As a result of an increase in the Luton and Manchester flights by Monarch, along with easyJets’ new route from Liverpool and BA’s use of the larger Airbus 320 instead of a 319, Gibraltar will benefit from extra 50,000 available seats this summer.
Monarch Airlines has announced an increase in the number of flights it is to operate to Gibraltar this summer. From the end of May the airline will be operating a total of 16 weekly flights to the UK (11 to London Luton and five to Manchester). According to press reports the airline cited ‘soaring demand’ on the routes along with the ‘significant factor’ of the opening of the new airport terminal.

Close to 300 professional and amateur chess players from every corner of the world lived 10 days of intense and highly competitive chess, in this year’s Gibraltar international chess festival which again attracted a lot of really top class players.
The 2011 Tradewise International Festival certainly proved a worthy precursor to the tenth edition which has already received the blessing of Judit Polgar, the best female chess player in the world, who will play in Gibraltar next year.
2011 winner, the tournament’s top seeded player GM Vassily  Ivanchuk  played at the top of his game. Seventh in the world, he described the Gibraltar Open as a unique chess event with a “different atmosphere and attitude to the game” urging organisers to make the field stronger so the tournament  can attract more  world champions. Ukranian Ivanchuck won nine out of his 10 rounds and in the final round played against Germany’s Daniel Friedman.
“What an amazing tournament we have had,” commented organiser Brian Callaghan at the prize giving ceremony at the end of the 10 days in the presence Gibraltar’s Minister for Sport Edwin Reyes, sponsors and players. The tournament also received visits from Gibraltar’s Governor Sir Adrian Johns, Deputy Chief Minister Joe Holliday and the Mayor Tony Lombard accompanied by Miss Gibraltar Larissa Dali.

On the final day Mr Callaghan spoke of the impressive field of play which had been lead by Ivanchuck, and the other top names: Fabiano Caruana, Michael Adams, Paco Vallejo and Nigel Short who finished a close second.
The women’s top prize went to Nana Dzagnidze, and the second to Melia Salome, both from Georgia. Mr Callaghan made special mention of the 35 women players who had supported the tournament, and re-affirmed organisers and sponsors would continue to give special support to the women’s game.
“I believe they contribute enormously to our tournament, and help to make this the foremost tournament in the world, and very few people would disagree with that,” he told B2B.
Closing the ceremony President of the English Chess Federation, CJ De Mooi, was well impressed with festival:  “It is an incredible tournament, venue and place. I did not understand why people kept coming back year after year, now I do it is simple to explain, it is the warmth, generosity and genuine friendliness, which surrounds the tournament.”
James Humphreys, chairman of the main sponsor of the tournament Tradewise Insurance, said the comments in the press around the world on the tournament continued to “heap great praise on what has been accomplished for chess” over the years in Gibraltar. He assured that for next year the level of prize money would be higher than in any previous tournament.
Now as emphasis shifts to 2012 already work has begun to make it the best international chess festival yet.

The Chamber has been working with HM Customs to organise a programme of training courses to familiarise members with using the new ASYCUDA customs clearing system.  Last year B2B informed members that the new system was due to be implemented and would be organising a series of training seminars.
The new system is due to go live in the next few months but it cannot run in parallel with the existing computer system which is now over 20 years old. Customs clearing agents and importers have been trained at HM Customs’ dedicated training facility in Governor’s Parade so that they are fully up to speed on the new system before it goes live.  During February and March over 100 members have been trained on using the new system.
The new clearing system will be a great improvement on the one it replaces as it will enable clearing agents and importers to submit customs declarations electronically for the first time.  Duty calculations will be automatic so agents and importers will also know exactly how much duty is payable at the time of submitting their entry.  This will eradicate the uncertainties which had existed previously and had led to some declarations being delayed because there was a dispute between HM Customs and the importer over the amount of duty payable.
HM Customs is due to set up a training server which agents and importers can practise on in a simulated way before
the new system goes live later this year.
If any member has for some reason missed out on receiving training on the new system or has any questions about the new system they should contact the Chamber on 200 78376 or by email at info@gibraltarchamberofcommerce.com

KPMG Gibraltar hosted an e-Gaming Summit at the Leisure Business Centre in Ocean Village at the end of March.  The summit brought together the sector’s major players and service providers both locally and from overseas to discuss Gibraltar’s potential in the global marketplace.
The main aims of the summit, a first for Gibraltar, were to consider and debate how Gibraltar can continue to be at the forefront of developments in the online gaming industry worldwide.
The Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, opened the one day summit which was attended by more than 150 key decision-makers from the industry and included presentations by the regulator, industry practitioners, service providers and advisers.
Mike Harvey, Director for KPMG Gibraltar, told B2B at the start of the summit “that the e-Gaming sector is expanding globally and is already a major contributor to our local economy.  It is crucially important that Gibraltar continues to make itself an attractive jurisdiction for the licensing and operation of online gaming companies. This involves input from the government, key industry players and service providers in finance, IT and a variety of other key sectors. This summit will bring those key players together to discuss the needs of the industry as it grows and develops.”

During the first quarter the Chamber ran a number of workshops for members on using social media for business. These workshops looked at using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for business rather than leisure use. The workshops were led by WorkIT Gibraltar a specialist consultancy which advises companies on how they can  harness social media tools to benefit their business.
Separate workshops were also held on using a number of products and services from Google, many of which are free and can greatly assist companies in monitoring their own performance as well as that of their competitors.
The workshops have been very well attended by members and demand for them was high, so much so that the sessions have had been re-run as the first
and second series of workshops were sold out. Similarly, feedback from those members who attended has been very positive. Participants greatly valued the insight on how to formulate basic social media strategies as well as several useful tips on how to get the most out of these online resources. Future workshop topics will include the use of Digital Marketing Tools such as iPad and Tablets, Ebooks and Smartphones..

The brainchild of Richard Brooks and Barnett Fletcher (Rock Brand) – the CTS Business Exchange is open for all those people who ‘sort of work’ in Gibraltar but are often found walking the streets and bars hopping from Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi  and newcomers to the Rock who are looking for somewhere to start their business.
CTS – providers of all things airborne, wireless and telephony are providing the space and all the technical support, telecoms and connectivity. The offices have been fitted out to provide flexible workspace solutions including ‘hot desks’, small office units and meeting rooms available for short term rental. The offering is supported by everything from coffee to video conferencing and a friendly receptionist on hand to assist.
The idea is clearly a good one as six out of the seven units are already let just through word of mouth and several hot desks are being booked in advance. Workspace can be booked by the hour, day week, month or longer along with meeting rooms and mailbox services.
Barnett Fletcher told B2B, “The CTS Business Exchange has been set up to service companies like Rock Brand were 20 months ago – new to Gibraltar, in need of some help and some friendly faces and somewhere to sit down, plug in and start work whilst keeping costs to a minimum.
We are probably the first offices you get to when walking from the airport or frontier and we are easy to find – it’s just what Gibraltar needs as it continues to attract new, entrepreneurial businesses.
Start-ups and new businesses to the Rock do not know how things will develop and they cannot justify committing to a long lease from day one.  The Business Exchange provides a more flexible option: professional modern offices at reasonable rates.”