A radio presenter told how he tricked property tycoon Donald Trump into offering a farmer opposed to his golf resort a timeshare at his American headquarters.

Real Radio's Robin Galloway struck a deal with Trump to offer Aberdeenshire farmer Michael Forbes a two-week annual timeshare at Trump Tower in return for the sale of his land.

Mr Forbes, whose land sits next to the site of Trump's proposed £1 billion golf resort, has refused to sell his property to the Trump Organisation, which received outline planning permission for the complex this week.

Mr Galloway, famed for his on-air wind-ups, posed as estate agent Hector Brocklebank of HB Real Estate when he called Trump in New York.

He explained he'd been speaking to Trump's right-hand man, George Sorial and that Mr Forbes had invited him to mediate on his behalf.

Mr Galloway told the businessman Mr Forbes would "stand aside" in return for a yearly, two-week trip to the Big Apple.

When the DJ asked if there was any chance of doing a timeshare, Trump replied: "I could do something like that... Yes, I'd be interested in that... I would take care of him for two weeks, I could do that."

After the Glasgow-based presenter came clean, Trump took the prank in good spirit.

"It was actually very funny," he said.

The telephone call with Trump will be aired on the Real Radio breakfast show on Monday.

Security restrictions blamed for causing major delays at UK airports will be relaxed from next year, it was reported today.

The transport secretary, Ruth Kelly, is expected to use a speech on security to the Airport Operators Association to end baggage restrictions introduced in August last year, after an alleged plot to blow up planes was thwarted.

She will announce that the rule limiting each person departing the UK to one piece of hand luggage will end in the new year, according to the Financial Times.

Travellers will be allowed two pieces of carry-on baggage but tight EU-wide restrictions on liquids and gels that can be taken through airport security will remain in place.

I see that British Airways have sold GB Airlines to Easy Jet I dont know if this is a good thing for travel to canaries

Heathrow airport is likely to be under threat from environmental protests as it prepares to open Terminal 5 next March.

Plane Stupid, a climate change protest group focusing on aviation, refused to deny reports that it infiltrated operation trials in T5 and planned to disrupt its opening.

Airport owner BAA is recruiting 15,000 volunteers to take part in about 100 trials in check-in, security searches and baggage systems. Trials started this month and one planned for next month is expected to involve 2,000 people.

A Plane Stupid spokesman said: "The trials are not difficult to infiltrate. But we could not say what direct action we do or do not plan. Any airport planning expansion is a target and Heathrow is the biggest and most iconic."

A BAA spokeswoman said there was no evidence that Plane Stupid had infiltrated its trails but BAA carried out criminal records checks on volunteers, she said.

Grenada is taking several steps upmarket with a multi-billion-dollar investment by British entrepreneur Peter de Savary that he claims will turn the Spice Island into the Caribbean’s answer to St Tropez.

De Savary’s Mount Cinnamon resort, featuring a mix of high-end villas and haciendas, opened this year. Still to come is his Port Louis development, combining hotel and residential properties, restaurants and a luxury marina.

This is positive news for an island that, three years ago, was devastated by Hurricane Ivan. Hotels were damaged and the rainforest flattened, resulting in the near-destruction of tourism.

Recovery started last year, when UK visitors leapt more than 60% to just over 25,000. The number of cruise ship visits also increased, from 41 in 2005 to 46 last year.

Joining the Grenada stand is LaSource, which reopened this winter after a three-year renovation forced by Hurricane Ivan.

As well as promoting the island’s rainforest at World Travel Market, the Grenada Board of Tourism will be raising awareness of Grenada’s sister islands Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Air New Zealand is giving away airline seats to agents to mark the launch of its new trade website.

Visitors to the website in its first two weeks between the November 1 to 15 will be able to enter a prize draw to win one of 30 seats up for grabs – 10 tickets to each of Air New Zealand’s three destinations from the UK, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

The new-look trade website at airnewzealandtrade.com would be easy to navigate and no longer require agents to log in, the airline said.
The site replaces fly-nz.com and will include a blog for agents and tour operators to share their experiences of Air New Zealand. The website will also feature an online gallery for visitors to upload photographs from familiarisation trips. Both these special features would be available in early 2008, once agents are familiar with the new site, Air New Zealand said.

The home page would also feature a monthly promotion, treating agents to unique prizes to be revealed each month, the company said.

THE Aqua Dunya Resort and Residences, developed by Ali Sulaiman Al Shehri, along with Interval International, a leading provider of vacation services and an operating business of IAC, has announced the affiliation of Aqua Dunya Vacation Club in the Interval International exchange network.

Situated in Dubailand, construction of the first phase of 170 apartments is scheduled for early 2008 with completion in early 2010. Owners of timeshare at the Aqua Dunya Vacation Club resort will be able to exchange with thousands of Interval International’s members throughout the world.

Steve Tight, chief executive officer of Aqua Dunya, commented, “The integration of a vacation ownership component into the Aqua Dunya Resort and within Dubailand’s portfolio of entertainment offerings provides a flexible alternative for guest accommodation in Dubai. Indeed we can now offer added value to our vacation club members with a wide range of quality international exchange properties through Interval’s extensive global exchange network.”

"Dubai is the regional hub for tourism with hundreds of tourism-related projects under construction or on the drawing board,” said David Clifton, Interval’s managing director, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“The Aqua Dunya theme park resort is a highly innovative and compelling leisure development. We are delighted to have a resort of this quality and magnitude affiliated with Interval. It will benefit our members and provide a huge step forward for the vacation ownership industry throughout the Middle East,” he said.

The current demand for timeshare products in the Middle East is extremely robust, with potential timeshare sales estimated by industry experts at $550 million annually and growing. The vacation club will be one of the key elements of the Aqua Dunya Resort, a family destination resort that will also include two theme parks built around a 3.5 hectare lagoon; three themed hotels; a convention centre; a waterfront retail and dining district; a nine-hole golf course, and a residential community.

.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr., chairman and CEO of Marriott International, will serve as the honorary chairman of the 2007 Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival this weekend on Hilton Head Island.

As honorary chairman, the hotel magnate will deliver remarks at the Concours' invitation-only Saturday Night Gala, show two cars from his private collection of Italian race cars -- a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB-4 and a 1955 Maserati PF Coupe, which is one of just a handful ever made -- and judge other Italian race cars at the festival.

This Concours will be Marriott's first on Hilton Head. He also plans to check out the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa and the timeshare operations on the island that bear his company's name -- all in about 12 hoursSaturday.

Marriott took a few minutes to talk about his love of cars and the state of the hospitality

industry.

Question: Why are Italian sports cars a passion for you?

Answer: I probably have 12 Italian sports cars. I've always enjoyed Ferraris and felt they had a really distinctive reputation and dimension.

And I like red, and that's the Italian racing color.

Q: How often do you get to drive the vintage race cars and what's it like?

A: Not very often, but I do drive all of them at least twice per year.

They're not really, really fast in comparison to today's cars, but they're fast. They make a beautiful sound -- the engine sounds good, the exhaust sounds good. They handle very well. It's just fun to drive a beautiful piece of history.

Q: Why did you decide to come to the Hilton Head festival?

A: We have the hotel down there and a lot of timeshare operations there. I haven't been there for a long time, and I wanted to come to Hilton Head. I love to go to car shows, so it was a good opportunity to do both.

Q: What are vacationers looking for in a resort today?

A: They always want a great beach, if there's a beach around. But, at the same time, I think one of the key elements today is what goes on in the guest room, and that's throughout our system. The big, flat-screen TVs are what everyone is putting in. And we have a connectivity panel where you can hook up your iPod and listen to your music and hook up your movies and watch your own movies and that kind of thing. A lot of it has to do with technology.

Q: What are your visits to Marriott resorts like and what are you looking for?

A: I go in the kitchen and the laundry and the housekeeping department and the rooms and the restaurants. I go everywhere.

I want to make sure the people are smiling and happy -- that's the most important of all -- staff and guests.

Harcourt Developments, the property group controlled by businessman Pat Doherty, is about to complete a $40 million (€27 million) deal to buy a luxury golf resort and hotel complex in the Bahamas.

It is expected to sign off on the deal to buy the Royal Oasis resort, a 427-acre property on Grand Bahama, in the coming days after months of negotiations.

Harcourt wrote to former timeshare owners at the resort in the past two weeks, informing them that their contracts with the resort’s former owners would be honoured.

The Royal Oasis closed three years ago when it was severely damaged by Hurricane Francis. The Bahamian government had responsibility for selling the resort, and initially accepted an offer from World Investment Holdings (WIH), an investment consortium financed by Lehman Brothers.

The WIH deal was dependent upon certain deadlines and conditions being met, but a number of those deadlines were missed and the government resumed talks with Harcourt.

The government has just negotiated a multimillion dollar settlement with former workers at the resort, paving the way for the deal with Harcourt to go ahead.

The Royal Oasis consists of a Crowne Plaza Golf resort and casino. The complex has 965 bedrooms between a main hotel and timeshare units, and also has two golf courses. Harcourt counts former RTE presenter Mike Murphy as a director. The firm already has significant interests in the region.

It is developing a luxury waterfront condominium complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama, and controls the upmarket Carlisle Bay Hotel in Antigua. It also owns 600 beachfront acres in nearby Tobago.

Last November, the company said it intended to build an €800 million residential project in Las Vegas. That scheme is part of a major international drive by the company that involves new developments in Latvia, Montenegro and Tobago.

A Brampton company faces a slew of charges related to alleged violations of timeshare agreements and business practices.

More than 50 charges were filed under the Ontario Consumer's Act against FFL Vacations, which operates Fun For Life Club International.

Cecil Hendrix, an FFL official, is charged with 55 counts related to unfair business practices and violations of Time Share Agreement regulations.

The majority of charges were filed in a Brampton court in October. Six charges were filed in a St. Catharines court simultaneously.

The charges stem from numerous consumer complaints to the province's Consumer Protection Branch leading back to January 2007.

Clients claim the company gave them false and misleading information and certain services and facilities were not delivered as promised.

It is also alleged that complainants could not cancel contracts during a 10-day cooling off period stipulated under the Consumer Protection Act.

Each charge could result in hefty fines and even jail time if the accused is found guilty.