REPORT FROM MADRID: At FITUR the transport industry presentS its extended range of products and services and new features designed to cater for tourism needs…
REPORT FROM MADRID: At FITUR the transport industry presentS its extended range of products and services and new features designed to cater for tourism needs and satisfy the objectives of both specialization and improvement of management models within the sector. In this respect, FITUR 2005 provideS the most comprehensive showcase for the changes that are taking place within tourism in general, and within the transport sector in particular, featuring the introduction of new technologies, the growing use of the Internet as an information source and marketing medium, the internationalization of products and services and greater competition among the airlines, based on the strong growth of the low-cost companies.
Vehicle rental companies are becoming increasingly widespread, especially those aimed at the congress and business tourism segments, although the range of products available for leisure-based tourism is also extensive. As will observed throughout the fair, these companies are presenting their information and offering the possibility of contracting their services through their own web pages. We might also highlight the considerable range of airline companies that take advantage of their attendance at FITUR to present their new national and international flights in Spain, a country that is acquiring an increasingly significant role as a tourist producer. In this respect, airlines are establishing an increasing number of flights, are acquiring new aircraft, strengthening their Internet services and offering greater variety in terms of price and services, among other new features.
Railway companies are promoting a greater use of train networks for tourism purposes, creating attractive new routes, especially at an international level, as well as promoting the sale of electronic tickets. With regard to travel by sea, the shipping companies are renewing their fleets with a view to reducing the time of their crossings and offering greater comfort and convenience to their passengers, in addition to promoting the lucrative cruise segment.
Once again this year, FITUR will provide the most ideal meeting forum for supply and demand, offering all members of the transport sector an opportunity to strengthen their commercial links, exchange experiences, as well as analyze and discover the current state of the industry. Below you will find a preview of some of the features that will be presented to both professionals and the general public at the FERIA DE MADRID fairground during the forthcoming edition of FITUR 2005.
. ON-LAND TRAVEL …
The company Aresmobile, founded in 1992, offers specialized car rental services with and without driver, aimed at an increasingly demanding market made up of clients who travel for leisure or business purposes. The company currently offers two different services. One is a chauffeur-driven luxury car service known as ´Servicio Ares Móbile´, which offers clients the opportunity to enjoy an unforgettable service in one of the company´s limousines, to use a chauffeur-driven car throughout their business trip or carry out a cultural or tourist trip throughout Spain and Europe. Ares Mobile also offers a range of cars without a driver, consisting of the latest models of different types and capacities. The other service, ´AeroCITY´, provides a shuttle to the airport in order to ensure an effective and cheap door-to-door transfer between the hotel or home and Barajas International Airport.
Automóviles Dachs and Hiperbus will present an extensive selection of vehicles to choose from, ranging from the Peugeot 605 to the Chrysler Grand Voyager or Volkswagen Caravelle, not forgetting the luxury Mercedes E-300, S-600 and Limousine. The company also offers a number of mini-buses and coaches, featuring capacities of between 15 and 80 persons, depending on the needs of its clients. This company also offers companies, travel agencies, hotels, etc., an extensive range of luxury cars driven by experienced chauffeurs who speak several languages, for trips, congresses and excursions.
For some 12 years now, Euromotorhome has attended FITUR in order to promote its ´Motor-home Rental ´ service for tourism purposes. As a new feature, this company, that carries out its activities in Spain through branches in Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga, will present its new Internet site at FITUR, a new, agile and modern service that will be available from December onwards in six languages (Spanish, French, Italian, English, German and Portuguese). This web site, known as ´www.euromotorhome.es´, will enable users to see all the vehicles on offer, replete with their technical specifications and prices, as well as providing information concerning reservations, links with interesting places throughout Spain and tourism offices in other neighbouring European countries. The page also enables users to download documents and files. This company usually exhibits two motor-home vehicles at FITUR that form part of the fleet, so that tour operators and agencies can look over them.
The fourth-time attendance of Europa Goldcar at the leading world tourism event will see this company presenting a stand at which it presents a new image, one that is more dynamic, up-to-date and closer to the client. Once again this year, Europa Goldcar will provide all tourism agents, both from Spain and abroad, with a business forum at which car rental as a means of enjoying a holiday break will be strongly promoted. In this respect, it will present its extensive and varied fleet (15,000 vehicles) and its network of offices at the main airports and tourist venues on the Spanish Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. This and the company´s tailor-made service help to differentiate it from other companies within the industry.
Europcar, the leading car rental company in Europe, will present its new e-voucher service at FITUR. This is a new form of electronic payment that the company offers its clients through its reservations web page. This service enables travel agencies, tour operators and companies to use a new electronic payment system when reserving vehicles instead of the traditional paper vouchers. The e-bono (e-voucher) offers clients considerable advantages in terms of time-saving and greater agility when it comes to carrying out the reservation procedures, both regarding the collection and delivery of vehicles. Europcar issues its e-vouchers in two different formats, which can be selected when the on-line reservation is carried out: The E-mail Voucher and the Virtual Voucher.
Regarding railway transport, The Transcantábrico is celebrating its 22nd season at FITUR, presenting the ´Leon-Santiago de Compostela´ route at this new edition, through the historical line of La Robla. It is an 8-day journey onboard a 5 star rolling hotel. During these 8 days, the train travels over 1,000 kilometres and over 1,500 on the coach that permanently accompanies the train. During the trip, the train will go through Castile and León, the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. The Transcantábrico also presents its new suites, a luxury on rails, as well as its new itinerary and visits.
GRT is a company that represents transport companies and tourism organizations. At this edition of FITUR 2005, GRT´s stand will feature, among other companies, Trenitalia, Italian National Railways. GRT will not only present its domestic products (in Italy), but also its products and services for international train travel between Italy and Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, plus information regarding all of Europe´s trains and the passes that enable travellers to tour the Continent. Furthermore, GRT will present the Trenitalia distribution and sales system for tour operators and agencies known as ´Railbest´. On this occasion, GRT will also present Meridiana, the private Italian airline, the second most important in the country. From Spain this airline offers daily flights from Barcelona and Madrid to Florence – in Tuscany – and also to Catania and Palermo (in Sicily).
Rovos Rail will present ´The Pride of Africa´, the most luxurious train in the world, at FITUR 2005. This colonial-style passenger train operates on various different routes throughout Southern Africa. The wagons have been meticulously restored, decorated with furniture dating from the 1920´s and 1930´s, evoking colonial glamour and all the elegance of pre-war train travel. The train features four royal suites that are much larger than the luxury type, including Victorian-style baths. The dining car dates from 1935, with the oldest wagon of all dating from 1911.
… TRAVEL BY SEA …
Líneas Fred.Olsen operates around the Canary Islands with five sea connections, leading the inter-island passenger and freight market. Over the last 30 years, over 32,000,000 passengers, 4,500,000 cars and over 1,500,000 freight vehicles have placed their trust in this company. At FITUR 2005, Líneas Fred.Olsen will announce that it will shortly incorporate the largest multi-hull Fast Ferry in the world into its fleet. The ship, of the trimaran type (with three hulls), has been specially designed to ensure passenger comfort and unrivalled stability when sailing at a cruise speed of 45 knots. Measuring 126.70 metres in length, this will be the largest Fast Ferry in the world with a capacity for 1,350 passengers and 341 cars or 600 lineal metres of freight plus 123 cars. Investment in this ship will involve an injection of over 50 million euros.
. AND BY AIR …
After more than 30 years, Air Mauritius has managed to achieve an ideal balance of professionalism, punctuality, efficiency and good taste throughout its entire network, covering four continents. Thanks to this infrastructure, last year more than 857,000 passengers visited the Island of Mauritius. All of these aspects have meant that Air Mauritius has witnessed one of the most consistent and surprising growth-rates in recent years. Air Mauritius currently operates from eight European capitals (Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Vienna, Geneva, Zurich and Frankfurt) with 30 weekly flights, featuring an average duration of 11 hours per flight. The trip can commence from any Spanish airport.
Alitalia has extended its network of destinations with new and more frequent flights, thus improving its connections. From Spain, Alitalia will offer a new route: a direct flight from Valencia to Rome-Fiumicino using an Airbus 320. Within Italy itself, the company will present more frequent flights, thus improving its connections with international flights and providing a more comprehensive service to business passengers. Among its inter-continental services, Alitalia will offer a new destination: Shanghai. Thus, it will operate three flights a week from Malpensa to Shanghai. Furthermore, other flight operations will be strengthened, including those to New Delhi, Washington, Lagos/Accra and Dubai , whilst a daily flight to Buenos Aires will be established and the number of weekly flights to Osaka and Dakar will increase from three to seven, among many other new features.
One of the airlines with the longest tradition is Finnair, founded in 1923. It began operating under the name of AERO Oy and from the very beginning this airline was always at the forefront in terms of technology and service. Its first route linked Helsinki and Tallin, going on in 1924 to offer scheduled flights between Helsinki and Stockholm. Today, the Finnair Group covers the following areas: aviation, travel agencies, tour operators, hotel and catering and reservation systems. The Group is made up of 13 Finnish companies, 3 foreign subsidiaries and two property companies, providing employment to a total of 11,000 members of staff and operating a flight network that covers 50 international destinations. Finnair flies to 18 destinations throughout Finland and its fleet consists of 59 aircraft. Furthermore, it operates daily flights from Barcelona to Helsinki and maintains two daily flights between Madrid and Helsinki via Stockholm, featuring easy and convenient connections with its long-haul flight destinations, mainly located in Asia.
Iberia will also present numerous new features at this edition of the fair. The Spanish company will present a new corporate web site, featuring up-to-date information regarding the company and a press room complete with photos and press releases. Following the most recent trends using new technologies, Zurich, Tel Aviv, Dublin, Toulouse and Nice are the latest new Iberia destinations based on the cyber-ticket. With these new locations, 72 destinations now operate with the company´s electronic ticket. Other new features include the recent incorporation of the Ignacio Zuloaga Airbus and the Joaquín Rodrigo Airbus. The two aircraft pay homage to these well-known figures from the worlds of Spanish painting and music. The company has recently inaugurated its direct connections to Central America, featuring flights to San José in Costa Rica on a daily basis, Panama and Guatemala three days a week and at least one flight a day via other airports. One of the most appealing new features at Iberia is that Adolfo Domínguez will now design the staff´s uniforms, which means that the creations of this prestigious Spanish designer will be present in over 40 countries as of mid-2005.
Iran Air will take advantage of its attendance at FITUR 2005 in order to present the airline company and its products and services, as well as promoting Iran itself, given that many of the country´s tourist attractions are still entirely unknown. This country has many archaeological sites such as Persepolis, mosques, etc., not to mention handicrafts, carpets, as well as cuisine, featuring typical dishes such as pistachios and caviar. We might also highlight the warm hospitality of the country´s people.
Last 29th September, Lagun Air, completed its first year of life. A year ago, the regional airline started its operations in the airport of La Virgen del Camino linking León to Barcelona. Later, it joined Madrid and gradually at the end of the year it carried users to destinations such as Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Seville, Bilbao, Vigo, Valencia and Badajoz, to the capital of Leon. From April onwards, LAGUN AIR has made its place on the national market opening up new routes in several cities where there were no possibilities of air links. Pamplona is joined to Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Malaga and Leon, Salamanca to Malaga and Barcelona, Logroño to Palma de Mallorca and Valladolid to Malaga and Palma de Mallorca. Today the company has carried out over 3,000 flights. Starting out with a staff of only 18 workers, today, the staff of the company is made up of 56 direct jobs.
Qatar Airways is the Airline Company run by the State of Qatar, in the Persian Gulf, which operates scheduled flights from its capital, Doha, to 53 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and the Far East. By the end of the year 2005, Qatar Airways will fly to some 70 destinations, including the USA and Australia. Over the next few months, Qatar Airways will inaugurate the following six routes – Beijing, the Seychelles, London Gatwick, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Yangon – which will all be added to its growing international network of destinations, thus establishing itself as one of the fastest growing airline companies of international stature. Last year Qatar Airways signed an agreement with Airbus estimated at a value of 5.1 thousand million dollars, in order to purchase 34 new Airbuses, to be delivered over the next few years. Furthermore, the company has acquired two A380 Super Jumbos, which will be delivered in 2009. Qatar Airways won three SKYTRAK Awards throughout the year 2004.
SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) faces the challenge of satisfying the changing preferences of airline clients through its imaginative range of products and services. SAS has created a wide range of products that cater for the different needs of different travellers, aimed at three specific segments. Economy Class is designed for those who are concerned, above all, with price, focusing on self-service aspects. This is a low-cost option that competes with the lowest rates on the market. Economy Flex provides greater flexibility and efficiency to those who need to save time. This new service is designed for those clients who seek a rapid and efficient trip. Its advantages include a free reservation and refund service, priority check-in, rapid security control in Copenhagen and Stockholm and advance seat reservations, not to mention exclusive seats and free food and refreshments. Finally, Business Class is designed for those who seek comfort above all, plus all the advantages offered by Economy Flex.
Southern Winds Airlines (SW) has acquired two Boeing 747´s. These aircraft will begin to operate between Madrid and Buenos Aires with a daily flight in each direction. In addition, SW is negotiating the immediate incorporation of two Boeing 737´s, which will be set aside for new destinations within Argentina itself. The growth of domestic traffic and the tourist boom within the country provide optimum conditions for the development of the local flight network. Southern Winds was founded back in 1996 by Juan Maggio, its current Chairman. It operates a fleet of 9 aircraft and covers destinations in Argentina and Europe, where it has an agreement with Air Europa. Over three consecutive years it was chosen as the best domestic airline. The company has 850 employees and operates the services of the Argentinean state company, LAFSA.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
