Following a £15million refurbishment, the new DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa has been officially unveiled by the town’s MP Andrew Jones. Over the last 18-months, the 184-room hotel – which over the years has welcomed royalty, heads of state, Hollywood A-listers and rock superstars - has undergone a full refurbishment of its [...]
Crieff Hydro Resort is promoting a special Christmas package for four nights arriving on 23 December, complete with twinkling trees towering from floor to ceiling and the smell of gingerbread lingering throughout the Winter Garden! The Christmas package will be full board daily with DBB on 23 December and guests will also have a sparkling [...]
Peter Stratton has been appointed as head of new business development for Albatross Group and will focus on business with Disneyland Paris, where there is huge investment planned in the next few years. In addition, Stratton will be looking at acquisitions for the group. Stratton, who has owned travel industry executive recruitment specialist Simpson Recruitment [...]
CTA member Stuart Line Cruises has issued an update to operators with information about ongoing roadworks on Exmouth seafront. Due to ongoing flood defence engineering works, there is a road closure along Exmouth Seafront. Diversions are currently in place. Coach access to the Stuart Line Cruises departure point has not been affected but additional directions [...]
The world-famous RHS Flower Shows and Flower Festivals bring a burst of colour to the group calendar from April onwards. Ranging from the world’s most famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, to the fabulous RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and inspirational RHS Flower Shows at Tatton Park and Chatsworth, every show is brimming with vibrant [...]
Transport for London is hosting an information session on Thursday 21 November for coach operators who are either based in or regularly visit London to explain in more detail what the upcoming changes to the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) mean including the introduction off a Euro VI requirement for coaches over 5tonnes GVW. The session [...]
Mersey Ferries is launching an exciting new cruise product for 2020 following a successful trial this year with 14 Liverpool Bay Cruises scheduled between June and August. The three-hour sightseeing cruise into Liverpool Bay offers breathtaking views from the deck of a Mersey Ferry. During the three-hour cruise, groups will enjoy great scenery and learn [...]
Road closures and diversions are expected in Chester city centre until 24 November as a result of site investigation work being carried out on behalf of the council to confirm the location of services such as gas, electric, water and telecoms as well as ground conditions for necessary infrastructure works. Work will take place from [...]
York’s Chocolate Story is working in partnership with Nestle to bring KitKat Chocolatory to York, the UK’s home of KitKat. The KitKat Chocolatory is a luxury experience where visitors get the chance to create their own eight-finger KitKat using different flavour combinations and a host of diverse ingredients including shortbread pieces, mini marshmallows, honeycomb and [...]
The View from The Shard has announced the return of The Slide, an exhilarating 360-degree Virtual Reality experience which is back by popular demand for a limited period. Visitors to London’s highest attraction will be able to enjoy the thrill of ‘The Slide’ travelling at up to 100mph down and around the iconic building, using [...]
Windermere Lake Cruises, England’s fifth most popular ‘paid for’ attraction will be marking its 40th anniversary year at WTM London, providing clients with information about its fleet of vessels, the lake and surrounding attractions and accommodation providers. The event will also be used as an opportunity to showcase the attraction’s new 300-seat ‘MV Swift’, which [...]
Tatton Park at Christmas offers a host of festive activities to help everyone get into the Christmas spirit – all available for groups of fifteen or more. Visitors can start in the stunning Winter Gardens – recently voted the ‘Best Garden in the North West’ by readers of Garden News magazine – and see the [...]
CTA communications director Helen Bowron took part in the recent Fáilte Ireland Fam Trip which proved to be a cracking event with visits to some fascinating attractions and destinations that would love to welcome your groups. Read Helen’s account of the trip: CTA members know that Ireland is a great destination for coach tour holidays [...]
CTA is once again a partner with World Travel Market London and will host our regular reception at 11am on 4 November at the Fox bar, Excel London. CTA members get access to the invitation-only Monday in addition to the show open days. Here is your exclusive registration for you to book as a CTA [...]
CTA has negotiated a special partnership rate for CTA Supplier members who want to take part in BIM, Britain & Ireland Marketplace, organised by ETOA. BIM is ETOA’s B2B workshop dedicated to UK and Irish product, and takes place on Tuesday 28 January at the London Hilton on Park Lane. The event presents the best [...]
CTA member ITO Tours UK is keen to talk to fellow operator members about visits to Floriade Expo 2022 which will be held in Almere near Amsterdam for 180 days from April to October in 2022. ITO Tours is now starting to introduce the Floriade Expo 2022 to the travel trade and wants to get in touch [...]
The much-awaited Silverstone Experience is opening on 25 October. The attraction will take visitors on an exciting journey through the past, present and future of Silverstone and British motorsport. "We are expecting a lot of interest from the coach market," says Gillian Bell who is responsible for trade sales. "It promises a fascinating half-day of [...]
CTA member Groups Direct has some great winter offers to help coach operators fill their coaches over the winter months. A free group organiser place is available with every 20 paid customers to deliver a reasonably-priced day out that can help group organisers and coach operators offer clients something during the winter months. The following winter warmers [...]
A glimpse of the Downton Abbey grandeur at our National Trust for Scotland properties From the television series to the big screen blockbuster, the Crawley family and their servants at Downton Abbey have caught the public’s imagination. But coach groups can also get a feel for Downton life at some of the grand houses the [...]
Westminster Abbey marks the 750th anniversary of the consecration of Henry III’s church this autumn. Henry III was devoted to Saint Edward the Confessor, and in his honour he rebuilt Edward’s 11th century Abbey in the then new Gothic style of architecture. Work started in 1245 and the consecration of the Church took place on [...]
As the Turner Prize opens in Margate, Kent looks ahead to an exciting year of culture in 2020. According to Visit England’s recent Annual Attractions Survey, England’s art galleries and museums are currently enjoying significant growth in visitor numbers with figures up by 6 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year. With millions [...]
The CTA Christmas Networking Event is being held in Coventry on Sunday 24 November 2019 and promises to be one you really won’t want to miss! Hosted by Doubletree Hilton, the event will be a great opportunity to catch up with industry friends and colleagues ahead of the festive period and will include a fabulous [...]
Following a suggestion by CTA member Robert Easton, we have set up a new group page on Facebook which is designed to enable coach operator members to discuss matters of interest regarding organising tours and excursions. The group enables members to share best practice and information including your favourite hotels, stopovers and destinations, and advice [...]
Places are still available for CTA operators for a special Christmas event at Tilbury on board Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ flagship Columbus on 19 December. Photo: CTA board member Paula Ward and communications director Helen Bowron met up with CMV’s Deborah Rixson (centre) on board the Columbus for a sneak preview. The Christmas event is [...]
The latest travel trade update from VisitScotland highlights Manderston House in the Scottish Borders which welcomes groups all year round. An Edwardian country house, Manderston was designed by Scottish architect John Kinross in the 1790s and is today home to the 4th Lord Palmer and sits in 56 acres of formal and informal gardens. Another [...]
Cheshire’s iconic Anderton Boat Lift is marking the national Heritage Open Days campaign with free history talks and ‘Walking the Lift’ tours on Saturday 21 September and Sunday 22 September. The history talks will cover the restoration of the lift and the engineering that makes the boat lift worthy of its ‘Scheduled Ancient Monument’ status. [...]
In addition to its range of cruise products, City Cruises Poole has opened its own cafe, the Harbour Station Café. Located directly on the Quay opposite the departure point for the cruises, the café provides a wide range of both hot and cold food, as well as an ice cream station. In addition to regular [...]
CTA is once again working closely with the British Tourism & Travel Show and will be a partner for the show and jointly host a reception for CTA members on the first afternoon. The show, which takes place on 25-26 March 2020 at the NEC, attracts more than 3,000 decision makers and is a great [...]
A spring day out at an RHS Garden offers an unrivalled opportunity for coach groups to see fabulous displays of bulbs, blossoms and special events. From the Royal Horticultural Society’s historic home, RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, to the beautiful RHS Garden Rosemoor in Devon, and from RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate to the [...]
CTA members enjoyed fabulous sunshine for their annual summer networking event, held in Brighton on Sunday 28 July. The event, which included a reception at the Old Ship Hotel, courtesy of the hotel and Visit Brighton, before a ‘ride’ on the British Airways i360 and a BBQ, attracted almost 100 delegates. On the following morning, [...]
Devon’s Top Attractions and the CTA have created a fabulous three-night, four-day Devon familiarisation opportunity, exclusive to CTA members on 27-30 October 2019. We have a limited number of places available on the 'Devon Unlocked' FAM trip for CTA coach operator and wholesaler members - so please book early, don't delay! The Fam trip is [...]
CTA member Aerospace Bristol has launched two new tours for groups in 2020. The Concorde Tour gives groups the chance to learn about the supersonic superstar that is Concorde, just across the runway from where all British Concordes were built. As they walk around the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly, [...]
Coach Tours UK magazine, which has just joined CTA as a member, is organising a free event for coach operators and GTOs in a visit to North Norfolk. Working with Creative Tourism Ideas & Solutions, Coach Tours UK Magazine is inviting all coach operators and GTOs to attend this FREE Day event at The Cliftonville [...]
Visit Flanders has alerted us about some events that are taking place in Antwerp in the coming months that will impact on the availability and location of coach parking in the city. During the following times, the usual coach parking will be closed and drivers will be directed to alternative facilities at Gerlachekaai, Antwerp. There [...]
Recent travel firm failure highlights trust account operation, says Towergate Following the sad news of a south coast operator’s sudden and unexpected closure, CTA partner Towergate Travel is reminding operators about the changes to trust accounts which were included in the last year’s new Package Travel Directive. The new regulations continue to allow third party-administered [...]
New CTA member Cruise and Maritime Voyages is offering CTA operator members the opportunity to join its groups department to celebrate Christmas at a Festive Dinner and overnight event in London Tilbury on Thursday 19 December 2019. The event is a great opportunity to step aboard Columbus, to view the facilities and cabins, sample the [...]
VisitEngland has launched a new business-to-business digital platform designed to enable tourism suppliers to connect with multiple international distributors. Tourism Exchange Great Britain is a one-stop shop for English tourism suppliers including accommodation providers, visitor attractions and experiences, to link to distributors with international reach who can sell their products overseas. “TXGB will drive bookings [...]
A beautiful summer evening with a dinner cruise on the Thames in great company with CTA colleagues, what could be better? The 2019 AGM took place on board the MV Mercia, courtesy of CTA member Thames River Services, who put on a lovely evening dinner cruise which was enjoyed by more than 60 delegates. The [...]
CTA tour operator members will be aware that last year saw the introduction of updated regulations on package travel protection with the new Package Travel & Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations coming into force on 1 July 2018. The updated regulations identify the three routes for providing insolvency protection to customers: Bonding through an approved body, such [...]
Silverstone has announced that Shaylor Group, the main building contractor for The Silverstone Experience, has gone into administration. The Silverstone Experience stresses that the project will still go ahead but this development will inevitably cause some delay to the public opening date. All those who have already booked tickets have been contacted directly and a [...]
CTA partner Towergate Travel reports that its “TRIP” financial failure insurance has been approved and recognised by a number of merchant facility providers, including Worldpay, First Data, Trustpay Global & Barclays Merchant Services. Towergate says that the new agreement means the days of merchant facility providers holding cash guarantees or other forms of security are [...]
An innovative conservation scheme has been unveiled by the National Trust for Scotland to protect Hill House in Helensburgh, which is considered to be the finest example of domestic architecture by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and a major landmark within the history of architecture. The Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie commissioned Mackintosh to design the house [...]
A new wine shop at Waddesdon Manor offers the most comprehensive range of Rothschild wines in the UK and a perfect environment to taste rare Grand Cru wines by the glass. There are 126 Rothschild wines on offer, and a further 50 hand-picked guest wines. As a result of its prestige and global appeal, the [...]
A new audio guide at Cutty Sark is designed to enhance the visitor experience by bringing the story of the ship to life. The guide is currently available in English, other languages being introduced from the summer including German, French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian. The audio guide is included in [...]
CTA member Hospitality Line has launched summer group rates for its On the Coast product including The Mary Rose Museum, Spinnaker Tower & 2 Course Lunch at Café Rouge, Portsmouth, and British Airways i360, Brighton Pavilion & 2 Course Lunch at The King and Queen, Brighton. The attraction visits and meals are designed to show [...]
There is still time to book for the CTA Summer BBQ which takes place in Brighton on Sunday 28 July, followed by a Visit Scotland workshop on the Monday morning. We are staying at the beautiful Old Ship Hotel on the seafront with a drinks reception at 5pm sponsored very generously by Visit Brighton. Then [...]
Visit Scotland’s latest travel trade bulletin includes information on a number of events and attractions including the forthcoming Solheim Cup, the biggest event in women’s golf, which takes place at PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles, Perthshire from 9 – 15 September 2019, fascinating whisky tour opportunities at The Spirit of Ardnahoe on Islay, and Glencoe’s [...]
Jane Duffelen has sent this message to CTA members in respect of the amount raised at the CTA Conference in memory of Chris Wales. “Thank you all for your patience whilst I waited for the final donation to arrive - a staggering £3,275 raised at the CTA's annual conference, which brought the final total to [...]
Visit Kent have launched their brand new #SummerInKent 2019 campaign, along with three exciting campaign videos. Inviting Londoners, commuters, tourists and residents across the South East to discover more of the Garden of England, the digital marketing campaign will be published online across a range of publications (including the Metro, Time Out, and The Guardian), as [...]
RHS Gardens are offering dedicated packages for groups including the impressive festive ‘Glow Illuminations’, special winter walking tours and festive feasting options, to enable visitors to enjoy the best of the winter season with a group visit to one of the four RHS Gardens in the lead up to Christmas. Groups can get the best [...]
