Tour operator Thomas Cook has reported results higher than the market forecast although pre-tax profit has dropped 0.4%.

Revenue rose 5.9% to £9.2 b but pre-tax profit dropped to £302.8 m for the full year.

Like rival travel companies, Thomas Cook has been battling the impact of the economic recession and the global fears of swine flu on its operations.

The company said that the economic environment “remains uncertain” and that the forecast for the leisure travel market remains flat.

The company is readying its annual Christmas campaign designed to drive early summer 2010 bookings and is expected to retain its old slogan “Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it”, which it revived last year.

As of last trade Thomas Cooks shares were priced at 217.7 pence, more than 45% up on the share price of a year ago.

Courtesy of Marketing Week

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Oasis of the Seas could be sailing in Europe or the Far East in a few years as more destinations invest in the infrastructure needed to take bigger cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean International president and chief executive Adam Goldstein said when the 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas launched in 1999, it was a “tremendous advance” in size and concept and no one believed there would ever be more than a couple of Voyager-class ships, or that they would operate outside the Caribbean.

Now there are not only five Voyager-class ships, but there are three bigger 3,634-passenger Freedom-class ships and one of those – Independence of the Seas – is sailing from the UK.

Speaking this week on the newly-launched 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, now the world’s biggest cruise ship, Goldstein said: “We see Oasis sailing in the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale, Florida for now, but it could be positioned anywhere in future as more countries invest in their port infrastructures.

“Both Singapore and Hong Kong, for instance, are each building new terminals capable of handling Oasis-class ships.”

Goldstein said Royal Caribbean does not build big because it thinks it is better, but it has increased the size of its ships in the past 40 years to offer passengers more choice and variety.

“We are delivering the ‘wow’,” he said, claiming the interest surrounding the launch of Oasis of the Seas could be sustained until next December, when sister ship Allure of the Seas is launched.

He said: “The amount of excitement generated at the prospect of cruising on a ship like Oasis will be around for a long time.”

Goldstein admitted the company has had the most difficult year in its history, but said it is still profitable and as a result, its standing has improved.

He said: “The cruising industry generally, and Royal Caribbean in particular, have proved they are resilient to challenging economic forces. I’m not thrilled we had to discount, but passengers are still cruising and we are pleased going forward.”

Click here to search Cruise Ship Jobs

Courtesy of Travel Weekly

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Jobs that travel the world are an inconceivable dream for most people. “How, on earth,” they think, “Could I possibly get paid to travel the world?” It’s a common belief that you must save and save up a bunch of money before you can travel, then simply go for as long as your money will last.

Not only is that an outdated and incorrect belief, but it’s also a belief that will have you stuck in a never-ending cycle of frustration. Work… then travel… then work… then travel.

Boring.

There are many ways you can get paid as you travel the world. Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to do this, so no matter your skill set, creating a travel income is something you CAN do… and you can start doing it quickly.

Here are 7 ways to make money traveling the world. Some are commonly available travel jobs, and a few are the ‘underground’ methods of making money while you travel.

1) Work a cruise ship job. You get to live aboard a luxury cruiseliner and get paid to live the lifestyle passengers pay £250 to £2500+ per week to experience!

2) Get a job as a travel or adventure guide. Visit a city or region. Get to know the best places, then get paid to show other people what you’ve found! Alternatively, you can show people how to rock climb, raft a river, jump out of a plane, zipline through a jungle… and more!

3) Become a paid travel writer. Not only can you get hired by travel magazines and guidebooks, but don’t forget about blogging & online freelance jobs. They’re plentiful!

4) Start an online marketing adventure! Most people think marketing online is too ‘technical.’ Oh contraire! If you can edit a word document you can make money with a laptop or from an internet café anywhere in the world.

5) Work with a charity. Care more about making a difference and experiencing other cultures than turning a profit? You’re in luck. Scores of charities will pay your travel, food, room, and travel expenses in exchange for your volunteer work.

6) Get a job teaching English. If you’re a fluent English speaker, you have a skill that millions – if not billions – of people desire. Like it or not, English is the international language of commerce. Dozens of countries in the world want their citizens to know the language and will give you a job to travel to their country to teach it whether you know their language or not.

7) Get a job telecommuting. With these types of jobs you are not paid hourly, but by the tasks completed. In other words, you have deadlines to get a report written, crunch some numbers, or (insert your inane task here). Complete these jobs from an internet café or your laptop, email it in, and you’ve got cash in hand.

Travel jobs are intimidating to many people because they require a paradigm shift. You are no longer bound by a 9-5 grind, and your commute becomes wherever you fancy. Jobs that travel the world are inconceivable to most people, which is GREAT news; the competition is low.

You can travel the world and get paid for it by picking just ONE of the above methods and by learning all you can about that specific method. The key is in getting started and taking action.

Courtesy of eZine articles

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Medhotels began its appeal of an £11 million VAT bill at a tribunal in London yesterday, in a case that could have serious implications for the sector.

The Thomas-Cook owned bed bank is fighting Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over the huge VAT claim, which is payable under the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme (Toms).

The case dates back to 2004 – before Thomas Cook bought Medhotels from lastminute.com. A spokesman for lastminute.com said Medhotels was acting as an agent and is therefore not required to pay Toms.

Industry observers say the outcome of the case will help clarify tax liabilities in the accommodation-only sector. Most bed banks dropped their principal status last year and believe acting as an agent means they are exempt from paying VAT under Toms. If Medhotels loses the case, the bed bank sector may have to fundamentally change how it operates.

Defending Medhotels, David Milne QC said the bed bank’s booking conditions for agents and direct customers showed clearly that it was acting as an agent, not a principal.

The terms dictated that the hotel is responsible for any claims or complaints from customers, requests for changes or cancellations to bookings, and any illness or injury suffered by holidaymakers abroad.

He said: “Unless [the booking conditions are] a sham, it is incontrovertible that we have got a situation where a hotel is providing accommodation to a holidaymaker, and Medhotels is acting as an agent for the hotel. I can’t think of any way they could have made it any clearer.”

Milne argued that the VAT is due in the country where the hotel is located. “VAT is payable in Greece [for example] rather than the UK. It is a matter for the Greek authorities if the hotels haven’t been paying up.”

The fact that Medhotels used a net rate, where it can set its own selling price, did not negate the agent/principal status, he said.

“The agent agrees to pay a certain amount to the principal and the agent is entitled to keep anything he earns above that. This is not inconsistent with the agent/principal relationship,” said Milne.

He summed up: “The written agreements are the finishing point as well as the starting point. Our case is really simple.”

Lastminute.com tax director Alan McLintock will be called as a witness today.

Courtesy of Travel Weekly

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Travel agents could be missing out on the growing market for 8 to 13 night holidays, according to GfK Ascent-MI chief executive Sarah Smalley.

Speaking at the TTA Worldchoice conference at Heathrow, she said sales of 8 to 13 night holidays are up 25% for summer 2010, with bookings driven through direct channels rather than the trade.

The trend has been driven by customers being more time-poor and is likely to carry on into 2010, she said.

“Don’t assume people want a 14-night holiday,” she told members. “There is an appetite for consumers to move in that direction, so if you are able to then you should adapt to that.”

“Agents, you are not selling as many (8-13 night holidays) as you could. It is imperative you ask consumers what they are looking for – or you could perhaps be missing out on profit.”

Smalley quoted statistics showing that agents’ market share has fallen from 51% to 50%.

“They lost share because they were very good at selling the ‘loss-leaders’ – those holidays that have dropped out of the market (because of the capacity cuts by the big two),” said Smalley.

However agents sales for this Summer still accounted for 61p in every £1 spent on travel. “Agents are more successful in selling high value holidays, like cruise or long haul,” she said.

The travel industry needs to re-educate customers that they will not find a bargain at the last minute. “There is a general perception that they (customers) can get a fantastic bargain and we still have a way to go in fighting this perception,” she said.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence has started to turn a corner, she said.

“For the last three months agents have been increasing their revenues. From looking at the embryonic stages there is a suggestion of a pick-up in confidence.”

Smalley said the industry’s chance of benefitting from the World Cup in South Africa would depend on consumer confidence.

Courtesy of Chloe Berman – Travel Weekly

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Traveljobsearch.com – one of the leading websites for people seeking work in the travel industry – has recorded record numbers of visitors making it the biggest online travel job board in Britain.
The site, which is run by the Simply Jobs group, saw a four per cent rise in visitors last month, giving it a 63 per cent market share of online travel recruitment.

The figures mean Traveljobsearch.com has an impressive 38 per cent over its nearest rival, Travelweekly.co.uk, and 53 per cent more than competitor Travelindustryjobs.co.uk.
Ian Partington, managing director of Traveljobsearch.com said the website’s dominant position in the market was down to the trusted reputation it enjoyed among job seekers and clients.

”With more than 1,000 positions and 78,000 job seekers registered at any one time, Traveljobsearch.com is a great tool for anyone looking for work, or any boss looking to fill a role in their firm,” he said.
”We have a trusted reputation among clients for offering quality candidates for positions and our website is also easy to navigate for those looking for work and gives them instant access to scores of jobs.
”The travel industry has been particularly badly hit by the global recession with hundreds of redundancies made throughout the sector.

”This, coupled with our success at placing those seeking employment in new jobs, has boosted our standing in the industry and is undoubtedly fuelling a rise in visitors to the site each month.”

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British Airways (BA) is to cut an additional 1,200 jobs after it reported a pre-tax loss of £292 million for the six months to the end of September.

This is the first time the airline has reported a loss in the first half of the year, which is usually buoyed by the summer holidays. In the same period last year, it reported a £52 million profit. BA said revenue over the six-month period was down 13.7% to £4.1 billion, compared with £4.75 billion in 2008.

The announcement of the extra job cuts will bring the total reductions to 4,900 by 2010. Most of the new losses will be overseas and follow a high response from staff wanting to work part-time or take voluntary redundancy, the airline said.

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said: “The global airline industry is facing continued pressure on yields highlighting a significant shift in the industry. We will introduce further structural change in the second half to secure the long-term future for our business.”

The airline said it has seen an excellent response to its new charges to book seats more than 24 hours before the flight, and bookings for its new London City to JFK all-business flights are ahead of expectations.

“Premium leisure demand has been strong during the past six months and we’re investing in more leisure destinations with six new routes starting this winter,” added Walsh.

Courtesy of Travel Weekly

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British Airways’ (BA) new charge to select a seat in advance could put customers off flying with the airline, according to a survey conducted by a London travel agent.

Travel Designers director Nick McKay sent out a survey to 2,506 clients and fans of his ‘Say No to BA seat reservation charges’ group on social networking site Facebook. McKay has seen 203 people join his Facebook group since September.

A total of 91% of those surveyed said they were “highly dissatisfied” with the charge, which means customers who want to choose their seat more than 24 hours before their flight will have to fork out between £10 and £60.

A further 57% of respondents said they were “very likely” to choose an alternative to BA following the imposition of the charges.

One customer said: “BA might be trying to recoup losses, but this is not the way to do it. This will badly affect families, who will have to pay £40 or more to sit together.”

Responding to the survey, BA sales manager for TMC channels Scott Davies said the airline would like to have worked more closely with the trade on the new charges.

“We’ve taken on board feedback from the trade around the introduction of our new seating policy and recognise that, ideally, we would have launched it with greater input from them.

“We certainly remain commited to consulting with the trade regarding any changes to our business that involve or affect them. We will of course take learnings from the introduction of this initiative. ”

Courtesy of Travel Weekly

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