Dateline Monday 6th November 2023

Happy Monday I hope all is well with you and yours.

We are well into the grips of Autum, leaves are everywhere mostly on the ground and not on the trees, a few more storms like the one we had last week, Storm Kieran and that will be that for leaves until March 2024

World Travel Market at Ex Cel East London this week, I will be there today seeing a few DMCs that operate in the Leisure market as well as excelling at conferences and incentives.

Let’s have a recap. Halloween done √ Guy Fawkes Night aka fireworks night sorted√, Diwali next Sunday then downhill pretty much all the way to the winter holiday beginning with C that I will not intone until Monday 4th December.

I always like to find out about various festivals and Diwali is no exception. Google has told me that Diwali is the biggest Hindu festival, it is a festival of lights and fireworks which this year will be on Sunday,

12th November. Every window and street is lit up at this time of year, showing the rest of the world the splendour of Diwali. Homes dispel the darkness by illuminating each other with lanterns, clay lamps and fairy lights. Every region of India has its own Diwali rituals, as the country is a melting pot of cultures with a wide range of beliefs and traditions. Diwali, is all about the day on which Lord Rama, his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and Hanuman returned to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana, the festival is celebrated mainly in northern India. People light clay pots called diyas on the night of Diwali, as the time of their return was Amavasya, a moonless night. South Indians, on the other hand, celebrate the occasion as the day when Lord Krishna defeated the monster Narakasura. It is also believed that Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi were married on this day.

As well as telling you about Diwali I have to simply have to tell you that today is NATIONAL NACHOS Day p l e a s e! give me a break. Maybe next week it should be national M&Ms day why on earth not.

Sadly the tragic situation still continues in Gaza and Israel both side spinning their stories via National news networks and social media I said last week “the first casualty of war is The Truth” and this conflict is probably worse than all of them put together. Interesting that of all the recent wars and wars still going on none have garnered so many worldwide protests and demands for a cease fire. Where are the protesters clamouring for a cease fire in Yemen’s civil war when the Houthis seized control of Sana’a, Syria’s civil war, what about Afghans v The Taliban, Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine not forgetting Myanmar. The problem with a ceasefire is that it means that the situation at that moment the cease fire starts remains the de facto situation and whilst 248 innocent Israeli civilians, old people adults, teenagers, children and babies remain held hostage by the terrorist group Hamas in underground prisons there can be no ceasefire.

Antony Blinken United States Secretary of State has been racking up the Air Miles zig zagging the Middle East and is now in Ankara Turkey. Nothing will happen till the hostages are released, I recon Mr Blinken is running around the Middle East trying to keep the lid on this War and to stopping it spreading although seems like the border Israel shares with Lebanon is heating up, not a good sign.

It is true to say that if Israel wanted to and it has the capacity to do this, Israel could turn Gaza into a car park. Israel just wants a peaceful co-existence with its neighbours, sadly it is not the same the other way round, although Egypt and Jordan has made peace with Israel both countries share borders with Israel and they peacefully and co-exist.

Some good news the loneliest sheep in the UK has been recused from it desolate home in the Scottish Highlands and reunited with its sheep pals, ahhh, bless

Max Verstappen wins the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton came 8th I guess Lewis had a great run it had to end sometime

That’s it you are up to date from a David point of view.

MM and Company news update

‌

Dubai

Jyoti, Candy, Christine, Joshua and the team at TRAVO DMC Dubai Abu Dhabi and Oman have told us about a new hotel opening, the new The Lana, Dubai is due to be open in 2024. The Lana is a Dorchester Collection hotel, a terrific addition to the awesome inventory of hotels in Dubai, we are told the hotel will open sometime in 2024 probably second quarter. So here is the plan if you are looking for a hotel reservation in a five-star deluxe hotel and for some reason have been unable to find space for mid to late 2024 give Jyoti, Candy, Christine, Joshua and the team at TRAVO DMC Dubai Abu Dhabi and Oman a call they know when the Lana Hotel Dubai reservation team will start taking bookings.

Frankfurt Germany

Eva and the tam at Cornerstone Meetings DMC Frankfurt airport has installed biometric systems across all terminals, with facial recognition technology now available for all airline passengers at the German hub. The move follows biometric trials by Lufthansa and will allow travellers to pass through each stage of the airport journey – from check-in, through to security and boarding by simply scanning their face.

Eva says that according to the airport, travellers can register in advance through the Star Alliance biometric app or directly at the check-in kiosk with biometrics-enabled passports. The registration process takes “a few seconds”, after which point travellers can pass through facial recognition-equipped checkpoints without showing any physical documents.

Greece

Nassos and the team at AME DMC Greece have told us that Rosewood Hotels & Resorts announced its entrance into Greece with the introduction of Rosewood Blue Palace. A reincarnation of a beloved resort, Crete’s distinguished Blue Palace will reopen as part of the Rosewood portfolio in 2025 following a full renovation of the famous hotel. Crete is an awesome Greek Island crystal-clear waters and breathtaking mountains. The Rosewood Blue Palace is located between the small fishing village of Plaka and the elegant port of Elounda, the resort will have 154 rooms and suites, 85 of which will have private pools

IBTM Barcelona November 2023

So far the DMCs that MM and Company represent have told us that they will be in Barcelona are :-

Dubai and Abu Dhabi Candy Lobo Manager – MICE and Groups Travco DMC will be on the Abu Dhabi Stand. L60

Malta Doug and Erika Directors of Mi Malta DMC will be on the Malta Stand Number D45

Mauritius Stephane Louise Director of Hello Islands DMC Mauritius will be on the Euromic stand N58

Morocco Lina El Fassi El Fihry General Manager Visit Morocco & A Sweet Spot Events DMC will be on the Moroccan tourism Office stand, L65

Oman Manish Gupta Senior Manager- Groups, MICE & Cruises from the TRAVCO DMC Oman office will be at IBTM