News from the markets: Kuoni Tumlare, Japan, Korea and The Phillippines
Following our very popular interview last week with Adam Lotinga of Miki Travel, we thought we’d go directly to Japan for a view from there. We talk with Tokyo based Victor Lopes, President of the market leaders for outbound travel, Kuoni Tumlare, and get his views, not only on Japan, but on the other markets he overlooks — Korea and The Philippines. He paints a picture of a market in transition, and he makes it clear that the Balkans is the region of Europe with the biggest potential for growth. Read on for his insight…
NDE: Hi Victor. Great to…
News from the markets: Miki Travel, Japan
When news broke last week that industry giant, Adam Lotinga, was retiring after 39 years with Miki Travel we came knocking on his door for that first post-retirement interview. Adam was Managing Director of Miki Travel, which was the leading operator from Japan to Europe thoughout his tenure. He has served on the Advisory Council of the European Tourism Association (ETOA) for the last decade, so he is a well known and highly respected figure in the world of incoming tourism. …
Sports Tourism - Operator from Slovenia
This week, as the Olympics take place in Tokyo, it seems appropriate that we should turn our attention to the world of Sports Tourism. We were lucky to grab some time with Rok Bulc, founder of Slovenian sports tour organiser, PasSport Europe, in what was a busy week for him. In this in depth interview we look at different aspects of sports tourism, and find out why Slovenia and the Balkans are great destinations for active and sport based trips. …
Report from a Tour Operator on a FAM trip to the Balkans
The UK government announced that from 19th July travel to amber list countries will no longer be discouraged for those who have been double vaccinated. This opens up massive opportunities for the Balkan region, as all the countries there are currently on the UK’s amber list. We spoke with Sunita Ramanand, Senior Travel Specialist at UK based tour operator, Travel The Unknown, shortly after she returned from a familiarisation trip to Montenegro, organised by RAMS Tours. We get her views on what travel is really like right now, and learn about her experience in beautiful Montenegro. …
News from the consumer media in the UK
We examine a very different aspect of tourism this week. We take a look at travel journalism through they eyes of Mary Novakovich, the leading UK travel writer on the Balkan region. We find out what it is about this region which continues to attract her, how she sees tourism developing in the Balkans, and what the future holds for her profession. And for any budding travel writers out there, we get insider tips on how to make it big in this very competitive field.
NDE: Hi Mary. Thanks for talking with us today. You are one of the most…
A letter from Robert Dee, NDE co-founder to Alec Shelbrooke, MP for Elmet and Rothwell
I have worked in travel all my adult life. The travel industry has given me and my family great personal opportunities, and professionally it has allowed me to support other businesses, develop careers and make an economic and social contribution to this country, and to countries beyond our borders.
Today I should be in Parliament Square, lobbying the UK Government for support for the travel industry, covering both the outbound and inbound sectors. However I cannot travel to London today. In fact I cannot travel outside my front door. Even though I have had two vaccinations, and almost daily I…
New Deal Europe — Three years old. London Diary
This week, after 15 months of Skype, Zoom, Whereby and every other method of conference calling, the New Deal Europe partners, Robert Dee and Tine Murn were reunited in London, for the first post-covid team building meeting. The smiles on our faces at that moment when we met say it all. We have both been talking and writing for months about tourism restarts, travel beginning again, glimmers of hope, and we were finally able to realise it for ourselves.
The last time the team was together was on 15th March 2020, at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, as we said goodbye…
News from the markets: New Zealand
At the New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum last month we had 38 countries represented. The participant who was furthest away geographically was Marija Kapiteli, Managing Director of Croatia Times Travel in New Zealand. As that country has recently announced the restart of travel with an airbridge to Australia, we thought the time was right to have a chat with Marija about tourism not only from New Zealand to Australia but also to the Balkans, and find out what life has been like in the country that took a firm hold of the Coronavirus crisis early on.
NDE: Hi Marija…
New tourism trade fair: Global Travel Week
New Deal Europe, along with our partners in the Balkans and South East Europe, is delighted to be taking part in Global Travel Week in September, the first live global tourism trade fair to take place in the UK for almost two years. It’s a brand new event, organised by the Connections team at Jacobs Media Group, and will be very different to any global trade fair we’ve ever seen. We asked the event’s organiser, Micaela Giacobbe, to tell us more…
NDE: Hi Micaela. Thanks for joining us this week to tell us all about the latest international travel fair…
New opportunity for tourism growth to the Balkan region: OTT
Online Travel Training is the market-leader in providing interactive online training for travel agents. OTT prides itself on being the largest global course user community with around 200,000 members. This week New Deal Europe signed a strategic partnership with OTT. To mark this occasion we host Kenny Smith, Global Partnerships Manager at Online Travel Training and discuss why he believes OTT is the most technologically advanced e-learning provider in the world, and we find out how the Balkan tourism providers can launch courses with destination specific quizzes, prizes and content for the global travel agent audience.
NDE: Hi Kenny. Thanks…
