Holidays to Greece have not been affected by the country’s economic crisis, with four million Britons heading to the country this summer.
Foreign exchange company Travelex said the number of Britons travelling to Greece could be double the average number of two million, with travel agents reporting that all-inclusive bookings were up by a third over the last two weeks.
Tour operators have cut prices for Greek trips, and the survey shows that many are setting off on holiday to Greece from airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick due to the strengthening of the pound against the Euro.
A fifth said they were “not concerned at all” about a possible collapse of the euro, with the majority saying they were just “mildly concerned”.
However, almost half of all people polled believe the euro will collapse in Greece, with the majority saying they expect it to happen before the end of the summer.
But this does not seem to put people off travelling, with fewer than 2% cancelling a pre-booked trip to the country, while a further 47% said they would not change their travel plans whatever happens.
Elvin Eldic of Travelex said that Britons are “more concerned about bagging a bargain”, adding: “We’d urge Brits to not only take a mixture of cash and a prepaid card but also to take the time to check the terms and conditions of their travel insurance when booking a holiday or travelling to Greece.”
Copyright Press Association 2012
Travellers abroad could be losing out when it comes to exchanging their currency depending on where they bought their notes in the UK, research by a consumer organisation suggests.
Which? magazine exchanged £500 at currency exchange shops in 10 different places in Britain on a particular day in March and discovered “significant” differences in the number of euros they were given.
In London and Glasgow, Which? researchers were given 578.50 euros, but they only received 565 euros in Birmingham, Haverfordwest and Sheffield.
Researchers found their best Thomas Cook offer of the day in Sheffield at 585 euros, while it found the worst Thomas Cook offer was in Manchester at 553.80 euros – a difference of more than £25 that could be used to cover airport transfers to or from an airport.
Marks & Spencer, however, gave the same currency exchange rates throughout the UK and Sainsbury’s also offered very similar amounts in all their branches tested. According to Which? there were also occasional, but uncommon, differences in the amounts offered at different branches of Asda and Tesco.
The consumer organisation urged holidaymakers to shop around for their currency exchange rates, as there were considerable variations in the amounts given by internet and central London outlets across eight weeks.
Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “Holidays don’t come cheap and these anomalies don’t help hard-pressed consumers. Currency providers need to make sure their rates are consistent to ensure a fair deal for everyone.”
With the Olympics just around the corner, bosses at Heathrow Airport insist they are sufficiently prepared to cope with the huge increase in passengers and baggage.
The airport has invested more than £20 million into the 2012 Games in an effort to make sure athletes and tourists get to where they are going without any problems.
August 13 – the day after the closing ceremony – will be the busiest day in the airport’s history as unprecedented levels of passengers and bags are set to make their way through its terminals. Heathrow expects to process 137,800 people departing on that day, along with 200,000 bags, compared to an average of 150,000 on a normal day.
Nick Cole, head of Olympic and Paralympic planning at Heathrow, dismissed concerns over queues and security. He stated that as the official host airport for the Olympics, around four-fifths of all visitors will pass through in a “unique operational challenge”.
At a briefing in central London to discuss the plans in place, authorities insisted people will not suffer because of UK border problems, also putting to bed any fears surrounding security by declaring that any risk to UK airspace can be detected within minutes.
The London Olympics begin on July 27 and will run until August 12.
Copyright Press Association 2012
Many Britons resort to panic packing before going on holiday, according to new research from Asda Travel Money.
As many families are preparing to jet off abroad over the Jubilee weekend and during the summer holidays, the research suggests that nearly three-quarters (73%) of people leave their packing until just a few days before a trip, while 12% wait until the last minute, packing their cases just the day before
The findings of the research show that a number of vital last-minute holiday preparations prove worrying for travellers.
Weight limits provide the biggest headache for holidaymakers, with almost half (46%) crediting over-packing as their biggest worry ahead of a trip because of the high airline charges for exceeding the set limits on bags, while 18% of people panic about buying travel money in advance of a trip.
Among the other findings were that parents find packing for their family a stressful job. Around 59% of mothers stated that this was their biggest worry, while dads lived up to the stereotype of panicking about cash, with a third (35%) thinking most about over-spending while away.
And 32% of parents also admitted to thinking a lot about what they leave behind, and making sure their homes were fully prepared before they head abroad.
Copyright Press Association 2012
British Airways has announced a new service connecting Gatwick Airport with Las Vegas from October 29.
Flights will operate three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and depart Gatwick Airport at 11.30am. The return flight will leave McCarran Airport at 3.55pm.
British Airways said the flights will be operated by a three-cabin Boeing 777, which will include a Club World cabin with flat beds.
Return fares start from £722 for a World Traveller ticket, rising to £1,100 for a World Traveller Plus ticket and £3,550 for a Club World premium ticket.
The new service means that British Airways will operate a total of 10 flights a week to Las Vegas from Heathrow and Gatwick Airport.
Colm Lacy, British Airways’ head of commercial at Gatwick, said: “Las Vegas has proved to be an incredibly popular year-round destination from Heathrow so we are delighted to now be able to offer the route from Gatwick as well.
“This is the kind of destination our leisure customers at Gatwick are looking for and it will complement our existing USA and long-haul leisure network.”
Las Vegas is likely to become a popular new route at Gatwick Airport, as new figures show that 3.5 million people visited the city in March, an increase of 100,000 people compared to the same month last year.
Copyright Press Association 2012
Budget airline Wizz Air has announced a new route from London Luton Airport to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, with flights set to begin in the autumn.
The Eastern European airline revealed the flights alongside another route to Ljubljana, flying from South Charleroi Airport, located around 45km outside the Belgian capital of Brussels.
The flights out of London Luton will operate three times a week, with many people likely to be arranging airport transfers ahead of booking tickets for holidays that take in the sights and sounds of the Slovenian capital.
The move means people will be able to take advantage of a year-round link between the Adriatic destination and London, opening up a convenient link for businessmen and Slovenian ex-pats living in the UK.
Daniel de Carvalho, corporate communications manager at Wizz Air, said: “We are excited about this new route from London-Luton to Slovenia, which in the current recession really is something to celebrate.
“We are focused on delivering value for money flights for business people and tourists travelling to/from London and this new route to the Slovenian capital means that these travellers can now take advantage of low fares on yet another Wizz Air route.”
Wizz Air offers budget flights on more than 220 routes across Europe, with all inclusive one-way flights starting at £23.99.
Copyright Press Association 2012
Looking to find the best-value five-star accommodation that money can buy? Then head to Poland!
In a top 10 affordable luxury hotel list compiled by website Hotels it was the Polish capital Warsaw that took the gold medal, where the average price of a five-star hotel room costs just £84.
Marrakech in Morocco was found to offer the next best value for money based on average room prices per night last year.
European destinations dominated the list, occupying seven out of the 10 positions. Budapest (£105), Tallinn in Estonia (£112) and Berlin (£114) also offered comparatively affordable five-star rates.
Hotels chief marketing officer Nigel Pocklington said: “Britons looking for a taste of the high life but working to a budget don’t have to travel far to find some great deals.
“Eastern European capitals in particular offered excellent value in 2011, despite some substantial price rises as demand for rooms increased from bargain-savvy visitors.”
The most expensive five-star rooms were found in New York, averaging £340 per night. Paris came in a close second at £326, while Tokyo took third spot at £292.
London, on the other hand, had an average five-star rate of £225 – putting it 12th on the list of the most expensive luxury hotel destinations.
Copyright Press Association 2012
New figures reveal that airports run by BAA, such as Heathrow, saw a rise in the number of travellers that passed through its gates in April.
Its six hubs handled nearly 9.09 million people overall last month, which is a 0.1% increase compared to the same month last year, according to the Spanish-owned operator.
Heathrow saw a slight jump in the volume of passengers in contrast with figures recorded in April 2011 – totalling 5.8 million travellers. But data found 2.7% fewer people travelled through Stansted Airport last month when compared with the same month last year, and Southampton also recorded a 3.1% decline.
Findings showed that European charter traffic, including North African charter flights, tumbled 6.5% in April, while the number of passengers who flew towards a North Atlantic destination decreased by 0.9%.
“These are encouraging figures for Heathrow and BAA’s other airports. However, the modest growth in passenger numbers at Heathrow, the UK’s only hub airport, comes from larger and fuller aircraft, not from more routes and frequencies to emerging markets. This lack of connectivity is damaging the UK economy,” said Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive.
Figures also dipped for Gatwick airport, which used to be owned by BAA, as it saw a total of 2.72 million travellers in April. The number is a 1.3% drop in comparison to 2011’s April figure. It is now run by Global Infrastructure Partnerships, which is expected to acquire BAA-owned Edinburgh airport.
Copyright Press Association 2012
A new report has shown that over £22 billion of the UK’s economy is made up from travellers buying British products before going away.
So, if you’re spending too much on items such as clothes, sun cream, toiletries and travel agent services then take solace in the fact that you’re helping the UK’s debt recovery!
According to a study, which was enabled by the travel company Abta, an average of £532 per person is spent before even reaching the airport to head off to sunnier climates.
And it doesn’t stop there, as almost £1.8 billion is spent at the UK duty free shops inside the airports to get holidaymakers in the mood before they actually leave the country, showed the figures from the Centre for Economics Research.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: “For too long it has been assumed that by going abroad on holiday, money is being taken out of the UK economy.
“The Government must recognise and support outbound travel in its current and future policies and planning strategies to deliver growth to the wider economy.”
Not only does the sector contribute hugely to the economy but it also directly employs around 620,000 people and makes up for 2.6% of all people in full-time jobs, which is significant in today’s job market.
Copyright © Press Association 2012
Travel firms selling cruise liner tickets are slashing prices in an effort to bolster plunging sales, according to new reports.
Although UK cruise companies have been particularly badly hit, experts have pointed out that the interlinked nature of the industry has seen firms across Europe suffer from falling sales figures.
The crisis means travellers can head from UK airports such as Stansted and Gatwick to embark on a cruise around some of the most beautiful parts of the world for a fraction of the normal cost.
“The cruise market is weak because it is trans-European,” said Bob Atkinson of TravelSupermarket.
“If bookings are poor in Spain, Italy and France then the cruise lines aren’t getting the numbers they need to fill cruises, that means more go on sale in Britain.
“Book at short notice and you’ll probably get a great price, with cruise lines also chucking in free flights and on-board spending. Royal Caribbean voyages from Southampton start at £699 and can include $100 of onboard credit. It’s effectively a discount of 20-30%.”
Mr Atkinson went on to point out that the trends affecting the cruise industry could also be indicative of the travel sector as a whole, with people “hedging their bets and spending cautiously”.
The cruise industry has hit the headlines in recent months, after two liners from the same company ran into serious problems at sea. Most recently the Costa Allegra caught fire near the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, while the Costa Concordia vessel ran aground and capsized, killing at least 25 people. Both ships were operated by Costa Cruises.
