The world’s most successful travel and tourism brands have been recognised for their roles in spearheading the global travel and tourism recovery at the World Travel Awards 2012 Grand Final Gala Ceremony in Doha, Qatar.

Companies including American Express, Starwood Hotels, Lufthansa, Abercrombie & Kent, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Europcar, Etihad and Incredible India all received awards at the ceremony on 11 January 2012.

The World Travel Awards Ceremony was held in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority at Katara Cultural Village, Doha’s ground-breaking new arts and exhibitions complex.

Last night’s awards featured winners from the World Travel Awards’ five 2011 regional heats competing head to head.

India saw off the likes of London, New York, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney to win the World’s Leading Destination award in a year in which international arrivals edged closer to the target of one billion travellers by 2016.

One of the most prolific successes was for Etihad Airways, which was voted World’s Leading Airline for the third year in a row.

It was also an evening of celebration for Qatar, with Doha being voted “World’s Leading Business Travel Destination”, Qatar Airways named “World’s Leading Airline Business Class”, and Regency Travel & Tours winning “World’s Leading Travel Agency”.

Qatar Tourism Authority Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, said: “We are delighted to be honoured as the World’s Leading Business Destination by our peers in the global hospitality industry. This is a great achievement and solidifies Qatar’s premier position as a great place to do business as well as one with first class leisure, sporting and cultural attractions”.

Graham Cooke, President and Founder, World Travel Awards, said: “The past year has continued to challenge every strata of travel and tourism. However our Grand Final winners have all demonstrated their world-class pedigree over this period, and are currently spearheading the global recovery of travel and tourism. In doing so they are also reinforcing our industry’s role as one of the mainstays of the global economy.”

“Qatar in particular is playing a decisive role in generating new opportunities in travel and tourism, hence our decision to host our Grand Final in Doha. More than US $100 billion worth of infrastructure is due to be completed before the 2022 Fifa World Cup,” he added.

Established 19 years ago, World Travel Awards is committed to raising the standards of customer service and overall business performance throughout the international tourism industry.

The 2011 WTA nominations featured more than 5,000 companies in 1,000 categories across 162 countries. The winners were selected by more than 210,000 industry professionals and consumers worldwide.

WTA partnered with tourism marketing firm Phenomena to bring the ceremony to Qatar.

Photo: Brad West, Manager Middle East , Virgin Atlantic Airways at the World Travel Awards. The airline won the award for the World's Leading Airline Inflight Entertainment.

The total job losses add up to nearly 1000 positions – including those of nearly 130 French workers who expressed an interest in taking over the company in order to save its skin.

The workers lost their jobs in Dover after the ruling said there was no credible future for SeaFrance.

Officials at the Tribunal de Commerce in Paris acted after the European Commission confirmed government assistance to the stricken operator was illegal.

SeaFrance, who said it was ‘sad’ about the news, had operated three ferries on the Dover to Calais route.

Photo by Andreas Dantz

The Financial Times and the BBC both reported that the deal was at risk of being derailed by a dispute between the European Union and China.

However, the airline’s head of corporate governance, Kenneth Thong, told a television interview with Bloomberg that the order would go ahead.

This was despite the Chinese government’s opposition to an EU plan that international airlines comply with a scheme to tackle carbon emissions.

Hong Kong Airlines (HKA), born in 2011 as CR Airways, is likely to have got a large discount on the order for the A380, Airbus’s flagship super-jumbo. The airline is small by Asian airline standards with fewer than 20 planes, but is thought to have 100 aircraft on order.

It is currently providing passenger and cargo services with neighbouring countries and Mr Thong said that the aircraft were needed to boost HKA’s growth, particularly business class services with Europe.

Mr Thong told Bloomberg television in Hong Kong: “We think the business connection between Asia and Europe is going to be very exciting for the next couple of years, after the current (economic) crisis is over. We are planning for the aftermath.”

While rival Boeing posted its 2011 sales report last week, Airbus is expected to acknowledge the HKA contract formally with its 2011 annual report on January 17.

With big order backlogs, the world’s two largest aircraft makers are looking for ways to streamline production and, in Boeing’s case, to source parts from more suppliers to increase throughput.

Source: The Manufacturer

Picture: Ndecam

The two companies will join forces to launch a private label solution which will power both hotel and dynamic package bookings on the airline’s website – hawaiianairlines.com.

Hawaiian Airlines is the leading provider of travel within the Hawaiian Islands and serves over 8 million passengers annually on 190 daily flights.

According to breakingtravelnews.com, this new agreement between the two companies means that Hawaiian Airlines can leverage Orbitz Worldwide’s proprietary technology, which extends exclusive vacation package and hotel deals to customers on the Hawaiian Airlines site.

This will also allow customers who are travelling between Hawaii and Asia, Australia or the United States to have access to deals at tens of thousands of hotels worldwide when they book through the Hawaiian Airlines site.

The new partnership also allows Hawaiian Airlines to provide hotel suggestions to customers who would otherwise just use the site to book air travel.

Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s chief commercial officer told breakingtravelnews.com: “We are excited to leverage the superior merchandising capabilities offered by Orbitz, and are delighted that our partnership will also enable us to further strengthen our relationships with many Hawaii hotels.

“We’re pleased to be offering our valued customers an expanded selection of products and destinations, as well as the Orbitz private label sales and service team to support them at every turn.”

Ronnie Gurion the president of Orbitz Worldwide Distrobution added: “Hawaiian Airlines is a very strategic partner for Orbitz due to the market it serves, its loyal online customer base, and its commitment to offering great value in vacation packages to its customers.

“Following a highly competitive review process to determine the ideal travel technology partner, we are thrilled to provide the most flexible solution and an ability to offer superior customer value through specially promoted pricing.”

Picture: Merfam

Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Transport, made the announcement following Haines’ initial three-year term in the position.

Andrew Haines (pictured) joined the CAA in August 2009 for an initial three-year contract following a successful career in the rail industry.

He was appointed following an open competition held in line with the Code of Practice published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments – he is the first Chief Executive for the CAA.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “Since his appointment in 2009, Andrew has helped bring fresh thinking to the CAA while maintaining the UK’s excellent record in aviation safety.

“This vision and drive will be crucial in implementing the passenger-focused reforms to the Authority’s functions and framework that the Government will introduce in the Civil Aviation Bill in 2012.”

The Chair of the CAA, Dame Deirdre Hutton, welcomed Mr Haines’ reappointment: “Andrew’s reappointment is very good news for consumers and for the aviation sector.

“Since joining the CAA he has put in place important changes to modernise the organisation and build on its strengths, to ensure we regulate as effectively as possible in what are challenging times for civil aviation.

“The organisation will benefit from his continued leadership in ensuring an aviation industry that is safe, delivers choice and value for consumers, and takes steps to reduce its environmental impact.”

Photo by David Jones

David Allvey, Bo Lerenius and Peter Middleton will all step aside on February 8th.

David Allvey’s retirement falls in line with corporate governance best practice at the end of a nine-year stretch of continuous service as a non-executive director of MyTravel Group and then Thomas Cook following their merger.

Bo Lerenius and Peter Middleton have decided to retire to allow the new chairman, Frank Meysman, more flexibility to “refresh” the board.

In a statement earlier, Thomas Cook added that an international search and selection firm has been appointed to assist the chairman and the nominations committee to identify and appoint additional non-executive directors with recent operating experience.

Meysman said: “I would like to thank David, Bo and Peter for their contribution to the board over the years, and particularly during the recent challenges that the group has had to face.

“I, and my other colleagues on the board, wish them well for the future.”

PC Air hired four transsexual cabin crew, some of whom flew on the airline’s debut flight between Bangkok and Surat Thani in December 2011.

In a bid to set itself apart from the competition, PC Air encourages the Thai ‘Ladyboys’ to apply for the crew positions. Over 100 people applied.

Thailand has one of the world's largest populations of ‘Ladyboys’ and Thai doctors are pioneers in gender reassignment because of the high demand from men wishing to become women in the country.

‘Ladyboys’ are widely accepted across Thailand and often work in the cosmetics, healthcare and entertainment industry. A few have made a name for themselves worldwide and perform popular shows in the “Ladyboys of Bangkok”.

PC Air's chairman, Peter Chan, said he wanted to expand the opportunities open to "katoeys" (transsexuals), but also believed they would benefit his airline because of their nature for working in customer-focused industries.

Chayathisa Nakmai, who made her inaugural flight from Bangkok to Vientiane in neighbouring Laos on Christmas Eve, said it had been her lifelong ambition to become an air hostess.

She said: "It's always been my dream since I was little to work as a flight attendant.

"I feel glad and proud. My parents are proud of me too. It's more difficult for transgender people to be flight attendants because it's the first chance we've had to do this job."

Photo by Peter Castleton

The company has been on a sort of buying spree of late, as they attempt to strengthen their position in the online travel market.

The company recently bought Travel Republic for an undisclosed fee, according to The National, and it has the potential to channel more UK traffic through the Dubai company.

Over two million people a year use Travel Republic’s website to book their holidays, and Iain Andrew, the divisional senior vice president of Dnata's travel business, told The National: "Travel Republic will complement our existing leisure and corporate travel services in Dubai and internationally.

"The company has an impressive, dynamic management team and I can be confident that together we can further develop the business, in line with the outstanding service and quality for which Dnata is renowned."

Dnata is part of the Emirates Group and has more than 20,000 employees, spread across 76 airports around the world, who are involved in ground handling, flight catering and IT services.

In the past six years the company has spread from being primarily focused on Dubai, to being a global aviation firm and it has managed to increase its revenues fourfold.

Travel Republic, which is now owned by Dnata, has an impressive reputation for building business around the demand from people to book their travel online, independent of traditional tour operators.

Since Travel Republic launched in 2003, it has continued to grow and is now one of a handful of travel agents to dominate the online market in the UK along with Expedia and Lastminute.com.

Kane Pirie, the managing director of Travel Republic, also spoke to The National saying: "We are excited that Travel Republic has joined the Dnata family. Dnata is forward-thinking and ambitious and will help accelerate our growth across Europe and beyond."

Picture: Simon_sees

Proposals are due to be submitted to planners by the Plas Kynaston Canal Group, which wants to re-instate the filled-in canal to attract visitors.

According to the BBC, there are also plans to build a tourist information centre, footpath, and cable car system which will help transport people to the village of Cefn Mawr.

The tourism is aimed to help replace lost industries in the area and the group has suffered many job losses in recent years.

Many industries in the area have closed in the last few years and an improved tourist industry may help to boos the local economy.

PKCG says the Plas Kynaston Canal once served industries, but was filled in in 2005.

It claims the canal could be re-instated, allowing Cefn Mawr to link up with inland waterways like the popular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which has Unesco World Heritage status and is estimated to attract about 200,000 visitors annually.

It wants a 60-berth marina in Cefn Mawr, and phase one of its plans would include a timber-framed tourist information centre.

A later phase includes plans for a cable car system to transport people from the information centre into Cefn Mawr.

David Taylor, chair of the PKCG, told the BBC: "Since we lost the Flexsys and Air Products site, it's taken away all the industry and jobs in the area.

"We have to think how we can bring an economy into the area.

"The best way to do it is to bring back the dormant canal which was filled in.

"The World Heritage people claim 200,000 people are currently visiting the aqueduct.

"With the canal and a marina, and putting in a cable car system, we can bring visitors directly from the car park - which would be the old Flexsys site - right into the village by cable car."

Picture: Simon Aughton

As part of the hotel company’s global expansion, the Ritz-Carlton Vienna is owned by an investor represented by Verny Capital, who also completed the acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton Moscow.

The hotel, located on Schubertring, the historic and famous site of numerous monumental buildings built in the mid to late 19th Century, offers 202 rooms.

Home of the Vienna State Opera (pictured) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna is well known for its essential role as a leading European Classical Music Centre. The Ritz-Carlton Vienna is located in two 19th Century palaces which are listed as culturally protected properties.

“We are honoured to have been selected by Verny Capital to assume management of this incredible hotel,” said Herve Humler, president and chief operating officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

“We have viewed many sites in Vienna over the years and believe this location will offer our sophisticated travelers an exciting new place to explore and enjoy. The Ringstrasse, as it is known, encircles the old city of Vienna.

“Constructed in the late 19th century this prime location, combined with the exemplary service for which The Ritz-Carlton is known, will produce memorable stays for all our guests when it opens in the second quarter of 2012.”

Timur Issatayev of Verny Capital said: “We are delighted that The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will be entering the Austrian market in association with us.

“Our selection of The Ritz-Carlton is based on a very strict assessment of the company’s renowned stature in the hospitality industry and our existing relationship with them.”

Asked about additional growth in the region for Ritz-Carlton, Humler added: “We continue to explore other opportunities and destinations in Europe. With the region’s strong travel and tourism industry, we see expansion in Europe, with the right hotels in the right locations, to be an essential part of our future strategy.”

Photo: David Jones