Alternative tourist attractions in New York, London and Milan are highlighted in three newly published travel guides.
Aimed at travellers with an eye for the unusual, the guides have been released by Jonglez Publishing.

Hidden gems revealed in Secret New York include a townhouse that conceals a subway entrance and the designated streets in Queens where visitors can test their word power with a game of Scrabble.
The guide will also point visitors in the direction of the Big Apple’s version of Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia as an alternative to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Central Park.
Jonglez said: “Far from the crowds and usual clichés, New York still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track.”

Those planning flights to Milan from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton, meanwhile, may want to visit a secret bunker used by Mussolini or a canal lock designed by Leonardo da Vinci during their city break.

A reputedly haunted bar accommodating an ancient stone marking the centre of the city is featured in Secret London, along with a 1940s “secret club” and a “hidden gem” of a restaurant specialising in Polish cuisine for those looking for more than Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Tower of London.

Copyright © Press Association 2012

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.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

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

Pilgrims might be forgiven for thinking they would need a miracle to find an affordable room in Rome on the weekend of Pope John Paul II’s beatification ceremony, but the Vatican has revealed that this
might not be the case.

The St Peter's Square ceremony marks the last formal step before possible sainthood for the pontiff

Those who are not discouraged from visiting the city while the religious event is taking place might be turned off by reports suggesting that hotels are charging six times the normal price for a room, while the Vatican has warned about unscrupulous agents hawking services on the internet to procure “tickets” for the beatification.

The Vatican is reminding everyone that the St Peter’s Square ceremony, which marks the last formal step before possible sainthood for the pontiff, is free to attend, but is a first come, first served affair.

Meanwhile, the rector of Santa Susanna church, home to many expatriate Catholics, said he has received emails and phone calls from as far away as Australia since January, when Pope Benedict approved the miracle needed for his predecessor’s beatification. 

Britons who are interested in flying to Rome can do so from a number of airports, including Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Cuba and Mexico are going to be popular travel destinations with Britons this summer, according to a specialist holiday firm.

Cuba tipped as top summer destination

Travelzest, which offers luxury holidays under brands including The Best of Morocco, Faraway Holidays and The Wow House Company, predicts its summer bookings will match those recorded during the winter, which were up 15%. 

If the company’s predictions are to be believed, airports like Heathrow and Gatwick could experience a rise in the number of passengers wishing to travel to the Caribbean and South America during the summer months.

Travelzest, which owns the UK’s biggest naturist holiday operator, Peng Travel, revealed that its expected growth would be mainly driven by its North American operations, which have been boosted by an improved Canadian economy. It did, however, confirm that its range of holidays in the UK, Cuba, Mexico and Turkey were also proving popular.

Meanwhile, the company announced a pre-tax loss of £9.9 million for the year to October 31, compared to a £42,000 loss the previous year. This was caused by a large-scale restructuring initiative, the company said.

Jack Fraser, Travelzest’s chief financial officer, said: “Winter bookings showed double digit growth in our last trading update, and we’re expecting something similar for the summer.”

The company also confirmed that Peng Travel was doing well and had turned around declining sales in the last 18 months.

Elsewhere, the company said it did not expect the political turmoil in Egypt to have a significant impact on holidays offered by its brand Tapestry. 

Chief executive Jonathan Carroll said the company was “watching the situation” but did not have great exposure to the country.

Copyright Press Association 2011

Travel agents could be forced to make huge price reductions – good news for last-minute holidaymakers.

Travel operators could be forced to reduce the price of holidays

Tour operators Tui Travel and Thomas Cook announced that bookings for this summer have plunged, with around 650,000 flights and holidays still left to sell.

Travellers wanting to hop on a plane as soon as possible could jump on the Stansted express and take advantage of holiday bargains.

The admission by Tui Travel, which owns Thompson Holidays and Europe’s largest travel company, saw £230 million drop off its stock market value.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Thomas Cook chief executive, also admitted that the company had seen bookings slide this year as families remained cautious ahead of a possible “double-dip” recession.

Bargain-hunting travellers looking to book at the last minute will be able to take advantage of some of the best deals around.

The Eastern Mediterranean, which includes Cyprus, Crete, Zante and Turkey, is tipped to be one of the cut-price destinations that holidaymakers can jet off to from Stansted or Luton airport.

Copyright Press Association 2010

The burning desire to get away on a cost effective holiday means that many people want to fly into and out of London Stansted with it´s many destinations and new low-cost routes on offer.

Ryanair has a new daily service from London Stansted to Trapani, on the west coast of Sicily. Other new Ryanair routes at Stansted include Ciudar Real in Spain, Fuerteventura in Canary Islands, Fez in Morrocco and Figari in Corsica.

Flights to Calvi in Corsica by Corsican Places in partnership with Titan Airways will be available for the peak holiday season this year. AirAsia and the popularity of its low cost flights between London and 65 destinations in 17 countries continues to grow. Star 1 is also increasing the frequency of flights to Vilnius, from five a week to a daily operation.

Visit London and Europe with Stansted Airport

June sees the start of Stansted’s route to Minneapolis, Minnesota, via Gander in Canada. Sun Country will operate weekly flights from Stansted during summer.

All in all, with the new low-cost flight routes into and out of Stansted, the World continues to become an even smaller place. Visit the airline sites for route and flight updates before or after you have sorted out your other holiday plans such as hotels, travel insurance and airport transfers.