Air traffic controllers in Portugal will stage a series of new partial strikes beginning next week.
The controllers will stop working for two four-hour periods each day beginning on June 29 until July 3. Previous such strikes in April and May severely disrupted air traffic, with hundreds of flights affected.
In addition, pilots working for the state TAP ( Air Portugal) company that is due to be privatised before the end of the year as part of an international bailout, will not fly between July 5-8 and August 1-5.
The InterContinental Vienna has announced a new meetings pacakge, for events hosted by 15 August 2012. All participants will receive free Internet access, upgraded coffee breaks to an “insider break”, plus 1 classic room and 1 day delegate package for free for every 25 paying participants.
The Summer Garden in St Petersburg is re-opening after 2 years of reconstruction. One of the symbols of the city and the most beautiful park with XVIII century sculptures, fountains, ponds and pavilions is the perfect place for an incentive program in the open air in summer or autumn.
Marriott International, Inc. has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Gaylord Entertainment Company to acquire the Gaylord brand and hotel management company for $210 million. If approved, Gaylord will continue to own the existing Gaylord hotels and Marriott will assume management of these properties under long-term agreements. The transaction will add 4 hotels and approximately 7,800 rooms to Marriott’s portfolio.
The statistics on international congresses in 2011 just published by the Union of International Associations (UIA) once again – like the year before – rank Vienna in fourth place worldwide.
The first four places in the UIA 2011 statistics remained unchanged compared to 2010: the table was once again headed by Singapore, which achieved 919 international congresses according to the UIA criteria, followed by Brussels (464), Paris (336) and Vienna (286). The other cities in the top ten were Seoul, Budapest, Tokyo, Barcelona, Berlin and Geneva. In the countries ranking, where the USA (744) pushed Singapore into second place last year, Austria moved up from tenth place in 2010 to eighth place. Almost three quarters (74%) of the 390 international congress events recorded for Austria were held in Vienna.
Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau, made the following comment on this ranking: “The competition for international congresses is getting stiffer from year to year, with more and more destinations entering the race. But Vienna has demonstrated consistency here. This is demonstrated no only by its ability to retain fourth place in the UIA ranking and first place in the statistics of the International Congress and Convention Association – which uses another method of counting international congresses – but also by the fact that Vienna has already occupied a leading position in both rankings for decades now.”
Senate House – which is part of the University of London – is launching a choice of four ‘Alfresco Summer’ packages within its Malet Street Garden. Packages available include the ‘Sizzler’ incorporating a barbecue selection or hog roast, an ‘English Summer’ offering guests afternoon tea with strawberries and ‘Picnic on the Lawn’ consisting of individually served picnic lunches. Throughout the summer the venue will be opening up its gardens for groups to enjoy alfresco networking. Senate House ‘Alfresco Summer’ package prices range from £16 to £40 plus VAT per person.
fDi Magazine’s ranking list European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/13 awards Greater Stockholm Region as Overall Winner in Europe for FDI.Stockholm is also Overall Winner for Quality of Life. The region is second in Business Friendliness and third in Economic Potential.
The City of Stockholm is second in the category Quality of Life after Paris ahead of Copenhagen and London.
– This is great news and proves that the Stockholm region is seen as strong and competitive, says Mayor of Stockholm Sten Nordin.
“In a more competitive climate than ever, with total foreign direct investment in Europe falling by more than 7% in 2011, London has maintained its title as fDi Magazine’s European City of the Future 2012/13, while the Greater Stockholm Region has overtaken the South-East UK to become the European Region of the Future 2012/13”.
The price will be received by Mayor Sten Nordin in an award ceremony during MIPIM in Cannes in early March.
fDi Cities and Regions of the Future were created from an independent collection of data by fDi Benchmark across 253 European Cities and 110 European regions. This information was set under seven categories: economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness and FDI promotion strategy.
VisitSweden has teamed up with Meetings & Incentive Travel Magazine for a unique opportunity to get to know what Sweden has to offer as an M&I destination. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet suppliers representing the length of Sweden – from quaint Malmö in the south, to Swedish Lapland in the far north. Together they offer top quality M&I experiences in spectacular settings.
The event is at High Gate House in Northampton, and will be attended by our very own Collette Bent, the Destination Champion for Stockholm.
Sail Royal Greenwich is capitalising on the maritime cultural history of Greenwich by bringing a flotilla of 15 tall ships from the Netherlands for corporate hospitality cruises during the 2012 Olympics. The daily excursions along the Thames will run from July 25 to August 12, with opportunities for corporate branding outside the LOCOG event zone restrictions. Starting at Woolwich Arsenal Pier, the cruise will pass sights including the Old Royal Naval College, the Royal Observatory, several Olympic venues and the iconic Tower Bridge. At around £200 per person for groups ranging in size from 10 people to 135, it includes parking, the sailing trip, plus drinks and a menu devised by renowned Michelin chefs Richard Corrigan and Ron Blaauw.
Carlton House Terrace – The home of the British Academy – has just completed a million pound refurbishment that has taken over two years to complete. The central London venue is made up of two separate houses and event organisers now have the ability to use both seamlessly as they have been interconnected on each floor. In addition to a full restoration, the historic venue also benefits from three new lifts, new loos, a new kitchen, the latest AV in the auditorium and environmentally friendly lighting. It is also now fully DDA compliant.
