FIJET Newsletter

News From Around FIJET

Thanks for the Memories!

Feb 12, 08

How nice to be back to . By Eytan Shabi (Israel) Oscan Sandikcioglu (L) & Eytan Shabi (R) Looking for a title to my article about the Congress in Egypt, I came across an old Egyptian song called "How nice to be back to", and indeed it describes my feelings exactly when visiting Egypt again this time. I was in Egypt five times before and the last time was 20 years ago. The changes in Egypt are remarkable, the increase in the population, which had increased the challenges to insure all basic requirements such as schools, hospitals, jobs, etc. to all citizens. Our friend and colleague, Salah Attia, and his son Mohamed succeed very much to arrange a unique and a beautiful Congress, showing us a fantastic picture of Egypt and Cairo, many important and ancient places showing the old times, such as the Gyzza Pyramids, the Kings Valley and Abu Sumbal, together with two very important and modern projects: The Big Floodgate and Nasser's Lake, projects that can make the Egyptians very proud. Another tremendous tour was the Nile cruise, from Luxor to Aswan, such a nice experience in the lovely weather, although it was the second half of January! One can not avoid the traffic problems, and the crowded streets especially in Cairo. An Egyptian friend told me that in Cairo live about 15 million people, and another 9 million arrives every day to the big city, for different reasons. Even though Egypt had changed a lot, I noticed one thing that didn't change at all, it is the kindness of the Egyptian people we met everywhere, smiling, always assisting each other, tolerant to each other as if they say: " isn't it hard enough already so why fighting ". To my opinion, it was a great and a very successful congress, we traveled through land, air and water, having the chance to see the Nile- one of the longest rivers in the world, the one that insures the life for more then 70 million people, in Egypt. There is No Business like Show Business By Walter Roggeman, President UBJET Walter Roggeman The beginning of the year is the perfect time to visit some great travel fairs to get acquainted with the latest news, do some networking and meet your colleagues. That's why I went to Vienna for Austria's biggest tourism trade fair the 'ACTB', the Austrian and Central European Travel Business. It was the second consecutive year this fair was staged in the 'Wien Messe' from January 27 till 29th. With 338 stands showcasing all Austrian regions plus representations from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, previous year's numbers were surpassed with more than 10%. Were present: thousand buyers from 58 countries and 173 journalists from 40 different nations. Apart from a few UBJET members, I had the pleasure of meeting also Tina Cubrila who had just returned from Egypt and did not want to miss this important gathering. Certainly also present were members of the ÖJV, the 'Österreichischer Journalistenclub' but I did not succeed in meeting them. One of the most prominent features of the fair and also of the pre-tour in Salzburg, was everything concerning the UEFA European Football championship. Millions of people will come to Austria this year to witness this great event and to encourage their national team. Last year, tourism in Austria reached an all time record with 32 million visitors, that is 4 times the total population of 8 million inhabitants! 2008 most probably will even surpass this figure. Thanks to the UEFA cup. Memories, Memories: ALJET Celebrates its 25th Anniversary From ALJET (Lebanon) George Kahy & Malaysia Vice Minister of Tourism It was 1983 during the strife and struggle for the life and future of Lebanon that a ray of optimism shined through the bleak landscape and rose above the daily violence in the cities and countryside. It was the start of the Lebanese Association of Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ALJET). It's simple purpose was to bring together Lebanese travel writers and journalists and provide the world a window into the good and beauty that is at the very heart of Lebanon. Not long after it was established, ALJET became a member of FIJET. Over the years, ALJET, under the direction of President George Kahy, has been a strong and active supporter of FIJET. The Golden Apple, FIJET's Oscar Award, was awarded to the city of Tyre in the year 2001and to Sidon in 2002. Working in cooperation with FAJET and OMJET, Lebanon also hosted a FIJET/FAJET Congress that also included Syria and Jordan over a 14-day period. ALJET also helped in the organization and planning of the 4th Congress of the Mediterranean Organization of Journalists and Writes of Tourism (OMJET) in 1993 in the city of Beirut. Additionally, Kahy and FIJET Executive Committee member, Salah Attia, worked together in the founding of FAJET and Kahy served as its first Vice President. Kahy also serve as an active member of AMFORHT, the World Association for Hotel and Tourist Formation. Kahy's work with ALJET, FIJET, OMJET and FAJET sparked the launch of Touristica International Magazine, the first magazine of the tourism, culture and leisure activities of Lebanon and the region. The magazine has now launched its new online edition www.touristica.biz and continues to be dedicated to providing top features and guides to the world's destination by talented international writers and experts. Over the 25 years since it began, ALJET and Mr. Kahy have received numerous awards including the Kodak Lebanon prize for the most beautiful photograph; the literary Prize Raph ALOFS which FIJET presented in Zagreb for the report "the admirable civilization of Incas" published in "L'Orient-le-Jour"; the Great España Prize for the report "Calpe, Phœnician City by Excellency" which appeared in Touristica International then translated into Spanish and published by the authority of Tourism of the region of Calpe/Spain; and the First Prize of Malta. "In the heart of the Arab world, Lebanon is a link between worlds - a link between the East and the West, said Kahy. "The spirit of freedom rests here and it is here that the East and the Occident cohabit and must invent neither more nor less than one new world which emphasizes the role and the place of the Man." Twenty-five years ago, when ALJET entered FIJET as its Association in Lebanon, then President Rémy Leroux (France) underlined the importance of the occasion and the rebirth of tourism in Lebanon by saying, "In the darkest hours and most difficult, George KAHY symbolizes with his team energy, the smile and the hope in the future of Lebanon, essential relay between the West and the East". FIJET sends its best wishes to ALJET on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary. Address by Giacomo Glaviano to the FIJET General Assembly in Egypt By Giacomo Glaviano - President of FLAI/FIJET Italy In my name and in the name of FLAI/FIJET which I have the honor of representing here, I wish to greet the authorities, the presidence of the Congress, the delegations from various countries and all who are present here today. Since the first on-line reservation 13 years ago, hotel operators have greatly profited from this new and more modern way of doing business. Close to 40 % of hotel bookings are being made thru the Web this year (33 % in 2007 and 29 % in 2006) as announced by Web Marketing Turistico. Increasing the number of on-line bookings will doubtless remain a key preoccupation for hotel operators. The Web has become the favorite tool of travelers planning their accommodation. Giacomo Glaviano The impact of the official communication of an hotel is no longer automatic. It is more and more important to meet the traveler's requirements and adjust to his way of life, in order to devise new marketing strategies. Hotelkeepers must create new sophisticated instruments and imagine a better way of doing business with a view to imparting more detailed information to the guest and improving on-line service in terms of planning and booking procedures. Marketing plans must be personalized in order to meet guest expectations. The reason is fairly simple : this way of finding new customers comes at a cost 4 to 6 times cheaper and regular customers will become more receptive to advertising campaigns and promotions on-line. They should receive personalized messages in order to build up their confidence in the crucial stages of selection and booking, thus providing total service , ensuring full satisfaction and generating repeat business. Direct on-line sales are easily measured. The financial contribution of on-line business will be better quantified in the future, once managers, buyers and sellers of accommodation build, buy and sell their structures. With the help of those strategies, hotel business will grow 10 to 20 %, while structures with low presence on the Web will see their activity dwindle during the same period. Tough situations will arise, if the growth and importance of trends in the on-line tourist market are underestimated, once international competition brings its marketing technique up to standard. RELAZIONE - SULL'ATTIVITA' SVOLTA NELL'ANNO 2007 ACTIVITY REPORT 2007 by Giacomo Glaviano, President of FLAI (Italy) The General Assembly of members took place at the office of FIJET Italy in Palermo and the President's activity report was approved unanimously. The number of members has increased, thus illustrating the positive image of FLAI-FIJET thanks to both its presence on www.fijet.it and its regional delegates. UET-Italy (European Institute of Tourism) has introduced a request for the organization of a Master of Journalism and a "Recruitment Day in Sicily". Another initiative is the creation of the National Award FLAI-FIJET/Italy to be attributed to a person who will have distinguished himself or herself in the field of hotel hospitality. During this past year, the presence of the Federation of Journalists was effective at various meetings, reunions and ceremonies. We sponsored some of those events and handed plaques. We attended the meeting of the Press Association ; the International Tourism Exhibition in Milan; the conference of US military for the retrieval of bodies from World War II ; the training course in tourism at Palermo University ; Travelexpo in Città del Mare ; the meeting of Tunisian tour operators ; the national celebration of State Police ; a meeting on tourism in Sicily at the Mediterranean Fair (reporters : Giacomo Glaviano, Tito Piscopo and Achille Contino of FLAI) ; the ceremony of the Mediterranean Oscar ; a meeting with the official delegation from Latin America that had already been to Rome and Parma ; the workshop on cultural tourism with delegates from 47 countries when the Jasmin Route came to Trapani ; the National Liola Award ; the meeting organized by FLAI in Dubai ; the international award "La Pigna d'Oro"; the national celebration of the Cook ; the round table "Mediterranean by comparison: a shared identity". By Giacomo Glaviano - President FLAI (Itlay) Si è riunita in Sicilia, a Palermo, nella sede di rappresentanza della FIJET ITALIA Flai, l'assemblea generale degli iscritti che ha approvato, alla unanimità, la relazione del presidente Giacomo Glaviano, sull'attività svolta dalla Federazione in Italia e all'Estero, mirata all'incremento del numero degli iscritti, i quali mediante la loro adesione hanno accolto positivamente l'immagine della Flai-Fijet, pubblicizzata sul web nazionale www.fijet.it, e dai rappresentanti Flai presenti nelle Regioni italiane. Nella circostanza è stata recepita la richiesta della UET-ITALIA (Istituto Europeo per il Turismo) di organizzare un Master in giornalismo, da concludersi con la manifestazione "Recruitment day in Sicilia". Altra iniziativa l'istituzione del Premio Nazionale Flai-Fijet Italia, da assegnare ad una personalità che si è distinta nel campo del turismo-alberghiero. Durante l'anno sociale è stata assicurata la presenza della Federazione dei Giornalisti a vari incontri i istituzionali, convegni e cerimonie. E' stato dato pure il patrocinio ad alcune manifestazioni e consegnate anche delle targhe ricordo. Da ricordare la presenza all'incontro dell'Associazione della Stampa; alla Borsa Internazionale del Turismo di Milano; alla conferenza dei militari USA per il recupero delle salme dei caduti della 2^Guerra Mondiale; all'Università di Palermo per il corso di formazione sul turismo; al Travelexpo di Città del Mare; al meeting dei tour operator della Repubblica di Tunisia; alla Festa Nazionale della Polizia di Stato; al convegno sulla Fiera del Mediterraneo nell'ambito del turismo in Sicilia (relatori Giacomo Glaviano, Toti Piscopo e Achille Contino della Flai); alla cerimonia di consegna degli Oscar del Mediterraneo; all'incontro con la delegazione istituzionale dell'America Latina, che aveva fatto tappa prima a Roma, e dopo a Parma; al Work Shop sul turismo culturale, al quale hanno partecipato rappresentanti di 47 Paesi, conclusosi a Trapani con la Route de Jasmine; al Premio Nazionale Liolà; al meeting organizzato dalla Flai a Dubai (Emirati Arabi), al Premio Internazionale "La Pigna d'Argento"; alla festa nazionale del Cuoco; alla tavola rotonda Mediterraneo a confronto: una identità condivisa.

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