One in five Brits to switch to domestic holidays in 2009
Posted by Allen
One in five people who travelled abroad for their holiday last year would consider switching to the UK in 2009 to save money, according to a new study.
Theses latest stats come from research by the new domestic tourism body VisitEngland and were released at the recent Best of Britain and Ireland trade show in London.
More than half of people involved in the research (63%) expect to take a break or holiday in England in the next year and 90% will be cutting back on their overall spend.
However, the study also highlighted that the importance of holidays means that they are “more protected” than other areas of expenditure backing recent claims by Kayak.co.uk that we are a nation obsessed with holidays, even when times are tough.
These rosy prediction for UK tourism are also shared by national tourism agency VisitBritain, whose deputy chief executive Sandie Dawe was recently quoted as saying; “As well as generating more business for the industry to help tide them through the challenging economic climate, Best of Britain and Ireland will be a key opportunity for us to capture the imagination of the five million extra Britons considering taking a holiday here instead of abroad. It could be a real tipping point for British tourism.”
VisitBritain is to launch a £3 million promotional campaign highlighting the value of taking breaks in England. TV and national press advertising are planned from next month.
UK hotel prices drop significantly as hotel owners try to tempt holidaymakers to stay at home
Posted by Allen
According to figures released this week by Hotels.com, UK hotel room prices fell 12% to £93 per night in the last three months of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007
In contrast British tourists are having to pay more for accommodation at many popular overseas destinations, supporting suggestions that Brits will turn their backs on destinations such as Spain and are instead planning to spend this years holidays in the UK.
But it’s not just Spain where prices are soaring, one night in a Swiss hotel rose, on average, to £120 – an increase of 22% – and France, Holland and Greece saw rises of 11%, 14% and 15% respectively.
Figures for individual cities showed average London hotel room rates dipping 12%, Edinburgh prices falling from £99 to £95 and Belfast room rates down 17% to £83. Bucking the trend was Cardiff, where average prices rose slightly from £87 at the end of 2007 to £93 at the end of last year.
The most expensive city at the end of 2008 was Moscow with rooms costing an average of £207 a night, although the biggest percentage increase was in Rio de Janeiro, where room rates rose 63% to £164 at the end of last year.
Other destinations with rising prices included, Geneva up 34% to £136, Zurich up 20% to £119, Washington DC up 18% to £115 per night, Paris rising 13% to £112 and Munich up 10% to £93.
The least expensive major city at the end of last year was the Latvian capital Riga where average rooms cost just £50 a night.
Hotels.com worldwide president David Roche said: “Our report shows that hoteliers around the world are being forced to cut rates to fill their rooms.
“Due to weak sterling, UK travellers will have to work a bit harder to find the bargains but there are still plenty to be had.
“For travellers from any part of the world, this is a great time to explore: travel has not been this cheap since January 2004.”
“The indications are that 2009 will continue to be a good year for travellers. If sterling strengthens, UK travellers will start enjoying the great savings our European and US counterparts are currently experiencing.”
Overall, the average price for a night in a UK hotel fell to £93 in the last three months of 2008.
Brilliant Weekend Breaks
Posted by Allen
Try Weekend Breaks with Brilliant Trips
Glenn from Brilliant Trips told me about the ideas behind their website:
“We at Brilliant Trips believe that free time is precious and we hate wasting it on the sofa watching rubbish telly. So we’ve put together some of our favourite days out, weekend breaks and short break ideas to inspire you and your friends to join in and have some fun.”
The site seems to be aimed at younger people rather than couples and offers the opportunity to join or form “brilliant groups” then choose an available date and book online for just yourself or with friends. Destinations for weekend breaks, day trips and short breaks are mostly in the UK and Europe, similar to the concepts behind London Theatre Weekend Breaks and Paris Breaks
Theatre Breaks with Free Hotel
Posted by Allen
Theatre Breaks Bargains
Theatre Breaks in London just got a lot more affordable with offers that include a Free Hotel for a long list of top west end musicals.
These are for for Monday to Friday performances of
Billy Elliot, Blood Brothers, Buddy, Chicago, Sound of Music, and We Will Rock You throughout January, February and March 2009 and also for Monday to Thursday performances of Carousel, Grease Hairspray Joseph Wicked and Zorro
Theatre Breaks in London
Theatre Breaks include top seats in the stalls or dress circle of one of London’s famous old theatres and a free night in a three star central London hotel. You can even upgrade to a four star hotel for only £10 extra per person. To take advantage of this fantastic offer and have something really special to look forward to, all you have to do is book a theatre break with free hotel now over the internet for two people seeing a show before 26 March 2009.
Here’s the list of shows again:
Monday to Friday offer:
- Billy Elliot theatre breaks
- Blood Brothers theatre breaks
- Buddy theatre breaks (before Feb 7th)
- Chicago theatre breaks
- Sound of Music theatre breaks
- We Will Rock You theatre breaks
Monday to Thursday offer:
- Carousel theatre breaks with Lesley Garret
- Grease theatre breaks
- Hairspray theatre breaks with Michael Ball
- Joseph theatre breaks
- Wicked theatre breaks
- Zorro theatre breaks
** Check Availability for these shows with Free Hotel Offer **
Free Hotel Offer with London Theatre Breaks
For more information and news about any of these shows and a lot more visit London Theatre breaks
Cheap Hotels in London with Theatre ticket
Posted by Allen
 3* Cambridge, Purple Hotel, from £34.00ppAvailable: until 30th April 2009 Ideally located for visiting Cambridge, the hotel offers superb comfortable, state of the art bedrooms with air conditioning, luxury walk-in shower, and tea/coffee making facilities. |
 3* Birmingham, Purple Hotel, from £36.00ppAvailable: Monday to Thursday until 30th April 2009 Located just 2 miles from the city centre of Birmingham, in an ideal location for discovering all the attractions this vibrant city has to offer. |
 2* Hull, Stop Inn Hull, from £30.00ppAvailable: until 30th April 2009 Situated just a short walk from the city centre, the hotel is well placed for exploring the shops and restaurants of the Marina, or visiting The Deep. |
 3* Peterborough, Purple Hotel, from £33.00ppAvailable: Monday to Thursday until 31st December Conveniently located within easy reach of Peterborough, Stamford, Oundle and Huntingdon. |
 We Will Rock You, ticket & 3* hotel from £74.50ppAvailable: until 30th April 2009 Written by Ben Elton, and directed by Christopher Renshaw, We Will Rock You, was the musical sensation of 2002, and looks set to run and run. |
 Wicked, ticket & 3* hotel from £99.50ppAvailable: until 4th April 2009 Experience this unforgettable, award-winning musical and discover that you’ve not been told the whole story about the Land of Oz! |
 Billy Elliot, ticket & 3* hotel from £94.50ppAvailable: until 11th April 2009 A funny, heart-warming and feel-good celebration of one young boy’s dream in a gripping tale of triumph over adversity. |
 Grease, ticket & 4* hotel from £70.50ppAvailable: until 10th January 2009 The smash-hit musical Grease has a brand new cast featuring special guest star Ray Quinn from ITV’s The X-Factor. |
 The Mighty Boosh, Live at the 02 Arena. Ticket & 3* hotel from £119.00ppAvailable 17th December The Mighty Boosh, return to the live stage with their glorious mix of music and comedy. The Mighty Boosh stars, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt will headline the London O2 Arena. |
 WWE Survivor Series UK Tour 2008 – Ticket & 3* hotel from £122.50ppAvailable: 10th November The ever popular World Wrestling Entertainment franchise will tour the UK this winter with their Survivor Series Tour. SmackDown Superstars include: Batista, Undertaker, Edge, Big Show, The Great Khali, plus many more. |
More Events Live at the O2 New Kids on the Block, James Blunt, WWE, Steve Coogan and David Haye – all bookable with Superbreak
Hotel near to Victoria Palace Theatre, London.?
Posted by Allen
I am planning a theatre break for my parents, and would like to book a hotel central to the victoria palace theatre – it should be nice, as it is for their 40th anniversary. Any help would be appreciated.
The whole area is nothing BUT hotels, so you should have no trouble finding one ! ! !
London, wwry Break Free, Somebody to Love
Posted by Allen
Recording from the Dominion Theatre- quality not excellent.
Performers were superb.
Duration : 0:9:0
Gravity Control Crew at London Palladium [28-01-07]
Posted by Allen
We performed the London Palladium (Queens Theatre apparently?!) on Sunday 28th Jan 2007 for Street Dance International and it was well fun. Enjoy. Sorry its a side angle, but it was done all covert and stuff.
Peace
Duration : 0:3:57
How long is Les Miserables running length inckluding break at Queens theatre, London?
Posted by Allen
How long is Les Miserables running length inckluding break at Queens theatre, London?
According to the London Theatre Guide link (below) the running time is 3 hours. It doesn’t state whether that is including the interval or excluding it, so I suggest you should check with the Box Office:
Queen’s Theatre
51 Shaftesbury Ave, W1V 8BA
Tube Piccadilly Circus
Telephone 020 7087 7599
website for London Weekend theatre break?????
Posted by Allen
Does anyone know a good website to go on for show/hotel packages in London, end of November?
going to London on the 23-25th November and would like to take in a show..trip to the London eye, Tussauds, Planetarium etc. Is there a good website to go on to find the best deals?
it would be for 2 adults and 1 child, and Im thinking of maybe Regents Palace/Cavendish…certainly a central hotel location.
I found one company which offers a guaranteed lowest price, so you could try a few others and check them against that one. The show and hotel packages are great if it’s one of the popular musicals that you want to see, but if it’s something less touristy then you could always buy lastminute tickets on the day when you get there, and see two shows altogether. The Planetarium is closed now, I think.
