TUI, First European Tour Operator to Obtain Tourism License in China
German travel group TUI AG is the first European tour operator to obtain a license in China allowing them to organize and promote international travel packages to holidaymakers from the country. Chinese tourists are on the way of becoming the biggest spenders on international vacations and TUI wants to capitalize on this potential.
The German travel company operates in China through the TUI China Travel, a join venture of which 75% is owned by TUI and the rest by the China Travel Service. Since being established in 2003, the company mainly focused on China vacations promoted to travelers from other countries where TUI operates. 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.
Who’s Better At Coming up with the Perfect Trip: You or an Agency?
There are three possibilities when it comes to travel planning: (1) do it all yourself, (2) have an agency arrange lodging and transportation and worry about what to do yourself and (3) leave it all to the agency and just show up and follow their lead. Each of these approaches comes with ups and downs and it also depends on the traveler’s personality, available or inexistent planning time and other such circumstances.
As I want to make it easier for you to choose how to have your trip planned, I’ll explore all these possibilities and focus on what’s good and bad about them. Relax, stay tuned and decide after reading this.
I Am the Master of Disaster
DIY trips come with all the freedom you’ve always dreamed of. Everything is exactly how you wanted it and you have control over every detail. You’re also responsible for every detail of your trip. But if you think you know best what you like, if you don’t want a standardized trip and want to just put your inventiveness to work, you should really go for it.
With all readily available online, finding a hotel, discovering all the major attractions and estimating costs and time can be quite easy. You’ll have to keep a close eye on travel blogs, forums and online booking site reviews.
Thumbs up:
* Everything is your choice, from how you get there, to the hotel and what you visit
* You can change everything as you go if you have a better idea
* You will not be forced to travel with people you don’t know and might not share interests with
Thumbs down:
* It takes a very long time to organize everything
* You might not find out about all the cool places to see and fun stuff to do; also might overlook important details and find everything closed (museums and other attractions)
* You might not estimate everything correctly: time, prices, fun factor
With a Little Help from my Friends…
Partly relying on an agency when planning your trip might spare you quite an effort. You can just email them their request and have everything booked for you, at a certain price. You can have them book your stay, arrange for transportation and go.
Thumbs up:
* Easier to organize and less of a hassle for you
* More time to research what to do on the trip instead of worrying on how to get there
* You still have enough freedom to do what you like and change plans each day
Thumbs down:
* It might not be the best deal you could get. Don’t only think money, also think location and other such details
* As the booking decision is based on just a few objective request, it might not be exactly what you dreamed of
* You’re still left with the largest time consumer and hard part of it all: planning everything you’ll do while you’re there.
Someone Else Has to Worry about EVERYTHING!
There’s a wide range of ready made vacations you can choose from. Everything is already scheduled – from your meals to your activities, and you’ll also have a couple of hours of time to do things on yourself.
Thumbs up:
* Everything is ready for you, you just need to show up
* Groups get discounts when visiting, so when it comes to expensive museums, you can have a big smile on your face
* They agency know everything tourists like and it will all be there for you. If anything is closed, they have 3 other objectives to replace it
Thumbs down:
*Most of the times, you travel with groups of people who can get on your toes quite often
*Your own plans don’t really matter
*The agency might want you to see so much that everything will be in a hurry, no time to really enjoy.
As you can see, there’s something for everyone of us, from the individual travel that wants to do it all on their own, to the lazier ones of us who just want to enjoy their time off work with no real worries on their minds. You should decide what you want and then mix the ingredients to your spell accordingly. But choose wisely, all trips are meant to be enjoyed.
