With travel agencies opening for the first day after Christmas traditionally, today, begins the big booking period for summer holidays. Its cold across most of the country but dry on the whole and it will be bright.Why the weather forecast?Generally if it is raining, snowing or the weather is miserable then summer holiday bookings increase. [...]

Pantos will be full to bursting this season say the theatres. It’s their time of the year when a good panto will help them ride out the next eleven months till the next one arrives (and my two local theatres have already told me what the pantos will be for 2009/10!)I’be been a fan for [...]

An extensive travel guide of what to do and what to see for your next visit to Malaysia!

With AirAsia X offering a recession busting £99 fare from London to Kuala Lumpur, it’s time to make Malaysia your ticket to ride…

Scenic spots, beaches, sunshine and features from our past are not the only attractions to tourists. Man made events and creations (Disneyworld etc) also attract people to an area.One such was the Brecon Jazz Festival which this year celebrated its silver jubilee. Held each August, this years festival had been hit by the bad weather [...]

On this, the 105th anniversay of the first manned flight by the Wright Brothers, the Competition Commssion (CC), has issued a report (over 107 pages plus appendices) saying these three airports should be sold;- maybe.Why maybe?Because this isn’t the final report. That is due next February/March so I suppose the CC could change its recommendations. [...]

In the words of Corporal Jones, “Don’t Panic.”This isn’t happening over here, this is happening in Newcastle, NSW in Australia.According to the Sydney Morning Herald, from December 13th until January 10th, there will be no air traffic controllers working at this airport which has about 1 million passengers flying through it per year. (that makes [...]

The Advertising Standards Authority has criticised Paddy Power, the Irish based bookmakers from advertising its betting service on which airline would go bust next. And I half sort of agree with the ASA.The problem with betting like this is that it can become a self perpetuating philosophy. If there is a lot of money placed [...]

Forget the UAE. This time around it’s Oman that is stealing the show…

Oman is having a moment. Just ask Peter Greenberg – the award winning travel editor for NBC’s Today Show – who has hailed the Arab state as a hot and affordable (important in these credit crunch times) destination, and one of his own personal favourites. Conde Nast Traveller’s online sibling, www.concierge.com, and Vogue have also dubbed the Sultanate as one of this year’s must visit spots.

I have written about many different aspects of holidays and tourism but this is a first. In Turkey, there is a Univerity of Anadolu. They have a Research Centre for Caricature Art. Now there is a big cartoon collection at the Univerity of Kent but I don’t think they have gone as far as [...]

Safaris and wildlife tourism has an understandable and increasing appeal. Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa are countries that immediately spring to mind providing evocative holidays in stunning scenery with seemingly abundant wildlife.One country you may not think of is Ethiopia. It has suffered much through famine and internal strife over the years so [...]