World Travel Market in London is an indication of how rapidly things change in the industry. Last week’s show showed clearly how strong the Eastern European market has become, with countries which had small stands until recently displaying their wares on bigger and glitzier stands.
All the trends in recent years are there; the move towards five star hotels with spas, and the move by Balkan Sea countries to capture the high-volume tourism that Spain currently dominates.
Croatia and Bulgaria continue to enjoy rapid growth from Ireland, with Bulgaria’s figures up to 30,000 this year.
Radisson, Accor and Kempinski all announced rapid expansion and some airlines promoted new routes, including Gulf Air’s new Dublin-Bahrain service.
Abu Dhabi won best stand - it was huge - while neighbour Dubai was also impressive. Jordan, Qatar and even Iran had also spent huge sums on their appearance.
Direct flights to Cancun ware back on the radar screen with an Irish tour operator involved in discussions over the weekend with El Pueblito hotel to reinvigorate a service that should have started two years ago.
At the World Travel Awards 750 awards were given out, with Gulf Air winning best first class on international services. Interestingly, British Airways, which does not operate a first class in Europe, won the best European first class.
