Another airline fails leaving thousands potentially stranded:

It was sad to learn that Fly Globespan, Scotland’s Largest Airline, had gone into Administration last evening with all flights cancelled. This leaves many disappointed holiday makers hoping to go away for Christmas and thousands potentially stranded abroad.

Amro used Globespan for many of our Scottish departures. Last night, we contacted all our passengers overseas, many of whom were unaware of the demise until we called, to advise them of their new return flights which we had re-booked on alternative carriers. This was all at no extra cost to them as they are fully protected under our ATOL.

This morning, we have contacted passengers due to go away over the next few months. Rather than simply cancel and refund their money, we have worked to re-book them and ensure they can still enjoy their holiday – again at no additional cost.

By lunchtime, everyone was sorted – we even helped some clients who had not booked with us but were staying in the same resorts – and we have had some great emails of thanks. We celebrated our success with mince pies!

Thanks everyone !

Tenerife & Gran Canaria - Two Centre Holidays

Possibly the most popular question we are asked is "where else is there to go besides Gran Canaria that isn't going to cost the earth?"

Well, the answer is a two centre holiday combining a few days in the south of Tenerife with a few days in Gran Canaria. And by flying out on Saturdays and returning on Mondays, you can have 9 days holidays for no more than your usual annual holiday leave in going to Gran Canaria only.

Our resort in the south of Tenerife is Playa de las Americas. Here you'll find all the fun and frolics of Gran Canaria but on a slightly less frenetic scale but still with gay bars and discos and a super chill-out bar/resort at Playaflor. There are several gay beaches and cruising areas and the mix of golden and black volcanic sand adds a certain "je ne sais quoi" to lying on the beach.

And did we mention the weather? We have a sneaky feeling that Playa de las Americas beaches are slightly warmer in the winter as they don't seem to get that chilly wind off the sea that you can get in Gran Canaria.

It's great value too, adding around just a £100 to a 7 night holiday in Gran Canaria for the extra two nights and the short flight transfer between the two islands.

New Exclusively Gay Guest House in Spain

Last weekend I stayed a few days at Steve and Paul's new home in the rural Spanish coutryside outside Alicante on the Costa Blanca. The accommodation comprises four guest bedrooms, each with trendy and luxury en-suite bathrooms. There is also a comfy sitting room and cosy dining room for lunches and dinners..

As is common in this part of Spain, there are loads of outdoor terraces and shady gardens - one with a hammock - to enjoy the outdoor living and a wonderful clothing optional pool with plenty of sun loungers.

The location is great being surrounded by farms and vineyards yet less than a mile from the nearest town and just twenty minutes from Alicante Airport with its excellent flight links to major and regional UK airports. Gay beaches are around half an hour away and there is a lively gay scene in both Alicante and the nearby town of Elche.

Steve and Paul offer accommodation with breakfast at 4 Points as well as airport transfers. Complimentray drinks are available all day around the pool and lunches and dinners are available on request.

Cheap Gay Holidays to Gran Canaria

I was idly chatting the other day with a gay industry colleague who started to bemoan that there were no longer any cheap holidays to Gran Canaria.

We talked around this and concluded that there were, in fact, still plenty of cheap holidays available.

I highlighted that Amro has 7 nights with flights in a Carmen studio on 11 December for just £225 per person and plenty more in October and November at under £300.

It’s just that these sort of prices are no longer available for last minute deals.

This reflects the structural changes in the way travel is bought and packaged with much less whole aircraft and accommodation chartered and then dumped at rock bottom prices at the last minute, if unsold. The emphasis is now very much book in advance for the best deals and expect the price to rise as departure date approaches.

Having said all that, Amro still has a few September offers available at £322 per person but only on a few dates and you’ll have to be quick.

So the cheap Gran Canaria holiday is far from over – just plan a bit ahead and you'll bag a great bargain.

More Flights to Gran Canaria

We're pleased to announce that we have now contracted with more airlines operating from regional airports such as Jet2 from the North-East and Globespan from Scotland to give you local departures on flights to Gran Canaria

We've also got a wider range of timings and availability from Thomson, Thomas Cook and other charter airlines out of Gatwick to provide an even greater choice of flights on this popular route.

But we can't display everything on line, so if you need specific timings, maybe to maximise the length of your holiday or combine with another trip, just call us on 01462 434663 or use our email link.

sv Star Clipper Greek Islands Gay Cruise with Armisted Maupin

This is a very special gay cruise around the Greek Islands aboard the three masted sailing ship Star Clipper in the company of writer and raconteur Armisted Maupin. What makes it very special is the price - just £1499 per person - and that includes return flights from London Gatwick to Athens, transfers to the ship and 7 nights full board accommodation. That's a full 30% discount on the normal price.

We'll follow the routes of ancient Greek mariners, taking you from Athens, the seat of democracy, to Kusadasi on the Turkish coast and on to Santorini and Mykonos. A mecca for the rich and famous, Mykonos has long been a favorite gay travel destination. This magical island has it all; beautiful people, vibrant nightlife, world class dining and pristine white sand beaches.

Download a brochure for more details...........

Gran Canaria for £299 each for 7 days

Did you see our "Legs" advert which ran throughout May in the gay magazines that are given away free nationally in bars and clubs ?

We ran a few special offers including a week in Gran Canaria for £299 based on two sharing accommodation and including flights. We sourced this back in April and we have now obtained additional capacity so this great deal is still available to book on line NOW.

Just search for Gran Canaria on the last three Wednesday's in September and look for the Carmen in a studio room. The price came up at £299 or even less when we checked today.

If you can't find this deal just ring our Call Centre and we'll book it for you.

More BA flights bookable online

Our online booking technology has just received a tremendous boost with the introduction of more British Airways flights which can be booked online through our website

So now, many long haul destinations such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami have a wider range of flights available and also a choice of classses from Economy through Premium Economy to Business Club. In addition, many destinations such as Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town or Sydney have BA flights bookable online to combine with hotel accommodation into a great value ATOL protected package holiday with transfers and excursions included as you wish.

And all the European destinations including Barcelona for Sitges and city breaks such as Prague or Berlin also have a greater selction of flights available.

Sterling strengthens to US Dollar

A few days away and on return, I see that the US Dollar has weakened by over 10% during the past week meaning a pound now buys just over USD1.53.

That's great news for anyone thinking of flying anywhere as aviation fuel is priced in dollars and will be that little bit cheaper, possibly reducing some long haul flight surcharges. Plus most long haul destinations price their hotels and ground arrangements in US dollars and we have already reduced the prices for our hotels available through online booking.


But best of all those popular gay destinations such as Ft Lauderdale, Palm Springs and San Francisco are starting to look affordable again. Besides the pound buying more US Dollars, there are some great bargains to be had as many restaurants and bars are making special offers for overseas visitors - plus we'll give you an 11% discount voucher when you go shopping at Macy's - great for Dockers, Levis and other designer goods.





So start searching online for a great holiday buy to the US and further afield

Spain's Costa del Sol

I've just returned from spending a few sunny days on the Costa del Sol checking out all our hotels as part of our due diligence process to see they continue to meet our high standards and current management and staff remain gay welcoming.

It is so easy to forget what a great gay destination this area makes. There's a wide choice of UK departure airports, just over 2 hours flying time and with 15 minute train transfers costing around €1.00, it's easily accessible. Our top-end August Saturday flights from Gatwick with 7 nights B&B in a 4 star Hotel start at £640 per person, this has to be great value.


The main gay town of Torremolinos enjoys its own gay beach opposite the Posiedon Beach Bar and there are four others within easy access. Night life in the La Nogalera shopping centre is pretty hectic in the summer months with bars, clubs and saunas. Our 4 star Hotel Cervantes is between the two – ten minutes to the beach and five minutes to the bars and clubs.


Malaga is just 25 minutes away by train and offers excellent shopping in the Calle Larios, the culture of Picasso birth place and museum, a sense of style and history as befits an ancient roman city plus some fun gay bars on the Plaza Merced and a good beach at the Malagueta. It's a handy place to stay - our 4 star Malaga Centro hotel has just been refurbished and is within 20 minutes walk of all that Malaga has to offer plus its roof top terrace and pool is a great place to cool off and top up the tan.

So if you feel you’ve done the Yumbo but are still looking for a reasonably priced holiday break, why not check out our Costa del Sol web pages and search for a holiday deal.

Gay Ski-ing:

I have just returned from a few days in the Alps looking at possible options for gay ski-ing in 2010. It’s been a really exciting few days visiting some spectacular ski resorts with plenty of après-ski and evening night life plus some amazing ski and snowboarding opportunities. Best of all everyone has been offering a very gay welcoming experience with hoteliers keen to host gay snow fun lovers with some pretty special prices.

So Amro Worldwide will be looking at some very attractive options over the next few months for gay ski-ing and snowboarding in 2010. If you’d like a sneak preview with some early booking discounts, why not register now for our Winter Sports newsletter at

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001Nw62mjI74CiacZdzn17yaA%3D%3D.

and you’ll be the first to know.

Travel Firm Failures Continue

"Drastic action can save struggling travel firms" was a headline in this week's Travel Industry press. The report was based on some research carried out by Plimsoll Publishing that out of the 1000 top travel firms, 213 are at high risk of failure. It continued with some actions those companies should be thinking of taking to avoid failure.

Travel firms continue to fail. Just last month, three firms failed in February 2009 leaving over 5000 travellers either without a holiday or stranded abroad.

The average traveller can be forgiven for letting the pain and anguish of a failure fade into distant memeory, but particulary for those who lost either their holidays or money - or in some cases both - the memory remains strong and somewhat painful.

Amro Worldwide holds ATOL5826 which fully protects any flight included holiday package which we sell. Unlike some companies, our ATOL is a real ATOL - it can be checked on the CAA website. It's not just a logo used to entice your booking and give confidence but provides real protection. So when buying your next holiday, do check that the ATOL protection information you are told about really does exist.

European Symposium on Gay & Lesbian Tourism

A bit of a mouthful for what was a very succesful day yesterday spent looking at gay tourism and how it is developing. I was delighted to be asked to make a presentation on how Amro Worldwide works with destinations and suppliers, as a summing up on much of the morning and early afternoon's discussions and presentations.

Our "So Gay" campaign on the London Underground during last summer's London Pride certainly hit the headlines then and it continues to rumble on especially when Adweek.com suggested it was the most talked about travel industry ad of 2008. The "legs" of the campaign certainly gave superb publicity to our partners of Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington DC and as of last week two posters were still displaying - that's seven months after the campaign officially closed.

So, some great opportunites and unique ideas for destinations and suppliers to work with Amro Worldwide to maximise opportunities.

Some 2009 Predictions...

It's been interesting reading the papers over the past week with all their predictions for 2009 so I thought I'd record here my thoughts on travel and gay travel in particular for 2009.

Firstly, I think the currencies have been over done and we will see the pound recover against the Euro and US Dollar. This has already started to happen with the Euro showing clear ground over parity. I predict we'll see the 1.20 Euro and the 1.50 USD by Easter - not quite what we have been used to but enough to tempt travellers back to these destinations. All our prices are based on these rates of exchange so why not go ahead and book your holiday now whilst there is good choice and prices are competitive?

I don't think we will see a repeat of airlines such as Silverjet, Zoom, Nationwide and XL failing this year as the price of oil has fallen substantially. But I do think a number of niche holiday companies, including possibly some gay specialists, might be in trouble as booking volumes fall as a result of the economic downturn. This means understanding the Financial Protection included with the holiday and checking that it really is as good as the sales team promote, is absolutley vital. For Amro Worldwide that's easy. We hold ATOL 5826 which ensures full protection for your holiday and re-patriation if the airline goes out of business.

As for destinations, the swing to European destinations will continue but I predict that our gay resort at Dalyan in Turkey will be very popular, offering superb value for being outside the Eurozone. For those venturing to Spain, Gran Canaria will remain a top destination but the greater variety and lower price of flights to Barcelona and Malaga will make Sitges and the Costa del Sol resorts of Torremolinos and Malaga more popular than in the past. I suspect that short weekend city breaks will be less popular and the ability to book other than 7 or 14 night holidays through Amro Worldwide will mean more 8 or 9 night holidays to maximise holiday leave and value.

Gay cruises will continue to grow in popularity but I doubt this is the year for the increasing range of gay adventure holidays that we are offering simply due to economic circumstances. One Off celebration holidays such as honeymoons will continue to grow with evermore exotic destinations starting to feature - we've already sold a China, Vietnam and Cambodia trip.

Now for prices. Whilst there will always be bargains to be found and we have plenty on our website, the overall trend in 2009 will be for prices to rise simply as a result of capacity reductions across the entire industry. All holiday companies are keen to get the bookings in now so they know where they stand, so now is the time to search the deals and get booking. Late deals will still be there but the days of last minute distress pricing sales is gone and they will almost certainly be more costly as the year passes by.

So, Happy Travelling to you all in 2009.