Holiday & Travel

An experienced marketing and hospitality industry professional believes this year’s World Tourism Day theme “Rethinking Tourism” is a clarion call for the private sector to focus on “dynamism and unbridled creativity” to ensure a strong, sustainable future for tourism.

“We have a rare opportunity to use our skills to ensure the rebuilding and reimagining of the tourism sector from the devastation of COVID-19 places people, their communities and their environment firmly top of mind,” said Beverly Nicholson-Doty, CEO of Figment Design, a leading Miami-based marketing and advertising agency.

World Tourism Day focused on the future at a time when tourism is recovering speedily from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marketplace Excellence (MPE) concurs with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that we should avoid hurtling forward without “Rethinking Tourism”, including how to ensure that the future is one where tourism safeguards the welfare of our people, as well as the health of our environment and natural resources.

As the airline proudly celebrates its 25^th anniversary in 2022, Qatar Airways has been named “Airline of the Year” by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, for an unprecedented seventh time. At a glittering event in London earlier today, the leading global airline also took home three additional awards including World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining, and Best Airline in the Middle East. Qatar Airways has been named ‘Airline of the Year’ in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and now 2022.

Low-income households in Statia are being offered support to shield them from soaring energy prices.

The Ministry of Social Welfare and Employment in the Netherlands has agreed a $1300 subsidy to help the most vulnerable Statian residents struggling with their electricity bills.

The President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is recommending a tiered “dynamic taxation system” as a novel and potential solution to address ongoing concerns about the high cost of air travel within and to and from the region.

Calling for a flexible approach to levying airline taxes, CHTA’s President Nicola Madden-Greig said one of the major constraints facing Caribbean travel is the heavy burden of taxation, and governments could well consider successful revenue management tactics employed within the tourism and aviation sector.

The British overseas territory of Anguilla believes the upcoming winter tourism season could be its best ever.

Speaking to reporters at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)’s Destination Media Briefings in the Cayman Islands last week, Haydn Hughes, Anguilla’s Minister of Infrastructure, Communications, Utilities, Housing and Tourism, said pent-up demand for Anguilla continues to be strong, and feedback from most top-selling U.S. travel advisors suggests that 2022’s performance will beat the 2019 record tourism performance.

It has been said that Jamaica's tourism earnings are expected to be much higher this year and is set to exceed pre-COVID-19 levels.

That statement was made by Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, who said: “We are looking now at earning in excess of US$4 billion this year, which would exceed 2019 figures by US$500 million to US$600 million.

Spectacular flowers, a mouth-watering array of food and drink, giant vegetables and lots of family fun are all in store with the return of the UK’s biggest Harvest Festival, the Malvern Autumn Show, on 23 – 25 September 2022 at Three Counties Showground. Set against the backdrop of the glorious Malvern Hills, the three-day festival promises to celebrate the very best of the autumn season and here are nine reasons why you won’t want to miss it!

Even as Caribbean tourism experiences a robust recovery and strong demand, a leading Caribbean economist and advisor wants action-oriented thinking and solutions to improve the competitiveness of the region’s bread-and-butter tourism industry.

Speaking on the sidelines of IATA Caribbean Aviation Day in the Cayman Islands this week, Trinidadian economist Marla Dukharan said that price competitiveness is a challenge.

The transfer of the chairmanship of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) from Barbados to the Cayman Islands during CTO’s business meetings on Grand Cayman this week registered something notable and positive: the future of the region is in excellent hands.

After a couple of years of lockdowns and the absence of in-person deliberations, it was incredibly heartwarming to witness two young leaders – Senator Lisa Cummins, Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport, and Kenneth Bryan, the Cayman Islands Minister of Tourism and Transport – discuss the business of the region with passion and pride.

This year has marked the resumption of tourism in Brazil, and the movement of the country’s international air network is one of the main metrics that prove the recovery of the sector.

On the rise each month, Brazilian air connectivity with the world operates at more than 80 percent of the capacity observed in 2019. Argentina, the United States and Portugal were the countries with the most flights to Brazil in the first half, with 10,800 arrivals in all.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has a new chairman. 

Cayman Islands Minister for Tourism and Transport Kenneth Bryan was elected as the new chairman of the inter-governmental body this week at the organization’s Annual General Meeting in the Cayman Islands.

World’s Best Airline enhances its passenger experience at London Heathrow Terminal 4, and unveils a new Frequent Flyer Lounge, the first of its kind outside of its home, exclusively for Privilege Club members and oneworld alliance partners.

Situated in Terminal 4, located just a floor below the Premium Lounge, the Frequent Flyer lounge is open to Qatar Airways Privilege Club members, with access extending to Joint Business Partners like British Airways Executive Club members, and other oneworld Alliance loyalty members.

COVID-19 pandemic curbed our travel plans. But with restrictions gone, an accelerating climate crisis emphasises the need for new travel habits. Now, a research-based website assists in finding climate friendly travel options.

The choices we make have a wider impact on the environment around us, and this is becoming clear in the extreme weather events we experience.

Ellison “Tommy” Thompson, CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, made this disclosure to the media during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Destination Debriefings in the Cayman Islands this week.

Thompson said one of the first assignments of new Minister of Tourism Marsha Henderson will be to spearhead the launch of the campaign to the media in New York, which will be followed by similar events in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The former President of Virgin Galactic is set to present a keynote at World Travel Market London, 7-9 November 2022, exploring the astronomic potential for space tourism.

Will Whitehorn is to lead a session marked: 'Space: the final travel frontier?' on Tuesday 8th November on World Travel Market London's Future Stage.