TM Insider 219

The TravelMole Insider – Issue 219
ISSN 1474-2292
30 July 2002
http://www.travelmole.com

A message from ThisIsTravel:
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LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
1. bmi to go completely no-frills at East Midlands Airport
2. The TravelMole Interview: Chris Mottershead, TUI UK
3. ASTA supports call for review of IATA competition rules
4. MyTravel issues trading statement
5. Travel agencies show increased interest in the Internet
6. Profits up at P&O Princess
7. Royal Caribbean ‘disappointed’ by EC ruling
8. bmibaby to serve nine destinations from Cardiff
9. Lufthansa cuts UK-Germany fares by up to 30 per cent
10. Brussels clears two transatlantic alliances
11. Mixed reaction to airport expansion plans
12. Improving US air security easier said than done
13. Call centre service not good enough, claims research
14. Galileo removes need for manual checks on private fares
15. US agents ‘have a bright future’
16. Tough times continue for US hotels
17. Global Hotel Report: Hotel financing
18. Holiday Hotels launches
19. London hotels hurt by June Jubilee
20. One voice for Northern Ireland tourism
21. Survey highlights US travellers’ safety concerns
22. Disabled travellers benefit from accessibility rating system
23. Cape Town focuses on sustainable development
24. IH&RA opens applications for environmental award
25. Site of the Week: Abletogo.com

COMMENT by Jeremy Skidmore
If anyone wants an example of how the travel industry is a
unique market, look no further than Thomson. A few years ago
marketing whiz kids, who have since departed, felt that Thomson
should be able to charge more than its rivals because it was
offering a superior product. Not unreasonable and certainly
something that worked in other industries. But in the package
holiday market, people will only buy more of a quality product
if it is as keenly priced as its competitors. Charge a bit more
and holidaymakers will spend hours shopping around for a cheaper
alternative.

Similarly, the old arrogant Thomson thought it could lay down
the law with independent retailers. Tell them what they were
going to get and how much they had to sell and let them get on
with it. Again, in a different industry a major player might get
away with throwing its weight around in such a manner.
I even remember Thomson’s incredible claim that agents could
be ‘fined’ for wasting brochures or not hitting targets. These
days, Thomson’s management is playing by the unique rules of the
travel industry instead of thinking it is a law unto itself.
Holidays are keenly priced and Thomson is no longer dictating
terms to retailers. And not surprisingly, sales through the
trade are starting to look healthier.

Jeremy Skidmore

—
Have your say! If you would like to add your thoughts to this
or any other TravelMole article, click on the ‘Add a Comment’
button at the top of the story.

Best wishes
Richard Hammond
mailto:[email protected]

LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS
Breaking Stories: http://www.travelmole.com/news/index.html

1. bmi to go completely no-frills at East Midlands Airport
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A major business review means that from November all of bmi’s
scheduled services from East Midlands Airport will be operated
by its budget subsidiary bmibaby.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87305

2. The TravelMole Interview: Chris Mottershead, TUI UK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TUI UK managing director Chris Mottershead has told TravelMole
that the price cuts in the second edition Skytours brochure did
not mean it was copying Airtours.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87382

3. ASTA supports call for review of IATA competition rules
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The American Society of Travel Agents has joined the list of
influential organisations fighting the rejection of a new
Passenger Service Agency Agreement by IATA airline members.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86824

4. MyTravel issues trading statement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MyTravel has attempted to reassure the City about its future
prospects by issuing a trading statement pointing out that it is
performing in line with expectations.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86839

5. Travel agencies show increased interest in the Internet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to Sabre, European travel agencies are showing
increased levels of interest in tools that will help them
exploit the market for online travel.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86924

6. Profits up at P&O Princess
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P&O Princess Cruises has reported an increase in profits for the
second quarter of the year, despite a slight fall in sales.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87095

7. Royal Caribbean ‘disappointed’ by EC ruling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman and chief executive Richard
Fain has said he is “surprised” and “disappointed” by the EC’s
clearance of Carnival’s hostile takeover bid for P&O Princess
Cruises.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87087

8. bmibaby to serve nine destinations from Cardiff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bmibaby will be serving six international and three domestic
destinations when it launches services from Cardiff
International Airport on 27 October 2002.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87166

9. Lufthansa cuts UK-Germany fares by up to 30 per cent
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lufthansa is cutting the price of flights between UK and Germany
in both Economy and Business Class by up to 30 per cent on 19
routes.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87078

10. Brussels clears two transatlantic alliances
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
British Airways and American Airlines look to be left out on a
limb following the European Commission’s decision to give the go
ahead to two rival transatlantic alliances.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87254

11. Mixed reaction to airport expansion plans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While airlines and industry bodies have welcomed the
Government’s plans to improve airport infrastructure across the
UK, environmentalists are warning of a catastrophe.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86921

12. Improving US air security easier said than done
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The task of providing a secure airport transportation system is
proving to be more costly and time consuming than anticipated by
the US government.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87383

13. Call centre service not good enough, claims research
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The travel industry is “delivering poor telephone customer
service” according to a survey by Indigo Call Centres.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87192

14. Galileo removes need for manual checks on private fares
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galileo has taken some of the work out of booking private fares
by adding a new feature to its Agency PrivateFares tool.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87169

15. US agents ‘have a bright future’
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US agents have a bright future despite having had their
commissions axed by airlines, according to a top retailer.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87384

16. Tough times continue for US hotels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US hotels have reported a slump in occupancy for the week ending
July 20, continuing a tough year for the sector.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87385

17. Global Hotel Report: Hotel financing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The latest Global Hotel Network Report takes a look at “Hotel
Financing” from the perspective of Paul Fitzpatrick, senior
managing director of Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners (New York).
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87063

18. Holiday Hotels launches
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday Hotels, the new travel company from the Holiday Autos
Group, has launched.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86975

19. London hotels hurt by June Jubilee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June saw the worst occupancy levels in London for almost 10
years according to hotel consultancy firm PKF.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/86832

20. One voice for Northern Ireland tourism
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A single body has been created to represent and help boost
Northern Ireland’s tourism industry.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87249

21. Survey highlights US travellers’ safety concerns
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Safety is an increasingly important factor for US leisure
travellers, according to the latest International Travel
Confidence Index from NFO Plog Research.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87299

22. Disabled travellers benefit from accessibility rating system
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new accessibility rating system is to be implemented in the UK
so that disabled travellers will have clear information about
what facilities are available when they make their holiday plans.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87073

23. Cape Town focuses on sustainable development
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maximising socio-economic benefits for local communities from
tourism ventures while still maintaining the quality of the
environment is the major challenge facing all stakeholders in
the tourism industry, says The Western Cape Tourism Board.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87069

24. IH&RA opens applications for environmental award
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), has
invited hotels and restaurants around the world to apply for its
2002 “Environmental Award”.
http://www.travelmole.com/item/87066

25. Site of the Week: Abletogo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This recently launched site aims to allow disabled and elderly
people to search for hotels, guesthouses and self-catering
accommodation that suit their specific needs. It was set up by a
team of two, both of whom are disabled, with a history of
working as disability advisors. They also wrote a popular guide
to pubs, clubs and restaurants, and have used their experience
to create this site.

TravelMole reviewer Adrian Mann says: “As I’m neither disabled
nor elderly, it’s perhaps presumptuous to pass comment. What I
can say is that this is a site of the highest quality, and the
level of information contained is comprehensive to say the
least…. Highly recommended – even if you think this site isn’t
relevant to you, I would urge you to have a look and see what a
properly researched, well made and useful site looks like.”
Read his full review:
http://www.travelmole.com/featured_sites.html

LATEST PRESS POSTINGS
Call-link’s magic desktop leaves customers spellbound
Sabre pulls availability info directly from hotels
e-Travel extends global relationship with SAP through 2007
Farebase launches new agent incentive programme
http://www.travelmole.com/news/press

TRAVEL DEALS FOR THE TRAVEL TRADE
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Please note these discounts are only available to serving travel
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full details of these offers, go to:
http://www.travelmole.com/item/69822

CAREERZONE
This week on TravelMole there are 89 travel-related job
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