Business News Headlines

Millions of people hoping to get away for a long weekend will have to brave rail closures and wet road conditions, as an early Easter brings wintry weather to the UK.

More than 2 million air passengers will escape from typically British weather, with snow forecast in Scotland tonight and temperatures no higher than 10c (50F) anticipated throughout the UK.

Around 6.5 million motorists are expected to take to the roads, but the AA said Easter would be quieter than usual because many school holidays fall in early April.

"It is going to be one of the quietest Easters," an AA spokesman said. "The school holidays will affect the volume of traffic. In previous years we would expect traffic to be up further. But it will be busier than a regular weekend."

However, heavy traffic is expected nonetheless with 10% more vehicles on the roads than usual. Motorways will bear the brunt of the traffic, with the M25 near Heathrow airport, the M6 in the West Midlands and the M5 north of Bristol among the major roads most likely to suffer heavy traffic. While the anticipated wet weather will make driving more hazardous, the AA said, it will also make the roads less cluttered with fewer families deciding to venture outdoors.

"We are expecting lots of rain and when it's wet people tend to stay close to home and do not travel as far."

Drivers hoping to avoid traffic queues in Yorkshire will be able to use the UK's first motorway car-share lane, between the M606 near Bradford and the M62 towards Leeds, which opens today.

Swaths of the rail network will be closed, including parts of the west coast and east coast lines, as Network Rail tackles 35 major engineering projects. The most disruptive closures will be at Rugby on the west coast line, between Swindon and Reading on the Great Western route and between York and Doncaster on the east coast route. Millions of people are still expected to travel by train over Easter, but around 3 million are due to use the network today as many travellers go early, trying to avoid bus replacement services and diversions.

Virgin Trains, which is suffering serious disruption from the engineering works, admitted passengers faced a long trip if they are travelling between London and Glasgow by rail. "We are not advising people not to travel, but journeys are going to be longer than they normally would be. This work has got to be done and we have to cope with that," said a Virgin Trains spokesman. Virgin Trains was badly affected by the New Year debacle but the spokesman said the company was happy with Network Rail's plans.

Network Rail said it hoped to avoid a repeat of the New Year engineering fiasco, when work on the west coast overran by four days. "We have got a lot of work to do. It is £75m worth of work but the majority of routes are open. We advise passengers to check before they travel but we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact on their travel."

Britain's three largest airports will process more than 1.7 million passengers over the weekend. Just under 900,000 people will travel through Heathrow, with 514,000 using Gatwick and 330,000 passing through Stansted.

Heathrow, Britain's largest airport, will process 200,000 passengers today and 187,000 tomorrow, with New York, Paris and Dublin among the most popular destinations. An airport spokeswoman said it would be quieter than the peak summer months, but staff numbers were being strengthened to cope with the rush.

"We are expecting more passengers than usual but we will be fully staffed and on hand to assist passengers," said a spokeswoman.

Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, said crowded airports and delayed long-distance train journeys should boost local tourism. "There's a real opportunity this year for Brits to rediscover what's on their own doorstep."

By Guardian News Guardian website Back to top

20th March 2008

UK consumer inflation hits 2.5%

UK consumer inflation reached its highest level in nine months last month, due to a new method for calculating energy bills.

The Office for National Statistics said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) hit 2.5% on an annual basis in February, up from 2.2% in January.

But without the change in methodology, the figure would have remained at 2.2%.

Retail Prices Index inflation, which includes mortgage interest payments, remained the same at 4.1% last month.

But core inflation, which excludes oil and food, fell to 1.2% in February, the lowest level since August 2006.

The annual rate of 2.5% is above the government's target of 2% and highlights the challenge facing the Bank of England of tackling rising inflation as the economy slows.

"Although higher, this is no worse than markets expected," said Michael Saunders, economist at Citigroup.

"Nevertheless, the Bank of England will remain worried about the effect of rate cuts with high and rising inflation," he said.

Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics said: "Inflation concerns will continue to limit the Monetary Policy Committee's ability to respond to the downturn in the economy."

Many analysts expect the Bank of England, which reduced interest rates in February for the second time in three months, to cut them again before the end of the year, perhaps as early as May.

By Guardian News Guardian website Back to top

20th March 2008

UK unemployment falls by 32,000

UK unemployment fell by 32,000 to 1.61m in the three months to the end of January, government figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance in February also fell by 2,800.

Average earnings rose at an annual rate of 3.7% in January, down slightly.

Economists have been closely watching the unemployment data, to see if the effects of the credit crunch are being passed on to the broader economy.

"Broadly speaking the labour market situation is consistent with trends in previous months," said Philip Shaw, Chief Economist, at Investec.

"In particularly average earnings growth remains very subdued despite high headline rates of inflation. The labour market is still not a threat." he added.

The Bank of England has been reluctant to cut rates as aggresively as the US Federal Reserve because it is worried about rising inflation.

Food and fuel prices have been driving up the headline inflation rate.

But Wednesday's jobs report shows that pay increases remain subdued, despite rising living costs.

By BBC News BBC website Back to top

12th March 2008

Cheltenham abandoned because of high winds

Organisers say safety cannot be guaranteed! Races postponed until tomorrow and Friday!

This afternoon's meeting at the Cheltenham Festival has been abandoned due to high winds after a structure at the racecourse blew down this morning.

Officials made the announcement after another morning of intense gusts at Prestbury Park. All six races due to take place this afternoon - including feature race the Queen Mother Chase - will instead be staged on Thursday and Friday.

"We had a forecast last night indicating that wind speeds would gust over 50mph, up to and including 3pm this afternoon. We had a look this morning and that has sadly been reinforced," Cheltenham's managing director, Edward Gillespie, said.

"Many of the temporary facilities would not be safe at that level. The reason we are not racing today is for the safety of the customer," Gillespie told Channel 4 Racing.

Cheltenham issued an official statement saying: "We have a weather forecast for today that predicts extremely strong winds over the next six or seven hours with a high degree of certainty. On that basis we have made the decision to abandon racing for today.

"The forecast for Thursday and Friday is much calmer and the races abandoned today will be rescheduled to be run on Thursday and Friday on extended cards, with a first race time of 12:30pm. The revised order of running will be issued in due course."

Irish trainer Dessie Hughes, who had three entries on Wednesday including Schindlers Hunt in the Queen Mother Chase, said: "I'm very surprised - at the moment you'd race. We can't do very much at this stage and we will have to wait until tomorrow."

The racecourse was also hit in the build-up to the meeting on Monday by storms of up to 48mph. A hospitality tent was flattened by the high winds and the starter's rostrum was blown over, damaging fencing. The situation grew untenable during Wednesday morning, however, and the tented village at the track had to be evacuated.

Gillespie said: "The rest of the crowd are close to the [worst-hit] areas so it's not a case of just one area being out. Equally, it's a west wind, which would take debris on to the track. We've had one structure blown down this morning, just before 7am. We cannot guarantee the safety of the customers but the good news is we can now stage all the races over the next two days.

"Tomorrow we will use the Old Course and on Friday [the races] will all be run on the New Course. We will be meeting at 4pm to assess the situation again."

By Guardian News Guardian website Back to top

11th March 2008

UK hotels most expensive in Europe

The UK became the most expensive country in Europe for hotel stays last year as prices rose by 12% to an average of £106 a night over 2006.

Britain was also the only country in Europe to top £100 for a one night hotel stay, according to the annual Hotel Price Index report by online company Hotels.com.

The steepest rise in the UK's major cities was seen in Aberdeen, where prices paid rose by more than a third (34%) to £109 per room per night, making it the fourth most expensive city in the UK in 2007. The report also sees the trend reflected in prices in Inverness (up 21%) to £98.

Bath (at £117 per night on average) has maintained its position as the most expensive major UK city - despite a fall of 2% in the average prices paid over 12 months.

London and Oxford have edged up on Bath with rooms in the capital costing an average of £115 per night, while in the university city it was £113.

Meanwhile, Coventry became the cheapest city in the UK in 2007, at an average of just £57 per night - a fall of 16% on 2006.

Southampton saw prices drop by 12%, making it one of the cheapest cities for hotels at £84 per night.

Belfast is fast going up in the HPI price league. Following a price rise of 11%, it is now amongst the most expensive cities in the UK (£98).

Liverpool, the European city of culture, also experienced price rises of 9%, and at an average of £95 per night, it is in the top ten most expensive cities for hotels in the UK.

Hotels.com senior vice-president David Roche said: "Whilst Bath's combination of high visitor levels and luxury hotels means that it retains its place as the most expensive city in the UK, our data shows that Oxford and London are catching up fast.

"In the past, limited supply has made for an expensive night's stay in the university city, and although a number of new hotels have been developed, these higher star rating properties have kept the average price growing along with interest from visitors.

"The increase in London rates continues a trend we've seen over the last four years, and reflects both rising visitor numbers and rising property prices in the capital.

"It's still possible to find competitively priced accommodation, but the combination of strong demand and limited supply is making this more difficult.

"It is also interesting to see Aberdeen and Inverness experience such large price rises in 2007."

"Scotland is fast becoming a destination of choice for luxury leisure travellers, and this, along with Aberdeen's status as an important business centre, is being reflected in the rising prices people are paying for hotel rooms."

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

11th March 2008

Majority of UK hotels booked online

The majority of domestic business travellers and holidaymakers are booking their hotels online, latest research shows.

BDRC British Hotel Guest Survey reveals that 70% of business travellers and 64% of leisure travellers use the internet to make hotel reservations.

The trend has continued to rise steeply since 2000 when the levels were 11% and 4% respectively.

Travellers booking through individual hotel websites continues to increase, the survey found.

The results show a pick up in short breaks - 30 million room nights in 2004 to 35 million in 2007.

But the long stay leisure market has continued to decline - 24 million room nights in 2004 to 15 million in 2007.

Total British domestic hotel demand in 2007 remained static over the previous year at approximately 109 million nights.

There has been steady growth from 94 million adult room nights in 2000 to 109 room nights in 2007 (2.1% compound growth).

Since 2004 business room nights have increased substantially from 48 million nights to 59 million (7% compound growth).

But leisure room nights have declined from 54 million to 50 million over the same period.

Fewer domestic frequent guests are producing a greater volume of room nights per year, making them more valuable customers: 21% of frequent business travellers (21+ nights a year) in 2006-07 producing on average 39.1% room nights versus 18% of frequent business travellers in 2007-08 producing on average 46.6% room nights.

Competition in the British hotel market has intensified further. As a result of increased supply and introduction of new brands, travellers are tending to use, on average, more brands than before.

Hilton remains the number one hotel in BDRC's Hotel Brand Ranking Index (business and leisure), but of the well-established chains, Radisson has shown the biggest growth over the last 12 months.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

11th March 2008

UK scores highly in global tourism study, despite being expensive

The UK is the sixth most competitive country when it comes to tourism, according to an international study.

It moved up from 10th position in last year's ranking in the Global Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, put together by the World Economic Forum in conjunction with the international strategy and technology consultants Booz Allen Hamilton and other partners.

"Although the UK's improvement reflects a good performance in areas such as environmental sustainability (10th) and air transport infrastructure (4th) there are still causes for concern," said Adrian Foster, vice-president Booz Allen Hamilton.

"The comparatively low score for safety and security (65th place) is unlikely to reassure travellers. And the country's comparative lack of openness to foreign visitors (75th place) is particularly worrying with the Olympics taking place in London in 2012.

"The UK also needs to improve on price competitiveness as at 127th it is one of the most expensive countries to visit."

Switzerland, Austria and Germany hold the three top places, followed by Australia and Spain.

The study included an environmental sustainability category for the first time.

The top 10 for environmental sustainability are all in western Europe, with Sweden leading the way.

"Customers increasingly demand 'green' tourism services and global private travel and tourism players have a growing need to pick up this opportunity and promote destinations that follow a long-term environmentally sustainable strategy," added Foster.

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

18th January 2008

Bumper' year forecast for UK holidays

A "bumper" 2008 for the UK travel industry has been predicted by a leading operator as more people show a desire to take a domestic holiday this year.

Online trade booking figures have surged ahead to more than double 2007's figures over the last two weeks, Hoseasons claims.

The increased interest in UK holidays is attributed to factors including continued concerns by holidaymakers over their carbon footprint, the negative economic effects of the global credit squeeze and more recent publicity regarding the weakness of the pound against the euro making travel to the continent more expensive for British travellers.

Chief executive Richard Carrick said: "We are certainly seeing an unprecedented demand for UK holidays and experiencing fantastic year on year growth in our booking figures, specifically for short breaks in our upmarket lodges and cottages, coupled with continued popularity for great value holiday parks.

"We also know that self catering is the number one option for a great number of families taking a break in Great Britain, which is why we have sought to buck industry trends and offer unique discounts, such as those for single parent families, aimed to make it easier and more appealing for Brits to take a holiday at home."

He added that the company has focused on offering an enhanced product portfolio that includes a hand picked 'Ultimate' collection of cottages and holiday parks and newly introduced range of Autograph Lodge Holidays - designed to offer a more consistently luxurious five star lodge holiday experience.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

18th January 2008

Third of Brits spend over 10 hours researching annual holiday

Brits spend almost twice as long planning their annual holiday than they do considering a mortgage, according to research out today.

The research, which polled over 2,000 UK adults, found 36% of Brits spend at least 10 hours selecting their ideal holiday, but only 21% would put the same time into choosing a mortgage.

Just 11% would show the same level of commitment when selecting a bank loan. The research was commissioned by independent personal finance website Fool.co.uk.

"Who can blame people for wanting to spend more time planning their holiday than pouring over financial products?" said David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk.

"But while a good holiday will recharge your energy levels for a few weeks, healthy finances can boost your bank balance for a lifetime."

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

11th January 2008

Online travel buyers becoming more 'brand fickle' - research

Twenty million people used internet search engines for travel information in the UK in the first quarter of 2007 - but they are becoming more "brand fickle", new research has found.

Users on average make 12 travel-related searches, visit 22 websites and take almost a month (29 days) before making a purchase.

Almost half (45%) of transactions occur four weeks or more after the first search, according to the study by Google UK and comScore.

"The time spent online is lengthy, representing a prolonged opportunity for advertisers to reach and influence consumers while the search for information," the study says.

Most shoppers visit they site they eventually buy from more than once, averaging 2.5 visits. For tour operators this was higher at 3.9.

But only 10% of transactions take place on the first referral to a given site, and 38% happen at four weeks or more after the first visit.

"Travel companies face a growing challenge to retain the online consumer as the proliferation of competition encourages customers to shop around," according to the report.

Overlooking the value of advertising against generic search terms such as package holiday and Italy travel could lead to many travel businesses missing out on the opportunity for extra bookings and branding opportunities.

Almost half of online travel buyers start the shopping process with a generic product or destination search term, and 10% did not use branded terms such as Thomson holiday or easyJet flight at any time.

More than a third use a generic term as the last search before purchase, giving advertisers a "key window" to influence the purchase right up until the last minute, the report says.

Of all consumers sampled that made a final purchase, a 29% started with a non-branded term but ended with a brand search term.

Google UK travel industry leader Robin Frewer said: "This research proves travel searchers are becoming more brand fickle - spending a large amount of time researching their desired purchase, and considering offers from competing brands.

"The fact that users are using more generic search queries gives ample opportunity for brands to attract new customers - and brands that are not present during these searches are missing out on sales."

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

3rd January 2008

UK airport strikes are called off

Unions have called off three strikes set for January that threatened to close the UK's busiest airports.

Officials voted to halt the industrial action after airport operator BAA eased plans to alter workers' pensions right.

The strikes would have hit all of BAA's seven UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh.

Under the terms of the plan, BAA and the unions will meet to consider the future of the pension fund and call in independent experts to assess it.

Three-pronged

The unions involved, Unite and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU), had called for three strikes.

They were scheduled to take place for 24 hours starting at 0600 GMT on 7 and 14 January, and 48 hours from 0600 GMT on 17 January.

Airport operator BAA said 1.3 million passengers would have been affected by the strikes.

The first strike, set for 7 January, had already been cancelled after BAA and union officials held talks on Monday.

A plan of how to move forward was outlined at the meeting, and union officials said they would then go to their members and get them to vote on whether or not to call off the remaining to strikes.

Union officials said there would now be "proper consultations" over the future of the pension scheme. Unite represents about 6,000 airport workers employed by BAA, including firefighters and security staff, without whom the airports cannot operate.

Following a productive discussion, BAA and the trade unions have reached an agreement in principle.

Its members also include maintenance and clerical staff.

By BBC News BBC website. Back to top

24th December 2007

Fairtrade 'disappointed' by government's commitment to ethical trade movement

The Fairtrade Foundation has accused the government of failing to step up investment in it to match the ethical trade organisation's success with shoppers and proven record helping to boost trade in developing countries.

Harriet Lamb, executive director of the foundation, which oversees the Fairtrade brand in the UK, said she was "disappointed" at the government's failure to promise new cash ahead of the expiry of its funding in March.

"The public is clearly showing appetite for Fairtrade products. We can see companies engaging and farmers queuing up to join. The missing piece in the jigsaw is serious finance to take our work to another level," Lamb said.

Fairtrade has since 2005 been discussing government backing for a project to extend the organisation's work to help farmers in the most disadvantaged countries. At the time it asked the government to contribute, with other donor countries, to a £50m fund to support its work alongside its international partners who operate within the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO).

The demand was given qualified backing by the international development select committee, which is chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce, in October when it recommended that the government "encourage and fund proposals for the expansion of fair trade" in areas which were "beneficial to the very poorest farmers".

Bruce said last week: "We would like to see more resources coming from the government to support Fairtrade but equally we would like to see Fairtrade being self-financing. The Fairtrade brand ought to be able to generate its own funding, given the interest from supermarkets in buying Fairtrade produce."

He described Fairtrade's demand for a £50m fund as "rather ambitious".

Lamb agreed, but said the government needed to act to achieve its aim of boosting trade with developing countries given the failing Doha talks and the collapse of its planned economic partnership agreements, designed to support poor African countries, at the EU-Africa summit this month.

"Our target is ambitious but DfID [the Department for International Development] is a lead agency and we think they would want to play a lead role in the development of Fairtrade. In the past they have backed us and they have helped build a winning horse. Why not back us to the finishing line?"

She said private companies, particularly retailers, were keen to contribute to a development fund and were only waiting for the government to take the lead.

A spokeswoman for DfID said its minister Gareth Thomas had extended Fairtrade's current grant, equivalent to about £250,000 a year, until March because the organisation had not spent the money by its original December deadline.

The government had also provided £240,000 over three years to back a specific project raising awareness of Fairtrade in schools and was considering a request filed last month for additional funds to develop new Fairtrade products such as seafood.

Fairtrade said the request had been filed only after DfID said it could promise just €1m (£725,000) for its international umbrella group, the FLO, for 2008 and 2009 as part of a €19m fund backed by a group of European donors.

Lamb said the UK's contribution was "disproportionate" when compared with smaller countries which had a lower share of the Fairtrade market.

DfID last week announced a £2m initiative (the Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund) to help increase the UK market for sustainably produced food from Africa.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

21st December 2007

London hotels achieve highest occupancy in Europe

London hotels are overcoming economic uncertainty and achieving record room rates, a new survey shows.

Profit in November grew by 7.9% to £82.19 per available room.

Hoteliers in the capital continued to achieve rate growth at near annual levels with an 8.9 per cent increase taking average room rate to a new high of £125.85.

Jonathan Langston, managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting, which produced the HotStats survey, said: "London's hotel market continued its outstanding run of rate, revpar, and profit growth in November.

"Average occupancy remained the highest in Europe. There are no signs that falling overseas spend or economic uncertainty are having any impact on the London hotel market."

Profit and average room rate at the UK's chain hotels continued to increase last month, according to the survey.

Across a sample of 462 hotels, income before fixed charges (IBFC) - also known as gross operating profit - rose by 5.6% to £52.81 per available room.

The average room rate increased by 7.4% to £95.03 in November, a similar rate of growth to the 7.2% achieved during the year so far.

But there was minimal improvement in profitability across the rest of the country, with daily IBCF PAR increasing by just 1.2% to £36.42.

With occupancy falling slightly and payroll costs edging up by half a percentage point, a 4.5% improvement in rate to £74.82 was responsible for the marginal profit growth, the TRI report said.

Some cities, such as Aberdeen, Brighton and Edinburgh, "vastly outperformed" the provincial average in both actual profit per room and its growth.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

14th December 2007

TUI Travel sees 5% profits rise - capacity slashed for '08

TUI Travel today revealed a £287 million operating profit, up 5% on the 2006 figure.

The result for the merged TUI UK and First Choice businesses came despite a decline in mainstream holiday profitability, down by 12% to £162 million.

However, underlying operating profit in specialist sectors was up by 36% to £129 million.

The profit decline in mainstream was attributed to "significant cost pressures" in the UK due to Air Passenger Duty and fuel that were not fully recovered from customers.

The group said mainstream revenues were picking up, with UK winter sales up 5% and next summer showing an 11% rise.

This is based on capacity cut mainly in short haul by 30% at Thomson and 22% at First Choice for the winter and a total reduction of 25% for summer 2008 including Thomson short haul flying trimmed by 30%.

CEO Peter Long said he was "encouraged" by the performance to date in the approach to the key winter and summer 2008 booking period.

"The integration process continues to advance as planned with excellent progress made in the UK and across other businesses," he said.

The figures for the year to September compare to £270 million operating profits recorded by the merged Thomas Cook/MyTravel operations.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

13th December 2007

Foreign visitor decline shows no sign of let-up

Latest figures show a continuing slump in tourist numbers visiting the UK, with a 3.4% fall in October.

The decline shows no sign of abating, according to UKinbound, which compiled the figures from its 230 member companies.

"London continues to outperform the rest of the UK but concerns about the US and UK economies, particularly how this will affect business travel, are making everyone more cautious in their projections for the first quarter of 2008 and beyond," the organisation said.

"Leisure travel remains under severe price pressure and we can expect this to remain the case for the near future."

Travel from North America has been badly affected due to plummeting consumer confidence in the wake of the credit crunch but all long haul travel has been hit. The continued weakness of the US dollar also remains a "great concern".

Visitors from Europe, whose stays are generally shorter and who spend less, are not as badly in decline "and there is some hope that if the euro continues to appreciate against sterling, we could see this sustained through 2008," UKinbound said.

A poll of members found that only 14% feel responsibility for tourism should remain with the Department of Culture Media and Sport, which is cutting VisitBritain's budgets for the next three years. While 44% thought tourism should shift to another government department, almost 42% believed a move would make no difference.

"It would seem that whilst a large majority of members are unhappy with DCMS's stewardship of tourism, nearly half of them have little confidence in another department doing any better," UKinbound said.

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

12th December 2007

Worldspan agents to get new UK rail booking tool

Travelport is to replace the existing Worldspan UK rail solution with its Galileo booking tool for UK rail.

Travelport UK Rail will be made available to Worldspan-connected agents before the end of the year.

A travel agency and corporate booking tool, Travelport UK Rail was developed following an agreement with TheTrainline.

It went live earlier this year to prepare for the Association of Train Operating Companies' (ATOC) withdrawal from the ELGAR system at the end of the year.

With the new tool, agents do not need to hold an ATOC licence and can earn commission on every booking.

Patrick Lukan, general manager UK & Ireland for Travelport GDS, said: "Following Travelport's acquisition of Worldspan, the Galileo and Worldspan teams have been working hard to combine their expertise to offer agents and their customers the most effective products in the marketplace."

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

12th December 2007

Travel social networking website launches

A new travel focused social networking website has been launched to help travel companies promote their services to consumers through classified ads, videos, blogs and profiles.

Creators of Doyoutravel.com say it has been set up to be search engine friendly so companies can link directly from the site to their websites and help search engine optimisation campaigns.

Businesses have full control over their content and setting up a profile is free of charge.

Mark Garwell, one of the creators, said: "With Doyoutravel.com we have removed the myths of social network marketing and the barriers to entry for business.

"Businesses now have a free to use fully editable content management system and direct access to one of the fastest growing travel communities on the internet.

Companies using Doyoutravel.com can be as social or introverted as they like and interact with others or just publis private travel content on a dedicated web space."

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

12th December 2007

Steep rise in UK producer prices

Price inflation of goods leaving UK factories has reached its highest rate in 16 years, driven higher by petrol and food costs, official figures show.

Annual output price inflation reached 4.5% in November, up from 3.8% the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the highest rate of factory gate price inflation since August 1991, when it reached 5.2%.

Analysts said this could hold back the Bank of England from further rate cuts.

The Bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee reduced the key UK interest rate from 5.75% to 5.5% last week amid signs that the economy is slowing.

But the sharp rise in prices manufacturers are charging for their produce will alert the Bank's policymakers to the increase of inflationary risks.

The Bank is tasked with hitting the government's consumer price inflation target of 2% and signs of rising factory gate inflation will make it tougher for the Bank to justify further rate cuts.

Global Insight's chief European economist Howard Archer said the latest figures showed that "inflationary pressures are still building up down the supply chain".

"The Bank of England continues to face a difficult job in juggling rising near-term inflationary pressures and a slowing economy," he added.

Price headache

The ONS said annual inflation of input prices, which measures the amount that manufacturers have to pay for materials and fuel, rose by 10.2% in the year to November, up from 8.5% in October.

The figures indicate that manufacturers were unable to absorb these rising input prices. Output prices of petrol products climbed 18.5% in the year to November, the largest rate of increase since July 2000, when it was 20.1%.

Meanwhile, a sharp rise in the price of fresh bread and cakes drove up annual food price inflation to 6.6% - the fastest pace of increase in 14 years.

The figures overshadowed the news that annual core producer price inflation - which strips out food, fuel, tobacco and alcohol - fell to 2.2%, down from the previous month's figure of 2.3%.

Analysts will now turn their attention to the latest consumer price inflation figures, due out next week, which will give a stronger indication of the inflationary pressures in the UK economy.

By BBC News BBC website. Back to top

11th December 2007

Report reveals Britain's hidden CO2 emissions

Britain is responsible for hundreds of millions more tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions than official figures admit, according to a new report that undermines UK claims to lead the world on action against global warming.

The analysis says pollution from aviation, shipping, overseas trade and tourism, which are not measured in the official figures, means that UK carbon consumption has risen significantly over the past decade, and that the government's claims to have tackled global warming are an "illusion".

The report, from a team of economists led by Dieter Helm at Oxford University, could prove embarrassing for British negotiators at the UN climate summit in Bali, where they are trying to persuade countries including the US and China to agree a new worldwide treaty to limit the effects of global warming.

Britain is seen as a main player as the talks enter their second week, partly because it is one of few countries on track to reduce its emissions as required under the Kyoto protocol, the existing global plan to curb carbon emissions.

Ministers are due to arrive for the high-level segment of the talks on Wednesday. By Friday, they aim to agree a road map and timetable for a treaty to succeed Kyoto in 2012.

Under Kyoto, Britain must reduce its greenhouse gas output to 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2012. According to official figures filed with the UN, Britain's emissions are currently down 15% compared with 1990.

But the new report says UK carbon output has actually risen by 19% over that period, once the missing emissions are included in the figures.

The new analysis measures the UK's consumption of carbon, rather than production. It includes energy consumed to make products and ship them to the UK from countries such as China, as well as the carbon footprint of British citizens abroad.

Helm, who is a government adviser, says: "The implications for the UK are stark: the UK has not yet, as ministers repeatedly claim, emphatically broken the link between economic growth and emissions. To reduce carbon consumption in the UK would demand much more radical policies. Excluding carbon imports and excluding aviation provides an artificial picture. We have to take responsibility for the carbon we consume."

The new figures, which are approximate and need more research, threaten the government's pledge to reduce emissions by 60% by 2050, he said.

"This puts us in a completely different starting position. We need to move on from all the self-congratulations over [meeting the target set by] Kyoto and look at the real effect of policies."

The report says that Britain's success in meeting its Kyoto target is not related to climate policies, but the result of a major shift from coal to cleaner gas for power generation during the 1990s, and the closure of much of the country's heavy industry.

The report says the resulting drop in carbon pollution "gives the impression that the UK is winning the fight against climate change and it leads people to think that the UK is reducing its dependence on greenhouse gas emissions".

In fact, it says, "the economy's demand for greenhouse gases may have been growing".

The new figures come as John Hutton, the business secretary, is set to announce plans for a massive expansion in offshore wind power, which would mean every household in Britain could be powered by offshore wind farms.

Up to 7,000 huge turbines could be installed around the UK's coastline in a bid to boost the electricity generated by wind power from 2 gigawatts to 33 gigawatts by 2020.

Hutton will tell an energy conference in Berlin today: "This potential major expansion will be subject to the outcome of a strategic environmental assessment. But if we could manage to achieve this, by 2020 enough electricity could be generated off our shores to power the equivalent of all of the UK's homes. This could be a major contribution towards meeting the EU's target of 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

"The challenge for government and for industry is to turn this potential, for our energy and economy, into a cost-effective reality. This will be a major challenge."

A Friends of the Earth renewable energy campaigner, Nick Rau, said the news was "extremely welcome".

"The potential power that could be generated by this industry is enormous. Making Britain a world leader in this form of energy will create jobs, boost the economy and help put Britain at the forefront in the battle to combat climate change.

"Ministers must also develop forward-thinking strategies for cutting energy waste and developing other forms of renewable power."

Rau added: "The government should also abandon dangerous plans to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors."

A letter in today's Guardian signed by the chief executives of 13 European car manufacturers welcomes the Bali summit and calls on those present to "embrace sound and holistic measures to follow on from the Kyoto agreement".

By David Adam Guardian website. Back to top

10th December 2007

Monarch adds Google search facility on website

Low fares airline flyMonarch.com has introduced a Google search facility on its website.

The addition of the Google search engine has reduced inbound email by an extra 30% since launch at the start of last month, the airline claimed.

Customers emailing flyMonarch.com are provided with relevant results to their question before they submit their query, enabling them to answer their own questions without having to contact the airline, it said.

The tool has also been customised to include specific FAQ information for flyMonarch.com's key partners, including hotel accommodation, car hire, car parking and travel insurance.

Commenting on the introduction of Google Custom Search Business Edition, Managing director Liz Savage said: "Improving interaction with our customers on flyMonarch.com is a top priority for us right now and with more customers searching for information on the site, we needed a low cost, highly efficient way to help them find information quicker, which the Google search functionality provides.

"The new Google FAQs search will form an integral part of our FAQs development in the future."

The airline carried more than 3.4 million passengers last year, with more than 90% using the website to search for information, make and change flight bookings, manage their accounts and check in.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

10th December 2007

EasyJet introduces more routes for '08

Six new routes are to be introduced by easyJet from UK airports next summer.

This brings the total number of new flights to be started over the next six months up to 18, with further expansion planned.

Daily Luton-Pisa flights will start on March 30 costing £41.98 return.

That will be followed by Glasgow-Faro on April 22 with three flights a week with fares starting at £41.98 return.

Edinburgh-Nice starts on April 24 with three flights a week costing from $47.55 return.

Four flights a week will run between Bristol and Biarritz from April 23 with fares leading in at £37.39 return.

Bristol will also gain flights to Olbia in Sardinia and Split in Croatia from April 26. Fares start at £41.98 return to Olbia and £46.98 to Split, all including taxes.

The airline has also put on sale its summer 2008 schedule from Luton, while flights from Gatwick are due to be available within the next two weeks.

UK general manager David Osbourne said: "EasyJet will launch 18 new routes over the next few months from our bases across the UK and we will shortly announce further expansion, reinforcing our position as the UK's largest airline."

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

7th December 2007

Travel websites worst for online customer service

Travel websites are among the worst for online customer service, according to new research from Transversal.

The travel industry came joint worst along with telecoms, insurance, consumer electronics, grocers and utilities in a survey of 10 sectors.

Although travel websites have improved their ability to respond to holidaymakers' basic questions in the last year, 60% of questions remain unanswered.

Travel websites that offer email customer service options took an average of 58 hours to respond, which is only eight hours better than corresponding research carried out in 2006.

Transversal monitored 10 leading UK travel companies by phone, web and email as part of its third annual customer service research.

"Despite the enormous growth in the online channel, across all sectors, our research shows that consumers are still suffering from substandard online service", said Davin Yap, CEO, Transversal.

"While we've seen marginal improvements over the three years that we have carried out this analysis, a lack of a cohesive multi-channel strategy means in the majority of cases it is quicker to call than visit a company's website.

"With the massive investment made in the online channel and its ability to offer unparalleled tailoring and personalisation UK organisations need to start giving the answers online.

"Travel companies wanting to promote last minute deals look set to be held back by the lack of basic information on their websites and by poor response times to customer enquiries."

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

Comments:

"Buyers or just browsing?"

"We have found it impossible to reply to every enquiry we receive. Depending on which product people enquire on we have found wildly different conversion rates. People sending in enquiries to our www.soweto.co.za website are almost always genuine travelers. Then the enquiries we get to our Inhaca.co.za website which deals with Island Holidays has a very low conversion rate. We end up going through those enquiries looking for the "most likely to travel". A lot of the emails coming in for those special getaway holidays, we think, are from the "sitting in the office at 3 o'clock wishing they were somewhere else" crowd. When we are done with what we believe are the genuine enquiries, we start getting back to those. Undoubtedly we do lose some genuine enquiries but getting back to everyone, every day was wasting a lot of our time."

Richard Mullin, Director, KDR Sports and Adventure Travel

"Dealing with spam"

"Spam used to be a big problem for us too, but we have now integrated our feedback form with a database, so all feedback emails are being saved into a database instead. This also allows us to assign various emails to different members of staff. As for service questions vs customers, we found it's 50:50, but we have a whole department dedicated to cross-selling to those asking service questions. Our primary industry is low-cost flights, but to questions such as "cost of a taxi from the airport", we suggest a partner airport transfer company."

Martin Matijevic, CEO, www.whichbudget.com

"Doing well....."

"If only 60% of Tarvel web-sites failed to respond, then in my expereience they are doing well! My recent enquiries via their web-sites, to a dozen UK hotels regarding rates/availability for a mid-week short-break elicited just two responses. On this basis Travel sites are doing very well!"

Graham Fisher Back to top

7th December 2007

Industry most concerned about social media and Google

Harnessing social media and Google's hold over the travel industry are the most pressing issue for the industry according to senior figures.

The two areas were voted as most significant during an event organised by the Travel Technology Initiative.

The cost of XML and the challenges of dynamic packaging also came high up on the list for attendees at the 'open space' event.

The open space concept enables delegates to create their own agenda and then divide into discussion groups to debate the issues they feel are critical to their businesses.

TTI plans to set up a series of management meetings in the New Year to discuss the findings of the event in more depth and decide if any collective action can be taken going forward.

By Linda Fox Travel Mole website. Back to top

5th December 2007

2008 will be a 'challenge' for travel industry

The travel industry faces a challenging year in 2008, according to ABTA president Justin Fleming.

Making his closing remarks at the end of the Travel Convention in Tenerife, he said: "2008 will indeed be a challenge, not only for our industry but many others as well."

Fleming pointed to the banking crisis and house price slump as having an impact next year.

"Consumer confidence is so fragile, it can go one way of the other and it can have a very big effect on our industry," he said.

He talked up the success of the re-named and revamped convention, saying: "We promised the Travel Convention would be different and I believe that's what we delivered."

Fleming highlighted the networking opportunities the new format of the convention offered as being one of its key attributes.

He added that ABTA itself had moved on from being at a crossroads this time last year to being "still alive and well and very strong".

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

5th December 2007

Children exercise more on holiday, report shows

Children are more likely to get involved in sport and exercise on a foreign holiday than at school or on a UK break, new research shows.

A poll conducted by 12 year olds at a school in Weston-super-Mare found that more children (96%) aged 12 do more exercise during their summer holidays than during school term time.

The highest exercise levels were found in students who went abroad on holiday (78% did a 'lot more' exercise) as opposed to those who holidayed in the UK (33%) and those who did not have a holiday at all (37.5%).

Eight out of ten (79%) got enjoyment from exercise during the summer holidays, with over half (57%) describing it as 'more fun' and 22% saying it was 'more exciting'.

Analysis of their school versus holiday eating experiences found that 12-year-olds consume:

Less burgers and pizzas on holiday compared to a school week

More vegetables during the school holidays than term time

Lots More' fruit in the school holidays than term time

Far more water during the school holidays than term time

About the same amounts of salad, chips, sweets, chocolate and ice cream

Asked about their views on holiday eating habits, the vast majority wanted to eat more healthily.

As a result of the findings, La Manga Club, which commissioned the report, is calling for schools to make term-time exercise more fun and for parents to encourage their children to be more active.

Tony Coles, general manager at La Manga Club, said: "As a family-orientated sports and leisure resort we commissioned this report to look at what children thought of the kinds of exercise they do and the diet they keep.

"The findings show that young people can and do enjoy their exercise, but the statistics reveal they do more of it - and in a greater range of activities - during the school holidays when they have more time, more opportunity and more fun.

"What we're hoping to do today with the publishing of this report is to show parents, teachers, youth club operators, in fact anyone who engages with young people, that a more varied range of activities encourages increased levels of exercise - which is a great step on the road towards reducing childhood obesity."

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th November 2007

Brits prefer to holiday with friends, says Butlins

A Butlins survey of almost 2,000 Brits has found that 66% of adults prefer taking holidays with their friends, often without their partners, children or other family members.

The survey, conducted in conjunction with VisitBritain, discovered that 27% of adults go on breaks with their mates, whilst 44% of 16-24-year-olds take regular short breaks with just their friends.

Nearly half of the adults surveyed prefer to take a break in the British countryside, whilst only 30% choose to visit a European city.

When asked why they take short breaks with their mates, 22% said they had taken a short break in the past year to reunite with old friends, while 10% admitted they take breaks with friends "to get away from their partner and/or family".

A quarter like to go on breaks with their mates to let their hair down, while 12% of under 24s take short breaks to attend music festivals with their friends.

Allan Lambert, head of agency sales at Butlin's parent Bourne Leisure, said: "Our survey results show that British adults are looking for short fun breaks with their friends without having to worry about finding activities for their children or partner.

"Butlins' party and themed weekends have been developed to cater for this market and fulfil our adult customer demands, alongside our ever-popular family breaks.

"The success of the festivals that have been hosted at Butlins this year has also been extremely encouraging and we are planning to make Butlins the ultimate party venue in 2008, by hosting a varied range of multi-day music festivals and other big events."

The online research was carried out by Tickbox.net amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,847 UK adults aged 16 plus.

The survey defined a short break as a leisure trip of one to three nights.

By Bev Fearis Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th November 2007

Domestic tourism hit by summer floods

This summer's record rainfall and floods in parts of the UK led to a six per cent slump in overnight trips in July to 12.5 million over the same month in 2006.

Figures released by VisitBritain at the ABTA Travel Convention in Tenerife also showed a 2% fall in the number of trips made abroad in the month to 6.6 million, indicating that people were reluctant to travel at all during the first key month of the summer.

Bad weather badly affected the UK between May and July yet the number of overnight trips taken by Brits between January and July was down by just half a per cent on the same seven months in 2006, according to the statistics. Spending was actually up by 4% to £11.8 billion.

VisitBritain is gearing up for the launch of a £250,000 Culture '08 campaign in January and is preparing for Liverpool becoming the 2008 European Capital of Culture with 300 events planned in the city over the 12 months expected to attract two million extra visitors.

The national tourism agency's chief executive Tom Wright, reflecting on the first half of 2007, said: "While there have certainly been pockets of the country that have been very badly affected by incidents over the summer, all indications for the first seven months of the year are that the industry is pulling through."

But he added: "Competition from overseas destinations remains intense and we will have to wait and see if bad weather this year will drive the British abroad in 2008."

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th November 2007

Family 'time famine' highlights importance of holidays

Pressures of modern day life are creating 'family time famine' with couples and children seeing foreign holidays as more important as ever.

A poll by First Choice found that 99 per cent of families thought a holiday was "an important or very important" time to bond together.

The survey found that Brits are very poor when spending quality time together over meals.

The operator's marketing director Tim Williamson said: "Our research rather shocked us by showing that one in five families spend an hour or less together each day at home. Only 15 per cent of families were able to spend four hours or more having fun as a family at home, while on holiday that figure soars to 87 per cent of families."

First Choice, which claims to have more children's clubs than any other operator, found that the average family share only six meals together a week compared to 12 on holiday.

Williamson said at the ABTA Travel Convention in Tenerife: "Families are using holidays to re-engage. There is clearly a big dis-engagement which holidays help resolve."

Between them, First Choice and Thomson - combined under the TUI Travel umbrella - offer more than 16O family clubs.

Williamson said the family sector had always been a crucial part of the business, and that was especially true of First Choice as the market continues to grow.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th November 2007

'Set-jetting' boost for UK film tourism"

'Set-jetting' - where travellers visit the locations of popular films - has been identified as a growth area for UK tourism.

National tourism agency VisitBritain says film tourism is an increasingly popular holiday option, spurred by movie blockbusters shot in locations across the UK.

The organisation estimates that 40% of potential visitors are "very likely" to visit places featured in films or television.

VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright said: "Set-jetting is a great way of marketing a destination and Britain's popularity as a location for many of the biggest films has helped VisitBritain to lead the way in capitalising on this 'screen magic'.

"If the right film is chosen, it acts as free advertising for a destination, location or attraction; shown to millions of people around the world."

Next year sees the release of the Half Blood Prince, the penultimate film instalment in the Harry Potter series of films, which was filmed in Scotland, London and Wiltshire.

Also due in cinemas is The Young Victoria, which features Lincoln Cathedral doubling as Westminster Abbey for the re-enactment of Queen Victoria's coronation, together with Arundel and Belvoir castles; Brighton and Hampton Court Palace.

Keira Knightly will star in The Duchess, a period piece including scenes filmed at the National Maritime Museum, Somerset House, Chatsworth House, Bristol's Old Vic theatre, Bath and West Wycombe Park. The actress will also appear in The Edge of Love, with key scenes in Wales.

The blockbuster Batman sequel The Dark Knight uses locations in Liverpool, Chertsey and Longcross in Surrey as well as Battersea Power Station, the Criterion Theatre, University of Westminster and Piccadilly Circus in London.

The latest James Bond film is also set for release on November 7, 2008, although UK locations are unconfirmed.

Newly released fantasy film The Golden Compass, starring Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, includes locations from Oxford's colleges and Pitt-Rivers Museum to Bourne Woods in Farnham and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

By Phil Davies Travel Mole website. Back to top

20th November 2007

Revenue & Customs chairman quits

The chairman of HM Revenue and Customs, Paul Gray, has resigned in the wake of a major breach of security involving taxpayers' personal details, it emerged today.

The chancellor, Alistair Darling, is to make a Commons statement at 3.30pm.

A Treasury spokesman would say only that the statement concerned a "major operational problem" at Revenue & Customs, but it is understood that the statement relates to the disappearance of personal data.

By Deborah Summers for Guardian Guardian website. Back to top

20th November 2007

Network Rail may cut investment if recession hits UK

Contingency plans are being drawn up that will allow Network Rail to scale back a near-£10bn pound expansion of the railway system in the event of a severe economic downturn.

The Office of Rail Regulation said it expected the infrastructure company to mothball engineering projects if passenger demand fell. The regulator's comments follow a warning this year from a leading transport consultancy that the government's railway strategy could be derailed if turmoil in the debt markets caused a wider economic depression.

Michael Lee, the ORR board member in charge of monitoring Network Rail's performance, said the regulator would ensure that spending could be scaled back if demand did not meet expectations. The ORR is reviewing Network Rail's business plan for 2009 to 2014, in which it is seeking £10bn for improvements as part of a £29.3bn funding package.

Lee said: "We need to have a process where, in consultation with the appropriate government funders, if it makes sense to change the plans, it can be done." He added that, although Network Rail would receive its funding up front, it would be expected to shelve projects if growth failed to meet government expectations of a 22% increase in passengers by 2014.

"We are hoping that Network Rail will come to regard itself as a public interest company with a responsibility to deliver the public interest through the railway.

"If some schemes are not necessary, we would not expect it to charge ahead with just its own interests in mind," he said.

Major Network Rail projects planned between 2009 and 2014 include: the £2.6bn upgrade of the former Thameslink route; the £455m redevelopment of Reading station; and a £234m fund for small improvements costing less than £5m.

Funding of the Network Rail business plan is underpinned by the government's railway white paper, which outlined the spending formula for the network up to 2014. Under the Department for Transport proposals, government subsidy will fall over the period while the contribution from fares will nearly double.

By 2014, passengers will be paying for 75% of the cost of running the rail network. The reliance on passenger growth - a factor closely linked with the health of the UK economy - led to the TAS consultancy warning in its Rail Industry Monitor report in August that there was little room for error in the government's calculations.

Chris Cheek, the report's author, said yesterday that the outlook was gloomier amid downbeat statements from the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, about the state of the UK economy. "If we had another recession like in the early 1990s, where the south-east was badly hit and demand for services fell significantly, then obviously there would be a serious problem for the funding outlook."

A Network Rail spokesman said it was "extremely unlikely" that it would scale back its expansion. He said: "The growth estimates in the white paper are, if anything, on the conservative side ... it is more likely that the growth will be higher rather than lower. The last economic downturn that we had, after September 11, saw rail passenger growth continue unabated."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We are confident that the demand forecasts we used in the white paper are the best available figures."

The Association of Train Operating Companies said the government should expect far stronger growth on a network that carried 1.1bn passenger journeys last year. It expects growth of 40% from 2005 to 2015, while Network Rail implicitly criticised government forecasts in its business plan, stating that passenger growth was 8% last year and showed no sign of slowing. The government expects a rise of just 3% a year up to 2014.

In figures

The amount that Network Rail is seeking for improvements to 2014 £10bn

The proportion of the railways' costs passengers will be paying by 2014 75%

Industry predictions of passenger growth - above government figures 40%

By Guardian www.guardian.co.uk Back to top

20th November 2007

BA marks regional anniversary with new routes

BRITISH Airways, the UK's flagship carrier, which operates 49 weekly flights from the GCC to London Heathrow, celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Middle East services last month by announcing six additional weekly services on the Dubai-Heathrow route.

With the winter schedule commencing on December 17 and running through to the end of March 2008, the six additional services take British Airways' capacity on the route to 8,900 seats per week, a 22 per cent rise on the summer schedule.

"Due to overwhelming demand during the winter period, we are adding six weekly flights on the Dubai-London route, taking us up to 20 weekly services," said Paul Starrs, British Airways' commercial manager for the Middle East.

"Morning, afternoon and evening departures six days a week will suit all travel itineraries. Our UAE business and corporate customers can look forward to having greater options available whether they are landing in the UK, or connecting to our global network of 140 destinations. "Speaking on the 75th anniversary, Starrs said, "This region has evolved exponentially during this time and, while emerging as a vastly important market for the airline, has become a case-study on how to build credible business environments through economic diversification for people the world over.

"Times have changed a little during the last three quarters of a century - we no longer use a special flying boat service that requires ten stop-overs to reach the UAE - and from their own doorstep our passengers can now access every corner of the world by utilising our global network of over 140 destinations in more than 70 countries, making us the industry leader." By Guardian www.guardian.co.uk Back to top

15th November 2007

UK travel industry bullish for 2008, finds Travelmole study

The UK's travel industry remains bullish for 2008 despite stagnating volumes for 2007, according to a study by Travelmole and public relations company BGB.

Among the outbound tour operators surveyed, 51% reported modest growth in turnover in 2007, while 22% reported strong increases.

But 22% said their turnover was stagnant, while 3% admitted they had suffered a modest decline and 2% reported a strong decline.

When asked for their forecast for 2008, 58% said they expected further modest increases while 27% were confident of strong increases.

Among domestic operators, 64% reported modest increases in turnover in 2007, and only 4% reported strong growth.

Operators blamed the sluggish market on the wet summer, on the back of a disappointing summer the previous year.

But these companies were the most bullish for 2008, with 78% expecting modest growth and 11% predicting strong growth.

Meanwhile, inbound operators have suffered the most. According to the findings of the Travelmole/BGB online survey released at World Travel Market, 2007 turnover has remained static for 38% of operators.

But 35% have seen modest growth and 21% claimed strong increases in turnover.

Looking forward to 2008, 26% of inbound operators are predicting strong growth, 58% are expecting modest growth but 14% believe their turnover will stay the same.

Inbound operators also blamed the poor weather along with higher air fares and lack of funding to UK tourism bodies.

The study, which also involved interviews with key players in the industry, found long-haul destinations are the best sellers for 45% of outbound tour operators and agents, followed by short-haul trips (34%), Western Europe (19%) and the UK (7%).

Operators said long-haul destinations are selling better because they are less easy for the traveller to book independently and the price advantage of using an operator is stronger.

Many believe the short breaks market is reaching saturation, largely due to increased airport security and immigration hassles.

Cruising, meanwhile, is one of the fastest growing markets, with Mediterranean cruises boasting a 38% share.

A number of companies interviewed said a shortage of qualified staff was a growing concern, particularly IT specialists.

By Bev Fearis for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

15th November 2007

Competition set to hot up on cross-Channel rail services in 2010

The opening up of the Channel Tunnel to other rail operators in 2010 will bring about the same levels of competition as at airport hubs, WTM delegates were told.

Speaking at an airline debate, Virgin Atlantic director of communications Paul Charles, formerly head of communications for Eurostar, said several other rail operators will begin cross Channel services, including Virgin Rail and Deutsche Bahn.

"You will see the same level of competition that you see at Heathrow today," he predicted in advance of Eurostar services switching to London St Pancras from Waterloo today (Wednesday).

Airlines said they were looking at ways to work with rail services to provide a fuller network for their passengers, through codeshares on rail services.

British Airways head of Terminal 5 development, Jonathon Counsell, said BA had investigated the feasibility of linking T5 with the Eurostar in the early development stages.

"But because of the length of the Eurostar trains, with 18 carriages, it was impossible," he explained.

Virgin's Charles said the onus was on the airlines to consider whether they would be better off focusing on other routes, rather than trying to compete on routes well served by rail services.

"Maybe we will see more of that with Open Skies," he added.

By Bev Fearis for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

7th November 2007

UK inbound visitor numbers on the slide

The number of foreign tourist arrivals to the UK stagnated in September, resulting in an overall drop during the key summer months.

Statistics compiled by UKinbound show an overall fall in visitor numbers of 4.5% for the key July-September quarter over summer 2006 and a 4.2% slump in forward bookings.

The body, representing 250 companies and organisations, warned that the UK continues to lose market share as an international destination.

"With the US dollar falling below $2.10 to the pound today, and likely to fall still further, we can expect demand from the US to be markedly curtailed," UKinbound warned.

"With global oversupply of tourism products and demand from our two biggest markets almost certain to fall in the short term, our members face still competition in the coming months."

UKinbound repeated its criticism of the government over tourism funding, saying: "Is it too much to ask that in return for £2.5 billion a year in tax revenue generated by inbound tourism, our government could just do two things we cannot do for ourselves - destination marketing and statistics.

"Successful businesses, especially exporters, rely on accurate data, but this government has continuously failed to provide the robust statistics we need."

UKinbound quoted a 2004 report commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport - which is responsible for tourism - which made it clear the UK was not even meeting the EU minimum standard on tourism statistics. The 14 recommendations made and endorsed by the industry have not been implemented, according to the organisation.

Cuts in the budget for VisitBritain's international marketing after 11 years of "stand still funding" also came under attack.

"We find it more than a little ironic that in the USA, where inbound tourism has been in decline for the last five years, the US Congress has just agreed to set up a federal National Tourism Office, reversing decades of responsibility being devolved to individual states," said UKinbound.

"And one of the reasons cited for this change of direction is the excellent return on government investment in the UK achieved by VisitBritain."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

2nd November 2007

Environmental concerns 'failing to filter through to holidaymakers'

A third of people are still not prepared to spend any more on a holiday in order to offset their carbon emissions, according to new research.

Six out of ten (59%) holidaymakers say they will not cut down on the number of holidays abroad to save the environment, while one in three (35%) are not prepared to pay an extra £20 per holiday to offset their flight's carbon emissions.

Less than a quarter (24%) said they would select a travel company based on environmental credentials - and the majority of these people were aged under 25.

More than 40% said they would not book a holiday with a company just because it has green credentials. A third (35%) sat on the fence saying they 'didn't know'.

Scottish consumers are the least concerned about the environment with 74% saying they would not cut down on holidays; while consumers in the West Midlands showed the most concern - 37% said they would cut down on holidays if it would make a difference. The national average was 26%.

The research suggests that saving the environment rests with the young as these are the most environmentally friendly group - 39% said they would cut down on holidays abroad to save the environment.

The poll of 2,500 people online by travel industry marketing specialist BLM Media also found the majority of people deserting travel agents for the internet.

Only 12% of people now use travel agents with 61% citing high prices as the main reason for avoiding them.

The internet continues to empower consumers to book direct - 52% book flight and accommodation direct, rising to 73% for flights only.

The internet is now the first place people go to for holiday information - 75% stated this. Seventy per cent also said the internet was very important in planning their holiday.

The poll also found that holidaymakers are increasingly going independent, booking direct and creating their own bespoke packages. One in three (36%) people do not book traditional package holidays.

The average cost of a holiday, per person and excluding holiday spending money, was found to be £1,171. The Scots are the thriftiest with 10% spending less than £250 on a long haul holiday; the most extravagant were people in the south east of England who spend £1,494 on average.

Chris Armond, business directorat BLM, said: "The green message is not getting through to holidaymakers who appear to value their vacations more than the environment.

"The internet is helping travellers become more independent so much so that traditional travel agents have to change their business model to attract holiday makers back through their doors."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

2nd November 2007

New domestic air routes for Cornwall

Air Southwest is expanding from Cornwall with four new routes from Newquay.

The low fare airline is to serve Newcastle, Glasgow and Cork next summer and run flights to Chambéry, gateway to the French Alps, for winter 2008.

The carrier is offering 10,000 seats on the flights to Glasgow and Newcastle at £35 and £30 to Cork, including taxes.

The flights will operate year-round and start on April 28 next year with the exception of Chambéry, which will operate during the ski season and go on sale later.

The new flights to Glasgow, Newcastle and Cork will operate daily.

The Chambéry service will run on Saturdays between December 20 next year and March 28, 2009 priced from £35 including taxes.

Air Southwest already flies four times a day, seven days a week from Newquay to Gatwick and has regular flights to Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, Bristol and Dublin.

The airline's chief executive Jim Cameron, chief executive of Air Southwest, said: "This is a major expansion of Air Southwest's services from Newquay and cements our position as Cornwall's own airline, offering year-round services to popular destinations.

"We continually evaluate new route opportunities and are confident that our new routes and additional flights will be popular with business and leisure passengers."

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of South West Tourism, said: "For years we have seen a reduction in visitors to the far South West from the North East and Scotland because people on short breaks don't want to travel for more than half a day and coming by car or the train takes too long.

"These new services provide an air bridge back to some of our traditional markets that have been denied to us for two decades and it's great news for the region."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th October 2007

Interest rate rises hitting London weekend breaks?

UK hotels performed "solidly" in September after a poor summer, according to preliminary monthly figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services.

London hotels saw rates rise by 7.5%, providing a 6.8% increase in rooms yield from £112.20 to £119.87 year-on-year.

But occupancy levels dropped from 87.2% to 86.7% as numbers of domestic visitors to the capital declined.

PKF suggested that one reason could be that the effects of the interest rate rises over the last year are beginning to bite and people are thinking twice about spending money on a weekend away.

Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester all had a disappointing September. All three cities saw a decline in their rooms yield on the previous year - Leeds was down 2.6%; Liverpool 5.5%; and Manchester had the largest fall at 8.3%.

These drops were a result of a decrease in both occupancy and room rate. Overall, regional hotels did see growth in September, jumping 2.4% in rooms yield.Cardiff hotels were boosted by the Rugby World Cup matches held at the Millennium Stadium during the month. Rooms yield increased by 27.3% from £48.33 to £61.51. This was a result of a 20.6% rise in the room rate and a 5.5% rise in room occupancy.

Robert Barnard, partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: "London hotels had a strong September although again the growth in rooms yield was largely down to the room rate. The slight downturn in occupancy could have been due to some business travellers changing their plans in the aftermath of the summer's financial turmoil.

"The regions also had a small drop in occupancy and this is likely to be due to a mixture of hikes in the interest rate over the last year and the dreary UK summer that has encouraged more people abroad for some last minute sunshine."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th October 2007

Will US travel to Europe dry up?

The prospect of a fall in American travellers to Europe due to unfavourable exchange rates is to be a central discussion at next month's European Tour Operators Association conference.

The US is the largest market for inbound tourism to Europe, which representing an annual spend of $40 billion.

While the US dollar is at its weakest against both sterling and the euro for 15 years, demand has shown itself to be surprisingly resilient, according to ETOA.

Executive director Tom Jenkins said: "We normally expect demand for Europe to track currency fluctuations. A strong dollar normally sees a surge in demand, a weak dollar a drop.

"Indeed, the collapse in demand for Europe from America in 2003 probably had more to do with the state of the currency than reaction to 9/11.

"What is surprising is that the connection between currency and demand has not been absolute. Since 2003 we have seen consistent growth in European arrivals from the US, despite a decline in the value of the dollar.

"If we were to have another return to the dollar's historic levels against European currencies, demand from the US could become overwhelming.

"However, if the slide continues and an adverse event takes place, such as a terrorism strike, demand could suddenly dry up.

"It is worth noting that during the late 1990's the growth from America delivered an additional million visitors per year - substantially more than the total number of visitors from China".

The US market will be the main subject of the morning session of the ETOA conference at the Global European Marketplace (GEM) on November 9 at Earls Court, London.

There will be a presentation on how to identify promising source markets by David Edwards, VisitBritain's head of statistics, and Simon Carkeek, executive director of Eye4Travel, will unveil new research in to the behaviour of US consumers online.

The main debate will take place between Arnie Weissmann, editor in chief of Travel Weekly US and William Maloney, CEO of the American Society of Travel Agents.

They will reflect on the developments in travel distribution in the US and forecast what is likely to happen in the future. They will address several questions, including:

"Will travel agents continue to be relevant?

"Is the internet a threat to their existence or can it be used to help a distribution channel that still sells the most expensive packages?

"The internet appears to be empowering consumers: is this a threat or an opportunity?

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th October 2007

Almost 70 UK regions gain through ticketing onto Eurostar

Eurostar high speed trains to the Continent will be available with through tickets from UK regions from next month.

The Channel Tunnel passenger service is to offer through rail fares from 68 locations across the UK.

Tickets, which start at £67 return from Luton to Brussels or Paris, go on sale on November 14 - the day Eurostar train departures switch from Waterloo to St Pancras, close to both Euston and King's Cross stations.

Eurostar has struck deals with East Midlands Trains, First Capital Connect, GNER and Virgin Trains to sell return fares to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Disneyland Resort Paris, 75 connecting destinations across France and to any station in Belgium.

A range of through fares has also been unveiled with Chiltern Railways and London Midland, the operator of new West Midlands rail franchise.

Eurostar believes the new fares will further boost the growing number of Channel Tunnel journeys made by travellers living in UK regions and offer competition to regional airlines.

Travellers will be able to buy tickets at prices that are as attractive as those offered by airlines, Eurostar claims.

There will be up to 17 connecting rail services a day to Paris and up to 10 a day to Brussels.

City centre-to-city centre journey times by train will match or even beat those of flying.

Standard class, return leisure fares to Paris, Brussels and Disneyland Resort Paris will start from between £67 and £92, for travel from major stations across Britain such as Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Nottingham.

Tickets will be available to purchase from mid-December via eurostar.com and participating railway company websites. Initially they will be sold by telephoning Eurostar's call centre.

Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown said: "Eurostar's move to St Pancras International and the introduction of through fares will open up rail travel to the Continent for millions of people living to the north of London.

"We are offering competitive prices and journey times, with fast and reliable Eurostar services with trains travelling at 186mph on High Speed 1, the UK's first high-speed line.

"Rail will provide cost-effective, convenient and comfortable travel to mainland Europe, and all Eurostar journeys will be carbon neutral from November 14 at no extra cost to travellers."

David Mapp, commercial director of the Association of Train Operating Compnaies, said: "The new through fares will make it far easier for people to buy tickets for travel to the Continent.

"Initially, customers will be able to buy tickets with just one phone call to the Eurostar call centre for journeys from 68 British stations to the many direct and connecting continental destinations served by Eurostar.

"The collaboration between Eurostar and Britain's train operators is an important step in integrating UK and Continental rail travel and builds on the enormous investment in the new high-speed line and St Pancras International."

Lowest standard class, return fares and fastest journey times include:

Cambridge - Brussels / Paris: £71 return - journey times 3h50 / 4h00

Birmingham - Brussels / Paris: £79 - journey times 4h25 / 4h50

Manchester - Brussels / Paris: £84 - journey times 5h20 / 5h35

Luton - Brussels / Paris: £67 - journey times 3h20 / 3h40

Derby - Brussels / Paris: £77 - journey times 4h25 / 4h50

Sheffield - Brussels / Paris: £77 - journey times 5h00 / 5h25

Peterborough - Brussels / Paris: £77 - journey times 3h40 / 4h00

Leeds - Brussels / Paris £79 - journey times 5h05 / 5h35

For travel to Disneyland Resort Paris, and to any station in Belgium, the lowest fares are the same price as for Brussels/Paris.

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

30th October 2007

Eurostar scores higher sales with Ruby World Cup

Eurostar carryings rose by 3.6% to 2.23 million travellers in the peak summer three months between July and September.

Ticket revenues totalled £148.5 million - an increase of 13.8% driven both by increasing numbers of business passengers and by higher demand during the Rugby World Cup in France.

Eurostar estimates that it carried at least 125,000 passengers to and from rugby matches and ran 19 extra services during the tournament carrying 13,000 additional travellers.

Business travel remained very strong, with the volume of business sales rising by 12.9% over the same period last year.

The rise in passenger numbers is expected to be boosted by the announcement today of through fares from 68 UK towns and cities to the Continent.

Tickets go on sale from 14 November 14 with lowest fares range from £67-£92.

Eurostar saw 91.1% of trains arriving on time or early during the quarter.

Ticket sales in international markets outside the UK, France and Belgium grew by 14.2% against the same period in 2006.

Chief executive Richard Brown said: "Eurostar's continued growth in traveller numbers - especially in the crucial business sector - shows that growing environmental concern and a desire for a hassle-free travel experience are persuading more people to choose Eurostar rather than the airlines.

"These are the final set of results for a full quarter of Eurostar operations to and from Waterloo International. On 14 November we will launch services from our new London home at St Pancras International.

"Eurostar journeys will be quicker and, with the introduction of through fares to the Continent from 68 towns and cities across Britain, more accessible to millions more people living in the UK regions. We are confident that these changes will mean our traveller numbers continue to rise."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

15th October 2007

Long term decline' in domestic tourism forecast

Spending on domestic tourism is likely to fall by more than £1 billion over four years, a new report warns.Research company Key Note's latest Travel & Tourism Market Review forecasts that expenditure on domestic travel and tourism will drop by around five per cent this year to £19.91 billion.

Key Note predicts that expenditure on domestic tourism will have fallen further to around £18.63 billion by 2011 - the year before the Olympic Games is held in London.

The number of trips in 2007 is expected to be down by 6.2% and the number of beds nights are projected to fall by 6.5%. At the same time, only "modest" growth in the number of inbound visits to the UK is expected, according to the research.The report attributed the slump this year to the prolonged spell of wet weather during the summer on the back of a disappointing year in 2006 which saw spending down significantly on the previous 12 months.

UK tourism also faces the ongoing appeal of holidaying abroad through low cost flights, the high value of sterling again the dollar and euro, and the increasing range of holidays and destination available. All these attractions of holidaying overseas will work again the domestic tourism market, Key Note said.

In the year to March 2006, 45.3% of adults took holiday abroad, compared with 45% the previous year. In the same period 38.1% took holidays in the UK, down from 39.8%.

Overseas travel in 2007 is forecast to remain "relatively static" compared with 2006, although the wet summer in the UK is expected to have boosted foreign holiday taking.

"The domestic tourism market has been contracting for some years and this long-term decline may well continue for several years," the report said.

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

8th October 2007

Government increases holiday allowance

The UK Government increases statutory annual holiday entitlement for full-time workers from 20 to 24 days from this month. It will put it up again to 28 days from April 1 2009.

The move was welcomed by Cheapflights.co.uk's general manager Francesca Ecsery.

"The increase in the amount of holiday entitlement available to workers is a great coup for those industrious citizens who constantly juggle work and play.

"Legislation that levels the playing field for more people has come into effect, but workers do need to be made aware of it - employed people could be missing out by not keeping up to speed with their rights in the workplace.

"Widely believed to lead to improved productivity, the motivational reward of increased holiday can be just as valuable as an increase in money in workers' pockets.

"With the entitlement increasing again in 2009, workers will be able to flock to their favourite destinations more often - tour operators, travellers and tourist destinations alike will all reap the benefits."

By Bev Fearis for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

8th October 2007

Inflation-busting prices threaten regional air links

Regional air links from Heathrow could be threatened by "inflation-busting" hikes in fees paid by airlines.

The warning came from Bmi, the second largest user of the airport, which reacted angrily to Competition Commission recommendations for higher than expected charges at Heathrow from next April.

The fees per departing passenger at Heathrow in 2007/08 is £18.55 but will almost double to £35.28 in 2012 under the CC recommendations based on an RPI each year of 4.1% as was recorded in August 2007, the airline calculated.

The suggested hike in charges every year over five years "threatens to put under further scrutiny the existence and viability of vital UK regional air links into Heathrow and has the potential of pricing them out of the market," Bmi warned.

As previously reported by TravelMole, the Competition Commission's recommended rise in charges are more than those considered by regulator the Civil Aviation Authority but are not binding.

Bmi deputy chief executive Tim Bye said: "We warned the CC that sanctioning inflation-busting price rises at Heathrow could have a devastating effect on vital regional services into Heathrow.

"The availability of routes from key UK regions to feed into a wide range of destinations through the world's busiest international airport sustains the lifeblood and the economic growth of many of these regions."

"At a time when competition between airlines has demanded that they drive down their costs and generate higher levels of efficiency to survive, we have had to endure inflation-busting increases for the last five years for indifferent levels of service.

"We are now facing even higher increases over the next five years with limited improvements until the opening of the new Heathrow East terminal in 2012."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

8th October 2007

Social networking driving travel boom

The next evolution of travel is what is commonly termed as Travel 2.0, with social networking websites currently being the main driving factor.

Social networking sites, such as vitualtourist.com, are great marketing tools for destination marketing. Most content at sites such as these have user-generated content, although commercial content is appearing increasingly on these sites as companies wake up to the marketing potential of social networking sites.

There is a distinct time advantage in that travel information is very up to date and needs not to adhere to publication or research schedule, as with most traditional travel information sources such as guide books.

Promoting domestic tourism and lesser known destinations.

Sites like this are very useful in promoting domestic tourism, as well as more off the beaten track destinations.

Since most tourism boards are spending more effort and money in promoting inbound tourism, its much neglected cousin, domestic tourism, stands to gain from social networking sites where members are promoting local destinations via invitations to local events by other members.

Through social networking, new bonds are made and travel queries are answered promptly, with local economies benefiting greatly from this.

This may result in the growth of travel "minipreneurs", where locals provide on the ground tourism services often involving a fee.

Websites like WAYN and virtualtourist.com have regular real-life meetings organised by its members to socialise, find new travel companions or simply to meet up with fellow members who are passing through town.

Travel applications and social networking.

Many travel companies are embracing this trend to promote and direct traffic to their online travel retail sites.

One of the top tools downloaded by Facebook members is Tripadvisor's "My Travel Map". This increases brand exposure as well as directs the high traffic flow from Facebook to Tripadvisor's Expedia powered website.

Many Facebook members are using Tripadvisor's application as a source of information when doing their travel research before their holidays.

Within this dynamic market, the next step after the seamless integration of online travel retail into the social networking websites will be an interesting development to watch.

As social networking brings down the barriers between people, this represents a platform that companies can use to target better their customers.

Applications could be created to find out more about consumers, such as members naming their top ten list of dream destinations, which on one hand be shared with their friends on Facebook, yet on the other hand be used for market research purposes.

Euromonitor International forecasts that online retail in the European Union to grow by 141% to $70 billion by the end of 2011, with social networking being a key catalyst for this boom in travel.

By Travel Mole Travel Mole website. Back to top

26th September 2007

American tourists shunning the UK

The worsening US dollar exchange rate against the pound has hit the UK's popularity amongst high-spending American tourists, says US travel firm Travelocity.

The UK's share of visitors from the US in 2007 is down almost 10% on last year, according to Travelocity figures. The decrease has coincided with fares to the UK increasing by almost 19%.

The drop in visitors has seen the UK slide four places in Travelocity's standings from 22nd to the US's 26th biggest tourism market, including both domestic and international destinations.

The current US dollar to sterling exchange rate - which sees American tourists only receive around one pound for every two US dollars exchanged - has led to US tourists holidaying closer to home, particularly domestically and in the Caribbean.

As the dollar's exchange rate against the pound has worsened throughout the first six months of 2007 US visitors have dropped by 6%, according to Travelocity.

The decline is damaging as the UK's tourism economy relies on US tourists more than visitors from any other country, as Americans stay for long durations and spend the most money while on holiday.

Travelocity's data is supported by figures from tourism marketing body VisitBritain that shows US visitors to the UK in 2006 - when the US had a stronger economy and the dollar to pound exchange rate was better - increased by 13% on the previous year.

US destinations benefiting most from the decision not to travel abroad include San Juan, which has seen its share increase by almost 40%, and San Diego, which is up by almost a fifth.

Las Vegas' share has increased by 12.3%, while New York is up almost 10.

The Caribbean's share of bookings has increased by almost 30%, with Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, and Barbados seeing their share increase by 41%, 35% and 19% respectively.

Travelocity senior editor Genevieve Brown said: "There has been a slowdown in the number of US visitors to UK this year, which has happened at the same time as the Dollar to Pound exchange rate has worsened.

"As the UK's market share has declined, domestic destinations and places where travellers can spend US dollars, like the Caribbean, have gained popularity."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

19th September 2007

UK tourism to gain £2.1bn from Olympics

Providing better service to tourists and improving accommodation are among key issues to be tackled to ensure the UK tourism industry capitalises on the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The strategy follows the publication of VisitBritain and Visit London research showing the tourism benefits from the London 2012 Games are estimated to be worth up to £2.1 billion.

The Oxford Economics tourism impact study on the 2012 Games forecasts that the 2012 London Games will generate tourism gains totalling £2.3 billion (at 2006 prices). Once allowances for displacement of visitors are made, the contribution is reduced to £2.1 billion for the UK.

It comes as it emerged that only 53% of accommodation in the UK is signed up to the national star-grading scheme and only 34% of London's accommodation has any kind of quality mark. And the UK ranks only 14th out of 40 countries for "our welcome".

The report - Winning: A Tourism Strategy for 2012 and Beyond - drawn up with VisitBritain and Visit London is designed to helped the industry gear up to handle millions of new visitors prior to and after 2012.

The document sets out how tourism must:

engage all UK businesses in a new campaign aimed at domestic and overseas visitors starting at the Beijing handover in 2008;

develop a skilled workforce providing better customer service;

drive up quality in accommodation by increasing the number of places (to 85%) that are accredited under the national star-grading scheme;

promote the UK as a key location for international business visits and conferences; and

improve sustainability by ensuring that the needs of the environment are central to the development of the tourism industry.

The blueprint was unveiled by tourism minister Margaret Hodge, who said: "From the London Eye to the Lake District we have some of the finest tourist attractions in the world. We've got a good image as a tourist destination - but I want that image to be excellent.

"London 2012 is a huge opportunity for the UK tourism industry. In five years time millions of visitors will be coming here for the first time and we want them to come back time and time again - and bring their family and friends. It's about creating a lasting legacy.

"This strategy will help every sector of the industry - from the smallest B&B to the largest chain hotel, from the quiet seaside town to the noisy theme park - gear up, improve its service and improve its welcome in time for 2012."

VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright said: "The Olympic and Paralympics Games represent a decade of opportunity for the whole of the UK with benefits in the years before, during and after the event itself. VisitBritain is already committed to raising the quality of the visitor experience with a Welcome to Britain Charter in development while we also encourage more accommodation providers and attractions to join the quality-assessment schemes. Furthermore our international marketing strategies, working with our partners, will help to develop the global perceptions of Britain and generate ever more visitors and win more major events.

"With these strategies in place coupled to the right commitment and investment from public and private sectors, we can leverage our global network of offices - particularly in emerging markets with the greatest potential for future growth - to create the biggest audience for British destinations."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

17th September 2007

Brits travel for 'life milestones', says Expedia research

New research by Expedia.co.uk claims 75% of Brits have either celebrated or sought solace from a life changing event through travel.

While the average holiday abroad costs under £500 per person, 34% of Expedia.co.uk customers are prepared to spend over £1,000 to mark the occasion, with 9% prepared to spend over £2,000.

The survey of more than 24,000 Expedia.co.uk customers found wedding anniversaries are the most popular milestone to celebrate abroad, with 65% of respondents having gone on holiday to enjoy them, closely followed by birthdays (47%).

But 37% also head abroad for inspiration when times are tough.

he destinations chosen most often by respondents for each event are:

Venice for a wedding anniversary

Amsterdam for a birthday

US for finishing university

Amsterdam for hen and stag dos

Paris for an engagement

Australia for retirement

Spain for a bereavement

Australia for getting fired

Ibiza for a first break-up

Spain for a divorce

By Bev Fearis for Travel Mole Back to top

17th September 2007

Those aged 45-55 take more breaks - Shearings research

UK breaks are proving more popular than foreign holidays for the over-45s, according to coach tour operator Shearings Holidays.

Research for the company found that people aged between 45 and 55 take more breaks than any other age group in the UK with one in ten taking more than four a year - nearly double the national average of 6.9%. Those in this age bracket take more city breaks than any other.

The survey by Omnibus also found that long weekend become increasingly important as people get older, with 13% aged 65+ choosing a long weekend break - five per cent more than those aged 55-64 and almost double the national average of seven per cent.

One in 12 of those aged more than 65 are choosing adventure and activity holidays, according to the survey.

Just 36.2% in this age range are searching for relaxation on their holidays, ranking lower than every other age group other than those aged 16-24 (33.4%).

A third of over-55s are booking online but 37% still prefer to use a travel agent.

The highest spending holidaymakers are aged 35-44, with 32% spending more than £2,000 but with each decade this figure falls dramatically.

The mean average spend for those aged between 45-54 is £1,494, dropping to £1,352 for those aged 55-65 and to £1,074 for those over 65. This still compares favourably to the £952 spent by 16-24 year olds on their annual holiday.

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

17th September 2007

Nose-dive in US consumer confidence hitting tourism to UK

A "nose-dive" in US consumer confidence due to financial upheavals has become a major concern for UK inbound tour operators.

The industry body UKinbound warned that there was "little prospect" of a recovery from the US for the remainder of this year.

The body, which represents more than 250 companies and organisations selling travel to the UK, said: "he USA remains our biggest concern as consumer confidence nose-dived in the wake of stock market volatility, the collapse of some major mortgage lenders and a seriously weakened US dollar."

Ukinbound's latest business barometer for July indicated that visitor numbers held up "relatively well" with virtually no change over the same month last year, despite poor British weather and the foot and mouth disease outbreak.

Forward bookings were slightly up, although these were mainly from Europe as attracting long haul business "continues to be difficult".

However, UKinbound said the governor of the Bank of England had offered a "glimmer of hope" by indicating that UK interest rates may have peaked at 5.75% and could be reduced if turmoil in the credit markets continues to dampen economic activity.

"A weaker pound would help tourism exports considerably and just these hints have resulted in a softening of the pound against the euro and the US dollar. If interest rates fall, we could see further improvements in exchange rates," UKinbound said.

The group added that the UK continues to be a popular choice for international visitors despite being one of the most expensive destinations in the world.

"We have, so far, been able to overcome this problem with the range, depth and quality of the products we offer but unless we constantly seek to improve our product offering and customer service to appeal to ever more discerning customers, our popularity is likely to diminish," UKinbound said.

"It was therefore good to see that despite the bad press tourism receives from the environmental lobby, over 75% of members who responded to this month's poll have in place, or are working on, corporate environmental friendly polices."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

p>6th September 2007

UK hotel tax issues seminar planned

A seminar on current hotel tax issues aimed at financial directors, directors of hotel companies and real estate investors is to be run by PF Accountants.

The event will take place on October 4 from 17.00 at PKF's London office in Farringdon where speakers will discuss all the latest changes in hotel tax legislation and how these might affect the UK hotel market.

The specific changes that will be addressed include the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in January this year and the proposed amendments to the Industrial Building Allowances and Capital Allowances announced in the Budget in March.

Marios Gregori, director of corporation tax in PKF's Real Estate and Hotels group, said: "The seminar is designed to address how these changes in tax legislation may affect the UK hotel market - essential information for finance directors, directors and real estate investors.

"It will also provide an opportunity for attendees to meet our tax, hotel and real estate experts."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

6th September 2007

Labour's tourism record 'shockingly poor

The Government has been urged to better fund and support the UK tourism industry in the run in to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The call came from Liberal Democrat shadow culture secretary Don Foster, responding to comments from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that the tourism industry needs to 'up its game' prior to 2012.

Foster said: "When will Labour stop passing the buck on tourism and start taking this vital industry seriously?

"The Government's tourism strategy detailing how to make the most of the games has been delayed twice now, leaving the industry waiting."

Foster described Labour's record on tourism as "shockingly poor".

"They have consistently failed to provide adequate funding to the industry, only making money available for a part-time chair of VisitBritain and slashing the organisation's budget by five per cent in real terms since 2000.

"The message is clear - the Olympics offers the perfect opportunity to boost tourism up and down the UK, but this won't happen if the Government fails to give the industry the funding and support it needs."

By Phil Davies for Travel Mole Back to top

6th September 2007

St Helens to host Tourism Society '08 conference

The 2008 Tourism Society annual conference is to be held in St Helens with the theme 'Emerging Markets in Tourism'.

The event will be run in conjunction with St.Helens Council on June 19-20 2008.

The conference will feature keynote speakers from the tourism industry, government, and public sector bodies.

The conference will cover topics such as business tourism (conferences & exhibitions), sports tourism, gay tourism and cultural tourism.

The event will coincide with neighbouring Liverpool being European Capital of Culture next year.

Tourism Society executive director Flo Powell said: "The Tourism Society selected St. Helens to host our 2008 conference because the borough has a great story to tell that I have no doubt will be of interest and benefit to other destinations across the country.

"From a position six or so years ago where it had no association with tourism whatsoever, St.Helens is now cited by the Northwest Development Agency as an example to others in terms of its approa

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