When it comes to cheap holidays in the long haul sector, Florida has always been popular due to Disney World and Egypt has risen in popularity in recent years, but recent research has shown the two destinations have grown in popularity following a dip last year.

The report analysed more than 38,000 holidays and showed a 49 percent increase in holiday deals booked to Florida in June compared with last year despite an 8 percent drop in May. The reason cited was the strength in the pound versus the dollar. Egypt holidays have increased by 25 percent compared to 2008.

The Retail Distribution Director Trevor Davis said:

“Understandably the holiday market is much more price sensitive than in recent years, but still this responsiveness to exchange rates is remarkable. If the pound continues to rally against foreign currencies, we believe this upward trend will continue.”

Spain has also seen an improvement, although there is still a shortfall compared to last year due to the recession and weak pound versus the euro, and Turkey remains relatively unaffected.

Holidays are relatively unaffected by small changes and fluctuations in currency but with the recession the changes have been quite dramatic. People are making choices on holiday deals slightly differently than perhaps they might otherwise have done.

One of the world’s most popular destinations for holiday deals, Florida, is to celebrate the 40th anniversary of when man first landed on the moon at its Kennedy Space Center in Orlando next month.

Throughout July this year, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida will run several events celebrating the day when Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on the 20th July, 1969. Their Saturn V Rocket was launched from the Kennedy Space Center itself on the 16th July that year and so it is appropriate that a pubic ceremony featuring Buzz Aldrin will start the celebrations off on the 16th July forty years later.

Those taking holidays to Orlando this year may see a giant moon pie in the Kennedy Center’s Rocket Garden and be able to see the new Apollo Treasures Gallery showing a variety of items from the Apollo moon missions. These will include space suits, tools and helmets used on actual missions.

The Kennedy Space Center is likely to be as high on tourist’s lists this summer as Disney World Florida.

Holidays to Orlando can be taken from all the UK’s major airports with airlines such as KLM, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Those looking for cheap holidays or discount holiday deals should be careful they don’t overspend when it comes to using their debit and credit cards abroad, according to the Daily Mail earlier this month.

When holidaymakers decide to use their debit or credit cards abroad, they should check beforehand what charges they may be liable for.

Those taking holidays in America to places like New York and Florida should check the exchange rate differences in using their card versus taking travellers cheques if they want to make the most of the dollar versus sterling exchange rate. In the current economic climate, most holidaymakers are watching every penny to avoid spending unnecessarily and the only way to be certain of the exchange rate you are receiving when spending abroad is to exchange your foreign currency before you go as the exchange rates can fluctuate all the time.

The newspaper does highlight however, that thanks to the Banking Code, any unauthorised transactions or unauthorised spending will be covered by a bank’s guarantee if you lose your card.

Of course, if you take travellers cheques, this is in many ways better than cash, as they are useless without a signature and therefore the theft of TCs is not the end of the world. Holidays abroad are to be enjoyed, not spent worrying about exchange rates.

Recent reports show that holidays to Florida are rising in popularity once again now that the pound has strengthened against the dollar.

Florida, and other popular areas of America, used to mean cheap holidays for British holidaymakers, but since the onset of the credit crunch and the ensuing recession the weak value of the pound against the dollar and other currencies has meant holidays abroad have been more expensive and so the popularity of holidays to destinations like Florida has decreased.

Holiday deals to Disney World Florida are back on and people are trying to take advantage of the pound’s recent increase in strength versus the dollar with last minute holidays to the “Sunshine State”.

According to Co-op travel, an analysis of around 380,000 bookings showed that from June last year to June 2009 the number of visitors to Florida increase by 48 percent as opposed to a decrease of just under 8 percent for the year on year figures for May 2008 to 2009. This increase is being attributed to the exchange rates as the pound was 11 percent stronger against the dollar in June than it was in May.

Holidays to Florida are available from most major airports and a number of air carriers.

Disney World Florida is one of, if not the most famous theme parks in the world, but holidays to Florida may be changed to last minute holidays to Pennsylvania if this claim is true.

The state tourist board claims that the new attraction recently opened at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania can be considered the ‘coolest ride of the summer’.

The new attraction is an aquatic ride and has been called The Boardwalk: The Seaquel. This new ride has two dominant features, one of which is a wave pool holding 378,000 gallons of water and the other is a slightly more relaxing waterway where holidaymakers can enjoy a scenic ride. The ride takes the total of attractions at Hersheypark to more than sixty.

Herseypark was built more than a hundred years ago by Milton Hershey, who is a famous chocolatier in America. Chocolate continues to play a role in the park, which includes a chocolate-themed spa.

The state of Pennsylvania borders with New York and Ohio states so it is an ideal excursion for those taking holidays in the area and have a little time to explore.

Over the May bank holiday weekend the country saw a huge 1.8 million British people decide to take an overseas holiday, claims the travel association ABTA.

The favourite holiday destination for British people was Spain and this proved to be the most popular, with people taking holidays from the UK between 22nd and 25th May, which was the start of the half term break for schools in Britain.

During the May bank holiday period, the five favourite city break destinations that proved to be the most popular were; Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, New York and Rome said ABTA.

The top of the list for long haul holidays over the May bank holiday was Florida, with Turkey and Egypt being the next popular destinations with visitors who travelled outside of the euro zone.

The president of ABTA, Justin Fleming said: “In spite of the recession, passenger numbers this bank holiday weekend are very healthy, showing that the British love affair with foreign travel is as strong as ever.”

ABTA also released statistics from research conducted earlier this year which highlighted that 68 percent of British people were still prepared to spend the same amount of money on their 2009 holidays than they were the previous year despite the economic downturn.

Apart from announcing that their new cruise ship Oasis of the Seas will be sailing from Fort Lauderdale in Florida and will be showing the hit musical Hairspray to its holidaymakers, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship has also seen a huge change to its dining offerings for passengers.

The Royal Caribbean International has just announced its latest improvements on its dining programme to offer its holidaymakers more flexibility and convenience.

The Royal Caribbean is a first class cruise ship that carries its passengers around the glorious Caribbean including the very popular holiday destination of Barbados.

The new dining options for holidaymakers have been made available immediately and Royal Caribbean customers are now able to choose the time that they want to eat with a host of new options on the menu.

The new flexible eating programme is available with Royal Caribbean’s traditional, specialty and casual dining options.

Senior vice president of hotel operations at Royal Caribbean, Lisa Bauer, commented:

“The feedback during the piloting of these programmes has been very positive, with many of our guests even comparing the level of personal service and recognition from our staff to that of their favourite restaurant at home.”

The huge carrier Continental Airlines have recently extended their in-flight entertainment which is now available to all of its customers who are taking flights from Belfast international airport to New York City.

The entertainment system, which Continental Airways have been offering to their business class customers on their Boeing 757 craft since the early part of 2007, has been extended to include all the airlines holiday and business passengers including those who are flying economy class.

Economy travellers are now able to make use of all the facilities on their trip to New York which means individual seat screens with the large choice of 25 TV shows and films and 50 choices of CDs which cover a variety of various music genres. Additionally, there will be a Berlitz World Traveller programme which teaches foreign languages and a choice of 20 video games to play.

Barry Jackson, Continental’s area sales manager for Northern Ireland, said:

“Passengers will find this new entertainment experience much more user-friendly. Our passengers in Business First really enjoy the new system and we are sure our economy class passengers will too.”

The International airport at Belfast recently announced that the upgraded New York flight was extremely popular with holiday makers making a variety of connections within the United States particularly Orlando Florida, Miami and Las Vegas.

The United States Air Force ship Vandenberg, which has been decommissioned, has been moved to the popular holiday island of Key West in Florida to create a new attraction to visitors who are looking to dive off the coast.

The whole operation has been a 13 year process which is now in its final stages for the completion as an artificial reef in Florida Keys; the vessel is a now retired missile tracking device which was re-located from Chesapeake Bay in South East Virginia based within the north of Florida on 12th April.

The ship was led on a 1,100 mile journey to its resting place towed by the Elsbeth III tugboat.

The Vandenberg is being sunk six miles to the south of Key West and will provide the marine life there with a new habitat which will also become a great site for divers from all over the world.

Head of the operation Joe Weatherby said:

“There is simply nothing else like the Vandenberg for divers. There are a dozen dive points that will come within 40 to 50 feet of the surface, while deeper areas will provide opportunities for advanced divers.”

Those people who are looking to take a diving holiday to Florida Keys Divers will be able to explore a range of features which includes: Elbow Reef and the World War I submarine the USS Alligator.

Anyone who is planning to visit DisneyWorld for their summer holiday this year will be interested to know that there will be a host of exciting new events and attractions available from DisneyWorld Florida from May through to August.

The TV smash hit ‘American Idol’ directed by Simon Cowell has inspired a brand new attraction to the Disney Hollywood Studios. Over at the Magic Kingdom, a Liberty Square icon is re-opening and Disney’s street parties turn up the spirit as holiday makers really get in the mood and “What Will You Celebrate?”is in full stride at the resort.

The famous Treehouse lodging is back for summer and the resort’s guests can now save lots of time queuing by sorting tickets online prior to arriving. Throughout the summer there will be a number of Stars Wars Weekends and Downtown Disney is set to host a new list of events.

The new American Idol Experience

‘The American Idol Experience’ sees Hollywood Studio guests put into the spotlight as they are fully immersed into the excitement of auditioning, performing and voting for their best musical performances.

The newly opened Disney attraction helps to make dreams a reality by showcasing the talents of the resorts’ guests aged 14 years and older. There is seating accommodation for 1,000 audience members in the high-tech theatre where the studio audience are wired directly to the voting poll.