According to the treasury minister, private companies in Jersey may be able to apply for money from a tourism fund.

The tourism development fund (TDF) was set up in 2003 to help non-profit activities that could bring tourists to the island.

Senator Philip Ozouf has stated that he wants to widen the fund’s scope so that it can also provide funding for private sector groups.

In his proposal he has suggested that money which is provided to private groups would be matched pound-for-pound with private investment.

The treasury minister said that the fund had enjoyed “considerable success” over the past 10 years.

In 2010 the fund gave money to the Liberation music festival, a food festival, a fish festival and a boat show. It also paid for the installation of mains electricity to occupation sites and funding for the Branchage film festival.

The tourism development fund awarded a total of £222,000 in 2010 and the figures for 2011 have yet to have been announced.

Senator Ozouf said opening the funding up to private enterprise would help encourage entrepreneurialism.

He said: “It should be recognised that in preventing the private sector from benefiting from the TDF, we risk stifling entrepreneurialism in a sector which now more than ever needs to maintain a competitive advantage in a crowded market place.”

If approved by the States of Jersey, the funding panel would be able to consider all bids for grants.

Senator Ozouf said they could make decisions purely on merit. “Which projects will bring the most visitors, generate the most visitor spend, stimulate investment and promote Jersey to the widest audience?” he added.

Source: BBC

Picture: Marilyn Peddle

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Organisers have announced that the 2012 official World Tourism Day (WTD) celebrations will be held in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain on 27 September 2012.

Under the theme of ‘Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development’ WTD 2012 aims to highlight the need to bring the tourism sector and energy stakeholders closer together to spur tourism’s contribution to sustainability.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, said: “Tourism is at the forefront of many of the latest and most innovative sustainable energy initiatives.

“One only has to think of the investments being poured into renewable energy sources for aviation, or the energy technology solutions implemented in hotels around the world, to know that sustainable energy is a major priority for the sector.

“The message at the heart of World Tourism Day 2012 is that these initiatives and commitments are not only helping to protect the environment, they are also creating economic opportunities and jobs for millions, whether in tourism, energy or other sectors.”

Official celebrations will take place in the town of Maspalomas in the Canary Islands, Spain, as was announced during the UNWTO Press Conference at the ITB Travel Trade Show with the presence of the Spanish Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Borrego.

“Spain is among the top five countries investing in renewable energies worldwide and 20% of the energy consumed in Spain comes from renewable sources,” said Ms. Borrego. “We are convinced that the celebrations of World Tourism Day 2012 will be of great interest given the high caliber of participants, as well as the other events being organized to raise awareness of World Tourism Day among the general public.”

As well as being a major tourism destination, one third of the island of Gran Canaria, including the town of Maspalomas, is a Biosphere Reserve of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Official WTD celebrations will include a High-Level Think Tank on the 2012 theme, at which public and private tourism stakeholders will join leaders from the energy sector to further the use of sustainable energy in the tourism sector.

Confirmed participants include the Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, and the President of Acciona Energy, Carmen Becerril, of Spanish multinational Acciona.

WTD 2012 coincides with the UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, offering the opportunity to further highlight the shared responsibility of the tourism and energy sectors to the wider sustainability objectives of the UN.

World Tourism Day is celebrated annually on 27 September. Its purpose is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The event seeks to address global challenges outlined in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and highlight the contribution the tourism sector can make in reaching these goals.

Photo: Ted and Jen

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On the 9th and 10th of May this year, the 21st Council for Hospitality Management Education (CHME) Annual Research Conference will take place at Austin Court in Birmingham.

The event will be moving progressively into its third decade of dedicated research activity and published output material and will be hosted by University College Birmingham.

The two day conference is a must for anyone in the hospitality business and will be structured around three main panel themes. The conference will focus on Cultural and Critical Studies in Hospitality; Developments in Hospitality and Tourism Research; and Research and Practice in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

Keynote speakers at the conference include Jennie Germann Molz, who is the Assitant Professor of Sociology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She teaches courses on global society, global citizenship, technology and mobility, and the sociology of travel and tourism.

The traditional Gala Dinner will be held at the highly-acclaimed Opus Restaurant, which is situated right in the heart of Birmingham city centre, and further details of the arrangements for this will again be updated in the following pages under Gala Dinner

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The UK has undertaken its largest ever tourism drive and has spent £5million advertising for Brits to holiday at home.

A host of stars have joined forces and become part of the advertising campaign which extends beyond television adverts.

Michelle Dockery from Downton Abbey and Rupert Grint from Harry Potter have joined Stephen Fry and Julie Walters in taking part in the campaign.

The ads are entitled ‘Holidays at home are Great’ and they feature the four celebs encouraging Brits to explore the UK destinations and it ends with the line ‘No passports. No jabs. No visas. No Euros. No wonder holidays at home are so great.’

The advertising drive promotes a number of locations in the UK ahead of the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympic torch relay.

The Government is hoping that the campaign, which is led by VisitEngland along with the help of he tourist boards of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will discourage British holidaymakers from travelling abroad during an Olympic year. This is because host nations will usually experience a ‘sag’ in domestic tourism.

Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for culture, media, sport and the Olympics, spoke to the Daily Mail ahead of the launch which took place at the London Eye today, saying: ‘This is the first time we’ve had a national domestic tourism marketing campaign.

‘It is completely measurable – we will know how many nights are booked as a result of this campaign.

‘As an industry and as a Government, we will know whether this type of campaign works and what the return on investment is.

‘That in itself will provide an important template going forward in terms of upping our game in marketing.’

Along with the advertising campaign consumers will be able to save over 20% on bookings for accommodation, restaurants, attractions, events and transport via a dedicated website.

James Beresford, chief executive of VisitEngland, predicts the new campaign should generate an additional £80m in domestic spend and create 12,500 jobs.

The travel industry has shown support for the campaign, however some areas have criticised it for favouring domestic tourism over the already-struggling international tourism market.

Picture: Kiara

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The UK will receive a huge boost from the travel and tourism industry in 2012 as jobs and economic growth in the sector outstrip the wider economy.

A report was released today (6 March) by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) that stated the industry will grow by 1.3 percent in 2012, which over double the rate of growth in the wider economy.

Due to the suspected growth it is believed hat the travel and tourism industry will directly contribute £35.6 billion and almost 950,000 jobs to the British economy.

Once the full economic impacts of the industry are taken fully into account, the forecast predicts that travel and tourism will contribute over £100 billion to the UK economy and generate 2.3 million jobs – or 1 in 13 of all jobs in the UK.

This year around £30 million people will visit the UK and the country is expected to retain its place as one of the top ten most visited nations.

Last year, the industry grew by 4.1 percent in the UK which was five times the rate of the economy as a whole.

David Scowsill, President and CEO of WTTC, told travel-news.co.uk: “At a time of significant economic hardship, the travel and tourism industry is helping to beat the recession by generating jobs and growth at a faster rate than the wider UK economy.

“2012 is likely to be bolstered by the cheap pound, the continued trend for domestic holidays, and the extra Bank Holiday weekend for the Golden Jubilee. The London Olympics are unlikely to have any significant effect.”

picture: Kevin Gibbons

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In Australia the Labour government has stated it is preparing to throw an extra $50 million at Queensland’s tourism industry in an attempt to recover from natural disasters and the global financial crisis.

According to The Australian, the Liberal national Party has said that it is ‘too little too late’ from the government. They also said that they should have acted much earlier as people in tourism hubs such as Cairns lost their jobs.

The $50 million investment is set to be handed to the industry over the next three years and will be used to attract new international flights, build new public attractions and help them snare a greater share of China’s visitor market.

The Labour government also plans to double tourism expenditure by 2020, which is an ambitious target considering the international visits grew by only three per cent last year.

Airports will be receiving $10 million in a bid to lure more direct international flights, and $20 million will be used to build tourist drawcards such as lagoons and boardwalks.

The state will also increase efforts to capitalise on the booming Chinese visitor market, which accounted for $400 million in Queensland last year.

Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman immediately attacked the plan, saying it was too little too late for many who’d lost their jobs.

He said Cairns was one example, where unemployment hit 13 per cent in February.

Picture: Kevin Gibbons

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The travel industry is ever-changing, and can be unpredictable a lot of the time.

Luckily, hotel-industry.co.uk has given us some forecast predictions for the year ahead – what to expect in terms of trends, growth and areas of the industry that might not be doing so well.

For the full story please visit the Hotel Industry website.

Photo by Davidd

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Working in the travel industry can be a tough job, competition is everywhere you look, and customers are constantly seeking the lowest prices for the highest quality.

In this cut-throat field of work, just how do you keep ahead of your rivals, without sacrificing quality of service?

Gary Jacobs offered his insight to Travel Weekly on the matter.

To read the article please visit the Travel Weekly website.

Photo by Gideon

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Renowned for itineraries of exotic destinations, Silversea unveils an extensive line-up of worldwide voyages for 2013, which will see the company’s six elite ships visit over 450 destinations across the seven continents.

Now they have revealed even more reasons to try a cruise this year…

To read the full story please visit the Breaking Travel News website.

Photo by Salicia

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Qantas has announced it will cut as many as 500 jobs as profits for the airline continue to fall.

The Australian flag carrier reported a massive 83 per cent dive in profits in the first half of the financial year.

As a result, the airline will also be reducing international routes whilst it tries to rebuild its strength and increase profits.

Chief executive Alan Joyce outlined plans to modernise maintenance services departments in order to adapt to the latest aircraft technology,

The role of three Australian heavy maintenance bases will come under review, with many job losses expected in this sector.

“Today Qantas engineering services costs are at least 30 per cent higher than those of our competitors,” Joyce explained, “and we have the ability to change.”

Qantas currently employs about 36,000 people.

Photo by Planegeezer

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