Informe semanal de noticias del mercado ruso de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en París
- Tourism industry and Competitors news
Sri Lanka: SETO recommends cancellation of departures
Following the amendment, on Sunday 28 April 2019, of the opinion of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs on travel to Sri Lanka recommending to «postpone leisure travel until further notice», SETO (Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour Operating) recommends the cancellation of departures until Thursday 16 May 2019 inclusive. TourMag
Flixbus acquires Eurolines: more than two players in the «Cars Macron».
The German company FlixBus announced on Thursday that it has completed the acquisition of Eurolines and isilines from the French transport operator Transdev. With this acquisition, there are only two «Macron coaches» companies left in France: FlixBus and Ouibus (formerly iDbus), a subsidiary of SNCF, which is to be acquired by the French carpool platform BlaBlaCar. This sale, announced in December by SNCF, is expected to be completed in late spring. Ouibus will be renamed BlaBlaBus, which should launch coaches on the German market. Echo Touristique
Airbnb imagines itself as a documentary producer to increase its bookings
Brian Chesky, the CEO of the booking platform, plans to produce documentaries and programs to encourage his clients to travel. This time the digital platform went further by producing its second documentary «Gay Chorus Deep South», which follows the San Francisco gay choir on a tour of the USA. Chris Lehane, Head of Communications at Airbnb, revealed that «the company would consider streaming films and shows through its application, as well as through other video platforms. TourMag
Amazon is recruiting to make a name for itself in the travel industry
Amazon, which has not yet penetrated the industry very much, has been recruiting for several months for its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, which develops Cloud Computing services, a whole team of technical and commercial managers, whose main mission will be to communicate directly with their counterparts in the travel industry, and especially with hotel operators. Outside of AWS, Amazon’s advances in the travel sector are currently mainly driven by technologies developed by the e-commerce giant, from the introduction of new payment methods to the deployment of its connected speakers that arrive in travel and hotel rooms. Echo Touristique
- Aviation news
Havas Paris Seven calls for hacking of unused panels in the metro for Transavia
During school holidays and public holidays, a period when the metro’s billboard park is not 100% occupied, Havas Paris Seven has devised a system for using spaces without posters.
As these spaces are green, the color of Transavia, the advertiser calls Internet users, through a video and social campaign, to geolocalize and tag @transaviafr in their Instagram stories as soon as they see a green poster. Offre Media
Alitalia: last deadline to find a shareholder before liquidation
The Italian railway company Feorrovie dello Stato (FS) announced on Monday that its board of directors had met and considered a new deadline for submitting a rescue plan for the sick carrier Alitalia. The British airline low-cost easyJet withdrew from the negotiations last month, while Italian Post and the state-controlled Leonardo defence group said they were not interested. Echo Touristique
The Quebec group Transat in discussions for its takeover
Transat A.T., Air Transat’s parent company, could be sold, according to our Canadian colleagues in the newspaper Le Devoir. Indeed, the tour operator confirmed that discussions had been held with various interlocutors, without specifying their identity. For its airline, Air Transat, the case is even more particular, since the Canadian Air Transport Act prohibits foreign investors from owning more than 49% of the capital of an airline. Echo Touristique
Air France: a plan of 400 voluntary departures announced on May 13
The Air France-KLM airline group announced on Thursday a net loss of €320 million in the first quarter of 2019, affected by rising fuel prices and falling revenues. The company is expected to submit a new voluntary redundancy plan that could affect 400 people by mid-May. In ten years, Air France will have implemented eight voluntary redundancy plans, reducing the workforce by nearly 11,000 people. This departure plan must be accompanied by proposals for internal mobility according to the employment areas. Echo Touristique
Boeing: the deactivated alert signal had actually become paid for
This is new information that could further damage Boeing’s reputation. Indeed, American inspectors considered grounding some of the Boeing 737 MAX last year, after learning that the aircraft manufacturer had deactivated the warning signal supposed to warn of malfunctions of the MCAS stall protection system, a source close to the file told AFP on Sunday. The inspectors then discovered that Boeing had chosen to make the light alert signal optional and paid for it, after Southwest had asked the manufacturer to reactivate it following the accident of a Lion Air 737 MAX 8 that killed 189 people on 29 October. Echo Touristique
- Travelers: Tour operators and travel agents
Visit Europe has high hopes for small Albania
With the creation of an office in Albania, headed by Monika Stipic, Travel Europe is enabling its subsidiary Visit Europe to offer tours and stays that will be supported by charter flights from autumn onwards. For the moment, the tour operator works with Transavia from Paris and with other companies from regional capitals via Vienna or Munich. The objective is still to «become the leader of circuits in Europe», which does not prevent it from going beyond its natural borders with the programming of Israel, «which works very well» and Jordan. Quotidien du Tourisme