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| Sunday, 20 November 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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164m long haul tourist arrivals from Europe by 2020 by Elmo Leonard The World tourism Organisation(WTO) has predicted 164 million long haul tourist arrivals from Europe by 2020; an yearly increase of 6.1 percent from 1995.
The most popular destinations will be the Americas, followed by East Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Western and Northern Europe are expected to be the most important originating regions. A survey of the European Union long haul tourism market 2005, was carried out by the Dutch, CBI - Centre for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries. A presentation on the survey was made by the general manager of the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL) Sujeevan Perera, last week. This information, invaluable for Sri Lanka's tourism industry could be obtained at the ECCSL. The information should be used as a guide to assist small and medium-sized tourism businesses, government and NGOs from developing countries interested in entering and strengthening a position in European markets. The document is a reference tool; the operator will have to do his own research. "Do not assume that what works in the United Kingdom will apply in Germany or France", Perera said. The study refers to the 2002 figure of 35.5 million arrivals of Europeans in developing countries. Germany - 9.6 million arrivals; UK - 6.7 m; France - 5.7 m; Italy - 4 m. Geographical and historical reasons (colonies) play a role in the choice of a destination. For French, German, Spanish and Italian tourists - African destinations (Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco) are popular, among developing countries. For the Dutch, Turkey was the number one destination. The British like Turkey, as they do Thailand and South Africa. The travel market is constantly moving and developing. The most important trends include the increase of tourist arrivals to developing countries, the fast growing popularity of the Internet as an information and booking medium, the changing demography that create several specialised target groups, shorter holidays, consumers that want value for less money and tailor-made holidays that are becoming more and more popular. In the EU, a small number of main players dominate the tour operator market accounting for 70 percent of the market and represents a sales value of Euro 41 billion in 2002. The outboard tour operators claim 29 percent commission and travel agents, 10 percent. There are two main target groups, the independent and inclusive travellers which have correspondent trade channels. The Internet influences the decision process to a large extent. The most common distribution channel for operators from developing countries include specialised and smaller tour operators that cover destinations that are not (fully) covered by giant tour operators. Direct selling is also a possibility, depending on the level of experience in the EU market and the quality of both network and the product, the operator offers. Member organisations acting as tour operators are also possible channels. Other promotion tools are the press, fam trips (familiarisation trips for journalists), catalogues, video, DVD and CD-rom and tourism promotion organisations and government. Selecting a suitable business partner in the EU travel business is very time consuming and may take years. A country selection assists the operator in selecting one most promising EU country. Tourism trade fairs are by far the most important promotion and communication tool. They provide the opportunity to carry out market research - get an overview of the business, existing trends and important players; maintain contact with existing relations; meet new contacts; get to know the price level (general and by EU country); look at the competition and learn from it and try out interesting promotion methods. ########## Austrian Airlines inaugurates direct operations The first direct operation of Austrian Airlines Boeing 767 flight No. OS45 from Vienna to Colombo arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport on November 3, carrying a full complement of 245 passengers on board. Rajitha Seneviratne, Manager - Austrian Airlines and Director/General Manager of Browns Tours Limited, General Sales Agents for Austrian Airlines in Sri Lanka, together with his team organised a welcome reception at the airport for the crew and passengers on board. They were greeted by Kandyan dancers and drummers, and garlanded on arrival by Austrian Airlines staff in Colombo. Bernt Stolle, Captain of the Austrian Airlines Boeing 767, Neubauer Hannes - First Officer on the flight lit the oil lamp. Shalitha Wijesundara, Managing Director, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, Senake D. Amerasinghe, Hony. Consul for Austria in Sri Lanka, Georg Bittner Buddenbrock Hettersdorff, Counsellor in Sri Lanka, Malraj B. Kiriella, Director Marketing, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, S. N Salgado, Airport Manager - Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, Manjula Hapuarachchi, Station Manager - Austrian Airlines, Sunil Peiris, Director - Jetwing Air (Pvt) Ltd and Eustace , Director/General Manager - Dart Aviation, General Sales agents for Austrian Cargo in Sri Lanka were also present. ######### Cathay Pacific adds fifth daily service to Seoul Cathay Pacific Airways will introduce an additional fifth daily flight to Seoul, South Korea, offering passengers even greater coverage of services throughout the day and further strengthening connections across its Hong Kong hub. The new non-stop service, starting January 27, 2006, will depart Hong Kong shortly after midnight, arriving early morning in the South Korean capital. The return flight from Seoul will be the first departure for Hong Kong from the city and will arrive before noon. The new service will complement the airline's existing schedule. The late-night Hong Kong departure will enable business travellers to make the most of the workday and connect with inbound services from Bangkok, Australia and New Zealand. The return leg will principally make onward connections to Denpasar and points in Australia. Of the airline's four other daily Seoul services, three are non-stop. The new service, for which final details remain subject to government approval, will also operate non-stop. Cathay Pacific Director Corporate Development Augustus Tang said: "A fifth daily Cathay Pacific flight to and from Seoul capitalises on the growing enthusiasm for business and in particular leisure for travel to and from South Korea. Its schedule offers customers a new product and the prospect of easier access to more points across Cathay Pacific's network, strengthening Hong Kong as a global hub." ######### Martinair resumes Colombo, Amsterdam flights Martinair resumed operations between Colombo and Amsterdam from November 4, equipped with the new fleet to serve passengers better. A spokesman for the airline said this is a result of the confidence Martinair has of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. Founded in 1958 as a Charter Carrier, Martinair now operates scheduled flights to Sri Lanka. The airline which is owned 50% by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines includes a modern fleet of Boeing 747, 767 and Airbus A320 s. Martinair operates two weekly flights, leaving Amsterdam on Thursdays and Saturdays and departing Colombo on Fridays and Sundays and is the only airline to operate direct Colombo/Amsterdam with connections to European, American and Caribbean destinations where passengers can connect the world with ease at Schiphol using its unique 'one terminal' feature with onwards on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Martinair flights comprises 'economy', 'comfort' and the most exclusive 'star class'. For families and price conscious vacationers can enjoy 'economy class' and with the introduction of 'comfort class' passengers booked on 'economy class' can enjoy the benefits by simply upgrading to 'comfort class' where they can enjoy even more leg space for a very comfortable flight. Star class offers passengers a variety of priority benefits with access
to the business class lounge in Schiphol and most Martinair destinations. |
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