Hotel demand ‘holds strong’ while staff costs eat into profit October 1, 2025 Demand for UK hotels rose in August, although higher staff costs means that hoteliers saw profit drop. Occupancy increased from 81.4 per cent to 82.1 per cent in August year-on-year, and rose slightly from 84.2 per cent to 84.5 per cent in London, according to RSM and Hotstats. But room rates remained flat as consumers [...]
Eden Project: Losses more than double amid job cuts September 25, 2025 Losses at the Eden Project in Cornwall more than doubled as a “major restructuring” led to a large number of jobs being cut. New accounts filed with Companies House show that its pre-tax loss went from £1.5m to £3.5m. The latest figure comes after the Eden Project also posted a pre-tax loss of £868,000 in [...]
Gatwick profit jumps after boost to passenger numbers August 14, 2025 Gatwick airport has reported a double-digit rise in profit in the first half of 2025, driven by a boost to passenger and aircraft traffic volume. Total revenue reached £491.4m in the first half of the year, up 0.7 per cent from 2024. Adjusted revenue – accounting for two “large one-off elements” which occurred last year [...]
Airline hails spike in premium bookings to the UK August 4, 2025 Airline Emirates has recorded a surge in bookings from affluent visitors to the UK, which it claimed is “driving forward economic growth” in the country.
Could a tourist tax ever work in London? July 24, 2025 Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner, but I reckon there are few better tourist destinations. Our city is bursting with history and culture, boasts dozens of plush green spaces and has more Michelin Stars than New York. Should people pay to get in? Ours is one of the top cities on earth to visit, but [...]
Historic Blackpool pier sale spells more trouble for seaside town July 22, 2025 One of the oldest piers in the UK has been put up for sale in a latest blow to Blackpool’s tourism industry. The Blackpool Pier Company has said it’s made the decision to offload the North Pier in the seaside town “with a heavy heart”. The North Pier is the sixth-oldest of its type still [...]
Angela Rayner pushes for new tourist tax to fix black hole July 22, 2025 Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is pushing Chancellor Rachel Reeves to give more power to councils to tax tourists amid worries that local governments are struggling to keep finances in check. Rayner has suggested that councils should be able to tax tourist hotel stays and take advantage of a rise in visitors, rather than taxing [...]
Labour warned that hospitality ‘is being taxed out of existence’ July 2, 2025 The government faced serious warnings from MPs about the state of the hospitality sector during an afternoon debate in the Commons on July 1. Representatives from across the UK warned the government that high taxes were suffocating the sector – particularly for small businesses – putting ‘insurmountable burdens’ on businesses. “Hospitality is being taxed out [...]
Exclusive: Hotels struggle with double whammy of staff costs and pressure on room rates June 2, 2025 Hotels struggled with falling profit in April after margins were squeezed by higher staff hosts and price pressure on rooms. UK hotel payroll costs increased from 31.6 per cent of revenue to 33.3 per cent in April year-on-year, and from 29.5 per cent to 31.4 per cent in London, according to RSM. A slight reduction [...]
On The Beach: Demand for city breaks boosts travel group May 13, 2025 On The Beach has reported a double-digit profit increase in another market-outperforming trading update. The online package holiday specialists told markets this morning that adjusted revenue grew 12 per cent year on year in the first half of 2025. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 19 per cent year on year. [...]