The Travel Markets Insider newsletter is attached to this post as a PDF file. To open the PDF file, please click on this link.
The biggest news for the region this week was the announcement by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer that the UK was abolishing the controversial Air Passenger Duty on children under 12 next May, to be followed by its repeal for children under 16 in 2016. The announcement comes after the critical news earlier this year that the UK was reforming the APD system to make the duties more uniform. Caribbean tourism officials welcome the reform and intend to start wooing back the British tourists lost in part to the heavy travel taxes. See details on page 1.
Dufry announced a big change in the management of its Region America II (Brazil and South America), The much respected COO of the region, Jose Carlos Rosa, will be moving to a new position after 9 years at the helm, and will be replaced by Gustavo Magalhães Fagundes, a familiar face from Brasif before the Dufry buyout. Page 1.
Nuance VP Andrew Rattner thanks the industry and Canada’s Airport Council for the FDFA Gold Award it won during the recent convention. Page 1.
The focus is on cruising this week, Bacardi has launched its 10th annual Bartender of the Year Cruise Competition; the latest numbers are in and not surprisingly, Florida ports dominate global cruising; CLIA – the Cruise Lines International Association – is set to move; and Royal Caribbean opens the fourth onboard Britto concept store. See pages 2-4.
In Spirits news, Wotjek Wydro joins U’Luvka Vodka in a global role that includes travel retail; Amarula wins top marks for its new Gold liqueur in New York. Page 2.
Giving Back. Dufry has joined Hand in Hand for Haiti‘s new Student Sponsorship Program initiative and will be supporting an entire class of 25 children in the Lycée Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable” in Saint Marc, Haiti, a wonderful contribution to a very worthy cause. Read more on page 2.
