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Editor : Ashley Gibbins
ashley@williamjack.co.uk
publisher: Travel Talk Radio info@traveltalkradio.com
USA
heads the destination wish list
America is now the UK's favorite
holiday destination according to an
end-of-year poll from Bargainholidays.com.
In the poll, 17% of the site's
customers chose the States as their top
holiday spot with 11% stating their
intention to visit during 2004.
Spain came in second, with 16% of the vote
and with just 6% of respondents promising
to visit the country or its islands next
year.
However, Spain still topped the poll when
it came down to actual spending decisions.
Only 10% of holidaymakers said they'd
visited the USA in 2003, while 30% of
holidaymakers had visited Spain and its
islands during the year. Second most
visited destination was Greece.
The poll also showed Manchester becoming
an increasing popular airport.
Results of the poll:
Top five destinations visited in
2003
1. Spain and Canary Islands
2. Greece
3. USA
4. Cyprus
5. France
Top five favorite holiday
destinations
1. USA
2. Spain and Canary Islands
3. Greece
4. Maldives
5. Thailand
Top five departure airports
1. London Gatwick
2. Manchester
3. London Heathrow
4. Birmingham
5. Glasgow/5. London Stansted
What people spent on their
holiday
-
£175 : 27%
-
£275 : 21%
-
£375 : 20%
-
£600 : 13%
-
£800 : 8%
Contact Laura Bradley at laura.bradley@rooster.co.uk
or 020 7691 3939
Opportunities
Invitation
to visit York
Freelance
or staff travel writers who would like
to visit York on a press trip should
contact Kay Hyde at kh@york-tourism.co.uk
01904 55 44 51
kh@york-tourism.co.uk
01904 55 44 51
Do you have funny story?
Stephanie Marston, Co-author of Chicken Soup for the
Empowered Woman's Soul is seeking stories for Living
Stupid: Dumb Things Smart People Do. If you have a humorous life
experience email your story (max words
1200) to samarston@earthlink.net. $100
will be paid for the rights to each story
selected. Copy deadline 15 March 2004.
Freelance
and staff writers wanted for ski press
trips
We're looking for freelance and staff
writers to join hosted and individual ski
press trips this season, in return for
usual editorial feature coverage. Absolute
beginners, intermediates and advanced are
welcome as lessons and guiding are
organized accordingly. We represent the
Tirol in Austria, Slovenia's ski resorts,
the all-in ski specialist Equity Ski and
bargain Internet ski company, Rocket Ski.
Contact Mary Stuart-Miller at mary.stuart-miller@virgin.net
or 01403 738844.
Domodedovo International Airport
Domodedovo International Airport, which
is Moscow's only privately run airport, is
rapidly emerging as the hub for the
country. This year it has attracted BA,
Emirates and Swiss Air to use its services
in preference to other airports.
The airport is planning further
extensions to the main terminal and has
space for another five or six runways.
CIoJ Travel Writers’ interested in a
visit to Domodedovo and Moscow to tour the
airport, hear of their plans and meet the
senior management should contact Tim
Blythe at TBlythe@MerlinFinancial.com.
New books
A new book on the City of London’s
churches has been
published by Bankside
Press. Review copies form Marion
Marples
on 07633 0766.
The latest edition of Gardens of
England and Wales open for charity has
been published in the Yellow Book of
Gardens
series. Review copies from Beryl
Evans on 01483 211535.
Visit Britain’s Where to stay series
has five guides covering camping and
caravan parks; hotels and B&B
accommodation in England; self-catering
and something special. Contact Anne
Jenkins ay anne.Jenkins@visitbritain.com
or 020 8563 3351.
News
Tourism contributes over £15bn to UK trade deficit
British travelers took 2% more trips
abroad last year than in 2001, helping to
make a record contribution to the UK's
trade deficit. According to the Office for
National Statistics, Britons made 59.4m
visits overseas in 2002 and spent £27bn.
In contrast, there were 24.2m (+6%)
visits to the UK by foreigners, who spent
a total of £11.7bn. This meant that for
every £1 being spent in the UK by
overseas visitors, £2.30 was spent abroad
by Britons.
The ONS said the difference resulted in
a balance of payments deficit for travel
and tourism of a record £15.2bn in 2002,
£1.2bn more than in the previous year.
Treasury adjustments reduced the
deficit to £13.9bn, but officials said it
was still the main reason for the UK's
overall £19bn trade deficit in 2002.Spain
was the most popular holiday destination
for UK visitors with 12.5m trips last
year, overtaking France (12.1m) for the
first time.
The average length of stay in Spain was
11 nights, compared with just five nights
in France. These two were followed by
Ireland, the US and Greece.
US residents made the greatest number
of visits to the UK in 2002 at 3.6m, up 1%
year-on-year, and spent the most money
(£2.4bn), with the average US visitor
spending £674.
The lowest spenders were the Belgians
with £186, but most were on short breaks,
and the highest were resident of the
Middle East (outside Israel) with £1,500.
Visit London meeting
guide 2004
The 2004 edition of ‘London - the
meeting guide’ produced by
Visit London
Business and Conventions (VLBC) lists
meeting, conference and events venues and
professional management services in London
and is a bible for meetings, incentive,
conference and events planners. It is also
available free by
calling 020 7932 2010.
Contact Zoe Shurgold at
zshurgold@visitlondon.com
or 020 7932 2076.
Guardian and Observer test digital
editions
Digital
online versions of the Guardian and the
Observer are
being beta tested with web users, If successful they
will be subscription-based, costing users £69 per year for the Guardian and
£29 per year for the Observer.
New visitor centre for the Somme
A £1.5m visitor centre located just
north of the Sir Edwin
Lutyens memorial at Thiepval will open in summer 2004 (www.thiepval.org.uk).
As well as learning about the battle of
the Somme, visitors will be able to trace
where relatives killed during the fighting
are buried. Thiepval stands in an isolated
position on the Somme and there is
currently nothing to explain exactly what
took place in 1916 - just the graves of
600British
and French troops and the names
of 72,000 British and South African
soldiers carved into the stone of the
memorial. The
visitor centre aims to
set the record straight. Contact Ann
Noon at ann.noon@franceguide.com or 020
7399 3535.
Industry
leads
Industry leads provides snippets of
information that might give a lead or two.
It is compiled from a range of sources
including
www.travemedia.com.
Scotland’s Adventure Pass
VisitScotland and Perthshire Tourist
Board have teamed up
with Scottish
adventure operators to launch Scotland’s
Adventure
Pass which offers a variety of
adventure packages. Racing down rivers in
white-water with friends, flying over the
hills in a
microlight, abseiling off a
cliff or climbing high above the glens,
these are just a few of the activities
offered. Contact Karin
Finlay on 0131 472
2338
Low fare London to
Warsaw
Polish airline,
airpolonia have launched a new low fare
route between London Stansted and Warsaw.
It is the first low fare airline to
operate between Britain and Poland with
direct services from London to Warsaw,
Poznan and Katowice. A one way fare
to
destinations starts from under £10 (ex
taxes) and a return fare including taxes
starts as low as £50. Contact Gill Wilson
at gill.wilson@cecta.org.
Brilliant Weekends go to Milan
Brilliant Weekends, the provider of
short-break experiences for groups is
offering two-night break for hen parties
to experience
the glamour of Milan. The
'Milan Makeover', will see each party
escorted by a knowledgeable concierge
throughout their break, and taken
everywhere from the top fashion houses,
shopping districts and spas to nightclubs
favoured by Milan's glitterati. Contact
Daniel Johnson at daniel.johnson@rooster.co.uk
or
020 7691 3939.
Evis contest and convention
Europe’s largest Elvis contest and
convention takes place at the Queens
Hotel, Blackpool from 30 January to 1
February. Contact Dave Sumpter on 07050
653014.
New water city in Slovenia
A new
`water city' in Ljubljana, Slovania in
2004 and is expected to attract 700,000
visitors per annum. Slovenia continues to
grow as a tourist destination with more
than 1.2 million overseas visitors since
January 2003 and a total of 1.6 million
skiers expected to the country's ski
centres this winter. Contact Mary
Stuart-Miller at mary.stuart-miller@virgin.net
or 01403 738844
Atlantic City’s new strapline
Atlantic City has unveiled Always
turned on as its new strapline
line. It is aimed at attracting the
30 to 65-age bracket. Contact Alex Bergin
alexbergin@hillsbalfour.com or 020 7202
6362
First Lake Tahoe Jazz Festival
The
first Lake Tahoe Jazz Festival, developed
with the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, will
take place on May 21 to 23, 2004 – the
week before the annual Sacramento event.
Contact Susan Shand at susie@celletpr.co.uk
or 0207 491 1112.
Emirates first with live Inflight BBC
World News
Emirates, the Dubai-based international
airline, has signed an agreement with BBC
World to become the first airline to offer
live BBC news headlines on its aircraft.
The new service
becomes effective
immediately. Contact Claire Franck
at cfranck@qbo-bellpottinger.co.uk or 020
7861 2446
How Quickly Canyouski
Europe's leading ski website, ifyouski.com,
has announced
the launch of a pioneering
'Short Breaks' service, targeted at
time-pressed ski fanatics. Contact Laura
Bradley at laura.bradley@rooster.co.uk or
020 7691 3939.
Dress2kill at Red Carnation Hotels
Red Carnation Hotels in London has created
the Dress2kill Package for male
executives, which features a bespoke
British made-to-measure two-piece suit
custom tailored in the privacy
of a
luxurious suite in just 20 minutes.
Contact Arnelle Kendall
at akendall@rchmail.com
0561 659 5974.
Windermere voted nation's favourite
free driving destination
Lake
Windermere, has been voted the nation's No
1 in a poll, conducted by car hire company
Avis, to find the best places to drive to
and visit for free in the UK. Contact
Peter English at peter.english@cairnsassociates.co.uk
or 020 7235 7773.
Direct flights to Corsica
A weekly summer service to Bastia from
London Gatwick launches in May when GB
Airways, a BA franchise partner, becomes
the first UK airline to operate a direct
scheduled route to the scented isle of
Corsica. Contact James Christie at
James.Christie@gbairways.com.
Smile Awards at the Langham
The Langham Hilton has
launched the Smile Awards. Guests
are given a nomination card at check-in
and if any particular member of staff
stands out they fill out the card and drop
it in to reception on check-out. Once a
month a prize draw takes place from the
nominations received. Contact Gill Sutch
at Gill.Sutch@hilton.com or 020 7973 7540.
Qantas low cost carrier to be based in
Melbourne
Qantas
has announced that Melbourne had been
selected as the headquarters for its new
domestic low cost airline. Contact Melissa
Heyn at melissa.heyn@shinecom.com or 020
7553 3335.
Development in Las Vegas
Construction projects of more than $4
billion are planned for Las Vegas. Contact
Susie@celletpr.co.uk or 0207 491 1112.
Vienna launches cabbie campaign
In London
Londoners
and tourists who hail a taxi over the next
thirteen months could end up in a
"Vienna cab" and enjoy a
Viennese Waltz and information on the
Austrian capital during their journey.
Contact Polly Cook at pressuk@austria.info
or 0044 20 7629 6146
New Weekend Magazine Launched
The
latest edition of Millennium and Copthorne
Hotel's Weekends Away magazine has been
published and for the first time has
involved contributions from some of the
UK's top travel journalists. Contact David
Curtis-Brignell at david.curtis-brignell@mill-cop.com
or 020 7872 2472.
Australian tourism receives funding
boost
Australia's
international tourism marketing has
received a windfall today with the
announcement by the Australian Government
to boost funding by an additional $120.6
million over the next 4½ years. Contact
Tanya Jarman at tjarman@atc.australia.com
or
020 8780 8635.
Pontins adds more special interest
breaks
Pontin's
has expanded its 'Gold' breaks for the
older age range. Contact Joan Pearson at
joan@beaconpr.co.uk or 01572 748800.
North Yorkshire's churches tourism
Nearly
50 churches across North Yorkshire have
benefited from grants worth in excess of
£20,000 from the North Yorkshire Church
Tourism Initiative. Contact Lesley Wragge
at lwragge@ytb.org.uk or 01904 701100.
New direct service London to Bratislava
Austrian Airlines Group are to start a
daily non-stop service between London and
the Slovakian capital of Bratislava
service in May 2004. Contact Melanie Grubb
at melanie.grubb@virgin.net or 020 7766
0300.
Longshot promotes overseas junior golf
clinics
Longshot
Golf Holidays has teamed up with The Golf
Foundation
to offer dedicated Junior Golf
Clinics during 2004 school holiday
periods. Contact Joan Pearson at joan@beaconpr.co.uk
or
01572 748800
Continental confirms return of Boeings
on Glasgow route to NY
Continental Airlines will operate the
wide-bodied Boeing 767-400ER aircraft on
the Glasgow-New York/Newark route in
Summer 2004. Contact Susan Hutchison at
susanh@harrisoncowley.com or 020 7404
6777.
Whitewater theme park in Reno
A whitewater park and kayak slalom
racing course has opened in downtown Reno,
the US’s only such river attraction to
be built in the heart of a 24-hour casino
resort city. Contact susie@celletpr.co.uk
or 0207 491 1112.
The back roads of New England
Coach
tour operator, Consort Travel has
introduced an eight-night 'New England
Back Roads' itinerary taking in quaint
villages in Vermont and on Maine's rocky
coast. Contact Joan Pearson at joan@beaconpr.co.uk
or 01572 748800.
Las Vegas Monorail
The Las Vegas Monorail will be the
newest attraction on the famous Las Vegas
skyline. When open it will reach speeds of
50mph and cover the four mile route in
approximately 14 minutes for $3.00!
Contact susie@celletpr.co.uk or 0207 491
1112.
New association for group travel
Premier Tourism Marketing, publishers
of Leisure Group Travel, Leisure Travel
Directory and TRAVEL tips magazines, has
formed GO (www.goexperience.com), an
association for group travel in the United
States and Canada. Contact: John Kloster
johnk@premiertourismmmarketing.com.
Four Seasons Sydney best hotel
restaurant
The
Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has been voted
best hotel restaurant in Australia, New
Zealand and the South Pacific in Travel
& Leisure magazines readers survey.
Contact Jennifer Sailer jennifer.sailer@fourseasons.com.
New Park Plaza for London
Park Plaza Hotels Europe has unveiled
plans for its new Riverbank Park Plaza in
London. The hotel will be sited on the
South Bank of the river Thames directly
opposite Tate Britain. Contact jstone@parkplazahotels.co.uk
or 020 7034 4815.
Five-star Aphrodite Hills opens in
Cyprus
The
Aphrodite Hills, a five star deluxe, Inter
Continental hotel with 290 rooms and
suites and golf on site opens in Summer
2004 on a 578-acre site overlooking the
Mediterranean near Paphos. Contact
Lysbeth Fox at lysbeth@halpern.co.uk
or 020
7351 2888.
Second Air Seychelles flight from
London
Air Seychelles has announced the
introduction a second weekly non-stop
service to Seychelles from London from
April 2004. Contact alexbergin@hillsbalfour.com.
Crimean War commemoration
The Russian Travel Company is running a
tour of sites from the Crimean War, which
marks its 150th anniversary in 2004; a
rail
trip on the Trans-Mongolian Express,
or a cruise on River
Neva near St.
Petersburg. Contact Laura Bradley laura.bradley@rooster.co.uk or 02076913939
Rail Europe
Rail
Europe's latest brochure provides
up-to-date information on European rail
travel options between now and Spring
2004. Contact Peter Mills at pmills@raileurope.co.uk
or 01732 526714
2004 celebrations In Newport, Rhode
Island
Celebrations
in Newport, Rhode Island, during 2004,
include the 50th Anniversary of the famous
Newport Jazz festival and the 50th
anniversary of the Tennis Hall of fame.
Rhode Island is home to more luxury Inns
and B&B's per square mile than
anywhere else
in the USA. Contact Anna
Catchpole at anna@celletpr.co.uk or
0207
491 1112
The Hong Kong Arts Festival
The annual Hong Kong Arts Festival, now
in its 32nd year,
has unveiled its 2004 program of events. The festival is
also
committed to commissioning work from Hong
Kong's
best creative talents. Contact
Rebecca Genin at rebecca@saltmarshpr.co.uk
or 020 7928 1600.
Inn to inn
Specialist operator, Sherpa, has expanded
its range of Inn-to-Inn walking and
cycling holidays. Contact Frank McCready
on 020 8577 2717
Families first At Chessington World Of
Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures opens a
themed land for preschoolers and a new
family spinning coaster in
2004. Contact Annalisa Hoadley
at ahoadley@freerangecommunications.co.uk
or 020 7402 9966.
Want to know about …
The Channel tunnel
The Channel Tunnel celebrates a decade
in existence on 6th May 2004, - ten years
to the day that the late President
Mitterand and Queen Elizabeth II
inaugurated the Anglo-French
project.
As early as 1802, a French engineer,
Albert Mathieu, proposed
the building of a
tunnel between France and England. In 1922, workers started boring a tunnel
from Folkestone but, after 128 meters had been completed, political objections
brought the project to an end. In
1974, another attempt was made but was
stopped at 1400 meters when the British
government withdrew
its support.
The Channel Tunnel cost £9,000,000,000
to construct and involved the removal of
eight million cubic metres of soil at a rate of 2400 tons per
hour.
With the first phase of the high-speed
rail link now complete, both sides of La
Manche are looking ahead to 2007 when the
opening of the second section will reduce
the Eurostar journey time from London to
Paris to 2 hours 20 minutes and 1 hour 20
to Lille. Also on the cards is a new
international station at St Pancras.
Contact Roger Harrison at roger.harrison@eurostar.co.uk
or 020 7922 4494
Diary 04
International Confex
: 24th to 26th February 2004 at Earls
Court. Contact Alex Shaw at
alexs@fridays-group.co.uk
or
020 7 917 1767.
British Travel Trade Fair
: 3 to 4
March at the NEC
Birmingham. Contact Ross
Williams on 020 7603 2168.
The Museums and Heritage Show
: 12
and 13 May at Earls Court. Contact Helen
Marriott at Helen.Marriott@kudocommunications.co.uk
or 01905 724 734.
Ongoing
Wherewillwego.com
Travel website wherewillwego.com is
offering CIoJ Travel Writers’ the chance
to submit reviews for its Travel
reviews from around t
he globe pages.
wherewillwego.com is
offering CIoJ Travel Writers’ the chance
to submit reviews for its Travel
reviews from around t
he globe pages.
No fee is involved (on either side) but
it does provide a shop window for your
features and a way for editors (worldwide)
to see your writing style. In return
Robert Jones of wherewillwego.com is
publishing information on the CIoJ Travel
Writers’ and will pass information on us
to other travel writers’ who approach
him
Bradt
Bradt Travel Guides are happy to
provide CIoJ members with complimentary
copies of any of their guides for research
in return for a mention of the guide in
print.
For a full list see their website www.bradt-travelguides.com.
Footprint
Footprint Handbooks (www.footprintbooks.com)
is providing the CIoJ Travel Writers’
review copies of its best selling guides.
Footprint publishes detailed, full colour,
guides which provide a wealth of
information to journalists planning,
visiting and writing on destinations
worldwide.
CIoJ Travel Writers’ can request
review copies of a Footprint handbook
although this support should be reflected,
where appropriate, in any copy produced.
Response Source
Response Source (www.responsesource.com)
is a relatively new journalist enquiry
system, which is now being accessed by
thousands of journalists and PR
practitioners.
Response Source allows a journalist to
send requests for information to public
relations agencies in specific sectors.
These agencies then respond direct if
appropriate.
The next issue
A very happy and successful 2004 to
all.
The next issue of the CIoJ Travel
Writers’ bulletin will be out in
February 2004.
Send your contributions to ashley@williamjack.co.uk.
ashley@williamjack.co.uk.
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