Yes, it's that time again when we rifle through last month's mailbag to see what the hot topics were for the readers of MSN Travel. And in May, there were several stories that grabbed your attention.

 

First up was the news that holidaymakers to Spain face potential delays this summer due to the introduction of new security measures requiring passengers to provide detailed personal information. Many airlines are not equipped to automatically handle this requirement, which is likely to lead to hold-ups as travellers complete the info using good old fashioned pen and paper. On our message board thread on this topic, views were largely postive, with many of you welcoming the increased security measures. While acknowledging that they might lead to some delays, Brit_Steve observed that "surely anything that helps to combat global terrorism is a good thing". Tiny Sue concurred, adding, "I think Spain has made the right decision and we should all do the same now, not next year and combat the terrorists out there that are causing us to take these measures."

 

Not everyone shared these views however, with Stig of the Dump saying "whatever happened to the idea that people of EU member countries could travel freely across its borders? The EU is now nothing more than a police state making travel throughout Europe a nightmare with increased delays and stress." Fairways says "I intended going to Spain later in the Summer, but now I'm not."

 

However, steveandkaren2 took a slightly more optimistic view of things, joking that "it should give us something to do while we wait for yet another delayed flight to arrive to give us a plane to fly in!"

 

The next hot topic on the boards this month was the results of a survey by Expedia.co.uk which claimed that British tourists are among the worst in the world, 'thanks to their noisy and untidy holiday habits, bad behaviour and miserly tipping'. There were dozens and dozens of comments on the boards on this subject, with an overwhelming majority of them agreeing with the results.

 

Seymour Bush says, "the survey holds no suprises for me.  When I go on holiday I try to hide the fact that I am British because the majority of the British just don't know how to behave themselves." bimjammyjamjam agrees, "I'm a Brit but I live in Barbados and work in a hotel and I have to say, we are the worst tourists, noisy, always complaining even on the cheap package deals and just don't make life any less difficult for us hoteliers." Meldrew Double adds, "the British appear to have a large contingent of 'louts'".

 

paulrich74 believes that "its the British mentality of not wanting to embrace other cultures that lets us down mostly, behaviour wise we are no worse than anyone else, except where you find 18-30." Currently_Content agrees, saying 'People need to realise that the point of a holiday abroad is not to forget the whole thing through a state of permanant drunkeness, but to enjoy the local culture and cuisine, and to relax (this does not mean get paryletic)". However, qsdl agrues the opposite, saying, "give people a break; if someone wants to go on hols and not enjoy another culture that's up to them".

 

Dohhhh agrues that the problem is caused by "the advent of cheap flights, self catering and cheap drink' which he says has "opened the door to some people who simply do not know how to behave when they are with other people", while ausbas thinks that "the holiday companies should take some of the blame for treating British holiday makers like cattle and sending them to some undesirable hotels with very poor food".

 

However, not everyone agreed with the survey, marion26, who says she's French (the French came out as the worst tourists in the poll), claims that "I don't really agree with this survey, to my mind, English people are very nice." And, finally, on the topic of socks worn with sandals, Lulu Superboots says, "Does it really matter how people dress? Okay, so socks and sandals may not look that fantastic really, but for some people it stops rubbed ankles if they do a lot of walking when they are on holiday."

 

The month ended with the news that a new Harry Potter theme park is to be built at Univeral Studios in Orlando. On the message boards, the news was greeted with cautious optimisim, though the general consensus seemed to be that the park ought to be built in the UK, rather than the US, given Harry's heritage. bimjammyjamjam asks "how can a Harry Potter theme park be outside of Britain?" while kc3003 says "it would make so much more sense if it was actually in England". However, most of you couldn't wait for it to open, with livy x01x saying "I would absolutely go to the Harry Ppotter theme park, it sounds really magical, I cant wait!" and allmar3 agreeing, "I will be booking my holiday as soon as they give us a definite opening date".

 

The results of a survey released today by Expedia.co.uk suggest that us Brits are amongst the worst tourists in the world, 'thanks to our noisy and untidy holiday habits, bad behaviour and miserly tipping.' Read the story on MSN Travel.

 

Whilst there's clearly a lot of sweeping generalisations in this claim, I wonder if there might also be a grain of truth in it?

 

To be fair, those surveyed were European hoteliers and as many parts of Europe are known to attract a particular type of Brit abroad, I wonder if we would have fared so poorly in a world-wide survey.

 

Nevertheless, there's undoubtedly a sector of British tourists whose idea of a perfect holiday is to create a little piece of England (ususally) in the Spanish or Greek sun, complete with the local pub, greasy fry ups and English football on the big screen.

 

To me, it seems a terrible shame to go all that way and not then embrace the culture of the country whose hospitality you're accepting. Whether that's trying the local food, learning a few words of the language or trying to blend in a little with the locals, there's a lot to be said for scratching the surface of a country to see what you might discover.

 

Ultimately it's what makes travelling so addictive - unearthing the subtle and not so subtle differences between our own culture and those of other nationalities. Discovering what makes other countries tick and why doesn't suggest that our own culture is lacking, but does make for a far more rounded view of the world, not to mention some incredible travel tales to look back on.

 

So I would encourage those socks and sandals tourists, the 'Brits on Tour' posse, next time they're on holiday in Spain, to give the Dog and Duck a miss, and try the tapas bar, or that incredible fish restaurant loved by the locals. And rather than watching the big match on Saturday afternoon, why not visit the catherdral or even take a trip out of town to the countryside. You'll be amazed at what you discover - and who knows, we might even fare slightly better in the next version of 'Best Tourist League' survey...

 

What do you think about the results of the survey? Post a comment below, or alternatively, join the debate on the MSN Travel Message Boards.

It's probably no surprise to hear that I get an awful lot of press releases in my inbox every day. I don't always succeed in plowing my way through every one of them, but I received one this afternoon with the same subject line as this blog entry. Well, you would open that email straight away wouldn't you?

 

Remarkably, the awards are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, as they seek to 'flush out' (their words) the best places 'to go' in Britain and Ireland. There are an incredible 57 categories, including regional awards, best corporate providers, best nappy changing facilities and even awards for the best Loo Attendants.

 

The award organisers, The British Toilet Association, are seeking nominations for all award categories. According to the press release, anyone can nominate any number of 'away from home' loos, via the 24 hour hotline on 01962 850277; by email nominations@loo.co.uk, or online at www.loo.co.uk. The closing date for nominations is 31 July and the awards will be presented at a fancy lunch event in December.

 

As well as submitting your nominations as outlined above, if you do know of a remarkable loo that you want to share, wherever it is in the world, tell us about in on our MSN Travel Message Board thread about the world's top toilets.

I really picked the wrong weekend to go away. Last weekend, when I was in France, I hear that the weather in the UK was glorious, yet this weekend, when I have no plans, it's due to rain. So unfair

During April, Michael O'Leary, of Ryanair announced plans to offer transatlantic flights from just £7 within the next three years. We asked for your views on the message boards. Most of you shared the opinion of RWN79, who said of the news, 'Cheap flights to the US? Great news. I haven't been to NY for a while so fancy a little trip!' inerlink agreed, stating 'I would certainly use the new airline.. seems like a real bargain to me, and I don't mind taking sandwiches, and I don't have a problem with landing at smaller airports either!' Aye McHunt put it simply, 'Well, I think this is the first time the cost of the taxi-fair to the airport would be more than the actual cost of the flight.'

 

Not all of you were so impressed by the news however, with some of you concerned about the environmental impact of such cheap flights becoming available. DavidH1948 says, 'Any move to encourage air flight, with it's attendant contribution to the destruction of our planet, is DISGRACEFUL. The government should step in, and if it can't stop this suicidal move, perhaps it should introduce a new tax, so that each passenger crossing the Atlantic by air should pay a minimum total (fare plus tax) of, say, £1,000 each way.' my4dogs concurred, saying, 'Definately no, not at the expense of the planet.'

 

However, Nagrom disagrees with their logic, claming that 'Cheap flights means full airliners and more economic use of fuel and CO2. Expensive fares means ths same number of aircraft fying half empty but flying none the less.

 

Others felt that the offer might be a good one, but the discomfort of flying with a budget airline to the US was too great to ignore, with K_abraham83 saying, 'Come on, this is a joke. Who wants to fly so cheaply all that way to North America?' Len24 agreed, saying 'I don't mind going cheap on short haul but long haul no way. I would be all cramped, cold and hungry, might as well go in luxury and get cheap accomodation.'

However, perhaps the final word should go to pyedog, who welcomed the news, writing, 'The sooner the better......just hope a round the world ticket is not too far behind.'

 

Also in April was the annoucement of the winners of the 'World's 50 Best Restaurants' award. Whilst this was far and away the most read item we've ever had on MSN Travel, not everyone thought these were the most worthy awards, with one person sending feedback that said 'This list places pretention over taste and substance. The French topping the list emphasises this.' Not wishing to nitpick, but actually, E Bulli, in the number one spot is Spanish and the UK had a pretty respectable showing with seven of the top 50 restaurants. However, it's fair to say the restaurants on the list aren't necessarily the types of establisments you'd head to for a comforting plate of beans and mash, prefering to challenge their diners with menus including items such as sardines on toast ice-cream (The Fat Duck).

 

Well, five days in France went by in the blink of an eye and I'm back in the office even before I'd fully appreciated that I'd really left. Still, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't wonderful to have a break and Provence is a great place to have one. Our Ryanair flights cost us £111 including tax for three of us, and we stayed in a couple of local Mas (French B&Bs) where the welcome was warm and the crossaints soft and buttery.

 

Our days were spent exploring the many small villages and towns and the stunning countryside of the Luberon region (famous as the setting for Peter Mayle's 'A Year in Provence'), but as lovely a distraction as this was, it really was only a way to kill time between meals. We ate, ate and then we ate some more. Eating really is a way of life in France and Provence is no exception. It may be known for simple food, but with the number of Parisians, English and other nationalities of tourists who decend on the area during the summer months, eating well is a serious business.

 

We were lucky enough to be given some excellent recommendations by our hosts, including a restaurant in the hilltop town of Bonnieux, called Le Tinel, where we had possibly the most amazing lamb we'd ever eaten; huge racks of the stuff, covered in a crunchy, herby breadcrumb crust, served with creamy risotto and vegatables. On our last night we ate in a drab looking place called L'Escanson, in the unremarkable town of Robion. Our hosts assured us that the real magic happened in the kitchen rather than the decor and they weren't wrong. We ate like kings, and the pineapple tart with almond ice-cream will remain a misty-eyed memory for a long time to come.

 

Even when you're not sitting down to eat in Provence, it's impossible not to be constantly reminded of food, as towns are bursting with sights and smells of fresh bread, fruits, vegetables, stinky cheeses and hams, local lavender honey and olive oil, all piled high, sold cheaply and begging to be touched, smelt and eaten. Even driving through the countryside isn't a distraction from food as the rolling hills provide fertile land for growing all this produce not to mention the rows upon rows of vines that mark this out as serious wine country. As well as drinking vast quantities of the rose wine that this region is famous for, we took a small detour to Châteauneuf-du-Pape where we were easily persuaded to part with some serious cash for a bottle of the 2005 (considered to be the best year in at least the last 50) which will be hidden in the bottom of the wardrobe until it's ready for drinking in around seven years time.

 

I can easily see why so many English people buy or rent holiday homes in Provence; it offers a simple and relaxed way of life, punctuated by remarkable food in a glorious setting, and getting there is cheaper than catching a train in England. I'm not sure I'm ready for more than a five day trip there yet - I really don't think my waistband would allow it. Still, I think my motto may have to become 'little and often'.

 

We stayed at the Mas du Micocoulier just outside the pretty town of Roussillion with Swiss nationals Ursula and Peter and the Mas Ponoma in Cheval Blanc, just outside Cavaillon, with Marianne and her British husband David. Thanks to them all for their hospitality and wonderful dining recommendations!

I was lucky enough to be invited to the awards ceremony for the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants at the Science Museum last night. Being someone who loves a good gourmet meal now and again, I was thrilled to be invited and to have the chance to be in a room with so many talented chefs all at one time. (I'm glad I don't run the company that does the catering for the most prestigious event in the restaurant calendar - imagine the pressure of feeding all of the world's best chefs at once!)

 

The event was a Who's Who of the culinary world, though anyone who thinks that this means it was a room full of TV luuvies should think again. Though I might know a few of them by name, the only chef in attendance whom I could recognise was Heston Blumenthal, the chef/owner of The Fat Duck in Bray, placed at number two in the list and winner of the Chef's Chef award (voted for by his peers). These are serious, hard-core chefs, not lime-light loving media darlings like so many of the culinary experts we see on our TVs. They're far too busy deconstructing the science of food, and creating masterpieces of taste, texture and even sound (The Fat Duck serves a dish called 'Sound of the Sea' - seafood served upon an iPod that plays the sound of waves crashing) to have the time to fret over ratings and whether they're getting as much air time as Anthony Worrall Thompson.

 

The UK had a decent showing, scoring seven of the restaurants in the top 50, though only one, The Fat Duck, was outside of London. Unsurprisingly, a majority of the establishments are in France and Spain, though the US did well too. For the full results of the awards, take a look at the gallery on MSN Travel.

 

Watching the awards was a reminder of how many incredible places there still are to visit in the world, and how for me, food and eating is such a crucial part of the whole experience of travelling. Luckily for me, I'm about to head off to France for a few days, where I plan to spend a lot of time savouring the local food and wine in the Provence region. I may be eating fresh, crusty baguettes with pate and cheese, washed down with a bottle of local rose, rather than timbales, noisettes and demi-secs, with a bottle of the Chateaux Lafite, but that doesn't mean that the culinary experience will be any less exciting for me.

 

So to all travelling foodies and gourmets out there, I say enjoy your dining, wherever you are, whatever you're eating, and remember to savour the whole experience as much as the cuisine. Bon Appetite!

Better late than never, here’s our mailbag round-up from last month. Firstly, apologies to all of you who used the feedback tool in March to complain that the link to the gallery in the Airbus A380 feature was broken. I have to hold my hands up to this one – I thought I’d checked the link before publishing it, but had actually overlooked it. It did get fixed later the same day, but if you weren’t able to access it, my apologies. Here’s the article, and here’s the link to the gallery on ForbesTraveler.com.

On the message boards in March, the hottest topic was Gordon Brown’s last ever budget. We asked if you were happy to pay more Air Passenger Duty to protect the environment, or whether you felt air taxes were high enough already. Andy66 is of the opinion that Brown ‘doesn't give a stuff about the environment’ and that if he were serious about green issues, he would ‘stop all airport runway expansions and put a cap on the number of flights per airport per day that were allowed’.

Pensioner36 agrees, believing that the rise in APD is simply a money making scheme; ‘global warming to Gordon Brown was just the excuse he needed for another tax’ while had05 adds, that the issue has ‘become a means to milk the hard earned money of common people’ and Manxman asks ‘how did taxing airfares last year help the environment?’

Ecoman disagrees, stating that there is ‘real proof’ that we have caused climate changes. He says ‘I don’t mind being taxed as long as the money is spent properly’, but thinks that the government has misspent our taxes over the last couple of decades.

In March we also published a review from MSN’s Mike Lok of new budget airline Oasis Hong Kong which advertises fares to Hong Kong from £75. We asked for your own experiences of Oasis and Alwayswright said ‘I have flown twice with Oasis and have nothing but praise’, adding that it’s ‘excellent value for money’. Emma-Louise agreed, saying, ‘overall [a] great airline and if I have the chance to go again I will definitely go with Oasis.’

If you send us a comment this month, look out to see if we publish it here next month. There are three easy ways for you to get in touch with us.

1. Email us your comments
2. Give us your feedback (you can score us here too), using the 'Feedback' link that appears at the bottom of every main Travel page.
3. Post a message on the Travel Message Boards.

This month the topic that really got you all talking was the introduction by British Airways of new baggage allowance rules. The new rules mean that most passengers will need to pay to check in a second item of luggage, which could mean additional charges of up to £240 on a long haul return trip.

 

It certainly wasn't a popular decision with few of you having anything positive to say about it. However, FLYING DAVE commented that "as a frequent traveller, it is appalling to see how much luggage and number of bags are brought onto a flight, often causing boarding delays and other problems." chrismalta agrees; "Long over due charge. This will stop the idiots who think they have to take the entire home on holiday."

Billy Suggers reasons that "Extra weight means more fuel burned means more CO2 etc. Learn to travel light Bud". theflyingscotsman was more cynical about the rules; "If it meant that the environment was being saved, then yes, I would agree with the charge. On the other hand BA is, in my opinion, relatively expensive and as a frequent traveller with other airlines I believe their service is not the best. Looks like another money spinning idea".

 

Most of the other comments left on the boards shared this viewpoint, seeing the new rules as a form of 'stealth tax' for travellers. 3canine3 believes this is "purely a revenue raising practise to cover incompetent management. Must have been taking lessons from Gordon Brown." flyingl pain agrees, "all these new rules and even worse the new taxes on flights are surely just a quick way of raising more government taxes in a very stealthy and lucrative way." hawthorns adds, "BA is just adding to the present government's coffers to gain hidden taxes from the travelling public."

 

Several readers felt they were being penalised by the airline for needing to travel with lots of luggage, including international student who says "this is very unfair for students who study abroad and mostly fly economy class. For students, excess luggage is not a new thing, we have books, clothes etc to carry and all these things are very important and 23 kg is just not enough!" philhogarth agrees, "I'm away for 3 or 4 months at a time. This results in me having to pack various clothes. Work clothes, overalls, safety boots, hard hat, jacket, old gear to wear on a job that I don't mind getting stolen or wrecked on a boat or rig, smart clothes to entertain my client reps on land jobs, stuff to wear on a day off. The list goes on! 23kg? Yeah right!" bobby w adds, "one bag for a Caribbean cruise lasting 14 days is impossible - try telling my wife!"

 

For many of you, this decision was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back; Ergo says "I'll cash in my BA air miles and bid them adieu", while David DB says "Oh dear, this just confirms my opinion of BA - they are now the airline of "last resort" and not of "first choice". The final word goes to cazann though, who simply says "I will certainly not use BA again."

With Valentine's Day occurring last month, a couple of you shared your opinions on the most romantic spots in the world, with caterina stating simply, "Got to be Paris. Fantastic city!" and marlboro man saying "sitting in the natural hot springs of Iceland then watching the "fire in the sky" perfect!" I hope you all had wonderful Valentine celebrations, wherever you were!

 

During March, you can expect to see new features on celebrating St Patrick's Day in style, the arrival of spring, ideas for treating your Mum for Mother's Day and a new City Break guide and much more.

 

If you send us a comment this month, look out to see if we publish it here next month. There are three easy ways for you to get in touch with us.

1. Email us your comments
2. Give us your feedback (you can score us here too), using the 'Feedback' link that appears at the bottom of every main Travel page.
3. Post a message on the Travel Message Boards.

From today, many passengers flying with British Airways will have to pay to check-in a second item of luggage. The costs could be as much as £240 for a return long-haul flight. The new rules do not apply to travel to the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Nigeria, Mexico and Brazil since these countries have systems based on the number of items of luggage rather than weight. BA also says that passengers who clearly are unable to handle one piece of luggage will not be expected to pay.

 

The airline claims that the new rules will be simpler for passengers and that the number of people who will need to pay will in fact be a tiny percentage. If that's the case, it rather begs the question as to why it was necessary to introduce the policy. Surely this is the slippery slope to operating a RyanAir style airline where is pays to read the small print pretty carefully and nothing can be taken for granted. What next - paying extra to carry on your hand luggage and £5.50 for a can of Coke and a packet of salty snacks?

 

BA has built its reputation on being a customer facing airline, where nothing is too much trouble for its staff and the customer is always right. Sadly, if this time ever actually existing, they were halcyon days gone by - on recent events BA seems to be becoming a ruthless, cost-conscious airline, with unhappy staff and under-vauled customers. Certainly my recent experiences flying with BA have not been especially happy ones and I no longer feel any loyalty towards flying with them as I once did.

 

Air travel is big business, and while there's no doubt that margins are becoming tighter and competition fiercer, BA needs to put a stake in the ground and decide what it stands for - does it want to compete with the budget airlines like RyanAir and easyJet or does it want to offer an alternative for those travellers who don't want to have to worry about paying extra for additional pieces of luggage, or for the 'pleasure' of being served dodgy airline food.

 

BA can't be everything to everyone and it's time for them to decide what kind of airline they want to be.

 

Got an opinion on the new rules? Share it here.

I went along to The Times Destinations Holiday & Travel Show at Earls Court yesterday. It's an excellent event if you're passionate about travel and your only dilemma is where you want to go next. There's nothing I like more than day-dreaming about my next holiday, so going along was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me .

 

The exhibitors were a mixture of tourist boards, small and large travel agents, tour guides and other various companies such as guide book publishers, the department of transport, wineries, theme parks and more.

 

There were also dozens of demonstrations and entertainment from belly dancers and drummers to sampling of local food and wines. As well as the entertainment, there are some great talks scheduled with experts on topics as diverse as Antarctica, mountain biking in Greece and exploring the Deep South of America. There are also some excellent workshops offering travel photography tips, advice on travel writing, and survival skills.

 

The thing that struck me most whilst wandering around was how everyone seemed to be gravitating towards the stands featuring the most exotic or adventurous destinations. I walked past a stall showing a video on holidaying in Peru and there was standing room only - and these weren't young back-packer types either. They were older travellers who've clearly developed a taste for adventure. No fortnight in the Canaries for these holidaymakers - it was fanstatic to see so many people of all ages so clearly passionate about experiencing the incredible sights the world has to offer.

 

I came across a great company set up by a woman called Suzy Cooper, who, tired of being penalised by hefty supplements for travelling alone set up Singular Travel (www.singulartravel.co.uk). The company negotiates with travel operators and hoteliers to offer a wider choice of holiday options to those who choose to travel alone.  I also found a great little business that specialises in holidays in the Maldives and Kerala. No News, No Shoes (www.nonewsnoshoes.co.uk) is family run company and they've personally visited every property on their small but well chosen portfolio meaning that they can share with you which are the nicest rooms and the best bits of the beach for each location.

 

The show runs at Earls Court until Sunday, but if you can't make it this weekend, don't worry, as they'll be repeating it at the NEC in Birmingham between 2-4 March this year. For more details, visit www.DestinationsShow.com.

So, after more than a week of will they, won't they, BA cabin crew have finally agreed to call off a planned 48 hour walk-out over sickness absence, pay, staffing and pensions. Full story here.

 

Whilst this is tentatively good news, the reality is that BA has already been forced to cancel many flights and it is likely to be too late in the day for the airline to reinstate most of them, resulting in disruption to thousands of passengers. BA's chief executive was quoted as saying "Unfortunately the decision has come too late to prevent disruption to the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers tomorrow and Wednesday. We will attempt to reinstate as many flights as we can for those days."

 

The Transport and General Workers Union reps look like the heroes of this mini drama, having negotiated an agreement that has resulted in averting the actual strike, but sadly this has come too late in the day for many passengers, whose travel plans lay in tatters. Too little, too late I think.

Tony Blair has now announced that he will offset the carbon emissions from all his personal travel, starting with the holiday that he took to Miami over Christmas - read the story here.

 

He must have read my blog entry from yesterday.

I've returned to work today to the news that Tony Blair has insisted that he won't stop travelling by air for his holidays despite the environmental impact of carbon emissions. Read the full story on MSN News.

 

It sure is a tricky one to figure out. Of course I care about the state of the planet, but does that mean that I shouldn't have flown to Australia this Christmas to visit my sister? Does it mean that when I get married later this year, I should choose to honeymoon in Bournemouth rather than a more far-flung (and potentially exotic) location?

 

Personally, as someone who's passionate about travel, I don't think it's realistic to expect people to simply give up air travel for the sake of the planet. That's not to say that we should blindly ignore the impact of travel on the environment, but preventing people from travelling as they wish simply isn't the answer. There's a lot of good to come out of tourism and the economy of many countries around the world depends almost entirely on the tourist industry.

 

I don't think the PM is being a hypocrite by stating that he won't give up air travel, because to say that simply isn't practical. However, I would have liked to hear him give his support to other ways of reducing the impact of air travel, such as carbon offsetting. Instead, he said that he believes that advances in sciences and technology are the key to reducing carbon emissions. Whilst this may be true, can we really afford to sit around waiting for these advances to materialise, and washing our hands of personal responsibility in the meantime? I don't think so, and therefore I'm about to go to www.climatecare.org to offset my carbon emissions for the holiday that I just took. Mr Blair - I hope you do the same thing next time you pop over to Tuscany for your hols.

 

 

 

Earlier this week, the MSN UK homepage team ran a promotion for two of our features on where to go for a sunshine Christmas and where to go for a white Christmas. Judging by the number of people who clicked on both items, most of you are traditionalists who'd rather spend the festive season having snowball fights and sipping mulled wine in front of a roaring fire.

 

On our message boards however, opinion seemed to be split right down the middle, with as many of you wishing for a huge dump of snow this year (fat chance, I'd say) as there were hoping to be whisked off to an exotic beach somewhere hot.

 

Well, this year, I'm firmly in the second camp of though, as I'm heading off to Australia tomorrow to do Christmas the Aussie way. Having done it once before, I can highly recommend a seafood barbeque in place of a turkey feast and spending the afternoon swimming off the overindulgences rather than dozing off in front of the Queen. They do still have Christmas trees and carols and bizarrely, they even send each other cards featuring wintery scenes, so it's not an entirely alien experience. It is of course a lot warmer and sunnier - and New Year's Eve in Sydney is something that everyone should try out at least once in their lives.

 

I'll be reporting back on my trip in the New Year, but in the meantime, I'd like to wish the readers of the brand new MSN Travel channel a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

In his Pre-Budget Report yesterday, Gordon Brown announced an increase in air passenger duty (APD) from February 2007. APD on short-haul flights will be doubled to £10 whilst increasing to £40 for long-haul flights, and double again to £20 and £80 for premium tickets.

 

Whilst there's no doubting that this is a nod towards the impact air travel has on the environment, arguably, all this really achieves is to make air travel a little less affordable for those who can afford it least. Certainly premium class travellers aren't going to notice an extra £20 or £80 on top of the price of their flight, whilst those choosing to travel with budget airlines such as Ryanair or Easyjet will feel the effects of the increase most of all.

 

What this tax does is to penalise those who desire or need to travel, whilst doing nothing to incentivise the airlines to tackle the actual causes of environmental damage from air travel. One option for travellers who are genuinely concerned about the carbon footprint left by flying is to pay money to a carbon offsetting company (read our feature on how carbon offsetting works here), but your average budget traveller is unlikely to be able to afford to do this. Surely a better way to tackle the effects of air travel is to force or incentivise the airlines to take this issue seriously?

 

 

Well, it's been many weeks of hard work, late nights and no social life, but the MSN Travel Channel has finally launched. It's really exciting to see it there after all the work that's gone into it. It's the first new channel we've launched on MSN for a while so it's been a pretty steep learning curve to get it out the door. Still, it's all been worth it and I've enjoyed the ride.

 

Now that it's there I can finally sit back and start thinking about the cool articles and reviews that I want to feature in the channel. We've already got some great pieces as part of the launch, including a guide to the UK's best hotels to spend Christmas in, a feature on how Christmas is celebrated abroad, a piece on what actually happens to the money you pay to a carbon offsetting company, and of course our Ski Guide 2006. In January we'll have some articles about the must visit destinations for 2007 as well as a guide to booking your family holiday. However, I'd love to hear what you'd like to see in the channel, so if you have an idea for MSN Travel, please send it to msnuktravel@hotmail.co.uk. I'll be updating this blog monthly with a round-up of all the feedback we receive.

 

Well, frankly, after all that work, I think I need a holiday! As luck would have it, I'm off to Australia in just over a week to spend Christmas with family and friends Down Under (no, I don't plan to watch the cricket, though the way we're playing, the Aussies will already have it in the bag the time I get there). I'm counting down the days until I'm off, but don't worry, the Travel Channel will be in safe hands whilst I'm away.