Issue № 35 : Late November 2020

Ideas and opportunities for group travel buyers. Brought to you by the team behind GTO magazine, the authoritative source of group travel knowledge.

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Three tiers for Christmas ...

There's been some positive news since our last Grapevine about a resumption of social activity both in the short term with the ending of the month-long lockdown in England, and the promise of successful mass vaccination starting soon. Some Christmas group activities still remain available - particularly outdoor visits to illuminations and pantomimes in areas not subject to Tier 3 restrictions, as the lockdown ends on December 2nd. More details were awaited as we went to press. A survey conducted by VisitBritain before the good news about the vaccines still showed a very cautious attitude to travel (see item below).

Grapevine Nuggets

Live at the Apollo

Tickets are on sale for Monday Night at the Apollo - a brand-new concert series in front of a socially distanced audience at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End from January. Performers announced so far are Rosalie Craig, Arthur Darvil, Hadley Fraser, Lucie Jones and Cedric Neal.

Waddesdon illuminates the New Year

The Winter Light illumination event at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is to extend into next year, running right until the end of January so that more people can enjoy a twinkly uplift at the dawn of 2021 - which will hopefully be better than 2020!

Find out more >>

A nautical treat for 2021

It has been announced that the Tall Ships Race in 2021 will start from Falmouth, Cornwall, in August 2021. Prior to the race, visitors can enjoy the opportunity to see these beautiful vessels gather from all over the world, join waterborne tours for a closer look, and watch the Parade of Sail.

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Historic 747 makes final landfall

British Airways has retired its large fleet of Boeing 747s. One of the last to fly has now made its final journey to berth at Cotswold Airport (former RAF Kemble), where it will become an exhibit and visitor facility - due to open to the public in spring 2021.

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More Panto particulars

Those of you who enjoyed my recent round-up of Christmas pantos (see here) can find more festive theatrical joy on British Theatre.com's useful events listing (link below). Some of these are quite short runs and are selling out quickly, so get your skates on if you want to go to the ball!

Christmas Markets & Festive Thrills

How much of the Christmas events calendar has survived Covid-19? Fiona Horan takes a look at what is cancelled and what is still going ahead around the UK - including heritage railways, Christmas Markets, ice rinks and theatres.

Tourism industry news

Throughout the pandemic,
Visit Britain has been holding a survey tracking consumer sentiment as regards domestic and international travel. You can take a look below at Its latest report, which surveyed people before the latest good news about vaccines. It shows that the vast majority of those surveyed don't expect things to be back to normal by March, and are not really making any plans yet for 2021.

See the survey >>

Travel show ITB Berlin has announced that it will be digital next year. News on other travel shows: Excursions will not be taking place as normal in January, BTTS has not yet made a decision whether it will go ahead as scheduled in March, but Landor Travel Publications is very optimistic about being able to hold the GO Travel Show again at Kempton Park at the end of April.

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