SPECIALISTS in over-50s coach travel, WA Shearings has completed a £78million sale and leaseback deal on 39 of its 43 hotels.

The company has also secured a £25million refinancing package with Lloyds TSB, which will be used to support the group’s growth and protect against seasonal fluctuations in sales.

The arrangement includes a £2.4million fuel hedging facility and a £5million foreign exchange dealing service.

The bank will also provide a £5.8million bond to meet package travel regulations.

The financing comes 16 months after the £200million merger between Shearings and the owners of Wallace Arnold.

WA Shearings carries 700,000 passengers a year on coach and air-based holidays, claims annual sales of £200million and employs 3,400 staff.

Chief executive of WA Shearings John Slatcher says: “We are keen to grow the business and this financing deal means that we will be able to invest in the brand and ensure we remain at the forefront of this growing and increasingly affluent sector.”

www.washearings.com

WIGHTLINK has expressed the importance of the groups market as crucial to the Isle of Wight’s continuing success as a year-round tourism destination.

After the completion of annual refits to its Portsmouth-Fishbourne fleet, the cross-Solent operator is keen to attract more visitors to the island throughout this summer and autumn with the introduction of new group-oriented itineraries.

Two new booklets focusing on the Isle of Wight’s landscape including its gardens, nature reserves and large areas of outstanding natural beauty, include The Rare Plant Trail, and A Wighter Shade of Green. Both itineraries are free to groups and coach operators.

Wightlink sales director Ian Winn says that one-day coach itineraries are important ways to attract a range of visitors to the island, which relies on tourism to support many small leisure businesses and attractions.

“Coaches bring many thousands of visitors, of all ages, to the Isle of Wight and our job is to find ideas that will keep the faithful coming back to us, while building new business for the future,” says Winn.

www.wightlink.co.uk

THE WORLD Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and Accenture travel services has predicted UK’s tourism business is forecast to grow at a rate of more than 3 per cent over the next decade – 1 per cent lower than global rates.

It also estimates that travel and tourism now represents 9.4 per cent of the UK’s gross domestic product accounting for 2.6 million jobs.

However, the UK is falling behind worldwide growth levels. The WTTC states global travel and tourism is expected to grow by 4.6 per cent this year, continuing at a rate of 4.2 per cent per annum over the next ten years.

Concerns over the perceived high cost of the UK and London in particular could turn potential tourists away, despite the opportunity offered by the 2012 Olympics in the capital.

WTTC president Jean-Claude Baumgarten has called for a co-ordinated and well-funded marketing campaign to assure visitors that they will receive value for money.

He also emphasised that better regulation, "intelligent taxation" and a wider understanding of travel and tourism's economic value amongst ministries and Regional Development Agencies would further support the industry's growth.

www.wttc.org