NEWS ROUND-UP


COMMENT: “How many in the trade will now think the Virgin brand means ‘uses our expertise to get established, then cuts us loose’?” Giles Hawke, page 38


Magaluf targets families after antisocial crackdown


Juliet Dennis juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


Spanish party resort Magaluf is targeting the family market following a ‘“surprisingly successful” crackdown on pub crawls and antisocial behaviour.


In 2014, following a string of alcohol-fuelled incidents involving holidaymakers, local authorities introduced legislation forcing companies to apply for a licence to hold pub crawls. Drinking in the street was banned between 10pm and 8am.


The action has not only reduced


drunken behaviour, but also changed the mix of tourists, according to Alfonso Rodriguez Badal, mayor of Calvia, the region which includes Magaluf and Palma Nova. During a trip to the UK to


promote the region to families and special-interest groups, he revealed that antisocial behaviour in Magaluf had fallen by 18% this summer, compared with 2014, while the number of arrests was down 50%. “We didn’t think it would be so successful so quickly,” said Rodriguez Badal. “It’s been a pleasant surprise.”


Nominations open for British Travel Hall of Fame 2016


Nominations are now open for the 2016 British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame. The event, which is organised and hosted by Travel Weekly and its sister title The Caterer, honours outstanding business achievement in the travel, hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors. As well as honouring inductees


BILL MUNRO: Inducted last year


into the Hall of Fame, awards will be presented for Business Achievement of the Year, Young Manager of the Year and Young


10 travelweekly.co.uk 29 October 2015 MAGALUF: The Majorcan resort is trying to shed its ‘bar-crawl’ image Rodriguez Badal said he hoped 3.4%


Year-on-year rise in the number of families visiting Magaluf


He credited the clampdown’s


success on support from bars, as well as tourists respecting the rules, which police were enforcing through warnings and fines. The resort has also reported a


3.4% rise in the number of families and 3% more couples visiting this summer. The number of tourists aged under 25, however, fell 3.6% compared with last year.


this trend would continue as more investment was made to adapt to the needs of the family market. In the past three years,


€240 million has been spent on upgrading hotels and streets in Magaluf and Palma Nova. “Change is already happening,”


said Rodriguez Badal. “Before, party tourism was spilling over into the day and families were retrenching. Now they are returning. Our main target is the family market.” The Spanish Tourist Office plans


more fam trips as the destination shifts its focus to the family market, as well as promoting itself for sports and nature breaks during the shoulder seasons.


Entrepreneur of the Year. Members of the Hall of Fame include Tui Group chief executive Peter Long, Barrhead Travel chairman Bill Munro and Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson. The 2016 British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame awards ceremony will take place at The Dorchester in London on April 25. Nominations for membership of the Hall of Fame and the three additional awards are open until


December 1 at britishtraveland hospitalityhalloffame.com


NEWS IN BRIEF


Westjet moots Birmingham and Manchester flights


Canadian no-frills carrier Westjet is considering adding transatlantic flights from Manchester and Birmingham following the launch of services from Gatwick next year. Chief executive Gregg Saretsky told the Financial Times the airline was in talks with airports in Europe such as Paris and Rome, as well as other UK airports.


EasyJet claims its fares have fallen over 20 years


EasyJet fares have fallen over the past 20 years, the carrier claimed as it prepared to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first flight on November 10. In 1995, a one-way fare on its inaugural route between Luton and Glasgow was £29. Today, the lead-in price on the route has dropped 5.2% to £27.49.


Revised PTD passes vote in European Parliament


A vote on the revised Package Travel Directive, due to come into effect in 2018, was passed in the European Parliament on Tuesday. The directive will move responsibility for regulation from the country where a holiday is sold to where the holiday firm is “established”. Abta said it would monitor whether further changes for consistency would be required.


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