Country Life In The City

A week before you move, if you are currently renting , confirm when the landlord will collect the keys, check your removal firm/van hire company is all prepared for moving day, contact your local council to suspend parking restrictions during your move and pay your bills for things like milk and newspaper. Also, put together a box of essentials, including light bulbs, breakfast and nightwear, to ease the transition on the first night.

On moving day, check you have left nothing behind, locked and switched off everything necessary and keep a copy of the last meter readings. At your new house, check that everything is as you expected it to be with regards to what has been left behind. Tell your solicitor if not.

Moving preparations start well before a week to go. Decisions have to be made whether or not to use a removals firm, or save money and hire a van (or a man with a van), the utilities and internet connections need to be sorted out – this should be thought about well in advance.

Other things to consider are redirecting the post, telling everyone the new address and organising any tradesmen necessary to disconnect the cooker etc. There is a useful list at NatWest.com

The Australian tourism industry has been badly hit by the global recession, but a recovery could be on the way.

The tourist industry has been given an $11 million boost by airlines and regional and state tourist organisations to encourage more flights to Australia. The Federal Government has also put in $9 million.

Airlines have been having trouble getting bums on seats on international flights as passenger numbers declined. And tourist figures have been declining steadily, with fewer international tourists flights to Sydney. Hotel bookings have also declined and responded by slashing the prices of hotel rooms in order to attract business.

Last October the Federal Government invested $9 million into Tourism Australia for overseas marketing, the most widely known being ‘Best Job in the World’, won by Ben Southall.

Federal Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson, blamed the crisis on the swine flu pandemic and the global recession: “We all know that 2009 was a very tough year,” he said. “International visitors to Australia declined by one per cent, compared to an average of about four per cent around the world.”

However he is optimistic that the funding will help the industry to get back on its feet: “When [private organisations] buy in… you’ve actually got a better chance of making it work.”

“It will also fund initiatives to stimulate business travel, which fell away badly in 2009”

This large investment in Australia’s tourism industry is bound to be risky, but now Britain is officially out of  recession, the last European country to do so, the Australian government will be hoping that their investment will pay off and the tourist industry will start to show growth.