Informe semanal noticias mercado británico de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en Londres
- Tourism industry
Travel Weekly, 28 February 2019: One in five back blanket ban on drones
A complete ban on drones would be supported by one in five people, according to new research.
And only 15% of poll respondents thought that measures currently in place to stop drones disrupting airports were adequate, despite new government legislation coming into force in March.
The findings follow a rise in drone-related travel disruption across the globe, with flights recently grounded at Gatwick, Heathrow and Dubai airports. Link
Travel Weekly, 27 Febuary 2019: Wroclaw in Poland to host Aito’s 2019 overseas conference
Wroclaw in Poland has been announced as the location of the 2019 annual overseas conference for The Specialist Travel Association (Aito). The city in south-west Poland – often called the ‘Venice of the North’ as it stands on 12 islands in the Odra River and its tributaries – will host the conference from November 21-24. Link
Travel Mole, 26 February 2019: Heathrow to lower charges for airlines who fill planes
Airlines that fill their planes at Heathrow will pay lower airport charges in a new ‘landmark’ deal signed this week. Carriers operating from Heathrow currently have lower average load factors than the IATA global average. Under the new deal, if airlines manage to reach global averages, passenger charges could be dropped by 10-20%. Link
- Brexit
Travel Weekly, 28 February 2019: Easter package prices tumble 24% amid post-Brexit travel concerns
Consumer concern over post-Brexit travel has contributed to sending Easter holiday package prices tumbling. TravelSupermarket claims to have uncovered median price cuts of as much as 24% on Easter breaks over the same time last year. Package holidays are available from as low as £108 per person for a family of four during the Easter school holidays for a week’s three-star self-catering to destinations including the Spanish mainland, Algarve, Malta, Majorca, Ibiza and Corfu. Link
Travel Weekly, 26 February 2019: No Brexit impact reported by Ireland’s largest hotel chain
Ireland’s largest hotel group has reported no impact on trading due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit. Dalata Hotel Group continues to monitor the situation but has seen trading in the first quarter of 2019 as being in line with expectations. “We are confident in our outlook and we note the positive economic projections for Ireland and the increasingly strong tourist numbers,” the company said. Link
TTG, 26 February 2019: No-deal Brexit risks huge border delays at EU airports
Which? says additional entry checks at some of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations could result in significant hold-ups for travellers. According to Which?, Alicante would be worst affected if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, with 43% of all its passengers arriving from the UK. The watchdog’s analysis estimates a no-deal scenario would result in an additional 201 hours of immigration checks, on average, every day. Moreover, Spain would likely be the destination hardest hit by no-deal, home to six of the top 10 busiest airports for UK arrivals. Besides Alicante, these include Tenerife South, Lanzarote, Malaga, Ibiza and Palma de Majorca. Link
BBC News, 01 March 2019: Government pays Eurotunnel £33m over Brexit ferry case
The government will pay £33m to Eurotunnel in an agreement to settle a lawsuit over extra ferry services in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In December, the Department for Transport contracted three suppliers to provide additional freight capacity for lorries. Eurotunnel said the contracts were handed out in a «secretive» way. As part of the agreement, Eurotunnel has agreed to make some improvements to its terminal. Link
- Airlines
TTG, 28 February 2019: British Airways owner IAG expects profits to flatline in 2019
British Airways owner IAG has posted full-year operating profits up 9.5% to €3.23 billion – but expects its 2019 results to fall “broadly in line” with last year’s takings. Link
Travel Weekly, 26 February 2019: Virgin Atlantic Tel Aviv flights go on sale
Fares for Virgin Atlantic’s new flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv went on sale yesterday. Return flights start at £358 on the year-round service which starts on September 25. Link
TTG, 26 February 2019: Ryanair extends winter schedules from Dublin and Cork
The budget carrier will add a brand-new Dublin-Milan Malpensa route to its roster for winter 2019. A further six new summer routes have been extended into the winter too. From Cork, four new summer services will continue into the winter. Ryanair’s Dublin-Milan Malpensa route is one of 21 new services at the airport this year. Its twice-weekly flights to Bordeaux, Gothenburg, Kyiv, Southend and Pisa, and four-times weekly services to Bournemouth, will carry over into its winter schedule. Ryanair will also add extra capacity to its existing Cologne, Lisbon and Malaga services. Link
- Competitors
Travel Bulletin, 28 February 2019: Tunisia sets ambitious tourism targets for 2019 and 2020
Rene Trabelsi, Tunisia’s minister for tourism, said the north African country was on track to welcome 9 million tourists in 2019, a target he said is «realistic» after 8.3 million people visited in 2018. «We are ambitious but it’s feasible to welcome 10 million tourists by 2020,» Mr Trabelsi said in an interview with Travel Bulletin at the Mediterranean International Tourism Market, which is being held this week in Tunis. Link