10 new countries to be part of EU

There are plans being developed for celebrating EU accession in the ten new EU member states- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Among recent announcements, Lithuania has decided to mark 1 May with 300 events and firework displays across the country. Latvia has set aside a budget specifically to fund celebrations - including concerts and events run by local authorities. One of the hot spots for celebration will be in Nova Gorica, a border town split between Slovenia and Italy. The Prime Ministers of both countries will come there and have been invited to pick axes to symbolically demolish a border fence that runs through the town. European Union enlargement means that many citizens living just on the other side of its new borders will face new controls when they want to cross into what will become EU territory on 1 May. Short family or business trips from Russia into Latvia, or Ukraine into Poland or Hungary, for instance, could suddenly become administratively complicated. To make life easier for people from non-EU countries who face this situation, the European Commission has announced proposals for special visas for what is known as "local border traffic" - defined as the crossing of borders by people who live in border areas and regularly travel for legitimate reasons to a member state of the Union without constituting a threat to security.

Border-control authorities issuing these special visas would need to conduct full security checks on applicants, who would have to have lived for at least a year in the country where they make their application, and would have to demonstrate why they need to cross the border on a regular basis. The new rules would not apply to two other candidate countries applying to join the EU - Bulgaria and Romania - during their pre-accession phase, because their nationals do not need a visa to enter the EU. The same is true for Croatia. Turkey and Macedonia are among the countries in line for being considered for membership of the EU. Recent opinion polls show a majority of Norwegians expect a new referendum to be held on EU membership after parliamentary elections in 2005. Norway has already rejected EU membership twice, in 1972 and in 1994. Joining the European Union will undoubtedly make the countries more accessible. Tour operators are gearing up for increased interest in the capital cities and other tourist spots. The British company Cox and Kings, for example, has brought out a new brochure which features Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in Latvia as new destinations. Cities such as Tallinn and Riga are growing in popularity all the time, and they make excellent short break destinations. The Slovakian capital, Bratislava on the banks of the Danube, is exciting interest among tour operators as an alternative to the already popular Czech capital Prague, as is Vilnius, the small cosmopolitan capital of Lithuania, famous for its Baroque churches. The low-fares airline, Easyjet, has announced new routes to some of the EU enlargement states, including London Stansted to Ljubliana in Slovenia from 1 May, Gatwick to Prague and London Luton to Budapest.

SA tourism beats global trends 

Tourism in South Africa performed "very well" in 2003, despite global trends as per the Environment Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa. 
Referring to recently released statistics, Moosa said South Africa did well last year, especially when compared to global markets. It posted a 4.2 percent increase in overseas arrivals, and a 1.2 percent increase in total foreign arrivals in 2002. He said the industry had grown despite a significant decline in global travel. The World Tourism Organisation confirmed that last year was difficult for the tourism industry worldwide, citing three factors: the Iraq conflict, the SARS virus, and a persistently weak world economy. "The overall picture as we move into the future looks positive. Early feedback from the aggressive new deal-driven consumer campaigns recently launched by SA Tourism in some of our key markets led us to believe that while we cannot afford to be complacent we remain on the right track, and are most definitely a force to be reckoned with," he said. World Tourism Organisation deputy secretary general Dawid de Villiers said South African tourism had weathered international storms in the last three years, especially bearing in mind that last year saw the worst decline in tourism internationally. "I do not want to downplay the seriousness of the slow down in the figures of the past three years, but the long term trends remain incredibly positive," De Villiers said. 

He said the future for tourism in South Africa remained bright. "It is a fabulous destination". "Over the last decade South Africa has confirmed its place among the top destinations in the world. The new decade provides us with a challenge to do even better, to raise the standards," he said. Moosa said despite the gloomy backdrop, tourist arrivals in the country remained positive and resilient. Statistics revealed that international tourist arrivals, from a global perspective, fell into negative territory during 2003 by 1.3 percent to 694-million. The region hardest was Asia and the Pacific, with a nine percent decrease. The Americans experienced a two percent decrease. The Middle East and Africa were the only two regions not noticeably affected by the adverse conditions during the year in question, recording the best results with 10 percent and five percent increases respectively. It also revealed that South Africa's overall 5.3 percent growth out of Europe was compounded by a significant 14 percent growth out of France and just over three percent increases out of both Germany and the United Kingdom, the country's top three overseas markets. 

MORE ON SOUTH AFRICA………

Our Editor Subhash Motwani has recently returned from South Africa. Subhash who is now a South Africa FUNDI (Expert) will share his experience in the forthcoming issues of Opportunities Today. So watch out on more exciting and interesting information on South Africa in the months to follow….

Gulliver Travels now to operate from China 

THE British wholesale travel company, Gullivers Travel Associates (GTA) has made an important breakthrough in the China market. GTA has become the first Western company to be granted a license to operate as a full service travel company in Beijing. GTA will be able to sell domestic travel products and bring inbound groups and independent travellers in to China with the same rights as local businesses. Up to now GTA was only allowed to operate as a liaison office with transactions done through local suppliers. Under its new status, GTA will operate as a full-service travel company, GTA China Limited.

GTA was founded in 1975 and has become a leading independent wholesaler of travel products to the travel trade. It has an annual turnover of US$ one billion, and employs 2,000 people around the world. It operates an Internet-based reservation system with an inventory of over 20,000 hotels in 112 countries and also sells tailor-made full-service packages for groups, incentive travel specialists and tour operators. Travel in China is forecast by the World Travel and Tourism Council to grow by at least 13 per cent in 2004. The news of the GTA breakthrough is a further indication of desire of the Chinese authorities to liberalize travel business and admit foreign companies into the rapidly growing China market. Earlier this month, the British-based food and beverage company Compass Group, was awarded the contract for catering on China's train and rail stations.

FedEx profits jump 41% in third quarter 

FedEx Corp. reported net income of $207 million for the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 29, a 41% increase over income of $147 million in the prior-year period. Revenue in the FedEx Express segment rose 7% to $4.37 billion and operating expenses increased 5% to $4.16 billion, resulting in operating income of $218 million, a 68% jump versus operating income of $130 million in the previous year. However, excluding realignment costs, operating income would have risen 77%, the company said. For the nine months ended Feb. 29, the company recorded net income of $426 million, down 23% from net income of $550 million in the previous financial year. Revenue rose 6% to $17.67 billion while operating expenses declined 8% to $16.91 billion. This produced an operating profit of $755 million, a 23% decrease versus operating income of $979 million in the prior year. 

UAE builds world's tallest hotel

The United Arab Emirates is constructing the world's tallest all-suite hotel "Forex Rotana" in Dubai, at a cost of 68.3 million US dollars. The 72-storey, 380-metre-high structure will serve the global financial trade community due to its proximity to Dubai International Financial Centre. Once completed, it will be the tallest hotel in the world. The hotel will have three floors of ready-made offices and residences that will be rented out on a short or long term basis.This is one of the 10 new hotels announced by the Rotana Group.

South Africa Updates

SAA lowers its fares to remain competitive in the domestic market.

In a move designed to match lowest fare levels offered by other airlines, South African Airways has announced discounted fares on a number of domestic flights. The airline is offering a limited number of seats at R199 (Johannesburg-Durban) and R299 (Johannesburg-Cape Town). These one-way fares also apply to the Cape Town-Durban, Johannesburg-Port Elizabeth, and Johannesburg-George routes. The fares are available for bookings on Tuesdays and Saturdays on SAA's website, flysaa.com. The return fares, available on specific flights, are R399 between Durban and Johannesburg, R593 between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Durban and Johannesburg and George. Passengers must travel between January 24 and August 31, 2004.

SAA scoops another best airline to Africa award

South African Airways has been named Best Airline to Africa for the 13th consecutive year at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards 2004 held in London. SAA led the pack, which included British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Airways.

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