Tourism, Organisations & Operators,

Additional October and December flights to The Gambia have been announced by UK specialist tour operator The Gambia Experience to meet high customer demand.With holidays sold out for its Friday 20th October departure, The Gambia Experience has secured an extra Gatwick flight for seven night holidays during the popular half term period on Monday 23rd October.
The Gambia Experience has also increased capacity over Christmas and New Year, adding new Thursday December departures on December 21st for 14-night stays, and December 14th for 21-night holidays with a flight-only option also available.
Karen Durham, product manager for the company said:
“We’re delighted to have secured additional flights to avoid disappointment and provide our customers with the best holiday choice for the upcoming season. We have some great new beachfront hotel options, along with some incredible wildlife and cultural tours that are perfect for tailormade holidays. We’re also excited to offer a ‘Rivers of West Africa’ seven-night cruise aboard the Harmony G Mega yacht, plus new bird watching tours with Springwatch presenter and naturalist Megan McCubbin, in conjunction with our *award-winning guide Malick Suso. However, with holidays selling fast, we strongly advise customers book now for key dates, including May half term next year.”
Convenient daytime departure slots are offered on all flights. Lounge access at Gatwick and Banjul, along with Star Class upgrades on board its flights with Titan Airways are also available.ADVERTISEMENTThe Gambia is on the same time zone, and with temperatures averaging 32 degrees, has long been an appealing holiday choice for winter sun lovers. Offering tropical sunshine within six hours of flying time from the UK, its unspoilt golden sand beaches, abundant birds and wildlife and vibrant African culture give visitors a true taste of Africa without the jet lag.
Holidays are fully ATOL protected and packages include luggage allowance, and transfers, along with festive gala dinners for Christmas and New Year bookings.
Call 01489 866 939 or visit www.gambia.co.uk

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Trip.com Group hosted a delegation led by H.E. Saleh Al Geziry, the Director General for Tourism at the Department of Culture and TourismDuring their visit to the Group’s HQ, H.E. Saleh Al Geziry and his delegation were welcomed by Trip.com Group CMO Bo Sun. Both parties discussed ways to enhance the strong relationship as well as new areas of collaboration to promote Abu Dhabi.
The two parties signed a strategic partnership at the Arabian Travel Market last year to promote the UAE capital as a premium travel destination, with campaigns targeting travellers in key markets across Asia and Europe.
During the discussion, both sides expressed willingness to deepen cooperation in various areas, including product development and marketing, particularly in newly developed Abu Dhabi attractions.
Mr Bo Sun and H.E. Saleh Al Geziry shared ideas on enhancing product variety and strategies to leverage Trip.com Group’s channels to further promote Abu Dhabi’s new offerings and increase visitor arrivals.
Both sides also touched on various ideas to enhance Abu Dhabi’s presence and influence in the Chinese market.ADVERTISEMENTCtrip search volume shows that Abu Dhabi-related keywords far exceeded the level seen from January to June 2019. The average daily flight search volume in 2023 has increased by 78% compared to the same period.
Mr Bo Sun, expressed, “We at Trip.com Group are excited to enhance our partnership and collaboration with Abu Dhabi, a remarkable travel destination known for its fascinating history, breathtaking natural beauty, and lively cultural scene.
“With its extensive brand portfolio and worldwide network, Trip.com Group will strategically expand its reach in the Middle East while supporting its destination partners, including Abu Dhabi.
“We are honoured to host H.E. Saleh Al Geziry and his delegation, and we appreciated the engaging discussion. Going forward, Trip.com Group will continue to leverage its strengths in marketing and technology capabilities to showcase and promote Abu Dhabi’s beauty and diverse experiences to international travellers worldwide.”

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UNWTO will work with Alpitour World as a strategic partner to advance innovation, education and sustainability across every part of the tourism sector.Reflecting UNWTO’s focus on harnessing the power of public-private partnerships, the newly-signed Memorandum of Understanding with Alpitour World, will see the two organizations work together around shared strategic goals. In this context, the two organizations will particularly focus on supporting innovators and driving forward the digital transformation of the sector.
Working together for a smarter tourism
The partnership between UNWTO and Alpitour is aimed at strengthening the links between tourism’s public and private sectors. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili and Alpitour World President Gabriele Burgio. Among its key aims are to:
Develop strategic collaborations in the field of tourism innovation, including through supporting the creation of a tourism startup ecosystem.Recognize and supporting the best new talent through the organization of Start-Up Competitions focused on advancing tourism’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.Advance tourism as a pillar of rural development, including through Alpitour World’s support of the Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO initiative.Collaborate in training hospitality workers, including through joint education courses and other training materialsThis Memorandum of Understanding lays the foundations for future, specific joint initiatives, establishing Alpitour World as a key partner of UNWTO in innovation and sustainability.
Alpitour World is a leading tourism operator, with its own airline, hotel chain and a global network of more than 2,400 travel agencies.As part of the partnership, UNWTO and Alpitour World will hold regular joint meetings and strategy sessions as they continue to advance their collaboration and adapt to the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing tourism.ADVERTISEMENT

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The president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) appealed to Caribbean tourism leaders to craft their own fate in the vital travel and tourism sector and not be driven by the agendas of interests outside the region.Nicola Madden-Greig noted that although overall tourism activity in the Caribbean is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, with some destinations growing by “leaps and bounds”, others are lingering in recovery mode, largely because of an imbalance in the dispersal of flights and insufficient marketing resources.
For the region’s tourism industry to recover fully and equitably, Madden-Greig said it was important for government leaders to frame policies and strategies to boost regular, predictable, inter-island connectivity.
The head of the region’s leading private sector tourism organization pointed out that such a move would not only encourage tourists to visit more islands, but also would help to meet the needs of Caribbean residents who travel for family, business and leisure activities. “We must support those airlines which are stepping up to the plate to strengthen our aerial linkages, but we also should embrace this crisis in airlift as an opportunity for a homegrown solution within our region,” she commented.
Madden-Greig echoed the advice of Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, who exhorted the region’s tourism leaders to shed post-colonial attitudes, take control of their tourism sectors, and be “shapers not takers”, while delivering the keynote address during CHTA’s successful Caribbean Travel Forum, which preceded the association’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Barbados in May.
She also agreed with Prime Minister Mottley’s call for better use of regional capital, and urged policymakers to design new financial instruments that could be used for the region’s biggest earner, tourism, rather than left idling in low interest-bearing accounts.ADVERTISEMENTNotwithstanding its inherent volatility, Madden-Greig described tourism as “the world’s fastest growing and the most dynamic sector of the global economy,” adding that the Caribbean “should not be left helplessly tied to the fates of others alone. While international partnership has its value, regional collaboration is essential. The work is too important to not have independent regional solutions.”
She commented: “We must continue to solidify links with our international partners, but we must also take a leaf from the pages of entrepreneurs like Adam Stewart and Kevin Hendrickson in Jamaica, Peter Odle in Barbados, the Lamontagne family in St. Lucia, and the Hopkin family in Grenada, to name a few, and become craftsmen of our own fate.” Tourism is the region’s economic driver but it can also be a vehicle for creation of generational wealth for Caribbean nationals, she asserted.
Madden-Greig, who is Group Director of Marketing & Sales with The Courtleigh Hospitality Group in Jamaica, believes that as the tourism industry continues to grow there should be a serious effort aimed at implementation of tourism worker pension schemes across the region, especially given the volatility of the current labor market. Heralding successful efforts by the Jamaican government to implement such a system, she reasoned that the welfare of tourism workers, who have been the foundation of building the region’s greatest revenue driver, must be a priority. “Many of our workers are retiring with little to no safety net and it is time we took a more serious look at solving this problem,” she commented.

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As the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season got off to a busy start, key stakeholders in the Caribbean tourism sector convened a virtual forum last week, placing a spotlight on the pivotal role of effective, strategic crisis communications when responding to, and recovering from, natural and manmade disasters.
During the forum, hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the consensus was clear: collaboration across regional, national and community levels, paired with efficient, proactive communications, forms the backbone of successful crisis management and resilience in the tourism sector.
Neil Walters, Acting Secretary General of the intergovernmental CTO, noted that just three weeks into the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season the region had already witnessed three tropical storms, which forecasters signaled was an early and aggressive start to the hurricane season.
Walters told ministers, senior officials and private sector leaders participating in the webinar that, “Communication plays a vital role in managing crises, as it shapes perceptions, builds trust, and ensures that accurate and timely information reaches both internal and external audiences during times of crisis … (which) can mean the difference between chaos and order, despair and hope.” He further highlighted the importance of the CTO and CHTA collaboration, in working together to ensure the safety and well-being of visitors, industry professionals, and local communities.
Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic as “the world’s most devastating health crisis in over 100 years,” Nicola Madden-Greig, Director of marketing and sales for The Courtleigh Hospitality Group in Jamaica, and President of CHTA, which represents the private sector, asserted that partnership between the CTO and CHTA on disaster preparedness has been pivotal to navigate the various challenges that confront the Caribbean tourism sector. She noted the contributions of various partner organizations and surmised that maintaining the legacy of resilience and success as a region and destinations was tied to “working together at the regional, national and community levels.”ADVERTISEMENT“Effective collaboration must be accompanied by effective communications, and in the age of multiple channels of communications, and when any of us with a cell phone and internet access can quickly report, accurately or not, on the status of a crisis, it is essential that we continue to build and implement sound communication plans to ensure that what is actually happening on the ground is reported in the most accurate way,” said Madden-Greig.
The virtual tourism forum, which focused on Crisis Communications and Best Practices for Hazards Response and Recovery, was the second in a series, jointly organized by the CTO and CHTA, as part of efforts to support disaster preparedness, sensitization and capacity building for the tourism sector.
Bevan Springer, president of Marketplace Excellence (MPE) who moderated the session, noted that timely, accurate press releases and updates are necessary, but it is equally important to ensure the narrative is from a Caribbean perspective, thereby framing the destination’s future agenda. “Every crisis prepares us to deal with the next crisis, and learning from one crisis to another is something that is critically important,” he declared.
Springer, who is also founder and president of the Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx), recommended developing post-crisis marketing plans to reboot and recover, such as the one MPE and the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism instituted after the twin “Irmaria” storms in 2017 to help get the Territory back on the map and into the marketplace by partnering with airlines, travel advisors and other strategic partners.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Trevor Moss, general manager of travel compliance for the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation for The Bahamas. He outlined the integrated communication and cooperative system used by his country to deal with crises: “We work as one voice, one response with many moving parts, ensuring the safety of lives throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas by maintaining a structured method of response with clear communications prior (to), during, and after major incidents.”
Speaking about public relations initiatives for recovery in the British Virgin Islands after 2017’s twin storms, Lauren Kaufman, senior vice president and director of operations at MMGY NJF, asserted there were two types of crises: dangerous situations such as hurricanes, and reputational crises, which tend to last for months beyond some of the disasters comprising dangerous situations. For both situations, she recommended a robust media relations program. She encouraged stakeholders to be proactive by quickly getting messages out and securing control of the narrative.
Wrapping up the session, Lelei LeLaulu, a communications advisor to Marketplace Excellence, stressed the importance of first finding out what affected communities need to ensure delivery of appropriate aid in the aftermath of a disaster. He recommended a fundraising web page or portal and highlighted the need for regular updates on the status of recovery, as well as reporting to donors on how their resources were used.
The forum was designed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, lessons learnt and experiences, with the aim of fostering a culture of tourism sector resilience.

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Portugal’s beachgoers have been warned they may face fines up to EUR36,000 if their music is too loud.
The National Maritime Authority of the Philippines (AMN) has banned portable speakers that blast out loud music, which disturbs locals and tourists.The new restrictions come just as the peak tourist season in Portugal’s popular beach destinations is about to begin.
What is the penalty for playing music at the beach in PortugalThe regulation prohibits the “use of sound equipment and noise-generating activities which, under the terms of the law, may cause discomfort”.
Beachgoers who are experiencing noise disturbances can file a complaint with the local Maritime Police for the particular beach.
Individual fines can range from EUR200 to EUR4,000, and for groups they could be between EUR2,000 and EUR36,000 The offending “accessory” – like a speaker for example – can also be confiscated.ADVERTISEMENTIn the AMN’s beach directive, there are a number of other activities prohibited on Portugal’s beaches. This includes playing ball games in areas that are not designated, camping outside campsites, and making fires.
Europe is being targeted by disruptive touristsIt’s not the first time that antisocial behavior has been banned on Europe’s beach.
Barcelona, Spain, banned smoking on its beaches last summer to protect beachgoers against second-hand smoke.
Portugal, Croatia and other popular tourist destinations are introducing rules and restrictions to make them more liveable for the locals.
Dubrovnik announced last month plans to install a luggage-drop-off system in the Old Town, which is paved with historic cobblestones. This will reduce the noise caused by suitcases on wheels.
In an effort to control the crowds of tourists at Acropolis, Greece introduced a system of time slots for visitors. Meanwhile, Rome’s Pantheon has recently introduced an entrance fee.
Portugal is one of many countries that tightens restrictions on short-term rental to combat the inflation in housing markets.

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Leading travel service provider Trip.com has seen remarkable flight and hotel bookings growth from outbound US travellers to the UK and the rest of Europe.Despite high global inflation, long-haul travel sentiment from US travellers to Europe is improving. Trip.com flight booking data reveals a remarkable year-over-year increase of 145% from the US to the UK in the first half of this year.
This surge in air travel highlights the growing demand for transatlantic travel and the increasing interest of American travellers in exploring various European destinations.
Trip.com hotel bookings for the UK reveal that London, Edinburgh and Manchester are the top three most popular destinations for US travellers.
At the forefront of facilitating seamless travel experiences with its all-in-one app strategy, Trip.com’s impressive booking growth further solidifies its position as a leading travel service provider.
Data on travellers from the US to the whole of Europe is further encouraging, with flight bookings growing 101% over the same period. London (UK), Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France), Rome and Milan (Italy), Athens (Greece), Lisbon (Portugal), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Dublin (Ireland) are the most popular flight arrival cities for US travellers to Europe.ADVERTISEMENTMoreover, hotel bookings from the US to Europe have witnessed a 60% increase over the same period. 
Demand from US travellers has bounced back fast following the pandemic. According to VisitBritian, more Americans are travelling to the UK and are spending more than in 2019.
Andy Washington, General Manager EMEA at Trip.com Group, expressed his enthusiasm about the positive trajectory of travel bookings between the United States and Europe.
He stated, “We are thrilled to witness a 101% growth in flight and 60% in hotel bookings for Europe, indicating a solid rebound in transatlantic travel.
“At Trip.com Group, we remain committed to offering exceptional service and customised travel solutions via our mobile-first strategy, ensuring our customers, comfort and convenience.”

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Quito is recognised for being one of the oldest cities with the most heritage in Latin America. Its rich history and cultural diversity have been preserved through the creation of a large number of museums ranging from pre-Columbian history to the present day.
These museums offer a very rewarding experience. They provide a closer look at the culture and history of Ecuador, and also help to understand the importance and beauty of art, in an array of cultural richness and diversity.Detailed below are five of the must-see museums on a visit to Quito.
1.    National Museum of Ecuador
One of the most important museums in the country, it is strategically located between the north and the historic centre of Quito.
It has a collection of more than 50,000 works ranging from pre-Columbian times to the present day. It has a room dedicated to contemporary Ecuadorian art and another for temporary exhibitions showing the contribution of local and international artists.ADVERTISEMENTThe building that houses it, the House of Ecuadorian Culture, is a neoclassical style architectural jewel, built in the 19th century.
2.    City Museum
It is a cultural space that presents a detailed example of the history, architecture, art and customs of the Ecuadorian capital.
The museum’s permanent collection on the sociohistorical processes of Quito and its area of influence includes archaeological objects from pre-Hispanic cultures, colonial and republican paintings, old photographs and everyday objects that illustrate the life of the people of Quito from aboriginal times to the 21st century.
The site has two terraces and a viewpoint freely open to the public from which they can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the historic centre.
3.    Alberto Mena Caamaño Art and History Museum
Also known as the “Wax Museum”, it is located in a historic 16th century building. It is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of the historical memory and heritage of Ecuador.
It has a permanent collection that includes 307 oil paintings, 70 hyper-realistic wax sculptures, furniture, historical documents and archaeological items donated mostly by the philanthropist and aristocrat Alberto Mena Caamaño.
Its most important museographic presentation is ‘From Quito to Ecuador’ which shows the events that occurred in the territory of the Royal Court of Quito that led to the formation of the Republic of Ecuador.

4.    Casa del Alabado Museum of Pre-Columbian Art
This is one of the most outstanding museums in Latin America for its pre-Hispanic collection. It is located in an old colonial house in the historic centre of Quito and contains more than 5,000 works of pre-Columbian art.
It is a must-see both for history and archaeology lovers and for those interested in Ecuadorian culture.

5.    Fray Pedro Gocial Museum
Within the architectural complex of the Máximo de San Francisco Convent in Quito, which is one of the most important heritage buildings in the capital and the largest Catholic religious complex in Latin America, stands the Fray Pedro Gocial museum.
It boasts one of the largest and most complete collections of works of art created at the Quito School (more than 250 examples). Those who visit this museum will be captivated by its beauty and history.

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