Surveying the holiday trends! Rounding up the UK's top ten travel desires
The travel editors' special: Cruising, hotel costs and crossing continents!
HAVE you noticed that when you tell someone where you’re going on holiday, they have something to say about it. “Oh! Why you going there?”. Or worse: “I went there, it was awful”. Alarms go off in your head. Your stomach sinks. You feel like you’ve done something terribly wrong. It’d been a while since we’d had such a reaction but this was the response to Madeira. Madeira is a small Portuguese island in the Atlantic – not too far from Spain’s Canary Islands. Apparently it’s for old folk. That was it! C’mon! Don’t go… just for that? (Anyone been to Ibiza recently?) Many times we all don’t travel somewhere because we’ve been put off by someone else’s opinion. Another case in point was Benidorm. Before that it was Lima, Peru, and also cruising. This week a poll by National Rail found that 42 per cent of us rely on these recommendations before booking a trip. But what if they’re wrong? All opinions we heard about Madeira, Lima and cruising were 100 per cent wrong. Benidorm was kinda right but it wasn’t a disappointment, and Alicante was amazing. No one mentioned that. And so, this is a dos and donts about travel. Do always go where you want. And if you dare, don’t listen to other people – although sometimes that can be the hardest journey of all. For some great ideas, keep scrolling for this month’s travel headlines.
HELLO SUN!
Reaching new heights: Heathrow is back in profit for the first time in four years – that’s since the pandemic. Reuters reported the airport made £38 million in 2023. As well as expecting a record 81.4 million passengers in 2024 (compared to 80.9 million in 2019), airport boss Thomas Woldbye says building a third runway will soon be back on the agenda, with updated expansion plans out soon.
Also soaring: Aussie airline Qantas has made £1 billion ($1.25billion) half-year, pre-tax profit, which is way above pre-pandemic levels. It comes in the first year of its new boss Vanessa Hudson, who took the helm in 2023 following criticism of high ticket prices, lost luggage and cancellations post-pandemic. The Guardian has the story.
They just keep coming: The Royal Caribbean has seen a record number of cruise sales in the first five weeks of 2024 – its best performance in its history! It comes weeks after it launched Icon of the Seas – the largest cruise ship in the world – to huge fanfare in Miami. Royal Caribbean also owns Celebrity Cruises, which Chalkmarks thinks is the best ship ever, after we went to the Back of Beyond and all decks in between.
The key to relax: The holiday experts at Which? have crunched the numbers to discover a cottage holiday in County Durham, Cumbria and Mid Wales can cost up to £600 less than staying in pricey Cornwall. It found that a stay in the southwest cost £1,145 a week, whereas seven nights in County Durham or nearby Tyne and Wear was just about £512. So, instead of costly regions such as the Cotswolds, South Wales, Dorset and Oxfordshire, opt for a stay in Glasgow and The Clyde Valley, County Durham/Tyne and Wear, Staffordshire.
Looking for a room with a view? London’s empty BT Tower sold for £275 million to be turned into a luxury hotel. Bought by American group MCR Hotels, which owns 150 hotels mainly in the US, the Grade-II listed tower built in 1965, became a restaurant in 1971 with a revolving top floor, but closed in the 80s. It’ll now be reimagined by British architect Thomas Heatherwick who created the new London Routemaster and the 2012 Olympic torch. News of the sale was splashed across the Evening Standard.
On the move: Hitting the road like a rock ’n’ roll band is artwork from the Tate’s network of art galleries. Expect to see Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup can and the work of 21 other artists including Damien Hurst, David Hockney and Fernand Leger all being pulled along in a trailer across the Midlands and the North. The Soup, Socks and Spiders exhibition is on tour for 12 weeks – ending on Saturday 11th May. The BBC has more.
Make some noise: Bookings have opened early for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. The first batch of tickets are on sale now for all 276 shows across 31 venues in the Scottish capital. With a new motto “to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat”, the organisers have put tickets out early to help finance the festival, and to allow the acts plenty of time to promote their shows.
Romance in the air: Real scientific research came out on revealing that couples who do things together, stay together. Those who take a holiday and just relax on the beach aren’t so happy. The study from Arizona State University found adventure holidays or trying a new sport are the best way to spice up your relationship. Prof John Coffey told the Daily Mail: ‘An experience-rich holiday with your partner may improve your love life even after the trip is over.’
Also in: Move over sunbeds, holidaymakers want to cook, climb and cycle nowadays. Ghost hunting also makes the top 20. According to First Choice, 70 per cent of us want to pick up a new skill when away. The survey of 2,000 adults reveals one in five admit “eating, drinking, and socialising” are their main hobbies. Then, it showed Gen Z are most likely to head off on hobby holidays, followed by millennials. Also on the hobby list is photography, crafting, art, yoga, hiking, stargazing and astronomy, pottery and ceramics, motorsports, extreme adrenaline sports, foraging, roller skating, surfing, paddle boarding, trainspotting, graffiti, and mosaics/tile making. Express.co.uk had the story.
On the bucket list: The Scilly Isles is the place Britons want to get to once in their lives. We also want to see Edinburgh (great for ghost hunters btw) and the Lakes. National Rail put out its top 10 British bucket-list destinations this week, revealing we love beautiful landscapes with some history and culture thrown in. Also in the rankings are the Tower of London, the Scottish Highlands, Bath, Stonehenge, Exmouth in Devon, York, and Snowdonia in Wales. And they found 42 per cent of people like using the trains, which leaves 58 per cent who don’t! The Mirror has more.
Sashay and slay: Girls’ weekends are trending – with more than a third of women set to join one in 2024. Of 1,000 women polled, 38 per cent want to get away on an all-girls trip this year says Norwegian Cruise Line. The UK, Spain, Italy, and Greece and Portugal are the top five favoured European destinations, while for long-haul it’s the United States and the Maldives. But what do they want to do? Shop, spa, sip drinks and go to the theatre, say the Sun. So much for hobbies!
In the airport: Passenger numbers at Heathrow are still below pre-pandemic levels at 6 million – it was 6.1 back in 2020. What does it mean? The piece in the Independent doesn’t say!
Cloud 9: Jet2 package holidays are flying off the shelves, the operator announced. It said its winter bookings were up 17 per cent, having put on more flights. Also its summer holidays are up 17 per cent on last year. Boss Steve Happy, err typo there sorry, Heapy, said travellers are booking trips to the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and European cities. Sky has it.
Attention: A boost for holidaymakers as car hire prices have fallen at popular hotspots. Consumer champs Which? found the cost had dropped most in Funchal, Madeira, with the price down to £266 from £412. It’s also fallen in Mallorca, Corfu, Faro, Lazarote, Pisa…
Raise the roof: Notre Dame’s iconic spire reappeared on Paris’ skyline this week. Complete with a golden, copper rooster weatherwane, the 96 metre (315ft) spire was unveiled as the scaffolding began being removed – five years after the blaze in April 2019. Back then, on Monday 15th, the island of Saint-Louis was closed as flames ravaged the 1,000-year-old Gothic cathedral. It’s thought the fire was started accidentally from an electrical fault or a cigarette. It will take a while longer before the Cathedral reopens which is set for December this year. AP has the story.
Urgh, so 2023! This year the travel playbook has been torn up! Britons have ditched their favourite city breaks Amsterdam and Barcelona for Krakow, Prague and Reykjavik. Kelly Cookes, at Advantage Travel Partnership – a group of independent travel agents – said travellers were responding to cost and curiosity. She said: “Amsterdam and Barcelona are still up there, but are not driving the same kind of volumes. Krakow is mainly price-driven. We see Prague in there quite a lot because of price. People want to try something different and they’ve done a lot of those traditional Amsterdams, Barcelonas.” They also said holidays to Cyprus this year were “eye-wateringly extortionate.” Simon Calder at the Independent had the scoop.
Taking to the skies? Then step on the scales. Masters of the airlines, Finnair, are getting personal. It announced passengers would be weighed with their luggage before boarding to help ensure the flight took off safely. It said the data they were using to estimate passenger load was out of date and are asking people boarding flights at Helsinki to volunteer anonymously to get weighed so they can update their calculations. Six hundred people so far have stepped up. Sky News has more.
Out of the country: All hail the January holiday! Loadsa peeps took a winter trip to Spain in the first month of the year. According to Monzo, the bright-orange debit-card company, travel spending rose 12 per cent on last year with the top destination being Spain with holidaymakers jetting off on Ryanair. Travellers also to made it to Australia, the US and the UAE.
Fly-guys: easyJet has been filling two planes a minute at peak times since the start of the year. Ryanair says its bookings are up five per cent on this time last year. Saga says business is expected to rise 20 per cent. And, On the Beach is up 27 per cent on last year. And while demand is high, some airlines are yet to increase capacity which is still below pre-pandemic levels – running up to 20 per cent lower than demand. Wizz Air boss József Váradi told the FT: “The real issue is that we think there is a lot more demand than what we are able to deliver.”
New attraction: It’s been a minute, at least, since anyone thought about the Roman Empire – and this could be the first mention in 2024. But this week, Rome unveiled a huge statue of Emperor Constantine who ruled from 306 to 337. He was the first to covert to Christianity and named New Rome or Constantinople (now Istanbul) after himself in 330. As if Rome didn’t have enough going on they’ve added this must-see 13-metre (42.6 feet) statue with Emperor Constantine draped in a golden tunic, holding a sceptre and orb, that overlooks the city. If you can’t get to Italy, there are plans to build another one in Bishop Auckland in County Durham! AFP has the snaps!
Starry-eyed: Vincent van Gogh’s self-portrait will be on display at the National Museum Cardiff from March as part of a selfie exhibition. Usually housed in Paris the painting dubbed the “original selfie” will be in Wales until January 2025. In a swapsies agreement, The Blue Lady aka La Parisienne by Renoir will head across the Channel. The BBC has the story.
Have you seen our pictures: Our fantastic travel photos, which capture some of our favourite destinations around the world, are now available for sale on Alamy. Woohoo!
The Times: Travel editor Cathy Adams kicked off talking about hotel full English breakfasts and where the baked beans should go on the plate … She said this year is all about fun … People going out and having a light-hearted time … That’s what Icon of the Seas (more below) is about: fun travel … Over on Mumsnet some are worried about conflicts in the Middle East and asking if they should still go on holiday to Greece … Then there’s Covid and mask wearing, which is back in Greece and Spain … Plus, it’s going to be another hot summer across southern Europe and people will be looking to holiday in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Scotland … Additionally, train travel is going to become increasingly important … And Eurostar is free for under 4s!
The Daily Mail: Travel editor Mark Palmer said he wanted to write more about the best breakfast buffets around the world … He went on to say that 14 million people had already booked a holiday for 2024 … Air travel is set to reach a record 4.7 billion worldwide … And for cruising, the figure stood at 36 million worldwide – up 6 per cent on last year … There’ll also be more demand for information about the off-peak shoulder season.
Daily Telegraph: Travel editor Ben Ross started with over tourism remaining a big theme … TheVenice entry fee will be a talking point … The Canary islands are differentiating their offer he said … The Mediterranean will be popular … Also Turkey … Britons are buying more Olympic tickets for the Paris Games in July than any other country …. There is lots of interest in Italy especially Bologna, Milan and Sardinia … Interest remains in mainstream Dubai … For longer-haul holidays, southeast Asia could grow more this year mainly to South Korea, Japan and Thailand … The pound has gained in value … In the US, there could be problems around tipping and the cost of travelling to America …Cruises provide great value … Luxury and wanting to go behind the curtain of high-end travel will be popular … Off-season shoulder travel seems like it will be more important … Also multi-generational holidays … There’s the return of the high-street travel agent as travellers seek advice and answers, not just inspiration … There’s huge interest in the classic British holidays such as the Cotswolds and Lake District … He questioned if plum tomatoes belong in an English breakfast (sorry Heinz)!
Financial Times: Travel editor Tom Robbins began talking about five-star hotels … After the £220 million refurb of the Savoy in London, he said rooms cost £350 … That was in 2010 … Just over a decade later at the newly opened OWO (Old War Office), rooms were £1,200 a night, for a small room … At the Peninsula it’s £1,300 … Within 14 years, the average price has reached four figures – £1,000 for one-night in a five-star London hotel … The market is splitting … There’s the price conscious mid-market … At the top end, prices are going up and up … On sustainability it’s too uncomfortable to have a long-haul flight story to the Maldives and a heatwave on the front page … A survey from a travel boss found customers did not care about sustainability … Old faithful destinations such as Italy and Greece will remain popular … People are also looking further afield to Peru and Eastern Europe … We are going towards greater regulation to tackle over tourism … The Venice tax is too small to do anything … To manage crowds in the US, there are hikes where you have to enter into a lottery to get tickets … Also, hotels evolving to become more lifestyle destinations not just somewhere to sleep … He never mentioned breakfast!
Happy fourth Brexit anniversary: What everyone in the UK needs now is a holiday… to Europe! So, if you’re looking to explore history and somewhere to sit and enjoy the views, get to Venice. If you’re a foodie and like walking, head for Porto. If you want to feel like you’re at home but warmer, then it’s got to be Malta. If you’re after adventure, book surf lessons in Norway and, if you want beaches and activity, then Tenerife is a top spot. All come with sea, sand and sunshine (mostly).
Sail-abrate: The largest ship in the world launched from Miami, Florida, in January. There wasn’t a newspaper or TV crew on the planet that didn’t capture the moment when Icon of the Seas by Royal Caribbean glided out of port into the deep blue ocean in front of thousands of onlookers. Footballer Lionel Messi was there to crack open a bottle of Champagne against the bow. At 365 metres, Icon longer is than the Shard in London, and bigger than the Anthem of the Seas, which was the largest ship in the world – way back in 2015. That ship cost $1 billon, Icon cost $2 billion. Anthem could hold 4,000 passengers, Icon can take 10,000. It’s so big it has neighbourhoods across 20 decks. It has the largest waterpark at sea and the biggest slides on the water. It’ll sail around the Caribbean for a while and head to Europe at some point to float around the Mediterranean. Watch this space. If you missed it, catch up on the BBC.
Hold on to your hats: South Korea is building the highest ever ferris wheel in Seoul. Located close to the World Cup Stadium in Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park, the Twin Eye will be 180 metres (600ft) high – the same height as the NatWest Tower in London. Don’t get too excited, it won’t start spinning until 2028. MailOnline has more.
No need for a passport: Travelodge reported that one in three of us will holiday in the UK this year. Did you see it was a record 19.6C in a teeny village in Scotland in February? It’s all to do with the jet stream – and they get these puffs of warm air quite a lot actually. They even have palm trees in Plockton, that’s way up in the Scottish highlands. No one ever said this before. That’s why they invented Nessie isn’t it – to keep us away? The best bit was the BBC reporter who called the manager of the Kinlochewe Hotel to confirm the Met Office’s temperature. Donald MacLennan, said it was “really hot outside”, adding, “but I can’t see anyone out enjoying it as it’s blowing a hoolie”. Anyway, back to the Travelodge survey of 2,000 people – it also found that one in four would be going abroad. So that’s what they call that research. So, home or away, just go away. That’s what we’re gonna do! Ta-ta!