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Royal works with agents to calm Harmony storm
Hollie-Rae Merrick
hollie@travelweekly.co.uk
Royal Caribbean International admitted it is “working with” agents whose customers had complained about building work on new ship Harmony of the Seas.
But it insisted most of its retail
partners had offered “very strong support and positive feedback”. Negative press last week branded the ship ‘Calamity’ or ‘Disharmony’ of the Seas after guests reported
several areas unfinished and claimed some parts were “unsafe”. Royal declined to reveal how
many complaints it had received, but said: “We are working closely with agents whose customers are dissatisfied and are dealing with these on a case-by-case basis to help resolve any queries.” Agents gave a mixed response on the Travel Gossip site, with some reporting disappointed customers. Agent Emily Trumble described
her four-night sailing as “awful”. But agents who attended the
Harmony of the Seas
STORIES HOT
previous ‘shakedown’ cruise defended Royal Caribbean. Claire Brighton, senior commercial manager at Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “I didn’t witness signs of the extremes being reported in the national press. A few areas were not 100% complete but work seemed to be kept to a minimum and did not affect any passengers. The ship was fantastic.” Si Prentice, group marketing
director at The Travel Network Group, said the ship was in “excellent condition” and was disappointed
by the negative coverage. Sharron Gallagher, senior travel consultant at Regent Travel in Stone, Staffordshire, who paid to be on the second cruise on May 26, said: “It may have been hyped up a little. I have no complaints; the majority of things were open for use.” Phil Nuttall, managing director
of The Travel Village Group, said no customers had raised concerns. A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman
said the line had had “some fantastic feedback from a huge number of guests” on pre-inaugural sailings.
3 Israel event sales ‘disappoint’ ITT
Amie Keeley
amie.keeley@
travelweekly.co.uk
The Institute of Travel & Tourism hopes next week’s conference in Tel Aviv will raise the profile of Israel as a destination, despite “disappointing” ticket sales.
On Tuesday, the event had sold
356 of the 400 delegate places after a recent sales push opened registrations to non-members. ITT says it is the first time since
2012, when Barbados was host, that the conference has not sold out.
In previous years the membership organisation imposed a strict cap of 400 on numbers and limited delegates to two per firm. ITT chairman and chief
executive Steven Freudmann said he recognised the challenges Israel faced in terms of perceptions about safety and political sensitivities. But he hoped the industry
would see what a “great tourism product” Israel is. “We recognise there would be challenges and people have their own personal reasons why they might not want to go there,” he said. “We hoped to reach 400
delegates. We always reach that figure, so it’s slightly disappointing that we haven’t done so yet. “On the other hand, 350 senior
delegates will have the opportunity to experience the Israeli product. “We should lead the way as an industry. I visited in October and have never felt safer. “Israel has huge challenges in
attracting tourists. “One reason we are going there
is to try to show that Israel is a massive opportunity, it’s safe and the quality is there.” The ITT last held a conference in Israel in 1994, in the Red Sea
resort of Eilat. Freudmann said Israel’s bid to host this year’s event was an offer it “couldn’t refuse”. Headline sponsor Barrhead
Travel confirmed it would not be sending anyone to the conference, citing work commitments rather than a reluctance to visit Israel. Cheapflights commercial
director Sarah Hanan said the reason the company would have no one at ITT this year was more for business reasons than concerns about the destination. The ITT Conference takes place on June 6-8, priced £585 for ITT members, £685 for non-members.
2 June 2016
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