Posts by Sharon Evers

From January 2015, TravelPro is coming out in weekly edition. “Since we made our editorial style a little sharper and since we took leave of the name Reisburo Actueel, it has been going really fast. The appreciation which we get from the branche about our editorial approach is very big”, says Tom van Apeldoorn, editor in chief and publisher TravelPro.

About the sharper, editorial approach of TravelPro, Van Apeldoorn tells: “The critical, editorial approach is only possible when there are companies like TravelBird, Thomas Cook, Booking.com, DR-T group, KLM, SGR and Center Parcs. For the ones I forgot, lucky you.”

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Van Apeldoorn also sees grow in commercial publications at TravelPro. “The simple conclusion is that there is and stays a need to an editorial independent trade magazine which does not mince its words. You ask and we turn.” For the online reach of TravelPro, the branche is also enthusiastic, as well about the actuality at travelpro.nl, as the newsletter and the this year launched app that is available for free and for all operating systems. Van Apeldoorn: “With that, our content is and stays always and everywhere with free access available for our readers. Last but not least, I want to thank everyone for the tips I received on tom@travelpro.nl. The next year, I count again on the branche when there are things that we, from journalistic point of view, can pick up.

Already in the winter season, the German tour operator alltours gets two numbers in the in the plus on the Dutch market, says Marc van Rijsingen (Sales Representative Holland) to TravelPro. “Especially the border regions knows to find us very well. The prices from the German airports are in a lot of cases much better than from the Dutch Airports, where the prices around Christmas time, for example, are extremely high. The difference can be up to € 1400.”

To prepare the Dutch market on next summer season, alltours organizes a daytrip to Düsseldorf on Monday the first of December in corporation with Oad, who arranges the busses. “There is place for 150 people and in two days, we already have around 75 applications. This time, the presentation will not take place in the bus, but in a hotel, whereupon everyone can go their own way to the Christmas markets in the city”, says Van Rijsingen, who also tells that alltours, just like last year, is going to launch two Dutch brochures for next summer season. In those brochures will, moreover, not be offered new destinations.

Last summer season, alltours got in the plus on the Dutch market. The last two years, the German tour operator is focusing more on the summer season for the Dutch market. Van Rijsingen: “The summer is de most important. For this winter season, we do not have allotment seats from Schiphol, because we could not get good prices for those seats. That is why we have decided to close our front desk for this winter season. Moreover, this winter, we still have sufficient offer from Amsterdam to destinations as Bali, Bangkok, Cuba, Dubai, Antalya and Izmir. Via the complete Dutch version of alltours-X, which we launched this autumn, it is possible for Dutch agents to connect all accommodations to flights from almost all airlines with departure from Germany and the Netherlands”. In the summer season, alltours will have, like always, again a front desk at Schiphol.

Air Canada announced today that she will operate the Amsterdam-Toronto service, which she announced 25 September last, on a daily basis between 29 June and 22 October instead of the earlier announced 6 weekly frequency. As of 23 October the winter schedule will come into effect when 5 to 6 weekly flights are planned depending on the season. This service will be operated year-round with a B767-300ER which offers 24 lie-flat seats in the renowned International Business Class.

“After our announcement on September 25th we received many positive reactions from the market. Now, 8 weeks later our booking statistics look so promising that we have been able to decide to up the service to daily flights already by also flying out of Amsterdam on the Thursday”, says Joost Hasperhoven, Manager Air Canada in Amsterdam.

According to Hasperhoven Toronto Pearson Airport can become thé gateway North-America. In Toronto passenger flows are divided into two; there is one flow with passengers having Toronto as final destination or transferring to another city in Canada and clearing customs at Pearson. The other flow are passengers with a transfer to the United States of America. The big advantage here is that passengers already clear U.S. customs in Toronto and baggage is labeled through from Schiphol Airport to the final destination in the U.S. Passengers only need to identify their luggage at a digital baggage-belt. The flight from Toronto to the final destination in the U.S. is considered a domestic flight and at arrival passengers only needs to pick up their baggage and off they go.

Transavia is going to fly to Tel Aviv from the second of April 2015. The airline is going to do the flight three times a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) with a Boeing 737 till the end of October. KLM also does daily flights from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv.

During the WTM in London, Amir Halevy (Israeli Minister of Tourism) spoke with several airlines. The country wants a growth of the international air traffic. EasyJet might also look for extra flights from several European cities to Eilat. For next year, EasyJet has scheduled the opening of the route Paris – Tel Aviv. Earlier this year, EasyJet launched a version of her website in Hebrew.