Episode 19 The Travel Show

Of all the tourists that came to Britain last year,

97% of them didn't visit Yorkshire.

What's wrong with them?

Coming up this week -

we find out how this region's trying to fight London's dominance

and why the Tour de France

could be the greatest weapon in its armoury.

We've got everything, really.

All we need is somebody to come and appreciate it.

Tommy's back with his travel gadgets.

We harness his destructive side.

But if you around whacking it against walls,

you could end up breaking it. I didn't that time!

Our animated travel tales come from Romania,

with an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.

And we go clubbing with the retro ravers of Spain's Balearic Islands.

Some of the UK's most beautiful landscape is in Yorkshire.

And one of the best ways to arrive is by rail.

Steam trains still sometimes run on these old lines.

And it's dead easy to get to for foreign tourists,

just a few hours out of London.

Tickets, please.

Thank you very much.

We're very lucky today, actually. It's an absolutely fantastic day.

When you say "lucky today", isn't it like this every day?

It's not...not like this every day.

But if you choose to come on the Settle to Carlisle line,

and it is quite misty, that's the atmosphere.

Why is it only 3% of international visitors to the UK

bother coming here?

For most British people,

this area is known as being wild and beautiful

and for two famous and huge national parks.

But that message isn't getting around.

That's why Yorkshire is pinning its hopes on another form of travel,

one with fewer wheels.

Bikes.

Next weekend, the Grand Depart of the Tour de France

will leave Yorkshire's biggest city, Leeds,

bound for its smaller, more peaceful neighbour Harrogate.

On its way, the peloton will pass through

some extraordinary countryside.

Organisers reckon around 3.5 billion people around the world

will be watching the race - a gold-plated opportunity.

There'll be people around Europe and the world

who will maybe have heard of Yorkshire

but not know what Yorkshire is.

So when they get to see a ten-hour television advert

of the great county of Yorkshire,

I think they'll have their eyes opened

to see how beautiful the county is.

Do you think part of the problem,

and the reason why you don't get as many international tourists

coming to Yorkshire, is because of the cost?

It's quite expensive to get here on the train.

If you book it on the day, you are going to pay the highest price,

get the most expensive ticket.

We need to make it possible through ticketing with Eurostar

and then a train coming straight through to Yorkshire.

At the moment, you've got to print a ticket off in London.

There are things like that - we need to make it a lot easier.

There are things the government can help with from that point of view.

Standard prices can start at £13, if you're lucky.

But walk-up fares can cost a couple of hundred.

It's almost impossible to fly direct from outside Europe,

so many potential visitors pass through London first.

In most cases, that's where they stay.

That means some of the most popular parts of England

struggle to attract foreign arrivals,

with figures only about 2% of the total.

Sucking in visitors from miles around,

many fear London's becoming something of a tourism black hole.

One finger.

And then the second finger on...now!

-That's it!

-THEY SING IN CHORUS

'The Tour Of Infinite Possibility, in a back room in Otley.

'The guys leading this workshop, Hope And Social,

'are the front men of Yorkshire's cultural festivities.

'They're from around the UK, but have found a home here,

'and are quickly becoming a common sight

'in the region's pubs and clubs.'

How am I going to move my fingers there? You're having a laugh!

'The Yorkshire Festival has used music, dance, drama

'and sculpture as a sideshow to the Tour,

'and there are events and exhibitions planned

'throughout the summer.'

I must say, it all sounds fantastic.

Do you think there is, if someone came on holiday to Yorkshire,

there's enough culture, enough things to do,

to sustain a holiday?

-How long for, two months?

-Oh.

-Definitely, yeah!

I was saying recently, cos I've got two kids, there isn't a day where

you couldn't do something different, if you wanted to.

You could go and do some different every day of the year,

-and still have things left to do.

-Wow.

Just think about your day, the stuff you've done today.

-And you're stopping in Leeds?

-Yeah.

So you've been up in the wilds.

You've been on one of the oldest train lines in the world,

seen all this beautiful countryside.

You've come here to find some art and culture.

You're going to go back to Leeds. There's a possibility

you might go for one of the best cocktails in the world,

-at one of the top ten cocktail bars in the whole world.

-OK, nice.

And, what's more, they reckon that if Yorkshire had competed

as its own country in the 2012 Olympics,

it would have come 12th.

And they've been sporty in these parts for ages.

In 1958, this man became the first Brit to win

a stage of the Tour de France.

He was already the first Brit to complete the whole thing.

At the age of 83, Brian Robinson lives close to the 2014 route

and, of course, is still in the saddle.

He's looking forward to the exposure.

It's already around the world.

I talked to a guy from Canada, he said,

"We see nothing on television but Yorkshire these days!"

That's a good sign. We haven't even got there yet.

So when all those television cameras, which come from

over 100 countries, are focused on Yorkshire,

that can't be a bad thing, can it, really?

That'd be amazing.

The roads up here have come in for some criticism.

French cyclist Marcel Kittel described them as "very dangerous",

particularly where they're narrow and bordered by stone walls.

But, for Brian, there's no better setting.

We've got such a varied countryside.

We've got the canal system.

We've got the rivers, we've got the seaside. We got the mountaintops.

Everything, I mean... CAR BEEPS AS IT RUSHES BY

I've ridden my life around this district, from being 14,

so I know it pretty well.

It takes some beating, really.

So expect to see lots of bikes

if you come here in the next couple of years

and cheap rental schemes aren't hard to find.

But watch out, because it's hilly around here

and the terrain is tough.

And here's a few other things you might need to know

if you're visiting Yorkshire.

# When I am with you There's no place I'd rather be... #

Don't believe the stereotype that English food is terrible.

There's some great local stuff in Yorkshire,

the home of Wensleydale cheese and all kinds of cakes

But for something a bit spicier,

you could try Bradford's famous Curry Mile.

# If you gave me a chance... #

If it's a last-minute decision to travel,

you might find it cheaper to drive from any of the UK's major cities.

Try to avoid public holidays,

as the roads are often single carriageway

and can get congested.

# There's no place I'd rather be... #

There are four big sculpture venues in Yorkshire

which have branded themselves, confusingly,

as the Sculpture Triangle.

Despite the geometric absurdity, there's lots to see there,

and they're all within a 30-minute journey of each other.

# There's no place I'd rather be. #

Next up, more of your animated travel tales.

This one's from Sarah from New Zealand.

The lonesome traveller blues hit

when I was halfway through a tour of Eastern Europe.

As anyone who has travelled alone can tell you,

it starts to wear you out in pretty typical ways.

You're lonely, exhausted - you just want a home-cooked meal.

But happily, my Romanian friend had given me her mother's address

and encouraged me to visit.

When I arrived in the heart of eerie Transylvania

I set out to find the right apartment,

but the Soviet blocks all looked the same -

an old, daunting mess of grey cement.

Eventually, I settled on one apartment in a row of hundreds.

I knocked on the door gently,

anticipating a lot of our encounter to be lost in translation.

A kind, older woman answered

and through a mixture of mimed movements

and enunciated English, I explained that I was her daughter's friend.

She received me with a big grin, quickly ushering me inside.

A little girl, who I assumed was my friend's sister, was also inside.

TV BLARES We all sat down to drink tea,

watch Romanian soap operas and share home-made cake.

The apartment was really cosy, and full of lamps, souvenirs

and crochet throws.

I understood almost nothing of what was happening,

but soap operas are pretty much the same in every language.

I also must have wolfed down my cake,

because my friend's mum quickly offered to go buy food for dinner.

She put her coat on and slipped out, leaving me with the little girl.

When she got back, she went to work,

making a genuine Romanian feast of hearty soup, meat and polenta.

Throughout the meal, we laughed

and continued to talk in a muddled mix of hand signals.

After about five hours, my host pulled out some old photo albums.

I looked forward to seeing potentially embarrassing photos

of my friend as a little girl.

But as the pages turned and we passed an endless array of husbands,

aunts, uncles and children, I began to have a sinking feeling

that these were not my friend's relatives.

I hadn't seen one picture that looked like her.

My mouth went dry and my heart beat faster.

I was in the wrong apartment!

To make matters worse, the woman and the little girl

began pulling out a mattress for me to sleep on.

I panicked and stiffened on the couch,

unsure of how to make a quick exit without being rude.

In my best gesturing, I explained that I already had a hotel booked.

I thanked them profusely and made a hasty retreat,

too embarrassed to linger.

They waved a warm goodbye and I set off into the concrete Soviet jungle.

Out of the corner of my eye,

I noticed the apartment I should have visited,

and couldn't believe I'd mixed the numbers up.

As I slinked off into the night, I couldn't shake the image

of that sweet little girl asking her mother, "Who was that woman?"

Her mother's inevitable reply, "I have absolutely no idea."

Now for your weekly roundup from around the world of travel.

Dozens more places have just been added

to UNESCO'S list of World Heritage Sites.

The destinations this time included Botswana's Okavango Delta,

the Grand Canal in China

and the ancient Incan Qhapaq Nan road network,

which goes through six South American countries.

Late night dancing might soon be allowed again in Japan.

The government there is considering relaxing the rules.

Now, not many people know that dancing's only allowed till midnight

at clubs that have a special license.

In recent years, there have been police raids

against venues that ignore the ban.

And finally,

it's got volcanoes, sand and almost guaranteed sunshine

but now people heading to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands,

should also be greeted with a smile.

The island's tourism corporation has come up with

a scheme called Tenerife Buena Gente.

The aim is to encourage locals to be nicer to tourists.

Still to come here on The Travel Show...

Coming up, we head to the party island of Mallorca

to rave with the over-50s,

who appear to be the new kids on the block.

-Not going to bungee.

-I'll watch her, but I won't be going on it.

She's going to the foam party.

The Travel Show - your essential guide wherever you're headed.

Here on The Travel Show, we've tested stuff that's solar powered,

hand powered and even fire powered.

But my first one today is a little bit different.

It takes its energy from a scientific reaction.

Let's take a look!

The Brunton Hydrogen Reactor powers your device via USB.

OK, so the lab coat and the goggles might be a bit much

but I always wanted to be a scientist.

You plug in the USB and screw in the hydrogen cylinder.

And that will then react with the oxygen in the atmosphere

to produce electricity.

You'll hear that in just a second.

IT POPS There you go.

Each core has the capability to charge your phone three times.

Once they're empty, you can take them

to an outdoor shop to be refilled.

Now, there are quite a few products out there

that will give you back up power for your devices.

But what I like about this one

is it uses the natural elements around you,

which is kind of cool

because you know if you're in the middle of nowhere

then you'll always be able to charge your mobile phone.

However, if you are going on a long trip

then you will need quite a few of these.

Check these out.

Wireless headphones that sync via Bluetooth

so you can listen to music or take a phone call but...

..without using your ear.

The AfterShokz Bluez uses bone conduction technology

to transfer a sound waves directly into the inner ear.

You use the bone at the side to play music or to receive phone calls

and then the vibrations travel through your skull

so you can hear the sound.

People around you might be able to hear some of the sound too,

so these aren't ideal if you're somewhere quiet

like an overnight flight.

But imagine if you are on a city tour,

perhaps you're going for a run or your on a cycle ride

and you need to keep your wits about you on a safety level.

Then something like this allows you

to listen to your music at the same time.

It's the best of both worlds.

Ooh!

When you're chilling out on a beach,

you need to be wary about how much UV you're exposing your body to.

However, on a day like this in London,

I don't think I need to be so cautious.

But if I did have the sun beating down on me,

then something like this could be quite handy.

The Netatmo June Bracelet has in-built UV sensors

and syncs with your phone via Bluetooth.

You'll need to download the app and then input your skin type

and whether or not you're wearing suncream

and then you can track how much UV you're exposed to.

OK, OK, so in weather like this

it's only showing 0.2 on the reading on the phone.

And actually, because there isn't a display on the bracelet itself,

you have to keep the two together, which can restrict its use.

Plus, this isn't waterproof,

so you can't take it in the sea or in the swimming pool.

But we all know how important it is to be safe in the sun

and something like this can help you track

how much UV you're exposed to.

Oh, one other thing, it's actually designed for ladies.

But I think I pull it off quite well.

I thought I'd buy everyone in the office a nice bottle of Merlot.

They'll like that. Oh!

That'll be ruined. Or is it?

The Vigo wine carrier is made from a resistant foam

that turns into a protective shell on impact.

The makers of this claim it can protect the bottle from typical drops

but if you go around whacking it against walls,

you could end up breaking it. I didn't that time!

But imagine you've brought back

a lovely bottle of wine from your holidays.

Then having this can add a layer of protection in your suitcase.

OK, for the final test, let's see if it can withstand this.

LAUGHTER No problem!

To end this week, we're heading to the Mediterranean Sea

and the Spanish resort island of Mallorca.

Greg McKenzie's been to find out why clubbing there

is no longer just for the young.

Magaluf is Mallorca's best-known resort.

Situated on the southwest coast of the island,

it's been attracting holiday-makers for more than 40 years.

Some say the recipe here is simple -

palm tree-dotted beaches and plenty of sunshine.

THEY CHEER

And of course, for those who like to party,

Magaluf is always happy to oblige.

But it's not just teenagers and young adults having all the fun.

According to one travel company,

the over-40s are flocking back to places like Ibiza, Ayia Napa

and here in Magaluf,

where they're fast becoming the new kids on the block.

Broadway Travel says it's seen an increase of 38%

of older people booking package holidays through them

to clubbing hot spots.

This is one of the island's newest venues,

catering for the slightly older market.

And although there's no age limit on the door,

this is a favourite haunt for more mature clubbers

willing to spend that little bit extra

for a sophisticated clubbing experience.

I kind of grew up listening to the music,

as did a lot of my mates and stuff.

And I decided it'd be a really nice brand to bring over to Mallorca.

This side of the island's got a bit of bad reputation with the history,

and the kids and all that kind of thing,

and we're just trying to lift the area, lift the venue

and make it a bit more for the adults.

-And would you say it's working?

-Oh, absolutely, yes. It's fantastic.

The age group we're getting is between 30 to 55, 60-year-olds.

They're coming in for the day, during the evenings.

It's working really well.

Magaluf, which attracts 3 million visitors yearly,

has seen its fair share of badly behaved tourists.

But the local council are keen to clean up this image

by appealing to all age groups.

No, it's not just for youngsters.

As I say, you can have it as lively as you want,

or you can have a nice, quiet night if you want.

There's something for everybody.

Yeah, we come here because we're young at heart.

And, er, the night life, of course.

Friendly beaches, friendly people.

-Where are you going tonight?

-Maybe BCM.

And what's that, for people that don't know?

It's a big nightclub. And I'm going to go on the bungee.

Mum, you've got to go!

-No, no.

-She'll not go on the bungee.

I'll watch her, but I won't be going on it.

She's going to the foam party.

Word of The Travel Show's visit to Magaluf soon spread,

and I was invited to speak live on Radio One Mallorca about our trip.

The station reaches more than half a million holiday-makers

and British ex-pats across the Balearic Islands.

-We have a guy from BBC TV, The Travel Show.

-Uh-huh.

The one that you just mentioned a minute ago

that has something ridiculous like 80 million viewers a week

to their programme...

-And we're desperately...

-..and we're here in Mallorca,

so can I introduce you to Greg? He can tell you why he's here.

There's an increase, let's say, in the over-40s reminiscing

and rekindling their youth by coming back out to Magaluf and Ayia Napa.

Just have a look around you.

As the age of the average clubber rises,

the demand for more luxurious accommodation is also increasing,

because many over-40s have the disposable income to go upmarket.

Gordon Phillips is a club director

who's planning to move into the hotel business next season.

He's been on the island for 20 years.

In the last year or two,

we've noticed a very large increase -

especially early and late season - in the older generation.

Whether they're reminiscing their youthfulness or, you know...

I think the travel industry has helped this to happen,

because they've changed now -

you don't have to be seven or 14 nights here,

you can actually choose to be one night, three nights, five -

you can package your own holiday.

This is the biggest nightclub on the island,

and draws on average 4,000 clubbers a night,

and Gordon admits it's always going to have a young crowd,

but now, it's also about offering the older crowd a similar experience.

And for those caught up the holiday bubble,

savouring the escapism that a change of scenery

and anonymity of being abroad offers,

clubbers who grew up in the '80s

can relive the excitement of their youth all over again.

That's all for this week, but join us next week, when...

'I'll be in Rome,

'putting my green fingers to the test in an exclusive,

'behind-the-scenes tour of the Pope's gardens

'and meeting the people who make it look so spectacular.'

What about this bit here?

Ma, lo lascerei.

-No?

-No.

-No more?

That's next week. In the meantime, you can follow us in real time

by signing up to our social media feeds,

and all the details on how to do that are on your screens now.

But from me, Ade Adepitan,

and all the Travel Show team here in Yorkshire,

it's goodbye.