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Luxury hotels in Palm Beach, on Florida’s southeast coast, have been the winter destination for wealthy retirees and snowbirds for decades. It is quite a surprise to find it was recently voted “Best Summer Holiday Spot 2011-12” by the US News and World Report. After all, by April most winter visitors have fled the city before the summer heat and humidity hit.

Assessed by both travel professionals and users, the destination also ranked high as “Best US Luxury Destination” with its chic designer shops and luxury lifestyle.

Palm Beach did particularly well in the report as it offered enticing Road Trip Packages, Special Hotel Rates (it is the down season, after all), free gas cards, extra nights and room upgrades which all add up to a very tempting package. What’s more, the area has 47 gorgeous sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast, more than 200 luxury and boutique hotels and resorts, great golf, vibrant downtown areas, world-class dining and luxury spas. There’s plenty to do in the area which hosts an ongoing program of festivals, cultural and sporting events in the city during the summer.

Palm Beach Visitors Bureau continues to work hard at attracting couples, snowbirds and families. After all, tourism brings an estimated $2.8 billion in revenue into the local economy each year.

by Gillian

The way New York cab drivers look and dress has been the subject of recent debate.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) is proposing adjustments to language on the rules about a driver’s demeanour. The current wording requires drivers to look ‘clean and neat’. The proposed change would add that they should have ‘a professional appearance’.

The agency is pushing to eliminate language that prohibits specific clothing including tank tops, underwear as outerwear, swimwear or cut-off shorts. The TLC says these references are dated and unnecessary.

“Drivers are ambassadors of the city, for tourists, for New Yorkers, as well,” said TLC Chairman, David Yassky. “But particularly you think of tourists coming to the city, getting into a cab and wanting to be greeted in a professional way.”

One New Yorker commented: “As long as the cab’s clean and safe, I’m fine with how they dress. They’re sitting in their cars all day. They should be comfortable. [It’s fine] as long as they’re pleasant and courteous.” The TLC will vote on the matter in January.

A handful of New York City cab drivers are to add an extra item of clothing to their wardrobes – bullet-proof vests. In a pilot scheme, a dozen or so cabbies will wear the extra protection in tough areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can help you book some classic luxury hotels in New York City – at the best possible rates.

Stonehenge, the prehistoric stone circle in south-west England, has been given a £10 million ($16 million) grant towards providing a new visitor centre.

The money has come from proceeds from the National Lottery that are earmarked for heritage purposes.

Lady Andrews, the Chairwoman of English Heritage, which manages the site, said it was very grateful for the generous grant. “Not only does it help to narrow the funding gap for the project considerably, it also sends out a message of confidence about the benefits that the project will bring – to tourism, the local economy and the conservation and public enjoyment of Stonehenge and its landscape.”

The proposed centre would consist of a pair of single-storey areas of glass and timber about a mile-and-a-half (2.4 km) west of the stones. It would include exhibition and education facilities, a cafe, shop and toilets.

Stonehenge, constructed between 3,000 BC and 1,600 BC, and thought to have been used for a variety of religious ceremonies, is a World Heritage site. It attracts about 900,000 tourists a year, 70 per cent of whom come from abroad. However, visitors have long expressed disappointment – and sometimes astonishment – at the state of facilities there.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers a variety of luxury hotels in south-west England as well as in many other parts of the UK.

Tourism bosses in Australia are hoping the ‘Oprah Effect’ will help to revitalise the industry.

Oprah Winfrey is there with her entourage to record some shows in front of the iconic Sydney Opera House. As well as presenting Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure, the queen of US TV will also be flown around the country to do a series of travelogues.

Tourism Australia’s Managing Director, Andrew McEvoy, told the federal senate recently that Oprah’s core audience demographic of middle-income women aged 25-54 was right at the heart of the people that Australia wanted to influence. “They are the decision makers in travel and tourism,” he said.

Justin Wastnage, a writer on Travel Weekly, says visitor interest in Australia is high in the United States, frequently topping wish-list destinations, yet successive advertising campaigns have failed to shift Americans from thinkers to doers.

The advertising guru Todd Sampson reckons Winfrey to be the most effective brand endorser in the world, but Mr McEvoy sounded a warning that she was not the ‘silver bullet’ for Australian tourism. “The quality and appeal of the Australian product and people’s ability to fly here easily and affordably will determine success in the next decade,” he said.

by Andy Moreton

Australia is one of the ‘must-see’ places in the world, and Luxique has a selection of luxury hotels in Sydney and all the other major cities.

The French have had to concede that London offers a better experience for tourists than Paris.

The Paris-Il-de-France Regional Tourism Committee commissioned a survey to explore ways to boost international visitors. To the surprise of many, London was placed ahead of five other European cities, including Paris, Rome and Berlin.

The report found that tourists liked London better than other cities for its taxis, restaurants and landmarks, including Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye.

The city was given an impressive score of 82 out of 100 for the welcome it offered visitors from abroad. Paris – officially the world’s most popular tourist destination in terms of number of visitors – tied in second place on 79 with Amsterdam.

So what’s so wrong with Paris? Well, public transport is considered poor, with tickets difficult to buy and the Metro looking increasingly old and dirty.

Paris hotels – which have shot up in price in the decade or so since the introduction of the euro – were also found wanting, with a total mark of 74 per cent, compared with 89 per cent for London.

One fault that was found with Londoners was that so few were able to speak a foreign language.

by Andy Moreton

Paris or London? Do both! Luxique can direct you to the best luxury hotels in Paris and London – and at the best available rates.

Tourist chiefs in the UK have been rubbing their hands with glee at the announcement of a royal wedding next year.

VisitEngland Chief Executive, James Berresford, said that with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics following in 2012, the tourism industry had a tremendous opportunity to attract many extra overseas tourists.

“I’m absolutely thrilled for [Prince] William and Kate [Middleton, his fiancée], and thrilled for tourism as well,” he said. “The wedding next year will mean that once again the eyes of the world will be turned to our nation. We will have a wonderful opportunity to showcase all that is best about the country.”

Last week, the Office for National Statistics announced that the number of visits made to the UK by overseas residents in the first nine months of this year totalled 22.48 million – a 2% dip on the 2009 total.

by Andy Moreton

Whatever the occasion, whatever the weather, London remains a must-see city. Take a look at Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in London.

Russia is making a determined pitch to become a major tourist destination by 2016.

Despite being home to some great attractions – from Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow to the famed Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg – Russia has struggled to attract visitors.

It suffers from having some of the most expensive hotels in the world, an inadequate tourism infrastructure, and a reputation for surly service and bureaucracy.

“We are going to do everything possible to make foreign visitors feel comfortable in Russia,” the Deputy Minister for Tourism and Sport, Nadezhda Nazina, told Agence France Presse.

She said the Russian government would soon be considering a 352 billion ruble (£7.2 billion/$11.5 billion) plan to improve infrastructure and launch a major advertising campaign.

Russia attracted only 2.3 million foreign visitors last year, according to the federal tourism agency, placing it far below the top destinations for international tourists. The top two, France and the United States, attracted 74 million and 55 million visitors respectively in 2009, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

The Russians are looking to attract up to 40 million tourists annually within five years, but Maya Lomidze, the Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, said she didn’t think this was feasible.

“Too many conditions would have to be met for this plan to be realised. The main necessity is that we have hotels at affordable prices. Russia is a very expensive country,” she said.

by Andy Moreton

Moscow is notoriously expensive, but Luxique will get you the best rates possible at the Baltschug Kempinski or the Golden Apple Boutique.

The gondoliers of Venice are in the news again – this time fearing that the centuries-old tradition of crafting the boats in wood is threatened by plans to produce plastic versions.

The gondoliers’ association says it takes months to make an authentic gondola and has described plans by a shipyard in Brindisi to start producing plastic and fibreglass replicas as ‘outrageous’.

Each boat is traditionally made by hand, using eight different types of wood, and costs about £20,000. “Safeguarding the tradition of the gondola, of the materials used to build it, are fundamental,” said Aldo Reato of the association.

Venice intends to apply for the wooden gondolas to be given World Heritage status as part of the list of ‘intangible cultural heritage’. The city’s carnival will also be put forward.

A listing would not stop a private company from manufacturing plastic gondolas, but traditional makers would be able to add a stamp of authenticity to their boats.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique’s travel experts have carefully selected the finest luxury hotels in Venice to make your vacation truly unforgettable.

In the 1980s, one of the most popular TV commercials in the UK was for an ice cream cone. A young couple were serenaded in Venice by a gondolier singing ‘Just One Cornetto’ to the tune of O Sole Mio.

This tune has since become something of a staple request for tourists from Britain who take a gondola ride, but this is not music to the ears of one Venice City councillor, Alberto Mazzonetto.

The problem for the councillor is that the song, written in 1898, is ¬– horror of horrors – from Naples, not Venice. “It’s an insult to our heritage and a real punch to the stomach to have Venetian gondoliers singing songs from southern Italy,” said Mr Mazzonetto, who represents an ultra-nationalist party.

“This is detrimental to tourists as it presents a distorted image of the city of Venice as some kind of new Disneyland, which has little to do with the place,” he added. Mr Mazzonetto wants the Gondola authority to tell its members to sing more Venetian songs.

The President of the Association of Venice Gondola Rowers, Aldo Reato, replied: “We try to open and close the gondola ride with a Venetian song but the problem is tourists only know O Sole Mio.”

As a romantic ride along the picturesque canals can cost as much as £100 for half an hour, I reckon tourists should get whatever song they ask for.

by Andy Moreton

You’ll be singing for joy when you discover Luxique’s selection of exquisite luxury hotels in Venice. All the top names are there.

The Mayor of Lisbon says he wants to introduce a tourist tax for all foreign visitors.

The idea is for holidaymakers arriving in the Portuguese capital by plane, boat or train to pay a 1 euro (87p/$1.37) charge per person just to enter the city.

In addition, hotel guests would be asked to pay an extra 1.90 euro (£1.65/$2.62) for every night they spend in the capital. Backpackers and students staying in hostel accommodation would be charged a lesser rate of 20 cents (17p/28 cents) a night.

If implemented, the controversial scheme would generate 13 million euros (£11 million/$18 million), and the Mayor, Antonio Costa, said all the money would be re-invested into the tourist industry.

But there are fears among hotel owners that the increased costs will put visitors off. Ruy Cupido, from Portugal’s Association of Hoteliers, said: “We have already had to cope with a rise in VAT (Value Added Tax) of one per cent this year and another hike in the price of a room is not going to send the right message.”

by Andy Moreton

The Portuguese capital has been nominated in a number of categories in the World Travel Awards 2010, including the prestigious ‘World’s Best Destination’. Luxique offers a choice of 16 luxury hotels in Lisbon, including one of the leading hotels in Europe, the fabulous Lapa Palace.