News 06.11.13 GOVERNMENT APPROVAL
Thailand tourist tax ‘idea’ for now
A THAI official has said that the “tourism tax” has been misconstrued in the media and will not definitely be introduced by January 1, 2014 as some reports have claimed. Speaking at WTM, Juthaporn Rerngronasa,
Tourism Authority of Thailand’s deputy governor for international marketing (Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas), said: “This is just an idea for now and is something the Ministry of Public Health is considering.” Reports had emerged that the new tax
could cost visitors about £10, but it has not yet been approved by the Thai government. An earlier statement by TAT said the
proposed “tax” was also one of several ideas the Ministry of Tourism & Sport had been considering as a way to help boost investment in their industries. As reported on
ttgdigital.com, the catalyst
for a new tourist tax is twofold – unpaid medical bills left by foreign tourists said to be putting a strain on Thai hospitals and a way for the Ministry of Tourism & Sports to attract more “quality” tourists. TAT now wants to focus on highlighting
local hospitality with a new tagline “It Begins With The People”. Amazing Thailand will stay as the tourist
office’s main strapline, but will be compli- mented by the new addition for a major campaign launch from January 2014.
OneTwoTrip sets its sights on UK
Katherine Lawrey
FLIGHT BOOKING website and first-time WTM exhibitor OneTwoTrip is to offer UK customers the opportunity to buy a flight with just a £35 deposit and pay the balance four days before departure. The Russia-based company has success-
fully trialled the scheme in its home country and plans to launch in the UK later this month. Initially the service will only be available with selected airlines but the company plans to expand its offering if it is successful. Dmitrijus Konovalovas, the country
“We use Russian technology where the
labour force is cheaper. Now that our product has proved successful in emerging markets, it makes sense to bring the tested product to Europe, with the help of external investment,” said Konovalovas. “Our model is a flexible one, and we’ve
Test-drive OneTwoTrip on stand TT325
manager for the Russia-based company, said: “If a user wants to fly London-Miami in January, but wants to pay a later date, they can pay £35 to guarantee the price if they pay by a certain date. If they don’t go ahead with the booking, they only lose £35. We’re testing this in Russia, where we are the number one OTA,” he said. OneTwoTrip was formed two years ago,
Come and visit us at the TTG Media stand (EM1670) and find out more about our 360-degree media business connecting travel sellers with buyers across digital, print and events.
and has patented its technology, which uses a global network of Iata agencies for ticketing. A year ago the fledgling company
secured investment from venture capitalist Atomicon, based in London, for international growth, and has set its sights on the UK, Germany and Spain, where sites are now live.
TRAINING COURSES
TTG Media teams up with Equator for e-learning
EQUATOR LEARNING is to partner with TTG Media Ltd in an exclusive travel agent e-learning partnership kicking off at the beginning of 2014. The launch of Equator’s new Online
Travel Academy in 2014, following its award-winning programmes California Expert, Saint Lucia Expert and Travel 2 Academy, will be supported by a new TTG Knowledge platform on
ttgdigital.com. Daniel Pearce, TTG Media managing
A WTM ADVENTURE: TV producer Russ Malkin poses with friends from Hawaii Tourism and Texas, and the BMW bike as used in the upcoming series Charley Boorman's USA adventure, which airs on November 21 on Channel 5 at 8pm
director, said: “The launch of Equator’s new Online Travel Academy is the perfect time to upgrade our online travel training offer. “In reviewing this market we have been impressed by the depth and breadth of
been profitable since day one. We can adjust our margins. We have our own data and we monitor what else is out there – we analyse whether it’s cheaper to use our own or rely on our partner network.” For now, OneTwoTrip offers flights only,
and uses
booking.com as an affiliate for hotel booking. Test versions of a future hotel site, which will be released to market in the first quarter of next year, are available on the WTM stand (TT325). Konovalovas said future development
plans would include car hire, transfers and insurance and would be rolled out in collaboration with users: “Our aim is to talk to our consumers as much as possible and share stats with industry colleagues.” He said the company had received interest from many suppliers at WTM.
Equator’s bespoke e-learning programmes, as well as the experience and expertise of its management team.” Chris May, managing director of Equator
and the architect of the new Online Travel Academy, explained: “The new Online Travel Academy will be launched simultaneously to TTG’s huge audience and to 38,000 travel trade users of Equator’s e-learning programmes in the UK, as well as to Equator’s international database of more than 100,000 users worldwide. “This will represent the most innovative one-stop online community for travel professionals to enhance their knowledge, skills and travel experiences with a huge array of courses and rewards,” he added. All existing media contracts for online
training courses on TTG Knowledge will be honoured until their annual renewal. Equator has also announced two new additions to its management team: Nigel Fell joins as associate partnership director and Jason Winter as operations manager.
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ttgdigital.com 04 06.11.2013
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