Greece has banned smoking in enclosed public areas from 1 September 2010. The Greek smoking ban will be enforced by high fines and tobacco advertising being outlawed. Whilst this may be viewed as bad news by Greek taverna and restaurant owners, UK holidaymakers averse to smoking will be pleased to see similar restrictions to those in place in UK establishments.
ABTA have today advised members of a Volcanic Ash Compensation Scam which purports to be sent on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority. The scam asks that passengers who had their travel plans disrupted by volcanic ash supply personal details, including passport information, in return for money. These messages have not been sent by the CAA. Passengers should be advised to delete these messages immediately.
The Post Office have revealed the best value destinations for Brits abroad wanting to make their money go further, to be Jamaica, Egypt and Dubai. Over the last twelve months the pound has benefited against the falling exchange rate against the Jamaican dollar by 21%. The Egyptian Pound’s decline has seen sterling gain 14% and against the UAE dirham by 13%.
Other cheap destinations using the Post Office’s basket of goods were Hungary, Thailand and Bulgaria whilst Spain was the best value destination in the Eurozone.
From February 2010 guests at Warner Leisure Hotels will be able to step out with the stars of the popular TV show, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Between February and July, dancers Darren & lilia, James & Ola, Brian & Kristina, Anton & Erin, Vincent & Flavia, Ian & Camilla and Karen Hardy will be joined by judges Len Goodman & Craig Revel Horwood.
The Warner Leisure breaks will allow the guests to compete, act as judges or simply sit back and be a part of the audience. Whichever they choose, guests will be able to get up close and personal with alkl the glitz and glamour of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The three or four night stays take place in five historic hotels across the UK:
Cricket St Thomas Hotel, Somerset
Friday 26th February - Monday 1st March - Featuring Darren & Lilia
Monday 5th April - Friday 9th April - Featuring James & Ola
Friday 18th June - Monday 21st June - Featuring Karen Hardy & Craig Revel Horwood
Monday 12th July - Friday 16th July - Featuring Darren & Lilia, and Len Goodman
Prices from £319 per person
Holme Lacy House Hotel, Herefordshire
Monday 8th March - Friday 12th March - Featuring Anton & Erin
Friday 9th April - Monday 12th April - Featuring Vincent & Flavia
Monday 31st May - Friday 4th June - Featuring Darren & Lilia
Friday 23rd July - Monday 26th July - Featuring Karen Hardy & Len Goodman
Prices from £339 per person
Thoresby Hall Hotel & Spa, Nottinghamshire
Friday 12th March - Monday 15th March - Featuring James & Ola
Monday 19th April - Friday 23rd April - Featuring Anton & Erin
Friday 21st May - Monday 24th May - Featuring Camilla & Mark Foster
Monday 5thJuly - Friday 9th July - Featuring Brian & Kristina, and Len Goodman
Prices from £329 per person
Littlecote House Hotel, Berkshire
Friday 26th March - Monday 29th March - Featuring Ian & Camilla
Monday 26th April - Friday 30th April - Featuring Karen Hardy, and Craig Revel Horwood
Friday 28th May - Monday 31sth May - Featuring Brian & Kristina, and Craig Revel Horwood
Monday 26th July - Friday 30th July - Featuring Vincent & Flavia, and Len Goodman
Prices from £339 per person
Nidd Hall Hotel, North Yorkshire
Monday 29th March - Friday 2nd April - Featuring James & Ola
Friday 30th April - Monday 3rd May - Featuring Darren & Lilia
Monday 14th June - Friday 18th June - Featuring Camilla & Mark Foster
Friday 30th July - Monday 2nd August - Featuring Brian & Kristina, and Len Goodman
Prices from £349 per person
All of the Warner Leisure Hotels, Strictly Come Dancing breaks are inclusive of accommodation, hearty breakfasts, optional leisure activities, delicious three course dinners and Strictly Come Dancing experience. Call Conexo Travel for avaialbility on 01904 767511.
Royal Caribbean’s fantastic new ship, Oasis of the Seas, is being launched with it’s maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to Haiti taking place on December 1.
The state of the art Oasis of the Seas is the most innovative ship with an ice-skating rink, H2O Zone, boxing ring, casino, day spa, fitness centre, rock-climbing wall and so many more activities. There are 18 decks and seven ‘neighbourhoods’ including leafy ‘Central Park’, the ‘Royal Promenade’ for shopping, dining and entertainment, and the ‘Boardwalk’ with its Zip Line to give a birds-eye view of the ship as you fly from end to end, Oasis of the Seas is without doubt an unrivalled cruise ship. Bookings are now being taken so contact Conexo Travel to find out more and book an incredible cruise on Oasis of the Seas today.
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame has revealed how he chose to travel to the group’s Wembley concert via the London Underground. Shunning a chauffeur driven car favoured by most rock legends Billy rubbed shoulders with fans travelling to the ZZ Top concert. Explaining his decision, Billy stated “Being the consummate tourist, I wanted to ride the Tube,” He discussed his plans before travelling; “Someone said, ‘you know it may not be that bad of an idea because travel in London has not been known for its expedient way to get from A to B. And off I went - it’s a only a block from the hotel down to the station, and no sooner had I bought the ticket the agent informed me that the Circle Line had broken down.He then caught a bus to Baker Street where he picked up the Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park - along with ZZ Top fans who were making their way to the gig. Read more about Billy Gibbon’s Tube journey .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
The London Underground provides the best way to get around London quickly and efficiently and we suggest you use an Oyster Card which is an electronic form of ticket using a credit card style of ticket.
Also, when visiting London why not check out our London hotels website for the best bargain’s around. Even greater value are the London Theatre Breaks allowing you to pre-book theatre and hotel tickets together and make huge savings.
This week’s BBC Panorama programme focused on the low-cost airline Ryanair and asked the question ‘Why Hate Ryanair’. It’s an interesting debate and whilst the programme provided an insight into Michael O’Leary and his Irish operation the question is did the programme provide any new information about Ryanair? Probably not, so why do it in the first place?
From a travel agent’s perspective there are issues which are more important such as the financial protection of passengers which the Panorama failed to address. By booking holidays and/or flights with ABTA and ATOL protected operators the client’s money is protected when things go wrong, but when Ryanair cancels a flight and you have booked your own accommodation which you may not be able to now reach, you have no comeback when the accommodation provider levies no-show charges (and they do!). Or you may be returning to the UK and Ryanair cancels a flight resulting in you having to find accommodation for however many nights it is before you can catch an alternative flight back to your UK destination. In both cases Ryanair will not compensate you although they will refund the air fare (which may be very cheap) and you will be left to sort out your own alternative travel arrangements. Contrast this with an ATOL protected holiday, the ATOL holder is responsible for your complete package and it is down to them to assist you with the alternative arrangements at no cost to you the traveller. Perhaps the low-cost airline is not quite as cheap as you thought now?
To view the BBC Panorama edition ‘Why Hate Ryanair’ click here.
The Sunday Times has encouraged it’s travel writers to reveal their favourite beaches and there are some stunners as well as some surprises.
From exotic destinations such as the Maldives, Seychelles and the Caribbean, to closer to home gems such as Porthcurno in Cornwall, Cala Erbaju in Corsica, and Panormos Bay in Mykonos, the Sunday Times’ writers have been more than forthcoming in sharing their own secret paradises with their readers. Read the article online here.
Hotels.com have recently conducted research into excess baggage charges and their findings suggest that we waste up to £1.5billion pounds carrying books that remain unread.
The survey found that around a third of British holidaymakers are guilty of packing more books than they read whilst on holiday - averaging at around three books per person - which often results in them being penalised by the airlines with excess baggage charges. Alsion Cooper, Hotel.com’s communications director added “Packing for holiday can be a nightmare and travellers are often getting caught out at check-in when they are over the weight limit”.
The advice from the research suggests we should be more realistic about our reading habits and try not to take more tomes than they are likely to read on holiday.
American Express Cheques issue report identifying tips from British holidaymakers to cut the cost of their holidays in 2009 during the credit crunch.
The survey by American Express Travellers Cheques found that the majority of people polled still intended to have a holiday in 2009, but were finding inventive methods to keep costs down. These include flying at anti-social times or on an off-peak day of the week (weekend flights are generally more expensive). going to a destination they have not heard of, using a low-cost airline or taking an allocation on arrival holiday. A small number are even prepared to share a room with other people or to stay next door to a noisy nightclub or bar.
Sarah Harrison, a director at American Express Travellers Cheques added “While the recession has taken its toll on family purse strings, its great that people still intend to get away but are keen to find inventive ways to make ends meet so they still have a summer break to look forward to.”
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