The issue
Around 60 gay couples a day are registering civil partnerships - seven times more than UK government predictions - yet travel companies are underestimating the £600m gay wedding, honeymoon and holiday market, says Out Now Consulting. The gay market specialist says many hotels and travel providers are treating gay customers badly and that the travel industry needs to overcome its prejudice and ignorance about the hugely expanding gay market. It tells of one holidaymaker who hides round the corner while his boyfriend checks in at hotels, to avoid a frosty reception. This week Out Now launched GayComfort, an online 'gay sensitivity programme', to advise those working in the industry. But a Thomas Cook spokeswoman warned: 'While hotel staff can be educated, it's difficult to change the views of local people in destinations where homosexuality is frowned on.'
The warning
Flying back and forth across time zones and repeatedly getting jetlag can cause early death... at least if you're a mouse. A study on mice by the University of Virginia, published in the journal Current Biology this month, simulated disruptions in light and darkness, and sleep and wake cycles, associated with jetlag, and found that older mice in the experiment died earlier.
The hotel
You don't have to go as far as Sweden to stay in an ice hotel. The Swiss resort of Gstaad is to get its first Igloo Village this season on the Eggli mountain, housing 40 guests in romantic igloos for couples or in group igloos for six people. An adjoining 'wellness igloo' has a Jacuzzi and ice sculptures, and there is the obligatory cheese fondue for dinner. See iglu-dorf.com.
The guide
Even long-term Londoners can struggle to select a suitably stylish watering hole to celebrate a birthday, romantic dinner or Christmas lunch. Diffords Guide to London's Best Pubs and Bars is a brilliant pocket-sized book that lists 250 pubs, bars and members' clubs that won't disappoint anyone who likes fashionable wallpaper, exposed brickwork and gastro fare with their pint. Available from diffordsguide.com for £4.97.
The website
At 360travelguide.com, you can get a 360-degree view of more than 30,000 places around the world, so you can get an idea of the areas you might want to stay in or tourist attractions you might want to visit. And if you're not convinced the hotel you are about to book is quite your style, a new section gives you a 360-degree snoop around it before you commit. Around 1,000 hotels will be on the site by March.
The cottage
The underfloor heating in Little Laight Cottage is powered by wind turbines, and by staying there you can develop your knowledge of this alternative energy source. The cottage sits on a hillside above the village of Cairnryan in Galloway and costs £395 a week with Ecosse Unique (01835 822 277; unique-cottages.co.uk).
The festival
The volunteer organisation I-to-I (i-to-i.com) is offering travellers the chance to go behind the scenes at the Rio carnival, to help build floats and create costumes at the city's samba schools. The project work is available for four 12-week periods throughout December and January in preparation for the festival on 17-20 February, and costs from £695 per person, excluding flights.
The day out
From Thursday, a Winter Wonderland attraction will open in Cardiff, offering two outdoor ice rinks, an ice bar, big wheel and Santa's grotto, surrounded by 100 Christmas trees, until 7 January. Contact 029 20 230130; cardiffswinterwonderland.com.
The deal
Greywalls hotel (01620 842144; greywalls.co.uk), a cosy country house just outside Edinburgh, is offering half-price rooms throughout November and December, so a double costs £95 per person, including dinner and breakfast.
