retailers have been hoping for a last—minute increase in sales on the last weekend before christmas. however, some figures released suggest the number of customers in london and large city centres has fallen by between 8 and 15 per cent yesterday, following fears about the 0micron variant. local high streets fared slightly better. here's our business correspondent caroline davies. # peace on earth and mercy mild... it's the weekend before christmas, the crescendo of present shopping. will worries about 0micron dampen buying? mustapha's chocolates are selling, but not necessarily in the shop. the footfall is massively down and online is kind of covering that. which is expected in a way really but then obviously that increases expenses, your postage, your boxing, and all that kind of stuff, and also you lose the personal touch with people, which for me is absolutely crucial for my business. rather than peak trading, today footfall at uk retail destinations was flat on last saturday. city centres, particularly london, dropped but local high streets did rise slightly. in central london a tube strike might have made journeys to town more difficult, but many were still happy to hit the shops. its not busy today at all, no. and we've only come down because we've just had covid and so we're safe but i don't think i'd come any other way. it's fine, i'm not that... yeah, i'm not that wary of it. i mean, yeah, it's something to keep in mind but still do the christmas shopping, don't let it stop you, yeah. just keeping a mask on and using - lots of hand sanitiser. all right. just keep yourself safe, innit? use common sense. that's what people need to do. there are plenty of people who are out and about shopping today but retailers had pinned such high hopes on this pre—christmas run—up that they are concerned that this might not be enough, and that could have ramifications well into the new year. there are worries that some businesses might not recover if the government doesn't step in. they are now in a position where they've used up cash reserves, their costs are going up quite dramatically because of the massive surge in inflation, and then suddenly the time that should have been the time which would help them through into next year, their customers have just disappeared. so we will see business failures if there isn't any support coming in now. the chancellor rishi sunak spoke to businesses and industry leaders yesterday afternoon but isn't currently expected to introduce new measures and is instead directing businesses to existing loan and relief support schemes. for many in retail and hospitality, the build—up to christmas is not looking like the bright salvation they were hoping for. caroline davies, bbc news. now on bbc news it's the travel show. coming up on the programme this week: it has been another challenging year for travel. but that has not stopped us from doing what we love best. hello and welcome to the travel show with me, rajan datar. there is no denying that 2021 will not go down as a great year for travel. hotels, airlines, tour operators and all of us who wanted to get away have had to cope with ever—changing rules and restrictions to do what we simply took for granted two years ago before the pandemic struck. so this week on the show we are looking back at 2021 and some of our favourite stories of the year. and it was a year when many of us started changing the way we think about travel. in a moment we have a report from mike in kenya about how the pandemic meant that many kenyans can now afford to take a safari holiday for the very first time. first up, sustainability was a big topic this year and that is why back in august i took a voyage on a ship that is hoping to change the way that some cruise passengers travel. the golden horizon weighs a whopping 8770 tons and took five years to be built in croatia. it is taking me on a 160 mile journey to the isle of wight off the south coast of england before heading to the mediterranean and croatian coast. captain, permission to come on bridge. yes, permission granted. please. now look at this. this is really high—tech. and yet you are the captain of a sailing ship with five masts and 42 sails. it is like a combination of old and new, right? yes, it is. it is not only the sails we need. we need the steering and the engine for the operation in the port. we need all this equipment to make the safe navigation of the seas. by using the sails, how much fuel are you saving? if we utilise the sails in the full power then we are only using the generators to produce energy we need for cooking and lights so it can be even up eight tonnes per day saving on the energy. there are 136 cabins and suites over the ship's four decks. this won't be a cheap holiday but what is on offer here is very different to one of your regular mass—market traditional cruises. it is obvious that this is a very complex ship to operate and making things run smoothly takes a lot of skill and teamwork. the wonderful thing on a small ship and especially on a sailing ship is that when we have a lot of wind and a storm we all need to work together and rely on each other because sometimes we also have to go up in the rig on the yards up there and furl in the sails if the semiautomatic system doesn't work. that creates a lot of bonding but the only thing that counts here is skill. do you think this is the future? this is true sustainability. it is also time—proven sustainability because sailing ships have been around for hundreds of years and now we are coming back to something that we already know and developing it a little further. i have one more thing to try before i head back to land. just come here. so one leg. and that is to check out the view from the top. you are going to climb, 0k? i will keep the tension. step on this all the way up. 0k. step and then step. and then step. look ahead. and then step. it is actually a lot higher than i thought. i will be honest with you, it is scary and it gets narrower. 0k. and this is the worst bit, for sure. hold on to where? this. and this one. this is also good to hold because it is not slippery. you might have to pull me. 0k. all right. victory! that was a little bit frightening. the view was well worth it. this has been such a different experience to being on board a bigger and more conventional modern cruise ship and it is hard to compare the two experiences. clearly nobody is suggesting that sail power will take the place of engines throughout the entire cruise industry. but the golden horizon and ships like her will open up more sustainable options and that can encourage more traditional cruise lines to up their game when it comes to things like emissions and waste. which hopefully can be a win for everybody. hello and welcome to kenya's maasai mara. one of the best game reserves in the entire world. and for good reason. local tourism authorities say that nowhere else africa has wildlife this abundant. in 2020 when international tourism largely stopped, a lot of high—end resorts had to come up with new ways to keep their rooms and theirjeeps full. there are not many nature reserves on earth quite as well—known as kenya's maasai mara. this is the final destination everyjuly and august for all the creatures involved in the great migration from the serengeti plains over the border in tanzania. there is around 1.5 million wildebeests alone, with a large number of zebra and antelope species joining thejourney. can we get closer to the elephant? do you want many? we want many. yeah, that would be good. this is wild, guys. one, two, three, four, five... 11. 11 lions. this is wild! they are just looking at us like what are we doing here? it is only 7:30. is this yourfirst time on safari? yes. 0k. and how do you feel being on safari? excited. we are excited. and we hope to do this again. why did you come now and not before? just because of the high rates. and now we can afford the rates. that's why we are here. last year saw a huge push to attract more kenyans to go on safari in their own country. normally this is an expensive trip, but prices have been dropped by almost half at some resorts. 0ther luxury hotels offer tantalising package deals. and this is one of those places. in pre—covid times a stay here would put you back a little bit. during the pandemic there were special deals offered to local tourists and they have been a big hit. but some people are beginning to ask questions about the future. 0ne pineapple mint for you. thank you. sorry, i spilt a little bit. no worries. what happens when borders reopen and wealthy foreigners start to return? harriet is a kenyan travel writer and she sees trouble ahead. if prices go high again i think these hotels will not have learned their lessons. i think the covid experience should have taught them a lesson in that they would have made fair prices. we do not need to use them when they are down and then dump them when things are good. there are some who will have learned from the lessons probably some who would have diversified, understood the kenyan market, what they like. even social media pages. it will make a difference having a kenyan or black people in there. changing times in kenyan. let's hope that prices stay reasonable there so that local people can still enjoy amazing wildlife in their own backyard. next up we are off to dubai where, like everywhere else, social distancing and safety measures were still things to consider this year. so we sent lucy out to explore the ways that you can enjoy the great outdoors without a mask. this is dubai aquafun, the brainchild of a young —— this is dubai aquafun, the brainchild of a young emirati entrepreneur called ahmed ben chaibah, who claims that it's the biggest inflatable waterpark in the world. against the backdrop of hotels and skyscrapers, and a short 25 metre swim from the beach, you will find a course made up of over 70 floating blowu p slippery slides, swings and other obstacles, all designed to test your stamina, balance and bravery. and after a bit of undignified clamber on board, i am ready to accept the challenge. it is a little slipperier than you think. come on, lucy! almost. i think i have been in the wa... i was just about to say, i think i have been in the water enough. 0.5 seconds and i did not even touch the obstacle. here we go! boo! that's what you've got to look out for. you might complete the obstacle, but the slipping every time! something tells me i may have spoken too soon. i challenge anyone to get over this thing and stay dry. i'm unfit, yeah. i'm trying my hardest! but, most importantly, this is so much fun. 3, 2, 1... all right, here we go! woo! how can you not love the slide? i think i'm ready to get off now! well, now that i'm thoroughly soaked through, it's time to dry off. but i'm not heading back to the beach. instead, perhaps it's time to feel the wind in my very wet hair. how is this for a socially distanced experience?! these are the dubai hero boats, your own personal speedboat that lets you cut through the warm waters of the gulf at speeds of up to 50km/h. after a short instructional and safety tutorial, you'll stick to a vast, but designated course accompanied by a guide who's on hand to ensure that you stick to the rules whilst getting a high—speed and unique view of the dubai beaches and skyline. as far as rides go, this one is awesome, it is super easy to drive and brandon's nearby for safety just in case. you know, yeah, you could go pretty slow, but the real fun begins when you crank up the engine and, more importantly, you do it with no mask. well, there's no doubt that the star of our show in 2021 was a little blue electric van that we drove across the uk and ireland to test out how practical it was to travel sustainably whilst rediscovering attractions closer to home. and wherever we went, the van was certainly turning heads and we all had an absolute ball. this prototype is a reimagining of an old iconic morris motor. it's the first vehicle built by the company since the 1980s, and it's all electric. now, the original morrisj type came out in 19118 alongside the classic morris minor, which was the first british car to reach a million sales. so what we've done is stuck some portable hand controls on the car so i can drive it with my...with my hands, and because it's a van and there's plenty of room in there, we've just stuck my wheelchair in the back and away we go on our uk road tour for the travel show. there's more to the cairngorms than just walks and wildlife. adventure companies offer zip lining, canyoning and something called white water tubing — riding one of these rubber rings downriver. i was hoping to give it a go but the conditions were a little wild. so, what was the issue about the tubing today? the river's too high, it's in flood, so it wouldn't be safe. we couldn't actually stop you, you mightjust keep going. where do the rapids and? ah...the north sea. 0k, yeah, that's an issue, isn't it? well, i might not be able to get out on the river, but kevin insisted i had a go on one of their longest zip lines. i am feeling a bit more nervous. i mean, i was quite chilled out about this, �*cause i'm like, zip wire, everyone does this, you know, kids do it, and now, looking down into that gorge, um...my nether regions have got a little bit tighter. two hands on top... and then i'll go. yeah, when you lift your legs up... i don't wanna do it! you're fine, you're fine. all right, here we go. 0h...bleep! screaming woo! whoa! there she is... scarbados! glinting in the sunshine. scarborough is the uk's oldest beach resort. this is where you come if you're looking for the proper old—school seaside traditions. got the ice cream parlours, you've got the slot machines, you've got the beach, the sea, the smell of fish and chips out the window. after a week in scotland, the electric van�*s still holding up well and getting a lot of love here on the south bay. how are you doing, guys? you all right? good! how are you? yes, really good, really good. we're travelling around scarborough and yorkshire. take care! 0i, it's you off the tale! how are ya? i'm all right. you? yeah, good, good! we're filming for the travel show. you're actually on camera there. look — come here, come here. look, look, look, look! say hello! hello. if it's seaside traditions you're after, this is the place to be. the harbour bar's been in scarborough for 75 years. these days, like all of us, it's doing its best to follow the covid guidelines with customers kept safely in the fresh air. i'm looking for your biggest, most extravagant and spectacular ice cream, yeah? i'll make the knickerbocker glory for you then? is that the one? yeah. you know something's really good when you're sucking as hard as you can and you just can't get anything out. it's ridiculous. the shop's been open since the end of the second world war. giulian started working here when he was 12 and he's the third generation of his family to make and sell ice cream in scarborough. we've done 75 years, so we celebrated at the beginning of august. now, how confident are you about the future? 0h, very confident, yeah. i think scarborough's. ..scarborough will do well. uh, therese and i have been talking about starting a family. laughing what's in these knickerbocker glories? is it something in these? theresa, did you hear that? idid, yes. i'm worried. i think giulian said twins! i leave the city for the rolling hills of the brecon beacons, less than an hour's drive from cardiff. the national park is home to over a thousand farms largely dedicated to livestock. and with over 250,000 visitors a year, one particularly savvy farmer has developed an interesting business model — trekking with sheep. he's checking me out. he'sjust checking, he's checking i'm all good. his problem is he can't really see very well because his hair is so long, it's in his face. meet patches, my new pal for the afternoon. do you want more food? i need to prove that i'm your friend. oh, it feels really weird on my hand! you've got a very warm tongue there, patches. come on! patches, you can have more food in a moment. the plan is to follow a trail around the farm with my fluffy companion. he's pretty obedient. sometimes he kind of veers to the left or right and i feel like i'm the one being walked. it turns out to be trickier than it looks. come on, patches. come on. so, nicola, since lockdown, have you seen demand for this experience growing? yeah, so a lot of people want to be outside in the open air. this experience, because we're able to be distanced, there isn't so much pressure on that and people just enjoy being with the sheep and being able to stroke the sheep and actually being able to physically be around them, whereas normally, theyjust see them in the fields and they run away! when we first opened, it was quite slow, we didn't really have that many people. i think people were a bit wary. they were like, "oh, really? walking sheep? i've not actually heard about that before." we started it because it was similar to alpaca trekking, but with sheep, it is more native, and we, ourselves, we're used to looking after sheep, whereas alpacas were something a bit different and a bit scary. back on the road, i'm heading into cork city. here, old stereotypes of ireland's conservative outlook are once again becoming outdated. a growing drag community has emerged in cork. they've been through a difficult covid period, and tonight will be the first public performance for some drag artists here since the pandemic began. we're ireland's first drag house and we're now the biggest house, other ones are springing up, and now there's this incredible scene where, like, you see all these different styles of drag and performers, which we didn't have before. tell me about how the pandemic affected you and the whole scene here. specifically, we're queer people in the lgbt+ community, again, our space has been taken away, and for the likes of myself and the other queens, our work was taken away. yet it's taught us a lot and what i've loved personally seeing is how resourceful queer people are. i haven't seen so of my friends in 18 months all in the same room. i haven't seen a proper audience in so long. but i'm ready to not do drag in my bedroom anymore! i'm very excited to go back on stage! just some of the places we went to, and some of the people we met thanks to our little blue electric van, undoubtedly the star of our show in 2021. well, that's all for us. coming up next week on the programme, another new face. steve brown joins the show as he explores japan and finds out what kind of effect hosting the paralympics there has had for travellers with disabilities. so i do hope that you can join him for that. in the meantime, from me, rajan datar, and everybody else on the programme, stay healthy, happy and hopeful at 2022 will be the year that we can finally all start travelling again. we'll see you in the new year. goodbye. hello there. the weather is stuck in some sort of a rut, a lot of dry weather around but a lot of grey weather too, thanks to this area of high pressure and the cloud trapped underneath it. there has been some pressure around, sunday is looking sunny again across more northern parts of the uk, further south it is looking grey and gloomy once again. here is the area of high pressure sitting to the north of the uk, barely any isobars on the chart. that means winds will be lighter and fresher there across southern england and through the channel. so where we have the cloudy skies and lows of four or seven degrees, but really cold under the clearer skies, scotland and northern england, these are city temperatures, in rural spots we could be as low as —7 or —8 celsius. a cold start to sunday, some freezing mist and fog around, some fog through the central belt of scotland, but some sunshine, as you can see, stretching down into the north—western parts of england. wales doing well in the sunshine, parts of south—west england, maybe northern ireland seeing sunnier spells than we have seen lately, so not bad here. eastern, central and eastern england, southern england again, rather grey and drab. some gloom, mist, a bit of drizzle here and there. it will be a chilly day wherever you are. sunday night, we hold onto lots of cloud generally, clearer spells further north and west, here it will turn frosty again with some freezing mist and fog. temperatures holding out around 3—7, where we have the cloud, it will be breezier along some north sea coasts. into monday, maybe some subtle changes. i think for many, we are holding onto the cloud, but we could see clearer skies or sunny breaks appearing across central and eastern england, parts of southern england have not the sunshine for a good week or so, so that will be a welcome change. probably the best of the sunshine again across the north of the uk and then again, whatever you are, it will be chilly whether you have the grey and gloomy skies or even the sunshine. now, as the run—up to christmas has been giving us a headache, at the moment it looks like we could see this area of low pressure pushing in from the atlantic. that will have some weather fronts, some rain bands and some milder air pushing into the south and west, but colder air will want to continue to dig down from the north—east. so we are in a bit of a battleground between these air masses around the christmas period. it looks like the upcoming week to start with, certainly for the first few days, will be chilly and bright, then it will turn more around the christmas period period and with some cold and we could see sleet and snow in places. hello and welcome to bbc news. governments around europe are imposing tight restrictions in reaction to the rapid spread of the 0micron variant. the netherlands has announced a stringent christmas lockdown, in an attempt to prevent a new wave of cases. all non—essential, stores, bars, restaurants and other public places are to shut from sunday under the new measures. anna holligan reports from the hague. a final flourish of festive cheer before dutch cities shutdown for christmas. department stores and toy shops weren't ready for this

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