights will depart to Malaga.

· Two weekly flights to Alicante will start from June 3.

Fares start from £34.90 each way.


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British Airways to fly from Stansted

BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) says it will begin flying from Stansted Airport, establishing a presence at London's third airport for the first time and bringing it into direct competition with budget carrier Ryanair on leisure routes. 

Starting in May, BA will fly to Faro in Portugal, Ibiza, Malaga, and Majorca from £49 one way.

The full-service operator, which provides complimentary refreshments on flights, will compete directly on those routes with no-frills Ryanair, whose cheapest flights in May cost approximately £25 one way.

BA's move into secondary airport Stansted enters traditional budget carrier territory, a change from a wider trend of low cost airlines increasingly flying from a city's main airport and stealing market share from full-service airlines.

Stansted, 35 miles north of London, will become BA's fourth airport in the south east of England. It already flies from Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City airports.

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Up in the air ...

NEW for Norwich Airport … Flybe services to Alicante, Malaga, and Geneva. Year-round flights from Norwich to Alicante and Malaga will start in March next year, while the Geneva service is expected later in 2016.

UNITED AIRLINES is to introduce non-stop flights between Auckland, New Zealand and its San Francisco next July. Initially, the service will operate three times weekly, increasing to daily flights later in the year.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT has launched an online tool that allows members of the public to see flight and noise data collected by the airport’s aircraft noise monitoring and tracking system. WebTrak allows residents to see flight activity within 30 miles of the airport. Wendy Sinfield, airport community relations manager, said: ‘We recognize that aircraft landing and taking off can affect our neighbours. By making flight and noise information available on the internet, people can go online and use the system to find details of a particular flight (airline, aircraft type, and destination), locate their property on a map and calculate the height that the aircraft was flying above and the distance from their property and if they have a comment or concern about a particular flight they can report it to us using the system.’

HEATHROW’S chief executive John Holland-Kaye has called upon global leaders to take action to cut carbon emissions. He says Heathrow has achieved a Level 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation, which confirms the airport has ‘optimized’ its carbon footprint reduction by engaging with third parties when measuring and reducing its carbon footprint. Heathrow has committed to a further 34% reduction in CO2 emissions from energy used in buildings by 2020, as well as reducing CO2 from the airports vehicles.

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Spanish airport workers set for September strikes

A SERIES of #strikes has been called by Spanish airport workers over four days in September. The action is expected to affect airports in #Madrid, #Barcelona, #Alicante, #Malaga, and #Majorca from next Friday.

The airport handlers are due to walk out in the peak morning and evening periods on September 4, 11, 18, and 25.

The Workers’ Commission Union, one of the three unions involved, warned that easyJet and Vueling would be the airlines most affected.

The threatened stoppages – from 4.30am to 7.30am and 7.30pm to 9.30pm – are being blamed on a decision by handling firm Menzies Aviation Iberica to postpone a collective bargaining agreement.

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