Hospitality - travel - Tourism

Why It Pays to Book With a Travel Agent Booking a trip often proves to be an extremely stressful, grueling undertaking. You can spend hours online searching for deals on flights and hotels, bouncing from one website to another in pursuit of the perfect price. This kind of process is often headache-inducing: Approximately 20 percent of more than 2,000 travelers worldwide said it took them more than five hours to search and book travel online, according to a recent survey by the I.B.M. Institute for Business Value . To avoid the hassle, some consumers are turning to travel agents. After suffering for years, the travel-agent industry is now experiencing substantial growth. Nearly 1 in 3 leisure agencies is hiring, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm. And the American Society of Travel Agents reports that 57 percent of independent agents saw an increase in business in 2011. Faced with countless choices for flights, hotels, car rental, and tours, some consumers are dumpin

What a guest expects from a hotel Not matter how much hotels innovate, there are still some "basic" requirements that all properties should meet to make their experiences both welcoming and comforting to guests. Hoteliers and hotel employees: Pay close attention to ensure your hotel can deliver on these expectations. 1. Cleanliness: This is an absolute must. Hotels, whether we're talking about a Red Roof Inn or a Bulgari resort, need to uphold the highest cleanliness standards, offering clean public spaces, bathrooms, bedrooms, and amenities. While it's an important initiative, recycling must not give way to a lack of hygiene. 2. Adequate safety/security: For many, a hotel functions as a home away from home. With that comes a hefty expectation for the most diligent safety and security measures. Many hotels now focus on providing personalized safety and security measures for different guest profiles such as women, children, and the elderly. Technology plays an inc

                                             FOCUS ON BAYELSA STATE CULTURE AND TOURISM                   " The Pride Of The Nation"                                 Bayelsa is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State . Its capital is Yenagoa . The four main languages spoken are Izon, Nembe, Epie-Atissa, and Ogbia . Like the rest of Nigeria, English is the official language. The state was formed in 1996 from part of Rivers State and is thus one of the newest states of the Nigerian federation THE THREE MAJOR CULTURAL FESTIVALS IN BAYELSA The rich cultural heritage of Bayelsa State is expressed by variety of her festivals through which the people recreate their past and reposition their culture to the present. Virtually every community in Bayelsa State has their own unique of celebrating their cultural feast. Some of the notable ones are; LAKE EFI FISHING FESTIVAL This is a major festival that take

Travelling to the USA Citizens of countries covered by the Visa Waiver Programme (such as the UK) are able to travel to the USA without a visa providing they hold a valid Electronic System Travel Authorisation (ESTA) and meet the requirements of the programme. As of 1 April 2016, if you're travelling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, you will also need to have a valid e-Passport along with your ESTA. e-Passports include an integrated computer chip capable of storing biographic and biometric information, such as the digital photograph of the holder. You can identify an e-Passport by the 'chip' symbol on its front cover. ESTA You can apply for an ESTA online and should receive approval straight away, although we recommend applying at least 72 hours before your departure. An ESTA is valid for multiple journeys for up to two years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner. Learn more about your Visa Waiver Program and ESTA Apply for an EST

Unruly smoker forces Vancouver-bound Lufthansa flight to divert to Hamburg 'He tried to light up a smoke ... he apparently tried to open the back door at 38,000 feet'       This man was removed from a Lufthansa flight bound for Vancouver after passengers say he tried to force open a door. (Dan Iosh) A Vancouver-bound Lufthansa flight was forced to divert from Munich to Hamburg after a passenger's erratic behavior threatened safety, according to a fellow passenger. Lufthansa officials confirmed that flight LH476 was diverted to Hamburg where the passenger was removed. Hamburg police confirmed that a rescue crew, including a doctor, met the man and diagnosed him with a mental disorder. He was taken to a local psychiatric facility. There is no active police investigation into the incident.  'Once we got in the air he got more and more agitated and he tried to light up a cigarette' - Dan Iosh, fellow passenger "It was reported that there w

How to Start a Hotel as a Business Starting a hotel as a business can be a challenging but profitable undertaking. Whether you’re envisioning no-nonsense accommodation for business travelers, high-end boutiques or a comfortable bed-and-breakfast, you’ll want to spend ample time researching and planning before taking the plunge because there’s plenty of competition. In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 64,300 establishments providing overnight accommodation in the U.S. Step 1 The options for starting a hotel can be overwhelming, so decide early on what type of hotel accommodation you’ll offer: upscale, affordable or budget. Decide whether the hotel business will provide rooms-only service, or whether additional amenities including a restaurant, conference hall, swimming pool, beauty spa or fitness center will be included. This is also the time to make decisions about location. Some states, including New York, Florida, Hawaii and California, a

Emirates adds tenth London service Emirates has unveiled plans to boost capacity to London with the addition of a tenth daily flight to the British capital starting 1st October 2016. The new service, Emirates’ fourth daily flight to London Gatwick, will complement its six daily services to Heathrow and take the airline’s total weekly services to the city to 70. The Dubai-London Gatwick service will be operated by a state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, with eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. “Emirates started serving London Gatwick in July 1987; since then over 10 million passengers have travelled on the route. As a global hub for finance, business and tourism, London attracts travellers from all over the world,” commented Hubert Frach, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West. “With British expats forming the largest wester

Emirates adds third daily Cape Town service Emirates will introduce a third daily service between Dubai and Cape Town from 4th July 2016. The new service will supplement the two current daily flights between the two cities to meet growing demand on the route, and offer outbound and inbound travellers even more convenience and choice. Operated by Emirates’ popular Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, flight EK 778 will depart Dubai at 1050hrs and arrive in Cape Town at 1830hrs. The return flight, EK 779 will depart Cape Town at 2005hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0730hrs the following morning. The timing of the flights will give Cape Town customers and those from across Emirates’ global network, greater flexibility in their travel plans and offer convenient transit times to connecting flights through the airline’s modern hub, Dubai. Cape Town is one of the most popular destinations in the Emirates global network, and the additional flight will help meet the growing demand for seats int

MARRIOTT TO OPEN BONN PROPERTY Situated on the banks of the Rhine, the Marriott Bonn World Conference Hotel is scheduled to open its doors to guests at the end of the month. With 17 floors, 336 rooms including 30 suites, two presidential suites and an array of modern facilities, the hotel is one of the largest in Germany and boasts a roof-top restaurant, fitness centre, spa and indoor pool. Designed to cater to both business and leisure guests, the 19,000m2 hotel is perfectly located for both the bustling business district and the fantastic bars, restaurants and famous museums the city is renowned for. The hotel’s interiors have been inspired by the rich history of the Bonn Republic and boast fresh, modern design with images of famous figures from the city’s political past decorating each floor. The highlight of the hotel is the exceptional 17th floor restaurant and bar, Konrad’s, where chef de cuisine Alexander Stadler indulges guests with culinary delicacies ins

Dubai Tourism offers conditional welcome to Airbnb Dubai Tourism and Airbnb have signed a memorandum of understanding to help promote responsible hosting and help grow and diversify tourism in the emirate. It follows the introduction of enhanced regulations last month that make obtaining a ‘holiday home’ license more streamlined for individual tenants and homeowners who want to rent their homes to guests. The deal will bolster collaboration between the two parties and help enhance and diversify the emirate’s holiday home sector, boosting competition through a safe and transparent holiday home segment.  Under the agreement, Airbnb will cooperate with Dubai Tourism on preventing breaches of the regulation by informing all host members of the Dubai Tourism regulations via its website and through email reminders of the rules. The two parties will also explore joint marketing and promotional activations for Dubai as a tourism destination. The agreement also states the

Debris found in search for missing Egypt Air MS804 The Egyptian military has located debris from crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 in the Mediterranean. Military units from Greece, France, Egypt and the UK have been scouring the Mediterranean near the Greek island of Karpathos following the disappearance of the flight yesterday. The Airbus 320 had been en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board. French President Francois Hollande said the plane likely crashed on route to the Egyptian capital. Greece defence minister Panos Kammenos added it appeared the plane made two sharp turns before plunging into the Mediterranean Sea. He explained the plane “turned 90 degrees left and a 360-degree turn to the right” before it dropped more than 20,000 feet and disappeared from radar screens No group has yes claimed it was behind its disappearance. So far, no wreckage or debris from the aircraft has been found. The focus in France is on whether a possible breach of

FOCUS ON BAUCHI STATE CULTURE AND TOURISM Bauchi (earlier Yakoba ) is a city in northeast Nigeria , the capital of Bauchi State , of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate . It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau , at an elevation of 616 m. The city has a population of 301,284 (2012). The Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km 2 and had a population of 493,810 at the time of the 2006 Census. Bauchi state has a total of 55 tribal groups in which include Hausa, Fulani, Gerawa, Sayawa, Jarawa, Bolewa, Karekare, Kanuri, Fa’awa, Butawa, Warjawa, Zulawa, and Badawa as the main tribes. There are cultural similarities in the people’s language, occupational practices, festivals, dress and there is a high degree of ethnic interaction especially in marriage and economic existence. The people of Bauchi State are known for their traditional wrestling and boxing dexterity, which attracts participants even from nei

  FOCUS ON ANAMBRA STATE CULTURE AND TOURISM Anambra is a state in southeastern Nigeria . Its name is an anglicized version of the original 'Oma Mbala', the native name of the Anambra River . The capital and seat of government is Awka . Onitsha and Nnewi are the biggest commercial and industrial cities respectively. The state's theme is                                              "Light Of The Nation" Culture and tourism Agulu Lake Agulu Crocodile Lake is located along Awka road in Agulu, Aniocha Local Government Area of the state. A potential tourist site, it is home to an estimated three hundred crocodiles and water turtles. Fishing is not allowed on the lake and the crocodiles, being sacred animals to the people, cannot be killed. Legend says that these crocodiles were instrumental in delivering the town from enemy soldiers during the Nigerian civil war. It is believed that these sacred crocodiles and turtles transformed themselves int

British Airways launches longest long-haul flight to Santiago, Chile British Airways is launching the only direct flight between London and Santiago, Chile from January 3rd, 2017. Santiago will become the airline’s lengthiest long-haul route, taking 14 hours 40 minutes, nearly an hour more than the current longest flight of 13 hours 50 minutes service to Buenos Aires. The four-a-week flight will be served by the airline’s newest aircraft, the four-cabin Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, complete with a new First cabin. Santiago will be the latest destination in Latin America to join British Airways’ route network.  The airline recently launched new services to San Jose in Costa Rica and Lima in Peru. In addition, it also operates flight to Rio and Sao Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Alex Cruz, chairman, British Airways said: “In recent years we have been increasing our services to South and Central America reflecting the area’s continued growth in both business and tour

An EgyptAir flight reported missing between Paris and Cairo has crashed, French President Francois Hollande confirmed. The Airbus A320 with 66 people on board disappeared from radar at 02:30 Cairo time (00:30 GMT), soon after leaving Greek airspace. Greece's defence minister says Flight MS804 made "sharp turns" and plunged before dropping off the radar. A major search is under way in seas south of the Greek island of Karpathos. Greek and Egyptian armed forces are involved in the effort, and France has offered to send boats and planes. Mr Hollande said he was keeping an open mind about the cause of the crash. "We will draw conclusions when we have the truth about what happened," he said. "Whether it was an accident, or whether it was - and it's something that is on our minds - terrorism." There were 56 passengers - including three children - seven crew members and three security personnel on board. They included 30 Egyptians, 15 French ci

Welcome To Hospitality, Travel And Tourism Central: SINGAPORE AIRLINES INTRODUCES PREMIUM ECONOMY CLAS... : At Singapore Airlines, we continually strive to meet your client's needs and improve our flying experience. That's why we&#...

At Singapore Airlines, we continually strive to meet your client's needs and improve our flying experience. That's why we're pleased to bring you our new Premium Economy Class, featuring a more comfortable seat, additional food and beverage choices, as well as a host of exclusive privileges in the air and on the ground. And of course, it's all brought together by the same award-winning service you love. Premium Economy is now available from Los Angeles and San Francisco, and will begin flying from New York (JFK) this summer.     *Service will be available for booking from April 2015 © 2015 Singapore Airlines. Singapore Co. Reg. No. 197200078R