The Bear Grylls Adventure

THE wait is over for budding adventurers who want to tick a whole host of experiences off their bucket list including diving, Europe’s tallest high ropes course, indoor sky diving, rock climbing and base camp – which will equip you for the skill to tackle any adventure. All this under the expert guidance of trained experts on site.

Birmingham International will start to see thrill-seekers flooding in over the coming months as fans will travel nationwide to be challenged and rewarded by Bear Grylls Adventure. Groups of 3 and up will also be able to save an additional 20% off advance Virgin Trains services.

www.beargryllsadventure.com

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Experience England

THE UK’s three largest cities, London, Manchester and Birmingham have formed an alliance to jointly promote the best of English tourism in three of the world’s fastest growing markets: China, India and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. 

The partnership, which will see the three English cities collaborate on tourism for the first time, will focus on increasing the number of visitors arriving in one city and then travelling across the different regions.

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Birmingham to Cape Verde

THOMAS Cook will be operating a new route in winter 2017 from Birmingham to #Cape Verde which will run from 2nd November 2017 until 26th April 2018 and are available from £139 one-way.

William Pearson, Aviation Director from Birmingham Airport, said: “Cape Verde is growing in popularity with both sun seekers and those with holiday homes on this beautiful Island off the Coast of West Africa, so this new service is a welcome addition to our winter schedule."
www.thomascookairlines.com

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Picture Credit: Andy Flish 22941602@N00/9583108660 Boa Vista, Cape Verde via photopin.com

New record for Birmingham tourism

BIRMINGHAM attracted one million international visitors last year, setting a new record for in-bound tourism to the Midlands city. 

The UK government’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) data flags the city as the fourth most visited place in the UK by international tourists, with an increase of 163,000 visitors, 17.3% up on the figure for 2014. For the second consecutive year, this was the largest increase for any city outside London.

Consumer spend by foreign visitors reached £386 million – an increase of £87 million on 2014 figures. Similarly, this was the fourth highest of any UK city and only 8% lower than London.

The ONS figures also indicate that the city’s tourist appeal was further enhanced in 2015 by a high proportion of international business visitors. With 619,000 visits recorded, Birmingham again saw the highest growth of any city outside London.  

Councillor John Clancy, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: ‘These figures are great news for Birmingham, confirming the city’s international standing and growing appeal. More people are discovering Birmingham and its surrounding areas than ever before.

‘With more than over £1 billion of investment in the region in the last year, Greater Birmingham is experiencing record levels of growth. These have included the New Street station transport hub, the integrated leisure and entertainment complex Resorts World Birmingham at the NEC, luxury retail centre The Mailbox, and high- end shopping destination Grand Central.

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Picture Credit: Worcester & Birmingham Canal - narrowboat - Ash's Lark  via photopin.com

Turkish Airlines launches double daily flights from Birmingham

TURKISH AIRLINES has started its double daily services between Birmingham and Istanbul, increasing the volume of seats on sale from the Midlands, and providing 289 onward global connections from Istanbul.

The airline has registered significant growth since it started operating from Birmingham with five flights a week to Istanbul in 2008. By increasing its frequency every year, the airline has now reached 14 flights weekly.

Meanwhile, Birmingham has registered record breaking growth in passenger numbers in the past 14 consecutive months. In total, 872,833 passengers passed through the airport in April 2016, up by 13.2 percent compared with the same month last year when the last record April was set.

Long-haul routes experienced the greatest rise in demand, with 41.2 percent passenger growth compared to April 2015. Short-haul routes saw a 9.7 percent growth rate year-on-year.

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Ryanair plans Birmingham- Corfu flights

RYANAIR has announced a weekly service from Birmingham to Corfu, starting next April.

The airline has also announced the launch its summer 2016 Newcastle schedule with two new routes to Alicante and Malaga, expected to deliver 270,000 customers a year and support 200 on-site jobs at Newcastle Airport.

With the existing Dublin route (nine weekly), Ryanair will serve a total of three routes from Newcastle in summer 2016, operating 18 weekly flights.

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Birmingham Airport to exhibit world-acclaimed sculptor’s works

SOME of the world’s smallest sculptures by the internationally-acclaimed sculptor, #WillardWigan, will be on display at the landside All Bar One Bar and Restaurant at #BirminghamAirport.

Following Wigan’s successful tour in the US and Australia, and after being featured in promotion of the Hollywood blockbuster Antman, some of his works – sculptured within the eye of a needle, or on the head of a pin – will be on display in Wigan’s hometown of Birmingham.

Wigan says: ‘As a child, I was always told that as a dyslexic black boy growing up in the Midlands, I would amount to nothing. I wanted to show the world that ‘nothing’ does not exist. I created artwork of such minute proportions that they are not visible to the naked eye. The smallest things often have the largest impact. I believe my artwork expresses the same. It is a privilege to exhibit my work in my home town, at Birmingham Airport.’

His work includes an interpretation of da Vinci’s, The Last Supper, Cinderella and her ugly sisters and stepmother in the eye of the needle, and Prince Albert on the head of a pin.

A collection of 16 sculptures will be on display at Birmingham Airport for a limited time, each one being housed in a microscope viewing unit.

Richard Gill, Birmingham Airport’s head of commercial, added: ‘This is an interesting and different exhibition which I am sure will appeal to passengers both young and old. The pieces are unique and quite incredible.’

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Rugby World Cup worth almost £1 billion in tourist spending

TRAVEL search engine GoEuro.co.uk has calculated that the 2015 #RugbyWorldCup (September 18-October 31) will generate almost £1 billion for the transport and tourism industry. 

The UK will host 20 teams, more than 440,000 international visitors, and 2.2 million Brits in 11 cities. London will be the biggest winner, with 17 matches earning the city more than £197 million in transport, accommodation, merchandise, and food and drink spending.

The calculation excludes the cost of match tickets in the host cities, which are: London, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Gloucester, Exeter, Milton Keynes, and Brighton.

www.goeuro.co.uk

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23517896@N07/3501176054">IMG_2256</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Europcar brings electric vehicles to UK market

EUROPCAR continues its commitment to moving its fleet to five percent electric vehicles by 2020, with the launch of an electric vehicle service in Birmingham, England.

Ken McCall, managing director, Europcar UK Group, says: ‘From today, we will be promoting a fleet of electric rental vehicles to the people of Birmingham and introducing our electric vehicle delivery and collection service.

‘Customers in Birmingham will now have the ability to reduce their environmental footprint and opt for a greener solution for urban journeys by renting an electric vehicle. Electrically-powered #NissanLEAF cars will be used for delivery and collection of hire cars in Birmingham and will be available to hire at Europcar branches across the city.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7940758@N07/5397692367">NISSAN LEAF.</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Birmingham-Reykjavik flights doubled

ICELANDAIR is to increase services between Birmingham and #Reykjavik from two flights a week to four, starting in February next year.

The new flights from Birmingham Airport will operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays, in addition to the current Monday and Thursday services.

Paul Kehoe, chief executive at Birmingham Airport, said: ‘Passengers are set to enjoy greater choice and flexibility, whether they want to stay in Reykjavik and explore all that it has to offer, or travel on to the US and Canada, using Icelandair’s strong network of connecting flights.’

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Picture Credit: Eyjafjallajökull by Andreas Tille - Own work: http://fam-tille.de/sparetime.htmlImage with Information in EnglishBild mit Informationen auf Deutsch. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

AEGEAN increase UK flights to Cyprus and Crete

GREEK airline AEGEAN is to launch a new direct route from the UK to Larnaca, Cyprus and Heraklion, Crete.

The flights to Larnaca will depart from Heathrow airport daily as of March 29, while the Heraklion flights will be from Gatwick in June, with up to six departures a week. 

The airline - www.aegeanair.com - will also renew its summer flight schedule to Athens from Birmingham, and the once seasonal flights from Manchester to Athens is to be an all-year service.

AEGEAN’s summer 2015 timetable includes a network of 134 destinations; 100 international in 42 countries and 34 domestic, with 15 million available seats.

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Summer flights to Deauville

FLYBE is to add a third new French route to its 2015 summer schedule, allowing customers to fly direct from Birmingham to Deauville, France, this summer.

Regarded as the ‘queen of the Norman beaches,’ Deauville is known for pristine sandy beaches as well as for prestigious horse racing events, polo matches, and the annual Deauville American Film Festival.

The thrice-weekly service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between June 22 and September 26. One-way fares start from £24.99 including taxes and charges.

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Norwegian plans new flights to Spain

NORWEGIAN continues to expand its route network in the UK, offering non-stop service from Birmingham to Madrid, Barcelona, and Malaga next year. 

The airline is also adding Malaga as a new destination from Edinburgh.


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Picture Credit: 'Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800 LN-NGR' by Valentin Hintikka from Finland via Wikimedia Commons

AIR INDIA beefs up Birmingham service

AIR INDIA has announced it will offer daily flights between Birmingham, Delhi and Amritsar from November.

The carrier already flies four times a week between Birmingham and India and will add the extra flights when its 18th Boeing 787 Dreamliner is commissioned.

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New flights to Athens

AEGEAN Airlines has launched a twice-weekly Birmingham-Athens service, which this year will run until October 25.

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