The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will cover Canada from top to bottom when they visit on their first overseas trip as a married couple.

After Prince William and Kate arrive in the Commonwealth country on a Royal Canadian Air Force plane, they will first go to the grave of the unknown soldier in the capital Ottowa’s National War Memorial. 

If they didn’t have the nation’s Air Force a their disposal the royal couple could have jetted to Canada from one of the country’s major airports such as Gatwick or Heathrow airports.

The Duke will make a short speech at a welcome ceremony to be held at the official home of Governor General David Johnston, Rideau Hall. There will be an event for 120 volunteers hosted by Mr Johnston, who only started his high-profile job in October. All the volunteers will have helped charities the Duke and Duchess chose to get money from their Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.

Canada Day falls during their visit, and the royal pair will help with a ceremony for people taking Canadian citizenship. The Duke and Duchess will give out flags to about 12 newly minted Canadians at the Canadian Museum of Civilisation.

They will also see a rock and pop show marking Canada Day before going to a private reception with diplomats, where they will see an array of fireworks signalling the end of the national day.

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Britons are failing to enjoy what foreign cuisine has to offer while abroad, a survey has shown. 

Travel agent sunshine revealed that around a quarter (27%) of UK tourists only eat food that they could just as easily eat at home.

Results also show that 55% actively seek out home comforts while abroad, such as hunting down a restaurant serving up British food. 

Some examples of those failing to immerse themselves in local culture include the 25% who look for British bars, the 21% who want to watch UK television, the 17% who visit British stores and the 12% who buy British brands.

Meanwhile, only 9% said they tried to speak the language of the country they visited on their last holiday, while 48% said they expect the locals to speak English.

On the other hand, just over a fifth (21%) of Britons abroad said they actively avoided home comforts, with two in three of these saying they adopt this attitude so they can experience something different. 

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown described how he thinks tourists are missing out if they just fly out of Heathrow or Stansted and live as if they had just stayed at home.

He said: “I think it’s a real shame when British holidaymakers don’t attempt to try the language or cuisine of the country they are visiting.

“It seems a waste to fly thousands of miles away on holiday and just end up seeking out British home comforts.”

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A hotel room that has been designed to absorb the sound of snoring is being trialled in London, as well as nine hotels across Europe and the Middle East.

Crowne Plaza will be testing the room, which includes soundproofing technology and a specially designed pillow, for one week at Crowne Plaza London The City.

The room could help people with snoring partners who are travelling from airports such as Heathrow and Stansted to get a good night’s sleep before their flight.

The company said the soundproofing has been created by mounting egg box-style foam to the walls, reducing noise reverberating in the room, while any echo from snores will be muffled by a headboard that absorbs sound.

An anti-snoring pillow will be included on the bed, as well as a device that aims to make people sleep on their sides, as lying flat on your back often produces snoring.

Hotel spokesman Tom Rowntree said: “We’ve all been there. Lying wide awake at three o’clock in the morning burying our head under a pillow to drown out our partner’s snoring.

“There’s nothing worse than being kept up all night and that’s why we’ve designed this specific snore absorption room to help give our guests a great night’s sleep.”

A survey of 1,000 people carried out for the hotel by Lightspeed found half of couples complain about a partner’s snoring spoiling their holiday.

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British tourists will be able to expand their horizons from this December after an airline announced two new services to Vietnam, flying out of Gatwick Airport.

Direct flights to Vietnam from Gatwick

The direct flights from Gatwick’s North Terminal, which are being offered by Vietnam Airlines, will take travellers to the exotic locations of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

There will be a range of price options to cater for the budgets of all travellers, with economy, upper economy and business seats all available on the four weekly flights on Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

The additions of the new flights direct to Vietnam were welcomed by Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate, who hailed the exciting opportunity for travellers.

Mr Wingate said: “These new long-haul routes are exciting news for Gatwick and for the 90,000 UK holidaymakers who travel to Vietnam each year who, this winter for the first time, will be able to fly direct to Vietnam.” 

The Gatwick CEO added that the flights would also help create business opportunities for firms looking to trade with Vietnam, while the Gatwick Airport brand as an international travel hub would also benefit.

Figures show that more than five million tourists visited the Asian country last year as its popularity as a holiday destination soared, and the new flights from London are likely to increase the number of Britons able to enjoy the chance of exploring the country.

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Millions more package holidaymakers flying out of airports around the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, could soon get financial protection if their operator collapses.

The Government said that while the chances of a holiday company going bust are very small, new plans will mean that the impact of such an event will be reduced even further.

Aviation minister Theresa Villiers said the Government is consulting on proposals that would mean up to six million extra holidays would be covered by the Air Travel Operators’ Licence (Atol) scheme.

Although many holidays involving flights are currently covered against airline or tour operator collapses under the Atol scheme, which is run by the Civil Aviation Authority, a number of air travel trips are not protected and it is these travellers that the plans would help.

The problem has been highlighted in recent years after a number of firms collapsed amid the credit crunch, leaving tourists stranded. Mrs Villiers said the frustration and disappointment it caused holidaymakers had shown that the Atol scheme was in urgent need of reform.

She added: “We have always been clear about our commitment to modernising the Atol scheme, and these proposals are an important step towards achieving just that. As well as ensuring up to six million additional holidays are protected, these proposals will help steer the scheme’s finances on to a more sustainable path for the future

“We are also making an important step forward on the debate on delivering a wider reform of Atol in the future.”

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British Airways cabin crew have accepted a peace deal to end their long-running conflict with the company.

Unite announced that the 18-month dispute was over after 92% of its members voted to accept an “honourable settlement” offered by BA. 

Just 8% of almost 10,000 union members voted against the move in a turnout of 72%.

The deal ends one of the longest industrial disputes in recent history, with the bitter row threatening flights from UK airports including Stansted and Luton last summer.  

Under the terms of the agreement, travel concessions will be returned to the BA crew who had the facility removed when they went on strike last year, Unite said. 

The union added that agreement had also been reached on a new pay deal, as well as the safeguarding of routes and working arrangements as BA introduces a new fleet of crew.

There will also be a third party binding arbitration process established to consider the cases of crew disciplined by the airline during the dispute.

Len McCluskey, Unite’s general secretary, who drew up the deal with BA’s chief executive Keith Williams, said: “Unite always firmly believed that this dispute would be solved not through conflict but through negotiation. Thankfully we have reached an honourable agreement with BA.

“The overwhelming acceptance of this deal by cabin crew means that both parties can now move forward together on securing a bright future for the airline.”

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Travellers flying to and from UK airports experienced fewer delays during the first three months of 2011, it has been revealed.

New figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show that 82% of services arrived or departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled time between January and March 2011.

This marks an increase of 8% compared with the first quarter of last year. 

The performance at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports was even better, with the proportion of flights on time rising by 11% year-on-year. 

During the first three months of 2011, the average flight delay time was just 10 minutes – the lowest figure recorded for the first quarter of a year since 1995.

Iain Osborne, CAA group director for regulatory policy, welcomed the figures but said the group still believed progress could be made. 

He said: “The CAA believes that future improvements in performance through enhanced airport resilience and airspace efficiency are possible. 

“Together with the UK aviation industry, we are currently engaged in work programmes such as the South East Airports Task Force and the Future Airspace Strategy which, in time, should bring better outcomes to consumers.” 

Alongside its improved on-time performance, Gatwick Airport has also announced a new direct route to its itinerary this week. 

Vietnam Airlines has announced plans to begin a direct service to Gatwick on December 8, with two flights departing each week from both HCM City and Hanoi airports. 

The airline said in a press release that the route would be available daily by 2014.

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People heading to Corfu now have more choice of who to fly with after it was announced that Monarch will include the destination as part of its service from Luton Airport.

Corfu flights available from Luton

Flights between Luton and Corfu International Airport will be available on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays, with one-way fare prices starting at £68.99, including flights and taxes.

Simon Harley, business development manager at the London facility, said: “It is great to announce the start of this new scheduled service to Corfu with one of our trusted partners, Monarch, which has built on the success of its charter flights last year.”

Mr Harley said the fine beaches, good weather and historical sites of Greece make it a strong choice for Britons looking to travel abroad. Corfu also has appeal for sports fans as it is the “the home of Greek cricket”, he added.

Passengers interested in heading off to other Greek destinations can also travel to Zakynthos, Kephalonia, Thessalonika, Rhodes and Crete from Luton Airport.

Those who choose the hub as their airport base before they fly off on holiday will also have the opportunity to check their e-mails and say goodbye to their friends using a fast and reliable pay-as-you-go WiFi service.

It has been announced that communications firm Spectrum Interactive will be the exclusive provider of wireless internet access at the airport, with roaming arrangements allowing the service to offer flexibility to passengers with iPass, Boingo and Skype Access accounts.

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Britons increased their holiday spending by 18% last year, a new survey has revealed. 

A poll by Visa Europe found that its cardholders spent more than £9.8 billion during overseas holidays in 2010.

And a quarter of those heading abroad in 2011 expect their holiday to be even more expensive than last year, the group found. 

The predicted rise in spending could see holidaymakers looking to cut their travel costs this summer by finding cheap transfers to some of the UK’s most popular airports, including Luton and Stansted. 

The survey showed that the biggest expense in 2010 was accommodation, which accounted for £1.3 billion of holiday spending. 

Another £693 million was spent on activities and excursions, with the average holidaymaker spending £178 on eating out, £97 on drinks, £80 on activities and £74 on organised trips.  

Only 38% of the 1,071 adults intending to make foreign trips this year said they expected to pay more merely by going to a more expensive destination.

Most of those polled reckoned they would fork out more due to inflationary pressures, while others believed they would suffer in the pocket from increased living costs and increased fuel taxes on flights.

Two in five of those polled thought about nothing more than relaxing and enjoying themselves on holiday, with only 8% thinking about their job while away and only 5% using the time to consider a career change.

Tony Gibbons, head of debit at Visa Europe, said: “Our travel report highlights that a foreign break is now an essential rather than a luxury that many of us are willing to protect, even in tighter financial times.

“Compared with last year’s report when we saw that consumers were feeling compelled to tighten their belts during the economic uncertainty particularly by cutting back on foreign holidays, we’re now seeing that spend abroad is increasing as consumers face higher costs on their annual break.”

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Sun-seekers heading out of London will be able to take advantage of new flights to Greece, Turkey and Egypt this summer.

Monarch Airlines is introducing a flight to Corfu International Airport from Luton Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with prices starting at £68.99.

Meanwhile those looking to travel to Turkey will be able to choose from two flights a week leaving from Gatwick to Antalya and up to 11 flights to Dalaman.

And for people wanting to fly to Egypt, Monarch will be offering three flights a week to Sharm el Sheikh over the summer period.

Simon Harley, business development manager at London Luton Airport, said: “It is great to announce the start of this new scheduled service to Corfu with one of our trusted partners, Monarch, which has built on the success of its charter flights last year.”

Beautiful weather, good beaches and ancient historical sites can make for a great holiday in Greece, with Mr Harley pointing out that sports fans in particular might want to consider travelling to Corfu, the “home of Greek cricket”.

Passengers who would like to reach other Greek destinations from London’s Luton Airport, can also travel to Zakynthos, Kephalonia, Thessalonika, Rhodes and Crete.

Copyright © Press Association 2011