Britain is ready to take a bigger slice of the valuable Chinese tourism market December 5, 2016 VisitBritain has teamed up with Hainan Airlines and Alitrip, Alibaba Group's tourism arm, to increase travel from the world's most valuable outbound market. Chinese visitors to the UK stay longer, spend more and travel more widely across Britain than other international visitors, but the group only moved into Britain's top 10 most valuable inbound markets for the first time [...]
Norwegian takes off UK expansion plans with more lost-cost flight options targeted at business travellers December 5, 2016 The pound may still be down, but don't write off travel to the US just yet. Norwegian airline is flying to the rescue to boost budget options. Norwegian, Europe's third largest low-cost airline is creating 55 per cent more budget flights to the US from next summer, from 22 to 34 flights per week. Norwegian offers the UK's cheapest direct [...]
Thousands of restaurants are at risk of closure in the next three years because of Brexit and rising cost pressures December 5, 2016 NULL
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly steps down to focus on his family December 5, 2016 New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly announced his resignation today after eight years in power. Key was partway through a third three-year term marked by political stability and economic reform after the global financial crisis when he told reporters he would step down to focus on family, Reuters reported. Deputy prime minister and finance [...]
The Children’s Food Campaign says the FDF’s top UK brands don’t oppose the sugary drinks tax, so the FDF shouldn’t either December 2, 2016 The Children's Food Campaign (CFC) has asked the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to stop opposing the tax on sugary drinks, claiming its top UK member brands are less aggressively opposed to the duty than the trade association. Out of 55 FDF members contacted by CFC, 14 gave full responses, including Birdseye, Slimfast, Wrigleys, Mars, Weetabix and Haribo. Seven [...]
December 1, 2016 Scottish craft beer maker BrewDog has launched a Casino-themed beer and roulette pop-ups to stir up excitement for its new brewery in America. The beer, called "Casino Rye Ale", will hit 28 of the bar owner's UK locations along with roulette tables where customers can try their luck at winning a half pint of the limited release beer. BrewDog today [...]
Spotify, one of Europe’s top tech startups, could become profitable as early as next year December 1, 2016 Spotify, one of Europe's most valuable tech startups, could start being profitable as early as next year, a board member who was one of the music streaming service's first investors told Reuters. Despite being the global leader of the music streaming industry, Spotify has reported steep losses since its creation in 2008 by Swedish founders Daniel Ek and Martin [...]
British American Tobacco’s newest e-cigarette has been launched in the UK December 1, 2016 A new electronic cigarette has launched in the UK from tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) designed for consumers who've written off vaping. Vype Pebble, BAT's release, follows a launch by rival Philip Morris as the companies step up their stakes in the alternative cigarette market. Vype's researchers targeted consumers looking for something different from traditional cigarette-shaped or bulky vapour devices. Read more: [...]
British wine production is set to skyrocket by the year 2100 because of the changing climate December 1, 2016 The cost of importing wine is set to hit Britain hard due to the weak pound, but what if the UK could make its own? Well, by the year 2100, Britain could be a leading wine producing region, a new study suggests. The changing climate will transform areas of the UK including Essex, the east of England [...]
Greene King pubs report challenges are ahead despite revenue bubbling up to record levels November 30, 2016 Record revenue was reported in Greene King's interim results, but shares fell in morning trading and analysts warn of a hangover. The figures Adjusted profits before tax rose 14.6 per cent to £139m, and adjusted earnings per share were up 4.3 per cent to 36p for the pub company. Like-for-like sales increased 1.3 per cent, which was ahead of the [...]