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January 2022 Travel News Visit Belfast Honoured With UK Excellence


ISIT Belfast’s commitment in driving tourism growth in a new and sustainable way has been recognised by Britain’s leading body of conference


organisers. In a major first for the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) and the destination marketing organisation for the Belfast City Region, Visit Belfast came out on top to secure its inaugural Corporate and Social Responsibility award at its annual Excellence Awards 2021 in London. Visit Belfast won over the judges with the city’s


renewed drive towards a more regenerative tourism model, pipping Edinburgh’s International Conference Centre (EICC) and P&J Jive, Aberdeen’s state-of-the- art event complex – two of the UK conference industry’s most progressive sustainability heavyweights – to the title.


Revealing the APBCO 2021 Excellence Award


winners at London’s ExCel, the judges commended Visit Belfast for the “extent, commitment, impact and inclusivity” shown in delivering a suite of initiatives that put sustainability first and how the city had adapted and reimagined its approach to tourism in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within the year, Visit Belfast worked in partnership


with Belfast City Council to develop the city’s first sustainable tourism and impact plan, launched the largest ever Green Tourism partnership with a city to support businesses on the road to sustainability and established a new events framework to help event organisers deliver more sustainable events in Belfast. Visit Belfast chief executive, Gerry Lennon, commented that “Belfast’s


resilience and dynamism


is clear as the city continues to innovate at a local, national and international level and I’m delighted that our commitment and collective actions have been duly recognised at the highest level within the business events sector.” Adding that, “Tourism has been a catalyst for regeneration in Belfast, supporting thousands of jobs and livelihoods, and we are working hard to ensure that as we rebuild the city’s tourism economy in an inclusive and sustainable way, the sector continues to deliver positive outcomes for not only our tourism and hospitality businesses, but our residents, communities and visitors for many years to come.”


Earlier this year, Belfast was ranked as one of the


world’s Top 20 sustainable destinations across 73 cities in the 2021 Global Destinations Sustainability Index. The GDS-Index is the world’s largest sustainability performance improvement and benchmarking programme for destinations.


Setting a lead within its own operations this year,


DENMARK has announced that they aim eliminate fossil fuels for domestic flights by 2030. As a country, Denmark has set a target of a 70%


reduction in overall carbon emissions by 2030. With a recent focus on reducing the environmental impact of the aviation sector. Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark,


announced these aims in her annual New Year’s speech. Highlighting that in the recovery stage of the pandemic, Denmark should aim to find a solution to the ongoing climate crisis. Deeming the climate crisis “the biggest and most


Weir Travel Ceases Trading


THE team at Northern Ireland Travel News are sad- dened to learn of the closure of Weir Travel. Aſter nine years of trade, the travel company will close


its doors in all three locations: Coleraine, Ballymena and Limavady. All bookings are financially protected under ABTA


and ATOL licences, proving protection to all outstand- ing customer bookings. Aſter 31st December, the Barrhead Travel in Belfast


will step in to service ongoing bookings, providing a seamless experience for the customer.


The Black Market and its New Sale: Covid Passes


FRENCH Authorities have indicated that since the introduction of covid-19 vaccination passes, the police force have found 182,000 certificates to be fake. In July 2021, France began the scheme where indi- viduals required a covid pass to enter premises such as restaurants, bars and a number of public transport, meaning those without vaccination could not avail of such facilities.


Speaking on the discovery, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is calling on the police to crack down on the production and selling of the fake covid certifications, with 400 current investigations underway; some of which include health care officials.


Pictured celebrating the win is (L-R) Gerry Lennon, Visit Belfast Chief Executive and Kathryn Thomson, Chair of Visit Belfast


Visit Belfast became a certified organisation with a Green Tourism standard, rolling out sustainability training to all staff and Board members, creating a new sustainability and impact role within the company, establishing a Visit Belfast sustainability team and developing sustainability blogs, toolkits and practical support to help local event organisers and delegates make more sustainable choices.


Visit Belfast is also developing a network of local CSR partners and projects to support conferences and events held in the city. Next year, around one third of all conferences in Belfast will have a sustainability plan – a figure it is targeting will grow to 80 percent by 2025. Visit Belfast Corporate Partner, ICC Belfast also


achieved success at the ABPCO annual Excellence Awards event, securing an Innovation award for its work on ‘The Virtual Delegate’ LinkedIn live series


Denmark Aims For A Sustainable Aviation Sector by 2030


important challenge of our time” “To travel is to live and that is why we fly, but at the


same time, it is harmful to our climate. We need to make it green to fly.” Adding that, “Terefore,


2030 at the latest, we must be able to fly completely green when we fly domestically in Denmark” In a bid to promote sustainable travel, some airlines


have already begun using sustainable fuel in aviation. Such as, British Airways and United Airlines.


the government will set


an ambitious goal: by 2025, Danes must have the opportunity to fly green on a domestic route. And by


in conjunction with David Meade which successfully demonstrated how organisations can maximise virtual, hybrid and in-person events to engage people and clients.


Meetings industry leaders joined David in helping to lead the sector affect transformational change.


74% of Holidaymakers Consider ATOL Protection More Important Since the Pandemic


WITH families enjoying the festive holidays and thoughts turning to sunny climates for 2022, travellers looking for their next holiday are reminded to check for financial protection when booking their getaways. Research by the UK Civil Aviation Authority has


found that 74% of people consider ATOL protection more important since the pandemic.


Given the impact of the pandemic on overseas


holidays and travel, ATOL protection is now viewed as more important than ever before. Booking a package holiday that is financially protected by the ATOL scheme is a straightforward way to protect a trip. ATOL protection means that if the travel company you booked with ceases trading, you will either get your money back, or, if you have already begun your holiday, be able to complete your trip at no extra cost.


Before booking, you should always check that your


travel provider is a legitimate ATOL holder. You can do this on the UK Civil Aviation Authority website.


Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon Park Reopens After Two Years


WALT Disney World announced on Tuesday 28 December that their water park, Typhoon Lagoon would reopen on Sunday 2nd January 2022. The Typhoon Lagoon water park has been closed


from March 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.


The reopening of this park,l seen travellers return to


some much-loved attractions. Such as Crush ‘n’ Gusher, Miss Adventure Falls, Castaway Creek, Humunga Kowabunga, along with the surf pool. Surf lessons and private bookings were made


available to the public on January 7. The grand reopening of the Typhoon Lagoon came


with an amazing feast of snacks, including the Dole Whip character cones, where adults can take a pick of tequila, coconut rum or dark rum to add to their cone. Walt’s famous chili nachos at the Snack Shack and a birthday cake soft-serve ice cream at Happy Landings. Blizzard Beach, Disney World’s other water park, reopened in early March. Commemorative itemswere sold to mark the park’s 50th anniversary, including a popcorn bucket and a refillable mug.


Wizz Air Sees Increase In Passenger Traffic


IN December 2021, Wizz Air carried a total of 2,638,000 pssengers, achieving a load factor of 75.4%. Therefore, capacity in 2021 was boosted 200% when compared with Wizz Air’s 2020 figures. Wizz Air recently announced that the airline will continue to grow its network through a massive expansion at Gatwick Airport, as the airline recently obtained 15 daily slots from Norwegian Air Shuttle. Wizz Air is set to launch new routes from Gatwick


Airport, to 14 new destinations including Faro, Palma, Larnaca, Catania, Podgorica, Tel Aviv, Chania,


Mykonos and Funchal. Along with new routes from Milan, Rome, Vienna, Bari and Naples to Gatwick Airport, set to be operated by Wizz Air Hungary. Therefore, this expansion will see four additional


Airbus A321neo aircrafts being based at Gatwick airport, bringing the total number of the aircraft to 5 from Spring 2022. These new year-round and seasonal routes are set to


launch in Spring 2022. However, with the increase in operations, 2021 saw a 22% increase in C02 emissions in comparison with 2020’s figures.


Australian Airlines Tackle Abuse Against Staff with ‘No More Carry On’ Campaign


AUSTRALIAN Airlines have joined together with Australian airports, along with Australian Federal Police services to take action against disruptive and abusive behaviour against airline workers and other passengers. Te ‘No More Carry On’ campaign is appealing


for patience and respect as travellers, cabin crew and airport teams move towards a return to worldwide travel following the pandemic. Jetstar, Qantas, Rex and Virgin Australia have all


become involved in promoting and supporting this campaign. Tis campaign comes as there has been increase in


abusive behaviour towards airline workers and towards other passengers, these incidents taking place in both the airport terminal and onboard the aircraſt. Since that start of the pandemic, reports of abusive behaviour have elevated, with hundreds of incidents being reported in 2021 alone. A majority of these incidents caused by passengers becoming irate over mask requirements. With some cabin crew reporting that they have been


threatened and physically assaulted by these abusive passengers. Trough the ‘No More Carry On’ campaign,


travellers will be made aware that while carry-on luggage is permitted in airport terminals and the aircraſt, disruptive and abusive ‘carry-on behaviour’ against cabin crew, airport teams, or other passengers is not permitted. Tis message will be displayed on digital billboards


throughout Australian airport terminals, along with a poignant video message from cabin crew which will be distributed on social media. Te airlines involved with this campaign have signed


up to the voluntary Code of Practice on Passenger Behaviour, to deliver a united approach across aviation in Australia.


From London To NYC: British Airways Reinstate Gatwick To New York Route


BRITISH Airways have announced that they are to reinstate its Gatwick-New York route in summer 2022. This daily service is expected to resume from the 28th of May 2022. However, British Airways has a new competitor


on the New York Route. With New York’s JetBlue announcing a new Gatwick to New York route taking off in August 2022. Following this announcement, British Airways have


also stated that it will restart short-haul routes from Gatwick under a new airline. This subsidiary airline will begin operations in early


2022, under the British Airways name, offering a total of 35 short-haul destinations. Including locations like Athens, Berlin, Faro, Ibiza, Madrid, Malaga, Santorini and Tenerife.


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