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News Station
 Marriott
International has launched an offer giving senior citizens
a 15 per cent savings on room rates at more than 2,000
participating hotels worldwide. The Marriott senior discount
is available to anyone aged 62 and above at Marriott Hotels,
Resorts and Suites including JW Marriott Hotels and Resorts;
Renaissance Hotels, Resorts and Suites; Courtyard; Fairfield
Inn; Residence Inn; TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites
hotels. The Marriott senior discount is available seven
days a week. Reservations can be made on their website
Marriott.com, or by calling their toll-free number 1-800-228-9290,
or by contacting a travel professional. Discounted rooms
are offered on a space-available basis, and a maximum
of two rooms can be reserved per stay. There is no limit
on the number of nights per stay. Guests must also present
valid identification with date of birth at check-in. Besides
that, weekend holiday savings are on offer whereby Marriott
is offering reduced weekend rates at more than 1,700 hotels
under the brand. |
 Qatar
Airways recently launched its fourth destination in India
with the inaugural flight from Doha to Kochi in Kerala.
“Qatar Airways has already established busy tourism
routes from Europe to Kathmandu, Colombo and Maldives.
We expect to be able to place Kochi on the European tourist
map. By the end of this year the airline will be flying
60 destinations across Europe, Middle East, the Indian
sub continent, North Africa, etc,” said Al Baker,
CEO, Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways’ current Indian
operations include 19 flights a week to Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Thiruvananthapuram and now Kochi. All these flights including
the one to Kochi have been planned with convenient connections
at Doha to the rest of the Gulf. The fight to Kochi using
A300-600 and A320-200 aircraft will leave early morning
from Doha on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Future plans
include expansion of its fleet of Airbus aircraft as well
as the addition of a long range corporate luxury jet,
the first long range ACJ319 aircraft to be used by an
airline. The airline presently has a fleet of 21 Airbus
aircraft. |
 The
Leela Palace, Bangalore has won The Ultimate Service Awards,
sharing the honour with other leading hotels of the world,
namely Grand Hyatt Hotel, Shanghai, Courtyard by Marriott
Hotel and others. The Ultimate Service Awards is the first
award to celebrate global excellence in service. The award
honours extraordinary men and women who give a hotel its
character, reputation and success globally. The procedure
is conducted by CNN who invites well travelled people
worldwide to vote for hotels. The highest ranking hotels
in each of the nine regions subsequently win the The Ultimate
Service Award. The planning committee comprised Richard
Garland, consultant and former hotelier; Mary Gostelow,
Elite Traveller; Gordon Campbell Gray, hotelier; Trent
Walsh, quality expert and David Coulbrough (Portfolio
International). |
 One
of the world’s biggest travel publishers - Lonely
Planet - has named New Zealand as the top travel destination
for the year 2003. Don George, global travel editor, Lonely
Planet, said, “New Zealand was the grand winner this
year, boosted by its breathtaking cinematic appearance
in the Lord Of The Rings films.” George Hickton,
CEO, Tourism New Zealand, said, “The world-class
food and wine, pristine landscapes and the variety of
activities make New Zealand a popular destination. Last
year, for the first time the number of international visitors
hit two million and this year we expect it to increase
further.” Moreover, the perception of New Zealand
as a safe place, which is more important now than a few
years ago, is another drawcard. |
Hotel Marine Plaza, Mumbai has won the PATWA international
award for the ‘Best Business Hotel’ in March
2003 at the ITB fair held in Berlin. The function was
attended by PATWA members across 60 countries. PATWA organises
international awards every year at the ITB with the cooperation
of Messe Berlin to recognise individuals and organisations
involved in the promotion of different sectors of tourism
such as aviation, hotels, travel agents, tour operators
and government agencies.
Hotel Marine Plaza is located in the heart of the business
district in Mumbai, with 68 well-appointed sea facing
rooms and suites. Other facilities include a business
centre, secretarial and infrastructure support as well
as conferencing and banqueting facilities. |
 At
a recent award ceremony held in Frankfurt, Swiss was awarded
the much sought after ‘Business Traveller Award’
for the best airline serving North and South America.
The award was conferred by German magazine ‘Business
Traveller’. The award, started ten years ago, is
based on the assessment of the magazine’s readers.
As per the evaluation of a survey, business travellers
particularly enjoy flying with Swiss airline to America.
The frequent flyers questioned voted for Swiss in the
‘on-board personnel’, ‘ground personnel’,
‘cabin configuration’ and ‘food and drink’
categories. The airline was also selected as the best
airline in the ‘overall’ category for flights
to North and South America. |
Travel to the South East Asia only if it is a must, otherwise,
give it a skip. The SARS virus is in full flow there.
What exactly is SARS? According to the World Health Organisation
(WHO), it is classified as an ‘atypical pneumonia’.
Though not all who contract the virus are fatally afflicted,
the mode of transport for the virus has not yet been confirmed.
At first, it was believed that the virus was contracted
by being in close proximity with the affected. That theory
has since been discarded. Reports have indicated that
it might be airborne. In an unprecedented move, the WHO
has declared Hong Kong and the Guangdong regions of China
as dangerous to travel to. Therefore, not only is travel
to these regions not advisable, those already there, or
passing through are all looked upon as likely victims
and thus are being asked to stop their travel. The epidemic
has spread to almost the entire South East Asian region,
with countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
registering SARS-related deaths. In the latest developments
reported at the time of going to print, Australia, Belgium,
Brazil and Canada have been added to a growing list of
countries affected by the virus. In all, citizens and
travellers from and through 15 countries have been put
through special screenings. |
In an endeavour to better service their frequent travellers,
Thomas Cook recently launched TravelPerks, a comprehensive
‘travel companion’ to its ‘privilege club
of globetrotters’. TravelPerks is an annual membership
offering a host of travel related privileges for their
clientele. Membership includes: AT&T global calling
card - Post-paid global calling card. AT&T calling
cards being among the most widely accepted, enable you
to stay in touch with your near and dear ones from anywhere
in the world. The card entitles you to call India from
anywhere in the world and bills will be charged to your
designated global credit card. Latitude Membership - ‘Recovery’
(emergency services) like assistance for lost or stolen
passport, cash, TC or cards and ‘Discovery’
(concierge and leisure services) like bookings for hotels,
car hire, airport transfers, etc. IAPA Membership (International
Airline Passengers Association) - Designed essentially
for the frequent traveller, IAPA membership entitles you
to 50 per cent discount at hotels worldwide, up to 30
per cent discount on car rentals, online reservation of
hotels and car rentals. TravelCare - The travel insurance
plan includes hospitalisation cover up to USD 250,000
for one year, irrespective of the number of trips abroad;
coverage for accident death and dismemberment, travel
inconvenience, legal and home burglary insurance. |
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