Airside Andy lands in London City Airport

AIRSIDE Andy has teamed with London City Airport to launch the very first Airside Andy dedicated children’s play area. Located in the Western Pier of the airport, this area opened last month and is designed for families travelling with young children.

Designed for children aged 3 – 8. Airside Andy is free to play, with in-app purchases and memberships available to enhance the in-game experience. It is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), built exclusively for tablet and mobile and available through iTunes and Google Play, where kids can explore the busy world of the airport, and learn to manage short term and long term goals.

The star feature of this space is the Airside Andy play-tech pod. This is designed to look like a mini baggage carousel, complete with two tablets which are attached to suitcases. Each of these tablets are loaded with 21 games, including the Airside Andy game itself.

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Picture credit: Pintrest airside andy

Get wired on the beach!

ΤHE #CYPRUS TELECOMUNICATION AUTHORITY (CYTA), in collaboration with the Municipality of Paralimni, has expanded Wi-Fi coverage along the beachfront at Protaras, giving Cypriots and tourists easy and fast internet connections. 

The network is also available in Larnaca along the Mackenzie beach and the seafront at Phinikoudes.

Cytanet customers get free and unlimited Wi-Fi access, using their personal codes. To obtain and enable their passwords, customers should call 80008080 or 132.

In Protaras, holidaymakers can get passwords together with sunshade and sunbeds hire.

www.cyta.com.cy/cytanet-wireless-zone

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Tui Group pilots 'smart' wristbands for resorts

TUI GROUP has begun trials of a ‘smart’ wristband to help make the guest experience in resort ‘seamless’. The band can be used to access hotel rooms, pay for items around the resort, track spending, and control air conditioning in guest rooms. 

The wristband, which was developed in collaboration with guest technology managed services provider Quadriga, is currently being tested by Tui Nordics at the Blue Village Family Life resort in Turkey. It links up to Tui’s My Holiday app and if judged successful the technology will be rolled out across the group’s markets.

Quadriga is describing the wristband as ‘the world’s first wearable technology dedicated to creating a seamless holiday experience’.

James Cannon, regional director for UK, Ireland, and Nordics, said: ‘The Tui Smartband project not only marks a step change in terms of the guest experience, it also represents a fundamentally new way of addressing the needs of hoteliers and guests.’

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: I’m not sure what ‘seamless holiday experience’ means in plain English; it could be that I’ve never had one, but I do recall a visit to a spa, at which one of these ‘smart’ bands was wrapped around my wrist. The first problem was that it kept on falling off. The second became apparent when I saw the bill for my ‘seamless’ spa experience, based on the band’s ability to track my spending. The proposed charge for a pot of tea and a slice of chocolate cake – albeit a large one – was £36.

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Journey through Welsh history with new high-tech travel map

VISITORS to Wales will be able to experience Welsh history through a new Wales History Map, launched by the Welsh Government's Historic Environment Service. History enthusiasts will be able to explore sites all over Wales based on their favourite period in Welsh history, from the legacy of the Princes of Gwynedd to the story of national hero Owain Glyndŵr.

The Wales History Map is an interactive online resource that allows users to pinpoint more than 50 of Wales' historic sites and separating them into 12 different themes of Welsh history.

Themes will include

• The Castles of Edward I (Flint, Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech, and Beaumaris) 
• Wales: First industrial nation 
• Artistic Response to the Landscape 
• Welsh heroes 

To help visitors get in the mood for historic adventures, the Welsh government has collaborated with Trac Cymru (Music Traditions Wales) to create the Ultimate Welsh Road Trip Soundtrack, featuring work by Welsh singers and musicians to complement the historic themes. 

www.cadw.gov.wales/historymap

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London’s history brought to life … virtually

TIMELOOPER has introduced three 360-degree virtual reality time travel videos that enable visitors to #London to use their smartphones and virtual reality headsets to leap back in time. 

Users can experience medieval times near the Tower of London, The Great Fire of London next to St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the WW2 Blitz from Trafalgar Square.

The videos are location-based, so visitors must be at the locations to unlock the virtual reality experiences. Once a visitor unlocks content, he or she can share the videos with friends and family members from anywhere.

The company’s CEO, Yigit Yigiter, says: ‘#Timelooper began as my childhood dream to bring history to life in a more vivid way. Today, emerging digital technologies such as virtual reality and 360-degree videos make it possible to capture and communicate history and current events, and to envision our future world, in more immersive and exciting ways.’

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Lufthansa aims for European first with inflight broadband service

LUFTHANSA has confirmed it will launch in-flight broadband internet services on its short- and medium-haul routes next summer, making it the first European carrier to do so.  

The first aircraft will be fitted with the technology in early summer 2016.

The service will enable passengers to make the most of broadband internet access on their own mobile devices via a wireless network. Lufthansa claims the technology will support a range of online services, including streaming media.

Passengers will also be able to use their mobile phones to send and receive text messages and for the transfer of data based on their own mobile phone contract. Telephone calls on board, however, will still not be allowed, due to customer preference.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28448204@N00/2307892800">Lufthansa A300</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)

Go green in Harrogate

VISITORS can now use the free Open Harrogate app to navigate around the town using sustainable alternatives to cars.

The town’s green highlights include:

Visitors get half price entry at RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr, if they get there by bus, and cyclists are rewarded with £2 discounts. Its grounds are home to a range of plants and greenery, all of which is composted and re-cycled.

At the Fodder Café and Farm Shop, 85% of their produce comes from Yorkshire. The café was built with 22 green features, including a ground source heat pump, grey water recycling, and natural ventilation.

The Swinton Park Hotel at Masham holds a Green Tourism Award and has a range of sustainable initiatives, including a carbon neutral wood chip boiler, a waste-to-energy recycling scheme, and an energy conserving o-zone technology laundry. Its four-acre walled garden allows guests to see exactly where their produce comes from before dining. 

For self-catering stays, there are options to suit the environmentally-conscious holidaymaker. Rudding Gates Apartments promote re-cycling and locally sourced produce, and Scandinavian Lodges have solar panel technology.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37804979@N00/14739716357">Royal Hall Harrogate 4</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Canada to introduce travel authorization fee

A FEE of C$7 (£3.80) is being imposed with the introduction of electronic approval to enter Canada from next year.

The electronic travel authorization (ETA) becomes mandatory from March 15, 2016 and will be valid for five years.

Under ETA programme, citizens from countries – other than the United States – who do not need a visa to enter Canada will have to obtain online authorization before leaving their home country.

The electronic system is being introduced by Canada’s Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

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Heathrow unveils £3m package to promote Britain’s city regions

HEATHROW is to partner with city regions across the UK by providing £3 million worth of advertising space at all of its terminals.

With more than 22 million business travellers connecting to more than 180 destinations each year, the campaign seeks to increase foreign investment in Britain’s regions, and is an opportunity for the participating areas to showcase why they are great places in which to invest, work, and live.

The six participating city regions will each receive six weeks of advertising across digital platforms throughout all of Heathrow’s terminals, prime poster locations, and exhibition space in arrival halls. The North-East will be the first to feature when the campaign launches in May, followed by Northern Ireland, Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff, and Bristol.

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Smart screens at Heathrow compare transfer options

SCREENS have been installed at Heathrow Terminal 2 showing passengers live price and journey time comparisons between taxis and the airport's train service to central London.

The screens – a world first – combine real-time traffic, weather, and Heathrow Express train service information into one data feed, or 'journey comparison generator,' at the terminal's baggage reclaim zone.

Fraser Brown, Heathrow Express director, said: ‘The aim of the journey comparison generator is to enable Heathrow passengers to get into London as speedily, easily, and cheaply as possible. Research shows Heathrow Express trains are three times faster than taxis and a quarter of the price. These screens show how that comparison varies minute to minute depending on traffic, weather, and time of day.’

This summer, information on the screens at each baggage carousel will be translated to the main language of people on the arriving flight. They will be installed at Terminals 3 and 5 later in the year.

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British start-up tackles lost luggage challenge

A British start-up firm claims to have developed a technology that all but eliminates the chance of lost luggage from flights.

The Eviate eTrack, which has been developed by FastTrack Company in conjunction with partners including Air France KLM, is the first technology to link to existing worldwide travel systems, the companies claim. As a result, both the passenger and every airline worldwide knows where a bag is located.

The system also sends the luggage owner a message when the suitcase is on the baggage carousel, and notifies them if and when it is opened during a journey. The patented eTrack technology is the only tracking solution to meet all international air travel regulations, the company says.

The eTag is a digital baggage tag that allows passengers to check in at home, skipping long queues at the check-in desks at the airport. The eTag is only available in conjunction with participating airlines.
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Alps online

ABOUT FRANCE and France Montagnes have launch of new micro-site, The French Piste Project, which tells the story of the French mountains through the eyes and Iphones of the people in them, in real time.

Any photo posted to Instagram that is geo-tagged with the name of a French mountain resort is streamed to the live feed, which is constantly updated. At any given time, mountain-lovers can check out who's doing what – where – in the French mountains.

The French Piste Project - www.thefrenchpisteproject.com - will be live throughout the spring ski season, the summer ski season, and into winter 2015-2016.

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Europcar brings ToMyCar app to rental market

THE ToMyCar app is a new service from Europcar. With it, customers can book, unlock,
and drive their hire car using their smartphone, eliminating the need to visit the counter.

The service is being launched first in the UK from four key locations – London Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh airports, and the Europcar Mobility Centre at ExCeL London.

Customers will be able to return their hire car at any of these key locations.

‘ToMyCar harnesses the latest mobile technology to put our customers in control of the car hire process,’ said Ken McCall, managing director, Europcar UK Group. ‘They can locate and unlock their hire car with their smartphone, eliminating the need for picking up the keys at the desk and returning them after the hire.’

The app provides a map, highlighting the pick-up location of the vehicle, allowing customers to go straight to their hire car. They are then able to access their vehicle using their downloaded key via their smartphone.

Any vehicle damage can be recorded by the customer and reported via the app, before they open the doors and begin their journey.

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Journey back through time at Warwick Castle

AN interactive attraction at Warwick Castle promises to take visitors back in time using 3D and 4D technology.

Time Tower, which opened to visitors on March 28, is the first of its kind in the UK to combine 3D scanning and modelling, projection mapping, and 4D effects. 

It knits together compelling stories from the Middle Ages, the Tudors, and the Victorian era into a time-travelling narrative brought vividly to life.

Figment Productions, the creative team behind LEGO Factory Tour Experience at LEGOLAND Discovery Centres and Octonauts at SEA LIFE, has used 3D scanning and modelling know-how to create a scale model of Warwick Castle that transforms through time with projection mapping and 4D effects.

Time Tower will be unveiled historian’ and author, Dan Jones, whose Channel 5 series Secrets of Great British Castles – featuring Warwick Castle – started this month.

Dan Jones said: ‘Time Tower is un-missable. It uses the latest technology to grab and keep kids’ attention, and it weaves together story threads from different times in our history, to show how everything is connected. Because Time Tower uses technology so naturally, its story unfolds in a way that kids can grasp easily. Yet it never loses authenticity or accuracy.’


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Picture Credit: "Warwick Castle Trebuchet" by By Dave White via Wikimedia Commons; 'Logo' courtesy www.warwick-castle.com; "Warwick Castle exterior" by Walwegs [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Italy online

THERE are more than a thousand cultural events all over Italy between May and October; from north to south, in big cities and small villages, there will be exhibitions, concerts, shows, festivals, theatre, and traditional celebrations.

To find out what’s happening, where, and when, go to www.verybello.it , created by the Italian Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

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Picture Credit: GoHoliday via Wikimedia Commons.

GoEuro launches in Italy

A SEARCH platform that combines trains, buses, and flights, has expanded its coverage to Italy, having added new partnerships with several bus companies and becoming the first to partner with both Italian train operators.

In less than 18 months since the platform was launched, Italy becomes the seventh national market now available via the GoEuro website, joining Germany, UK, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Netherlands. 

The addition of Italy adds a further 38 airports, 6,663 train stations, and 1,082 bus stations – bringing the total number of possible journey destinations to 32,959.

GoEuro.it provides a contrast to traditional online booking platforms: travellers no longer switch between local websites and operators to arrange onward travel from main international airports. GoEuro compiles all possible journey options to a required destination in one search, displaying available flight, rail, and bus connections – all in a user’s native language and currency.

Whether journeying from Naples to Milan, or Bologna to Rome, the website offers passengers the best possible transport options and combinations based on price, journey duration, and convenience, irrespective of whether their final destination is a large city, small town, or village.

www.goeuro.com

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StatsInteresting - who is doing well and .....

STANSTED AIRPORT reports a 12 percent increase in passenger numbers in 2014. More than 19.98 million passed through Stansted, making it Britain’s fastest growing airport. 

INBOUND UK tourism numbers up; further growth expected in 2015 - BASED on data from the first 11 months of 2014, more international visitors are heading to Britain than before, with 32.4 million visiting between January and November last year. This is a 7% rise on the same period in 2013, with spend also up 3% to more than £20 billion.

The numbers are set to continue growing this year with visits to reach 35.1 million and spend of £22.2 billion, setting a new record.

While London is popular for business trips, there are more people holidaying in the country with the figure at 13 million in the 11 months, compared to 12.7 million year-on-year.

‘Inbound tourism continues to be the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry and one of Britain’s most successful export industries, generating jobs and growth across Britain,’ says Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain.

A FREE APP FOR ST. PANCRAS

ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL in London is the first UK railway station to launch its own app.

The free app gives users the opportunity to delve into the history of the Grade 1 listed building, get facts about the area, and pick up exclusive news about special retail offers.

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Picture Credit: From Left; "St Pancras station, London (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928)" by Andy Dingley (scanner) - Scan from Allen, Cecil J. (1928) via Wikimedia Commons; "St. Pancras Station" by Andrew Nash from Vienna, Austria via Wikimedia Commons; 

The Welcome Pack on an app

OKIDOKEYS has launched RentEZ, a virtual concierge app that gives home-sharing hosts and self-catering rental property owners a convenient way to offer a menu of amenities and services for their guests. Powered by the Hotelcloud platform, guests can use the app to access information about property amenities and user guides, and book local activities and services with one click.

‘Our mission is to provide individual property owners with the same hotel amenities and comforts, such as concierge services, that we do for our hospitality customers,’ says David-Benjamin Brakha, founder of the Hotelcloud.

The RentEZ licence is priced at $79.99/£59.99 annually.

For hosts:

· Manages your places and share keys from anywhere at anytime

· Eliminates the need to share metal keys with guests

· Lists apartment’s amenities' user guides

· Enables live chat between owners and guests

· Unlimited content with real time updates

For guests:

· 24/7 easy check-in and check-out

· Accesses the property’s amenities

· Access local recommendations

· Events guide

· Able to order online services in one click

The OKIDOKEYS - www.okidokeys.com - app and web portal allow you to create, share, and revoke access for family, friends, and third parties such as babysitters and trusted service people, and receive notifications when doors are being operated.

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Ryanair launches US website

Thousands of American customers explore Europe every year on Ryanair’s low fares, with London, Dublin, Barcelona, Rome, and Paris the top five destinations, and with most passengers coming from California, New York, Texas, Florida, and New Jersey.

The US site includes Ryanair’s “Fare Finder” feature, where customers can search and book the lowest fares by price point, route, and travel period, and US customers can now pay for tickets dollars.

www.ryanair.com/us

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Your partner, or your phone?

MEN AND WOMEN in the UK are often fonder of their mobile phones than their partners, according to European research by Swiss International Air Lines.

Forty percent of Britons surveyed admitted they are often fighting a losing battle when it comes to partners paying more attention to their gadgets. 

Even more (84%) think people don't connect like they used to when they are face-to-face because of the pull of the internet and easy access communications on-the-go.

Other findings show:

*Germans are the most worried that digital media has led to more superficial relationships. They are also the most upset when it comes to being ignored in favour of a mobile phone.

*The Spanish are the worst when it comes to ignoring their partners often in favour of their phones. More than half of Spaniards think nothing of checking their phone while in conversation with others.

*French are the least concerned about eye contact during a conversation.


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Picture Credit: Go Holiday BLOG via Wikimedia Commons