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The beret was once the headgear of choice for any self-respecting Frenchman. It became almost a cartoon cliché.

Now, after years in decline, the beret is making a comeback, with manufacturers reporting a doubling in sales. One, Blancq-Olibet, based in south-west France, faced closure less than a decade ago, but is now making 300,000 berets a year.

And it’s the young who seem to be embracing them as a ‘new’ fashion trend. Bernard Fargues, the chairman of another company, Béatex, said the buyers were mostly those dubbed bobos or the bourgeois-bohème (yuppies). “They’re buying berets as a sign of authenticity and a link to rural France, where their grandparents probably lived and worked,” he said.

French style commentator Patricia Jourdain thought that as well as French pride, it might also be a backlash against an increasingly Americanised world: “The beret is as far removed as the baseball cap and other manifestations of US culture as you can get,” she said.

Ms Jourdain said that rather than being worn solely by country people or intellectuals as in the past, the beret was now an extremely chic fashion item. Many models had worn them at Paris Fashion Week.

by Andy Moreton

Check out Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Paris and throughout France. C’est magnifique!

The global recession is having a severe effect on the Caribbean region - five countries are reporting double-digit drops in tourist visits.

Statistics released last week by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) show Anguilla taking the biggest hit, with a decline of 18.8 per cent in the early months of 2009.

Visits are down in all twelve reporting nations and territories except Jamaica, Cuba and Mexico’s Cancun region. Tourist traffic fell 14.3 per cent in Antigua, 13.7 per cent in St Lucia, 11.6 per cent in Montserrat and 11.3 per cent in the Cayman Islands.

Winfield Griffith, acting Director of Research at the CTO, said the steep declines in the first quarter were the worst since the tourism slump that followed the Sept. 11th attacks in 2001. “The point at which it will hit bottom is not clear,” said Mr Griffith.

He said the small islands were finding it hardest, partly because airlines have started removing flights to save money.

There’s also been a decline in arrivals of cruise ship passengers, although these have considerably less economic impact because they don’t involve overnight stays on the islands.

by Andy Moreton

Now might be the time to get a top deal in the West Indies. Luxique has a wide selection of luxury Caribbean hotels at the best possible rates.

The most popular tourist attraction in China, the Great Wall, is even greater than previously thought. A two-year government mapping study has uncovered ‘new’ sections covering hundreds of miles.

Using infra-red range finders and GPS devices, experts discovered parts of the wall concealed by hills, trenches and rivers stretching from Hushan in Liaoning province in the north to Jiayu Pass in Gansu province in the west.

The official China Daily newspaper said the newly-mapped parts of the wall had been built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to protect China against northern invaders and had been submerged over time by sandstorms that moved across the region.

Recent studies by Chinese archaeologists have shown that these sandstorms are reducing sections of the wall in Gansu to ‘mounds of dirt’ and that they may disappear entirely in 20 years. The studies mainly blame the erosion on destructive farming methods used in the 1950s that turned large areas of northern China into desert.

In recent years, China has begun restoring parts of the wall as well as trying to curb commercial development on or next to the ancient structure.

The Chinese say: ‘If you haven’t climbed the Great Wall, you haven’t been to China.’ The sections around the Chinese capital, restored since the Communist Party took power in 1949, draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

But tourist encroachment has also been a problem, with state media saying that around Badaling, near Beijing, almost every brick on a popular section of the wall has been carved with people’s names or other graffiti.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers an unrivalled selection of luxury hotels in Beijing, boutique hotels Shanghai and other parts of China.

Would-be travellers to Mexico have been anxiously contacting tour operators about whether they should cancel their holidays in view of the swine flu outbreak.

It’s thought that up to a hundred people may have died in the outbreak in Mexico. Cases have also been found in Canada, the United States and, on Monday, in Spain.

President Obama described the situation as “obviously a cause for concern that requires a heightened state of alert”, but added, “it is not a cause for alarm.”

Those who decide to continue with their travel plans are advised to steer clear of large crowds and to avoid shaking hands and using the subway. Holidaymakers arriving in London on flights from Mexico have been met by health officials and asked if they’d suffered any symptoms.

At the Mexico Tourist Board in London, Lupita Ayala said: “What we’ve told callers is that Mexico City, where this outbreak is, is a long way from Cancun [where many holidaymakers head]. People don’t realise the geography of the place. They don’t realise how great the distances involved are, and they’re reassured by that.”

The World Health Organisation has so far maintained that travel and trade restrictions are not necessary.

Mexico usually has about 20 million visitors a year, but the tourism industry was already suffering before this latest set-back. The world-wide recession and the much-publicised escalation of the war on drugs barons has resulted in a down-turn.

by Andy Moreton

Tourists in New York City will find public transport a little bit more expensive from the end of May.

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) says fares on the subway will rise by 25 percent and services will be cut as part of a new budget.

Single tickets on buses and subway trains will cost $2.50 (£1.70), up from $2. However, this still makes NYC transport competitively priced when compared to London and Paris.

The MTA said the increases, along with the elimination of some subway and bus routes, were needed to plug a $1.2 billion (£800 million) budget gap.

The most economical way for tourists to travel around New York City is to buy a pass for a specific period (1 day, 7 days etc), which works out much cheaper. Some passes combine travel with entry to specific sights. And for top luxury hotels in New York at great rates, click on Luxique’s unrivalled selection.

by Andy Moreton

One of the most famous hotels in the world – Raffles in Singapore – is reported to be up for sale.

Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia is apparently seeking a buyer for the holding company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in spite of the depressed state of the property market. The asking price is quoted as anything between $450 million (£309 million) and $670 million (£460 million).

The Prince is a multi-billionaire and 22nd on the Forbes Magazine rich list, but like so many others, he’s been hit hard by the credit crunch. Said one commentator: “He’s down to his last $13 billion (£9 billion).”

Industry sources say the Prince is also looking for a buyer for one of London’s most famous hotels, the Savoy. The price for that could be more than $290 million (£200 million).

The Raffles hotel is a reminder of British colonial times in Singapore. Its clientele have included the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the writers Rudyard Kipling, Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham and the actresses Liz Taylor and Ava Gardner.

There are many stories about Raffles. In 1902, a circus tiger escaped and took refuge in the hotel’s billiards room before being shot by a local hunter. And Raffles will be forever associated with the Singapore Sling, a gin-based cocktail that was invented in the hotel’s Long Bar shortly before the First World War.

by Andy Moreton

Raffles Hotel, which consistently wins top travel industry awards, is bookable through Luxique at the best rates available as well as several other award winning luxury hotels in Singapore.

Dubai, which has already snapped up arguably the world’s most famous cruise ship, the QE2 (see past articles – “Full Steam Ahead For QE2” and “Dubai’s Floating Phenomena”), is now bidding for an icon of the skies - the supersonic Anglo-French Concorde.

Forty years after the British version of the graceful delta-winged aircraft took off on its maiden 22-minute flight, it’s reported that a Dubai-based consortium wants to turn one of the planes into a tourist attraction, possibly on one of the country’s man-made palm-shaped islands.

British Airways grounded its seven-strong Concorde fleet six years ago and gave six to museums. But it kept one, Alpha Bravo, which is now hidden away behind the airline’s engineering base at Heathrow Airport.

By contrast, an Air France Concorde stands proudly on a plinth outside the airline’s headquarters at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Another is preserved at the Paris Air and Space Museum by former engineers who regularly run the electronic and hydraulic systems. A report at the beginning of the month that one of the French models would fly again was revealed later as an April Fool’s hoax.

It’s BA’s Alpha Bravo that is the reported subject for negotiation, but the wings would have to be sliced off before it could be loaded on to a ship for Dubai. Concorde devotees (and there are many), are not happy on either count. Ben Lord, of the Save Concorde Group, said: “Sending it to Dubai would be a kick in the teeth for Britain’s aviation heritage. Chopping off its wings and putting it on a ship would be the final insult.”

A source close to the Dubai consortium told the Times newspaper in London that it would spend several million pounds restoring the aircraft’s interior, much of which was removed and used as spares on other Concordes.

by Andy Moreton

Whether you’re looking for a boutique hotels in London or luxury hotels in Dubai, Luxique can help you every step of the way.

Monaco – with its tax haven status – has always been a playground for the rich and famous.

But it’s not content. Recession or no recession, the little principality in south-western Europe wants more of what it calls URIs (that’s Ultra Rich Individuals) to come to its luxurious shores.

Monaco’s network of 100 honorary consuls dotted around the world have been set the task of identifying some extremely wealthy people, particularly in developing economies such as India, Brazil and Russia.

The guests will then be invited to enjoy ‘Monaco Private Label,’ a bespoke holiday of private shopping tours around luxury boutiques with helicopters to whisk them to the Alps or to a yacht in the Mediterranean. They’d also get access to three-Michelin-star restaurants and the world’s biggest private wine cellar of 600,000 bottles.

Four tax havens were named and shamed at the recent G20 meeting in London, but Monaco wasn’t among them. Instead, it was put on a list of countries that have committed to, but not yet implemented, international standards of financial transparency.

Monaco has a total of 35,000 residents, but a reported 350,000 bank accounts containing total deposits of more than £80bn ($118 billion).

Matti Kohonen, of the Tax Justice Network, says only an end to banking secrecy will do. “It’s a tax haven because lots of outsiders place their money in Monaco, pay no tax, and have banking secrecy which allows for investments there not to be discovered by foreign tax authorities,” he said.

by Andy Moreton, with Stephen Chittenden in Monte Carlo

You don’t have to be a URI to enjoy some leisure time in Monaco. Luxique offers great rates at six luxury Monte Carlo hotels, including the celebrated and magical Hotel de Paris. A great time to go might be for the Monaco Grand Prix through the weekend of May 22-24.

A leading US magazine has named Tokyo as the world’s hottest city for food lovers – for a second consecutive year.

Food and Wine singled out the Japanese capital for its cutting edge restaurants and superb ingredients. “Tokyo is the best food city hands down,” said the magazine’s travel editor, Jen Murphy. “That’s where chefs are going for innovations. They are so far ahead of us.”

The magazine said Japanese chefs were dictating the world’s dining trends with their fierce devotion to seasonality and respect for aesthetics.

Barcelona came in second, followed by Copenhagen, London and New York. Of Copenhagen, Food and Wine said: “The world’s foodies are fascinated by the city and its avant-garde chefs, who experiment with unconventional ingredients.”

One surprise was that Paris slipped out of the top list. “Right now, there’s no new excitement to the food scene there,” claimed Ms Murphy.

Also out is Food and Wine’s 2009 list of the top restaurants at hotels worldwide. It includes Celadon at the Sukhothai in Bangkok; Moo at Omm in Barcelona; NoMI at the Park Hyatt in Chicago; Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong; Le Meurice at Le Meurice in Paris and Mathias Dahlgren at the Grand in Stockholm. All these luxury hotels are bookable at the best rates through Luxique.

by Andy Moreton

The Seychelles – a popular up-market holiday spot off the east coast of Africa – has cancelled a luxury hotel development because it believes the land would be better used for food production.

Local residents – mainly dependent on food imports - complained about the arable land being sold to foreign investors and the government agreed to halt the negotiations.

The National Development Minister, Jacquelin Dugasse, said: “The proposed project will not go ahead and the land will remain state property. The feeling was that we should not stop agricultural development when food security is an issue.” He also promised to consult local people on any future projects.

The Director of Tourism, Alain St Ange, was not perturbed about the loss of a new and potentially lucrative luxury resort. He believed the land, currently home to the Agricultural Research Centre, should be developed into tropical fruit farms.

“We can’t give tourists imported apples for breakfast,” he said. “When they come here it’s nice to give them something local.”

by Andy Moreton

The 115 granite and coral islands of the Seychelles, located just south of the equator, have traditionally offered an idyllic destination for tourists drawn to its enviable climate and palm-fringed beaches and turquoise seas. Luxique offers the best available deal at the Banyan Tree in Mahe, which promises romance and rejuvenation.