Travel Extra June 2019

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Aer LIngus faux business class

Ryanair’s strange results

Rivercruise news

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F

Charters return

TUI seats up 79pc at Dublin for summer 2019

or the first time in 13 years a charter airine features among the top providers of seats from Dublin airport this summer.

TUI airlines will offer 9.450 seats this summer, up 79pc on last year.

Growth indicates some revival of IT charter business. This is more evident in England where Jet2 has become a significant carrier at several airports including Manchester and Stansted.

It also follows the withdrawal of Ryanair form the package holiday business, having realised it is a lot more complicated than they expected.

TUI customers will once again be offered 1000’s of free child places and low deposits on TUI’s hotel concepts including Splashworld, Holiday Village, Family Life, Sensatori,

Tom Randles of J Barter Travel with Antoinette Young and Leila McCabe of TUI at the Travel industry trade show

HALIFAX Westjet move their MINNEAPOLIS Aer St John’s service April 20

Lingus 2019 destination.

.BODRUM Dublin 2w seasonal with Ryanair this summer.

IBIZA Shannon’s signature new

seasonal with Ryanair this summer.

Ryanair this summer.

NICE: Aer Lingus from Cork

lin double daily, opening S America

SHENZEN: Hainan started a third Chinese route February 25

see prices plunge on route

Dublin

MARRAKESH: Dublin

TEL AVIV: Dublin 1w from

BORDEAUX Dublin 2w CALGARY Dublin from Westjet

sun route this summer.

KIEV Dublin 2w seasonal with LISBON TAP launched Dub-

CARLISLE Dublin 7w from LOURDES Ryanair 2w will Loganair scheduled for spring 2019.

COLOGNE:

weekly from Ryanair,

Shannon

DALLAS

American will link Dublin daily to Texas next year.

DUBROVNIK from Cork

Aer Lingus

UNIVERSAL Orlando resort an-

nounced a June 13th opening date for Hagrid’s magical creatures motorbike adventure, using what the resort calls rich sets and an actual forest with 1,200 trees to ground-breaking coaster technology and a captivating storyline,

DISNEY parks across the globe had more than 157m visitors in 2018, more than double the next-closest theme park company, Merlin Entertainment Group, which owns the Legoland parks and other attractions. Orlando’s Magic Kingdom was best attended theme park with 20.8m visitors in 2018, and Anaheim’s Disneyland second with 18.6m.

Themed Entertainment Association said global attendance at waterparks increased by 2.5pc, while the Lluvre was best attended museum with 10.2m, up 25.9pc.

SPAIN Irish visits to Spain are up 7pc to

DESTINATIONS TO WATCH

AALBORG one of two new Danish destinations from Dublin

NEWS

MALTA Ryanair service form Cork to Europe’s wedding capital.

2w resumed Ryanair route after short interruption.

MOSCOW: Pobedoa are list-

ing a Sheremetyevo service. resumed May 1

SPLIT: Ryanair June 1 from

TALLINN Dublin 1w from Air Baltic started March 31

Arkia Israel

TORONTO:

Norwegian commenced Hamilton on March 31.

SUMMER 2020 HOLIDAYS Full collection now on sale. Find our latest brochure in-store.

TUI is a trading name of TUI Ireland Limited and is fully licensed and bonded by CAR T.O.021.

304,533 in the four months to April, compared with a decline in visits from Britain at 6pc.

Spain is Ireland’s premier overseas destination with 2m visits annually. Only Russia is growing at a faster rate as an inbound destination. In march, there were 124,389 visits from ireland up 5.1pc, mainly t the Canaries.

BOOKING.com is notifying hotels

around the world that it will begin charging them commissions on resort fees, as well as other fee-based services, such as for Wi-Fi, on top of a hotel’s base rate

MEXICO Cuts to the Mexico Tourism Board are having an immediate impact on local operators in some of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Tourism stake holders complain that a ack of marketing resources is especially difficult for some of the country’s smallest and often most alluring places AMAZON reignited speculation it is

moving back into travel with an offer of domestic flights in India powered by India online travel agency Cleartrip. Amazon banded its first travel product, a hotel offering, in 2015.

SCHENGHEN Visa Info reported that Russia remained the top location for Schengen visa applications with 3.7m in 2018.

China was the second with 2.8m, up 11.3pc.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 4

THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Clownings, Straffan, Co Kildare (+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417 Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Sales Manager Paulette Moran paulette@bizex.ie t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Online: Mark Evans markevanspro@gmail.com Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Damian Allen damianjamesallen@ gmail.com Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Aileen O’Reilly aileencoreilly@gmail.com

Travel Extra takes no responsibility for errors and omissions.

Distribution Manager: Shane Hourican shane@bizex.ie Origination: Typeform

Printer: WG Baird Limited Caulside Drive Greystone Rd Antrim BT41 2RS

Contact +353872551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

CONTENTS

3 News destinations to watch 6 Hotels: News 8 Postcards: News from the trade

www.travelextra.ie 10 Salou: Beyond the beach 14 Rivercruise What;s new 2019 20 Car hire: Changing gear 28 Flying: Airline and airport news

32 Afloat: A quantum leap 34 Global Village Inside the travel industry 36 Window seat: Our columnists 37 Pictures: Out and about

American extras

W

hile everyone is complaining about new airline fees, the hidden charge has moved into the hotel industry Last year, US hotels took in a record $2.12n in ancillary charges, up from $550m in 2002.

Though not the preserve of the Americans, extra charges seem to develop and expand at a faster rate on the other side of the Atlantic than in Europe. Roger Dow of the US Travel Association told Travel Extra during a press conference at Pow Wow 2012 in Los Angeles that his thinking on excess charges is that the market will prevail and tourists will avoid the resorts that impose excessive surcharges.

Customers call them hidden charges, hoteliers call them profit points.

No longer are expensive telephone systems a profit point as cell phones and internet services such as Viber and Skype make them redundant.

We are not just talking about the gratuity dance that takes pace for every service in a US hotel by underpaid employees. In some cities, employees are not paid at all and required to subsist on gratuities.

Even if the employees are paid the legal minimum wage, the US tax system expects them to be earning a substantial stipend in tips, effectively asking the hotel or restaurant guest to pay the wages of the employees.

Older fees were more straightforward. Use the phone, the mini-bar, room service, or the in-

Vegas is king of the resort charge

room movies, and it’s going to cost. Nowadays the game is much more about wi-fi charges

PARKING This

is an old an enduring gripe. Valet parking has been mandatory in many hotels since the mid noughties (that is if they know you have a rental car, some customers simply avoiding declaring it) and it can be as much as $50 a night, a notorious fee charged in San Francisco. You then have to tip the valet guy $2 for the trouble of brining you back your car.

PACKAGES

Has someone sent you a delivery? It can cost you $5 for the hotel to accept a package delivered to your room.

DAILY Resort charge rates can reach $25 plus taxes per night per room in some hotels. The charges have been extended to cover

services that would be regarded as the norm among many people’s holiday expectations, things like towels and showers as well as services that many guests would be unlikely to require. A typical list of services covered by the resort charge in one hotel is: local, toll-free, and credit card calls. Internet access, coffee and tea, nightly turndown service, use of the spa, access to self parking facilities.

SAFE: Some hotels

are charging for having a safe in your room even if it’s not used. You can hardy demand that the safe be removed form your room either.

AIRCON: With

higher energy bills, hotels are charging up to $80 a day for turning the air conditioning on in your room.

MINIBAR: You

don’t have to consume anything from your mini bar to be charged for using it anymore, you get charged from mini-bars with sensors that bill guests if they move something around.

Hotels then charge a “restocking fee.”

WIFI An old bugbear. The norm is $10 a day but can be up to $30 an hour in certain five star hotels. An anomaly is that the higher grade the hotel the more likely it is to charge for wifi.

Small family run hotels and motels are less likely to charge for wifi. One Hyatt Travel Extra has encountered charges $20/day whilst guests could find free WiFi at the window from adjacent coffee houses.

BACK EMPTY: A new development for 2013 has been the requirement from certain car rental companies that the car is returned

empty, instead of the old out full, back full system. The idea is that the car rental company will do you “a favour” by allowing you to return the car empty, then hit you with a massive surcharge for the fuel costs. The traditional model for car hire is that the vehicle is expected to be returned with same amount of fuel as when it was picked up: usually “out full, back full”, occasionally “out empty, back empty”. With competition between rental companies intensifying, many firms have moved to an “out full, back empty” rule with customers paying inflated rates for petrol or diesel that they may not be able to use. Some contracts commit customers to paying an unavoidable charge with no refunds, with no idea how much the charge may be. recently Travel Extra’s editor was quoted three rates by a car hire company, $4.33 a gallon at the local pumps, $3.89 a gallon for a ‘no refunds’ fill to go, and $7.88 a gallon if the car had to be filled on return.

SUNBEDS A

common complaint from the sun resorts of Florida is the excessive charge for use of chairs and cabanas especially given the rates that are charged for accommodation.

CHECKOUT

A late check-out charge can take on a different meaning when check-out is moved to early in the morning.

JUNE 2017 PAGE 5

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NEWS

Laopard Bar in Hotel d’Anglaterre

Homage to Geneva

€FAMILY 499 OF 4 FROM

FERRY TRAVEL + 2 NIGHTS HOTEL + ONE DAY PARK TICKETS

Stan Abbott samples a Geneva hotel

S

witzerland’s second city can boast barely 200,000 residents. But its numbers are swollen daily by around 88,000 commuters crossing the border from France.

With the city also home to a variety of United Nations and other global agencies, it’s able to punch comfortably above its weight when it comes to supporting an airport with a good range of routes, while not being oppressively big.

My surprise at what a short weekend was able to serve up was both pleasant and ample – and began with the warmth of the welcome at the Hôtel d’Angleterre, overlooking Lake Geneva towards the old town and cathedral, with Mont Blanc shyly popping in and out of the distant haze in Spring sunshine.

The hotel is the only Swiss member of Ashford Castle owners, the independent five-star Red Carnation collection, represented in Ireland by Sharon Jordan and TTC, (it also has a number of top-end properties in London) and prides itself on the level of its service.

We sampled afternoon tea overlooking the lake and the towering jet d’eau, while the Leopard Bar on the lower ground floor, later that evening was drawing the city’s better-healed residents to live jazz in surroundings reminiscent of the best Shanghai’s golden years.

Y

ou do not, however, necessarily have to spend a fortune to enjoy Geneva: a great find was just a saunter from the hotel.

Les Bains des Pâquis is far more than just a popular outdoor swimming pool. Its functional terrace café also serves the city’s best fondue, as well as local white wines and a non-fondue dish of the day. Food and drink comfortably the right side of 20 Swiss francs a head.

Most hotels give guests a public transport pass, which includes the little yellow lake ferries, so much lighter on the

wallet than formal boat tours.

Other highlights included the vast archaeological excavation beneath the cathedral of St Pierre – layer upon layer of historic remains from Roman times to the present. Yet, it i’s so easy to miss, hidden as it is down an inconspicuous staircase to the side of the cathedral.

L

e Músée d’Art et d’Histoire hosts a quite extraordinary collection of mostly 19th and 20th century art, inventively curated and including Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, Courbet and local hero, Ferdinand Hodler.

We had time to take a day trip out of town to Chamonix, from where we took a vertiginous cable car ride to the towering summit of l’Aiguile du Midi – a quite unforgettable experience with views across the entire Alpine range.

■ Hôtel d’Angleterre www.redcarnationhotels.com ■ Daily flights from Dublin with Swiss and Aer Lingus ■ Take a free train ticket from the machines in the arrivals hall for the 7-minute ride to the city centre

SAIL AND STAY AT ALTON TOWERS THIS SUMMER Off Park Accommodation 4 ★ Jurys Inn, Derby from €499 per family* 4 ★ BW Plus Moat House, Stoke from €535 per family* 3 ★+ Quality Hotel Stoke-on-Trent from €539 per family* On Park Accommodation 3 ★ Splash Landings Hotel from €629 per family* 3 ★ Alton Towers Hotel from €690 per family* All Prices Include: •

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•

Accommodation for 2 nights for 2 adults & up to 2 children sharing same room

•

One day Alton Towers Resort entry ticket for 2 adults and 2 children under 12 (upgrade to a 2 day ticket from just €6.50 extra per person!)

Book via Sembok online Or call 01 907 5399

*Price based on a family of 4 comprising of 2 adults and 2 children under 12 years for a 2 night hotel stay with one day on park.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 6

HOTELS

www.travelextra.ie

AIRBNB said Housing Minister Eoghan

Murphy’s new laws to regulate the renting out of properties will be “unenforceable.” Homeowners who currently let a second property on a short-term basis will no longer be allowed to do so. Under laws to be implemented in July, an annual cap of 90 days will apply for the renting out of a home and homeowners can only rent out their homes for 14 days or less at a time. Minister Eoghan Murphy said the business of regulating platforms such as Airbnb is a case for Shane Ross’s Tourism ministry,

TRIPADVISOR named Ireland’s premier destinations in its reader’s choice award: 1 Dublin,2 Killarney, 3 Galway, 4 Dingle, 5 Cork, 6 Kilkenny, 7 Cong, 8 Westport, 9 Donegal town, 10 Sneem. London rose from second place in 2018 to become the world’s number one destination ahead of 2 Paris, 3 Rome, 4 Crete, 5 Bali, 6 Phuket, 7 Barcelona, 8 Istanbul, 9 Marrakech, 10 Dubai. The list seems to follow closely Ireland’s most visited locations and ones with premier hotels.

NH hotel group presented its mood room, which it says is its room of the future, in Germany VIKING Hotel Television archi-

Deirdre O’Brien of Tourism Ireland with Hearst Media crew at Ashford Castle, Connacht winner of Trivago

Trivago awards

tect Hugh Wallace led the design team for Prem group’s refurb of the Viking Hotel in Waterford.

LAKE Hotel Killarney reopened for the

season with a transformed exterior, a renovated entrance, new driveway new signage, handcrafted rockery, and enhanced lighting and uplighters.

ENFIELD Planning permission has been denied for a proposed 71-bedroom hotel in Enfield, Co Meath.

GALGORM Spa & Golf Resort will offer a new country cottage accommodation offering from April 1.

HERITAGE Ger Alley has been appointed general manager of The Heritage Killenard.

FBD Andrew Kavanagh has been ap-

pointed group sales and marketing manager for FBD Hotels.

RED COW An independent valuation of Dublin’s Red Cow Moran Hotel by Savills increased the hotel’s book value to €48.5m from €26.2m.

PWC Hotels Forecast said Belfast room

rates average €93/£80 behind only London, Edinburgh and Brighton in the sterling zone.

HOSPITALITY AWARDS

Fergus O’Donovan of Radisson Blu won GM of the year, Annebrook House Mullingar best hotel, Powerscourt resort of the year, Blue Haven Kinsale boutique hotel, Silver Tassie Letterkenny hotel team and Cartron House Farm, Ballinakill the B&B award at the Irish Hospitality Awards in the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

PARK Hotel Dungarvan will add a new €500,000 ballroom in mid-2019.

T

Web aggregator awards provincial hotels

rivago named the winners of their provincial hotel awards in five, four and three star and alternative accommodation categories: The winners are: n Connacht: Ashford Castle, Strandhill Lodge, Riverside Sligo, and Jameson Court Galway. n Leinster: Merrion Hotel, Croke

Park hotel, Lawlor’s Naas and Avlon House Carlow. n Munster: Killarney Park, Lough Lein, Killeen House and Ballybunion B&B. n Ulster (two awards):Lough Eske & Merchant Belfast, Farnham Estate & Tara Lodge Belfast, Ballyliffin Townhouse & Balyrobin Country Lodge Crumlin and Malinbeg Hostel

& Pinetrees B&B Ballymoney.

Galmont, Hilton Garden Inn, River Lee, Radisson Blu Letterkenny and Park Inn Belfast won provincial awards for best online presence and Radisson Blu Sligo, Metro Dublin Airport, George Limerick, Radisson Blu Letterkenny and TAP Belfast won awards for direct bookings.

INFORMATION WEBSITE STATUS FOR AIRBNB

A

irbnb has taken a step closer to avoiding onerous national regulations after Maciej Szpunar, one of the ECJ’s advocates general, found that Airbnb was an information society service, which comes with the right to operate freely across the EU.

Szpunar rejected the claims of a French tourism association that the company should face the same accounting, insurance and financial obligations as traditional providers of real estate.

Airbnb, which is registered in Ireland, argues that its commercial activities in match-

ing property owners with people seeking accommodation could not be regarded as real estate brokerage.

Airbnb has been fighting claims from cities around the world, including Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona, that services are changing neighbourhoods.

Brian Chesky CEO of AirBnB

FAILTE IRELAND TALE OF 2TOWNS

F

ailte Ireland earmaked €15.5m to be distributed to two towns in each county.

Grants will be available

to 62 towns in all, for public art, signage & other tourist amenities in two towns per area which have at least one major visitor

attraction, a portfolio of activities to fill two days, accommodation stock of at least 300 beds and a range of food offerings including

a light snacks, tea/coffee, lunch and dinner. Applications through local authorities open in April and close in September.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 7

HOLIDAY DATA

110 and growing

A

Caravans and campsites fastest growing sector

ccording to Failte Ireland’s accommodation occupancy report for 2018, caravan & campsites have seen the largest proportion of domestic visitors of any sector – 60% (up from 52% in 2017).

The fine summer weather has no doubt driven this upsurge in demand from the domestic market.

There are approximately 110 Failte Ireland registered caravan & camping parks in Ireland, the majority of which are family owned and operated. The Irish Caravan & Camping Council is the representative association for this sector in Ireland and produces a comprehensive guide, Camping Ireland app and website www.campingireland.ie .

SLIGO Adventure Sligo. are running an

event called ‘A Taste of Adventure’ aimed at people who are new to adventure sports, with introductory sessions for adults and children.

GUINNESS

Storehouse celebrated its 20 millionth visitor, Maria Christian from New York who visited Ireland for her first time with Tipperary born fiancé Chris Coen.

ADARE Golf Course at Adare Manor

celebrated its first birthday since reopening.

SHANNON The caravan sector is making a comeback

OUTBOUND TRAVEL IS CLOSE TO BOOM LEVEL

C

entral Statistics Office travel figures show Irish residents made 1.73m trips overseas in January to March, up 8pc on January-March 2018.

This is Still 16.58pc shy of the peak of 2,070,500 outbound in January to March 2008 and 7.27pc short of ten years ago.

It is 14.3pc of the lowest point, 1,510,600n in Q1 2014.

Year to date outbound visitors are approaching levels last seen in 2008, when we made 1.76m overseas trips in the first three months.

March overseas trips reached 634,000, up 13.5pc. Rolling annual outbound is 8,962,900, up 8pc on 2028 and 186.88pc on 2016.

Visits from Britain for March were down 5.49pc on pre Brexit levels in 2016, and 3.07pc

down on the 2018 total.

Overall visitor numbers are up 3.3pc to 784,700 while as the number of British tourists fell by to 284,300 while trips from other European countries rose by 7.3pc to 289,500.

Roiling annual inbound is 11,482,000, up 6.55pc on last year. Year to date is up 5.52pc.

March 2018 included Easter, March 2019 did not.

Britain YTD

809,100 Britain YTD v 201 -4.97 Britain YTD v 2017 1.65 Britain YTD v 2018

1.35 Europe v 2016 16.55 Europe v 2017 16.50 Europe v 2018 7.34 Europe rolling annual 4,134,300 Europe roll ann v 2017 25.34 Europe roll ann v 2018 8.42 Europe YTD

730,000 Europe YTD v 2016 21.75 Europe YTD v 2017 22.48 Europe YTD v 2018 7.62 N America v 2016 50.52 N America v 2017 38.17 N America v 2018 10.75 N America rol ann 2,577,700 N America roll ann v 2017 38.29 N Amer roll ann v 2018 13.73 N America YTD 367,300 N America YTD v 2016 54.20

Heritage lodged a planning application with Clare County Council for the eagerly awaited multi-million euro rejuvenation of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.

The project is designed to deliver Ireland’s first ever 4-D 270 degree visitor experience and the single largest investment since it first opened its doors in 1963. The experience in a new building constructed for this purpose promises to transport visitors through the ages in a sensory, immersive and historically accurate experience before they enter a rejuvenated Bunratty Folk Park.

FAILTE Ireland and Coillte announced plans to re-develop Avondale House and Forest Park into an #8m visitor attraction of which Fáilte Ireland will contribute €6.1m.

EUROPA Hotel Belfast celebrated the

Padraig Dalton of the CSO

CSO INBOUND & OUTBOUND DATA FROM MARCH 2019

Total inbound 784,700 Britain inbound 284,300 Europe inbound 289,500 N America inbound 175,200 Other inbound 35,600 Outbound 634,000 Total v 2016 11.67 Total v 2017 8.99 Total v 2018 3.28 Rolling Annual 11,482,000 Roll ann V 2017 19.66 Roll ann V 2018 6.55 YTD 2,026,700 YTD v 2016 13.56 YTD v 2017 12.84 YTD v 2018

5.52 Brit v 2016 -5.49 Brit v 2017 -8.44 Brit v 2018 -3.07 Brit rolling annual 4,063,200 Brit roll ann v 2017 5.02 Brit roll ann v 2018 0.53

TIPPERARY County Council unveiled Suir Blueway Tipperary, the culmination of seven years of planning and an investment of more than €5.6m. Running from Cahir to Clonmel and on to Carrick-on-Suir, Suir Blueway Tipperary has 53km of walking, cycling and watersports trails Highlights include The Butler Trail and the new whitewater canoe slalom course in Clonmel, which is used as a training base for the Irish national squad.

N America YTD v 2017 25.23 N America YTD v 2018 10.77 Other v 2016 -4.04 Other v 2017 4.40 Other v 2018 -8.01 Other rolling annual 707,300 Other roll ann v 2017 25.14 Other roll ann v 2018 7.98 Other YTD 120,200 Other YTD v 2016 26.00 Other YTD v 2017 8.58 Other YTD v 2018 6.94 Outbound v 2016 11.64 Outbound v 2017 14.59 13.5 Outbound v 2018 Outbound rolling annual 8,962,900 Outbound roll ann v 2017 19.58 Outbound roll ann v 2018 5.17 Outbound YTD 1,727,200 Outbound YTD v 2016 16.88 Outbound YTD v 2017 10.10 Outbound YTD v 2018 8.02

completion of a £500k renovation programme, the Lobby Bar has been transformed and the Piano Restaurant fitted with new banquette seating to increase the capacity of the Piano Lounge by 120 while the Grand Ballroom has been modernised to include mirrored panelling.

STR Global reported Dublin hotel occupancy was down 1pc in February and RevPAR down 1.6pc, regional occupancy is up 1.3pc and RevPAR up 3.5pc.

TARA ST Dan O’Connor of JLL’s hotel and hospitality division has been instructed by Johnny Ronan Group Real Estate to secure a major hotel company to operate at the development. The proposed building’s hotel is planned to occupy floors one to four of the development and extend to 4,455 square metres.

IHF Stacey Bland, a conference and events executive at the Midlands Park Hotel of Portlaoise, Co. Laois, has been named the Irish Hotels Federation’s Employee of the Year”.

O’CALLAGHAN hotel group was granted permission to proceed with the development of a new eight-storey 158-bedroom hotel on Dublin’s Cumberland Street.

DOG Friendly Ireland Day will take place on Friday, June 21,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 8

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

L

iam and Suzanne O’Leary of O’Leary Travel outlined plans for their business at a travel show in the Ferrycarrig Hotel in Wexford.

An invitation only audience private consultation room is to open in Enniscorthy following the success of their room in Wexford and the six member staff showcased the extent of their travels and their expertise.

“We wanted to bring home to our

T

UI entertained key travel trade at a mystery event at the Marker Hotel and afterwards at Windmill Lane co-hosted by Lisa Tuckman of Seaside Hotels.

Thy and made them sing for their supper, but only after a lot of nerves had been calmed after several glasses .Music maestro Tony Perry soon whipped the unruly troop into shape, crackling’ the whip and getting Madonna’s new

M

eitheal 2019 hummed into action Hotel on the first week in April.

First held in 1975, Ireland’s annual tourism showcase saw 600 Irish tourism businesses meet 300 buyers from 20 countries over two days at Citywest, Saggart, Co Dublin. New attractions on show included the Vaults in Dublin, with its live acting experience while Shannon airport came to event as a sep-

customers and would-be customers how knowledgeable and well travelled our agency staff are,” Liam O’Leary said. Travel Extra’s Eoghan Corry was MC for the day. The company was joined by 15 suppliers.

Picture shows Liam and Suzanne O’Leary who hosted invited guests at the O’Leary travel show in the Ferrycarrig Hotel, Wexford,

backing group word perfect to the tune of Madonna’s Lá Isla Bonita - Lá Isla Grancanari.

The event started in the Marker Hotel on grand Canal Quay and the mystery venue was revealed on the night. Suffice to say the words Gran Canaria found their way into the lyrics and a very happy bunch of travel agents wended their way home in full voice at the end of the night

arate entity for the first time.

The evening event was held in Weston airport (pictured above). The event had a new focus on the Business Tourism by the Irish trade, with international business events and conference planners from the US, Canada, Britain, France and Germany attending. The event sees 600 Irish tourism businesses pitching to 300 international buyers and tour operators from 20 countries.

B

ookabed and Flexible Autos hosted 38 key travel trade at an event to update agents on the bedbank and car hire partnership.

It is the fifth year of the event celebrating one of the more enduring relationships among travel suppliers. Lee Osborne announced that car hire will shortly be available on the Bookabed platform. The car hire broker offers competitive prices in 120 countries

T

he fourth Irish Aviation Students Association symposium at the Helix in Dublin City University had 200 attendees on the day and 18 guest speakers and panelists.

The Symposium is intended to unite the aviation community, education and labour sectors to “address strategies and actions for engaging, educating and retaining the next generation of aviation professionals.”

S

haron Jordan, Brian Hynes, Adam Goddard, Chris Townson and Adam Goddard and Daniel Budberry of the Travel Corporation hosted 32 key trade at the Ivy rooms, Dublin.

Deirdre Sweeny of Sunway, Maura Fahy of Corrib Travel, Ciara Foley of Platinum travel and George Barter of J Barter Travel were presented with the inaugural TTC awards on behalf of the group’s four brands, Insight tours, Uni-

worldwide at 22,000 location and offers a guarantee to have a car at a location to suit travel agent’s clients.

Flexible offers include no amendment fees, zero excess product, free cancellation outside 24 hours, XML and White label solutions and one way rentals bookable online. Picture shows Dean Dexter, Operations Director of Flexible Autos, with Beverleigh Hart, Colleen Butler and Lee Osborne of Bookabed,

IASA events targeting students and young professionals include a socalled career slingshots, annual symposiums, networking events and events such as pilot careers live and Dublin aviation summit. To date, IASA has directly engaged with 3,000 students.

Picture shows Joe O’Mara of KPMG, Sarah Stokes of DAE Capital, Lander Dominiguez Ruiz of Aer Lingus and Lisa Sheehan of GECAS.

world river cruise, Red Carnation hotels and Con Tiki youth product Always ones to move early TTC, which promotes four brands in Ireland, has already booked the 2019 TTC Christmas Lunch for 5 December at 12:30 p.m. at Shanahan’s on the Green.

Picture shows Adam Goddard, Chris Townson, Sharon Jordan, Brian Hynes (back), Adam Goddard (front) and Daniel Budberry of the Travel Corporation.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 9

POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

T

ravel Counsellors annual conference and awards in Powerscourt saw the overall award go to Sarah McCarthy.

Best corporate travel counsellor went to Emer McDermott, best newcomer was Gina Quinn, second Year top sales went to Jamie Thomas, third year top sales went to Simon Armstrong, the My TC App and the most helpful both went to Mandy Walsh, Sinéad Lonergan won

I

rish Ferries and Normandy Tourism showcased the WB Yeats route to Cherbourg and the attractions of the hinterland of the port to a group of key travel media.

They sampled the new ship’s faster 26 knot sailing to France direct from Dublin port. In Normandy they visited Granville, Mont St Michel, Bayeux Tapestry museum, Arromanches D Day memorials and museums, stayed at La

R

yanair showcased their new route to Bordeaux.

The city gleamed in the sunlight for the visit, 99pc of the city’s buildings are made from sandstone which has been cleaned as part of a rejuvenation programme which is set to be completed by 2030.

Picture shows a group outside one of Bordeaux’s newest and most popular attractions Le Cite du Vin.

top cruise sales and top DMC went to Mary Foyle.

Picture shows all the winners on the night with Travel Counsellors Digital & Innovation Director Waseem Haq, Mary Foyle, Mandy Walsh, Sarah McCarthy, Travel Counsellors General Manager Cathy Burke, Simon Armstrong, Gina Quinn, Jamie Thomas, Emer McDermott, Sinead Lonergan and Global Director Jim Eastwood

Chenevière, rated by Conde Nast as the best hotel in France outside of Paris, tasted cider and calvados at Ferme de la Sapiniere and visited Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg. Picture shows Martine McKenna of Irish Ferries, Stephen Moore of the Sunday World, Ailish O’Hora of the Irish Independent, Martin Burns of the Irish Sun, Anne Sheridan of the Irish Mail (front) Fran Lambert of Normandy Tourism and Eoghan Corry

The €81m centre, opened in 2017, is housed over 8 floors and pays homage to the region’s world renowned reputation for superior wines.

Karolina Walczowska of Onet Podroze, Yann Delomez of Ryanair, Mark Kavanagh of the Star, Aileen C. O’Reilly of Travel Extra, George Keegan of Northern Ireland Travel News and Emma Pietras of the Sun

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urkish Airlines are to renew their sponsorship of Irish cricket for another two years.

The Turkish Airlines sponsorship, which began in 2017, has been extended until 2021. The airline will continue with their shirt sponsorship of the Ireland Men’s international team as part of the agreement. .

Dennis Cousins of Cricket Ireland, said: Since Ireland received full mem-

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he next Australian Tourism Exchange will be hosted by Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 10-14 2020. Brodie Carr and John O’Sullivan hosted 600 international and domestic buyers, 70 media from 30 countries and 1,400 sellers from 550 companies at ATE, one of three major travel trade events to be hosted by Perth in 2019.

ATE was first held in Perth in 2005, and

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here will be no black pepper at Aimsir, Jordan Bailey and Majken Bech Christensen’s new restaurant at the Cliff at Lyons.

The restaurant is set to open on May 8, and such is their dedication to Irish ingredients. Jordan has come to the Ardclough, Co Kildare location from Esben Holmboe Bang’s three star Maaemo restaurant in Oslo and is chasing Michelin status with a 24-cover restaurant.

bership and Test status in 2017 we have seen an uplift in awareness of the Irish cricket brand, and have been able to invest back into the sport. That one of the world’s biggest airlines is committed to our sport is a boost for all involved in the Irish cricket community.” Picture shows Harry Trector, Denis Cousins of Cricket Ireland, Andy Balbirnie, Hasan Mutlu Ireland country manager of Turkish Airlines and Barry McCarthy.

again in 2008 and 2012 Picture shows one of the day trips associated with the event with Ariela Bard of Telegraph Media, Kate Webster of Captured Travel Media, Carolyn Beasley, Mark Williams of Rockingham Wild Encounters Dolphin Swim, Barry Divola. Front- Belfast born Laoise Collins of WA tourism. Elisa Elwin, Natalie Miller of Tourism Australia and Barry Divola

The restaurant is currently being fitted at the canal bank location. The restaurant will use Irish only ingredients (black pepper does not come from Ireland), in a menu that Jordan says will be “led by the weather.” Tasting menus are set at €105 per person. Picture shows sommelier Majken Bech Christensen, Mercedes Bagnell and Eileen Timmons at the Cliff at Lyons,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 10

DESTINATION SALOU

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t started, as holiday stories do, at Reus airport. Sixt car hire offer a meet and greet service.

They will meet up with you at a spot in the airport car park, cunningly called the meeting point, sign over the chariot and pass on the keys.

After that there is a wide and varied world to explore in the hinterlands of Salou. Because, beyond the beach and the bars, there is a whole otherworld out there

Eoghan Corry visits Salou and its hinterland

Daurada delights

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here to start?

The top of course.

Portaventura already offers to two of the best roller coasters in the upside down business, the eight-inversion stomach-tossing Dragon Khan and the splashy free-fall Shambala.

Last year they added Red Force Ride in the park next door, firing passengers to a height of 112 metres, accelerating from 0 to 110 mph in five seconds, and turning passengers into G force 1.35 specialist formula one drivers for about 30 seconds.

It is the signature of the new Ferrariland theme park, which also includes Formula One racing simulators and an interactive gallery looking at the history of Ferrari.

The shape of PortAventura has

Making a splash in Portaventura changed surprisingly little since its 1995 opening on a site rejected by Disney. More than 20 rides have been added, six lands, each with a signature coaster and, this being sunny beach central, tee shirt soaking splash rides led by Tutuki Spash and Silver River Flume.

In recent years, the SésamoAventura Sesame Street themed toddler area completed the mix.

This spring they added an interactive shooter dark ride to SésamoAventura, Street Mission pits the occupants of the car

against each other and is designed to bring out the worst competitive instincts of addled daddies.

An adult game in a toddler area?

What could possibly go wrong?

You cannot pass through SésamoAventura without hearing the screams from the signatures of the two big coaster rides towering overhead. The 1995 Dragon Khan is not kind for hangover stomachs.

Although Shambala plays less with the tummy and more with the head, the slow climb up over the

precipice is often scarier than what happens next, Europe’s fastest and deepest descent. Complete the experience at Hurrikan Kondor, which has a reputation as Europe’s deepest sheer drop.

Plan the visit. Go first to Shambhala, which leads the wait time index, followed by Street mission, Dragon Khan, and Stampida, the world’s only two dual-track roller coaster, a very rickety roller coaster with many drops and two tunnels.

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o go higher, try the mountains.

It is easy to see why Siurana was the last Moorish stronghold in Catalonia. It fell at last in 1153 after the more important bastions of Lleida and Tortosa had fallen.

To say it was difficult to capture is an understatement. Think of an assault on O’Brien’s tower on the Cliffs of Moher from below the seagull line.

For centuries the only visitors here were goat

herders and mountain climbers who kept the secret of the stunning views to themselves, as well as the spot where Abdelazaia, the Moorish Queen, allegedly decided to jump off the cliff on horseback to avoid falling on the hands of the Christian conquerors.

Leamaneh of the sierra.

Someone built a paved road up the zig zag to the ruined fortress and Romanesque church, built, according to knowledgeable tour guide

n Eoghan Corry travelled to Salou as a guest of Salou and Tarragona Tourism. n Ryanair fly to Reus 12w from Dublin in summer.

Clockwise: Dominique Ruiz of Reus Tourism with a statute of the adolescent Gaudi, Priorat’s famous vineyards, Pere Granados , Mayor of Salou tells Eoghan Corry of plans to develop tourism, Fundació Mas Miró, Sara Fernandez of Wineri Celler Perinet in Poboleda shows how slate defines taste

JUNE 2019 PAGE 12

DESTINATION SALOU

Panoramic vie of Siurana Gerard Amorós for Berenguer IV’s troops who conquered Siurana, but for all the world it looks like an Irish monastic site before the Normans arrived.

Daniel entering the lion’s den on the tympanum looks for all the world like he is being attacked by wolves.

René van den Berghe, or Erik the Belgian as he was known, “acquired” the Romanesque Madonna that was stolen from here in the 1980s.

The original is now recovered and in safe keeping, a replica serves occasional religious rites in the isolated mountain church.

In thrall to the modern pilgrims, Siurana has added a campsite, small hotel, restaurant and refuge for the climbers who devote their energies to Siuranella twin rock, the Salto de la Reina Mora or la Trona, and the cliffs

of Arbolí, validating Toni Arbones’ opinion that this is the best in Europe.

It is an amazing uphill drive, and mind the cyclists.

Across the valley is Montsant natural park, a Ben Bulben in the sun that dominates the landscape here.

The monastery on the other side of the mountain, Escaladei, takes its name from the ladder to heaven.

The French monks seeking paradise thought they had found it here, and just to make sure they brought some vine cuttings with them.

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ara Fernandez of Mas Perinet explained how the landscape defines the region’s famous wines.

The vines grow on steep slopes of layered licorella brown and black slate and quartzite soils,

protected from the cold winds of the Siera de Monstant.

She picked a piece of slate and crumbled it in her hand to demonstrate how the roots of the wine grow into the soft fissures. Slate meets taste.

“Slate is found in vineyards in parts of Portugal and Italy but it is not common,” she says. “That makes the Priorat unique.” Water is scarce, and the local vineyards do not irrigate, putting their vines through drought to make them stronger. “Here we want people to drink the landscape.”

Before phylloxera the villages here were among the richest in Spain. After phylloxera they were among the poorest, and it took nearly a century for the industry to recover, when René Barbier decided to brand the ancient villages of the region together.

To revive the wine industry in the 1990s, he brought marketing nous and up a policy to revive ancient vines, and mix them with new, mainly French, varieties, following fashion by blending old Carignan and Grenache with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The area under vine has doubled and demand continues to outstrip supply. Low vine yields and hand picking make this wine harder to produce and more expensive but their reputation has grown as rapidly as the crops, For a hot summer day, there is even an indigenous grape, trepat, used mainly in light rose wines.

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alou sloganises as the beach of Europe, its sands stretching off of for nine

ITINERARY

n Day 1 Reus Airport where SIXT offers a Meet & Greet service, Check-in Salou hotel Blaumar. Lumine Golf Resort Promenade. Old Tower. Coastal path n Day 2: Poblet (40 minutes via C-14,) Montblanc, Tarragona n Day 3 Siurana Village (40 minutes), Escaladei, Wineri Celler Perinet in Poboleda village n Day 4 Mont-Roig , Fundació Mas Miró, Ermita Mare de Déu de la Roca, Portaventura, Reus. n Day 5: Cambrile, airport for home Here reside 20,000 kilometers on either side of a rocky headland with people, swelling to 200,000 in the first a century old lighthouse.

The old Torre Vella week in August. There tower was designed to are 55,000 formal tourkeep pirates at bay. It ist beds, and the infradidn’t work, but contrib- structure of the bucket utes to the atmosphere and spade business.

The game changer of the town. Heritage meets tourism on Passeig for Salou tourism was Jaume promenade, with the convention centre, the lined Xalets modern- helping push the tourism istes modernist villas and season into the winter a zig zag coastal path, months.

Salou has unique activCamí de Ronda de Salou, meandering along the ities such as swimming beach front, uphill to the with tuna, and a proud lighthouse, past the big- culinary heritage that block letter Salou selfie does not involve pointing at photographs on the sign, and back downhill.

Clockwise: Catalan kings repose on a Poblet arch, Poblet cloister, Natalia Bel of Salou tourism, Tarragona amphitheatre, Tonyi Gonzalez in Montblanc

menu of egg and chips.

We sampled the region’s famous black rice with seafood. The fishermen still return every evening here with their catch.

At night Salou explodes into life. The biggest of the nightclubs, Tropical, has a capacity of 1,200 capacity, and tourists traverse two strips of pubs and karaoke or live music bars, led by the Irish meccas of Chris Nicol’s Danny Boy and Christy McGrath’s Guinness Tavern.

There is more infrastructure to come to meet the changing demands of the tourists. In the town hall, mayor Pere Granados showed the plans for further development, cycle and walk ways along the beach front.

A scheduled 4,000 new rooms are led by a 500-bed Hard Rock development due to open in 2021, located between La Lumine golf club and Portaventura There are also plans for an outlet shopping mall to rival Las Rozas Village.

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JUNE 2019 PAGE 13

DESTINATION SALOU

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Fishing boats still dock at the marina in tourist-filled Cambrils and mend their nets in the harbour

n Tarragona, even the parking meters take a siesta. Parking was free from 1-4pm.

The thriving petro-chemical town has ruins lurking under every paving stone. For 700 years It was the capital of eastern Spain, and had a population of 40,000 when Barcelona and Madrid were farmsteads.

There are three levels of Roman ruins, the most ancient walls are largely intact, and you cannot miss the giant seaside ampitheatre.

The cathedral stands on the site of the Roman temple, and once served as a mosque as well.

The yellow sandstone seems to shine. “When the sun goes down, it seems the walls are burning,” tour guide Xavier Mejuto of Itinere Tarragona says.

The epithet could apply to the medieval villages of the mountains here.

Montblanc could pass for a film set, with intact walls of 31 towers and five gates, some

of which have recently been restored. A downtown ramble through the Jewish quarter and narrow streets takes us past buildings that have not changed in centuries, the Gothic church dedicated to Santa Maria, the bank-authentic church of San Miguel, the Jewish quarter, the convents of San Francisco, La Serra and La Merced, the hospital-church of San Bartolomé and Santa Magdalena with their cloisters.

An hour away, Barce-

lona is protesting about over-tourism. I asked tour guide Tonyi Gonzalez how many tourists come to Montblanc. She said 45,000. Of which 65pc are Catalan.

In Poblet we found something unusual for a country that seized its church properties in 1835, a living breathing monastery that still has its monks amid its medieval cloisters and cavernous refectory. David Pamies says that the guesthouse with 42 rooms is still taking guests.

THE HIGHS AND EVEN HIGHERS OF THE COSTA DAURADA

n Cambrils, next to Salou and somewhat less famous among Irish tourists, has nine kilometres of beach, the botanic garden haven of Parc Sama and with its 150 restaurants, including both of the region’s Michelin stars(Can Bosch and Rincón de Diego), a claim to be the gastronomic capital of the region. n Escaladei French monks from Provence founded a monastery here on the foothills of the Montsant mountain range, where a shepherd had dreamt of angels coming down from the sky on a ladder resting on a tall pine tree. The cloistered clerics enjoyed the fruits of the vine, and the vineyards they planted on the steep slate-based slopes of the region means the Priorat now produces some of Spain’s most interesting wines and the region is becoming beloved of connoisseurs. Visitors are guided around its three cloisters, church and refectory, reconstructed cell and another cell showing the stone basins used by the apothecary monks. n Lumine Golf Resort. Courses designed by Greg Norman and routed around the Sequia Major wetlands coastal bird sanctuary, the 18-hole Lumine, the Hills and a nine-holer around Roman ruins called the Ruins. Of 63,000 rounds annually, 40,000 are green fee, €110 with free practice balls. Seven holes on the front nine and six on the back nine feature water hazards either oft the tee, by the side of the fairway or around the green. Signature hole is the 493-metre left doglegged 18th. Not only is there water to contend with on the left side of the fairway, an enormous sandy waste area has to be carried off the tee and

three protective bunkers have to be avoided front of the home green. Best of the short holes is in Hills, the 195-metre 6th, which is fronted by water and surrounded by four rather large and menacing sand traps n Montblanc. Deliciously narrow medieval streets and squares with restored wall tow n Mont-Roig. A monastery on the red mountain offer spectacular seascape views, if you have time take the pilgrim’s path form the village. Joan Miró’s art is celebrated in the nearby farmhouse his parents bought when he was 16 and where his painted the iconic Farm, the early painting that defined his talent. n Poblet world heritage site since 1991 and one of only two monasteries on the Cistercian route that has a community of monks. It was the burial site for Catalan kings. n Port Aventura, six worlds of one of Europe’s most iconic theme parks, 15 different shows tan impressively extensive toddler Sesame Street area and two of the world’s best roller coasters, Dragon Khan which set a world record with eight inversions when it first opened and Shambhala, the fastest (134 km/h) and tallest roller coaster in Europe, 76 m tall and the longest drop in Europe at 78m. Day rate is €57/€50. n Reus. Much more than an airport, Reus is a shopping city, with a modern centre paying homage to its most famous architectural son, Antoni Gaudí. Before Antoinio, The Modernist Route offers an itinerary of 26 buildings, among them Lluis Domenech i Montaner, who built Reus Pere Mata Institute, the deliciously art deco Casa Navàs with its fascinating

hey put up a sign to define where Salou ends and Cambrils begins, which is useful as Cambrils has 9km of coastal beach in its own right.

“Sea and weather influences the character of people here,” Blanca Martinez of Cambrils Tourism says.

“We have much in common with people from Galicia or the west of Ireland. Apart from the sunnier weather,” she adds. The old town has narrow streets and there is a botanic gardens nearby.

The sun shines for 300 days a year. Like Salou, Cambrils had a tower to keep pirates away, and you can climb and watch at the activities on the seafront below, strolling, chilling out and eating in one of the resorts 150 restaurants, two of them Michelin starred.

In the village of Prades the baroque fountain spurts cava for a day every July.

An excuse for another visit.

wooden fireplace and fruit and flowers iconography, Casa Rull and Casa Gasull. Reus was famous 250 years ago as gatekeeper of the brandy industry. This has been overtaken by a celebration of vermouth in more recent times. A tasting at Joan Tabias’s 1,000-bottle collection Museo del Vermouth, where they serve draught vermouth, will add spice and herbs to your evening. n Salou was famous long before the arrival of booze tourism, its history revolves around its natural port on the waters of the Costa Daurada. Famously King Jaume I would set sail from these waters as he and his troops headed off to conquer Majorca. n Siurana, medieval hilltop village, last in Catalonia to be reconquered by the Christians in 1153. It is overshadowed to the north by the higher cliffs of the dramatic Montsant massif with its climber’s honeypot collection of honey-coloured crags and open ravines,. Abdelazia, the Moorish queen, decided to jump down the cliff with her horse rather than being captured by the Christians, leaving the footprint of the horseshoe on the rock for schoolchildren to seek, (but mind that scary ledge). n Tarragona Roman capital of the eastern half of Spain with a signature seascaped Roman amphitheatre and impressive ruins which were declared a Unesco world heritage site in 2000. Some relics are hidden in unusual places – for instance, inside rock music bars or restaurants in the Part Alta, the historical centre of the town. Don’t forget the coastline.

Five beaches are reachable by intercity bus.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 14

RIVERCRUISE

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he river cruise version of the chicken or the egg question is which is more attractive clients, the Rhine or the Danube.

In Ireland the Danube has been winning, and ts lead appears to be increasing.

Besides the sheer increase in the number of ships on the waterways, the experience of a river cruise is changing rapidly.

Cruise companies are offering more sophisticated amenities and smart new programmes.

This year sees the launch of more new river cruise ships. There are now over 200 passenger cruise ships plying the rivers of the world, and most of them are younger than five years old.

Agents said that all-inclusive cruise and river cruises are one of the biggest trends in 2019 so far.

From Ireland, the Danube is the major cruise destination, followed by the Rhine, with the Rhone and the Douro trailing behind. There are effectively six river cruise companies which dominate the market, although up to 12 others are seeking business out of Ireland.

It is still a small sector.

There are just 1.3m river cruisers (36pc of them German) compared with 27.2m ocean cruise passengers.

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utside balconies have become the norm on river cruises and schedules are

Ready sell, ready sail

Bigger, brighter and better river cruise offering Ricer ships on the Danube tweaked to offer the finest scenery during daylight.

In fact 2016 will be another best year ever for river cruise out of Ireland, well ahead of the Celtic Tiger days. This follows five years during which this segment of the industry has seen already high growth rates increase year on year out of the Irish market, The age group buying cruises tends to be over 65 retired people with disposable income.

Although the recession

created a demand for discounted holidays, river cruise passenger numbers have kept growing each year.

With all this growth, it is important for river cruise customers to understand that they need to book well in advance so they can book the most popular cabins (those with balconies) as ships are smaller than the ocean going variety.

Consumers have become more familiar with the product, air access to the main river port cit-

The appetite for river cruise has astonished the travel trade in Ireland

ies increases, the boats become more luxurious and the major players in the river cruise industry become more innovative.

River cruising is growing in popularity because: n Clients want something different to an ocean cruise n Word of mouth is greatly spreading for this product n The ship is your floating luxury hotel n Fewer passengers (average of 150) than ocean vessels n More personal space

on board n More intimate environment for sharing experiences and developing new friendships n No lines for embarkation/disembarkation n No tendering n No seasickness n Fine dining with wine included n Internet, Hollywood movies, satellite television and music library included at no charge n City tours with professional guides included n Visit destinations that ocean cruises cannot reach n No checking in to hotel after hotel n Unpack once and settle in for a relaxing vacation. n No riding in buses for hours on end; no traffic n Most long distance travel is done in the evening so daytime can be spent visiting cities, towns, museums and historic sites n Time in cities and towns is maximised on

a river cruise versus travelling to/from destinations by coach.

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urope’s waterways can be experienced in a variety of ways including self-skippered boats, short tour-cruises and canal barge. But it is the river cruise sector that has seen the biggest change.

These may range from older ones whose price points have been driven down by the rush to more luxurious craft by the big lines, to the newest ships, inspired by classic ocean yachts, which have spas, gyms and, wi-fi access.

A few of the newest have pools, though these are sill a rarity for river cruise vessels.

River cruise combines the advantages of an ocean cruise with those of a bus tour, river cruises show you the best of Europe, Russia and China, and bring passengers small quaint villa-

AWARDWINNING

luxury river cruises in Europe It’s all included in the price Exceptional cuisine with full board

throughout Very extensive and fully inclusive touring programmes Return flights, plus all hotel transfers Beautifully appointed five-star cabins with hotel standard beds, private bathrooms and river views The services of our experienced and insightful concierge

RIVER CRUISE

2020

NOW ON SALE!

We have enjoyed several holidays with Riviera but this was our first river cruise and we really enjoyed it.

The Riviera staff looked after us very well making sure everything ran smoothly.

Mrs Owen

DURATION

FROM

Enchanting Rhine & Yuletide Markets

5 days

€839pp

Amsterdam, Kinderdijk & the Dutch Bulbfields

5 days

€879pp

The Danube’s Imperial Cities & Yuletide Markets

6 days

€1,019pp

Rhine Cruise to Switzerland

8 days

€1,829pp

Rhine & Moselle

8 days

€1,779pp

Rhine, Strasbourg & Heidelberg

8 days

€1,849pp

The Blue Danube – Vienna, Budapest & Salzburg

8 days

€1,569pp

Burgundy, the River Rhône & Provence

8 days

€1,609pp

Bruges, Medieval Flanders, Amsterdam & the Dutch Bulbfields

8 days

€1,419pp

The Seine, Paris & Normandy

8 days

€1,549pp

The Douro, Porto & Salamanca

8 days

€1,529pp

Medieval Germany

8 days

€1,779pp

NEW! Vienna, Bohemia & Treasures of the Danube

8 days

€1,789pp

Budapest to the Black Sea – Gems of Eastern Europe

15 days

€3,099pp

Cruise the Heart of Europe

15 days

€3,159pp

For further details or to request a brochure, please call: 01

BRAND NEW! Five-star ship the MS George Eliot

Christmas Market Cruises from €839pp

905 6321

To book online or to watch videos from a selection of our tours, visit:

rivieratravel.ie

Holiday organised by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Travel, Chase House, City Junction Business Park, Malahide Road, Northern Cross, Dublin D17 (ATOL number 3430) Prices correct at time of print.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 16

RIVERCRUISE ges as well as the large cosmopolitan cities.

One of the main comforts is that you only have to unpack your bags once, and that all you need is provided on board.

Most offer all-inclusive meals and many have additional services such as spas featuring relaxing massages and facials. Some also include wine with dinner.

The cruise lines offer local evening entertainment, lectures and demonstrations.

Shore excursions hosted by an English speaking local guide are part of the experience.

These may be charged separately and it is worth checking before you book for a client as it can have a significant impact on the price.

More companies are including excursions as part of the package price, in contrast to what is happening in the ocean cruising sector.

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niworld are regarded as European specialists with twelve ships plying the waters of the major European rivers.

This summer Uniworld’s latest Super Ship, the transformed SS Bon Voyage, set sail on her maiden voyage in France after an eightmonth renovation in the small shipbuilding village of Druten in The Netherlands. It will sail from Bordeaux. Two refurbished ships are due in 2020, La Venezia in northern Italy and São Gabriel on the Douro.

In a separate development U by Uniworld changed its name to U river cruises and announced two new themed cruises, launching summer 2019. Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge said this is a move to further distinguish itself from parent company Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.

Sharon Jordan says Uniworld Boutique River

Just around the river bend on the Danube Cruises “continues to elevate with four ships in the fleet moving into the Super Ship category.

“Our ships in Italy, Portugal, Egypt and Vietnam & Cambodia will be undergoing a complete design renovation as we continue on the journey of being the best in the business.

“The Danube maintains her position as the number one destination for river cruising from Ireland, followed closely

by France this summer.

“Our guest age has reduced significantly to 55 plus, as river cruising becomes more mainstream within the Cruise Industry. As always with Uniworld, guests will experience farm to table dining and top shelf beverages as part of our truly all-inclusive policy.

They will also experience specially curated onboard and shore excursions and the most modern of wellness activities. And when it comes to rest time, they can relax on luxurious Saviour beds – or the ‘cloud’ as many agents have begun to call them - and enjoy wonderful Asprey of London products.

Everything we do is focused on a singular goal: to give clients the unique and unforgettable experience they seek, with the personalised industry-leading service they

deserve.

“We want agents to experience this too – with up to 60pc off on cruises for agents looking to experience this incredible product, there has been no better time to take a river cruise.

“Our U River Cruises got off to a bumpy start with age restrictions quickly lifting as we realised that age was but a number and that the product was not just for the young, but for the young and the young at heart.

“Cruise down the rivers of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, The Netherlands and Hungary and see these regions in a way that you could never do by train or car.

“It is not merely a river cruise. It is a full on, activity packed, culturally immersive, social and active travel experience and the Irish are loving it.

‘It is particularly popular with solo travellers, with no single supplement in place for the whole season. 2019 has seen significant growth – and at lead in prices for half board at €899pp I’m not surprised. Again, we have amazing agent rates onboard this cool new product, snap them up quickly.”

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he line now operates 18 ships, including three

purpose-built Super Ships that carry 150 to 159 passengers.

Uniworld sails the Rhine, Main, Danube, Moselle, Seine, Rhone, Garonne, Dordogne, Po and Douro rivers, Uniworld also sails in Egypt, Russia and Asia (China, Vietnam and Cambodia); in 2020 the line will have four new ships in operation out of Bordeaux, Porto, the Sphinx in Egypt and the Mekong Jewel in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Older and refurbished Uniworld ships on the main European rivers have 54 to 63 cabins and the majority of vessels have four stateroom categories, none with walkout verandas. Cabins typically measure 151 square feet with fixed, panoramic or French balconies. Suites, with French balconies, are 214 square feet. These ships do not have single or disabled cabins.

On Uniworld ships, you’ll find cabins that are individually decorated in a diverse range of styles and with colour schemes that vary from deck to deck. On one vessel, the cabins might be in chic monotone, striped black and white walls, while on another, there will be opulent chandelier-lit interiors in rich tones, fourposter beds and lavish brocade drapes.

Unique to Uniworld’s ships are the butlers, who are trained at the Ivor Spencer Butler School to the standards required by English royalty.

Butler service is available in every suite-category stateroom across the European fleet, except Russia and Portugal.

Nowadays Uniworld say they are the world’s only authentic boutique cruise line and one of the few river cruise companies to handle all of their own hospitality and hotel management efforts, as well as food delivery.

“At the forefront of everything we do is attention to detail,” says Sharon Jordan, who represents Uniworld here.

“No corners are ever cut at the expense of our guests. With the popularity of river cruising growing and more ships being built, Uniworld’s goal is to not be the biggest but to deliver a consistently outstanding experience to our guests.”

Uniworld has staked out a space at the top of the river cruise chart, offering a genuinely all-inclusive experience – with prices to match.

Cruise prices will fluctuate depending on the time of booking and time of year, with deals and discounts available on the Irish market.

On Uniworld ships, you’re generally going

to find a 65+, well-travelled, well-heeled North American crowd. The line is also marketing to English-speaking travellers in Britain, Ireland and Australia, so you’ll find a smattering of those nationalities too.

Although traditionally the line has tended to appeal to more senior passengers, its sophisticated onboard vibe also attracts cruisers in their 40s and 50s. Uniworld runs a handful of multi-generational themed family cruises each year, so during those periods (summer months), expect a much younger group, with a lot of kids onboard. It will take a nonrefundable deposit at the time of booking.

U

niworld offers cleaning service twice a day and the beds come with wool blankets and fluffy duvets. Dining aboard consists of breakfast and lunch buffets. Dinner is open seating and menus often feature country-specific themes.

Many ships have spas or fitness facilities and a few have pools.

Medical facilities, beauty salons, lounges, and large sun decks are options on which Uniworld boat you chose.

Entertainment is of the quiet variety, and is often by local musicians, guitar players and/or singers.

Excursions with local guides can be arranged with the Cruise Manager.

“Average capacity is 130 guests, the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry,” Sharon says. “We offer enticing shore excursions, world-class gourmet cuisine, impeccable hospitality, and numerous other all-inclusive benefits.

“Each ship in Uniworld’s European fleet is rich in character and truly one-of-a-kind. Each ship has a distinctive theme, colour palette, original art, sumptuous furnishings and antiques.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 17

RIVERCRUISE “The design visionaries at the Red Carnation Hotel Collection bring a stylish flair inspired by the rivers upon which they cruise.

“Ships feature stylish restaurants, an expansive Sun Deck, plush lounges with full-service bars, after-dinner entertainment, or dancing the night away. We also offer a well-equipped fitness centre and Serenity River Spa on every ship in Europe.

“Uniworld guests experience culinary diversity and richness as varied and flavourful as the cruise itself, onboard or onshore. The chefs onboard use the freshest ingredients associated with each destination to emphasise locally sustainable, market-driven cuisine. Guests enjoy signature recipes from the cookbook A Life in Food, authored by Bea-

onboard exercise and wellness classes n Elegant riverview staterooms and suites, with the finest linens and Savoir® beds, n Bicycles and Nordic walking poles for onshore use, n Onboard dining and unlimited beverages, n Onboard entertainment and signature lectures. n There are indoor and heated swimming pools on the newer ships

U by Uniworld has changed its name to U river cruises

trice Tollman, founder of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection.

“Uniworld’s onshore programmes provide guests with personalised experiences tailored to match their interests and lifestyle. Guests can choose from a generous

menu of excursions and activities designed to immerse you in the local culture.

“Uniworld elevates all-inclusive river cruising in Europe to an entirely new level. As we see it, our guests deserve the absolute best

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of everything and the difference is truly in the details. On each cruise, guests will enjoy: n A wide choice of personalised excursions led by English-speaking local experts n Intimate and beautifully designed ships

carrying an average of just 130 guests n A number excursions curated exclusively for Uniworld guests n All gratuities onboard and onshore, all scheduled airport transfers n Well-equipped onboard fitness centre and

C

roisiEurope named Amalia Rodrigues its sixth ship on the Douro in Portugal , with a godfather for the first time, Marco Martins, the mayor of Gondomar, It is an innovative, premium class, threedeck ship with a pool, contemporary interior design and 66 cabins that will accommodate 132

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JUNE 2019 PAGE 18

RIVERCRUISE passengers, including four suites, two of which are on the upper deck and have terraces.

The 58 cabins on the middle and upper decks have French balconies.

The key CorisiEurope selling points are: n CroisiEurope gets to the heart of the towns that other companies bus their clients in. n Their 32 ships offer sailings on nearly every river in Europe, with itineraries in Asia, Russia and unique coastal cruise in Croatia. n They are Europe’s largest River Cruise operator, with over 500 departures and over 100 itineraries. n Because of Croisieurope’s size they nearly always have availability. n They construct, own and operate all their vessels. n They offer French Canals by barge, extending to other canals in Europe in 2019/20.

C

Uniworld’s Super Ships have a sumptuous Leopard Bar, situated aft roisiEurope feature vessels on every single river in Europe with 500 departures on more than 30 rivers and canals spanning 100 itineraries, including hotel barges along the French Canals.

CroisiEurope’s excursions are provided at additional cost, pur-

chased in advance or onboard for the same price.

CroisiEurope caters to passengers who don’t want a packed schedule of included excursions; whether they are on a budget, prefer to explore independently or want to spend time onboard. .

Alan Lynch MD of Cruisescapes, CroisiEur-

Amacerto on the Rhine, ship on the Rhine and Amacerto’s wine waiter

ope’s representative in Ireland, says CroisiEurope, a family run business, is responsible for the construction, ownership and day-to-day operations of an entire fleet of river cruise vessels that are capable of carrying between 100 and 200 passengers.

Their new fleet in-

cludes several “hybrid” river cruise vessels capable of transiting the Mediterranean on unique river and ocean itineraries. With nearly four decades of experience in offering, river cruises.

This allows the operator to concentrate on providing it’s passengers with exceptional food,

excellent service and creative itineraries that are designed to appeal to both experienced and novice river cruisers.

By reducing the amount of the ship that exists below the waterline, CroisiEurope can sail into the heart of cities like Strasbourg, where CroisiEurope is headquartered, while other river cruise operators are forced to dock on the other side of the Rhine, in the German town of Kehl, and bus guests in.

La Belle des Océans, known in the world of cruising for having sailed many seas of the world, will join and enrich CroisiEurope’s fleet. in 2020.

The 7-deck ship measures 103 meters long and 15 meters wide accommodating 120 passengers in 60 suites, all with exterior view of which 9 with private balconies.

R

iviera Travel’s 2020 departures are on sale. Their

JUNE 2019 PAGE 19

vessels on the Rhine, Danube and Douro in Portugal cater for budget-conscious Irish river cruisers by excluding soft and alcoholic drinks.

They will have another new 5 Star ship launch in 2020. The MS Geoffrey Chaucer has 44 in-house trained crew members serving just 176 guests (similar size vessels may carry well over 190 passengers) and a new second Danube itinerary ; Vienna ,Bohemia & Treasures of the Danube For December 2019 Riviera have increased to 11 the number of Christmas markets river cruises with a lead in price of €839 to include flights, transfer, full board excursions and Christmas Markets .

The key cruises for winter are Enchanting Rhine & Yuletide Markets four nights, and the Danube’s imperial cities and Yuletide markets, five nights.

Stephen Sands says Rivera has several departures dedicated to solo travellers in 2019 and 2020 , with prices are per person based on one person in a twin cabin for sole occupancy with no supplement. Included is a welcome dinner on the first night for cruisers to get to know their fellow solo travelling companions.

Riviera provide tea and coffee-making facilities in all cabins (suites only on the Elegance). Other offerings include n No surcharge guarantee. n Hand-picked escorted tour or cruise is personally considered by travel specialists. n No credit card fees.

Prefer to pay by credit card? We no longer charge a fee for this. n 24/7 Irish emergency contact number when you are abroad.

Latest itineraries including stops such as Switzerland’s Lucerne, Burgundy’s wine capital Beaune, or Budapest’s

Onboard swimming, Travel Extra’s happy place

Parliament Building.. n Emily Brontë Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube n Thomas Hardy Danube n Oscar Wilde Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube n Robert Burns Rhine, Main, Danube n Jane Austen Rhine, Moselle, Main n Lord Byron Rhône n William Shakespeare Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube n Charles Dickens Rhine, Moselle, Main, Danube n Swiss Corona Rhône n Swiss Ruby Seine n Douro Elegance Douro To make budgeting easier still, prices on Emily Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde and Douro Elegance include flights, transfers and selected tours.

Drinks packages for a 4 night cruise are €79pp, 7 night cruise €129pp nd 14 night cruise €239pp.

11-night itineraries along the Rhine, Main, Moselle and Danube rivers, and featuring connecting staterooms, increased personal space, luxury amenities, regionally-inspired cuisine in the Main Restaurant and the wine paired tasting menu in The Chef’s Table Restaurant. Destinations have increased. AMA began cruising the Rhine and Danube. Now they cover Russia, Portugal, France, Vietnam and Cambodia, Kenya and Myanmar was introduced last year.

Ama uses 14 ships in Europe with six ships based elsewhere and operates exclusively for the English-speaking market. Ships in Europe each accommodate 164 passengers.

There is no drinks package but wine, beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner, there is a complimentary cocktail an hour before meals every

evening, and drinks in the evening are very reasonable.

Ama offers French balconies and marble appointed bathrooms and most offer fitness centres, beauty salons, gift shops, and splash pools. An alfresco dining area beside the main restaurant can seat 32 passengers for a separate three-course dinner. Seating in this dining area must be reserved. They say limited hours drinks packages are cheaper than other all-inclusive cruises.

AmaWaterways has partnered with Disney’s guided tour division, Adventures by Disney, to offer kid-friendly river cruises on ships specifically designed for larger, multi-generational groups. The company debuted cruises along the Danube River last summer on the AmaViola, and cruises along the Rhine River aboard the AmaKristina are sched-

A

ma Waterways, founded in 2002 by river cruise pioneer Rudi Schreiner, and represented in Ireland by Sunway, AmaWaterways are to add a new 156-passenger ship to its European fleet on 1 July, 2020: AmaSiena will serve a variety of seven, 10 and

Chess on the Rhine with AMA Waterways

RIVERCRUISE able, eg bikes, type of tours.

“Ask about drinks.

Some include them and some do not.

Rivercruise is a great idea for small groups.

The cruise companies can do themed itineraries, which are getting more n more popular.

“Booking with a tour operator that is bonded means clients are fully covered and offers expert advice.”

uled to launch in June.

Both Avalon and AmaWaterways include at least one shore excursion in every port you visit.

Both lines also offer premium excursions, which come at extra cost. These generally are limited to small groups and take you into smaller venues.

S

unway are not just GSA for Ama Waterways, they also sell Uniworld to the trade, tailor making their package and they are fully indemnified through Sunway, while a 10pc commission is paid to all trade Deirdre Sweeny of Sunway says that “there is lot of selection out there, so be sure to do research.

“Talk to experts. Some claim to be five star but, in fact, food and service often is not. Choose the right brand for your party and age group, Discuss what activities are avail-

E

lsewhere, Viking River Cruises named seven new ships in ceremonies across thee countries this sprint. Viking Vali and Viking Tir in Brunsbuttel, Viking Sigyn and Viking Ullur in Rostock, Viking Einar and Viking Sigrun, in Basel and Viking Helgrim in Porto, the largest number of simultaneous namings since Viking named 12 ships in 2015.

TUI has purchased three river cruise ships from Werner-Tours and Reiseburo Mittelthurgau Fluss and plans itineraries on the Danube, Rhine, Moselle and Main from summer 2020.

Wendy Wu announced six new tours sailing on the Victoria MekongRiver Cruise Ship Tauck’s new 84 passenger ms Andorinha will run family-friendly river cruise on the Douro from 2020.

A-Rosa River Cruises plans a 140-cabin “E-Motion” river vessel to reduce the line’s carbon footprint, to launch

JUNE 2019 PAGE 20

DESTINATION NORMANDY

F

ashioned by time and tide, the icon of northern France Mont St Michel never fails to impress no matter what way you look at it.

Looking for all the world like the sweepings of a workshop, jagged spires and points and gargoyles randomly pointed hither and thither, it fills the Instagram and selfie screens just as it did the religious manuals and guide books of previous generations.

It draws 2.5m visitors a year, and it is, thoughtfully, within three hours of the Irish Ferries destination port of Cherbourg.

The Corry family holiday always began here.

Passing through the arch past the children straddling the canon, you felt, at last, you were in France.

Time saw the abbey pass through chateau, to church, to monastery, to the prison described by Chateaubriand and back again to an over-priced and somewhat Dysnified tourist location, but the allure never stops.

Tide has been recalled from the bench to help the bay get wet again.

They got rid of the onsand parking, replace the causeway with a bridge and allowed the water to flush the sand once more after a century of silting.

Time and tide Eoghan Corry in Normandy with Irish Ferries

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Bridge at high tide, Mont St Michel,

alking tour guide of Julien Avril of Gambettes en Baie, and, most importantly, his dog Imafa, brought us for a walk around the back side of the castle, bare feed splashing in the muddy sand. He showed us how, by jumping up and down in the same place, the sand can turn into quicksand and swallow your foot up to the knees, and further if you have enough courage.

Julien said that opening the water sluices was

more about tourism than ecosystem.

He told us that the legend of the tide rolling in faster than a galloping horse was a legend, caused by the sound of the crashing waves, rather than equine physical exertions.

Still, none of us were going to take our chances.

M

ost people at Mont St Michel pass through on a two hour

stop en route to Carnac, the Vendee, and other far flung places.

If you have time, stay overnight. Catch the darkness. Watch the light recede as the tide piles in, and rise early in the dark to witness the reverse.

In summer time there is a light show, but it is an add-on. Nature is the star attraction here.

You can also sample one of the seven omelette wonders of the world. At Mere Poulard they use between 800 and 1.000 eggs a day making their

signature puff omelettes, as grandma did in 1888.

Thibaut Hastey described how Mont St Michel was built, using the tide to transport the quarries stone. There are still Benedictine monks here, praying as their soul brothers in Skellig Micheál did, the tide and the seagull cries around them.

D

ior is so easy to pronounce in many languages, so he wanted the company to have his name,”

Susan Mouling explains as we walk through the gardens where the young Christian Dior played in Granville.

It may be a trick of the light, but the sand seems pink here. Was that the colour that made Dior the most famous name in late twentieth century fashion, the “new look” of 1947 so all powerful that people talk about it seven decades later.

It was Carmel Sour, editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, who gave the world the phrase and he

Clockwise: Standing in the quicksand at Mont St Michel, , Bayeux Museum, barefoot walk through tidal mud flats at Mont St Michel with David Gray of Michael Gray coaches, Fran Lambert of Normandy Tourism, Stephen Moore of the Sunday World, Julien Avril of Gambettes en Baie, Anne Sheridan of the Irish Mail and Martine McKenna of Irish Ferries and Imafa le chien, Eric Le Planquais of Arromanches D Day Museum, Mont St Michel Cloisters,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 21

DESTINATION NORMANDY the story of the invasion, but the emotion sweeps over the audience from all sides.

Watch and weep.

never new-looked back.

Christian Dior was very superstitious. He was told as a child: “you will be very rich and succeed thanks to women,” rare advice for a man, when you think about it) and followed his instincts.

A Philadelphia born Irish cailín, Princess Grace, Kelly helped power him into every magazine on the planet.

I

T

he Bayeux tapestry gets 400,000 visitors a year to see an 1177 version of a storyboard.

Modern technology has added a commentary in 16 languages but the seamstresses of 850 years ago did a fine job with the tale of William the Conqueror, farmers and ploughs, horses on warships, the arrow through Harold’s eye, and Game of Thrones battle scenes.

This is a place and a year of battle commemorations.

At Arromanches port we saw the scale of the

Memorial to American parachutist John Steele, who landed on the roof of the church at Sainte-MèreÉglise and survived, helping to make the village the first to be liberated, port that was built by the England’s and the USA’s disembarking army so they could avoid the hardship of attempting to capture Cherbourg or St Nazaire.

Eric Le Planquais told us about the astonish-

ing feat. A prefabricated port was constructed by 50,000 workers in Brighton, old ships were sunk offshore and the piers towed into place by 200 ships. A June 21 storm nearly put paid to the operation. The sup-

THREE DAY ITINERARY

n Day 1: Granville (1 hour 30 minutes from Cherbourg), lunch at Mer et Saveurs, Musée Christian Dior, Mont-Saint-Michel (parking costs €13), hotel, Les Terrasses de la Mère Poulard n Day 2: Guided tour of the Abbey, Drive to Bayeux (1 hour 45 minutes), Lunch at the Assiette Normande, Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, Normandy American Cemetery,

Arromanches 360° cinema, views of Gold Beach and Mulberry harbour, Dinner and night at the Château de la Chenevière n Day 3 Cider and calvados at Ferme de la Sapinière, Cité de la Mer visitor centre Gare Maritime Transatlantique, ‘Titanic: Return to Cherbourg exhibition. Cherbourg ferry terminal (5 minutes), Check-in for ferry 4.15pm

plies to sustain the invasion were brought in by 7,000 ships and 12,000 planes of which 8,000 were war planes.

O

nly recently are historians looking beyond the headlines of heroic liberation. The Battle of Normandy was a mixed blessing for the locals, as 19,838 French civilians died in the bombings and flighting. England’s soldiers were unable to

discard their tribal antipathy to the French and raped thousands of local women as they passed through.

After the war was over an unexploded bomb took the life of local boy George Frantiane at four, the uncle of Normandy-born Martine McKenna of Irish Ferries. It was one of tens of thousands of such tales.

There is no voiceover to the video presentation at Arromanches that tells

f you keep it in a sleeping position the flavour can change.”

Laure Travert of Ferme de la Sapiniére told us how to store our cider bottles. Turning them is important. Yeast never sleeps, so keep those bottles of sparkling upright.

There are 32 varieties of apple in the orchard, and nobody shakes the tree. “We wait for the apples to fall on the ground,” Laure says, Back in Cherbourg Marion Francois of Cité de la Mer told us how the old trans-Atlantic liner building was turned into a visitor centre.

As well as evoking the European dimension of the high-society aura of the Titanic in a way Belfast’s better-funded centre does not, a lot of the exhibit is devoted to conservation. “The purpose of Cité de la Mer is to make people live the sea so they care for the sea,” Marion Francois says.

We arrived back into the fog in Dublin.

Normandy seemed a long way away.

n Eoghan Corry travelled to Normandy as a guest of Irish ferries and Normandy Tourism. irish ferries sails direct from Dublin port to Cherbourg 4 times a week. n Keep an eye on special offers. Current offers include a special wine tasting sailing from Dublin to Cherbourg on Thursday June 6th, in conjunction with Normandie Wines.

Clockwise: The helm, French submarine Redoubtable, Cité de la Mer,, Les Braves memorial, Omaha Beach,, French submarine Redoubtable, Cité de la Mer, Château de la Chenevière, Fran Lambert of Normandy Tourism and Laure Travert of Ferme de la Sapinière,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 22

I

n a year of fine cruise ships (there will be 17 high profile launches this year) it was a good time to affirm the stature of MSC Bellissima as one of the finest in the ocean.

MSC is always stylish, so the overriding impression of the Irish trade from their recent hosting on the ship was of elegant staircases, artworks and a stunning shops and eateries plaza that would not be out of place in Sienna or Florence, the indoor promenade, Galleria Bellissima.

It has an 80-meter LED ceiling that changes throughout the day, projecting different skies, patterns and even mini-movies..

When it rained, this is where the lavish opening ceremony was moved.

Sophia Loren felt at home there, which is as much as we need to know.

Food and entertainment were the battlegrounds that the Swiss cruise line (DON’T mention their Italian roots) have chosen to engage.

MSC recruited Spanish Michelin-starred chef Ramon Freixa, who has his own restaurant, Ocean Cay, on sister ship Seaview; to introduce a new-to-the-line, for-fee tapas bar onboard Bellissima, Hola! Tapas, on the main promenade.

Specialty dining options include Kaito

Just back from:

MSC BELLISSIMA

New ship. new era Pool with a screen, Bellissima has the longest swimming pool on the ocean waves Sushi Bar and the Kaito Teppanyaki Restaurant serving sushi during the day and in the evening, and offering a traditional Teppanyaki experience in the evenings.

Butcher’s Cut has specialty meats from around the world. Bistrot Atelier replaces Eataly, subtly French deposing Italian like a new Napoleonic invasion.

Long a bastion of pasta, the 20 hours a day Marketplace Buffet will serve Mediterranean specialties and international, cuisine based on where the ship is and healthy options.

The circular perform-

ance space with a 180-degree circular glass wall will feature cutting-edge technology and special rigging, and capacity for up to 413 passengers. There are two new shows onboard -- Syma, sail beyond imagination; and Varelia, love in full colour.

T

he pool is always a subject close to Travel Extra’s

heart.

Along with its sister, one of the most generous poolside spaces at sea, a 25-mere pool and smaller pools for and aft for a splash during the circuit.

There is also a 10-

meter indoor pool with a retractable dome roof.

The Aft Pool on Deck 16 is in an amphitheatre-type space with tiered seating surrounding it in a semi-circle.

At night it is transformed into a dance

space. There is also a large outdoor water splash park for children.

At night, the main pool is illuminated with atmospheric lighting.

And, yes, Travel Extra, was first in the pool.

T

he baby room was designed in partnership with Italian babywear and manufacturer Chicco; all LEGO-themed.

Facilities for families, children and teens are in one place and include the Doremi Studio Lounge for family activities; and Doremi Tech Lab, which includes a 3D printer.

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ravel Extra had one question for the press conference; “How can MSC customers be sure of the product they are booking giving the huge divergence of standards within the cruise line.”

It remains a problem that a fast-developing and fast-upgrading cruise line like MSC faces, upgrading the standards of the ships can cost as much as new ones.

That means, for a long time to come, MSC Bellissima will be well ahead of her colleagues in the cruise line as well as her peer group.

BELLISSIMAS AND WHISTLES

n Two new Cirque du Soleil at Sea show created exclusively for the ship. n Cutting-edge technology enables passengers to make payments, book spa treatments and specialty restaurants, as well as allow parents to geo-locate their children. n A voice enabled, artificial intelligence digital cruise “assistant” called Zoe, in every cabin is pre-programmed to answer 800 cruise-related

questions. The device will be rolled out to all subsequent new builds. n The indoor promenade has an 80-meter LED ceiling that projects different scenes throughout the day, featuring shops, restaurants and bars.

Nightly parades feature the ship’s onboard performers. n All the Meraviglia Class ships have scrubber technology to neutralize carbon dioxide emissions;

Clockwise; Kaito Teppanyaki Restaurant serves sushi during the day the distinctive Galleria Bellissima, children’s water park, Clockwise: Alana Byrne and Irish head of sales for MSC Suzanne Rowe, Melanie May on the staircase at the MSC Bellissima naming ceremony,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 23

Just back from:

AFRICA’S TRAVEL INDABA

Speech by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban

Derek Hanekom South African Tourism Minister and Elizabeth Thabethe South Africa Deputy Minister of Tourism, Opening of Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban

Problem solved (why not sooner?)

O

ne word created a crisis for family holidays in South Africa in 2019: may instead of must.

So said SA Tourism mInister Derek Hanekom when he assured journalists during a briefing in Durban that the problem of airlines demanding long form birth certificiates at check-in

had finally been solved.

At WTM in November South African tourism reassured tour operators that the problem was solved, but airlines still denies families boarding because of confusion about the reform.

Elsewhere conservation was an overriding theme of the show.

How can you protect

Briefing by Derek Hanekom Tourism Minister,

something that you do not know. Nunu Jobe of Isibindi Africa Trails told a briefing on the poaching problem that has decimated rhbo populations in South Africa’s nature parks and reserves. “people who think I need to eat tonight,I need to be warm,”are not going to be susceptible to the conservation message.

Briefings to an intriguin three days of speed networking event at indaba included some memorable quotes, the tour guide who spoke of “reconnecting with his childhood sweetheart, “which is Mother Nature, “everything is slow, even the plants grow slow,“ and “It is never winter in Limpopo.”

Early morning swim in the Indian Ocean by delegates attending Indaba,

Thoko Jili who spoke at Holiday World in Dublin, with Rachel Lewis in the Britannia hotel

Eoghan Corry, Sapphire Goss, Heather Richardson, Sthembiso Dlamini, Kgomotso Ramothea, Grace Armitage, and Ian Utermohlen

Grace Armitage, Kgomotso Ramothea of South Africa Tourism, Heather Richardson travel writer, Derek Hanekom South African Tourism Minister, Sapphire Goss of Breaking Travel News, Ana Candido of South Africa Tourism and Eoghan Corry editor of Travel Extra

JUNE 2019 PAGE 24

AER LNGUS MINNEAPOLIS EVENT

Nicky Dempsey, Katie Quinn, Anthony Crosby, Kate Ryan and Victoria Elmore

Jenny rafter and Yvonne Muldoon of Aer Lingus with Ciara Foley of Platinum Travel

St Paul (& MSP) conversions

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hat may have been Aer Lingus most adventurous route launch ever begins on July 1st with the 5w service to Minneapolis/St Paul.

It is scheduled to go daily when the delayed A321LR becomes available and will be the first of the A321LR routes.

To highlight the new

route Bill Byrne of Aer Lingus, Yolande Fletcher and Sherri Mulberry hosted 43 key travel trade at an event in Zozimus off Grafton St in Dublin.

Sherri Mullery of Bloomington CVB told guests about the signature attraction, twenty minutes form the airport, the Mall of America.

It is the USA’s largest

Alan keane and Rory Keane of Aer Lingus

shopping attraction and comes complete with its own theme park.

It is home to Prince’s Paisley Park recording studio. The river Mississippi passes through and can be walked bank to bank a couple of hour upstream.

Tracy McCauley of Atlas Travel/Gohop was the prize winer:

n 2 return flights to Minneapolis St Pauls with Aer Lingus n 4 nights Country Inn Mall of America Suites. n 2 VIP Paisley park tickets to home and recording studios of Prince. n 2 tickets for 3 days of attraction parks. n Mall of America shopping voucher for €250 & voucher booklet

Bill Byrne of Aer Lingus and John Spollen of Cassidy Travel President of the ITAA

Ivan Beacom of Aer Lingus, Sherri Mullery of Bloomington CVB and Yolanda Fletcher from Great Lakes USA

Andrea Hunter of Aer LIngus, Jean Claffey of Joe Walsh tours, Maura Maloney of Dublin Airport and Susan Maxwell of Maxwell Solutions

Yolanda Fletcher of Great Lakes USA, Bill Byrne of Aer Lingus and Sherri Mullery of Bloomington CVB

JUNE 2019 PAGE 25

Just back from:

ISTANBUL’S NEW AIRPORT

Onur Gul of Turkish Airlines Dublin office with onboard chef Ozlem Eif Meydan, Turkish airlines flight TK1978 Dublin to Istanbul,

View form open balcony on business class lounge

T

IST excitement

hey opened the first four runways of the new Istanbul Airport in January.

There are two more runways to come later this year, and they tell us that these will be specifically used for cargo flights. As infrastructure projects go it is an impressive pace of development. And this is just the start.

There is no doubt that the centre of world aviation is shifting east. The only question is where the centre of that aviation will land. Turkish airlines have an expansion plan which is designed to make Istanbul the hub of choice for the huge avi-

ation markets between Europe and Asia. Abu Dhabi, Doha and the legacy airports in Europe, London, Paris and Amsterdam cannot offer the joy of Istanbul’s geographic location. Dubai is the biggest of several rivals.

Travel Extra stopped by to see the new airport and we were impressed by the scale and the stunningly simple design features.

There is, as is the nature of these things, a lot of walking. But the ceilings are high, the terminal Is airy, and the space is used to give passengers a sense that they

are being liberated.

The transfer is not complete. C & D checks still take place in Ataturk while A & B checks take place in the new airport.

There are two major lounges, one for business class and another for Miles & Smiles customers. Features of the business class lounge include beds and a quiet area and six differentiated food areas, with a golf simulator among several recreational features. Gates are easy to find. Security quick and efficient. The contrast with the poky and sweaty Dublin gates in Ataturk could not be greater.

Business class check in area with couches

The downside is the rail link to the city is not yet complete and the distance is further.

The journey, however, is less choked than that to Ataturk and takes just 35 minutes.

Connecting passengers do not have to worry about such things.

The 2023 target is 120m passengers passing through four terminals.

Turkish currently serves 312 destinations in 124 countries, including 60 national capitals. The whisper is Turkish will offer connections to Australia in 2021. And whisper is the ambiance of the new, noiseless, Istanbul.

Gates are easier to find

Long walk through well-lit piers

TURKISH CONNECTIVITY

Airy high ceiling terminal makes a great contrast with Istanbul’s former Ataturk airport

n Turkish Airlines departs 14 times a week from Dublin’s Terminal 1 and beyond 311 + destinations in 124 countries worldwide, the fourth largest network and more international destinations than any other in the world. To support this extensive network, n Turkish Airlines fleet of 336 aircrafts (passenger and cargo).

A four star airline, Turkish Airlines prides itself on its level of service quality which has been recognised with numerous Skytrax Passenger Choice Awards.

Full service airline with flying

chefs inflight entertainments 337+movies, 414 tv series, 756 albums, 17 games cartoon movies Wifi and Live tv on board. n Round trip Economy Class for Dublin to Istanbul starting from €325 only (including taxes), Return business class starting price for same route starts from €1035 only (in taxes). n Flight 3h 50 min n Baggage allowance in economy class is 23 kg + 8 kg for the hand luggage. İn business class 40 kg + 8 kg x 2 for the hand luggage. 01-5251849, www.turkishairlines.com,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 26

AFLOAT WB YEATS Irish Ferries’ WB Yeats

won the ‘Ferry of the Year 2019’ award at the annual Ferry Shipping Summit. The ship previously won the Ferry Concept Award and the Interior Architecture Award for their recently launched cruise-ferry, the WB Yeats at the annual Shippax Industry Awards ceremony aboard the MS Silja Serenade in Stockholm.

AMAMAGNA has undertaken her

inaugural voyage from Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest. The brain child of AmaWaterways’ president and co-founder Rudi Schreiner, AmaMagna surpassed guests’ expectations on embarkation day with the highest level of luxury and generous personal space of any ship on the rivers. AmaMagna’s public spaces showcase a multi-level lounge and Main Restaurant, which features floor-to-ceiling windows, new dining venues – the Al Fresco Restaurant and Jimmy’s, named in honour of one of AmaWaterways’ original co-founders and co-owners, the late Jimmy Murphy, who was born in Dublin.

CMV are to organise travel trade visits to Magellan when the ship comes to Dublin on June 28th. The usual details will be required and places are on a first come first served basis.

Travel Solutions welcomed local agents onboard CroisiEurope’s MS Vivaldi as it sailed between Vienna and Linz MSC The partnership with Michelin starred Spanish Chef Ramón Freixa has extended further seeing HOLA Tapas Bar, which originally pioneered on MSC Bellissima extend to two further ships in the fleet. The speciality dining concept will be found on board MSC Meraviglia from May 2019, and MSC Grandiosa from November 2019.

PRINCESS Cruises revealed the de-

sign and menu of its new French restaurant developed in partnership with three-Michelin chef Emmanuel Renaut, a premium dining option on Sky Princess, due October 2019.

CARNIVAL Freedom has added a new waterpark, revamped mini-golf course and expanded dining options.

OASIS OF THE SEAS Royal

Caribbean revealed names for new restaurants and bars on Oasis of the Seas, the next ship scheduled to enter dry doc in its $900m refurb schedule: the Bamboo Room, Lime & Coconut, and an “amplified” version of Johnny Rockets that serves up alcoholic milkshakes.

Vantage is to build two new luxury expedition ships that will sail global itineraries.

U BY UNIWORLD changed its name to U river cruises and announced two new themed cruises, launching summer 2019.

AURORA

Expeditions launched two new cruise itineraries in Iceland and Greenland

SEABOURN’s first-ever expedition

cruise ship will be named Seabourn Venture.

CARNIVAL Cabin design features on Carnival’s Mardi Gras, to launch 2020, include quick-flip sleeper sofas, floor-to-ceiling glass balcony doors and hidden storage spaces.

Francis Brennan and Rebecca Kelly

Francis afloat

Francis Brennan to head up cruise show on RTE TV

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three-part series to be hosted by hotelier and TV personality Francis Brennan, and set onboard a Princess Cruises ship, will broadcast weekly this autumn on RTE. Entitled ‘Francis Brennan - all hands on deck’ the series will follow Francis as he sails the Baltic capitals on the 3,560-guest Regal Princess cruise ship. During each hour-long episode he will gain an insight into what life is like for the ship’s 1,400 crew members by stepping into the shoes of three of the most senior onboard roles: Maitre ‘D, Entertainment

Director and Hotel General Manager.

Francis will see if he has what it takes to give the ship’s guests the holiday of a lifetime.

Francis will try and meet a wide range of challenges, from learning first-hand what it takes to be Maitre’ D and ensuring a smooth service in the ship’s seven restaurants and numerous eateries; to arranging onboard activities for guests with the Entertainment Director; to overseeing the entire ship with its 5,000 guests and crew alongside the Hotel General Manager.

In keeping with Francis Brennan’s Grand Tour, this new series will see Francis host a number of guided shore excursions, exploring all that the Baltics have to offer. The ship will sail from Copenhagen as guests explore Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn, Berlin and Oslo.

At a length of 1,083 feet, Regal Princess is longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. And at 217 feet high she is taller than 15 doubledecker London buses stacked on top of one another. The ship has 17 decks, 16 bars and restaurants, a luxury spa and a fitness centre.

JUNE RETURN AFTER STENA EUROPE REFIT

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tena Europe, which operates on the Fishguard – Rosslare ferry service is currently undergoing a significant three-month refit visit to the Gemak Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey.

The vessel is sched-

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uled to return late June 2019 and during the visit a number of upgrade projects will be completed.

One of the most significant projects to be undertaken includes modifications to the deckhead levels on the

main vehicle deck to allow for the carriage of full-height trailers across the whole of the main vehicle deck.

Prior to arrival at the Turkish shipyard, she was restricted to carrying full-height trailers on its port side only.

Paul Grant of Stena

IRISH FERRIES SELLS OSCAR

rish Ferries sold the Oscar Wilde to MSC Cruises’ parent company for €28.9m and delivered the vessel on April 19.

Oscar Wilde, built in 1987, was acquired in 2007 and operated on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route.

Irish Continental Group entered into a bare boat

hire purchase agreement for the sale of the to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA. The total gross consideration is payable in instal-

ments over 6 years, up to 2025.

Recently MSC’s ferry subsidiary SNAV acquired AURELIA for the Adriatic Sea route Ancona-Split.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 27

AFLOAT

BAHAMAS Prime Minister Hubert

Minnis signed an agreement with Disney Cruise Lineto develop a cruise port and entertainment facility at Lighthouse Point in Bannerman Town, South Eleuthera, Disney’s second dedicated private destination in the Bahamas.

OASIS of the Seas is to get a new pool deck with a water park and three-story bar, a trio of waterslides, a new-to-the-line BBQ dining venue when it returns from its 63-day, $165M transformation in November.

A-ROSA River Cruises plans a 140cabin “E-Motion” river vessel to reduce the line’s carbon footprint, to launch spring 202.

Royal Caribbean cancelled the next three sailings of Oasis of the Seas after a crane fell on the ship while in dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas.

VIRGIN VOYAGES One-

SpaWorld unveiled a seven-year spa and wellness partnership with Virgin Voyages to offer fitness classes, spa treatments and salon services when its first three vessels launch in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Poolbeg chimneys pictured form Silver Whisper

Back in business

Dublin Port intends returning to the cruise business

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widely reported Dublin Port briefing document for a meeting with Transport minister Shane Ross has been released which said that construction work to extend the North Wall Quay can bring cruise calls back to a projected 150 in 2024/25, and 200 the following year.

Before the ropes are thrown, it is subject to third party financial support as has happened in other cruise ports such as Barcelona.

The briefing came as waves created by the port’s proposal cut cruise ship calls to the city from 172 in 2019 to 80 in 2021 continue to cause concern world-wide and trouble stake holders in the home holiday industry.

The move comes two years after winning the long battle to secure home port mini season status from first Celebrity and then Princess, the port has backpedalled on cruise calls and put a cap of 80 on the number

of cruise calls to the city starting in 2021.

In a further withdrawal from cruise promotion, the city will not be represented at Seatrade in Miami last month, where the cruise world gathers to make decisions.

What initially appeared to be a public pitch to achieve €120m funding for a North Wall extension, currently not affordable from the port’s €2m a year cruise ship income, could turn into a reversal of twenty years of progress in establishing Dublin on cruise ship itineraries (and as Simon Coveney pointed out, by extension, Belfast, Cork and others ports).

The reaction from CLIA is a first indication of how fickle decision-making by major cruise lines can be.

There are two key cruise berths, berth 18 and berth 33 and 12 optional places on John Rogerson’s quay, and these are the spots capped at 80 calls

by Dublin Port to avoid interfering with the ship’s ro-ro facilities.

The proposed €120m North Wall extension would be able to berth two 350m cruise ships, basically everything on water up to Royal Caribbean’s Oasis Class.

Cruise companies are likely to help pay for the facility if offered the right terms.

Each turnaround for a home ported ship averages three bed nights in the city and generates €1m, and celebrity were on the point of committing to home porting for a full season from 2021 to 2025, rather than a mini season.

Other cruise lines are also putting their 170,000 ton toes in the water. It is a fine time for Ireland’s cruise industry to up anchor and away. After the histrionics, the money for the pier extension may yet be forthcoming, but will there be any cruise companies willing to call?

EDDA FOR BELFAST-LIVERPOOL

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tena Edda, the second vessel under construction at the Avic Weihai Shipyard has been floated out.

Stena Edda is named after an old Norse term that

refers to a central medieval collection of poems and divine mythology.

Stena Edda is scheduled to enter service on the Belfast-Liverpool route in spring 2020.

This is the second of three new E-Flexer vessels bound for the Irish Sea during 2020 and 2021.

In addition to the three Irish Sea vessels, Stena Line has also ordered a fur-

ther two E-Flexer ro-pax vessels with a larger design (3,600 lane metre), to be deployed within Stena Line’s network in 2022.

CARNIVAL The refurbished Carnival Panorama will offer a “Choose Fun” water park that will include two slides, the 455-footlong Red Fun and the 300-foot-long Blue Fun; a 300-gallon PowerDrencher tipping bucket; a kiddie spray park to match the water parks on Carnival Breeze, Carnival Vista and Carnival Horizon.

MSC will be making some updates across the fleet including the changing of Eately on MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa, and the Texmex on Fantasia to the super popular Butcher’s Cut restaurant. This change comes at an exciting time for UK guests as MSC Preziosa will be sailing from Southampton on several occasions throughout 2019.

HAL Steel was cut on Holland America’s

next Pinnacle-class ship, to launch May 2021 as sister to Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam.

CARNIVAL Cruise Line removed St. John’s, Antigua, from upcoming itineraries saying cost makes Antigua “uncompetitive.”

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line is to

raise mandatory daily gratuities to $14.99 from $14.50, and suites to $17.99 from $17.50.

NCL Norwegian Cruise Line is to stop

featuring towel animals as part of its mission to use fewer resources to clean the cloths.

SILVERSEA announced one-night pre-cruise hotel stay in their air promotions on selected voyages to Alaska, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Caribbean voyages MSC Cruises is to add Butcher’s Cut speciality restaurant to MSC Divina, MSC Fantasia and MSC Preziosa from May, replacing Eataly onboard Preziosa and Divina, and Tex Mex on Fantasia.

HAL Holland America Line Introduced a

new craft cocktail menu created by Dale DeGroff

JUNE 2019 PAGE 28

THE FLYING COLUMN AER LINGUS lA321 delays have

resulted in approx 50,000 seats removed from the summer 2019 schedule. The ASL operation for Aer Lingus was given a reprieve as US Department of Transport postponed the termination of wet-lease operations by EU carriers until August.

DAA was told by Fingal County Council to provide a flood-risk assessment and more information on surface water drainage about plans to reduce the number of taxiways and relocate as part of its €320m runway project at Dublin Airport, including the relocation of electricity sub-stations, a new perimeter fence, and the installation of airside blast -protection fencing. The total paved area at the airport following construction of the runway is to be significantly reduced under the changes being sought by DAA. DAA has previously said that the changes to the runway project primarily relate to changes in aviation standards and compliance regulations.

ETIHAD Airways is to expand its

codeshare network with Aer Lingus to cover additional 11 routes: Dublin-Bilbao, Bologna, Bordeaux, London City, Gatwick, Milan Malpensa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Munich, Palma, and Santiago de Compostela & Zurich.

RYANAIR CEO Michael O’Leary said

Europe’s airline industry is moving “inexorably” towards five airline groups –Lufthansa, IAG, Air France-KLM, Ryanair and easyJet, controlling 80pc of the continent’s traffic, and predicted the purchase of Norwegian and TAP Air Portugal by IAG, the sale of Wizz Air to Lufthansa, and Alitalia’s eventual acquisition

by Air France-KLM.

BA British Airways new business class product Club Suite (‘the suite with a door’) will feature on its first A350 due for delivery July, with B777s and B787s to follow, offering “your own personal space to sit, sleep, work, or relax” isolated by a sliding screen,” manufactured in Co Antrim and customised by British Airways’ in-house design team.

SWORDS Dublin District Court’s ruled that no EU261 compensation was due to customers whose flights were delayed/cancelled because of internal strike action in Ryanair last year, as such strikes are beyond the airline’s control

DUBLIN AIRPORT The Gov-

ernment lost a Dáil vote on the Aircraft Noise(Dublin Airport) Regulation Bill with added amendment “The competent authority shall direct the airport authority to ensure that average noise exposure is reduced below 45dBL, and night noise exposure below 40dBL, such levels to be revised in accordance with WHO guidelines.” The amended Bill was passed 66 to 28, FF voting for. It is now before the Seanad.

LUFTHANSA Group appointed

Black Diamond as retained agency in Ireland.

AER LINGUS has dropped Dub-

lin-Murcia and Dublin-Stuttgart from the summer 2019 programme.

Dalton Phillips CEO of Dublin Airport Authority

The 40m pax plan €1230m to be spent on capital projects at Dublin

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AA says its suggested development plans would enable Dublin Airport to develop in a sustainable manner and accommodate 40m passengers per annum in the next step of a bigger plan under which the airport can accommodate 55m.

The plan suggests linear extensions within the DAA campus with bussing stands on front of the hangar area south of the north runway and to the south of the terminal area,avoiding a T3 or any need to acquire the

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McEvaddy lands to the west.

The suggested layout would require an estimated 56 minutes from T2 check-in to the most remote CBP gate.

The plan is exclusive of the North runway which is already cleared by the CAR. Proposed expenditure is now €567m on core projects, capital expenditure required to maintain existing infrastructure.

They include an element of revenue generating commercial projects,

and €1,230m on capacity increases, down from a previous estimate of €1,085m.Of this, €378m will be spent on T1, €568m on T2, and €214m on the airfield.

DAA say €926m of other projects have not been prioritised following an internal due diligence process,.

They say they would still welcome feedback on as part of this consultation process. Some works relating to the plans for 2025 and their associated costs have been deferred.

WALSH SAYS JETBLUE ALLIANCE WILL STAY

AG unit costs (ASK) are still distorted because costs that are related to Iberia MRO are included in cost per ASK[!].

ROIC figures are distorted because IFRS 16 which now applies to the capital base is different the old use of a factor of operating lease costs..

Willie Walsh says he expected the relationship between Aer

Lingus and JetBlue to continue.

“We are not proposing to make any changes. It is Aer Lingus’ desire that they continue to work with JetBlue,,.

We see no reason why we should change that.

I think everybody’s waiting to see where in Europe they actually fly to given the slot restrictions that apply to most of the airports that

they probably want to serve. So we will wait and see. But it’s a long time away, and it’s not anything that would be concerning us.

We engage also at the highest levels with the European Commission, and we remain confident in our position in relation to our structures and the post-Brexit environment will continue to operate,

Willlie Walsh

GERMANY TOUGH FOR RYANAIR

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yanair says there has been no significant change in its share of intra-EU capacity in the main markets.

Share in Germany is

still 9pc, short of its target of 15pc market share by the end of this year, and remains 20pc in England, Portugal and Spain.

In the airline’s annual re-

sults call Michael O’Leary said he sees growth opportunities in the big markets England, France, Italy, Spain, and in new countries, Israel, Jordan and

Ukraine. Scandinavia is difficult with taxes on air travel, but opportunities might arise in Norway.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 29

THE FLYING COLUMN ASL Airlines Ireland B757 operations for

Aer Lingus are among wet-lease arrangements that could be affected by the US DoT proposal to discontinue wet-leasing transatlantic

by European airlines that have exceeded 14 months in duration, an attempt to force the EU Commission to allow long term wet leasing by US airlines.

EI/QANTAS Aer Lingus’ partnership with the Qantas frequent flyer programme will end on July 1, the option of using Qantas Points with BAs remains on flights to Dublin.

VIRGIN Atlantic will fly daily B787between London Heathrow and Sao Paulo from 2020, its first foray into South America.

AER LINGUS launched Apple Pay as

Aer Lingus cabin crew with an A350, it is unlikely the airline will fulfill any of their nine orders

A350s transferred Doubts that Aer Lingus will take up Mannion order

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AG has transferred orders for four of the nine A350-900s ordered by Aer Lingus to Iberia.

Aer Lingus still has five A350-s on order, the order a legacy from Dermot Mannion’s time as CEO, but these are increasingly unlikely to be taken up as the airline focuses on the A321LR. While Aer Lingus initially placed an order for six A350 aircraft in April 2008, it increased this order to nine aircraft. This was achieved by swapping three A330 orders. In total, the IAG group has ordered 43 Airbus A350 aircraft. The changes to future deliveries were reflected in Airbus’s

The airline is monthly aircraft AER LINGUS FLEET order spreadsheet. also looking at yen A320-200 34 in service new US routes as The first A350s A321-200 3 in service were initially due the first of 14 new A321LR 14 orders to be delivered 5 A321LR aircraft on A330-200 5 in service order are delivered. years ago back in A330-300 8 in service 2 orders 2014.

It is claimed that A350-900 5 orders future A321LR can Instead, it looks reach the west coast as though Aer Lingus may be looking at the A330 of the USA. So far Iberia has received three instead, as well as its A320LR expansion.

Airbus A350-900 aircraft, the same The IAG Capital Markets pres- type that Aer Lingus had ordered. entation from 2018, shows the airline British Airways, who ordered wants to acquire four more A330 air- the larger Airbus A350-1000, is excraft and no A350 in the Aer Lingus pecting their first aircraft delivery to fleet for the next four years. take place later this summer.

KERRY AIRPORT STILL SUBSIDY DEPENDENT

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rofits grew by a third at Kerry Airport last year as passenger numbers climbed by 9pc to 365,339, the airport’s annual report and accounts show The airport is heavily reliant on State funding, both to subsidise the Dublin to Kerry route and to contribute to-

wards operational and capital expenditure.

As with other regional airports, it wouldn’t be profitable if either operational or capital funding was removed.

The subsidised and “critically important” Aer Lingus Kerry-Dublin route , operated by Stobart Air, recorded growth of 12pc and an

average passenger load factor of close to 60pc for the year, supported by new higher capacity 70-seat aircraft.

The airport spent €1.914m on capital projects, including taxiway resurfacing, navigation aids upgrades and additional airside equipment..

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for the A220 by 2.2t from autumn 2020.

This performance increase is achieved by taking credit for existing structural and systems

CORK Airport CEO Niall MacCarthy told Cork Chamber that advances in technology meant Cork Airport’s runway length would no longer be prohibitive and he would have a direct flight to New York within three years.

JETBLUE has called for a review of the slot situation at London Heathrow in response to Aer Lingus’ participation in the joint business agreement by American, BA, and others.

IAG is ordering 18 B777-9 aircraft, plus 24 options, for British Airways. They will be used to replace 14 B747-400s and four B777-200s between 2022 and 2025. Each aircraft will be fitted with 325 seats in four cabins. They will be powered by GE9X engines.

The engine order includes a comprehensive maintenance package with GE. The B777-9 list price is approx US$442.2m.

AER LINGUS CEO Sean Doyle said the A321LRX would be capable of reaching some US west coast destinations.

RYANAIR March passenger numbers were up 9pc to 10.9m, Ryanair grew 5pc to 10.5m plus 400k for Lauda. Load factor is an industry-leading 96pc, the first time Ryanair achieved that figure in March. Rolling annual is up 9pc to 142.1m. Ryanair operated 59,800 scheduled flights in March.

AER LINGUS March passenger numbers were up 8pc to 880,000 and load factor up 0.8 to 81.3pc. Cargo was down 12.5pc. IAG passenger numbers were up 5.7pc to 9.16m.

IATA said global air freight was down 4.7pc in February 2019, the fourth consecutive month of negative year-on-year growth and the worst performance in the last three years.

Board of Kerry airport

A220 CAN FLY DUBLIN-BOSTON

irbus used Boston-Dublin as an example of increased range as it increased the maximum take-off weight on offer

a payment method on the mobile app.

margins as well as existing fuel volume capacity.

This brings the range of the A220 to about the same as the A319/B737700. The publicity even

shows Boston-Dublin.

There is also potential for a stretched version, at the expense of some range.

TUI Group has sold a majority stake in French airline Corsair to a German investor in the latest step towards becoming a ‘pure play’ tourism company. INTRO Aviation will acquire a 53pc stake in Corsair for an undisclosed sum as a first step. Europe’s largest travel group will initially retain a minority stake of 27pc, while Corsair’s Employee Benefit Trust will retain 20pc. The sale will reduce the Tui group’s fleet by seven long-haul aircraft – B747-400s, 2 A330-200s and 2 A330-300s.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 30

THE FLYING COLUMN BATTERIES The US Department of Transportation issued an interim final rule that prohibits passenger airlines from carrying rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells or batteries as cargo, noting their potential of causing uncontrollable fire in cargo holds. The rule does not restrict passengers or crew from bringing on board personal electronic devices containing Li-ion batteries, or restrict cargo airlines from transporting batteries or cells exceeding 30pc of charge when packed or contained in devices.

FLY Leasing reported a year-end portfolio

of 113 aircraft (55 A320 family and 44 B737, of which 12 available for sale), up from 85 at end 2017, having acquired a portfolio of 33 A320s from AirAsia. Fleet utilisation was 100pc at year end and six aircraft were sold during the year at a 17pc ($29m) premium on book value. Average aircraft age was 7.2 years and remaining lease term 5.8 years.

RYANAIR is to add a route from Ali-

cante to Cork next winter as well as Berlin Tegel, Haugesund in Norway, London Southend 5w, Marseille, Porto and Toulouse 2w to grow 14pc to 4.9m passengers.

CORK airport opened a new Airport

Control Centre and purpose-built office suite, The Hub, with three operational departments Airport Police Control, Airport Duty Managers and the Airside Management Unit and upgraded technology and IT systems including CCTV monitoring of the airport campus, 24hour newsfeeds and flight information, police control, and alarm master stations.

TRAVELPORT launched a global campaign to encourage more support for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities.

WIZZ Air is planning to grow seat capacity by 17pc this summer, putting it ahead of growth plans by Ryanair (+6pc), Vueling (+6pc), easyJet (+5pc), Norwegian (-3pc) and Eurowings (-3pc).

PEEL A High Court judge ordered the

winding up of lessor Peel Aviation over the alleged non-payment of a US$15m loan in relation to the purchase of a 13-seater Bombardier Challenger luxury jet, kept at a warehouse at Biggin Hill Airport outside London for the last nine years.

MILAN Bergamo Airport predicted a

record-breaking summer season in 2019 as it helps take the strain of the temporary closure of Milan Linate.

QANTAS CEO Alan Joyce is to speak at Dublin chamber on October 10

BRITISH Airways was awarded the

autism friendly award by the London Autism Society

COBH A Cóbh Air Spectacular was announced for July 2020.

AIRASIA Group Malaysia sold its

100pc equity interest in Merah Aviation Ireland to Air Lease Holdings Ireland, which is indirectly controlled by Castlelake.

Michael O’Leary and Kenny Jacobs of Ryanair

Missing millions

Ryanair year end misses target by 3m passengers

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yanair have reported annual ruptions. net cash from operations in 2018-19, passenger numbers that were Ryanair’s balance sheet remains and spent €1.5bn on capex. three million fewer than an- one of the strongest in the business.

There were 29 additional owned ticipated in their presentation in Feb- This year, the company can afford a B737-800s added to in the fleet durruary 2019. €700m share buy-back. Profit mar- ing the year along with nine spare Excluding Lauda, annual passen- gin of 13pc would still be seen as a engines, two simulators and two new ger numbers were up 7pc to 139.1m. decent profit by many airlines. hangars, involving capital expendiRevenue was up 6pc on the preWhile the past year saw two profits ture of €1,541m. The operating fleet vious year to €7.56bn. warnings,the end year profit is 455 B737-800, up from 431 in Average fare was down of €1,024m profit, down 2018, plus 16 A320 with Lauda.

RYANAIR 6pc to €37. Revenue per 29pc and close to It recently concluded MARKET passenger was down 1pc the lower end of the a low-cost, €750m unAVERAGE SHARE to €54.30. guidance given in secured five year bank FARE England 19pc Ancillary revenue is February. facility. This facility, Ryanair €37 France 7pc now a third of the total It contrasts with Wizz €46 coupled with strong Germany 9pc revenue, having grown predictions o f Easyjet €61 operating cash flows, Greece 14pc 11pc to €17 per passenger €1.25bn to €1.35bn Norwegian €91 will fund this year’s peak Ireland 49pc last year. a year ago, an esti- Lufthansa €176 capex of about €2bn, Italy 27pc Ryanair effectively ran mate said to be “on IAG €191 maturing secured debt Poland 29pc at a loss through the winter the pessimistic side AF/KLM €210 and other general corporPortugal 20pc months, eating up €200m of cautious”. ate purposes.

Spain 20pc of their summer profits in a Predictions for Ryanair says H1 bookperiod that saw three major 2020 are more cautious, opt- ings are slightly ahead of last year, airlines go to the wall. ing for a very wide range in profits fares are lower and it is expected this Ryanair does not report Q4 separ- outlook, anything from €750m to trend will continue through summer ately. Passenger numbers in Q4 were €950m. They anticipate passenger 2019, and has zero H2 visibility. up 7pc to 29.8m, but published rev- growth of 8pc to 153m. Revenue per Michael O’Leary said flight crew enue was down 6pc, so average rev- pax growth of 3pc will land them in supply has improved with most for enue per passenger could have been the middle of this range with €850m. 2020 recruited and some recruits down by 12pc to €41.70.

Ryanair’s share price has since from Norwegian and Jet2.

For the full year unit costs. ex- fallen by a third in the twelve months The year sees hedging gains of cluding fuel, were up 6pc. Staff costs since, a similar decline to competitor €634m in contrast to a previous year were up 28pc, including 20pc pilot share prices. loss of €581m. Ryanair are hedged pay increases, investment in enginAlmost 95pc of its 455 aircraft at an average €/$ rate of 1.24 out to eering headcount, pilot/cabin crew fleet is owned, with 63pc debt free.

2023-24, training, and elevated EU261 costs At year-end the Group had €3.2bn due to the high number of ATC dis- gross cash. Ryanair generated €2bn

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RYANAIR 119 WINTER ROUTES

yanair’s Irish Winter 2019 schedule will total 119

routes.

Three of the routes are new (Dublin to Toulouse 4w, Milan daily Malpensa

in addition to twice daily to Bergamo and Knock 1w to Tenerife), and eleven new for winter: Dublin new routes are Bordeaux 2w, Bournemouth 4w, Gothenburg

2w, Kyiv 2w, Southend 2 daily, Pisa 2w, Cork new routes are 2w to Alicante, Budapest, Malta and Poznan.

Ryanair will grow 6pc in Ireland.

Ryanair say Dublin will handle 13.3m passengers, up+6pc, Cork 2m, up 17pc, Shannon 810,000 up 3c and Kerry 310,000, unchanged.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 31

THE FLYING COLUMN RYANAIR announced a revived route from Dublin to Toulouse 4w from October 27 as part of its winter 2019 schedule. The route will continue for summer 2020, operating daily from April 2020. It is the 25th route from Dublin and 36th from the island to open in 2019.

AER LINGUS

expanded its wetleased RJ85 operation with CityJet to operate a weekly Dublin-Birmingham return service on Saturdays when London City is closed. The RJ85 service will operate May 4 to Sept 28.

Boeing 737 max in Ryanair colours: the airline has frozen orders for 42 due in the coming winter

FR sticks by MAX Rtanair expects deliveries to be delayed until winter

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yanair has delayed delivery of its first five B737 MAX aircraft, due this summer, to winter 2019, subject to its regulatory approval by EASA. The 42 more due in the coming winter are now expected in summer 2020. Ryanair says all pre-delivery payments are frozen and Boeing will be expected to cover lost profits.

The MAX was planned to be about 1pc of the fleet for Ryanair in the short-term and capacity in the winter has not been scarce, so the impact of its absence is minimal.

There are only about 20 B737 MAX simulators in the world.

Ryanair has one with two more due

by end December 2019. At an industry level, grounded aircraft and delayed deliveries will likely constrain overall capacity and tend to stabilise fares. Individual carriers heavily dependent on the MAX such as Norwegian, Thomas Cook and TUI will suffer more, subject to what compensation they can negotiate with Boeing.

Ryanair says it continues to have utmost confidence in the B737 MAX aircraft with its 4pc more seats, are 16pc more fuel efficient and generate 40pc lower noise emissions.

Ryanair expect the B737 MAX to deliver significant unit cost savings for the next five years, although the

delayed deliveries in 2019 means that it will not see any meaningful cost benefit until 2020-21.

Ryanair is in advanced negotiations to sell ten of its oldest B737800s for $170m before the end of March. Michael O’Leary said he sees a large market for the type for freighter conversion and operation in China.

“Seven to nine year old A320s are available on five-year leases at less than €200K per month, but new aircraft prices are very high and lead times long. We are disposed to wait until the pricing cycle on new aircraft turns to a more realistic level.”

EASA has set out three conditions

BUZZ ‘SMALL PROFIT’ AS RYANSUN REBRANDS

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yanair Sun will rebrand as Buzz in autumn 2019.

The airline with a revived name operating on a Polish Air Operator’s Certificate and reviving the name of the former KLM subsidiary which Ryanair purchased and which ceased as a separ-

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ate brand in 2004.

Ryanair launched Ryanair Sun in summer 2018, with five B737 aircraft offering charter flights to and from Poland.

The Buzz management team successfully delivered a modest profit in the first year

CIT is taking applications from commercial pilots for a two year online Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business with Aviation Studies for the academic year 2019/2020.

MAAS Amsterdam based investment company Egeria acquired a majority interest in the Irish headquartered MAAS Aviation Group.

APOLLO XI Waterford virtual reality

firm VR Education is targeting major growth in North America and Asia after winning the contract for Apollo 11 virtual reality experience in Huntsville Alabama’s US Space and Rocket Centre to mark the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon in 1969.

year net profit for 2018, up 32pc year-overyear, but president and CEO Adrien Ney has warned of a “sharp decrease” for 2019 because the group faces “enormous pressure” in a complicated environment,

of operations. The Buzz results for the past year are included as part of Ryanair Buzz has taken over Ryanair’s scheduled bases in Poland and will operate a fleet of 25 aircraft in 2019-20, including seven for charters.

In its filed its annual report on Form 20-F with the US SEC. Year end filing, it said 200 customers in 80 countries, 436 trans-

AIR ANTWERP with headquarters at Antwerp Airport-Deurne, with shareholders CityJet (75pc) and KLM (25pc) with a capital of €61,500, has requested an AOC from the Belgian CAA, hoping to fly as from Autumn 2019, using a Fokker F50, between Antwerp and 3 destinations, including London City Airport. It succeeds VLM Airlines, which went into liquidation last August.

LUXAIR Group posted a €12.5m full-

NICE Côte d’Azur Airport announced

plans to launch ‘Nice Connect’, a new self-connect information platform to be marketed by Kiwi.com from Jun-2019, enabling passengers to view connections between airlines and highlight time savings during the stopover. Nice Connect is backed by an insurance offer which guarantees cover for those who have missed their transfer.

Buzz CEO Michał Kaczmarzyk

AERCAP HAS 1,058 AIRCRAFT

us Kelly-led AerCap reported 1,058 owned or managed and 363 aircraft on order in its portfolio.

MANCHESTER Ryanair and Manchester Airport celebrated 25 years of service.

Dublin is the busiest route for Ryanair from Manchester, offering 37 weekly departures this summer. Of the 64 routes which Ryanair operates from Manchester, 15 see at least one daily rotation, with 7 to Spain: Alicante (19w), Palma (18), Barcelona (14), Malaga (14), Ibiza (9), Tenerife South (9) and Madrid (7).

actions in 2018, $8.9bn in equity and $6bn in funding raised in 2018. Aercap is headquartered in Dublin with offices in Shannon,

Los Angeles, Singapore, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Seattle and Toulouse.

NORWEGIAN Bjørn H Kise is to resign as Chairman of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA following the AGM on May 7.

EASYJET said that following discussions with state-controlled railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and Delta Air Lines about forming a consortium to “explore options” for Alitalia, it has withdrawn from the process.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 32

THE FLYING COLUMN CORK Airport becomes the first in the

Republic to roll out the sunflower lanyard initiative supporting passengers with hidden disabilities.

RYANAIR announced a new base at Katowice with 12 new routes, five new routes at Athens, seven at Thessalonika, and are to open 9 routes at Toulouse-Blagnac, 7 at Bordeaux-Mérignac and 6 at Marseille-Provence a month earlier than anticipated.

OAG estimated Ireland is the world’s number 40 aviation market and number 15 in Europe, based on total seat capacity for the week of July 8 2019.

AER LINGUS is to move to T4 in Madrid Barajas airport.

SHANNON There were 130 diversions to Shannon in 2018, up from 113 the previous year, with eight declared emergencies up from five in 2017, including a bomb alert; smoke or odour on board; smoke or fire alarms; water system issues and pressurisation problems.

AER LINGUS expects 63pc of its Trans Atlantic growth over the next five years will be in established routes, through adding frequencies or up-gauging, as it plans to increase its North Atlantic ASKs at a CAGR of 11pc from 2018 to 2023 and take annual seat capacity in this route group from 2.8m to 4.7m.

DUBLIN Airport launched a tender process to transform 21 food and drink units with an annual turnover of about €35m and the second for four bars expected to generate annual sales of about €15m.

OAG data indicate Ireland seat growth rate of 5pc for Jan-June 2019, above Western Europe’s 4.5pc average.

IAA selected Frequentis VCS3020X for

all terminal and en-route control centres and selected air traffic control towers. Frequentis will provide communication systems for Shannon Tower and Ballycasey contingency and validation facility.

Aengus Kelly of Aercap

T

Lease increase Irish leasing industry grew by 21pc last year

he number of aircraft-leased

by Irish companies last year increased by 21pc from 3,300 to 4,000 according to figures from Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.

Ireland is the location for nine of the world’s top 10 players in the industry, including include Aercap, SMBC, Pembroke Capital, Awas Capital, GECAS and Avolon.

Numbers employed in the indus-

try increased from 1,010 in 2012 to 1,482 in 2016 with total pay in the industry increasing from €123m to €245m.

During the same period, the assets of the companies concerned increased from €65.8bn to €141.6bn while the industry’s liabilities increased from €60.6bn to €141.1bn.

The assets in 2016 included €4.8bn in cash deposits.

A recent Central Bank study into

the industry here showed that revenues increased by €2.4bn from €9.4bn in 2014 to €11.8bn in 2015.

Ibec group Aircraft Leasing Ireland which formed last year and consists of 30 members including Avolon and AerCap – said the sector is still “adversely impacted” by Brazil’s decision to list Ireland as a tax haven more than two years ago.

CAR SAYS NO TO B737 MAX COMPENSATION

T

ties in the main terminal, the state-of-the-art office space and airport control centre, at an event tomorrow morning.

Aerospace to introduce a new palette of customised LED lighting for its fleet.

LAUDA LOSES €140m FOR RYANAIR

DONEGAL Airport was named most scenic landing in the world by private jet service PrivateFly for the second year in a row.

CORK Airport is to open two new faciliAER LINGUS partnered with Cobalt AVOLON reported it had 553 aircraft

owned and managed fleet in Qi, down from 570, and 150 airline customers 150, down from 156.

SYDNEY and Melbourne airport lounges are now open to all international travellers.

NORWEGIAN opened a new base at Billund Airport, launching eight new destinations including Chania, Faro, Kos, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Ponta Delgada, Rhodes and Zante.

L

auda, with an Austrian AOC, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ryanair Group in December 2018,.

It generated 2.9m customers n its first year of operations against a prediction of 4m.

Lauda reported an after-tax loss of €139.5m, on revenue of €134.6m.

Including this item, which

another headache for Norwegian who had to rescue its Irish Boeing 737-MAX 8 passengers from New York using a Dreamliner.

Airlines affected by the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX following the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash are estimated to

be spending $35,000 per aircraft, per day, to lease replacement jets.

The cost will increase with passenger compensation costs for delayed or cancelled flights.

Lessors are scheduled to get 60 MAXes delivered this year and 180 the next, and have not placed them all.

he Commission of Aviation Regulation says compensation is ‘very unlikely’ to apply in the case of Boeing MAX cancellations but care and assistance applies.

The case for compensation could yet end up in the courts meaning

Ryanair treats as exceptional, group after-tax profit was €885m, 39pc down on the previous year.

Ryanair attribute Lauda’s start-up losses of €139.5m are attributed to the very late release of its summer 2018, low promotional fares, expensive short-term aircraft leases and an unhedged fuel position.

Aviation commissioner Cathy Mannion

Ryanair said Lauda now has target of 6m passengers and a more economical and larger fleet of 23 A320 aircraft, having signed agreements to grow this fleet to 35 A320 aircraft for summer 2020.

Michael O’Leary believes Lauda will carry 8m passengers and will be trading profitably by 2021.

Average ticket revenue

per passenger last year was €46.40, similar to the average fare of Wizz, with no ancillary revenue.

Lauda will no longer be treated as an exceptional item in the next accounts.

The Lauda after tax figure includes a tax-credit if €43.2m which can be real only when it is becomes profitable in due course.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 33

TRAVELPORT GOLF DAY

Thumbs up from John Spollen of Cassidy Travel,

Helen Kelly of Platinum Travel preparing to putt

Travelport thanks the Irish trade

T

ravelport hosted 44 key media at Druids Glen at the technology company’s annual golf and spa day.

Ireland manager Riona McGrath told the gathering; “The word that has come to me today is challenge. Europe’s answer to Augusta, when you stand on the 12th hole and look at the Druids

altar, it is challenging.

The golf course has been challenging.

“We also know your business faces challenge.

You are faced with challenges every day.

“What we want you to know is that we are with you to face this challenge. We appreciate your business. Thank you, partnership, and we

Riona McGrath speaking at the event

will meet the challenges.”

Paul Broughton of Travelport passed on thanks and greeting from CEO Gordon Wilson.

“One of the things that differentiates us is the support we provide on the ground in each of our markets across Europe.

We have got to deliver on the technology

side but the support is important as well.” He commented some of the golfers enjoyed the view more than they enjoyed the game.

John Spollen President of the ITAA said he was delighted Travelport was continuing to increase their presence in Ireland.

Philip and Tanya Airey of Sunway,

Declan O’Connell of Lee Travel, Joe Tully of Tully’s Travel, Kevin Foster of Travelport and Don Shearer,

The hosts Sharon Lyons, Riona McGrath, Rhona McCann, Joanne Madden and Tara Hynes,

Philip and Tanya Airey of Sunway, Helen Kelly of Platinum Travel and Pat Dawson CEO of the ITAA,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 34

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

TRAVEL TRADE SHOWx2 The ITAA’s Irish Travel Trade Show will double up in 2020 with an exhibition in Cork on Tuesday, April 1 and a new Dublin venue on Wednesday, April 2. Business Exhibitions says that the Dublin show will totally revamped as a result of consultation with exhibitors. Pat Dawson, CEO of the ITAA, said, “the Munster trade found it difficult to attend the Dublin show. With this in mind, we have decided to bring the show to them to save time out of their busy day.”

SKAL Bob Linnane is incoming president of Dublin Skål club, .secretary is Noel Carroll and Treasurer is Margaret Cronin Skål Dublin’s 2019 calendar is: Ashling Hotel July 9th.

BBQ @ Radisson Blu Hotel, Stillorgan. (6pm) September 10th. Cassidy’s Hotel, Parnell Sq. October 8th. Herbert Park Hotel November 12th. Guinness Storehouse, December 10th.

President’s Lunch, Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel Meet 12.00 Noon.

QATAR Jason Kearns of Qatar Airways

and Carrie Day of Intrepid Travel hosted key trade partners recently to the Árd Rí House Hotel in Tuam, Attendees drinks reception upon arrival and presentations before a fun filled pub quiz. Trade partners included Grogan Travel, Keller Travel, Best4Travel, Athlone Travel, Corrib Travel, Fahy Travel, Westport Travel, Kilkelly Travel, USIT Galway and Maeve Doherty of Travel Counsellors.

VISIT USA

is to revamp its visitusa. ie website to make it more accessible to the consumer market, as well as its traditional site visitors from the trade and media, said Chairperson Claire Doherty. She and Tony Lane hosted partners from Delta Air Lines, Visit Kansas/Oklahoma, Visit Utah, Hertz and Bradley Airport at Dublin’s Clarence Hotel.

JMG Tom Maher of JMG Cruises hosted

10 key trade partners on board CMV Columbus in Dublin and 145 on board Marco Polo in Cobh. There are 30 due onto Magellan on June 24 with a waiting list already in place.

UNITED Airlines is offering agents

chance to win tickets to New York in the new Premium Economy Plus cabin. Each bookings of a trans-Atlantic flight by June 28th for travel between May 20th and December 20th, submitted to clareanna.phillips@united.com with ‘Booking Incentive Sales Blitz’ in the subject line by July 1, complete with name, agency and email address is eligible with winer to be selected by United by July 3 2019.

LAS VEGAS Katha Spitz, the new

International Markets Manager for the Las Vegas CVB, made her first visit to Ireland to meet agents. She’ll be highlighting the everchanging face of the city, which has been upping its game in the sports arena, and now boasts a full complement of top-level US sports teams.

WENDY WU Bookings that include China with Wendy Wu between April 1 and May 31 will be entered into a competition or a 5-6 day trip to Chongqing in June 2019

Cover chaos

Premiums soar after insurance company withdraws

T

ravel industry sources say that insurance cover is at a nearcrisis level has rates for business have soared amid uncertainty about reform of the personal injuries regime in Ireland.

Irish judges routinely award damages for soft tissue injuries at four times the rate that is normal in Britain or the six counties.

Since last year, when Allied World pulled out of the Irish market, the lack of competition has been an issue.

One travel business recently saw its annual premium rise from €16k to €200k.

Pat Dawson of the ITAA said ”the premiums keep going u and what will happen is people will not be able to afford to pay them.

“We will see businesses close or there will be a major claim and the businessman wound have the insurance to cover it. Then the questions will start being asked as to why this was allowed to happen.”

French and Spanish insurers who looked at the Irish market cited awards such as @100k for a boy who had broken into a building site and suffered and injury and €400k for a woman illegally rising on the outside of the LUAS. Recent travel cases include a woman who sued Tour America because of injuries she allegedly suf-

Some judges have built a reputation for large awards fered on a white knuckle ride while which deals with between 30 and 40 on a shore excursion from a Carib- personal injury cases a year, recently bean cruise. described the insurance industry as A leading agent described the situ- “an industry for the legal profession.” ation as farcical, the quantum book as McDonagh claimed that some “a fiction” and the judiciaries’ treat- judges had built up a reputation for ment of the Personal Injuries Assess- giving out large awards. “There are ment Board as “meaningless.” some Santy Claus judges out there.

Peter Boland of the alliance for There is absolutely no consistency insurance reform has called on the when cases go to court because you government to have different judges with varying n Establish a specialist Garda Insur- experience, and some with little or no ance Fraud Unit experience in insurance claims. n Get the Judicial Council Bill enHe said Supermac’s barristers have acted by the third week in July recommended that McDonagh settle reduce sky-high awards for minor, cases when they go before certain fully-recovered injuries judges. “That is not justice at all.” n Produce a schedule of forecast reMcDonagh said he had reported ductions for reforms so reductions in three cases that were found to be premium costs can be calculated. fraudulent and was told it was not a Pat McDonagh of Supermac’s, matter for the Gardai to investigate.

TONY FLYNN JOINING CAMINO WAYS AS NAVP

T

ony Flynn, formerly of Ethiopian Airways and before that Royal Jordanian, has joined Camino ways as VP of North America.

Tony told Travel Extra he was looking forward to what is s

monster of a challenge, just as I like it..

Volker Lorenz of Camino ways said “we have 40pc of our customers coming from North America to experience walking holidays on the Camino, in Ireland or Italy with us.

“Tony’s role will be to develop the B2B side of North America and use his network and experience to find and work with resellers, tour operators, travel agents, charity groups etc in the US and CA and develop that business.”

Tony Flynn

TOBAGO AGENT TRAINING LAUNCH

T

he Tobago Tourism Agency has launched a new online training programme for agents and booking rewards platform.

Agents in Ireland can log their bookings and earn points towards a prize

draw for free holidays to Tobago, using the Thomas Cook Airlines service out of Manchester in the winter months, or Virgin Atlantic out of Gatwick year round.

Tobago Tourism launched a new online

training programme tailored to travel agents and in line with the island’s ‘unspoilt, untouched and undiscovered’ rebrand, highlighting four key areas, sea & beaches; eco adventures & nature; romance & weddings and

local culture, people & heritage.

Features include six modules, selling tips, sample itineraries and opportunities for incentives and fam trips. Stephen Smith manager for the Tobago Tourism Agency says,

JUNE 2019 PAGE 35

Inside the Travel Business

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Teresa departs

Spanish tourism Dublin director returns to Madrid

T

eresa Ganceda Nieto is to return to Madrid in August at the end of her stint as manager of the Spanish Tourist Board office in Dublin.

The popular manager of the Dublin office oversaw a dramatic increase in the number of Irish tourists to Spain, consistently turning in as one of the top four fastest growing markets and passing the 2m figure for the first time in 2017.

The tourist board moved offices from Westmoreland St to Dame St during her time. Irish visits to Spain are still the second fastest growing major source market and are up 7pc in the first four months of 2019.

I

The three directors of the Spanish Tourist Board in Dublin, Teresa Caption goes hereGonzalo Ceballos (2011-16) and Jose Manuel de Ganceda (2016-), Juan (2006-11) at Fitur in Madrid,

REMEMBERING THE FIRST ITAA PRESIDENT MICHAEL WALSH RIP

joined the travel business in April 1958, two days before my 18th birthday, as a grade 4 check-in clerk with Aer Lingus at their City Air Terminal in Cathal Brugha Street, around the corner from the Gresham Hotel. In those early days most travellers took the double decker Aer Lingus bus to Dublin Airport and full check-in and luggage despatch service was provided at the City Air Terminal (CAT).

1958 was also the centenary year of the Apparition in Lourdes and saw the first mass movement of Irish people to a pilgrimage or holiday destination. Every diocese, you could say every parish in Ireland was represented in this trail-blazing airlift to Lourdes.

One company stood out as the lead pilgrimage operator – Michael Walsh Travel headed by a young, enthusiastic travel visionary Michael

Walsh who captured the lion’s share of the Lourdes Pilgrimage business.

Michael Walsh and Michael Walsh Travel became household names throughout the country as, for the majority of pilgrims, it was their very first flight and their first visit to continental Europe.

Lourdes 1958 was not however Michael Walsh’s first venture in the pilgrimage business. In his early twenties he organised a pilgrimage to Rome for the Holy Year in 1950 and the very first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1954.

Following the 1958 airlift to Lourdes, Irish travellers ventured further abroad especially to destinations such as Barcelona, Malaga, Rome and Lisbon, all of which were served by Aer Lingus via Lourdes.

Michael Walsh Travel however did not capitalise on the travel brand they had established preferring to

TRAVEL Counsellors Ireland now has

80 members in the 26 counties nd 38 members in the six counties.

ITAA member event: the Package Travel

Directive and Managing Insurance Affairs Workshops with Anne Dolan will take place in Cork, Galway and Dublin in June.

Cork. Peter Boland of the Alliance for Insurance Reform has been invited to attend and present. He hopes to join the Dublin and Galway workshops n Tuesday, June 18th 2019 The Imperial Hotel, Mall Street, Cork from 6.00pm till 8.30pm Galway n Wednesday, June 19th 2019, he Galmont Hotel, Lough Atalia Road, Galway from 6.30m till 9pm n Dublin Thursday, June 20th 2019, Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8, from 6pm till 8.30pm.

AWTE The Association of Women Travel Executives AGM was followed by a development session with James Sweetman, at the Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport. AWTE is in the middle of renewals but now has 100 members with approximately 10 new members in the past month

ECTAA has carried out an Airline In-

solvency Review which recommends the introduction of a Flight Protection Scheme, amounting to less than 50p per passenger, which would protect passengers if an airline became insolvent while they are abroad (repatriation of passengers). ECTAA raised the issue of airline insolvency protection in the frame of the commission air passenger rights study. The consultants in charge of the study participated to the Airline Insolvency Review.

THOMAS COOK revealed a

Co Horgan concentrate on the pilgrimage business, leaving the charter sun destinations to English operators such as Sunflight Holidays, Flair Holidays and, a little later, to Michael’s namesake, Joe Walsh Tours.

CON HORGAN

Michael Walsh was 24 when he organised the first Irish pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1954

£1.45bn pre-tax loss in its winter half-year results to the end of March. Standard & Poor’s reportedly said that “in light of weak trading, material cash outflows, and high leverage, we believe the group’s ability to keep meeting its financial commitments in the medium term will be challenged and depend on favourable business, financial, and economic conditions outside of its control”. Fitch said that, although Thomas Cook owned attractive slots at airports, uncertainty remained as to whether it could conclude a viable sale of the airline by the end of September — the point at which the travel company will need to shore up its liquidity unless it can find other sources of funding.

PRINCESS Cruises launched what it calls a travel agent ‘promise’ to help reinforce its commitment to the trade, three guarantees that have been pledged by the Ireland business, including its sales, guest services and contact centre teams, to be on hand for agents seven days a week via Princess call centre with online chat facility, to deliver profitable growth for its partners with additional incentives including free sailings, monetary rewards, gifts and experience days and bring more agents on board to experience the brand during cruise calls to Ireland.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 36

WINDOW SEAT Last month in numbers

$1bn Estimated monthly cost to Boeing of

grounding of 737MAX.

142.3m Number of passengers carried by Ryanair in the twelve months to April, up 9pc

13,5m Number of passengers carried by Ryanair in April, up 10pc on 2018.

u5.6m Cost of Tipperary blueway.

2.8m Number of passengers through Dublin air-

port in April, a record for the month

4,660 Number of 737 Max on order from Boeing, now subject to indefinite delay

9pc Increase in passengers using Dublin airport as a hub $335,000 The monthly loss to lessors of a delayed Boeing 737MAX.

ROADWARD WITH GYPSY MIND

P

art gypsy Le Bas seeks to recreate journeys as experienced by his grandmother, the world of horse-drawn wagons and “bender tents” and seasonal hop-picking and campfires.

Nan has been settled in a bungalow for 70 of her 90-odd years but she is still alive with stories of the road. Those are the stories that prompted Le Bas, the author of this lyrical and keenly researched Traveller’s tale, to set out on his quest.

He uses family lore to conjure up the names of the stopping places, or, in Romani, “atchin tans”, many with a colloquial name – Shripney Corner, Jack’s Bush, Messenger’s

The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain by Damian Le Bas is published by Chatto & Windus

Meadow. He says that, in the memories of Traveller families, there are still thousands of them up and down the country.

Out of a Ford Transit van with cooking pots and a sleeping bag and a determination to take it on the road, to stop in the old places and perhaps discover the feel and texture of a lost way of life.

He journeys from Kent to Cornwall, down to the Camargue in France, up to Loch Lomond and to

Lake Bala in north Wales, where the Romany language is still spoken Along the way, he provides an insider’s account of the troubled history between the settled population and that way of life which has always seemed to threaten it.

In the end he finds the spot where Nan was born, and then the farm that she remembered most fondly.

The cannot quite bring himself to park his van up at either and unroll his sleeping bag.

Busman’s holiday: Des Abbott

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Des Abbott of Des Abbott travel

M

y first Holiday away outside the capital was as a kid to the Domican College in Newbridge with few of my pals who were playing Soccer at under 12 for St Saviours boys club We spent the week playing all kinds of sports and at Night we watched Movies on the big screen and I can still remember how good that week was to be repeated for a few years after.

When I joined JWT in the early 1970s it gave me the opportunity to travel abroad and of course I got what most people get when they join the travel business the travel bug and had my first holiday abroad to the 4 star Hotel Tropical in San Antonio in Ibiza which was quite a small re-sort then and I still have a great liking for Ibiza.

I

The following year I was invited on the First of many Fams to the great city of Rome and was Very impressed with all the fantastic old buildings and had a great weekend as it was my 21st and a cake was produced after a meal thanks to Brian Garland and Alitalia which made it an extra special weekend.

Later I went to Sites a few times and although the food in Spain generally was quite different today from those early days it was still just great to get away, I spent a number of years when the kids in the Algarve Salou Alcudia Santa Ponsa Ibiza and of Course the Costa del Sol with the odd visit to Greece and Turkey and for some reason Italy just never done it for me, Of course we eventually brought the family to Florida when they were all teenagers and it is hard to beat it for

Costa del Sol, favoured by Des Abbott weather food entertainment including all the various parks.

I still think that all the Parks are more for adults than for kids and truly awesome as the Americans say a must for everybody.

I went on a Cruise with Martha and another couple on the Oasis of the Seas, two years ago and we done one night pre Cruise in Port Canaveral, seven nights on the Oasis Cabin beside the lift and two nights in Universal Studios post cruise and it was a Carlsberg Holiday, everything went the way you would like all your clients’ holidays to go.

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

t will be nine months, in Travel Extra’s eriudite estimation, before the Boeing 737MAX is certified to return to the skies.

What will this mean for Irish aviation? A lot. Boeing’s biggest European customers are ALL from Ireland.

Michael O’Leary recently said he would be postponing the delivery of the first 42 of his 135 his orders until winter, and billing Boeing for the cost.

His 8pc pax growth target for this year is, no doubt, calculated with the delay in mind.

Without the MAX, it is not certain that Ryanair can grow at that rate. A likely scenario is that they will press Seattle to continue the supply line of 737-800, no doubt doing them a favour while seeking an O’Leary discount.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, with 110 on order (and two of their 13 in storage in Dublin), will probably

look at a similar solution to a problem that is accentuating existing pre-takeover cash-flow difficulties.

The leasing industry is in a more precarious position. They have to line up customers for the aircraft and, in the meantime, can be stuck with $335,000 a month losses.

Aercap have 100 on order, Avolon have 95, GECAS have 106, SMBC 91. Boeing should design a software system to calculate the cost of all that. Or maybe no.

For long hall I must admit it’s hard to beat the Far East in my opinion and Especially Thailand for weather food beaches and the people and also great value for money.

My favourite place where I have spent more time than anywhere else over the years is the Costa del Sol as the weather is generally good all year and it is easy accessible flight wise also it is hard to beat sitting in a Chiringuito on the beach looking out over the ocean with a couple glass-es of wine and a few tapas heaven for me.

What a great Business we are in,

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online June 17 2019

CANARIES ISSUE Lanzarote Gran Can Tenerife Fuerteventura WINTERSUN TRENDS

JUNE 2019 PAGE 37

MEETING PLACE

the dy Travel President of John Spollen of Cassi so Director of PortuITAA and Susana CardoDublin, in guese Tourism office

Faye Barzou and Lorda n Airlines, O’Hanrahan Tra Keegan of Ethiopian vel show, Monaghan, February 10 2019

Airport and John SpolDave Cromwell of Dublin sident of the ITAA, Pre len of Cassidy Travel Show, RDS Dublin Travel Industry Trade

Katie Doyle, Capture Tra Embassy, Bladhana Ric vel, Anthea Zanella, US days and Yolanda Fle hardson, American Holitcher, of Great Lakes USA

way Explore! with Sarah Elisha Bernie of Breaka sellors. Travel Counselun Appleton of Travel Co 4th - 5th 2019 lors Conference April

Geraldine Bradley of La die with Ann Mooney of the s Golf Times pictured Irish Sun at the Great Lakes USA dinner

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Karen Whyte of American Holidays, Linda Ryan Antonio Martin and Ainho Cobo of Andalus ia of Tour America, Maureen Ledwith.of Business Tourism with Pedro Garcia of Viajes Euroa me Exhibitions and Roisin Carbery of Tropical Sky, ica, Travel Industry Trade Show, RDS Dublin r-

Paula Cross of Platinum Travel, Lisa Warren of ng Rewards and Killiney Travel and Helen Kelly of Platinum Travel Darren Pearson of My Booki , Travel Industry vel Tra dy ssi Ca all pictured at the Destination Abu Dhabi event i Fiona Foster of blin Trade Show, RDS Du

Carol Anne O’Neill of World Onur Gül, Turkish Airlines; Darach Culligan, Trav- tur ed with Shane Coburn Choice Holidays picelworld; and Richard Cullen, Killiney Travel, at the Destination Abu Dh of Donabate Travel at abi event Bookabed and Flexible Autos,

Celine Buckley and Josie Dimatteo of ETravel at the Destination Abu Dhabi event in The Loft

ny Worldchoice Ireland, Jen Carol Anne O’Neill of rld Wo of g Kin ry d Ma Rafter of Aer Lingus an ustry Trade Show Ind choice Ireland, Travel

Lucy Maher of Travel Department and Paula Cross of Platinum Travel, USA Capital region event at the Ivy rooms, Dublin,

Deepak Jadoun, Rache l Kelly of Click & Go pic McAnaspie and Wesley tur Abu Dhabi event in Th ed at the Destination e Loft

Shane Cullen, Lisa Rabbitte, Emirates; Maureen Delmar, MD Travel; Filippo Rochi, Emirates; and Onur Gül, at Bookabed and Flexible Autos,

and ss of Platinum Travel Prize winer Paula Cro event ion reg l pita Ca A US , Aoife Gregg of United , at the Ivy rooms, Dublin

JUNE 2019 PAGE 38

MEETING PLACE

ad Lisa Tuckman of Se Leila McCabe of TUI an the Marker Hotel, at nt side Hotels, TUI eve

Agita Kurzome and Jan is Freemans of Air Ba ltic, Travel Industry Trade Show

yle Centres and Katie Do Bernie Burke of Travel Industry Trade Show vel of Capture Travel, Tra

Sophie Phelan of Stran d Swainer of Louis Hotels Travel and Chris , Travel Industry Trade Show, RDS Dublin

pital Region USA and Lisa Chamberlain of Ca ess Exhibitions, USA sin Bu Maureen Ledwith.of the Ivy rooms, Dublin, Capital region event at

Helen Kelly of Platinum of ATTS, Travel Indust Travel and Jialing Tang ry Trade Show in the, RDS Dublin

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Sunway’s Philip Airey and son Jamie at the Sun- Jean Maxwell and Bronagh Frayne of the ITA A. way and Constantinou Bros Cyprus hotels lunch, Travel Industry Trade Show Peploe’s, Dublin,

Yolanda Fletcher of Great Lakes USA, Frank Mcnt Caffrey of KLM/Deltas, Bodil Forsling of Mall of Bailek of TUI, TUI eve Niamh Gregg and Kasia 20 2019, America and Kelly Wolgamott of Michigan rch at the Marker Hotel, Ma

Ciara Dunbar of Click & Go and Julia Kasinska of Rotana Hotels at the Destination Abu Dhabi event hosted by Etihad and t Abu Dhabi

Ivan Beacom, Aer Lingus, and Ken Masterson, Skytours, at the lunch for agents hosted by Bookabed and Flexible Autos,

Marc Lynch, Elyse Horan, Karen O’Neill and Marie Byrne of Abbey travel at the Destination Abu Dhabi event in The Loft

Dean Dexter, Operations Director of Flexible Autos, with Beverleigh Hart, Colleen Butler and Lee Osborne of Bookabed,

Paula Coughlan of Da ws Brennan of FEHT, Tra on Travel and Jackie vel Industry Trade Show RDS Dublin ,

ura Maloney of Dublin Dave Cromwell and Ma de Show port, Travel Industry Tra

Air-

Mary Denton of Sunw ay Cassidy Travel Presid and John Spollen of en dustry Trade Show, RD t of the ITAA, Travel InS Dublin

Cruises with Claire Val Murphy of Celebrity lors. Travel Counsellors sel un Co Maher of Travel Conference Hotel.

JUNE 2019 PAGE 39

Out and about with the Travel Trade

and Mary Denton at the Sunway’s Tanya Airey u Bros Cyprus hotels Sunway and Constantino , lunch, Peploe’s, Dublin

Sunway’s Deirdre Swee of Best4Travel at the Suny and Trisha O’Reilly Bros Cyprus hotels lun nway and Constantinou ch, Peploe’s, Dublin,

r ene Hogan and Jennife r Rachel Conway, Sharl rke Ma the at nt eve I , TU Halkan of Club Travel Hotel, March 20 2019

Bernie Whelan and Ne ssa Hurley at the Travel Counssellors annual aw ards at the Powerscou Hotel rt

Onur Gul of Turkish Air Alper Kanburoglu and de Show, RDS Dublin lines, Travel Industry Tra

Alexandra ‘Sandy’ Sty ba Tuckman of Seaside Ho niewicz of TUI and Lisa Marker Hotel, March 20 tels, TUI event at the 2019

MEETING PLACE

Showcasing Abu Dhab i’s Mary and Derry Cremen of Hello France with Johnson of Jimeiran Ho finest hotels. Nicola tels, Julia Kasin John Booty of Wendy Wu, Travel Industry Trade Rotana Hotels and Valentina Sobesch ska of Show, RDS Dublin uk of Rixos

h Nicola Johnson of Cara O’Donnell, PR Manager at Stay Arlington Gina Liuzzi of Etihad wit stination Abu Dhabi pictured with Portia Conerly, Senior Destinnations Jimeiran Hotels at the De Sales Manager at Stay Arlington, eventat the Lof

Emma Lenanton of Yas Island with Jane Dawkins, of Abu Dhabi Tourism at the Destination Abu Dhabi event in The Loft

Melissa Rugg and Nia mh TUI event at the Marke Dunne of Sky Tours, r Hotel, March 20 2019

of the Capital Region th Higham, PR Director Be PR Manager of MaryBookabed’s Lee Osborne with Darach Culligan tured with Leslie Troy, and Richard Cullen at the lunch for agents hosted pic Department of Commerce. land

by Bookabed and Flexible Autos,

Sophie Phelan of Strand Travel, Centia Sanchez Olivia By rne , Orlagh Hogan an d Emer Thomas, of Lanzaorote Tourism and Darren Hutchinson of of Hayes & Strand Travel, Travel Industry Trade Show, RDS Dhabi eve Jarvis pictured at the Destination Abu nt in The Loft Dublin

Niamh Waters, Dominic Burke and Ciara Foley at the lunch for agents hosted by Bookabed and Flexible Autos,

Murphy of Celebrity Shaun Lyons and Val lors Conference in sel un Cruises Travel Co Poweerscourt

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The South Court Hotel JANUARY 11/12

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2020

TITANIC EXHIBITION CENTRE JANUARY 17/19

DUBLIN RDS SIMMONSCOURT JANUARY 24/26 For more info log on to:

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EXHIBIT! 123821 TE APRIL_ HWS 2020 FP_V3.indd 1

Maureen Ledwith Sales Director

Paulette Moran Sales Manager

Angela O’Rourke Business Development Manager

t: +353 (0)1 291 3700

t: +353 (0)1 291 3702

t: +353 (0)1 291 3705

e: paulette@bizex.ie

e: angela@bizex.ie

e: maureen@bizex.ie

3/13/19 1:23 PM