Duncan Bannatyne, the Dragons’ Den panellist, is to spearhead a campaign against the “despicable and cowardly” TripAdvisor website after it refused to remove a review comparing one of his hotels to Fawlty Towers, reports the Telegraph.

The Glaswegian entrepreneur said the internet giant was risking the livelihoods of dozens of hoteliers and restaurateurs thanks to its policy of publishing all reviews it receives.

He said he is considering suing the site over what he claims is a “dishonest” review published about one of his hotels and accused the internet giant of trying to “bully” him into silence using threatening letters. Mr Bannatyne said the US-based internet website should commit to removing fraudulent or defamatory reviews, rather than its current practice of just offering right of reply.

TripAdvisor claims to be the world’s biggest travel site, with 35 million reviews, all written by consumers, on its pages. It is increasingly influential, with many travellers using the site before choosing their holiday destination.

Last year hundreds of hoteliers and restaurateurs last year threatened to bring legal action against the company over claims some of the reviews are defamatory, untrue and occasionally fake.

Read the full original story.
Apply for IT jobs in travel.

A hotel made entirely of rubbish has opened in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

The walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are covered with detritus deposited by the tide in Europe, waste found at dumps and items bought at flea markets.

German artist Ha Schult built the five-bedroom hotel in the central Plaza de Callao as part of the city's hosting of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur).

Schult said he hoped to draw attention to the massive amount of waste generated by mass tourism in Europe.

"I created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump," he told the AFP news agency.

About 30% to 40% of the objects found in the temporary guesthouse were found on beaches in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Rose Piqueras, a spokeswoman for the project, said the aim was to show something contrasting with the pictures painted by the tourism industry.

"We wanted to show what our holidays could become if we don't clean our beaches," she said, adding that the beaches of southern Italy were worst.

See the original article.

Heavy snow has returned to European ski resorts, after a prolonged dry spell left many without fresh snow since Christmas, reports the Telegraph.

The snowstorms arrived this week, with the Italian resorts of Chiesa and Courmayeur seeing the heaviest falls – 70cm and 35cm respectively. Serre Chevalier had 50cm and La Grave 35cm.

However, snowfall in Austrian resorts, where conditions have been unseasonally warm for more than a fortnight, has been more varied: St Anton and Ischgl had just 5cm of fresh snow this week, while Ellmau and Söll have reported no significant falls since late December.

A spokesman for the Ski Club of Great Britain said: "Most European resorts are faring really well after heavy early-season snowfalls laid down an excellent base for the season. Some lower-lying resorts, particularly in Austria, have been experiencing some mild weather, so the best conditions remain at higher altitudes."

Conditions in Europe are in marked contrast to those in North America. Whistler, in Canada, currently has 241cm on its upper and lower slopes, with a further 49cm forecast, while the US resort of Jackson Hole has 185cm on its upper slopes and is expecting another 48cm soon.

See the original article.

Argentine farmers have halted sales of grain in a seven-day strike against government export limits.

The farmers say export quotas are stopping them taking advantage of high global demand and keeping domestic prices artificially low.

Argentina is one of the world's biggest grain exporters, and similar protests three years ago helped push global food prices to record highs.

But this strike is largely symbolic, as this year's harvest has not yet begun.

The farmers insist that withholding their crops for seven days will not cause shortages of bread in Argentina's cities, as mills have had plenty of warning and time to stock up.

Food price fears
Exports of wheat, maize and soy are not expected to be immediately affected.

But analysts say the protest, on top of hot, dry conditions in Argentina, will fuel fears that global food prices may be pushed higher.

The Argentine agricultural minister, Julian Dominguez, condemned the strike, but said he recognised that grain farmers were "not earning what they should be earning" for their crops.

The protest is a revival of a long-running dispute between farmers and the government of President Cristina Fernandez over agricultural policy.

The government says export quotas help keep inflation low and guarantee domestic food supplies.

But farmers' unions say the measure mainly benefits international commodity traders, and that Argentina is losing its global market share.

"We must improve and normalise grains trade in Argentina, especially for wheat and corn," said Eduardo Buzzi of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, one of four farmers' groups leading the protest.

See the original article.

Fear of a pirate attack saw guests aboard the Spirit of Adventure ordered to take shelter below deck as a speed boat carrying men suspected to be pirates drew up alongside the cruise liner, reports the Telegraph.

The incident took place as the vessel, which is operated by a sister company of Saga, travelled from Madagascar to Zanzibar.

Susie Browne, 73, from Enford, Wilts said: "It was a really terrifying ordeal. We were eating dinner and then ordered below deck with our heads bowed. The captain sped up and tried to outrun the pirates.

"Three days ago we had been given a lecture on what to do if a pirate ship bears down on us." Passengers were having a black tie dinner when a code word was issued to staff over the tannoy and they were moved to a lounge.

The ship, carrying 350 passengers, was able to outpace the pirates and dinner was resumed. Naval authorities were alerted.

Read the complete article.
View cruise jobs.

If you are looking for a holiday destination in Britain, you have probably considered Scotland, and if your thoughts ventured elsewhere, you may want to read on before making a decision. Scotland's Highlands have ranked in top 20 holiday destinations in the world, according to the UK Press Association.

The Scottish Highlands have been named as one of the top 20 places in the world to go for a holiday. Travel magazine National Geographic picked the Highlands alongside destinations such as the Caribbean and Alaska as one of its 20 Best Trips of 2011.

Editors of the National Geographic Traveller, an affiliated title, encouraged readers to hike in Leanachan Forest, kayak on Loch Insh and experience skiing at the Nevis Range. The magazine also singled out a traditional Highland Games as a must-see activity.

See the original article.
Apply for travel jobs in Scotland.

Specialist regional airline Flybe has reported £5.7m ($8.9m) annual profits for the year ending March 2010. The results mean that the UK firm stayed in profit throughout the recession, having just broken even with £0.1m the previous year. However, underlying profits - which ignore exceptional gains and losses - fell from £12.8m to £6.8m, despite passenger numbers remaining unchanged. The privately-owned Exeter-based firm is the UK's biggest domestic carrier. Flybe's chairman, Jim French, claimed that it was "one of only three major European airlines that have reported profits throughout the recession".
» Read more: Flybe reports continued profits despite recession

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

Travelzest has unveiled plans to open an online store and call centre in the UK. The group, which announced its interim results for the six months to April 30 today, said that the call centre would open in Cheltenham before the end of the current financial year. It is also launching new marketing and distribution strategies to complete the "restructuring and integration" of its UK and North American operations. The group reported revenue up 9% to £18.9 million in the six months, with profit before tax up 142% to £1.4 million. It said trading in the UK operations continue to improve. “As of 30 April 2010, merchant operations bookings for summer 2010 departures were up 14% year on year with Best of Morocco, Tapestry Collection, and Faraway Holidays providing the majority of growth,” said the interim report. Browse our latest call centre jobs Source : Travelmole