Thousands of Brits shun Greece for holidays amid economic turmoil

Greece tourism strong despite economic void

Published on : Wednesday, June 24, 2015

While Greece continues to sink in economic void the tourism industry of the country remains completely detached from its current crisis. The country is enjoying healthy flow in tourism as tourists remain unaffected by the country’s current economic status where hundreds of billions of Euros need to be repayed taken as loan to pay off debts. The country has suffered a complete economic collapse with fear of local banks shutting down due to the lack of funds.

The country has seen a major growth in tourism in 2013 and 2014 according to a report published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Despite Greece plummeting into economic deluge tourism increased in the country. Tourist spending which is desperately needed at this stage is greatly helping the country’s economy to sustain. According to a forecast of WTTC Greece has ranked 33 out of the 184 countries for visitor export growth in 2015.

Many tourists are visiting Greece just to help the country in its crisis. Overall GDP would grow to 3.2 per cent in 2015 for Greece according to WTTC which is of course below the global average growth but still ahead of several competitor destinations around the Mediterranean region. Tourists visiting cities, ports and islands rose by 17.9 million in 2013 and 22 million in 2014 and revenue from tourism grew over 10 per cent which would be nearly $15 million. In 2015 there has been an uptick in reservations in the first five months as compared to the same time in 2014.Even though tour operators feel that Greece bookings are slightly behind the rest of the globe but there is a flow.

Cruise businesses said that cruise lines will continue to stop at Greece ports as planned. But even as the flow of tourists continues to run there may be problems with its infrastructure which may face the risk of coping up with the high demand of tourism. Greece is also nearing the closure of it bailout program just when the peak tourist season is about to start. The country will have to make substantial paybacks to its creditors.

Tags: greece, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)

Aegean First Half 2015 Passenger Traffic Results

Published on : Thursday, July 23, 2015

AEGEAN announces total passenger growth of 15% for the first half 2015. Passengers carried reached 4,962,537, i.e. 630.000 more compared to the same period in 2014.

International traffic rose by 20% to 2,407,107 passengers, with AEGEAN welcoming onboard 400.000 more passengers compared to last year. AEGEAN’s 20% international traffic growth outpaced the overall rate of tourism air arrivals to the country for the period of 6.7%, by a factor of 3. This performance gives further evidence to the Company’s leading contribution to the development of the country’s tourism sector despite the unique conditions and challenges of the recent weeks and months.

AEGEAN’s first half performance is the result of the company’s significant investment in fleet expansion with 7 additional aircraft, adding 16 new destinations to 9 countries as well as increasing frequencies to existing destinations. Increased capacity was invested mainly in Athens but also in the regional bases around the country, with AEGEAN flights reaching 134 destinations to 45 countries.

AEGEAN has taken delivery of 3 brand new A320ceos indeed, during the last days of June and early July, despite the unique challenges posed by the capital controls recently imposed in Greece. The company has therefore demonstrated its commitment and ability, even in adversity, to further upgrade its capacity and quality of service. The 3 new aircraft deliveries are part of a total 7 Airbus aircraft order valued at 300m USD, scheduled to be completed by March 2016.

The company’s hub and main base Athens continued to grow faster with 26% more  international passengers, driven by additional frequencies to traditional main source markets like France, Italy, Switzerland as well as new routes launched, like Oslo, Helsinki, Dubrovnik, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Yerevan, Alexandria. During the following weeks Riyadh, and Teheran, will be launched as well contributing to increased traffic from the Middle East.

Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented: “During the first half of 2015 and despite unique challenges we have proven our resilience and ability to contribute materially and consistently to Greek tourism by delivering a strong 20% growth in international traffic. Investment in New aircraft, New Routes, New Services all aimed to expand our ability to compete in quality and efficiency and grow within a challenging environment.

It should be noted during the last three weeks and since the imposition of capital controls we were initially faced with a significant loss in net bookings for both domestic and international travel for July onwards. We responded immediately with fare offerings, despite being in peak season, and with significant cost to our yields. Our effective response, albeit costly, combined with the promise of gradual return to normality evident during the last few days have borne fruit. Indeed, for the first half of July we have achieved a 30% increase in our international traffic to Athens, equal to the additional capacity we have invested. Using offers, we have even managed to have marginal growth in domestic traffic which was even more severely affected. Naturally further normalization of conditions is required to keep the positive dynamic we now experience”.

Source:- Aegean Airlines

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According to the report, organizations spend significant amounts of money on business travel. The cost involved in these business trips includes not only travel expenses but also other costs associated with planning and arranging business meetings, accommodation, food and beverages, transportation, and recreation and entertainment.

Further, this travel technology market report states that building the right multi-channel strategy is a concern for many travel agencies. Most travel technologies have similar functions. As a result, many travel agencies are unable to adopt the correct channel to target their customers.Companies mentioned in this 2015 travel technology market report include Amadeus, Sabre, TravelPort, Navitaire, CRS, Dolphin Dynamics, eCare, Expert Travel, Fourth Dimension, Lemax, mTrip, PcVoyages 2000, Qtech, Technoheaven, Toursys, Tramada, TravelCarma, Trip Solutions, and Web Booking Expert. Order a copy of Global Travel Technology Market – Opportunity, Trends and Forecast 2015-2019 research report.

Luxair has just launched the travelblog.eu site, a dynamic platform designed to present culture, leisure, nightlife, restaurants and shopping recommendations at Luxair Luxembourg Airlines destinations.
The travelblog, a collection of original contributions from on-site correspondents, has been produced by publishing house Maison Moderne and is available in English and French. It is meant as a place of inspiration for travelers, who can view it on their computer, tablet or smartphone. Each post consists of a photo, a short presentation, a location map, the address and a link to the place’s website. The cities covered are Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Nice, Porto, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna and Venice, a list bound to evolve along with Luxair Luxembourg Airlines’ map of destinations.
Powered by 400 sheets accumulated in the past two years for the recommendations contained in Flydoscope, Luxair‘s in-flight magazine, travelblog.eu will be updated at a rate of 365 new posts per year.
“Through this blog, and our many locally-based contributors, we will inspire you, guide you along your way and help you discover the best which Europe has to offer”, Adrien Ney, President and CEO of LuxairGroup, is quoted as saying on travelblog.eu.

Sabre celebrates a decade of growth, innovation and technology

Sabre Corporation, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, today celebrated the tenth anniversary of its technology center in Bangalore, India. Opened in 2005, the center has helped Sabre expand and enhance its technology solutions to its global customer base of more than 425,000 travel agents, 400 airlines and 176,000 hotel properties. Sabre’s strategic center in Bangalore supports multiple technology functions including product development, enterprise data and analytics and operations research. It also provides customer care and support, implementation and consulting services, and product and solutions to clients globally.

“I am fortunate to have been a part of the original nine-member team that set-up the Bangalore center in 2005. Ten years on, our commitment to quality, innovation and customer-centric solutions has set a benchmark from which Sabre has grown globally,” said Shail Maniar, vice president and managing director, Sabre India. “Over the years, we have built a global center of excellence with a focus on technology innovation, acquiring, nurturing and retaining top talent, and staying at the forefront of our competition,” said Maniar.

Set up to enhance Sabre’s existing global operations and capabilities, the center now plays a critical role in Sabre’s commitment to providing customers with quality products and solutions, based on innovative technology and driven by best-in-class customer support.
Highlights over the years include:

Innovation highlights:

§ The development of market- leading forecasting and optimization models for Sabre AirVision Revenue Manager which have enabled over 30 of Sabre’s low cost carrier customers to accurately manage their revenue. Now a market leader in this segment, Sabre is now focused on building next-generation revenue management solutions analytics, integrated with data analytics and business intelligence to help airlines further optimize their revenue in real-time.

§ The development of Sabre’s award-wining Hotel RFP (Request For Proposal) solution, one of the industry’s top online hotel sourcing and rate negotiation tools for corporations and agencies. The solution won Travel Weekly’s 2014 Gold Magellan Award and Global Business Traveler Association (GBTA) 2011 Business Traveler Innovation People’s Choice Award. Currently.

§ Developing Sabre AirVision Market Intelligence, the industry’s first online tool powered by global demand data to helps airlines make informed flight operation decisions – when to fly, where to fly, and how frequently to fly. The Bangalore team gathered 10 years’ of airline data and developed algorithms to help Sabre’s airline customers operate more efficiently and profitably.

§ The Bangalore center played a key role in developing GetThere, providing unmatched cost control for more than 3000 corporations in the world, including the majority of the Fortune 200. GetThere processes more than 12 million transactions annually, $2 billion in annual savings to our customers, and is actively used in 95 countries.

Customer highlights
§ The Bangalore center developed mission-critical software to ensure a seamless travel experience for passengers’ post-merger of US Airways into American Airlines in October 2015.

§ The center regularly supports major airline reservations migrations to SabreSonic Customer Sales and Service (CSS). Key migrations include Cambodia Angkor Air, Aero Mexico, Philippine Airlines and Kulula Air.

§ The center has been instrumental in upgrading the SabreSonic Check-in platform that has helped Sabre deliver a platform with industry-leading flight disruption management capabilities. The platform has helped airlines – improve productivity, increase targeted merchandising opportunities and reduce training costs. Over 28 airlines have been migrated to SabreSonic Check-in and currently more than 50 airlines spread over Asia, Australia Europe and Central America, are a part of the updated check-in system.

§ The Bangalore team led the introduction of a new user experience for the Sabre cruise website. The enhancements have reduced booking workflow by 30%, helping agents complete bookings faster. The team also scaled the capabilities of Sabre Cruise to offer new content from Vikings River Cruises (2013), AmaWaterways and Avalon Waterways (2014-15), bringing travel agents more diverse options.

§ The Bangalore team supported Air India towards having a fully integrated flight control system, with solutions from Sabre AirVision and Sabre AirCentre suites. The products are expected to offer Air India with increased efficiencies, minimal disruptions, enhanced punctuality and passenger connections, and better scheduling. Having a local footprint has helped Sabre drive close engagement with Air India.

Growth & Culture
Ø Awarded ‘India’s Best Companies to Work For’ in 2009 by the Great Place to Work (GPTW), the center provides employees a working environment that encourages personal growth and development, including opportunities to pursue higher education from India’s leading university, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS).

Ø Collaborated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India to set up India’s First Aviation University in 2015. Sabre will play a central role in guiding the formation of the curriculum and providing tools and platforms for training. This collaboration with the University will help build a stronger aviation workforce in the APAC region.

Ø In June, the Bangalore center expanded its facility to accommodate the growing employee strength, and the decision to invest and grow the site further is a testament to the quality of talent that has been nurtured in the center over the years. The center currently has over 1000 employees.

Employees have been actively involved in community building initiatives as a part of Sabre’s global Corporate Social Responsibility program. From 2007 onwards, Sabre has been involved in funding education of underprivileged children at Parikrma Humanity Foundation in Bangalore