The Future of UK aviation in the hands of Politicians

 

British Government Aviation Minister, Theresa Villiers, has re-iterated the government stance of a third runway at Heathrow stating it would have a "massive" impact on nearby resident's quality of life with the increase effect of over 220,000 more over London per year. 

Instead, "another solution" to south east England airport capacity was needed, Mrs Villiers said at a transport conference in London in April 2012. She acknowledge that Heathrow was near capacity as is and Gatwick fast approaching this.

However, this goes against evidence produced by Colin Matthews, CEO of BAA which owns Heathrow airport who argues that foreign airlines are moving away from the idea of the airport due to aircraft capacity constraints. This would have the effect of the UK losing out to rival European airports if Heathrow is not expanded. 

The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK) which produced the poll shows that 53% of scheduled airlines have either decided to, or are preparing to, base flights in other countries than the UK because of Heathrow's lack of capacity and 86% of airlines said they would put on more flights to the UK if additional take-off and landing slots were available at Heathrow.

The message is clear - no capacity at Heathrow then the airlines will move out of Britain - thus handing any economic growth to European competitors. Needless to say there would be no travel retail, duty free growth either which is critical revenue for the airport owners.
   

Britain - A World Class Destination

 

Foreign visitors to Great Britain last year spent a record £17.7bn, a figure that confirms Britain's place as a top world-class destination.

According to VisitBritain, the number of tourists coming to the UK for holiday purposes was also a record at just under 12 million. In 2011, 3.57 million visits were by North American residents - a five per cent increase on the figure for 2010.

"As we look back on a positive 2011 for both holiday visits and spending, we want to make sure we capitalise on these gains by helping boost jobs across the country and create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come,” said Patricia Yates, strategy and communications director at VisitBritain.

'We are encouraged that...the number of visitors coming to Britain from North America has risen. This is significant as we earn very nearly twice as much from US visitors than we do from any other source market,' she added.

Bumper tourist year expected for Britain with Jubilee and Olympic Games

Britain’s rich history and heritage continue to be strong drivers in attracting visitors. Famous buildings and monuments, castles and stately homes, and churches / cathedrals are all well regarded and interest is reflected in visit numbers. Britain is seen as a world-class destination in terms of its built heritage.

Castles hosting live concerts, museums holding fashion shows, or river boat rides on the Thames are especially exciting for potential tourists.

For a traveler whether shopping online or visiting the top travel destinations throughout the great cities of the world such as London, you will find duty free shopping. If you want to know anything about arrivals duty free, or duty free shops on ferry boats, cruise ships, frontier crossing border stores and tax-free refund shopping, search your destination first.