Third of Beach Holiday Bookings Rushed, Says AA Travel Insurance

August 31st, 2009 LUTON, England - Despite the reported growth of the 'staycation', the poor British weather this summer has once again fallen foul of people's expectations and in a desperate attempt to catch some sun, a recent online survey by www.monarch.co.uk has revealed that 70% of UK holidaymakers are now planning to book a late holiday deal and travel abroad. The poll, which ran on www.monarch.co.uk, asked visitors to the site if the bad British weather had influenced their holiday plans this year.

August 17th, 2009 EDINBURGH, Scotland - Travel search site Skyscanner today launched a brand new holiday search function (www.skyscanner.net/holidays) which brings together the holiday offerings of over 20 leading suppliers, including Thomas Cook, Airtours, On The Beach, Virgin Holidays and Monster Travel. From today users can now search from 35 million holidays worldwide on the Skyscanner site.

July 21st, 2009 BASINGSTOKE, England - - AA Travel Insurance Now Includes up to GBP5k Financial Failure Protection Travellers who protect themselves with AA Travel Insurance are now automatically covered for financial failure of the firms they book through. According to AA Travel Insurance, more than 50 holiday firms have collapsed during the past 12 months, dashing travel plans for thousands and leaving others to pay for extra flights home.

June 8th, 2009 GLASGOW - Cash-conscious Brits planning to spend their summer break in the UK this year are being urged to take out adequate travel insurance by Kwik Fit Insurance. The leading insurance intermediary is warning that travel insurance is often the first thing to go when people are trying to cut costs.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - In association with travelguru.tv, the Treasure Beach Hotel and the Barbados Tourism Authority, Holiday Extras(R) is giving away a fantastic seven day holiday for two in Barbados. Recognised the world over for its natural beauty, rich culture and the friendliness of its people, Barbados really does deliver the 'Caribbean Dream'.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - To make sure that families get the best possible start to their holidays, HolidayExtras.com is launching a summer of family friendly deals. According to research, the majority of travellers assume that family rooms cost up to twice as much as they can do in reality.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - Holiday Extras, the UK market-leader in travel add-ons, is giving its 3.1 million customers the opportunity to recognise and reward the travel industry's shining stars in what promises to be one of the biggest, and fairest travel awards; the Holiday Extras Customers' Awards 2009. Only Holiday Extras customers travelling via a UK airport will be eligible to cast votes in ten different categories, ranging from best UK airport, best airport hotel and best airline, to the airline with the best cabin crew and those recommended as most family-friendly.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - More than one in five of us ignore the flight safety talk when flying, according to a poll released today. Holiday Extras, the UK's market leading travel add-ons company, says that 21 per cent of customers who responded to their online poll admitted that they don't feel it necessary to watch the cabin crew's safety demonstration.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - When it comes to sniffing out a bargain, we Brits can't get enough, according to new research from HolidayExtras.com. Whether it's the economic climate or just plain old thrift, 44 per cent of us now regularly use money-saving websites and articles to get a good deal, says the survey.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON - More than half of Holidayextras.com customers would book a round-the- world trip if they were as wealthy as the Queen. To mark the Queen's official birthday on June 13, Holiday Extras asked customers what kind of luxury holiday they would choose if they were as rich as our monarch.

April 27th, 2009 PhoCusWright says online travel finally downSHERMAN, Conn. — The recession is finally taking its toll on online travel, with a decline in revenues this year forecast by PhoCusWright, the travel industry research company.

January 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - It might be only three days and there may be a global recession on, but itinerant Indians are undeterred as they pack their bags for a quick holiday or just to catch up with family and friends this Republic Day weekend - and the travel trade can't stop smiling. Tour and travel agents are particularly pleased with this windfall as bookings have gone up in almost all parts of the country, with people travelling during the three-day break from Jan 24 to Jan 26, when India celebrates its Republic Day.

January 15th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Travel agents in Kerala have begun announcing packages to attract travellers to participate in the month-long Dubai Shopping Festival that began Thursday. The festival is considered the biggest shopping and entertainment event in the Middle East.

May 4th, 2009 MUMBAI - Tata Motors Monday said it has received 203,000 bookings with a total booking amount of Rs.2,500 crore ($502 million) for its small car Nano. 'The Tata Nano website recorded an unprecedented 30 million hits from the date of launch of the car (March 23) to the closure of the booking period which was April 25, nearly 1 million hits a day', the company said in a statement.

December 26th, 2008 NEW DELHI - The New Delhi-Lahore bus service has not been affected by the external affairs ministry's advisory asking Indians not to travel to the neighbouring country, an official said Saturday. 'The number of passengers going to Pakistan in the bus has not decreased.

September 17th, 2009 GANGTOK - Travel agents in Sikkim are a worried lot, as they fear a dip in domestic tourist arrivals in the state following the tension that prevails after reports of Chinese incursion and aggression along the international border. "From the tourist point of view the tourism movement...there seems to be lot of fear amongst the countrymen especially the domestic tourists because no body likes to go to a war zone," said Satish Bardewa, proprietor, Yak and Yeti Tour and Travel.

January 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Travel agents across the country will launch a fresh round of protests Jan 30 against those foreign carriers which have refused to pay them commission, an agents body said Tuesday. Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) president Rajender Rai told IANS that 12 foreign airlines, including Singapore International Airlines (SIA), were not paying commission to the agents.

April 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - iXiGO.com, India's fastest growing travel site, today announced that it supported the move by international airlines to zero commissions for travel agents and that it will continue working strategically alongside airlines in growing their direct sales and reducing their distribution cost. 14 international carriers in India have recently moved to zero commissions with a transaction fee system.

May 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Leading private carrier Jet Airways Wednesday announced special return fares between Indian cities and London which would allow travellers to save around Rs.20,000 on their return economy class bookings. The return economy ticket, which normally costs over Rs.50,000, would now be available at Rs.30,000 under the new scheme, while the premier and first class tickets would cost around Rs.125,000 and Rs.200,000 respectively.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Tuesday announced 'special return fare' scheme that offers discounts by up to Rs.500 on return bookings. Tickets under the scheme are available in all sectors where SpiceJet operates and the booking can be done for travel up to Oct 25, 2009.