Ireland's Shannon Airport - where does it go from here?

In 1947 the Irish Customs Free Airport Act established Shannon Airport as the world's first duty free facility something which would become a template for other Duty Free facilities worldwide. The sharp rise in the number of transatlantic flights to North America established the airport as the last refueling point between the two land masses but the introduction of long range jet aircraft it soon saw passenger numbers decline.

Ryanair - was a regional hub for the airline?

Being under the control of the government owned Dublin Airport Authority (or Aer Rianta as it was known as then) since 1969 it has always been felt that Shannon Airport was seen as a second class status with it now being Ireland's fifth airport and suffering a 37% decrease in passenger numbers in 2010. Even with the advent of the low cost airlines such as Ryanair the DAA has not been able to cement a steady enough relationship with Ryanair who have taken traffic to other airports in Spain.

However, in a turn around decision this week it has been outlined that Shannon Airport will no longer be under the authority of the DAA - the Government will still own Shannon Airport but the direct control of the airport is being handed over to local management at Shannon Development, the regional development agency.

The Future Options for Shannon Airport

The first priority is to increase passenger numbers now it will be able to compete on a level playing field with the other Irish airports. Also establish niche activities will make it a player in the aviation market - with its long runway and abundance of surrounding land for warehousing, 24 hour flying capability due to its isolated location, US customs clearance (the only one in Europe) it would make a good European hub for cargo. The first development of this kind has already been signed with the US cargo group Lynx building a 19,000 sqm facility for a global airport cargo facility specialising in international logistics services.

The title of the world's first duty free shop will still remain with Shannon as long as they can guarantee their future with growth such as this.

The rudest country in the world to visit is.....

 

In a recent poll carried out by Skyscanner, the internet flight comparison and cheap ticket search engine, asked 1,200 of its own site users "which country did they think had the least friendly people".

With 19% of the vote came the French people with a reputation for being curt and rude to visitors. Very close behind though with 17% were the Russians who in the last five years have been able to get to the holiday destinations most Europeans have enjoyed before. 

With the British in third place and the Germans and Chinese taking a place in the top 10 the surprise in the Americans drop from first place last year to seventh this year.

At the other end of the scale the Brazil was voted the most welcoming country, with the Philippines, Caribbean and Thailand all received top marks for their friendliness.

Britain - A World Class Destination

 

Foreign visitors to Great Britain last year spent a record £17.7bn, a figure that confirms Britain's place as a top world-class destination.

According to VisitBritain, the number of tourists coming to the UK for holiday purposes was also a record at just under 12 million. In 2011, 3.57 million visits were by North American residents - a five per cent increase on the figure for 2010.

"As we look back on a positive 2011 for both holiday visits and spending, we want to make sure we capitalise on these gains by helping boost jobs across the country and create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come,” said Patricia Yates, strategy and communications director at VisitBritain.

'We are encouraged that...the number of visitors coming to Britain from North America has risen. This is significant as we earn very nearly twice as much from US visitors than we do from any other source market,' she added.

Bumper tourist year expected for Britain with Jubilee and Olympic Games

Britain’s rich history and heritage continue to be strong drivers in attracting visitors. Famous buildings and monuments, castles and stately homes, and churches / cathedrals are all well regarded and interest is reflected in visit numbers. Britain is seen as a world-class destination in terms of its built heritage.

Castles hosting live concerts, museums holding fashion shows, or river boat rides on the Thames are especially exciting for potential tourists.

For a traveler whether shopping online or visiting the top travel destinations throughout the great cities of the world such as London, you will find duty free shopping. If you want to know anything about arrivals duty free, or duty free shops on ferry boats, cruise ships, frontier crossing border stores and tax-free refund shopping, search your destination first.

Calls for Child-Free Flights!

 

According to a recent new poll carried out by JetCost on 1,666 adults nearly two thirds of the respondents claimed their biggest grudge inflight was "loud children" followed by poor food and lack of legroom. The poll then went onto to identify that 53% of respondents would be in favour of child-free flights.

Ongoing issue for airlines - children on flights

Other issues include reclining seating and also seat allocation but even historical surveys still point to the children issue on flights although there is no clear evidence of any airline adopting such a stance.

However, there may be a movement towards this as Malayasian Airlines new Kuala Lumpur - London A380 service will ban all children under 12 years old from its top deck in response to customer complaints about crying children. Kuala Lumpur airport is one of growing number of airports in the Far East offering duty free on arrival to its incoming passengers.

 

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2012 - will it go ahead?

With the Chinese F1 Grand Prix going ahead this weekend (12-14th April) the subject everyone in the Formula One circuit is talking about is "will the Bahrain Grand Prix go ahead?". 

With the first Bahrain Grand Prix taking place in 2004 even taking the Best Organised Grand Prix by FIA the cracks first started to appear when the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled due social unrest within the country. The race was not rescheduled for later on in the season. The same thorny issues of social unrest and civil protests still exists which leaves the 2012 hanging in the balance. 

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula Management / Administration, is adamant that the teams will be there and there is no security risk to the competitors. He will be meeting all the racing teams principals in Shanghai although officially the issue of Bahrain will not be on the agenda.

While Bahrain gets over 2 million visitors annually, the majority of those coming from other regional Arab countries, there is an increasing number from outside of the region. With the country having duty free on arrival shops the country can ill afford to have negative publicity which will affect the increasing important tourism industry replacing the depleting oil industry.


Only time will tell.....

Is this the start of the abolition of Duty Free tobacco?

With fast approaching nearly 200 countries signing up the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (W.T.O.) one of the objectives to prohibit or restrict Duty Free tobacco sales. The underlying rationale of this is that people will instead have to purchase tobacco on the domestic market at the taxed price. As a result it is not difficult to image the hundreds of millions if not billions this would generate into the various government treasuries thus achieving the twin objectives of reducing tobacco consumption and raising revenue.

The Tobacco Industry and Duty Free operators have all traditionally countered that this type of operation is tightly controlled (i.e. under Governments agencies) and the total amount of duty free represents such a very small percentage of overall sales compared to the domestic market. It is difficult to argue though as why the Tobacco industry lavishes such huge amounts of money on promotions, advertising, etc for such meagre returns – unless Duty Free represents massive “shop window” advertising opportunity for the industry.

So, with the reductions in tobacco consumption, many public places, offices, bars and restaurants barring smoking it would seem the abolition of tobacco in Duty Free is inevitable..... so what is stopping it?

While there are nearly 200 nations across the globe supporting this cause in principal the “collectiveness” for the cause is pulled apart by social, economic and political differences whereby very few of the countries actually function at the same speed of thought and action. Inevitably, this will prolong the final outcome.... but will it happen and when?

Queen's Diamond Jubilee London Events

During 2012, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth will celebrate 60 years since her Coronation and there are many celebrations planned for the year. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee London events will no doubt take centre stage with a special programme of events packed with exhibitions, processions and pageantry from a grand flotilla on the Thames to a stately procession to St Paul's Cathedral. The hotels are booking fast as travellers from around the globe make plans to be in London for the official anniversary celebrations of Her Majesty's 60 year reign.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Family Festival at Hyde Park takes place from10.30am - 7.30pm, Saturday 2nd June - Sunday 3rd June 2012. Make the most of the Bank Holiday weekend by heading to the Jubilee Family Festival where kids and adults alike can enjoy two days of parades, dancing and live entertainment.

Over the two days the Festival will also feature motorcycle displays, celebrity performers, Sir Elton John, Sir Tom Jones, Annie Lennox, JLS and Jessie J to name a few - plus dancers as well as acts from around the Commonwealth. Giant screens will also be built in the park, which will show the coverage of all the Diamond Jubilee events.

A report by the Association of British Travel Agents found that 2.5million of those surveyed said they had their sights set on a foreign country during the Jubilee weekend. It indicates that travellers are booking time off to take advantage of the extra day off following the bank holiday weekend by flying abroad. Arrivals duty free is a great idea for them.

The foreign and British travellers should consider the arrivals shops at London Heathrow airport too. These stores are officially duty-paid, but they still offer excellent savings on wines, spirits, fragrances, confectionery and electronics over High Street prices, especially for overseas travellers.