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Palazzo Parisio debuts on YouTube

Naxxar, 22/08/09 – Luxe.TV has produced a six-minute feature on Palazzo Parisio, which is now on YouTube.

The video has Palazzo Parisio owner and managing director Christiane Ramsay Scicluna explain the history of the building – “it doesn’t hit you with its simplicity” – and its famed gardens.

Her daughter, Justine Pergola, continues the narration with an outline of facilities available at the 18th Century palazzo: the gourmet restaurant and the cocktail lounge.

The video may be see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arQT9VYJ1pY.

Let your iPhone find your luggage

Raleigh-Durham, 22/08/09 - The next evolution of luggage tags has arrived with Bag-Claim, a new application for checked baggage that connects a Bluetooth enabled wireless speaker with an iPhone to let a traveller know when their bag is approaching. Bag-Claim is now available through the Apple store or at bag-claim.com for $4.99 (€3.51).

For too long, travellers have crammed together anxiously by the baggage carousel or hall trying to get a glimpse of any identifying marks on an endless stream of similar looking suitcases. Luggage tags and colour-coded locators have helped to a certain extent, but they still do not externally confirm ownership, and they certainly do not help give any active arrival information or any in-range awareness.

The new Bag-Claim (http://www.bag-claim.com/) application is here to change all that. The first app of its kind for the iPhone works like a sonar or radar system, letting the user know when their bag is as far away as 23 metres, and constantly updating with a visual and/or vibrating alert until the person has it in their hands.

Robert Davidheiser, founder of Bag-Claim, says: "With a large percentage of people having iPhones and Bluetooth wireless speakers, this seemed like the perfect time to design and introduce something as useful and sensible as Bag-Claim”.

Simply, a user needs an iPhone that can correspond with a wireless receiver that is Bluetooth enabled. For those who do not have a wireless mini speaker, the advantage of buying one is significantly greater than just Bag-Claim. A user can take and receive calls hands-free in a vehicle anywhere and play A2DP stereo music remotely without wires. Some speakers will even run on standby mode for more than 1,000 hours of battery life.

Davidheiser said, "We designed Bag-Claim to work in concert with a Bluetooth speaker to ensure that people were getting maximum bang for their buck. Bluetooth pieces are a wonderful purchase for nearly everyone with a cell phone."

Bag-Claim works with any Bluetooth V2.0 mini-speaker device.

The anticipated interest is so large that RBD Consulting, the parent company of Bag-Claim, has already started development on Bag-Claim II, and Bag-Claim GPS, which will identify up to four different pieces of luggage at once, with different colours for each one, and the GPS version will pinpoint the luggage within one meter.

Agents welcome new lowcost site

Mosta, 14/08/09 - Lowcostbeds.com has launched a new dedicated trade website at lowcostbedsagents.com.

The site is powered by the same technology as lowcostholidays.com, “which is 95 per cent faster than all other UK websites”, according to the company, reports the Travel and Hospitality Industry Digest.

It features new search and book facilities, delivering up to 700 search results in less than three seconds. (For Malta bookings go to http://www.lowcostholidays.com/malta-holidays.htm).

Other new features include Manage My Booking, which enables agents to view, amend and cancel bookings online, and Dynamic Results Filtering, allowing agents to narrow results down to suit their customer’s budget, resort, board basis, star rating, property facilities and many other search items.

Finally, new search results pages have been created that give agents a clear summary of which properties are offering free children’s places, early booking discounts, free nights and free upgrades.

Tim Buckman, sales director for Lowcostbeds, commented: “This year more so than ever we are enjoying some fantastic offers from our suppliers and having the ability to direct agents to these deals is crucial”.

Feedback from agents has been positive, with Steve Campion, managing director of Holiday Discount Centre, saying: “Our team are delighted with the new site which is fast and very simple to use from both a sales and administrational perspective, it really brings the best in what lowcostbeds have to offer to our consultants”.

Agents can earn 15 per cent commission on bookings through lowcostbedsagents.com, which offers 3,000 hotels, apartments and villas worldwide.

Women and oldies are becoming 'goldies' for online travel market

Mosta, 31/07/09 - In 2009 approximately 44 per cent of all travel reservations are to be generated from the internet, compared to 40 per cent in 2008, 34 per cent in 2007 and 29 per cent in 2006. Moreover, another 30 per cent of all travel reservations are to be initiated on the internet, but made offline via call centres. That means, cumulatively, more than 66 per cent of all travel bookings in the world are influenced by or made via online reservation websites.

With such a huge success for the online travel industry, it is important to discover the demographic roots of this phenomenon. Who are the people using the internet and arranging holidays and business trips for their families and colleagues?

The survey and statistical study made by the Dutch company IVRA Holding on its worldwide travel reservation system, OrangeSmile.com, reveals a number of interesting facts and trends.

Trend one: Women are becoming in charge of travel reservations made online. Females exceeded the psychological milestone of 50 per cent of the total bookings made in 2009.

That record is quite interesting, taking into account that in 2006 the gender distribution was 51.3 to 48.8 per cent in favour of male-made bookings. IVRA Holding expects the trend to continue reaching 51.1 per cent for female-made bookings by 2011.

What drives this gender trend? From the survey analysis four possible reasons were identified that make this trend happen.

1 Women are becoming more active in the business sphere and travel alone more often. This is a consequence of a ‘global feminisation’.

2 Despite the fact that an average female income is still lower than a male’s, women's average salaries are growing faster. This certainly increases the degree of freedom for women, which is reflected in their spending patterns especially on travel.

3 Women are closing the gap regarding access to and familiarity with online technologies.

According to OrangeSmile.com call-centre statistics, females contact (phone calls, emails) the support centre much more often than males. In 2008-2009 IVRA Holding noted that 73 per cent of all queries were made by women, and only 27 per cent by men.

Trend two: More and more 55 plus year olds are using online travel centres intensively.

The strongest trend is that the share of senior travel bookers is rapidly growing. While in 2006 the booking share by seniors was 13.9 per cent out of total bookings, last year the share rose to 16,7 per cent, in the current year 2009 it is expected to reach 18,5 per cent. The predicted share of seniors handling bookings by 2011 is 21.5 per cent.

What has influenced such a trend? There are three major influences:

1 Growing acquaintance with the internet. In the beginning of the century seniors were under-represented in the internet domains. Nowadays, almost every house has access to the internet and seniors begin to learn and use the opportunities provided online.

2 Population is aging in general. According to research by the National Institute of Aging, in the developed countries the percentage of seniors that are 55 or more will grow from 24.1 per cent to 31.5 per cent during the decade 2000 to 2010.

3 The internet-aware 'young' newcomers are jumping into the 55+ category.

4 Social factors, such as relatively stable income from pension funds, improving quality of medicine support and social care trigger the phenomenon of rising senior tourism.

Looking from a global perspective, due to demographic and social changes, senior tourism will be - at least mid-term (until 2030) - the 'engine of growth' in tourism. The number of travellers will increase by approximately 3.4 million by 2030. Subsequently though, this volume will shrink and arrive at merely 1.5 million more travellers in 2050 than the current value. As such, the proportion of the older elderly will be unmistakably higher, and the proportion of the young elderly will be lower than at the present.

Concluding, the global trends on feminisation, aging and growing internet-awareness of previously under-represented seniors and females, influence rapid increase of the share of the these two groups in travel reservations made online.

Are women and oldies the 'goldies' for online the travel market? It seems to be true, since the trends described will continue at least until 2030.

Kempinski San Lawrenz chosen as an Expedia Insiders’ Select hotel

San Lawrenz, 13/07/09 - The Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz has been chosen as an Expedia Insiders' Select hotel, an annual award which recognises the very best properties, as judged by the experiences of customers of Expedia, one of the world's leading online travel companies.

The insiders' select programme is in its third year and includes just one per cent of all hotels offered on Expedia. Criteria on which the award is based include consistently superior service, exceptional guest experience and notable value.

"We are delighted with this award. Today, the quality of service that travellers receive ranks high among the most important aspects of their holiday. Receiving this kind of recognition by one of the world's largest online travel agencies proves that Kempinski, which as a management group of luxury hotels has been focussing a lot of its energies on staff training and development, is going the right way”, said Noel Attard, general manager of the San Lawrenz. This year's training activities, which take place globally in all Kempinski-managed properties, are being organised under the motto "from good to best" and include every employee at every level.

Attard reiterated that "your people are the single most important asset if you operate in the service industry. You can have the best property, but that alone will not keep your guests happy - at the end of the day, it's the service given by your staff that your guests are likely to remember. So, obviously, we are very pleased that Expedia's clients have rewarded our efforts, and in turn we will endeavour to further improve our guests' experiences at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz”.

Air Malta portal gets clean bill of health from EU

Luqa, 15/05/09 - Air Malta’s portal www.airmalta.com was given a ‘clean health check’ endorsement from the European Union’s commission in a report after an 18-months, EU-wide process to crack down on misleading advertising and unfair practices.

Air Malta’s website was one of the few airline portals to meet all the standards of the ‘heath check’ and give a commitment to maintain its webpage at this level. The process has thoroughly checked sites against a comprehensive 14-point checklist including clear pricing, availability of offers and fair contract terms.

Speaking about the results of this report Joe Cappello, KM’s chief executive said: “Air Malta is very proud of this seal of endorsement from the EU. When we re-launched our portal in June 2007, and included an easy to use booking engine, we have continued to invest heavily in this medium.

“Today we are also offering various services including hotel accommodation in Malta and abroad, car hire, travel insurance and free web-check. Other enhancements and services are in the pipeline. Over the last year we have steadily increased ticket sales by 13 per cent from this channel. Revenue has also increased, and today 30 per cent of it is being generated through this medium.

“After the process of verification Air Malta made a clear commitment to the director general for health and consumer protection and said: “As an EU airline dedicated towards ensuring the easy mobility of our passengers, Air Malta confirms its commitment to maintain the same high standards for our passengers when they book on our website in future”.

“We have always maintained that our portal offers a simple and transparent method of payment without resorting to hidden charges. Today we have been given a clean bill of heath by the EU and we intend to continue working to maintain our high standards and fair price commitment to our customers”, concluded Cappello.

Expedia recognises MTA’s online presence

Berlin, 25/03/09 - During a short presentation at the ITB fair earlier this month, the Malta Tourism Authority was presented with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award by online travel booking company, Expedia.

The MVP award was given to the MTA in recognition of the authority’s leadership in online destination marketing. The award was presented to parliamentary secretary for tourism Dr Mario de Marco, on behalf of the MTA, by Thaddeus Hanscom, Expedia’s senior director, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

During the presentation Hanscom said “other Mediterranean destinations are struggling to catch up with Malta in utilising the internet as a means of selling holidays, and not only as a source of information”.

De Marco thanked Expedia for the award and, whilst agreeing that the future in tourism marketing was definitely e-oriented, was pleased to note that major international players in were acknowledging the MTA’s strategy.

MIA site gets makeover

Luqa, 09/02/09 - In 1998 Malta International Airport launched its first website. Eleven years on, and after a major overhaul in 2003 when MIA launched its new corporate image, Alert Communications have redeveloped the airport operator’s site.

The portal has been revamped in such way that it enables search of services on pages such as the popular arrivals and departures and the weather forecast in a more user-friendly fashion.

Moreover, besides additional information, the site also features the latest news and events, a complete investor relations section including the MIA share price, as well as facilities to find a flight. This project also involved an overhaul of the airport value website which now is fully equipped to maintain an online product catalogue of all the items which may be bought at airport outlets.

In line with MIA's commitment to actively support the tourism industry, the new website has been redesigned to serve as a one-stop-shop for visitors, including links for flight, hotel and other travel related booking services. The MIA site address is www.maltairport.com.