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The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) says companies are adding more restrictions for drink-related claims.

They looked at 20 of the leading policies and all of them said drink could affect the result.

The Foreign Office says taking holiday insurance when people go away is vital.

Foreign office figures suggest 25% of 16 to 24-year-olds travel abroad without holiday insurance, a much higher number than the average.

source: BBC.co.uk

The UK will be increasingly reliant on travel and tourism in 2012 as jobs and economic growth in the sector outstrip the wider economy.

According to a report released today by the World Travel&Tourism Council (WTTC), the industry will grow by 1.3 percent in 2012 – over double the rate of growth in the wider economy, predicted to be 0.6 percent by the International Monetary Fund.

This rate of growth means that the travel and tourism industry is expected to directly contribute £35.6 billion and almost 950,000 jobs to the British economy.

source: travel-news.co.uk

Travellers are being tricked into paying a wide range of ”rip-off charges” by travel organisations, according to a new study of nearly 200 tour operators, hotels, airlines and car hire firms.

Expensive telephone contact numbers, ”hidden” extras and ”free” offers that include payments are just some of the things inflicted on travellers, says the new report from Which? Travel.

The research found that nearly 30 per cent of companies were using the two most expensive premium rate telephone lines, starting 0871 or 090, while 43 per cent were adding surcharges or unavoidable bookings fees to card payments.

source: dailymail.co.uk

TUI Travel waltzed into the spotlight on Monday after UBS initiated coverage on the holiday company with a “‘buy'” rating and 220p target price.

The broker added TUI to its merger watch-list following recent speculation that its parent company, TUI AG, is looking to buy out the remaining 45.5pc of the business it does not already own.

UBS also initiated coverage on TUI’s beleaguered rival Thomas Cook, which it handed a “‘neutral'” rating. The broker said it preferred TUI because of its developed product mix and stronger balance sheet.

source: Telegraph.co.uk

President Raul Castro put on ice highly-anticipated plans to ease travel restrictions on Cubans, telling lawmakers the nation would not be pressured into moving too fast and citing continued aggression from the United States as the reason for his cautious approach.

Cuba has been awash in speculation the much-hated regulations, which prevent most Cubans from leaving the island, might be lifted during Friday’s session of the National Assembly. But Castro said the time still wasn’t right, despite a year of free-market reforms that has seen the Communist government legalize a real estate market and greatly increase private business ownership.

“‘Some have been pressuring us to take the step … as if we were talking about something insignificant, and not the destiny of the revolution,'” Castro said, adding that those calling for an end to the travel restrictions “‘are forgetting the exceptional circumstances under which Cuba lives, encircled by the hostile policy … of the U.S. government.'”

source: AP