Holidays

What to see in Crete? This question will surely arise to all of you who decide to set out to conquer Crete. In this particular case, the question is very justified - Crete is not only…

They say that travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer, but with a working holiday, you can travel to Europe for an extended trip and make some pocket money too!

British travellers are, on the whole, travelling more since last year with a 33% increase in people flying between 30 December 2019 and 7 January 2020

Millions of Brits are due to head on a break this weekend, followed by the school half term holiday.  British Airways is due to carry more than 463,000 people from today to warmer…

Funway Holidays has announced it will hold two agent familiarisation trips in Florida this year. The trips will take place in June and see 20 travel agents fly out together, to then be…

Online travel agency Directline Holidays has introduced GBP1 deposits for its holidays booked from Monday (26 November). The per person deposit scheme will be available for summer or autumn…

Illusions Online, which specialises in technology for tour operators and destination management companies (DMCs), has secured its first client in the Caribbean. Jamaica-based Holiday…

Belleair Holidays has announced it is to package its holidays with Ryanair flights from mid-December. The tour operator is working with the low-cost carrier to increase its departure…

A new shared minibus transfer service is to launch next week for skiers heading to Meribel, France. The transfer, arranged by Snowcarbon, will take passengers from Moutiers station to their…

Mark Warner Holidays has seen its strongest summer since 2006, it has announced. The tour operator has carried 5,000 more passengers this summer to 27,000 with a smaller number of resorts…

Consumers are changing their booking habits to still guarantee a holiday instead of cutting it altogether, according to new ABTA research. Its latest survey found consumers have become more…

Eurostar has teamed up with TGV Lyria to offer a new weekly service between London and the Swiss Alps. Resorts including Verbier, Zermatt, Saas Fee and Gstaad will be served on the new…

Swimming pools and water activities are the most important part of a family holiday, according to a new Blue Paper from Hilton. In its new ‘Resort Travel Trends: What Families Want’ report,…

Despite the popularity of social networks in the travel industry, airline and hotel bookings from sites like Facebook are yet to take-off, according to a new study. PhoCusWright's 'Social…

Air Malta has sold its UK-based tour business to Maltese tourism company SMS Group. The airline has sold Holiday Malta, parent company to Belleair Holidays, for an undisclosed fee with the…

Around 1.8 million British holidaymakers are due to head overseas this August bank holiday weekend, while domestic tourism will also see a boost. According to ABTA, Spain, Turkey and Greece…

‘All-inclusive resorts’ seem to have a bad reputation in Britain, but the French-owned Club Med has been bucking this trend for half a century, finds Simon Willmore As our boat thunders…

People still rely more on recommendations from family and friends when choosing a holiday, a new survey has revealed. The poll by Directline Holidays found that 30% were most influenced by…

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and ABTA have launched a new campaign to help prevent balcony incidents in popular holiday resorts. The campaign comes after the number of cases…

New brochure releases from tour operators including Belleair, Cox & Kings and Ski Independence Belleair’s Winter Sun Belleair Holidays has launched its new Winter Sun brochure…

Tenerife’s holiday resorts have been unaffected by a fire in the region although some geographic regions should be avoided, its tourism board has advised. Tourist attractions and…

UK holiday sales at TUI have continued to ‘outperform’ the market with strong lates margins and load factors, the group said today. In its third quarter results, the travel giant said it…

Holiday Extras held a Green Challenge Week last week as part of The Travel Foundation’s Make Holidays Greener campaign. Its group of ‘Team Environment’ volunteers organised a daily…

Nearly a fifth (19%) of Brits are planning a holiday during the Olympics, according to new statistics from ABTA. The association has said around nine million Brits are taking a holiday…

TUI Travel’s ski and snowboard instructor school arm International Academy has been sold to the owners of SkiWeekends. Harris Holidays has taken on the academy to expand its share in the…

Two million British holidaymakers are expected to head overseas in the next four days as schools break up for the summer holidays. ABTA expects most holidaymakers to head to Spain…

Tour operators and travel companies have continued to show their support for Make Holidays Greener Month with a variety of initiatives. Many companies are sharing green holidays tips with…

Hogging deckchairs and playing load music are the top annoyances for beach- and pool-goers, according to a new TripAdvisor survey. The TripAdvisor Beach & Pool Etiquette Survey found…

Universal Parks & Resorts and Loews Hotels & Resorts have announced they will open a new hotel on-site in 2014. The Cabana Bay Beach Resort will have 900 family suites sleeping up…

Accor has modified eight rooms at its Mercure Hobart hotel to cater for guests with a hearing or vision impairments. The property has rolled out a range of new facilities, including alarm…

The average lead time for leisure travel bookings increased in May 2012. According to the latest Pegasus View report from Pegasus Solutions, the average booking window increased 3% last…

New brochures released in the last week.  Great Rail Journeys’ 2012/13 Great Rail Journeys has released its ‘Cruising by Rail 2012-13’ brochure with six new river and ocean…

Mark Warner Holidays marked a ‘new future’ in its business this week as it showed its new Rhodes resort to press and travel agents. The independent company, which has been operating for 38…

Etihad Holidays and Tourism Malaysia have launched a joint promotion that offers packages to four key Malaysian destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Genting, Langkawi and Penang. The…

Club Med has seen a 5% increase in bookings in the UK market for the first half of the year as it boosts business across Europe and emerging markets.  The travel company saw its business…

Travelsphere has reported record bookings for holidays in September as its customers stay in the UK for the summer events. Enquiries for trips in the month have doubled, with 83% of its…

Thomas Cook has said its UK turnaround strategy has made ‘good progress’ with bookings up in the past four weeks after what its group CEO called a ‘hectic six months’. The group’s CEO Sam…

Travel agent incentive, fam and workshop news. TIPTO announces final workshop TIPTO has announced it will hold its final workshop of this series on 11 July. The event will take…

Favourable exchange rates combined with the Jubilee weekend has led to more holiday bookings to Europe. Travel Counsellors has seen sales for the Jubilee weekend increase 29% in the last…

It probably will not come as much of a surprise to hear the British are the most sun-seeking nation in the world, according to a new report by Wyndham Hotel Group. According to 5,6000…

British travellers flocking to Greece this summer needn’t be worried of dramatic changes to the country no matter what happens to its government and economy, some operators have said. While…

Tour operators in the UK have welcomed new flights to Turkey and North Cyprus from a private airline based in the country. Atlasjet has filled a gap in the market left by Cyprus Turkish…

Holiday companies and consumers faced confusion over the state of the Greek euro yesterday after DialaFlight warned customers to dispose of Greek-printed notes. Financial analysts have…

Al Fresco Holidays has introduced a Summer Games programme to coincide with the sporting events this year. Families from various nationalities will be able to compete with each other in…

Monarch Airlines has announced it will launch 12 new routes this winter including its first scheduled flights from Leeds Bradford. Its new routes predominantly focus on the ski market with…

Travel Republic has seen sales soar more than 40% in April this year as customers look to get away from the wet weather. The OTA saw its year-on-year figures boost even further during the…

Superbreak’s UK 2012/13 Superbreak has unveiled its 2012/13 programme with a drive to push package sales with additional elements to hotel stays. Its new brochure includes 108 new hotels…

Chameleon Worldwide, the specialist tour operator, has cut its ties with Intrepid to become a fully independent company. As part of the restructuring, Chameleon will now focus on growing…

Grand UK Holidays has seen a boost in luxury sales following the launch of its ‘Grand UK Gold’ programme. The coach operator said almost 90% of the programme has been sold since its launch…

Keeping up with the aggressive growth of the online travel space, www.holidaysarabia.com has forayed into the UAE. The portal is a dedicated online travel service brings together Middle East…

With the fast approaching summer, Emirates Holidays has unveiled its new 600-page ‘A World of Choice 2012-2013’ brochure with the introduction of eight brand new destinations spanning six…

Visa debit and credit cardholders across the region can explore Egypt or France for 15% less, when booking their break to these two select destinations with Emirates Holidays between April…

Holidays sold by airlines or arranged as an agent acting on behalf of consumer could be included in the ATOL scheme, a government bill has revealed.  The Civil Aviation Bill has…