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Europe's leading cruise travel agent announces boycott of Brunei



"As soon as we heard this news there was only ever one course of action we could take," added Conlon. "Nothing brings people together more than travel. This is one of the core philosophies of our business and something like this is anathema to that principal." Brunei is not a major travel destination and there is currently no European cruise stopping at the country. "This law was barbaric 1,500 years ago and nothing has changed to make it any less so today," the company said in a statement on its website, which is visited by millions.



According to the Tourism Development Department of Brunei, Malaysians (25.6%) formed the biggest tourist group to the Sultanate, followed by Mainland Chinese (13.6%). China has recently placed a travel advisory on its official outbound travel alert website, which highlights the risk of stoning and amputation. Brunei has been rolling out a Tourism Master Plan 2011-15 to target 400,000 international visitors by 2016. The country received 268,122 total visitors in 2013 - the least in ASEAN and the only one among the 10-member group to record a tourist arrival below 1 million.





Protests from Los Angeles to Tokyo over Brunei's stoning law



The oil-rich Southeast Asian state of 400,000 is suffering from a growing international calls for boycott that already included feminists, LGBT and human rights organizations, fashion industry, travel industry, media industry, and two billionaires. Protests against the country is spreading from Los Angeles to Tokyo. The Beverly Hills city council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the tiny Sultanate to change its laws or divest all its investment in the city.



Expanding boycott against the state of Brunei could also threaten the Obama administration's negotiations in the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Brunei is one of the 12 countries involved in the TPPA. Speaking at a protest in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hollywood actress Frances Fisher called for contacting the Obama administration and Members of Congress and urging them to ban Brunei from the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. "What is this, Berlin 1933? This doesn't seem far off what happened in the Holocaust," said comedian and actor Jay Leno, among the protestor. "Come on, people, it’s 2014. Evil flourishes when good people do nothing."





Brunei hoping to boost its tourist arrival by 50% in 2 year time





SOS:



https://nz.totaltravel.yahoo.com/news-opini...ed-hotel-chain/



http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php...setreg®ion=2



http://www.traveldailymedia.com/207128/cru...ection-boycott/



http://www.bt.com.bn/business-national/201...-travel-support

London-based cruise agent cruise.co.uk has announced that it is joining Richard Branson's Virgin Group in the boycott against Brunei. The website, ranked by World Travel Awards as Europe's leading cruise travel agent for the year 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, said it would refuse to book clients into any of the hotels owned by the government of Brunei, specifically Dorchester Collection. "Any guests asking to book one of these hotels will be politely told why we are unable to fulfill their request and offered a suitable alternative," the company's managing director Seamus Conlon said."As soon as we heard this news there was only ever one course of action we could take," added Conlon. "Nothing brings people together more than travel. This is one of the core philosophies of our business and something like this is anathema to that principal." Brunei is not a major travel destination and there is currently no European cruise stopping at the country. "This law was barbaric 1,500 years ago and nothing has changed to make it any less so today," the company said in a statement on its website, which is visited by millions.According to the Tourism Development Department of Brunei, Malaysians (25.6%) formed the biggest tourist group to the Sultanate, followed by Mainland Chinese (13.6%). China has recently placed a travel advisory on its official outbound travel alert website, which highlights the risk of stoning and amputation. Brunei has been rolling out a Tourism Master Plan 2011-15 to target 400,000 international visitors by 2016. The country received 268,122 total visitors in 2013 - the least in ASEAN and the only one among the 10-member group to record a tourist arrival below 1 million.The oil-rich Southeast Asian state of 400,000 is suffering from a growing international calls for boycott that already included feminists, LGBT and human rights organizations, fashion industry, travel industry, media industry, and two billionaires. Protests against the country is spreading from Los Angeles to Tokyo. The Beverly Hills city council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the tiny Sultanate to change its laws or divest all its investment in the city.Expanding boycott against the state of Brunei could also threaten the Obama administration's negotiations in the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). Brunei is one of the 12 countries involved in the TPPA. Speaking at a protest in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Hollywood actress Frances Fisher called for contacting the Obama administration and Members of Congress and urging them to ban Brunei from the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. "What is this, Berlin 1933? This doesn't seem far off what happened in the Holocaust," said comedian and actor Jay Leno, among the protestor. "Come on, people, it’s 2014. Evil flourishes when good people do nothing."SOS: