Ryanair expands regional routes in the UK
Ryanair are set to add new domestic flights from Liverpool and East Midlands this winter. Four new routes will be added from Liverpool from October which include Gdansk, Scezecin, Knock and Faro which brings the total of departing routes at 45. At East Midlands three new routes include Faro, Fuerteventura and Prague, which will bring the number of destinations served by the airline at East Midlands up to 38.

Tickets on the four new Liverpool services have been put on sale for a lead-in £31 while the new East Midlands flights start at £26.

Ryanair's Bridget Dowling said the four new routes from Liverpool will mean an extra 210,000 passengers a year travelling to and from Liverpool, sustaining an additional 210 jobs. Whilst discussing East Midlands, she said: “With services to Faro and Fuerteventura running three times a week and the Prague route operating four times a week, passengers in the East Midlands area can now enjoy an even greater choice of low fare destinations. “These three new routes which go on sale today will mean an extra 140,000 passengers travelling to and from East Midlands every year, sustaining an additional 140 jobs.”

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Wildlife Tourism
In an increasingly urbanised world, it is perhaps no surprise that people experience an increased need to holiday in natural environments. One of these types of tourism experiences is called wildlife tourism which is one of the fastest-growing niche markets. In its simplest sense, wildlife tourism is watching wild animals in their natural habitat. Seen both in captive and wild environments this type of tourism covers all types of animals, including insects, birds and marine life.

Human being’s association with animals has stemmed from evolutionary history and wildlife watching is one of the key reasons that people visit natural areas.

Growth in this area has been largely fuelled by the increased ease of travel to remote areas, the demand for ‘experiential tourism’ and more media exposure to wildlife, primarily via television documentaries.

Ranging from independent specialists to more mainstream package tours – from the ‘Big Five’ (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard) in East Africa to increasingly popular wildlife cruises, wildlife tourism is found at every level of the market. It covers a wide spectrum of experiences and within it, bird watching and whale watching have developed as separate sectors.

Wildlife tourism is also involved with key principles of sustainable and educational tourism as well as supporting conservation. It also can be linked to different nieche markets which include; experiential tourism, rural and community tourism, ecotourism, nature and soft adventure tourism.

Taken by shashamore on flickr

Holiday prices may be set up rise by 10 per cent.
The cost of mass market holidays will rise by at least 10% next year because of the worsening economic situation. Chief executive John McEwan explained that the weak exchange rate against the euro and the rising cost of fuel would lead to an average increase of £50 per person on the cost of a £500 holiday.

“We can see what is happening with the Euro and the cost of fuel,” he said. “Just to stand still next year tour operators will have to put prices up by at least 10 per cent.”

He predicted that travel agencies may have to work even harder to secure bookings from people who are seeing the cost of fuel, food and mortgages rising.

“We are building up to a lot of issues,” he said. “People have fixed mortgages that they are going to need to renegotiate and see a significant hike in their repayments.”