july/august 8 NEWS TO USE
UK visitors help Abu Dhabi exceed target
BY ALAN ORBELL LAST year was a landmark year for Abu Dhabi as the target of 2.5 million hotel guests was exceeded for the first time, according to Nabeel
Al Zarouni, UK
CAROL HAY UK Manager
Caribbean Tourism Organisation
AGENTS GUARANTEED A FAM…TASTIC TIME! AS I write, the Caribbean
Country Manager for the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. “UK guests contributed to our best year
Tourism
Organization’s (CTO) office is putting together the final details of our next familiarisation trip to the Caribbean. It takes place
from July 17-24, in
association with the Anguilla Tourist Board UK, the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority and British Airways. Can you imagine visiting these wonderful islands? One of the participating agents on the trip was lucky enough to win her place by making a number of bookings to the Caribbean and joining the CTO’s online training programme, Caribbean Travel Guru, and completing the three set modules. The lucky agent in question is Christine Fletcher of Travel2, so well done Christine!
JOIN US ON A FUTURE TRIP If you would like to be in with a chance to join a future familiarisation trip to the Caribbean then you’ll need to take action and sign up to the Caribbean Travel Guru! All you have to do to enter is log in to
caribbeantravelguru.com to register and sign up today. As well as some great programmes and training modules to complete, you can also gain access to all the latest news from the region,
details of upcoming
familiarisation trips and competitions. So don’t miss out, register today!
CONTACT US If you have any queries Caribbean
programme, regarding the
Travel Guru online training please contact
Ann-Marie
Brooks on 020 8948 0057 or by email her at
abrooks@caribtourism.com
Contact: Caribbean Tourism Organisation 22 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1BP Tel: 020 8948 0057 Fax: 020 8948 0067
caribbean.co.uk or
onecaribbean.org
BY LAURA GELDER MSC Cruises has launched a trade charm offensive and is promising to revolutionise the way it works with agents by doubling its staff, introducing new technology and offering more commission. The new scheme, called ‘Serving You,’ was first announced in July during the inaugural meeting of MSC’s new Travel Agent Advisory Board, which is made up of representatives from its key
agent
partners and will meet four times a year. As well as doubling it UK sales force,
MSC will
introduce a new structure, ensuring that each sales channel has its own specialist team, in a bid to cater to agents of all capacities. A 20-strong team of MSC Ambassadors will also travel the country to support the cruise line’s sales campaigns. MSC’s pricing structure has been tweaked to be simpler to sell, as well as
ever. The UK is Abu Dhabi’s second-largest overseas market. In fact, last year we welcomed 162,973 UK hotel guests, a 16% increase on 2012. British guests also accounted for 763,151 guest nights, a rise of 25% year year on year.” According to Nabeel Al Zarouni, Abu Dhabi offers
“an intriguing blend of
Arabian heritage and modern urban sophistication.
which is constantly
It’s also a destination evolving and
deceptively affordable” with an average room rate of just £70. New five-star hotels in Abu Dhabi City, include the Royal Rose Hotel, while the Marriott in the Central Market Courtyard will open before the end of the year. Al Ain City, known locally as the Garden City, will also boast four new four- and five-star hotels, including the already opened Hili Rayhaan by Rotana and the Millennium Golf Resort, opening later this year. The coming 12 months will see more bespoke training
for multiple and
independent
agencies,
as well
as
roadshows, fam trips and joint marketing activities to ensure agents are equipped with the latest destination and product information to best promote Abu Dhabi. The first Etihad Airways’ A380 flight out
of Heathrow will be the morning service on December 27, with 417 economy seats, 70 in business class and nine in first class.
It will also offer the new Residence cabin For one or two people, the only three- room cabin in the sky will feature a living room, separate double bedroom and ensuite shower room – and will also come with a personal butler.
Fares are
expected to be around £21,000 return, commissionable at 3% for agents.
visitabudhabi.ae
‘Serving You’ agent initiative launched to boost MSC’s UK sales
offering support for early booking drives. Commission will be flexible, allowing MSC to work with individual agents and tailor payments to ‘meet the needs of their business models.’
The line is also introducing a six-month events,
trial for commission on shore excursions, to be raised to match base commission. Technology updates will include a bespoke new booking system. MSC Book promises a faster service as well as access to marketing collateral. There will also be a new e-learning programme. The re-shuffle comes as MSC announced it is building four new ships. Including two revolutionary designs, they represent a 2.8 billion euro investment. Executive Director UK and Ireland, Giles
Hawk, said: “Our aim is to reach 200,000 passengers by 2017, more than trebling our business. Serving You signals our intent to make the trade our top priority.” MSC also announced it will introduce dedicated British Airways charters from 2015, serving ships in Genoa and Venice.
msccruises.co.uk
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