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from the editor – dedicated to those who love selling travel –
INDUSTRY COMMENT “Visitor arrivals to California are staying strong for 2014, especially in the luxury
sector. We will be bringing 60 travel agents to California in September for the seventh Super Fam and we’ve also re-developed our travel trade portal
(
traveltrade.visitcalifornia.co.uk).” Bethany Bond, Travel Trade Director, Visit California UK & Ireland
“Last month we welcomed 59,246 Brits to Tunisia, an increase of 7% on the same
period in our record-breaking tourism figures for 2013, and up a massive 48% on 2010. We are building awareness of Tunisia as a short break
destination for autumn and winter.” Mounira Derbel, Deputy Director, Tunisian National Tourist Office
WITH THIS ISSUE...
Rotana Hotel Guide 2014/15 Get up to date on this prolific hotel group's wide- ranging properties in the Middle East and Africa and the fantastic facilties offered.
Please note that Selling Travel, owned and published by BMI Publishing Ltd., is not connected in any way to Selling Travel e-magazine published by SMP Training Co. and based in British Columbia, Canada. The latter online publication focuses exclusively on sales skills and all aspects of professional selling within the travel and tourism sectors. To benefit from this travel industry sales training resource visit
www.sellingtravel.net
Steve Hartridge Editor
welcome S
eptember was a hectic but satisfying month that saw us meet up with several key trade partners and literally hundreds of our readers! It's also true that for the Selling Travel team at times it
felt like a whirl of non-stop networking and ‘partying’! First up, we launched our new-look magazine with a low-key bash at a venue overlooking Leicester Square in London. It was great to see so many of our travel industry friends in attendance – and we were even blessed by a 'Royal visit' (see page 20).
Eastern Promise Then we hosted a fabulous day of dragon boat racing on the Thames, in association with the Hong Kong and Macau tourist boards (see page 22). The Far East and beyond was also the theme of PATA UK’s night of regional food, drink, activities and much more. We were the media partner for a fabulous event at the funky Village Underground, in Shoreditch, London. It was great to see over 200 agents enjoying the tastes, sounds and traditions of the PATA region – everything from a Thai massage to being face-painted in the style of a Papua New Guinea tribal warrior (see page 22).
Dubai and Travel Agents Choice Awards And finally, barely pausing for breath, many of the finalists – nominated entirely by readers – in our Travel Agents Choice Awards were on hand to meet agents (and suggest reasons why they should win agents' votes) – at our exclusive finalists’ event. The range of prizes for agents to win was almost as star-studded as our line-up of industry champions. You can read about both these events in our November issue.
ABTA Convention Lastly, our senior writer, Julie Baxter, found the time to visit Slovenia for this year’s ABTA Travel Convention. Wowed by the stunning scenery, warm welcome and great, good- value cuisine she also found plenty of stories and food for thought in the convention sessions. Some of these appear on page 47, but for a full show review also see our November issue.
Published by BMI Publishing Ltd 2014 Suffolk House, George St, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 1SR, UK
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Publishing Director/Managing Editor: Alan Orbell Publisher: Sally Parker Editor: Steve Hartridge Group Editor: Jo Austin Journalists: Andy Hoskins, Julie Baxter & Laura Gelder Associate Publisher: Steve Thompson Advertisement Manager: Lisa Merrigan Creative Director: Matt Bonner Art Director: Dan Franklin Senior Designer: Tina-Lee McDougall Junior Designer: Louisa Horton Production Manager: Clare Hunter Circulation Manager: Cheryl Staniforth Managing Director: Martin Steady Members of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Visit USA Association, LATA, PATA, MENATA, SATOA, the Foreign Airlines Association and the Institute of Travel & Tourism. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, BMI Publishing cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. © 2014. Front cover image: South Africa
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