- Tourism industry
TTG, 13 September 2018: What the government’s no-deal papers mean for travel
Travellers to the European Union will need at least six months passport validity after Brexit, the government has said. In its latest advisory on what will happen in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK Home Office states travellers to Europe will be treated as being from a “third country” under the Schengen Border Code. LINK
TTG, 13 September 2018: UK passport renewals no longer include unexpired period of old document
An unannounced change to UK passport rules means travellers renewing their documents will no longer have the unexpired period of their old passport added on. Until now, passport renewals have considered up to nine months’ validity of the old document, which can be added on ahead of the expiry date. However, starting this week, this practice has been dropped. BBC Radio 5 Live reported that the policy changed on Monday – without any notice being given. LINK
TTG, 12 September 2018: Cook Hurghada hotel deaths ‘caused by E. coli’ says Egyptian authorities
E. coli poisoning caused the deaths of two Thomas Cook holidaymakers in Egypt, the country’s general prosecutor has said. Cook agent Susan Cooper and her husband John fell fatally ill while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada last month. In an official statement, Prosecutor Nabil Sadek said post-mortem examinations showed E. coli bacteria to be the cause of the death, the BBC reports. LINK
- Airlines
Travel Daily, 13 September 2018: TUI launches two weekly flights to Croatia
With the Croatian Tourist Board reporting a rise of UK holidaymakers in 2017, which saw the numbers of Brits heading to the Eastern European country rise eight % and a 26% increase the year before – TUI has launched has introduced two new Croatian services to take advantage of the trend. Flying to Rijeka – Croatia’s most hash-tagged destination on Instagram this summer — from Manchester and London Gatwick the weekly routes will begin operations from the 23 May in 2019. LINK
TTG, 13 September 2018: Ryanair strike: Cabin crew set date for fresh 24-hour walkout
Ryanair cabin crew from five countries are to hold a one-day strike on September 28. Union members in Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium will act for 24 hours in a row over the application of various national labour laws instead of Irish contracts. Unions claim the strike will be bigger than the two-day walkout in July, which caused 600 cancellations, according to The Independent. A number of flights to UK and Ireland airports are likely to be cancelled. LINK
Travel Mole, 12 September 2018: Ryanair puts new summer 2019 routes on sale despite Brexit fears
Ryanair will base two additional aircraft at Luton next summer and launch six new routes from the airport to Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bologna, Cork and Malaga. It will also offer new flights from Stansted to Kiev, Lviv in Ukraine (pictured) and Nantes. It total, it will operate 23 new routes from airports in the southeast next summer, including 14 from Southend to Alicante, Bilbao, Brest, Copenhagen, Cluj in Romania, Corfu, Dublin, Faro, Kosice in Slovakia, Malaga, Milan, Palma, Reus and Venice. LINK
Travel Mole, 11 September 2018: Ryanair to add flights from Exeter for summer 2019
Ryanair is to launch its first flights from Exeter next April. The budget airline will offer flights to Malaga (pictured), Malta and Naples throughout the summer. It will offer a total of six flights a week, flying up to 80,000 passengers from the Devon airport. Ryanair spokesman Robin Kiely said: «We’re pleased to announce Ryanair’s low fares have arrived at Exeter, our newest airport and 21st in the UK. LINK
- Travellers and travel agents
Travel Weekly, 12 September 2018: Jet2 expands Northern Lights programme
Jet2 and Jet2CityBreaks is expanding a newly-introduced Iceland programme. More flights are being added from Leeds Bradford and Newcastle airports due to demand. New short breaks have been added from both bases just weeks after the Iceland programme went on sale. The expansion means a total of 12 trips are now available from Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle in February and March. LINK
Travel Mole, 12 September 2018: TUI to expand all-inclusives in Turkey and Tunisia
TUI is to open two new Magic Life all-inclusive clubs in Turkey and Tunisia next spring, confirming a comeback for both destinations in the UK market. The clubs will open in Bodrum, Turkey, and Skanes, Tunisia, in May, bringing the brand’s portfolio to a total of 16 clubs. LINK
Travel Bulletin, 11 September 2018: Jet2 kicks off new holiday campaign
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have launched a new national advertising campaign making use of the popular ‘hold my hand’ concept to target more holidaymakers. The company launched five new TV adverts this month, three for Jet2holidays and two for Jet2.com. Each advert is accompanied by the track ‘Hold My Hand’ by Jess Glynne and showcases the fun couples and families can experience during their holiday. The integrated brand campaign will be supported by radio, digital, out of home, and social media campaigns as well two online competitions offering customers the chance to win a getaway to one of the five-star hotels in Gran Canaria that feature in the new advert. LINK
- Competitors
Travel Mole, 14 September 2018: Landslide on Greek island beach injures seven tourists
A landslide on a popular beach on the Greek island of Zakynthos left one holidaymaker hospitalised and six others, including two children, with minor injuries. Video footage on local media websites showed beachgoers running in panic as a large part of a cliff on Navagio beach tumbled down close to the shoreline. It showed other tourists were lucky to have escaped the rockfall. One of the island’s main tourist attractions, Navagio is also known as ‘shipwreck beach’ because it has a shipwreck on the shore. Surrounded by steep cliffs, it can only be reached by boat. A 34-year-old Czech woman was treated for back injuries and was transferred to hospital, while the other six were treated for minor injuries. LINK
Travel Bulletin, 10 September 2018: Cyprus reveals record arrival figures for first half of 2018
The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has announced that tourist arrivals for the first six months of 2018 have outnumbered the total number arrivals ever recorded for a January – June period. Cyprus’ global tourist arrivals from January to June reached 1,645,149 – a 12.4% increase on the same period in 2017 – and of these, there were 560,840 UK arrivals representing a 9.7% increase. These strong figures have been attributed, in part, due to the tourism organisation’s promotion of its winter sun offering with February and March global visitor figures up 23.4% and 36.4% respectively. Moreover, June saw the highest volume of tourists ever recorded in Cyprus for that specific month. LINK
