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Weekly UpdatesAug 16, 2009
The tourism sector is at the frontline of these key issues, yet is unlikely to receive the attention it deserves in the current high-level discussions concerning the replacement of the Kyoto protocol to be finalized in Copenhagen this December. UNWTO is working towards raising the profile of the sector as a key strategic element of global resilience and recovery, teaming up with the European Travel Commission (ETC) and Visit Sweden next month to show how tourism can play a leading role in the development of a sustainable global economy. The Gothenburg Symposium, taking place on September 14-15 in Gothenburg, Sweden has been convened as part of UNWTO's Davos Process to address how the development of sustainable consumption and production relates to the tourism sector in the run-up to the Copenhagen Agreement. Aug 10, 2009
Cunard Line
Cunard Line will host the Kennedy Center Chamber Players and Director of Artistic Planning Nigel Boon of the National Symphony Orchestra on the Queen Mary 2Os Sept. 8 eastbound trans-Atlantic crossing. Sailing from New York to Southampton, England, the players and Boon will present three programs in the Royal Court Theatre during the six-day voyage. For more information, call 800-7-CUNARD or visit www.cunard.com. Aug 13, 2009
Dublin
Amidst all the gloom about the tourism season and the impact of the recession, there has been one area of our tourism market that remains a growth area. Tourism might be in trouble, but the cruise industry here is enjoying one of its strongest years, and Dublin is becoming a favoured port of call. In a year when foreign-visitor numbers nationally are expected to drop below six million, Dublin Port is set to experience a record year with 75,000 cruise-line passengers disembarking in the capital. From April until the end of September, the season for cruise liners in this part of the world, 83 cruise liners are due to dock at Dublin Port, beating last yearOs record of 79 cruise liners coming to town. In 1994, just 15 years ago, an average of six cruise ships a year docked in Dublin Port. Aug 13, 2009
England
The "barbeque summer" is an official wash out, with staycations quickly becoming a thing of the past. Holidaymakers across the UK are searching for cheap holidays abroad to enjoy the sun elsewhere. When the nation was confident there was going to be a warmer summer, holiday destinations such as Butlins and Haven reported record booking numbers, as holidaymakers strove to save money during the recession by staying in the UK. However, since the Met office's admission that the summer will be wet, travel websites have noted a surge in searches for holidays abroad. Travel firm Lastminute.com said interest in "staycation" holidays in Britain had peaked in June, when searches on its website for UK destinations surpassed those for Spain. Aug 10, 2009
Eurostar
Eurostar has announced it is to charge GBP 3 per credit card transaction for all bookings made by phone or internet. A spokesperson for Eurostar confirmed that the charge would apply to corporate customers. But Eurostar said the charge was per booking and not per passenger. The train operator said the fee was still significantly lower than those of its airline competitors such as British Airways which charges GBP 4.50 per person. All bookings made by debit card are free which Eurostar said reflected lower costs levied by banks for this type of payment. The GBP 3 charge will offset most of the costs levied by the credit card companies, Eurostar said. Eurostar also announced it had scrapped call centre booking fees. www.eurostar.com Aug 13, 2009
French Riviera Cruise Club
Four ports along the French Riviera -- Nice, Cannes, Villefranche sur Mer and Monaco -- have joined together to promote the destination to the cruise industry. The French Riviera Cruise Club now includes countless other businesses that can help cruise passengers. For more information, visit www.frenchrivieracruiseclub.com or www.frcc.fr. Aug 12, 2009
Italy
Hordes of European tourists are flooding into Italy for a chance to bag a ticket for tonight's record GBP 113M lottery jackpot N including a plane full of Germans who are flying in for the event. Germany's Bild newspaper organised the trip so that competition winners could be in with a chance of winning the enormous prize. The passengers will be flown into Milan's Malpensa airport, be given a plate of pasta, an espresso and a lottery ticket, then be whisked back to Berlin in time for the draw. There are three draws a week for the whopping Superenalotto jackpot but no one has claimed the correct series of six numbers since JANUARY. And lotto fever is growing with Austrian, Croatian, and French tourists "storming over the border to try their luck". Aug 13, 2009
Italy
Everyone knows by now that this is a great, money-saving year to visit Europe. But TourCrafters is making it even better with free night offers from their favorite hotels in Italy. In Florence, for example, the new 4-star Palazzo Ognissanti in the heart of the old city center is offering a pay-for-two-nights-stay-for-three deal in August, November, and December. That's 33 percent off the usual nightly price of USD 224. The 4-star USD 300 a night Plaza Hotel Lucchesi, located right on the River Arno - TourCrafters says, "Think 'Room With a View.'" - is offering a pay-four-stay-five deal in August, November, and December. Rome's comfortable, centrally-located Hotel Brasile, which is popular with TourCrafters' budget-minded clients, has a pay-two-stay-three offer in August, November, and December. The 4-star Bernini Bristol (USD 470 a night) on the Piazza Barberini at the beginning of the Via Veneto and in the middle of Rome's best shopping, has a pay-three-stay-four offer. In Venice, at the cozy Venetian-style Hotel Malibran (USD 174 a night), which is not far from the Rialto Bridge, the offer is pay-two-stay-three in August, November, and December, as is at the wonderfully-luxurious, 5-star Luna Baglioni (USD 700 a night), which is located a few steps from the Piazza San Marco. Aug 12, 2009
Italy
Key Tours is reducing prices on Italian Vacations on select packages booked and paid in full by Aug. 31, including the following: nine-day escorted Scents of Italy vacation, savings of USD 200 per couple; nine-day escorted Borromini (a new vacation for 2009), savings of USD 200 per couple; 12-day escorted Bernini (a new vacation for 2009), savings of USD 150 per couple; and nine-day escorted Sicilian Fantasy, savings of USD 150 per couple. These are valid for all remaining 2009 departures. In addition, Key Tours is offering USD 150 savings per couple on the nine-day Art Capitals of Italy tour visiting Rome, Florence and Venice. Aug 10, 2009
Latvia
The Amber Coast sanitorium, located in the Latvian seaside resort of Jurmala, features a dacha where Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev would greet his guests. A clock with a hammer-and-sickle pendulum ticks in the corner, just as it did during the Breznhev era; a portrait of Lenin stares down from the wall. Now, nearly 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, parties of a different kind make use of this residence in the former Soviet republic. The dacha attracts patrons interested in re-experiencing the atmosphere of the Soviet era, tapping into a burgeoning nostalgia for what some, in these hard economic times, regard as a more stable and secure bygone age. In the dacha's basement is a private cinema, sauna and swimming pool, while the first floor contains bedrooms and a full office - complete with "nuclear emergency" telephones. The ground floor has a large dining hall, a library stocked with Marx and Lenin and a lecture room with a podium - ideal for speeches to the Communist Party congress. Aug 10, 2009
Louvre Museum
The Louvre Museum says a Russian visitor hurled an empty terra cotta mug at the Mona Lisa. A museum spokesman says the canvas of the Da Vinci masterpiece was undamaged in the attack last week, though the mug shattered. He said Tuesday small cracks appeared in the glass protecting the museum's most popular possession, but they will soon be fixed. The painting's security alarms went off immediately and police whisked the woman away, while viewing of the painting continued as usual. The spokesman is not authorized to be named according to museum policy. Aug 10, 2009
Majorca
It is still safe to travel to Majorca, the British government last night advised holidaymakers, despite two bomb attacks on Sunday. The two small bombs, believed to be the work of Basque separatist group ETA, exploded on the Spanish island just over a week after ETA killed two police officers on the island. No one was hurt in yesterday's blasts, the Spanish Government said, and police defused a third device found nearby amid speculation that ETA is attempting to spread fear among tourists at the height of the summer holiday season. Aug 10, 2009
Southeastern Railway
The high speed train service launched in June linking London to Kent is to be extended beyond the high speed line. Ramsgate and Dover in Kent will be linked to London St Pancras by additional commuter services during morning and evening peak times. Train operator Southeastern said commuter journeys to Ramsgate and Dover would be shortened by an average of 49 and 47 minutes respectively. www.southeasternrailway.co.uk Aug 13, 2009
Spain
Key Tours is reducing prices on fall or winter getaways. Book by Sept. 31 to save on departures from September 2009 through March 2010. Save USD 150 per couple on the escorted 15-day Spain & Morocco tour, starting from USD 1,345, including Madrid, Seville, Costa Del Sol, Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat and Tangiers. The prices on the nine-day Morocco Imperial Cities start from USD 2,530, including Casablanca, Rabat, Fez and Marrakesh. City packages for Madrid and Barcelona have been dropped 10 percent. The eight-day self-drive Treasures of Andalusia starts at USD 855. The eight-day Andalusia Jewels train trip is priced from USD 1,795. The 10-day Barcelona-Madrid-Seville is priced from USD 2,155. For more information, call 800-576-1784 or visit www.keytours.com. Aug 12, 2009
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