Holidaymakers planning a trip to New Zealand will be interested to hear that a series of concerts, family events and traditional celebrations will be staged in major cities to mark the Maori New Year.

The Matariki Festival is named after the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades which rise just once a year, in late May or early June – mid-winter in New Zealand.

The appearance of the stars signals the beginning of the new year to the Maori as well as the start of a month of celebrations.

The festival, which runs until July 21, includes performances, talks, workshops, readings, exhibitions, films and other events in Auckland, Wellington and other cities around New Zealand.

Visitors heading to New Zealand for the Matariki Festival might also be interested in checking out a major new art exhibition at the Dowse Art Museum in Wellington.

The Solo: Four Wellington Artists show, which features the paintings and works of local artists Matt Hunt, Cat Auburn, Ann Shelton and Ben Buchanan, will run until August 19.

Wellington, which can be reached from major UK airports such as Heathrow and Luton, is best known for its stunning natural scenery and for being the city where the multi Oscar-winning film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy were filmed.

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Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have made a visit to the ancient temples in Egypt as part of preparations for Jolie’s upcoming role as Cleopatra.

Their trip comes as tourism officials in the country revealed a huge increase in visitors in April.

After arriving in Aswan, the couple, referred to by fans as Brangelina, visited the Philae Temple located on an island in the River Nile.

They also had a look around the Nubian Museum on the first day of their visit.

On their second day, the pair saw Kom Ombo and the Edfu Temple, before taking a trip to perhaps the most famous site in Egypt, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. They made a stop off at King Tutankhamun’s Tomb, as well as Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple and the Abu Simbel Temple.

Following their visit to the country, Jolie revealed she would choose Egypt as one of her top getaway destinations. She said: “I’m converted completely on Egypt, this would be my hideaway place.”

The Hollywood couple’s visit comes as the Central Agency for Public Mobility and Statistics revealed a 30% increase in tourism numbers in April compared with the same month in 2011. According to the figures, 1.05 million people visited Egypt in April.

Airports such as Luton and Stansted are likely to have been busy with tourists heading to Egypt as the data shows the majority of visitors were from Western Europe.

Stansted and Luton airports may be busier than usual this summer after a new survey showed millions more Britons are looking to get away from the miserable weather and the sport overload.

The research, carried out by satnav firm Tom Tom showed just over one in five (21%) people said they would not take a holiday this summer.

Last year, more than a quarter (26%) admitted they would not take a break, mainly due to efforts to save money.

This year’s figures could prove a welcome boost for the travel industry in the UK, with plane bookings and hotel reservations set to increase.

The survey also showed many people would be taking their holidays in June and July this year to avoid big national events in the UK.

According to the figures, around 21% of people are taking their holidays in June and July, while 22% will head away in August.

Twelve months ago, just 17% chose to take a break in June, and 18% in July. Almost a quarter (24%) took their holiday in August.

While many people took holidays in the UK last year to save money, around a third (31%) said they were looking for sunshine this summer, while more than four in 10 (42%) said they wanted to go somewhere just to ‘relax’.

New research suggests British holidaymakers will find it cheaper to take a beach trip overseas than to stay in the capital in the first week of the Games.

According to findings from M&S Money, travellers will have an average of 25% more in their pockets by flying abroad from UK hubs such as Stansted and Luton than spending a week in London while the global sporting event takes place.

An overseas beach break to tourist hotspots will cost £1,298 on average between July 28 to August 4, but spending the same amount of time in the capital is more expensive – at a sum of £1,631.

The survey found that Alicante in Spain is the cheapest destination among the 10 analysed at £927, while those who plan a week’s break to Bodrum in Turkey can expect to spend £1,102.

Bridgetown in Barbados, which would cost £1,836, and Daytona Beach in Florida – setting travellers back by £2,034 – were considered the top two areas that exceeded London’s prices during the same timeframe. The pollster said the capital’s figure was that much because of the large amount needed for spending, equating to £596 per week.

Around 2,000 holidaymakers who planned to go abroad in the next few months were also questioned as part of the research. Results showed that more than half (54%) are planning a staycation, with one in four (25%) citing it as a cost-effective break.

Of those planning to holiday in Britain, a fifth (21%) said they will take a trip to the seaside, compared with 28% of people flying overseas for their beach break. The report concluded that domestic and outgoing travellers have £341 spending money in their budget per person per day, or £287 each week.

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The number of passengers travelling through Gatwick Airport has increased for the 15th consecutive month.

The figures for March show an increase of 3.9%, or 93,400, and are very encouraging, especially given that overall air traffic movements were down 3.5% year-on-year mainly as a result of reductions in charter operations.

Gatwick also posted positive results for the year between March 2011 and March 2012, with 6.9% passenger growth to 33.8 million, and chief executive Stewart Wingate is delighted with the airport’s progress.

“This has been a successful year for Gatwick, having achieved passenger growth every single month despite the economic headwinds being faced in our industry,” he said.

“We have been competing vigorously with other London airports including Heathrow, Stansted and Luton and we have been winning new routes to the UK’s key trading partners, providing direct connections between London and high growth economies.

“In this last year, Gatwick has attracted new routes to South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and the Caribbean.”

Gatwick was able to offset the fall in long-haul capacity by charter airlines with an increase in short-haul services by budget carriers and the introduction of new carriers from Asia.

Korean Air will begin flying to Seoul towards the end of April and Air China is starting a service to Beijing in May. Hong Kong Airlines also launched a daily service to Hong Kong in March and low cost Italian airline Air One now flies between Gatwick and Milan twice a day.

May is looking to be a great month for booking cheap last-minute holiday deals, agents and operators have confirmed.

Prices for short-haul breaks in May are dropping in the six week run-up to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and booking now should secure the best bargain.

Although you do run the risk of the holiday selling out, it’s been shown that the ‘grab-and-go’ method will probably work out as the cheapest option. And flights are available from most major UK airports, such as Heathrow and Luton.

Mark Atwell, managing director at Dealchecker, said: “In this market, booking at short notice will usually secure the best deal.

“To be exact – you’ll get the cheapest price on a package holiday if you can hold off booking until one month before.”

For example, if you’ve booked a seven-night break to Spain in May around five months ago it would cost on average £300, whereas if you book it now, it’s available for £200.

This actually comes as a surprise with many not expecting the bigger companies to drop their prices.

Maria Whiteman, chief executive at Directline Holidays, said: “I didn’t expect short-haul prices to drop in May because most operators – especially Thomas Cook – dramatically slashed capacity in expectation of a tough year.

“In fact, there are some amazing prices in May, some made possible by bedbanks working with local carriers offering cheap flights.”

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A new flight route is to be launched from London Stansted to Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, next month.

The new route will launch on May 5, 2012 through Atlasjet, which will be hoping to encourage the already large number of Britons to continue to visit Turkey.

In theory, the new flight route should reduce the demand on the other direct flights which fly from Stansted or other London airports, such as Luton, giving more people a better chance to be able to book flights on the exact dates they want.

Direct flights are already available to passengers travelling to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport from Stansted through Pegasus Airlines. However; Atatürk Airport is much closer to the centre of Istanbul, making the airport transfer and the general continuation of passengers journeys shorter.

Sabiha Gokcen is approximately 28 miles from the heart of Istanbul, whereas Atatürk is merely 11 miles out, meaning it would take less than 30 minutes to drive into the centre of the city if traffic should allow.

Atlasjet airline company have been running for over 10 years and fly to various destinations around the Middle East, including connecting flights from Turkey to Iran.

Over two million UK nationals visited Turkey in 2010 and despite tightening up its visa regulations the country remains popular with British holiday makers.

TUI Travel, the owner of Thomson Holidays, has revealed its summer bookings have improved, fairing considerably better that its main competitor, Thomas Cook.

The company, Europe’s largest tour operator, revealed that overall trading was in line with expectations, with bookings as of March 25 down 6%, compared with a 7% decline published two months earlier. Winter bookings are currently 90% full – an improvement on last year’s performance.

TUI went on to reveal that almost half of its summer programme was booked, while the average selling price was up around 8%. Its performance continues to outperform the market and it continues to make gains on Thomas Cook.

Its improved performance was driven by demand for holidays exclusively available through TUI, but disappointing sales of holidays in North Africa, where the Arab Spring hit tourism hard, has affected the company’s overall performance.

Thomas Cook went on a publicity offensive when it encountered financial difficulties last year, with adverts in national newspapers reassuring customers that it was safe to book holidays despite fears of its collapse.

TUI, which offers holidays departing from a number of airports in the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, wasted little time in seeking to capitalise on its rival’s misfortune by taking out its own advertisements, which said: “Another holiday company may be experiencing turbulence, but we are in really great shape.”

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The number of bookings made to tourist hotspots in the West have increased and overtaken bookings made to the East, new data reveal.

According to a report by holiday company Hayes & Jarvis, the number of flights from the UK’s major airports, such as Stansted, Luton or Gatwick, to destinations in the West have risen.

The study found that holidaymakers are choosing places such as Mexico and the West Indies over some of the renowned tourist destinations in the East. The firm named St Lucia, Las Vegas and the Dominican Republic as some of the destinations which have risen in popularity among travellers this year.

Figures show that bookings made for the Dominican Republic have risen 800%, while Mexico is up 143%. Cuba and St Lucia have also enjoyed a rise in booking numbers as statistics reveal a rise of 66% and 55% respectively. In comparison, holiday bookings to Kenya have fallen 58%, while Egypt is down 22%, an overall fall on levels last year.

Niel Alobaidi, commercial director at Hayes & Jarvis, said: “We have seen massive year-on-year growth in bookings heading west to the USA, Caribbean or Latin America, clearly highlighting the importance of value in driving customer demand.

“Much of this has come about because of the competitive pricing of luxury all-inclusive packages, which are perceived as a bargain.”

Currently, Mexico is at the top of the leader board in Hayes & Jarvis’s top 10 destinations for 2012, while Khao Lak in Thailand trails behind at tenth.

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Children still hold the balance of power when it comes to planning family time, after some 62% of parents told a survey that they are influenced by youngsters’ interests when it comes to settling upon a holiday destination.

The poll for Dubai Tourism found that while parents said that the exact details of planning a break – such as whether to fly from Stansted or Luton airport – was usually a decision made by the whole of the family, they felt that a destination which would show new things to their children and expand their horizons was desirable.

A total of 37% of those questioned in the research said that not being able to eat together at family-friendly restaurants was one thing that would put them off a hotel.

Being confined to a resort was also deemed an annoyance by 32% of parents, who said that they would not have liked the idea of being stuck in a complex with no chance to experience the local culture. The same percentage admitted that they also would not be keen on having a shortage of activities.

Other poll results showed that creating good memories rather than collecting holiday souvenirs was the most important thing parents wanted to achieve from their break, with just short of three-quarters (73%) saying that spending time together as a family was the most important objective.

Ian Scott, UK and Ireland director of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “With people having to be more cautious with cash yet also working longer hours than ever, children are at the heart of parents’ decisions when choosing their family holiday destination.”

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