LINKS AND TOURS QATAR LATEST FARES DEALS

From	To	Cabin	Purchase by	Travel period	Fares from
Lagos(LOS)	Abu Dhabi(AUH)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	755 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Dubai(DXB)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014             30 Nov 2015	782 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Kochi(COK)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,021 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Delhi(DEL)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,049 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Kuala Lumpur(KUL)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,108 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Bangkok(BKK)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,130 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Hong Kong(HKG)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,173 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Guangzhou(CAN)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,285 USD

VISA ASSISTANCE

United States

Overview

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 The United States is one travel destination that has continued to attract more and more Nigerians. Home to some of the best in entertainment, business, and technology, this comes as no surprise. The US also ranks as one of top tourist spots in the world. Today, there exists a wide range of tourist attractions in the United States such as amusement parks, festivals, gambling, golf courses, historical buildings and landmarks, hotels, museums, galleries, outdoor recreation, spas, restaurants and sports

What do I need to know before I apply for the US visa?

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There are several types of visas to the US including: student visa; business visa and immigration visa. You will also need evidence of flight and hotel booking.

What are the US Visa Requirements?

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Find below the requirements for US visa application. However, Holloway will assist you facilitate the process when you book affordable flights and affordable hotels.

Online Appointment

The DS-160 and instructions for completing it can be found on the Consular Electronic Application Centre at http://ceac.state.gov/GENNIV

How Can I Apply Now?

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The first step is to get an interview date, pay your visa application fee

complete a DS160 online visa application at http://ceac.state.gov/GENNIV

schedule an interview appointment— you will need 3 pieces of information to do this; your passport number; fee payment receipt purchase date(this may be back dated in accordance with banking regulations) and finally the 10 digit barcode number from your DS-160 confirmation page.

Visit the U.S. Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos on the date and time agreed for your visa interview. You will need to bring a printed copy of your appointment letter, your DS-160 confirmation page, a recent colour photograph, your current and all previous passports and the original visa fee payment receipt. Applications without these items will not be accepted.

At the end of your interview, you will be informed if you qualify for a U.S. non-immigrant visa. If you are issued a visa, your passport and visa are returned to you at the document pick-up location you selected. If you are refused, the visa officer will return your passport at the end of the interview.

If you require assistance to complete any of the steps above, or you want us to help you with the process you can contact us through

CONTACT:

info@linksandtours.net

08034708980

When can I apply for a US visa?

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 You can apply between 2 weeks to 3 months before you are due to travel.

Travel Insurance

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About 30% of travelers today take ill or become injured whilst abroad. They also face non-medical risks including travel delays, loss of passport or loss of baggage. With our travel insurance , you no longer have to worry about these unforeseen risks. It is not only affordable; it is also reliable and broad. Travel in style and let our travel insurance serve as your safety net today.

What are the US Embassy contact details?

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 United States Embassy, Nigeria

7, Mambilla Street, Off Aso Drive Maitama District,

Abuja

Nigeria

Phone:

+234-9-5230916

+234-9-5230960

+234-9-5235857

+234-9-5232235

+234-9-5232205

Fax:

+234-9-5230353

10 Great Restaurants in Lagos Mainland

The food scene in Lagos changes rapidly that it’s hard to catch up with. One second the latest restaurant is Domino’s Pizza, before you wink your eyes, the next hotspot is Yellow Chilli. This has made the dining scene more dynamic and fresh, earning the city a reputation for having some of the best restaurants in Nigeria. What is the secret? A luxurious sense of hospitality that is unrivalled anywhere else in the country. Lagos Mainland restaurants come with an array of delicious meals, flavourful nibbles with great hospitality and immaculate staff.
Here are the 10 great restaurants in Lagos Mainland where you can satisfy your inner foodie:

1. Yellow Chilli

Photo Source: Parolz
Yellow Chilies is a trendy restaurant in the heart of Ikeja. The restaurant offers Nigerian delicious and ethnic with an extensive range of gourmet meals and local spicy foods such as pepper soup, spicy stewed snails, seafood Okra and Prawn made with fresh ingredients with lots of herbs. Their Jollof Fiesta is a delectable dish to die for. Ordering is easy, as guests are given menus to order and there are waiters waiting to get your orders. Visit: Yellow Chilli
Opens 12:00 pm to midnight  (Everyday).
Main dish starts from ₦3000.
Location: 35, Joel Ogunaike Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

2. DeChills Hind

DeChills Hind is a Nigerian restaurant, lounge, bar and night club rolled into one.  The restaurant serves all kinds of dishes from African to Continental cuisine. Situated in Surulere, it is known for its quality ingredients and flavourful foods; the foods are delicious, you should try their Beef Rossini and Chicken which are available at affordable prices. Sometimes, there is a better chance of getting a table in the afternoon for lunch than dinner because it’s always crowded at night. The night scene is fun and exciting, as DeChills Hind is place to hang out with friends at night.  Visit: DeChills Hind
Main dish starts from ₦2000
Location: 38 Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Surulere, Nigeria

3. Browns Cafe & Restaurant

     Photo Source: Hallvent

If you are looking for a reason why food scene in Lagos Mainland is one of the most exciting things in Lagos, you should visit Brown’s Café and Restaurant. The restaurant is popularly known as “Browns” and it is noted for its breakfast menu called ‘Naija Breakfast’ and Browns Platter. Browns foods and drinks are freshly prepared with flavourful ingredients. They serve a variety of Nigerian dishes and gourmet delight.
Visit: Browns Cafe and Restaurant
Main starts from ₦3,000
Opens 9.00am to 10.00pm everyday
Location: 15 Oduduwa Crescent, Ikeja GRA

4. Rhapsody’s

Dinning at Rhapsody’s is an event because of its beautiful setting, classic interior, comfortable atmosphere and thoughtfully prepared foods. The restaurant offers a la carte selections and you can unleash your appetite with a multi-course feast with salads and appetizers. You should try their signature dish – Chicken Espetada, grilled deboned chicken thighs skewered with spicy jalapenos and chilli sauce topped with garlic butter. This restaurant will sate your appetite with their delicious meals. Visit: Rhapsody’s
Location: Address: Ikeja City Mall, 176/194 Obafemi Awolowo way, Alausa Ikeja, Lagos.

20 Reasons Lagos Is An Amazing Place To Live

Lagos is infamous for being Nigeria’s most exclusive city to live in. The metropolis takes home the crown for the city with densely populated areas, busy streets and massive traffic jam in Nigeria. With all these high-priced awards, is it actually possible to say Lagos is an amazing city? Of course!
Lagos is a world-class destination, Nigeria’s most amazing city that has wonderful beaches, skyscrapers, amazing parks, best entertainment options, most job opportunities and so much more. Lagos has everything to offer everybody. The city prides itself in its unique experiences and matchless vibes – where the locals, popularly known as ‘Lagosians’ are what set the city apart.
We present to you, 20 reasons why Lagos is an amazing city to live in – real facts that prove living in Lagos is much better than living anywhere else in Nigeria.

1. Beautiful beaches

Lagos is surrounded by water bodies. Thus, there are numerous scenic sandy beaches which are suitable for picnics and recreation. Visitors from other cities and even from abroad can visit these beaches during their vacation but the Lagosians visit whenever they want to have fun especially during the weekends.

2. Job opportunities

Lagos is the major economic nerve centre of Nigeria and the rest of West African sub-region. Most industries and business enterprises in Nigeria have their headquarters in Lagos. The chance of building your career and rising to the pinnacle of your choosing profession is higher in Lagos than any other city in Nigeria or West Africa.

3. Exciting nightlife

Photo Source: OnlineNigeria

Lagos has one of the most interesting nightlife in all of Nigeria. Many shows to attend and parties to groove in and if grooving and partying is not your thing you could just savor the taste of chilled beer in a local bar or drain down a glass of wine in a classic wine lounge. There is something for everyone in Lagos Nightlife, never a dull moment in this city.

4. Luxury hotels

Lagos has several hotels ranging from five star hotels to budget hotels. If your business partners, family or friends visit, you need not panic because there will always be a suitable hotel accommodation for them that will suit their class and taste.

5. Keep up-to-date with your favourite tech brand at Computer Village

Photo Source: Naijamakit

Lagos with its numerous industries, 2 Seaports and an International Airport which serves as a  gateway to Nigeria is the right location for Nigeria’s technology Market.  The Lagos technology markets located in computer Village and Alaba International market is the biggest in Africa. Electronics and computer accessories can easily be bought in these markets at a relatively cheap price as merchants from other cities come to these market to make purchase and go back to resell. Also hard to find accessories in other cities are readily available here.

6. Get cheap foods to live on 

High cost of house rent in Lagos has over hyped, however all is in agreement that food is cheap in Lagos. Agricultural produce from different parts of Nigeria are brought to Lagos, also all imported food into the country pass through Apapa Port in Lagos before heading to various destinations. So despite the city’s large population, food remains cheaper than in other Nigerian cities as the supply is higher than demand.

7. Explore the street shops for your domestic needs 

Lagos has been described as the city that never sleeps. When you are living in Lagos you could buy from the street shop at any time be it early morning or late night.  You will find Aboki with small kiosk selling a variety of household items by the street corner. You will also find pharmacy stores etc even by midnight.

8. Get entertained with Nollywood movies

Lagos is the home to Nigeria’s booming movie industry popularly known as Nollywood. The second biggest movie industry in the world after Hollywood;  residents of this city not only get to watch their favorite movie stars on TV, they also get to see them off TV. Going to see a movie in one of the cinemas is one way Lagosians spend their romantic weekend. And of course if you desire a career in the Nollywood, you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that Lagos is amazing city to live.

9. Lagos is the gateway to other West Africa countries

Thinking of crossing the border? Lagos has a land border to Benin Republic through which you can travel to many other West African countries like Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia etc by road. With free movement of personnel among West African countries, residence of Lagos transact their businesses across these countries with ease. Read more after the cut

Winter 2014 and Summer 2015 schedule changes

We have announced a number of changes to timings and frequencies on our network for Winter 14. Changes are effective in the selling system and the service start date is 26 October 2014 unless stated otherwise. Schedule changes took place in the 1st week of June on a large number of our LHR shorthaul flights for Winter 2014 with many timing and/or aircraft changes. Customers should receive an email message advising them of the timing or seat change. For customers affected by these changes, standard customer guidelines apply Winter 2014 schedule changes Summer 2015 schedule changes Frequency changes during Winter 14: For travel from 1 August 2014 until the end of the Summer season, we have made some frequency changes to our services: Kiev (IEV) - daily service, reduced from 12 per week Amsterdam (AMS) - 3 additional flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays Basel (BSL) - 1 additional service on Mondays Newcastle (NCL) - 1 additional flight on Thursdays More information

Operations - Disruption to/from London Heathrow Friday 10 October 2014

10 October, 2014
Operations - Disruption to/from London Heathrow Friday 10 October 2014
A number of our flights have been delayed or cancelled this morning due to operational difficulties. A combination of high winds, thunderstorms and lightening across the south east of England on Thursday 09 October has led to some knock-on delays as a result of short-haul crews and aircraft being out of position around Europe.

South Africa: Nigeria Talks Tough, Warns South Africa Over Seized U.S.$5.7 Million Arms Money

Nigeria responded with fury Monday after South African authorities confiscated a second tranche of funds meant for arms purchase to fight the extremist Boko Haram sect, denying the deal was unlawful and warning South Africa of its investment in Nigeria.

The warning came after the South African government seized US$5.7 million wired by the Nigerian government through a bank to an arms dealer in that country.

South Africa's Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority said the money, about N952 million, was the proceed of illegal transactions, according to local paper, City Press.

The seizure was the second in nearly three weeks, coming after authorities there froze $9.3 million transported in cash by two Nigerians and an Israeli for arms purchase. At the time, South Africa said the transaction violated its laws on movement of cash.

In a terse reaction to what appears a potential diplomatic spat between the two countries, the Nigerian government denied the second transaction was illegal and reminded South Africa of how Nigeria has provided a beneficial environment for South African companies like MTN, DSTV and a host of others to do business unhindered.

"It is our hope that South Africa would reciprocate this noble gesture," the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, said Monday, with a vow to eradicate Boko Haram regardless of the antics of "fifth columnists".

Mr. Dasuki, named by the South African newspaper as the official who signed off the first controversial deal, confirmed late Monday the second transaction occurred as reported but firmly denied it was conducted illegally.

"We want to state clearly that a business transaction actually took place between a legitimate company in Nigeria and another legitimate one in South Africa through the bank," said Mr. Dasuki through a spokesperson, Karounwi Adekunle.

"In the course of events, the South African company could not perform and decided to refund the money. What is illegitimate in this transaction done through the bank?" he queried.

Details of the latest transaction came more than two weeks after two Nigerians and an Israeli were arrested as they attempted to smuggle US$9.3 million through Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, on September 5 in a private jet from Abuja.

The money, stashed in three suitcases, raised suspicion when the passengers' luggage were unloaded and put through the scanners.

The National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, in South Africa said there was an invoice for helicopters and armaments intended to be used in Nigeria.

Nigeria set to raid ‘illegal’ ECOWAS immigrants

The Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, has urged citizens of the Economic Community of West African States living in Lagos to ensure that they have their relevant documents and remain law abiding.

The Comptroller, Mrs. Justina Ahmadu, said this during a meeting with leaders of citizens of ECOWAS countries living in the state, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The immigration boss noted that the service would soon embark on raids, but was only giving them notice so that those living in the country illegally could do the right thing.

She said people without valid documents should leave the country immediately and get such documents before returning. She added that those coming into the country must pass through official points of entry and not illegal routes as those without stamped passports would be deported.

“I am advising you all to tell your people to do the right thing by getting valid documents. We are giving you a grace period now before we start raiding and deporting people. Also, those living legally here should remain law abiding so that we can continue to live peacefully together,” she said.

Leaders of all ECOWAS countries (except Nigeria), were represented at the meeting. The leaders of Togo, Benin, Niger, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra-Leone, the Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso, promised to deliver the message to their people.

Richard Branson gives employees ‘unlimited’ vacation

Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Group came out to say last week that his employees can take as much holiday as they want.

Richard Branson with popular Nigerian comedian, Basketmouth

In his interview with CNN, the American billionaire says “Treat people as human beings, give them that flexibility and I don’t think they’ll abuse it. And they’ll get the job done.”

This “luxury” will apply to an estimated 160 staff at the offices in New York, London, Geneva and Sydney, and if the policy proves to be working, all other subsidiaries will then be encouraged to follow suit.

Branson apparently drew his inspiration from Netflix, (a video-rental company) which does not track its employees’ holidays and yet is still a successful player dominating its field.

Branson believes that Virgin staff will not abuse the new initiative, citing that they are only going to do it when they feel a hundred per cent comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business—or, for that matter, their careers.

Some management consultant are worried that with the doing away of monitoring and seeking approval for vacation, it might result in unintended pressure to take less time-off instead.

Treat Nigerians with respect, NCAA warns foreign carriers

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it will come down hard on foreign airline operators that disregard Nigerian air passengers.

Acting Director-General, NCAA, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka

The regulatory body also assured that steps are been taken to ensure that Nigerian passengers on domestic and international routes are treated “properly” and airlines who err will be dully punished.

The Acting Director of the agency, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka went on to say “foreign airlines act as though they are doing Nigerians a favour”.

He said, “The unfortunate thing is that these foreign airlines are not giving us the respect that we deserve. These airlines extort us with their fees and yet they treat us as if they are doing us a favour.

“What we are telling the foreign airlines is that they have to respect our culture. The NCAA is set to enforce a situation that the airlines should treat Nigerians like they will treat their own nationals. We are working seriously on this.

“I want to emphasise that American laws do not apply in Nigeria; we place emphasis on that. Those are the type of things that we say we are going to work with our airlines and educate them.” he added.

LAGOS - ABU DHABI Economy Class on QATAR Airway from only N123,782.26

From	To	Cabin	Purchase by	Travel period	Fares from
Lagos(LOS)	Abu Dhabi(AUH)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	755 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Dubai(DXB)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	782 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Kochi(COK)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,021 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Delhi(DEL)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,049 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Kuala Lumpur(KUL)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,108 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Bangkok(BKK)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,130 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Hong Kong(HKG)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,173 USD
Lagos(LOS)	Guangzhou(CAN)	Economy	30 Oct 2014	19 Sep 2014 30 Nov 2015	1,285 USD

YOU BOOK ONLINE AT WWW.LINKSANDTOURS.NET OR CALL OUR BOOKING PERSONAL ON 08034708980 OR 08086605697 & 08037588320 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

1.     Book between 19th September and 30th October, 2014

2.     Travel must commence between 19th September and 30th November 2015

3.     Minimum stay is 3 days

4.     Maximum stay is 3 months

5.     Seats are limited and subject to availability of the relevant booking class

6.     Fares of return tickets and include all applicable fees, taxes and airport charges. Services fee may apply

7.     Fares and taxes are subject to change without a prior notice

BOOK HERE

Kwara APC Secretary, Afolayan Is Dead

The secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, Prince Yemi Afolayan is dead.
Afolayan reportedly died on Friday after a brief illness.

The deceased had at various times served as political adviser to the state government chairman, Kwara House of Assembly committee on Information and the state secretary of the PDP before he joined his political leaders to defect to APC late last year.

The news of Afolayan’s demise was broken by the state publicity secretary of APC, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari.
Buhari’s statement reads: “It is with heavy heart of grief and loss that we announce the death of our general secretary, Prince Yemi Afolayan.

“Prince Yemi Afolayan passed away this morning after a brief illness. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the family.

“We empathise with his immediate family in this moment of grief and we urge them to find solace in the fact that Prince Yemi Afolayan lived an impacful life.

“He will be remembered for his unflinching loyalty to the APC, contribution to the development of Kwara State as a parliamentarian and his huge contribution to humanity and mankind.

“Indeed, Kwara State has lost a worthy son. We pray for the repose of his soul and we empathise with his entire family, all APC members and the people of Kwara State.”

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the PDP has commiserated with the APC over the death of Afolayan.
The party in a statement by its publicity secretary, Chief Rex Olawoye prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest.

Ebola: South African Lady Tests Negative- Minister

— Sep 12, 2014 | 

The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu,has refuted media reports  concerning an Ebola case of a South African woman who was said to have manifested the symptoms at the Murtala. Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Thursday.

He said through his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dan Nwomeh, that the South African woman has tested negative for the Ebola virus disease.

However, Chukwu added that she is still being investigated for other diseases but for Ebola, laboratory result is negative.

Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr  Rui Gama Vaz, has also debunked media reports on cautioning the federal and state governments against schools reopening, during his vist to the Lagos State Governor Raj Fashola.

A statement by the agecy’s communication officer, Ms Charity Wagnon, made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja, stated,  “At no time during the visit, did Dr. Vaz “caution the federal and state Governments against schools re-opening”, as erroneously reported in a section of the Media today, 12th September, 2014.”

However,  Dr. Vaz who met with the Governor of Lagos,  Fashola , has commended the prompt response and the enormous resources deployed to fight Ebola virus in the state.

The WR said that “understandably, the Ebola virus disease response requires coordinated effort from around the world, but ultimately, the success rests with the government of Nigeria and its multi-sectoral response”.

Dr. Vaz underscored that WHO staff will continue to provide the required technical expertise to surmount any eventuality.

He further explained that WHO and other partners will continue to work with the government to engage the media in Lagos to reinforce awareness creation on preventive measures.

He pointed out that wider dissemination of messages, especially with regards to high risk of traditional burial practices, mode of transmission and risk factors needs to be sustained and scaled-up.

Earlier, Dr. Vaz had visited  the Ebola Laboratory at LUTH, the Ebola isolation Center at the Infectious Disease Hospital and the Dangote Foundation.

Heritage Bank Wins Bid To Acquire Enterprise Bank

 — Sep 12, 2014 

Fifteen months after the bid for the sale of Enterprise Bank, formerly Spring Bank, the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced Heritage Banking Company Limited as the successful bidder for the bank.

Although the amount of the transaction was yet to be made known, AMCON in a statement made available last night announced Heritage Bank, former Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria, as the preferred bidder over Fidelity Bank and 22 other interested investors.
Heritage Bank bought the bank under its investment subsidiary, HBCL Investment Services Limited and would now acquire the entire issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of Enterprise Bank Limited, following the approval of the board of directors of AMCON.

However, the completion of the deal is subject to the execution of the share purchase agreement between AMCON and HISL and in e event that HISL cannot fulfill its side of the deal, Fidelity Bank as the reserve bidder would step in as the preferred bidder.

The statement by AMCON noted that the emergence of HISL and Fidelity Bank as the preferred and reserve bidders respectively resulted from a rigorous and competitive bidding process, coordinated by its financial and legal advisers, Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited and G. Elias & Co.

Enterprise Bank commenced operation in August, 2011, as a full-service commercial bank with a national banking license, after it was nationalized and acquired by AMCON.

The Bank operates via a sizeable distribution network of over 160 branches spread across major markets and commercial centres in Nigeria, and with over 177 ATMs, 57 Cash Centres and 2,000 POS terminals.

Travel and Tourism needs more attention from government: WTTC

Published on : Friday, September 12, 2014 Lack of recognition of the economic role of Travel & Tourism continues to hinder the sector’s growth potential and governments need to wake up and take action.

That is one of the messages from the CEO & President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) at the opening ceremony of WTTC’s 2014 Americas Summit in Peru.
In his opening speech at the regional Summit, being held in Lima (10-11 September), David Scowsill says bad decisions will continue to be made on visas, taxation and infrastructure development, unless government departments start recognising the importance of the sector and coordinate on policies.

Mr Scowsill says the case for giving Travel & Tourism more attention is unquestionable; “The financial contribution of our sector to the wellbeing of the global economy is both formidable and unarguable. The growth of our industry outstrips the growth of global GDP year after year. Yet governments continue to ignore this”.

Travel & Tourism in the Americas:
· contributes US$2.1 trillion to GDP, supporting over 40 million jobs.
· accounts for 6.8 per cent of exports and 4.9 percent of investment and is worth US$238 billion
· is forecast to grow by 3.7 per cent per year over the next decade, creating 11 million new jobs.
· directly employs three times more people than manufacturing, three times more people than the communications sector and higher education and 30% more than financial services.

Mr Scowsill says that the outlook for the Americas is seen clearly by many of today’s global business leaders to have enormous potential; “The region embraces the world’s largest Travel & Tourism economy, namely the USA. It gives us the most tourism dependent market of the Caribbean. It contains some of the world’s most exciting growth opportunities here in Latin America”.

The first Americas Regional Summit took place in Riviera Maya in Mexico in 2012. The joint declaration from the private and public sectors was taken by President Calderon of Mexico to the G20 meeting in Los Cabos, where he called upon the leaders to focus on the issue of visas and travel facilitation. He personally wrote to all of the heads of state to seek their support for the industry.

Mr Scowsill says that President Humala was one of the first Latin American leaders to receive the Open
 Letter from UNWTO and WTTC, joining the Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign; “At that occasion in 2012, he spoke passionately about the impact of tourism on the village of Cora Cora in Ayacucho, where he used to vacation as a young boy. He spoke of his desire to support this industry as a key pillar for Peru’s future economic development. 63 heads of state have joined this campaign over the past 3 years, including in June this year President Michelle Bachelet of Chile”.

However, he says the Travel & Tourism sector cannot find solutions on its own; “Whether partnership is between government and business; investors and beneficiaries; industry and environment; or technology and service providers; I firmly believe that partnership is key to everything we need to achieve”.

More than 300 Travel & Tourism leaders and government ministers, top executives from the public and private sectors, NGOs, opinion-formers from academia and the media have come together in Lima. Over the course of a day and a half, through a series of keynotes, panel sessions and interviews, they will discuss the most pressing questions facing Travel & Tourism in the Americas and to identify what needs to be done to ensure the long term sustainable future of the sector.

The Summit is called ‘Facing challenges, Finding Opportunities’. The sessions include ‘Governments and business: partnership and progress’; Financing for the future: strategies for investment’; ‘Appreciating the asset: the value of cultural heritage’ and ‘Sustainability: Leading by Example’.

Air France-KLM will unveil its new Perform 2020 strategic plan

Published on : Friday, September 12, 2014

Perform 2020 is the successor to Transform 2015, which represented the first phase in the Group’s turnaround. While maintaining the imperatives of competitiveness and the ongoing strengthening of the Group’s financial position, this growth plan will focus on the following three strategic areas:

• Selective development to increase exposure to growth markets
• A product and services upgrade targeting the highest international level
• An ongoing improvement in competitiveness and efficiency within the framework of strict financial discipline Air France-KLM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
  

Alexandre de Juniac, made the following comments:

“Transform 2015 will be completed by the year end having fully delivered on its objective of significantly improving the Group’s competitiveness and delivering a €1 billion-plus reduction in costs.

Perform 2020, the strategic plan we are launching today, will be supported by two main levers: growth, which we are looking to capture in a number of areas, and competitiveness combined with financial discipline which should continue to ensure firm foundations for the development of Air France-KLM.

This is why the ambitious initiatives we are launching today will go hand in hand with redoubled efforts to reduce costs and restructure activities which remain loss-making. By 2020, we will have built an air transport Group focused on a leading long-haul network at the heart of global alliances, with a portfolio of unique brands, restructured short and medium-haul operations with a reinforced presence in the low cost segment in Europe, leadership positions in cargo, maintenance and catering, and a significantly improved risk profile both operationally and financially.”

Dubai plans to build the world’s biggest airport

Dubai’s ruler has endorsed a $32 billion expansion plan for the city’s second airport that aims to make it the world’s biggest, the emirate’s airport operator said Monday in the latest sign that the Middle East’s brash commercial hub is determined to move on from its 2009 financial crisis.

The approval sets in motion a vast building project that will boost capacity exponentially at the airport known as Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central. Backers envision it will eventually handle more than 200 million passengers per year.

The first phase of the expansion alone aims to build enough runway and terminal space to handle 120 million passengers a year and 100 mammoth Airbus A380 double-decker jets at any given time.

The world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, handled 94.4 million people last year.

Paul Griffiths, chief executive of state-backed airport operator Dubai Airports, said he aims to have the first phase of the expansion complete in six to eight years. That part of the project includes adding two new runways and two large concourses housing dozens of aircraft gates each.

“It’s a very aggressive time scale … but I think that we have a track record here of doing remarkable things in a remarkably challenging time frame,” Griffiths said in his office at the city’s main airport, Dubai International.

As later phases are completed, the new airport will eventually boast five parallel runways spaced far enough apart so they can all be used at the same time, and have enough gates for hundreds of wide-body planes.

Dubai World Central opened for cargo flights in 2010 with a single runway in the desert south of central Dubai. It received its first passengers in October at a single terminal that is mainly used by smaller airlines and low-cost carriers.

The currently larger Dubai International ranked as the world’s seventh busiest airport last year, handling 66.4 million passengers. It too is being expanded, with a new concourse expected to open next year.

Griffiths says Dubai needs to expand to keep pace with the rapid growth of airline traffic into the emirate. Much of the increase comes from hometown airline Emirates, the region’s largest carrier and the world’s biggest user of both the A380 and Boeing 777 long-haul jets.

Emirates is expected to move itshub to the new airport shortly after the first expansion phase is complete, freeing up space in the older airport for the well over 100 other airlines that already operate from it.

Griffiths is confident Dubai will be able to generate the funding needed to complete the project given the importance of aviation to Dubai’s economy. Officials say the industry contributes $22 billion annually to the local economy and supports some 250,000 jobs.

“The aviation sector has demonstrated that there is a very compelling economic case to suggest creation of further capacity is a very sensible thing to do,” Griffiths said. “I’m sure that the government will come up with the appropriate funding to make the project a reality.”

Dubai is still recovering from the effects of its financial crisis, which sent property prices plunging and forced it to accept a multibillion-dollar bailout from neighboring Abu Dhabi.

The local economy has bounced back strongly since, though Dubai and its state-linked companies still carry tens of billions of dollars in debt. The International Monetary Fund has warned of the possibility of another property bubble forming, and analysts question how Dubai can make good on the debt it still owes.

“There are still plenty of reasons to think that the emirate’s debt problems are far from over,” Jason Tuvey, an analyst at London-based Capital Economics, wrote in a research note last week.

That has not stopped officials from announcing plans for headline-grabbing projects reminiscent of the pre-crisis boom.

On Sunday, a property development company controlled by Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum laid out plans for a $2.7 billion theme park and resort complex near the new airport and the site of the World Expo that Dubai is due to host in 2020.

The expansion of the new airport is unlikely to be ready by the time the Expo kicks off, Griffiths said

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FAAN introduces airport shuttle

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria in partnership with Skyplus Contract and Logistics Plc have introduced Inter Airport Terminal Shuttle to reduce the problem being faced by passengers moving within the airport


In a statement by FAAN on Tuesday, four new Inter Airport Terminal Shuttle buses were unveiled to make travelers more comfortable within the Murtala Muhammed Airport.

FAAN’s General Manager, Commercial, Mr. Tayo Adewakun, during the inauguration of the shuttle buses said the effort was geared towards enhancing passenger’s security, comfort and the image of the country.
He said, “There has been a vacuum which FAAN identified in the past years between the international and local airport terminals in terms of passenger’s movement.

“This, therefore, informed the need to bring about these airport shuttle buses, which are designed to provide efficient system that will help to solve transportation challenges within the airport.”

Adewakun disclosed further that the bus would pick passengers from Departure Terminal 1 and drop them at MM2 and the international airport wing, without stopping on the road.

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Emirates innovates with inflight entertainment for the visually impaired

For the first time in the history of air travels, Emirates Airline has now introduced Audio Description on movies for visually impaired customers on its in-flight entertainment system, information, communication and entertainment (ICE) Digital Widescreen.

By this arrangement, visually impaired persons from Nigeria travelling to Dubai or any part of the world on Emirates Airline will henceforth enjoy great moment of entertainment on board.

Emirates’ ICE, which  was recently awarded the ‘World’s Best Airline In-flight Entertainment’ award at the SKYTRAX World Airline Awards for the 10th consecutive year, now offers Audio Description soundtracks on 16 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films, including Frozen, Saving Mr. Banks, Cars 2, Monsters University, Marvel’s The Avengers, Toy Story 3 and all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Audio Description, increasingly common in cinemas and TV, is a recorded narration explaining the scene during the gaps in dialogue, while the film soundtrack continues at its normal pace.

“Our focus is not just the depth and diversity of our on-board entertainment, but also relevance. Making entertainment accessible to our diverse customers is very important to us. It was our motivation to introduce movies that can be enjoyed by customers with visual difficulties. Our greatest satisfaction comes from delivering an exceptional customer experience, which we hope our constant innovation fulfils. In future, we want to add more content with Audio Description, so visually impaired passengers can be entertained with an even wider choice of contents when flying with us,” said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Vice President, Corporate Communications Product, Publishing, Digital & Events.

Emirates’ award-winning ice Digital Widescreen offers a staggering choice of over 1,800 channels of entertainment, including over 400 movies from around the world, hundreds of hours of TV and thousands of hours of music from contemporary to classical.

 

In 2007, Emirates also worked with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to introduce Closed Captions, the technology used by the hard of hearing, for the first time in in-flight entertainment. It also involves showing the actors’ dialogues in subtitles and references to sound effects used in the movie.

According to her, the ICE Digital Widescreen this month will offer over 50 movies with Closed Captions.

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Traveling With Nigerian Food Items: What You Need to Know

When it comes to bringing items through airport checkpoints, we have seen just about anything. Traveling with food items is even a bigger challenge.

Nigerians are lovers of “good food” and everyone has favourite foods from their towns and villages that they want to take abroad before acclimatising, or items from their destination that they want to bring back home.

However, there are certain standard items that are not allowed on commercial carriers globally. This is for the safety of air passengers, crew members and other creatures on the ground, should anything go wrong.

Regulations for carry-on items and checked baggage vary depending on the item and whether it is brought into the cabin or checked in as luggage.

Passengers must realise that it is better to confirm if in doubt with the carrier in advance than to get to the airport with items that need to be re-arranged as check-in or cannot be transported at all.

Travelling by air can be stressful at times. As you plan to pay baggage fees and try to fit enough belongings into your luggage, you also need to make sure the items you pack are not prohibited on flights

These are some suggested Q & As that we think should be able to guide you:

Q. Are liquids and gels permitted in my checked baggage?

 A. Yes. The liquid/gel restrictions only apply to carry-on baggage.

Q. May I bring liquids and gels in my carry-on?

A. Yes, but only in limited amounts. Liquids and gels must be in individual containers of 3.4 ounces (100 millilitres) or less and placed inside one clear, quart-size, plastic, zip-top bag.  Containers should fit comfortably into your bag, and only one bag is permitted per passenger. If you need to bring more than 3.4 ounces of any liquid or gel substance, it should go into your checked luggage or be shipped ahead.

Q. May I pour shampoo and other liquids or gels into unmarked, travel-size containers?

Yes.

Q. What are the rules for makeup?

A. Makeup is subject to the same liquid and gel rules as all other substances — so if you’re bringing liquid mascara, lip gels or other liquid- or gel-like items, they will need to be placed in your quart-size plastic bag in 3.4-ounce or smaller containers. Lipstick, powders, solid lip balms and other solid beauty products are not subject to the rules, and may be carried in your hand luggage without restriction.

Q. What food items are allowed for passengers leaving Nigerian Int’l airports?

A. Meat, dairy and other animal products are not allowed into the EU countries from countries outside of the EU. Moreover, meat are very cheap in Europe, you really don’t need to bring them.

Q. Are these food items permitted?

Egusi, ogbonor, Local Crayfish, Okporoko, Mangara, Dried fish, Ukazi, Oha, Ugwu ,Kuli Kuli, Fufu, Groundnut Oil, Palm Oil, Egusi, Garri, Pepper – soup condiments, Beans, Atanla (red hot chilli pepper) and many more

A.  Yes

• Make sure your Egusi is well blended dried and well wrapped.
• Traveling to the US? Do not travel with wet food items. Usually, wet food stuff can contain organisms not native to the US. Chicken is prohibited because of Bird Flu and beef because of Mad Cow disease.
• Palm oil is allowed but only in small quantity and should be in branded packages if possible.
• Dried/smoked fish should properly wrapped also in order to avoid unpleasant odours

Even though some food items are permitted in the countries you are visiting, some overzealous Nigerian customs officers would not allow you travel with some items except you part with some money.

Note: What you can carry depends on the country you are traveling to, but you will still have to declare all food items you are carrying regardless of country anyway.

 What has been your experience when traveling with food items, use the comment box below to share.

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