Paradise Beach: Enjoy rum, monkeys and tropical luxury on the twin islands of St Kitts and Nevis January 16, 2017 French settlers brought their pet monkeys to the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis in the 17th century. Soon after they promptly escaped and began multiplying (the monkeys, not the French), wreaking simian havoc wherever they went. The marauding apes now outnumber humans and routinely devastate crops in dawn raids, munching their way through [...]
St Helena airport costing £285m can’t open because it’s too windy June 9, 2016 The South Atlantic island of St Helena is one of the hardest-to-reach locations in the world; it takes a five-and-a-half day voyage on the RMS Saint Helena. So naturally, there was a lot of excitement in town when it was decided an airport was going to be built. That's been met with the same frustration [...]
Burberry set to score a Brexit win on the weaker pound July 10, 2016 Luxury clothing brand Burberry is expected to announce better-than-expected results this week due to the fall of sterling since the Brexit vote. Analysts expect the FTSE 100 fashion brand to report a five per cent fall in like-for-like sales on Wednesday, but have adjusted profits estimates due to a weaker pound. On the day before the [...]
Ugo Monye: I know how exhausting the 10 match Lions tour of New Zealand will be for players — but none will turn down the chance to go September 20, 2016 Former British and Irish Lions tourist Ugo Monye insists the pride will overwhelm the pain for players selected in Warren Gatland’s squad for next summer’s gruelling tour of New Zealand. Leading figures of the club game have warned that the month-long trip will take its toll on players’ bodies and lead to injuries in the [...]
Why the economic picture tends to be rosier than the initial estimates suggest August 2, 2016 One of the surprises of last week was the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate of economic growth in the second quarter of 2016, the period from April to the end of June. In the run up to Brexit, the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent on the first quarter of the year. This was [...]
Brexit threatens London’s world beating tourism industry: Don’t let the capital become a museum May 24, 2016 Tourism is one of our biggest exports – and London is the most-visited city on earth. But the industry is worried that this world-beating ranking could be at risk if Britain cuts itself off from Europe. In fact, Europe is our biggest tourist market, with more than 60 per cent of visitors to the UK [...]
Forging closer ties with booming India will unlock vast opportunities for Britain August 15, 2016 On the eve of Indian independence on 15 August, 1947 (whose anniversary was celebrated yesterday), the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said that “the achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us.” India’s independence was not even 70 years ago, yet the [...]
Merlin Entertainment’s share price loses its magic despite revenues rising July 28, 2016 Merlin Entertainment's share price dipped today despite the world's second largest tourist attraction operator posting a rise in revenue. The figures Revenue at the Thorpe Park and Alton Towers operator grew 5.3 per cent to £573m in the 26 weeks ended 25 June, up from £544m in the same period of 2015. Visitor growth rose [...]
The Netherlands is the most lucrative buy-to-let property hotspot in the EU according to study from World First UK May 16, 2016 You might have thought it would be somewhere coastal on the Mediterranean, or a country better-known for its second home culture such as Italy or France. But the most lucrative buy-to-let market in the European Union turns out to be the modest, not-so-hilly, tulip-saturated Netherlands. With the EU's highest rental yield rate in April, at [...]
UK retailers hit by drop in Chinese shoppers April 20, 2016 UK retailers are suffering as new European visa rules deter Chinese shoppers. Global Blue, the tax-free shopping services company, said the number of Chinese shoppers in British stores slumped 30 per cent last month, leading to an overall decline of 21 per cent in the first three months of 2016. Read more: Online retail sales growth rate doubles [...]