UK Ski industry Trends

Austria enjoyed a significant increase in ski bookings last year, as wintersports customers turned their back on Andorra and Italy according to the annual ski industry report by Crystal Holidays.

Crystal’s annual ski industry report revealed that Austria’s market share of UK ski bookings in the 2007-08 season rose by 2.8 per cent over the previous year to 21.8 per cent, while Italy’s share fell by 1.8 per cent to 12 per cent and Andorra’s share slumped 4.1 per cent to 7 per cent.

France remained the most popular destination for British wintersports fans, with a market share of 37.5 per cent, up 0.4 per cent on the 2006-07 season.

Crystal managing director Mathew Prior said Italy had suffered from a poor snow record, but Andorra had bigger problems.

“Andorra has been really suffering, partly because of its uncertain snow record, but the biggest issue is that it has tried to change its mix of clientèle, moving away from cheap holidays, but has priced itself out of the market,” he said.

“Budget skiers have switched to Austria because it is offering good quality accommodation at good prices.”

The report was compiled from Civil Aviation Authority statistics and feedback from tour operators, and showed a three per cent increase in bookings to 1.23million in the season 2007-08.

Mr Prior said early bookings for December and January last year were slow because of the previous year’s poor snow, but soon picked up following snowfalls in October. There was also a five per cent increase in ski bookings from the schools market last year, due to there being two half term holiday weeks last season and an early Easter.

Villa price drop caused by all inclusive popularity

Cosmos ("Monarch holidays") has re-priced the majority of villas remaining unsold during the peak school holiday period to stimulate late booking demand.

Prices now start in Menorca at £298 per person, down from £469, based on eight sharing the Villa La Roca in Son Bou departing Gatwick on August 29.

Majorca prices lead in at £489 per person, down from £569, based on 10 sharing the Villa C’an Corro in Puerto Pollensa departing Birmingham on 26 July 26 for seven nights.

The Algarve starts at £475 per person, down from £535, based on eight sharing the Villa Casa dos Cipestres departing Gatwick on August 21. Prices include the villa, flights and car hire.

Villas are also available in the Costa del Sol, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Corfu, Crete, Zante, Cyprus, Turkey and Gozo.

Mike Tyerman, head of Cosmos Villas with Pools, said: “There’s no doubt that some customers who would normally book villa accommodation have this year chosen to opt for all inclusive hotel arrangements so that they can pay everything upfront before departure and not have to budget whilst away on account of the current poor exchange rate.

“As a result, we’ve been able to go back to our suppliers in areas such as Majorca, Menorca and the Algarve where demand has been less and renegotiate rates in order to be able to put much lower priced villa deals into the lates market.”

Hotel Jungle Comment : A significant factor could also be the large number of Brits with homes abroad and the rise of the low cost airline meaning people are making their own arrangements for villa holidays.

Turkey Topples Spain

Spain may have been crowned European Football Champions this summer but it seems they are losing their crown as Britains favourite summer holiday destination.. . .

Turkey has toppled Spain as the most popular destination for those looking for a bargain break in the sun, according to a report by The Cooperative Travel Group. The group says the high cost of the euro and reduced capacity to Spain following the merger of the big travel names is the cause of the shift.

Spain has held the number one spot for the bucket and spade brigade since the birth of the package holiday. The report says sales to Turkey are up 30% this summer compared to the same period last year while bookings to Majorca, previously the British holidaymaker's favourite, are down 13%.

It adds that the mergers of Thomas Cook and MyTravel and Thomson and First Choice has prompted rationalisation in capacity with operators reducing supply to short haul Mediterranean resorts. The report reminds that at the start of the summer TUI announced 12% cuts and Thomas Cook reduced Mytravel’s programme by 23%

Head of The Co-operative Travel’s Director of Retail Distribution Trevor Davis said: "Bookings from people looking for cheap summer sun have traditionally ensured that Spain was the leading holiday destination. However this year they are finding the high euro and a shortage of availability means the normal late deals aren’t available.

"Turkey has benefited most from this trend and we’re seeing 30% growth in bookings for holidays across all parts of the country." The company says that the average selling price of a holiday to Turkey is up to £108 cheaper than to Majorca (£357 compared to £465).

£1 hotel room in London

Good news for bargain hunters, the Hoxton Hotel £1 sale is back !
The Hoxton Hotel is in Shoreditch, close to Old Street (Northern line) tube station.

When ? 3rd July at 13:00 (UK time)
What ? 500 rooms for £1, 500 more for £29

Warning : During the last sale in April, they sold all 1,000 rooms within 19 minutes and had over 300,000 people trying to book so you'll need to be quick.

Hotel Jungle Tips:
Use their html page not the flash page

Do a dummy booking first to check if they have a room and so you are familiar with the booking process

Make sure you have a few back-up dates and you know exactly when you can and can't visit the big smoke.

Here is the Hoxton Hotel guide to their £1 sale

Which are the EU member states

Confused about which countries are in the EU ?

The European Union is composed of 27 independent sovereign countries which are known as member states. They are:

Austria,
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
Cyprus,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Estonia,
Finland,
France,
Germany,
Greece,
Hungary,
Ireland,
Italy,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Netherlands,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Sweden,
United Kingdom.

Which countries might be next to join the EU ?
There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey. The western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates and Kosovo has been granted similar status.

First 100% Green hotel

InterContinental Hotels Group is creating a hotel that it claims will be the world’s first 100% ecologically-friendly hotel. It is still virtual at this stage though!

IHG with owns or operates almost 4000 hotels worldwide says the hotel's 'green' credentials will set the benchmark for hoteliers around the world. The futuristic, solar-powered 'Innovation Hotel' uses the latest technology in energy and water conservation and recycling.

Among the 'green' features of the futuristic hotel:

• The forwarding of all unused non-perishable food to charities or food banks

• Solar panels on the roof to heat water

• A rainwater harvesting system to supply water to toilets

• A roof garden rich in shrubbery to provide extra insulation

• Windpower to generate electricity for the hotel

• Recycled glass windows

• Furniture and fittings made entirely from recycled materials

• Recycled household waste to provide heat and power

IHG says they are also considering installing LCD Tvs in all its hotels as they use a third less energy than Plasma TVs. In the bedroom all furniture and fittings including towels are made from recycled materials, mattresses consist of natural fibre such as horsehair, as will carpets. Bathrooms feature low-flow showerheads and dual flush toilets.

Have a look at the virtual innovation hotel & please let us know what you think by clicking the comments button below.

Review : Fiesta Jungla Apartments Magaluf

Fiesta Jungla Aparthotel, Magaluf, Majorca,

Overview

Part of the Fiesta Group of hotels, the 3 star Aparthotel Fiesta Jungla is in central Magaluf.
One important thing to note is that your holiday experience will very greatly depending what time of year you stay at the Fiesta Jungla aparthotel. Particuarly in the high season June-September this hotel will be full of "young and lively" types intent of having a good time and not much sleep. Outside of the high summer months it will be a bit more laidback.

Book Fiesta Jungla Magaluf at:

Room

Clean and tidy but basic. Ceiling fan, no air conditioning.
Basic cooking facilities, most importantly for most guests there is a fridge for keeping drinks cool. Some apartments have bigger balconies than others.

General hotel amenities

Huge pool, sunbeds to use on the pool terrace. Other leisure facilities include a multi-sports activity area for five-a-side football along with both table tennis and pool tables.

Food & Beverages

Pizzeria/snack bar and both lounge and pool bars. Due to the locaction in "downtown" Magaluf there is a wide choice of bars and restaurants in the vicinity. Most of these cater for British clientelle. You know the sort of thing, full English breakfast and a pint of Carling.

Location and surroundings

Fiesta Jungla is situated around 300 metres from the beach in the lively resort of Magaluf on the south west coast of Majorca. More specifically, right next to the infamous BCM nightclub in Magaluf.