Best Holiday Lettings

Category: Holidays

  • VisitBritain welcomes Hosted Buyers Marketplace

    VisitBritain has again joined forces with the eu Tour Operators Association to deliver what’s now the most important ever business-to-business tourism event promoting Britain internationally.

    The Hosted Buyers Marketplace, which gets underway today on the iconic Wembley Stadium, is an exclusive opportunity for British tourism suppliers and destinations to satisfy and do business with over 200 specially selected international buyers from some 22 countries.

    HBM gives the tourism industry even greater opportunity to succeed in key buyers through a programme of pre-scheduled and open appointments with additional networking at a gala dinner.

    The range of markets hosted by the tourist board this year includes record numbers from China, Germany and India.

    Not only is HBM 2013 a record year for international buyer attendance, nevertheless it is likewise a pioneering year for the accompanying hosted familiarisation trips.

    The sheer number of itineraries hasn’t ever before been seen, with 16 trips in total happening.

    These range from the Scottish Highlands to the southern reaches of Cornwall, with activities comparable to coasteering at the Welsh coast to forcing vintage cars at Goodwood on offer.

    All the trips are bespoke to the explicit needs of every market and are based upon VisitBritain’s extensive market research and insights.

    They are focused upon introducing new and galvanizing bookable product to the overseas trade with the target of accelerating British experiences into operator’s programmes and helping increase visitor numbers to a couple 40 million a year by 2020.

    Latest research shows that not just the 2012 Games, but additionally VisitBritain’s biggest ever campaign, have significantly increased interest in visiting the united kingdom and exploring different parts of the rustic.

    Chief Executive of VisitBritain Sandie Dawe said: “This is an excellent opportunity for British tourism businesses to sell themselves to international buyers from all our key markets.

    “Britain has enjoyed a superior image boost over the last year – millions visited us and millions more saw us on TV.

    “Our job now could be to transform that interest into visits and to get more of england into tour operators’ progammes and sold by travel agents around the globe.”

  • French Caribbean Guadeloupe Islands have never been so close

    Starting April 6, 2013, American Airlines will operate a weekly non-stop flight to Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP) from Miami, announces the Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Board.

    The late morning departure will enable passengers to profit from easy connections from across the US, arriving within the Guadeloupe Islands within the afternoon. American Airlines will fly a Boeing 737 aircraft, offering the relaxation of 16 business class and 134 economy class seats.

    This so French, undeniably Caribbean archipelago is the Caribbean’s best kept secret. It’s a destination that has all of it: rain forests, waterfalls, crystal-clear waters, white sandy beaches, charming villages, exquisite cuisine, and French culture.

    Like a gargantuan butterfly that has landed between Antigua and Dominica, Guadeloupe is primarily made from two main islands connected by a narrow channel. The left “wing” is named the Grande-Terre, and the proper “wing” is the Basse-Terre. Guadeloupe also includes smaller surrounding islands: Marie-Galante, La Desirade and Les Saintes . The very efficient inter-island connection network makes the Guadeloupe Archipelago a premier island-hopping destination, as the entire islands can be found within an insignificant 20-45 minute boat ride.

    Since greenery is a giant portion of Guadeloupeans’ national pride, ecotourism have been a key aspect to the event of the destination. Active Fauna and Flora protection programs were implemented for the past 30 years leading to a completely preserved environment today.

    French imports make dining at the Islands a real delight. The destination boasts over 200 restaurants, a few of that are located on porches of local homes, serving everything from Ti ‘Punch to local Creole creations equivalent to stuffed land crabs, stewed conch and curry dishes.

    The Guadeloupe Islands are ideal for any sort of adventure. From exploring the luxurious scenery to hiking up the summit of los angeles Soufriere volcano to canoeing at the hidden rivers within the National Park, Guadeloupe really has something for every person. Go kayaking down the Cousteau Reserve, or delve right into a culinary adventure by trying “Nouvelle Cuisine Creole,” an appropriate combination of French Savoir Faire and Caribbean flavors.

  • UNWTO welcomes travel facilitation measures by Jamaica

    UNWTO welcomes Jamaica’s decision to waive visa requirements for Eastern European nationals and to increase indefinitely the present visa waiver system for some Latin American nationals. These important policy steps are in step with UNWTO’s demand countries worldwide to revise their visa regulations and procedures underscoring the close links between visa facilitation and economic growth through tourism.

  • Nearly 25% of UK families forgo holidays due to the money worries

    With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching, Kleeneze research shows that austere times continue to bite, with over a fifth (22%) people admitting to forgoing a family holiday so as to fund everyday necessities.

    Families feel the impact…

    Over 1/2 families within the survey who had missed out on holidays (51%) said it were difficult and caused disappointment and one in ten (10%) said it had ended in family arguments.

    Perhaps more surprisingly, almost one in five (17%) admitted to having to pay for other treats to make up for it, potentially resulting in a false economy partly.

    Finding a solution…

    Rather than cancel family holidays, over a 3rd people (34%) said we had taken specific steps to prevent having to try this.

    The most appropriate solutions to the difficulty were to scale back on other non-essential spending (64%), working extra hours or taking up an element time job (59%), counting on others equivalent to parents or grandparents to hide the price (19%) or sharing with other families to bring the price down (19%).

    Commenting at the result of the research, Lisa Burke, sales director of Kleeneze, said: “It’s clear many families are having to work harder to balance the household finances – pay freezes, reduced hours and sadly redundancies are all having a major effect.

    “Because Kleeneze distributors are self-employed and might work the hours they wish, we continue to work out a serious choice of new recruits who sell Kleeneze products as a second job on top of existing full-time employment.  Often, the cause of joining is as a way to continue to afford the life-style that they had previous to these more austere times.”

    The regional picture…

    The Kleeneze research revealed that those in Northern Ireland were in all likelihood to have forgone a vacation with a 3rd (33%) indicating that they had – next it was those within the North West (25%) and people within the East Midlands (24%).

  • Brazil’s business travel spend to peer double digit growth

    The Global Business Travel Association (“GBTA”), the world’s premier business travel and company meetings organisation, has released its latest GBTA BTI™ Outlook report on Brazil as portion of its semiannual series.  Sponsored by Visa, key highlights include:

    *  GBTA BTI™ indicates that strengthening domestic and global economies will place Brazil on a robust growth path in 2013, with the index increasing by over 40 points
    *  Brazilian total business travel spending is predicted to grow 14.3% in 2013 to $34.5 billion
    *  Domestic business travel spending has grown 8.3% a year over the past 12 years, and is forecast to grow 12.9% to $27 billion in 2013
    *  International outbound travel spending is on course to expand by 20.2% in 2013, reaching $7.1 billion
    *  Demand for hotel rooms and air travel have been strengthening from both domestic and international outbound travelers; however there’s an increasingly large gap in supply

    Brazil currently ranks 8th within the business travel global rankings, and is on the right track to surpass Italy, France and the united kingdom over the following two years

    Wellington Costa, President of GBTA Brazil commented: “Brazil has shown remarkable economic resilience and we see this reflected inside the latest GBTA business travel data. Although business travel spending slowed toward the tip of 2012, growth rates for both travel spend and the economy are actually rising again. The foremost challenge facing the Brazilian business travel market is whether or not the country’s travel infrastructure and provide can keep pace with its growing demand.” 

    “Brazil remains to be a bright spot globally in terms of travel, with both domestic and international travel spending continuing to determine strong growth,” said Diego Rodríguez, Head of business Solutions, Visa Inc. Latin America and Caribbean. “According to the findings, Brazilian business travelers will surpass Italy, France and the united kingdom over a higher two years, because it continues rapid economic growth and development. With events akin to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games helping fuel both business and tourism travel, Visa is committed to helping Brazil maximize their economic potential with electronic payment infrastructure.”

    While it seems that the present economy is weighing at the minds of travelers, for the primary 1/2 this year, we saw U.S. and international travelers increasing their spend on Visa accounts,” said Tad Fordyce, head of world commercial solutions at Visa Inc. “From January to June of 2012, international travelers increased travel spend on their Visa accounts by nine percent inside the U.S. to $20.1 billion. U.S. travelers were also active for the primary six months, increasing travel spend on their Visa accounts by seven percent to $17 billion. 2012 has the power to be the year of the traveler if we will continue this momentum of commercial and leisure travel.”

    The route to growth
    Despite the recessionary years of 2008 and 2009, Brazil’s business travel spending has continued to grow at a formidable rate, and has nearly tripled since 2000. From an estimated $11 billion in 2000 travel spend expanded at a regular rate of 8% per year to over $30 billion in 2012.

    In 2013 growth rates are expected to come to double digit figures, boosted by upward trends in key economic indicators – particularly business confidence and employment – both highly correlated with business travel spend. Business travel spending is forecast to extend by 14.3% to $34.5 billion in 2013.  This growth momentum will continue, with total business travel spending forecast to grow another 16.1% to $40 billion in 2014. 

    Moving up the sector rankings
    Brazil’s business travel industry have been performing strongly in comparison to other developed markets. Brazil is currently ranked 8th on earth, up one place from 2011. With current growth rates, Brazil is forecast to continue its rise during the rankings as a huge business travel market, overtaking Italy, France and the united kingdom over the subsequent two years. 

    Challenges ahead
    The forecast for Brazil is positive; however there are challenges which needs to be addressed if the business travel market is to achieve its full potential. The demand for hotel rooms and air travel have been strengthening from both domestic and international inbound travelers, and is about to extend over the following couple of years within the run-as much as the sector Cup and Olympics. The major challenge could be whether this demand can also be met going forward. Currently the provision of hotel rooms and air travel remains constrained, and the way through which that’s addressed will impact the ongoing growth of the business travel market in Brazil.