Gand, jeudi 2 septembre 2010 – Thomas Cook Travel Shop donne 100 dollars américains à chaque passager réservant, en septembre, un tour du monde de Thomas Cook Discover.

Avec Thomas Cook Discover, le tour-opérateur Thomas Cook a trouvé la solution ultime pour ceux qui n’aiment pas faire des tours du monde tout seul. Les circuits en groupe, souvent accompagnés de guide/chauffeur anglophone, traversent la Jordanie, la Syrie, le Namibie, l’Afrique du Sud, le Guatemala, le Mexique, la Chine, l’Indonésie, le Pérou, le Canada Oriental et encore beaucoup d’autres pays.

Pour les departs à partir du 1 novembre 2010, vous pouvez même réserverquelques destinations en privé. Voyagez tout seul, en couple, ou composez votre propre groupe et choisissez la date de départ vous-même et Thomas Cook Discover s’occupe du reste.

Il s’agit des destinations suivantes:
- la Jordanie et la Syrie
- la Namibie
- l’Afrique du Sud
- le Guatemala
- l’Amérique centrale
- le Costa Rica et le Nicaragua
- l’Equateur
- le Pérou
- l’Inde du Nord
- le Viêt-nam et le Cambodge

Si vous réservez, en septembre, un tour du monde Discover chez un Thomas Cook Travel Shop belgeavec départ entre le 20 octobre 2010 et le 30 mars 2011, vous recevez un billet de 100 US$ par personne avec lequel vous pouvez soutenir l’économie locale. En plus des $100 par personne, il y a aussi une réduction de réservation anticipée de € 30 par dossier si vous réservez avant le 1 octobre. Et pour ceux qui réservent très tôt, c.-à-d. avant le 6 septembre, il y a une réduction supplémentaire de € 150 par dossier.

www.thomascooktravelshop.be

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Flagship takes off on second long-haul route; flights to Johannesburg to follow

Lufthansa’s third Airbus A380 entered scheduled service yesterday (Wednesday, 1 September), just one week after being delivered to the airline.

The aircraft, which bears the name Peking, departed from Frankfurt for the Chinese capital at 1720hrs (2320 hrs Singapore time) under flight number LH720.

After landing in Beijing at 0830 hrs local time on the Thursday, the aircraft will be officially named.

The return flight (LH 721) will leave Beijing on Thursday morning at 1030hrs and arrive at Frankfurt the same day at 1430hrs.

Initially, the A380 will serve Beijing once a week. In coordination with Chinese authorities, Lufthansa aims to gradually increase the frequency of this service.

On Sunday, 12 September, Lufthansa will launch flights to its third A380 destination, Johannesburg.

The city will be served twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays. In the Lufthansa configuration, the Airbus A380 can seat up to 526 passengers.

The totally revamped First Class cabin with eight generously proportioned seats on the upper deck stands for individuality, the ultimate in comfort and technical innovation, which greatly enhances the travel experience.

Also on the upper deck is Lufthansa’s award winning Business Class cabin with 98 seats. On the main deck, the 420 seats in the impressively spacious Economy Class provide an unprecedented level of comfort.

Details of the A380 flight schedule can be accessed at www.lufthansa.com/a380 .

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Aloft Hotels Introduces Style at a Steal to the Capital of Europe with the Opening of Aloft Brussels Schuman

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.^(R) (NYSE:HOT) and its new destination sensation brand, Aloft^(R) Hotels, announce that Aloft Brussels Schuman, the first Aloft hotel in Europe, opens today. Aloft Hotels delivers urban-inspired, modern design and an energetic guest experience at an affordable price point.

Owned by Thornsett Group, Aloft Brussels Schuman introduces style at a steal to Belgium. Located in the heart of the buzzing European Union district, the hotel will feature 147 loft-like guest rooms, including three “Breezy Lofts” (Aloft’s re-interpretation of a suite), a buzzing bar scene in the open lobby, an urban-inspired grab-and-go café and industrial design elements throughout. A vision of W Hotels, Aloft’s stylish urban attitude is set to shake up the European mid-market hotel scene.

With more than 40 hotels open since its June 2008 debut, Aloft Hotels has become the talk of the hospitality industry by going global while in launch mode. Aloft currently operates hotels in five countries – the USA, Canada, China, the United Arab Emirates and India, with Belgium marking its sixth destination. Besides opening its first hotel in Europe with the Aloft Brussels Schuman, Aloft is continuing its global expansion with further openings planned in India and the USA as well as brand introductions in Thailand and the UK.

“The launch of Aloft in Europe underscores the strength of the Starwood network and the power of the Aloft brand,” said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President, Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “Aloft’s emphasis on high design and affordability translates globally and is attracting a growing group of loyal travellers. In fact, Aloft represents one of the strongest brand launches in industry history and its international expansion so early in the brand’s life cycle is unprecedented.”

Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Africa and Middle East commented: “We are thrilled to introduce Aloft to Brussels, a fitting choice for the brand’s debut in Europe. The hotel’s strategic location in the heart of the European Quarter makes a bold statement about how the brand is taking its innovative, fresh perspective on hotels to the most important locations around the world.”

Aloft Brussels Schuman will boast atmospheric public spaces where guests can mix and mingle, read the paper, work on laptops, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mix^SM lounge and w xyz^SM bar. The w xyz bar is set to quickly become one of the places to be in the EU quarter. A destination bar for hotel guests and local residents alike, the w xyz bar is the ideal place to have a cocktail with friends or dance the night away at one of the many DJ evenings.

The spacious guest rooms (minimum of 28m²) will feature the brand’s signature ceilings of nearly three meters high, oversized windows and an ultra-comfortable bed as well as roomy walk-in showers and bath amenities created by Bliss^(R) Spa. Each Aloft room will also be equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access and a unique plug-and-play connectivity solution which connects most electronic devices to the 42″ flat-screen TV, turning the room into a high-tech office as well as an entertainment centre.

Travellers will be able to de-stress and re-energize in the re:charge^SMfitness centre whilst the 24-hour grab & go food and beverage area re:fuel^SM by Aloft is a one-stop, offering sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages.

For work meetings, training courses and presentations, the hotel’s Tactic meeting rooms, which are equipped with the latest generation of audiovisual hardware, provide a creative space for groups of up to 50 people.

Aloft Brussels Schuman is the fifth Starwood Hotel in Belgium, joining Le Méridien Brussels, Sheraton Brussels Hotel, Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Brussels.

About Aloft Hotels

Created to shake up the staid, traditional select service segment of the hotel industry, the Aloft brand delivers style at a steal with urban-influenced, modern, open and vibrant design – and a social guest experience – at an affordable price point. In the same way that W Hotels broke through the clutter of conformity in the upscale hotel arena a decade ago, Aloft is shaking up the industry for the next generation of traveler. Aloft hotels are geared toward savvy, design-conscious consumers who have witnessed the democratization of design and are seeking the same in the hotel space. Building on its tech-savvy DNA, the brand recently pioneered the industry’s first “keyless entry” automatic check-in program at Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts. With 40 hotels open in the 18 months since Aloft first arrived on the scene and 10 more opening in 2010, Aloft can be found everywhere from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between. For more information, please visitwww.alofthotels.com.

Aloft Hotels, like all brands within Starwood’s portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest^(R)program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, please visit www.spg.com.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), W(R), Westin(R), Le Méridien(R), Sheraton(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft(R), and Element ^SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

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• New full-flat beds in BusinessElite, Economy class seats with personal video on-demand among customer benefits
• Investment reflects Delta’s deep commitment to Asia service

TOKYO, Sept. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today unveiled plans for the complete revitalization of its fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft flying primarily from the Tokyo-Narita hub. Between summer 2011 and 2012, Delta will equip each of its 16 747-400s with new fully horizontal flat-bed seats in the BusinessElite cabin and new Economy class seats featuring personal, on-demand entertainment, increased personal space and added under-seat storage.

The investments are the latest in Delta’s previously announced plan to invest more than $1 billion in enhanced global products and services through 2013. When complete, Delta will offer full flat-bed seats on more than 100 trans-oceanic aircraft, including all Boeing 777s, 767s and 747s, and will feature personal, in-seat entertainment for both BusinessElite and Economy class customers on all widebody flights.

“The multimillion dollar investment we are making to completely revitalize our trans-oceanic fleet speaks to our strong commitment to the Asian market,” Delta President Ed Bastian said in a press briefing here today. “While we have solidly positioned ourselves as the leading U.S. carrier across the Pacific in terms of flights and destinations, we are now taking steps to enhance the products and services offered across our Asian-Pacific network to position Delta as a leader in in-flight service.”

BusinessElite enhancements

The 747 upgrades will bring substantial changes to both decks of the aircraft’s BusinessElite cabin. The new, custom-designed product will feature 48 horizontal flat-bed seats with direct aisle access at each seat. Window seats will face the window for improved privacy and center seats will be angled toward each other for the convenience of customers traveling together.

The new seat, manufactured by Weber Aircraft LLC, will be 81.7 inches in length and 20.5 inches wide, similar to the flat-bed product currently offered on Delta’s 777-200LR fleet. It also will feature a 120-volt universal power outlet, USB port, personal LED reading lamp and Panasonic’s 15.4 inch personal video monitors with instant access to 250 new and classic movies, premium programming from HBO and Showtime, video games and more than 4,000 digital music tracks.

“The design of our flat-bed product meets customers’ desire for comfortable sleep, direct aisle access and ample storage and work space when they travel on long-haul flights,” Bastian said. “We have had great success from a customer service and business standpoint with flat-bed service since it first rolled out on our 777 fleet, and we expect similar results when customers experience our new trans-Pacific 747 and 767 BusinessElite product beginning next year.”

In the last year, Delta has improved meal service in BusinessElite across the Pacific with the introduction of personal, hand-served entrees, signature dishes created by celebrity chef Michele Bernstein and master sommelier Andrea Robinson, expanded dessert options and improved Japanese meal options created by Delta’s flight kitchen in Tokyo.

Economy class improvements

Customers in Economy class on the 747-400 will benefit from the industry’s first seat designed collaboratively by a seat manufacturer and an in-flight entertainment company, Weber Aircraft and Panasonic Avionics Corporation, to fully incorporate seat and entertainment functionality into one product. Using a nine-inch screen, the new seat’s embedded touch-screen entertainment system will offer each customer access to 250 movie titles, hundreds of television shows, 4,000 digital music tracks, personalized music playlists, more than a dozen interactive games and a USB port to charge iPods and other personal electronic devices.

The new seats offer up to 1.5 inches more personal space and increased under-seat storage through a “slimline” design that more efficiently uses cabin space than the older, heavier seats they replace. The upgraded seats also feature adjustable headrests and deliver environmental benefits through the Panasonic Eco 9i Integrated Smart Monitors that use 30 percent less energy and are 60 percent lighter than entertainment systems installed on other Delta aircraft.

Delta’s 747s are dedicated largely to trans-Pacific and intra-Asia flights to and from the Tokyo-Narita hub, including routes connecting Tokyo to Detroit, Honolulu, Manila, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and Shanghai.

When reconfigured, the 747s will accommodate 386 customers with 48 BusinessElite seats and 338 Economy class seats.

Delta in Asia

During the last several years, Delta has significantly increased its service across Asia-Pacific, expanding from 222 weekly departures in summer 2006 to 275 in summer 2010. Recently added routes include Tokyo-Narita to New York-JFK and Salt Lake City (June 2009); Shanghai to Detroit (June 2009); Sydney to Los Angeles (July 2009); Osaka to Seattle (June 2010); Beijing to Seattle (June 2010); Seoul-Incheon to Detroit (June 2010); Hong Kong to Detroit (June 2010); Nagoya to Honolulu (December 2010); and Tokyo-Narita to Palau (December 2010).

Delta also has announced plans to begin new nonstop service between Tokyo-Haneda and Detroit and Los Angeles in 2011.

“As the leading U.S. carrier to the region, we are solidly positioned to continue to expand convenience and choice for Asia-originating or Asia-bound travelers in one of the world’s fastest growing travel markets,” Bastian said. “Our history of investment in the region is underscored by our more than 2,300 Pacific-based employees in nine countries and our continued commitment to expansion and product renewal.”

Additionally, Delta continues to expand its alliance relationships across the region with Vietnam Airlines joining the global SkyTeam alliance in June and the announcement that China Eastern Airlines will join the alliance in 2011.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With its unsurpassed global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 354 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 75,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeamglobal alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs inAmsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world’s largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

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The Group Signs Contract with Othon Hotels

WORLDHOTELS, the international hotel group for independent and unique hotels and regional brands, signed an agreement with Othon Hotels of Brazil for five new affiliate hotels in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Belo Horizonte.

These new additions complement the growing global portfolio of the group which encompasses 450 affiliate properties in 250 destinations and 65 countries worldwide. In South America, WORLDHOTELS now boasts seven affiliate properties, five in Brazil and two Argentina, and is looking to double the number of hotels in this region by the end of this year.

Othon Hotels has a diverse, five-brand portfolio of 26 properties with 2,000 guestrooms located in Brazil, Portugal and the United States.

“The five Othon Hotels we are welcoming today are spectacular properties,” said Roland Jegge, Vice President for WORLDHOTELS Asia Pacific. “We believe these high-visibility hotels will generate regional interest and growth opportunities for our group and provide unique accommodation for guests from around the world.”

Tomas Ramos, commercial director of Othon Hotels, said, “After thoroughly researching both hotel and representation companies, WORLDHOTELS was the logical choice as they offer the most comprehensive set of sales, marketing, reservations and business-building tools available.”

About the Hotels

Rio Othon Palace (Rio de Janeiro): As the tallest luxury hotel in the city, all 572 rooms offer spectacular views of Copacabana Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain. It is one of the Othon’s flagship hotels and one of Rio’s top luxury hotels.

The Leme Othon Palace (Rio de Janeiro): Refurbished in 2007, this 195-room hotel offers irresistible ocean views, complimentary Wi-Fi in public areas, in-room broadband Internet, as well as a business centre and modern convention rooms.

Olinda Othon Classic (Rio de Janeiro): A hidden gem along the Copacabana beachfront, this 100-room hotel’s façade and sophisticated interior were renovated in 2006 to recapture the glamour of Rio in the 1940′s.

Bahia Othon Palace (Salvador): This property is one of Salvador’s most luxurious hotels. Its clever design affords all 265 guest rooms and 13 suites spectacular views of the ocean.

Belo Horizonte Othon Palace (Belo Horizonte): Centrally located in downtown, this 287-room modern luxury hotel has spectacular views of the Serro do Curral hills, which form the “beautiful horizon” for which the city is named.

For more information and to book the new properties, visit worldhotels.com.

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Wizz Air, the largest low fare – low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe announced today that it would establish its 13th operating base in Belgrade, Serbia starting in April 2011. Initially the airline will deploy one brand new Airbus A320 aircraft.

Concurrently, Wizz Air will launch five new routes from Belgrade to Rome, Malmo, Stockholm-Skvasta, Eindhoven, and Munich-Memmingen, in addition to the already served London and Dortmund destinations.

All the new and existing flights are on sale at wizzair.com. Fares are starting from as low as €24.99 -approximately RSD 2,500 – for all new routes (one way, all inclusive).

Jozsef Varadi, Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air said: “We are extremely delighted to reach our next expansion milestone. The opening of the Belgrade base will allow many Serbian people and visitors to enjoy our truly low fares coupled with excellent travel experience of an ever growing Wizz route network. Beyond further enhancing the travel opportunities on the Serbian market we will create hundreds of local jobs and significant revenue uplift for Serbia’s tourism industry.”

***
Wizz Air carried 9.2 million passengers in the last 12 months. The airline’s fleet currently consists of 34 Airbus A320 aircraft operating from 12 bases in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. The 13th base in Serbia will commence in April 2011.

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President Ma affirms his administration’s stance on cross-strait relations. (CNA)

President Ma Ying-jeou said Aug. 31 that there is “no need to move too fast” on expanding the scope of ties with mainland China.

In an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language daily the China Times, Ma said the quick pace of cross-strait rapprochement that his administration adopted initially upon assuming office was aimed at “making up for previously lost ground.”

Relations between the two sides have markedly improved since Ma came to power in 2008, with more than a dozen cross-strait accords being inked, including a landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in late June of this year.

“Now that we’ve caught up, we can maintain the current speed in moving forward” with enhancing cross-strait ties, the president said.

He said over the years government polls showed that most people regard cross-strait relations as developing at the right pace. There are actually more respondents who think the pace is too fast than those who think it is too slow.

Ma noted that while many people in Taiwan see mainland China as an opportunity, there are also those who view it as a threat.

“The job of the current government is to maximize the opportunities while minimizing the threat,” he explained.

“As such, the government should try to maintain a balance” in its approach to cross-strait policy, he added.

The president stressed that his two main goals in working toward improving relations with the mainland have been “peace and prosperity.”

Since China’s split into two regimes in 1949, relations between the People’s Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China on Taiwan can be divided into two eras, according to Ma. The first three decades could be called the “hot war period,” while the last 30 years could be viewed as the “cold war period” characterized by an unyielding standoff between the two sides.

“The threat to Taiwan’s security still exists,” the president said, adding, however, that “the time has arrived for negotiations to replace confrontation and for reconciliation to bring an end to the conflict.”

Ma recently stated in an interview with a Japanese media outlet that the time is not ripe to launch cross-strait political talks. In Tuesday’s interview, he further clarified his remarks, saying “It’s not that I don’t want a peace agreement with the mainland. Rather, there are more important issues concerning people’s livelihood that have to be negotiated.

“The two sides must first attain a certain level of progress before an opportunity to advance to the next level in talks presents itself,” he added. (SB)

• Publication Date：09/01/2010
• Source： China Times

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Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Economics Minister Artis Kampars last week hailed the airBaltic airline for its achievements in the field of exports.

airBaltic president and executive director Bertolt Flick: “This year, airBaltic exports will be worth more than EUR 350 million, and that is approximately 8% of all of Latvia’s export turnover.”

In 2009, the number of airBaltic passengers in Rīga increased by 30%, and according to Eurostat, Latvia was the only country in the EU, which had a growing aviation sector last year. Over the course of that year, 1,000 new jobs were created by the aviation industry. Since the launch of the successful LIVE Rīga tourism promotion campaign, 5,000 new jobs have been created in the Latvian capital city’s tourism sector, and the number of guests at the city’s hotels has risen by 35%.

During the summer of 2010, airBaltic has offered flights from Rīga to 80 cities in Europe, the Middle East and the CIS. This is more than the routes offered by SAS in Stockholm (54 destinations), Finnair in Helsinki (72 destinations), and Norwegian in Oslo (70 destinations).

After launching 27 new routes this summer, airBaltic became Europe’s largest flag carrier in terms of new routes and received the anna.aero ANNIES award for this fact. airBaltic serves 80 destinations from its home base at Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via North Hub Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, CIS and the Middle East.

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Bruxelles 1er septembre 2010 – Dès à présent, les passagers voyageant avec Brussels Airlines pourront s’enregistrer pour leur vol à l’aide de leur téléphone mobile (Smartphone, PDA, BlackBerry, GSM avec connexion Internet). La carte d’embarquement électronique sera immédiatement envoyée sur le téléphone mobile et reconnue partout à l’aéroport comme preuve d’enregistrement. Brussels Airlines est la première compagnie aérienne belge offrant à ses passagers un mode d’enregistrement rapide, confortable et respectueux de l’environnement via gsm.

Le service d’enregistrement via le téléphone mobile peut être utilisé de 24 heures jusqu’à une heure avant le départ du vol. S’enregistrer via le gsm est facile. Il suffit de se rendre sur l’adresse « http //m.brusselsairlines.com » dans le navigateur Web du téléphone mobile et d’entrer la référence de la réservation ou bien le numéro de votre billet électronique et le nom de famille.
La carte d’embarquement électronique sera alors envoyée par sms ou e-mail vers le gsm et peut être enregistrée en toute facilité. Le sms envoyé ou l’e-mail contient un barre code en 2D, qui sera accepté partout dans l’aéroport (*) comme preuve d’enregistrement (par exemple scanné au contrôle de la douane, à la sécurité “fast lane”, dans les magasins “duty free”, dans les entrées des salons et à la porte d’embarquement du vol).

Celui ou celle qui s’enregistre pour un vol via le gsm peut changer le siège attribué ou entrer les données de sa carte Miles & More. Via le site Internet « http://m.brusselsairlines.com », le passagers peut à tout moment vérifier si son vol est a l’heure.
Il n’est pas possible d’enregistrer plusieurs passagers via le téléphone mobile, car une carte d’embarquement est une preuve de réservation strictement personnelle.

Fiable, rapide et respectueux de l’environnement

L’enregistrement par le téléphone mobile est une technologie fiable qui est introduite au coup par coup par les compagnies aériennes européennes. Brussels Airlines est la première compagnie aérienne belge à offrir ce service. Il n’y a pas de frais supplémentaire pour celui ou celle qui s’enregistre via son gsm.

L’enregistrement par le téléphone mobile est non seulement une méthode d’enregistrement économisant du temps (une dizaine de minutes suffisent) qui permet d’éviter des attentes éventuelles aux guichets, mais il s’agit aussi d’une méthode respectueuse de l’environnement car il n’est plus nécessaire d’imprimer de quelconques documents.

De plus, la carte d’embarquement ne peut etre perdue. Et celle ou celui qui rencontrerait des soucis avec son gsm (batterie plate,…), ne doit pas s’inquiéter, car une nouvelle carte d’embarquement peut être imprimée à l’aéroport.

D’autres modes d’enregistrement

Tous les autres moyens d’enregistrement de Brussels Airlines continuent à être proposés : l’enregistrement classique via Internet, celui via les bornes à l’aéroport ainsi que l’enregistrement classique via les guichets désignés et occupés par le personnel Brussels Airlines.
Que l’enregistrement électronique est à la mode, est prouvé par les derniers chiffres disponibles. Environ 40% des passagers de Brussels Airlines utilisent d’ores et déjà l’enregistrement via Internet ou les bornes d’enregistrement. Pour l’ensemble des départs de l’aéroport de Bruxelles, ce chiffre est même de 60%. Mois après mois, le nombre de passagers qui s’enregistrent eux-mêmes augmente. L’enregistrement via le téléphone mobile suivra sans aucun doute la même tendance.

* Ce service n’est pas (encore) accepté par toutes les autorités aéroportuaires, comme par exemple à Moscou, Tel Aviv et dans certains aéroports en Afrique. Les passagers au départ de ces aéroports, n’ont pas la possibilité de s’enregistrer via leur téléphone mobile, cependant ils peuvent s’enregistrer via Internet.

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Envie de profiter pleinement de tous les plaisirs de la neige, de dévaler les pistes bleues, rouges ou noires ou de se ressourcer à la montagne ? Du 18 décembre 2010 au 23 avril 2011, Thalys emmène petits et grands dans les Alpes françaises à partir de 60€ (1). Des conditions rêvées pour des vacances au grand air à saisir dès le 1^er septembre !

Un départ et un retour pour les Alpes françaises chaque samedi

Chambéry, Albertville, Moutiers, Bourg-Saint-Maurice et bien d’autres destinations des Alpes françaises sont accessibles directement au départ de Bruxelles-Midi et d’Anvers-Central (2).

Un second aller-retour vers Moutiers sera prévu pendant les vacances de Carnaval.

Voyage allerThalys n°9920 (3)Anvers-CentralDépart à 7h33 Bruxelles-MidiArrivée à 8h14 Bruxelles-MidiDépart à 8h19 ChambéryArrivée à 12h36 AlbertvilleArrivée à 13h11 MoutiersArrivée à 13h58 Aime-La-PlagneArrivée à 14h18 LandryArrivée à 14h28Bourg-Saint-MauriceArrivée à 14h38Voyage retourThalys n°9987 (4)Bourg-Saint-MauriceDépart à 15h56LandryDépart à 16h06Aime-La-PlagneDépart à 16h16MoutiersDépart à 16h43AlbertvilleDépart à 17h20ChambéryDépart à 17h56Bruxelles-MidiArrivée à 22h38Bruxelles-MidiDépart à 22h45Anvers-CentralArrivée à 23h25

Des nouveaux tarifs adaptés à chaque style de voyage vers la montagne

En basse saison : La gamme tarifaire de Thalys commence avec le tarif Smoove, des prix mini avec l’aller simple à partir de 60€ en Comfort 2. Nouveauté : le tarif Smoove est désormais aussi disponible en Comfort 1 avec un aller simple à partir de 95€. Le Comfort 1 de Thalys, c’est un ensemble de services pour un voyage unique et différent. Restauration à la place, journaux et accès WiFi compris dans le prix du billet, sont autant de petites attentions pour une évasion qui commence aussitôt installé à bord.

En haute saison (5) : À Noël, Nouvel An et Pâques, les voyageurs peuvent bénéficier d’un nouveau tarif OptiWay à partir de 99€ l’aller simple en Comfort 2 et de 125€ en Comfort 1 au départ de Bruxelles-Midi.

Pour répondre à chaque besoin, Thalys propose désormais des tarifs destinés aux Seniors (à partir de 60 ans) et toujours des tarifs réservés aux Jeunes (de 12 à 25 ans) et aux enfants avec le tarif Kid (pour les moins de 12 ans).

Les billets pour le Thalys Neige sont en vente dès aujourd’hui. Pour profiter des prix les plus attractifs, rendez-vous sans plus attendre sur  www.thalys.com, par téléphone au 070 79 79 79 (0,30€/min.), dans les gares avec un guichet international ou dans les agences de voyage agréées.

Aller simple au tarif Smoove en Comfort2, dans la limite des places disponibles.

Du 18 décembre au 23 avril 2011.

Ne circule pas entre Anvers-Central et Bruxelles-Midi les 2, 9, 16 et 23 avril 2011. Ces horaires sont soumis à des modifications éventuelles, plus d’informations sur www.thalys.com

Ne circule pas entre Bruxelles-Midi et Anvers-Central le 18 décembre 2010, ni les 9, 16 et 23 avril 2011. Ces horaires sont soumis à des modifications éventuelles, plus d’informations sur www.thalys.com

Voyages aller en haute saison : 25 décembre 2010, 1er janvier, 5 mars, 9 avril et 16 avril 2011.

Voyages retour en haute saison : 1er janvier, 8 janvier, 12 mars, 16 avril et 23 avril 2011.

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Icelandair is pleased to announce an increased flight schedule from Brussels to Reykjavík, Iceland for the summer 2011 (June through
September) with four flights a week on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, an increase of two flights in comparison of the summer 2010.

Icelandair will operate two evening flights on Mondays and Fridays and two morning flights on Thursdays and Sundays between the two cities. The two morning flights will connect with two of Icelandair’s US destinations: Boston and New York.

Icelandair inaugurated its first flight between Brussels and Reykjavík in Iceland on the 4th of June 2010 and will fly between the two cities until the 27th September 2010. “We have experienced a great interest for Iceland in the Belgian market and the first year of operation is very successful.
We are glad to be able to introduce increased service between Brussels and Reykjavík” says Einár Páll Tómasson, General Manager for Continental Europe.

2 Destinations for the price of 1!

With the two morning flights addition, Icelandair offers Belgian travellers the possibility to connect New York and Boston, but also to enjoy a stopover in Iceland, our stunningly beautiful home, en route to or from our North American destinations… at no additional airfare!

Icelandair: www.icelandair.be – belgium@icelandair.is – + 32 (0)2 346 30 60

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	Staff members at the HFAC always greet visitors with a friendly smile. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
	The HFAC aims to provide foreigners with a wide range of information and services during their stay in Taiwan, thus helping them to feel at home. (Courtesy of HFAC)

Government-run assistance centers aim to make life easier and more enjoyable for foreign nationals in Taiwan.

“I would like to thank your government for providing the foreigner assistance center,” an American woman wrote in a letter to Hsinchu City Mayor Hsu Ming-tsai in April this year. “The people there were a lifeline to me when I was having work issues, going way above and beyond their job requirements to help.” In the letter, the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed her gratitude to the staff at the Hsinchu Foreigner Assistance Center (HFAC) for their service.

In the summer of 2009, the woman arrived in the city in northern Taiwan to teach English at a private language school, but subsequently suffered repeated sexual harassment from one of her colleagues. “It is a terrifying position to be in a foreign country where you can’t speak the language and you aren’t sure what the laws are,” she wrote. After seeking advice from the HFAC on visa matters, however, she soon discovered that the center’s staff could offer a wide range of assistance and support to her during her difficult experience. “I went to the center hoping merely for an explanation of Taiwan’s labor laws, and ended up with a team of dedicated advocates who helped me through every step of my problem,” she wrote. “Their excellent command of English was comforting, and thanks to them I felt that I always fully understood my options … I hope that every foreigner who runs into difficulties is as lucky as I was to find such a center.”

For foreigners who do not speak Mandarin, living, working or simply traveling in Taiwan can be quite a challenge. The good news is that in recent years, the government has been working to make the island more welcoming to foreigners by helping them adapt to local life or travel more easily.

A Friendly Environment

For example, setting up foreigner assistance centers is part of the central government’s “Creating an International-friendly Living Environment Plan” proposed in 2007 by the ministerial-level Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC). The plan aims to create “favorable conditions and a friendly environment for attracting professional personnel from abroad.” To do so, the plan calls for the government “to set up foreigner assistance centers in major science parks and free trade ports to provide information covering issues such as housing, lodging, dining, shopping, medical services, tourism and travel assistance.” Eight centers are planned nationwide and will be run by local governments. The Hsinchu office was the first such center to be established under the plan, and is intended to serve as a model for future assistance centers.

The HFAC aims to provide foreigners with a wide range of information and services during their stay in Taiwan, thus helping them to feel at home. (Courtesy of HFAC)

“The center aims to provide foreigners with all necessary information and services during their stay in Taiwan, and it’s good to see that other local governments have expressed great interest in this initiative,” Jiang Yi-huah, then RDEC Minister, said at the inauguration ceremony for the HFAC in December 2008. A second foreigner assistance center was launched in Tainan City, southern Taiwan in September 2009, while a third one is currently being planned for Taichung City, central Taiwan.

According to Mayor Hsu, finding ways to make Hsinchu more appealing to foreigners has been high on the local government’s agenda. “With so many foreign professionals at the Hsinchu Science Park—roughly 10 percent of its workforce—as well as a great number of migrant workers and immigrant spouses living here, Hsinchu is the United Nations in miniature,” Hsu says. “We do need a foreigner assistance center to make our foreign friends feel at home.”

The HFAC is located in a three-story building right by Hsinchu City Hall and is open from Monday through Friday. A number of permanent government employees staff the center, as well as armed services personnel performing substitute military service and student volunteers from nearby National Tsing Hua University who speak English or Japanese. All staff members have the common aim of helping to solve any of the myriad problems that can arise from living in a new environment, such as how to get settled in Taiwan, arrange travel itineraries, do business, make investments, find housing or obtain medical care. The center also offers information on transportation, education and cultural activities. It has a reading area, computers with Internet access, an audio-visual room and a conference room for meetings or gatherings. While the center welcomes in-person visits from those seeking advice or wishing to use its facilities, outside of office hours questions can be left on the center’s website and are answered as quickly as possible.

“In the long run, we hope to have new recruits who can speak other languages such as Spanish, German or Korean, so that someday when our foreign friends come for help, but without a good command of Mandarin, English or Japanese, our translators can still give them instant assistance,” Hsu says.

“So far, most enquiries from our foreign visitors have been on residency issues, visa applications or tourism information,” says Fan Chun-luan, director-general of the Hsinchu City Government’s Department of General Affairs and supervisor of the HFAC. As of June this year, nearly 300 foreign visitors had received assistance from the center, and approximately 550,000 people had visited its website. Fan says that the center needs to do more publicity, however. “Many foreign visitors have told us they only found out that we’re here and ready to help them because they happened to pass by,” she says.

Someone to Turn To

“Having studied business management in the United States for almost eight years, I fully understand what it means to a foreigner to have a place to turn to when he or she needs help,” says Davis Huang, who has performed substitute military service at the center since January this year. “Many of our foreign friends told me they were very impressed with the center, saying that it makes them feel at home.”

Operators at the IFF call center do their best to answer queries as quickly as possible. (Courtesy of NIA)

Michelle Hsu, officer of the center, recalls how she made friends with a young black man from South Africa, who owns a local pub. He has lived in Hsinchu City for about 10 years, but cannot speak fluent Mandarin. “One day he came to our office and asked me about the requirements for a foreigner to start a business here. From then on, he became a frequent visitor to our center and a good friend of mine,” she says. “He even joked with me that after a visit to a nearby temple where a deity with a dark face is housed, he began to wonder if he and the god were of the same blood. What a cute guy!”

For foreign nationals living in other parts of Taiwan, help is just a telephone call away via a hotline called Information for Foreigners (IFF). According to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), as of June this year, the overall population of foreign nationals residing in Taiwan had exceeded 560,000. In order to help them solve any problems they encounter in their daily lives, the MOI and the RDEC jointly launched the IFF call center in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, in August 2005. “The hotline is intended to make life as smooth as possible for foreigners in Taiwan,” says Hsieh Li-kung, director-general of the NIA. The NIA is the supervisory agency of the IFF service. “Whenever our foreign friends need help, they can get it immediately with just a single phone call,” he says.

The IFF’s toll-free services are now available nationwide in Mandarin, English and Japanese 24 hours a day and all year round. Assistance is offered in seven major categories, including information on visas, residency, work, education, taxes, health insurance and transportation. The IFF also gives advice on lost property, housing leases, personal safety, investment, business, religion, legal matters and reporting domestic violence.

The hotline has been well received by foreigners living throughout Taiwan. Since it began operating, it had received approximately 166,000 calls as of June this year, with an average of more than 5,000 calls monthly in 2009. “Of these calls, residency advice, general information and information on visas constitute the top three categories, in that order,” Hsieh says.

In order to provide prompt and comprehensive services, the IFF cooperates closely with various government departments to help callers find an answer to their queries. “If our operators are unable to answer questions right away, they usually ask callers to leave their telephone number and offer to call them back after they contact the responsible agency,” call center supervisor Chou Tsui-tung says. “In emergencies, however, they use a three-party call system, with our operators serving as interpreters, so that callers can communicate more directly with the responsible person,” she says.

In addition to the call center, the NIA maintains the IFF website, where foreigners can find the latest information on a range of topics.

While the IFF was set up primarily to serve foreign nationals who come to Taiwan for work or travel, the NIA recognizes that many immigrant spouses of Taiwan citizens also face numerous challenges in their adopted homeland.

As of June this year, there were nearly 440,000 immigrant spouses in Taiwan, according to the NIA, mostly women from Southeast Asia and mainland China. “The IFF’s target group is foreigners residing, traveling or studying in Taiwan on a long or short-term basis,” the NIA’s Hsieh says, “but we also have a Foreign Spouses Hotline to provide them with information on adapting to life in Taiwan, related laws and regulations and family issues.”

Printed editions of the Taiwan What’s Up E-newsletter (Photo by Chang Su-ching)

The special hotline offers services in six languages including Mandarin, English, Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian and Indonesian. Foreign spouses can also seek assistance at local government-run family services centers.

Another way to extend services to foreigners in Taiwan is to maintain an open and effective channel of communication such as an e-paper. This is especially workable in Taiwan, a country that has been rated by US-based Brown University as among the top five nations worldwide in e-government performance every year since 2001.

Taiwan What’s Up E-newsletter, a biweekly bilingual English-Chinese publication, was created by the RDEC in February 2008 for this purpose. Printed editions are also available at public facilities such as airport service counters and subway stations.

Starting from April this year, responsibility for the e-newsletter shifted to the NIA, and people can visit the agency’s website to read it online or subscribe for free. “Previously, most of its content had been provided by the NIA. Moreover, as a responsible agency for managing immigration as well as entry and exit affairs, we know better what our foreign friends really need during their stay in Taiwan. Thus, I feel it’s our duty to continue this effort and make its information more accurate and direct,” the NIA’s Hsieh explains. “We also hope to extend our readership to include not only white-collar employees, but also blue-collar workers and immigrant spouses.”

Information, Entertainment

The newsletter includes information on important laws and regulations relevant to foreigners living in Taiwan, as well as special reports on art activities, interviews, entertainment-related news and commonly asked questions. A number of stores and hotels even provide discount coupons through the e-newsletter. Taiwan What’s Up E-newsletter also welcomes feedback so that readers can make their needs known and assist the service in meeting them. As of June this year, the publication had nearly 3,700 subscribers.

“Through the e-newsletter, we hope to achieve a higher level of communication between the government and our foreign friends, and help them enjoy a more pleasant and convenient stay by keeping them updated on events, developments and important government policies and changes that may directly impact their lives,” Hsieh adds.

Given today’s trend toward globalization, it is important for Taiwan to create a friendly environment for foreign nationals and open its arms to those from all over the world. For foreign visitors and residents, living in and getting around Taiwan is becoming easier and more convenient thanks to the range of services provided by assistance centers, hotlines and online resources. “For foreigners in Taiwan, I want to ask, ‘Have you ever encountered a situation in which you needed help, but had no one to turn to?’” the NIA’s Hsieh says. “Next time, don’t hesitate to use these valuable resources. They can help you enjoy a pleasant experience and create many wonderful memories of your stay in Taiwan.”

Write to dennis0602@mail.gio.gov.tw

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The 30th Sheraton in Greater China Makes its Debut – The Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel

White Plains, NY – August 30, 2010 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE:HOT) today announced that its global powerhouse Sheraton Hotels & Resorts plans to open eight more hotels in China before the end of 2010, and another 18 by 2015. The Sheraton brand also marked a major milestone this month with the opening of its 30th hotel in Greater China- Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel, which is Starwood’s 60th property in Greater China.

“Sheraton is our most prolific brand in China, accounting for half of Starwood’s current portfolio in this dynamic, fast-growing market. We are delighted to expand Sheraton in established cities like Beijing and Shanghai, while simultaneously introducing the iconic hotel brand to emerging business hubs and resort destinations,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood. “China is leading the recovery in global tourism in 2010, and by 2020, it is expected to be the world’s largest tourism market. And as the Chinese pick up the pace of their domestic and international travel, they are going to stay with the brands they know, which will have a phenomenal impact on our global business.”

Later this year, Sheraton will open Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel, signifying the brand’s debut in the city of Guangzhou, southern China’s largest metropolis and a key transportation hub. Other key 2010 openings include the brand’s third hotel in Shanghai – Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou Hotel; and in 2011 its second in Beijing – Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel.

“We are thrilled with the robust expansion as we announce eight more Sheraton hotels throughout China and continue to expand our established upper upscale brands in various Chinese cities where we are currently under penetrated,” said Stephen Ho, Senior Vice President of Development for Starwood’s Asia Pacific Division.. “Starwood continues to win many new hotel projects in China and this is largely due to the confidence the development community has in our lifestyle brands, noted innovations and consistently strong delivery of results in the region.”

“The phenomenal success of Sheraton in China has been instrumental in establishing Starwood as the leading international luxury and upper upscale hotel operator in the region,” said Hoyt Harper, global brand leader for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. “Sheraton recently completed a $6 billion revitalization campaign, and now we’re investing another $5 billion to add approximately 35 new hotels to our portfolio by the end of 2015. The fact that half of these new properties are opening in China underscores the tremendous potential of this vast, dynamic market, where the rising middle class is clamoring for high-caliber, global brands.”

In 2011, Starwood will open Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, the first Sheraton hotel to open in China’s most promising new resort destination.

Starwood’s largest brand, Sheraton boasts a current portfolio of 400 hotels in 75 countries and 92% awareness among business travelers, higher than all other global hotel brands.

Sheraton Hotels Opening Before the End of 2010:

Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel, Zhongshan, China
Located in the city’s central business district, the 30th Sheraton Hotel in Greater China will offer 362 spacious guest rooms, 3 restaurants and bar as well as 2,250 square meters of meeting space.

Sheraton Wuxi Binhu Hotel, Wuxi, China Opening
Located in the heart of the Binhu district, the hotel complex is adjacent to a retail mall, dining and entertainment district

Sheraton Tianjin Binhai Hotel, Tianjin, China
Situated in the heart of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), one of the fastest growing economic zones in mainland China, the hotel is within easy reach of the Tianjin TEDA Administration Commission, the future Modern Service District (MSD), International Convention and Exhibition Centre, shopping and office areas.

Sheraton Wenzhou Hotel, Wenzhou, China
In close proximity to the Government Administration Center and the central business district, the hotel will offer 303 guest rooms including 76 suites, each created for a relaxing stay, with a well-appointed bathroom, wireless High Speed Internet Access in addition to Sheraton brand’s signature programs.

Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel, Guangzhou, China
Located in the heart of Guangzhou’s Tianhe central business district, the Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel is part of Teem Mall, the leading commercial and shopping complex in the city.

Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou Hotel, Shanghai, China Opening
Only one mile from the Bund – one of the city’s landmarks, the hotel will provide 490 spacious and inviting guest rooms and suites offering the signature Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, five restaurants and bar, health club, indoor heated pool and spa.

Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel, Jiangyin, China Opening
With a city center location, Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel boasts its own attached convention centre with almost 3,700 square meters of flexible conference and event space, and state of the art meetings technology including a 2,100 square meter Grand Ballroom.

Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort, Wanning, China
It’s the perfect home base for exploring all that Hainan Island has to offer with a beachfront location to the southeast of Wanning City on the beautiful Shenzhou Peninsula, a tropical paradise boasting 8 km of white sandy beaches and beautiful coves, with many recreational options—including golfing, fishing and water sports.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.) The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Cette année, le week-end du patrimoine des 11 et 12 septembre est consacré en Wallonie aux métiers liés au patrimoine. Un catalogue volumineux, consacré aux multiples programmes de visites mis sur pied dans les communes, est disponible gratuitement à la Maison du tourisme des Cantons de l’Est (place Albert Ier à Malmedy – 080/33.02.50)

Malmedy participe au programme avec 3 animations spécifiques :

Fabrication de papier à la cuve à l’ancien Monastère pour des groupes de 25 personnes, les 2 jours à 11.30, 15.00, 16.30 h. (durée de l’activité : 1h 30)

Visites guidées bilingues (F/Nl) sur un parcours des sites des anciennes activités industrielles de Malmedy au départ de l’ancien Monastère, pour des groupes de 25 personnes, les deux jours, à 10.00, 13.30, 15.00 h. (durée de la visite : 1h30)

visite du carillon de la cathédrale, dont 35 cloches  ont été fondues par le Malmédien Martin Legros entre 1781 et 1783 et placées dans la tour gauche de la cathédrale en 1786. Cinq nouvelles cloches ont été ajoutées en 1952. Pour observer le carillonneur au travail, des visites guidées sont proposées le samedi 11/9 à 11.30 et à 15.00 h. et le dimanche 12/9 à 15.00 h. Mais, pour voir l’ouvrage de près il faudra gravir les 190 marches de l’escalier menant tout en haut du lanternon de la cathédrale

(Info : 080.68.55.36 ou i.heuschen@skynet.be)

MAIS, MALMEDY PROPOSE BIEN PLUS :

Rallye Fleuri de la « Belgian Flower Arrangement Society » (11&12 septembre)

La BFAS compte environ 1500 membres (principalement des dames), qui  développent  une passion pour la décoration florale artistique, répartis en 28 délégations locales, dont 20 francophones, 7 néerlandophones et une germanophone.

Le Rallye fleuri de Malmedy est organisée par le secrétariat national et revêt donc un caractère officiel. C’est ainsi que les délégations de Diest-Hasselt, Düsseldorf, Hesbaye-Condroz, Liège, Limbourg, Tirlemont et Stavelot-Spa-Malmedy ont unies leur forces et leur savoir-faire pour décorer 6 bâtiments historiques de Malmedy : le Monastère, la cathédrale, la halle de Grétédar, la chapelle de la Résurrection, l’église des Capucins, la Maison Villers.

Voici une manifestation véritablement hors du commun, qui permet d’associer la visite du patrimoine malmédien à la découverte de décorations florales réalisées  de main de maître. Nul doute que toute la gent féminine (et pourquoi pas ces messieurs) sera au rendez-vous.

Visite libre durant les deux jours du week-end des 11 et 12 septembre, de 10.00 à 18.00 h. au départ de chaque site. Une carte de soutien de 5 €, qui donnera accès aux différents bâtiments, sera mise en vente sur place et permettra de participer à une tombola verte.

(Infos : 0475.600.772)

Musique en Frat (sous chapiteau, à côté de la cathédrale) 11&12 septembre

Programme musical éclectique durant tout le week-end : samedi à partir de 18.00h. Brass Band « Royal Echo des Montagnes » de Thirimont, Royale Harmonie La Fraternité de Malmedy, «One on One » (musique rock de Namur) et à partir de 23.30h « The MissUniverses (formation rock de Waimes) et le DJ Side Moving.

Le dimanche, à partir de 11.30h., Frühschop avec le Remix Band (Visé) -2è prestation à 15 h.- et la Royale Harmonie l’Emulation (Stavelot) à 13.h.

Renseignements : Monsieur Gabriel  (0499 / 217 235   jerome_gabriel12@hotmail.com)

« Zen-Topia » – salon du bien-être et du développement personnel (11&12 septembre)

Conférences et exposants spécialisés en sophrologie, relaxation, médiation, yoga, taï chi, fengshui, relooking,, massage ayurvédique, techniques psycho corporelles, médecines traditionnelles et ayurvédiques, naturopathie, alimentations bio et diététique, voyages et matériel de bien-être. Au hall de Malmedy-Expo, rue Frédéric Lang. Info : 087.76.44.14

Exposition chasse et Nature (11- 18 septembre)

Organisée par les chasseurs malmédiens, voici une présentation hors du commun de trophées de chasse, ainsi que des chevreuils, des biches, des cerfs ou des sangliers naturalisés, mis en scène dans un décor rappelant les grands espaces  boisés de la région. La Division Nature et Forêts de Wallonie et le Royal Club St. Hubert de Belgique proposent des stands didactiques autour du thème « nature et chasse ». Voilà une exposition qui ravira les amateurs de la nature, les chasseurs confirmés ou en herbe. A voir à l’espace tourisme (à l’arrière de la Maison du tourisme), place Albert  Ier du 11 au 18 septembre de 13.00 à 21.00 h. les samedi et dimanche et de 10.00 à 12.00 comme de 13.00 à 18.00 h. en semaine (info : 0497/42.50.10)

Rétrospective B.D. Hermann « Des planches aux racines » (11 septembre – 21 novembre)

En accueillant une importante exposition consacrée à l’œuvre du scénariste illustrateur Hermann, la ville de Malmedy va mettre à l’honneur un enfant du pays, qui a été élevé au rang de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres par le Ministre français de la Culture le 15 mai 2009.

Cette exposition ne pouvait voir le jour qu’à Malmedy, où la sensibilité artistique d’Hermann s’est façonnée. Lorsqu’il représente des troncs d’arbres, des rochers, des sous-bois, des vaches et des chevaux, il exprime un véritable attachement à son Ardenne natale. Avec 96 albums en 45 ans, Hermann présente une carrière inouïe. Selon les Editions Dupuis, Hermann se définit comme « un indépendant discipliné, amoureux des images et jaloux de leur liberté ».

Plus de 220 planches originales seront présentées dont plusieurs inédites. L’exposition s’articulera autour d’un fait majeur : la sortie nationale en septembre d’un nouvel album. Après 25 ans, Hermann refait un nouveau « Bernard Prince ». Le samedi 25 septembre, séance de dédicaces à 17.00 h. à l’espace « Mon’Art » du Malmundarium. Durant l’exposition, ateliers BD, démarches alternatives, créations collectives, art dans la ville. Tout au long de l’exposition, un circuit des personnages issus de l’œuvre de Hermann est proposé au cœur de la ville. Les œuvres exposées seront signées par l’artiste et pourront être acquises au prix de 180 € pièce.

Infos : Madame Heuschen, 080 :685 536  ou  i.heuschen@skynet.be

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Brussel, 31 augustus 2010 – Vanaf vandaag prijkt het nieuwe Holiday Inn logo op drie bijkomende Belgische hotels en brengt daarmee het totaal in België op zeven geherlanceerde hotels. Het nieuwe logo geeft aan dat het Holiday Inn Gent Expo, Holiday Inn Express Mechelen en Holiday Inn Express Hasselt beantwoorden aan de standaarden van het herlanceringsprogramma, dat werd ontwikkeld om het merk een meer eigentijds imago te verlenen, en een consistente kwaliteit en service te garanderen. Ze vervoegen de meer dan 2.500 reeds geherlanceerde hotels ter wereld die met het nieuwe naambord uitgerust werden.

De herlancering van de Holiday Inn Gent Expo, Holiday Inn Express Mechelen en Holiday Inn Epxress Hasselt maakt deel uit van een bijzonder ambitieus wereldwijd project van het Holiday Inn waarbij alle 3.300 Holiday Inn en Express by Holiday Inn hotels over de hele wereld een nieuwe en eigentijdse uitstraling krijgen. Een consistente gastervaring staat hierbij centraal. Holiday Inn investeert voor deze operatie ruim $ 1 miljard of zo’n € 790 miljoen in het merk dat al meer dan 50 jaar staat voor hoge kwaliteit tegen een eerlijke prijs. In totaal beantwoorden al zeven Belgische hotels aan de nieuwe merkstandaarden.

“We hadden ons een strak tijdschema opgelegd om al onze hotels wereldwijd, zo’n 3.300 in totaal, tegen eind 2010 te herlanceren,” vertelt Rick Lam, Vice-President Brand Performance, Continental Europe. “En met deze drie bijkomende Holiday Inn hotels in België zijn we behoorlijk op weg om elk Holiday Inn hotel even goed te maken als ons allerbeste hotel.”

Kenmerken van de geherlanceerde Holiday Inn en Holiday Inn Express hotels zijn:

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Nieuwe merklogo’s

Een evolutie van het merklogo, waardoor de typische groene kleur beter uitkomt en er komaf wordt gemaakt met de huidige schildvorm voor een frissere en meer eigentijdse look.

Verfriste Kamers

Er zijn nieuwe kussens voor de hotelkamers in twee comfortniveaus: “zacht” en “stevig”, als aanvulling op het comfortabele beddengoed. Ook de badkamerervaring is verbeterd waarbij het douchegordijn met logo werd voorzien van een gebogen doucherail en een nieuw rekje voor een frisse en eigentijdse douche-ervaring. De grote doucheknop draagt bij tot een ontspannend badkamermoment.

Hartelijk ontvangst

De nieuwe buitenverlichting en beplanting zorgen bij aankomst voor een dynamisch en merkgebonden gevoel dat binnenkort wereldwijd herkenbaar zal zijn. De speciaal gecreëerde geuren en muziek van favoriete artiesten dompelt de gasten onder in een unieke, zintuigprikkelende ervaring, de strakke en opgeruimde balie creëert een sfeer om efficiënter en beter in the checken.

Nieuwe servicebelofte

Onze eersteklas servicecultuur – Holiday Inn Service Style – zorgt er verder voor dat het team zijn inspanningen opvoert en vaardigheden verbetert om de gasten optimaal te bedienen zodat zij zich geen nummer maar een individu voelen. Echte mensen die een echte service bieden. Een voorbeeld hiervan is “The Guest Experience Champion”: een Guest Experience medewerker die standaard tijdens piekuren in de lobby aanwezig is om de gasten persoonlijk van dienst te zijn.

“We kijken ernaar uit om onze gasten een unieke verblijfservaring aan te bieden, met een nieuwe look en een uitzonderlijk niveau van klantenservice”, vertelt Betty Freson-Houben, Director of Sales and Marketing van de PREM Group, eigenaar van de drie nieuwe geherlanceerde hotels. “We zijn dan ook bijzonder blij al om deel te mogen uitmaken van de hotels die deze nieuwe kenmerken van Holiday Inn laten zien”.

Holiday Inn Gent Expo biedt 169 comfortabele kamers voor zowel zakenreizigers als toeristen. Aan het knooppunt van de E40 en de E17 en vlakbij Flanders Expo, is het Holiday Inn Gent Expo de ideale uitvalsbasis als beurshotel. Door de makkelijke bereikbaarheid en uitgebreide vergaderfaciliteiten is het hotel dé ontmoetingsplaats voor wie zakelijk onderweg is. Een directe tramverbinding tussen het hotel en het centrum van de stad brengt je op een tiental minuten in het historische centrum van Gent. Het Kids Eat Free programma zorgt er onder andere voor dat ook gezinnen zich thuis voelen in dit hotel.

Holiday Inn Express Mechelen heeft 69 kamers in het hartje van historisch Mechelen. Een ondergrondse parking, gratis internet en vriendelijke service maken van dit hotel een uitstekende locatie voor de zakenreiziger die in Mechelen, Brussel of Antwerpen wil werken. Dankzij de nabijheid van Technopolis, Planckendael en het Speelgoedmuseum is het Holiday Inn Express Mechelen eveneens perfect gelegen voor een uitstapje met de familie.

Holiday Inn Express Hasselt biedt 89 luchtige kamers in het centrum van de “Stad van de Smaak”. De prijsbewuste zakenreiziger kan hier genieten van gratis internet, vergaderfaciliteiten en vriendelijke service. Alle grote toeristische attracties zijn vlot bereikbaar vanuit het hotel: het Modemuseum, het Jenevermuseum, discotheek Versuz, openluchtmuseum Bokrijk en de Japanse Tuin. Ook Plopsa Indoor, de Ethias Arena en de Grenslandhallen zijn op amper 1km gesitueerd.

Over InterContinental Hotels Group

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) uit Groot-Brittannië is de grootste hotelgroep ter wereld wat het aantal kamers betreft. Via verschillende dochterondernemingen bezit, beheert, leaset of geeft IHG concessies in meer dan 4.500 hotels en meer dan 650.000 kamers in 100 landen en gebieden over de hele wereld. IHG heeft een portefeuille erkende en vermaarde hotelmerken, waaronder InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® en Hotel Indigo®, en beheert ook ’s werelds grootste getrouwheidsprogramma voor hotels, Priority Club® Rewards genaamd, dat wereldwijd 52 miljoen leden telt.

Op 10 augustus 2010, had IHG 16 hotels in portefeuille in België, waarvan 5 Crowne Plaza, 6 Holiday Inn en 5 Holiday Inn Express. Met meer dan 1.300 hotels in ontwikkeling zal IHG ongeveer 160.000 medewerkers recruteren om de volgende jaren zijn globale expansie te ondersteunen.

IHG biedt informatie en online boekingen voor al zijn hotelmerken op www.ihg.com en informatie over het Priority Club Rewards-programma op www.priorityclub.com. Het laatste nieuws over IHG vindt u in onze online Press Office op www.ihg.com/media.

Over PREM Group

PREM Group is de grootste hotelgroep van Ierland en baat 37 hotels en aparthotels uit in Ierland, Engeland en Noord-Europa. De onderneming heeft haar hoofdkwartier in Dublin en telt 1.400 medewerkers. Het hoofdkantoor voor Noord-Europa van Prem Hotels NV is gelegen in Gent en baat IHG hotels uit in Brussel, Antwerpen, Brugge, Gent, Mechelen, Hasselt en Calais.

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Gent – 31 augustus 2010. De zomer loopt stilaan op z’n einde. Voor velen betekent dit de laatste kans om nog snel een Last Minute te boeken, terwijl dit voor anderen de ideale moment is om al hun wintervakantie naar de zon te reserveren aan de scherpste prijs.

Touroperator Neckermann merkte de afgelopen weken een sterke stijging van het aantal vragen en (vooruit)-boekingen voor Egypte voor volgende winter al. Zonzekerheid is zonder twijfel een heel belangrijke troef.

Grote interesse gaat uit naar de Rode Zee Rivièra met in de eerste plaats Hurghada, gevolgd door Sharm el Sheikh en Marsa Alam op plaats 3. Taba in het Noorden van de Sinaï staat op 4. Cultuur en geschiedenis zijn de 2e reden voor een Egypte-vakantie. Hier komen de cruises op 1 en Caïro op 2.

Neckermann heeft deze winter nog enkele extra’s en nieuwigheden in petto::

– Snorkelen en duiken zijn de belangrijkste bezigheden aan de Rode Zee. Klanten die voor 6 september boeken, nemen hun duikmateriaal gratis mee op de vluchten van en naar Egypte. Concreet gaat het over de vluchten naar Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Marsa Alam en Taba. Bestemmingen die erg geliefd zijn bij duikers.

- In het cultuursegment pakt Neckermann vanaf deze winter uit met een volledige nieuwe rondreis: Oases-rondreis. De groep begint met een 3-daags bezoek aan Caïro en trekt vervolgens 4 dagen per 4×4 langs de woestijnoases met één overnachting in een tentenkamp. De andere nachten verblijft men in verzorgde hotels. Deze rondreis is reeds te boeken vanaf € 1139 per persoon.

- Nieuw is ook de mogelijkheid om Israël te bezoeken. De klanten kunnen een strandvakantie in Taba combineren met een 4-daagse begeleide culturele rondreis. Men bezoekt de oude en nieuwe stad van Jeruzalem en Tel Aviv. Te boeken vanaf € 1476 per persoon.

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Summit Hotels & Resorts, a brand of Preferred Hotel Group that celebrates local luxury with more than 150 internationally acclaimed hotels and resorts worldwide, is pleased to announce its newest member – Chinggis Khaan Hotel in Mongolia.

The Chinggis Khaan Hotel is located in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and is just 20 minutes from the Chinggis Khaan International Airport and 10 minutes from Central Railway Station. The hotel provides the closest upscale lodging to the U.S. Embassy, as well as the Embassies of China, India, U.K., Canada, Thailand, and Germany. It is also close to main shopping centers and just 2.5 km from the city center, the Government Building at Sukhbaatar Square, and the many museums and temples of Ulaanbaatar. Its 196 guestrooms and suites include two Presidential Suites, which have hosted numerous world leaders, corporate executives, and celebrities.

Comprehensive meetings facilities are offered in three function rooms hosting up to 300 people. Fully equipped with the latest audio and video equipment, including wireless simultaneous translation and Internet access, the hotel caters to international standard meetings and conventions. The hotel also offers three restaurants and an indoor swimming pool.

“Ulaanbaatar is a unique destination with thriving industries that attract the international corporate travel sector and adventure travelers en route to the famed Gobi Desert,” said Mark Simmons, Area Managing Director – Asia of Preferred Hotel Group. “Summit Hotels & Resorts is thrilled to include the city’s finest business hotel in our collection.”

“A partnership with Summit Hotels & Resorts was an easy decision for us based on their strength of distribution system and their sales and marketing network,” said Sam Sallam, Managing Director of Chinggis Khaan Hotel. “It was also a cost efficient option for the hotel to be a part of a global hospitality network as compared to other franchised brands.”

About Summit Hotels & Resorts
Summit Hotels & Resorts is a member of the Preferred Hotel Group family of brands, which also includes Preferred Boutique, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Sterling Hotels, and Historic Hotels of America. For reservations and a complete description of the Summit Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.SummitHotels.com.

Summit Hotels & Resorts guests are eligible to enroll in the I Prefer™ Guest Benefit Program, featuring benefits such as early check-in/late check-out, space-available upgrades, and more. For more information, please visit www.IPrefer.com.

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Remarks Focus on Integration Across Caribbean, Relaxed Taxation, Airlift

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (Aug. 30, 2010) – Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association President Josef Forstmayr has called for urgent action by all Caribbean governments for a sustainable cooperative marketing and promotion fund and regional integration and removal of barriers for intra-Caribbean travel. At the same time, he urged the citizens and governments of all Caribbean nations to support strong advocacy for the recognition of tourism as the number one industry generating jobs in the region.
In a speech to the Internal Auditors Association of Jamaica on Aug. 27, Forstmayr opened his remarks with a recent quote from Prime Minister David Cameron of Great Britain who said, “For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector. That’s just wrong. Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise and a government that backs Britain. It’s fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy. It’s one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs we need so badly in this country.”
Forstmayr incorporated the UK Prime Minister’s words because “they are just as applicable to the Caribbean, even more so to the Caribbean.”
Forstmayr urged that, “In order to remain viable in the future, we need to ensure the sustainability of our industry today. There must be a strong consensus of our leaders and the public so that travel and tourism will receive the full support it needs as the Caribbean’s most vital export.
“It is therefore crucial that our governments embrace the economic importance of the tourism industry as a major generator of jobs throughout the region.”
Forstmayr explained that one of his first acts as president of CHTA, representing the hospitality and tourism industry across 36 nations in the Caribbean, was to launch the “Tourism is Key” advocacy campaign underlining the importance of travel and tourism to local Caribbean economies.

The “Tourism is Key” ad campaign highlights several important facts:
· Travel & Tourismdirectly and indirectly employs more than1.9 million people in the Caribbean (1 in every 9 jobs).
· Travel & Tourism employs 284,000 people in Jamaica (almost 1 in every 4 jobs).
· Travel & Tourism accounts for 12.8% of the Caribbean’s economic activity (GDP) – more than in any other region in the world.
· Travel & Tourism accounts for 27.7% of Jamaica’s GDP – over US$3.7 billion.

“We need to continue to remind our people that ‘tourism business means jobs’ not only in the hotels, but for the taxis, the restaurants, the farmers and fishermen that fill the restaurants with food,” said Forstmayr, adding, “It also means work for the seamstress, crafts people, shopkeepers and manufacturers, including all their workers plus the deliverymen as well as the trash collectors. In line with this, we need to improve regional linkages between our local agriculture industries and the hotel sector.”

Forstmayr informed his audience that “We have not had any Caribbean Head of Government publicly recognise in similar manner to the UK Prime Minister, the importance of tourism. For us too, it has the very real potential for economic development and will become an alleviator of poverty in the region.”
Forstmayr also quoted Robert Crandall, former Chairman of American Airlines, who remarked at the annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) in May with, “The Caribbean is uniquely dependent on tourism. Everyone involved in travel and tourism knows that our industry is immensely important to the world economy, generating and supporting – either directly or indirectly – about one in eleven jobs worldwide.
“Here in the Caribbean, it is even more important. On a number of islands, travel and tourism accounts for more than 50% of all employment, and on some islands for more than 75%.”

“Overall, about 20% of all Caribbean employment is travel and tourism dependent – something on the order of 2.5 million jobs.”
Crandall also urged that “travel and tourism should be at the center of our collective consciousness since the Caribbean is more dependent on travel and tourism than almost any other region. Of the 10 countries in the world most dependent on tourism, seven are in the Caribbean.”
Forstmayr also called upon statements from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a renown independent research organization, which agrees that many governments continue to give the tourism and hospitality industries less attention than it deserves. A report from WTTC stated: “Many public officials simply do not appreciate its profound impact on construction, real estate, manufacturing, agriculture and the linkages to all other sectors of the local economy.”

“Travel & Tourism is a major economic and social driver in the Caribbean,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President and CEO of the WTTC. “It is essential that its value is recognized by governments and the public at large, and that governments help to unlock its full potential for the benefit of all stakeholders in the Caribbean.”

Forstmayr then said, “I am strongly urging all our Caribbean governments to accept this premise. NOT accepting this clear message will simply lead to no new investors coming to the region, present investments will dry up and go bust, and existing industry will continue to under-perform.”
Forstmayr added, “We in the Caribbean hotel industry recognize that the economic importance of travel and tourism to the Caribbean is indisputable. However, there is still insufficient awareness and understanding of the industry’s economic contribution and how it permeates the depth and breadth of the general economy and overall fabric of Caribbean society.

“Previous efforts to get this message across have resulted in mixed success. This is why we need to focus on influencing the average voter who may not realize how dependent his livelihood is on travel and tourism. It is the average person in our countries to whom our leaders are ultimately responsible; therefore they are the targets of our advocacy campaign.”

Forstmayr also targeted the youth of the Caribbean noting, “We must ensure that they can participate in the ownership and economic benefits of the industry. Successful companies today are proactively and effectively managing their human resources. Having good talent and highly motivated staff working with our guests is very important.”

He urged, “Every government should immediately undertake a full scale public education campaign in schools, at job sites and through community organizations. Every citizen needs to understand that, whether or not he or she works directly in the tourism areas, every tourist’s dollar brings economic and social benefits to every level of society.

“Part of this education must focus on how to facilitate the smooth movement of our visitors which begins with easy access and fewer visa restrictions between our countries. It is ludicrous to have visa regimes between CARICOM countries.

“Our nationals should be able to travel freely from one Caribbean island to another. We tend to speak of “integration” but at the same time we stand by and let our governments erect more barriers. Do NOT underestimate the potential for regional travel.
“It also means a more welcoming entry. We put “paper over people” with lengthy and confusing immigration forms and long lines as we welcome our guests at our airports.”

Forstmayr strongly urged his own Jamaican government “to take the lead. Our prime minister is now the chairman of CARICOM. He should lead the effort to abolish unnecessary and discriminating visa regimes.”

He added, “I am also calling for our governments to adopt the need to make the welcome at our ports of entry, especially our airports, the BEST anywhere in the world. Shorter and simpler immigration and custom forms in several languages, quicker and friendlier processing of our visitors.
“We must live up to our promise of being this friendly and warm destination that is truly welcoming; we are far away from that now.”
Forstmayr also touched on the very sensitive tax issues noting that “Our hotels in the Caribbean are taxed beyond where we should be through direct and indirect taxes.

“We are one of the Caribbean’s primary exports, yet we are not seen by our own governments as such. In many cases, exports are encouraged, not taxed and burdened by high import duties, from food items to spirits and construction materials.

“Governments across the Caribbean must provide a more reasonable import duty policy for the refurbishment and renovation of existing hotels. This is mandatory if we are to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

“We need to cut the red tape and eliminate taxes that are counter-productive to the growth of tourism.”
One of the key challenges noted by Forstmayr is that “we can create demand and have the rooms ready, but nobody is coming. It is not because we have not done the proper marketing and promotions. It is because there is limited or no airlift to bring these vacationers to our destinations.

“The hoteliers are helpless in changing this situation. It is solely up to governments to negotiate air service agreements and to stimulate air travel to our destinations. I recommend the need for regional hubs and less protectionism for national carriers. We need MORE competition not LESS to ensure affordable air travel for visitors from within or outside of the Caribbean.”

Forstmayr also took the governments to task for the lack of a sustained regional marketing and promotion fund. “The private sector would love to fund a full-scale national marketing campaign to drive visitors to our destinations and ultimately into our hotels. However, we are challenged to find enough funds to do our own marketing along with maintaining our properties and facilities in top notch order.

“It is the government’s national tourist boards that MUST be funding marketing and promotional efforts, including the much needed regional marketing campaign to draw attention to our region as the leading warm weather vacation destination in the Western hemisphere.
“Once this is done, it is up to the individual destinations to direct business to its shores. Then it becomes the task of the hotels to differentiate themselves from the competition and to garner their fair share of the visitor flow.

He noted that American Airlines’ Robert Crandall “told us that 18 years ago in 1992, at a meeting held in Kingston, the Caribbean heads of government agreed to collaborate in a partnership with the private sector to organize and sustain – the key word is sustain – a regional marketing fund. However, despite substantial private sector contributions from CHTA and our members in 1993 which resulted in a regional advertising program and a 10.4% increase in visitor traffic to the Caribbean, governments cannot agree on a sustainable funding mechanism for a regional marketing program now.”
In one of his strongest statements of the evening, Forstmayr urged: “It is time that all our Caribbean governments and the entire private sector get off our collective butts and work together to get over this hurdle. We must find a way that will lead us to a successful regional tourism marketing program. We are ready for this and we are challenging our governments to join us at CHTA.”

Forstmayr concluded urging a strong call to action by the governments of the region and, in particular Jamaica with: “We need more regional integration, less visas, more airlift, less taxation and I urge once again, that our country, Jamaica takes the lead to establish funding for a regional marketing campaign.
“Jamaica has proven time and again that it can rise to many challenges. Now that we are in the driving seat, Jamaica must lead with confidence and the conviction that travel and tourism is the most effective way for the deeper integration of the Caribbean and the future prosperity for all its people. The time to act is now.”

Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association
The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members’ needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. CHTA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region – and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 525 allied members.

For more information, visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.  Follow CHTA on Facebook www.Facebook.com/CaribbeanHotelandTourismAssociation and Twitter www.Twitter.com/CHTAFeeds.

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Parijs, Frankrijk – Qatar Airways heeft tijdens de jaarlijkse “Airline Strategy Awards” in Londen een prijs gewonnen voor zijn internationale initiatieven op milieugebied.

Qatar Airways heeft een onderscheiding gekregen in de categorie “Milieu” voor zijn omvangrijke onderzoeksprogramma op het gebied van alternatieve brandstoffen die komende generaties een schonere en milieuvriendelijkere toekomst moeten garanderen.

De prijs werd uitgereikt door een jury bestaande uit specialisten, analisten en wetenschappers uit de luchtvaartindustrie. Bovendien heeft voor deze 9e editie ook het maandelijks uitgegeven maandblad Airline Business, een referentie in de sector, zijn stem voor de prijsuitreiking uitgebracht.

Qatar Airways is gehuldigd omdat het tijdens de eerste commerciële vlucht Londen Gatwick – Doha in oktober 2009 een alternatieve brandstof op basis van aardgas gebruikt heeft. Deze historische vlucht op basis van GTL Jet Fuel* wordt gezien als een eerste stap in de ontwikkeling en productie van een alternatieve synthetische brandstof die in de toekomst ook beschikbaar zal zijn voor andere luchtvaartmaatschappijen.

De laatste twee jaar heeft de luchtvaartmaatschappij een belangrijke rol gespeeld bij projecten die de verbetering van brandstoffen en het optimale gebruik van bio-kerosine als doel hadden. Akbar Al Baker, Algemeen Directeur van Qatar Airways, bevestigt: “Het is een ware eer voor ons bedrijf om deze onderscheiding in ontvangst te mogen nemen. Het toont aan dat we ons daadwerkelijk inzetten voor het milieu en voor duurzame ontwikkeling”.

Enkele maanden geleden is Qatar Airways samen met een aantal partners ook het Qatar Advanced Biofuels Platform begonnen om de ontwikkeling van grondstoffen en de productiemogelijkheden van biomassa (beter bekend onder de naam BTL) te onderzoeken. Het uiteindelijke objectief is een mengsel van GTL kerosine en biobrandstof (BTL) te gebruiken, waardoor Qatar Airways in de toekomst onafhankelijk zou zijn van de klassieke vliegtuigkerosine.

Mark Pilling, redacteur van Airline Business zegt: “In korte tijd is Qatar Airways toonaangevend geworden op het gebied van milieuvriendelijkheid, de maatschappij heeft nu duidelijk een voorbeeldfunctie”.

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