Hong Kong Airlines to Use Kung Fu on Trouble-making Passengers
Drunken, loud, rude and generally trouble-making passengers can be a real hassle on a flight. They are a pain for the on board staff and for the other passengers. Apparently kind words and the fear of being arrested after the landing is not enough to deal with such air carrier passengers. Therefore, Hong Kong Airliens is now requiring all their flight crews to learn wing chun, a form of kung fu to properly handle troublesome passengers.
“Hong Kong Airlines said all staff had been invited to undergo training in wing chun — a form of kung fu used in close-range combat — but it was only compulsory for cabin crew,” read an AFP report quoted by USA Today. Read more…
Brazil Uses New Rio Animation as Tourism Booster
Courtesy of IMDB.com
Movies sell travel destination and Brazil authorities are quite aware of that. That is why they plan to use the global release of the Rio 3-D animation to promote the country as an appealing tourist destination.
The Brazilian tourism board Embratur said the promotional campaign will feature a video, “Brazil Calls You. Celebrate Life Here”, which will be aired before the film screenings around the world during the next weekend, the debut weekend of Rio, a month after the Brazilian release. Read more…
iXiGO, iPhone and Android app to book the best travel deals
By accessing iXiGO’s global travel search engine, the mobile app aggregates all the travel information you need under one interface. The app’s benefit is less time spent searching for tickets and locations, while allowing users to keep their travel preferences and choices and still go with their favorite booking provider.
Boarding uses Twitter to help find fellow travelers in airports
So you are all alone in a foreign airport and all you have to do is count the floor tiles? That can only happen if you have never heard of Boarding.
Boarding is a very simple and intuitive app. It uses your Twitter account to help you meet people that are in the same predicament as you are – all alone in a forging airport.
How it works: Just post a twit followed by your airport code. For example “#boarding LHR” for London’s Heathrow. The app automatically puts you on the list of people that have done the same and then shows you that list. Send a private message to one of them and bam! No more floor tile counting! Read more…
Theme Park Moves Ride Because of Creepy Ghost
Ghosts, poltergeists and other paranormal activities are usually a blessing for any touristic venue. They attract thousands and thousands of visitors that chase encounters with other dimensions and usually translate into lots of revenue. But a British theme park learned a very hard to swallow lesson: sometimes ghosts are too creepy and cost you money, as you need to move out of their way!
Surrey-based Thorpe Park, one of Britain’s largest amusement parks, had to relocate their latest water ride after workers reported seeing what they described as a headless monk, felt sudden cold sensations and had the weird feeling someone was always looking over their shoulders during the construction. I’ve seen enough Supernatural episodes to know it’s better to run than face a headless ghost! Read more…
Ryanair Flight to Spain Hit by Students’ Protest over Fees
Did you ever think an air carrier fees for baggage could start a mutiny? It happened on a Ryanair flight in Spain where about a 100 students got tired of paying extra for their bags and told the airline representatives exactly what they thought about it. The police had to take action and remove the angry students that were getting ready to embark on a flight in the Canary Islands, the Lanzarote airport, heading to Charleroi in Belgium. Read more…
UK Travel Industry Assess Effect of Prince William and Kate Middleton Royal Wedding
The coming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton has the travel agents and tour operators concerned that people might delay their holidays, as this event is expected to have the same impact as this year’s world cup among the Britons. Such an effect, added to the effect of the ash cloud and the earlier mentioned World Cup could seriously damage tourism agencies’ business.
It’s fair to say, as we see with major sporting events, it may cause people to delay booking their holidays until after the wedding takes place,” said Sean Tipton, the spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta).
Mike Greenacre, the managing director of Co‑operative Travel, which has 400 travel agencies across Britain, said it was too early to assess the impact. We haven’t experienced anything on this scale since Charles and Diana were married.
However, in the opinion of Thomson, the UK’s largest tour operator, the impact would have been greater if the wedding date would have been chosen during summer time.
Ian Bradley, spokesman for Aito, the Association of Independent Tour Operators, believed there would be a small dip, but said: I wouldn’t imagine it will be anything significant. While these two [William and Kate] are likeable, it’s not going to have the same impact as when the Queen or Prince Charles and Diana got married. It’s not a national event like it used to be, and people can watch it just as easily in their hotel room in Mauritius.
Indeed, Thomson said the majority of its foreign hotels will show the event on television and many will hold celebrations, so its customers can “enjoy the occasion in a relaxed holiday atmosphere”.
As the monarchy is a great tourist attraction, bringing an income of over £500 million per year, the inbound travelling is expected to greatly increase.
“The benefit of a royal wedding year is likely to outstrip [any loss],” said Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain.
“William and Kate are a modern couple. They go to nightclubs and they are outdoor people, which gives us the chance to talk about these activities on offer to overseas visitors. It is the most wonderful publicity boost.”
“The youth and vigour of the couple is very attractive. Millions of people around the world are certain to see the wedding as the perfect moment to come to Britain.”
Romantic breaks and special couples attractions have been prepared by tours operators for tourists that plan to visit Kenya, the country where the royal proposal took place. Also there are high hopes of the royal honeymoon being copied.
