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May 2023 TAP Air Portugal Relaunch Stopover Scheme
TAP Air Portugal has reintroduced its popular Stopover scheme to allow customers to rediscover Portugal. The Portuguese flag carrier has relaunched the award-winning programme to coincide with its participation in this year’s International Tourism Fair (BTL) in Lisbon to help boost Portugal’s travel and tourism sector. The partnership with Turismo
de Portugal enables customers to stopover in Portugal for up to 10 days, and grants access to 290 exclusive offers and discounts across 115 hotels, restaurants, attractions, experiences and tour partners before they continue on to their final destination. Customers using the Stopover programme can also enjoy 25% off their trip by using a unique promotional code through
flytap.com.
Ryanair Announces 14 ADDITIONAL Summer Routes from Dublin including Spain & Greece
RYANAIR has announced an additional 14 new routes to and from Dublin Airport this summer to destinations including Spain, Greece and France meaning the low-cost carrier will operate a total of 130 connections and more than 2,000 weekly flights to and from the Irish capital. The airline said the expanded schedule was
“underpinned” by an increase in the number of Boeing 737 “Gamechanger” aircraft based at Dublin. Ryanair have added an extra 5 aircraft at Dublin bringing the total number of aircraft based there from 11 up to 16. The carrier expects to carry more than 16 million passengers at Dublin Airport this year. Ryanair Chief Executive Eddie Wilson said: “Dublin is, I would say, the most connected airport in Europe.” he said, adding that Ryanair was the “most recovered” airline from the Covid-19 pandemic. Ryanair’s new summer destinations include Asturias, Spain; Brindisi, Italy; Burgas, Bulgaria; Castellon, Spain; Cluj, Romania; Genoa, Italy; Kos, Greece; Lasi, Romania; Leipzig, Germany; Newquay, UK; Stockholm, Sweden; Trieste, Italy; Zakynthos, Greece; Venice, Italy.
Meanwhile... Ryanair has said it will
TARGET: Thailand tourism hope to welcome six million tourists in 2023
Thailand Expecting to Hit
Six Million Tourist Target THAILAND tourism officials are hoping to welcome over six million European tourists in 2023. The Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said European tourists account for 80% of pre-pandemic tourism levels. Thailand also plans to increase the
length of stay for tourist visas from 30 to 45 days.
Border Force Strikes “Have a Detrimental Effect on How Travellers View the Travel Industry” – Says Advantage
UK BORDER Force staff in The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union staged industrial action from 17th-20th February 2023. The action directly impacted several maritime ports and the Coquelles Channel Tunnel Terminal. Speaking about the impact the strike
action has on the travel industry, Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “The strike action... and the... disruption to travel in the UK with ongoing rail and border force strikes continues to have a detrimental effect on how travellers view the travel industry and the plans they make. In particular corporate travellers are no longer reliant on the rail networks to plan for meetings and are instead getting in their cars, planes or holding virtual meetings as required. “For anyone... impacted by the...
border force strikes, our advice is prepare as much as possible for longer wait times, use e-gates where possible and check airport and port websites before travelling to see if the strikes will affect their journeys. We’re hopeful that recent strikes have shown that the disruption to inbound travel, where passports are checked at immigrant, has been minimal but it doesn’t stop people from worrying and getting anxious.”
look at relocating aircraft to other airports and possibly expanding routes elsewhere across Europe if passenger charges at Dublin Airport increase any further. Ryanair’s Chief Executive Eddie Wilson said that Dublin Airport is “one of the most expensive” airports that it flies into and that it rewards lower-cost airports with additional traffic.
Belfast City Airport Introduces New Charges for Drop-Off Area
MOTORISTS using a new Express Drop Off and Pick Up area at George Best Belfast City Airport will be hit with a £3 charge under new rules introduced last month. Those picking up or dropping off passengers will still have ten minutes of free parking, however the area has been relocated to the Long Stay Car Park as part of reconfiguration works. The airport says the reconfiguration of the
car parking ensures improved traffic flow and access on site, and provides ‘more choice for motorists’ when parking, picking up and dropping off passengers. Mark Beattie, Director of Operations at
Belfast City Airport, said the free on-site parking had simply moved location. “The recent reconfiguration has enabled
us to expand and improve our offering to motorists on site as well as improved access for pedestrians. “We are one of the few airports in the UK to
ABTA, UKinbound and The School Travel Forum Welcome Governments Commitment To School and Youth Travel
FOLLOWING the Prime Minister’s bilateral summit with the French President Emmanuel Macron both countries have committed to removing some of the barriers that have arisen since the UK left the EU. The announcement follows ongoing work by the three associations to raise the challenges faced by school travel with Government, including a joint letter sent to the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, on Monday 6 March. The
asked
letter for
action to ease the situation which has not only led to significant falls in visits, estimated at a drop of 84% compared to 2019, but also school children and youth groups’ welfare to suffer due to excessive waiting times at entry ports and having to travel at extremely unsociable hours. ABTA, The School Travel
Forum and UKinbound have called for the establishment of a new youth-group visa application process that is fully digitalised, works in collaboration with Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) and supports the 2025 UK Border Strategy. It would allow students under
the age of 18 that have an ID Card, and therefore the right to live in the EU, and third country nationals that have settled in the EU to travel to the UK as part of an educational or cultural group if accompanied by a teacher or supervisor over 18 years old that is travelling on a passport. The Governments are still
to confirm the details of the new arrangements and the associations have already been in touch to follow-up on the commitments made. L
u k e
Petherbridge ABTA Director of Public Affairs said:
“The
Prime Minister and the French President commitment to easing school group travel between France
and UK will be welcomed by the school and youth travel sector. Our members have been reporting challenges related to recent border policy changes, and
they
will now be eager to hear more about the details of what is being proposed. Working with our industry partners,
The School Travel Forum and UKinbound, ABTA will be in touch with the relevant government officials and will provide more information as soon as we have received it.” Gill Harvey, CEO The School
Travel Forum commented: “The school/youth travel sector has been forgotten for far too long. We welcome these discussions within Government and look forward to young people being
able
to enjoy and benefit from the
same
opportunities a nd experiences as their older schoolmates.” Joss Croft
OBE, CEO of UKinbound commented: “Many of our members’ businesses are heavily reliant on organising and bringing in school groups to the UK from France and other countries in the European Union but this sector has dropped off a cliff since the requirement for all EU visitors
to
travel with a passport rather than an ID card changed in October 2021. “In 2019
this sector of
the market was worth over £1 billion in export value to the UK economy, as well as providing a route to demonstrate Global Britain in practice. It is a relief therefore that the Government has announced it is committed to making this process easier going forward and implementing the changes needed to recover this valuable inbound business for the UK.”
The joint announcement from the two countries stated “Cooperation and policy exchanges on school education, facilitation of
trips
school and
exchanges, including in the field of vocational education, opportunities for language learning will be expanded. On school travel, the United Kingdom committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France. “France commits to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for children travelling on organised school trips from the United Kingdom and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.”
still offer 10 minutes of free parking on site and this area has simply moved to the Long Stay Car Park. “Belfast City Airport has one of the shortest
car-to-gate distances in Europe meaning the terminal is just a short walk from the Long Stay Car Park.”
The new tariffs are now in effect.
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