More good news in brief
* A Glasgow hotel that hosted John Logie Baird’s first TV transmission and played host to JFK and Cary Grant is to re-open to the public after a £20m facelift. The city institution that is the Central Station Hotel will become Grand Central Hotel and will boast a luxurious champagne bar overlooking the city’s station concourse. Owners Principal Hayley also has good news in Edinburgh where its George Hotel achieved a new record in revenues – earning £1m for August.
* Despite tough trading conditions for the industry, specialist tour operator Serenity Holidays, which offers programmes though Gambia Experience, The Cape Verde Experience, The Senegal Experience, Corsican Places and Sardinian Places, says its products have remained strong and it introduced new flights from Stansted and Bristol with programmes to Corsica (in March) and The Gambia and Cape Verde (this December). Bookings are ahead on last year.
* Midlands-based hotel and short break booking agency hotelshopUK is celebrating its tenth anniversary and hitting the £1m mark for website business. And the celebrations have special resonance as just three years ago the business was in danger of literally going under after its premises were flooded. The 2007 floods immersed it and the rest of Droitwich High Street in water but thanks to its team of 35 diverting calls to mobiles, working in their front rooms and recording information with pen and paper the business survived.
* Corporate travel agency Good Travel Management reports turnover climbing by 70% in the last year thanks to an increase in demand for long-haul flights. The Hull and Grimsby-based company saw a revenue of £6m in June 2010, up by 50% compared to last year. The figures are the result of investment in marketing and account management plus a recent rise in business travel.
* Luxury ranch holiday provider Ranch Rider says it is seeing increased demand for its high-end holidays. Managing director Tony Daly said the all-inclusive nature of the trips kept them competitive during the downturn but even more families, couples and singles were now booking for next year.
* River cruise operator Phoenix Holidays reports a 400% increase on bookings for its 2011 cruises. Phoenix has a full charter of the MS Arlene which operates on the Rhine, Moselle, Danube, Dutch Waterways, Neckar and Saar.
* Peru operators have overcome the problems of promoting their product following heavy rainfall that blocked access to Machu Picchu. The ancient site may have been off limits but instead Peru took the opportunity to promote its award-winning chocolates and coffee as well as its cuisine which is considered by many the best in Latin America. It also now offers new trekking routes to Salkantay and Ausangate and trips to the north’s shaman areas and archeological sites.
Dinah
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