Holiday & Travel

Despite the Christmas travel chaos, 43% of Brummies are taking a festive break this year and 85% of these holidaymakers in Birmingham, are taking a staycation over the Christmas holidays. 

On average Brummies are planning to take two festive themed short breaks this year, with each trip costing on average £196.34 – which will contribute to the UK collective spend of £9.6 billion* on festive staycations.

Khaybar Volcano Camp, a new luxury eco-lodge concept, officially opened to visitors on December 15, in the recently opened up region of Khaybar, Saudi Arabia. Built on the landscape of extinct volcanoes, the Khaybar Volcano Camp will operate for an initial limited duration closing in April 2023.

It is situated in one of the most spectacular and untouched places on earth. Now being excavated by the world’s leading archaeologists, the discoveries of the Khaybar Harrat region are helping to form new theories about ancient Arabia and civilisations of the past.

As the Caribbean gets ready for what is expected to be a bumper tourism season this winter, stakeholders are advised to strengthen efforts to incorporate more young people in the bread-and-butter sector.

Thanks to the efforts of regional tourism organizations such as the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association; government ministries and departments; and private sector players across the region, more young people are looking at tourism for first choice career opportunities rather than a final course of action.

Americans of diverse backgrounds celebrate winter holidays with joyful traditions and tunes. Dances like the one above in New York mark the Chinese Lunar New Year, which occurs between mid-January and mid-February with the first new moon of the lunar calendar.

These photographs capture celebratory songs and dances that occur across the United States in the coming months.

While Global tourism is recovering, Bali Hotels Association has been preparing for its return in a stronger form during 2022.

“In spite of the challenges that we have experienced over the past few years, we have persevered, and are pressing on towards greater achievements in the future,” stated Executive Director of Bali Hotels Association (BHA) Diah Ajung during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali, on December 9, 2022.

Now that the month of December has shown up on the calendar and we notice how close the Christmas holidays really are, we inevitably start thinking about where we would like to spend them and with whom. For those getaways that we like so much at Christmas, Argentina has several destinations that can make this celebration the best time of the year, bearing in mind that it is the season with warmer temperatures in the country.

Despite the impact of Hurricane Fiona this Fall, Puerto Rico’s tourism industry is on track to close the year with new records in visitation, visitor spending and jobs – signalling one of the best years in the history of this economic sector and solidifying the Territory’s recovery from the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blenheim Palace has been named Large Visitor Attraction of the Year 2022 at the Beautiful South Awards for Excellence. The Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site was awarded the title at the ceremony which took place at the Grand Hotel in Brighton.

The award recognises large visitor attraction businesses providing truly memorable visitor experiences and demonstrating excellence across every aspect of the business. The Awards are run by Tourism South East to recognise and celebrate excellence in the industry.

A new international hospitality brand and lifestyle resort called Wafaifo has been launched in central Vietnam.

The company will open the 134-key lifestyle resort, the Wafaifo Resort Hoi An, in Q1 2024 as part of a plan that includes a new mall adjacent to the hotel.

Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said the country’s post-pandemic recovery was so strong that stayover arrivals were at 97 percent of 2019 levels while revenues were even higher at 120 percent of 2019 earnings.

Bartlett added Jamaica had done much better than projected in the post pandemic recovery. “We had projected that we would reach 2019 levels in arrivals by 2023-24.

Flights will operate as scheduled on days when Border Force employees go on strike, Birmingham Airport said. The Midlands travel hub advised passengers what to expect when members of the PCS (Public and Commercial Services) union walk out on December 23, 24 and 25 and December 28, 29 and 30: 

Rail passengers are being warned to prepare for disruption across the Wales and Borders network during December and January.  

The National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers (RMT) have announced strike action will take place on 13-14, 16-17 and 24-27 December and 3-4 and 6-7 January.

Despite the island’s growing popularity, leaders in Curaçao are not resting on the laurels of the Dutch Antillean nation’s post-pandemic success.

Ruisandro Cijntje, Curaçao’s Minister of Economic Development, said that even as the tourism recovery is going well and investment interest in hotels and attractions is strong, the future success of the destination resides with delivering experiences that are wide and varied.

Newmarket Holidays is predicting a surge in India tour bookings following the return of the country's e-Tourist Visas for British citizens this week and has launched a 10% discount on all India tours booked before 24 December 2022.

Prior to the pandemic India was a top-selling destination for the escorted tour specialist, but the application process for e-Tourist Visas for British citizens was paused in March 2020, and then replaced by in-person appointments that led to long delays in processing applications.

The Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism & Transport (MoTT) has welcomed two new team members, reflecting the rapidly expanding variety of career tracks in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Eldon Chisholm and Watoya Stewart joined the ministry in November, bringing diverse skills and talents to support MoTT’s mission to provide strategic guidance and direction to the transport, tourism and hospitality sector.

Morecambe's iconic Midland Hotel is the latest acquisition for pub with rooms company The Inn Collection Group, (ICG) as the Newcastle-based operator continues expansion on the Lancastrian coast. An internationally renowned art-deco building in the Streamline Moderne style, The Midland has been purchased by the group for an undisclosed sum from its previous owners, the Clitheroe-based charity, Lancaster Foundation.