Sustainable travel off the Golden Route

TOKYO based startup tour operator Heartland JAPAN is leading the way in creating sustainable #travel #destinations off the so-called Golden Route (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima etc.) which is currently overburdened by the year on year increase in inbound travellers (an increase of 450% over the past five years), set to reach 40M in 2020.

In spite of the staggering rise in foreign tourists, relatively little has been done so far to make travellers aware of alternative destinations, with a continued fixation on commercialised travel spots. It is here that Heartland JAPAN positions itself in providing the information and means for inbound visitors to journey off the beaten track.

Heartland JAPAN aims to create life-changing journeys, to provide physical and spiritual fulfillment through outdoor activities, hands-on experiences and cultural exchanges with locals. The company’s current fully guided adventure tours cover five destinations across #Japan, all of which are reachable from the various 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympics game sites, providing the perfect opportunity for visitors to these events.

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Inclusive accessible travel for all

ADVENTURE tour operator, Cascada Expediciones & EcoCamp Patagonia, have claimed another title, this time winning Best Transformational Travel Experience at the 2018 PURE Awards held in September. In 2017 EcoCamp brought the first disabled visitor to explore Torres del Paine and in 2018 their tours became fully inclusive. In January they trekked a wheelchair-using guest around the Park in their uniquely-designed wheelchair.

This is the second year in a row that they have taken home this prize, with their Dientes Trek on Navarino Island winning in 2017. This year their efforts promoting inclusive travel and accessibility in the travel industry helped them earn this award.

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A small country with a huge heart

A small country with a huge past, Cambodia, a popular holiday destination among travellers from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK, has seen growth double through the years offering tour operators the opportunity to market their own specially crafted vacation packages. Vietnamese Private Tours offers its own tours and trip deals in 2019 taking advantage of the growing number of travellers to the region.

Its rich history is challenging, enchanting and ever present. Voted the world‘s friendliest nation, the Cambodian people smile their way throughout the day. Its blossoming art scene and funky bars and restaurants contrast nicely with its ancient temples and colonial decay plus its throbbing cities and island beaches are the perfect place to relax and play.

#Cambodia is warm to hot year round with a rainy season between June and October. Don’t be too put off by the term ‘rainy’ though. It’s actually a great time of the year to visit. The temperature is a little cooler and the land lush green. Most of the downpours are in the afternoon or at night and they only last for a couple hours or so making them easy to plan around.

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Prestigious Travel Award for The Women's Travel Group

THE Women's Travel Group has again won a prestigious travel award from Travel Weekly Magazine. The Silver Magellan Award for 2018 honors the company's outreach to solo women looking for a travel group to join.

The Women's Travel Group has offered small group quality tours for women for 26 years and often chooses new and unusual destinations for women who have already traveled a great deal: Iran, Namibia, S Africa, India, Albania etc. Hotels are 4 star, meals in restaurants and guides are trained to cater to the intellectual needs of women travelers. Trips sometimes have speakers and always have unique visits.

The market for women's travel is barely touched by the large travel corporations; this boutique tour operator tries to fill that gap while providing hand holding for those taking their first trip. Some of the trips are co-organized by Sita World Tours of Encino CA, who have worked with The Group for many years.


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Technology enabled travel planning

WITH innovative marketing tactics, service providers in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK are reversing the impact of Brexit and fuel hikes. Technological solutions such as OTA bookings, apps, bots, and advanced payment tools are encouraging travelers to facilitate well planned holidays. 

As part of its recent development in holiday planning and booking process, Thomas Cook has introduced two novel features such as Direct Debit Payments and Zero Deposit Offer for its summer 2019 program. With the former, end-users can choose to book their holiday plan against a minimum token amount. The latter eases end-users by booking their holiday packages without any advance payment.

Technology enabled travel planning is gaining momentum in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK. Leading holiday organizers are infusing advanced technology with meticulous planning to deliver superlative hospitality experience to end-users in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK. Noted travel planner Thomas Cook has confirmed its incorporation of Bold360ai to improve customer services. With this AI enabled service solution, Thomas Cook has garnered happy customers across Europe with the project first rolling out in the UK.

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Free flight to the outback for U.S. travellers

TOURISM Northern Territory will cover the cost of flights to the Outback for travelers visiting from the United States. The campaign, called "Fly Free to the Outback," gives U.S.-based travelers the opportunity to book an Australian vacation through one of 11 participating wholesale operators in order to earn free one-way flights from an Australian gateway city to Darwin, Alice Springs or Uluru (Ayers Rock).

The deal is operational from May 31 through July 31, 2018 and aims to encourage visitation to the spiritual heart of #Australia with the message You haven't been Downunder until you've been Outback.

Now is the time to visit Australia's Outback, with new and authentic cultural, culinary and adventure experiences from Darwin to Uluru. The New York Times named the Northern Territory's Top End #12 on the list of "52 Places to Go in 2018," and artist Bruce Munro announced the extension of his world-renowned art exhibit called "Field of Light Uluru". The Northern Territory saw record visitation from the United States in 2017, with the U.S. now at number one for international market visitation.


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Exclusive publication for Maldivian travel agents

MALDIVES Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has launched the first edition of ‘Maldives Travel Agents Guide’, an exclusive publication to serve as platform to market, promote and advertise local travel agents and tour operators. The first edition of #Maldives Travel Agents’ Guide was launched on 22nd April 2018, at the Arabian Travel Market, Dubai. 

Maldives Travel Agents Guide is published annually and distributed in all the major international travel trade fairs and exhibition. The purpose of this publication is to have a distinctive list of local travel agents that international buyers and travelers can explore and navigate through.

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On the runway . . . .

TUI the UK’s largest holiday brand, has today announced it has added an additional weekly flight to the popular Greek island of Kos and Turkish destination of Dalaman for summer 2018 operating out of Bristol Airport.

As well as the additional flights to Kos and Dalaman residents from in and around Bristol now have a wider choice of destinations to choose from when booking their holidays this summer with new routes to Hurghada in Egypt and Skiathos in Greece already on sale.

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Paying by credit card win or lose?

A new rule introduced on Saturday January 13th, 2018 stops businesses, including tour operators, charging their customers a fee when paying by credit card.

The EU law, adopted by the UK, is designed to force banks and credit card companies to lower their charges – around half of all holidays and paid by credit card. In reality, the banks have not lowered their charges and the tour operators and holiday companies are being forced to absorb the cost in their own prices.

Or are they?

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No more Thomson

THE UK’s leading travel company has kicked off its name change campaign to highlight that Thomson is changing to TUI.

A new TV ad debuted during ITV’s flagship Saturday night programme the X Factor last week. The advert showed a man diving into clear crystal blue water; the message was simple, ‘Thomson is changing to TUI.’

The 20 second ad, created by Young and Rubicam, is at the heart of a wide scale communications offensive that will cement the name TUI in the minds of the British public as Thomson’s transition from UK number one to world number one reaches the final stages. The company announced in December 2016 that its summer 2017 marketing campaign ‘moments’ would be the last under the Thomson brand name, paving the way for a full re-brand by the end of the year.

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Language no barrier for Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines

GRAND Canyon Scenic Airlines (GCSA), the world’s largest and most experienced aerial tour operator, has launched three new language sites for www.scenic.com: Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. 

GCSA is the only aerial tour operator to offer multilingual options for tours from Las Vegas, #GrandCanyon National Park, Grand Canyon West and Page, #Arizona.

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Going Wild

NEW responsible wildlife packages have bolstered Adventure World’s newly released 2018/19 India and Asia portfolio. As a longstanding partner with World Animal Protection [WAP], Adventure World strictly adheres to a policy of no elephant rides in any of its programs and in partnership with The TreadRight Foundation and Wildlife SOS, Adventure World is supporting the development of an Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura, Uttar, India. 

New for 2018 is a dedicated Wildlife of Sri Lanka program where clients explore the lesser known Wilpattu National Park, home to a vast number of Sri Lankan leopards. Along with big cats there is the chance to see elephants, sloth bears and an array of other wildlife and flora on a thrilling Jeep safari. The program also includes an infrared night safari in Yala National Park and a day at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Horton Plains. 

Birding enthusiasts will be drawn to the new Jungles, Wildlife & Temples itinerary in Cambodia which features a lodge stay in the isolated village of Tmatboey, famous for the conservation of the giant ibis, Cambodia’s national bird. Clients can enjoy a series of wildlife and birding treks with local naturalists. 

In Indonesia, the new Kaliman tan Orangutans by Houseboat allows travellers to explore the wonders of Tanjung, putting by houseboat, cruising languid waters, surrounded by jungle and encounter wild orangutans. 

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Adventure ready in Eucador

WINNER of the 2017 “Motorcycle Tour Operator of the Year” award from Luxury Travel Guide, Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental is the country’s first motorcycle tour operator. Working with local, professional guides they design and outfit tours for adventure enthusiasts who wish to explore #Ecuador on two wheels.

Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental, the most experienced #motorcycle #tour operator in Ecuador and provider of the most extensive fleet of rental motorcycles in South America, announced today that it is adding four new motorcycles from the Italian manufacturer SWM to its fleet. The two models selected – the RS 650R and the Gran Milano 440 - will add even more riding options for those seeking that rare combination of off-road / on-road excitement that has put Ecuador on the adventure-riding map.

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Globe Travel Awards reveals awards for touring and adventure in 2018

THE increasing importance of the touring and #adventure sector to the #travel trade has been reflected with a new Globe Travel Awards category for best adventure operator.

The category will celebrate the growth of adventure travel, alongside other awards crowning the best in class in mainstream and premium escorted touring.

To make the categories clearer, the Best Activity & Adventure Operator award has been renamed Best Operator for Activities, honouring suppliers that specialise in activities including skiing, cycling, walking and water sports.



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Head to the Alps with Jet2

NO better time for snow bunnies to book a flight to the slopes from London Stansted, as Jet2 have slashed the price of ski carriage on ski routes from its newest base. The offer means skiers and boarders can take 22kg of ski carriage for just £1 return on featured flights.

With flights to some of the very best skiing destinations in Europe from London Stansted to four ski destinations this winter with the French and Austrian Alps well and truly covered. Flights operate to the following destinations, and the offer applies to these routes only:

Geneva (five weekly flights)
Grenoble (one service every week)
Salzburg (three weekly services)
Lyon (two weekly services)

Must book between Friday 1st September until Saturday 30th September 2017, and travel between Thursday 30th November 2017 and Monday 30th April 2018.

www.jet2.com/ski

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New tourism industry platform

THREE successful online tourism directories have been brought together to form a comprehensive single digital platform, presenting tourism industry stakeholders in three sub-categories, catering for tourism organizations, trade travel events, and tour operators.

The brand new multilingual platform www.tourism-review.org connects the tourism world, giving international exposure to companies and organizations who think globally and act locally. It replaces the listing of travel organizations presented on tourism-review.com, which has successfully served the tourism industry since 2006. The new Tourism Review Directories digital platform was developed to deliver more presentation options for the listed organizations and to greatly extend their reach.

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Brand USA announces Australian Winner of its latest incentive

BRAND USA, in partnership with Delta Air Lines and Virgin Australia, has revealed the Australian winner of its largest and most successful trade incentive to date – Big Badge Bonanza. 

Designed to celebrate 16 new specialist badges on its official training site – the USA Discovery Program, Brand USA asked agents to compete for the chance to win a trip for two to any US cities on the Delta Air Lines network. 522 new users signed up for the Discovery Program training site across Australia and New Zealand, with a total of 5047 individual badge completions across both markets – an incremental increase of 56 per cent as a direct result of the incentive. 

The lucky winner is Nichole Hammer from Escape Travel in Bendigo, Victoria. 

The USA Discovery Program is an innovative and interactive online training course that provides travel agents with the knowledge and skills needed to more effectively book trips to the USA. The incentive ran for two months and in order to qualify, agents were required to register and complete any five badges to gain an entry. Each additional badge completed gave agents a bonus entry into the draw to win. 


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Adventure and Wildlife Africa's latest offerings

ADVENTURE and wildlife tour operator Gane and Marshall has created a selection of new itineraries to celebrate four lodge, safari camp and hotel openings in top #wildlife spotting locations in #Africa. 

Founded in 1991 as an adventure trekking company, specialising in Kilimanjaro climbs, Gane and Marshall has evolved to become one of the UK’s leading providers of tailor-made wildlife and adventure holidays around the world. They pride themselves on delivering off-the-beaten-track travel experiences in safe hands, whether that’s an Africa safari, an Arctic cruise, wild-life watching in Finland or an adventure trek in Nepal. 

The latest itineraries from the tailor-made specialist are to Botswana and Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Zambia, each offering wildlife fans the chance to experience a newly opened, luxury safari lodge, including Sable Alley bush camp in Botswana, the ultra-chic Miavana in Madagascar, the remote Gomoti Plains Camp in Botswana and the stylish King Lewanika Lodge in Zambia.

www.ganeandmarshall.com

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Thomas Cook’s German website and travel agents awarded for quality and service

THOMAS Cook, one of the world’s leading leisure travel companies, has been awarded first prize in two separate surveys for the quality of its German travel agents and website.

In a survey of more than 350 websites by 20,000 customers, The German Institute for Service Quality and television news channel n-tv awarded Thomascook.de first prize for the ‘offer and performance’ of its website, and second place for ‘customer service’ and ‘recommendation’.

A second survey, by Germany’s leading consumer comparison and market research company, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verbraucherstudien, awarded first prize to Thomas Cook’s retail travel agents for both ‘service’ and ‘advice’, and awarded second prize for the ‘ambience’ of its shops. The study was carried out by professional secret shoppers across 20 of Germany’s biggest travel agency chains.

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Puerto Rico to to host 2018 Caribbean Travel Marketplace

PUERTO RICO will host the 2018 edition of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, the Caribbean's largest marketing event, at the Puerto Rico Convention Center from January 30 to February 1, 2018.

Produced by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, and the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association.

Next year's event will feature two days of business meetings that match hotels and destinations with online travel agents, tour operators and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) planners through a busy program of thousands of pre-scheduled appointments.

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