Dateline Monday 22nd May 2023

Happy Monday, I hope you are well and that you had a great weekend.

OMG the sun is at last shining for more than half an hour at a time, if only the chilly wind would stop blowing the weather would be great, well great for the UK that is. As you know having read my Monday morning blog for a number of years I am very much a sunshine person that likes hot sunny weather a lot, bring it on.

I am in Frankfurt this week attending IMEX, I have just checked the Frankfurt weather on the BBC weather app, looks like it will be sunny and warm with a chance of rain on Tuesday, that works or me I will be inside all day. Sandra is in the office taking care of business and e mails, or you can get me on my 24/7 mobile 07710-031475.

The G7 in Hiroshima, what a perfect place for a G7 meeting. I hope the World leaders took in the significance of the location. I went to Hiroshima with James Kent the Operations Director of The J Team DMC Japan it is an amazing place, obviously totally rebuilt but with care and consideration for nature and the environment, it has a huge Peace Garden with the Peace Bell and a memorial to the tragedy of the Atom bomb and its consequences, a very significant location to celebrate World Peace and to ensure that the A bomb is confined to history, shame Prick Putin could not be there.

The Election for the next and hopefully new President of Turkey is in full swing, no candidate won outright in the first round. The second-round ends on 28th May. Greece was at the Polls yesterday, it’s all going on.

Congratulations to Manchester City, Premier League Champions once again, commiserations to Arsenal so close, but no cigar this year, they seemed to just run out of steam. The question is can Manchester City complete the treble by winning the FA Cup on 3rd June when they play Manchester United and by winning the 2023 Champions League final when Manchester City will face Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday 10th June? Time will tell I think they have a very good chance of the treble, but what do I know about football?

This Thursday night, Friday and Saturday is the Jewish festival of Shavuot obviously I know what that is all about however, I still like to see what Google and Wikipedia says about it.

Shavuot known in English as the Feast of Weeks, is a major Jewish holiday, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. In the Bible, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. In addition, rabbinic tradition teaches that the date also marks the revelation of the Torah that included the ten commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred at this date in 1312 BCE. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. Shavuot is sometimes referred to as Pentecost due to its timing after Passover, "Pentecost" meaning "fifty" in Greek and Shavuot occurring fifty days after the first day of Pesach/Passover.

If you are celebrating Shavuot may I take this opportunity to wish you your family and friend a Chag Sameach (a joyful holiday)

Please don’t forget (do I need to remind you?) that next Monday 29th May in Spring Bank Holiday so two things, don’t go to work and don’t look for a Monday morning e mail from me there won’t be one

And that’s it, you are up to date from a David point of view.

MM and Company news update

This week is IMEX 23rd -25th May 2023 Frankfurt

I am very much looking forward to seeing

Jyoti Panchmatia of Travco DMC on the Abu Dhabi Stand No E520 covering Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Oman

Stephane Louise of Hello Islands DMC Mauritius on Stand E695

Muge Altug of Blue DMC Turkey on stand E470

Pascal and Enrica NACARA DMC France on the Euromic stand

Claudia & Erika of MI Malta DMC on the Malta Stand

Martin Hodi of e+o travel and meetings DMC Austria is attending IMEX but not on a stand

Eva Hoffman of Cornerstone Meetings DMC part of Germanyinsight DMC on the Frankfurt stand

Frankfurt Germany

Eva and the team at Cornerstone Meetings DMC part of Germanyinsight has told us that the new European hotel brand Lyv Inn has opened its first property in the German commercial hub of Frankfurt. The 164-room Lyv Inn hotel in Frankfurt It is located close to the financial district and the Messe Frankfurt trade fair venue. It is very much a budget style hotel. Although nothing is budget when IMEX comes to town. And in

Berlin Germany the Hoxton hotel brand has made its German debut by opening a new property in Berlin. The Hoxton Charlottenburg in West Berlin has 234 rooms, as well as The Teahouse café, House of Tandoor Indian restaurant and a Winter Garden within its lobby. The has three meeting and event spaces.

Greece Santorini

Nassos and the team at AME DMC Greece has told us that Santo Pure Oia Suites & Villas has reopened for the 2023 season. The property was formerly known as Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, the newly rebranded resort is located a five-minute walk from Oia. It is divided into six "neighbourhoods" with Mediterranean gardens entered around six pools. The resort resembles a typical Santorinian village, combining traditional Cycladic architecture with contemporary black lava and white tones. The hotel has 83 suites and two villas.