Chinese New Year to boost UK visitor figures

FORWARD flight booking data showed that bookings from China to the UK were up 24% from Wednesday 30 January to Tuesday 12 February, compared to the period when Chinese New Year fell last year. Longer term forward booking data shows that bookings from China to the UK were up 31% from January to June this year compared to the same period in 2018.

Chinese New Year is a prime time to travel for the Chinese and the UK is gearing up to host some of the largest celebrations outside of Asia. Events include three days of celebrations in Liverpool, parades in Manchester, festivals and performances in Birmingham and Leeds to a street parade from Charing Cross to Chinatown in London and the first ever Chinese New Year festival in Edinburgh.

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Ride the Waves

A new data-driven report by InsureMyTrip, the largest travel insurance comparison site, and Cruise Critic, the largest cruise community, reveals that more travelers prefer to book a cruise during late January than any other time during the year. Data shows online searches for cruise deals typically spikes in early January.

In addition to a new buying cycle expected for 2019, cruisers can expect the following trends:

Technology Enhancements — Travelers can look forward to improved internet capabilities and technologies being rolled out across brands like Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian and MSC in the upcoming year.

Longer Time In Port, Less At Sea — More cruise lines will provide additional time in port and less time at sea, giving cruisers more time to explore destinations. Also, many cruise lines are planning port enhancements and upgrades.

More Personalized Experiences — Expect more cabin upgrades and perks for suite passengers, like personal concierges and private dining.

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Technology enabled travel planning

WITH innovative marketing tactics, service providers in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK are reversing the impact of Brexit and fuel hikes. Technological solutions such as OTA bookings, apps, bots, and advanced payment tools are encouraging travelers to facilitate well planned holidays. 

As part of its recent development in holiday planning and booking process, Thomas Cook has introduced two novel features such as Direct Debit Payments and Zero Deposit Offer for its summer 2019 program. With the former, end-users can choose to book their holiday plan against a minimum token amount. The latter eases end-users by booking their holiday packages without any advance payment.

Technology enabled travel planning is gaining momentum in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK. Leading holiday organizers are infusing advanced technology with meticulous planning to deliver superlative hospitality experience to end-users in holiday planning and booking process market in the UK. Noted travel planner Thomas Cook has confirmed its incorporation of Bold360ai to improve customer services. With this AI enabled service solution, Thomas Cook has garnered happy customers across Europe with the project first rolling out in the UK.

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Top Hotel Trends to be Witnessed in 2018

THE top 3 trends to be witnessed in the upcoming year according to Weekly Hotels, a leading extended stay hotel search engine are:

1. Extended stay will be increased
2. Extended stay hotels will gain popularity
3. Booking through mobile devices will be more popular

According to a survey conducted by Hipmunk, "72% of increase in traveling by Millennials; 55% Millennials extended the business trip for additional leisure and recreation time. There are 38% Millennials who travel more than Gen X or elderly people. These survey statistics and the trends noticed on the portal Weekly Hotels, it is clear that this year will experience a spike in the number of extended stay travelers than past years."

Among all available lodging options, the extended stay hotels won the race in becoming the most favorite accommodation option for many. This is because of a wide array of amenities offered by the extended stay hotels at affordable and cheap weekly rates. The extended stay hotels provide much more comfort and fun than rental apartments or traditional hotels to these travelers on extended stays. That’s why there was more than a 325% increase in booking of extended stay hotels in the past year. This is a clear sign that the extended stay hotels are more popular among the travelers.

According to the collected user pattern, 8 out of 10 bookings are made using a mobile device, i.e., Smartphone. It means people are using Smartphone and tablet more to book a room or an apartment for their next trip. Furthermore, the ratio of advanced booking than on-the-spot booking has been increased terrifically in the past few years. People like to book themselves and the required facilities well in advance. They are not only booking the rooms, but also book breakfast and other required amenities during their stay. This creates a clear necessity of having a mobile friendly portal for hoteliers.

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On the runway . . .

RYANAIR Europe’s No.1 airline has announced that customers who purchase an allocated seat for their flight can now check-in up to 60 days in advance, the latest improvement delivered under Year 4 of its “Always Getting Better” programme.

All Ryanair customers may select and purchase their preferred seat online, both on the Ryanair.com website and mobile app, from the time of booking right up to 2 hours before their scheduled departure, and in turn can check-in online and on the app, from between 60 days and 2 hours before their flight.

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Travel the Balkans

FEZ TRAVEL is celebrating its 20th year of operation by increasing its number of destinations. For the last 20 years, the company has been providing guaranteed departure small group tours in Turkey and Greece and now it will be extending its operation networks to the Balkans including Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia & Bulgaria.

Fez Travel's guiding principle is to provide travellers with a genuine experience rather than just a holiday. Fez Travel Managing Director Ekrem Usta explains:

"We want our guests to feel that they have had a genuine insight into the country & culture when they visit, and we achieve this by carefully selecting the places we visit, the properties we stay in and expert guides who know the routes like the back of their hand. We will deliver 3 different itineraries in the Balkans within same principle.".

Fez Travel is offering two special early booking incentives. Travellers booking and paying in full for the above tours by 31 January 2017 will save 20%.

Travellers who book and pay in full for any escorted small group tour between 1 February 2017 and 31March 2017, receive a 15% discount. These savings are also available for bookings made through travel agents.

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Picture Credit: luca.sartoni flickr.com/photos/21925196@N08/30720956105 Amberulean Meetup Dubrovnik via photopin.com

Geo-political volatility disrupting holiday bookings, says Cook

HOLIDAY bookings continue to be disrupted by a volatile geo-political backdrop, says Thomas Cook. 

Europe’s second-largest travel group reported that some customers are postponing their holiday decisions, leading to a later booking pattern for the summer.

The group’s summer programme is 40% sold, down 2% on this time last year, but with overall pricing described as “firm”. Bookings are 5% down, resulting in charter flight capacity being trimmed by 3%.

Average selling prices in the UK for the summer are up by 4% for package holidays and 1% for seat-only, while total bookings are below last year's levels due to the later booking pattern.

However, the company believes underlying demand for holidays remains strong as consumers benefit from low fuel prices, interest rates, and inflation.

Group chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, says: ‘Thomas Cook continues to operate in a volatile market environment. We know that customers want a summer holiday, but we can see that some are leaving it later to book this year as they consider their options. Against this backdrop, I remain confident that we are doing all the right things as a business. It's clear also that customers value packaged travel more than ever and feel safer in our hands.

‘The early actions we took to move flights away from Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt have positioned us well for increased customer demand to resorts in the Western Mediterranean, with strong sales to the Canaries, Balearics, and the Spanish mainland in recent weeks. We have also seen an increase in sales to long-haul destinations such as the US and Cuba as customers look further afield for their holidays.’

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Number of Brits going abroad up by 10%

UK RESIDENTS made 13.4 million visits abroad in the three months to December 2015, according to the latest ONS figures. 

This was a 10% rise on the same three months the previous year. 

ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said the figures were 'very positive' and follow similar rises earlier last year. 

‘This is a clear indication that consumer confidence is strong once again, following the significant falls in passenger numbers we saw due to the financial crisis of 2008,’ he said. 

‘The booking trends for 2016 are also looking positive, making it imperative that holidaymakers plan ahead and book early to get the widest choice and best value.’

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Thomson gives pregnant women option to avoid Zika-hit countries

#THOMSON has offering pregnant women travelling to a number of countries hit by the #Zikavirus to amend their booking free of charge. It will offer free amendments to pregnant women due to travel on charter packages to Zika-infected countries before April 30. Women who have a doctor's note confirming their pregnancy can switch to another destination up to October 31 this year.

Its offer is available to women travelling to Mexico, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde, Panama, Colombia, and Martinique.

The decision comes as the World Health Organisation announced it was setting up a Zika emergency team to fight the virus, which has been linked to thousands of babies being born with small brains in Brazil and has now spread to more than 20 countries in the region.

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Paris bookings halve as travel sales shrink by 15%

TRAVEL agents suffered a 50% drop in passenger bookings to #Paris amid a ‘dramatic’ fall in flight bookings in the week following the massacre in the French capital on November 13. 

Latest leisure travel market data from GfK also revealed that total bookings for all destinations in the week to last Saturday were 15% down year-on-year. Mid-haul destinations suffered the sharpest fall, with 26% fewer holidays booked. Egypt and Tunisia accounted for most of the decline.

Industry data analyst ForwardKeys reported airline bookings to Paris down 27% at the start of this week, while cancellations rose 21% year on year in the week to November 21.

ForwardKeys chief executive Oliver Jago said: ‘There were last-minute cancellations of immediate travel plans, predominantly among business travellers. New bookings have also dropped dramatically.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/101437384@N06/19273309543">The Louvre, Museum sunset in Paris  (2 of 1)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)

Northerners target the Canary Isles

DECEMBER holiday bookings to the #CanaryIslands have risen sharply, with the biggest volume of travellers by far coming from the north of England, UK travel retailer Holiday Hypermarket reports. 

In an analysis of booking data, the company discovered that 73% of travellers to the winter sun destination were from England’s northern counties. For the Midlands it held a little less appeal, with only 21% deciding to go on holiday to the region before the New Year. This is still more than the south, though, with just 17% choosing to travel during the month. Overall, bookings were up 72% year-on-year.

Commenting on the findings Holiday Hypermarket representative Ian Crawford said: ‘We expected a lot of activity around Spain this year as many people are choosing to stay closer to home for their holidays. The Canaries has always been one of our most popular destinations, but it’s quite surprising how many bookings there have been already this year for the winter, especially from the north.

‘Aside from London, which accounts for about 20%, our customers are usually spread pretty evenly over England. It’s definitely unusual to see such a big regional difference.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14450371@N03/15712562039">Gran Canaria, Puerto Rico, beach, Playa, Strand</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)

Holiday booking trends revealed

#HOLIDAY company Sykes Cottages has published the results of a UK study of #bookingtrends, which found that the majority of holidaymakers book more than one UK break a year, 34% book two, 22% book three, and 20% book four or more.

The research found that most people tend to book early for longer breaks (five nights or more). One in five people book three months in advance; more than a third book six months or more ahead; and half of solo travellers book their UK breaks three months ahead.

Miles Hill, chief executive of Sykes Cottages, said: ‘As disposable incomes rise, we will see more frequent holidays, with more short breaks outside of the main holiday periods. Customers are becoming more comfortable booking and paying for holidays online, and are increasingly using mobile devices to do so as 4G coverage becomes more widespread.’

The money holidaymakers are prepared to spend on accommodation remains consistent and decisive across the board. Eighty percent of holidaymakers would expect to pay between £250 and £749 for their accommodation, suggesting that domestic holidaymakers have a clear idea of what they are prepared to pay, and that value for money remains pivotal.

The results also named most visited counties in the UK: Yorkshire; Cumbria;
Cornwall; Devon; and Northumberland.

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Advance fares offer from Heathrow Express

HEATHROW EXPRESS has introduced a £6.99 single fare for bookings made between three and six months in advance.

The bargain ticket comes in as part of a new range of advanced purchase ticket fares, which can now be booked 24 weeks in advance – double the current booking period.

The ticket pricing structure starts with a 25% saving off the Express Saver and Business First fares for tickets booked up to seven days in advance, and then steps up to 50% off for bookings made up to 30 days in advance, and 66% for tickets booked for between 90 days and six months before travel.

#HeathrowExpress is the fastest route from central London to the airport; its non-stop service between Paddington station and Heathrow takes 15 minutes.

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