Organisations & Operators,

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched new guidelines for inclusion and accessibility in the sector.
The work focuses on the experience of travellers with disabilities and is designed to help make the tourism industry a more inclusive space.
The guidelines were compiled on the basis of insights and frameworks developed by private sector leaders in tourism, travel and disability experts and research from intergovernmental organisations.
The guidelines are divided into four pillars:

Developing an inclusive and accessible system
Creating safe spaces
Designing an engaging relevant system
Exemplifying inclusion and accessibility

Highlights from these important guidelines include providing training to staff on disability awareness and how to support travellers with disabilities, as well as collaborating with other businesses in areas where there are gaps in accessibility knowledge, experience and services.
The report also emphasises the importance of fostering a respectful environment at all locations and for all activities, specifically reminding staff that their attitude towards people with disabilities plays an integral role in making that customer feel welcome and included.
There is also an importance given to developing accessibility features that are clear, overt, and which such travellers do not require special assistance from staff to use.
Furthermore, the guidelines make clear that businesses should regularly and proactively engage travellers with disabilities in the creation of accessible products and services so that these meet their needs appropriately. ADVERTISEMENTThey should also include accessibility features from the booking process, enabling travellers with disabilities to engage with the business before booking their travel service or product.
Staff should also be empowered to address customer concerns as they occur or to engage other staff members if and where necessary, and inclusive marketing should be developed to dignify representations of all people and authentically represent them.
Gloria Guevara, chief executive of the WTTC, said: “WTTC is proud to release these important high-level guidelines, which will help tourism businesses of all kinds, foster more accessible and inclusive environments.
“The sector is one of the most diverse in the world.
“As the report shows and according to the World Health Organisation, almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability at some point in their life, and about 15 per cent of the global population live with some form of disability.
“It is therefore imperative that we are inclusive.”
Image: Jürgen Fälchle / Alamy Stock Photo

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In the week since the Global Travel Taskforce published its findings on the potential resumption of travel under a traffic light system from May 17th, Saga Holidays has seen an increase of 127 per cent in booking enquiries to its contact centres versus the same period two weeks before.
Enquiries for 2021 have focused on UK and European stays, while short-haul destinations such as Egypt and Madeira are proving popular for travel in 2022, as are European river cruises.
The USA and Canada top the list for most searches for long-haul holidays next year.
And cruise searches have focused on the launch of the tour operator’s modern, boutique ships ‘Spirit of Discovery’ and the brand new ‘Spirit of Adventure’ this summer, of which all but one is now sold out.
Nick Stace, chief executive of Saga Travel, said: “We’d already received a surge in enquiries when the vaccine roll-out started and in the week since the government’s announcement around international travel, we’ve seen another spike from travellers keen to secure holidays.ADVERTISEMENT“The UK and Europe are top destinations for later this year while searches for year-round warmth mean Egypt and Madeira are proving popular for next year.
“Our customers have told us they intend to stay for longer to make up for their year at home so we’re offering many winter sun holidays with four weeks for the price of three.
“Our European river cruises are also experiencing high levels of demand and we’re looking forward to launching our latest ship, ‘Spirit of the Rhine’ later this year.
“Further afield, the USA and Canada are proving popular for next year, but we’ve also just launched tours to exciting destinations such as Guyana and Ecuador and we’re expecting them to do very well as people come out of lockdown determined to make the most of opportunities to travel.”

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ABTA has written to Lord Frost, highlighting the needs of the travel industry in the future relationships with the European Union, post Brexit.
Minister of state Frost is currently negotiating with European officials over the final settlement.
The letter raises the very serious challenges relating to labour mobility owing to restrictions on temporary entry of tourism workers across the EU and continued access to essential health data and the pressing need to regain access to important health data lost after Brexit.
One of the main concerns of the travel industry is the loss the Posted Workers Directive, which, in normal circumstances pre-Covid-19, enabled the posting of around 15,000-20,000 UK workers each year into the EU.
ABTA said had been advised that it would be up to each member state to adopt rules that are more permissive for UK nationals.
However, the association is keen to highlight that a partial solution to the problem can be found by adapting an existing part of the UK immigration system.
The UK already operates a reciprocal Youth Mobility Scheme (Tier 5 visas) covering several countries and ABTA wants government to proactively extend the Youth Mobility Scheme to EU countries. ADVERTISEMENTThere is also significant support amongst the UK’s inbound tourism industry for an extension of the Youth Mobility Scheme.
Within UK-EU Agreement there are also several individual reservations which restrict the rights of UK nationals to perform certain roles in different member states.
One important example for outbound travel affects the ability of UK nationals to provide guiding services to tours in France, where the profession requires nationality of an EU member state.
There are also several other national exemptions for both tour hosts and tour guides.
This will create significant operational difficulties for UK travel businesses, forcing these businesses to hire locally, or to seek out dual nationality staff.
Luke Petherbridge ABTA director of public affairs, said: “The ability for workers to travel freely within the EU is particularly important for the travel industry and the government must work to ensure that as far as is possible there are mutually beneficial reciprocal arrangements in place to facilitate tourism.
“We need to create the conditions that allow the industry to flourish in the future and enable arrangements to be put in place in the coming months to provide operators with the ability to send UK workers to destination countries in time for the peak seasons in the years ahead.”

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Trafalgar will launch a new trip, Journey Along the Civil Rights Trail, in 2021/22.
The offering seeks to bring to life the struggles and triumphs, music and milestones, legends and heroes of the US Civil Rights Movement. 
The itinerary highlights the events and acknowledges the people involved in the ongoing fight for equality and freedom whilst enjoying the magic, music and hospitality that is synonymous with the Southern states of the US.
The trip focuses on the pioneers of the period, particularly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, starting in Memphis where he was assassinated, and ending in Atlanta, city of his birth.
Along the way, guests will connect with local communities and meet a number of prominent activists and speakers who share their personal stories of growing up as African Americans in the segregated South.
Across nine days, guests will visit key historical locations along the Mississippi Freedom Trail including Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, and the site just outside Greenwood, where the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till at Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in 1955 is widely recognised as being a catalyst for the movement.
Other key sites that pay tribute to the trailblazers include the Rosa Parks Museum, the Historic Mason Temple (where Dr. King delivered his famous last speech: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”), the National Civil Rights Museum, the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery.
Guests will take a moving walk across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, the sight of the tragic “Bloody Sunday” beatings of March 7th, 1965.ADVERTISEMENTThey will also enjoy a spinetingling performance by Alabama’s Carlton Reese Choir, with an insight into how the choir supported the work of Dr. King on his visits to the state, before dinner and a live jazz performance featuring the music of greats like Sun Ra and Erskine Hawkins.
Of course, no journey to the south is complete without soul, blues and delicious Southern home-cooked dishes.
Trafalgar guests will enjoy a signature Be My Guest brunch of Southern favourites in the lovingly restored antebellum home of Sandy Taylor and her husband Harvey, and an exclusive, after-hours experience at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music to name just a few experiences that await.
Gavin Tollman, global chief executive of Trafalgar, said: “2020 made vividly clear just how harmful, hurtful, and deeply divisive racial inequality is and continues to be. 
“Our eyes were again opened to the important work that still needs to be done and the stories that need to be told.”
Image: Travel South USA

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The Madeira Promotion Association has unveiled a brand refresh ahead of what the organisation hopes will be a busy summer.
As part of the overhaul there is a new slogan – ‘Madeira. Belongs to All’ – as a well as a new logo.
Developed from in-depth studies aiming to identify the greatest attributes of the territory, the conclusion was clear: Madeira is a place where everyone who visits feels a sense of belonging.
With over 600 years of history and more than 200 years of tourism, the region combines a subtropical mild climate and spectacular natural world, with a rich and unique historical and cultural legacy.
In the past, Madeira was a mandatory mid-Atlantic stopping point for European explorers on their way to the New World and as a result has had countless influences from many cultures over centuries.  ADVERTISEMENTMadeira is a safe destination, with an immense set of experiences for everyone, from the land to the sea.
The people are cheerful, dedicated and passionate about their island and ready to welcome whoever arrives. 
Based on this message, the visual identity is more contemporary and represents Madeira as it is: vibrant and playful.
The logo is composed from the deconstruction of the circle – a symbol associated with the idea of inclusion and the Madeiran spirit.
Graphically, the circle represents the idea of union and perfection, but simultaneously diversity.
The strategy was a collaboration with Bloom Consulting and the new identity came from the work of the creative agency BAR and will be present in all of Madeira’s communication materials, nationally and internationally.
For Eduardo Jesus, president of Madeira Promotion Bureau, the new Madeira brand: “Intends to trigger a unique feeling and to convey our purpose: To make each and every person feel that they belong here.
“This feeling of belonging is the reason why the brand exists.
“It is much more than the benefits or unifying characteristics of a region.
“The purpose of the brand is also its capability of bringing together our people and those who visit us around a common perception of what we propose to be and do.”
More Information
Madeira is considered the World’s Leading Island Destination by voters at the World Travel Awards.

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A Jamaican firm has been selected by the regional tourism development agency, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), to conduct its first-ever regional skills audit to assess the competencies of the regional tourism workforce.
After a comprehensive process for procuring consultancy services to undertake this project, A-Z Information Jamaica was chosen to conduct this critical tourism human resources audit, as the industry seeks to navigate the next phase of Caribbean tourism and strategically plan for its future.
The exercise – funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to the tune of US$124,625 – is aimed at assessing the levels of knowledge and competencies of the Caribbean tourism workforce and identifying future skills needs for the region’s tourism and hospitality industry.
“A- Z is deeply honoured to have been selected to execute this strategically pivotal project in collaboration with the CTO at such an unprecedented moment in the history of our region and people.
“The convergence of the potentially crippling impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the rapidly growing effects of climate change present us with a unique opportunity in this regional HR audit of the industry’s current leadership and workforce knowledge, skills and attitudes,” said A-Z chief executive officer, Noel Watson. ADVERTISEMENT“We look forward to working together to help define and frame the profile of the creative, innovative and resilient tourism sector leadership and workforce that will help fashion 21st century Caribbean tourism.”
From an initial 12 companies expressing interest in providing consultancy services for the project, the Kingston-based firm was among four finalists invited to submit comprehensive proposals, and ultimately emerged the top-ranked firm.
The main goal of this project, which begins this month, is to help Caribbean tourism planners and policymakers better understand how to most effectively leverage human resource development for a more innovative and competitive industry.
Data obtained from the audit will contribute to effective human resource planning for the tourism industry in the region by providing a framework for decision-making, to guide the development and refinement of tourism education and training programmes by academic and training institutions in order to reduce skills gaps and mismatches and bring about more sustainable synergies.

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Jet2.com has delayed the restart of its holiday operations in the wake of the release of a report from the government on the reopening of borders.
The leisure operator had hoped to return next month, but has now cancelled all holidays before June 23rd.
“We have taken time to study the Global Travel Taskforce’s framework, and we are extremely disappointed at the lack of clarity and detail,” said Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com.
“After several weeks exploring how to restart international travel, with substantial assistance and input from the industry, the framework lacks any rigorous detail about how to get international travel going again.
“In fact, the framework is virtually the same as six months ago.”ADVERTISEMENTHe added: “Following the publication of the framework today, we still do not know when we can start to fly, where we can fly to and the availability and cost of testing.
“Rather than answering questions, the framework leaves everyone asking more.”
Heapy said, where customers yet to travel are affected by any programme changes, Jet2.com will automatically cancel their booking with a full refund.
He added: “It has been over a year since international travel was first suspended because of the pandemic.
“Much has been achieved in that time, making it even more frustrating that we are still to receive a clear framework on how to restart international travel.
“We know it can be done, in a safe and secure way, and we will continue to support the government to achieve this.”

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TUI Group has revealed plans to raise at least €350 million in fresh funding as the company seeks to whether the ongoing impact from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new senior unsecured bonds will fall due in 2028.
TUI intends to use the cash to further improve its liquidity position as the Covid-19 crisis continues and subsequently for the repayment of existing financing instruments.
The company said the offering could go as high as €400 million.
The bonds, with a denomination of €100,000 each, will be issued at 100 per cent of their principal amount. ADVERTISEMENTUnless previously converted, redeemed or repurchased and cancelled, the bonds will be redeemed at their principal amount on April 16th, 2028.
The bonds will be offered with a coupon between 4.5 and five per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears.
The bonds will be offered by way of an accelerated book-building to institutional investors outside the United States of America, Australia, Japan and South Africa.
Settlement is expected to take place on or around April 16th.

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