JAXFAX Travel Marketing Magazine
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JAXFAX SEPTEMBER 2010 The Travel Agents’ Path to Profits FFLLAANNDDEERRSS 18 CROATIA Country for All Seasons 21 PORTUGAL What’s New! 34 MOROCCO Mosaic 38 OMAN An Arabian Odyssey 44 COSTA RICA Natural Wealth 50 KOREA Destination for Ceramic Arts 51 FIJI ISLANDS Many Faces 62 ST KITTS Caribbean’s Sweetheart GTT is celebrating 26 years of Professional & Reliable Services. www.gttglobal.com Over 20 Million Consolidator Net Fares Plus Non-Capped Commissions for F, C & Y Class Published Fares Worldwide! ‘NEW’ UNITED AIRLINES AUSTRALIA • NEW ZEALAND • MEXICO• CENTRAL AMERICA • SOUTH AMERICA • PUERTO RICO • CARIBBEAN DAILY NON-STOPS IAD TO ACC « Washington Dulles To Accra UA 990 • Departs 10:10 p.m. • Arrives 12:40 p.m. • Equipment B-767 UP TO 7% Accra To Washington Dulles UA 991 • Departs 11:00 p.m. • Arrives 6:25 a.m. • Equipment B-767 COMMISSION New UA Accra Service PAID ON SELECT Has Connections to 75 Cities PUBLISHED In The U.S., Canada & Mexico AIRFARES INTO UA commissions are applicable to the published fare booking classes of F, A, D, Z, L, Q, S, V & W. Specific terms & conditions may apply to each published AFRICA airfare and all commissions are subject to change without notice. FOR QUOTES OR RESERVATIONS VISIT GTTGLOBAL.COM OR CALL: Dallas - HDQ Detroit Houston Los Angeles Seattle 800-485-6828 248-626-9181 713-774-4946 626-570-9009 206-381-9588 GTT Accepts Agent Bookings in Amadeus, Apollo, Sabre or Worldspan. GROUP REQUESTS Send an email to [email protected] with number of passengers, origin/destination, preferred airlines or flexibility in dates. EUROPE • ISRAEL • INDIA • PAKISTAN • MIDDLE EAST • AFRICA • S. E. ASIA •CHINA • JAPAN • S. PACIFIC ISLANDS MEMBER ASTA ® Proud Member, United States Air Consolidator Association American Society of Travel Agents United States Air Consolidator Association The Ultimate Food & Rhythm Experience www.foodanddrink-caribbean.com One Globe. One Ticket. Hahn Air offers How do travel agents smart ticketing and best benefit from Hahn Air? possible support Accessibility For more than a decade Hahn Easy access to a vast number Air is a proven specialist in of airline flights or combina- HR-169: trusted by providing e-ticketing solutions tions through all GDS 80,000 travel agents and a wide range of additio- Simplicity nal services to travel agencies. Standard ticketing process to worldwide. issue HR-169 e-tickets Today, Hahn Air e-tickets are Speed Service partner and local helpdesk: Fast ticketing process: available in all GDS in more Airworld Alliance than 150 countries world- ONE booking source (GDS), Toll-free number: 1 877 HR169HR wide. Hahn Air has activated ONE validating code (HR-169), Email: [email protected] Interline E-Ticketing (IET) ONE e-ticket Hahn Air Lines GmbH agreements with more than Information Source An der Trift 65 200 IET capable airlines and A comprehensive tool for a D-63303 Dreieich thus operates the industry’s wide range of information Germany leading universal ET plat- www.hahnair.com www.hahnair.com www.allairpass.com form*. One-Stop-Support Personal assistance through multilingual and passionate * source IATA helpdesk staff, toll-free num- ber: 1 877 HR169HR For further information please visit www.hahnair.com VOLUME 38, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2010 800-952-9329 www.jaxfax.com Consolifare Password: flanders JAXFAX DESTINATION FEATURES AND ARTICLES 14 COVER FEATURE FLANDERS Flanders for the Casual Connoisseur Though the technicalities of the various geographic and ethno-linguistic boundaries that constitute Flanders may remain a mystery to everyone but the locals, this much is clear: this diverse cultural enclave in the north of Belgium is stocked with treasures that appeal to every single one of the senses. With the lure of both … FLANDERS TB PUBLISHER’S CORNER 6 2010 to Date: The Good and the Scary EDITOR’S DESK 8 What It Takes To Keep Looking Forward PARTNER’S VOICE 10 Fall 2010 Trade Show Season … HAVEN’T DONE THAT 12 Discover The Great Small Gems of The World EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 17 Geri Jacobs, director, Tourist Office for Flanders, Belgium DESTINATION ARTICLES 46 ECO-TOURISM Sandos Caracol 18 CROATIA A Country for All Seasons 50 KOREA The Destination for Ceramic Arts Even after the bronzed sun worshipers have gone, the off-sea- While many travelers visit Japan to pay homage to its son is a glorious time to experience what Croatia has to … renowned ceramics, it is often overlooked that Japanese… 21 PORTUGAL What’s New in Portugal? 51 FIJI’s Many Faces Without losing a bit of the Old World charm and grace that A trifecta of tropical splendor, the ABC islands are the three makes it unique in Western Europe, Portugal has … westernmost in the Leeward Antilles chain. Sun-dappled… 30 TIPS The Power of Passion In Your Business 58 CRUISE South Pacific and Australia 34 MOROCCO Mosaic Across the mountains of New Hampshire and along the Southern Coast of Maine, the autumn winds carry a strange… In North Africa, just across the Gibraltar Strait from Europe, Morocco is a modern state committed to new… 60 SPECIAL INTERESTS Dynamic Diving 38 UAE Oman, An Arabian Odyssey 62 ST. KITTS Caribbean’s Sweetheart Located just south of Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula, the oil- It takes a steady hand and artistic flair to paint cloth with hot rich nation of the Sultanate of Oman, as it’s officially named,… wax, but at Caribelle Batik that is exactly what … 44 COSTA RICA Natural Wealth 66 CALIFORNIA Grape Expectations Columbus and the Spanish Conquistadors who followed him “Wine is made in the vineyard—not the winery,” winemakers were seeking gold on this “rich coast,” but Costa Rica’s … declare. To prove the point, new tours in Napa and Sonoma… 2 WWW.JAXFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CONTENT • SEPTEMBER 2010 ® DEPARTMENTS TRAVEL MARKETING MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY: Jet Airtransport Exchange, Inc. (JAX) EUROPE 14 52 W Main St., Milford, CT 06460, 203-301-0255, F: 203-301-0250 NEWS & BEST BUYS 22-23 Verified Audited Circulation CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 24 Douglas Cooke, CTC Publisher & Editorial Director, [email protected] AGENT TOOLS & TIPS 30 Randi White | [email protected] Vice President & Associate Publisher AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST 34 Jeff Posner | [email protected] NEWS & BEST BUYS 36,39 Associate Publishing Manager | Contributing Editor CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 40 ART DEPARTMENT Chantal Guillou-Brennan | [email protected] CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA 44 Art & Production Director, Webmaster NEWS & BEST BUYS 45, 47 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Ryley Hartt | [email protected] CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 48 Managing Editor Katie Hultgren | [email protected] ASIA & SOUTH PACIFIC 50 Editorial Assistant, Listings Manager NEWS & BEST BUYS 52 Bill Becken, West Coast Editor CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 53 Lillian Africano, Cruise Editor Worldwide Correspondents WORLDWIDE CRUISES 58 Europe: Tom Bross, and Barbara Radcliffe Rogers & Stillman Rogers Central & South America: Mercedes Cardona SPECIAL INTERESTS: DIVING 60 Asia Pacific: Marian Goldberg Africa & the Middle East: Lisa Loverro GREEN CORNER 61 Caribbean: Melanie Reffes Contributing Editors CARIBBEAN & BERMUDA 62 Nina Africano, Jeff Burdick, Monique Burns, Christopher Cooke, Phyllis Cocroft, Jad Davenport, Denise Dubé, Katharine Dyson, CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 64 Patricia Earnest, Ben Frank, Chantal Guillou-Brennan, Patricia Harris, NEWS & BEST BUYS 65 Dannielle Hayes, Ted Heck, Mark Laiosa, Bob Levine, Maria Lisella, David Lyon, Denise Mattia, Merrie Murray, Betty Rolston NORTH AMERICA & HAWAII 66 Clifton N. Cooke, CTC. | [email protected] Founding Publisher & Editor-at-Large NEWS & BEST BUYS 67 Circulation & Subscriptions: 800-952-9329 CONSOLIDATOR AIRFARES & TOUR LISTINGS 68 Katie Hultgren | [email protected] Circulation Manager FAM TRIPS & STUDY PROGRAMS 69 Marjorie Vincent | [email protected] MESSAGE BOARD 70 Business Manager Advertising: [email protected] CALENDAR TRADE SHOW EVENTS 70 Member of: ASTA–American Society of Travel Agents; ATA–Africa Travel Assoc.; NTA–National Tour Association; ATME–Association of Travel Marketing Executives.; DIRECTORY OF SUPPLIERS 71 CHA–Caribbean Hotel Assoc.; CTO–Caribbean Tourism Organization; PATA–Pacific Asia Travel Assoc.; USTOA–United States Tour Operators Assoc. “JAX FAX Travel Marketing Magazine” (ISSN 0279-7984) is published monthly by Jet Airtransport Exchange Inc., 52 INDEX OF LISTINGS BY DESTINATIONS 72 West Main Street, Milford, CT 06460. Periodicals postage paid at Milford, CT, & addition- al mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to JAX FAX Travel Mar- keting Magazine, 52 West Main St., Milford, CT 06460. COPYRIGHT 2010. All rights View of Ghent city center reserved. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be reproduced in print or elec- FRONT COVER: tronically without permission. Direct requests for permission to the Publisher, JAX Photo credit: Tourist Office for Flanders, Belgium FAX, 52 West Main St., Milford, CT 06460 or via E-mail: [email protected] BP :: 800-518-7781 MD :: 866-933-5963 QM :: 877-625-2942 UM :: 800-742-3006 VR :: 888-359-8228 4Q :: 877-261-7234 HU :: 888-688-8813 MK :: 800-537-1182 PG :: 866-226-4565 D3 :: 866-322-5561 GA :: 800-342-7832 8U :: 877-359-0999 4 WWW.JAXFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 PUBLISHER’S CORNER 2010 to Date: The Good and the Scary ow that we are well into the 3rd on the OTA’s is slowing and in fact the sale of air is shifting quarter of what is supposed to be a back to more traditional channels and suppliers. Their research year of recovery, how is the travel further revealed that OTA’s have had very limited success in N industry really doing? Are we skip- their attempts to break into the “packaging of travel services,” ping up Easy Street or are we plodding down Recovery i.e. the online sales of tour packages. This lucrative business is Avenue? Or does it depend on what sector of the industry still bought primarily through travel agents.