TM Insider 174

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The TravelMole Insider – Issue 174
ISSN 1474-2292
29 January 2002
http://www.travelmole.com

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This newswire contains a message from: Farebase

LATEST PRESS POSTINGS ON TRAVELMOLE:
Travelink: Elegant Resorts choose Travelink
Sabre: Europe is ‘discovering’ electronic ticketing
RWA: 30 percent of UK holidays sold via RWA solution
Active Hotels: UK hotspots hotels to activate bookings in 2002
http://www.travelmole.com/news/press

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Join PressZone and post your latest news on TravelMole:
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THIS WEEK’S REGULAR FEATURES:
Site of the Week: Realholidayreports.com
People in the Trade: Sandy MacPherson, Voyager Travel

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
1. Telewest and X-TANT in MyTravel row
2. BA and American Airlines abandon alliance plans
3. Cotton slams lack of co-ordinated marketing plan for England
4. Swanwick air control centre opens for business
5. Energis in severe trouble after profit warning
6. Preussag positive despite September 11
7. Carnival gets personal in P&O Princess fight
8. Orbitz experience shows bookers like independent hotels
9. Andersen report: Regional UK hotel market ends 2001 positively
10. ETC launches countryside campaign
11. Prepare yourself for the Data Protection Act
12. Travel deals for the travel trade
13. Tourism Concern cautious about Int. Year of Ecotourism

A message from Farebase:
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industry. Book both consolidated AND published airfares ONLINE
in a single search. View our consolidated and charters and lates
databases. Links to hundreds of useful travel web sites.
Register NOW at http://www.farebase.co.uk

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TravelMole is a community of over 15,000 travel and tourism
professionals. For details of how to reach this audience:
http://www.travelmole.com/service/advertise

Editorial

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Dear TravelMole Member

As the United Nations today launches the ‘International Year of
Ecotourism’ (IYE), Tourism Concern has released a statement
voicing its concern that a sudden growth in ‘ecotourism’ may not
necessarily work in the interests of both local and indigenous
people in Southern destinations.

In a statement released today, Tourism Concern said that it is
concerned that the problems of unsustainable tourism development
cannot be solved by promoting ‘ecotourism’, which it says, is a
small, niche market and also, by its nature, necessitates
developing tourism in fragile, sensitive areas. This, it
believes, could be fraught with difficulties if demand for
ecotourism increases significantly.

Patricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern, said: “While
Tourism Concern is pleased that the impacts of tourism are being
addressed by the international community through the
International Year of Ecotourism, we feel that ecotourism is
such a small part of the tourism industry it will not make a
significant difference to the sustainability of the overall
industry. Tourism Concern has always pointed out that just
because something is marketed as ‘ecotourism’, doesn’t mean
necessarily mean that it supports long-term protection of the
environment. This is true even in countries which are well-known
as ecotourism destinations like Belize or Costa Rica.”

For more information, read the Tourism Concern in-depth briefing:
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70460

Best wishes
Richard Hammond
mailto:[email protected]

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS

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1. Telewest and X-TANT in MyTravel row

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A row has broken out between Telewest and X-TANT over the
MyTravel UK viewdata contract, a deal which Telewest claims has
made it the “viewdata market leader.” Telewest has signed a two
year agreement to provide Internet Protocol (IP) viewdata
services to all MyTravel UK’s retail outlets including Going
Places and TravelWorld. It claims to have won the contract from
rival X-TANT last summer and to have just completed the
migration.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70383

2. BA and American Airlines abandon alliance plans

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British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington has said that the
conditions imposed by the US Department of Transportation for
its proposed alliance are “too high”. The US DOT said that the
airlines would have to divest 224 take-off and landing slots at
Heathrow before the deal would get the go-ahead. Its tough
stance towards the two carriers means that the Open Skies talks
between the UK and US governments – which were supposed to start
in Washington this Monday – have been cancelled.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70321

3. Cotton slams lack of co-ordinated marketing plan for England

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England’s tourism industry lacks a coordinated marketing action
plan according to British Hospitality Association chief
executive Bob Cotton.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70373

4. Swanwick air control centre opens for business

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The new GBP 623 million air traffic control centre at Swanwick
in Hampshire started operating yesterday.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70355

5. Energis in severe trouble after profit warning

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Energis shares nosedived after the the company warned that its
figures for the financial year to the end of March “are unlikely
to meet expectations”.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70346

6. Preussag positive despite September 11

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Tourism giant Preussag said 2001 was a positive year for the
business despite the effects of 11 September.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/69960

7. Carnival gets personal in P&O Princess fight

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Carnival has refused to go quietly following the rejection of
its offer by P&O Princess earlier this week.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70174

8. Orbitz experience shows bookers like independent hotels

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Online hotel bookers are “no longer only booking the major hotel
chains” according to Orbitz hotel partnerships manager Jeff
Thomas.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70197

9. Andersen report: Regional UK hotel market ends 2001 positively

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Andersen has released preliminary 2001 results for the UK and
London that show UK hoteliers have reacted swiftly to changing
market conditions.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70345

10. Prepare yourself for the Data Protection Act

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Stuart Room from law firm Rowe Cohen looks at recent changes to
the Data Protection Act and the steps that personnel managers
must take to comply…and the consequences if they don’t.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70342

11. ETC launches countryside campaign

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On Monday, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael and Heritage
Minister Tessa Blackstone formally launched a new campaign to
encourage people into the English countryside.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70323

12. Travel deals for the travel trade

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TravelMole, in association with idDeals, brings you the
opportunity to get exclusive travel trade and airline staff
discounts at a range of properties at home and abroad:

Cyprus: 50% off at Coral Beach Hotel & Resort
Prague: appartment in the city centre for only GBP 25 per night
Paris: Superbly located Hotel Inter-Continental Paris at 50% off
Capetown: Brenwin Guest House, 10 mins walk from V&A. 20% off.
Bangkok: Amari Atrium hotel. First class luxury GBP 32 per night
UK: 50% off at 10 top London hotels

Please note these discounts are only available to serving travel
agents or airline staff and their travelling companions. For
full details of these offers, go to:
http://www.travelmole.com/item/69822

13. Tourism Concern cautious about Int. Year of Ecotourism

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As the United Nations today launches the ‘International Year of
Ecotourism’, Tourism Concern has released a statement voicing
its concern that a sudden growth in ‘ecotourism’ may not
necessarily work in the interests of both local and indigenous
people in Southern destinations.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/70454

REGULAR FEATURES:

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People in the Trade: Sandy MacPherson

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Sandy runs his own company, Voyager Travel Ltd, in Glasgow,
and is a member of ABTA’s Board of Directors and Executive
Committee, Chairman of the Council of Regions, and Chairman
of ABTA Scotland. Read his entry in TravelMole’s Who’s Who
in Travel and Tourism:
http://www.travelmole.com/cgi-site/whoswho.cgi

Site of the Week: Realholidayreports.com

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This site was set up about a year ago by a group of friends who
identified the need for independent, unbiased reports written by
tourists who have actually been to the resorts. TravelMole’s
reviewer Adrian Mann says: “while the concept and content is
good, the implementation leaves some room for improvement. As it
stands, there are far to many broken links and poor navigation
to give this site a wholehearted recommendation, but it’s
definitely worth using to see what real travellers make of the
places they’ve stayed.” Read his full review:
http://www.travelmole.com/featured_sites.html

About the TravelMole Insider

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This is the 174th issue of the TravelMole Insider. We keep track
of developments of interest to people working in the travel
and tourism industry. The Managing Editor is Richard Hammond and
the News Editor is Helen Young. The website includes the latest
trade news, previous newswires, links to relevant sites,
research information and other useful resources for the industry.

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Copyright (C) 2001 TravelMole. All rights reserved.

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http://www.travelmole.com

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