Russia and Thai tension drags UK tourist spending to five-year low August 21, 2014 Tourist spending in the UK has slumped for the first time in five years, after the Russia-Ukraine conflict and political unrest in Thailand deterred visitors from those countries. Figures published today by tax-free shopping specialist Global Blue showed that spending by overseas visitors fell by four per cent in the first six months compared with [...]
Heathrow reports record passenger numbers as airport expansion debate heats up August 11, 2014 Heathrow and Gatwick have reported record high passenger numbers for the month of July, adding fuel to the argument that both London airports are in need of expansion if the UK is to maximise its position as business and tourist destination. Passenger numbers at Heathrow were up 0.5 per cent on July 2013 to 6.97m. [...]
Pork barrel UK: Buying off voters with taxpayer cash has serious consequences August 4, 2014 THE CLASSICAL liberal French economist Frédéric Bastiat once said that “government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.” Over the past year or so, numerous examples and allegations suggest that a more accurate pearl of wisdom for the UK would be: “Government is the great fiction, [...]
Panama: Latin America’s new number one holiday destination July 11, 2014 In Britain, Panama is famous for two things: the canal and canoe man. Back in 2002, John Darwin faked his own death and fled to Panama City with his wife, who, following his “canoeing accident”, claimed £1m in insurance and pension pay outs. Had a newspaper not got hold of a picture of him looking [...]
City & Gild: Catching a cab, or catching up? June 13, 2014 I wrote recently about the sharing economy and the fact that hotels in New York are in court with Airbnb. Surprise surprise, now the black cabs are on strike because of Uber. As the hoteliers of New York claim their grievance is with Airbnb not paying hotel tax, the cabbies are apparently upset because they [...]
Bottom Line: World Cup kicks off problems for air traffic June 2, 2014 WHEN the England football team jetted off to Miami at the weekend for a couple of pre-World Cup friendlies, they did so from Luton. They took a private plane of course – tourists can only get as far as Egypt or the Canaries from the north of London airport – but their departure will kick [...]
Shaftesbury reaps the benefits of a buoyant West End market May 19, 2014 WEST END landlord Shaftesbury enjoyed a 47 per cent jump in profits in the first half, buoyed by tourists and Londoners flocking to its restaurants and shops in the West End. The company, which owns 575 properties around Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, Chinatown, Soho and Charlotte Street, said pre-tax profits rose to £120.5m in the [...]
Thai and Malaysians among the UK’s fastest growing shoppers April 28, 2014 WEST END retailers are bracing themselves for a surge in Thai and Malaysian shoppers over the next three months as they escape their hot summer season and come in search of the UK’s cooler climate. Visitors from Thailand and Malaysia were the fastest growing consumers in the UK last year, each spending 51 per cent [...]
Prague: famed for its beauty, and its stag dos April 6, 2014 Can you escape the dawdling Americans and the lairy parties THE trouble with cities like Prague is twofold: one, their wholehearted embrace of tourism and two, Americans. Formerly ravaged by Soviet rule (a guide on a river tour noted the site of a statue of “that monster” Stalin), then opened up for the beer-swilling stags [...]
Giant panda numbers are up: see them in Chengdu February 23, 2014 They famously eat shoots and leaves. LISA YOUNG gets up-close and personal with the Chinese city’s most famous residents IT’S a warm August morning, the time of year when the sizzling Chengdu summer gives way to cooler climes. Chengdu sits in a fog-filled bowl 500 metres above sea level in the Sichuan Province of south [...]