Author: News Team

UK citizens take all of their allotted vacation time, according to a recently released report on the vacation habits of various nationalities that was conducted by Expedia, an online travel agency. The 2012 Vacation Deprivation study, reporting on vacation habits across continents, says that Asian workers still remain the most vacation deprived, while European workers often take all of their paid leave. The 2012 study features 22 countries in total. Japanese workers are granted around 13 days off each year on average, but take only 5. South Koreans take 7 out of possible 10 vacation days, while American and Mexican…

VisitBritain, the official tourism website for Great Britain, will be wooing the Chinees market, with a tourism delegation from the UK set to visit Shanghai, in China, this week. The visit is part of a trade mission, and will be aiming to re-ignite the interests of Chinese travellers in the UK, following the London 2012 Olympic games. The delegation will be meeting important Chinese travel agents through appointments and seminars. Keith Beecham, the leader of the China mission and director of overseas for VisitBritain, said, ‘The UK tourism opportunities from China are vast, numerous and there to be developed further,…

Virgin Atlantic, an airline subsidiary of UK-based Virgin Group, has acquired the London Heathrow Airport slots that were recently vacated by British Midland International (Bmi) airline, following Bmi’s acquisition by IAG, the parent company of British Airlines. Virgin Atlantic has acquired all 12 of the available slots at London Heathrow Airport and will be using them to offer short distance flights to Scotland. The airline chief executive officer, Steve Ridgway, said, ‘We have fought hard for the right to fly short haul and take a strong challenge to British Airways within these shores. For 28 years both airlines have battled…

easyJet, a UK based airline, has announced a record profit of £317 million for its financial year 2012. The airline has recorded the increase in profit despite a £182 million increase in its fuel expenses in 2012 over 2011. easyjet’s total revenue per seat in 2012 has increased by 5.9 percent to £58.51, due to increased load factors, while the seats flown figure has increased by 5.5 percent to 65.9 million for the same period. Carolyn McCall, the chief executive officer of easyJet, said, ‘These results demonstrate that easyJet is a structural winner in the European short-haul market against both…

In recent times Dubai, in the UAE, has become a major attraction for visitors from the UK during the holiday seasons. Dubai is claimed to be home to some of the world’s most stunning hotel architecture, including the Armani, Burj Al Arab and Atlantis the Palm. According to an earlier industry forecast issued by international industry consultant, Business Monitor International (BMI), the number of foreign tourists heading to the UAE in 2012 is expected to reach almost 9 million. A Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) report has suggested that in the second quarter of 2012, hotel and…

Although the economy in the UK has recently seen a slight upswing, this Christmas may be tough on business as British residents brace themselves to spend less during the holidays. Travelodge Hotels, a UK-based company that owns and operates hotel properties, has reported that the UK economy will suffer by around £514m in this year’s festive season, as British travellers decided to have a low cost Christmas. A recent survey conducted by the hotel chain, said that only around 15 percent of respondents felt like they were out of recession. Around 48 percent of respondents said that they are feeling…

Monarch Airlines, a UK-based airline company, has announced a new route to Malta from East Midlands Airport in the UK, for the summer of 2013. The new route will commence with twice-weekly flights from May 7, 2012, and seats have been available to book since November 16. The managing director of Monarch Airlines, Kevin George, said, ‘We are delighted to be expanding our summer 2013 flights programme from East Midlands Airport with this brand new route for the airline which provides our customers with even more flexibility and choice. Malta is a completely new scheduled destination for Monarch and we…

The UK government has announced additional trains for Boxing Day rail services. The additional services are being laid on to assist shoppers with gaining easy access to major shopping areas in London, Stratford and Kent. Announcing the new services, transport minister, Norman Baker, said, ‘We have devised a unique agreement to enable Southeastern and HS1 to make it easier for their passengers to get to the sales following Christmas, which will provide more services at no cost to the Government. Southeastern ran some very successful services on High Speed 1 during the Olympics and the train operator has shown there…

Many more people are using their mobile devices to book holidays online, according to a new study conducted by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), a UK-based travel agency association. When travellers were asked to comment on how they booked their holidays, around one in four, or 24 percent, reported using a mobile phone or tablet device, such as an iPad, and around 89 percent reported using a computer, rather than a travel agent or a tour operator. Around 14 percent used their mobile phone to book a foreign holiday on-line, while 10 percent claimed to have used a…

Ryanair, an Ireland-based low cost airline, is aiming to up its offer to acquire its Irish rival airline, Aer Lingus. Ryanair had previously offered €694 million for Aer Lingus, which was subsequently rejected by the Aer Lingus board as too low a price. However, the budget airline is now willing to offer around 40 routes from major airports in Ireland to other airlines in return for the acquisition. The airline statement read, ‘This comprehensive remedies package includes a number of new airline bases in Dublin, new entrant competitors on over 40 routes to/from Dublin, Cork and Shannon, as well as…