Kuoni Travel announce increase in Maldives bookings despite the credit crunch

Kuoni Travel has announced that the first six months of 2008 saw a 28% rise in the number of people enjoying luxury holidays in the Maldives, compared to the same time period in 2007, despite the UK presently suffering under the strain of a credit crunch.

The popularity of Maldives holidays continues to grow, with these luxury holidays seemingly unaffected by the UK’s changing financial landscape. Kuoni Travel’s recent developments to improve the usability of their website, most notably the addition of a wide choice of video guides, have no doubt helped maintain the Maldives’ status as their most successful destination.

Indeed, Kuoni travel videos have helped many holiday makers gain an insight into several of the top destinations around the world, not just the Maldives, helping travellers to get to know their chosen destination before setting foot on a plane.

"The Maldives is one of the destinations which have not been affected by the current economic climate,” commented Kuoni’s eBusiness Director, Matt Rooke. “In fact, with it’s ‘no-news’ tranquillity and natural beauty, it is the ideal destination to escape from press coverage of the economy"

The Maldives videos available online from Kuoni have certainly helped encourage a number of people to visit this tropical haven, with footage of beautiful sandy beaches giving way to sparkling, blue sea, with a host of tropical fish and stunning coral lurking beneath the waves.

“The videos not only highlight the stunning scenery of the Maldives, but also provide potential travellers with a fantastic tool to review the wide choice of hotels available on the different islands,” said Rooke. “From indulgent, luxury resorts such as Baros, to the more modest, but no less beautiful, resort of Kuramathi Cottage & Spa we offer a wide choice of Maldives hotels and are confident that the videos help our customers to find the one that’s perfect for their personal holiday needs".

About Kuoni Travel
With more than 100 years of expertise, Kuoni is honoured to be regularly voted as the industry’s long haul experts. Clients can choose from a selection of more than 25 superb brochures, showcasing thousands of luxury holidays to hundreds of exotic destinations on six continents, and covering every holiday interest from relaxing beach getaways to escorted cultural tours, overseas weddings to wildlife safaris.

Source: webwire.com

Indian Ocean cracks down on illegal fishing

Satellite, radar and port inspections will be used to crack down on illegal fishing in the Indian Ocean, where tuna catches have reached the maximum sustainable limits, a regional fishing official said.

Estimated to be about 10 to 15 percent of the region's total catch, illegal and unreported fishing disrupts the tuna trade, worth tens of millions of dollars every year.

Navies in the region, often consisting of just one or two patrol vessels, struggle to intercept the hundreds of small boats, mainly from Taiwan and Indonesia, which spread out across the enormous ocean to catch the precious tuna.

"The main problem with IUU (illegal, unregulated, and unreported) fishing in terms of tuna stocks is ... the fact that we simply don't know how much fish is being taken," said David Ardill, from the inter-governmental Indian Ocean Commission.

"It seems to be a steadily increasing problem in this part of the ocean," Ardill told Reuters, referring to the south west Indian Ocean, the waters around Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Reunion, countries which make up the commission.

Small-scale fishing accounts for about half the tuna caught in the ocean, the second largest fishery after the Pacific.

Port inspections will play an increasingly major role in the crackdown, with authorities checking boats, documents and even cargoes, said Ardill, who manages a pilot project to monitor tuna fisheries.

Some 800 vessels were inspected last year in Mauritius' Port Louis, he said, adding that European moves to ensure the traceability of fish products back to approved and legal sources will make illegal fishing even harder.

Authorities in the region are also looking into the use of radar, and satellite pictures from the European Space agency, to check for unregistered fishing boats.

Enforcement is likely to remain problematic, with tiny navies covering enormous areas. But in the past year, French and Mauritian boats have caught illegal boats in Seychellois and Mauritian waters, he said.

"Essentially, the management advice is to limit fishing at current levels or to bring it back to (the levels of) 2 or 3 years back," Ardill said.

Indonesia, Iran, France, Spain, and Maldives catch the most tuna, but Taiwan catches by far the highest value, he said.

Albacore, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna are being fished to the maximum sustainable limit, officials say, but Ardill said tuna stocks may benefit from rising fuel prices.

"I understand that Taiwan has taken something like 130 vessels out of the Indian Ocean, and Japan has done more or less the same sort of thing," Ardill said.

Source: Reuters

Damen cutter suction dredger for the Maldives

Damen in The Netherlands reports that a Damen CSD250 cutter suction dredger has been delivered to the Maldives.

The population of the Maldives not only earns its living from the tourist industry, but also in fishing. There are many small fishing harbours, which need periodic maintenance.

The DAMEN CSD250 cutter suction dredger consists of a main pontoon, two side pontoons and the cutter ladder. It can be shipped in two 40ft containers.

The dredger works at a maximum dredging depth of 6m, using its 40kW 'pick point' cutterhead. The dredge pump, a type BP2320, is equipped with a mechanical shaft seal and wear resistant cast parts. The dredge pump mixture capacity is some 1,000m3/h.

The dredger is powered by a 254 kW Caterpillar engine, a type C12 TA. The dredger, made for one-man operation, has a spacious operating cabin with extended rooftop and tinted sloping windows for minimal sun reflection and good view on the deck equipment.

The owner of the dredger, the Department of Public Works of the Maldives, already owns a number of dredgers. These larger dredgers have been used to create the various fishing harbours on the many islands in the Maldives.

The CSD250 is currently being shipped, together with two 40ft containers with floating HDPE and flexible floating pipelines.

As soon as the containers have arrived, Damen's service engineer will travel to the Maldives to assemble the dredger and to train the crew.

Source: sandandgravel.com

SriLankan Airlines is to run non-stop flights between the UK and the Maldives this winter

SriLankan Airlines is to run non-stop flights between the UK and the Maldives this winter

The airline will operate twice weekly from Heathrow to Male starting on October 26 with a flying time of 11 hours and 15 minutes.

The carrier’s UK and Ireland manager Chanaka Olagama said: “We recognise the need to introduce this non-stop service for such a popular holiday destination.

“Customers’ needs are our priority and we believe that this new direct service will provide a time-effective way to travel in style and comfort to their paradise location.”

Source: travelmole.com

Wataniya Telecom Maldives Selects Harris Stratex for Network Expansion

Wataniya Telecom Maldives has selected Harris Stratex Networks, a supplier of turnkey wireless transmission and network assurance solutions, to upgrade its core transmission network to provide multiple SDH trunks across Maldives.

As part of the contract, Harris Stratex Networks will supply the new TRuepoint 6500 ultra-high capacity, carrier-class all-indoor radio, together with network consulting and turnkey services, taking responsibility for the complete upgrade of the network.

Raj Kumar, vice president of Asia Pacific sales and services at Harris Stratex Networks, said: "Wataniya Telecom Maldives has our total commitment. We understand their requirements and appreciate the need for a robust high-capacity core network and that's why we are supplying our new TRuepoint 6500 products, together with our experienced service offerings."

Source: redorbit.com