Holiday & Travel

Respected Caribbean hotelier Nicola Madden-Greig has been named the new president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

The award-winning Jamaican businesswoman was elevated to the position during CHTA’s Annual General Meeting last week.

Summer may be over but the demand for a Staycation remains strong, with 44% of families from the Midlands saying they are taking a short break this October half term, as revealed in the autumn segment of the 2021 Travelodge Holiday Index.

A survey of 2,000 British families to discover their October school holiday travel plans was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of the UK’s leading budget hotel group, which operates over 578 hotels across the UK.

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says the island nation has welcomed a total of 1,285,368 visitors since the reopening of the country’s borders in June 2020, with estimated earnings of US$1.7 billion.

He said that the figures, up to September 2021, comprise approximately 1,276,987 stopover visitors and 8,381 cruise passengers.

Qatar Airways Holidays has launched extensive travel packages for the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 welcoming global football fans to enjoy the finest Qatari hospitality and follow their favourite team in person. The region’s showpiece tournament will take place from 30 November to 18 December, 2021.

New research from national tourism agency VisitBritain demonstrates the increasing importance of football in driving inbound tourism to the UK and in boosting visitor spending. Its ‘Football Tourism in the UK’ report published today shows that overseas visitors who went to a football match spent £1.4 billion across the UK in total during their trip in 2019, up 84% on the £742 million spent in 2011 when the research was last conducted.

With the 2023 Luxury Yacht Cruise Collection second edition brochure release, Emerald Cruises has unveiled the details of its new destination – the Seychelles – on board the recently announced Emerald Sakara, joining Emerald Azzurra in 2023. This is the first time that details of Emerald Sakara’s inaugural season and itineraries have been revealed.

Emerald Sakara’s maiden voyage will be the 11-day Tropical Charms of the Seychelles itinerary, taking guests on a round-trip from Victoria, Mahé Island, the capital of the Seychelles.

The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday travellers will be able to fly to the States if they’ve received shots of vaccines approved or recognized for emergency use by the World Health Organization or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It did not say whether that included people who had received a mixed-dose regimen of approved vaccines.

As Caribbean tourism destinations continue their journey towards some semblance of normality, preliminary data from member countries of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) reveal that the region outperformed the rest of the world in the first half of 2021.

During this period, international tourist arrivals to the Caribbean reached 6.6 million, representing a 12.0 per cent decline when compared to the same period last year.

The relaxation of travel restrictions means that golfers looking to enjoy a round under the winter sun can now head overseas much more easily. Both Spain and Portugal are popular destinations with golfers thanks to their easy access from the UK, pristine courses and inviting weather with both Iberian nations looking forward to an influx of golfers over the next couple of months.

As the United States prepares to welcome European visitors once again this November, the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism is taking its marketing messages to Italy.

“Italy is one of a select group of international markets in which the Territory will strategically focus its marketing activities in the coming weeks and months,” said USVI Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte, who added that the Department has also identified Canada and Scandinavia as key markets for the USVI.

“One destination does not make an itinerary,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte as he highlighted the importance of greater collaboration among Caribbean destinations and cruise line partners to ensure the safe and successful return of cruises to the region.

Jamaican authorities said that the country is “eagerly preparing” for the resumption of cruise calls by Royal Caribbean International beginning in November, as well as more than 110 planned cruise ship visits from October through April 2022 by Carnival Cruise Line.

According to a press release, Royal Caribbean intends to resume cruises with limited operations as of November, following over a year and a half hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

People living in and around the West Midlands will be amongst the first in the UK to travel with a ground-breaking new tour operator. Toureasy is UK’s first and only carbon neutral coach tour operator and has chosen to launch the business right here in the West Midlands.

Just in time for Christmas, the getaways are designed so West Midlanders can do their bit for the planet without paying a premium or needing to sign up to long-term commitments.

Foreign tourists won’t be welcomed back to Australia until at least next year, the prime minister said as he outlined plans for lifting some of the toughest and longest COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by any democracy.

The country will instead prioritize the return of skilled migrants and students after it hits Prime Minister Scott Morrison's benchmark for reopening its external borders: the full vaccination of 80% of the population aged 16 and older.

Follow in the footsteps of pioneering, historic travellers to Arabia and contemporary explorer and TV presenter, Levison Wood by snapping up limited edition tickets to a one-day exhibition called ‘AlUla: A Journey Through Time’.

Visitors to this unique, one-day exhibition will be among the first in the UK to take a journey through time, learning about early British explorers to visit the remote, unique geological landscapes of AlUla, in the North West region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it will launch a new service to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on 3 December with twice weekly flights, this new route will follow the resumption of operations to Luxor on 23 November with four weekly flights. In a further expansion of services to Egypt, Qatar Airways will also increase its Cairo service starting from 1 October 2021, increasing flights to the capital to triple daily.

The resumption of operations to Luxor and launching of flights to Sharm El-Sheikh sees Qatar Airways now operate a total of 34 weekly flights to Egypt via the World’s Best Airport, Hamad International Airport (HIA) as voted by Skytrax. The new services will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in First Class and 132 seats in Economy Class.

The resumption of operations to Luxor and the launch of flights to Sharm El-Sheikh will enable passengers flying to and from these destinations to enjoy seamless connectivity to over 140 destinations in Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas. Qatar Airways also features flexible booking policies that offer unlimited changes in travel dates and destinations, and fee-free refunds for all tickets issued for travel completed by 31 May 2022.

The upcoming expansion of services in Egypt will further provide Egyptian football fans more travel options to attend the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 in Qatar, enjoy the finest Qatari hospitality and follow their national team in person. The region’s showpiece tournament will take place from 30 November to 18 December 2021.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2021 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. The airline continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having now won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and now 2021).

The airline’s hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), was recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport in the World 2021’, by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2021. In addition to this, Qatar Airways has become the first global airline to achieve the prestigious 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by Skytrax.

This follows the success of Hamad International Airport (HIA) as the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. These awards provide assurance to passengers across the world that the airline’s health and safety standards are subject to the highest possible standards of professional, independent scrutiny and assessment.