Travel

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has renewed its distribution agreement with British Airways and Iberia. This will allow GBT customers and members of its Partner Solutions group to confidently shop within Supply MarketPlace.      The multi-year agreement has been expanded to cover a collaboration between GBT, British Airways and Iberia on developing and … Read more

A new €500,000 multi-platform campaign for the national and international market aims to place visitors in the spotlight as ambassadors of Madeira. This comes further to the launch of the new brand identity for the destination in April this year. The campaign reinforces the feeling of belonging and shows the diversity that exists in this … Read more

The Isle of Man is set to re-open its borders on June 28th, welcoming visitors from the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. After closing its borders on March 26th last year, the island will once again encourage visitors to come and explore the expansive outdoor landscapes. Only visitors … Read more

The Westin London City has appointed Alex Dallocchio as general manager as the brand prepares for its debut in the UK. Dallocchio joins the 222-key property, which is due to open this September, with over 20 years’ experience within the international hospitality sector. A leading luxury hotelier with a wealth of experience in both European … Read more

Emirates hopes to have recovered close to 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic network by the end of next month, operating 880 weekly services across 124 cities. The Dubai-based carrier, which this week announced huge losses for the past year, currently serves 115 global passenger destinations. The airline will resume services to seven cities in … Read more

London City Airport is expanding its testing capabilities with a new, larger facility in partnership with Collinson. The brand-new facility, located less than a minute from the airport terminal, will be able to administer over 200 tests per hour and will be available to meet increased demand from passengers. Passengers will be offered a full … Read more

Analysis from ABTA estimates that 195,000 people working in the UK travel industry have either lost their job or are at risk of losing their job due to the Covid-19 crisis. The association is reiterating its calls for the UK government to provide tailored financial support to struggling businesses, and to safely restart travel so … Read more

Princess Cruises is seeking to return to service in the United States with sailings from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale scheduled for the autumn. Starting between September 25th and November 28th cruises onboard eight ships will once again take guests to the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii and the California coast. Majestic Princess … Read more

Silversea Cruises has returned to global operations with the maiden voyage of its new flagship, Silver Moon, from Athens. The inaugural sailing of new expeditionary vessel, Silver Origin, will depart from San Cristobal in the Galapagos tomorrow. The first destination-specific ship from the line will sail with all-new itineraries in the archipelago. ADVERTISEMENT “With the … Read more

Delays, delays and more delays. These have and will become increasingly normal until the new normal approach to travel is actually confirmed and becomes more routine. Regardless of what travel will look like, we know it will not be the same as it was before. Testing, tracing, vaccinated or not, all these additional issues have … Read more

Seabourn has said it continues to work with various government and port officials to develop plans for a full return to cruising. As a result of the current environment and travel restrictions that remain in place, the brand is updating travellers on the restart dates for the five ships currently in its fleet. Based on … Read more

Expo 2020 Dubai has reaffirmed its commitment to gender equality and female empowerment, unveiling creative content and programming for the Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier. Officials sought to remind the world that only through the full and equal participation of women in all fields can a more equitable and just world be built. The … Read more

Royal Caribbean International has marked the start of construction on its first Icon-class ship. To celebrate the milestone, the cruise line held a steel-cutting ceremony at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku, where the name was revealed as Icon of the Seas. In attendance at the ceremony was Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean Group; Michael Bayley, … Read more

Cunard will resume operations from July 19th as Queen Elizabeth welcomes guests on board for a series of UK voyages from Southampton. Beginning October 13th, she will begin sailing internationally with new voyages including to the Iberian coast and the Canary Islands.  Queen Elizabeth will then leave the UK in mid-February to resume her previously … Read more

easyJet has put 12 new domestic flights and seats on sale today to serve demand for domestic travel. The airline is adding three new UK airports to its domestic network, which includes launching operations from Belfast City Airport for the first time to London Gatwick. easyJet will also be returning to Leeds Bradford and East … Read more

British Airways will seek to replace the collapsed Stobart Air on a number of UK domestic routes this summer. The flag-carrier is launching four new domestic routes from Belfast this summer, supporting important business and tourism links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Over the next few months, the airline will start … Read more

Ryanair has welcomed its first Boeing 737 Max after nearly two years of delays. The low-cost carrier took delivery of its first Boeing 737-8200 in Seattle, Washington. The aircraft flew overnight from Seattle and will land in Dublin Airport later this afternoon. This is the first delivery of an order of 210 planes, which is … Read more

Stress is a killer. It is terrible for both physical and emotional health and the root cause of many issues that pervade the adult populace today, which is why learning to manage and mitigate your stress is such an important thing to do. Fortunately, there are a large number of ways to properly manage stress, … Read more

Qatar Airways has welcomed Abidjan to its global network as its debut flight to the largest city in Côte d’Ivoire lands at Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport. With three weekly flights, the service between Doha and Abidjan via Accra will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in business class and 232 … Read more

Jet2.com has welcomed a possible move from the government that would allow travellers who have had both Covid-19 vaccines to avoid having to quarantine when returning from countries on the amber list.  Currently all travellers returning from such countries are expected to isolate at home for ten days. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is said … Read more

Yoel Razvozov has been appointed to the role of minister of tourism in Israel. The move comes as Naftali Bennett replaces Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister after more than a decade in power. In a handover ceremony at the ministry of tourism offices, Razvozov said he intends to work vigorously to bring the tourism industry … Read more

Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), the annual celebration of red-hot retail offers, exciting events and fun for the whole family, is set to return for its 24th edition. Taking place from July 1st to September 4th, this year’s DSS is an action-packed extravaganza of shopping and so much more that will thrill residents and visitors every … Read more

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) and Ryanair have launched a legal challenge calling for transparency in the handling of its traffic light travel system by the UK government. The move is backed by a number of other major UK airlines. The aviation businesses say the government has not been clear about how it has made decisions … Read more

Flight Centre Travel Group has selected technology solution provider HotelHub to provide a hotel booking and distribution solution for its global corporate brands. The HotelHub platform aggregates hotel content from multiple GDS and non-GDS sources and includes an intuitive tool for agents that fully automates the hotel booking workflow and includes an application programming interface … Read more

Hurtigruten Group has unveiled a new platform designed to empower travel agents. It is hoped the service will provide users with all the information and support they need to help sell a Hurtigruten Expeditions and Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express cruise. The new platform features live availability, real-time pricing and instant booking. ADVERTISEMENT There is also … Read more

Jet2.com is expanding its winter ski programme by adding weekly services to Lyon from Manchester Airport. The gateway to the French Alps is the eighth ski destination to go on sale this winter from the carrier, and the introduction of another ski route comes in response to strong demand for flights to the best slopes … Read more

Limits on the number of passengers permitted onboard cruise ships operating in UK waters will remain in place until at least the middle of next month. Domestic cruises can currently operate with up to 1,000 people or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is lower. ADVERTISEMENT This capacity limit applies to passengers only. The measures will … Read more

Ryanair has issued a new plea for the reopening of UK borders as the threat from Covid-19 recedes. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the low-cost carrier, criticised a “mismanagement” of the pandemic and reopening of the economy by prime minister, Boris Johnson. He said: “The Covid-19 travel policy is a shambles. “The green list is … Read more

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has unveiled plans to further expand its presence in Pakistan. The company has confirmed a number of key signings in some of most popular destinations in the country, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Hyderabad. The development plan includes the addition of six Ramada by Wyndham hotels across the country, as well … Read more