Revealed: How much fans spend on overseas sports tourism April 8, 2025 Sports fans spend more than £1,200 per person on average when travelling overseas to watch matches and other events, new research has found. The figure includes £235 on tickets, £330 on flights, £375 on accommodation and £290 on dining and shopping, according to a study by Expedia Group. Football is the most common sport to [...]
Boutique Leicester Square hotel handed £42m price tag April 1, 2025 A recently-converted boutique hotel in London’s Leicester Square has been put on the market for £42m. The former office building on 2-5 Charing Cross Road has undergone a significant conversion project and is set to be fully operational by June. The announcement comes as former Natwest bank on London’s Piccadilly is also set to become [...]
Trustpilot: Shares spike as review site benefits from snowballing user and business adoption March 18, 2025 Review platform Trustpilot has reported a double-digit increase in revenue and earnings as business adoption and brand awareness “fuel the flywheel”. Its share price rose more than 13 per cent in early trades. The company told markets this morning that revenue rose 19 per cent in the year ended December 31, to $210m (£161m) from [...]
Andy Burnham slammed for Manchester tourist tax plans February 21, 2025 Andy Burnham has been slammed by the chief executive of UKHospitality after backing plans for a new tourist tax to be introduced in Manchester. The mayor of Greater Manchester said earlier this week that tourists visiting the city region should pay a “proper” mandatory “tourist levy”. He added that he wanted to see Manchester city [...]
Jet2 warns of £45m hit from tax hikes and green levies February 19, 2025 Jet2 has reported a boost in profit before tax but warned margins may come under pressure in the near future due to a raft of cost pressures. The group operates Jet2.com, the UK’s third largest airline by number of passengers flown and Jet2holidays, the UK’s leading provider of ATOL protected package holidays. Jet2 expects to [...]
Holiday Inn owner IHG boosts dividend and buyback amid continued growth February 18, 2025 Holiday Inn owner IHG has announced the purchase of its 20th brand and a boost to shareholder returns as it benefits from the revived travel market. IHG has soared as travel has returned after the pandemic, with early estimates for 2024 suggesting the hotel industry has finally surpassed 2019’s revenue. The Windsor-headquartered company told markets [...]
Manchester unveils £15bn plan to become go-to tourist destination outside London January 29, 2025 Greater Manchester has unveiled plans to grow its visitor economy to be worth £15bn by the end of the decade in a bid to be the go-to tourism destination in the UK outside of London. The new strategy, which covers a five-year period through to 2030, aims to increase the region’s visitor economy from around [...]
Can Liverpool replace London as UK’s tourism capital? January 17, 2025 The Liverpool City Region is making a bold play to replace London as the tourism capital of the UK. Local leaders have unveiled a five-year plan which it hopes will boost the region’s economy, create jobs and become the go-to destination in the country. Liverpool has been emboldened in its ambitions after hosting major cultural [...]
UK hotel sector warns on inflation despite pre-Christmas boost January 8, 2025 Occupancy rates at UK hotels rose last November in a pre-Christmas boost, but higher prices have again raised fears about inflation. The average occupancy rate of UK hotels rose from 76.6 per cent to 79.1 per cent in November year-on-year, while London also saw an increase from 79.6 per cent to 82.8 per cent in [...]
Eden Project losses nearly double despite visitors spike January 3, 2025 A spike in visitor numbers failed to stop Cornwall tourist attraction Eden Project falling deeper into the red during its latest financial year. The site welcomed more than 604,000 visitors in the year to 31 March, 2024, up from the over 551,000 who went there in the prior 12 months. As a result, Eden Project’s [...]