EDINBURGH WELCOMES THE SPAA SUMMER BALL!

A grand gathering of more than 250 travel personalities from around the UK descended on the magnificent Assembly Rooms, Thursday evening. Veteran Ball guests will know the event alternates between East and West, and this year the new venue - the beautifully refurbished Assembly Rooms in the heart of the capital - proved to be a superb and memorable venue. The Ball provided a much-appreciated opportunity, as we approach mid-year, to kick back and enjoy some fine food, fellowship - and as it turned out, quite a bit of fun, too.

Sponsors Air Canada, Edinburgh Airport, Travelport and Classic Collection joined with SPAA Social Convenor Joanne Dooey and her team to produce a vintage event, and the Association's chosen charity - CHAS (Children's Hospice Association Scotland) - was presented with a cheque for a huge £3,000, as guests dug deep to support its vital work with sick children and their families in Scotland.

Sponsor Air Canada's UK chief Bob Atkinson presented Andrea Pellicci (STAN) with 2 tickets to Toronto on the airline's brand new Rouge service, and another lucky winner took home a case of wine. This year's Ball was the last to be presided over by SPAA President Kevin Thom, who gave the vote of thanks to all those involved and looked forward to incoming President Jimmy Martin's term of office, which will begin in November 2013.

Dinner was followed by music and dancing - as always, well into the early hours of Friday morning - and the dancefloor was graced from the first note by an energetic Vice President! The first pictures from the Ball can be viewed above and visit the Gallery above for the full portfolio.

MTB 27/06/13

A HUGE 'THANK YOU' TO SPAA SUMMER BALL GUESTS FROM CHAS!

A message from Kirsten Dugan, CHAS Fundraiser :

As many of you will know, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) is currently the SPAA’s nominated charity. We were delighted to be supported so warmly by everyone who attended the summer ball in Edinburgh on Thursday night and to be presented with such a fantastic cheque. On behalf of over 300 families from all over Scotland who benefit from the support of Rachel House, Robin House and CHAS at Home – thank you!

At CHAS, we are halfway through our 21 year anniversary and volunteers and families have been celebrating in lots of wonderful ways. We recently had help from the Scottish Opera to record a song which reflects the experiences of children, families, volunteers and staff from across CHAS. The song ‘Key to the
Door (Little People)’ is a celebration of life which captures the essence of everything CHAS does.

Alison Blair, Activities Co-ordinator, Rachel House said, "There's one line in the song, it says, “I wonder about the reasons why we do this, then I look and I see your smile is ten foot wide.” That is the reason why we do it, because of the children and the joy that they have."

That’s what your support means to us – you help us create “ten foot wide smiles”. Again, thank you so much. If you would like any further information about CHAS, or how you can support us, please do get in touch.

Best wishes,

Kirsten Dugan
Fundraiser
0131 444 1515
kirstendugan@chas.org.uk

FAIR TAX ON FLYING CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR BUSINESS SUPPORT!

Launching a new phase of its ongoing campaign to 'bring the UK Government to its senses' regarding APD, the Fair Tax On Flying Campaign - of which the SPAA is an active member - is calling on its members to encourage the businesses they deal with to sign a new petition, with the following message :

"As you will know, the SPAA is a member of A Fair Tax on Flying.

We are launching a new campaign with the goal of encouraging thousands of businesses to sign up to our online petition calling for Air Passenger Duty (APD) to be made fairer. However, to make it a success we need your support.

Our aim this year is to mobilise the voices of UK businesses so we need your help as a business. Your
participation will take no more than one minute and it will make all the difference to the campaign.

You can click here to register your support for the campaign: www.afairtaxonflying.org/business.

You can also follow @fairtaxonflying for more campaign updates on Twitter and we’d encourage you to tell other businesses you work with about this initiative. It’s word of mouth in person and on social media that will ensure this campaign is a success.

Last year – as you may know – A Fair Tax on Flying’s campaign attracted the support of an incredible 200,000 people who wrote to their MPs about APD. The bar has been set high so we now need your help to make this year’s campaign a success.

If you need any more information about the campaign you can contact A Fair Tax on Flying’s co-ordinator Olly Kendall on olly@westminsterpa.com."

MTB 22/06/2013

futureSPAA LATEST FROM GAYLE GORDON

Dare we believe that summer has arrived and it may even last the weekendJ!!!  As usual, our Associates are busy people and have lots of information to share with you as follows:-

The first Aspire Luxury Forum to take place in Scotland will be held in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh on 27 June between 10.15a.m. and 4.15p.m.  Why not go along and meet the Key Suppliers, including Oman & Jordan Tourist Board, as well as Jebel Ali, Banyan Tree & Rocco Forte.  Registration is free, so all you need to do to reserve your space, is e-mail Audrey@mtcmarketing.co.uk

Glasgow Airport is offering discounted Agents’ parking rates, from just £20.00 for    7 nights and access to the amazing Skylounge from just £12.00.  If you have your own holiday coming up soon, just e-mailglatradesupport@glasgowairport.com to book.  They are also delighted to announce the brand new destinations of North Cyprus with Cyprus Premier Holidays, Tunisia with Just Sunshine and, of course, Guernsey with Airways Holidays.  Also, somewhere difference for a city break, how about Dusseldorf with Lufthansa?

LUX* - Online training programme is now live and is a great platform to learn all about this amazing product.  Did you know that there are red telephone boxes in all resorts where your clients can call home FREE OF CHARGE?  I didn’t know that either, until, of course, I did the training!! Once completed, you will receive two complimentary nights at any of their properties. For 2014, there is a new product called “LUX* It Up” - this supplement package can be added on to any board basis and gives guests the chance to enjoy spa treatments, excursions, baby-sitting and gourmet cooking courses!

Attraction World  has a Turkey special offer - Aqua Dream Water Park in Marmaris, where children only pay half price when accompanied by 2 adults. This offer is valid for bookings from now until 15 July, so make sure you get booking this product!!

Travel 2 – Firstly would like to thank you all for voting them 2013 Overall Business Partner, Leisure, at the Advantage Conference, as well as Best Consolidator at the Travel Network Group Conference.  To show their appreciation, they want to reward us with 15% Commission on ALL package holidays on ANY travel dates made online or via the call centre on the dedicated number 0800 458 4013.  

Classic Collection – The 2013/14 Canary Island brochure is now out, but if you haven’t received supplies yet, don’t panic, it is on the way.  Make sure you check out the great offer with the 5* IntercontinentalAphrodite Hills in Cyprus, i.e. complimentary upgrade from B&B to HB, or, from HB to FB.  Don’t forget to keep claiming your M&S vouchers.

Wendy Wu has relaunched its online Travel Training, which will give us all confidence to sell this product.  There are 5 modules in total and, once you complete them all, you will receive a certificate and be entered into a prize draw to win a place on an education to China.  All you need to do is register atwww.wuniversity.co.uk

Hoseasons, don’t forget, do citybreak apartments too and for every apartment

booking confirmed up to 30 June,  you will receive £10.00 per booking.  Have a look atwww.hoseasons.co.uk/agents and enter the quiz – you never know, you may be the lucky winner of a weekend bag!

Holiday Extras – The “Go For Gold Campaign” is now well and truly underway. To celebrate 30 years of trading, Agents are being awarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards, with prizes ranging from X-Factor tickets to sweetie hampers.  Take a look at www.holidayextras.com/Incentives for full details.

Eastern Airways  has increased its service from Aberdeen to Leeds Bradford from 22 to 26 flights per week, with up to 3 flights operating in each direction.

Emirates will launch a direct service from Milan & New York  on 01 October and, also, on this date, they are pleased to announce that the EK434/435 service to BNE and AKL will be upgraded to an Airbus A380-800. Don’t forget the fantastic sales support team in Glasgow, if you need anything please call 0141 225 6200.

Air Canada Rouge – Only one month now until take off!  Remember, with effect from 03 July the newEdinburgh to Toronto service will operate daily.

Brussels Airlines, the leading Belgian airline, has 12 flights weekly from Edinburgh to Brussels, where your clients can connect to 50 European destinations, 17 African, as well as New York & Washington.  Remember, it is a member of Star Alliance, working with 27 airlines and operating more than 21,000 flights daily!

Turkish Airlines is delighted that it is now operating a daily flight from Edinburgh to Istanbul and, to mark this occasion, there was a reception at the airport (see photo below)

Virgin Atlantic has announced that, with effect from 2014, it will increase its capacity by more than one third on its popular Glasgow to Florida flights, resulting in 14,000 extra seats being available between April & October.  The aircraft will feature economy, premium and, upper class services.

Azamara is, until 30 June, offering passengers $200 onboard credit PLUS free or reduced flights on selected 2013 and 2014 voyages.  You will also receive £50.00 John Lewis vouchers for confirmed bookings!

Hurtigruten still has availability on its “allocated on arrival” cabin offer for its 4 classic voyages this Summer and it is pleased to announce that this offer has now been extended until the Autumn.  Apparently, there will be a “Solar Maximum” this Autumn, which means that the Northern Lights should be absolutely amazing - to celebrate this, they are giving away free North Cape excursions on all voyages and, with prices from Edinburgh starting at £1372.00, what are you waiting for?

As the inaugural ship for Silversea Cruises, Silver Cloud epitomises everything that is Silversea.  Designed to provide the most intimate of sailing experiences, a Silver Cloud cruise provides guest with the luxury of space and the ability to slip into exotic ports of the beaten path.  Following an extensive top-to-bottom makeover, a “new” Silver Cloud is now sailing with fresh new décor and a number of structural enhancements.  Check out www.silversea.com for full details of itineraries and prices.

Well, nearly there, but, before I go, I would like thank Aman Kohli & Irene Darracott for their fantastic contribution to the SPAA quiz so far and, with the final looming next week, I would like to wish all the teams the very best of luck.

Summer Ball is just around the corner and, hopefully, I will see some of you there. 

That’s all for now folks, so enjoy your weekend and I will be in touch with you again next month at the same time.

07/06/2013