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| VISTATOUR LAUNCH |
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| Manouk Manoukian, General Manager, VistaTour holidays; Smriti Dalvie, VistaTour holidays; Karen Segev, Sales Manager, Toronto, VistaTour holidays; Laurel Bouskill, District Manager, Ottawa & Region, VistaTour holidays; Pierre Doueihi, President, VistaTour holidays | | VistaTour holidays launches the merger of Euromed Holidays and Hi tours into one brand
Lisa Raffaele
Yesterday evening VistaTour holidays held an intimate cocktail reception and presentation at the Delta Chelsea hotel to launch the merger of Euromed holidays, which owns Austrian Vacations and Megatour and Hi Tours, which owns Eurosol, into one company. The VistaTour holidays merger will combine all these companies into their new February brochure, under the one heading VistaTour holidays. The only exception is Quebec, where the 40-year-old Megatour name has done so well that they have decided to leave it for 2008. According to Manouk Manoukian, General Manager, VistaTour holidays, 65 per cent of their clientele comes out of Quebec.
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| HIGH FUEL COSTS CREATE SURCHARGE |
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| United Airlines A320 | | United Airlines announces $5-$10 fuel surcharge on most US domestic flights
To offset record-breaking fuel costs, United Airlines announced yesterday that it is adding a $5 one-way and $10 roundtrip fuel surcharge that will be incorporated into most domestic fares, effective immediately. The fuel surcharge will be incorporated into fares purchased for travel within the 49 states, excluding Hawaii. Every dollar increase in the price of crude oil increases United’s annual costs by approximately $65 million. On Wednesday, the price of crude oil traded over $98 a barrel during the day and ended the day at $96.37 a barrel, compared with $55 a barrel just nine months ago and $20 a barrel six years ago.
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| BOOK 10, HOLD 10 |
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Signature Vacation announces it’s “Book 10, hold 10 promotion and 12th passenger flies free
Signature Vacations is bringing back its “Book 10, Hold 10” groups promotion. Beginning immediately agents who pay deposit on a group of 10 or more departing between April 1st and May 31st, 2008 can hold an additional 10 non-risk seats until January 15th, 2008. Summer groups can take this offer as well and hold an additional 10 seats until April 15th, 2008 on groups departing between June 1st and October 31st, 2008. Confirmed rates are now available for summer 2008. In addition to the “Book 10, Hold 10” promotion, Signature Vacations is offering the 12th passenger flies for free. New groups booked between November 8th and 30th, 2007 for departures January 1st to March 31st, 2008 will receive a $500 air credit for the 12th passenger. This offer is combinable with groups’ rates and provisions.
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| EU ENDORSES BORDERLESS TRAVEL |
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EU expands borderless Schengen travel zone to 9 new members
Canadian Press
Citizens from nine new EU member countries, most in Eastern Europe, will be able to travel passport-free to most other countries in the bloc as of Dec. 21, after EU justice and interior ministers endorsed landmark plans to lift border checks yesterday. The decision follows through on a long-standing commitment to Malta and eight eastern European countries that joined in 2004 that once their external borders were judged secure, their citizens would be allowed to take up the full EU rights of free movement without the need to stop at national borders. EU officials said the opening of the borders with the nine countries: Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Malta, will be marked with ceremonies one minute after midnight on Dec. 21 by top officials at various old frontier crossings.
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| BMI EXPANDS NETWORK |
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bmi to launch service from London Heathrow to Dammam, Saudi Arabia
It was announced on Tuesday that bmi airline is to launch flights to Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Nigel Turner, Chief Executive of bmi, unveiled plans at a press event in Egypt to mark the start of daily direct services from Heathrow to Cairo. The news comes at the end of a week when bmi introduced 17 new routes, the largest ever expansion of its route network. The new Dammam service, set to begin in early 2008, will operate three times a week on a wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft and will add to bmi’s existing Saudi destinations – Riyadh, which launched in September 2005, and Jeddah in April 2006.
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| GLASGOW GETS GAMES |
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Scotland tourism celebrates 20th annual Commonwealth Games set for Glasgow 2014
Tourism businesses across Scotland are celebrating the prospect of an increase in revenue as a result of the country contracting the 20th Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014. For eleven days in July and August 2014, Scotland’s biggest city will welcome athletes, media and spectators from 71 countries. Estimates put the net impact on the Scottish economy at £81 million, with £26 million of that going to the city of Glasgow alone. A four per cent increase in visitors in the three years following the Games has also been forecast by the Scotland bid team. This equates to approximately £30 million in income generated, and does not include spin-off benefits such as conference bookings generated by the Games.
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