• Tour operator news:

Fram opens its sales for next summer

A total of 24 Framissima clubs in Spain, Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Cuba are already bookable for the summer of 2019, including several new ones such as the Zita Beach 4* in Djerba (from €390) and the Allegro Isora 4* in Tenerife (from €700). About ten other clubs of the famous brand are expected to inflate Fram’s brochure by next spring. Fram, which is about to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2019, is also counting on its «Preview» offer (up to 400 euros off long haul), launched on 1 December, to boost the launch of its sales. L’Echo Touristique.

Thomas Cook plunges back into the stock market

The British group Thomas Cook lost a third of its stock market value on Tuesday morning after lowering its annual profit forecast for the second time in just over two months. Reservations for the winter season are down 3% compared to last year, with stable prices. Reservations in the United Kingdom are stable but with lower margins. «The United Kingdom was particularly affected because the large number of promotions is in addition to an already competitive market for destinations in Spain,» the group explained. Quotidien du Tourisme

 

TUI adds 15 new hotels to its portfolio

And 15 that make 380! This is what the German group’s hotel capacity will represent in 2019. TUI has just announced for next season 15 new addresses, around the Mediterranean basin. The hotels will be divided as follows: 2 new TUI Sensimar and 3 new TUI Family Life, located in Spain, Greece and Turkey.

Sébastien Ebel, member of the Board of Directors of TUI Group and head of TUI hotels: «We would like to expand our range of hotel concepts for our 3 international brands in collaboration with our local partners. Our growth in the hotel sector is also supported by the TUI Blue, Robinson and TUI Magic Life brands, as well as our long-standing partnership with brands such as RIU.» TourMag

 

Tour-operating: what about the winter 2018-2019 sales trends?

Winter is looking good for tour operators. Salaün Holidays, FTI Voyages, FRAM, Top of travel, Worldia and TUI share their trends with us. Egypt, Cuba and Morocco hold the top spot. Salaün notes a good progression in the Canaries, while the archipelago «is a little struggling» at FRAM. TourMag

 

For the first time in France, a cruise ship convicted of pollution

The captain of the Azura (Carnival group) was sentenced on Monday 26 November by the Marseille criminal court to pay 100,000 euros for violating anti-pollution standards and using fuel too rich in sulphur during a stopover in the Phocaean city last March. The judgment states that the shipowner, the Carnival group, will have to pay 80 000 euros, corresponding to 80 % of this fine. Quotidien du Tourisme

 

Tourism: Greece, Turkey, Tunisia: the winning trio of summer 2019?

The German group REWE, owner of DER Turistik (2100 travel agencies). German tour operators are unanimous on next summer’s star destinations. Turkey is not a surprise because the German market has long been fond of stays in Antalya, Bodrum or Kalkan for example. But DER Touristik expects a record year for Greece. The French TOs should follow the trend on summer holidays in the Mediterranean with strong points in Tunisia and Spain. La Quotidienne

 

Seasonal rentals: Booking wants to catch up with Airbnb

Globally, Booking Holdings had cumulative sales of $81.2 billion in 2017. A sprawling company that tries, not without difficulty, to carve croupières in Airbnb in seasonal rentals. The adoption in 2018 of the new umbrella brand Booking Holdings (in reference to the dominant brand), which replaced the name Priceline, is a strong symbol of the company’s desire for convergence. «Our umbrella brand had to refer to the group’s largest subsidiary,» said Glenn Fogel. And then, the name Reservation (for Booking, Ndlr), that’s what we do: you book a hotel, you book a restaurant, a car rental, a flight…» L’Echo Touristique

 

Yellow vests make French tourism pale

The movement of yellow vests, launched on 17 November last, is slowing down the activity of tourism professionals, whether in metropolitan France among hoteliers, restaurants and receptive but also on the side of tour operators, with difficulties in Reunion Island. With one major concern: the impact on France’s image abroad. This image is all the more damaging as «Ile-de-France was in the process of recovering the figures for 2014, before the attacks. The subject of safety is important and it will be more and more important when it comes to choosing a destination,» emphasizes Jean-Virgile Crance. TourMag

 

  • Airline news:

 

Hop! rationalizes its fleet and pricing structure

With a view to ensuring economic efficiency, Air France’s short-haul subsidiary will reduce the number of aircraft types from 5 to 3. It will also align its fare schedule with Air France’s medium-haul «Europe» schedule. But the most important thing is the boost given to the subscription card, which will in the future have not just one but dozens of rates, roughly lower than those of the Flex range. And above all, it offers exclusive benefits such as Go-shows (the possibility of taking the flight from the front), after-shows (the flight from the back) and SkyPriority access. The price of the card remains unchanged. Quotidien du Tourisme

 

Easyjet: Winter news

This winter, Easyjet is offering more than 600,000 additional seats for sale in France, for a total of nearly 7 million seats. The airline increased its overall offer by 8.5% and by nearly 9% on domestic flights. Easyjet has decided to annualize several of its seasonal lines and add frequencies on its flagship routes. It also announces the launch of new lines from France such as Toulouse-Tenerife. Quotidien du Tourisme

 

Air France is making a dream film on its Dreamliner

Air France honours the most modern aircraft in its fleet in flight with 8K images, a technical feat. In partnership with Daher and Airborne Films, Air France has produced an in-flight video of the latest flagship of its fleet, the Boeing 787, using state-of-the-art technology for unprecedented 8K Ultra High Definition UHD images. Quotidien du Tourisme

 

 

 

 

Air France: Ben Smith, makes the suspense about Joon’s future last

One year to the day after the birth of the newest member of the Air France-KLM group, concern is growing among Joon’s employees. As rumours of the «millennial» airline’s outright closure grow, its pilots, flight attendants, stewards and ground staff are seeing their future become more and more bleak. And the response of the newly appointed Canadian CEO of Air France-KLM remains ambiguous. «If Mr Smith did not deny that he was not thinking about Joon’s end scenario, he said he had not made a final decision,» union officials say. TourMag

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