Tropical storm heads for Japan

Tropical Storm 03W, named Yagi, was forecast to churn over the Philippine Sea this weekend before taking aim at southern Japan this week.

Yagi will continue to drift northeastward through the Philippine Sea Sunday, and will encounter very warm ocean waters and light winds aloft. These two factors will help Yagi continue to strengthen heading into the start of this week.

Yagi will continue to move slowly through the Philippine Sea Monday when it will likely reach peak intensity. At that time, Yagi will likely have sustained winds near 60 mph, making it a strong tropical storm.

HIgh pressure to the east of Yagi will strengthen early in the week and will help steer the storm toward the north or even northwest. On this track, Yagi will take aim at southern Japan by the middle of the week. However, Yagi will be moving over colder ocean waters on Tuesday prior to landfall. These colder waters should allow Yagi to weaken prior to landfall early Wednesday morning.

In fact, Yagi may weaken below tropical storm status before reaching the Japanese Islands. This however will not prevent significant rains from reaching Japan, as the moisture for the system will reach the region regardless of the storms strength as it approaches.

As of right now, Yagi is expected to be a minimal tropical storm when it moves very close to Osaka Wednesday morning. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph will still be possible, though flooding rains will be the main impact from Yagi. Widespread rainfall of 3-5 inches will be common across southern Japan, while local amounts in excess of 10 inches may occur in the mountains. Some rain from Yagi will likely move through Tokyo later Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Pick of the week: Schengen visas: what you need to know

The new biometric requirements for Schengen visas led to confusion in the travel industry as European consulates prepared to make the move last week, implementing the new Visa Information System (VIS) requirements. 

TNW sheds some light on the new requirements that became compulsory for all Schengen visas from June 6.

Fingerprints

All visa applicants now have to appear in person at the consulate or a visa application centre when lodging an application to provide their fingerprints. Once the biometric data are entered in the VIS, the applicant’s details will be stored for five years and a personal visit to the consulate may be waived.

The capturing of biometric information is intended to facilitate visa applications for frequent travellers and to enhance security. The VIS helps Schengen member states verify whether an applicant has used previous visas lawfully. With biometric data, a visa holder can easily be identified as the person who applied for the visa. 

Photos

The issue of digital photos required for the biometric visa has led to confusion among travel agents. Until now, all visa applicants have had to provide passport photographs that were then scanned on to their visas. From now, the visa officer will take the traveller’s picture using a digital camera. However, some consulates still require travellers to bring their own photos. 

Paul Cabane, associate director of Capago, says this is just a technicality and shouldn’t lead to confusion. “Either the picture is scanned according to OACI standards or it’s taken on site with an incorporated camera. In both cases, picture and fingerprints are compulsory.” 

Travellers are advised bring one recent passport photograph to their appointment, regardless of which consulate, in case a technical problem occurs.

Consulate or Visa Application Centre? 
 
The new biometric requirements have seen the Greek Consulate reaching out to VFS Global for the opening of Greek visa application centres in Johannesburg and in Durban. The new centres will accept visa applications for longer hours every weekday (except public holidays).

The Spanish Consulate has also announced the opening of a new Spanish VFS visa application centre in Durban in June to better accommodate visa applicants. 

Currently, Capago handles the visa processes for France, Italy and Malta. To facilitate the new process for travellers, Capago is looking into the possibility of extending its opening hours on Saturdays for business people and groups.

It is expected that more consulates will start operating visa application centres through VFS or Capago in the near future. TNW will keep you updated as and when this happens.

Time 

Although the travel industry has expressed concern that the new process will add to the time needed to lodge an application, various consulates have assured TNWthe new process is not expected to cause any delays. 

A spokesperson for the Austrian Embassy in Pretoria told TNW: “Though the new procedure has caused more work for the embassy (and VFS) staff, this does not affect the time it takes for the applicant to obtain a visa. The taking of the biometric data is a simple, quick and discreet procedure.”

River cruises affected by flooding

Heavy rains and flooding in Central Europe last week has resulted in river cruise lines altering and cancelling cruises in the area.

AmaWaterways

The cruise line has not cancelled any sailings with most cruises operating as scheduled, while some itineraries have been altered slightly.

One June 6, guests embarked the Amadolce on the line’s Magnificent Europe schedule on the Rhine River. The sailing is continuing as scheduled.
 
The Enchanting Rhine itinerary which embarked on June 7 began with one night’s hotel stay in Amsterdam, with a sightseeing tour of the city on June 8 before transferring to Cologne. Guests will embark the Amacello in Cologne and continue their cruise on schedule.
 
Guest travelling on the Melodies of the Danube will begin their cruise with one night at the Hilton Westend in Budapest on June before transferring to an alternate ship, the AmaBella for the remainder of the cruise.  

Guests sailing on the Blue Danube Discovery itinerary had excursions planned to Salzburg, Vienna, Durnstein and Melk. Further updates will be posted on June 10.

Guests embarking on the Legendary Danube itinerary on June 12 will check-in as planned in Prague on June 9, and embark the ship in or near Nuremberg depending on water levels.
 
 For the Blue Danube Discovery itinerary, embarking June 11, guests checked-in as scheduled on Sunday June 9 at the Sofitel Hotel in Budapest for their pre-cruise extension. For guests without a pre-cruise extension in Budapest, the Tuesday June 11 meeting point will be at the Sofitel Budapest. There are three meeting times: 10hoo, 14h30 and 17h30. All guests will then be transferred to Bratislava for one night at the Sheraton Bratislava. On Wednesday June 12, the itinerary will continue with a hotel stay in Vienna. Further updates will be posted on June 10. 

Uniworld River Cruises

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has cancelled the June 7 cruise of River Ambassador and the June 9 sailing of River Beatrice. Impacted passengers will receive a full refund and a future cruise credit of $500. Uniworld has also cancelled the June 16 sailing of the River Empress. Passengers were encouraged to rebook another date but were also being given the option of a full refund. They will also be compensated with a $500 per person future cruise credit. 

The flooding also caused Uniworld to either alter the itinerary or cancel the remainder of several cruises that were in progress. Passengers with cruises cancelled mid-sailing will also receive a full refund and future cruise credit. They can elect to remain onboard while the line helps them make arrangements to return home. 

For more details refer to http://www.uniworldcruises.co.za/important-notice

Scenic Cruises:

For a list of affected cruises visit: http://us.scenictours.com/new-page-284/

Avalon Waterways has cancelled the following cruises:

Legendary Danube (June 2); Blue Danube Discovery and Jewels of Central Europe (both June 7); Magnificent Europe (June 8 and 9) and Austrian Highlights & Bavaria (June 10), an 18-day Grand Danube cruise from Bucharest to Prague leaving Saturday (June 8) and a 13-day Blue Danube Discovery from Budapest to Prague (June 13).

Affected passengers are being contacted, and will receive full refunds and discount vouchers for a future cruise, as well as refunds on airfare booked through Avalon and change fees for independent air arrangements. 

Other Avalon sailings have had alternations, such as transferring passengers to different ships on the other side of the Main-Danube canal or doing a partial sailing combined with hotel stays. These passengers are receiving some compensation, commensurate with the number of cruising days affected. In nearly all cases to date, passengers are able to visit the destinations and attractions outlined in the original itineraries.

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Dubai seventh most popular destination in World

Dubai continues to climb the ranks as an international travel destination, according to MasterCard’s third annual Global Destination Cities Index.

The UAE’s travel hub has consistently advanced its position since the inception of the Index in 2011, ranking ninth in its launch year, eighth in 2012 and seventh in the 2013 edition.

Dubai is set to be the seventh most popular city globally in terms of inbound international visitors in 2013, outranking cities such as Hong Kong, Barcelona, Milan and Rome.

At 10.9 percent, Dubai (along with Bangkok) shows the strongest growth in arrival numbers among the top ten global markets, with 9.89 million overnight visitors expected this year.

Dubai also ranks eighth globally by international overnight visitor spend, with an estimated US$10.4 billion to be spent in the city during 2013.

The Index indicates that if all top 10 destination cities maintain their current rates of growth in the next few years, Dubai will surpass Singapore and New York in 2016 and Paris in 2017 in terms of international visitor arrivals.

The top five origin cities for Dubai are London, Kuwait, Paris, Frankfurt and Doha, and all of these are expected to grow strongly in visitor numbers in 2013.

London visitors are expected to increase by 26.3 per cent in 2013, followed by those from Paris (16.9 per cent), Kuwait (12.4 per cent), Doha (9.5 per cent) and Frankfurt (9.4 percent).

“While the Middle East and Africa’s top ten cities line-up is exactly the same as in 2012, there is a striking difference in how far Dubai is ahead of the other cities.

“Its international arrival number is almost twice that of Riyadh in second rank, and about four times as high as the third-ranked Johannesburg,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic advisor for MasterCard and the author of the report.

The Middle East and Africa’s top five destination cities by international overnights visitors are Dubai (9.9 million), Riyadh (5.0 million), Johannesburg (2.5 million), Amman (2.4 million) and Lagos (2.2 million).

Among the Middle East and Africa’s top ten, Abu Dhabi (ranked seventh with 1.7 million visitors) showed the strongest growth rate, with an anticipated 16.1 per cent increase in arrivals.

The Index highlights that, if these rates are maintained in the coming years, Abu Dhabi will overtake Lagos in 2016 and match Johannesburg by 2017.

The UAE’s capital also ranked sixth among the global top 20 with regard to growth rates of international visitor arrivals between 2009 and 2013, with growth of 96.8 percent during this period.

Within the Middle East and Africa, Dubai ranks first by international overnight visitor spend, followed by Riyadh and Beirut.

Beirut’s position in this ranking is remarkable, given that Lebanon’s capital is not among the top ten cities in the region by visitor arrivals.

The US$2.8 billion expected to be spent in the capital this year reflects the attraction that the city holds for more affluent consumers.

“The inauguration of the Index in 2011 has helped us record Dubai’s remarkable growth story, and the Index has proven to be a trusted barometer of the market’s performance in the global landscape.

“Home to the world’s second busiest airport, Dubai has gone from strength to strength, and continues to develop its offerings as it plans to draw even more visitors in the coming years,” shared Raghu Malhotra, division president, Middle East & North Africa, MasterCard.

“The global travel sector has been supported by the significant developments in the electronic payments sphere, and we see more consumers taking advantage of programs and offers that make international travel more achievable and hassle free.

“At MasterCard, we will continue to work with our partners to bring travelers safe and meaningful payment options to suit their lifestyle needs as we continue to contribute towards the growth of global economy,” Malhotra concluded.

Globally, Bangkok outranked London as 2013’s number one destination city with only about 25,000 visitors separating the two - a difference of about one percent.

The Index predicts that Bangkok will draw the highest international visitor numbers in 2013, ahead of London, Paris, Singapore, and New York.

The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities, and gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2013.

This Index and the accompanying reports are not based on MasterCard volumes or transactional data.

More tornadoes tear through US...

A violent storm system that blasted tornadoes and flooding across Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas over the weekend has claimed at least 13 lives, including three storm chasers. The system was moving toward the east coast, pouring rain and flashing thunderstorms from Quebec City in Canada to Philadelphia, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Some severe thunderstorms carrying hail and heavy rain were also moving southward to South Carolina.

Officials raised the death toll to at least 13 in Oklahoma on Sunday, and said at least six more people are missing. The same storm system on Sunday brought flooding to Van Buren, Maine; a tornado to Anderson, South Carolina; and hail to Falls Village, Connecticut, AccuWeather reported. The town of Bennington, Vermont, was covered with 63.5cm of water.

St Louis, Missouri, could be threatened by flooding in coming days as the Mississippi River reached 11.6 metres, well above the flood stage of 9.1 metres, the National Weather Service said.

The weekend system of multiple tornadoes brushed through the town of Moore, Oklahoma, where at least 24 people were killed by a monster EF5 tornado on May 20.