PRESS RELEASES
ANNUAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED AT UKINBOUND CONVENTION 2010
11/02/2010
The winners of the annual UKinbound Awards were announced last Thursday 4 February 2010 during the UKinbound Convention Gala Dinner held at Carlton Towers in Yorkshire.
Voted for by members of UKi...
ANNUAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED AT UKINBOUND CONVENTION 2010
11/02/2010
The winners of the annual UKinbound Awards were announced last Thursday 4 February 2010 during the UKinbound Convention Gala Dinner held at Carlton Towers in Yorkshire.
Voted for by members of UKinbound, Awards were introduced for the first time this year for each UKinbound Member Category as well as a special Individual Personal Achievement Award.
The winners were:
Tour Operator of the Year
Angela Shanley Associates
Accommodation of the Year
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
Attraction of the Year
Hampton Court Palace,Historic Royal Palaces
Destination Marketing Company of the Year
Visit Kent
Service Provider of the Year
Itinerary Planner
Individual Personal Achievement Award
Mr John Boon
Rita Beckwith, Chairman of UKinbound, presenting the Awards, said:
‘UKinbound is delighted that its members have taken the time to nominate their peers in recognition of the outstanding services they provide to the inbound tourism industry’.
The Gala Dinner also included a charity prize draw in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care with a range of fantastic prizes donated by UKinbound members including: Barcelo Hotels, and Resorts, Shakespeare’s Globe, Ramada Jarvis Hotels, Golden Tours, Dewynters Tourism, Ascot Racecourse, Planet Hollywood, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Orient Express Hotels, Trains and Cruises, City Cruises, Bicester Village and Millennium and Copthorne Hotels.
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Notes to Editors
The UKinbound Convention 2010 took place in York from 3 – 5 February 2010 and was supported by Welcome to Yorkshire
About UKinbound
UKinbound is the only trade association that represents the UK’s inbound tourism businesses including accommodation providers, destination marketing, attractions, tourism service providers, inbound tour operators, and UK ground handlers. The primary aim of UKinbound is to help our members manage successful, profitable businesses that are part of a vibrant and sustainable inbound tourism industry. We achieve this by focusing on advocacy, professionalism and networking.
Inbound tourism is the UK’s third largest export industry generating over £18 billion in export earning from 32 million international visitors to the UK in 2007 (ONS International passenger Survey).
For more information visit: www.ukinbound.org or contact Andrew Macnair, UKinbound on 020 7395 7505 or at andrew@ukinbound.org
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR THE SECOND BRITAIN AND IRELAND MARKETPLACE WORKSHOP (BIM 10)
29/01/2010
The second Britain and Ireland Marketplace (BIM) workshop will take place at a brand new venue, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, on 16th March 2010. The BIM workshop is a product of...
REGISTRATION OPENS FOR THE SECOND BRITAIN AND IRELAND MARKETPLACE WORKSHOP (BIM 10)
29/01/2010
The second Britain and Ireland Marketplace (BIM) workshop will take place at a brand new venue, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, on 16th March 2010. The BIM workshop is a product of a partnership between UKinbound and ETOA (European Tour Operators Association).
Last year’s workshop was attended by 90 top travel industry buyers, tour operators and online intermediaries, and 100 sellers. The principal feature of BIM is the placing of key purchasing managers at tables, where those with tourism products to promote can secure meetings.
“At this event we aim to gather all the main decision makers in one space, and give businesses a chance to sell. When it succeeds,“ said Tom Jenkins, Executive Director of ETOA “it is an immensely fulfilling day. And last year was very successful with over two and half thousand individual meetings.”
“It is an invaluable new addition to British Tourism Week,” said Ginette Goulston-Lincoln. “It easily paid for itself in new business” said Sally Jenkins of Stena Line.
“BIM10 will be an important curtain-raiser for the commercial activities that occur during British Tourism Week,” said Mary Rance, Chief Executive of UKinbound. “All the big volume inbound operators will be present.”
This is an important joint initiative by UKinbound and ETOA. UKinbound is the organisation responsible for providing information about the British tourism industry for tour operators and tourism suppliers to Britain whilst ETOA offers European level representation for the interests of inbound and intra-European tour operators, wholesalers and European suppliers.
Tom Jenkins, ETOA’s Executive Director, comments: “This is a time of real stress and consequent change in the travel market. At such times it is vital that suppliers and distributors meet. The challenge for any association is to create fresh contacts. One way of doing this is to join forces with other associations. The workshop will introduce businesses that have not worked together before, generating new products that meet these changing conditions.”
Mary Rance, Chief Executive of UKinbound, comments: “UKinbound is delighted to continue to join forces with ETOA for BIM10. It represents a unique business and networking platform with a critical mass of the travel trade in town. It is positioned as a central event in British Tourism Week.”
Further details and online registration are available click here
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Notes to Editors:
About ETOA
For more information about ETOA click here
About UKinbound
For more information visit click here
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE ANNUAL UKINBOUND AWARDS 2010
14/12/2009
We are extremely pleased to announce the shortlisted entries for the Annual UKinbound Awards to be announced during the Gala Dinner at the UKinbound Convention 2010 in February.
Many thanks to memb...
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE ANNUAL UKINBOUND AWARDS 2010
14/12/2009
We are extremely pleased to announce the shortlisted entries for the Annual UKinbound Awards to be announced during the Gala Dinner at the UKinbound Convention 2010 in February.
Many thanks to members who nominated in the first round of voting.
ANNUAL UKINBOUND AWARDS 2010 SHORTLIST
Tour Operator of the Year
Angela Shanley Associates
European Travel Services
Accommodation of the Year
Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill
Charing Cross – Guoman
Smart City Hostels Edinburgh
Holiday Inn Plymouth
Novotel West London
Royal National
Attraction of the Year
Hampton Court Palace
The Original London Sightseeing Tour
St. Paul's Cathedral
Destination Marketing Organisation of the Year
Visit Kent
Visit London
Service Provider of the Year
Encore Tickets
Itinerary Planner (Dewynters)
Strong Recruitment
To vote, please email helenjames@ukinbound.org by 10am on Friday 08 January 2010.
The shortlists have been decided based on nominations received by UKinbound members. Nominations for the Personal Achievement Award have been submitted to the Chairman for consideration.
The winners will be announced at the Gala Dinner of the UKinbound Convention on Thursday 04 February at the spectacular Carlton Towers in York.
Voting rules
You cannot cast a vote for your own company, employers or for a property or brand owned by your company or employers.
There is one vote per company. Only UKinbound members are eligible to vote and to be nominated.
Votes must be received by 10am on Friday 08 January 2010.
Congratulations to all those who received a nomination!
INDUSTRY COMES TOGETHER TO MAXIMISE TOURISM OPPORTUNITY FROM THE 2012 GAMES: NEW WORKING PARTY TO BE ESTABLISHED
18/11/2009
VisitBritain, Visit London, the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) and UKinbound have agreed to set up a joint working party to develop a strategy that will encourage visits to Britain and Lo...
INDUSTRY COMES TOGETHER TO MAXIMISE TOURISM OPPORTUNITY FROM THE 2012 GAMES: NEW WORKING PARTY TO BE ESTABLISHED
18/11/2009
VisitBritain, Visit London, the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) and UKinbound have agreed to set up a joint working party to develop a strategy that will encourage visits to Britain and London throughout 2012 and beyond as London hosts the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Tour operators and the travel trade will be crucial in promoting the message that Britain and London are open for business as usual in the build up to the Games and throughout Olympic year itself. London and Britain have distinct advantages over previous Olympic hosts given the accessibility of the country to the rest of the world, its long-established tourism industry, a plentiful supply of accommodation across all price ranges and a strong cultural offer.
An events industry “Fair Pricing and Practice Charter” has already been established by VisitBritain and Visit London to encourage fair pricing during the Games – a first for any Olympic host city and which around 300 organisations have already signed up to.
VisitBritain’s chief executive, Sandie Dawe, said: “Our aim is to maximise the tourism benefits of the Games. Together we will show that the whole country will be welcoming visitors throughout 2012 and we welcome the opportunity to work with Visit London, ETOA, UKinbound and other partners to look at how we can maximise the benefits to our industry.’
Visit London’s director of communications, Ken Kelling, said: “London has so much to offer sports fans and non-sports fans alike and visitors are well used to travelling to and from the city for business or pleasure. We are expecting the atmosphere to be amazing during 2012 and no-one will want to miss out. Now’s the right time to be getting the message out as the travel trade starts to think about “brochuring” for the next few years.”*
Patrick Richards, Chair of ETOA said: “Perceptions about the accessibility and costs of visiting host cities and nations during the year of major events do not always match the reality and we need a strategy in place to address this. In particular, we must develop concrete plans to ensure a competitive market operates. We are delighted to be working with VisitBritain and Visit London on ensuring those plans are realised.
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OVERSEAS TRAVELLERS STILL UNAWARE THAT UK IS BETTER VALUE
05/11/2009
The plunging pound has propelled London into Lonely Planet’s top ten list of the world’s best value destinations. The trouble is that prospective inbound visitors are still not aware that London a...
OVERSEAS TRAVELLERS STILL UNAWARE THAT UK IS BETTER VALUE
05/11/2009
The plunging pound has propelled London into Lonely Planet’s top ten list of the world’s best value destinations. The trouble is that prospective inbound visitors are still not aware that London and the UK now offer great value for those spending other currencies, according to UKinbound.
Recent research sponsored by VisitBritain revealed that even though the broadsheet newspapers around the world indicate that sterling is significantly cheaper against most currencies than it was a couple of years ago, the majority of consumers are still not aware of this. Where the “value for money” message is understood, there is a significant uplift in the likelihood to visit Britain. Helping consumers understand this could bring significant growth to Britain’s inbound tourism industry.
Mary Rance Chief Executive of UKinbound said:
“2010 could be a bumper year for inbound tourism but never has it been more important that the “value message “ is promoted overseas and in a way that is easy to understand.
“VisitBritain and Visit London have been working hard to spread the message that the UK is now better value but with Government funding cuts and restructuring necessitated as a result, this inevitably impacts on available spend for marketing campaigns.
“Spreading the value message widely would be an investment which could bring rapid return to the industry and to the economy. It costs only £14 to attract a new visitor to the UK and this one visitor provides the exchequer with over £30 in VAT payments alone - not to mention the direct spending on products and services that support tourism jobs across the country and particularly for the young, who have been hit hardest by the rapid rises in unemployment. So it’s clear that the return on investment in funding tourism marketing is high.
“That Lonely Planet has voted London one of the world’s ten best value destinations is great news for the UK tourism industry, but overseas marketing through our tourism boards is the best way of promoting travel to the UK. UKinbound will continue to lobby for adequate funding for overseas marketing to ensure that this great window of opportunity is not missed.”
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UNWTO CALLS ON GOVERNMENTS TO RECONSIDER TOURISM TAX RISES
12/10/2009
The 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly concluded with unanimous endorsement of a Roadmap for Recovery to mainstream travel and tourism into economic stimulus packages being considered by globa...
UNWTO CALLS ON GOVERNMENTS TO RECONSIDER TOURISM TAX RISES
12/10/2009
The 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly concluded with unanimous endorsement of a Roadmap for Recovery to mainstream travel and tourism into economic stimulus packages being considered by global leaders. It underscored the enormous importance of the sector for job creation, trade and development.
It expressed strong concern about the dangers of increasing taxes which focus on the sector at a time of economic uncertainty and called on governments to reconsider proposed increases.
It also adopted a strong declaration on Facilitation of Tourism designed to encourage governments to remove unnecessary regulatory and bureaucratic restrictions on travel which hamper its flow and reduce its economic impacts.
The Assembly also made significant steps to better prepare UNWTO for future challenges, by electing a new Secretary-General Taleb Rifai with a new Management Team.
The Assembly was presided by H.E. Mr.Termirkhan Dosmukhambetov, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan.
The General Assembly unanimously elected Taleb Rifai as Secretary-General for the period 2010-2013 and welcomed his new management team. Mr Rifai called for greater transparency and accountability, and for the Organization to become more programme-based and results oriented, as reflected in his Management Strategy presented to the Assembly.
The Assembly approved the Roadmap for Recovery to respond to the economic crisis and its effect on the Travel and Tourism sector. The Roadmap is a manifesto that identifies the sector’s importance in global economic resilience; stimulus and transformation to a green economy. It details areas where the travel and tourism sector can play an essential role in post crisis recovery in terms of jobs, infrastructure, trade and development. It calls on world leaders to place tourism and travel at the core of stimulus packages and the long-term green economy transformation. It calls for special attention and support for developing states in terms of capacity building, technology transfer and financing. It also sets out a basis for action for governments and the industry to deal with the short and long term economic, climate and poverty challenges in a coherent way.
- The Assembly called for a moratorium on burdensome travel taxes which target tourism, citing in particular the UK Airport Passenger Duty. These taxes place a serious burden on poor countries, undermine universal efforts to promote fair tourism trade and distort markets.
- The Assembly passed a Declaration encouraging governments to review burdensome border control regulations and visa policies and to simplify them wherever possible to boost travel and increase its economic impacts.
- The Assembly expressed its support for a successful outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Conference and endorsed the UN-led Seal the Deal Campaign which seeks to galvanize widespread support for a fair and balanced Copenhagen accord.
- The Assembly also reviewed and endorsed action taken by UNWTO in the framework of the UN system, to increase tourism’s preparedness to respond to the H1N1 pandemic.
- The Assembly adopted the Astana Declaration underscoring the relevance of the Silk Road Initiative, which highlights the exceptional value and diversity of the tourism potential of the countries traversed by the ancient Silk Roads.
- The Assembly welcomed Vanuatu as a new Full Member, while a total of 89 private and public Affiliate Members also joined. UNWTO now has 161 Member states and regions and a record high 409 Affiliate Members. The Assembly also called upon those UN member countries that do not yet belong to the UNWTO to join the Organization.
- The Assembly accepted the invitation of the Republic of Korea to hold its nineteenth session in 2011. Dates to be agreed upon with the Government of that country.
(From Travel Daily News International - 12/10/09)
CHALLENGING PERIOD’ FOR INBOUND TRAVEL MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY GOVERNMENT
16/09/2009
UKinbound today warned that the challenging period for inbound tourism as predicted by VisitBritain could be mitigated if Government were to alleviate the barriers to tourism it has imposed on the ind...
CHALLENGING PERIOD’ FOR INBOUND TRAVEL MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY GOVERNMENT
16/09/2009
UKinbound today warned that the challenging period for inbound tourism as predicted by VisitBritain could be mitigated if Government were to alleviate the barriers to tourism it has imposed on the industry.
This week VisitBritain warned that inbound tourism could continue to decline and that trips to Britain could fall by as much as 5% in 2009. However the Government’s own initiatives, such as air passenger duty and high visa costs, deter overseas residents travelling to Britain, damaging the international competiveness of the UK as a destination, and making it difficult for the industry to achieve its full potential for export earnings.
Air Passenger Duty is set to rise in November, with long haul and business travellers being hit particularly hard; the Visa application process and cost are also a major deterrent for overseas visitors; and with VAT set to rise at midnight on the 31st December, many tourism businesses, such as hotels, bars and restaurants will have to change their prices whilst they are still open.
Mary Rance Chief Executive said:
“ There is a danger that inbound travel to the UK could continue to fall. Consumers globally are looking for value. People don’t not mind spending money on quality products, but they do not want to pay higher taxes. Government must remove the barriers of high taxes to ensure the UK tourism industry can remain internationally competitive in terms of price and accessibility, and to enable business to compete effectively in the international market.”
Mary Rance went on to welcome the campaign launched by Mayor of London Boris Johnson on Monday in New York:
“ UKinbound applauds the Mayor’s support for tourism and his recognition of its potential for assisting economic recovery, which Government is yet to embrace. The US is an incredibly important inbound market and overseas marketing of UK destinations is more important than ever. It is important that London is able to invest in promoting to our main inbound markets, while also highlighting the fantastic value still on offer in the UK for visitors from the US and other markets, because of the strength of the dollar.”
UKINBOUND INCREASES PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT TO FREEZE APD CHANGES
25/06/2009
UKinbound has this morning written to three Government Ministers to express the anger and disappointment of inbound tourism businesses at Government’s lack of response to concerns over changes to Ai...
UKINBOUND INCREASES PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT TO FREEZE APD CHANGES
25/06/2009
UKinbound has this morning written to three Government Ministers to express the anger and disappointment of inbound tourism businesses at Government’s lack of response to concerns over changes to Air Passenger Duty.
Writing to Lord Adonis, Lord Mandelson and Barbara Follett, in their remits for transport, business and tourism, chief executive Mary Rance said the following:
“The imminent rise in APD has united both the inbound and outbound tourism industries and the entire business community against the Government. Not only will this decision damage the UK’s international competitiveness as a tourist destination it will also damage the potential of London to remain the leading place of business in Europe.
“The tourism industry has the potential to help the UK emerge from recession more quickly, but during this extremely difficult economic time the Government seems resolute in sticking to its plans to raise APD, in a move that threatens the potential for economic recovery and job creation, which travel and tourism can generate.
“Visit London, VisitBritain and other tourist boards have been working extremely hard marketing the UK overseas and in particular telling the world about the fantastic value currently available in the UK because of exchange rates. These marketing efforts, in some countries, generally see benefits around six months later – just at the time when the changes for Air Passenger Duty are proposed to begin. We see this timing as particularly damaging and could cancel out the fantastic work done by our tourism bodies to convince people to holiday in the UK.”
Mary Rance concluded by urging the Ministers to work together and as a matter of urgency stop or at the very least delay the impending changes to APD, “for the benefit of not only tourism businesses but of all UK businesses that trade with the rest of the world.”
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For more information please contact:
Helen James, Communications Manager
0207 395 7500
helenjames@ukinbound.org
Notes to Editors
UKinbound was set up in 1977 and is the only trade association that represents the UK’s export tourism businesses. For more information visit www.ukinbound.org
Inbound tourism generated £16.4 billion in export earning from 31.9 million international visitors to the UK in 2008 (ONS International Passenger Survey).
UKINBOUND VOTES TO WELCOME START-UP BUSINESSES
19/06/2009
Last night members of trade body UKinbound voted unanimously in favour of accepting start-up businesses into their association.
Previously companies had to be in operation for at least one year to ...
UKINBOUND VOTES TO WELCOME START-UP BUSINESSES
19/06/2009
Last night members of trade body UKinbound voted unanimously in favour of accepting start-up businesses into their association.
Previously companies had to be in operation for at least one year to qualify for provisional membership and three years to be a full member. Under the new rules, companies can become a start-up member from the outset and can then become a full member within two years of operation.
UKinbound will offer new enterprises specialist support during their development, helping them to navigate the industry, make contacts and access business opportunities, supporting and helping them to grow their businesses.
Mary Rance chief executive said:
“We are pleased that members have supported the Board in its recommendation to welcome start-up businesses. The start-up membership category will enable UKinbound to cater for the many new businesses entering the inbound tourism market, and to provide additional support for small and fledgling enterprises when they need it most.”
The new start-up members will not have voting rights within the association and they will not be able to make use of the branding opportunities which full members enjoy, protecting the UKinbound brand and its reputation as a quality mark for established and reliable tourism businesses.
If you have recently set up a new business targeting overseas visitors to the UK, contact UKinbound on 0207 395 7500 or email info@ukinbound.org to see how they can help you.
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For further information please contact Helen James
Tel: 020 7395 7505
Email: helenjames@ukinbound.org
Notes to Editors
UKinbound is the only trade association to represent the UK’s inbound tourism businesses. Members include accommodation providers, destination marketing, attractions, tourism service providers, inbound tour operators, and UK ground handlers. For more information visit www.ukinbound.org
UK TOURISM DEBATED IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
26/05/2009
The UK tourism industry and its contribution to the UK economy were the subject of debate in the House of Lords on 14 May.
Opening the debate, Lord Pendry, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary ...
UK TOURISM DEBATED IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
26/05/2009
The UK tourism industry and its contribution to the UK economy were the subject of debate in the House of Lords on 14 May.
Opening the debate, Lord Pendry, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tourism said, ‘The purpose of this debate is to lift some of the doom and gloom that lingers around us and instead highlight opportunities for growth in the tourism industry and its greater contribution to sustainable economic growth. As your Lordships know, tourism is no small industry.
‘Every constituency, local authority, and region benefits from our visitor economy. The tourism industry creates jobs at all skill and wage levels. It regenerates communities, both urban and rural, and cannot be outsourced or transferred overseas.’
Courtesy of Tourism Insights, click for full story.
