Beach

An increase in search for luxury holidays has been noted by an online holiday site recently, specifically for the coming winter months.

The website reported that Egypt topped the list of most preferred holiday destinations for the aforementioned time period. Other top areas include the Balearics and Canary Islands. The reason behind the sudden influx of booking is the weak pound. This has made traveling to European destinations more expensive for patrons.

Patrons are scrambling to avail of the promo rates for the top destinations since the value added tax will be making a grand return early next year which makes traveling at that time noticeably more expensive than ever. However, there are a lot of online sites offering attractive package rates for luxury holidays.

The summer season in the United Kingdom this year did not meet people’s expectation and are now looking forward to some sun in other countries such as Egypt.

A new fundraising program has been launched in a bid to help the troops from the Vermont National Guard to come home for the holidays and spend the much-needed quality time with the family before being deployed back to war-torn areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to reports, more than seven hundred soldiers will be training in Indiana by December and will be getting a week off for the holidays. However, they will need to pay for their travel expenses on their way back to their homes.

This prompted Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and Brigadier General Jonathan Farnham to launch a fundraising effort to raise at least $315,000 through the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation to shoulder the charter flights back to Vermont for the soldiers.

Supporters are encouraged to visit the foundation’s official website for more information.

On the period before the Christmas season, more Brits are headed for their annual UK holidays to spend quality time with their loved ones. This is admirable but there’s one aspect that is often overlooked, most of these individuals don’t avail of travel insurance whenever they go on UK holidays.

This claim was based on the new research conducted by Go compare website, stating that majority of their traveler-respondents in the survey said that they don’t avail of travel insurance whenever they go on a trip to their second homes or spending the holiday in family’s or friend’s houses during their trips.

The results showed that vacationers are nine times more likely to travel within UK without travel insurance compared to those who availed package holidays both within the country or abroad. Travellers abroad may invest more in specific items and clothing for their holiday such as swimwear, diving equipment if they are going for a beach or diving holiday.

Respondents reasoned that they would rather spend the money on other stuff rather than on travel insurance.

After yet another abysmal summer hundreds of thousands of sun starved British tourists will be jetting away to warmer climes this winter. And whilst the current economic climate my well reduce demand for exotic and expensive holidays in the Caribbean and the Far East there are still plenty of reliable, good value options closer to home.

The seven Spanish owned Canary Islands are located just off the coast of Morocco – requiring just a four hour flight from the UK. And offer great weather all year round, along with some fantastic beaches and high standards of accommodation. Allied with all of the familiarity of a Spanish holiday destination.

This year, flights to Lanzarote have become cheaper than ever before. As some of the biggest guns in the low cost airline industry have started to compete on this route. With Ryanair offering 16 new services to the island from airports across the UK – with headline returns starting from as little as £9.99.

And easyJet weighing in with increased services and reduced ticket prices too.

All of which makes this winter an ideal time to explore this fascinating, volcanic island.

Worried about the crowds and the full English breakfast brigade? There´s no need to be. As whilst some of the larger islands such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife have earned something of a reputation as mass market, package holiday destinations over the years Lanzarote remains largely unspoiled.

For example, visitors will find that there are no high rise buildings or advertising hoardings blotting the landscape. These were outlawed in the 1970´s – thanks to the campaigning efforts of a local artist called César Manrique. Who fought against the worst excesses of over development.

And today tourism is concentrated in just three, well contained resorts; Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca. With the latter proving to be the best choice for winter sun seekers, as it is located at the southern toe of the island – delivering the best microclimate on Lanzarote.

If that wasn´t enough, Playa Blanca is also home to the best beaches on the island too. Such as the five sandy coves which are collectively known as Playas de Papagayo. An all natural beach lover’s paradise located just fifteen minutes from the resort centre.

In terms of accommodation tourists can choose from a large selection of Lanzarote villas and hotels. The most impressive of which is the luxurious Gran Melia Volcan. One of only three five star establishments on the island which is located right next to the upmarket Rubicon Marina. Which provides mooring for luxury yachts from around the world.

A new report revealed that the prices of package holidays by next year are expected to increase next year, bucking expectations that it should lower down because of the global recession.

The report was presented at the annual Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) convention in Spanish city of Barcelona recently. According to reports, the travel industry will be getting a big hit next year should their be a decrease in demand.
Lately, there’s a spike of interest in other holiday alternatives such as caravan holidays.

Should the demand lessen the prices of package holidays will shoot up in a bid to retain operational costs.

This year, leisure travel figures showed a downward trend. The World Cup 2010 which will take place in South Africa is expected to spike up interest in package holidays. However, if there’ll be an increase in prices, there’s a bigger possibility that people would rather stay in the comfort of their homes and watch the matches on television.

Caravan holidays in the past are unheard of. However, this has become a trend for budget-conscious Britons based on a survey conducted by the IM Financial Services Limited. According to the survey results, more families prefer caravan holidays rather than the more expensive hotel holidays abroad.

The poll showed that 89 percent of the respondents are considering purchasing a caravan and use the vehicle to travel around the United Kingdom on a memorable holiday rather than going abroad and check in on expensive resorts.

Most of the respondents are not familiar with the concept but caravanning has gotten their interest. More than half of the respondents stated that they have tried caravan holidays and enjoyed it without spending too much.

IM Financial Services Limited Divisional Manager Nelson Drinkwater said that more Britons are resorting to this kind of holiday because it is more cost-effective and they still get as much fun as even going abroad. The moments are priceless without being conscious of the travel prices, he added.

More and more vacationers from United Kingdom are opting to avail of cruise holidays compared to the usual traveling via planes and reaching the destination faster.

The Passenger Shipping Association stated that there will be a projected rise in number of cruise holiday goers next year. The rise could be as high as 6.5 percent. The increase can be attributed to the planned introduction of new cruise ships to the public.

As per estimate, the Passenger Shipping Association said that there will be around 1.55 million people availing of cruise holidays this year alone. This is an increase of five percent as compared to last year.

PSA added that continuing consumer interest on these kinds of holiday deals have increased due to reasonably priced packages offered by the travel companies, retail companies are also cashing in and offering discounts on their holiday garments such as swimwear and beach bags.

The projected number of UK holiday goers by next year would be 1.65 million.

The residents of a Western Japan fishing village have something to celebrate about after they won their case against the government on the development of a bridge in their area.

According to local media reports, the development of the bridge can outright spoil the scenery of the area which has inspired artists to make it as a backdrop of animation films.

The fishing village referred to by the report was the one in Tomonoura, based in the Western part of the country. The said area has inspired a popular animation movie called “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.”

The rejection of a public works-related project is the first of its kind in the country, the report added.

The Hiroshima government had initially planned the $60 million project which involves creating a bridge, parking lot and ferry pier in Tomonoura.

It has been reported by media outlets in Europe that the prices of holiday homes in Spain are dropping due to the financial crisis. This is in a bid to rekindle the interest of the public to go to the aforementioned country and purchase their property there rather than going to equally famous destinations such as Turkey.

Property experts revealed that many clients now prefer Mediterranean-based countries due to the sea, sand and sun. This is despite the fact that Spain can also offer these.

The major factor behind the decision by the buyers would be the price of the holiday homes. With properties in Spain starting to go down, it is likely that the property market will start picking up pace.

Emerging Real Estate Sales Director Robert Medd believes that it would be a great time for buyers to get a property in locations such as Cape Verde.