Category: News & Trending

Drivers are set to take an estimated 16.8m separate leisure trips by car this May Day bank holiday, the highest number since 2016, according to RAC research. The RAC expects bank holiday Monday to see the largest number of individual leisure journeys – 3.3m – followed by tomorrow (Saturday) with 3m and Sunday with 2.6m....

Tripadvisor, the travel guidance platform, aims to “kick off summer travel” with ‘Write a Review Day’ on 3 May 2022 to “celebrate post-pandemic travel and provide travellers with much-needed valuable guidance”.  They say this initiative will support the tourism and hospitality industry with advice on how to manage their reputation. They are encouraging all those who booked...

Government has announced, following consultation, new measures are being introduced to “shield online consumers from rip-offs”. This includes tackling fake online reviews by making it clearly illegal to pay someone to write or host them. To strengthen the enforcement of consumer protections, the government is to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enhanced powers...

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that face coverings will no longer be mandatory after 18 April (Easter Monday) in certain public places, including shops and licenced hospitality settings.  She said: “In recent weeks we have seen steady progress as we move back to a greater sense of normality and a more sustainable way of...

VisitEngland’s Easter Trip-Tracker survey, published this week, shows that 7.4 million Brits are definitely planning an overnight holiday trip in the UK for the Easter weekend, bringing an estimated £1.8 billion boost to the economy. This is on par with the pre-COVID Trip-Tracker figures for Easter 2019, which were the highest since this survey began...

The economy: The UK economy is forecast to grow by 3.8% this year followed by 1.8% in 2023 (sharply down from previous predictions) and then 2.1% and 1.8% in the following two years. Inflation will average 7.4% this year before dropping to 4% in 2023 and 1.5% in 2024. The unemployment rate will be 4.5% this year, dropping...

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hospitality and Tourism has come out in support of retaining the current 12.5% rate of VAT. In their report, it was stated that the evidence submitted to the APPG strongly supports the case for retaining the current 12.5% rate of VAT to support the industry in playing a...

A consultation has opened on the draft terms of reference for the public inquiry into the Government’s response to the Covid pandemic in all four UK regions. This is to identify the lessons to be learned and inform the UK’s preparations for future pandemics. Of particular interest is that the inquiry will look at: how...

The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tweeted to confirm that all remaining Covid travel measures will cease.  “All remaining Covid travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March. These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout...

It has been reported that Welcome to Yorkshire has entered voluntary administration. According to the BBC, Yorkshire’s main tourism body folded after council leaders agreed to cut off its funding. Welcome to Yorkshire (WtY) has faced a difficult three years amid the coronavirus pandemic and the departure of two chief executives. It is understood that...