Holiday News - Direct

The Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) is predicting an 11% growth in cruise holidays in 2007. This is a higher growth than previously predicted by the PSA.
Overall 1.35 million people will take a holiday by the sea in 2007. The PSA estimated earlier this year that in 2008 there will be 1.55 million people taking […]

The number of lost baggage during flights has almost doubled since last year according to research by the largest UK travel direct insurance company Insure and Go. The company’s figures show that the one in 10 adult passengers have lost a baggage in the last two years. It also showed that one third do not […]

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games (VANOC) have revealed the mascots for the Olympic Games.
Quatchi, Miga and Sumi are three creatures greeting and entertaining people coming to the games. The design team have put much thought into the mascots, wanting to make sure they appeal to children all around […]

Tunisia is trying to attract more holidaymakers to the country, by promoting alternative holiday types. Tunisia holidays are known for the sun and sea, but now Tunisian tourism officials want to attract holidaymakers to the Sahara desert, golf courses and thalassotherapy.
Tunisia is trying to market those areas that separates it from other North African […]

To help you out in choosing the best possible accommodation while on holiday in Budapest, the Guardian’s Kate Connolly has listed the 10 best Budapest hotels. There’s something for every budget for a city break in Prague.
Under a tenner: Mandragora Hostel
This friendly hostel could not be more conveniently located – behind the national museum, […]

UNICEF and British Airways have teamed up again this year for Christmas charity campaign. All British Airways planes have an envelope where passengers can donate money. Donations can be made in any currency and all money goes to the Change for Good campaign.
For the second year running the donations will go to Vietnamese children […]

Colombia is expecting to have 1.3 million visitors by the end of the year. The country is trying to tempt people on holiday in Colombia by promoting its regions historical cities, adventure and ecotourism.
From January to September there were 781,000 visitors in Colombia, up 14,2% from the same period last year.
With a bad reputation for […]

Cruise holidays are receiving most bookings for the summer 2008 season, online holiday booking agency www.holidays-direct.co.uk reports. Cruises are proving to be the most popular choice with British holidaymakers ahead of traditional European holiday destinations like Majorca and Cyprus.
In recent years, cruise holidays have become more and more popular with British holidaymakers. It is […]

Instead of going to visit Santa Claus at the local shopping centre, British families are taking their children to his home to visit Santa Claus in Lapland. Online travel agency Holidays-direct.co.uk reports that more and more Brits are booking Lapland holiday deals to visit Santa and experience the magic of Lapland.
With Christmas closing in there […]

The British Airports Authority (BAA) has announced it will reduce the security check queues dramatically by next year. The BAA says 95% of passengers travelling through its seven airports will take less than five minutes to pass through security.
The BAA also promised that only 1% would be stuck in the security checks for more […]

The number of worldwide holidaymakers is expected to be nearly 900 million for the year 2007. This is a record high volume of tourists around the world.
The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) is meeting up in Colombia to discuss issues in tourism. The UN body estimates a 5.7% increase in the number of tourists visiting […]

The cruise line P&O Cruises is looking for 12 families, couples or friends to test six of its cruise liners. The inspectors will get a free cruise holiday and £150-300 spending money (£300 for families.).
Only people who have never been on a cruise with P&O Cruises can win the opportunity to test the cruise […]

Tanzania is planning to open a new national park, after pressure from environmental organizations to preserve the African wildlife. If a new park will be opened, Tanzania would have 15 national parks, the newest one covering 1,390 sq miles.
Protecting the wildlife of Tanzania would also benefit the country by drawing even more tourists to […]

Italian ski resorts in the Dolomites are opening the ski holiday season on November 24th 2007. The resorts have already been hosting pre-season training for many national ski teams.
Thanks to artificial snow making equipment and early snow fall, 90% of the slopes will be covered by snow for the opening weekend.
The two Italian […]

100 million passengers fly from the regional airports in the UK. The growth in travel from the regional airports is much higher than the growth at London’s airports.
Since 1990 traffic at regional airports has tripled. At the moment regional airports handle 42% of all UK passengers, according to Civil Aviation Authority. Holidaymakers are taking […]

Travelodge has announced it will be expanding the hotel chain to Spain with a €1 billion budget to open 100 new hotels. Travelodge also says the new hotels will create 2,000 new jobs by the time they are finished in 2020.
Travelodge hotels will be opening in major Spanish cities like Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia first, […]

The ever increasing price of fuel has hit the cruise holiday industry. Royal Caribbean Cruises has announced that it will charge a fuel supplement of $5 per passengers per day for cruises departing after February 1, 2008.
Rice, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said: “I thank our guests […]

The heavy early snow fall this year is making the Canadian ski resort Whistler consider opening the ski season early. The operations crew is busy preparing the resort for the season opening on 22 November, but as the snow keeps falling the resort is considering opening early.
“Giddy anticipation is definitely the overwhelming feeling in […]

Dubai is targeting the UK holidaymakers to grow the number of British visitors in Dubai from last year’s 700,000 to 1.4 million in 2010. At the moment the UK is the biggest source for the tourism industry in Dubai, and the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is planning to build on it.
In […]

The one hand-luggage per person rule on flights departing from UK airports is to be lifted from the New Year, according to reports. It is expected that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly will announce the end to the baggage limitations imposed in August 2006.
The restrictions on carrying liquids will stay in place, but passengers will be […]