A SMALL PAUSE FOR OUR SMALL SHIPS You will no doubt be aware that we have taken the difficult decision to pause cruise operations for a period of time. The travel industry is facing challenging and unprecedented times as a result of the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19....

Following last week’s announcement of the planned opening date of BeWILDerwood Cheshire, (www.bewilderwood.co.uk), the team have confirmed the date has been postponed to 18th July 2020. Given the current global situation and uncertainty at this time, BeWILDerwood...

Following the announcement that it has delayed its 2020 season opening, North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) has launched a crisis appeal to secure its livelihood and keep it on track to reopen later this year. The attraction was first formed in 1967, and as the UK’s...

As of today, Tuesday 17th March 2020, Twycross Zoo has announced that its doors will remain open and its team of hard-working staff is on hand to welcome visitors from across the region to the 100-acre, open-air zoo. Those who are making a visit can rest assured the...

HEATHROW EXPRESS PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY WITH FIXED DATE TICKETS Heathrow Express is offering customers with fixed date tickets including Duo Saver and Group Saver tickets the option to change their travel date for free. If customers have a Fixed Day Single Standard...

Information for UK tourism businesses on the outbreak of COVID-19, including the current situation impact on travel to and from the UK and links to useful information and advice. The best source of information for any visitors with individual questions or health...

Hatton Adventure World in Warwickshire will once again host its annual “Spring Spectacular” from 4 - 19 April when the family attraction welcomes an abundance of spring-born animals. Visitors can visit the Spring Arrivals Marquee and see baby chicks, ducklings,...

A range of new cycling holidays, due to launch in June 2020, have already secured hundreds of advanced accommodation bookings from travel giant TUI Holidays. The holidays have been created by tourism experts Visit Lincoln after funding was secured through Visit...

The British Travel & Tourism Show 2020 is fast approaching, and many of this year’s 250+ exhibitors are planning some exciting new launches. The event will showcase some of the best new up and coming trends, products and experiences in the tourism and travel...

The UK travel trade saw and experienced all that was good about the Southern Wales tourism industry last week during a special fact-finding tour 1-3 March. Coach and tour operators, GTOS and inbound tour operators made a bee line for the region for a series of tours,...

The next generation of ferry travel sailed into Belfast Harbour last month, with Stena Edda undertaking important final trials before it welcomes passengers on the Belfast to Liverpool route in the coming weeks. Welcomed by a flotilla of boats, Stena Edda arrived at...

Bury St Edmunds Tour Guides have unveiled a series of special brand-new tours for 2020 to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund. In this special anniversary year, the Tour Guides are preparing for an increase in interest in the...

Parents, grandparents and children of all ages can get their half term off to an exciting start at BeWILDerwood Cheshire, opening for the first time on Saturday 23rd May 2020. BeWILDerwood is a fabulous family day out full of fun, imagination and adventure and, unlike...

Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon has won a Silver award in the prestigious West Midlands Tourism Awards. The boutique hotel picked up the award in the New Tourism Business Award category at a special ceremony held last month at the University of Birmingham’s Great...

‘Mini Madness’ returns to the British Motor Museum this Easter, from 4-26 April with a host of Mini-themed family activities. Visitors can join the Mini Factory costumed characters on a family tour, design and make a Mini, or explore the museum with the Fix It Family...

Celebrity chefs Sean Wilson and Paul Rankin will be demonstrating their culinary skills in the Stoves Cookery Theatre at Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival over the summer bank holiday weekend on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August.  Top chefs from some of the...

Albatross Travel has appointed Louise Fitzpatrick as Senior Account Manager with immediate effect. Louise joins from Marriott Hotels Ltd, where she has worked for 16 years, most recently as National Account Manager – Leisure, based in the North of England. In her new...

The River Cruise Line has been re-named and re-branded as Arena River Cruises, bringing it into line with the rest of parent company Arena Travel's portfolio, ahead of the start of the 2020 cruising season. The move comes almost exactly three years after the river...

Tailor Made Rail (www.tailormaderail.com) is inviting customers to seize the extra day afforded by the leap year this year by booking a journey aboard the world-famous Glacier Express in the opulent surroundings of Excellence Class. This new class, launched last year,...

Shakespeare Distillery has won a Gold award in the prestigious West Midlands Tourism Awards. The independent artisan spirit producer, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, picked up the award in the New Tourism Business Award category at a special ceremony held on 26 February...

Mersey Ferries is sailing into 2020/2021 with some great cruises. Choose from a wide range of individual cruise experiences or create a more extensive itinerary by selecting a number of cruise excursions to create a personalised sightseeing package. Set sail with...

Award-winning Trentham Gardens was a riot of colour for its first ever Spring Bulb Festival in 2019, and for 2020 one of England’s most visited paid for gardens is promising an even bigger display with thousands of extra bulbs. And while spring colour has always been...

Theatre trips, concerts and festivals are set to be just the ticket for coach and tour operators and GTOs during 2020. Travel trade specialists Steve Reed Tourism Ltd of Hampshire have persuaded a number of high profile attractions and top events to offer a number of...

Major speaker announcements are coming in fast for this year’s British Tourism & Travel Show, as it adds experts from VisitEngland, AGTO, Tourism Alliance, Tourism for All, the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, Green Bus and Coach and Travlaw to its...

Coach Tourism Association members got a double dose of culture and the highlife recently when they sampled a new double header group tour taking in Shakespeare’s Globe and The View from the Shard. The twin-attraction package gives clients a VIP tour of Shakespeare’s...

A husband and wife team with over 60 years’ luxury hotel experience between them has launched a new hotel membership initiative, aimed at promoting and supporting independent boutique and luxury hotels across the UK. LBH (Luxury & Boutique Hotels) is the...

Eurostar will start running a direct service from Amsterdam to London for the first time from Thursday April 30, with tickets on sale now. Now that it’s possible to make the journey on a direct service in both directions, the train will be in direct competition with...

Great West Way, the world’s first multi-modal touring route, has launched a new map featuring the many food and drink establishments on the route, where travellers are encouraged to slow down, fill their boots and quench their thirst. The Great West Way food and drink...

Earlier this month, Groups Direct CEO, Simon Warwick, and the company’s Marketing & Advertising Executive, Emily Fisher, were guests at the world famous H Forman & Sons Smokehouse, adjacent to the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. Groups Direct has been...

For 2020, Cheshire’s leading industrial heritage museum, the Lion Salt Works Museum near Northwich in Cheshire, is offering groups the chance to enjoy two additional paid-for talks on Cheshire Cheese and cheese-making.  Both talks come with the opportunity to sample...

In Shropshire, location and history combine. The county has a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ironbridge Gorge, and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Shropshire Hills – and now, to celebrate all it has to offer, Visit Shropshire for Groups has been launched....

From Saturday 15th to Sunday 23rd February, families looking for a fun-filled day out should head to the Midlands-based conservation charity, where they can see over 500 animals from over 125 different species, some of which are the rarest on the planet. The 80-acre...

Tour planners attending the Watford Showcase on Sunday 10 and Monday 11 May will be able to take in a superb performance of the classic Mike Leigh comedy play Abigail’s Party. Performed at the Watford Palace Theatre, Abigail’s Party will be one of the many highlights...

This month's Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC is the largest of its kind in the UK and a fun day out for all the family, with mini golf, celebrity guests, an Electric Ride area, a fun theatre programme and more… Held over half-term week, from February...

Albatross Travel has been named a preferred supplier for Merlin Entertainments, operator of some of the UK’s leading attractions, including The Coca Cola London Eye, Madame Tussauds London, Alton Towers Resort and Chessington World of Adventures. Under the new...

Competition among Britain’s top coach friendly tourist destinations and attractions is hotting up, as the newly announced British Coach Tourism Awards shortlist reveals who's in the running for 2020. The towns (and one city) vying for this year’s prestigious title of...

Fancy learning a new skill in the spring? The British Motor Museum is hosting a number of motoring related workshops in March, April & May 2020. These popular workshops enable participants to learn new skills in photography and classic car ownership. Each course...

In the heart of Chipping Campden, the Cotswold House Hotel proves a draw for Group Travel World magazine's Vanessa Hardy and her family... “Arriving, as we did, on a very cold, wet afternoon, a roaring fire and the very friendly team at reception proved the warm...

England’s greatest Elizabethan house will be offering visitors a packed year of events and exhibitions to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of Elizabethan England’s most powerful figures – and the man who built the magnificent Lincolnshire country house,...

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced that its fifth garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater, is opening to the public from Thursday, 30 July 2020. The creation of RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, is one of the most significant events in the...

The West Yorkshire market town of Otley has been shortlisted for one of the top accolades in coach tourism at this year’s British Coach Tourism Awards. The historic market town, which bridges cosmopolitan Leeds and the Yorkshire Dales, will vie for the prize of the...

The cream of the UK travel trade will be meeting industry suppliers on Sunday and Monday 9 and 10 February. Travel World Association, or TWA for short, will be unpacking some of their ‘quality street’ of coach and tour operators and GTOS at the Old Swan Hotel in...

Tourism South East has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive. Fran Downton, previously Head of Marketing at the successful regional tourism organisation, will take up the post from 1 February 2020. Fran brings with her a wealth of tourism experience from...

‘This was the best Excursions show for some time, we didn't stop all day and we all came away very happy with a lot of work to do on quotes for groups. Where do we sign up for next year?‘ Ellen Walker, Travel Editions… Numerous exhibitors and visitors to the show have...

Derby’s rich history and heritage is set to be celebrated in 2020 on the site of the world’s first factory, when the city opens a major new £17m museum in September. Run by Derby Museums, the Museum of Making - in the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site -...

The Royal Navy International Air Day is set to wow visitors this summer. Held at the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton in Somerset, the award-winning event – on Saturday July 11 – will feature fast jets, historic warbirds, classic jets, helicopters, formation...

ETOA will welcome nearly 90 new businesses to its first flagship event of 2020 – the twelfth Britain & Ireland Marketplace (BIM) - on 28 January at the London Hilton on Park Lane. BIM, which showcases the best of UK and Irish tourism product to tour operators and...