BUSINESS TOURISM
Digital editor Tom Newcombe compiles the latest news from
www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
Liverpool: Visit Britain is to resume promoting UK events destinations AIRLINES
Visit Britain resumes MICE promotion
Etihad team (l-r): senior VP Hasan Saleh Al Hammadi; CCO Peter Baumgartner; brand ambassador Nicole Kidman; CEO James Hogan; senior VP Khaled Almehairbi
NICOLE KIDMAN LAUNCHES ETIHAD CAMPAIGN
HOLLYWOOD STAR NICOLE KIDMAN was in Abu Dhabi to launch the advertising campaign for Etihad’s new products on board its A380s and B787 Dreamliners. Kidman joined Etihad CEO James Hogan and COO Peter Baumgartner on stage for a press conference at the Emirates Palace hotel. The advert was shot on board the A380 and features The Residence and First Apartments cabins, as well as at locations in Abu Dhabi and architectural landmarks in Europe. Hogan said the campaign and the new cabin products came at “the right time to establish our brand position as leaders in innovation and flair”. Hogan later spoke in Washington DC and London
in response to claims by US airlines that the Open Skies agreements have led to unfair competition in the aviation industry. He said Open Skies was “a model of success, generating enormous benefits for travellers and for airlines in the US, UAE and around the world”, and warned against “protectionism”, saying it would restrict competitive choice for millions of US and international air travellers in markets which US airlines don’t serve. Etihad A380 flight review, p118
The idea that you grow food at great cost and turn it into fuel is just nuts
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary on biofuels, speaking at the ITM annual conference – see p16
6 BBT MAY/JUNE 2015
THE GOVERNMENT has asked Visit Britain to resume business events promotion for England, five years after it relinquished responsibility. The agency, which backs international tourism, will also be responsible for business events promotion at UK level, alongside national tourist boards and other partners. This follows an announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
AIRLINES
IAG QUITS TRADE BODY OVER GULF CARRIERS ROW
BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA have quit a European airline trade group amid the on-going row over the threat posed by fast-expanding Gulf carriers. Parent company IAG said its airlines had withdrawn from the Association of European Airlines because of a difference of opinion with other members towards competition in the skies. “We believe global liberalisation of our industry is fundamental to our future growth and we are not willing to compromise on this fundamental matter,” IAG said. In January, Qatar Airways purchased a 9.99 per cent stake in IAG and the UK-based airline group has always emphasised a ‘pro-competition’ stance. US and European carriers have long-complained that the Open Skies agreements have led to unfair competition in the aviation industry. The three US airlines jointly complained that Gulf carriers Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways have received US$42 billion in subsidies from their governments since 2004, making a level playing field impossible.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
in March that it is creating a Business Visits and Events Board, tasked with identifying business opportunities, winning more events and representing new resources for the MICE industry to attract events to the UK. Visit Britain ceased activities in international business event promotion in 2010, following government cutbacks, and responsibility was handed to the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland national agencies.
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