The British  ‘staycation’ appears to be over with holidays to Spain enjoying a late upsurge in popularity. Holidaymakers had been staying at home this year as the recession led to less funds for a summer holiday. However, it would seem the wash-out summer we've experienced this year coupled with the strengthening of the pound have inspired the beginnings of a return to the sun-kissed beaches of the Costas, official figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute reveal. Overnight stays by foreign tourists in Spain - mainly Brits, French and Italians - rose by 11% in July this year, compared to the same time in 2009. The figures are the first sign of a break with the staycation trend which led to sales of foreign holidays dropping by 15 per cent overall last year, according to Britain’s Office of National Statistics. The return of Spain’s popularity was all the less surprising as it came yesterday on the same day weather forecasters warned of flash floods and heavy rainfall in Britain.

Hotel jobs are to be created by Urban & Country Leisure Ltd as the company has announced it is branching out into the small hotels market. The firm, run by hospitality entrepreneur Ross Sanders, currently manages, operates and owns a number of pubs and restaurants across the UK. It now plans to open ten small hotels over the next two years, starting with The Lazy Cow in Warwick. "Our aim is to provide the best possible accommodation offering to the tourist, business and destination weekend break markets," Mr Sanders said. Earlier this month, Holiday Inn's parent group InterContinental Hotels announced that it will create around 3,000 hotel jobs across the UK over the next three years.

A £30 million Aberdeen hotel opened its doors to the public yesterday in the city centre. The 185-bedroom Park Inn in Justice Mill Lane, welcomed its first guests two years after the first turf was cut in the multimillion-pound iQ office and hotel development at the site. The six-storey venue, part of international hotel group Rezidor, features eight meeting rooms and a gym as well as RBG, a restaurant and bar and has created 50 new hospitality jobs. General manager David Allan said the hotel’s focus on “true Scottish hospitality” would set it apart from others in the city. He said: “We have a fantastic location in the city centre. “We believe the hotel will be a real asset to the city and a major contributor to the local community.” More than 300 people from all over the world applied for the 50 positions on offer at the hotel. Mr Allan said: “I’m confident we have first-class staff to match what I’m confident will be a first-class hotel.” First Minister Alex Salmond, who cut the first turf on the development, said: “The hotel has not only created 50 jobs but will be a major contributor to the local economy. “This opening is a clear demonstration that, in spite of very challenging times facing the sector, Scotland's tourism businesses continue to play an important role in achieving sustainable economic development.”

Up to 20 more tour operators will go bust this year according to business rescue and restructuring service Begbies Traynor.  The company, which has been appointed as administrators of Goldtrail, predicts the effects of public sector cuts will worsen consumer confidence adding to the toll of 13 failures already this year.  Partner Nick Hood told The Express: “We will see a significant number of additions to the list as we progress into the autumn.  “If the figures for bookings for winter 2010 and for spring-summer 2011 soften, as I expect, I put the number of additional failures this year between 10 and 20.  “Tour operators are among the discretionary spending-reliant sectors most exposed to the recent slump in consumer confidence, which can only worsen as public sector cuts bite. The prospects look seriously clouded, with further failures an inevitability.”  He added that Banks, suppliers and hoteliers will be asking themselves whether they can support low budget operators through lean times. Source : Travelmole

The US government is planning to further ease restrictions on Americans travelling to Cuba, which has been subjected to US sanctions since Kennedy's presidency. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the announcement could be made as early as next week but no final decision has been made yet. The government last year relaxed a travel ban to allow Cuban-Americans with relatives on the island to make visits. The new move would open the way for "people-to-people" diplomacy by making it easier for students, academics, religious organisations, cultural groups, sports teams and others to make visits. Americans seeking to travel to Cuba at present face tough penalties, with the treasury prosecuting anyone spending dollars in the country, which effectively amounts to a travel ban. Special permission is required to make a trip. The White House declined to confirm or deny the news. Mike Hammer, a national security council spokesman, said: "We will continue to pursue policies that advance the US national interest and support the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their country's future." The environment for rapprochement has been helped by the Cuban government's decision to release political prisoners. Three more Cuban dissidents arrived in Madrid today after being released. The Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, predicted last month that the release of all political prisoners would lead to the eventual lifting of the US embargo on Cuba. Links with Cuba have long been held up because of vociferous lobbying by Cuban exiles in and around Miami, but there is less hostility on the part of the younger generation of Cuban exiles. Anya Landau French, director of the US-Cuba policy initiative at the New America Foundation thinktank, believes the changes are imminent and favours a lifting of the travel ban. "It's hard to judge how positive a change this signals until we have a chance to see its scope. If it's narrow, that shows that this administration is still playing it too safe on Cuba, a low-risk, low-hanging fruit in foreign policy terms." She hopes that the changes will be broader. The changes could see people such as academic researchers, at present only allowed short visits, being allowed to stay on the island for two years. More flights – at present restricted to Los Angeles, New York and Miami – are also envisaged. Obama can make changes to the categories allowed to travel but a total lifting of the ban can only be done by Congress.

As you sift through your endless emails and plan that next meeting, just think, you could be earning a crust by tagging sharks or catching koalas.

Australia is advertising some unusual jobs in a bid to tempt bored Britons Down Under for the ultimate working holiday.

The nation that created 'best job in the world' looking after Hamilton Island while we were all languishing in the depths of recession, has come up with a whole host of other job vacancies with some unusual colleagues.

Just as talk of a double dip recession emerges, our Aussie cousins have stepped in, offering the chance to trade in the daily grind for koala catching, shark tagging and even beer tasting.

The jobs are being promoted by the South Australian government in an attempt to lure young British workers to its shores.

Officials hope the examples of employment available in Australia will convince workers that a life on the other side of the world is more exciting than being chained to the keyboard in the UK.

The marketing drive paints life here as one where the population lives a grim existence weighed down by long hours and high taxes.

In contrast it says life in South Australia provides the ‘ultimate work-life balance’. Other jobs on offer include a ‘Penguin home re-modeller’.

Staff are needed to protect the habitat of fairy penguins on Kangaroo Island near Adelaide. ‘Shark personality profilers’ are also wanted in Port Lincoln, who will survey-the shark population. Koala catchers will help control the animal population around Adelaide. None of the jobs require previous experience.

Australian agent general in the UK Bill Muirhead said: ‘This isn’t about one job that everyone has to compete for, but rather about showing people that South Australia offers more exciting work and travel options than anywhere else in the world.’

Officials hope to tempt 18 to 30-year-olds to go to Australia on a working holiday visa to get the jobs.The campaign comes after the Briton Ben Southall won the 'best job in the world' to become caretaker of Queensland's exotic Hamilton Island.

The Queensland tourist board posted the job in Jaunary 2009 to raise its profile around the world. But little did it know that during the depths of the recession, the job advert would inspire more than 34,000 applications.

The holiday plans of 70,000 Britons were in chaos last night after another UK holiday firm went bust. Kiss Flights, a budget airline which operated services to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Islands, suddenly ceased trading at 5pm. The Civil Aviation Authority said the tens of thousands of tourists who are stranded abroad will be given alternative flights home. It added the majority of the estimated 70,000 people who have holiday flights booked next month will receive full refunds. The nightmare comes after the collapse of Goldtrail and Freedom Direct Holidays earlier this year left thousands more travel plans in tatters. A caa spokesman said: "We are picking up the pieces. People abroad will be fine. We will make sure that everyone will be able to come back from their holidays." It said those holidaymakers whose forthcoming trips have been ruined will receive refunds if they are registered with the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing organisation. London-based Flight Options, which bought Kiss Flights last January, announced its collapse on its website. An estimated 50,000 people had to rearrange travel plans when Goldtrail, which specialised in holidays to Greece and Turkey, collapsed last month. A further 16,000 had to get alternative flights home. Newcastle -based Freedom Direct Holidays, which specialised in trips to the Mediterranean, Turkey and the Canary Islands, went bust in April. Ten thousand people had advance bookings when it collapsed.

The deal which averted strikes by thousands of Airport workers includes a 2 per cent pay rise and a lump sum of £500, according to the union Unite.

Unite said the offer by BAA was double the original deal proposed by the airport operator, which was rejected last week, raising the threat of travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers.

Firefighters, airport security security staff and other workers at Heathrow, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports will now be urged to accept the new deal in a ballot over the next three weeks. Unite said the new offer, tabled by BAA during lengthy talks at the conciliation service Acas on Monday, would now set the standard for pay deals in the aviation industry. The offer includes a 2 per cent increase on basic pay and allowances from January 2010, arrangements for payment of shift pay during periods of sickness to remain unchanged, and a lump sum of £500, with £200 paid next month and the remainder next March. Unite said the lump sum could reach £900 if performance targets are met National officers Brian Boyd and Brendan Gold said: "This offer is double what BAA had originally offered with no strings attached. Plus it comes with a guaranteed lump sum of £500. The negotiations were tough but Unite has delivered a fair offer for BAA staff. "The game is up for employers in the aviation industry. With the recession receding in the industry, Unite now expects BAA's pay offer to set the standard." Source : ITN

More than 100 workers on Portsmouth's axed Bilbao ferry service have been told they will be found other jobs. The Pride of Bilbao, P&O's only remaining ship operating from Portsmouth, is due to leave harbour for the last time on September 28. Its looming departure had left a question mark over the hundreds of jobs on the ship. But after talks with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, P&O said just seven permanent staff would be made redundant, with the remaining 114 moved to other ships. In order to keep their jobs, they are likely to have to travel to ships in P&O's hubs of Hull and Dover. But although the company is finding posts for 114 staff which it employs directly, 208 agency staff on board look set to lose their jobs once the vessel is handed back to owner Irish Ferries at the end of next month.

Almost a week after travel firm, Sun4U, collapsed leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded abroad, industry experts have warned more tour operators may follow suit, resulting in more travel job losses. Sun4U announced it was bankrupt last Wednesday leaving more than 1,000 holidaymakers stuck in Spain - some having to pay out more cash for their accommodation. The travel company had been operating for just six years and had a total of 92 employees. Chris Gray, from the Trade Travel Gazette, said the travel industry had suffered from the lack of bookings made for this summer and the general downturn in trade over the past two years. “There has been a significant reduction in the number of holidays booked abroad this year. “Companies tend to fail after the summer towards the autumn but there have already been two bankruptcies during this years’ peak holiday time. The fear in the industry is that there is more to come.” This could spell significant travel jobs uncertainty within the travel industry. The collapse of Sun4U came less than a month after Surrey-based Goldtrail Travel called in the administrators and nine months after the demise of Scottish package-holiday provider and airline Globespan. In 2007, XL, who also had a fleet of airlines, declared it was bankrupt.