Saving Money, But Holidays Stay?

Research from Visit Britain last week suggested that people might be cutting back on many things but a holiday is increasingly seen as protected.
Why?
Well the research showed that people said they were cutting back on food (77%), fuel (69%) and clothes (64%). Only 48% of us were intending to, or had, cut back on holidays.
Is this hype or are we increasingly viewing our holiday as sacrosanct?
In any survey being asked during times like today people are likely to say they will cut back. The surprise is then that people felt they would cut back on other items before holidays. Two of the things picked are items where there has been noticeable price increases (food and fuel). The third (clothing) is an item where you may buy something and not necessarily wear it when you get it home. Everyone has something in their wardrobe (or so it is claimed) that never gets worn. As well as this people feel that they can eke out what clothes they have a little longer.
But not holidays; they either happen or they don’t.
It doesn’t appear that those being interviewed were asked about why they weren’t going to cut back on holiday plans. It is widely assumed that people will just trade down ( say from 4 star to 3) or go to places where the pound hasn’t fallen as much against the local currency (say Egypt,Bulgaria, Turkey and Tunisia), or stay at home.
But all the people selling holidays don’t really know what will happen and this is what is concerning them. They are assuming now that there will be a last minute rush and that some overseas destinations will pick up. The one thing they do seem positive about is that we will take a holiday regardless of what we say now.
So be prepared after Easter and into the late spring for a flurry of advertising to get you to book for the summer

Food Temptations at Best of Britain & Ireland

The show, Best of Britain & Ireland, to which we have been offering free tickets opened at ExCel in London's Docklands to members of the travel trade yesterday so I thought I would let you know what was available when you come at the weekend.
I can’t tell you all that you’ll see because some exhibitors won’t be setting up until Friday night. I was quite pleased though to find that our stand was right next to that of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale only to find out that they weren’t moving in till Saturday morning all ready for you weekend visitors to sample their produce!
Staying on a similar theme, the smells coming from the Irish food stand yesterday morning were so appealing . Dry cured bacon, home made sausage on Waterford blaa was my choice. At lunch it was the Scottish food stand that took my fancy. Venison. You can’t beat it.
Anyway apart from the food, seductive enough in itself, there are the other 300 odd stands with great ideas on where to spend breaks.
Slightly different was the Find My Past stand which was giving information about the 1911 census and the strange (well I found it strange) that one in five adults in the UK had made a conscious decision to move back to where the ancestors came from!
One of the interesting things was the number of new attractions that I talked to people about that were being developed. In the next few years there will be wonderful places to visit if all goes to plan.
So don’t forget to click on the link to get your free tickets and enjoy the food, the exhibitors and the talks

Fairer fares from Wrexham and Shropshire

Starting the 30 March, one rail company is introducing standard fares. The price charged for peak fares which is often significantly above those available later in the day has gone. Regardless of what time of the day you travel the fares will be the same price.
Such is the claim from the newish company, Wrexham & Shropshire which operates trains from Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Telford in to London. The price will be £53 return from Wrexham and £40 from Shrewsbury and Telford. And these prices will be the same even if you buy them on a train.
Quite often if you buy tickets on a train, you will be charged the highest fares so this move is to be welcomed by many who have to travel at the last movement.
Wrexham & Shropshire only run four trains a day in each direction and face competition from Virgin who provide services from Shrewsbury and Telford. Their fares are considerably higher but only for last minute tickets.
I get more comments about rail pricing than nearly anything else and any attempt to make clearer what fares actually are is great for the consumer. A group of 4 travelling from Shrewsbury to London for a weekend break will be charged £160;- about the same price I was charged for a day return to York from Guildford when I had to buy it at the last moment. Yet if I had known 3 weeks previously I could have only paid about £30.
No wonder people use cars

Bath:The Most Expensive Hotel Rooms in Britain

Where are the most expensive hotel rooms in Britain? Most people, me included, would probably say London but according to the accommodation booking site, hotels.com, the most expensive place is Bath. The average cost of a hotel room over the last three months was £119 per night whereas London was £111. London, incidentally, was the second most expensive place.
The first question you ask yourself when you see information like this is,- is it accurate? Hotels.com use the actual price paid by people booking over the website not the published prices given by the hotels. From that point of view it does reflect real prices. The second question you ask is how many bookings or hotels does it represent? For Bath, 28 hotels are covered by them which is a good number since it ranges from 5 star hotels to B&B's. But how many bookings did they take over that three month period for the 28 hotels concerned? That I do not know. If it was only a few, then the results may not be accurate.
So I thought I'd look to see how many places provided accommodation in Bath and the surrounding 10 miles. The Visit Bath website lists 64 properties. TripAdvisor has comments on 39 and the Enjoy England website has 40 hotels, over 100 guesthouses, B&B's and camp sites. LateRooms.com has between 90 and 130 depending on which page of their website you are on. So I still don't know whether the 28 covered by Hotls.com is a reasonable number to draw conclusions about or not. And I still don't know whether Bath really is the most expensive place for accommodation or not.
You pays your money and you takes your choice

Come to London Says Boris

Over the winter, Visit London spent about £600,000 on attracting tourists to London. According to them that generated £6.7 million for the London economy.
Probably based on that Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has "found" a further £2 million to promote London over this summer. The expectation is that this will generate a further £60 million for London before the end of the year.(how come in summer the return is supposedly three times as much as in winter?) The funding seems to be coming from the London Development Agency and is coming as part of the mayor's Economic Recovery Action Plan.
The campaign will have two roles; to get Londoners to appreciate what they have and to entice people from overseas to visit London. Using the slogan, "Only in London
100" the idea is to provide 100 examples of what makes the London a unique place to visit. That includes Notting Hill where Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts in the film of the same name (in a previous blog I pointed out the value of films in attracting visitors and how the idea seems to work for years after the film's date), Fortnum & Mason and drinking at Europe's longest champagne bar,- which is apparently at St Pancras station.
It seems that this investment has two underlying themes. The first is that with the pound weak against a lot of currencies, overseas visitors will get better value for money. The second is that Londoners, who are used to the high transport and living costs in London, will visit something anyway.
Which leaves the rest of us.
The train and coach companies offer fares to London which are cheap but which can be rarely found and to bring a family of 4 in seems to be only viable if you own a family railcard or drive. For me to take four people people to London from Cambridge booking on the day costs over £100. If I leave it until after 9.30am to get cheaper rates, a good chunk of the day is wasted. In August when there are fewer commuters because of holidays, why can't the 9.30 travel deadline be removed thus encouraging us to travel.
So if the mayor, the LDA and Visit London is serious in wanting the rest of us to visit London something should be done to make travelling to it and good deal cheaper than it is.

It's British Tourism Week

British Tourism Week starts today.
You might wonder why such a week exists at all. After all we don’t have a British Banking Week or a British Car Week so why should one industry be singled out.
One reason is that tourism is not seen as an industry. It’s just, well, there! Yet it is very important,- as it is to most countries, as a source of employment and revenue. The value of tourism to the United Kingdom is £86 billion and it has over 2 million jobs dependent on it (that’s 5% of the total workforce) or 1 in every 20 jobs in the UK depends on tourism. 180,000 businesses are connected to tourism and that doesn’t include the main high street shops, supermarkets or pubs that tourists use when they travel.
Some would say that tourism breeds congestion, litter and over-development. It can do but that can be managed
Importantly, tourism also helps to keep work and money in rural areas and the coasts. Although big cities like London, Cardiff and Edinburgh attract tourists think what Lossiemouth, Frinton, Cardigan and the Lake District would be like if no tourists came to support the jobs and the local economy. You might see a post office or a pub as the centre of village life but the availability of a B&B or a guesthouse helps along the local economy.
Britain is the sixth largest attracter of tourists in the world and that doesn’t include the effect you and I have when we just go out for a day to shop, visit an attraction or go for a walk.
So this week, have a thought on the effects of tourism where you live; and not just the negatives.

Botswana, Tourism and & Precious Ramotswe

As some of you settle into your armchairs tonight to watch the latest episode of the Mma Precious Ramotswe, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series spare a thought for the Botswana tourism.
I’m told it’s a beautiful place and over the last few years it has worked hard at trade shows to encourage tourists to visit the game reserves. It is a peaceful country. One of the safest to visit and has good communications.
But it takes a feel-good television series to really persuade people that they should visit. Botswana should be grateful to Alexander McCall Smith, the author for setting the series there and, if they honour people for tourism, he should be at the front of the queue
Television series’ are strange items. If they portray a place too negatively, tourism can drop. Show an area positively and the tourist area trades on it for years. The film about Beatrix Potter with Renee Zellweger a few years ago helped push up numbers visiting the Lake District. Over 12 years ago when Notting Hill was released that led to even more people visiting the area. Whether Malcolm Pryce’s novels about Aberystwyth (private-eye stories set in a world of druids as baddies and strange goings- on)- have attracted tourists, I don’t know but if they make them into a TV series, who knows.
So for all those places struggling to attract tourists maybe the answer is to get chummy with a TV or film producer.

A Life on the Ocean Wave

Last year was a record year for the cruise industry in Britain. Nearly 1.5 million people went on a cruise up 11% over the previous year and of these, 577,000 cruised from a UK port.
Traditionally cruises are thought of as exotic trips into warm climates. Lazy days at sea with the sun beating down as another gin and tonic was washed down.
Some maybe, but today it is seen as an alternative to the all-inclusive holiday. After all, what other holiday can you take where all your costs are known so budgeting becomes easy. Even the tipping is suggested (or in the case of Celebrity Cruises, added to your bill and you have to remove it!)
It isn't quite like the nineteen fifties and sixties when I remember seeing departing cruiseships festooned with bunting and paper ties from relatives on shore seeing you off. Some of the glamour may have gone but it has become more accessible;-otherwise so many people wouldn't be doing it.
My sister, this weekend, is on her fourth cruise. For someone who doesn't really do holidays, the appeal of cruising to her is that she only has to decide what restaurant to lunch in, what show to see and what deck games to play. It's relaxing, the cossetting of the ship's crew removes stress and everything is done for you. So she sailed from Sydney this morning on her way around the North Pacific.
Here, just under half of those who go on a cruise, go to the Med and the Brits account for about a third of all European cruise passengers.
No wonder then that at this weekends Cruise Show at Excel in London, they're expecting a very successful time

Dear Sky Steward

Let me introduce you to a website/blog that may help flyers amongst or you. And if you aren't a flyer try it for its amusement value.
www.dearskysteward.com is a US based website run by Gailen David. He offers advice on "jetiquette" like not putting bare feet onto the back of the seat in front of you and how to use your mobile phone. Most of it is written from an amusing angle (well I found it so) but its not for your average flyer. He has a penchant for the luxurious (mind you, so might we all if we could afford it) but underlying his piece is something we can all laud. he wants to make flying pleasant again.
As he campaigns to become America's next airline CEO (not a great chance to be honest) he raises issues this blog has raised before and which I think we all want such as shorter queues when you check-in your baggage and softer flourescent lighting on board. (Anyone on Ryanair who has noticed the glare of their lights with the striking blue/yellow decor will know what I mean)
He also believes that one person can make a difference to the enjoyment of a passengers flight. It comes down to service. It doesn't having to be gushing; it doesn't have to be "over the top" with false fixed smiles. It just need to be polite, helpful with out being intrusive, caring with out being inquisitive and above all, efficient.

Ryanair: New Check-in rules for Baggage

From tomorrow, 19th March there will be some new rules for checking in hold baggage. You can now check-in your hold baggage online but there will be a charge of £5. If you continue to use the airport check-in facilities, the price has risen slightly from £9.50 to £10.
Up until then, you could only check-in online if you were an EU citizen. That changes and non-EU citizens will be allowed to check-in online as will those people who have reduced mobility.
So what does this mean?
It is the first part of the changes that Ryanair is bringing in over the next six months so that checking in at the airport eventually ends. The only method of check-in after October 1st will be online. At present it is estimated that 75% of people do check-in online so on the face of it it will not affect that many.
Think again.
Ryanair's decision will affect millions of pasengers. In 2008, they carried over 55 million passengers it is thought so over 13 million passengers will be affected by these rule changes. That's a lot of passengers they may annoy but does that matter to them?
On the other hand, checking in online has substantially reduced queues at airports leaving only the security queues to exasperate passengers at certain times of the day. Some have claimed it is discriminatory against those that have no computers and it will be interesting to see if anyone takes that to court for a ruling.
All of those travelling with just hand baggage will still have no fee to pay.
For the time being.
See the Ryanair feature, http://www.cd-traveller.com/en_ryanair_competition.php for a competion started by Ryanair about people's ides of what Ryanair will charge for next!

St Patrick's Day & Everyone Celebrates. So find your own saint

The Irish know a thing or two about celebrating. In the 1980's I remember going to a do in Jury's in Dublin where they told the funniest Irish jokes until the restaurant closed down in the early hours of the following day. The company was good, the revelry was great and that is how the Irish celebrate St Patrick's Day (a Welshman by the way. A memorial stone to him lies in the village of Banwen near Neath where he may have been born.)
But it seems that everywhere in the world has a parade or a series of events. There are all day Irish days with green beer and Guiness in Louisiana in the USA (which I never thought had many Irish settlers), Chicago ( where there are a lot) dyes the river green and the events in Ireland seem to last for weeks. Google and AOL have placed shamrocks on the websites. You feed the word "saint" into Google today and the first three sponsored links mention St Patrick.
Most of the processions were last Sunday but Irish events are still going on to this weekend in London and Manchester and elsewhere. London has its own part of the official website, www.london.gov.uk/stpatricksday and Leeds had one as well, www.leedsgoingirish.com which covered the events of last weekend.
From a tourism point of view, the Irish lead the rest of us. What do we do for St George and St Andrew? St David's day is getting a wider coverage.
Here is a whole new angle for tourism. Get a local saint a bit like mediaeval times when abbeys using to have the supposed bones of saints and that attracted pilgrims. St Ninian could have a celebration in Whithorn in Dunmfries & Galloway (a glorious part of Scotland if you haven't been there). Canterbury could celebrate St Thomas a Becket on the day of his murder on December 29th and give tourists something between the Christmas and New Year's festivities to come out to. After all a lot of people have this period off and it would make a change from going to the shops.
Have a saint, have a celebration and in a hundred years time someone might get it as effective as the Irish have done with St Patrick.

Britons stay at Home

It is no surprise to anyone that Britons are travelling abroad less this year but some countries are feeling the pinch that we have stayed away from their countries last year as well.
Thailand has announced that they had 50,000 less UK visitors than they had in 2007. Nonetheless 700,000 of us made the long journey to Bangkok or the coastline or both. One of the reasons for the decline could have been due to the fact that a number of Brits go to Thailand for the winter sun and last December, you might remember, was the time that Bangkok's international airport was virtually shut for a few weeks because of demonstrations against the then government. So some of the fall in numbers must be due to that. Another reason might have been the fuel surcharges which have been slow to drop on some airlines.
Well this year they want three quarters of a million of us to go there and they will promote Thailand as the best destination for value for money so watch out for the advertising later in the year as the persuade us that Thailand is the winter destination to visit.
So if we didn't go to Thailand, where did we go? Spain had a slump in numbers and next week in London at the annual STEPS show, they will try and persuade the travel trade why the trade should persuade you that Spain is where we should go. (More on that after I have been there)
And it might not have been Greece. This year TUI, who own Thomson and First Choice, are saying that UK bookings to go to Greece are down by 25% this year only beaten by the Scandinavians who are 30% down on last year. The Greek government is concerned so it has upped its ad campaign spend for this year to €75 million;- a lot of money in anybody's language. And it is concerned that without more tourists it might see 90,000 job losses.
Unlike Britain where, if the year lives up to the forecasts, it will be a bumper year for tourism with jobs created not lost.

"Don't Panic" if you're flying on a Boeing 777

I go across the Atlantic to the US a few timnes a year. Usually I travel on a 777 because that is largely what American Airlines and United Airlines use. (I tend to fly them because they give me access to the internal routings I need at generally a cheaper price).
But what am I to make of the announcement that there may be a fault in the engines supplied by Rolls Royce. It seems that there can be a build up of ice and that could use an engine cut-out as happened on a British Airways and a Delta flight in the last year. Both planes landed, in the case of the BA flight the pilot's actions saved a tragedy and in the case of the Delta flight, the pilot "followed procedures" and there was no problem. How do I know which engines are on my aircraft unless I take a techie guide to every 777 with me because Rolly Royce engines aren't on every 777.?
But the way that the report of the National Transportation Safety Board (a USA body) was reported by the media was along the lines of "There's likely to be crash in a 777over the next 12 months but don't panic" (A good example of the risk the the papers say exists is the Peter Brookes cartoon in The Times yesterday www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/cartoon/)
Only in the blogs did you get a little bit of sanity where it was pointed out that all pilots test the water fuel content for water (which seems to be where the issue is) and there are procedures if a problem occurs. That happened in the Delta case.
The fact that the 777 has been flying for 14 years with few accidents and only one that was fatality, (a ground worker at Denver Airport in the US)indicates a pretty safe aircraft. But not the way the media tells it and now there are panicy people who say they will never fly on it. If this technical problem was life threatening, the safety authorities would ground all planes. They do it often enough as a precaution so that tells me any flights I make on a 777 should be, all things being considered, reasonably safe.
And should I ask or expect 100% safety? No it doesn't exist.

The Largest Red Nose in the World?

Yes its come around again.
Its Red Nose Day
And if you are in Newcastle you may find a quite astonishing sight.
On the bow of the DFDS ferry, King of Scandinavia, the owners have placed a gigantic red nose. It is 6 metres in diameter (about 20 feet) so you can't really miss it. (You can see a video about the vessel and it's "nose" on www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/Customer_Service/Videos/ComicRelief)
And I doubt if you'll miss any of the collectors who will be up and down the country today collecting for this worthwhile cause. But none of the collectors will have a nose anything like that sported by the King of Scaninavia!

Now BA joins the "Milk the Passenger" Club

We’ve got used to Ryanair, easyjet, Flybe and the other no frills airlines charging you for using a credit card. When I booked a flight up to Glasgow this morning I deliberately picked BA because I thought I might have to take some hold luggage with me and the price difference was about what it would cost me to take baggage on a no-frills airline.
I was surprised though to find I was going to get stung £4 by BA for paying for the flight on a Mastercard. In fairness to BA, the £4 fee was for using the card and not for each leg of the journey like the no-frills charge so it wasn’t as exorbitant as it could be. Nonetheless, the announcement that they were going to charge passed me by completely.
It looks like this will be the way of the airline world now. To spend your money, you are going to get charged. How do you get around it?
Use a debit card? Yes at the moment there are no charges on BA. In the future? Who knows.
Pay cash? How?
It is as iniquitous as the charge you can’t get out of paying when you buy cinema, theatre or concert tickets online. Up pops the handling charge or the service charge.
I’m beginning to wonder whether it will be easier for me to send out a tender document and invite airlines to bid for my custom.
No that can’t be right. That sounds as though the customer is king and blatantly, the customer is the serf to do just as airlines bid.

London, a Bargain for Tourists?

In New York last week, Reuters sponsored a tourism conference last week. One feature that seemed to be agreed on by the chief executives of a number of online travel sites was that London was one of the bargains for travelling Americans in 2009. (I think they probably mean Britain as well.)
The reason?
Currency fluctuations.
That helps overseas visitors since the pound has dropped quite a bit against the American dollar, the euro and a lot of other currencies. As well as that, air fares have dropped and tour operators bringing incoming tourists to Britain have held or reduced prices.
But is it better value for Britons to come to London now as well?
Hotel prices have dropped but most of us felt some were pretty expensive already. Adverts in the papers by hotel chains offering 3 nights for the price of 2 and other deals make accommodation look cheaper but since travel by business people is down, those hotels catering for them have more rooms free. And if a hotel is built on a business park, then at the weekends, these places are fairly empty. So, if there is transport or you have a car then these are the places worth considering.
But there are other costs.
As I have written before, travelling on the bus and tube in London is expensive compared to the likes of Edinburgh, Sheffield and Cardiff to name but three. But you can walk. London is bigger than Paris to walk around but, if you plan, there is a lot to see in fairly small areas.
And London has lots of free museums and events to see so I think it can be done less expensively.
But a bargain for Brits as well as overseas visitors? I’m not so sure about that.

Britain's Biggest Tourist Attractions

Unlike my blog of Saturday about AOL, this list of the biggest UK tourist attractions is based on substance and fact. This is a list of those attractions who draw the biggest amount of visitors. So the voting panel is not one but millions. And to be fair, it includes only those places that are members of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. ( for the full list see www.alva.org.uk/visitor_statistics)
So which place came first?
The British Museum had nearly 6 million visitors, up 9.5% on 2007 and was followed by Tate Modern with 4.9 million ( down by 6%) and the National Gallery with 4.4 million visitors (up 6%.) All of these are open to the public free of charge which may explain why so many visit.
The first entrant ( in sixth place) where you have to pay to go in is the Tower of London with 2.2 million visitors. People are voting with their feet so the Tower has only about 40% of the visitors compared to the top free attraction.
Outside London, a and just ahead of Chester Zoo was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow with 1.45 million visitors. The next was Edinburgh Castle.
St Fagans was the leading Welsh attraction with 620,000 visitors.
Some obvious attractions are not included like Blackpool Pleasure Beach and popularity often depends on what exhibitions are running, what new events or attractions have been introduced and how they have appealed to you the visitor.

Closing for the Scottish Homecoming

The National Trust for Scotland has decided that, because of the economic climate, it needs to save money. So it plans to reduce jobs by up to 91 and to close or curtail some of the features in some properties.
The Hill of Tarvet House in Fife will close, they are handing back the running of the Livingstone Centre in Blantyre and the house, though not the gardens will close at Leith hall House. Haddo House will only be open for functions but, again, the gardens will remain open. They are hoping that Kellie Castle will remain open but will be entirely staffed by volunteers. There are other sites affected too.
It will not have passed you by that this is Scottish Homecoming year; the year when money and energy is being spent on attracting people to return or visit Scotland. In a year when only good publicity is wanted to attract you and I there, it seems a bit of a faux pas to send a message out saying that the NTS is so unsuccessful at tourism, that we have to stop you seeing some things because we can’t afford them.
In the last published accounts they had a surplus/profit of £6 million on an income of £44 million. The accounts for 2008/9 will be being finalised now so the bean counters should pretty much know how well they did in the year ending February 28th. It suggests it wasn’t such a bumper year otherwise why these cutbacks in a year more important than many to Scottish tourism.
The union Prospect has been “kept informed about developments over the past weeks and months” says the NTS website.
Months!
That suggests the problems have been known for some time. Nonetheless does this really require the Prospect union leader, Alan Denney, to say (according to The Scotsman) that the “long term survival of the trust is in jeopardy.”
If he is right then there are some questions that should be asked of the senior staff.

Britain’s Biggest Eyesores

That was the title given to one of those AOL headline grabbing stories that ISP’s love to run every other moment of the day. Was it voted for by the great British Public? Or visiting tourists? Or anyone at all? It was probably either decided by some “experts” or a panel or plucked from the air.
Obviously designed to get you to click on it when you get to the web page (well it worked; I did!) maybe it is nothing more than linking you to another page where there are adverts. And from the adverts they make money.
Amongst the ten is, at number 1, Buckingham Palace, at number 7, the Scottish Parliament Building and at number 10, The Millennium Dome/O2 Centre. All 3 are quite iconic. All 3 are instantly recognisable. All 3 feature widely on postcards and all 3 attract tourists. If they were eyesores in the eyes of everyone, no-one would go there.
But they do.
AOL seems to be passing off one persons opinion (or 2, or 3 but not many) as suggesting that a large number of people believe them to be eyesores which is a little unfair to the buildings on the list. Why not say, “This is what I think; what about your views?”

UK Travel Bookings Boom?

Sometimes if you only read the media you might be forgiven that all is doom and gloom. (Some would say that the media has substantially contributed to this because they only go for lurid headlines believing that "good news" stories don't sell)
This week I have been with real people, hoteliers and coach companies at the Travel Trade Britain Show in Birmingham and I hear a different story. A number of hoteliers such as Aston Hotels and Best Western were among many who were saying that bookings were up and they were actually booking business at the show. (That's not very usual at trade shows)
Ok you say, they are exaggerating the state of business because people don't like to admit that business is slow. Everyone wants you to believe they are doing better than they really are. Not this time. I was there for two days and very close to a number of stands for hour after hour so I could see who was coming, how long they stayed and it wasn't only old pals talking to old pals (again something that happens at these shows.) It wasn't all good news. Some others weren't doing very good business so I don't want you to think all is rosy.
But the Nationwide confidence survey has shown a 2 percentage point rise in customer confidence and a small poll by PwC, the big accounting and consultancy firm has also shown that financial worries amongst British consumers is declining.
Green shoots sprouting? Possibly but maybe it was never quite as bad as things were made out to be.

Confusing Rules at easyjet

All are aware that airlines, particularly no-frills airlines are trying everything to charge passengers more and more money on top of their ticket prices. That way, on the surface, they still appear cheap.
But rules are rules. Or are they?
There is a hand baggage weight limit on Ryanair but I have yet to see it enforced. Just like the bag size. I have seen people struggling with bags that would never fit in the equipment that is at check-ins as a guide to sizes.
On easyjet, they have no weight limit. Virtually if you can lift it and place it under the seat or in the overhead lockers you can get away with it. One of the good pieces of news. But easyjet have a one carry-on bag limit (which, again, I have yet to see enforced.)
When you check-in on line up boxes a red highlighted box which says that you will be denied boarding without any recourse to refunds if you have more than one piece of hand luggage or if the bag exceeds the dimensions that easyjet allows. It doesn’t say “may” be denied boarding. I says “will” be denied boarding. You have to tick a box confirming you understand and you cannot proceed until you tick that box. OK that seems pretty clear as well.
But further down in smaller print it says that if you decide to check in the bag at the airport that is OK. And when you get to the gate, I have heard easyjet crew say the same thing. So actually you may not be denied boarding because up until the actual time you get your boarding pass checked before getting on the plane you can still check your bag. With no punishment. So why the heavy hand earlier on when it is virtually countermanded a few paragraphs later and again, at the gate?
Is this another case of trying to scare you into checking in baggage, and at a price, just in case.

Going to the USA: ESTA is no Replacement. Yet.

I went to the the USA last week for the first time since they introduced the new ESTA rule. To remind you, this is the rule that says you have to apply online before you depart and submit bits of information that you usually filled in on the I-94 form. (You get the I-94 either at check-in or on the flight and you submit that to immigration.)On the ESTA form you covered most of the same details but you also have to submit your accommodation details in the USA and your e-mail address.
According to the US embassy about 30,000 Brits are completing the online form per day.
And so did I.
But I still got given a I-94 on the flight to complete. The cabin crew said that it was still a requirement and not only I queried why I had to complete it as I had already filled in the ESTA form.
On arrival I asked the immigration people and, depending on which one I talked to, got different answers. One said that the ESTA arrangement was still being tested. (Some test given the amount of money that must have been spent)Another said that they were doing it in parallel with the I-94 just in case.
Whatever the real answer is, expect to fill in the I-94 and register online for a little while longer. And don't be like me and pack your hotel details and your passport in the overhead locker thinking, becuase the ESTA form has been filled in, you won't the details again until you leave the airport!