what’s hot in 2015
47
ahead Looking & booking
Colombia After the launch of Avianca’s direct fl ights from Heathrow to Bogota this year, KLM will resume fl ights to the capital in March 2015, the latest display of confi dence in Colombia as a mainstream destination. This comes almost exactly a year after the ‘Colombia is Magical Realism’ campaign replaced ‘The Only Risk is Wanting to Stay’ tagline – showing that the country has moved beyond having to fi rst fi ght negative perceptions.
Sell what? UNESCO World Heritage city Cartagena is still top of the list for visitors, with cruise ships set to bring over 505,000 visitors to the Caribbean city during the 2014/15 season. But other attractions include capital Bogota and party city Medellin (where Pablo Escobar tours are popular), the adventure capital of San Gil, Tayrona National Park on the Caribbean coast and the coffee triangle.
Every year comes with its challenges and opportunities and sees destinations gaining or losing their appeal. Laura Gelder suggests some that should be top of most hit lists in 2015
Belgium Next year marks the 200-year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. A milestone in European history, the battle involved many nations, ended over 20 years of confl ict in Europe and heralded over 50 years of peace and stability. A special bicentenary celebration will take place from June 18-21, including a series of the largest battle re-enactments ever seen in Europe and a spectacular light and sound show over the Butte de Lion memorial mound.
Hot tip: As well as the Waterloo anniversary , Belgium’s southern city Mons has been declared European Capital of Culture 2015, meaning a year-long programme of events and festivals.
Malaysia With all the publicity surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines fl ight 370 in March, it’s some achievement that visitor numbers were up nearly 10% between January and July. The tourist board aims to maintain this momentum and Deputy Director General, Dato Azizan Noordin, told Selling Travel at WTM that Malaysia will double the number of fam trips it offers for 2015, showcasing the destination to 300 travel professionals. The fams will be designed to encourage agents to support MyFEST (the year of festivals campaign), which focuses on more than 200 activities and events being held across the country, including 15 major international events. The biggest among these is the World Moto Grand Prix.
sellingtravel.co.uk
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