Dominating tourism in the Caribbean

THE Islands Of The Bahamas continues to dominate tourism in the #Caribbean. So says Caribbean Journal, the largest website covering Caribbean tourism, which bestowed on the destination two key awards in its Caribbean Travel Awards 2018: Best Caribbean Destination and Best Caribbean Tourism Minister.

But it is better in #TheBahamas, and according to officials, the destination had the most impressive growth in the region. "While several islands had particularly strong growth in 2018, none has been more impressive than The Bahamas," officials said on the destination's website.



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

Prestigious Travel Award for The Women's Travel Group

THE Women's Travel Group has again won a prestigious travel award from Travel Weekly Magazine. The Silver Magellan Award for 2018 honors the company's outreach to solo women looking for a travel group to join.

The Women's Travel Group has offered small group quality tours for women for 26 years and often chooses new and unusual destinations for women who have already traveled a great deal: Iran, Namibia, S Africa, India, Albania etc. Hotels are 4 star, meals in restaurants and guides are trained to cater to the intellectual needs of women travelers. Trips sometimes have speakers and always have unique visits.

The market for women's travel is barely touched by the large travel corporations; this boutique tour operator tries to fill that gap while providing hand holding for those taking their first trip. Some of the trips are co-organized by Sita World Tours of Encino CA, who have worked with The Group for many years.


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

Chile Celebrates

THE Chilean Tourism Board had cause for celebration recently after scooping the award for South America's Leading Adventure Tourism Destination 2017 at the 24th World Travel Awards. The event, which took place on 9th September 2017, recognises and celebrates individual and collective successes within each key geographical region.

This is the third year the accolade has been awarded to Chile and it’s little surprise why. #Chile has a wealth of adventure tourism for visitors to uncover from skiing down a volcano in Pucón, scuba-diving off Easter Island and ice-field walking in Patagonia, to taking a hot air balloon flight over the Atacama Desert and white water rafting on the Futaleufu River.

In the competition, Chile defeated Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. With this new recognition Chile will be part of the worldwide competition to become the World’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination 2017, an award that the country won in 2016. This year the global ceremony will take place in Vietnam on 10th December.

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

World Travel Awards Winners

SAINT PETERSBURG has won the title of Europe’s Leading Destination for the second year at the World Travel Awards, which were held in Sardinia,Italy.

Other winners included:

Europcar - Europe’s Leading Car Rental Company

Madeira Islands - Europe's Leading Island Destination.

Lyon, France - Europe's Leading City Break Destination

Rome Cavalieri, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts - Europe's Leading Luxury City Resort.

Lufthansa - Europe’s Leading Airline for the second year in a row.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Northumberland nominated for 'Best UK Holiday County/Destination'

#NORTHUMBERLAND has been nominated for the 'Best UK Holiday County/Destination' title in the 2016 British Travel Awards. The winners will be determined by the public, which has until September 30 to cast their votes. 

The 'Best UK Holiday County/Destination' category is strong this year, with Northumberland up against Cornwall, Devon, Pembrokeshire, Somerset, and Yorkshire. Once again, Northumberland is the only county in the North-East to be nominated.

The county took Silver awards in the category in both 2014 and 2015, narrowly missing out to Cornwall. 

Jude Leitch, director of Northumberland Tourism, said: ‘Tourism is an important asset to Northumberland, both in terms of employment and economic growth. To win Gold would be great recognition of the hard work and dedication of our team, and those of the businesses large and small who tirelessly support the sector year on year.’

Voting for the awards is now open and nominated organizations and companies have until September 30 lobby their customers for votes.

To vote, go to www.visitnorthumberland.com/sharenland

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Picture Credit: 97206958@N00/28033209066 Amble Harbour - Beacon via photopin.com

Up in the air . . .

Manchester Airport unveils £1 billion expansion plan 

Manchester Airport has made a video showing how the airport will look in ten years following a £1 billion investment. Subject to getting planning permission, it will see a state-of-the-art terminal building created through the expansion of the airport’s existing Terminal Two building.


Flybe announces new routes – Manchester to Lyon, Southampton to Munich

Flybe has announced a year-round service between Manchester and Lyon, France, with daily flights starting in August. It has also confirmed plans for year-round daily flights between Southampton and Munich, Germany.

Flybe was recently named Best Short-Haul Airline at the 2016 Business Travel Awards.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Record visitor numbers for Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse

THE GUINNESS STOREHOUSE in #Dublin is celebrating a record number of visitors for 2015. It welcomed 1,498,124 people passed through its doors, compared with 1,267,807 in 2014. 

Mirroring current trends in Irish tourism, visitors from the UK and the US made up half of all visitors, followed by those from mainland Europe and Ireland.

Paul Carty, managing director of Guinness Storehouse commented: ‘2015 was an incredibly successful year for us at the Guinness Storehouse. In September we were named ‘Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction’ at the World Travel Awards, winning more votes than the likes of the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum.

‘Over the coming year, we will be announcing innovations and developments that will further enhance our offering.’

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Travel award for Madeira

#PORTUGAL’S Madeira Islands have been named the planet’s leading island destination in the 2015 World Travel Awards, beating off competition from 
Bali, Barbados, Crete, Jamaica, and the Maldives.

‘Our archipelago´s main asset,’ says Eduardo Jesus, regional secretary for Economy, Tourism and Culture, ‘is its exuberant nature. #Madeira is gold!’

Madeira is an archipelago comprising four islands off the north-west coast of Africa. Popular outdoor pursuits include hiking, golf, surfing, and scuba diving.

One of the main events of the year is the Madeira Flower Festival (April 7-13), which attracts thousands of visitors from all around the world.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Picture Credit: Flower horses during the Flower Festival, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal by Paul Mannix - originally posted to Flickr as Flower horses during the Flower Festival, Funchal, Maderia, Portugal. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

Bahamas top spot for weddings

The #Bahamas have been named 2015 Leading Wedding Destination at the World Travel Awards. 

‘We in The Bahamas know our islands present an idyllic setting for destination weddings, so it is an honour to see such recognition from a prestigious organization such as the World Travel Awards,” says Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, deputy director general at the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

On the Bahamas couples can marry on one island and honeymoon on another, have a ceremony underwater, or have dolphins in attendance, says the ministry. For accommodation, there are large resorts, private villas, and small guest houses.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Northumberland winners

NORTHUMBERLAND has swept the board at the 2015 North-East England Tourism Awards (NEETA), and won Silver at the British Travel Awards.

#Northumberland businesses were shortlisted in 11 categories at NEETA 2015, from which they took seven Gold awards, five Silver, five Bronze, and four Highly Commended #awards.

It was a successful night for coastal B&B St Cuthbert's House, which won Gold for both 'Bed & Breakfast/Guest Accommodation of the Year' and 'Sustainable Tourism'.  Other Gold winners were: Bamburgh Castle Inn at Seahouses; Morpeth Tourist Information and Craft Centre; Leaplish Waterside Park; and Kielder Observatory.  

It is the second time Northumberland has won Silver in the Best UK Holiday Destination/County in the British Travel awards. Beating competition from Devon and the Pembrokeshire Coast, the county was pipped at the post by Cornwall, which took Gold for the seventh consecutive year.  



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/97595808@N00/8417660076">Kielder Observatory</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)

They’re winners!

WEST COUNTRY-BASED winners the 2015 British Travel Awards included:

Coast & Country Cottages - Best UK self-catering holiday booking company (small companies). www.coastandcountry.co.uk

Helpful Holidays – Gold award for customer service (small and medium companies), and bronze award for best medium cottage/self-catering booking (UK properties). www.helpfulholidays.com

holidaycottages.co.uk – Best holiday accommodation provider for customer service. www.holidaycottages.co.uk

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Indy recognizes ‘best of the best’

THE UK’s Independent newspaper has announced the winners of its 2015 travel awards which, it says, recognize a ‘unique community of travel companies that have gone the extra mile for their customers and provided outstanding service as a standard’. 

The awards combine ‘public acclaim with expert judgement to decide who should be crowned best of the best, and has seen thousands of votes and hundreds of nominations whittled down to 16 winners’. They include:

· Airport: Heathrow

· European airline: British Airways

· Long-haul airline: Air New Zealand

· Train operator: Chiltern Trains

· Ferry company: Caledonian MacBrayne

· Cruise line: Viking

· Travel company - winter sports: Neilson

· Travel company – beach: Thomson

· Place to stay – family: Landmark Trust

· Place to stay – budget: pitchup.com

· Readers' choice award: Michael Palin

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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

Guinness Storehouse named Europe’s top attraction

#DUBLIN’S Guinness Storehouse has been named Europe’s leading tourist attraction in the World Travel Awards, hailed as ‘Oscars’ of the travel industry. 

Shortlisted alongside some of Europe’s most recognizable attractions – the Acropolis, Athens; London’s Buckingham Palace, and Rome’s Colosseum – it was Ireland’s top tourist spot that won the largest public vote.

As Europe’s leading tourist attraction, the #GuinnessStorehouse will be put forward for the World Travel Awards grand final, where it is in the running to be named as the world’s leading tourist attraction.

Since its opening in 2000, the Guinness Storehouse – a seven-storey treasure trove of all things Guinness – has had more than 13 million visitors, who discover what goes into the making of each pint, learn how to pour the perfect pint in the Guinness Academy, step into the world of Guinness advertising, and get a 360-degree view of Dublin from the city’s highest bar.

www.guinness-storehouse.com

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/22141213@N04/2151511032">DSCF0493</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)