Author: News Team

Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE), a US-based online travel company, has announced that average hotel rates for the London 2012 Olympics are likely to fall further, as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has released rooms that had previously been held back. LOCOG, the organising committee for the Games, has surrendered around 8,000 hotel rooms to the market, which has seen a 25 percent drop in prices recently. LOCOG plans to release around 12,000 hotel rooms soon, to lower the average room rate for the Games still further. The company is reporting that, currently, the…

The top foods preferred by South African travellers living in London, UK, are of Dutch origin. The South African Tourism Company, a South Africa based company providing travellers with an online travel guide for visiting the country, has published a list of favourite Southern Africa Food available in London. Around 140,000 South Africans live in the UK, and approximately half of them work in London. A list of the top ten foods preferred by UK-based South Africans include Drywors; Boerewors; Sparletta Creme Soda; Simba Nik Naks; Mrs Balls Chutney; Peppermint Crisp; Ouma Rusks; Maize meal; and Tennis Biscuits. Of these,…

Travelodge Hotels Inc, a US-based company that owns and operates hotel properties, has announced the opening of its latest hotel in Bradford, UK. The new Bradford Central Travelodge has rooms with rates commencing at £19 per night, and the company completed the hotel, which is located in Bradford City centre, with an investment of £3.5 million. The 69-room Travelodge is part of a mixed-use property, and is expected to provide around 17 new jobs for the local area. John Schofield, the company district manager for West Yorkshire, said, ‘Bradford is the UK’s sixth largest city and has a growing tourism…

If your favourite seat on an aircraft is row 6 seat A, then you are certainly not the only one to express that preference. Around 45 percent of airline passengers polled also favoured seat 6A, according to a survey conducted by a UK-based flight comparison site, Skyscanner. The survey polled around 1,000 airline passengers across 40 countries worldwide, asking for their seat preferences onboard flights, and it revealed that around 60 percent of the air passengers polled have a preference for window seats, compared to 40 percent who opted for an aisle seat, with less than 1 percent opting for…

Brighton & Hove, a city in Sussex, England, may be the next best place for travellers to stay for the 2012 Olympic Games, after London. While the accommodation in London is already peaking in terms of prices, or is fast becoming fully booked, Brighton remains a cheaper place to stay during the games and can offer attractions of its own. The seaside city is an hour’s travel from London Bridge and London Victoria train stations. This is in direct contrast to stays in London, where travel experts are asking visitors travelling to Games venues to add around 90 minutes of…

Flybe, the UK-based airline company, has scrapped debit card charges and will be offering more transparency on its fare structure. The airline is offering a new pricing strategy that allows for more transparency for its customers, and is launching a new marketing campaign with a tag line, ‘Making flying better’, to make its customers aware of the changes in its fare structure. As part of the new prices, the airline will no longer be charging £8 per transaction on all debit card bookings, and is lowering its transaction fees on credit card bookings from £13 to £9 per transaction. The…

Virgin Atlantic, an airline subsidiary of UK-based Virgin Group, is currently revamping its Internet marketing strategy. eDigitalResearch, a research specialist company offering insights to online communication, has recommended an upgraded Virgin Atlantic website as means of improving the online presence of the airline and customer satisfaction. The airline’s new website is presently offering major improvements in its design, functionality and usability, from the previous version. Virgin Atlantic shares a long standing relationship with its research partners, eDigitalResearch, and has been using its insight tools, including HUB Panels and Communities, eDigitalSurveys, and eTravel Benchmark study to expand on its consumer insight,…

More and more travellers are opting for hotels with Wi-Fi connectivity, says a survey done by Hotels.com, a US-based travel company and a part of the Expedia group. The hotel booking website has indicated that around 38 percent of people surveyed decide on hotels based on the availability of complimentary Wi-Fi as the most important hotel amenity, while 31 percent of travellers have expressed a wish to have all hotels Wi-Fi enabled, so that they can remain connected even when on vacation or business travel. Travellers have also voted in favour of complimentary breakfast (25 percent) and complimentary parking (18…

British Airways has announced a new service to Aberdeen, in Scotland, from London City Airport in the UK. The new service commences on September 24, 2012, from London City Airport, and is offered by BA Cityflyer, a subsidiary of the company. BA Cityflyer will be operating Embraer E170 and E190 jets for the new route. The airline is currently flying passengers from London Heathrow Airport to the Scottish city of Aberdeen, and the new route will be in addition to the existing route. The sale of tickets for the new route is already open for advance bookings, for introductory rates…

The UK-based hotel company, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has released details of a study that suggests that global travel trends are set for a change in 2012 with an increase in airport retailing. The survey has shown that travellers are shopping more at airport stores, with global airport retailing being worth £16 billion in 2012, making it the second fastest growing retail channel next to e-retail. Women that prefer to travel light and shop at the airports outnumber men, the research results indicated. Travel in 2012 will be defined by the use of the Internet for just about everything, including…