The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn has informed air carrier Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG that it has no objections to the acquisition of shares by Turkish company ESAS Holding A.S., which had acquired about 15 percent of voting stock of Air Berlin PLC in late March of this year. ESAS Holding, which also operates the airline Pegasus, will now be represented on the board of Air Berlin PLC by a non-executive director.

All travel to Mexico City discontinued for the time being; free rebookings for entire Mexico program

TUI, Germany’s leading tour operator, has decided to discontinue all travel to Mexico City up to and including May 4th as a response to the outbreak of the swine flu in Mexico. The Mexican metropolis will no longer be included in round tours in the following weeks, either. This regulation holds for all tour operators under the German TUI group who offer trips to Mexico in their catalogs.

Vietnam’s long journey from a curiosity to a viable, upscale destination passed another critical milestone recently when the Princess d’Annam Resort & Spa opened on this pristine stretch of the South China Sea 150 kilometers from Saigon.

The Princess d’Annam joins a select few properties in Vietnam that woo guests who pay four-figure room nights as a matter of course, makes a bold design statement with its architecture and trades on a stunning oceanfront location.

Season highlight: Motor ship “Antares” to be launched on May 9, 2009.
Special offers: Children up to age 12 travel for free when accompanied by their parents. Also, tourists will be able to claim 10% rebates in over 60 restaurants between Lago Maggiore and the valleys of Ossola when showing their ship tickets.

In the debriefing following the ITB Berlin, the editors of Tourism-Insider realized that among the various titles and prizes awarded, one is still missing: an award for a hotel that boasts the greatest variety of offers, coupled with exceptional cordiality and excellent service.
Thus, the publishers and editorship of Tourism-Insider have decided to arrange a competition and to sponsor an award.

AIME 2008, the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, has won the national title of Exhibition of the Year at the prestigious Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) industry awards. The award was presented at the MEA National Conference.

AIME is an annual event established and owned by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE).