Yesterday saw Chancellor George Osbourne bring some good news for the travel industry in this year’s budget. It was announced that Air Passenger Duty (APD) will not be increasing this year. Osbourne told how he will be delaying the increase until next year due to the heavy rises in tax last year.

It was also confirmed that talks will be starting today regarding the system of distance banding used for the tax. These talks will review the “rather arbitrary nature of the banding system which appears to consider the Caribbean to be further away than parts of the US and Hawaii,” he commented.

APD will now be extended to private jets too so that APD taxation does not have to be increased. He said “the wealthiest should not escape the tax the ordinary holidaymaker has to pay.” The hefty rise in last year’s duty and the increasing cost pressures on families was the reason behind the delay in the APD rise.

Osbourne further added that he wanted to replace APD with a per plane duty. However current international laws permit this, and so the UK government will now be working to change this law.

What did you make of Chancellor George Osbourne’s 2011 budget? Are you happy with the freeze in APD or do you think better changes should have been made instead? Let us know your opinions by leaving your comments below.

For a bit of Friday fun we got talking in the office about where we would travel to on a dream holiday, if we had endless amounts of money. Personally I’ve always wanted to visit the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu. Set 7,000 feet above sea level in the Andean Mountain Range. Discovered in 1911, the ruins of the village completely fascinate me (along with thousands of people). Therefore I can’t wait to experience the hidden ruins of Machu Picchu…

I asked all my colleagues in the office, who are  a particularly well travelled bunch, where they would most like to visit, and got these responses.

 Lauren – Would stay in the Constance Halaveli Resort in the Maldives. The resort offers a complete privacy, with access to a private beach and plunge pool.

Becky – Initially reeled off a long round the world trip, before settling on the idea of going to Florida and staying in an exclusive hotel.

Anna – Would go to Dubai for 2 weeks and stay in the Jumeirah in the Royal Suite.

Katie – South America on the Blue Train then relax in luxury on the beaches of Mozambique.

Jodie – Antarctica to see the whales and penguins.

Linda – Would go on a round the world trip

Jamie – New Zealand from top to bottom

Sonia – Bali with the family

Clarissa – This is a good one! Necker Island (owned by Richard Branson) where you can hire the whole island!

So go on, let your imagination get the better of you, where would you choose to go?

With Dubai being one of the most luxurious places on the planet offering the height of luxury in some of the world’s finest hotels and resorts I wanted to find out the ultimate hotel where every need is catered for. This task proved harder than my initial thoughts with all the majority of hotels and resorts rated 5 stars it’s hard to pick out the best.

However it became obvious that the iconic Burj al Arab hotel is well known across the world for providing the height of luxury, with an underwater seafood restaurant which can only be reached by a three minute submarine journey this hotel is hard to beat! Only offering a variety of seven suites the royal suite is the most opulent.  As luxury is the theme the royal suite of this hotel offers a private elevator and private cinema, a master bed room with rotating four poster canopy bed, marble and gold staircase! It really is luxurious!  The hotel was designed to resemble the graceful sails of an Arabian dhow, and dominated the coastline. Arrive in a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce or by private helicopter and live like a star!

Bringing us back down to earth with a bump, Dubai is a fantastic destination offering many attractions, including some of the best golf clubs in the world, activities like swimming with dolphins, shooting, dune bashing and more you may not spend much time in your hotel, (no matter how luxurious)

With the weather being glorious all year round it is a must holiday destination. At Holidays Please we provide many of these luxury hotels and Dubai holidays, but with such a variety you may benefit from some expert advice. Fill in an enquiry now and a member of our sales team will be in touch.

I have just come back from dubai and stayed at the Palace Hotel. It is has pretty dramatic location based at the base of the Burj Dubai which is the world’s tallest building.

Not that the hotel needs anything to make it any more dramatic. At the front you are greeted by a beautiful rectangular pond surrounded by palm trees. At night it looks fantastic…

The driveway at the Palace Hotel, Dubai

Tasteful and spacious bedrooms

Gorgeous full size swimming pool which has a lagoon behind

One great tip if you like a tipple for Dubai is to stock up on duty free. Although you can buy alcohol in most hotels it tends to be quite expensive.

Click here for some amazing dubai holidays