Massive cruise ships face significant challenges,Malév welcomes

Mandarin Oriental’s Starstudded Restaurant Line Up
Mandarin Oriental hotels have long been renowned for their
excellence and innovation in food and beverage, and the
Group’s passion for creating memorable dining experiences has
once again been recognised, with no fewer than nine diverse
restaurants from around the world being honoured in the 2010
Michelin Guides.
In Europe, Rasoi by Vineet has been awarded the coveted one
star status by Michelin’s 2010 Guide for Switzerland. It is
the first time for an Indian restaurant to be recognised in
Switzerland by the prestigious Michelin guide. Opened in June
2008 after a multi-million Swiss Franc renovation of the
hotel’s public areas, Rasoi by Vineet offers the cuisine of
London-based Michelin starred chef, Vineet Bhatia, who
specialises in deliciously spectacular “evolved” Indian food.
In Munich, Restaurant Mark’s at Mandarin Oriental, Munich
retained its coveted Michelin star status. The restaurant’s
Chef Tobias Jochim delights diners with predominantly French
dishes that have been inspired from travels around the
Mediterranean.
In Asia, the Group’s flagship property, Mandarin Oriental,
Hong Kong is now home to two Michelin starred restaurants. The
Mandarin Grill + Bar, a Hong Kong dining institution, where
artistic Executive Chef Uwe Opocensky serves a modern
interpretation of grill classics and the city’s finest
seafood, has been awarded its first Michelin star. The
restaurant joins Pierre on the top floor of the hotel, which
retained its Michelin star, and features the bold cuisine of
multi award-winning, three Michelin starred chef, Pierre
Gagnaire. In Macau, Tung Yee Heen, the distinguished Cantonese
restaurant at the recently renamed Grand Lapa Hotel, also
retained its one-star Michelin status. Meanwhile, Amber at The
Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, maintained its coveted
two Michelin star status. The restaurant features the
innovative and exhilarating cuisine of talented Chef Richard
Ekkebus.
In Japan, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo is the only hotel in the
capital to have three Michelin-starred restaurants in the
latest Japanese guide. Signature (serving contemporary
French), Sense (Cantonese) and the creative Tapas Molecular
Bar (serving innovative molecular cuisine) each received a
single star: Signature for the third time, and Sense and the
Tapas Molecular Bar for the second time.
“We are truly delighted to receive these prestigious
accolades,” said David Nicholls, the Group’s Corporate
Director of Food and Beverage. “It speaks volumes about the
dedication to fine dining excellence that all of our hotels
offer.”
The Group also continues to be acknowledged for its ability to
appoint enthusiastic culinary talent. Recent announcements
include Chef Heston Blumenthal, who has won international
acclaim for his unique and multi-sensory approach to cooking.
Blumenthal will open his first restaurant outside of the
village of Bray, at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London in
2010. The restaurant will feature the chef’s inimitable style
of culinary alchemy with a menu heavily influenced by his
ongoing research and discovery of historic British gastronomy.
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London will also introduce the
award-winning cuisine of Lyon-born chef Daniel Boulud to the
UK when Bar Boulud – a French inspired bistro and wine bar –
opens in the hotel in Spring 2010. In addition, Pierre
Gagnaire has opened his first US restaurant, Twist at Mandarin
Oriental, Las Vegas which opened on 4 December 2009. While in
Spain, Chef Carme Ruscalleda has been appointed Director of
the newly opened Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona’s signature
restaurant, Moments. Ruscalleda is one of only a few women in
the world to be awarded a total of five Michelin stars.
About The Michelin Guide
Michelin has been in the business of evaluating and
recommending restaurants and hotels for over a century. They
employ full-time professional inspectors who anonymously visit
restaurants and hotels, and evaluate them on a range of
criteria, using an evaluation process that has been honed over
time to identify consistently high-quality establishments to
suit a range of budgets and across a range of styles and
cuisines.
About Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and
operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels,
resorts and residences. Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has
under development, 41 hotels representing over 10,000 rooms in
25 countries, with 17 hotels in Asia, 14 in The Americas and
10 in Europe and North Africa. In addition, the Group
operates, or has under development, 13 Residences at Mandarin
Oriental, connected to the Group’s properties.
www.mandarinoriental.com.
Sunny Cars garandeert laagste
all-in prijs op Belgische
markt
Sunny Cars, internationaal bemiddelaar in autoverhuur,
introduceert de laagste all-in prijsgarantie op de Belgische
markt. Waar anderen spreken van een laagste prijsgarantie,
kiest de broker voor een andere aanpak en garandeert het
laagste all-in tarief.
Bij een laagste prijsgarantie gebeurt
het vervolgens maar al te vaak dat een dergelijke prijs
duurder uitpakt door niet inbegrepen extra’s. Het geweldige
aan de Sunny Cars garantie is dat er geen verborgen kosten
roet in het eten kunnen gooien. De all-in prijs is inclusief
ongelimiteerde kilometers, een extra BA-verzekering van € 7,5
miljoen, een schade-en diefstalverzekering zonder eigen risico
en de dekking voor schade aan glas/banden/bodem. Vaak zijn
zelfs een extra bestuurder en gratis adresaflevering
inbegrepen. En uiteraard houdt Sunny Cars woord, want vindt de
reisagent een product inclusief al deze diensten elders
goedkoper, dan biedt Sunny Cars dezelfde prijs.
Suzanne Al, Marketing Manager van Sunny Cars hierover: “Wij
vinden dat de reisagent gerust prijzen mag vergelijken. Vaak
bestaat de illusie dat het elders goedkoper is, maar wij dagen
uit om het te testen. De reisagent zal zien dat wij in de
praktijk het meeste waar voor de beste all-in prijs bieden.
Bovendien bewijst hij er zijn professionalisme mee, en de
klant is verzekerd van een all-in product aan de laagste
prijs.”
Sunny Cars is in 1991 in Duitsland opgericht en behoort al
jaren tot de grootste bemiddelaars in autoverhuur in Europa.
De broker is actief in België, Nederland, Duitsland,
Oostenrijk, Luxemburg en Zwitserland en biedt haar klanten
huurauto’s in alle soorten en maten aan in alle belangrijke
toeristische markten. Sunny Cars bemiddelt wereldwijd in
huurauto’s op meer dan 5.000 vakantiebestemmingen in meer dan
90 landen en werkt exclusief met contractpartners samen die
voldoen aan de internationale kwaliteits- en service-eisen.
Kijk voor meer informatie op www.sunnycars.be
Rhenus
Svoris
is
“Best
Freight
Forwarder
in
Lithuania in 2009”
Rhenus Svoris was awarded the prize for being the best freight
forwarding company in Lithuania by a national commission of
experts at the end of November. Arunas Bertasius, Managing
Director of Rhenus Svoris, accepted the prize from Vytautas
Levickas, the President of “Lineka”, the Lithuanian Freight
Forwarders Association, at a special ceremony.
The award is presented every year at a conference, which is
organized by the “Lineka” Lithuanian Freight Forwarders
Association (Lietuvos nacionalinė ekspeditorių asociacija),
the “Linava” Association of Transportation Companies (Lietuvos
nacionalinė vežėjų automobiliais asociacija), Association of
logistics and the “Transportas” trade journal. Rhenus Svoris
was able to beat off a challenge from three rival companies
this year. The jury based its decision on the fact that the
company had continued to develop despite the difficult
economic conditions in the market place. Another important
criterion in reaching their decision was the company’s success
in joining the System Alliance Europe cargo network at the
beginning of 2009.
“The award means significant recognition by experts in our
sector,” Arunas Bertasius said after the prize-giving
ceremony. “It reinforces our image as a strong, growing,
innovative company, which is therefore attractive to our
customers.”
Rhenus Svoris was already awarded a prize for its “logistics
services in 2008” by the Lithuanian Logistics Association or
LLA (Lietuvos Logistikos Asociacija) at the 10th Baltic
Logistics Conference in 2008. At that time, the prize related
to a project, which involved Rhenus Svoris in disposing of
2,000 tons of hazardous waste from former storage depots in
Lithuania.
About Rhenus Svoris
Rhenus Svoris UAB, with its headquarters
in Lithuania, provides logistics services in the Baltic States
with the renowned Rhenus levels of quality. Rhenus Svoris is
part of the Rhenus Group, which has annual turnover amounting
to EUR 3.1 billion and is one of the leading European
logistics services providers. Rhenus employs 17,700 people at
290 locations.
Press Contact Details for the Rhenus Group.
Rhenus AG & Co. KG
Anna Ozeretskaya
Corporate Communications
Rhenus-Platz 1
59439 Holzwickede
Germany
Phone +49 (0)2301 29-1492
Fax +49 (0)2301 29-17862
[email protected]
www.rhenus.com
IHG Appoints Nick Barton Vice
President
of
Sales
&
Marketing Greater China
Shanghai, 10 December 2009 – IHG (InterContinental Hotels
Group), the world’s largest hotel group, today announced the
appointment of Nick Barton as Vice President, Sales &
Marketing, Greater China, effective December 1st, 2009.
Upon Barton’s assuming office, his initial focus will be on
developing a strategy for Greater China Sales & Marketing with
an emphasis on growing the domestic market, leveraging the IHG
system in China, and working to develop the China sales and
marketing team.
Before taking on this new position, Barton worked as Vice
President of Communications & Planning of IHG’s Europe, Middle
East and Africa region. Accumulating experiences from his over
ten years of servicing the company in different markets, he
initially led the Holiday Inn Express brand in the United
Kingdom, which expanded from 30 hotels to almost 100 in over
three years; started a direct marketing campaign for Holiday
Inn in United Kingdom and Ireland, which successfully built
sales and increased the profitability of customer stays; and
participated in setting up IHG’s global Performance, Planning,
Insight and Integration function.
“Nick has extensive sales & marketing management experience in
the hotel industry as well as a strong record of applying
innovation and creativity into the IHG systems,” said Keith
Barr, managing director, IHG Greater China. “I am confident
that his past experience and proven leadership will help him
guide the sales & marketing sector in Greater China, as we
continue to grow our leadership position in this market. We
are very pleased to welcome Nick to work together with us.”
IHG has experienced rapid growth in Greater China in recent
years, where IHG is the largest international hotel company,
with over 120 hotels open and more than 100 in the development
pipeline.
Notes to Editors:
About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)]
is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG
owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various
subsidiaries, nearly 4,400 hotels and over 640,000 guest rooms
in 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group
owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands
including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®,
Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and
Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and
Candlewood Suites® and also manages the world’s largest hotel
loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with 47 million
members worldwide.
IHG has 1,500 hotels in its development pipeline, which will
create 140,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding
company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in
England and Wales.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its
hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority
Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com.
Abacus continues to launch
new travel solutions to give
Travel Agencies a competitive
head start
Taiwan, 10 December 2009 – Abacus International, Asia
Pacific’s leading travel facilitator, today announced the
introductions of four innovative solutions – ButterFly, Web
Office, Bargain Finder Max and eServices in Taiwan to give
Abacus-connected agencies a head start in the recovering
travel industry. With the recent economic downturn, Abacus
looks to provide its customers with tailored solutions to help
boost productivity; manage costs and offer ease of use as well
as handle complex travel bookings.
Two of the newly introduced solutions, ButterFly and Web
Office, were custom made to meet the increasing need for
mobile and internet services in the Taiwan travel market while
Bargain Finder Max and eServices offer agencies a strong
competitive edge in fare and route offerings as well as 24/7
agency support from Abacus.
Although
there
is
a
general
cutback
in
research
and
development costs by technology firms over the past year,
Abacus continues their investment in Asia Pacific through the
development of new solutions for their customers.
As explained by Abacus International, President and CEO Robert
Bailey at the annual Abacus Taiwan conference today, the
company had sustained its innovation and development efforts
to help give the industry a much-needed lift from declining
travel demand.
“Earlier this year, Abacus, along with many other technology
companies, needed to juggle the balancing act of managing
business costs and answering the industry’s call for tailored
products to meet the shift in travellers’ demands. However, as
an innovative company, we are always looking to fulfill our
long-standing mission of delivering world-class solutions and
services for our customers, as well as leading industry
transformation, even during difficult times.”
Mr David Wu, Chairman, Abacus Distribution Taiwan added, “We
are very pleased in particular with the two bespoke solutions,
ButterFly and Web Office, which were a result of field
marketing by our team in Taiwan. The Taiwan market is
extremely advanced when it comes to newsrelease the use of
mobile and internet services; consumers are constantly going
onto these channels to look, shop and purchase products and
services. ButterFly and Web Office were hence created to fill
these gaping needs in the travel market.”
Taiwan, considered by many to be one of the most dynamic
travel markets in North Asia, is further boosted by crossstraits deregulation with China in the past year.
This step-up in the offering of internet and mobile based
solutions, as well as competitive travel content from Abacus,
is warmly welcomed by the travel agents’ fraternity.
ButterFly
ButterFly is a graphical based booking and ticketing solution
that was developed to cater to the emerging trends in the
mobile and internet landscape in Taiwan. Offering customer
profile management capabilities, this advanced web-based
solution facilitates targeted e-marketing through a solid
customer database.
Web Office
Also specially created for the Taiwan market, this web-based
solution efficiently integrates an online booking tool with a
back office feature into one system. Highly productive, travel
agents can choose to display the fares that they prefer via
the ‘Easy Fare’ booking tool. In addition, this allencompassing solution includes useful office and marketing
solutions to ensure seamless front-to-end work processes and
customer relationship management.
Bargain Finder Max
Bargain Finder Max is one of the premium services offered
under Abacus WebConnect and is the most widely used global
shopping platform offering hundreds of low fare options and
calendar-based shopping. This advanced low fare search service
increases customer satisfaction and agency productivity as it
generates a diverse range of low fares and flights in one
single transaction.
Abacus eServices
Abacus eServices is Asia’s only GDS online customer support
portal. Aimed to provide Abacus-connected agencies with 24/7
access to the GDS’ full range of business services and market
information, this web-based service allows agencies remote
access to travel tools, solutions and information to help them
sharpen their marketing and operational skills.
About Abacus International
Singapore-based Abacus International is Asia-Pacific’s leading
travel facilitator with more than 20,000 travel agency
locations in 24 markets. With over 21 years of experience in
fusing international best practices and local expertise with
global and local partnerships, Abacus provides travel
information and reservations specifically tailored to the
Asia-Pacific region.
Abacus International is owned by Sabre and a consortium of
Asia’s leading airlines including Malaysia Airlines, All
Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Airways,
Garuda Indonesia, Dragonair, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei
Airlines, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines. Sabre is the global
leader in the electronic distribution of travel and travel
related services.
More information on Abacus can be found at www.abacus.com.sg.
Angie, héroïne de l’année!
Wavre, le 9 décembre 2009 – Angie De Lamper, 8 ans, de
Moerzeke (Hamme) a été élue héroïne de l’année 2009 du parc
Walibi. Avec plus de 1.500 voix, Angie remporte ce concours et
c’est à elle que revient l’honneur d’obtenir une statue à son
effigie à Walibi ! Elle gagne également une journée à Walibi
avec 100 amis, ce qui lui permettra de venir admirer sa statue
avec tous ses amis.
Le concours Big 7
Tout a commencé en avril 2009. Michel, le papa d’Angie, a
participé au concours photos Big 7, organisé par Walibi. Angie
a posé sur le stand de l’attraction « Challenge of Tutankhamon
», une de ses attractions préférées.
Ayant été élue « héroïne Big 7 de la semaine », elle est venue
à Walibi avec 6 amis pour réaliser son propre petit film Big
7. En tant qu’héroïne de la semaine, elle a automatiquement
été sélectionnée pour participer à la grande finale du
concours. Et c’est ce qu’elle a fait avec succès ! Ces trois
dernières semaines, plus de 1.500 personnes ont voté pour le
petit film d’Angie sur www.big7.be. Elle a ainsi vaincu les 24
autres concurrents et c’est elle qui est élue « Héroïne de
l’année 2009 » !
« Cela fait 3 semaines que l’on se bat pour récolter un
maximum de votes », raconte le papa d’Angie. « La compétition
a été passionnante car la différence de votes avec Suzy était
très faible, tout s’est joué dans un mouchoir de poche,
jusqu’à la dernière seconde ».
Inauguration de la statue d’Angie le 3 avril 2010
La statue
jour de la
d’inviter
assister à
d’Angie sera officiellement inaugurée le premier
saison 2010 (3 avril). Angie aura alors l’occasion
100 proches, membres de sa famille ou amis pour
la cérémonie.
La statue d’Angie ira rejoindre celle de Casper, « héros de
l’année 2007 » et celle de Freija, « héroïne de l’année 2008
», toutes deux situées au centre du parc.
WORLDHOTELS Expands in South
Korea Welcoming Seoul Palace
Hotel
Korea’s Seoul Palace Hotel, will join WORLDHOTELS as a First
Class Collection affiliate from 1 January 2010.
The upscale 4-star hotel has a prime location near the COEX, a
world-class exhibition and convention venue in Gangnam,
Seoul’s business and financial hub. It overlooks the Han River
and is conveniently located next to the Express Bus Station
and subway station.
Seoul Palace Hotel opened in 1982 and has remained competitive
through continuous renovation and outstanding service,
including a recent contemporary design renovation of all
public areas, restaurants and ballrooms.
It features 280 elegant rooms and suites, which are all being
refurbished from next year to 2012, including a traditional
“Ondol” suite.
Dining and entertainment includes two signature restaurants –
the authentic Kyoto-style Ta Bong Japanese restaurant and Suh
Goong Chinese Restaurant, specialising in spicy Sichuan
cuisine – plus international buffet The Goong, lounge style
bar TWOTONE and a bakery-CozyBox.
Eleven private dining rooms and banquet halls accommodate from
10 to 1,000 guests for all leisure and business needs.
Extensive leisure facilities include a health club, Finlandstyle sauna, sports massage center, indoor golf driving range
and outdoor jogging track around the hotel.
“As the hotel business motto implies, Seoul Palace takes
meticulous care in service, treating guests and welcoming back
regular customers like family,” said Roland Jegge, Vice
President for WORLDHOTELS Asia Pacific.
“Rates are highly competitive and banqueting facilities for
the MICE market are extremely flexible and impressive.”
Seoul Palace General Manager Mr. Jhong-Bae Lee added “We
consider our personal service and convenient location our
greatest assets. We look forward to extending our hospitality
worldwide through our partnership with WORLDHOTELS’ state-ofthe-art distribution and global marketing network.”
Seoul Palace Hotel’s address: 63-1, Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu,
137-804 Seoul
For further information visit worldhotels.com.
Boeing Statement on United
Airlines Selection of 787
Dreamliner
Boeing [NYSE: BA] is delighted that United Airlines has
selected the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the replacement and
expansion of its twin-aisle fleet.
“United’s selection of the Boeing 787 continues the 80-year
partnership between our two companies,” said Jim Albaugh,
president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The 787 is
the first new airplane of the 21st century. Its advanced
technology and unprecedented improvements in fuel efficiency
will help United achieve its business objectives and enhance
its leadership position among the world’s top airlines.”
Boeing looks forward to working with United to finalize the
order at which time it will be posted to the Boeing Orders and
Deliveries
Web
site
(http://active.boeing.com/commercial/orders/index.cfm).
Brussels Airlines joins Star
Alliance
BRUSSELS, Belgium – December 9th, 2009 – At an official
ceremony held in Brussels’ historic “Grand-Place” today, the
CEOs of the Star Alliance member airlines welcomed Brussels
Airlines to the family.
Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline offering the widest
choice of flights to and from the “capital” of Europe. With a
fleet of 51 aircraft the airline operates some 200 daily
flights to 55 European airports and 14 African destinations.
With the addition of Brussels Airlines, customers on the Star
Alliance network can now choose from more than 19,700 daily
flights to reach 1,077 destinations in 175 countries. New to
the network are more connections from Brussels Airport, which
has now become a Star Alliance hub. These include four
destinations in Africa which are presently not being served by
other Star Alliance member carrier: Bujumbura, Burundi;
Conakry, Guinea; Kigali, Ruanda and Monrovia, Liberia. Eleven
Star Alliance member carriers serve 81 destinations in 40
countries across Africa.
Belgium has now become a home market for the Star Alliance
network, thereby improving the customer proposition for both
business and leisure customers. Hence, Star Alliance can now
offer an enhanced portfolio of flight connections from
Brussels, including a large increase in nonstop flights, to
the advantage of many multinational companies as well as the
various political institutions residing in Belgium.
On the fares side, Brussels Airlines is participating in three
of the alliance’s fare products: the Round the World fare,
Europe Airpass and Africa Airpass. For the Star Alliance Round
the World fare, customers can make use of Brussels Airlines
flights when creating their itineraries, especially for
flights within Europe and to and from Africa.
For visitors to Europe, the extensive network from Brussels
creates new possibilities to travel on the Europe Airpass. For
the Africa Airpass, Brussels Airlines provides numerous
connections to Africa, from where customers can commence their
travel.
Last but not least, Frequent Flyer benefits have also been
enhanced, with customers from all member airlines now able to
earn and redeem miles on more flights than ever before.
Brussels Airlines HON Circle and Senator cardholders have been
given Star Alliance Gold status while Brussels Airlines
Frequent Traveller cardholders have Star Alliance Silver
status. All other Star Alliance Gold and Silver status holders
will be given the appropriate benefits when travelling on
Brussels Airlines. Gold status privileges include access to
980 lounges across the network.
8th International Convention
YPERIA 2010
The 8th International Meeting of Culture and tourism YPERIA
2010, which for the past 7 years has been successfully
organized by Aegialis Hotel & Spa in cooperation with the
Cultural Association of Tholaria of Amorgos Island, will take
place from 07 to 12 of April 2010, at Aegialis Hotel & Spa
(www.amorgos-aegialis.com) in Aegiali, Amorgos.
The main topic of this Convention will be “Special Patterns of
Tourism”,
And particularly:
Sustainable Tourism & Environment
Health tourism
Historical paths and herbs of Amorgos
Mediterranean – Amorgian Diet – Gastronomy
Religious Tourism
New entry to YPERIA 2010 will be the “Tourist Film Festival
Academy” with meeting of Festival Organizers, from all over
the world.
Furthermore, the 1st Festival of Short Tourist Films in
Amorgos will take place during the convention.
There will be the opportunity to meet interesting people, from
Greece and other countries, like journalists interested mainly
in Tourism and Travelling, producers, local authorities,
political representatives, scientists, people involved in
Theatre and Arts.
Participants will exchange views and be introduced to the
culture and history of Amorgos. Additionally there will be
photography & painting exhibitions, Wine Tasting, evenings of
Traditional local Food and Music, workshops of Greek dancing
and language.
Info and participation request:
[email protected],
[email protected] , http://www.yperia.gr