Holiday & Travel

As tennis fans around the world eagerly anticipate the start of Wimbledon fortnight, followers of a sister sport are gearing up for their major tournament across the Atlantic.

The Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba is the birthplace of beach tennis and far from the leafy environs of SW19, it will attracts hundreds of professional and amateur players and spectators as it hosts the Aruba Open Beach Championships from November 13-20.

The Bahamas Tourist Office will host dozens of boaters in caravans, across the Gulf Stream and into the beautiful Bahamian waters, in a series of exciting Boating Flings over the next six weeks. This summer series includes four Boating Flings, three of which will head to Bimini June 23-26; July 21-24 and July 28-31.

As the destination’s tourism sector continues its strong recovery, Jamaica has welcome the inaugural weekly flight from Providenciales, Turks & Caicos (PLS), into Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, by Inter Caribbean Airways. The new route marks the first time a carrier is offering scheduled commercial air service into the airport since the completion of its renovation in 2011.

Qatar Airways Group celebrates its milestone 25th Anniversary year of operation with its strongest financial performance reflected in its published annual report for 2021/22, 200 per cent above its highest annual historical profit. In the most difficult period ever in the global airline industry, the airline credits its positive results to its agility and successful strategy which continued to focus on customer needs and evolving market opportunities, as well as efficiency and the commitment of its worldwide employees.

Newmarket Holidays, the Escorted Tours, Cruise and Events specialist, has released its Escorted Tours and Holidays Collection for 2022-2024 and put all its 2023 products on sale. An additional eight new programmes have also been added, including Madrid, Porto & the Douro Valley; Salzburg & the Austrian Tyrol; and Costa Rica – Wildlife, Rainforest & Caribbean Beach.

St Basils, an organisation that works with young homeless people in Birmingham, has gained Modeshift Star accreditation for its efforts to encourage active travel.

Councillor Liz Clements, Cabinet Member for Transport, presented the team with the bronze level award.

Tourism leaders from across Asia and the Pacific have placed building resilience and embracing innovation at the heart of the sector’s restart and sustainable future. The 34th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia (34th CAP-CSA), was held as destinations across the region begin welcoming back international tourists.

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been ranked and named the “Best Airport in the World” for the second year in a row by the prestigious SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2022 at the global event Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, France. The airport has also retained its title as the “Best Airport in the Middle East” for the eighth year in a row.

Wales’ Bluestone National Park Resort has cut the amount of wasted single-use plastic bottles by 25,000 a year, it was revealed on World Refill day. Guests have been urged to use reusable bottles and cups at the resort as part of efforts to reduce waste and the use of single-use disposable plastic bottles and cups after it stopped selling them.

Following eighteen months of close consultation and working hand in hand with the Japanese Government and Japanese National Tourism Office, in preparation for the reopening, Wendy Wu Tours, who carry the largest number of tourist groups to Japan from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, have been given the green light by the Japanese Government to take this first official group tour to Japan on the 26 July 2022, one of the first travel companies allowed back into Japan from Friday.

Tourism continues to recover at a strong pace. Globally, destinations welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the sector’s rebound.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021.

Qatar Executive, the private jet charter division of Qatar Airways Group, is set to introduce a new Air Ionisation System on its state-of-the-art G650ER aircraft.

The active system is capable of eliminating potentially harmful pathogens and allergens, including bacteria, viruses, and mould spores. 

The northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna will be hosting a new edition of the annual Italian Bike Festival 9-11 September 2022. Held for the first time at the Misano World Circuit, in the seaside town of Rimini, cycling enthusiasts and holiday seekers alike will be able to come together at what it is considered the leading event for the bike industry and for soft mobility.

Flight cancellations are on the rise these days, showing signs of little improvement for this summer. Being prepared for travel plans to change at any point before take-off is key to adapting to the ever-changing travel industry. One sure way of doing that is by having a travel insurance policy in place.

Malvern Hills District Council is recognising the efforts of local tourism businesses in reducing their impact on the environment with its very own scheme. The council is the first local authority to launch the Green Tourism Accreditation Scheme which offers Green Mark accreditation specifically for tourism and hospitality businesses operating across The Malverns. 

The unofficial start of summer over the Memorial Day weekend offers a troubling glimpse of what lies ahead for travellers during the peak vacation season.

U.S. airlines cancelled more than 2,800 flights from Thursday through Monday, or about 2% of their schedules, according to tracking service FlightAware.