On the runway . . .

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has today announced that it has reached a key milestone in its ambition to attract 20% of new pilots joining the airline to be women by 2020, having achieved a new high of 15% of new entrants to the airline being female, over the past financial year.

It comes at a time when only 5% of all pilots worldwide are female, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Of that, just over 450 of them have achieved the rank of captain – which means that almost every female commercial airline captain could fit onto an A380 aircraft.

In October 2015, women only made up 6% of easyJet’s new pilot intake. As a result of the campaign in 2016, easyJet had doubled the intake to 12% and has been increasing ever since towards its ambitious target of 20% by 2020. 

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Busiest ever year for a Scottish airport

EDINBURGH Airport has recorded the busiest ever year for a Scottish airport with more than 14 million people passing through in 2018.

A total of 14,310,403 people passed through Scotland’s busiest airport last year, up 6.5% on the previous year.

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On the Runway at Heathrow

A record 80 million passengers travelled through the UK’s only hub airport in 2018, up 2.7% on last year, with growth boosted by the use of larger and fuller aircraft. #Heathrow is one of only seven airports in the world to achieve this milestone.

Heathrow continued to raise the bar on customer satisfaction scores being named ‘Best Airport in Western Europe’ for the fourth year running, and ‘Best Airport for Shopping’ for the ninth year in the most recent Skytrax World Airport Awards. Terminal 2 beat its international counterparts to win ‘World’s Best Airport Terminal’, with Terminal 5 coming in 4th.


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Tourism to Japan breaks all records

THE Japan National Tourism Organization announced that more than 30 million overseas travelers visited Japan in 2018, an all-time record and an 8.7% increase over 2017 (the previous record year).

"Tourism to Japan from the United States – about 5% of the total – soared 11%," says Naohito Ise, Executive Director of the Japan National Tourism Organization in New York.

In 2018, America's two most influential travel magazines gave #travel to #Japan a major thumbs-up, with Travel+Leisure pronouncing Japan the "Destination of the Year" for 2018 and the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards citing Tokyo and Kyoto as the top two big cities in the world.

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Solo Travel: not for us

DESPITE much buzz around the solo travel trend, 30.4 percent of Americans say they have never traveled alone. And those who have are more than five times as likely to travel domestically than internationally, according to a new survey conducted by Allianz Global Assistance.

Women are ten percent less likely to travel alone than men, with 35.2 percent noting they have never traveled alone, compared to 25.2 percent of men.

Gender also appears to impact solo travelers' perception of safety, with 76.6 percent of men saying they have never felt unsafe while traveling alone, while 60.3 percent of women say the same.

Solo male travelers seem more susceptible to theft, with almost ten percent (9.7 percent) reporting having been mugged or pickpocketed (versus 6.1 percent of women).

The next most pressing concerns for male travelers include: violence/terrorism (17.8 percent), a natural disaster (17.8 percent), being out after dark (14.8 percent), riding public transportation (10 percent), security/safety of drivers (6.9 percent) and visiting a restaurant/bar (also 6.9 percent).

Being out after dark is the second most concern for women (26.3 percent), followed by violence/terrorism (15.7 percent), natural disaster (9.6 percent percent) riding public transportation (9.4 percent), security/safety of drivers (7.8 percent) and visiting a restaurant/bar (3.7 percent).


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Thanksgiving Destinations For Americans

MORE Americans are traveling for Thanksgiving than ever, according to Allianz Global Assistance's Top 10 Thanksgiving Destination Index, which saw an eight percent increase in travelers from 2017. For the fourth year running, New York City and Cancun are Americans' preferred domestic and international Thanksgiving destinations, respectively.

While travel to Cancun is down from last year (8.7 percent), it still tops the international destinations list, and Mexico as a country claims four spots total: San Jose Del Cabo at number five, Puerto Vallarta at nine and Mexico City at ten. The other Top 10 destinations in order of popularity are: London, Paris, San Juan, Montego Bay, Nassau and Punta Cana.

The day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday, November 21) is the busiest departure day according to Allianz's index, and Sunday, November 25 is the busiest return date.


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Holidays over presents at Christmas

SUN-seeking Brits would rather spend their hard-earned cash on a winter holiday than buying presents for loved ones at Christmas, a study by British Airways has found. The average Brit plans to spend £1,260 each on Christmas this year, including £360 on presents. However we would spend a similar amount – £1,345 – on a winter getaway and 45 per cent of us say we would rather splurge our cash on a winter getaway than a Christmas giveaway. 

After presents, the biggest drain on Brits’ wallets over Christmas was found to be food (£180), travel (£179), drink (£113) and decorations (£86). British Airways, who commissioned the survey as part of their Winter Sun campaign which offers an array of holiday and flight deals over the winter season, found that twenty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they would rather give holidays as presents rather than objects, believing they create more lasting memories than objects placed under the tree. 

A quarter (25%) of Brits say they have no idea what they received for Christmas last year – and 40 per cent can only remember some gifts they received. 

For two-thirds of Brits (65 per cent) the stress of the festive season is such that they say they need a holiday to get over the Christmas break. 

Nearly half (47 per cent) said they go on holiday if they could get out of the obligatory Christmas visit to families and friends and more than half (54 per cent) say they need a holiday during the Christmas break itself. 


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Brits most treasured memories revealed

A study into childhood memory has revealed some of the nation's most vivid early memories, with school trips and first pets proving to be the most popular. The research, collected by beach holiday specialists On the Beach, provides an insight into Brits' most treasured childhood memories, and reveals why certain memories are more likely to be stored and used to form the story of our lives.

The holiday company has collaborated with Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool and honorary consultant clinical psychologist with the NHS, who has provided insight into how memories are constructed - and advice which may help people remember life's best moments more clearly.

When it came to the memories we look back on most fondly, the survey revealed our happiest memories include whole days in the swimming pool on holiday (14%), moving house (11%), making a holiday friend (10%), and our favourite childhood teachers (9%).

Almost half of the people surveyed (48%) said their most vivid childhood memories were formed when the weather was hot and sunny, while 30 per cent said their strongest memories relate to cold winter temperatures.

The research also proved Brits are a nostalgic bunch when it comes to looking back on our favourite memories. A staggering 88 per cent said they talk about their best childhood memories with family and old friends, while 20 per cent said looking back on happy memories helped them feel more optimistic about life in general.

Almost half (44%) said they looked through their holiday photos and video footage on a regular basis, and more than a third of parents (37%) said they talk to their children about happy memories they have shared together in a bid to help their children remember their best experiences more clearly.



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A four-season land

IRAN, a four-season land, has 23 UNESCO World Heritage sites. These sites have long attracted tourists from across the globe. Foreign tourists #travel to #Iran to visit numerous historical and natural sites and enjoy time in a country which is home to many attractions. World Economic Forum data show Iran's ranking in tourist attraction moving higher from 114 in 2011 to 93 in 2017. That bears proof to the fact that foreign tourists have not become unwilling to travel to Iran.

As foreign currencies, including the US dollar and the euro, claimed ground against the Iranian Rial, the tourism industry in Iran entered a new phase, particularly for foreign visitors. The Rial's slide represents a unique opportunity for foreign tourists visiting Iran as their travel costs have fallen incredibly.



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Columbia: future larder for the world

COLOMBIA has been identified by the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture as one of the countries with the greatest agricultural potential in the world. By the year 2030 the world population will surpass 8.3 million inhabitants, which will create a 50% increase in food consumption. Colombia has the ideal lands to be one of the countries capable of satisfying this demand.

According to the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture, #Colombia has 114 million hectares, of which 44.8 million are suitable for the agriculture, livestock and reforestation sectors. The agricultural production of Colombia presented an annual growth of 6.8% between 2010 and 2015, reaching 4.5 million hectares sown.

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Aussies miss their pets more than their family when travelling

JETSTAR has today released the results of its inaugural “Global Travel Survey”, with almost 30,000 travellers sharing their quirky holiday behaviours. Jetstar customers from destinations across the airline’s network including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Greater China and Vietnam took part in the research, responding to a series of holiday-related questions ranging from pet peeves to travel etiquette.

Key findings revealed that a quarter of Australians miss their pets most when travelling, more than 80 per cent prioritise packing a phone over a book, and more than one third say that a person using both armrests is the most annoying behaviour experienced when sitting next to a fellow traveller. Jetstar Chief Customer Officer, Catriona Larritt, said the Global Travel Survey has uncovered insightful information regarding Jetstar customers’ travel behaviours and preferences.

• One in four Australians misses their family pet more than anything when on holidays. This answer was unique to Australians, with every other country agreeing that it’s their family they miss most. 
• Only 9% of Aussies said they’d miss their kids most while on holidays and similarly, only 9% said that their dream holiday involved travelling with their little ones. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most Aussies say they don’t miss anyone at all (32%) while they are enjoying their holidays. 
• Aussies are romantic, with 57% choosing to travel with their partner on their dream holiday, rather than travelling on their own (7%). This was in contrast to Japanese travellers, a large portion of who say they would prefer to fly solo on their dream trip (28%). 
•  The top tip for plane etiquette is to never use both arm rests. A massive 39% of Australian respondents said that this was the most frustrating behavior their neighbour could display, followed by the person who talks to you the entire journey; 19% of Aussies would prefer that chatty passengers keep quiet.  

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Until we meet again Moscow

 SHEREMETYEVO International Airport has bid farewell to the players and fans of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. For the past month, Sheremetyevo International Airport witnessed about 33 800 takeoff and landing operations and 4.7 million passengers. The growth was due to the growing demand for air travel during summer holiday season as well as football fans from all over the world, who visited #Moscow and took part in the most anticipated sporting event of the year.

The new Terminal B and the tunnel connecting Sheremtyevo-1 and Sheremetyevo-2 were constructed for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and are part of the Long-Term Development Plan. This plan ensures that Sheremetyevo will increase its capacity to 80 million passengers per year by 2026, making it one of the top 10 largest passenger hubs in the world. The success of the World Cup demonstrates that the Long-Term Development Plan is on pace to meet that target.

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Egypt sees increase in foreign visitors

RENOWNED for its rich culture and history dating back 4,000 years of Pharaoh and Pyramids, #Egypt also has a lot more to offer - a paradise on earth and magic of Egypt Western Desert.  According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the country has received at least 730,000 tourists in February 2018, achieving a 35 percent increase compared to the same month last year.

Egypt Western Desert Tours has seen an increase of foreign visitors group tours for eco-tourism from the UK, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe along with new markets from Asia; South Korea, China, and Malaysia. 

According to the latest Oxford Business Group (OBG)’s, the positive outlook for Egypt’s tourism was backed by the increase in visitors by 54% in 2017 to 8.3 millionGroup travel jumped 66.5%, indicating resurgent interest from package tour operators, and the January-February period saw a 39% year-over-year increase in the number of tourists from the UK - another traditional source of arrivals.


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Travel and Tourism growth for the UK

TRAVEL & Tourism grew by over four times the rate of the wider UK economy in 2017, according to a new report recently launched by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). 

WTTC's latest annual research, in conjunction with Oxford Economics, shows the United Kingdom’s Travel & Tourism sector contribution to GDP grew by 6.2% in 2017, higher than the global average (4.6%) and more than four times faster than the UK’s economy as a whole (which grew by 1.5%). 

This growth translated into £214 billion contribution to GDP, 4 million jobs, and £29 billion in exports. This shows the role of Travel & Tourism in driving economic growth and creating jobs in Britain, and emphasises the vital importance of safeguarding the interests of the sector post-Brexit.

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On the runway

LAST month saw London Gatwick experience the busiest May in its history, as 4.1 million passengers travelled through the airport.

In the same month that Qatar Airways launched a new service from Gatwick to Doha, the airport’s 65 other long-haul routes continued to soar, services to Asia performed strongly, with Hong Kong particularly popular, +39% on last year.

Gatwick’s connections to the United States, +42.8% for the month, drove the airport’s busiest-ever May. The USA’s most iconic cities were among the most popular long-haul destinations during the month, East Coast favourites Boston and New York and Los Angeles.

Bucharest, Pula and Vienna, respectively, were among the most popular European destinations.  Elsewhere, domestic routes to Newquay and the Isle of Man were up 18.6% and 8.7% respectively, while Guernsey saw a 5.8% rise on May last year.

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Industry News . . .

THE Solomon Islands tourism industry have seen collective visitor arrivals for Q1 2018 up 29 per cent over the same period in 2017. Figures released by the #SolomonIslands National Statistics Office (SINSO) show international visitation increased from 4881 to 6296 with January, February and March all showing positive growth.

Australian visitor arrivals continued to dominate representing 34.8 per cent of all international visitation. A strong New Zealand result saw an 18.3 per cent increase, in the process firmly cementing the country in place as the second largest source of visitation. Papua New Guinea and the US maintained their third and fourth positions.
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The average person in the UK has visited 9.58 countries

BRITISH people are travelling to 37% more countries on average than compared to 2013, according to a survey commissioned by London City Airport.

Evidence of the increasing travel bug has been revealed following a YouGov survey of over 2,200 Brits, with the average number of countries visited by a UK adult - across the full range of age groups - now 9.58. It represents a significant increase from the figure of 7 countries generated from the same question posed to 2,000 people in 2013, as part of a OnePoll survey commissioned by the airport.

The island nation clearly still has an appetite for adventures overseas, with Brits almost twice as likely to visit a new country on holiday (60%) than return to a favourite place (33%), and 94% have been abroad at least once in their life.

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Nicaragua expects tourism to grow 10% over Easter

NICARAGUA is expecting a 10% year on year growth this Easter compared to the same period in 2017, according to new official statistics announced by the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR). 

87,894 people visited #Nicaragua during Easter Week in 2017, and 96,683 visitors are expected from 25-31 March 2018. International tourism left Nicaragua with revenues of some 700 million dollars in 2017, 9% during 2016, according to official figures. 

www.visitnicaragua.us

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Portugal re-discovered

PORTUGAL is being re-discovered. The country ended last year with more than 15 billion euros in tourism revenue, which represents an increase of 23.6 percent over 2016, and a daily expenditure of 41 million euros. Tourism and travel revenues currently account for 10 percent of Portugal’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Both Lisbon and Porto are expanding to meet the increased demand with 61 new hotels and 23 remodeled hotels to be launched in 2018. Overall, Portugal’s two largest cities are expecting 4,770 new rooms, according to Association of Hoteliers of Portugal (AHP). In 2017, 44 new hotels were built in #Portugal, with a further 20 remodeled.

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US visitor numbers to Portugal rise in record year

PORTUGAL started 2017 with Travel + Leisure naming it the Editors Pick Destination of the Year. Tourism growth is a huge boost to the Portuguese economy, with economic growth near the top of the European Union and unemployment at a 9 year low. 

According to data from the Bank of #Portugal, in September 2017, revenues generated by tourism jumped 21.3 percent in September, reaching 1.6 billion euros. Revenue from US visitors was up 34 percent or the month over 2016.

The numbers are impressive so far. If in 2016 the total number of American visitors in Portugal was 391,125 with overnights of 910,751, by October 1, 2017 they had already hit 522,653 visitors with 1,196,923 of overnights, which is 34 percent higher than last year’s results and four times higher than just 10 years ago. The number of US travelers for October 2017 was up 44.2 percent over the same month in 2016.   


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