Eurocheques over
Banks in the UK have announced that, by the end of this year, they will no longer be part of the eurocheque scheme. This means that UK banks will stop cashing eurocheques and banks abroad will not cash UK eurocheques. Alternative methods of payment have caused the eurocheque demise.
Stay away
The travel advice unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to more than 20 countries, or parts of countries, at the moment. These are Albania (north east), Algeria, Angola, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville and Pointe Noire), Dji bouti, East Timor, Eritrea (Asmara), Ethiopia (Tigray in Mekelle), Indonesia, Liberia, Phillipinnes (Maguidanoa, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudaraat, North and South Cotabato),Rwanda (nw and border areas to sw and se), Sierra Leone (Freetown), Turkey (Bolu, Duzce, Izmit, Yalova and Adapazari only), Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Yemen.
Carnivore concern
The World Wide Fund for Nature has called for responsible tourism to help protect wolves, bears and lynx in Europe. A report, Tourism and Carnivores: the Challenge Ahead, examines the ways in which European tour operators can capitalise on the huge business opportunity offered by the "European jungles". The report chose five case studies in Romania, Spain, Poland, Italy and France. The WWF recommends that tour operators and tourists adopt the new WWF Code of Conduct for carnivore tourism, and calls for the industry to stimulate interest by promoting carnivore tourism. The report is available from the WWF. Tel: 01483 426444.
Sleep over sex
A third of all British holidaymakers say that a good sleep is their top holiday priority, with only 10% saying sex is their favourite pastime and only 6% putting sunbathing top of their list. These are details from a survey of 2,000 people around the country commissioned by Escape Routes, a travel and leisure magazine. The survey revealed that almost three-quarters of us are unhappy with the shape of our beach body and only four per cent thought other holidaymakers found them attractive. This is despite the fact that the average British holidaymaker splashes out £51 on beauty and grooming products and £128 on new clothes before going on holiday. More than half of those surveyed thought the British were the worst behaved abroad, with the Germans second (25%) and the Americans third (10%).
Good pubs
The 18th edition of the Good Pub Guide (Ebury Press, £14.99) has just been published. It selects 5,000 town and country pubs in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, all described county by county. The guide is based on 45,000 annual reader reports backed up by anonymous inspections from the editorial team. There are maps, , indexes and clear directions, with prices. Family friendly pubs are also mentioned.
Timeshare rise
Timeshare is growing faster in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, according to a report from the time-share industry which claims that 1.25 million Britons took a timeshare holiday last year. The report, from RCI, says there are 5,270 timeshare resorts in the world.
France without oil
The oil spillage clean-up along France's north Atlantic beaches has led to 90% of them being re-opened to the public, according to the Association of British Tour Operators to France. An eyewitness report on the state of cleanliness of the major tourist beaches used by UK tourists can be seen at www.holidayfrance.org.uk. The clean-up has been going on since December when14,000 tons of oil spilled from the wreckage of the tanker Erika. The French government has commissioned a report on the possible health effects on the oil spill and the findings are due next week.
City hops
Busabout, the hop-on, hop-off European travel network asked 6,000 independent travellers to recommend destinations. As well as the usual big cities, they came up with Jerez, Cadiz, Pamplona, Cordoba and Montserrat (Spain), Carcassonne, Aigues Mortes and Aix-en-Province (France), Turin, Verona, La Spezia, Pisa and San Gimigniano (Italy) and Gothenburg in Sweden and Terezin in Germany.
