Types of trip
Flanders – A gastronome’s paradise
Perhaps one of our best kept secrets is the fact that Flanders has some of the best restaurants in the world. Home to more Michelin stars per head than France, Belgium excels itself in the wide ranging, top quality restaurants it produces. The Flemish region is brimming with excellent gastronomy at fantastic value for money. We’ve selected our top ten compiled to represent the best of Flanders. So if you’re heading to Europe this summer, it’s worth plotting a path via the Flemish cities to sample some of the country’s gems.
Original Kids - Innovative tailor-made family holidays
Original Kids, the new bespoke family holiday portfolio from award-winning Original Travel, is now three months old and growing fast. In keeping with tradition, the company has proudly announced travel journalist, editor and mum of two (with another inbound imminently) Amanda Morison as godmother.
An inspiring performance, an inspiring place
Andy Murray served up an inspiring performance at Wimbledon this week. Now Britain’s number one tennis ace reveals his most inspiring places and favourite experiences when chilling out in his home country of Scotland.
Goal! Hone your football skills with the professionals
Get in there! What a scorcher! No, stop us before we list every footy cliché – we’ve got more important things to talk about. Do you have budding premiership football players in your family?! Are your children fanatical about Beckham, Rooney, Ronaldo or Owen? Well, Thomson Al Fresco are about to kick-off their exciting Reebok International Soccer School at La Croix Du Vieux Pont, Champagne, Northern France and Yelloh! Village Parc des Alicourts, Loire, Central France.
Homosexual, not homogenous
Lesbian and gay travellers have the same wide demographic segments as the straight travelling population. A retired lesbian couple will have very different expectations about their ideal vacation to a 21 year old gay backpacker, yet the traditional view about these travellers within the travel industry has been that there is a single "gay market".
Bath – One of Europe’s best
The Sunday Times Travel Magazine Reader Awards recently voted Bath as the 6th ‘Best European City’; the Royal Crescent Hotel as the ‘Best UK Hotel’; and Thermae Bath Spa as the ‘Best UK Spa’. These awards follow Bath’s success in a recent TripAdvisor survey where the city appeared at 4th place in the ‘Top 25 Europe Destinations’ and 14th in the 'Top 100 World Destinations' categories.
Butlins wins technology award
Butlins, the UK holiday company, has won the “Best Use of Technology in a Hospitality and Leisure Environment” Award at the European Retail Solutions Awards for their Instant Customer Feedback Service. It is a simple texting system that allows guests to communicate easily from their mobile phone to the most relevant resort team. Due to successful trials it was rolled out across the three seaside resorts, Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness in 2007.
Bergen hosts the tall ships race
Norway’s second largest city of Bergen will be celebrating its maritime heritage as it plays host to the prestigious Tall Ships Race next month. Starting in Liverpool the ships will sail to Måløy also on Norway’s west coast and arrive in Bergen on Saturday August 9th. They will stay for four days before then making their way to Van Helder in Holland.
Showcase Singapore, Asia’s premier art event
Fortune Cookie Projects, a partnership between Mary Dinaburg and Howard Rutkowski, has organised Showcase Singapore, a boutique art fair of twenty three of the best international contemporary art galleries who will feature their work in the showcase. The event will be held in Singapore from the 9th to 12th September 2008, in association with the Singapore Biennale.
Explore the European Capital of Culture
Explore the European Capital of Culture 2008, Stavanger, on a 3 night break with DFDS Seaways. The city offers exciting events and natural beauty. Sailing overnight from Newcastle enjoy dancing, eating, drinking, shopping and relaxing before spending a day and a night in a 3 star Stavanger hotel (upgrade to a 4 star hotel from just £10).
Celebrate the summer in Glasgow
The Glasgow Diary is the most comprehensive free guide to what’s on in Glasgow, profiling the exciting range of events taking place in the city from July to September. The new look diary highlights key events, festivals and attractions for the summer months, proving that whether a local, or a visitor, Glasgow really does have something for everyone.
Butlins offers a summer of entertainment
Butlins has really gone to town on this summer’s entertainment with stars from Britain’s Got Talent, X-Factor, Cartoon Network and Extreme Sports headlining a summer of fun at the three seaside Resorts, Minehead, Bognor Regis and Skegness. Butlins has loads of Child Goes Free places available through August and remember prices include accommodation, all live entertainment and over 50 free activities.
South Australia set to wow Bollywood audiences
Commanding the biggest budget of any Bollywood movie to date, audiences are in for a cinematic treat as “Love Story 2050” hits the big screen having premiered in London this week (2nd July 2008).
Paul McCartney set to rock Quebec City
Paul McCartney will perform his first live show in Canada since 2005 when he will lead the city of Québec in celebrations for their 400th anniversary on the 20th of July. The free concert will take place in one of the world’s most prestigious and historic city parks, The Plains Of Abraham, the site of many clashes between the French and British empires in the 18th century.
Singapore appoints PR agency
Singapore Tourism Board has appointed Hume Whitehead Limited to handle its Public Relations in the UK, Ireland and France, starting from 1st July 2008. The announcement comes at an exciting time for the destination, with a host of new product developments, events and initiatives planned in the coming year.