World Travel News

Tourism arrivals will rise by at least 8 percent this year, according to the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP), which noted a 60 percent increase in incoming flights this month compared to the same period in 2004. Crete and the Dodecanese Islands were the most popular destinations, ITEP revealed ahead of today’s World Tourism Day.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises highlighted the dependence of the tourism sector upon air travel, noting that more than 80 percent of foreign visitors arrive in Greece by plane. It also grasped the opportunity to criticize state carrier Olympic Airlines for “poisoning free competition by systematically undermining all private initiatives via unfair means.”

The Greek government is seeking to promote sea tourism, Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis, Avramopoulos said his ministry was promoting a series of measures aimed to promote sea tourism such as sea cruises and a more efficient use of marinas around the country. The Greek minister said sea tourism was a new,very significant, chapter for Greek tourism.

Kefaloyiannis stressed that plans to expand the country’s network of marinas was supported by a 3.0 billion euros financial protocol recently signed between the greek government and the European Investment Bank.

Meanwhile, Tourism Deputy Minister Anastasios Liaskos, addressing the 17th Pan-European Sports Conference in Athens, said the Greek government was promoting measures aimed to boost sports tourism in the country.

Greece successfully held the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Its national soccer team won the European Championship in Portugal last year, while its national basketball team won the European Championship in Belgrade on Sunday.

Source: ana.gr

Featuring executives and luminaries from World Bank, Yahoo!, Microsoft, NBC Today Show, Orbitz, Recreational Equipment , Inc. (REI), National Geographic Adventures Magazine, The Travel Institute, and dozens of respected and influential adventure travel industry experts, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) unveiled an unprecedented program schedule to inaugurate its Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS).

The ATWS will be held in Seattle on October 16, 17, and 18, 2005, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Elliot Bay.

Helping Summit participants fuse big-picture vision with everyday practical knowledge and tools to help businesses reduce costs, increase revenues and grow their own customer bases is the primary aim of the three-day conference. ATWS sessions will offer interactive learning environments where partnerships are formed, new research is collectively analyzed, challenging issues are debated, group-buying power is developed, a stronger community is built, and progressive visions are explored. The outcome of the ATWS is to enable the industry to better serve travelers, promote responsible tourism, and optimize the industry`s market potential. Core topics include trends, research, marketing, partnering, operations, sustainability, and funding.

“The Adventure Travel World Summit is a long overdue opportunity,” says Kurt Kutay, President of Seattle-based Wildland Adventures. “Over the past quarter century, adventure travel companies and related businesses have proliferated in response to an ever-increasing market of active, outdoor travelers. We have witnessed dramatic changes in the economic structure of our industry, insurance liability requirements, ongoing environmental and social concerns on the ground, and strategies for understanding and capturing our changing market. I anticipate a highly creative and productive collaboration among experienced executive-level colleagues for the benefit of our respective businesses and as well as setting the course for future development of our niche industry at this critical time.”

More: traveldailynews.com

Atlanta-based global travel technology provider Worldspan, L.P., and CWT Travel World, a full-service travel management firm headquartered in Clifton, New Jersey, have announced a new travel technology relationship. The parties recently completed the transition of CWT Travel World`s operations to the Worldspan travel technology platform and global distribution system (GDS), to serve the firm`s travel management needs and system-wide client base. CWT Travel World is an independently owned corporate and leisure travel management firm and a member of the Carlson Wagonlit Travel network. Operating under the same ownership for the past 26 years, CWT Travel World today has 11 locations, including four retail and three corporate on-site locations in New Jersey and New York, and four travel document fulfillment centers, located in New Jersey, New York and Texas. CWT Travel World was a subscriber of the Galileo global distribution system prior to its transition to Worldspan.

“CWT Travel World is growing faster than the general market and we`re supporting their growth with business development programs and the advanced technologies and service they expect from a primary technology partner,” said Mike Parks, Worldspan senior vice president and general manager - Worldwide Travel Distribution. “CWT Travel World joins a growing community of Worldspan-powered agencies that value our commitment to not competing with our customers in the travel marketplace.”

Michael Rappaport, chief executive officer of CWT Travel World, said, “Worldspan offers competitive advantages we couldn`t get from our previous GDS, or any other GDS, the most critical being their strategy of not competing in the travel retail business. They`re a travel agency`s strongest proponent in today`s competitive environment.”

More: traveldailynews.com

The Travel Institute recently welcomed Bill Leiber, CTC, as their new Senior Vice President of Business Development .

“Bill`s 37 years of travel industry experience, his impeccable reputation, and his intimate understanding of suppliers` and travel sellers` need for returns on their educational investments, makes him a natural for this position,” said Scott Ahlsmith, CTC, chairman of The Travel Institute`s Board of Trustees. “Adding Bill to The Travel Institute`s team improves our value proposition to suppliers as well as satisfying the continuing educational requirements of travel professionals.” Ahlsmith also noted that Leiber would be working side-by-side with Executive Vice President and General Manager, Maureen Kennedy to achieve the goals of The Travel Institute.

“For the last 41 years, The Travel Institute has been dedicated to providing the gift of knowledge to those professionals determined to improve their value to their customers. I think that agency consolidation and the impact of the Internet have converged to create the ideal time for The Travel Institute to reformulate its approach to the marketplace and thereby improve its relevancy and value to everyone in the travel community,” said Leiber. “For me, a key element will be to link the Institute`s dictum of `learn to earn` with the travel supplier`s concept of `pay for play.` Fundamentally, professionalism and profitability for all distribution partners creates a win-win scenario.”

More: traveldailynews.com