In a bid to make the most of the free hand luggage allowance on airlines, travellers have taken cunning steps.

A new study by Debenhams has found that rather than pay excess baggage charges when travelling by plane, savvy passengers have developed a habit of ‘wearing’ large amounts of their belongings.

The move has become popular since airlines have introduced cheaper ticket prices for those travelling with only hand luggage, with the leading fashion retailer reports that sales in the summer period of oversize coats with multiple pockets have skyrocketed by as much as 350 per cent. The five-pocket Mantaray jacket, with a hidden compartment in the sleeve, has risen by 200 per cent, while the John Rocha six-pocket parka has gone up by over 300 per cent.

Debenhams attributes to sales growth on the shop floor to travellers choosing to pack heavy items such as laptops, books, cameras and towels onto their person rather than pay for bags to be stowed in the airplane hold. This can save an individual up to £40 in some situations with budget carriers. Debenhams sales staff have even witnessed customers bring their travel items into the store to test the fit of jacket pockets, with the latest novel, netbook and even pants, socks and sarongs all stuffed inside parkas in the quest for travelling light. Though the trend may seem a smart way around charges, increased testing is likely before boarding, and excess baggage usually attracts a hefty surcharge, in some cases up to £20 per kilo.

Good news for those UK holidaymakers planning on heading into the Eurozone on a shopping spree.

The continued strengthening of the pound against the euro has meant that the average shopper will be able to enjoy around €56 more per head this year. The performance of the sterling is a much needed and welcomed boost to shoppers after recent budgetary frustrations, but key to making the most of the rates is to ensure the best deal is also found on currency exchange.

Currency specialist broker currencies.co.uk, which was formerly known as Foreign Currency Direct, has estimated that 29 per cent of Britons will be holidaying across the Eurozone during summer, meaning nearly a third of the population. Excluding travel costs such as flights and accommodation; they are predicted to spend £702 per person in stores, restaurants and bars. Last summer, that amount would have equated to around €815, but now holidaymakers are receiving €871 – or an extra €56 to spend.

However, despite the improved exchange rate, around two million UK holidaymakers will not make the most benefit of their cash by mostly taking out euros from ATMs overseas, which usually means heavy bank fees. In addition to the multiple bank fees associated with ATMs, yet more will change their cash immediately on arrival at airport exchange kiosks that are notorious for having some of the highest commission rates and poorest exchange deals.

The best bet is to head to the high street banks, where as much as 6 per cent can be saved on all transactions compared to overseas or specialist foreign currency providers.

A new study by ebookers.com, the European online travel specialist, has found British hotels need to clean up their act.

To help promote this campaign, ebookers is launching a new competition in which you could become a Hotel inspector. The report found that everything from beds to air conditioning, cleanliness to staff approachability all made up the overall hotel experience, which was topped by US hotels, with Spain, France and Greece coming in at the bottom.

Steven Rice, ebookers Head of Offline Marketing in the UK, France and Ireland said:”Choosing the right hotel can be a stressful task and our search for the ebookers’ Hotel Inspector aims to take some of the stress out of the decision-making process, by producing high quality reviews for our customers”. The competition is open to all UK residents, and all you need to do to enter is send an email to ebookershotelinspector@redconsultancy.com by Friday 23rd July including a recent photo and 250 words on where you believe you’d find the best hotel, what you think makes a hotel experience great and why ebookers should choose you.

“This is a great opportunity for one lucky person to travel the World to locate the ultimate hotel, sharing their personal tips and experiences to our customers along the way. We’re looking for people with a passion for travel to help uncover the best hotels on offer and if you think you’ve got what it takes to become ebookers Hotel Inspector we encourage you to get in touch,” said Rice.

Mid-July will see the world’s leading online travel expert, Expedia, unveil a new agency program in India.

Expedia will join forces with the Mumbai based operator Discover the World Marketing to provide first level sales and customer support services for the rapidly booing Indian travel market.

The move will increase Expedia’s position in the Indian sector, with the Travel Agents Affiliate Programme (TAAP) set for release in a little under one month. In line with the introduction of the new offer, Expedia.co.in will also be waiving membership for a period of three months.

Member agents who sign on to the TAAP benefit from the capability to view the Expedia.co.in inventory of car rentals, air and hotel bookings, and also great range destination activities, with bookings available through a dedicated, individual login and password. In addition to the free membership period of three months, travel agents will also be offered a temporary high rate of 12 per cent commission for all hotel bookings, which will revert back to the standard 10 per cent thereafter.

To ensure that the Indian programme experiences effective domestic promotion, Expedia has collaborated with Discover the World Marketing, making the most of promotion to local travel agents through the use of a range of marketing strategies tailored its service the Indian tourism sector.

Expedia’s Manager for Travel Agent Distribution APAC, Stuart Udy, said the launch would follow similar successful undertakings in various other markets such as Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, the UK, France, New Zealand and the USA.

Leading travel advice and feedback website operator has announced the acquisition of vacation rental specialist Holiday Lettings.

A subsidiary of online global travel Expedia, TripAdvisor is now in charge of what is acknowledged as the largest independent UK vacation rental website. TripAdvisor takes over Holiday Lettings from the British-based property website operator Rightmove, which sold its majority interest in the website for an undisclosed sum.

Rightmove had originally acquired a stake of 66.67 per cent in Holiday Lettings back in March 2007, though it recently stated in its half yearly report that it would classify the site as a discontinued operation, following the disposition of gross assets totalling £1 million.

40,000 vacation rental properties are currently advertised by Holiday Lettings on behalf of property managers, letting agents and private owners. The inventory stretches across 116 countries, ranging from apartments and villas to windmills and farmhouses, houseboats to yurts. 25 million visitors access the site each year according to the official press release.

TripAdvisor launched vacation rentals in 2009, following the acquisition in 2008 of the US-based Flipkey website. The takeover signals that the group is ramping up its competition with vacation rental leader HomeAway. Holidaylettings.co.uk will continue as an independent website.

TripAdvisor Media Group has now grown to encompass 17 different travel brands with the latest acquisition, collectively attracting around 46 million unique global visitors every month.