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                      Europe/Middle East/Africa Newsletter July 2007 Edition                        

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In the Air

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Editors Message...                                                                    


In Paris, Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), opened a new terminal last month. The impressive glass structure is the size of 40 soccer fields and will accommodate 26 aircraft including six A380’s super jumbos when it becomes fully operational later this year.

In Dubai, the first of six runways of the new Dubai World Central International Airport (JBX) will be completed in October. JBX, which is set to be the largest commercial airport in the world, will begin operations in mid-2008 and have the capacity to handle between 120-130 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo annually.

African tourism is making a collective effort to promote Africa as a tourism destination. Tourism leaders attended the ATA (Africa Travel Association) conference to work on a plan. Read more about this in this issue.

Until next time


Best

Helena

Helena Miele, CITE
Editor, electronic newsletters

Bavaria City Suites Doha - Ready for the MICE Market Summer 2008

The Bavaria City Suites Hotel Doha had its soft opening this March. One of its four towers opened and is available for long term guests.
The second of the four towers open will open in September 2007 and the final two towers will both be completed by end of the year. Upon completion, the hotel will offer 2,200 one, two and three bedroom suites with spacious living areas, workstations, kitchens or kitchenettes and complimentary high-speed Internet access. Each bedroom has a private bathroom, giving privacy to each delegate sharing a suite. The hotel’s Meeting Center will be equipped with state-of-the-art AV equipment and wireless connectivity. It will be able to accommodate up to 800 delegates in flexible meeting space that includes 4 meeting rooms and 12 fully equipped boardrooms that accommodate from 8 to 25 delegates. A Meeting Center Team will be on site to assist planners and delegates throughout each program. The Business Center will be located next to the Meeting Center and will offer business support services. Personal Assistant Services, an amenity that is exclusive to Bavaria Hotels International is introduced. Dining options will include four restaurants and lounges, the Terrasso and Garden Grill restaurants, the 24-hour Café Haus, and the rooftop West Bay Lounge. The Angsana Spa, the Lifestyle Fitness club and the 45-meter pool will offer delegates the opportunity to unwind. For delegates traveling with family, there will be a Kids club with a game room, play garden and special pool.
As the hotel is being completed in stages, short-term guest accommodation will be available towards the end of 2007. And as the hotel is getting ready for MICE groups in the middle of 2008, the country of Qatar is also upgrading its infrastructure as it readies for increased tourism.
E-mail: claudia.siebecker@bhihotels.com
Web site: http://bhihotels.com
bavaria
bavariadoha

New High Speed Train for France

Train travel in Europe is relaxing and fun and a nice way for incentive program attendees to see more of the country on a dual destination program. In France, a new high speed TGV train connection is cutting travel time between Paris and eastern France (Reims, Metz, Nancy, Colmar, Strasbourg, etc), Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In addition to offering increased frequencies, many direct routes were added, eliminating transfers.
Train travel cuts down the time spent in airport transfers and is better for the environment. Contact Rail Europe for more information and for group bookings. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
Web site: http://www.raileurope.com

 tgv

Africa Mobilizes to Increase Tourism

At the Africa Travel Association’s (ATA) 32nd Annual Congress held in Ethiopia a few weeks ago, the tourism sector from 20 African countries joined together set a plan to increase tourism to Africa. Ethiopia’s Culture and Tourism Ministry hosted the event, which coincided with the country’s millennium celebrations, and Ethiopian Airways served as the official carrier. President Girma Wolde-Giorgis of Ethiopia opened the conference held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa. During the 5-day conference, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia sponsored events at the congress hotels, the Hilton-Addis and the Ghion. Ethiopian Airlines and Sheraton Addis also sponsored special events.
At the conference, delegates banded together and decided to promote Africa as one destination and gave the ATA a mandate to lead a global campaign dedicated to raise awareness and visibility of Africa as a travel destination. The need to reach out to Asia’s new emerging travel market and present Africa’s travel products at travel and marketing expos throughout Asia and the world was also decided.
Web site: http://www.africatravelassociation.org		 ata

Albania Readies for Increase Tousism

Over the millennia, Albania has had many "visitors" – Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. Actually, the country has been inhabited since the Stone Age (one hundred thousand years ago), but the number of visitor’s has been down in recent decades. But now, Albania is readying for increased inbound tourism. The country is building infrastructure, designating ecotourism areas and refurbishing cultural venues. There are plans to re-establish the importance of the three castles that ring the city of Tirana and to build on the ecotourism opportunities of the countryside, which is ideal for canoeing, swimming, diving, fishing, walking and climbing. An investment of 50 million euros went to enlarging and modernizing Tirana International Mother Teresa Airport. A new glass and steel high-tech passenger terminal opened in March as part of the first phase of the airport’s modernization program. Plus, a new cargo terminal with ancillary buildings, a seven-kilometer/5 miles perimeter road and a brand new access road were built. The airport, now capable of accommodating one million passengers a year, has 15 international airlines including Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Lufthansa flying there. During the second phase of development, sections of the new terminal will be expanded.
Web site: http://www.tirana-airport.com.al

 tirana

In the Air

Etihad to Thiruvananathapuram in India

Etihad Airways inaugurated service from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), in the south Indian state of Kerala. The thrice-weekly service to Trivandrum brings Etihad’s frequencies to India up to 21 per week. Flights from Abu Dhabi to Kochi (Cochin) also began this month and New Delhi service started at the end of May.

Flights from Abu Dhabi to Trivandrum and from Abu Dhabi to Kochi will increase to a daily service in the beginning in October 2007.
Web site: http://www.etihadairways.com
 etihad

 

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