Not only are there more real estate exhibitors at this weekend’s The France Show, but many have also taken bigger stands for the show that includes a live property auction

http://www.vakantiebeurs.nl/nl-NL/Bezoeker.aspx

Completely updated Vakantiebeurs (Holiday Exhibition) gives the travel sector a boost
Europe increasingly popular, desire for luxury, enthusiastic campers

The completely new Vakantiebeurs has generated a lot of interest among Dutch holidaymakers and given the travel sector a boost. One of the many ‘firsts’ this year was a presentation of the most popular types of holidays in six, much-visited Plazas, provided by specialist international exhibitors. Thanks to the combination of these Plazas and the clear geographical layout of the exhibition by country, it was easy for visitors to find their way around the Vakantiebeurs, which was held from Wednesday 15 January – Sunday 19 January in the Jaarbeurs venue in Utrecht.

Excellent start

VNU Exhibitions Travel Market Manager Editha Hoogenberg, organiser of the Vakantiebeurs: ‘’It’s great that, together with our participants, we were able to give the travel sector a boost this past week. Our exhibitors have given us lots of positive responses to the quality level of the visitors, many of whom actually booked their holiday right there at the Exhibition. As an organisation we are proud that we were able to make such an excellent start to the travel season together with our participants and partners.’’

The Netherlands

A total of 117,073 holidaymakers visited the Exhibition, which is a significant increase of 13% compared to last year. Many of the visitors take several holidays a year. One of the noticeable findings from the evaluation of the Exhibition organisers is the growing interest in European holidays. Of course this doesn’t change the fact that a large proportion of the visitors were also looking for destinations elsewhere in the world. At least one in five visitors came to find out specifically about short trips or longer holidays in the Netherlands.

3300 euro

When asked about their anticipated spending level for future holidays, the visitors of the Vakantiebeurs indicated that on average they will be spending nearly 3300 euro per person per year on holidays. This is three times as much as the amount of just over 1100 euro the average Dutch holidaymaker spent on holidays last year.

Top 3

Visitors named Italy, France and Germany/Spain as the top 3 popular destinations in Europe. Greece rose significantly in popularity and comes 4th, followed by Austria/Switzerland in 5th place. The most popular destinations outside Europe are Asia, the United States/Canada, Africa, Central and South America and the Caribbean respectively.

Desire for luxury

The main reasons for people to visit the Vakantiebeurs were: collecting specific information, finding inspiration, selecting a holiday, a day out and entertainment, the exclusive exhibition offers and finding additional information about a holiday they have already booked. The holidaymakers’ preference for a hotel as the most popular accommodation shows a clear desire for a bit of luxury during the holidays, followed by camping, a guesthouse/B&B and an apartment.

Camping by Night

There were plenty of camping aficionados among the visitors, who like to go exploring with their caravan, camper van, pop-up camping trailer or tent. To be able to give this group – and especially the non-campers – a sense of the real camping experience a spectacular and highly visited Camping by Night exhibit had been set up in a darkened hall of the Vakantiebeurs. Avid campers will also be able to look forward to and research the 50th edition of the Camping and Caravan Fair scheduled to be held at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht from 8-12 October.

Germany

Germany was the Guest Country at the Vakantiebeurs and made every effort to promote the country, the regions and the cities among the visitors. Among other things the country surprised the visitors with a wine tasting and was also present in all the Plazas with the most popular types of holidays, to draw attention to the country’s enormous variety as a tourist destination.

Cruises

The themes ‘Sail’ (Cruises & Sailing), ‘Active’ (Bicycling & Walking), ‘Together’ (Families & Children), ‘Discover’ (Adventure & Remote Destinations), ‘Outside’ (Camping) and ‘Look’ (Cities & Culture) were selected for the different Plazas. The ‘Look’ Plaza was the most popular, followed by ‘Discover’, ‘Outside’, ‘Active’, ‘Together’ and ‘Sail’. The cruise options in ‘Sail’ constitute only a small segment of the total holiday sector, but still attracted the attention of 1 in 5 Vakantiebeurs visitors.

‘Vakantiebeurs Express’

Other ‘firsts’ were the participation of UNESCO with a focus on World Heritage, the Zoom.nl photography pavilion, the Vakantiebeurs Photo Competition and the Culinary Route with tasty traditional snacks and drinks at six varied destinations. For the first time in the history of the Vakantiebeurs the Dutch Railways put on two extra trains for Exhibition visitors. This ‘Vakantiebeurs Express’ ran on Saturday from Zwolle to Utrecht via Amersfoort and delivered the passengers in an excellent mood and fully informed about the Vakantiebeurs in Utrecht.

2015 Vakantiebeurs

The public days of the 2015 Vakantiebeurs will be Wednesday 14 January – Sunday 18 January.

We’ve all heard of armchair travel: the perfect way to momentarily escape from one’s stressful, over-scheduled life. People used to relax, grab a copy of the New York Times Travel section, and let their minds wander to their own private paradise. If they were reading an article about Italy, they might even accompany their armchair trip with a big bowl of pasta.

That trend, unfortunately, is so 20th Century. Not many people have time to sit in an armchair, and even fewer read actual newspapers or books. A big bowl of Pasta Bolognese? Forget it. Carbs went out with wearing leotards to the gym. People want to multi-task and lose weight whilst clad in black leggings and Lululemon. They keep going until their minds and bodies just can’t take it anymore. The solution: a yoga retreat.

The yoga retreat isn’t a new concept, but its popularity has gained critical momentum over the years. Surfing and yoga in Costa Rica, or yoga and shamanic experiences in Peru are examples of two popular combinations.

But what happens when people no longer have time for a retreat? How do they fit any “me time” at all into their busy schedules? A new business, appropriately named “The Flying Carpet,” seems to have the solution. It allows yogis from around the world to stream live yoga classes from Madrid. And if people are too busy to take an hour long class, they can get a “Yoga Reboot,” which delivers a clear mind and relaxed body in only 20 minutes.

The business recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on the international platform Indiegogo. They’re currently raising money to launch Phase 1 of The Flying Carpet, which is opening the studio in Madrid and creating downloadable content such as yoga class videos and mindfulness MP3′s. Phase 2 of the The Flying Carpet project will see the concept expand to other cities around the globe, so yoga enthusiasts everywhere can replace their armchair travel with yoga travel. Someone needs to invent a yoga pose called The Traveling Yogi!

A ministerial decision introducing a new mandatory star rating system for hotels in Greece was published on Friday in the Government Gazette.

The decision focuses on hotel services and other technical requirements that hotels in Greece must fulfil, particularly those of higher categories.

According to the decision, hotels in Greece will be ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Each hotel is classified into one of the five categories if they follow the minimum standards and collect the minimum number of points required for classification.

Among other things, the decision specifies the plot plan minimum requirements for hotel construction in accordance with general and specific planning provisions.

Also, hotels are now obliged to provide rooms designed for guests with a disability or reduced mobility. The minimum number of rooms for guests with disabilities is set at five percent of the total capacity of the hotel.

The special operational seals issued under the previous classification system automatically cease to apply on December 31, 2017. By this date all hotels in Greece are required to have a rating certificate in accordance with the provisions of the new decision.