TheMoveChannel.com’s September Top of the Props chart, which tracks the interest of visitors to the site and finds the most popular countries each month, found France had topped the props last month.

Primelocation’s findings tallied with those, with France, Spain, the USA, Italy and Portugal taking the top five places in their index, significantly outperforming the sixth to tenth placed countries.

Last month also saw search levels up 10 per cent compared to August, indicating that consumer confidence in overseas investment property has begun to return.

But, whilst confidence is coming back, investors are still wary of putting their money into less stable or well know locations, thus they are looking to well established countries with a history of stability.

The property portal’s international development manager, Ann Wright said, “Given the recent turbulence we have experienced, a certain amount of caution remains and interest is currently concentrated in the traditionally strong and established markets.”

In terms of sales, Ms Wright believes there could be a wait between investors’ intentions to buy and actual sales.

“Although property prices in the top three countries are attractive, having fallen substantially in the downturn, the pound is not particularly strong against the euro or the US dollar at the moment and buyers may hold off, watching the market for the most lucrative time to make the purchase.”

TheMoveChannel.com found that it wasn’t just residential investors targeting France – commercial investment property in the country was on the up too. The country is fast emerging as the second-most popular market after the UK following a static first quarter as a result of the ongoing hangover from and continual effects of the economic crisis. The French property investment market is now on the move again, with investment levels doubling in the second quarter of this year, the biggest increase for that period in Europe.

For more information on overseas investment properties and the property market in general, please visit http://investment.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

The hotel price comparison site Trivago.co.uk found that 45 per cent of the 4,000 British travellers they surveyed relied on old fashioned travel guide books to choose their holiday and hotels rather than turning to the internet.

I am always tempted to check out online reviews before booking anywhere but, despite the growth of these websites, only seven per cent of those surveyed said they were the main influence on their choice of hotels.

This new research follows a report by a US market research company, PhoCusWright, which claimed that the number of travellers using review sites was falling.

It said the number looking at reviews declined from 55 per cent in October 2007 to 46 per cent in October this year.

Advertising and holiday brochures were deemed to be most important by 15 per cent of respondents and ten per cent of Brits based their decision on experience.

Surprisingly, even with the weak pound, the price of the hotel was only listed as the fourth most important factor for Brits.

The reputation or affiliation to a hotel chain influenced the decision of four per cent of respondents. Only two percent of British travellers booked because of a friend’s recommendation.

In other countries the results are very different. The Spaniards are the biggest bargain hunters: Hard hit by the economic crisis, 45 per cent of Spanish travellers stated that the price as the most important factor when selecting a hotel in 2009.

The Germans also indicated that the price was the most important criterion (35 per cent), as well as the Italians (34 per cent). From the French respondents, 60 per cent stated that advertisements and holiday brochures were the most important factor.

Loved a location on holiday? Why not make it more permanent – check out some Spanish property at http://spain.themovechannel.com/ or some in France at http://france.themovechannel.com/

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

A new dawn is being heralded in the airline industry, with an aircraft design being developed here in the United Kingdom in which passengers sit facing each other in rows.

As the new design would allow 50 per cent more passengers to be crammed onto the plane, it would also mean that seats were up to a third cheaper. Which can’t be bad, can it?

Well, even though the plans are only being aimed at passengers on short-haul flights, I’m still not convinced that I fancy spending a couple of hours surreptitiously avoiding the eyes of the person opposite me. I can’t help it- I’m just too English for my own good.

I can imagine this kind of set up going down well in America, Australia or New Zealand, but us Brits are often very reserved and the thought of being engaged in conversation with a stranger en route somewhere and then being trapped opposite them once small talk runs out strikes fear into our hearts.

And that’s not all – not only would we be facing other passengers, the seats would be flip-down with their backs to the window rather than padded recliners like we currently have.

You’d think the leg room would be better though – after all, how close are they going to make us sit? Well, the design, created by UK based Design Q, also prevents the use of food trolleys as the aisles would be too narrow to allow them to pass by. So I think that answers your question.

Plus there wouldn’t be any view out of the window.

The company said it is loosely based on the way some soldiers travel to battle zones and is aimed at passengers on short trips where comfort is less important than a cheap flight.

The design is also said to make the plans more fuel efficient and lighter.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

British Airways' first commercial Concorde flight flew from London Heathrow to Bahrain on 21st January 1976, creating aviation history.

Now, the Concorde fleet is grounded and the aircrafts have been placed at museums around the world, but if you want to experience the thrill of what it would have been like, check out the simulator.

It isn’t just a mere fairground attraction either – all British Airways Concorde pilots were trained on this simulator.

Concordes are the only aircraft in the world that can fly at twice the speed of sound, meaning that a trip from London to New York would take a mere three hours as opposed to more than seven hours on a normal aircraft.

Each of the Concordes were partly built at Brooklands Museum in Surrey, which is now home to the simulator too.

It also provides a home for the Concorde G-BBDG, the first aircraft to fly 100 people at twice the speed of sound.

Previously, the simulator was only open to aviation professionals who were using it for training, but, following renovations, it is now open to members of the public too.

And, unlike many simulators, this one does not move, instead relying on detailed graphics to recreate the ‘flight.’

And, like Concorde, a flight on the simulator won’t come cheap – expect to pay either £139 or £395, depending on whether you choose a one or two hour experience.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

A new survey by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels has uncovered some rather alarming information about just what constitutes travellers' essential items.

Space is usually limited when packing for a trip, but the bizarre array of items found left accidentally in hotel rooms suggests that some things just can't be left at home – including a monk fancy dress costume.

Of course, lots of things that were left behind are far less interesting than sheep and monks. (What a combo!)

False legs were on the list – which begs the question, how on earth did their owner leave without noticing they didn't have their leg in tow?

Crutches and dentures were also found to be a common sight after their owner's departure.

Hotel managers reported that around £2.5 million worth of items are left behind each year, with phone chargers and underwear the most-recovered things.

Each year, hotel staff find 42,000 phone chargers worth around £630,000 and more than 40,000 items of underwear worth around £200,000, plus 14,000 toothbrushes worth around £21,000.

Pity the poor sole who left behind £2,000 in cash.

Jane Bednall, from Holiday Inn, said, "It's quite unbelievable just how much is left behind by our guests each year.

"The phone chargers would easily stretch across the English Channel.

"Most items are not re-claimed and after six months we donate anything of value to local charities," she added.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

If you are planning to board a British Airways flight soon, here’s a word of warning – take your own nibbles or you could end up sky-high and very hungry – the struggling airline has axed meals, sandwiches and other foods on flights from London Heathrow that last less than two and a half hours, in a bid to slash spiraling costs…

All short-haul flights leaving Heathrow after 10am will no longer be serving meals to passengers. Instead, they will have to bring their own food, or make do with a biscuit or a ‘snack-bite’ instead. Those flying before 10am will continue to get their free brekkie.

Similar cutbacks have already been implemented on flights from London Gatwick after BA’s research found that many in-flight meals are left untouched, thus causing a waste of food and money.

The new plans will affect those passengers flying to destinations such as Madrid in Spain.

Long-haul passengers will also be fed less – those in economy will have their free bottles of water replaced with ‘water cuplets’ while those in business class will have their second meal reduced.

As cost cutting solutions go, to me this seems eminently easier to stomach (sorry) than other airlines’ measures, such as Ryanair’s ludicrous ‘standing room only’ flights and wee-fees.

The range of free alcoholic drinks on short-haul flights will also be reviewed as part of the changes, which the airline says could save a whopping £22 million a year.

But, those who are anti the new plans say that BA is making a risky move and stands to lose many of its passengers to other airlines. But many of the budget airlines already charge for food or have a ‘bring your own’ policy.

The new food and drink plans are to be introduced next month, just a month after BA proposed that its staff take a month’s ‘pay holiday’ in order to keep the airline afloat.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

This little special offer had me laughing out loud at its unintended tongue in cheek genius – the German arm of holiday company Thomas Cook is offering a new service to German travellers that could spell the end of haggling over sun beds – holidaymakers at nine hotels across Turkey, Egypt and the Canary Islands can now book their sun-loungers in advance for a fee…

Heading down to the pool early in the morning in order to secure a sun-bed for the day? Well, you won’t be the first. German holidaymakers are so practiced at the art that they reserve loungers with towels at the crack of dawn before heading back to bed or to breakfast. It’s a practice that has been irritating the hell out of tourists from other countries for years, even though other nationalities can be just as unforgiving in the beach towel wars.

Now, one holiday company has had a brainwave and is offering a paid-for booking service for sun loungers in advance of the holiday, at nine hotels across Turkey, Egypt and the Canary Islands.

Reserving a lounger and beach umbrella in advance will cost about three euros (£2.60) a day, on top of the holiday package. For a weekly rate of 49 euros per room a family can reserve one lounger for each person, along with a beach umbrella and their own dining table at six Egyptian hotels.

Booking sun beds before you have even left home seems to rather defeat the relaxed holiday vibe and how are you going to know if you need one for certain days? If people are booking beds for every day of their holiday just in case and then not using them, this could mean others who haven’t been offered this service are being left out in the cold, with no sun-bed to call their own, whilst empty beds languish in the sun.

But one of Thomas Cook’s Managers, Peter Fankhauser, said that ‘with this we're relieving our clients of early morning stress.’

The service has already proved popular and may well be rolled out to other nations in the future. Currently, says Mathias Brandes, Head of Communications at Thomas Cook in Germany, it is available only to Germans.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Huge cutbacks in winter flight schedules could wreak havoc with those who own second homes and want to spend time at them during the colder months – budget airline Ryanair has announced drastic cutbacks in the number of flights leaving Stansted – meaning that thousands face being cut off over the winter…

Ryanair will cull ten of its regular flights leaving from London’s Stansted airport and cut down the level of frequency on as many as 30 other routes.

Second home owners with properties in France will be affected, but the airline has yet to announce which exact routes will be affected by the cuts.

It has been suggested that some of the flights that are to be completely cut include services to Ireland, whilst other changes would affect flights to the continent.

People who own second properties in Spain should be unaffected as the Spanish Government has scrapped tourist taxes, thus the properties are still used frequently during the winter, ensuring that the flights are fairly full and ‘earning their keep.’

But, as those with holiday homes in France seem to visit them less, these flights will be up for the axe.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said, “You find that people don’t use these French places in November, December, January and February and they never have.

“People who go to a holiday home in the west of France for one weekend in November are hardly going to fill a plane.

“I can’t reassure anybody. If they want reassurance, they should write to Gordon Brown,” he added.

The aviation industry is suffering its worst period since 9/11, with airlines being forced to cut back on services in a bid to save money. Ryanair is hoping that its cutbacks will force the airports to ditch expensive landing charges during the quiet winter months.

The cuts at Stansted, Ryanair's largest base in Britain, will mean that the airline is operating 168 fewer flights than it did during the same period last year and carrying 2.5 million fewer people than last winter.

One place you won’t have to worry about getting to is Oslo in Norway – flying in the face of other cuts, the budget airline has announced that it will launch a brand new service to the city from Stansted this October.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Currently much maligned, old favourite Spain made a welcome return to the top spot in TheMoveChannel.com's June Investment Property watch chart – which tracks the level of interest in certain properties and countries from visitors to the site – perhaps signaling that potential buyers know there are real bargains to be had in the country, so long as you know where to look…    Spain

Spain, Spain, you are back in the game. Once the centre of the European property and holiday home market, Spain has had a rough time of late.

Hoards of unfinished properties have been spreading like a rash over the country as construction companies struggle to stay afloat in the midst of the credit crunch.

Developers have also been left with hundreds of apartments that they can’t find buyers for and the emergence of other European markets has taken the shine off Spain.

Now, although Spain may be struggling to recapture those halcyon days of a few years ago, the sun is starting to come out for the country once again.

Experts are predicting that there will be more home sales in 2009 than there were in 2008 thanks to lower interest rates, house prices sitting at 2003 levels and investors returning in the hope of snagging a real bargain.

But, a recovery in the property sector is partly reliant on the cost of mortgage borrowing. Whilst Euribor – the base rate normally used to calculate mortgage rates in Spain – has indeed fallen to historic lows, the average interest rate charged on new mortgages is rising, making it more expensive for new borrowers to buy homes.

Dan Johnson, Director of TheMoveChannel.com, said, “There is a growing sense that Spain currently offers some fantastic buying opportunities for investors looking to plunder properties from the many banks eager to reduce their repossession stock.

“It will take considerable time for prices to recover to their former levels and in some areas there may not be much of a market for years to come.

“But some former hotspots will be quicker to recover and with banks prepared to write off losses, genuine value can currently be bought remarkably cheaply,” added Mr Johnson.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a surprise entry into the Investment Property Watch chart, but its new chapter of development and resurgence of tourism looks set to change all that.

Following the end of nearly three decades of conflict, the war-hit north of the country is now being rediscovered by foreign investors and developers after Tamil Tigers guerrillas were crushed recently by Government forces, paving the way for a phase of economic liberalisation.

The fighting has stalled Sri Lanka’s economic growth and both the Government and tourism authorities are looking at new ways to attract the visitors the country desperately needs in order to give its economy a boost.

The Foreign Ministry has also directed all Sri Lankan missions overseas to persuade the host countries to lift travel advisories on Sri Lanka as the country's situation has rapidly changed with the eradication of terrorism.

Sri Lanka is keen to convince visitors that the country is now safe to visit once more.

Tourism authorities have now announced plans to attract 1.5 million tourists per year by 2016. Things are already starting to look up – this year 500,000 tourists arrived, which was higher than it has been in years.

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Bernard Goonatilake has also announced an international campaign to attract tourists from the UK, France, Germany, Russia, the Middle East and India. It will launch next month.

As well as the north of the country, the east is also being targeted for expansion, with hotels planned for the coastline, which boasts some of the best beaches in the country.

Other movers and shakers

Brazil took third place in June’s chart, suggesting the excitement of the upcoming 2014 World Cup, which the country is hosting, has already kicked off new interest in its property sector. In fourth place was the USA, followed by Australia in fifth and Panama in sixth. Lucky number seven went to Egypt, with Spain, Greece and the UAE nabbing the last three places.

Table showing June’s top investment properties

*Results are based on number of sales enquiries generated per month.

For more information on investment property and the market in general, please visit http://investment.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Now this is a brilliant idea – I’m sure I’m not the only one who is left fuming when all of the extras are totted up and suddenly that budget flight isn’t such a bargain afterall –from check-in fees to baggage fees to wee fees, the flights masquerading as cheap are often not really saving you anything…

When booking a flight to travel to Spain, I headed for a budget airline’s website. Five minutes later, I headed away from said website. Swiftly. When selecting how many bags I wanted to check in, there was an option for ‘zero’, which I hit. The charge was £16. Yes, £16 to check in no bags. The same price to check in one. How on earth does that work?

Couple that with a seat reservation fee, possible ‘speedy boarding,’ fee, insurance fees and carbon offsetting fees and I may as well have gone with another, less ‘budget’ airline.

British Airways feel the same and is now seeking to expose the extent of low-cost airlines’ extra charges by launching a ‘value calculator’ on its website.

Log on and choose how you want to travel – from checking in to choosing a seat and eating on the plane. The calculator then pulls up the added extra costs courtesy of airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet.

Whilst the price you get on BA currently includes everything, Ryanair charges up to a whopping £80 for checking in at the airport and £8 for priority boarding. Don’t even get me started on the putting a bag in the hold fee.

Richard Tams, Head of UK and Ireland sales at BA, estimates that passengers can pay up to £375 in extras on return Ryanair flights and up to £79 on easyJet.

“The no-frills carriers claim they are always cheaper. Our calculator shows they are not,” he said. The Air Transport Users’ Council has also welcomed the move.

Now, BA is hardly top of the pops right at the moment either – announcing pre-tax losses of £401 million last year and asking staff to work for a month for no wages. But what they are doing here – exposing these bargain airlines and blowing apart their ‘cheap’ offerings – is much needed.

We can only hope BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh doesn’t go ahead with his threat to start charging for extras too, thus making a total mockery of this great new idea.

For the latest news on travel and tourism, and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/news/travel_and_tourism/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650