Latest news with #tourisme
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
French lessons offered as ferry visitors to Guernsey surge
French taster sessions have been put on for businesses by the States as the number of people arriving from St Malo was a 121% increase in passengers arriving into the island from the French port last month compared to June 2024 – an uplift of around 2,900 and May also saw strong improvements on 2024 levels, up 60% and 73% Ferries said its new schedule for France, along with efforts to improve the promotion of the island, have led to the "very positive" figures. 'Really thrilled' "What is particularly positive is that many of these visitors are choosing to stay overnight, providing a real boost to our hospitality and tourism sectors," it States of Guernsey and The Guernsey Institute had been providing free French language lessons for hospitality and tourism businesses in Le Prevost, a French teacher from the Institute said the courses started last week and had been well received by attendees."We did a course specialized for the industry, so that means for retail, hospitality and transport, and it has been very successful so far," she said."What we did is to start with the greetings of course, understanding how to be formal, informal, and also being familiar with numbers, which is really important for the hospitality or retail businesses."And directions, because the French tourists would like to go to the Victor Hugo House or know how to get to the bus station."They were actually really thrilled to be able at least to say a few words French and to be able to give a good service." Debraj Chakrabarti, Reception Manager at the Pandora Hotel who attended one of the sessions, said it was useful to make the growing number of French tourists feel said: "Lots of French people who doesn't understand or speak English, they're going to be more comfortable with the journey and the memory of our island."Not only French people are coming, now we are getting tourists from the US, Germany, Netherlands, Dutch and Australia as well and they are very much interested in Victor Hugo and also the history of the island." Christine Bonhomme, Director of Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche which promoted the Channel Islands in those regions, said the courses would make the island more attractive to visitors."Visit Guernsey has taken a great initiative by offering French lessons to hospitality staff and we are certain this will be most welcomed by French visitors," she said.
Reuters
29-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Heavy floods threaten Romania's Praid salt mine, a tourism magnet
PRAID, Romania, May 29 (Reuters) - Severe floods in Romania are threatening to destroy the Praid salt mine, one of Europe's largest salt reserves which attracts half a million tourists each year with its spectacular galleries housing an adventure park and chapel carved in salt. Authorities have shut down the mine as the worst floods in 30 years in the central Romanian county of Harghita have swollen a nearby stream, further flooding part of the mine. The floods are threatening to destroy the livelihood of people in the town of Praid who have relied on tourism centred around the salt mine for decades, local authority officials said. "A problem with the salt mine can have catastrophic consequences for the entire region," said Csongor Zsombori, head accountant at the Praid branch of the state-controlled National Salt Company S.A. which partly owns the mine. While part of the mine has been producing salt, with an annual production capacity of around 70,000-100,000 metric tons, its huge galleries which also house a medical centre, receive tourists, including for medical treatment for respiratory diseases. Laszlo Nyagrus, mayor of Praid, said the miners have removed their equipment and machines and were working to preserve another part of the mine which has not been open to visitors so far. "They are trying to save this area, these galleries, by building so-called sluices and dams to protect it, so that at least this part ... will not be damaged," he said. "We need to look at what can be done very quickly in the tourism sector, what opportunities can be explored or should be explored, so that we can retain as many tourists as possible in Praid."
Zawya
07-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Morocco begins tendering process to expand Casablanca airport
Morocco issued on Wednesday two expressions of interest to identify bidders for its plan to build a new terminal that will increase capacity at its largest airport in Casablanca by 20 million passengers. Casablanca airport's expansion is part of a push to double Morocco's overall airport capacity to 78 million to meet increasing traffic in the run-up to the soccer World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal. The terminal is expected to be ready in 2029 at a cost of $1.6 billion, airports authority ONDA said in a statement. The new terminal will serve as an international hub and will be served by a high-speed train network connecting the airport to the key cities of Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech. Morocco reported a record 17.4 million visitors last year, up 20% from 2023, and it expects to attract 26 million tourists in 2030. (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
