Coach Holiday News

Skills Holidays has launched its 2009 UK and continental holiday programme and there’s much to mark the company’s 90th year in the business of pleasure.

Founded in 1919 by Arthur Skill, the current managing director’s grandfather, the family firm has pulled out all the stops to offer the best ever choice of stylish holidays for travellers from the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and further afield.

According to managing director, Nigel Skill, there are 40 new holidays on offer with over one hundred other choices developed around popular and long established near and distant favourites. “Over half the programmes will be operated using our top class Premier coach fleet including our latest arrival, a £235,000 fifty three seater coach.
“In 2009, we’ll be offering everything from 13 days in South Africa to weekend breaks on the Malvern Hills. New additions include luxury ladies’ and gents’ three day weekend breaks at a Lincolnshire spa resort; Mothers’ Day at the ‘Pudding Club’ in Gloucestershire and a spooky tour to York to explore the city’s ghostly haunts.

“Alongside a full complement of continental tours to places including the Med, France, Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, I am delighted that we are able to offer one of the best ever ranges in our 90 years of service,” says Nigel.

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Grand UK Holidays, specializing in over-55 travel, announced that it has been forced to discontinue the free insurance it has offered on domestic breaks for the last 25 years.

The travel operator said that it needed to make the change in its 2009 programme due to the new FSA regulations stipulating how travel companies are permitted to sell insurance, effective 1 January.

To replace the insurance feature, customers will receive a ‘price-back insurance’ offer if they choose to buy Grand UK’s own insurance for domestic coach holidays – anywhere in England, Scotland or Wales. Customers would receive a voucher worth £10, which could be used toward the purchase of their next holiday their next holiday, subject to certain conditions.

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We are delighted to announce that Edwards Coaches of Pontypridd, South Wales will be joining the prestigious line up of coach operators that we offer on the coachholidays.com website.

The Edwards family has operated buses and coaches in South Wales since 1925 and during the following 20 years or so, the company’s main source of income was the “local bus service” into the market town of Pontypridd. Later on as the near-by Treforest Industrial Estate expanded, many factory workers were transported to & from work and also during the Second World War, to the munitions factory at Bridgend
The 50’s and 60’s brought new ambitions for Edwards and indeed its clients. Their luxury coaches boasted a heater and radio, picking up clients from all over the South Wales Valleys and transporting them to popular UK destinations, such as Bath, Blackpool, London and Stratford. During the early 60’s, tours were organised as far afield as Austria, Belgium and Paris.
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Alfa Travel today confirmed that there will be no surcharges on their holidays as a result of increasing fuel costs. Managing Director, Paul Sawbridge, said:

“Everyone knows that fuel costs have risen dramatically in recent months and most of our competitors have introduced surcharges of between £1 and £3 per day. On a Continental coach holiday, this can increase the cost by anything up to £42 per person.
“Some operators are also adding currency surcharges reflecting the fall in the value of the pound against the Euro, which can make the surcharge even greater. If they also levy a credit card charge, which can be as high as 2% of the holiday price, the combined cost of their hidden charges can easily exceed £100 per couple on a longer Continental holiday.
“We estimate that if prices of fuel, gas and electricity stay at current levels, the fuel and energy costs for our coaches and hotels will rise by roughly half a million pounds this year, so I can fully understand why they have taken this action.
“However, we believe that changes of this sort in a company’s costs should be absorbed by the company for holidays which have already been advertised. We will therefore not be increasing the cost of any of the holidays featured in any of our published brochures.
“This guarantee includes all holidays featured in our Summer 2008 and Autumn 2008/Spring 2009 brochures.”

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The Guild of British Coach Operators members had cause to celebrate at the 2008 Coach Tourism Awards organised by Coach Monthly magazine, winning no less than 4 prestigious awards, including Coach Tour Operator of the Year! Held at the Ricoh Arena on June 5th, the accolades awarded to members of the Guild of British Coach Operators came thick and fast:

Eddie Brown Tours - voted UK Holiday Programme of the Year for the second year running. The judges noted Eddie Brown Tours ´commitment to quality´ and how ´the company keeps raising the bar´.

Galloway European Coachlines - Coach Tour Operator of the Year (fleets of over 10 vehicles). The judges comment - ´a worthy winner´. What more can we add!

Meanwhile, recognising the people behind successful companies, Epsom Coaches´ Alistair Scott was voted Coach Tourism Manager of the Year.

Other Guild members who were shortlisted as finalists included Skills Holidays and Woods Coaches.

We regret to announce that due to the continuing increases in the price of Diesel, Shearings Holidays have found it necessary to introduce a £1.00 a day fuel surcharge on all its UK breaks as from 09:00 hrs today, Friday 9th of May 2008. We will be posting a warning on every Shearings UK holiday but due to the size of the task this will take some time.

We will keep you updated with any other Surcharges from other operators as they happen.