News 07.11.13 IN BRIEF


nONYX SETS TARGET OF 81 HOTELS Onyx Hospitality has accelerated its ambitious growth plans and now aims to have 81 hotels open by 2018. The group will have 35 properties operational by the end of the year and China, Sri Lanka and Malaysia are among big growth areas for the Thai-based company.


nGROUP DISCOUNT AT THE SHARD Groups of 15 or more now receive a 10% discount at The View from The Shard until March 31, 2014. The incentive will be launched alongside a strategy to improve the attraction’s facilities for groups, including a new dedicated groups desk to deal with visitor enquiries and experience.


nATTICA PLANS APP AND FAM TRIPS Attica in Greece will next year launch a smart- phone city guide app and fam trips for agents.


nAMERICANS TOP UK VISITOR LIST A study by TripAdvisor revealed that American travellers are the largest inbound market to the UK and are also showing the largest increase in interest year-on-year, growing at a rate of 23%. Travellers from Canada, Singapore and China are also showing significantly more interest in Britain as a destination, growing at rates of 21%, 19% and 18% respectively.


nME FOR MAJORCA AND IBIZA Melia is to open two hotels under its lifestyle brand ME in Majorca and Ibiza. The Majorca property will be on the outskirts of Calvia, while the Ibiza hotel will be on the bay in Santa Eulalia.


nCYPRUS HOTELS UNITE FOR SUMMER More than 50 four and five-star Cypriot hotels are uniting to launch the Summer is Cyprus campaign for 2014, offering 50 travellers a chance to win 50 seven-night holidays. Go to summeriscyprus.com


MINISTERS’ SUMMIT


‘Real progress’ made on visas – but in no other areas, summit hears


TOURISM CHIEFS have hailed the progress made by governments around the world on improving visa systems. Senior figures met at World Travel


Market to discuss the challenges facing the industry at the annual United Nations World Tourism Organization [UNWTO] and WTM Ministers’ Summit. Topics discussed this year included visas,


taxes and connectivity, but afterwards Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the UNWTO, said a breakthrough had only been made in one of these areas. “The area that much progress has been achieved is on visas, without a doubt, the


04 07.11.2013


other two are still a long way [behind],” he said. Rifai pointed to a recent report, which


used an index of openness, to track how visa requirements had altered across the globe. “In five years, in 2008 we had 77% of


the world’s population requiring a visa before they arrived [in another country]. In five years that 77% became 64%. That’s the progress, that’s real, real progress,” he said Rifai said that one of the ways forward


would be in the establishment of regional pacts, which would enable holidaymakers to travel around a region


Attendees celebrate at South African Tourism’s annual Ubuntu Awards “There are now going to be 11, I think,


without the need for multiple visas. “I just came back… from the Apec [Asia-


Pacific Economic Cooperation] summit in Bali, in Indonesia, where the issue of visas was top of the agenda,” he said.


Apec countries [that] accepted each other’s visa. Now very soon a visitor to one country will be able to visit the other country without a visa.”


Neal Baldwin THE ESCAPE LIST SCOOPS FRESH PRIZE


MANY TRAVEL start-ups are sitting in a “zombieland” of near death because the founders fail to realise their ideas are not good enough. Travel venture capitalist Timothy O’Neill Dunne said the industry was packed with fledgling businesses that are destined to never succeed, yet the people behind them continue to pour in money. Speaking during the WTM Fresh session, which saw six individuals pitch their ideas for a successful start-up to win funding, O’Neill Dunne claimed it was vital that would-be entrepreneurs had a clear vision about what “success” looked like. “It’s essential you have personal goals.


You have to get to a point when you can support your family or go out for dinner. The very worst situation is sitting in zombieland when you are doing the same thing over and over and spending more and more money. People need to realise their thing isn’t going to work and it’s time to get a job.” O’Neill Dunne claimed he saw four or five


start-up ideas a week and often the ideas were “half baked”, due to lack of proper research. “Start-ups need a team of people,” he said.


“It isn’t a job for a single guy in a garage any more. A good idea needs a few people and must be economically sound. “Ask yourself if a bank manager would


lend you money, if your mum and dad would understand it and how hard you are


Staycation website The Escape List has won a £5,000 prize after triumphing in the first WTM Fresh start-up competition. The site – which features high-quality


Many start-ups are in a state of “near death”


prepared to work. If you want to go on holiday, start-ups are not for you.” Despite O’Neill’s warnings, Thierry Wong,


founder of travel planning start-up UMapped, said the low barriers to entry meant there had never been a better time to launch a business. The popularity of incubator groups for tech start-ups means it is easy to find help from like-minded people. “Networks are great as you find personal


recommendations about who might be able to help. Most of our costs have been legal fees, so it has been brilliant to find a lawyer.” Wong also encouraged start-ups to apply


for every grant going. “It’s not necessarily about winning the money but about pitching in a safe environment. When you get in front of investors it’ll get a lot tougher.” Similarly, start-up spotter Sabine De Witt said many entrepreneurs looking for investment failed as they could not prove their idea could be scaled up to make a profit, but instead wasted effort talking about how they thought of business.


UK accommodation with rooms under £150 per night – beat four other new businesses in the Dragons’ Den-style contest. Co-founder Jaime Rose said she hit on the idea for the site after repeatedly struggling to find affordable yet luxurious domestic hotels online. Development of The Escape List began in January this year, and initially listed hotels recommended by friends and family. “Accommodation websites are either mass market or too high-end. We have created an image-heavy site that is simple to use. It features TripAdvisor reviews and a direct link to the hotels featured. We check every property and if we get bad feedback we’ll remove them.” The Escape List makes its money by


charging a listing fee to hotels and offers properties help with marketing. It has 85 hotels, but aims to have 350 within a year. Also shortlisted were luxury hotel site


LuxTripper, online ski guide Snow Report, Caribbean holiday planning site Sugarcake and long-term holiday planner Sujester. The Escape List will also benefit from mentoring help and access to Sabre APIs.


Travel start-ups in ‘zombieland’


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