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Europeans plan to increase holiday spend

New research from global travel technology leader Sabre Corporation found that a significant percentage of European travellers plan to spend more on holidays in 2018. Sabre surveyed more than 4,000 people in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy that had travelled within the past 24 months to identify emerging trends when spending on travel and booking flights, hotels and extras. Of the countries surveyed, the study showed that willingness to increase spend was highest in Italy and the United Kingdom, where more than 40 per cent of respondents said they’d be spending more on holidays this year – compared with 28 per cent of French travellers and 30 per cent of Germans. In comparison, the survey indicated that only 15 per cent planned to reduce spend.

What would encourage travellers to spend even more during their trips? For Brits, the survey found that it was all about trust and confidence; 32 per cent would spend more if they knew that they had secured the best deal on their holiday. For French travellers, the study showed that being rewarded for their loyalty came out on top with 33 per cent. Other reasons included receiving more compelling offers from their airlines and hotels (22 per cent), being able to book all components of their travel in one place (20 per cent) and if it was easier to find the products and services they were looking for (14 per cent).

 

GlobalStar signs deal with PaxFour

Most companies do not claim airline compensation for their delayed employees – even though rules have been in place for more than a decade. There is an increasing demand for travel agencies to offer such a service to their corporate clients.

GlobalStar has entered into a strategic partnership with PaxFour, to avail of claim management for their corporate clients. PaxFour is a joint-venture between Scandinavia’s and Germany’s largest claim companies, supported by other claim company affiliates in Europe. GlobalStar has branded this new offering as ClaimStar being part of their Star Suite of products and solutions.

 

UAE tourists to get VAT refund

Tourists visiting the UAE will be able to claim a refund on the five per cent value added tax (VAT) they pay while visiting the country, the UAE cabinet announced last month.

The system is set to go live in the fourth quarter of this year and will apply to purchases made on goods at participating retailers. The cabinet said that the move was intended to support the growth of tourism. The refund system will only be eligible to those travelling to the UAE from outside Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Some early conditions for the refund include that the tourist must have the explicit intention to leave UAE in 90 days, along with the purchased supplies; and goods need to have been purchased from a retailer registered in the system.

 

Nigeria holds pole position in Africa

According to an influential annual hotel pipeline survey from Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, Nigeria still holds its pole position for hotel development in West Africa. Nigeria has the largest pipeline in West Africa (and the second largest on the continent), with the concentration being in Lagos and Abuja, the commercial and political capitals, respectively. There is, however, an increasing number of deals being signed in other cities, such as Enugu, Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Benin City. Hotel pipeline development in terms of total planned rooms for Nigeria is 4,146 rooms under construction, out of a total of 9,603 in 57 hotels.

Impressive strides have been made by Cote d’Ivoire, moving into the top five West African countries with 10 new hotels in the pipeline. All the planned hotels are in Abidjan, driven by multiple deals signed by AccorHotels and by Marriott. Marriott still heads the chains in the region – 26 planned hotels with 5,354 rooms, up by 25 per cent from last year. Louvre is also moving up – seven hotels with 807 rooms, registering an 83 per cent increase.

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