According to the Irish Tourist Confederation, Ireland witnessed a bumper tourism year in 2007 wherein 8 million foreign tourists gave the country €4 billion in revenue. However, the forecast for 2008 is not so rosy, the growth will continue albeit at a modest pace courtesy the rise in oil prices and a weak dollar.
Visit durations are also becoming increasingly short which affects the amounts spent by tourists. ITIC has hopes that the Open Skies agreement will help tourism in the New Year.
Foreign travel is becoming an increasingly expensive thing for American tourists and the dollar is showing no signs of appreciating in the near future. For the sake of example consider this – five years ago, a hotel room priced at $200 Canadian cost $126 when it took just 63 U.S. cents to buy one Canadian dollar. Now the same room costs $200 U.S., a 60 percent increase.
If the room was 200 euros, the cost in American dollars was $210 at an exchange rate of $1.05 to one euro; now, with the rate at $1.47, it’s $294, up 40 percent.
A neat article here by Carol Pucci lays down some useful and common sense thumb rules for travelers.
The British government has downgraded the warning to its citizens regarding travel to Pakistan in the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. However, it still cautioned Britons about travel to northern Sindh and southern Punjab stating that only very essential travel to these parts should be undertaken. Further security-related advice included avoiding travel to Quetta and not using bus services in the whole of Baluchistan.
Although the violence in the aftermath of Benazir’s killing has largely subsided, security remains an issue because of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan.
Counting the cost of rail travel seems to be amongst the minor national pastimes in England. The island has a well-developed rail network but at first glance the cost does appear prohibitively expensive. For example, a standard journey from Rome to Naples, a distance of 120 miles costs GBP15 whereas the 112-mile journey from Sheffield to Newcastle costs a whopping GPB43.
However, a little close examination tells us that it is not the journey that’s expensive, its the flexibility that comes at a premium, which means that if you are happy to travel before 7am and book in advance and a trip from Sheffield to Newcastle can be bought for GBP7. Read more here
Hotels in European cities are reportedly more expensive now. In Barcelona alone, hotel services have increased up to 18%. In Berlin, their hotel prices have increased up to 17% for the first half of 2007 alone. However, in Geneva, the average market rates decreased up to 3%.
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When you travel the world, it is important that you know which countries require tips for their waiters’ and waitresses’ service. If you are not the type of person who usually gives tips in Britain, that’s just fine, but when you visit other countries, you must be considerate. You may get bad service or, worse, insults from your waiters for not giving them the tip that they deserve.
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You’ll definitely love the spectacular scenery of the Scottish Borders from a hot air balloon.
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If you happen to be in South Wales city, make sure to visit the new Swansea Leisure Centre which opens this December 2007. You will be able to learn how to surf without even going to the beach. The Swansea Leisure Centre has a very big indoor water park.
Spanish cuisine is amazing. I really love the way they choose what ingredients to include and the way they actually cook their food. My favorite is the paella because I love rice and seafood very much. Here are five most famous and very delicious dishes that you should never miss when you visit Spain:
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If you’re a traveler seeking a typical country escape then you should check out these four country inns in Wales.
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