Archive for the ‘USA’ Category

Summer holiday rush begins

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Up to 1.8 million holidaymakers will be heading abroad this weekend as the majority of  British schools break up for the summer, ABTA calculates.

Traffic through the main airports will be busy with an estimated 415,000 leaving from Heathrow, 240,000 Gatwick, 140,000 Stansted, 150,000 Manchester, 65,000 Birmingham and 130,000 from the main Scottish airports.

Hundreds of thousands will also be travelling through smaller regional airports and crossing the channel by ferry or tunnel.

Spain is still the number one destination with the Balearic Islands selling well, despite the strength of the euro, ABTA says. Turkey and Egypt have seen significant growth and the US has performed better than many of its competitors.

Capacity cuts made by the major tour operators has meant that there are fewer late deals available for the peak summer but flexible travellers can still find offers.

www.abta.com

Creating modern holiday lets in a period building

Friday, June 19th, 2009

bellegarde-low-res-lounge Restoring any period building is a challenge. Combining original  architectural features with interiors that look sumptuous but are practical for letting is an inspired achievement. But with know-how it can be done. (more…)

Costs of Holidaying Abroad Fall

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

There have been slight falls in the cost of taking holidays in the US and in France this week.

The value of the pound against the dollar has increased recently, reaching up to $1.60 in the last few days. This is a still a long way off previous highs but is a great improvement on its recorded low of $1.36 in January this year, and will help reduce the cost of a self catering villa holiday in destinations like Florida.

Meanwhile in France the government there has just approved a cut in VAT rates effective from July 1st. VAT, or TVA as its known locally, will reduce from 19.6% to just 5.5% which means holidaymakers will be able to enjoy roughly 10% lower prices at restaurants and cafés.