Holiday & Travel

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) has appointed Charmaine Browne-Spencer as Director of Tourism for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.

Spencer will be responsible for growing market share and destination arrivals from these regions, by focusing on strengthening strategic partnerships with regional stakeholders, building airlift capacity into the destination, and continuing to improve the destination’s public relations and brand awareness.

Frontier Airlines, which describes itself as an “ultra-low fare carrier”, is doubling down on service expansions to Puerto Rico, announcing new nonstop routes from seven U.S. cities and Cancun, beginning in May. Along with expanded service to San Juan and Aguadilla, Frontier will begin offering flights to Ponce, Puerto Rico for the first time, and will serve more routes to Puerto Rico than any other airline flying the Caribbean skies.

Birmingham Airport (BHX) has celebrated its 10 millionth customer of this financial year. To mark the moment, Turkish Airlines joined colleagues from BHX to present two free business class tickets to any destination on Turkish network to our 10 millionth customers - a couple called Tony and Jen.   

The Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) is proud to unveil a new Grenada sign that represents the unique selling points of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique at the Melville Street Cruise Ship Terminal. The striking new sign, located at the entrance of the Welcome Centre, welcomes visitors to Grenada with a bold and colourful display of the island's name in large letters.

The Turks and Caicos Islands recently participated in the successful New York Travel & Adventure Show held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre in Manhattan, New York.

The event was New York's largest travel gathering since 2019, providing the perfect platform to showcase the Turks and Caicos Islands and its unique luxury offerings as a multi-island destination.

Antigua and Barbuda have welcomed Arvia, the largest cruise vessel to ever visit the destination.

The new vessel, owned by P&O Cruises, has a 5,200 passenger and 1,800 crew member capacity. The grand ship made its inaugural call at the Fifth Berth where it also conducted homeporting operations.

The Cayman Islands welcomed 1,027,668 visitors in 2022 with 743,394 cruise passengers and 284,274 stayover visitors. The figures for both cruise and stayover visitation exceeded goals set by the Cayman Islands Government.

For 2022, the Department of Tourism set a goal of 200,000 stayover visitors, to achieve the Ministry of Tourism’s goal of 40% of 2019 tourism tax revenue, and a stretch goal of 256,000 visitors.

As part of efforts to capitalise on tourism offerings between Jamaica and Sierral Leone, both countries are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The move is aimed at strengthening tourism cooperation between Jamaica and the historic African nation.

“With the strong historical and cultural association between Jamaica and Sierra Leone, it is strategic to collaborate and strengthen our tourism corporation. Both countries have a lot to offer in tourism and we can capitalize on this to build out new experiences for our visitors,” said Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett.

Grenada’s tourism officials have unveiled a new sign that not only showcases the unique selling points of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique but also allows visitors to create and share memories of their visit to the Eastern Caribbean tri-island nation.

On display at the Melville Street Cruise Ship Terminal in the capital of St. George’s, the new sign is a powerful symbol and a representation of Grenada’s unique selling points that will no doubt inspire more visitors to explore the “Spice Island” of the Caribbean.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the NH Hotel Group rounds up what's happening at some of its five-star properties in Northern Europe for a Valentine's escape to remember. From love-inspired menus and complimentary gifts to couples' massage packages, here is why these NH Collection properties (the Group's upper upscale brand) offer the perfect base for a relaxing mini break.

The first meeting of the Committee for Made in Italy was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Participating was the Ministries of Economy and Finance (MEF), Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, and Forestry and Tourism.

The Committee for Made in Italy in the world (CIMIM) is made up of a body set up by the government last November and is co-chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Enterprise, and Made in Italy.

A new Bottega Prosecco Bar has just opened in the international departure area of Istanbul Airport. This is an extremely prestigious location, as it is located in the middle of the Luxury Hall surrounded by the boutiques of the most important and famous fashion brands.

Istanbul Airport has significantly increased its air traffic in recent years, becoming one of the world's major hubs.

The United States is working hard to lower wait times for visitor visa interviews while protecting its national security. If you’re planning to travel to the United States on a visitor visa within the next year or two, the State Department recommends planning ahead and leaving plenty of time for the interview.

When Barbados hosts the 41st annual Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace this May, the first time in CHTA’s history, the island’s local hotel and tourism association will introduce to the global travel community one of its newly minted leaders.

Following the recent departure of two chief executive officers – Rudy Grant, now Barbados’ Consul General in Miami, and then cruise industry veteran Geoffrey Roach – Ryan Forde will become CEO of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) on February 13.

Everyone at easyJet is sorry to see the news about Flybe and understand the anxiety that their customers will be facing now.

easyJet is working to help affected passengers by offering a dedicated rescue fee for customers up until 5 February. A fare of £49 for domestic routes and £79 for international routes including a 15kg hold bag will be available on presentation their original Flybe booking reference.

The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) has started 2023, a year it sees as one of growth for the regional body, by welcoming the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) as its 25th member country. One of the leading destinations in the Caribbean, the USVI, joins the organisation of regional tourism leaders at a time when the CTO seeks to refocus its mandate on shaping the Caribbean tourism sector of the future.