Eliana Willis

Trafalgar has announced a move into the female-only market with an exciting new range of tours designed and led by women, for women.
Bookable now, with departures from July, the Women’s Only Tours range will feature 13 itineraries across the UK, Europe, Asia and Egypt.
The expert team has designed the new product range from start to finish, combining the tour operator’s most popular destinations – where it sees the highest percentage of female bookings – and destinations uncovered from internal female focus groups within the operations team at Trafalgar.
Guests will be hosted by a dedicated team of all-female travel directors, drivers and wellbeing directors leading them every step of the way.
From the ancient temples of Egypt to the lush vineyards of Tuscany, the team will take travellers to the real heart of every destination, where they can share the joy of travel with like-minded ladies.  ADVERTISEMENTThe 13 itineraries deliver enriching travel experiences and the chance to build deeper connections, including the chance to meet other inspiring women whilst touring, including female artisans, entrepreneurs, and trailblazers across the world.
Travellers will learn about Umbrian weaving in Italy with Marta Cucchia, the woman keeping this ancient tradition alive, visit the village of Demircidere and bake traditional bread with the most liberated women in Turkey, or share a meal with the women of the Iraq al-Amir Women’s Association in Jordan.
The new product range has been built around safety and wellbeing, which are important deciding factors for this target demographic.
Trafalgar takes the stress out of travel by planning all the logistics, from door to destination – allowing guests to truly take in and enjoy every moment, without the worry of where and what next.
Donna Jeavons, sales and marketing director for Trafalgar, commented: “We’ve seen a significant increase in demand for women’s only tours in the past 12 months as more travel destinations around the world open up.
“Trafalgar has years of award-winning experience in creating new products, but it was really important to us that our women-only range was created by women, for women.”

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The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has called for a concerted effort by Caribbean government and private sector leaders to boost intra-regional travel, while fostering greater parity, clarity and consistency for travel.
The body argues more than US$1 billion was lost in 2021 following a drop in inter-regional travel.
While international travel to the region has rebounded to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, intra-regional business and leisure travel has dropped to around 30 per cent, with smaller Caribbean economies and small businesses hit particularly hard, according to CHTA president Nicola Madden-Greig.
Stimulating intra-regional travel, asserted Madden-Greig, would bring higher local spending, boost trade in local goods and services, increase government revenues and revitalise local economies.
Among the steps proposed for revitalizing sluggish local economies were increasing services to revive regional air travel, reducing Covid-19 testing costs, cutting testing time, and shrinking long isolation periods. ADVERTISEMENTCHTA also recommends an air travel tax/fee holiday or reduction, similar to that which was proposed to Caribbean leaders by Antigua & Barbuda’s prime minister Gaston Browne, who is leading by example with fee reductions for his country.
Additionally, more uniform and consistent regional travel protocols would reduce traveller uncertainty, while health safety diligence and increased vaccinations were key to speeding up the return of local festivals and events, key elements of intra-regional travel.
Regional travellers include Caribbean residents visiting family and friends; attending holiday events, weddings, funerals, reunions and homecomings; conducting business; selling goods and services; participating in training and meetings; and enjoying vacations, festivals, sports and other events.
Reiterating the importance of consistency, CHTA, which speaks for private sector tourism stakeholders, recommended eliminating travel barriers that add significantly to travellers’ cost and uncertainty, and putting into place low-risk protocols to stimulate travel.
Such protocols would include asking all travellers in the region to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 antigen test result 24 hours prior to departure when traveling from one Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to another.
CHTA also recommended the elimination of on-arrival testing – and pre-departure testing (when returning home) – for fully vaccinated asymptomatic travellers within CARICOM jurisdictions, while non-vaccinated travellers would be required to comply with the standard protocols for international travellers.
CHTA president Madden-Greig also cited the broad impact intra-regional travellers have on local economies, spending at a high level on local goods and services and moving around the community more than travellers from outside the region.
“We know that the economic and social linkages are stronger, and the leakages are less as more of the revenue circulates within our countries and territories, benefiting a range of businesses beyond just the accommodations sector,” stated Madden-Greig.

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The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has accepted the latest iteration of the airspace change masterplan, developed by the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG), into its Airspace Modernisation Strategy (AMS).
This is a significant milestone towards modernising the airspace in the UK to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys.
The purpose of the airspace change masterplan is to identify which UK airspace design changes need to be developed to achieve the benefits of airspace modernisation and then set out a single coordinated implementation plan to deliver those benefits.
ACOG is taking an iterative approach to developing the masterplan and will be undertaking public engagement exercises this year.
This iteration of the masterplan identifies which airspace change proposals (ACPs) that are part of the masterplan will need to move forward together in a co-ordinated manner. ADVERTISEMENTIt also describes the nature of potential interactions between those different ACPs.
The masterplan does not contain the details of specific proposals or proposed flightpaths.
The airspace changes identified within the masterplan will have to be considered through the CAA’s separate evidence based and engagement led airspace change process, known as CAP 1616.
The acceptance of the second iteration means that relevant airspace change sponsors can now progress towards a CAP1616 Stage 2 gateway assessment, where the CAA must be satisfied that sponsors have followed the process correctly before they can move to the next stage in the process.
Stuart Lindsey, head of airspace modernisation at the CAA said: “This is the first time we have accepted an iteration of the airspace change masterplan in to the AMS and this is a big step forward.
“This will help facilitate the development of the airspace changes in a co-ordinated manner, which is crucial to the success of airspace modernisation. Reaching this point has been a significant achievement.
“The CAA would like to thank ACOG and the airspace change sponsors who contributed to the work that has gone into the development of this iteration of the masterplan.
“We look forward to continuing to develop the airspace change masterplan and delivering on the benefits of airspace modernisation.“
More Information
To learn more about the co-sponsors’ assessment and the CAA’s decision visit the official website.

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English Heritage saw a boom in visitor numbers to its smaller, more local sites in 2021, with several reporting their best years since records began.
Many of the charity’s hidden local gems, situated away from traditional tourist destinations, saw visitor numbers rocket by up to 82 per cent in comparison to pre-pandemic 2019.
The organisation said this was a clear indication that the public took advantage of the ‘stay at home’ mandate to rediscover the heritage on their doorstep.
Perhaps thanks to its high media profile over the past 18 months, Barnard Castle in County Durham had its best ever year in 2021, with visitor numbers to the picturesque fortress up by almost 20 per cent in comparison to 2019.
The attraction was infamously visited by then special advisor to the government, Dominic Cummings, in April 2020 during the first Covid-19 lockdown. ADVERTISEMENTBoscobel House, where Charles II famously hid from Cromwell’s soldiers in an oak tree, also had its best ever year, with visitor numbers increasing by a huge 82 per cent in comparison to 2019 following a relaunch of the Shropshire site.
Meanwhile, several lesser-known historic attractions in North Yorkshire clocked up their highest visitor numbers in over a decade, including Kirkham Priory (up 75 per cent on 2019), and Pickering Castle (up 30 per cent on 2019).
Kate Mavor, chief executive of English Heritage, said: “At English Heritage, we look after over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites across the country – many of which attract visitors from far and wide.
“In the past, those lesser known, more intimate local sites in our care have often been overlooked in favour of our more iconic ones, despite having just as rich and important a history.
“This has been a long and hard pandemic but one silver lining appears to be that with people staying closer to home, they have discovered historic places nearby.”
Image: English Heritage

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Saga will combine its two tour operating businesses – Saga Holidays and Titan Travel – as the impact of Covid-19 continues to be felt on the tourism sector.
In a statement to markets this morning, the company said the move was designed to “maximise efficiency” in touring, where the product offerings are highly complementary.
Stock in Saga plc was up five per cent on release of the news.
The company also confirmed it would create a new hotel stay proposition, to be launched later this year.
At the same time, Saga confirmed management the river cruise operation is being moved to ocean cruise. ADVERTISEMENTSaga said it hoped to make savings of between £10-15 million from the move, with around two-thirds of this amount relating to impairments of IT assets which are non-cash in nature.
Though conscious of further uncertainty in the market, Saga said it hoped to return to profitability in 2023.
Euan Sutherland, Saga group chief executive, said: “Saga has delivered a successful second half of the financial year with our insurance business remaining in growth and delivering positive momentum across all key metrics, while our cruise ships resumed their international itineraries.
“We approach the future with confidence, having demonstrated our ability to manage our way through recent challenges.
“We remain confident that the strength of our brand, our management team and our strengthened financial position will now allow us to return the business to sustainable growth, creating long-term value for our stakeholders.”

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On the Beach has predicted January payday weekend will mark the busiest trading moment the embattled travel industry has seen in two years.
The company expects this Sunday, January 30th, will see the biggest booking numbers.
While January and February traditionally mark the busiest months for holiday sales, accounting for a quarter of On the Beach’s annual holiday bookings, the holiday expert anticipates bookings will spike dramatically following a number of recent events that have bolstered consumer confidence and intent to travel.
This includes the abolition of return Covid-19 testing requirements for fully-vaccinated passengers from February 11th, announced on Monday evening.
On the Beach already reported a welcomed and noticeable shift in consumer confidence throughout January, following government announcements earlier in the month around removing PCR testing requirements and the relaxing of Plan B restrictions, which saw holiday sales increase 150 per cent week-on-week since the start of the year.ADVERTISEMENTPopular holiday destinations include Tenerife, Majorca, Lanzarote and Antalya.
Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: “We’re beyond excited to be getting Brits back on their holidays this year and look forward to what we expect will be our biggest trading surge in two years, this January payday weekend.
“This week’s scrapping of test requirements will also give people the peace of mind they need to book with confidence, and that extra nudge to escape the cold and grey at home in favour of a sunlounger with their name on it.”

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The Bahamas ministry of tourism, investments and aviation has appointed Latia Duncombe as acting director general.
She will report to deputy prime minister, Chester Cooper.
Duncombe was recruited in August as deputy director general of the Bahamas ministry of tourism and aviation.
She is a seasoned Bahamian business professional, bringing over 25 years of cross-industry experience in sales and marketing, public relations, finance and business analysis.
Her positions and responsibilities range across local and international destinations throughout the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands.ADVERTISEMENT“Latia Duncombe is a distinguished executive in marketing and sales, and we are confident she will bring invaluable oversight while further propelling the Bahamas as a leading destination,” said Cooper.
“Duncombe will help me lead in the execution of our robust strategic growth plans for tourism and investments, as outlined in our Blueprint for Change.”
Latia Duncombe replaces Joy Jibrilu, who is now on “pre-retirement leave”.
“I am honoured to represent the people of the Bahamas in continuing to drive a healthy tourism economy in our great island nation,” said Duncombe.
“These recent years have been challenging as we navigate the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but we look toward a more prosperous future with many accomplishments to celebrate in the months and years ahead.”

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