Author: News Team
Such has been the bourgeoning popularity of the timeshare holiday option that most people know someone who has invested in one, but what seemed like a good idea as the buyer sipped sangria in a Spanish bodega a year or two ago, might not be so appealing in the chilly UK at this time of austerity. There will have been two aspects to the costs involved in purchasing that poolside pad, an initial, one-off purchase price that buys the right to a set period of time in your slice of the Costas, and an on-going service charge or “maintenance fee”…
London Gatwick Airport, considered to be London’s second airport after Heathrow, will be operating close to normal on April 17, 2012, following an emergency landing incident involving a Virgin Atlantic aircraft on Monday, April 16, 2012. On Monday, a Virgin Atlantic aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport, following which the runway had to be closed to operations for several hours, as the aircraft’s passengers were evacuated and taken to safety. The aircraft was flying with its full capacity of 299 passengers and 13 crewmembers on board, and used its emergency chutes to evacuate all passengers to safety on…
Weymouth, the seaside town in Dorset, UK, has recently seen an increase in holiday cottage bookings from foreign visitors for the summer of 2012, fuelled by interest in the upcoming Olympic Games, commencing this July. Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour in Dorset are hosting the sailing competitions for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The area has natural vantage points for watching the events, even for visitors who are not able to acquire tickets to the Games’ waterside viewing areas. The region will be hosting around 13 events during the Olympics, and has previous experience of hosting many other international…
A UK-based online travel company, lastminute.com, has reported in a survey that UK travellers are increasingly moving towards last minute travel deals. The online survey results report that while 83 percent of UK travellers decide on their vacations up to a year ahead, some are increasingly leaving part of the booking until the final month. Last minute vacationers are often able to benefit from a sizable discount on their travel bookings and hotel accommodation. Around 25 percent of those surveyed have admitted to booking at least a part of their holiday, including hotels or flights, less than a month before…
Accor SA (EPA:AC), a France-based hotel company, has committed itself to sustainable tourism with the launch of its new sustainability programme, Planet 21. The new programme provides strategies to convert each of the company-owned hotels into environmentally sustainable properties. In a briefing held at its Novotel Tower Bridge hotel in London, the Accor group’s executive vice-president for sustainable development, Sophie Flak, said, ‘Energy is the second layer of costs after employees. It’s a huge cost, EUR350 million per year, and we need to focus on reducing consumption of energy because costs won’t go down, particularly with taxes going up in…
The Louvre Museum, in Paris, France, is partnering with Nintendo, the Japan-based electronics company, to offer its visitors a new viewing experience at the museum. The world’s most visited art museum and former main residence of the French monarchy is offering a new set of computer consoles – in place of handheld audio devices – to its visitors for a more entertaining art viewing experience. Made by Nintendo, these portable handsets offer a small screen and around 35 hours of audio content in 700 different commentaries, including art lectures and interviews with museum curators. The devices will be offering additional…
Parents who choose to take children out of school for holidays during term-time may face steep penalties according to a report submitted by UK government advisor, Charles Taylor. The government, however, is considering a reversal of an earlier proposal that would have placed an outright ban on parents taking children on holiday during term time. The ban is being replaced by steeper fines, which may deter already poorly off middle-class parents from considering such vacations. The government is planning to implement a tougher system of fines for parents who regularly take their children on vacations during term-time, in order to…
Dartmoor National Park Authority, the UK-based government agency responsible for the administration of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England, has announced the phasing out of stiles by landowners and farmers in the area. Dartmoor National Park covers around 363sq miles of moorland with exposed granite hilltops. In a new guidance, the park authority has asked owners of properties in the Dartmoor National Park Area to replace stiles, or traditional wooden steps across boundary walls, with gates and gaps, to provide access for everyone. A report by the authority stated that ‘Stiles will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, where for…
The Olympic torch will be visiting the City of Bath on May 22 and local businesses are helping to make it a memorable day. Preparations are being made with local businesses, residents and the local authority to mark the honour of the Flame’s visit to Bath. A street parade, music, dancing and various celebrity appearances are planned, a real day of partying for Bath. Guest House owners, such as Les & Lynsay Redwood, who run Apple Tree Guest House in the centre of Bath are just one of the businesses that are getting involved. Les Redwood said: “This is a real…
Colditz Castle, a Renaissance period castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, in Germany, is drawing a huge number of British visitors. A onetime Nazi prison camp for prisoners of war (PoW’s) from the allied forces in World War II, the present castle has been recently renovated to operate as a hotel, offering rooms for as little as £20 a night. Tour operators in the UK are promoting a night’s stay in one of the castle’s 161 bedrooms as the ultimate prison experience. Tourists to the castle get to eat in the castle canteen, visit the castle museum, and…