Investment for New South Wales

The New South Wales (NSW) Budget 2018 was announced this week with over $290 million to be invested into the State’s visitor economy. Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said, “Tourism is big business and vital to the NSW economy delivering $35.2 billion in visitor spend last year and directly employing 171,100 people across the State.” 

$82 million will be invested to secure and support major sporting, arts and business events across the State, while $54 million will be invested to promote NSW destinations and experiences to domestic and international markets, support tourism operators and secure strategic partnerships with airlines and trade partners. 

$7.5 million will be provided for regional programs to attract more visitors, events and conferences, support industry product development and marketing, and spread visitor economy benefits to more communities.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk
All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Isle of Man welcomes rising visitor numbers

THE ISLE OF MAN passenger survey has revealed a 6.5 percent increase in tourist visitors to the island in 2015, rising to 134,610. 

Marking the seventh year of continuous growth in tourist visits, the survey found that tourists added approximately £10 million to the island’s economy, with an average of £378 spent per visit.

The figures have been followed by the results of a report commissioned by the #IsleofMan government on the current condition of the hotel industry.

The report, by Hotel Solutions, highlights where the island should invest in its hotel infrastructure to ensure continued tourism growth in a market where expectations towards accommodation provision are constantly rising.

There are direct flights to the Isle of Man from 11 airports in Ireland and the UK, including Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and London (Gatwick/City) with flights taking from 30 minutes to an hour. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company provides daily ferry travel from Liverpool to Heysham.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Virgin revamps east coast trains

A £21 MILLION revamp of 45 trains has been unveiled by Virgin Trains on its east coast route. The money will be spent on refurbishing the interiors ahead of the company introducing new rolling stock from 2018.  

More than 400 carriages will be overhauled with 24,123 seats replaced along with refurbished toilets and new carpets and curtains. Leather seats will be fitted in first class.

The work will be carried out in London and Edinburgh, where it will also fit 35 new engines to its diesel fleet as part of a £16 million contract.

Further work to the exterior of the fleet takes the total investment to more than £40 million, according to the company.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK

Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8269539@N04/17371370125">Virgin trains Class 390 Pendolino, high speed through platform 4, Nuneaton station</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Gatwick prepares to open new North Terminal departures level

THE first phase of a new departures level at Gatwick’s North Terminal opens this month (October) as part of a £1 billion investment in the airport.

Construction work started a year ago on the £36 million North Terminal project which will see the world’s largest self-service bag drop zone start a phased opening from October 20. Two weeks of operational testing will take place prior to this date, with a one-month trial coming to an end on November 18.

The check-in hall will open in two phases between October and April next year to improve the lay-out and give more space. This will increase peak check-in capacity from 3,000 to 4,350 passengers an hour, according to the airport’s managers.

The development follows trials of a self-service bag drop at the South Terminal.

Self-service bag drop enables passengers who have checked in online to take their bags straight to a machine upon arrival at the airport, where they can print their luggage tag, apply it to their bag and load it straight onto the baggage sorting system.

Gatwick will have 60 check-in points with 48 of these being self-service bag drop units and 28 of these will be open for the October date. This means the check-in process can be completed in less than two minutes, the airport claims.

Chief executive Stewart Wingate, said: ‘Gatwick has added eight million passengers since we came into private ownership in 2009, and we are about to reach the 40 million mark. This is a decade ahead of industry predictions and we will continue to grow. While we wait for a decision on building a new runway, we are investing billions to ensure we can grow from our existing infrastructure, but this will only take us so far. Gatwick remains the best and most deliverable option for expansion – we can go from the world’s most efficient single runway airport to the world’s most efficient two-runway airport while limiting the impact on the environment.’

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

All your holiday needs: IN PRINT - ON-LINE - DiGiMAG - SMARTPHONE -TABLET - BLOG - TWITTER - G+ - FACEBOOK