generalnews the travel news that's turning heads Four go green


Four UK and Irish tourist offices have joined forces to operate a single system to endorse the quality of operations and criteria of sustainable tourism certification programmes. Visit England, Visit Wales, Northern


Ireland Tourist Board and Fáilte Ireland have come together to ensure that only bona fide schemes are endorsed and promoted by establishing a rigorous, impartial validation programme for these certification schemes. The new endorsement process,


Summer link to the Faroes


By Alan Orbell Faroese flag carrier Atlantic Airways’ UK schedule for summer 2011 is now on sale, offering a twice-weekly service from London Stansted between June and August as well as packaged holidays with tour operator partner, Sunvil Discovery. Services from London Stansted operate


on Mondays and Thursdays, from June 2 to August 29, departing at 12.00 to arrive in the Faroe Islands at 14.15. Return flights from the Faroes depart at 09.00 to reach London Stansted at 11.15, with return fares starting at £285 including all taxes and charges. For inclusive breaks in the Faroe


Mint-fresh Amsterdam


Mint Hotel is due to open the doors of its first international property – Mint Hotel Amsterdam – on May 16, with a four-star, 553-room property overlooking the IJ River on Oosterdoksstraat in the heart of the city.


The new hotel is a five-minute walk from Central Station, 15 minutes from Schiphol Airport and just minutes from Dam Square and other attractions such as Leidseplein, one of the busiest centres for nightlife in the city, Rijksmuseum and the brand-new city library. Each room offers a multi-media


iMac system, floor-to-ceiling windows for natural daylight and purified air conditioning. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi is available in guest rooms and throughout the entire hotel as standard. Opening room rates start at €199. www.minthotel.com


Islands, Sunvil Discovery is working with Atlantic Airways. Three- or four-star accommodation in the islands’ capital, Tórshavn is from £574pp for three nights, including transfers, staying in the Hotel Tórshavn. The 18 Faroe Islands lie half-way


between Iceland and Norway and offer a combination of spectacular scenery, great walking, fantastic birdlife and their own distinctive and fiercely independent Nordic culture. National Geographic T


raveler magazine named the Faroes the world’s favourite unspoiled islands. www.flyfaroe.com; www.sunvil. co.uk/faroes; www.faroeislands.com


Get well in Gran Canaria


Gran Canaria’s Spa, Wellness & Health Association (GCSW&H Association) has brought together the Spanish island’s top spas, medical and recuperation facilities to arrange bespoke wellness and medical holiday packages to suit the individual needs of UK travellers. With a healthy year-round climate


averaging 24 °C and its purifying natural mineral waters and Aloe Vera, Gran Canaria offers perfect conditions in which to recuperate and rejuvenate. Just a four-hour flight from the UK and with some of Europe’s best spa and thalasso facilities makes it an ideal destination to combine surgery, post-operative recuperation and holiday relaxation. Gran Canaria boasts some of the best-rated spa and thalasso facilities in Europe including the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort Spa & Casino which


has a spa set in an area reminiscent of a volcanic cave, The Lopesan Villa del Conde Resort & Corallium Thalasso, with its Ocean View Suites and private seawater pools, Jacuzzis, sun terraces and treatment rooms, and The Gloria Palace San Agustín Thalasso & Hotel, with its four high-tech sea water pools. The GCSW&H Association has selected


13 three- to five-star spa hotels within reach of four hospitals/clinics. www.grancanariawellness.co


undertaken by the International Centre for Responsible Tourism based at Leeds Metropolitan University, will both provide independent assurance of which certification programmes are fit for purpose, and will support all sustainable tourism certification programmes. Speaking on the new development, Xavier Font from the International Centre for Responsible Tourism said: “We are delighted to be working with VisitEngland, Visit Wales, Northern Ireland TB and Fáilte Ireland to make sense of sustainable tourism certification for tourism businesses and consumers. "Their leadership is to be applauded, illustrating a consistent approach that raises the standard of certification and their market appropriateness.”


theround-up ESpanish airline Vueling has launched


a new summer route from Heathrow to Vigo in northwest Spain with fares from €44 one way. Vueling also connects London to La Coruna, bilbao and Seville. Flights operate from London at 17.35 each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with the inbound service departing from Vigo’s El Peinador airport at 15:55. www.vueling.com


JELondon will have a new hotel from une 19 when the Ecclestone Square Hotel


opens its doors in a late-Georgian townhouse on a leafy square in Pimlico. The high-tech 39-bedroom urban retreat will offer state- of-the-art technology, including 46-inch 3D LED televisions and iPad2s in every room. The £6.5 million renovation includes handmade £12,000 Hästens beds in every room and high-spec marble bathrooms. The 39 bedrooms are split across five categories and have either garden or city views, some with private courtyards or balconies. www. designhotels.com/eccleston_square_hotel


EFollowing a successful pilot scheme in El Gouna in Egypt, the Green Star


Hotel Initiative is to be introduced in Taba Heights. Hotels are awarded Green Stars for successfully improving their environmental performance, saving valuable resources and cutting down on waste. The rating system is based on criteria set out by the United nations Environmental Programme (UnEP) and a range of environmental organisations. The scheme concentrates on environmental


management, water and energy use and staff training. Hotels can achieve three-, four- or five-star ratings depending on the initiatives put in place and maintained over a given period. www.orascomdh.com; www. elgouna.com; www.tabaheights.com


p EGray d’Albion in Cannes is now art of Worldhotels De Luxe Collection, an


international group of independent, luxury hotels. The four-star Cannes hotel becomes the 16th French hotel to join this group which is rapidly expanding in France. “Worldhotels meets our need for


international representation,” said François Portiglia, managing director of Hôtel Gray d’Albion, “and this network uses the most modern booking systems at sales level and for global distribution.” www.worldhotels.com


06 May/June 2011 • www.shortbreaksholidays.com


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