Eliana Willis

The executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has expressed its continued support for secretary general Zurab Pololikashvili.
Meeting in Madrid, members nominated him to continue leading the agency for four more years.
At the end of the 113th session of the executive council, held as a hybrid event in Spanish capital, members voted in person and in secret for their choice of leader for 2022-2025.
Incumbent Pololikashvili won 76 per cent of the votes in a process where the kingdom of Bahrain also put forward a candidate for the position, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.

ADVERTISEMENT

Her excellency congratulated Pololikashvili on his win and the government of Bahrain expressed its support for UNWTO.
Pololikashvili had based his campaign for re-election both on the progressive institutional and policy reforms undertaken during his first term, and on his clear leadership of global tourism throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The recommendation will be carried forward to the 24th session of the UNWTO general assembly, due to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, towards the end of the year.
In Madrid, both the president of the government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and king Felipe VI expressed their support for UNWTO and its leadership.
Older
IAG agrees to half-price Air Europa deal

Newer
IATA calls for EU-wide Covid-19 vaccination certificate More

The tourism industry is calling on the government to give more detail on how travel restrictions will be lifted if Covid-19 is brought under control in the UK.
ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “As news continues to emerge of new variants of the virus developing overseas, along with the significant number of cases and deaths in the UK, it is understandable that the government wants to take every step necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The pre-departure testing for passengers entering the UK, originally due to come into force tomorrow but now delayed for England until Monday, is a clear example of this.
“It joins a myriad of other measures which if still in place when more people start to travel would be confusing, expensive and logistically difficult for customers.
“It would also serve as a barrier to travel putting many people off booking in the first place.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Authorities earlier confirmed pre-departure Covid-19 testing would not begin until Monday, while also announcing arrivals from South America will be severely curtailed. 
However, the restrictions are worrying for the tourism sector in the longer-term, Tanzer said.
He added: “It is worth pointing out that the government hasn’t given any confirmation that pre-departure testing will be removed once international travel opens up more widely – only that it will be reviewed as we come towards the end of this lockdown.
“What the industry needs to hear from government is a clear plan for recovery.
“We currently have travel corridors, quarantine, testing on departure to the UK, testing to reduce quarantine and advice against travel to whole countries all in place – not to mention the various restrictions overseas countries place on UK tourists. 
“This situation is not a viable way to open up the travel market and get people travelling again.”
Tanzer, and the wider travel industry, are now calling on the government to use existing structures to plot a course out of the shutdown.
He added: “We are asking the government to use the global travel taskforce structure to convene specific working groups to look at these very issues, as well as what the rollout of the UK vaccine will mean for future overseas travel.
“We hope this will lead to a roadmap which can be used to drive future policy for business and leisure travel and get people moving again.
“We also continue to press the UK government on the need for tailored financial support for the sector and are speaking to destinations about their plans, including regarding UK travellers who are vaccinated, as well as their own country vaccination programs.”
Older
Leal steps down as chief executive of Virgin Hotels More

Holiday company Saga has experienced a notable increase in interest for holidays in recent weeks.
This comes as those aged over 50, who will likely receive the Covid-19 vaccine ahead of some younger groups, look ahead to future trips.
Saga said it had noted growth in the number of people booking long-haul and ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trips.
Bookings for 2022 are up over 90 per cent on the same period last year, suggesting an appetite to travel, the company added.

ADVERTISEMENT

People also seem to want to go away for longer, with bookings up from a previous average of 13 to 18 days – a nearly 40 per cent increase.
There has also been a 16 per cent increase in traffic to the Saga website, with a 98 per cent increase in conversion to sales – suggesting those searching for trips are now more confident to book.
Chris Simmonds, Saga chief executive of holidays, has said that the people over 50 are “hungry to travel”, with once-in-a-lifetime trips next winter to destinations such as Uzbekistan and Uganda proving particularly popular.
He added that Saga’s customers are “very adventurous and thinking about spoiling themselves”.
UK and Ireland trips are also seeing an increase in interest.
Titan Travel
Titan Travel has noted similar trends.
Despite having only just said goodbye to 2020, bookings for next year are beginning to take-off, with the company announcing one of its 2022 tours – Wild Costa Rica – has already sold out, 13 months prior to departure.
Andy Squirrell, managing director, Titan Travel, commented: “Having conducted consumer surveys over summer last year we recognised that travellers are looking ahead to future trips earlier than ever before.
“To help satisfy this increase in demand from early bookers we launched our 2022 worldwide and European product in autumn last year.
“Since the launch we have seen a great uplift in bookings for future holidays, which has led to one of our 2022 tour dates selling out 13 months before departure.
“The vaccine rollout is undoubtedly bringing greater confidence to travellers who are itching to book a holiday and travel once again.”
Older
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to add Tel Aviv flights next month

Newer
Virgin Atlantic raises new finance with Boeing Dreamliner deals More

Shaika Mai Al-Khalifa from the kingdom of Bahrain will challenge the incumbent, Zurab Pololikashvili, for the role of secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Pololikashvili was appointed to the role in 2017 and will seek a second three-year mandate during an executive council meeting of the body in Madrid this month.
Al-Khalifa is currently in the Spanish capital for the event, presenting her candidacy for the role.
During her stay, she has met with a wide range of representatives from member states to set out her vision for the future of the tourism sector.
Last year was a hugely challenging one for tourism, with international arrivals falling by 72 per cent over the first ten months of 2020.
The sector was hit by restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the Covid-19 virus, all of which contributed to the worst year on record in the history of tourism.
According to the latest tourism data from the UNWTO, destinations welcomed 900 million fewer international tourists between January and October when compared with the same period of 2019.
This translates into a loss of US$935 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than ten times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ahead of the meeting, Al-Khalifa said: “I am enjoying the beautiful city of Madrid, and my visit so far has been very successful.
“I am confidently approaching a winning majority based upon the commitments of those who believe that it is time for a paradigm shift for the tourism sector.”   
Al-Khalifa promised a dynamic and transparent leadership of UNWTO.
In her vision statement, she states that within the first twelve months of her term she will have listened to every member state of the organisation and drafted a strategy based on what the members need.
She also pledges to work tirelessly to secure the resources required to realise those aspirations.
Al-Khalifa added: “I am confident that the tourism sector will recover from this crisis as it has recovered from many previous crises.
“I believe that we need to work closely on the issue of travel protocols, in addition to working with governments on fiscal support schemes.
“It has been extremely difficult due to travel restrictions to travel to the member states and meet the national tourism organisations in person; but I have done the most I could do given the limitation of time and the circumstances of the pandemic.
“I am grateful to the commitment I received from so many countries and look forward to starting a new era.
“We are now confident we have a winning majority to deliver on this mandate.”
The Arab Tourism Ministers’ Council earlier unanimously approved the nomination of Al-Khalifa for the role.
She is currently president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA).
More Information
For more information on the 113th executive council meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, set to take place on January 18th-19th in Madrid, head over to the official website.
Older
Boeing sees plane delivers slip by two thirds

Newer
Royal Caribbean Group pushes back return into April More

The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has made its case to the government of Canada to reconsider new pandemic testing rules.
The body argued the move will strain already stressed Caribbean public health systems and cause further damage to the local economy.
From January 7th Canada has required all residents and travellers entering from the Caribbean provide proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test before their departure.
“This policy is creating challenges and places even greater economic hardship on the people and governments of the Caribbean and on the thousands of Canadians currently in the Caribbean who are scheduled to return home in the coming weeks,” said CHTA acting chief executive, Vanessa Ledesma.
The mere announcement of the policy has resulted in a rash of cancellations by Canadians who had been scheduled to travel to the region, Ledesma observed, further harming already fragile businesses and economies and keeping more employees from returning to work.

ADVERTISEMENT

“As the policy takes effect, we anticipate many stranded Canadians being unable to return home due to their inability to get tests in the required time,” she lamented.
Ledesma added that this is further reinforced by the low tourism-related transmission rates in the region.
“On behalf of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association and the 33 national hotel and tourism associations throughout the region, which are part of our Federation, we respectfully request reconsideration of this policy for the Caribbean,” CHTA stated in a submission to Canada minister of transport, Marc Garneau.
Older
Brittany Ferries latest vessel takes to water

Newer
Eigelaart appointed resort general manager at the Belfry More

TUI has selected Leo Burnett as its creative agency across Europe.
The company was selected after a four-way competitive pitch between incumbent VMLY&R London, Leo Burnett, Fold7 and TBWALondon. 
Leo Burnett will handle all aspects of the TUI brand in Europe, spanning creative output and strategy across the UK, Germany, France, the Nordics and Benelux.
TUI said the pitch signifies its development of a unifying brand purpose and strategy that will enable it to stay connected and engage on a more emotional level with customers throughout the year, not just around the usual booking spikes.
Leo Burnett, which represents businesses including McDonald’s and Vision Express, impressed TUI by demonstrating an innate understanding of the tourism industry, passion for the brand as well as a proven track record for building populist brands to positions of leadership and trust, despite the uncertainty of the last 12 months. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Katie McAlister, chief marketing officer at TUI Group, said: “We’re delighted to have appointed Leo Burnett London to be TUI’s Group advertising agency and look forward to start working with them.
“The pitch process and meeting the wonderful agencies short-listed was one of the most enjoyable parts of what was an awful 2020.
“It was a very competitive pitch, and we’d like to thank all the pitching agencies for their hard work; it will be no consolation, but it made our decision really difficult and demonstrated the quality of advertising agencies in the market.
“We know that customers can’t wait to travel again this summer and beyond, so this appointment is the first step to reignite everyone’s passion to travel again.”
Older
Sriwijaya Air flight lost following departure from Indonesia

Newer
Swan Hellenic opens North America office as relaunch approaches More