OAG Reports Global Airline Capacity Up 4% In December 2009
December 30, 2009
Low Cost Sector Continues to Show Growth with Frequencies and Capacity Up 10% CHICAGO, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ — Global airline capacity for December 2009 shows positive growth compared to December 2008, reports OAG, (www.oagaviation.com ) the world’s leading aviation data business with its monthly report on trends in the supply of airline flights and seats. There are 294.8 million seats available this month, a rise of 4% over December 2008 levels. Global frequencies are up 1% compared to December 2008, with a total of 2.4 million flights scheduled for December 2009, despite an average North American frequency decline of 2%. Worldwide, frequencies and capacity in the low cost sector are both up by 10% compared to a year ago, accounting for 444,539 flights (18%) and 65.6 million seats (22%). John Weber, senior vice president OAG Aviation, said, “Global capacity continues to rise, boosted by worldwide increases in both frequency and capacity in the low cost sector, which would... Read More →
Member Press Releases Spotlight: AgentsIntrepid launches agent-only web site
December 30, 2009
Adventure travel specialist Intrepid Travel has unveiled a dedicated web site for North American travel agents. Found at http://www.intrepidagent.com , the site is multi-functional and will not only track individual agent’s sales, but offer product quizzes — complete with prizes — free downloadable marketing resources, details on new promotions (such as the Aeroplan promotion where customers can earn 500 Aeroplan Miles on bookings over $1,000), and provide a link to each agent’s BDM. Plus, agents will earn fun awards for booking with Intrepid. Cumulative annual sales under $5,000 (Bronze level) will earn a handy little phone detangler. Reach the Silver level ($5,000 mark) and get an Intrepid water bottle; Gold status ($10,000) earns a nifty set of packing cubes; while sales hitting $15,000 will earn agents a solar charger. And at the top level of $25,000, agents receive a flip camcorder. “Though we’ve been present in the North American market for only 18 months, we’re... Read More →
Member Press ReleasesWanderlust Consulting Adds Vietnam’s Easia Travel to Portfolio
December 30, 2009
Editor’s Note: In an open letter to the adventure travel trade, ATTA Member Wanderlust Consulting introduces its newest client, Easia Travel, Ltd., based in Hanoi, Vietnam: “Leo Le Bon, co-founder of the premier adventure travel company Mountain Travel Sobek, and President of Wanderlust Consulting, is honored and pleased to introduce to the North America travel industry, EASIA TRAVEL, Ltd, a leading Indochina inbound DMC with 10 years experience, with headquarters in Hanoi, and offices in Laos and Cambodia. (Philippe Richard, co-founder of Easia Travel, attended the Summit in Quebec in October 2009). Wanderlust Consulting will be supporting Easia Travel marketing and sales in North America. We have had extensive first hand travel experience with Easia Travel, and know well their management team, so we feel that we can highly recommend their outstanding professional services, transacted on a business-to-business basis only. We believe that Easia can deliver superior service... Read More →
Partner News Spotlight: SustainabilityNew Study Sparks Adaptation Strategies for Adventure Tourism Companies Coping with Climate Change
December 30, 2009
Newly published research — Adventure Tourism Companies & Climate Change: Observations from the Himalaya, Amazon, and Polar Regions Spark Adaptation Strategies for Business — is available now in PDF format (Download now, 2.9mb: click here) and offers management and business practices for sustaining adventure travel businesses in sensitive environments affected by climate change. With international media buzzing on the topic, as a result of the UN Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) in Copenhagen, this report provides valuable research and actionable solutions for some of the first to be affected by climate change: adventure traveler operators. The following preface to the study is offered by Editor and Adjunct Research Supervisor, Christina Heyniger, of Xola Consulting, who remains committed to observing and following trends and changes in the adventure industry and will continue to publish on this subject in the coming years: In contrast to leisure tourism, where more... Read More →
Member Press ReleasesPlaneterra Announces New Global Voluntour Travel Opportunities
December 29, 2009
From Panda Reserve in Sichuan Province to Africa’s Cape Peninsula TORONTO – Voluntourism’s global specialist, Planeterra, announces new 2010 projects and volunteer vacations including onsite work at the world’s largest Panda reserve in China’s Sichuan Province and a bring-the-kids family adventure on an organic farm along the coast of Ecuador. Planeterra’s Director, Richard G. Edwards said that more than ever, “community development, environmental and wildlife conservation projects around the world need the support of active travelers who are willing to take the time to understand what is needed and how they can help. Our programs are designed with great care, so that everyone genuinely benefits, while having fun learning about each other’s cultures.” Of the eleven new programs for 2010, five are Independent Tours, which provide optimum flexibility for travelers (projects in Argentina, Brazil, Peruvian Amazon, Ecuadorian Highlands and Project Cuzco Kids). These trips depart... Read More →
ATTA Member ProfilesWidness & Wiggins PR
December 28, 2009
Established in April 2007, Widness & Wiggins PR offers a competitively priced, highly personalized media contact and communications strategy expressly designed for adventure, eco and active travel industry clients – tour operators, nonprofits, resorts and accommodations. Our story-telling approach is pro-active, aggressive, and multidimensional covering both traditional print, social media and new, expanding online outlets. Backed by media savvy, lifelong relationships with the press and a proven record of success, Sara Widness and Dave Wiggins are the ones delivering the results. The world of print, online and broadcast media is a fast-paced, ever-noisy place. You want your story to be told but it’s a real challenge just being noticed. Going it alone rarely gets you anywhere. You need a loud and clear voice that’s recognized and respected by those influential members of the media most interested in what you have to say. That’s the power of a successful public relations... Read More →
New & Different Spotlight: SustainabilityA New Vision: Science and Tourism under the Stars
December 23, 2009
Madrid and Canary Islands – The StarLight Tourism Certification System (Starlight Certification) was presented yesterday, 22 December, in a Press Conference held at UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) Headquarters in Madrid. It aims at bringing closer two key components of contemporary society: Science and Tourism. On the one hand, in this recently opened post-Copenhagen era, it has become suddenly obvious that scientific facts per se will not mobilize political institutions. The outreach of science, its penetration of institutions and civil society have been shown essential. On the other hand, tourism appears both as a victim and a vector of climate change. Irresponsible tourism will contribute more and more to CO2 emissions; in the end a negative backlash could affect tourism activities as whole. But tourism can be an excellent vehicle for new ideas and responsible social behaviour. The right coupage of science and tourism could contribute to the global acceptance of the “new ways”,... Read More →
Industry Partner NewsCambodia—Paving the Way with More than Asphalt: Archaeological Institute of America Awards Site Preservation Grant to Heritage Watch
December 22, 2009
The Archaeological Institute of America awarded a Site Preservation Grant to Heritage Watch, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Southeast Asia’s cultural heritage, for a project in Cambodia. Heritage Watch will be working with Global Heritage Fund, which began a major development and conservation program at the archaeological site of Banteay Chhmar in 2008. The 12th century temple complex is overrun by jungle growth and plagued by looters. With new road improvements, the site is expected to become a major tourist attraction for those traveling from Thailand to Cambodia’s major archaeological attraction, Angkor Wat, located 165 kilometers to the southeast. Global Heritage Fund and Heritage Watch’s programs aim to ready the site for the increasing tourist numbers while helping members of the local community to support themselves through economic development initiatives that protect the site, rather than destroy it. Heritage Watch will use the award for community... Read More →
Partner NewsOpenTravel Launches the OpenTravel Forum
December 22, 2009
Editor’s Note: Long-time partners of the ATTA, the Open Travel Alliance, a community where companies in the electronic distribution supply chain work together to create an accepted structure for electronic messages, opened a new forum for professionals within the adventure travel sector to actively contribute to the dialogue. Below, please find OTA’s Executive Director Valyn Perini’s open invitation to participate: “Members and friends of OpenTravel, Over the years, hundreds of you have used the OpenTravel Implementers Forum to post your questions or comments about implementing OpenTravel schema. Built on the free Google Groups platform, this forum was technically unsophisticated and completely unmoderated by OpenTravel. It met a need, but had limited usefulness. We’ve heard your requests for a more robust Forum to use as a resource for your implementations of OpenTravel schema, so we are delighted to announce the launch of the OpenTravel Forum. Built on... Read More →
By the NumbersFive Online Travel Predictions for Europe in 2010
December 22, 2009
Sherman, Conn. USA — Europe may still be experiencing the effects of the recession, but online travel continues its upward march across the continent’s diverse and complex markets, according to travel industry research authority, PhoCusWright Inc. Changes in the economy and the travel industry have driven significant shifts in how consumers shop for and purchase travel. PhoCusWright’s European Online Travel Overview Fifth Edition analyzes the dynamics of online and offline travel distribution across Europe’s major travel markets. Here are five predictions for the European online travel market in 2010 from the new report: 1. Online travel will account for more than one-third of the total European travel market. While the total European travel market experiences a double-digit decline, online leisure and unmanaged business travel will in fact grow slightly in 2009. As effects of the recession linger into next year, consumers are increasingly shopping online for better... Read More →
